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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

by Andrew Brown - June 6, 2011, 1:00 pm EDT

Link's next big adventure will take the series to new (literal) heights.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the latest in the acclaimed series, and has been in development since as far back as Phantom Hourglass' release in 2007. The game was first teased at with nothing more than a piece of artwork shown at E3 2009.

The art showed Link standing back to back with a decidedly female figure, whose design was very Master Sword-esque. Fans were left to guess in wonder at what the story for the next game entailed, until E3 2010 showed a full trailer.

Skyward Sword will be taking the more colorful cel-shaded style and combining it with an Adult Link, similar to the hero seen in the latter half of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, to form a whimsical hybrid adventure that somewhat resembles a heroic Saturday morning cartoon.

Controls will be performed similarly to the flagship Twilight Princess, however this title makes use of Wii's Wii MotionPlus, to give a 1:1 sword-to-remote movement scheme. This is used to not only judge the direction and height of the sword slashes you make (used in various strategic ways to fight enemies), but the trailer also showed it used for puzzles, such as rotating a maze-like 3D key as it slides into a lock, and twirling the sword around in a circular motion to confuse an eyeball lodged in a door.

Previous enemies such as Bokoblins, Skulltulas, Stalfos, Lizalfos, Deku Babas and Keese have been shown to reappear alongside many new creatures and monsters, as well as a sinister-looking new jester-like character who may or may not play a major role in the game. 

Link's bow makes a return, as well as the classic bombs and slingshot, but new equipment surface in the form of several intriguing new devices. One appears to be a grappling claw that's fired from the arm like the Hookshot, but then can be controlled as it hovers through the air, picking up bombs and items along the way. There's also an all-new whip item that can be used to steal health hearts from enemies.

It's unclear how, if at all, the slingshot will differ from the bow, but there must be some key difference that will surely be explained later. It's also noteworthy that bombs can now be thrown normally, or rolled along the ground to pass through small gaps.

Several environmental physics-type actions have been seen as well. In one scene, Link is shown to be balancing precariously on a large stone sphere, his shifting weight used to roll the rocky ball through a pool of lava while he safely strides above the surface. Tightropes and swinging vines are also featured, with various Motion Plus maneuvers used to traverse the obstacles. We've also seen what looks to be a speed-slashing minigame, in which Link must chop through a bamboo stalk as many times as possible within a time limit, before the whole thing comes toppling over.

Lastly, story has only been vaguely hinted at, however sources have stated that this will take place before Ocarina of Time, making it, chronologically, the very first Zelda game in the series. This Link is a citizen of Skyloft, a country consisting of islands floating above the clouds. Upon discovering the Skyward Sword, Link is shown the existence of a land far below his own. The sword allows him to travel back and forth between the new land (presumably Hyrule) and his own, and a story of how the two became separated begins to unfold.

What do we expect to see at E3? Well, with two promotional videos already out for the world to see, a third trailer will have to show much more of the game's storyline and a clear look at how things have developed since last year. Here's hoping we'll get a solid release date as well.

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Talkback

SilverQuilavaJune 21, 2011

I have literally been waiting for this game since Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. The Paper Mario games are my favorite games ever. Nothing else is better to me.

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