The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the most recent game in the Zelda Series. The game is said to be the earliest in the timeline as of now, taking place before Ocarina of Time. The game features the use of the Nintendo Wii MotionPlus to provide 1:1 motion controls, allowing players more accurate control to Link's Sword, items, and many other aspects of the game. The game was released worldwide throughout November, with a special edition bundle being available in most regions that includes a Gold Wii Remote Plus donning the Zelda symbol and a soundtrack containing a variety of orchestrated songs from The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert. Skyward Sword is said to be the longest Zelda game in development.

Story

Main article: Skyward Sword Story

A creature has suddenly woken up from the land below and is starting to cause chaos. Meanwhile in the land of Skyloft, Zelda sends a letter to her childhood friend, Link. While Link is sleeping, he has a dream of Fi telling him that it time to awaken as a hero. Suddenly the whale creature approaches Link and then Zelda's Bird appears causing Link to wake up. Zelda's Bird gives Link the letter that Zelda wrote and Link sets off to meet with Zelda. Zelda explains to Link about the ceremony that is suppose to take place.Link is the winner of the competition and he goes on the "date" with Zelda. Link and Zelda are soaring through the sky then suddenly a tornado sweeps away Zelda while the mysterious creature takes her. Now Link is determined to rescue Zelda with the help of Fi.

Skyward Sword is said to be an origin story. The game explains the origins of the Master Sword. It has been stated that the Skyward Sword turns into the Master Sword sometime in the game. Even though Ganon/Ganondorf isn't in the game, the game explains why he exist as he does in the later games.

Characters

Main article: Skyward Sword Characters

The world of Skyward Sword features a vast array of both familiar and new faces from the series. The main characters that are featured include Link, Zelda (who is not of royalty this time around), and a new villain Demon-Lord Ghirahim. Supporting characters have often been inspired by previous games often linking story elements with their new incarnations. There are a few character cameos from The Wind Waker, as well as Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess.

Races

Main article: Skyward Sword Races

Skyward Sword contains a significant amount of races, just like previous 3D games in the Zelda series. Some of the races (like the Gorons) are taken from earlier games, but there are a lot of new races too. An example of a new race would be the Kikwi race, the inhabitants of Faron Woods.

Enemies

Main article: Skyward Sword Enemies

Skyward Sword features many enemies from previous games, but most of their tactics are reworked to make them more challenging. Each foe requires a certain amount of strategy to beat, discouraging players from mindlessly slashing their way through a dungeon. The Wii Motion Plus device allows for precise enough motion detection to simulate 1:1 swordplay, and as a result the combat system is significantly different from the earlier games. Many enemies will block sword strikes from certain directions, and sometimes you will have to strike in successive steps in order to beat an enemy.

Many of the enemy models are based on the enemies of A Link to the Past, like the similarities between the Bokoblins of Skyward Sword and the Moblins of A Link to the Past.

Bosses

Main article: Skyward Sword Bosses

The bosses of Skyward Sword mostly follows the pattern seen in previous games of the franchise. Each main dungeon has a final boss, and most of the dungeons has one or more minibosses before this final boss. The only exception is The Imprisoned, which is fought inbetween some of the missions on a dedicated arena named "The Sealed Grounds".

Items

Main article: Skyward Sword Items

Skyward Sword features fewer items than previous games like Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time, but most of them will be upgradable and/or customizable in many ways. To upgrade an item, Link will have to gather a required amount of selected collectibles. These collectibles are sometimes dropped by monsters just like in The Wind Waker, but sometimes they can be found scattered about the world as for example hidden treasures.

Locations

Main article: Skyward Sword Locations

The main world of Skyward Sword is based around Skyloft, which acts as a central hub - in many ways similar to how Clock Town acts as a central hub in Majora's Mask. Skyloft is surrounded by a vast sky dotted with small floating islands. Beneath the clouds lies the overworld that becomes the kingdom of Hyrule in later games. The overworld is divided into three separate and disjoint parts, where each part has its own unique scenery.

Locations

Main article: Skyward Sword Glitches

There is a well known game-ending glitch in Skyward Sword, along with some smaller and less significant glitches.

Music

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the first game in the franchise to feature an orchestrated soundtrack. Previously, Zelda games relied on MIDI and synthesizers that could only mimic the sound of true musical instruments. The arrangements feature a small traditional orchestra with strings, winds, brass, and percussion, but there are several pieces that include various folk and world instruments found in ethnomusicology. Both the Limited Edition Bundle and regular copy of the game include a 25th Anniversary Soundtrack featuring 8 songs from the series performed in The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert.

#	Title	Length
01	"The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Medley"	8:08
02	"Kakariko Village - Twilight Princess Theme"	2:51
03	"The Wind Waker Symphonic Movement"	10:31
04	"Gerudo Valley"	3:36
05	"Great Fairy's Fountain Theme"	3:04
06	"Twilight Princess Symphonic Movement"	10:31
07	"The Legend of Zelda Main Theme Medley"	4:29
08	"Ballad of the Goddess from Skyward Sword"	2:06

Reception

Reviews for Skyward Sword have been extremely positive. Game Informer awarded Skyward sword with a perfect 10/10.Official Nintendo Magazine gave Skyward Sword a 98/100. Edge magazine gave the game a perfect 10/10. The game also received a 9.0 from Games TM and a 93% from GamePro Germany.