Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Wii Reviews by Gamers

Ok lets get down to typing

Playing The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword it is clear that Nintendo threw out most of the handbook. Zelda is no longer a princess, the game is no longer a means to get from dungeon to dungeon and easy enemies are no longer defeated with some button bashing.

It is not to say that Nintendo has completely revamped the beloved franchise. You still get all the temples, play an instrument and in spite of her godly status Zelda is still key but it feels refreshed and challenging. When a series reaches 25 years things need to be changed and it may have taken Nintendo some time but Skyward Sword feels familiar yet new.

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword is said to be as the greatest Zelda game for a number of reasons but the one at the front of most gamers mind is the use of Wii MotionPlus. This means that sword moves are the same to your movements but it doesn't always quite work. While Motion Plus is an improvement on the original Wii Remote it is not without its problems, and this is clear in this game at times.

Sword fighting works really well. It may not be a perfect 1:1 as Nintendo has wisely chosen to minimise it to eight directions, but the way in which you swing the Wii Remote is very critical. Classic enemies are now armoured and even the most greatest players will soon find themselves facing a new kind of challenge as they carefully swing the controller in specific directions or face humiliation at the hands of a Bokoblin.

The Zelda series has had its fair share of art and The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword may well be the best to date. I've always preferred the art style look of Wind Waker but the painted style of Skyward Sword does wonders within the graphics of the Wii console. While other games may be racing to have super ultra mega realistic graphics the art style of Skyward Sword works perfectly well, flaws and all.

I highly recommend this game to the loving fans of the series. And to people who have a wii.

The motion controls legitimately strengthen the core components of the game. Swordfighting is immensely entertaining, yet challenging to master (as the final boss would likely attest to). Item control is easy, intuitive, and increases in complexity as you play.

Stamina, sprinting, and basic parkour maneuvers add much-needed diversity in traversing Link's world. Certain sections of the game even demand you master these new elements as a way of avoiding confrontation with incredibly powerful enemies. The crafting system is simple but adds dimensions to item utility while not overpowering the natural progression of the game.

Level design is predictably excellent. Skyloft in particular is a wonderfully-realized gamespace staffed with charming personalities and stuffed with minigames and sidequests. Ground areas each have distinctive tones, though lack a sense of interconnectivity. A more tactile entry sequence into each area could perhaps remedy this problem, but considering the expert layout and prodigious content of the areas themselves, it's a fairly minor quibble. Think Link to the Past meets Super Mario Galaxy.

The narrative is unsurprising and plot-related dialogue tends to drag on near the very end, but the cinematography, animations, and character concepts are superb. You'll frequently find yourself engrossed in the story and your role as Link by these concepts alone. The humor is bombastic and self-aware; it'll coax at least a smile from even the most jaded gamer.

The visual design is fantastic. It is wonderfully evocative without relying on impeccable detail, much like the Impressionist movement that inspired it. This game in motion is a beautiful thing, regardless of the power of the hardware.

All dungeons are excellent, all bosses are fun, Hero Mode and Boss Rush are great additions. Fi is annoyingly pedantic to begin with, but becomes mercifully terse about 1/3 through the game (and her nugget of character development at the end is sweet).