Comparing Skyward Sword: Story and Characters

One of the more anticipated elements of Skyward Sword, prior to its release, was the plotline. Many of us were curious about what sort tale this prequel would tell, especially with Nintendo’s promises of it dealing with elements from Ocarina of Time. Later information released about the game implied major connections to Twilight Princess, and potentially to The Minish Cap, so naturally this made fans more excited and many, including myself, began to theorize about what might happen in the game. When Nintendo promised us Majora’s Mask-like progression in the town of Skyloft, many of us also anticipated much more character depth, and we also became interested in the game’s main characters when we were told about the game’s school setting and shown the game’s primary antagonist, Ghirahim. Now that the game’s come out, it’s the perfect time to really go over the story and see how it compares with the previous games of the series.

Zelda games are not known for having stories that are up there with great literature. Most Zelda plotlines are simplistic and based on many of the same concepts, namely “hero saves princess”. All Zelda stories tend to be arranged within this fairytale adventure mold. Skyward Sword does not seriously alter this. Zelda is not a princess, but she is a well-known figure among her people and the daughter of the Headmaster of the Knight Academy. She disappears due in part to the meddling of the game’s antagonist, and Link must go to save her. However, while the storyline of Skyward Sword doesn’t ascend to the ranks of great literature and award-winning tales, it does elevate the tropes and standards of the Zelda series to new heights, breaking through legacy issues and spinning an especially entertaining plot.

There’s a total of three reasons for this. A active plot, presentation, and dialogue.

The story’s most striking and important distinction from that of previous Zelda games is how active it is. In other Zelda games, you set out on an adventure, and whatever developments occur happen strictly as a result of your actions. Take for example The Wind Waker, where the mid-game plot twist and Ganondorf’s discovery of Zelda’s identity both take place only because of you progressing in your quest. In Twilight Princess, the plot and character development advances as you clear away the influence of the Twilight and seek out the pieces of the Mirror of Twilight, and in Ocarina of Time, the plot entirely surrounds you seeking out Spiritual Stones and the Six Sages, and the plot twist is again literally caused by the player. This is still true for all Zelda games when taken non-literally; when playing any Zelda game, there is a distinct sense that nothing is going to happen unless you progress through the game, even in seemingly dire circumstances.

This impression is of course correct; the game will not progress without you. Zelda games make no effort to hide this, and they are usually excused for it, because many fans consider Zelda games to have simple storylines and still find them to be enjoyable and good. This is fair. But while this may not make them bad stories, they do lack a certain degree of authenticity, and Skyward Sword performs in this area so much better.

The key to this is the fact that the plot moves outside of Link’s actions. While the plot only moves forward at specific junctions as always, there are many events that occur away from Link’s eyes. The first case of this is with Zelda, whom upon reaching the surface starts out her own quest as Link pursues her. It is made clear that, away from the player’s eyes, Zelda journeys to several locations in order to fulfill a task, and especially in the first half of the game this gives you a much more compelling reason for venturing to each of the dungeons, rather than searching for a set of artifacts. Even after this aspect is concluded and Zelda is seemingly in a safe place, you still wonder what she is doing and why she went there, and then the beast known as The Imprisoned shows up. The narrative establishes that there is an immediate risk of this creature being let loose, lest you hurry and complete your journey (although unfortunately at this point the dungeons revert to you seeking out artifacts again). Then there’s Ghirahim. The player is made clear very early on, before Ghirahim’s actual appearance, that he is following you, and he appears constantly throughout the game in nearly every dungeon, first as he chases Zelda and then as he searches for a way to reach her haven. The plot is dynamic and active, constantly evolving and constantly unfolding, both before Link’s eyes and behind the scenes, only allowing the entire picture to come into focus at the end of the game.

The game also excels in presentation. Starting primarily with A Link to the Past, the Zelda series has gradually upped the effort put into presentation, culminating in Twilight Princess, a game that had the most cinematic feel of the series (one of the game’s best features). Skyward Sword continues this trend and takes the level of presentation to even greater heights.

Through great lighting, animations, scene direction, and emotional music, the presentation is made fantastic and enthralling, often making you want to see what happens next purely for the sake of seeing what it’ll look like and how it will be presented. Unfortunately, Skyward Sword also continues the primary presentation flaw of Twilight Princess; characters in Skyward Sword will move their mouths fairly realistically as they speak, but there is no voice-acting, only text. As before, it feels awkward and makes it seem like the game should be voice-acted. This is unfortunate, as this is one of the Zelda games that could benefit the most from such an inclusion. It would have been better to go all the way or revert back, because the moving mouths feel awkward.

