This review was written for www.amazon.com.

 

 

Exclusively on Wii, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has quickly become my favorite Zelda game and one of my favorite games of all time. Its use of the Wii Motion Plus creates the most realistic swordplay found in gaming so far, and the beauty of the game makes it one of the most memorable games ever made.

Its story, when compared to other Zelda games, is fairly simple. Before people lived in the land of Hyrule, they lived on a floating island called Skyloft. Link, a young swordsman, is thrust into an adventure that takes him to the ground when his best friend Zelda is kidnapped by a monster called Demise. Essentially, it's a boy-saves-girl story. However, the execution is great. No other Zelda game features as much personality or heart as this one. Also, the cinematics are epic and resemble that of a movie.

The gameplay features several improvements on the previous Zelda games. For the first time ever, sword fighting feels realistic and makes you feel like you're really in an adventure. The Wii Motion Plus allows you to experience combat far superior to Twilight Princess's vague sword fighting. The swordplay creates several unique combat situations that require specific strokes instead of simple hacking and slashing. Though it's true that the Motion Plus needs to be calibrated every once in a while, the overall mechanics work very well.

Not only are the fights better, but the dungeons are also great. Though the game starts with fairly simple areas, the second half features ridiculously creative dungeons. The game also features a decent difficulty. Unlike previous Zelda games that tend to have at least one totally unfair segment (such as The Wind Waker's Triforce hunt), Skyward Sword feels fair on almost all grounds. Any time it does feel too difficult, your assistant Fi (one of the only helpful assistant characters in a Zelda game) will likely be able to give you decent hints. If she doesn't help much, you can always go to a Sheikah Stone and ask it.

A few other additions to the game also help make it more fun. One that should have been included a long time ago is the dash (activated by holding the A button). For the first time in a Zelda game, Link can actually sprint. This cuts running through fields and climbing up things by half, which is a pretty strong improvement over rolling. Another, which is one of my personal favorites, is the upgrade shop. Now your inventory of items can be upgraded. Bows can shoot faster, shields can be stronger, and slingshots can fire more pellets at once. The upgrade shop adds a certain RPG-like element to the game, which I think is a total plus.

In terms of presentation, Skyward Sword continues the Zelda legacy by having great graphics and music. Its art style is very much like a painting, where everything is colorful and stylized. This graphic style works very well with this game and doesn't feature as many blemishes as games like Twilight Princess or Ocarina of Time (though it should be noted that they do feature some bland spots). The music is one of the first game soundtracks completely done by a live orchestra and is thankfully very memorable. Like many other Zelda games before it, Skyward Sword features a soundtrack that is sure to get stuck in your head (in a good way!). Though the real orchestra doesn't change the sound too much, the songs themselves feature that iconic Zelda sound that we all love.

Now, Skyward Sword is not perfect. There are a couple of things I'm not too fond with - both of them involve repetition. Whenever you find an item (such as a bug or a feather), the game gives you a brief description, even if you've collected it multiple times before. The other problem is that Fi (as useful as she generally is) will consistently remind you of things you are typically already aware of, such as low hearts or low battery.

 

Morally speaking, there are a few things to note about the game. As combat is essential to the gameplay, there are obviously situations that involve violence. However, the violence is notably less dark compared to Twilight Princess. A common story point of the Zelda games is the goddesses and the "Triforce," which have plenty of spiritual undertones. One character in the game is a deity in human form.

As a whole, Skyward Sword is probably the highest-quality Zelda game yet. Even though the plot isn't as deep as games like Twilight Princess or The Wind Waker, the emotional weight and character development make this game stand out in terms of its story. Combine its heart with its excellent gameplay and beautiful presentation and you've got what I consider to be the best Zelda game currently available. This game is a definite must-play for any gamer out there.

 

Final Score: 9.4/10