I was lucky enough to get a copy of Skyward Sword the week before it came out in Canada. I haven’t been able to play through the whole thing, but I like what I’ve seen so far.
Skyward Sword brings back all the music we’ve grown to love from the Zelda series. The graphics are at the very least on par with Twilight Princess, but with a light rather than dark atmosphere.
The game begins by telling the tale of a land wrought by war. The Goddess of the Sky sent all the humans up above the clouds on a piece of land and they live there for centuries, completely cut off from the world below. Every inhabitant of the floating island befriends a large bird that they travel on and can train to be knights with. Link is training to be a knight at the academy, and the Headmaster’s daughter is Zelda.
Link and Zelda are riding in the clouds together when a giant tornado springs up and sucks Zelda to the earth below. Link gets the legendary Skyward Sword and chases after her.
While some aspects of the game stay true to the series, there are some notable differences. You begin the game with six hearts rather than four, and you have a stamina gauge that limits the amount of time you can run, climb and spin-attack.
The game makes excellent use of the Wii MotionPlus controls. If you rotate your remote, Link rotates his sword the same way. You attack by swinging the remote, and you’re supposed to counter the defences of the enemies by swinging opposite of their swords or shields. Although, they’re easily beaten by wildly flailing the remote – it’s the new button-mashing.
Overall, I’d give the game 8.5 out of 10. The story is great, as are the graphics and music, but the controls can be very touchy. If you’re hoping to use real swordplay skills, you’ll find it lacking. But if you’re looking for an enjoyable Legend of Zelda experience, you’ll get one.
Alex Vietinghoff is a video game enthusiast. He is also The Aquinian’s fitness columnist and vice-president student life of St. Thomas University’s students’ union.
