Daily Debate: Could Nintendo’s Button-Controlled Swordplay in Skyward Sword HD Be Better?

When the release of Skyward Sword HD was announced, it was pitched as solving the controls issue that plagued the original Wii version and had held back an otherwise masterpiece in the Zelda saga. Motion controls were retained and improved with the Joy Con controllers, but most importantly button controls were introduced for those who preferred a more traditional control scheme, or were playing in handheld mode. The movement of Link’s sword was mapped onto the right stick allowing for 360 degrees of available slashing angles, plus a thrust by pressing in the right stick, and his signature spin attack by spinning the right stick in a circular motion.

After release, reviews of the game came back generally positive, and the update was heralded as having given an epic story with a masterful soundtrack and charming art style a much needed second chance for Zelda fans to experience. The quality of life upgrades in the game plus new camera controls were eagerly welcomed. However, concerns still lingered on the controls as the improvement over the Wii remote’s responsiveness didn’t seem as stark for some as it had been marketed by Nintendo. For others, the use of the right stick for swordplay still introduced moments of “sword waggle” where Link fails to slash but instead just gently adjusts his arm angle as if still preparing for an attack.

I personally tried both control schemes at the game’s start and felt more comfortable with the button controls, though “sword waggle” was experienced from time to time. It was most frustrating particularly in boss battles where there’s only a small window for attack in the boss’ cycle, and missing that critical window when you’re low on hearts and out of potions can spell doom. For others, the fact that the right stick controlled both the sword and camera when the left shoulder button was engaged was also frustrating. Having to pick between the two meant pausing sword attacks to readjust the camera, which added difficulty while in the heat of battle with a moving target.

My second favorite video game series after The Legend of Zelda is Metal Gear Solid. I recently played through Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty in Konami’s Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 released on Switch. For those unfamiliar with the game, the surprise protagonist for the last three-quarters of the game, Raiden, receives a sword (i.e., High Frequency Blade) for use during an enemy gauntlet side-by-side with Solid Snake near the end of the game inside Arsenal Gear, and it is Raiden’s only weapon for the battle against final boss and chief antagonist Solidus.

Though originally released in 2001 on PlayStation 2, swordplay in Sons of Liberty controls very similarly to Skyward Sword HD’s button controls. The sword is controlled by tilting the right stick and includes a thrust by pressing it in or a spin attack with a circular motion. The only difference is that Raiden can only slash in four directions (i.e., up, down, left, or right) and lacks the ability to slash at the various angles in between. During my playthrough, I had moments of sword inputs not registering when Solidus gave me an opening meaning that I had to hold on for another cycle of attacks.

With the swordplay of Sons of Liberty in mind, I wondered if Nintendo considered other button control schemes for swordplay in Skyward Sword HD, and if there could have been ways to improve it. One modification that I would have loved to see would have been a dedicated sword button amongst one of the four face buttons (i.e., A, B, X, or Y) that would be paired with the left stick for setting the sword slash angle. This could have solved two issues with the button press forcing a sword slash to negate the “sword waggle” when the Switch couldn’t tell if you wanted to swing the sword or merely just adjust your arm angle, and it would have left the right stick free for camera controls at all times.

A second modification that I would have suggested would have been picking something in between the full 360 degrees of sword slash angles available in Skyward Sword HD and the four orthogonal directions available in Sons of Liberty. I think having eight angles (i.e., four orthogonal and four diagonal directions) would have been a good compromise where the game snaps the sword angle to the closest 45 degree increment of how the right stick was titled. There are moments where an exact vertical, horizontal, or diagonal slash is required, and snapping to the closest 45 degree increment would give players some grace when their arm angle wasn’t perfectly aligned. I would assume the driving force behind Nintendo’s decision was to preserve the original design intent of a full 360 degrees of motion, but I felt like retaining this design feature wasn’t necessary.

So how did you feel about the button controls for swordplay in Skyward Sword HD? Did they feel like the perfect upgrade from the original Wii version? Did you find them frustrating and clunky? Could Nintendo have done it any differently, or even better in your mind? What modifications to Nintendo’s approach would you have loved to see? Tell us below in the comments.

Jared Eubanks

Jared Eubanks is a staff writer at Zelda Dungeon, and he is also a husband, father, and engineer. He is originally from the Atlanta, GA area and still lives there. He graduated from Georgia Tech and is a proud Yellow Jacket. He loves to play boardgames, build Lego, and read books with his family. He’s been gaming since childhood with the original NES and GameBoy, and he enjoys retro gaming, collecting, and modding consoles and handhelds. His favorite Zelda game is Breath of the Wild but is also fond of the older classic titles.