E3 2010 Hands-On: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

E3 2010 Hands-On: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Immediately after Nintendo’s press conference, I got a chance to play the upcoming Zelda game for the Wii, entitled The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Nothing was revealed about the story of the previously un-subtitled Zelda game during Nintendo’s press event. It’s look? It looks like it has the skeleton of Twilight Princess (with the presence of adult Link) and the flesh of Wind Waker in color and shading.  This was kind of glossed over too. In fact, Shigeru Miyamoto spent most of his time discussing something more important — how players would use the Wiimote, Nunchuck, and Wii MotionPlus to control Link in Skyward Sword.

Outside of the Z-targeting, the controls were overhauled to give a more natural feel to the game. Natural controls are almost always preferred for most games, but it’s important to note that natural does not necessarily mean familiar for the more experienced Hylian adventurers. The controls will probably take some getting used to at first. The good thing is that players who already have a Wii MotionPlus and have spent time with Wii Sports Resort will be a little more familiar in using some items.

Wielding your sword and defending with your shield no longer require button inputs or waggle. The Wiimote will control actions with Link’s sword; the nunchuck corresponds to his shield. The Wii MotionPlus allows for one-to-one control of Link’s sword, and incoming attacks from enemies are deflected by thrusting the nunchuck forward — no buttons necessary.

The sword controls shouldn’t be too foreign for people who have gotten into some swordplay on Resort. You’ll often have to keep an eye on where enemies are holding their weapons and swing at an opening. Deku babas (those venus fly trap guys) were in the demo, and you’ll have to swing your sword across their mouth-opening in order to do damage to them. Although they’re simple to dispatch, they do switch from vertical-opening mouths to horizontal-opening mouths. The demo’s boss, a large crab, was defeated in a similar way. It had eyes in its claws that you had to slash at in a specific way. A final blow could be delivered by taking out its claws and stabbing its third and final eye. So yes, thrusting the Wiimote forward does cause Link to do a forward thrust — complete one-to-one.

Sword projectiles have found their way back into Zelda. You can now charge Link’s sword with power “from the heavens” by raising the Wiimote to the sky (Miyamoto’s words, not mine). Swinging it while it’s charged unleashes a disc-shaped wave of energy.

Link’s arsenal is much easier to access. As Miyamoto mentioned in his demonstration, it’s much like reaching into your pocket and feeling around for what you need. There’s no more pausing the game and assigning weapons to specific buttons. The B button brings up a weapon wheel, and any item you choose will appear in Link’s hands. It felt like implementing this weapon wheel took less away from the action that was going on in the game.

The demo showcased some of Link’s new weapons: a bow and arrow, slingshot, whip, mechanical beetle, and bombs — the latter three being the most notable additions. The whip can be used to grab out-of-reach items and controls as you’d expect with the wiimote. The beetle can fly around to explore the landscape and grab items in places that Link can’t get to. Steering the beetle is just like steering the airplane in Wii Sports Resort. So think of how you would hold a paper airplane and pointing it in the direction you want to go. Bombs can now be rolled with the wiimote just as you would roll a bowling ball in Resort. Miyamoto even claims that if you’re good enough, you can put some spin on a bomb (though I didn’t have much luck with that).  I wouldn’t be too surprised to see the frisbee controls from Resort being used for Skyward Sword’s boomerang.

Miyamoto’s on-stage experience with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword definitely didn’t go as well as mmy demo (maybe he needed to recalibrate his Wii MotionPlus?). The controls worked smoothly when I played, and I thought it was a welcome change because it’s a  Zelda game that was actually made for the Wii. Although Skyward Sword doesn’t bring anything ground-breaking to the table, it makes excellent use of the Wii MotionPlus and Nunchuck. This won’t just be an attractive game for Zelda fans. Skyward Sword will be an attractive game for casual gamers looking to experience the Wii’s various controls in an important context — a Zelda game.