In 2011, Nintendo Wii finally offered its Legend of Zelda only to her, with Skyward Sword, an episode that was chronologically justified but also wanted to be the carrier of the ultimate in motion gaming, with the results we know. Well. A decade later, what was among the series’ most underrated episodes returns to celebrate the 35th anniversary of a mythical series, yes, but on Switch. Is everything finally taken?
It was 10 years ago. A cloudiness. Back then, Nintendo made it a commitment to expand its gaming audience and went against the Wiimote conventions. So Skyward Sword then became THE game that had to incorporate an adventure that spices up all contributions from the Wii Motion Plus, a balancing act that is so difficult to lead. So, two generations later, this episode is so special that Nintendo comes out of the closet and keeps players busy while they wait for a breath of the Wild 2 to save them. But bringing such a singularity to the most portable of all consoles is obviously not convenient, far from it. Will Skyward Sword HD manage to use the switch to correct the wrong turns of its year? The probability that the answer can be found in the following paragraphs is 93%.
Head in the clouds
For those who would have missed the train (and not that of Spirit Tracks, eh), the heavenly events of this chronologically established episode tell us the adventures of Link, a young knight of Clesbourg who is still in training; and her childhood friend Zelda, who was quickly separated by a storm in the form of an evil omen. Neither one nor two, whoever rides a giant bird in a world floating above the clouds starts the rescue of his bride and discovers the cow ground and its thousand dangers.
Unsurprisingly, the very framed structure of this epic epic episode of Breath of the Wild has not moved an iota as is the solid serious practice in marble on the Kyoto side. So don’t expect to discover the slightest dungeon or extra quest, or even enjoy an adventure that is less subdivided than the original: Nintendo preferred to focus its efforts on the famous “comfort enhancements” listed a few weeks before the release. These start in the game with the save files, all three of which can now be used during the game. No, but don’t go: we still have a lot to say!
Any Fay Fay Fay
The first (small) disappointment comes at the launch: The Heroic mode, which is now systematically available, has been activated again and is a shame for old adventurers who would have liked to use this port to raise their level. On the other hand, the prospect of enjoying the game at 60 frames per second is an undeniable plus, and the unique artistic direction of the original allows this 2011 title to handle the ravages of time relatively well.
Between impressionistic trompe l’oeil backgrounds and cut colors, Skyward Sword HD Still, it reminds us that technically the Wii was certainly behind the times, but a global smoothing makes it possible to fit the pill. Even the sometimes hideous faces of your interlocutors are embellished. Of course, the more grumpy will not hesitate to jot down the cubic models of most of the objects and other decorative elements, the others will prefer to note once again that intelligent artistic direction can level many problems, even if the high smoothing is paradoxical contributes to to remove part of the original charm of Skyward Sword, which relied precisely on the blurring present on the screen, in order to reproduce the style of the masters of the nineteenth century. But here, too, the vivid colors of the adventure give it a visual identity that saves the whole thing, regardless of whether you have already traveled to these countries or not.
Thank Sabine S
Nintendo is not satisfied with making the action visually more fluid, but seems to have learned the lessons from the very experimental Breath of the Wild and FINALLY offers us the opportunity to quickly scroll through the many dialogues of the adventure that takes time to put his pose bases. Likewise, adventurers on familiar terrain are given the right to skip the cinematics in order to concentrate on the essentials, even if a whole series of animations (sleeping, opening chests …) is time-consuming because very many continue to make progress at times. But what will change in just 10 years. And beware: the manufacturer has also recognized that it was certainly not a brilliant idea to display the same information message for every article collected … On the contrary: From now on they will only appear once and will definitely leave you in peace . Well, you’re still going to have to go through a dozen insects and fifteen materials, rest assured. What quick nervous attacks. Late, of course, but still
But you already knew: Link’s main transformation tweak lies in Link’s sword, which begins with a trait every adventurer expects from his trusty blade: silence. Embodied by the very obviously Fay, your blade will now only speak if you invite it, which it almost never does. From then on, no one will claim that the door that just unlocked after a puzzle was solved allows you to continue your progress, or that the chest that just appeared in a thundering jingle contains an item of the highest quality Importance. Joy.
Migration is coming
But let’s get to the core of the gameplay: How did the Nintendo teams manage to adapt this 100% motion gaming opus to a more conventional handling? First of all, let’s reassure purists and historians: The Switch Joy-Cons enable handling that is very faithful to the original, as well as an addition to the immersion thanks to the finely regulated HD vibrations. Incidentally, the Pro-Controller or the Grip offer a new approach, more classic, but no less. because Sky sword center its mechanics on the sword of Link, the latter is found assigned to the right stick, a choice that allows it to be pointed freely in all directions, but which obviously deprives the camera of free and fluid management that we will therefore have to content yourself with refocusing, play less detached from Joy-Cons.
Once used to it, this choice first of all makes it possible to make the fights a lot easier, as Link can now bully like a sagouin, even if that means forgetting the sometimes strategic aspect. The game may be losing its finesse, but the clashes with the hideous Ghirahim only get more digestible. Sometimes, when our hero takes advantage of a turbo mode, precision is more difficult to achieve and requires careful handling of his blade to solve certain puzzles or to strike at the right angle or aim the legs. However, one sign reveals the limit of this implementation: in order to start the famous hurricane attack or kill one’s enemies by jumping on them, it will be necessary to produce a manipulation that fans of counter-fights will certainly not be alien to: right, left , right for the first; up, down, up for the second. We knew more practical things.
The rules of alchemy
Inevitably, the rest of the equipment also uses the right stick to emulate the movements of the Wiimote, such as the butterfly net, while the bombs must first be pointed up or down before launching, with the whip requiring the viewfinder to be locked in place in order to operate . The so practical scarab is simply steered with the stick, just like the balancing phases on a glove ball, driving the boat or the clestrier, and everything becomes easier. All ? Not really: in order to use these essential objects for progress and to switch from one to the other, you first have to select them by continuously pressing ZR, point the stick in the chosen direction and release. This approach, not always workable, isn’t without causing a few wolves, but to change the item (again) you have to put it down with B first and start over, a tough manipulation once the action gets carried away and that will be created a new voltage source.
So every victory seems to come with a setback, and we finally wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to reconsider this episode in order to make it really transcendent, a practice that unfortunately is still banned by Nintendo and always hangs on it Keep the originals intact. So certain game design vets will jump out even wilder than 2011, like the heavy day-night cycle, the painful access to Terry’s shop over time, or the teleportation system that systematically requires the way back through the sky to switch terminals. On his 35th birthday, Link deserved to send out a few old conventions. Come on, Furukawa-san, we’re not blaming you, but it’s time to make amends. Everyone will benefit.
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