This ambitious sequel to the Zelda Series will have you wanting more! Go out and enjoy this game now!
Genre: RPG-Adventure
Developer: Nintendo
System: Nintendo Wii
Total Score: 96/100
Value Score: 9.6/10
• Story: 10/10
o The story of Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword has to be the most refined and action packed since Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. Skyward Sword's storyline takes place hundreds of years prior to the events of the numerous Zelda series titles up in a land by the name of Skyloft. You play as Link (who you can rename however you want it to be) who is training to become a skyloft knight who protects people in the sky village, on the day of his graduation as a student of the Academy, Link's celebration with his childhood friend Zelda was cut short due to a terrible storm during his victory flight, he is than thrown into a adventure where he must wield the Goddess Sword, collect a few songs and find Zelda and ultimately seal away and defeat a army of evil demons, monsters and a powerful Demon King. The storyline gets better throughout the game as the player will interact with other characters who dont really play a major part of the story but will help influence and help improve the journey of the player along with that the player will encounter numerous allies, enemies and other characters such as Girahim, the Dragons and certain races such as the Gorons who bring a new level of storyline never seen before in the Zelda series.
• Characters: 10/10
o Possibly the best Zelda game with the best cast since Twilight Princess bar none. Not only do you have your Link, Zelda and the occasional replacement characters for an assistant for the character, a guardian for Zelda (a.k.a. Impa), but you have a whole new set of colorful characters who will aide you in your journey such as the old lady at the temple, Zelda's father and you will be encountering enemies such as the endless horde of bokogoblins and their retainer Demon Lord Girahim (who in my opinion brings a whole new level of depth to the storyline). Although the game contains only one town, it has enough npcs and characters to interact in terms of 4-5 towns worth.
• GamePlay: 8/10
o First and foremost, before you purchase the game, you must get the Wii Motion Plus accessory/add on or any of the new Wii motes which are available after 2010. Gameplay in Skyward Sword has changed drastically compared to other iterations of the Zelda series, for one thing you no longer attack with a simple button but now with the wiimote must move along , depending on how you thrust or swing your wii mote, that is how Link will attack, it can be tiring but enjoyable. Along with that they introduced a special ability never seen in the Zelda series (unless they are a certain item which you more than likely get later in a game) which is the running ability, the usual weapon attack with A has been replaced with this, and now you have stamina meter similar to the health meter of Super Mario 64, this will play a major role and brings forth a new level of difficulty to the game depending on how you use it. Most of the controls with certain items are now controlled with the swing and pointing of the Wii mote. You will also have the ability to buy items like never before, going as far increasing your bag amount, bag size, rupee size, increasing ammo for certain weapons and items such as Arrows and Bombs, medals which can increase your health, rupee luck or item finding luck. You can also purchased potions and increase their potency by giving away certain uncommon items and paying a price for it. You can also upgrade your equipment, making them more effective in combat and in the field. There are also other different additions to the game such as the ability to fly in the sky, navigating your way in free fall for a certain location to land, choosing a certain save point in a map, using Wind Waker like mechanics on a boat, solving puzzles, going through different past time moments of the Zelda series in a wireless motion controller fashion. Possibly the only downside to the gameplay will have to be the overall control, because the game focuses on Wii Motion, sometimes your commands might not go through completely, there will also be parts where you might have to re-sync to play better and of course the fact that you would have to buy a extra add on if you have the old Wii mote.
• Graphics: 10/10
o Many people complain that Legend of Zelda Skyward does not live up to the generation's graphics kings such as Super Mario Galaxy and many of the HD twins' games, but Skyward Sword's graphics are more artistic than realistic, clearly Nintendo designed the art design on purpose. The game's design screams with nostalgia for Wind Waker fans and for fans of Twilight Princess as it brings the best of both worlds. You will be amazed at the incredible depth of the graphics and design in the game, the gorgeous visuals will leave you breathless, Skyward Sword proves that HD gaming isnt the only option to enjoy a work of fantastic art.
• Sound: 9/10
o The sound effects in the Skyward Sword game are another source of nostalgia as it includes similar sound effects heard in other Zelda games especially Wind Waker. Each sound effect is well made and nothing seems out of sync or out of place. Although there are no voice overs in the game there are grunts and other noises that characters like similar to what you would hear in a game like Banjo Kazooie or a Mario game.
• Music: 10/10
o Possibly the greatest part of the game includes the incredible OST of the game. It includes a bundle of new songs along with a few remixes and remakes of certain songs. You wont hear much of Hyrule theme since it didnt exist in the game's timeline, however you will enjoy the battle theme, the various island themes in the Sky and the world songs. You can literally rest hearing to the music score in the game, it will calm you and keep you in suspense when its needed.
• Length: 10/10
o Possibly the longest Zelda game, just traveling around and searching for every piece of area in Skyloft will give you at least 5-10 hours by itself, I've heard people who traveled around the whole sky for 15+ hours which at the same time is insane but realistic I suppose. Although at first it seems like the game progresses slow at first because it would take at least 5 hours to get to the first dungeon (if you explore that is), but the field throughout the map can be considered as a dungeon as you will be forced to do forced side quests, additional sidequests and will be forced to do puzzles and fight certain battles to get access to certain parts of the areas. There are dungeons, although some of them seem small, you will more than likely will go around each area at least twice in one run and there are certain points in the game where you will have to go back to a old area or a dungeon for further exploration, retrieval of a item or in search of a new area. The game has more than enough content to give you about over 50 hours of gameplay if necessary.
• Replay Value: 9/10
o The Zelda series has never been so high on Replay value because once you go forward, you wont be able to go backward, however for this game, its kind of different than most Zelda games. For one, when you get near the end of the game, you will unlock a special feature which allows you to play Trials which were available early in the game to do again for enjoyment or for time competition. There is also a Boss Challenge Mode where you can fight all bosses you fought again before but without the help of extra items such as empty bottles/potions. You also have alot of sidequests you can do that isnt related to the game's main storyline. If that isnt enough you can unlock a new game mode called Hero mode which allows you to replay the game mode with a higher difficulty against enemies and damage/health. The down side to this would be you would have to either save over your entire save file or copy the save file, although not as tedious if you knew this beforehand, if you didnt well its a negative I suppose. Other than that, the game probably has the highest value in Replay out of the whole series that I have played so far.
• Player Value: 10/10
o Overall a enjoyable and long game, any Nintendo, Zelda and Adventure fan will want to get this game instantly. You will not regret it, not only will the game offer a long playtime but also a enjoyable adventure, enjoyable music, enjoyable gameplay as well. Only downside is you would have to buy a Wii Motion Plus control but that should not be a problem as they are either cheap or most players should already have one available at this point of the Wii's life.