As much as I love the Zelda series, I have a few worries about this one. Firstly, the cel-shaded style has returned. Don't get me wrong when I say that coz I absolutely adored Wind Waker and any one who didn't play it on account of how it looked is seriously missing out! My concern is that the people who shunned Wind Waker because of its cel-shaded style are likely to do the same thing here. Granted, the one thing going for it is that it doesn't look as cartoony as Wind Waker but I hope that alone will be enough to deter the haters from boycotting and shun this upcoming title. Secondly, I watched the live demo of Skyward Sword's gameplay being shown by Mr Nintendo himself, Shigeru Miyamoto. This new Zelda uses the MotionPlus accessory and, to be honest, the sword controls, whilst being greatly expanded, looked untuned and awkward. Incorrect movement registry looked like it could really destroy immersion into this game and just get players frustrated that Link doesn't do as instructed or intended.
That all aside, the mechanics of the Wiimote and Nunchuk as a Sword and Shield pair looks good. All sword movement is grafted to the Wiimote whereby you vertical, horizontal and spin attacks are all dependent on how you swing the Wiimote and at what angle. The shield, rather than a button press this time, is raised and used with movement of the Nunchuk. So to raise the shield, you physically have to lift the Nunchuk. To shunt or bash with the shield, you flick it forwards. Nice new additions that, I reckon, gives more defensive tactics to the shield.
Apparently, Skyward Sword is all but finished yet the release date. However, even though it was scheduled for around Xmas this year, it's now being shunted back to the first quarter of 2011! No real reason as been given for this delay. Still, I'm sure this Zelda will uphold the running genius that all Zelda's have presented over the years...except the CD-i one! That one doesn't count coz Nintendo didn't have anything to do with that one! Thank God!
For those of you who'd like to check out the live stage demo of Skyward Sword, check out the link below and you can 1. see actual gameplay footage for yourself and 2. see the kind of points I was talking about regarding the efficiency of movement registry. I mean if Miyamoto-san cocks it up, what hope do we have a lowly game players have?!
Zelda Skyward Sword E3 Stage Demo
