http://www.zelda.com/skywardsword/#/homehttp://www.nintendo.co.jp/zelda25th/screensaver/
The orchestral CD included with all copies of the game, in full: (open in new tab)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y8wIMMg-44&list=PLA6F903C35BFF5E3A&feature=plpp_play_all
- Nov 16, 2011100A game of stunning creativity: the work of master craftsmen and women, it's a breathtaking technical achievement in many ways, with subtly beautiful visuals and audio blending with rampantly imaginative design. It's as good a Zelda game as we've ever played, and one that fully delivers on the revolution Nintendo promised back in 2005.
- Nov 14, 2011100Timeless masterpiece. This Legend of Zelda takes over from Ocarina of Time. It's a step in the saga and a revolution in the design of third-person adventures. The Wii MotionPlus works perfectly, so the game is especially fun. A gift from heaven!
- Nov 11, 2011100Skyward Sword manages to honor 25 years' of gaming history while simultaneously feeling relevant for anyone new to the ways of Zelda - or those who'd perhaps grown a bit tired of hanging out with Link.
- Nov 11, 2011100Nintendo's most time- and workforce-intensive project yet, and it shows in every hour you spend with it. It's a masterful blend of taut design and boldly non-traditional controls, an adventure liberally studded with memorable moments it would be remiss to spoil. Your favourite Zelda is usually your first. For many, come November 18, that won't be the case any longer.
- Nov 11, 2011100It is the most formally inventive Zelda in a long time (admittedly, that's not saying a great deal). But it's the game's carefree attitude, quick tempo and warm heart that do the most to make it feel new...Skyward Sword will surely be the greatest adventure money can buy.
- Nov 11, 2011100The most important change is that most everything feels new. The fights against giant boss creatures at the end of each dungeon don't rely on old ideas. The classic characters are replaced, for the most part, with novel ones. If you already know what's going to happen, is that really capturing the spirit of the original Legend of Zelda, in which we all went in blind? Skyward Sword shows that "a real Zelda game" is about more than certain items or certain gameplay rituals, which in the end is more meaningful than adding better sword controls.
- Nov 11, 2011100Skyward Sword is an epic, the sort of epic you call out of work or school for a few days to complete. A focused playthrough will take you north of 30 hours, and if you try to 100% the game, there is a 50+ hour quest to go through. Throw in the second quest, dubbed Hero Mode, and there is a lot of game to play.
- Nov 11, 2011100Revolutionary on at least two counts, with the best motion controls ever seen in a video game and an inspired reinvention and improvement of the Zelda formula.
- Nov 11, 2011100Whether or not it's the best ever Zelda game is open to debate, but it's certainly up there. However, nobody could argue that it's anything less than a masterclass in the art of crafting video games.
- Nov 11, 2011100Remarkably, this Zelda game manages to reshape its control scheme, design sensibility and pacing all at once while still telling a brilliantly powerful story featuring some very memorable characters. Increasingly Nintendo refuses to compromise cinematic storytelling for gameplay, finding a balance that seems effortless.
- Nov 11, 2011100Skyward Sword finally brings satisfying swordplay, delivering on a promise made five years ago.
- Nov 4, 2011100The biggest surprise in Skyward Sword is the story. For all the different shapes it has taken, the plot of The Legend of Zelda has always been a fairly predictable affair that feels like an afterthought. Skyward Sword doesn't elevate the art of video game storytelling, but it is a major step up for the franchise, with clever writing, an interesting (if strange) new villain, and a wide cast of characters that would feel at home in one of Disney's better animated movies.
- Oct 21, 2011100How apt that this ultimate tale of hero-making should see Nintendo's hardware become the console it was always meant to be.
- Nov 11, 201198Skyward Sword is a masterpiece. It raises the bar for the legendary series and is memorable from start to finish. It's challenging, unpredictable, diverse, thrilling, and endearing. It is the Zelda game you've been waiting for.
- Nov 11, 201198A huge departure for Zelda and a proper arrival for Wii's motion controls. Link's latest is rule-breaking, dream-weaving, tech-loving, heart-soaring stuff. If it Wii's last hurrah, they don't come more impassioned than this.
- Oct 22, 201198Skyward Sword stands as an ode to a series that has endured all of recent gaming history. It marks the dizzying pinnacle of both the Zelda series and motion-controlled gaming itself. It's a huge accomplishment that, even by Nintendo's own record, stands out as one of their finest.
- Nov 16, 201196It's impossible to understand the Wii's existence without the launch of Skyward Sword. The last great game for Wii jutifies the creation of the wiimote and, without being the turning point that we would expect, it's definetely a triumphant comeback in the series.
- Nov 14, 201195My new favorite 3D Zelda title, beating out Majora's Mask and Wind Waker by a substantial margin. It would be hard to go back to any of those games now. All of the gameplay innovations, emotionally involving moments, beautiful little details, and purely blissful experiences in this game have me completely and utterly spoiled.
