And in the beginning, there was Zelda...
The Legend of Zelda was not the first game I played as a child, but it was pretty damn close. It was certainly the first game that totally sucked me into an alternate universe. To this day, I have extremely fond memories of that shiny gold cartridge... I remember hours spent slogging from screen to screen, trying to acquire every item possible in a seemingly never-ending quest to destroy Gannon and save Zelda. The game just rung all the Jungian archetype bells in my head.
Suffice to say, I have played damn near every Legend of Zelda game from the beginning onward. Here's my take on Skyward Sword.
Story
As far as Zelda games go, the story is good. That isn't to say that the story is good. It remains formulaic, and doesn't really have any twists or turns that put your jaw on the floor. There are none of those profound moments where you get glimpses into the true human condition. That said, it does its job well. I stayed interested and engaged for the entire game, and felt triumphant and accomplished at all the appropriate times. The developers have recognized how the original game hit all those resounding archetypes in the minds of players, and with that in mind, they have kept the main elements in the story extremely consistent from game to game. Why? Because... well, it works. You're really never going to go wrong with the story of the young boy who sets out to save the princess and discovers the importance of courage, wisdom, and strength along the way.
I find myself craving more depth than is present in the story, but I have to remind myself that a thirty year-old attorney with a degree in literature is not Nintendo's target audience. The developers there have intentionally kept their story-telling very broad to appeal to the widest range of cultures and ages. That's fine by me. If I need a deep, nuanced, absorbing story, I'll read a book.
While the story is certainly accessible to younger players, the developers won a lot of points with me using clever dialogue. It's their compromise with older players, I think. The many inhabitants of Link's world are quite funny. A wry sense of humor permeates the game.
Of course, as is true with all Zelda games, the dialogue fell totally flat with Link. Nintendo has continued in their choice to make Link a mute that only communicates in situationally appropriate grunts. I have to tell you, there are quite a few times in the story where I wanted Link to say something. Anything. Please. When an evil sorcerer kidnaps the love of your life and belittles the entirety of the human race, I feel like you really should have some kind of snappy come-back, other than just sticking a sword down his gullet.
Visuals
Art often emerges from times where the medium limits the artist, and the artist cleverly gets around that limitation with good choices.
That is my best description of the visuals in this game. They are truly excellent. When I first started playing, the 3D world bothered me a bit because it wasn't the ultra-rendered, super-detailed environment you see on the more graphics-focused systems like the Playstation 3.
Gradually, though, I came to realize that the developers compensated for the system's technical limitations by using a style of visuals that was had a watercolor look to it. The soft, blurry edges happened on purpose. By the end of the game, I found myself quite fond of it. Paired with the extremely strong concept art, it made for an immersive visual experience that stayed with me. Even though there aren't beautifully rendered textures, the various locations are just so intriguing and enjoyable in their designs that you can't get the images out of your head. More than once, I found myself stopping gameplay just to look at something they'd come up with and think, "Damn, that's cool!"
I can think of any number of games for the more sophisticated systems where this was not the case.
Gameplay
This is where the people at Nintendo shine. After the extremely positive reception of the previous Zelda game for Wii, people were more than a little miffed that the new game took so long. Once you have played Skyward Sword for a bit, it becomes readily apparent why.
Everything about the game play is beautifully fine-tuned. I can't imagine how many hours went into playtesting and perfecting the mechanics of this game. I can say with some confidence that this game exemplifies everything they developers at Nintendo hoped the Wii would embody.
The use of the sword and shield is just about as intuitive as it could get, absent giving you an actual sword and shield to use. There is a lot of nuance to the timing and directing of your cuts and blocks, though the more casual gamer can still swing the remote around like a madman and get by.
The use of the various items you pick up is the real genius of the game. Be it a sling-shot, a bellows, or a remote-controlled flying beetle, the developers keep coming up with new, creative ways that the player has to utilize these treasures through the game. The treasures aren't just mandatory things you have to get. They are instrumentalities that lead to whole new arrays of puzzles and devilish challenges. As an added bonus, you'll find yourself using gizmos from the beginning of the game right at the end. Everything is relevant.
Now, this isn't to say there aren't a few rough spots in the gameplay. For example, the flying mechanic used in the game has a fairly large learning curve, and even towards the end of the game, you still end up feeling awkward and clumsy. This is exacerbated by the fact that you are constantly flying.
Conclusion
All in all, this one was a triumph. While it did not have everything I could have possibly wanted, it did have everything a Zelda game ought to have. I found myself magically transported to my childhood. I fought monsters, found treasure, and saved the princess. In short, I couldn't put the damn thing down. The minor flaws are handily outweighed by the enormous positives in this game. Go buy it.
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