The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD and Monolith Soft
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is
the first Wii-exclusive Zelda title, requiring the use of the Wii MotionPlus controller. The best way to describe this game is "refreshing", as Nintendo went back into their tool kit and used new ideas to craft this game into something that offers new experiences and diverges from the repetitive gameplay patterns that the major Zelda titles of the past have given us over the years. So the major question is, does Skyward
Sword hit the mark on being another legend to remember? I'll be
happily shedding some light in my review.
Features:
- You will now use your Wii mote and nunchuk to control your sword and shield and create strategies to defeat fierce foes.
- You can now upgrade your equipment by using the items you will find from killing enemies.
- Unlock a brand new hard mode called "Hero Mode" after completing your first play-through.
- Occasionally pick what Link says during conversations.
- Use your Wii mote to control different gadgets and solve puzzles within dungeons and environments.
Story:
Taking place before all the previous Zelda titles, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword takes us high into the heavens with a floating town called "Skyloft". In Skyloft, people ride birds through the skies and have barely any knowledge about the mysterious land below their clouds. We are then introduced to Link, who decides to enter the Wing Ceremony Competition after being requested to do so by his childhood friend, Zelda. After the events of the competition, a tornado comes out of nowhere and snatches Zelda away. Link soon meets a mysterious sword spirit named "Fi" who instructs him on how they can find her. With the power of his newly gained Goddess Sword, Link then flies himself out of Skyloft and journeys to the land below. However, he will soon have to face many foes and monsters who are being led by the antagonistic Demon Lord, Ghirahim.
The story starts off rather slow and it doesn't become extremely interesting until much later in the game, but the characters keep you interested enough that this isn't that big of an issue. Skyward Sword's main protagonist is currently my favorite Link in the series. He is full of emotion and determination to help Zelda, which is wonderfully shown the most during major scenes. If there was ever a Zelda game where I was moved about how Link felt, it would be this one. Without spoiling anything, Ghirahim is also now my favorite villain in the Zelda series. He's extremely evil, psychotic, and definitely not all talk when it comes to his status as a Demon Lord. Other characters will keep you laughing, like Link's "rival" Groose. Others will just keep you wondering about their involvement in the story, such as the mysterious Fi.
Overall, the story of Skyward Sword is engaging enough to grasp your attention, and it pays off as its major themes start to unfold.
Gameplay:
The gameplay in Skyward Sword includes many interesting changes and marks a major turning point for the series. The environments you explore in the land under the clouds contain more puzzles and exploration, while the dungeons are much shorter than what we've been given in the previous Zelda titles. The dungeons will usually only contain two or three big puzzles that will put your mind to the test, while the rest of the time progressing will usually just involve you having to explore the surroundings. While some may not like this, I personally enjoyed the change of pace. It makes the gaming experience much more relaxing, while helping new players get into the series and have an easier time.
Fortunately, there is plenty of challenge to be found. Not only do you lose a whopping one heart from a single hit from an enemy, but almost every foe you will face requires actual strategy to beat. You can't swing your sword around and hope your enemy dies.
In combat, monsters will be carefully blocking your attacks and it's up to you to outsmart them by swinging your Wii mote horizontally, vertically, and at other angles to take your foes down.
Nintendo even added a "stamina bar" which gives the player the ability to dash around and jump up onto walls. When the stamina bar runs out after lots of dashing, Link will then get tired and it will regenerate after a few seconds. The concept of the stamina bar isn't bad, yet it does get rather annoying when you realize you overused the dashing ability and suddenly the boss you are fighting is about to kill you. Speaking of which most bosses are either decently challenging or just extremely easy, depending on how obvious their weak points are.
Skyward Sword's exploration isn't limited to just the land below the clouds, since you are able to fly your own bird above the sky and explore different sky islands. Most of the sky islands contain "Goddess Chests" that can be unlocked by
discovering Goddess cubes in the land below and hitting them with a Skyward Slash, which is
done by holding your Wii mote straight up.
There are also different side quests available and new items you can buy at Skyloft throughout the course of the game.
The changes don't end there, as this is the first Zelda game where you can upgrade your equipment with the use of the items you find from killing enemies. Sadly, this is a hit or miss aspect of the game. Because of this feature your shield starts off very weak and enemies can easily break it. So naturally you will want to upgrade your shield so you can make it stronger, but finding the right items to upgrade your equipment can become very tedious. I had to kill so many bats just to get one simple monster claw for an upgrade, and I needed three. Thankfully, you can get medals in the game. Medals increase your chances for not only gaining rare monster items, but even hearts and rupees. The medals can be held in a "Adventure Pouch" where you can hold bomb upgrades, arrow upgrades, and bottles for potions. The adventure pouch has limited space and you will have to buy and find more slots if you want to carry a good number of upgrades.
Graphics: The graphics in Skyward Sword are nicely cel-shaded and smooth. It's like a fusion of the cel-shaded graphics from "The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker" and the dark rough graphics from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The characters and areas are all colorfully designed and you can tell there was plenty of effort put into them.
