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"The Jet Gamer"Game Review:The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword
8 years ago
Time to do one of the major staples out there now, and also to make sure I finish it before It before the Switch and the new Zelda.
The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword
I know just about everyone knows of the Zelda series, so I’m not sure there is going to be much I have to explain about what this game is and what it’s about. However, this is the one that came out on the Wii, and with the Wii’s reputation with some people, I’m sure that can bring into question about this game’s quality. Well, let us take a closer look at this Zelda and see how it fairs on the Wii, and if the high quality that this series is known for still holds true here.
Gameplay
The basic gameplay of this Zelda game is really unchanged, but there are some add on’s here and there that do make this game unique compared to others in the series. You do for example roam around a world collecting rupees for money, hearts to stay alive, and look for dungeons to explore to get new items. If you have played any other game in this series, this is no surprise as it is what has worked for so long. However, as I said, there are some gameplay mechanics that are brand new to this game. One of the first big ones you will notice is that yes, you are roaming around on the ground a lot, but you are now also roaming around in the sky as well. One of the main open world areas is the sky above the land. You get around by flying on a large bird creature, which comes to take you around when you jump off the floating islands that are all over the sky. Getting to fly around in an open sky is pretty neat and something that does break up the usual running around the world map that’s for sure. One thing though that I have to bring up is that getting around does involve a lot of going from the ground, and back to the sky and over and over several times throughout the game. When you are on the ground, the world is split into three areas, with no way to get from one to the other, except by going back up to the sky from a save point, and flying to the opening to one of the other areas. While this is neat to start out, you do sometimes wish you didn’t have to constantly go up and down when you are trying to get to different save points on the ground, when you are already on the ground. When you are actually fighting when on the ground though, that’s where things get a bit unique as well. As most know, Link is normally left handed, but in this game, he is right handed, due to the fact that all attacks are done by swinging the wiimote around, which actually is a neat way to make the sword work. I’ll tell more about how effective this works later in controls. When it comes to the items and weapons you pick up during play, unlike some Zelda games, this game does make use of all the weapons and constantly throughout the game. You don’t just use the weapon a few times until you get a new one. You use them all the time. Also, several of them can be upgraded, just like your shields you get in the game. To upgrade stuff, you use material you find around the world. This material is easier or harder to find, depending on what you need, and you need some of it throughout the game if you want to upgrade your stuff, but that isn’t necessary at all though. The same goes with potions, as you purchase them in the main town, but you can upgrade them using the bugs you find around the world as well. These bugs can either be used for this, or sold to another NPC you find. These are both neat little add ons for sure, but there are some annoyances with them as well. As I said, some of them are harder to a hold of, but another annoyance is that every time you restart your save game, the game must stop and do the notification and hold up item screen whenever you find these items again. This means, you found them all, but had to come back the next day, you are going get stopped for the game to tell you what these materials and bugs are all over again the next day as well. I think they could have fixed that for sure. Another new thing you will run across is that Link has a stamina bar. As you run around, he will quickly get tired, and this drains. You can either slow down to let it recover, or find little green balls that are in certain areas to restore stamina immediately. This means you can’t just run everywhere, as Link does get tired. The same goes with using your sword. If you just swing wildly, he is going to get tired and you don’t want that. If stamina goes to zero, link just stands there pretty much or moves at snail’s pace and he is wide open with no way to defend. It’s a neat little ad on again, and while yes, you do wish you could just run like crazy and such, it does make it more realistic as well that he does have limits. Also, getting stuck is harder to do as well, as there are several ways to get hints throughout the game. Fi, a character that lives in your sword, can give you many details and hints, plus there are various stones throughout the game that can give hints as well. If you are ever stuck, use these, they will help, as they did help me quite a bit for sure. So yeah, lots of this is some of the main additions and the few little tid bits that I found a little annoying throughout the game. Still, these things are very minor and don’t take away from the games overall gameplay. If you have played other 3D Zelda games, then this one plays just like the old ones, just with little additions as you would expect. It does still feel like a Zelda game, even on the Wii, this is mostly because while there are motion controls, they are done well, and in a way that doesn’t take away from the game. This just shows you that motion controls can work well in a game, and don’t just always get in the way as many of the other Wii games I’ve shown you can do in the past. Overall, the gameplay is still fun and offers that 3D Zelda action you are looking for.
