The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

"This is a tale that you humans have passed down through uncounted generations..."

- Fi

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a Zelda game developed for the Wii. It is the first Legend of Zelda game created specifically with the Wii in mind, and requires Wii Motion Plus. It was released on November 18, 2011 in Europe, on November 20 in North America, on November 23 in Japan, and on November 24 in Australia.

Upon its North American release, a special edition Skyward Sword bundle became available at the price of $69.99. The bundle includes a copy of Skyward Sword, as well as a gold Wii Remote Plus. Additionally, a limited edition CD, featuring music from The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony concerts, is also packaged alongside all early purchases of the standard and special edition copies of Skyward Sword.

Prologue
Long ago, on a dark day, the earth cracked and evil forces rushed out of the fissure. These forces mercilessly attacked the people of the earth, slaughtering them and destroying their land. They did this in search of the ultimate power, a power capable of granting any wishes of its holder. This power, passed down from the gods of old, was guarded by Her Grace, the goddess of the land. The goddess gathered the surviving humans on a piece of earth and sent it skyward, beyond the clouds. With the humans safe, the goddess joined the land dwellers and fought the evil forces in a war of unmatched scale and ferocity. They eventually sealed the evil forces away, restoring peace to the surface. However, the humans remained in Skyloft, as Hylia knew that the seal on the evil would not hold forever.

The Wing Ceremony
On the day that the story opens, the annual Wing Ceremony is about to take place. Link, a young boy who was raised in Skyloft, had a strange dream the night before, depicting a gigantic dark beast and a mysterious spirit. He is awoken by a Loftwing owned by Zelda, a childhood friend with whom he shares a close relationship. The bird gives Link a letter asking him to rendezvous with Zelda at the Statue of the Goddess, where he discovers that his Loftwing has gone missing and begins to search for it. After overhearing Groose and his two cronies, Cawlin and Strich, Link discovers that Groose was responsible for his Loftwing's disappearance. Just as Link finds his Loftwing, Zelda hears someone calling out to her. Although she confides in Link after he frees his companion bird, she quickly brushes it off, and the two fly to the ceremony together. During witch zelda gives a tutorial on flying your loftwing.

With all of the participants ready, the Wing Ceremony begins. Despite Groose and his lackeys' efforts to prevent him from winning, Link succeeds in plucking the Bird Statuette from the talons of another Loftwing. Link and Zelda proceed up to the Goddess Statue to complete the ceremony, where Zelda bestows the blessings of the goddess upon Link and gives him the Sailcloth. After Link uses his Sailcloth to complete the ceremony by jumping (or being pushed) off of the Goddess Statue, Zelda proposes the two go flying together. However, as they are flying, a mysterious black tornado suddenly appears and plucks Zelda off of her Loftwing, causing her to fall below the Cloud Barrier. Link receives another vision from the mysterious spirit in his dreams. He comes to and tries to rescue Zelda, but is knocked out by the tornado himself in the process.

Link's Crimson Loftwing takes him back to Skyloft. When he wakes up in his bed that night, he explains what had happened to Zelda's father, Headmaster Gaepora. Although Gaepora tells Link to rest, Link soon hears the voice of the mysterious spirit once more, and leaves his room, following the spirit to the Goddess Statue. The spirit appears from the sword within the statue and introduces herself as Fi. She tells Link that he must take the blade he sees in front of him and embark on his destined journey as the chosen hero of the goddess. Although he is at first apprehensive, Fi tells him that Zelda is still alive, and Link draws the blade. The two are joined moments afterward by Gaepora, who explains his hidden knowledge of a prophecy that foretold what was taking place before him before telling Link that no one has pierced the cloud barrier. Fi remedies the situation by bestowing Link with the Emerald Tablet, which opens a portal through the clouds to the world below.

