First Impressions: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)

As I reached roughly the mid-way point of the Earth Temple in Skyward Sword, I decided to tell a good friend of mine (and huge Zelda fan) the truth. “OK,” I said, “you’re going to hate me for this, but I have a confession to make: I’ve not yet played Ocarina of Time.”

I waited with a crapton of anxiety as he typed back a response.

“At all!?”

I went on to tell him that Skyward Sword is, in fact, my first Zelda game on a home console, my first venture into the franchise being with the DS’ Phantom Hourglass (which, due to the frustratingly repetitive Temple of the Ocean King, I never got round to completing.)

“How dead am I?” I asked.

“I just… were you deprived of Nintendo things as a child?”

“I was deprived of gaming as a child.”

“You poor thing.”

It’s true; by all standards, I’m still relatively new to gaming. I got my first console – a PS2 – when I was 10 years old, after years of lectures from my Mother about how video games would “fry my brain”. My first encounter with seminal Nintendo franchises such as Mario, Kirby and, yes, Zelda, were made this generation.

Of course, I intend to rectify my horrid mistake by buying a load of Zelda games in the next year (including Ocarina of Time, which I recently bought with my new 3DS), but the fact of the matter still stands: what you’re about to read is a Zelda newbie’s first impressions of his first home console Zelda title. If you haven’t already stopped reading in disgust, carry on for my thoughts.

Story
The Zelda story is rather formulaic at this point; you spend time dicking about with Zelda (who may or may not yet be a princess), Zelda gets kidnapped (she may optionally find out that she’s a princess at this stage), and you, Link (or whatever name you’ve chosen), the green-clad, blonde-haired, pointy-eared hero du jour, have to crawl your way through puzzle-filled dungeons and clever boss battles to save the princess. If you were looking for anything different this time around, you need to start looking for another fantasy RPG series, as Skyward Sword is, for the most part, more of the same.

Wii MotionPlus finally has a purpose in Skyward Sword.

Whilst what I just said may sound like overt criticism, Skyward Sword’s story is actually very good. In this, the prequel to Ocarina of Time, you’re a Knight-in-Training living on a floating island in which the primary mode of transport is remarkably well-trained bird known as a Loftwing, and after Zelda (who isn’t a princess this time, but telling you more would be giving stuff away) is swallowed up by a giant monster, you find out that you are the goddess’ hero, and you must ride your Crimson Loftwing to the ground of the cursed (and abandoned) earth below you to find Zelda and – at least, at the stage I’ve gotten to in the game so far – find out what the hell she’s doing.

According to Skyward Sword‘s data select screen, I’m roughly 22 hours into this game, and it is absolutely breathtaking. I haven’t even started on the Skyloft-based side quests, and the amount of depth in this game is just staggering. Sure, it’s not a Skyrim-level, 300-hour epic, but this is perhaps only the second game I’ve played where I don’t feel like I’ve had enough at the 20-hour mark (the other being the epic Mass Effect 2, whose sequel I’ve had on pre-order since June), and that can only be a good thing.

Gameplay and those all-important controls
Whilst the basics of the Zelda formula remain untouched (you’re going to hear me say that a lot in this piece) – Z-targeting, moving boxes and bashing things with your sword are still there – the way you play Skyward Sword will be vastly different to the way you’ve played any Zelda title (even the stylus-only DS ones) thus far, and it’s all because of a little doodad known as Wii MotionPlus.

See these Deku Baba? Pay attention to their mouths, as you'll need to slice the right way with your sword to defeat them.

Wii MotionPlus is required to play Skyward Sword, and it’s the first game that really shows what developers could do with MotionPlus if they put their mind to it. In sword-based combat, Skyward Sword demands your accuracy; you can’t just bash a Deku Baba, Bokoblin or Beamos over the head and be done with it, you have to swing in the correct direction or risk doing sod-all damage. Controls in general feel more realistic than any Zelda title yet (at least, as far as I know); you toss bombs over your head or roll them below your waist, you swing the Nunchuck up to raise your shield, and you swing your trusty bug net over butterflies, bees and tumbleweeds. It’s all very… *ahem*… graceful, and this new control method will make Zelda seem a lot more appealing to those making a start on the franchise (like yours truly).

There’s a little lag, and sometimes your sword won’t swing the right way or the game won’t recognise you’re pointing your remote upwards to make a Skyward Strike, but it’s nothing that ruins the experience – in fact, the only thing that’s interrupted the experience is the amount of batteries the Wii remote’s gone through since I started playing Skyward Sword.

Visuals and Soundtrack
As someone who likes being positive, I’m going to start with the soundtrack – and sweet Jesus, it is fantastic. No matter whether you’re flying through the clouds aboard your Crimson Loftwing, running through the time-trapped Lanayru Mining Facility or just listening to Zelda play her harp, Skyward Sword‘s soundtrack feels like a labour of love. The game comes bundled with a Symphony CD, too, featuring the Ballad of the Goddess amongst such memorable tunes as the Great Fairy’s Fountain Theme.

Thanks to Wii MotionPlus, Skyward Sword's control scheme seems incredibly natural.

Whilst the game’s art style is certainly a well thought-out idea – modelled on impressionist art, and designed to resemble a living painting, it’s certainly different from what we’ve seen in other Zelda games – it’s let down by one key thing: the Wii’s hardware. I got this game in mid-November, played it for a few hours, turned on my Xbox 360 to play Saints Row: The Third, and could go back to Skyward Sword only for a few minutes. In Skyward Sword, the Wii’s Standard-Def graphics credentials don’t do the game any favours – where Miyamoto and Co designed this game to look like a beautiful painting, SCART connections on an HDTV make it look like  a painting through the eyes of a poorly-sighted pensioner who’s lost their glasses.

Series producer Eiji Aonuma has already gone on the record saying that the art style of Skyward Sword won’t be reused in future Zelda titles, with the Wii U and the game’s place in the Zelda timeline being the main scapegoats. That is such a shame, as something tells me that the game would look gorgeous with some higher-res character models on the Wii U’s HD-ready hardware. My hopes for an HD Zelda with Skyward Sword‘s visuals may be dashed, but that can’t stop me from dreaming.

Wrap-up
I’m a mere 22 hours into The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and this is turning out to not only be one of the best games released in 2011, but the best game I’ve ever played. Its story may be somewhat formulaic, its art style may be ruined by the Wii’s hardware, Fi may be an annoying companion and Link himself may have less personality than a bale of hay, but I dare you to find a more compelling title released on Nintendo’s current home console… ever.

This isn’t supposed to be a review, but I need to emphasise everything I’ve just said in three final words: Buy this game.

Stay tuned for a full review.