I attended the Nintendo Press Conference, and after Nintendo’s blowout, detailing several of its upcoming hardcore franchises for the Wii and 3DS, I had the great honor of getting a hands-on experience with the newly introduced Zelda game Skyward Sword. Before it was even released on the E3 showfloor Nintendo, in pimpish style, brought out monitors out of the floor and into the front stage for the first demo of the game…BEFORE E3…cool.
Alright, before I begin, I just want to say that I am a HUGE Zelda fanatic, and so I hope that my extreme bias does not affect your impression of the game negatively. The franchise means more to me than any other video game to date, and as such I will try to tone down the crazy (try). now to my impressions.
During the Nintendo Press Conference, they wasted no time in strutting their stuff, as their first line of business was busting out The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword along with the amazing Shigeru Miyamoto. Some of you probably already heard of this infamous incident, though there was a slight problem with the mechanics of the Zelda gameplay using the Wii Motion Plus peripheral…they didn’t work. Now before a riot breaks out, I am the bearer of good news: the game does work, it was just that Miyamoto’s demo was plagued by the wifi in the room interfering with the infrared system of the Wii Motion Plus. What’s more, the gameplay is very intuitive, as the one-to-one interactions between the motions of the Wii remote and the screen work very well. Disappointed fans should be ashamed! You think Miyamoto would introduce a Zelda game that was not pitch-perfect and functional to an international conference?!! Not a chance.
The design of the graphics are tweaked to imitate the look of impressionist art, and due to this the overworld appears to be a painting given life and fully animated in vivid color. The main character Link sports an appearance that is the hybridization of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess art mashed into a cartoony, vibrant package. Not everyone would be pleased with these new graphics, though I am sure that the core gameplay will be the deciding factor when people line up to buy this latest installment.
Link is moved through through the world using the nunchuck’s analog stick, though for most other actions are reliant on the motion sensing capabilities of the Wii Motion Plus. As promised, Link can now wield his sword with precise movements of the Wii mote (i.e you swing left, Link swings his sword left) and his shield can be utilized with the nunchuk attachment, and put away with the c button. All favored weapons in Link’s arsenal make a return, such as the bow and arrow and bombs, though a newly introduced tool in the demo is a robotic beetle which can be used in controlled flight. To show off these weapons the demo introduced enemies such as the returning deku baba (carnivorous plant) and stalfos (skeleton warriors), and based on the way the player swings his blade the foe will react in turn, so the way they are defeated is dependent on the angle of the swing. At the end of the demo Link is faced with a large scorpion that must be killed through incurring damage on the eyes embedded in the claws with precise sword strikes. As previously mentioned, all these mechanics are one-to-one, so despite a failed demo in the conference all these motion sensing actions are tuned and accurate.
Link’s latest adventure may not be to everyone’s liking, as even I, myself a rabid Zelda fan, was a little distraught when first introduced to the new visuals and gameplay. Even after playing the game firsthand I am not completely sold, but that is mainly due to the fact that the demo I took part in was limited and was only to exhibit the mechanics of the game, not the scope of the story or graphical capabilities. Skyward Sword was delayed for release in the early part of 2011, so it is plenty of time for Nintendo to brush up (pun on the impressionist art…sorry) on the graphics and tighten gameplay. Gradually I am beginning to appreciate the novelty of this impressionist artistry, and I hope it lives to the Zelda name. Since its inception The Legend of Zelda series has never disappointed me in its core titles to date, so I eagerly await its release. May the Triforce of Courage be with you Nintendo.