Searching for Zelda
The next day, after receiving his green knight's uniform as the only graduating member of his class, Link makes a few preparations and heads to the surface to find Zelda. As he descends, he arrives at the Sealed Temple, where he uses a Skyward Strike on a mysterious spike in the center of the Sealed Grounds and opens a door into the temple itself. Inside, a mysterious old woman gives him a hint about Zelda’s whereabouts, in the nearby Faron Woods. Link proceeds to the woods and continues his journey until he enters the Skyview Temple. There, a strange man appears at the door to the Skyview Spring. He introduces himself as Ghirahim and explains to Link that he was the one who took Zelda with the tornado, only for her to be rescued at the last second by a "Servant of the Goddess." He prepares to fight Link, threatening to "beat him within an inch of his life." When Link "defeats" him, he realizes that Zelda's presence is no longer in the area, and leaves, threatening to outright kill Link the next time they meet. The young hero enters the Skyview Spring, and Fi translates words that the Goddess left for him, indicating that Zelda must purify her body at two different springs.

Link receives the Ruby Tablet and returns to Skyloft to place it alongside the Emerald Tablet inside the Goddess Statue. With a new portal opened to the surface, the young hero travels to Eldin Volcano, where continues his journey to find Zelda. After making his way through the Earth Temple, Ghirahim appears to him and tells Link that, once again, someone else took Zelda from him. He sics Scaldera (who used to be an average boulder) on Link and leaves to let the two fight while he tries to reclaim Zelda. Link triumphs against the monster and proceeds to the second spring. There, Zelda is seen with someone else, a young woman. After the woman chastises Link for his failure to arrive in a timely fashion, the two disappear in a flash of light and leave Link with a lot of doubts.

Without knowledge of Zelda’s whereabouts, he receives another tablet known as the Amber Tablet and places it inside the Goddess Statue. Link and Fi travel to Lanayru Desert, where they find the Temple of Time. However, the entrance has been destroyed, forcing Link to enter via a secret pathway found in the Lanayru Mining Facility. When he gets inside, Zelda and the strange woman, whose name is soon revealed as Impa, are standing at the Gate of Time. Just before Link can rejoin Zelda, however, Ghirahim attacks, cutting Link off from the two, and lunges forward, only to be blocked by Impa. In the frenetic action going on, Zelda gives Link the Goddess's Harp. As Ghirahim's magic wall preventing Link from reaching them dissipates, the young hero intervenes in the battle, allowing Impa and Zelda to escape Ghirahim by entering the Gate of Time. On their way through, Impa destroys the gate to make sure Ghirahim can't follow them. After expressing his extreme displeasure to Link, Ghirahim leaves the scene. Link decides to return to the Sealed Grounds to learn how to use the Goddess’s Harp.

As Link descends to the Sealed Grounds, however, Groose intercepts him in midair and both fall, with Link barely being able to slow their fall with his Sailcloth. As Groose comes to terms with what he sees around him, Link explains the situation, calming the former. Groose's old attitude quickly returns and he tells Link to head back to Skyloft, hoping to find and rescue Zelda himself. However, the old woman at the Sealed Temple tells him that he will not be the one to save Zelda. In his anger, Groose leaves the Sealed Temple, allowing link to learn the Ballad of the Goddess from the old woman. As he plays it on the sacred harp, a large structure appears behind him and is revealed to be a second Gate of Time. However, outside the Sealed Temple, a beast known as The Imprisoned is released from a seal after responding to the appearance of the Gate. Although it is too powerful for him to outright defeat and destroy, Link succeeds in sealing it once again. Groose is left with a feeling of uselessness and laments that he could not be the hero, while the old woman tells Link that he cannot activate the second Gate of Time until his sword is much more powerful. She tells him to seek out the three Sacred Flames of the Golden Goddesses.

The Sacred Flames
Link returns to Skyloft to find clues on the whereabouts of the three flames. After revealing a shrine at the top of Skyloft's Light Tower, Link is able to fly into the Thunderhead, where he find the Isle of Songs. Inside, he learns a song known as Farore’s Courage. With that song, Link travels to Faron Woods and opens the portal to the Silent Realm, a parallel dimension created by the Goddesses for the chosen hero to prove himself. After filling the Spirit Vessel with Farore’s Tears, Link receives the Water Dragon's Scale, allowing him to swim underwater and perform a spin maneuver, and uses this new ability to head to Lake Floria, where he hopes to find the first Sacred Flame. After passing many challenges in the Ancient Cistern, the Goddess Sword is purified with the Farore’s Sacred Flame and is transformed into the Goddess Longsword.

