E3 2010: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Hands-On
By:
Micah Seff
|
June 15, 2010, 2:43 pm

I was privileged enough to get some fevered hands-on time with the newest entry in the widely loved videogame series The Legend of Zelda after Nintendo's E3's press conference. As the demo kiosks rose from the floor, I found myself striding over rows of seated Nintendo devotees in order to fight my way to the Wii MotionPlus enabled title. After the somewhat lackluster demonstration during the conference itself, I was pretty eager to see if the "technical difficulties" that series creator, Shigeru Miyamoto was fighting against on-screen were problems with the game itself. I'm happy to report that this couldn't be further from the truth.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword plays like a dream, a fluffy, copacetic dream of Dekubabas, Bokoblins, and Stalfos, all rendered in technicolor glory. The art style employed this time around appears to be a subtle mix of the cartoony wonderland we saw in Wind Waker, and the slightly darker, adult fantasy world of Twilight Princess. It all comes together beautifully in motion. Distant objects take on the feel of a Van Gogh painting, with enemies coming to vivid life as they approach you. The art style just fits the Zelda franchise like a glove, and I was happy to see the whole thing come together.

 

Once I held the Wiimote in my hands, I could tell why Miyamoto was so flabbergasted on stage. The MotionPlus swordfighting works immaculately well. I was a big fan of Red Steel 2's implementation of Wii MotionPlus combat, but Zelda just does it so much better. Every single swing of my arm was instantly recognized by the game and translated into corresponding movements of the Master Sword. Raise the sword high above your head and Link will do the same. Jab forward quickly, and Link will follow with really no noticeable lag. This fantastic MotionPlus integration isn't just limited to the sword controls, though. Every item in the game seems to support the device brilliantly. Aiming projectile weapons is similar to Wii Sports Resort's archery game, rather than the IR implementation from Twilight Princess. Cracking a whip is as simple as a flick of the wrist. You can even bowl bombs simply by making the motion. It all comes together really well, and never felt like it was misreading my motions.

Because of the refinement to sword control that the MotionPlus implementation adds to the game, it seems like Nintendo did it's best to make swordfights more involved. Enemies will raise their weapons to block your blows, and you'll have to watch for openings before you strike. Even fights with simple Dekubabas can become heated endeavors to to land that perfect blow. It all feels rather perfect, much like what I think most people have wanted to see out of Zelda since the Revolution was first unveiled. At least, I know it's what I wanted to see.

The real queztion that remains after my brief, but wholly fulfilling time with the game is whether or not Nintendo saw fit to actually rework the Zelda formula a bit. It was hard to definitively tell from the demo, but it does seem like dungeons may be far less clearly defined this time around, actually being integrated into the overworld proper. I fought several minibosses, stashes in seemingly innocuous rooms, and worked my way through the most expansive environment I've yet seen in a 3D Zelda game. If the rest of the game can match the scope and intensity of just this 10 minute demo, then we are really in for something special when this game hits sometime in 2011 (I know, I don't want to wait that long either).
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Background Check: Micah
I’m perhaps one of the biggest fans of the Zelda series around, even if I’m not the biggest fan of every one of the games. But the best games of the series are also among some of my favorites of all time.

Link to the Past: Loved
Ocarina of Time: Loved
Majora’s Mask: Loved
Spirit Tracks: Loved
Phantom Hourglass: Meh
Wind Waker: Meh
Twilight Princess: Kill it with fire