Skyward Sword Motion Controls for JRPGs

You see, Nintendo’s latest Zelda uses the Wii controller’s MotionPlus accessory to recognize the precise movements of your arm. Slash horizontally, and hero Link will do the same. Slash vertically, and Link’s sword will follow suit. Slash diagonally? Well, you can probably guess.

As a cranky longtime gamer with a crippling fear of change, I spent a long time thinking that this sounded terrible. Waggling my controller in games like Super Mario Galaxy and Twilight Princess felt more like inconvenience than innovation. Would Skyward Sword really feel all that different?

Yes. Yes it would. It felt phenomenal. And it made me start asking another question.

Could motion controls add some flavor to JRPGs?

There’s no easy answer. As any developer who has worked with the Wii understands, it can be tough to find the balance between intrusion and necessity. Go too far and you risk leaving players tired and sore. Stay too minimal and it can seem like your motion controls have just been grafted on.

Exacerbating this issue for traditional JRPGs is the fact that the genre is known for turn-based, menu-driven, slow-paced combat. Players will typically have plenty of time to think and decide what they want to do next. It’s a system that seems to be at odds with the instinctual, rapid nature of motion controls.

But maybe there are ways to combine the two.

Take Xbox 360 RPG Lost Odyssey, for example. Every time one of the game’s protagonists attacks a monster, you get a limited window of time in which to push a certain button and do extra damage. The Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi games have similar mechanics.

What if those timed hits were activated by motion controls? What if you selected from a menu to attack or cast spells or use special abilities, then swung your controller to determine their effectiveness? Precise movements and proper timing would be the key to victory. It’d require both sharp instincts and keen strategy.