With the first flame obtained, Link returns to the Isle of Songs and learns the song known as Nayru’s Wisdom. Link heads for Lanayru Desert and completes another Silent Realm challenge there, giving him the Clawshots and, ultimately, access to the Lanayru Sand Sea. There, he meets the Skipper, who once captained a ship tasked with protecting Nayru's Flame. After tracking down the Sandship and boarding it, Link defeats the pirate captain that had stolen the ship, frees the crew, and battles the gargantuan monster Tentalus, who destroys the ship. After this ordeal, Link receives Nayru’s Flame, which purifies his sword into the Goddess White Sword and the robot crew repair the ship.

With only one flame left, Link returns to the Isle of Songs and learns Din's Power. Afterward, he returns to Eldin Volcano to complete his third Silent Realm trial, after which he receives the Fireshield Earrings. Using the protective jewelry, Link heads to the Volcano Summit, where he finds the Fire Sanctuary. After he manages to get through this temple, however, Ghirahim appears to Link once more and tells him that he has found out about the existence of a second Gate of Time. He asks from Link to reveal its location, but he refuses. Although he transforms part of his body to mercilessly slaughter Link, the hero succeeds in besting him, incurring his true wrath. Ghirahim leaves once more and leaves Link to obtain the last flame. Din's Flame improves the Goddess White Sword into the Master Sword. With the evil-repelling sacred blade in hand, Link returns to the Sealed Grounds to open the Gate of Time. Before he can, however, the Imprisoned is released once again, reacting to the power of the Master Sword. The young hero, now with help from Groose, who had come out of his depression and built a bomb-flinging catapult just to deal with the monster, seals the beast away for a second time.

Link finally activates the second Gate of Time and proceeds to an era long gone, shortly after the Goddess had sealed away the Demon King, Demise, and sent Skyloft heavenward with the surviving humans and the sacred power. Link meets with Zelda, who explains her true nature as the mortal reincarnation of the Goddess Hylia, and apologizes to Link for, as Hylia, using him to try and bring about the ultimate destruction of Demise, the Imprisoned. She blesses the Master Sword with the power of the Goddess, causing it to take on its true form, before telling Link that she, as the reincarnation of Hylia, must remain in a deep sleep to keep Demise imprisoned within his seal. She seals herself into a crystal and tells Link that he must find and use the Triforce to destroy Demise so that she will be able to wake up in their own time. Link returns to the present and sets out to find clues on where to find the Triforce.

The Golden Power
Link sets off back to Skyloft, where the Triforce is hidden, and asks Gaepora what he knows. However, the Headmaster has little knowledge of the Triforce, and can only tell Link of the Great Sky Spirit, Levias, who lives in the Thunderhead and whose knowledge is described as "encyclopedic." However, Levias has been acting strange lately. Link follows further clues to the Lumpy Pumpkin, a small diner popular among the knights of Skyloft, where he learns that the owner makes an offering of his pumpkin soup to Levias on a yearly basis. Link offers to take the soup to Levias in his stead, and brings it to the Thunderhead, drawing out the sky spirit with it. Levias, however, is possessed by a creature known as Bilocyte, and Link must draw out the main parasite and destroy it upon Levias' back to rescue the sky spirit. After returning to his senses, Levias tells Link he must seek out the three dragons who know of three separate parts to a song known as the Song of the Hero, which will supposedly lead the way to the Triforce. Link has already met the Water Dragon, which rules over Faron Woods from Lake Floria, but the order in which he chooses to visit the provinces is ultimately up to the player.

