We ran through the dungeon demo a couple of times and managed to make it even further than at E3. This time, we finally made it to a room containing a three-headed snake, though sadly the demo ended just as we were about to engage it...in death! Of note this time was the importance of watching the stamina gauge, which depletes when performing various activities, such as dashing or pushing blocks around. If you deplete it completely, Link will come to a near standstill in an attempt to catch his breath.

 

I also spent some significant time with the various items, including the flying beetle, bow and arrow, and slingshot.  To select an item, you simply hold “B” and point at the item you wish to equip. Unfortunately, this method is slower than the dedicated buttons of previous Zelda games. At any rate, flying the beetle was a breeze, simply tilting the controller to change its flight path. It can be used to fly through webs that hold suspended treasure, or to activate distance switch, or even kill those pesky Deku Plants by flying through their stem. The bow and arrow was perhaps most interesting, taking a cue from Wii Sports Resort. Once you've aimed your shot, you hold "C" to ready your arrow, then pull on nunchuk to pull the arrow taught, then release it by releasing the button. It sounds cumbersome, but it works pretty well--though it is slower and more methodical than previous Zeldas.

We also played around with the inventory screen (separate from the Items screen) a bit more and noticed there were three shields that could be equipped: Wooden, Iron, and Hylian. Unfortunately, we did not notice any practical difference between them, though the shield gauge’s length did change suggesting some are stronger than others (Iron > Wood, after all). We also noted 5 bottles on that screen, which might be indicative of how many will be in the final game.

The motion controls were as responsive as I remembered, with Link’s sword movements mirroring my own almost exactly. And any lag you may perceive in the videos is not noticeable at all when playing.  Our only complaint was the unclear requirements for maintaining your balance when crossing tight beams, which requires holding the controller vertically, then waving it side-to-side to prevent Link from falling off.

 

Needless to say, Skyward Sword is still looking to be another excellent entry in the Zelda franchise. If you haven't looked at them already, make sure to check out our videos totalling 30 minutes showing all three portions of the demo.

 

Stay tuned to GameXplain for more impressions from PAX!