Console: Wii
Date Released: 11/20/2011
Date Reviewed: 02/10/2012
Reviewer: Rob “theduke” Carter
Pros * Story is good, it makes you want to keep playing and has a good feeling as you play through * Combat system redesigned and lets you accomplish moves freely * Lots of secrets and side missions to do to keep you entertained Cons * Story is kind of predictable for a Zelda game, feels like we’ve heard this one told only slightly different * Not much replay ability to it, once your done you really don’t have much incentive to come backIf you have played Legend of Zelda games since Nintendo like I have you tend to have a bit more of a closed-minded view on the newer ones because you’ve come to expect something great when the next game is released. And let’s just say I’ve had my fair share of disappointment when new games have come out and been a little lack luster in their performance and game-play compared to previous titles. Since the Wii came out and I couldn’t really acquire one until recently I kinda fell off the Legend of Zelda market but when I started hearing so many good things about Skyward Sword I knew I needed to find a way to get it and play it. So I did. The game starts like many other Zelda games, with a story of a hero who needs to save the world, pretty basic but sometimes that is all you need.
Does Skyward Sword live up to the hype or does it fall short like other Legend of Zelda games have before it? Let’s find out.
Presentation : A
Graphics / Animation / Sound
So when I put this game in my Wii I was surprised to see how well done the graphics were for a system that shouldn’t produce very good graphics. The game had a very smooth and pleasant feel, no real glitches or slow downs, nothing really laggy to it. So I proceeded in playing.
This game definitely pushes the boundaries of what the Wii can do with graphics and the multiple colors they use to keep the game looking good almost reminds me of Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker’s visuals without the cell shading. Each character and monster feels unique and are colored so well that you can almost tell what is coming after at first glance and can react without much thought. Animations are smooth and feel natural for a Legend of Zelda game, the actions feel very reminiscent of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
As for sound and Music quality they definitely bring back some of the great feeling that you have come to expect from a Legend of Zelda game. The music inspires and encourages you at the proper moments and falls within the story very well. The composition is great and special copies of the game came with the sound track so you can listen at your leisure. I have to say this is one thing I do enjoy about these games. A musical score can make and break some games. Now as for sound of characters, you can become a little annoyed with the constant robot rambling of your blue friend or the strange noises that some people make when you talk to them. But all in all even with very little to no voice acting this game makes up with it in musical score.
Single Player : A
Game mechanics / Length / difficulty
The Game play mechanics can take a little getting used to so you might want to keep healing potions close by until you get used to swinging the controller around correctly. They do have a practice area toward the beginning that can help you practice swinging your sword around and blocking with your shield so this place can be very vital especially if you’ve never really picked up a Wii remote for more than Mario Kart or Super Mario Brothers. Over all the controls are fairly responsive with only a slight delay between your wrist movement and links slash. I found the most difficult things to do is a diagonal slash and a stab, as the game sometimes doesn’t quite catch what I’m trying to do. In later levels a perfect stab to a body part of a boss can mean life or death so practice often. Also trying to learn and fly your bird can be a bit of a problem at first if you don’t know what you are doing it’s easy to have problems getting him to fly in the correct path or make sharp turns with him. Unlike previous mounts in other titles which I had a great time playing around and using, this one seemed more like a transport than a personality I really cared for.
The Length of this game surprised me quite a bit, since I’m used to current RPGs and Adventure platforms to last about 18 hours at most, I was very pleased to see that it took me 20+ hours of game-play just to get through most of the standard story and over 10+ hours of added fun in between collecting items and upgrading gear. The game just kept going and when the story is well done it isn’t bad at all.
Difficulty wise this game wasn’t too hard to get through, there were a couple of moments when I did have to stop and think for a minute to try to figure out a puzzle or how I could get past the next area but soon you start to think about all the equipment you have and shortly realize that you have the perfect item for the occasion, you just haven’t used it for a while. In all truth the only difficulty I really had been the occasional swing instead of stab problem and when I wasn’t paying attention to my energy bar and had to evade while it refilled.
Multiplayer : F
Game mechanics / features / Online features
No real online features here might as well move on.
Replay Value : B
Lasting appeal / Bonus Content / DLC /
This game definitely holds out for a good title and I haven’t really played a “good” Zelda game since Ocarina of Time but there are some things that even this game comes up short on. The game doesn’t have any replay value, but I’ve come to expect that from a Legend of Zelda game, even Ocarina of Time doesn’t have much replay value in it unless you want to beat the game with everything. There is still plenty of bonus stuff to find and just like Ocarina of Time all it really does is just make the story easier to play through with stronger weaponry or equipment upgrades. And although the game’s story is different in some aspects the game almost feels like Ocarina of Time, they really just changed some things around, you know the names were changed to protect the innocent. But all in all there is plenty of fun for any age to play for hours on end and the game-play is outstanding compared to most titles out right now. Although in my opinion I like Ocarina of Time better, this definitely is a great game. I think anyone will enjoy the experience it has to offer and there really isn’t anything truly bad I can say about it. This game will hold up as one of the better of the Zelda games and minus its minor flaws it is a great game!
Overall : A
