REDMOND, Wash., Aug. 17, 2011 – Nintendo's celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda™ series continues in full force with the announcement that The Legend of Zelda™: Skyward Sword will launch in North America on Nov. 20. The epic adventure, created from the ground up for the Wii™ console, sends this storied series to new heights and marks a turning point for the franchise.

The game uses the precision motion controls of the Wii Remote™ Plus (or a Wii Remote controller with a Wii MotionPlus™ accessory) and Nunchuk™ controllers to map on-screen action to the player's movements. When a player swings the Wii Remote Plus controller, Link™ appears to swing his sword in exactly the same way.

Different enemies have different battle tactics, so players must analyze their approach and develop counterattacks that play on the enemies' weaknesses. The game's wide array of items also use full motion controls, letting players roll bombs, shoot arrows and guide flying objects like never before.

The game includes a massive, multilayered world that takes players from dark dungeons to a diverse overworld to cloud cities in the sky, requiring a combination of puzzle-solving and swordplay to unlock all of its secrets. Link soars through the air on the wings of a majestic bird while exploring the game's sky area, providing players with unprecedented freedom of movement as they progress on their adventure. The quest lays the foundation for the events in The Legend of Zelda™: Ocarina of Time™, which is frequently cited as one of the greatest video games of all time.

"The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the biggest game in the series yet," said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "We've just scratched the surface of this massive experience, and we look forward to sharing additional details with fans as we approach the Nov. 20 launch."

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is now available for pre-order at major retailers throughout North America. A deposit may be required for pre-orders. See individual retailers for details. For more information about the game, visit http://www.zelda.com/skywardsword/.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wii.