Skyward sword switch reviews8/9/2023 You learn how to bomb various objects with the drone beetle in the Lanayru Desert, then layer on a time-traveling mechanic and another item, the Gust Bellows, inside the Lanayru Mining Facility dungeon. But they work because of the focus on how you do something instead of figuring out what to do. The dungeons can be disappointing at times, especially when you compare them to some of the more complex dungeons in the series. Things in Skyward Sword feel good to do, which isn’t something I can say about every Zelda game All these actions feel great, more so now that you can do them all with a regular controller instead of using the still-finicky motion controls (though the gyroscopic aiming is a welcome option). Similarly, most of the new items are notable for their physicality: the bug net you can swing around in circles, the drone you fly to cut strings and carpet-bomb enemies, the whip you fling back and forth with a satisfying snap. It feels good to swipe in the right direction, even if it’s not difficult to do most of the time. It asks you to think about which direction you’re slashing, since enemies will block attacks coming from certain directions. Designed around motion controls with the option to use the right analog stick on Switch, it’s more intricate and involved than most other Zelda games. Combat has always been a part of the series, but in Skyward Sword, it’s more of a cornerstone than ever. More than any other Zelda game, it feels rewarding to take part in the Zelda tenets Skyward Sword abides by. More importantly, it explains what I love about Skyward Sword. It explains why the game feels so railroaded, why it explains so much of itself to the player. When you think about Skyward Sword being built for the Wii remote and the audience that came with it, a lot of the game falls into place. In my initial impressions of the Switch version, I attributed the game’s rigidity and slow start to it being the Zelda game for the Wii, the console that expanded Nintendo’s audience and introduced a generation of people to video games. Playing it in 2021, knowing that Breath of the Wild has revitalized the series’ sense of exploration, it’s easier to appreciate what Skyward Sword does well without the weight of the series’ future hanging on it. It felt like the Zelda that people had grown up on had disappeared, and this new version was here to stay. The last Zelda game before Skyward Sword was Spirit Tracks, a portable entry that was even more, well, on rails. The way Skyward Sword funnels you from objective to objective, with exploration as an afterthought, felt like the series abandoning what had made it special. But it was much more disappointing in 2011. That’s the flow for most of Skyward Sword, and realizing how rigid it will be is disappointing. I could clearly see the points where the game wanted me to come back later, once I had more tools like this at my disposal. I solved a few puzzles, unlocked a few shortcuts, then solved slightly more complex puzzles inside the first dungeon. In Faron Woods, I met a character who sent me along a straightforward path to activate some Goddess Cubes so I could go get the corresponding chest later highlighted on my map. Skyward Sword’s three major locales - Faron Woods, Eldin Volcano, and Lanayru Desert - are more levels than areas to explore. Instead of exploring and finding secrets, you’re funneled from section to section, especially in the game’s opening hours. In 2011, some Zelda fans saw Skyward Sword as a clear-cut case for how the series had lost its way But as the games entered the 3D space with Ocarina of Time and focused more on grandiose stories and setpiece dungeons, that sense of discovery seemed to take a back seat, with Skyward Sword breaking the series’ focus on exploration altogether. Zelda games had always been about exploring a world that seemed massive, about uncovering little nooks and caves without being told to. In 2011, some Zelda fans saw Skyward Sword as the most clear-cut case yet for how the series had lost its way. But it also shows now, as it did when it first came out, how rewarding some traditions can be to uphold, and it makes a concerted effort to introduce them to more people, even as it showcases why Zelda had to move on from them. When it released in 2011, it both felt like it was abandoning what made the Zelda series great while holding on too dearly to traditions from later entries in the series. The Skyward Sword remaster finds the same sense of purpose in tradition as its characters do. Skyward Sword HD proves we didn’t need a generation of motion controls
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