When Link descends to visit the Water Dragon, Faron, an anomaly prevents him from going anywhere but the Sealed Grounds. Upon arrival, Link teams up with Groose to seal away the Imprisoned for a third time, but only after Groose has to fling Link himself with his contraption onto the head of the now-flying Imprisoned to drive the sealing spike back into its head. The old woman explains that Link cannot enter Faron Woods because it is currently flooded, and, to keep the Sealed Grounds safe from this flood, she had to place a seal on the gate to the woods that will only hold as long as the gate is not opened. Groose decides to use his machine to fling Link into the woods. Link lands in the flooded woods and investigates the inside of the Great Tree, from where the water was said to have come. Link meets the Water Dragon again inside of the tree, where she informs him that she flooded the woods in order to get rid of the monsters which had appeared recently in the area. She offers him the challenge to collect the notes to her part of the Song of the Hero in the form of Tadtones. Link completes the challenge and is given the Water Dragon's part of the song just before she decides to cause the flooding to recede, returning Faron Woods to its original state. Link then sets out to his next destination.

When Link descends to visit the Fire Dragon, Eldin, a volcanic eruption throws him out of the sky, knocking him unconscious in the process. As he comes to, he finds that the Bokoblins had set up a new base in the area and took the opportunity to badly injure Link and steal his items. Link finds himself in a cell with no way out, until a Mogma known as Plats, whom he had met before in the Fire Sanctuary, burrows in and reveals he had stolen Link's Mogma Mitts back from the Bokoblins, allowing Link to burrow out of the cell and begin recovering his items. However, without the Master Sword, Link is unable to fight the Bokoblins directly and must use stealth to evade them and find his items. After some time, Link recovers all of his items and proceeds to the Volcano Summit to meet the Fire Dragon, who imparts his part of the Song of the Hero to Link.

When Link descends to visit the Thunder Dragon, Lanayru, he crawls through a small tunnel in Lanayru Caves uncovered by a Goron mining for Timeshift Stones, ending up in Lanayru Gorge, where the Thunder Dragon supposedly lives. However, he finds nothing but a skeleton, suggesting that the Thunder Dragon had somehow died. Link recovers a key and finds a room where a Timeshift Stone was about to be sent to the Thunder Dragon. Activating the Timeshift Stone, Link is able to proceed around and through the caves to reach the Thunder Dragon, shifting time backward to a point when the Thunder Dragon was still alive. He is shown to have been deathly ill, and needs the fruit from the Tree of Life to recover, but the sapling that was planted, as seen in the present desert era, was unable to flourish in Lanayru's climate. Using Timeshift Stones, Link digs up the sapling just after it was planted and brings it back through the Gate of Time to the Temple of Hylia, where he plants it, allowing it to grow into a tree that bears the life-saving fruit in the present day's Sealed Temple. Taking the fruit, Link brings it to the Thunder Dragon and saves his life. The Thunder Dragon recovers and teaches Link his part of the Song of the Hero.

With the three parts of the Song of the Hero, Link returns to Levias, who combines the three dragons' parts with his own to teach Link the full song. With the full song in hand, Link returns to Skyloft and uses the song to open the final Silent Realm trial gate. On the other side, Link completes a trial in his own home and receives a mysterious gemstone that will lead to the Triforce. Placing the gemstone in its rightful place, as the missing eye of a bird statue facing away from the Goddess Statue, the bird statue opens up the Sky Keep, a hidden, spiral-shaped temple beneath the statue of the Goddess. Link enters the mysterious dungeon and, after many trials, manages to enter three small Silent Realm areas and collect the separated pieces of the Triforce.

With the Triforce in hand, Link goes up onto the Goddess Statue and makes his wish: the destruction of Demise. The entire island containing the Goddess Statue breaks free from Skyloft and plummets down to the surface, returning to its original location at the Sealed Grounds, crushing and destroying the Imprisoned just as it attempts to break out once more with the Sky Keep itself. Descending from the Goddess Statue, Link rushes into the Sealed Temple to witness Zelda's awakening. The group bears witness to Zelda's return from her long sleep, and Link and Zelda are finally reunited.

