The Legend of Zelda changes its focus from exploring, to combat. The question is, is that actually a good thing?
Story: 2/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
The Gameplay:
This is where the Legend of Zelda series takes it's largest turn. Originally this Adventure series was built around its dungeons, open world, puzzles and absurdly...secret secrets. It was why I loved the series, you felt like you were exploring at your heart's content not by command. However, Nintendo chose to go a different route with Skyward Sword.
The framework for dungeons is less complex than most TLOZ games, but they are, for the most part, the same. You will zig-zag from one room to the next to find keys to progress through the dungeon, find a new item, and at the end, fight the dungeon boss. The most recognizable change is in dungeon size. The dungeons are very small. They are almost always 1 floor and usually only a handful of rooms.
The most upsetting change to the game that I found was the absence of puzzles. Now, they aren't COMPLETELY gone, there was ONE that I remember (in the last dungeon), but other than that, you won't really run into any notable puzzles in this game. Along the same lines, the super secret secrets are nearly ALL gone. The only thing you will need to keep an eye out for are bombable walls and Goddess Cubes. Goddess Cubes, if you don't already know, are new to this game. These cubes are used to unlock chests in Skyloft and are scattered around the land...in plain view. By the end of the game I had found EVERY Goddess Cube without a strategy guide. In fact, I found everything in this game without a strategy guide. This was the first Zelda game I have ever played that did not require any effort whatsoever to 100% it.
I have always loved TLOZ's open worlds and how it always encouraged you to search every nook and cranny, and every nook and cranny was interesting! This game was different though. There are only THREE places to explore. You will have your standard forest, a desert area and a desert/volcanic area. These locales that you will be exploring are linear in design, so you can't really call it "exploring" , but...they're there. These three places are connected by Skyloft, which quite honestly is boring. Skyloft will be the home of hours and hours and hours of very slow flying. The problem in this game's open world revolves around two changes made to the game, Skyloft, which breaks the flow of travel in the game, and the surface's linear design. These design choices had a serious impact on how I thought of Skyward Sword and, overall, how much fun I actually had playing the game.
Finally, we come to the game's motion controls. This really is a bitter-sweet thing. The sword
combat is probably the greatest improvement to the series that this game has. It is 1:1 and works perfectly 99% of the time. However, the implementation of motion controls is over done.
Almost everything you do will involve motion controls and they don't always work. You will use them to swim, fly, balance, throw bombs, turn keys...etc. and these controls just aren't as polished as they should be.
The Story:
TLOZ's stories have always been captivating, drawing in my attention and interest, and this game falls short. It may not come across as...epic as other Zelda games, because it isn't. The story is hearsay, relying soley on the legend told at the beginning of the game. Nothing you do during the game will set this Link's journey apart from others. IT IS BORING. There is no build up to the end. You do this, you do that, and than, "OMG, it's the final boss!". The only good thing about the story is that it fits well into the series' previously told stories, making ties to almost every Zelda game.
The Atmosphere:
When you jump into this game, there will be no mistaking it, you are definitely playing The Legend of Zelda. The music, while slightly overdone, is AMAZING! The character design is a little lazy and uncreative, but not so much so that character's become stale. The graphics are interesting, but are not unique enough to set Skyward Sword apart from any other Zelda games. They are along the lines of Minish Cap in terms of colors and overall art directive, with a slight twist in the way you see things at a distance. When standing far away from something it will appear as if it is in a blotched painting along the lines of Impressionistic artwork.
The Conclusion:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyword Sword is a decent game, but I wouldn't recommend buying it unless you are a hardcore Zelda fan, OR someone who is just jumping into the Zelda series.
OVERALL: 5/10 (53%)