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Rabbit Reviews: Skyward Sword
13 years ago
My reviews are rarely at the cutting edge of gaming. In fact I tend to gravitate toward older games that I've recently rediscovered or simply waited to find in the pre-owned section, so you can imagine my excitement when I unwrapped a brand new copy of Skyward Sword this Christmas. I had an immediate vision of releasing my review alongside the professionals and adding my voice to the throng. I played the game for a few hours, began writing, and suddenly stopped. My review, while mostly honest, lapsed into cliches and did nothing to distinguish itself. There was nothing I was saying about the game that thousands of others hadn't said, and the more I wrote, the more I realized how very little I actually had to say about the game, and how little I was enjoying the process.
So I waited, and played the game through carefully and quietly like I mostly do. Looking back, I'm glad I waited, and I hope you will be too.
Since Ocarina of Time, the Zelda formula has been well established, and Skyward Sword is no exception; in fact the game takes the formula soaring to new heights, both literally and figuratively. I'll give the designers their due credit: this game is so incredibly Zelda that it puts all other Zelda games to shame for sheer... Zelda-ness. I'd say out of the whole series, it's definitely a top three.
There's a downside to this almost blind adherence to tradition, though. Skyward Sword banks entirely on the fact that it's the first game to tie every other game in the series together. If you're already a Zelda fan like me, you'll cream your pants every five minutes. If you're new to the series... prepare to be a little confused.
Take the plot, for example. I completely understand that most Zelda games have zero plot. Zelda is kidnapped, Link is unwittingly caught up in events and becomes the hero of legend because... well... destiny says so, and the game is inevitably hijacked by Ganon who was behind it all along. This is the way it's been since forever. But when you ramp the magical Zelda formula up to eleven, you make the lack of plot even more apparent than it was before. Essentially, the entire game becomes a series of sidequests that don't always feel terribly heroic. First off, your fairy, the spirit of the eponymous Skyward Sword, provides you with all the hints you need to complete your quest. There's no real exploration or interaction required in order to figure out where to go next; your fairy will magically appear at every required plot point and tell you exactly what to do. Secondly, Link's trials, which usually have a reasoned explanation in-world, are simply dropped in his way for no other reason than to make life more difficult for him. I'm not even inferring this, it's explicitly stated in game that Link's path was preordained centuries ago in order to "test his worthiness", and that all his hardships were created by the goddess and dropped in place like some kind of divine obstacle course. Now, you can easily argue that these trials, by definition, need to be arbitrary because Skyward Sword canonically sets the stage for all of Link's future quests. I'd actually agree with you wholeheartedly on that one; as an archetype of the Hero's Journey, Skyward Sword is an effective masterpiece. But when the game designers start having a laugh at their players' expense, it can get just a little mind-blowingly annoying. For example:
DRAGON: Ah, I see you have the Master Sword that the Goddess said the Hero of Legend would carry.
LINK: Yes, I collected many small glowing orbs and re-explored several dungeons I'd already completed in order to gain its power. Will you acknowledge me as the one true hero and teach me your song so that I may continue on my quest to save Zelda and the world?
DRAGON: Silly boy! I can't give my song to just ANY one true hero who walks in bearing all the foretold marks of the Goddess and carrying her sacred weapon. I believe I will test you again to be extra sure.
LINK: But I am the first of my kind to descend from the sky with the Goddess's sword and pass her arbitrary trials. What other test could you possibly give me that would prove me more worthy than the ones set forth by the supreme creator and protector of the world?
DRAGON: You can start by collecting these small glowing tadpoles.
LINK: SON OF A B****!
Of course, I laughed my tail off at this trolling on the part of the game designers, but as I said before, I'm a fan. Anyone unfamiliar with the way these games work will probably feel like they're being made to jump through hoops.