The Final Showdown
Just as the group believes that Link's long journey is finally over, however, Ghirahim appears to attack them, taking Zelda and making for the Gate of Time, knocking Groose and the old woman out of the way as he does. Regaining his strength from Ghirahim's initial ambush, Link pursues him to the past, where he learns that Impa had also been ambushed there. Link heads out to the Sealed Grounds, where Ghirahim is beginning the ritual to revive Demise, who was still sealed in that era, by having him absorb the soul of Zelda, the reincarnation of Hylia. He has his troops assail Link in absurd numbers to keep the hero at bay while he works, but Link charges through the army of Bokoblins and reaches Ghirahim at the bottom of the spiral pit.

Ghirahim expresses his further rage at Link for being too quick and throws Zelda into the air before finally taking on his true form - a living weapon, a sword spirit comparable to Fi. He raises Link and himself on a high platform, where he announces his intention to kill Link in a "fitting," ironic way - by driving the boy from the sky to the edge and throwing him to a death-by-fall. Link, however, does exactly that, driving Ghirahim himself to the edge and knocking him off several times, performing his Fatal Blow move to damage the Demon Lord. Ghirahim's rage peaks as he summons blades with which to battle. However, by continuing to strike Ghirahim's weak point in the center of his chest, Link succeeds in defeating him once and for all. Ghirahim, however, reveals that while the two were fighting, the ritual continued, and the Imprisoned rises, swallowing Zelda's soul and returning to his original form: Demise.

Ghirahim welcomes back his master before the latter silently raises his hand, using his power to draw his blade, a large sword resembling a dark, corrupted version of the Master Sword, out from within Ghirahim. Ghirahim's lifeless form is drawn into the blade, and Demise announces his intention to take the world as his own now that Hylia is gone. He then allows Zelda to fall from the air above, but before her body can hit the ground, Groose arrives from nowhere and catches her, telling Link that it will take some time for Demise to fully absorb Zelda's soul, giving Link a chance to save her by destroying Demise. Seeing Link defy his expectation of humankind by standing against him, Demise decides to give Link the chance to duel him in another realm for the fate of the world. Link follows him through a dark portal and finds himself facing nothing more than the Demon King against a backdrop of the sky. Demise speaks with Link before their battle begins, telling him of his intention to utterly destroy Link there and take the Triforce, ruling the world for eternity. Link manages to outdo Demise at swordplay, causing the latter to summon a thunderstorm and power his blade with lightning. Link does the same, however, and uses his electrified Skyward Strike to continue fighting with Demise. Finally, Demise is knocked down on his back, and Link leaps into the air, running the Demon King through with the Master Sword as it is struck by a bolt of lightning. Demise stumbles to his feet, congratulating Link, but warning him that it was not over, and that his hatred would be reborn as a being to pursue domination of the world, and those with the blood of the goddess and spirit of the hero would be trapped in a cycle without end. Link raises his blade and absorbs the remains of the Demon King into the Master Sword.

Link returns from the battle to find Zelda and Groose, and the three return to the Temple of Hylia, where they meet with Impa and prepare to return to their own time. At Fi's behest, Link plunges the Master Sword into a pedestal in the Sealed Temple, leaving it and his partner behind now that her purpose to guide Link had been completed. Just before she enters a "slumber without end," however, Fi tells Link that, while she is unable to feel true emotion, she feels something best equated to happiness due to her time spent with Link. Despite Zelda's pleas, Impa is unable to return with them to their time, as she is a being of that era. She tells them that, even though she will destroy the Gate of Time, they will meet again. Zelda gives her one of the bracelets that she had been wearing throughout most of the game, and gives it to Impa, before the trio returns to their own time. On the other side of the gate, they see the old woman as she destroys the gate from that end. She says that she had told Zelda they would meet again before showing her the bracelet that Zelda had just given to Impa, revealing that, all along, the old woman was an elderly Impa. As the group realizes this, however, Impa departs as particles of light, her duty to the Goddess finally completed. As the group laments Impa's death, they turn to the Master Sword, remaining in the pedestal where Link had left it in the past.