Story
The story is done well, and it does show that Nintendo can actually put decent stories in their main series games. Even if Link doesn’t talk still, you can tell a story through the other characters and reactions well when done like this. Link lives in on an island city in the sky called Skyloft. He is training to be a Knight that flies around on these large birds called Loftwings. Your city lives in the sky as the land below has long ago been tainted and your small society was sent to the sky to survive evil as the land itself takes time to heal. During his training, successful training as well, you are separated from your longtime friend Zelda, and you must now go on an adventure to rescue her from wherever she has gone. The game’s journey shows Link as he travels around to try and find or save Zelda from whatever evil wants with her out there, the slow progression of the world changing and starting to slowly appear to be getting back to normal from the many years, and also links progress from a new swordsman, to the hero of legend that we all know he is. You will have to deal with the evil man named Ghirahim, who seems to end to get a hold of Zelda and also tells you right away that he wants to resurrect his master to bring the evil back to the land. You will be dealing with him throughout the game, so be ready for the twists and turns that revolve around him as well, as he will be your main adversary throughout the game. I must say, the game does a nice job of progressing itself and also keeping you interested throughout the entire game. Whenever you think you are about to get to the end of it, it feels like they added on more to keep you into the game longer. I like games that make you think you are getting to and end and then it shows that you aren’t anywhere close to being done. The game knows how to tell the story and make you feel for Link has he searches for Zelda. She isn’t just some random princess he is there to save, she is basically the love interest and he is out to save her. I’m not going to tell you all the story as that is the main appeal here. When you have a story that is there to make you emotionally feel for the characters and watch as the world is slowly starting to change around them, you know it is doing a good job. Also, I will make one point though that is made evident real quick throughout the game. This is the beginning of the Zelda timeline. You are going to be seeing staples from the series being born or just created throughout the game, and it does a good job of showing you how some of these items came to be and why they are the way they are. You always want to know how things got their start, and this game will give people that knowledge of where many things got their start from. So yeah, this is the beginning of the story, so veterans are going to be very entertained and get more of the subtle hints here and there about things you will see in other games. A great little touch and shows they really do know how to do a story. They just need to do this in more of their other series now.
Graphics
You know at this point from my other reviews that most of these first party Nintendo games look great and this one is no different at all. The land is beautiful. All the characters are very vibrant and feel alive, and you really do feel like this is a land that is being reborn throughout the game. It doesn’t feel like a land of evil any more. The cutscenes are smooth and nice looking, and I really can’t say that there was any slowdown to speak of either. You can always tell when there is legitimate effort put into the look of the game, and looks that don’t take away from the rest of the game or look like the only good note about it either. There are a few things I have to bring up though. The game’s lighting really messes with things at times and does show a few graphical flaws that the Wii brings along with it. There are a couple of places where they just go overboard with the sun to where it can be blinding or just feels like it is being way too reflective to where it feels like you are in an area of nothing but sunlight. The same goes for in the sky that you will sometimes be able to see that things can look a little blurry in the distance at times when there is too much sun around you. So yeah, the sun is going to be the only real thing that is going to be distracting and a bit of a negative when it comes to how this game looks. Other than that though, this game is beyond amazing to look at, and a real treat that can show you what the Wii really can do.
Sound
When it comes to a Zelda game, you can expect not only familiar music from the entire series, but you also get very well-orchestrated music that is original and wonderful to listen to. When you have professional music people doing your music, I would hope it would be great, and this game doesn’t disappoint in that at all. Heck, there is a soundtrack included to let you hear more from the orchestra that helped do some of the music in the game. As I said as well, you have many of the familiar tunes you hear throughout other games, such as the main themes, Zelda’s theme, and other small music bits and sound effects from other games in the series. I can see this music being very memorable and something you would want to listen to more even after the game is done for sure. Heck, why would they give you a music cd to listen to if even they didn’t know that the music was great. Yeah, you could say they are just promotion their own game music, but it really is good and a treat that you should check out when you get a chance. There are no complaints here from me, that’s for sure.
