The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review

InfinityFeed : The Legend of Zelda : Skyward Sword Review
By Dish


It is such an honour that the first game i get to review for this blog is a Zelda game.  Some would say i came into it biased because i love the whole series, but who better to pick out the moments of genius and the tiny flaws that the game is going to have?



I want to start with the story or, at least, what games in the Zelda franchise have that most closely resemble a story.  As with all other games in the series the plot is very subtle, not particularly forcing you to follow the narrative, but you always know what you are doing and why.  Where this game stands above pretty much all other Zelda games though, in my opinion, is that at points in the game, you really want to advance the story, and at several points i got so fired up to play the next part it could have been potentially embarrassing had i been watched. I felt so much more attached to characters than i have before, and development of those characters (even minor ones) was superb - the bully character in particular had an outstanding character arc.  The twists, turns and foreshadowing never feel forced and transitions from one plot point/set-piece to the next feel very natural, and you will lose so many hours saying to yourself "ok, i'll just see what happens next and i'll put the game down". If i have one gripe with this part of the game, i guess it is the way they handled the introduction of the final boss - Ghirahim was an absolutely fantastic baddie, developed and characterised to perfection, but his boss felt slightly tacked on (though the cute tie-in to the series as a whole almost made up for it).  Bar this one problem i had with it, this was probably my favourite Zelda story.


A lot has been said in the media about the controls of this game, and i for one must stick to the general consensus - I abso-frikkin-lutely love the controls!  One-to-one sword movement makes you feel so powerful and such a badass.  Seeing Link's sword doing exactly what i wanted it to do is one of the best gaming experiences i have had - and the best boss-fights were the ones that relied on precision slashing.  And while on the boss-fights - my god some of them are good!  There are the tried and tested 'use-weapon-found-in-dungeon-to-defeat' bosses, but the ones that differ from this mould were just amazing - the first boss of the game, for example, just took my breath away it differed so much from the Zelda-norm.
The other weapons are nothing to write home about however - nothing incredibly innovative, though i was amazed just how much i was having to cycle through them to solve puzzles in every dungeon, and that is much better than having a crazy new item but only using it in the dungeon you find it in.  I also had no trouble with the re-syncing of the Wii-mote which i have read a lot of complaints about - yeh, it can be a pain in the ass, but it takes half a second and you're back in the game..
I do have a complaint i haven't read anywhere else (as far as i can remember), and that is with the flying.  My problem is not with the mechanics of it, which are perfectly serviceable if a little temperamental, but with the presence of the mechanic at all - it felt both very underutilised and overexposed at the same time.  I wanted more of it or none of it!  There wasn't enough to do in the sky - 2/3 islands with minigames and one sidequest 'hub' just wasn't enough for me and i spent most of my flying time merely going between Skyloft and the portals to the lower-world.  This left me feeling as if my so-called 'special partner' bird was just a taxi service to get me where i needed to get, which i was disappointed with after the connection previous games developed with Epona.


Back to the positives!  The music is as sensational as always, the full orchestra giving the game the 'Epic' feel it so rightly deserves.  Good as it is, it never distracts from the action - the perfect accompaniment to your heroics in the world under the clouds.  I have been listening to the soundtrack CD that came with the special edition while writing this review, and i can't think of anything that could have better got me in the right frame of mind to do it.


The phrase 'good looking for a Wii game' has been uttered and written many, many thousands of times in the last month or so.  And i agree, it is a very pretty game - the aesthetics fit the world perfectly and compensate for the lack of processing power amazingly well - the way things in the background morph the closer you get to them is beautifully done.  However, after having not played on my Wii for about a year prior to getting this game, i was initially taken aback by the standard of the picture the Wii/game produces - it is just yet more testament to the quality of the game that after 10 minutes or so I didn't care or even notice it anymore.


Moments of Genius

• I adore the attention to the 'little things' this game has.  The way rupees tinkle when you blow them; the idle animation when you sit on things; chopping up an enemy's shield - i could list a dozen little things in the game i love, and someone else could tell me a dozen more!
• The boss fights and set-pieces are among my favourite gaming experiences, from the very beginning to the very end, this game throws amazing battles at you that you wish wouldn't end.
• I love the new races - the ancient robots, especially, are just adorable.

Little Niggles

• Not many niggles, though i do feel the game was slightly too easy for me, though 'Hero Mode' should fix that.
• Not enough 'side' content - though that's like saying your sirloin steak didn't some with enough sauce...

Many reviews for this game have ended with comparing it to others in the series, but i don't feel this is appropriate for reasons i have just decided i will cover in a future blog post!  This is, however, as close to a perfect game as i have played in a long time, and completely justifies the rating i have given it below!

Rating 10/10



Follow me on Twitter for not-so-occasional insights into the geek world: @IFeed_Dish


Dish Out!