Controls: I have a love and hate relationship with the controls. They work nicely when you are fighting enemies and solving the game's many puzzles, and the Wiimote and nunchuk controls are both very smooth. I did have some control issues in other areas of the game, however. If I try opening the map with my Wii mote, it begins to become unresponsive when I try dragging it across the screen to mark my next destination. And during the sky diving segments of the game, my controls felt oddly uncomfortable and too slippery. So the controls aren't bad during all the action, yet they don't do an amazing job when it comes to the small gaming details.
Sound: The soundtrack in this game is very beautiful and every area has music that perfectly matches with it. The music only continues to impress when you get farther into the game and reach new environments.
The Zelda series has always been known for its wonderful music, and Skyward Sword only continues to show that the series has not lost its touch.
Overall: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a shining example of something new; its characters and well-crafted gameplay are what it does best. The graphics and sound are both very well done and I had no complaints whatsoever about them. The art style continues to impress, and I love the character designs that came out of this game. But, I did have problems with the controls. There were many moments while opening the map or playing mini games where my new Wii MotionPlus would not respond properly.
The truth is that not everybody may like this game because it changes a lot of different concepts that fans have grown up with over the past years. But these changes were not a bad thing at all, as Skyward Sword was able to execute its new ideas in a wonderful manner. In the end, it's a new and refreshing installment that new and old fans can both enjoy. So get ready to raise your Wiimote and enjoy a new legend that raises itself to the heavens.
| Graphics: |
9.8 |
| Controls: |
8.9 |
| Gameplay: |
9.5 |
| Story: |
9.5 |
| Sound: |
10 |
"When MECH kidnaps Breakdown, it falls to the Autobots to rescue him."
I wasn't looking forward to this episode since it focused on both Breakdown and Silas, neither of whom are remotely interesting. Breakdown's the Decepticon's muscle, but he lacks the charisma of his partner Knockout. At best, he gets in a few one-liners before he starts smashing. Silas was a thoroughly wasted villain in his debut episode, coming off as generically evil with no hint of motivation or personality. While they're largely static here, the ending of "Operation: Breakdown" hints at a smidge of something greater for both.
Breakdown doesn't necessary get a large character boost. The minute he's kidnapped by Silas' team, MECH, he's largely background, serving as the primary object that drives the other characters. Starscream wants to stage a rescue until Megatron vetoes him, while the Autobots agree to rescue Breakdown out of the kindness of their hearts. All except Bulkhead who, being Breakdown's rival, is too prideful and resentful to bother. Despite the title, this is largely a Bulkhead episode. There's good internal conflict as he ponders on the right path. Does he stick with his original plan and leave Breakdown to his fate or should he follow Miko and Optimus' advice and release him not only to fight another day, but because he's morally a good guy who wouldn't let his own species suffer? Of course he chooses the latter. That in turn triggers Breakdown's only notable clue of character progression when he realizes the Autobots would risk their lives to save him, not his fellow Decepticons. Suddenly he doubts his path. Maybe being a Decepticon isn't all it's cracked up to be. Starscream's ultimatum doesn't help either: choose him or Megatron. This part made no sense, as Breakdown has never shown any sign that he was loyally conflicted between the two. The event did hint of a possible expansion to his personal journey, something he sorely needs.
Silas is the same boring baddie he was in "Convoy". He has a reason for capturing Breakdown; he wants to study Cybertronian technology and utilize it for himself, but his motivation is still unclear. There is nothing deep about him, he's still just evil for the sake of being evil. However, credit should go where it's due; Silas is creepy. If they're going to make him villainous, the writers might as well take full advantage. Silas has no qualm about letting his men cut Breakdown open, knowing full well that he's a living and sentient creature. Equally disturbing is that the episode actually shows MECH at work sawing Breakdown open, leaving him awake and conscious during the process. They disregard the bot's insults and struggles; he's just a thing for
them to kill for their own benefit. It's sickening. Transformers Prime visually delivers horror very well and this is one of the best examples of that. The kicker comes when he sends one of Breakdown's eyes to the Autobots. It's nightmarish in all the right way and reveals how despicable he is. Silas is a mediocre character, but he's a terrific antagonist.
"Operation: Breakdown" is enjoyable if you ignore the lackluster story and character. Visually, it's amazing. From the haunting deserted city to Breakdown's onscreen torment, the episode is grade A nightmare fuel. It leaves you with a twisted feeling inside your stomach. I may not care for Breakdown, but even I felt sorry for him during his brief torment.
“When Miss Simian realizes that the only trophy she is lacking for her collection is the one for best teacher – which requires a student nomination – she decides to become Gumball’s friend in order to get him to write the letter in question. However, not all of the Wattersons believe that she has truly changed.”
