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Renewed Life: The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

The new remake gives the less-appreciated game in the iconic series a second chance on the Nintendo Switch console

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• Zelda

• Nintendo

• Nintendo Switch

Dudi Krihali

Thursday, 09 September 2021, 11:21 Updated: 11:22

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(Photo: Official Website, Nintendo)

The year 2006 Global Nintendo changed the home game console industry with the launch of the then cross-border console: the Wii.

The Japanese technology giant's iconic hit console was the most popular game console in the world in those years, mainly because game controllers were the first of the industry's giants to use player movement tracking technology using motion sensors inside the console's "signs" (literally).

Lots of games engraved to this day for gaming world enthusiasts from that era: Super Mario Galaxy, No More Heroes, Mario Kart, Wii Sports, and lots of other games that were all built in the first place to take advantage of the player's motion tracking capabilities.

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(Photo: Official Website, Nintendo)

One of the games that for some reason was relatively forgotten from the discourse is The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward which featured a great story, some super creative and unique ideas for the iconic series, and lots of other elements that first appeared here and then re-improved in the series' sequels, such as "Stamina" Link and his ability to climb or hover with his glider - three elements that were hugely repeated in the sequel Breath of the Wild.

Despite a fairly high average rating (93 out of 100 in Metacritic, quite impressive), and despite the popularity of the Wii in the world, the community of fans of the genre, the press, and fans of the Zelda game series, kind of waited, and even ignored the game over the years since its launch. And I wanted to get to the root of the matter and understand why this is the case?

(Photo: Official Website, Nintendo)

The plot

We start the game with our beloved protagonist Link, who wakes up from a strange dream, that unlike other games in the series, this time Link will not wake up to the Kingdom of Hyrol, but to a new kingdom rare in its beauty - "Skyloft Kingdom", and unlike what we are used to today. For the story, do not know what is happening down on the ground.

All around us we can see a beautiful green scene with waterfalls and lots of cool colors, lots of knights riding on their Loftwing friends, the same colorful and quite large birds that serve as vehicles and even partner with those knights and also link throughout the story.

(Photo: Official Website, Nintendo)

A game world different from what we knew in the series

Link discovers that he is late for the final aviation test he must pass in order to complete the School of Knights, and from there we can actually guess that there will be an event that will separate our hero from Princess Zelda so he can start the game plot and fulfill the prophecy to save the kingdom!

So far it sounds like the formula of the Zelda Games series.

The world of Skyward Sword introduces us to characters who look and behave in a much more theatrical, more colorful, and sometimes much more bizarre way than we knew in Zelda games, but I think these were some of the elements I enjoyed most in the game, and what I thought drew me back to complete this rather long story , And although it's fun, it turns out that many do not consider it one of the best the series has ever known.

In terms of the innovations that the remake of the Nintendo Switch console brings to the game compared to the Wii version, there are two particularly notable elements:

(Photo: Official Website, Nintendo)

Graphics and performance

The game actually underwent a significant facelift compared to the original version released in 2011, and the resolution here jumped from 480p to 1080p.

The game also runs at 60 frames per second in a fairly consistent and stable way, and the whole game world feels much more alive and colorful: there are more characters circulating in the world, and the models and textures of the characters are built and redesigned.

It can be said that this is a very successful remake on the graphic side and in my opinion this is one of the most beautiful games that have been released since the launch.

The second and most significant element in everything related to the game is ..

(Photo: Official Website, Nintendo)

The gameplay.

When the original Skyward Sword came out, the game developers built it on the game controllers of the then Wii, the remote + remote and the nonchak that connects to it. The Remote remote simulated for the player the sword that Link holds in his right hand, and with the help of a series of different movements the player can perform the fighting movements with the sword in a rather unique and cool way, but in my opinion loses some of its magic after a few hours.

Using the nonchak with his left hand, the player moved the link from place to place, using the movement wheel, and was able to use his shield located on the left arm of the link. The most notable thing that was missing in that version of the game was the fact that the game camera could not be controlled, so wherever Link left turns there the player's viewing angle will turn.

A pretty cool idea that remained the same even in the remake was Link’s ability to ride on his Loftwing and move between the different kingdoms and different parts on the map.

This is a kind of means of transportation that is overall quite cool, and has quite fun elements, and even sometimes provides some particularly cool moments during the story of the game.

(Photo: Official Website, Nintendo)

In the remake, Nintendo decided to completely keep the style of play for players who want to use the motion sensors of the joycons, and all its other elements the original version of the game, only this time they added into the right jockey reel the option to control the game camera!

Sounds great doesn't it?

So this is, yes and no.

Unfortunately, the real problem is revealed when we switch to console mobile mode or when we want to play with a standard game joystick, so instead of assigning control of link attacks to one or two buttons, game developers assign the right scroll wheel there so that once we switch to mobile mode or Deciding we want to use a standard controller, we lose natural control of the game camera.

The only way to control this camera is by pressing the "L" button and then we can use the pulley to control the camera.

(Photo: Official Website, Nintendo)

This is a pretty shocking decision in my opinion, and in my opinion quite critical, because I'm a player who prefers to use the console or its mobile mode, or the pro control panel, and because of that decision I felt Push the players kind of last minute solution to this problem without much thought.

If they just decided that instead of having to press "L" and then move the pulley to control the camera they would just set the exact opposite - that you have to press "L" to enter combat mode, I think it would just save the game and bounce it much higher In the list of the best games in the series, and as a game in general.

Feels like no small miss that could have been easily avoided.

(Photo: Official Website, Nintendo)

In conclusion

The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is a great game that did not get enough credit in its time.

The story is great, the characters are entertaining, the game world is beautiful, and the story is quite long, so we totally get our investment back.

It's important for me to emphasize about the camera in the game: If you've been a fan of the game since its inception on the Wii, and if you like to use the movement functions of the Joycons, this is the perfect Zelda game for you.

On the other hand, if you like to use a standard joystick and are used to being able to control the camera in the game continuously and fluently (as in modern games like Breath of The Wild *, and you do not see a way back to a game where the camera is not in control most of the time) .

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