Epilogue
After the credits, it is shown that Gaepora, as well as Cawlin and Strich, fly down through the cloud barrier to meet with Zelda, Link, and Groose. Groose returns to Skyloft with the others, bidding farewell to Link and Zelda, who are seen on the Goddess Statue once more as Link plays the Ballad of the Goddess on the Goddess Harp. Zelda says that she had fantasized about the surface for so long that she wants to remain there, and asks what Link's intentions were for the future. Link smiles at her, and then the camera pans to show both his and Zelda's Loftwings flying back into the sky, implying that Link chose to stay with Zelda.

Controls
At the E3 2010, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was revealed during the Nintendo Press Conference, introduced by Reggie Fils-Aime and Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto discussed that the use of the sword and shield would incorporate the motion capabilities of the Wii MotionPlus and use of the Nunchuk accessory. The sword could also be charged up by holding the Wii Remote straight up in the air, and, once it's charged up, the Remote must be swung downwards to release the beam as a projectile attack.

Since the Wii Remote serves as the sword, the Nunchuk becomes the shield: quickly shaking the Nunchuk will cause Link to raise his shield. The Nunchuk should be held up in front as if it were a real shield. Miyamoto demonstrated this by blocking attacks from Octoroks and even using the shield to send the projectile back at the enemy. Weapons such as Bombs, the Slingshot, and the Bow, the return of Sword Beams, and new items such as the Beetle and Whip were all showcased, all using the natural aiming and directional applications of the Wii MotionPlus.

The inventory is accessed by pressing and holding the B button, which brings up a "radial menu" on the screen (similar to the one in Twilight Princess). To choose the item that Link will equip, the Wii Remote must simply be either pointed or tilted in the direction of the desired item to select said item. The HUD can also be easily turned off if players find that it takes up too much space. One of the major changes in choosing items from the item screen or while drinking potions is that there is no pause in the action, so items are chosen in real time.

Previous rumors of a flying element were pushed further in an interview with Eiji Aonuma and Shigeru Miyamoto preceding the Nintendo E3 press conference on the Nintendo E3 Network with Aonuma saying that "the sky plays a key element." He also mentioned that the new Zelda isn't as big as Twilight Princess (as far as physical places go), but rather more dense and in-depth.

Aonuma also mentioned that Wii MotionPlus was not originally intended for use with Skyward Sword because the controls weren't working well. But when Wii Sports Resort came out, it worked perfectly for that game, so they re-implemented it. Miyamoto has furthermore stated that the Wii MotionPlus will not be used for every item in the game, saying that item and weapon controls "will be carefully weighed to see how MotionPlus/sensor bar [...] can make for the optimal control scheme."

This is the first (and currently only) Zelda adventure where it's indicated by a damage meter that Link's shield is taking damage under enemy attacks. Because of this, Link will have to use more strategic ways of defending against enemies and, if the shield gets damaged in battle, he will have to buy a new one or get it mended.

Overworld and Dungeons
Skyward Sword features a new map that is "a lot easier to follow than previous attempts." According to Aonuma and Miyamoto, this should "cut down on the amount of time you spend lost." Moreover, since some previous Zelda games had been focusing on things like story and dungeons, this title focuses more on "fun."

In the September 2010 issue of Nintendo Power, Eiji Aonuma once again spoke of trying to alter the "traditional flow" of Zelda games. He mentioned that the development team tried to take some elements of a dungeon and "actually move it out of those small connected rooms" into an area that is usually considered a field, with there not always being a boss at the end of that area.

Flying
As revealed during E3 2011, Skyward Sword includes flight. Link can go to different regions in Skyloft by riding a Loftwing but only once he completes his flying training at the beginning of the game. In this minigame, which is used to teach the young hero how to fly properly, Link must catch a specific bird that is carrying a Bird Statue to prove his worth as a knight of Skyloft and a Loftwing rider.

While flying, Link can jump off the Loftwing he's riding at any time to drop onto the smaller islands scattered throughout the sky, allowing him to explore each individual island as in The Wind Waker. At any point, Link can drop below the clouds to find bird-like Save Statues found around Hyrule that will allow him to return to the clouds and be back to the central town of Skyloft.

