The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword was one of the most anticipated games that I wanted to see at E3 this year. I mean, come on: it’s Zelda. It’s always great fun, right? The teaser shots and trailers only helped to skyrocket my expectations for the game.
It was time to head over to the Nintendo booth this week and give the demo a try. Could it even remotely come close to my lofty expectations? Parts of the floor demo blew my mind, while others just blew.
The demo station had three modes: Bird Riding, Dungeon, and Boss Battle. Each mode was meant to showcase the game’s motion controls, which draw heavily from WiiSports Resort. In Bird Riding, Link had to ride atop a giant red bird to catch a smaller golden bird with a prize around its neck. It was completely controlled by Wii MotionPlus, which means it wasn’t enjoyable. In order to turn the bird I had to twist the Wiimote. Speeding up required me simulating flapping the controller up and down. The turning radius of the bird was too large, and trying to catch the little golden bird was nearly impossible, but I finally did it. And then it started all over again, only this time I had to endure having eggs thrown at me.
The game mode seemed poorly designed, and the motion controls shoehorned in. Well, maybe it was just me; the station’s attendee, Lucy, let me struggle for about 6 incredibly long and uncomfortable minutes before I finally caught the bird the second time. She let me know that no one has had as much trouble as I did. Thanks for the embarrassment, Lucy.
The visuals, on the other hand, were unbelievably beautiful. The updated art style for Skyward Sword is simply delicious, putting the Wii to its limits but at the same time stacking up well against the majority of things on the show floor this week. If there’s one thing that Nintendo does well is create memorable game visuals that last generations. Skyward Sword isn’t just the best-looking Zelda game ever, it’s also the most colorful and energetic. The bright, vibrant choice of primary colors makes everything look like it’s straight out of a cartoon. Yum!
Up next was the Boss Battle mode, which pitted Link against a white demonic warlock. The style and design of the boss struck me as completely un-Zelda. In fact, it seemed to push the limits of typical Nintendo game sensibilities when demon guy licked his lips in sexual excitement half-way through the fight. Weird, Nintendo! The battle itself played well. As swung my sword, the demon would put his fingers out and grab the tip — damn, that came out even more perverse that I thought. I needed to catch him off guard as he blocked, swinging in the opposite direction and location of his arms. Very cool, though one-to-one swordfighting didn’t seem to be the case here.
I came back a little later in the day to try out the last mode, the Dungeon, a makeshift hub that tested out several more of the game’s motion-based features. I was able to shoot arrows, launch bombs at giant Venus Fly Traps that hung from the ceiling, and send out the Motion Plus-controlled beetle to scout areas and set off traps. The section played really well, with every tool being put to use efficiently and the controls feeling natural and enjoyable. I could run around this hub, fighting Moblins and bats endlessly.
Here’s hoping Nintendo fixes (or nixes) the first portion and continues making the rest just as quality as they are here.
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