I have another theory about these little mini-quests, and judging from Nintendo's recent track record, I think I might be on to something. Nintendo is notorious for pioneering game design concepts, and I'm of the opinion that these clearly 'non-Zelda' segments are actually field tests for games still in the making. Between the bird flying, swimming, item collecting, chasing, and being chased, Nintendo might just have some new ideas for Wii games in the works. After all, what better way to test a design concept than by sneaking it into a game that is guaranteed to do well regardless? Mind you, I could be entirely wrong, since most of these concepts were introduced in the Wii Sports packages long before Skyward Sword was released, but it goes a long way to explaining why the game developers would decide to interrupt your questing every hour or so just to throw you into a mini-game about barrel rolls. The future will tell, but my chips are in on this one.
Now, before you go thinking I had nothing overwhelmingly positive to say about this game, let me tell you what Skyward Sword does absolutely right. Everything else. Graphics? Beautiful. Music and sound? Superb. Everything that Zelda got right in the past, it gets right here, and spectacularly so. One major change that I very much enjoyed (and others may call for my head on this) is the noticeable increase in difficulty. Part of this is due to the motion controls, which have a steep two hour learning curve, and even afterwards it's an exercise in patience and timing to win many fights. Most of it is because monsters now reliably damage you for one or two hearts per hit instead of the measly quarter heart pinpricks of games past, and that's not counting the extra boost that monsters get in Hero Mode, a new game plus feature where monsters are twice as strong and don't drop hearts. But in all honesty, I enjoyed playing a Zelda game that made me fight for my life two or three times per dungeon. Even in mundane fights, the swordfighting controls stressed patience and strategy over button mashing, and I felt this captured the original Zelda spirit better than Twilight Princess's acrobatic combat did.
Speaking of combat, the boss fights are incredible. Don't expect them to be easy either. Your fancy new magic items won't be saving your ass like they did in all the other games, and the bosses throw some nasty surprises at you that will have you balling your fists in rage. Don't worry though, the fights are worth playing over again for the sheer excitement they provide. I still shiver when I think of my first encounter with Koloktos.
All in all, Skyward Sword gave me more than enough Zelda to last until the next installment. The increased difficulty and slower gameplay made the experience much closer in spirit to the original NES title, and I hope that the developers at Nintendo continue to challenge their players like this in future installments. I can't say I was an enormous fan of the minigames or the extreme hand holding, but those were more than outbalanced by the incredible gameplay and some very fun motion controls. If you're a Zelda fan, this one's a definite must have. If you're not, get the other games first. Then get this one.
So I waited, and played the game through carefully and quietly like I mostly do. Looking back, I'm glad I waited, and I hope you will be too.
Since Ocarina of Time, the Zelda formula has been well established, and Skyward Sword is no exception; in fact the game takes the formula soaring to new heights, both literally and figuratively. I'll give the designers their due credit: this game is so incredibly Zelda that it puts all other Zelda games to shame for sheer... Zelda-ness. I'd say out of the whole series, it's definitely a top three.
There's a downside to this almost blind adherence to tradition, though. Skyward Sword banks entirely on the fact that it's the first game to tie every other game in the series together. If you're already a Zelda fan like me, you'll cream your pants every five minutes. If you're new to the series... prepare to be a little confused.
Take the plot, for example. I completely understand that most Zelda games have zero plot. Zelda is kidnapped, Link is unwittingly caught up in events and becomes the hero of legend because... well... destiny says so, and the game is inevitably hijacked by Ganon who was behind it all along. This is the way it's been since forever. But when you ramp the magical Zelda formula up to eleven, you make the lack of plot even more apparent than it was before. Essentially, the entire game becomes a series of sidequests that don't always feel terribly heroic. First off, your fairy, the spirit of the eponymous Skyward Sword, provides you with all the hints you need to complete your quest. There's no real exploration or interaction required in order to figure out where to go next; your fairy will magically appear at every required plot point and tell you exactly what to do. Secondly, Link's trials, which usually have a reasoned explanation in-world, are simply dropped in his way for no other reason than to make life more difficult for him. I'm not even inferring this, it's explicitly stated in game that Link's path was preordained centuries ago in order to "test his worthiness", and that all his hardships were created by the goddess and dropped in place like some kind of divine obstacle course. Now, you can easily argue that these trials, by definition, need to be arbitrary because Skyward Sword canonically sets the stage for all of Link's future quests. I'd actually agree with you wholeheartedly on that one; as an archetype of the Hero's Journey, Skyward Sword is an effective masterpiece. But when the game designers start having a laugh at their players' expense, it can get just a little mind-blowingly annoying. For example:
DRAGON: Ah, I see you have the Master Sword that the Goddess said the Hero of Legend would carry.
