Zelda Skyward Sword: Spoiler Free Review

SPOILER FREE VERSION

I don't get a chance very often to make such critical analysis about why I love a piece of art so much.  When you get the chance, you have to let your thoughts out.  That's what I'm going to do today.  Many reviews have been released since the game's release, and even beforehand.  Some were respectable, while other's weren't very respectable.  But there is always room for one more opinion.

Nintendo has always amazed me with many great games from Mario to Metroid to Starfox to Donkey Kong to Zelda and even to Kirby.  And while I may not get to play each one right away, it's been my greatest pleasure to make it my duty to beat this game and bring you one of many moments of truth.

The Legend of Zelda

Video Game Review

From the Start
From the beginning, before I even start my file, I'm presented with the most terrifying of intros ever conceived in The Legend of Zelda.  I felt this game could be more terrifying than Twilight Princess and Majora's Mask combined.  It blew my mind away.  once I started my file, I was gifted with insight to Link's nightmares.

I was quickly immersed with feeling of adventure.  Through the first few custscenes, I felt optimistic and joyous.  Never from any other game had I felt such a surge of emotion.  What Nintendo has done here is nothing short of it's finest emotional journey through the eyes of a young boy.

The Story
Link is a young adult living in the vast land above the clouds called Skyloft.  He's been friends with Zelda since his childhood.  While Link and Zelda fly, Zelda is taken below the clouds and Link is sent on a journey to find her and save her.

It's incredibly fierce in the way it's presented.  With a feeling of little help, you find yourself struggling for answers to what is actually happening in the story.  After a while, you yourself would like to know what is going on.

Ghirahim turns out to be a great antagonist.  Throughout the game, Ghirahim attempts to take Zelda to use her as part of a ritual.  If you don't prevent this from happening, it may be all over.

The World
You find many items and meet many creatures and people.  And while the land isn't vast and huge like Twilight Princess, it's much more compact and much more dense.  This was a much smarter choice than the worlds in Twilight Princess which were so big, most of it was actually empty.  Nintendo learned a lesson from Twilight Princess since then and decided to add a lot more content to fewer areas.  While also decreasing certain travel times, there is much more to do in one area.

You encounter a forest, a mountain, and a desert.  Each of these terrains is filled with characters to talk to and new things to do with each visit.  Many of the dungeon-like puzzles that Zelda is known for is spread across the land giving a consistent feeling allowing the temples to feel like they belong instead of making them feel like they stand out as a video game level.  RPG games don't discern between levels, and that's another place where this game does it right.

The Art Style
Instead of once again drawing out details textures and pseudo-realistic world like Twilight Princess attempted to do, more pixels are given to model shapes and more design work was put into the colors.  A game isn't just about a large resolution output.  That's only one way a game can be realistic.  But through this artstyle, dubbed a painting come to life, expressions are exaggerated and the player can feel a deeper emotional involvement.

Most games now-a-days resort to having almost half of their colors consist of brown and grey to attempt to look as realistic as possible.  Maybe this is because there is no deep emotional investment in any of these games.  Skyward Sword stands out like a sore thumb.  And while many may call it a kids' game because of the art style, they need to grow up.  This is definitely not a kid's game.

The Verdict
The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword is a masterpiece for the ages.  Just like Ocarina of Time, it will be treasured as one of the greatest games to date.  It receives my Best Media of 2011 unofficial Award. And while it's not perfect, it's incredibly polished.  Five years of development were put into this game, and it shows.  Each developer, designer, coder, director, and composer deserves a lot of credit for their involvement with this game.

All in all, every player will have their quirks with the game.  There are no discernible flaws that will be noticed by 100% of players.  And I wouldn't call 480p max output a flaw in a game.  Neither is a graphic art style.

Considering my own quirks such as text speed and random unnecessary alerts, there's not enough to give this game less than a great score.  It's rare when I rate a piece of media 9.0 or higher.  But this will be the highest score on this blog yet.

9.4/10