Control
I do need to go over this section at least a little bit, as the wiimote and motion controls are a big part of this game, plus the normal controls of course. This is one of those games that require you to be using motion plus, so do take that into consideration as well. It is a good thing as well, as I mentioned before, this game involves you swinging the wiimote to make you swing your sword. So the game takes advantage of being able to swing your sword in any of the eight directions and any in between. There are many points in the game that want you swing in particular ways and the game actually does a good job of recognizing where you are swinging the wiimotes. Yes, it isn’t perfect and if you get into a rush, the game may make you do moves that you didn’t want. If you are panicking or swinging too hard, you could end up doing spin moves or not swinging in directions you wish to be swinging. The technology isn’t perfect, but as you notice throughout the game, it is much better than many games you see out there. You use the wiimote as well to help fly your loftwing around when you are in the sky. This is very easily done as you just tilt the wiimote when you want to go in certain direction and you simply shake the wiimote down when you want to flap to go higher. See, you can do motion without it being intrusive and make sense in a way that is fun. Yes, there are some issues as I mentioned, with one of the only other control issues being with free falling/skydiving. It took me quite some time to understand how to control this with the motion controls, and until you do, you will be wondering why Link is falling in ways he is doing so. They need to explain this a little more, or at least give more tutorials to show you how to work it if they are just going to suddenly thrust it upon you the way it does at times, as there are spots for certain extra items that you need to free-fall in certain ways to get to certain areas. Other than this though, I’m actually impressed with the controls of this game, as they work and don’t get in your way at all, for the most part.
Replay Value
This game has great replayability and reasons to keep you coming back for more of it. There are the normal things you expect from the game, such as finding all the heart pieces and doing the loads of side quests that will open up throughout the game. There are also things such as finding all the goddess cubes around the world that give you extra things like money, heart pieces, and items. The side quests are going to keep you busy for many many hours. Then on top of that, when you do eventually beat the game, there is Hero mode that lets you play a harder version of the game with stronger enemies if you want more of a challenge. It’s hard to explain all the ways that you are going to get a lot of playtime out of this game, but when you are spending normally forty or fifty hours on a playthrough, depending on your skill and how you much are playing, I can say there is plenty of gameplay in this game. Yes, you are going to be doing some of the same things in each playthrough, but it really depends on how much you want to get into all the side quests and how much of a difficult time you want to have when you play the game.
Overall, I will say that Zelda Skyward Sword is another great game in the Zelda series and it does prove that the Wii is still capable of showing us some great games. While yes there are small things here and there that make the game not be perfect, but very few games are perfect or close to it. Still, when you look at this game and the quality that was clearly shown to be placed into it, you get a very fun time and game that everyone should at least think of trying out if they have a Wii and are looking for something more than a simple casual game. There are good Wii games out there for everyone, and this is one of them. Go give it a try, and if you can get the soundtrack as well, give that a listen.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword a nine point five out of ten.
Gameplay: 9
Story: 10
Graphics: 9
Sound: 10
Control: 9
Replay Value: 10
Overall: 9.5
The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword
I know just about everyone knows of the Zelda series, so I’m not sure there is going to be much I have to explain about what this game is and what it’s about. However, this is the one that came out on the Wii, and with the Wii’s reputation with some people, I’m sure that can bring into question about this game’s quality. Well, let us take a closer look at this Zelda and see how it fairs on the Wii, and if the high quality that this series is known for still holds true here.
Gameplay
The basic gameplay of this Zelda game is really unchanged, but there are some add on’s here and there that do make this game unique compared to others in the series. You do for example roam around a world collecting rupees for money, hearts to stay alive, and look for dungeons to explore to get new items. If you have played any other game in this series, this is no surprise as it is what has worked for so long. However, as I said, there are some gameplay mechanics that are brand new to this game. One of the first big ones you will notice is that yes, you are roaming around on the ground a lot, but you are now also roaming around in the sky as well. One of the main open world areas is the sky above the land. You get around by flying on a large bird creature, which comes to take you around when you jump off the floating islands that are all over the sky. Getting to fly around in an open sky is pretty neat and something that does break up the usual running around the world map that’s for sure. One thing though that I have to bring up is that getting around does involve a lot of going from the ground, and back to the sky and over and over several times throughout the game. When you are on the ground, the world is split into three areas, with no way to get from one to the other, except by going back up to the sky from a save point, and flying to the opening to one of the other areas. While this is neat to start out, you do sometimes wish you didn’t have to constantly go up and down when you are trying to get to different save points on the ground, when you are already on the ground. When you are actually fighting when on the ground though, that’s where things get a bit unique as well. As most know, Link is normally left handed, but in this game, he is right handed, due to the fact