- Nov 14, 201195A must-have that demonstrates that Zelda is still in great form, and celebrates in the best possible way the 25th birthday of the series. As each Zelda game, it is outstanding. Not only one of the best games in Wii history, but also one of the best in the generation.
- Nov 11, 201195Not only one of the best Zelda games, but one of the best games ever made. It will take you places you've never been and show you sights you've never seen, so ignoring it just because it's on the Wii would be a damn shame.
- Nov 11, 201193The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is not only one of the best Wii games of the year, it's one of the best games to hit the system ever.
- Nov 11, 201193Quotation forthcoming.
- Nov 13, 201191Stripped bare of accessories, its all-business approach will thrill some and frustrate others. Less whimsical and more weighty, it proves that clever level design and tight gameplay trump all, and perhaps most importantly, that motion gaming can truly be for everyone.
- Nov 16, 201190Skyward Sword is different form the usual Zelda experience: there's no overworld, resulting in a hampered exploration. But the other aspects of the gameplay are nothing but great: level design shines in every single area of the game; the pace is engaging, the progression linear but always entertaining. Plus, the game has a strong identity, thanks to its characterization, impressive visuals and the extraordinary musical score. It's not the same Legend, but it's another masterpiece.
- Nov 11, 201190A superb adventure game with tons of charm, intelligence and – basically – fun stuff to do. Skyward Sword is a game that's fallen from heaven, with only some minor bruises.
- Nov 11, 201190A perfectly balanced mix of innovation and classic Zelda gameplay, Skyward Sword truly lives up to the Zelda legacy of excellence and offers the most variety of any Zelda game to date. Its swordplay and puzzles are some of the best in the series, and seeing Link and Zelda's first story chronologically is a treat for longtime fans.
- Nov 11, 201190One thing's for sure: Skyward Sword will divide. Its numerous qualities, among which the changes of scenery, the ingeniousness of the puzzles, make it able to provide us with a quest rich with intense moments, but some imprecision and lengthy sections prevent it from becoming the new and reformed shiny prince the series needed. If the Wii MotionPlus gameplay enables the immersion to go a step further, it requires a rigorous play style and will spawn some frustrations when it sometimes (rarely) doesn't work perfectly well. A beautiful adventure remains, still, proud to be the hallmark of the 25th anniversary of Link, Zelda & co... but not sufficiently sparkling to eclipse the infinite magic of the Ocarina of Time and Link to the Past episodes.
- Nov 11, 201190It is a game punctuated by near-constant moments of genuine exhiliration, dishing out a stream of physical and mental satisfaction which moves between taxing and rewarding the player with an almost flawless equipoise. It is, however, a stream that's tragically interrupted by the filler which has reared its ugly head in so many of the series' past iterations.
- Nov 1, 201190Spellbinding, dramatic and absolutely epic in both the world it paints and the story it tells, Zelda: Skyward Sword is a hugely important event for the Wii, for Nintendo, and for anyone with even a passing love for the venerable series it celebrates.
ALL SUB 90 REVIEWS
- Nov 11, 201183While the developers made a conscious effort to shake things up with new ideas and implementations, the game falls into a weird middle ground filled with genuine surprises, inessential carry-overs, and copy/paste quest structures. That said, I still believe this to be one of the more admirable chapters of the series, even if at times it feels the developers were unsure of which sacred cows to keep and which to sacrifice.
- Nov 11, 201180Quotation forthcoming.
- Nov 11, 201180Skyward Sword is absolutely packed with content. There's hardly any fluff to be found in the 35 hours or so it takes to complete the main quest, outside of the typically sluggish opening scenes. But I feel like Zelda should be going back to its roots and becoming less linear, rather than moreso. It's a curious decision, and I'm not sure it'll sit particularly well with longtime Zelda fans.
- Nov 11, 201180Designer Shigeru Miyamoto once said "the first 30 minutes of a game is the most important," and Skyward Sword fails to pass that test. It takes several hours before you're given any sense of real freedom, which is too bad, as the game manages to merge the sublime openness of the sea from Wind Waker (without the Triforce madness!) with the directed fun of most other games, as it's easy to just keep moving forward without much fuss. And by the time you start seeing what the designers really have in store for you..., you actually don't want it to stop, even if you're able to constantly, cynically predict when the game will ask you to find just One More Thing before it's all over.
- Nov 15, 201175The formula is beginning to show its age. There just aren't enough new ideas to separate Skyward Sword from its predecessors, and the few additions come with mixed results. Even with many bright spots, Skyward Sword still feels like a nostalgic retread. Those yearning for something new will be disappointed, but anyone thirsty for another exciting adventure will find plenty to enjoy here.
- The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword -
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - "Iwata Asks":
- Volume One http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/zelda-skyward-sword/0/0
- Volume Two http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/zelda-skyward-sword/1/0
- Volume Three http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/zelda-skyward-sword/2/0
- Volume Four http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/zelda-skyward-sword/3/0
- Volume Five http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/zelda-skyward-sword/4/0
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- Paul Cezanne:
http://www.giantbomb.com/the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword/61-26934/paul-cezanne/35-490497/#11
- The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony - Impressions:
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