Uploaded Skyward Sword GDC 2011 Trailer, Now With Full Analysis

Better version! Look below for a full trailer analysis.

• First off: we see that there are multiple ways of interacting with locks aside from ordinary keys. Link appears to have to slash the lock on the ornate door in the beginning of the trailer, and it’ll rotate in various directions. Like many other things in the game, attacking in the right way seems to be the key. (Get it? Key?)
• Second, there’s a bird symbol right off the bat on the ornate door. Could it be some kind of precursor to the Hylian crest? It also looks somewhat like the Lokomo dove in terms of its pose, but that could just be my overactive imagination taking things too far.
• We see what looks to be some Hylian text on the bases of the columns to either side of the door. Unfortunately it’s not quite clear enough to read, but I’m tempted to say it looks like the Hylian script from Ocarina of Time 3D and The Wind Waker as opposed to the Western script of Twilight Princess.
• The spiders have a new weak point! Now we have to attack their soft underbelly after breaking their guard. This one looks to be in a castle-like area.
• Link’s also got a new sword. Is it the early incarnation of the Skyward Sword? We’ll have to see. It doesn’t look like there’s a shield to go with it like I had originally thought.
• Looks like I spoke too soon about a possible redesign for the Skyward Sword spirit. Her face appears as an icon placed on the D-pad, so she’ll probably behave similar to Midna in Twilight Princess.
• New mechanical enemy. You also have to slash these guys at the right angle to break them. The next scene shows a similar enemy arranged like a totem pole.
• There’s a new item equipped in some of these scenes. Unfortunately, we don’t know quite what it is yet.
• An enemy similar to the Big Blins from Spirit Tracks appears. You have to hack through its wooden shield before you can attack it directly, it seems.
• As I said before, there’s a very Eastern aesthetic. This next scene has Link slashing through bamboo, presumably in training?
• Link has to fight what appears to be a Bulbin while walking on a tightrope. Now you don’t have to cross them in Wolf form!
• There looks to be a shield meter, probably so we aren’t cheap with our defenses. I wonder if it’ll deplete as you hold your shield up, or simply as you take hits? Probably both. While I’m talking about the HUD, the same remote and Nunchuk displays from the E3 demo are still present here.
• The interface for the Beetle has changed somewhat. It still works the same way, though.
• We see what looks to be a new design for the Lizalfos, very chic.
• Link fights a rolling wheel type enemy in some kind of desert area.
• Link tosses a bomb at a fire-breathing enemy. Apparently the bomb has to land in the open volcano-like back of the enemy to damage it.
• Link manipulates a snake-like “key” in order to fit it into the lock. Probably a Motion Plus puzzle of some sort.
• A much more menacing Stalfos appears, with really cool-looking swords. I wonder if enemies will become more wicked and violent as we progress, or if this is simply an updated design?
• A mysterious white-haired figure appears. I’m getting an enemy-like vibe. He also looks kind of similar to the Skyward Sword spirit.
• Another Stalfos appears, this one with several arms instead of just two.
• Link fights an Eastern-religion-inspired gold idol.
• We see the mysterious figure again, and this time he disappears in a flurry of squares slightly reminiscent of when the Twilight monsters vanish. Could he be a precursor of the Twili? There are some similarities to be drawn with the Sheikah as well (although perhaps the two are one and the same?).
• The logo appears, this time with vines covering the Hylian crest.
• Another observation: in some shots we see what looks like a harp assigned to up on the D-pad. To be specific, it looks a lot like Sheik’s harp from Ocarina of Time. Sheikah speculation away!
• We also see some magnets off to the left in one of the shots. Could they have something to do with the new orb-like item?
• Some Aztec vibes mixed in with the Eastern stuff. Previously we saw Aztec references in Wind Waker (Gohdan), Minish Cap (Wind Ruins), and Phantom Hourglass (Cobble Kingdom).

This game’s looking way more visually impressive than at E3 2010, and seems to have a much harder edge than many people first expected from its colorful exterior. This could be even more hardcore than Twilight Princess in the art department, honestly. And am I the only one who thinks the trailer music is awesome? I’ll be excited to see more – too bad there wasn’t a solid release date to go along with this trailer.