that all attacks are done by swinging the wiimote around, which actually is a neat way to make the sword work. I’ll tell more about how effective this works later in controls. When it comes to the items and weapons you pick up during play, unlike some Zelda games, this game does make use of all the weapons and constantly throughout the game. You don’t just use the weapon a few times until you get a new one. You use them all the time. Also, several of them can be upgraded, just like your shields you get in the game. To upgrade stuff, you use material you find around the world. This material is easier or harder to find, depending on what you need, and you need some of it throughout the game if you want to upgrade your stuff, but that isn’t necessary at all though. The same goes with potions, as you purchase them in the main town, but you can upgrade them using the bugs you find around the world as well. These bugs can either be used for this, or sold to another NPC you find. These are both neat little add ons for sure, but there are some annoyances with them as well. As I said, some of them are harder to a hold of, but another annoyance is that every time you restart your save game, the game must stop and do the notification and hold up item screen whenever you find these items again. This means, you found them all, but had to come back the next day, you are going get stopped for the game to tell you what these materials and bugs are all over again the next day as well. I think they could have fixed that for sure. Another new thing you will run across is that Link has a stamina bar. As you run around, he will quickly get tired, and this drains. You can either slow down to let it recover, or find little green balls that are in certain areas to restore stamina immediately. This means you can’t just run everywhere, as Link does get tired. The same goes with using your sword. If you just swing wildly, he is going to get tired and you don’t want that. If stamina goes to zero, link just stands there pretty much or moves at snail’s pace and he is wide open with no way to defend. It’s a neat little ad on again, and while yes, you do wish you could just run like crazy and such, it does make it more realistic as well that he does have limits. Also, getting stuck is harder to do as well, as there are several ways to get hints throughout the game. Fi, a character that lives in your sword, can give you many details and hints, plus there are various stones throughout the game that can give hints as well. If you are ever stuck, use these, they will help, as they did help me quite a bit for sure. So yeah, lots of this is some of the main additions and the few little tid bits that I found a little annoying throughout the game. Still, these things are very minor and don’t take away from the games overall gameplay. If you have played other 3D Zelda games, then this one plays just like the old ones, just with little additions as you would expect. It does still feel like a Zelda game, even on the Wii, this is mostly because while there are motion controls, they are done well, and in a way that doesn’t take away from the game. This just shows you that motion controls can work well in a game, and don’t just always get in the way as many of the other Wii games I’ve shown you can do in the past. Overall, the gameplay is still fun and offers that 3D Zelda action you are looking for.
Story
The story is done well, and it does show that Nintendo can actually put decent stories in their main series games. Even if Link doesn’t talk still, you can tell a story through the other characters and reactions well when done like this. Link lives in on an island city in the sky called Skyloft. He is training to be a Knight that flies around on these large birds called Loftwings. Your city lives in the sky as the land below has long ago been tainted and your small society was sent to the sky to survive evil as the land itself takes time to heal. During his training, successful training as well, you are separated from your longtime friend Zelda, and you must now go on an adventure to rescue her from wherever she has gone. The game’s journey shows Link as he travels around to try and find or save Zelda from whatever evil wants with her out there, the slow progression of the world changing and starting to slowly appear to be getting back to normal from the many years, and also links progress from a new swordsman, to the hero of legend that we all know he is. You will have to deal with the evil man named Ghirahim, who seems to end to get a hold of Zelda and also tells you right away that he wants to resurrect his master to bring the evil back to the land. You will be dealing with him throughout the game, so be ready for the twists and turns that revolve around him as well, as he will be your main adversary throughout the game. I must say, the game does a nice job of progressing itself and also keeping you interested throughout the entire game. Whenever you think you are about to get to the end of it, it feels like they added on more to keep you into the game longer. I like games that make you think you are getting to and end and then it shows that you aren’t anywhere close to being done. The game knows how to tell the story and make you feel for Link has he searches for Zelda. She isn’t just some random princess he is there to save, she is basically the love interest and he is out to save her. I’m not going to tell you all the story as that is the main appeal here. When you have a story that is there to make you emotionally feel for the characters and watch as the world is slowly starting to change around them, you know it is doing a good job. Also, I will make one point though that is made evident real quick throughout the game. This is the beginning of the Zelda timeline. You are going to be seeing staples from the series being born or just created throughout the game, and it does a good job of showing you how some of these items came to be and why they are the way they are. You always want to know how things got their start, and this game will give people that knowledge of where many things got their start from. So yeah, this is the beginning of the story, so veterans are going to be very entertained and get more of the subtle hints here and there about things you will see in other games. A great little touch and shows they really do know how to do a story. They just need to do this in more of their other series now.