LINK: Yes, I collected many small glowing orbs and re-explored several dungeons I'd already completed in order to gain its power. Will you acknowledge me as the one true hero and teach me your song so that I may continue on my quest to save Zelda and the world?
DRAGON: Silly boy! I can't give my song to just ANY one true hero who walks in bearing all the foretold marks of the Goddess and carrying her sacred weapon. I believe I will test you again to be extra sure.
LINK: But I am the first of my kind to descend from the sky with the Goddess's sword and pass her arbitrary trials. What other test could you possibly give me that would prove me more worthy than the ones set forth by the supreme creator and protector of the world?
DRAGON: You can start by collecting these small glowing tadpoles.
LINK: SON OF A B****!
Of course, I laughed my tail off at this trolling on the part of the game designers, but as I said before, I'm a fan. Anyone unfamiliar with the way these games work will probably feel like they're being made to jump through hoops.
I have another theory about these little mini-quests, and judging from Nintendo's recent track record, I think I might be on to something. Nintendo is notorious for pioneering game design concepts, and I'm of the opinion that these clearly 'non-Zelda' segments are actually field tests for games still in the making. Between the bird flying, swimming, item collecting, chasing, and being chased, Nintendo might just have some new ideas for Wii games in the works. After all, what better way to test a design concept than by sneaking it into a game that is guaranteed to do well regardless? Mind you, I could be entirely wrong, since most of these concepts were introduced in the Wii Sports packages long before Skyward Sword was released, but it goes a long way to explaining why the game developers would decide to interrupt your questing every hour or so just to throw you into a mini-game about barrel rolls. The future will tell, but my chips are in on this one.
Now, before you go thinking I had nothing overwhelmingly positive to say about this game, let me tell you what Skyward Sword does absolutely right. Everything else. Graphics? Beautiful. Music and sound? Superb. Everything that Zelda got right in the past, it gets right here, and spectacularly so. One major change that I very much enjoyed (and others may call for my head on this) is the noticeable increase in difficulty. Part of this is due to the motion controls, which have a steep two hour learning curve, and even afterwards it's an exercise in patience and timing to win many fights. Most of it is because monsters now reliably damage you for one or two hearts per hit instead of the measly quarter heart pinpricks of games past, and that's not counting the extra boost that monsters get in Hero Mode, a new game plus feature where monsters are twice as strong and don't drop hearts. But in all honesty, I enjoyed playing a Zelda game that made me fight for my life two or three times per dungeon. Even in mundane fights, the swordfighting controls stressed patience and strategy over button mashing, and I felt this captured the original Zelda spirit better than Twilight Princess's acrobatic combat did.
Speaking of combat, the boss fights are incredible. Don't expect them to be easy either. Your fancy new magic items won't be saving your ass like they did in all the other games, and the bosses throw some nasty surprises at you that will have you balling your fists in rage. Don't worry though, the fights are worth playing over again for the sheer excitement they provide. I still shiver when I think of my first encounter with Koloktos.
All in all, Skyward Sword gave me more than enough Zelda to last until the next installment. The increased difficulty and slower gameplay made the experience much closer in spirit to the original NES title, and I hope that the developers at Nintendo continue to challenge their players like this in future installments. I can't say I was an enormous fan of the minigames or the extreme hand holding, but those were more than outbalanced by the incredible gameplay and some very fun motion controls. If you're a Zelda fan, this one's a definite must have. If you're not, get the other games first. Then get this one.
