The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

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

- Fi

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a Zelda game developed for the Nintendo 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 Concert, is also packaged alongside all early purchases of the standard and special edition copies of Skyward Sword.

Prologue
Long time ago, a war of unmatched scale and ferocity was taking place on sacred land. Suddenly, one dark day, the earth cracked and malevolent forces came out from it. The evil forces attacked with no mercy to the people of the surface and started to destroy the land. This forces were chasing the ultimate power that was protected by Her Grace, the goddess of the land. That ultimate power was handed down by the Gods of old, and it would make any desire a reality. So to prevent that power from falling into evil hands, the Goddess gathered the surviving humans of the land and sent them skyward, beyond the clouds. When the humans were safe, the Goddess returned to the land and fought the evil forces, sealing them away. Finally, peace was restored to the surface.

The Wing Ceremony
Link is a young boy who was raised in Skyloft. He has a close relationship with his childhood friend Zelda and in a very important date, a Wing Ceremony is about to take place. That day, Link had a very weird dream, reflecting a gigantic dark beast and a spirit of light which is actually Fi. When he gets out the Knight Academy, he loses his Loftwing and starts to search for it. Then, Link learns that Groose was the responsible of its disappearance. When Link finds his Loftwing, Zelda hears someone is calling her but she didn’t take importance to it and then helps Link to use his Loftwing. After that, the Wing Ceremony starts and Link wins without complications and receives the Bird Statuette. Then, Zelda jumps off from the ledge and Link catches her. In that moment, both went to the Goddess Statue and Zelda introduces the statuette to the Goddess Statue. Then, she gives Link the Sailcloth. Afterward, Link and Zelda started to fly together and suddenly, Zelda is trapped in a vortex and is taken to the land below. Link tries to rescue her but he faints in the action. His Crimson Loftwing takes Link back to Skyloft and then, he tells everything to Knights' Academy headmaster Gaepora.

The Goddes Sword
When Link exits his room, he sees someone in the Knight Academy. That person is Fi, the spirit of the Goddess Sword. Fi guides Link to the entrance of the Goddess Statue and then he receives the Goddess Sword and the Emerald Tablet, in order to proceed to The Sealed Grounds. Fi tells Link that Zelda is alive, and also, is on a land below the clouds known as The Surface. Then, Link goes after Zelda and when he arrives to The Sealed Temple, an old woman gives him a hint about the girl’s whereabouts. After, Link arrives to Faron Woods and continues his journey until he enters to the Skyview Temple. There, a strange man introduced as Ghirahim, attacks Link and both start a deadly match. Ghirahim explains Link that he was the person who took Zelda with the tornado, but he said that someone else took her away from him. When Link defeats him, the young hero enters to the Skyview Spring and Fi translates him words that the Goddess left for him, indicating that Zelda must purify her body on two different springs. Link receives the Ruby Tablet and then returns to Skyloft to introduce it on the Goddess Statue. With a new path opened in the surface, the young hero must travel to the Eldin Volcano, where continues his journey to find Zelda. After finding the Earth Temple, Ghirahim appears him and tells Link that once again, someone else took Zelda. When Link arrives to the second spring, he notes that Zelda is with someone else. The girl disappears in a flash of light and leave Link with a lot of doubts. Without know of Zelda’s whereabouts, he receives another tablet known as the Amber Tablet and places it on the Goddess Statue. Fi and Link travel to Lanayru Dessert, where both found the Temple of Time. When they reach it, Zelda and the strange woman known as Impa, are standing after the Gate of Time. In that moment, Ghirahim attacks Impa and Zelda gives Link the Goddess's Harp. The young hero intervenes in the battle and Impa and Zelda enter to the Gate of Time, leaving the present time and destroying the gate. Ghirahim leaves the scene and Link returns to Sealed Grounds to learn how to use the Goddess’s Harp.

The Sacred Flames
When Link arrives to Sealed Grounds, Groose intercepts him in middle air and both fall to Sealed Gorunds. When both enter to the Sealed Temple, the old woman teaches Link the Ballad of the Goddess. In that moment, a structure appears and is revealed that it is a second Gate of Time. Then, outside the Sealed Temple, a beast known as The Imprisoned is released from a seal and with an exhaustive effort, Link seals it once again. After, Link travel to the Thunderhead to find the Isle of Songs in order to find the Sacred Flames and unleash the true power of the Skyward Strike and so, open the Gate of Time. When he arrives to the Isle of Songs, the hero 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 to prove the Chosen Hero. After completing the Spirit Vessel with Farore’s Tears, Link heads to Lake Floria, after the first Sacred Flame. After passing many challenges, the Goddess Sword is finally fused with the Farore’s Sacred Flame and is transformed into the Goddess Longsword. When the hero obtains the first flame, he returns to the Isle of Songs and learn the Nayru’s Wisdom. Afterward, Link continues his task and heads to the Lanayru Sand Sea. Once again, after defeating many challenges and proving his spirit in the Silent Realm, he receives Din’s Flame and the Goddess White Sword. With only one Flame left, Link heads to the Volcano Summit and suffers the loss of all of his items. Once again, the hero triumphs and before obtaining the last flame, Ghirahim appears once more and tells Link about the second Gate of Time. Link defeats him once again and the last flame improves the Goddess White Sword into the Master Sword. With the Master Sword, Link returns to Sealed Grounds to open the Gate of Time, but before it, The Imprisoned is released once again and the young hero, alongside with Groose, seal the beast away for second time.

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 Nintendo 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
In terms of the Zelda timeline, it has been confirmed by Aonuma himself that Skyward Sword comes before Ocarina of Time, but it's not necessarily the first entry in the chronology, giving the possibility for future games to occur earlier.

Trivia

 * Skyward Sword is said to take 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).
 * Skyward Sword has been confirmed to be the last game by Nintendo to be made for the Wii, as the development of Pikmin 3 has been moved to the Wii's new successor, the Wii U.
 * 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 in the franchise being 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, only 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.