Graphics
You know at this point from my other reviews that most of these first party Nintendo games look great and this one is no different at all. The land is beautiful. All the characters are very vibrant and feel alive, and you really do feel like this is a land that is being reborn throughout the game. It doesn’t feel like a land of evil any more. The cutscenes are smooth and nice looking, and I really can’t say that there was any slowdown to speak of either. You can always tell when there is legitimate effort put into the look of the game, and looks that don’t take away from the rest of the game or look like the only good note about it either. There are a few things I have to bring up though. The game’s lighting really messes with things at times and does show a few graphical flaws that the Wii brings along with it. There are a couple of places where they just go overboard with the sun to where it can be blinding or just feels like it is being way too reflective to where it feels like you are in an area of nothing but sunlight. The same goes for in the sky that you will sometimes be able to see that things can look a little blurry in the distance at times when there is too much sun around you. So yeah, the sun is going to be the only real thing that is going to be distracting and a bit of a negative when it comes to how this game looks. Other than that though, this game is beyond amazing to look at, and a real treat that can show you what the Wii really can do.
Sound
When it comes to a Zelda game, you can expect not only familiar music from the entire series, but you also get very well-orchestrated music that is original and wonderful to listen to. When you have professional music people doing your music, I would hope it would be great, and this game doesn’t disappoint in that at all. Heck, there is a soundtrack included to let you hear more from the orchestra that helped do some of the music in the game. As I said as well, you have many of the familiar tunes you hear throughout other games, such as the main themes, Zelda’s theme, and other small music bits and sound effects from other games in the series. I can see this music being very memorable and something you would want to listen to more even after the game is done for sure. Heck, why would they give you a music cd to listen to if even they didn’t know that the music was great. Yeah, you could say they are just promotion their own game music, but it really is good and a treat that you should check out when you get a chance. There are no complaints here from me, that’s for sure.
Control
I do need to go over this section at least a little bit, as the wiimote and motion controls are a big part of this game, plus the normal controls of course. This is one of those games that require you to be using motion plus, so do take that into consideration as well. It is a good thing as well, as I mentioned before, this game involves you swinging the wiimote to make you swing your sword. So the game takes advantage of being able to swing your sword in any of the eight directions and any in between. There are many points in the game that want you swing in particular ways and the game actually does a good job of recognizing where you are swinging the wiimotes. Yes, it isn’t perfect and if you get into a rush, the game may make you do moves that you didn’t want. If you are panicking or swinging too hard, you could end up doing spin moves or not swinging in directions you wish to be swinging. The technology isn’t perfect, but as you notice throughout the game, it is much better than many games you see out there. You use the wiimote as well to help fly your loftwing around when you are in the sky. This is very easily done as you just tilt the wiimote when you want to go in certain direction and you simply shake the wiimote down when you want to flap to go higher. See, you can do motion without it being intrusive and make sense in a way that is fun. Yes, there are some issues as I mentioned, with one of the only other control issues being with free falling/skydiving. It took me quite some time to understand how to control this with the motion controls, and until you do, you will be wondering why Link is falling in ways he is doing so. They need to explain this a little more, or at least give more tutorials to show you how to work it if they are just going to suddenly thrust it upon you the way it does at times, as there are spots for certain extra items that you need to free-fall in certain ways to get to certain areas. Other than this though, I’m actually impressed with the controls of this game, as they work and don’t get in your way at all, for the most part.
Replay Value
This game has great replayability and reasons to keep you coming back for more of it. There are the normal things you expect from the game, such as finding all the heart pieces and doing the loads of side quests that will open up throughout the game. There are also things such as finding all the goddess cubes around the world that give you extra things like money, heart pieces, and items. The side quests are going to keep you busy for many many hours. Then on top of that, when you do eventually beat the game, there is Hero mode that lets you play a harder version of the game with stronger enemies if you want more of a challenge. It’s hard to explain all the ways that you are going to get a lot of playtime out of this game, but when you are spending normally forty or fifty hours on a playthrough, depending on your skill and how you much are playing, I can say there is plenty of gameplay in this game. Yes, you are going to be doing some of the same things in each playthrough, but it really depends on how much you want to get into all the side quests and how much of a difficult time you want to have when you play the game.
Overall, I will say that Zelda Skyward Sword is another great game in the Zelda series and it does prove that the Wii is still capable of showing us some great games. While yes there are small things here and there that make the game not be perfect, but very few games are perfect or close to it. Still, when you look at this game and the quality that was clearly shown to be placed into it, you get a very fun time and game that everyone should at least think of trying out if they have a Wii and are looking for something more than a simple casual game. There are good Wii games out there for everyone, and this is one of them. Go give it a try, and if you can get the soundtrack as well, give that a listen.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword a nine point five out of ten.
Gameplay: 9
Story: 10
Graphics: 9
Sound: 10
Control: 9
Replay Value: 10
Overall: 9.5
