The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review (Wii)

Two things have remained consistent in Nintendo’s history: Most of their game systems are virtually indestructible, and most of their games featuring a ’mascot’ character such as Mario, Samus, or Link tend to be very good. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword continues that latter trend, offering an excellent adventure in a large, detailed fantasy world that is fun to explore. Like Twilight Princess or Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword is played in a third-person, 3D perspective and has you guide Link through a variety of locations. Most of the series’ classic formula is on display here, mixing sword-fights with using special tools to solve puzzles, and it still works well enough today.

While there have been other Zelda games on the Wii, Skyward Sword is the first one to take full advantage of its hardware. Using the MotionPlus adapter on your Wii Remote makes Link’s sword an unusually flexible weapon, and you’ll have to take advantage of that to defeat some enemies later in the game. Wild flailing works against most foes but there are those who will block predictable attacks and punish you for them, meaning players will have to learn to feint, use several different attacks, and watch how their foe is moving. This doesn’t mean you have to be a real-life sword master to play, of course; decent reflexes and a keen eye are enough so long as you can realize you shouldn’t smash your sword straight into the enemy’s readied defense.

Of course, you won’t just be sword-fighting all the time. One of the best things about the series has been its sense of exploration, giving players a large and detailed world to go through. While the usual array of open fields, forests, mountains, and so on are joined by some of the best dungeons to date, this is called Skyward Sword for a reason: You get to fly. When not exploring ground locations, Link can call a massive bird known as a Loftwing and use it to soar through the clouds. While not quite as majestic as it may sound, this is still put to good use at various points and adds to the ’epic adventure’ feel that Zelda games strive for.

Several other parts of the game make use of the MotionPlus control. While swinging Link’s sword is the most obvious use, you can also guide your Loftwing (along with some interesting ’remote control’ tools Link finds) by simply tilting the Wii Remote around. Some locked doors also require you to fiddle with either them or their key in motion-control segments, ones that are thankfully short enough to feel like a good use of the technology rather than a gimmick that would otherwise wear out its welcome. Further, players are also encouraged to really embrace the role of Link, and you’ll occasionally have to strike some melodramatic ’hero poses’ while you play. The most noteworthy of these is the posture for the holy ’Skyward Strike’ sword technique, wherein Link (and thus the player) must hold aloft the magic sword before swinging downward to release an energy wave during certain puzzles. Sadly, the game does not award any sort of bonus for yelling "By the Power of Grayskull! I have the power!" during the Skyward Strike; I tried.