Controlling the Loftwing is done similarly to controlling planes in the Wii Sports Resort Air Sports games, as the gliding is achieved through the Wii Remote. Pressing A allows Link to go faster, the B Button slows the Loftwing down, and flicking the controller vertically will make the Loftwing flap its wings.

Early Development
When Eiji Aonuma was asked in a 2007 interview if Twilight Princess would be the Wii's only Zelda title, he replied, "I can't say, but I guess for now, maybe, yeah [laughs]. Not to say that it's going to be the final game. There's still a lot of potential with the Wii so there's still a possibility that there could be another Zelda for it. We do have some ideas in the works, but I can't say for sure because none of them have been approved and we're still very much in the planning process, so I hope you look forward to whatever comes out."

In a private meeting at E3 2007, Eiji Aonuma began to give details about the then-soon-to-be-released Zelda title, Phantom Hourglass. He then began speaking about Skyward Sword. In his excitement, he began to reveal more details about the game, but was withheld from divulging too much information by Shigeru Miyamoto. He indicated that he would like to have a whole new control system for the game, and that it was possible that one-to-one swordplay could be implemented. He also said that he would like to make the game to appeal both to the casual and the hardcore gamer, a sentiment echoed by Miyamoto in a later interview.

It was stated by Shigeru Miyamoto that Twilight Princess is "without a doubt, the last Zelda game as you know it in its present form." However, the meaning of this quote leaves quite a bit to interpretation. In that same vein, Eiji Aonuma more recently revealed that he is looking to alter the "traditional flow" of Zelda games, which usually consists of exploring a field, entering a dungeon, conquering the dungeon, and then returning to the field.

At E3 2008, Miyamoto confirmed that Skyward Sword was not the only new Zelda game in development at the time, and that separate teams had gotten together to create both DS and Wii Zelda games. Spirit Tracks was produced alongside Skyward Sword by a separate team and released before the end of the following year.

At a round-table at the E3 2009 Convention, Shigeru Miyamoto disclosed that Skyward Sword would be announced at E3 in 2010. Artwork shown at the roundtable was leaked shortly after, depicting a swordless, adult, right-handed Link, as well as a mysterious female figure, bearing resemblance to both the Fairy Queen and the Master Sword. Miyamoto admitted that Skyward Sword ' s version of Link is older than those of past titles, and placed an emphasis on Link's lack of a sword in the leaked artwork, particularly when questioned about the girl. The actual title of Skyward Sword was not revealed until E3 2010, before which it was known only as "Zelda Wii".

Game Developers Conference 2011 Preview
During the Game Developers Conference in March 2011, a new demo was exhibited, showing several new actions Link can perform during the adventure, not to mention new locales and environments. Link faces a redesigned Skulltula and two Lizalfos, manipulates a puzzle-like key in order to open a door, and comes face-to-face with Koloktos. The first significant NPC was revealed to be a mysterious, white-haired man, who can vanish into thin air similar to the way Midna and Zant teleport in Twilight Princess.

Graphics
Graphically, the title incorporates a mixture between The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess: cel-shading and realistic elements, the former in relation to the overworld, and the latter in respect to Link's appearance and weaponry. However, in the September 2010 issue of Nintendo Power, Aonuma mentioned that neither style contributed to the choice of art styles, and that they simply chose it since the developers are focusing on "swordplay", meaning that they wanted to make the swordplay accessible and clear to the user.

Cel-shaded versions of enemies such as Octoroks, Deku Babas, and Bokoblins were apparent during the gameplay at the Conference in order to further explain the motion capabilities of the sword with Wii Motion Plus and the weapons during combat. In terms of the overworld, an open forest-like area was shown, that housed a large, central tree and a multitude of colorful attributes such as mushrooms, foliage, and even temple-like entrances along the area's walls.

Skyward Sword's unique visual style was inspired by Miyamoto's love of impressionism, and the skies in the game are a tribute to Cézanne. Plenty of visual cues to identify enemy attacks and weaknesses will be given, and since "full realism" wouldn't work for these kinds of cues, the game developers decided that the best way to do so was to overexaggerate the character designs.