And of course there’s the dialogue. Any good story concept will be terrible if conveyed through bad writing. Fortunately for the game, we’re looking at the best writing of the series. The amount of detail and quality put into the dialogue, from the explanations of major plot points down to the amusing dialogue of average people, is staggering, and often times it’s a joy to read what characters have to say just because of how realistically it’s written and conveyed.

There are flaws in the storyline, however, and I’d argue that the biggest is the lack of detail. This is the same issue that prevents Zelda games from having truly great, professional storylines, but it’s made more apparent in Skyward Sword due to how much closer to reaching those heights this game comes. As I’ve discussed, even though it’s handled extremely well, Skyward Sword has a simplistic plot that is a lot like those we’ve seen before. There is some legitimately good character development here, but you’re not going to see it to the level of a best-selling novel, nor will you witness a detailed world with detailed events. While some would argue Zelda’s simplicity is one of its strengths, I think only good things can come from the game expanding on this, and I think the series should attempt to strike a proper balance.

The issue of details becomes most annoying with the timeline connections we were seemingly promised. Very little connects this game to other Zelda games, even when there should obviously be more. Again, it’s another Zelda game telling a primarily self-contained storyline. You will witness the creation of the fabled Master Sword, some elements of Ganon’s origin will be discussed, and a handful of other important details from throughout the series are first established here, but little of it is shocking or impressive, and it’s never really more than a boring, logical progression that leaves an object or place in the state that we’re familiar with it being in from previous games (like the Master Sword). This is not an impressive revelation for the timeline. What’s weird is the other connections that are vaguely shown or hinted at, but never explained, like some of the game’s similarities to the backstory of Twilight Princess and the presence of the dragons, who bear the same names as the Light Spirits. There was much more that Nintendo could have done with this story, and for not doing it, they’ve prevented Skyward Sword from having the details and quality of plot that it could have had.

Of course, the character development factors into the storyline too. As I briefly mentioned, the game has excellent character development that greatly enhances the main storyline. The events that occur independent of Link’s actions help to give the main characters and supporting cast real weight and presence in the story, and makes them feel organic. Zelda, Impa, Groose, and Ghirahim are constantly doing things throughout the story and the events of the game impact them and show new sides of their personality, and while more details could have improved this, as I’ve discussed, this is still some of the best character development in the series. In particular, Groose’s personality shifts are handled well and feel natural, happen for logical reasons, and never feel forced or confusing. Ghirahim doesn’t so much develop throughout the story as his personality is gradually revealed over time, as different events affect him in different ways. By the end of the game you not only have an accurate picture of who he is, but some of what is unveiled about him during the game’s climax feels like it was planned from the beginning. You’ll feel that it perfectly matches up with his dialogue and personality.

There is also a heavy Majora’s Mask vibe to the characters in this game, with major characters who have intertwined and fleshed-out stories. Examples include the Skull Kid, Happy Mask Salesman and fairies in Majora’s Mask, and Link, Zelda and Groose in Skyward Sword. This similarity doesn’t end with the major characters, but extends into the unimportant side characters as well. Similar to Clock Town in Majora’s Mask, Skyloft gives a constant impression of time moving. Again, the progression is based on your advancement through the game, but it often feels independent. Characters go through their daily lives, and many smaller stories are told with these characters, causing their personal stories to be fun distractions. These aren’t meaningless distractions, either, because all the character stories tend to be tied into sidequests, including the major Batreaux sidequest, where you have to help a demon character become human by helping the people of Skyloft with their various troubles. It is an excellent method of dealing with the standard NPC that makes them feel like a full, believable element of the game world.

All in all, Skyward Sword displays the best plot, character development, and storytelling out of the entire series. There are still some legacy issues preventing it from being the best that it can be, but that doesn’t stop it from being great and some may argue that it’s not an issue at all. Skyward Sword takes the best storytelling concepts out of games like Twilight Princess, The Wind Waker, and Majora’s Mask, and combines them with a few plot elements of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, as well as a lot of original ideas, and crafts an enthralling tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat wanting to find out what happens next.