By Aaron N
One of the most anticipated games of 2011 was The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. "Skyward Sword" promised to change the Zelda series forever as it was set chronologically as the first story in the series. It would give us the origins to the main three characters, Link, Zelda, and Gannon, as well as give hints to the origins of other characters in the heralded series. It seems like making a Zelda game is a double-edged sword. On one hand you have a huge fanbase that will love the game. But on the other hand since you have made games like "Ocarina of Time" and the other Zelda games, it becomes a huge task to create something new and match the already high standards set by the previous games.
Graphics:
"Skyward Sword" ditched the realistic graphics of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess in favor of more colorful and bright cartoony graphics. With that said this game was beautiful. They took the best aspects of cell-shading from past games like The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and added a more mature look to it. The characters are stylized but not too stylized that it takes away from the visuals. "Skyward Sword" features weird and different characters so the graphics have to show that. This is where this game succeeds. Even when you enter the spirit realms where it consists of mainly black and white shades, the graphics stand out and it remains a beautiful game.
Story:
As I mentioned earlier, "Skyward Sword" takes place before every other Zelda game. In this game Link and Zelda are childhood friends, they are portrayed as just friends but also a possibility of a budding relationship that many of the other games are known to portray. You begin on a land in the sky called Skyloft. Here they worship a goddess who helped defeat the evil entity known as Demise. After passing the final trials you gain the use of your giant bird that you fly around the sky with. A hole in the clouds opens and Zelda is sucked through it and you must jump through the hole to the gound where no one has gone before. Here you go through three different areas, a forest, a volcano, and a desert. While you proceed you are confronted by Ghirahim who is also chasing after Zelda. You are given the Goddess Sword which is inhabited by a spirit known as Fi who guides you through the game. Eventually you follow Ghirahim to the Temple of Time, which is not entirely built yet. Zelda is pulled through the portal of time by Impa who has been guiding her through her quest. Before she goes through the gate, Zelda throws her goddess harp to Link. The whole story is guided by a prophesy that foretells a hero defeating the great evil and everybody has a part in the story that will unfold. After the temple's portal is destroyed and a battle with Ghirahim, you have to find three flames that turn the Goddess sword into the Master sword and you use the new christened sword to open up a second portal to the past. Upon passing through it you find Zelda who now reveals that she is the goddess reborn. In the present you fight a being known as "The Imprisoned" who is actually Demise breaking his seal. So in the past Zelda has to keep the seal active by going into a slumber. Link returns to the present where you must find the Triforce in Skyloft and use it to make a wish to seal Demise forever. After doing this you venture to the past again where Ghirahim kidnaps the awakened Zelda and plans to use her to revive Demise in the past. After a victorious battle with Ghirahim it turns out that you were late and enough of Zelda's life force was given to Demise and he reawakens ready for a final battle with the goddess' hero Link. You travel through a portal to another realm where you must defeat Demise and fulfill the prophesy. After an epic battle you deliver the final blow. But before Demise meets his demise he puts a curse on Link and Zelda's bloodline where Demise's evil and anger will be reborn. Thus creating Ganon and Gannondorf. Link and Zelda decide to stay on the ground instead of returning to Skyloft and they begin what becomes Hyrule. There are many more side quests and aspects to the story including an old woman who turns out to be Impa and Groose who goes from a bumbling jerk to a hero by the end of the game. The story is vaste and the biggest in the Zelda franchise. But it is told magnificently and it does not become confusing. It is a fitting way to tell the origins of everything in the franchise.
Gameplay:
Nintendo was proud to unveil the new gameplay for "Skyward Sword". The wiimote is used as a 1:1 aspect ratio to Zelda's sword. Your movements match up almost perfectly with what is on the screen. While mistakes do happen I was very pleased with how the controlls worked. The giant bird you have control over in the game, known as a Loftwing, takes the place of Epona. Flying is not a tedious task and it is a huge improvement over the sailing from "Wind Waker". When you venture to the place that will become Hyrule, you do not travel between the three areas. Instead you enter each through a hole in the clouds. The areas are not too big so going from one end to the other is not a long task. My only complaint with the gameplay and with the whole game actually is the harp. When you use the harp you do not play the song manually like you did with the ocarina. Instead it plays the song it is supposed to play. I feel like the harp did not add anything to the game and it muddles up the flow of the game. They could have used something else in place of the harp or if they were set on including a musical instrument, they should have made it more useful and engaging.
Music:
What can you say about Legend of Zelda music that hasn't been said before? There is a touring orchestra going around the country just playing Zelda music. It really has a following all its own. But I feel like they somehow raised the level for "Skyward Sword". As a whole I feel like the score of this game is one of the best ever made. The score is comprised entirely of orchestral music. The game's main theme was the Ballad of the Goddess, which turned out to be Zelda's Lullaby in reverse. The sheer fact that they took a great song, reversed it, and made an even better song out of it shows how great the music was for this game. There are plenty of memorable songs that I will be listening to for a while.
Overall:
While the hype surrounding The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was immense, the game did not fall under the pressure. It brought about a much needed beginning to the saga, and it added its own elements to the series. While the game is not perfect, it is quite a masterpiece. "Skyward Sword" will be talked about by gamers for years to come and it deserves its place in history.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword gets a 9.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment