Skyward Sword: 25 Years in the Making

With the release of Skyward Sword drawing near, many fans are discussing how other titles are connected to the story. If you have never played a Zelda game before, it’s easy to miss what makes them so great. To some people, it appears that every game is the same, trouble arises in Hyrule, Zelda gets captured, and Link must save her using the Master Sword. What they are missing is that through these similarities in plot we can see how the series has changed and evolved, and Skyward Sword is no exception. Starting off as a story filled with school drama, Skyward Sword promises to be full of new adventures, new puzzles, and tougher enemies but also to have the iconic elements that all fans look for in a Zelda game.

The Master Sword is one of those iconic elements. Although you will be using the Goddess Sword, swordplay is still key to this game. In 1986, when the first Zelda game was released, swordplay meant pressing a button on your controller and stabbing whatever enemy stood in front of Link. Then, as more titles were made, you were able to attack enemies from any direction and you could learn many hidden techniques. Now, Skyward Sword is using 1:1 motion controls and the concept of swordplay is changing again. You, as the player, are in complete control of your sword, from physically pulling it out of the pedestal as if you were in the game, to striking enemies with accuracy and precision. The way you defend yourself has changed as well. In many of the older games you pressed a button to hold up your shield and you were protected. Now, with the motion controls if you shake the nunchuk once it will raise your shield and if you shake it again your shield will thrust forward and protect you from attack. However, your shield can be damaged. Remember the feeling you had in Ocarina of Time when your Deku Shield got burned? In Skyward Sword your shield has it’s own health bar and you are forced to feel that vulnerability throughout the whole thing. But never fear, you can upgrade your shield throughout the game with all the rupees that were useless before.

For a while now it has seemed that Link has had a companion that helped him on his quest. In Ocarina of Time it was Navi, in Majora’s Mask it was Tatl, in Twilight Princess it was Midna, in Wind Waker it was the King of Red Lions, and in Skyward Sword it will be Fi. Fi is unlike any helper we have seen so far. She has an icy demeanor and was created to guide the wielder of the Goddess Sword on his quest alone. She can become part of the Goddess Sword and can be used as a dowsing device to help find pieces of key to get into dungeons.

Skyward Sword introduces us to an area in the overworld known as the Silent Realm. Link must open this area by embedding his sword into the entrance. While here, Link must collect Tears of Light, similar to those of Twilight Princess and Spirit Tracks, in order to temporarily stun the guardians of the Silent Realm. You have to use stealth and sneak around because you are unarmed and if one of the guards catch you, it is a one hit kill and you are sent back to the beginning.

Finally, the overworld itself brings us new challenges. No longer will we aimlessly walk around like in Ocarina of Time, but we will have to treat it as one big dungeon. There will be puzzles to solve and enemies to defeat. As far as actual dungeons go, you will be able to go back after defeating them and get item upgrades and other things you couldn’t reach before.

So yes, there are similarities throughout the Zelda games, but they are in no way the same story. Each new game builds on previous games to make them better. Skyward Sword has a lot of influence from many games already and I would not be surprised if we find more connections when we actually get to play. It is a game made from all the games that came before it but added is its own elements and plot twists. I, personally, cannot wait to play this game and see what else is new and what else is classic Zelda.

Do you think the Zelda plots are too similar? Do you like that they bring back the same items and enemies in every game or should they create new ones? What connections have you made from older games to Skyward Sword? Tell us in the comments!

Source: Computer and Video Games

Related: Skyward Sword Walkthrough