SWI The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Urgs schrieb:

Und immer dieses Rumgeheule wegen der Triforce-Suche.

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Link's New Swordplay
For the first time, you weren't pressing buttons to make Link swing his sword. For the first time, you felt as though you were swinging the sword.

Twilight Princess changed the way gamers interacted with Zelda's primary mechanic - combat. Not only did the game's Wii remote-based controls place a greater emphasis on swordplay, they even expanded Link's abilities. The Hero of Time was now able to perform Finishing Blows and swing his sword while running.

Skyward Sword is taking those concepts to an entirely different level. Once you play a Zelda game with full 1:1 sword control, you're not going to want to go back. True, Link looks a bit goofy if you're holding your remote at a strange angle and his arm sticks out to the side, but that's a price worth paying. The increased focus on combat strategy means you're no longer blindly swinging a sword to kill your target - you're actually planning your attack and reacting to your opponents moves. Zelda is now more complicated, and in the best way possible.

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Big, Bad Bosses
Zelda games are memorable for many reasons, but what distinguishes them the most for me are the bosses. I'll never forget the first time I confronted King Dodongo. Or Agahnim. Or Stallord. Twilight Princess stands tall as my favorite collection of dungeon dwellers in the history of the franchise. Whether confronting a chained demon set on fire or the epic, multi-stage final boss, I distinctly remember these epic clashes.

Obviously Skyward Sword is at a bit of a disadvantage in this category. I've only seen and fought a few bosses and sub-bosses in my eight or so hours of play. One key distinction is the Skyward foes tend to be a bit more challenging. One of the key complaints leveled at Twilight Princess was its mature styling was betrayed by a difficulty level that was borderline insulting. The only times I ever died were because of stupid, foolish moves that were overly aggressive - and even then it was tough to die.

But bosses are more than just difficulty. They are memorable because of their artistic direction. They are memorable because of the scope and complexity of the fight. I don't care that the final fight with Ganon in Ocarina of Time is easy - it's still awesome. Here's hoping Skyward Sword steps it up. So far the battles I've played have been entertaining from a gameplay standpoint but not necessarily memorable. They're certainly not at the level of Twilight Princess… so far.

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The Unconventional Dungeons
Skyward Sword is tipping the idea of a conventional Zelda dungeon on its head. I've noted how Nintendo is actually making the overworld and path to a dungeon more complex, challenging and puzzle-oriented, effectively spreading out what used to be contained in a very small area. Not only does that improve the overall experience of the game, it forces the dungeons to contain only the best material. I doubt I'll soon forget some of the sequences I've faced in Skyward Sword, which says a considerable amount about the game. And I'm fairly early in the adventure.

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A Stunning Scope
This new Zelda adventure is interesting in that so far it happens to be very segmented when it comes to its main story. So far there isn't the same wide open world to roam and explore. Sure, there's Skyloft, and that's certainly vast, but at the same time it's also very simple. Exploring canyons, forests and rivers isn't quite the same as soaring through the sky.

That's not to say what Skyward Sword is doing is bad. It's actually refreshing and helps the game keep its focus. But alongside that, it doesn't have quite the same scope as Twilight Princess - or most other Zeldas for that matter. Nintendo is intentionally dodging most everything it has typically done, so it's possible its new game won't attempt to stun us with vistas as far as the eye can see. Or maybe its greatest accomplishments are being very carefully hidden.

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Pacing Changes Everything
Pacing is key to any fictional medium, whether it's a movie or comic books or television. Video games are no exception to that rule. In fact pacing might be more critical since players are required to actually interact directly with characters and narrative. It's a tough thing to push a storyline along when someone can do almost anything. Previous Zelda games have been so fixated on slowly introducing a world or gameplay mechanics that they get lost, stopping players from moving on to a bigger adventure. Skyward Sword doesn't do that.

This idea of pacing is perhaps the most subtle thing to appreciate about this new game. Graphics, sound, control and characters are much more in your face and therefore will likely dominate your attention. But this game is so very clever in how it progresses. Playing for eight hours felt like an instant, yet I felt like I had done and experienced so much. A large part of this is due to how dungeons have been spread out, but there are other subtle changes, including branching dialogue options and even the ability to speed along tutorials. Being able to return to shops to customize equipment or even the ability to upgrade potions help keep things fresh. And even though Skyloft lacks a certain element of majesty, the fact that it contains dozens of islands and untold secrets affords players the opportunity to veer off the beaten path to see what's hidden in the clouds.

Pay attention to how Skyward Sword unfolds, not just in terms of where you're going but how and when. You'll be surprised.

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