Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review

Two things, right off the bat:

1.) I have not beat the game yet, I wanted to get this out to y'all in case you were looking for something to do over the break, also it's pretty long.

2.) It's not OoT. Stop it.



With that being said, I have put down a solid 30 hours in the game, and I have experienced enough to let you know how I feel.
Allow me address my second point. This is not, allow me to repeat, is not, are we getting that fanboys? Isn't Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Windwaker, or even Twilight Princess. This game is an attempt to innovate the genre and move away from the stigma everyone puts on LoZ. It's really tough for a game like Zelda that has such a legacy to meet the expectations of all the fans. Especially fans that are so...well...bitchy. (notice how pro batman comments get voted down like crazy.) I have OoT tattoos for crying out loud, so I'm not trying to shut down LoZ fans, I am however making sure we all know that this game isn't not trying to be something we have all already played. Ocarina of Time is widely claimed to be the best Zelda game to date, and that places a ton of stress on the developers. To solve this, Miyamoto wanted to move away from the OoT genre, and make a new age for the Zelda franchise, and frankly, I could not be happier.

She is so precious! Why do you take her away from me!

This is a new game. Comparing it to older Zelda games doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. It has the same feel; that LoZ charm that has kept us in awe for 25 years, but the delivery has been revamped and it's evolving. The story is hard to place in the Zelda time line. It's either the first or last. The three goddesses have little play, instead the people of Skyloft worship one singular goddess, although they do refer to "the god of old" several times. The Hylian crest of old rarely has the Triforce like we typically see. (it does appear when you visit an ancient location, in its iconic fashion.) This leads me to personally believe it's way way way in the future, so the Triforce and goddesses of old have been forgotten as they were known in the past. So far in the future that now Gannon has been forgotten, and a new evil has been born.

Knights are BAMFs

Link is a student. A soldier in training almost, training to be a Knight of Skyloft; the floating island-village on which Link and his people reside. This is also where Zelda lives. A normal girl, daughter to the Headmaster of the Knights School, and life long friend to Link. It's in the first hour or so of the game that we see how close the two of them are, and the game does a brilliant job at reaching out to you, and evoking a real care for Zelda. It's very engaging, and you'll find yourself attached to Zelda, making it that much more powerful when she is taken away. Now, with a heavy heart, but the passion to proceed, Link must save his Goddess, his spirit maiden.

The Overworld in SS takes another unique form. The sky. This is one main similarity it shares with old LoZ games: The Overworld is very reminiscent of WW. You really can only explore island by island, where you will find other characters, treasures, baddies, and other random goodies. You travel from "island" to island on your new mount. The Crimson Loftwings. Loftwings are giant birds on which the people of Skyloft ride through the skies. Pretty damn cool. Flying around with the epic orchestral score playing around you, it's very powerful. I found the controls for flying very fluid and natural, until you try to do something that requires a lot of precision. Its then that things get a little tricky. To gain altitude, you have to swing the Wii-mote down, however, you steer by rotating and pointing the Wii-mote. When you are just cruising, it's fluid and fun, if you are chasing someone down... it's a little awkward.

Your second companion takes the form of this strange ancient artificial intelligence known as Fi. She is not nearly as annoying as Navi, and approximately eleventy billion times more useful. Not only will she analyze enemies to give you advice on how to defeat them, she can also give you hints on how to proceed should you find your self stuck. Far less (still a little) annoying and waaaay more useful.

I'm actually a big fan of Fi. She is pretty cool.

Wii Motion Plus!
It works. All combat revolves around your ability to manipulate your sword as you see fit. Almost every enemy has some defense mechanism, with a directional weakness. So long as you don't flail the Wii-mote senselessly like some caffeinated wiener dog, things will work very well. Be careful though... if there are breakables to your right, you may want to move them... one can really get into the sword swinging thing. Not that I would know... it's not like I launched my drink across the room that was sitting next to me because I wanted to dramatically kill the boss... I don't do those things...

Everything else is just as based on Wii Motion Plus. You aim your bombs, slingshot, and all other fancy items I don't want to spoil (there are many many new item, that are a whole lot of fun.) with the Wii-mote. It works so very well, it's fluid and intuitive. It works exactly like it's supposed.

Angry time. Well.. sorta.
I think I just don't like the Wii controls in general. I can't complain about their proficiency, because it works flawlessly, I just don't really like it. My TV is situated maybe a little too close to where I sit, and so the aiming sometimes gets weird, etc etc. I'd would prefer a controller... but then the awesome sword combat would be impossible, so it's give and take. The "underworld" is not really made for exploration as a whole. You fall beneath the clouds into zones, and those zones are not connected. This Zelda is the most linear feeling Zelda yet, but it's probably the longest in a while. There is far less exploration and fewer side-quests, but the main story at times feels like running around exploring and questing. Again, some give and take. Occasionally I got really confused as to where to go. Maybe I'm just a little bit stupid, but there were times I would just sit and look around for an hour yelling at Fi to give me more help. BUT! there are these Shiekah Stones that will give you super hints if you get really stuck. Finally, because the world is comparatively small, there is quite a bit of back tracking, and re-exploring. Which is fine, because things do change as you return with new items and new skills, but I would have preferred more areas.

Gush time.
I love love love love love love love the art in this game. Everywhere. From the beautiful environments to the fuckin full orchestral score biitch! It's all fan-fucking-tastic. I have always maintained that WW was the prettiest Zelda game to date, but I think the environments are so perfectly created in combination with complimentary music, that there is really no competition.
The game has great characters, an engaging and inspiring plot, beautiful environments backed up with perfect music, and fluid and fun controls. It's a little lengthy and redundant at times, and occasionally awkward, confusing and a little unclear. Overall, I believe this is the start of a brilliant era for The Legend of Zelda.




9/10



                                                       Oh also, this guy here?

                                               He is a super douche. You will hate him.