Audio
Skyward Sword has been confirmed to be fully orchestrated, with Miyamoto saying that "Nintendo couldn't do what it did with Galaxy 2 and not do the same with the next Zelda." However, an IGN interview with Aonuma states that the question whether to use orchestrated music had still not been answered by the time E3 came up. Moreover, Aonuma said that he was actually surprised at Miyamoto's response during the roundtable, saying that he hasn't had a chance to talk to Miyamoto for his approval and that he might tell Aonuma that "he was just joking around."

In an Iwata Asks interview with Super Mario Galaxy composer Mahito Yokota, it was confirmed again that the game's music would be orchestrated. According to Yokota, Shigeru Miyamoto said that adding orchestrated music for Skyward Sword 's E3 2010 showing was not necessary at the time, but at the end of the summer, they decided to add in orchestral music and Mahito Yokota joined the development team.

Timeline Placement
Skyward Sword's in-game story establishes itself as the first game in the known Zelda timeline, exploring the beginning of the battle between good and evil within the legend, and establishing its key players: Zelda, as the incarnation of the Goddess Hylia, Link, as the incarnation of the Goddess's hero, and Ganondorf, as the manifestation of the Demon King Demise's hatred.

Eiji Aonuma had already confirmed during the game's development that in terms of the Zelda Timeline, Skyward Sword comes before Ocarina of Time, which was later confirmed in the timeline published in Hyrule Historia, when it was placed before The Minish Cap and Four Swords. Aonuma did however state that Skyward Sword will not necessarily always be the first entry in the chronology, giving the possibility for future games to occur earlier.

Reception
The game received universal acclaim, gaining a Metacritic rating of 93 (out of 100). It obtained a perfect score from IGN (10/10) and 98% from the UK Official Nintendo Magazine; it is tied with for the magazine's highest-ever review score. However, Gamespot rated it lower than previous games in the series, giving it a score of 7.5 out of 10. Fans have praised the new combat system, but complained about free-roaming in the sky, saying it lacked more interesting places to explore. In addition, the game has been criticized for being too linear.

The game sold over 2 million copies worldwide on a month of release. As of March 2012, the game had sold 3.52 million copies worldwide.

Trivia

 * Skyward Sword is said to have taken the longest development period in the history of the franchise.
 * This is the second game in the series that requires an external accessory (the Wii MotionPlus) to be played, the first being Majora's Mask in the Nintendo 64 version (which required the Expansion Pak).
 * The main theme of Skyward Sword, known as the Ballad of the Goddess, is an orchestration of Zelda's Lullaby played in reverse.
 * Skyward Sword is the second game in the franchise that shares its Japanese subtitle with the rest of the world, being a direct romanization of the English title (スカイウォードソード); the first is Twilight Princess (トワイライトプリンセス). The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, Four Swords, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask all use the same title in English and Japanese, but they are not directly romanized.
 * The Hyrule of Skyward Sword has the most advanced technology yet, with an entire dungeon staffed by robots and the existence of a large mining corporation that created the dungeon and its robotic denizens.
 * Skyward Sword is the first Zelda game to have the element of electricity on a major scale.
 * Despite being a Wii game, Skyward Sword only runs in 16:9 widescreen, even with the fullscreen setting for the Wii on. In the event that the Wii's default fullscreen mode is on while playing the game, the image is displayed in a letterbox format so as not to inconvenience those without widescreen televisions.
 * The American box art contains Hylian Language from Twilight Princess even though Skyward Sword introduces a new Hylian Language. Twilight Princess Hylian is also scarcely featured within the game.
 * This is the first time the names "Din, Farore, and Nayru" are mentioned in the same game as "Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru."
 * In the short Hylian text in the box art, the two words read translated "DIN" and "NAHRU" as a reference to Din and Nayru.
 * The division of Skyward Sword's surface world into three separate provinces that Link must dive into from The Sky is very similar to the division of Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland into three continents that are only accessible if Tingle uses his Tingle Balloon from the top of Rupee Tower.
 * A game-ending glitch occurs if the quest for the Song of the Hero is done in a certain way. This prompted the release of the Skyward Sword Save Data Update Channel.