Miss Simian is the closest thing that this show has to an antagonist. While there are other characters who serve to make life miserable for Gumball, such as Tina and her gang, no other character is in the position to act as harshly against him. Despite that, Miss Simian hasn’t had very many notable roles this season, but this episode did a lot to help rectify that and cement her place as a truly awful person. Not only is she actively ruining Gumball’s life, but strove to ruin Nicole’s life as well, contributing greatly to her mental instability with years of taunting and teasing. I welcomed that revelation. I fervently believe that Nicole is the best character in the show, as in addition to being funny, she arguably has the most depth out of any character and this episode added greatly to that. The brief flashback was rather sad and really set up the climax.
I’ve always given the show credit for its epic climaxes – when it chooses to have them. This episode certainly delivered in that regard. After learning that Miss Simian deceived them – and called them “losers” to boot – Nicole orders her family into the car and conducts a dangerous, high-speed chase in order to get revenge against her. A lot of crazy things happened in that chase and it kept building up, making you want to see what happens next. It’s also interesting in that Nicole, who would normally do anything to protect her family, was so furious that she actually ordered them to do a variety of dangerous things in an effort to stop Miss Simian. What’s more interesting is the fact that she fails. Miss Simian gets her comeuppance, to be sure, but she still delivers the letter and actually wins the trophy that she sought to obtain. I didn’t quite like that move, but it’s a bold one and does add to Miss Simian’s credentials as the show’s primary antagonist. All in all, I really enjoyed this episode and I hope that Nicole and Miss Simian’s feud will resume in season two.
Pinkie
Pie tries her hooves at babysitting only to find the responsibility
more difficult than she expected.
She's
crazy, she's weird, she's almost always happy no matter the
situation. She's Pinkie Pie. The only character on the show who
actually seems somewhat self-aware of being a cartoon. As such she often
defies certain laws of physics or pops out of something unexpected,
among other cartoonish things. Due to that she may seem like a comic
relief character or a one note character, neither of which is the
slightest bit true. Pinkie Pie has just as much depth and emotion as
the other characters, it's just not seen quite as often. That fact is
why it's great to see a Pinkie Pie episode that shows more sides of her than just silliness.
The
episode starts at the hospital with the six main characters all eager
and excited about the birth of Cupcake and Carrotcake's new baby,
wondering whether it will be a colt or a filly (male or female for
those who know nothing about horses). It's revealed that the baby is
actually two babies, twins: a pegasus named Pound Cake (the brother),
and a unicorn named Pumpkin Cake (the sister). Pinkie Pie is hyper
excited to have not just one but two new ponies to play with, while the others are
more perplexed by how one baby can be a pegasus and the other a unicorn.
However, that is quickly explained away; one far removed family
member was a unicorn and another far removed member was a pegasus.
Next the show moves to a month later at Sugarcube Corner, which is a
sweets shop run by the Cakes. It's also where Pinkie Pie lives and works, and she even watches
over the shop at times when the Cakes are out. She's most likely the
Cakes' apprentice, but the show has not yet to state this directly. Anyways, Pinkie
Pie is having a great time playing with the twins and keeping them
happy while their parents do the actual work of feeding them,
changing them, etc. When something comes up and
the Cakes have to find Pinkie Pie immediately volunteers, but the Cakes ignore her
and look for a sitter. However the other five main characters all
have (mostly humorous) reasons why they're unable to do it, so the Cakes have no choice but to let Pinkie Pie do it. But they warn her that she has to actually be responsible and not just play
with them.
As
soon as the parents are gone the babies begin crying and Pinkie Pie
scrambles to find a way to stop it. She then goes about feeding them, bathing them and changing them, though each task is challenging and causes Pinkie Pie more annoyance and stress. She's relieved when Twilight Sparkle arrives to help, but unfortunately Pinkie is offended when Twilight talks about how difficult it is for some ponies to handle the responsibility. Pinkie proceeds to
kick out her friend and gets (almost completely) serious, determined to prove she can handle things on her own handle
the responsibility on her own. But soon after she puts the twins to bed, she discovers that they've disappeared! And so begins a frantic search to
find them.
This episode, like most, doesn't disappoint as the show
adds its own unique twists and creates something that is much more
original than it looks on paper. “Baby
Cakes” is another solid episode which introduces two new
characters, the twins of course. I do love the idea of twins where
one is a pegasus and the other a unicorn. Pound Cake lives up to his
name as he likes to hit things, and he also seems rather strong for his
age. Pumpkin Cake, meanwhile, likes to chew on things. Both of the twins are
quite intelligent for their age, a fact which is well portrayed and
enjoyable.
Another thing I loved is that even as the episode showed a more serious side to Pinkie Pie, there was a balance as she still retained a certain amount of characteristic silliness. This was quite entertaining and made perfect sense for her character. The scene where Twilight came over
to help Pinkie was a nice way to take a break from the babysitting
scenes for a moment, and it did an excellent job of providing Pinkie
with the determination she needed to do as she did in the next scene.
The episode also contained a great running gag involving flour. I
found nothing to complain about in this episode, it's well done with
plenty of attention to both the small details as well as the big
picture. When
the episode reached its end, there was a nice lesson about
responsibility and I was satisfied by how everything was wrapped up. Once
again this show proves there are no great stories, only great
storytellers.
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