Company
Format
You can read this review in full in our print edition.
In our December 2011 issue, which is with subscribers now and in UK newsagents from October 25, our review includes a Post Script article on how Hyrule has evolved, complete with an interview with Zelda director Eiji Aonuma.
You can also read a digital version of this edition via Newsstand for iPad and iPhone.
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Pity the Deku Baba, Hyrule’s answer to the Venus Flytrap. Encountered early in the majority of 3D Zeldas, it has become a guinea pig for Nintendo’s keenest innovators. Slicing its stalk in Ocarina Of Time proved Nintendo’s Z-targeting had successfully tamed the wild frontier of 3D thirdperson combat. Thirteen years later, cold steel cleaves its head right along a slobbering jawline and you learn – with a slowly widening grin – that Nintendo has repeated the trick with motion controls. We’d salute the troubled flora if it wouldn’t result in Link chopping his own ear off. Such are the risks of one-to-one motion tracking.
Link’s blade mimics every nuance of the wrist. It points as you sound the charge, rises above the head in Braveheart defiance or rotates in the hand for quiet observation. Fidelity invites theatricality; pointing at Bokoblins in the order Link’s going to gut them is a meaningless gesture, but one loaded with samurai cool. In combat, which needs samurai skill, Nintendo weighs the fantasy of one-to-one freedom against its strict standards of usability. Too far one way and you’ve got Twilight Princess’ humourless Remote shaking; too far the other, and Trespasser’s flailing hands come to mind. Nintendo hits the sweet spot by massaging directional swipes into preset horizontal, vertical and diagonal attacks.
In the wake of the one-to-one tomfoolery, limiting actual cuts to eight compass points may sound robotic. In action, it is nothing short of revelatory. MotionPlus ably registers your play-acting – its unfaltering fidelity never once let us down – which Skyward Sword translates into the clean strikes you imagine. Delivering a deathblow with an opportune swipe is roleplaying of the purest kind, Link’s hand and yours outstretched in unison as a three-necked beast writhes on the floor. This is not the first time Link has lopped tentacles left, right and centre, but it is the first time hands have been left, right and centre with him. The victories are ours in a way they could never be with a traditional controller.
Freed from the shackles of buttons, Nintendo’s monster designers concoct a giddying bestiary of revamped favourites and startling debuts. Gelatinous blobs must be vigorously diced before they regroup, Stalfos dual-wield (and occasionally quadruple-wield) for added defence, and Lizalfos hide vulnerable bellies behind Hellboy-ish stone gauntlets. One striking industrial region hosts security drones whose glowing hinges beckon like dotted ‘cut here’ lines. No parental guidance is required, though younger adventurers may find it offered, if not enforced. The fact that one reoccurring boss boasts no greater gimmick than quick reflexes shows how far Skyward Sword has moved beyond earlier games.
MotionPlus permeates Link’s kitbag from items to interface. A simple thing like bombs differentiating between underarm bowls and overarm lobs rejuvenates an item long thought exhausted. Projectile weapons demonstrate a true breakthrough, rejecting Wii’s sensor bar for purely gyroscopic aiming. Tilting the Remote grants control finesse to rival Metroid Prime 3, untainted by the jitteriness of a hand held aloft. Comparing gliding archery here to Twilight Princess’ flighty bow cursor, we wonder why Nintendo didn’t pursue this avenue of control to begin with. The technology powers all in-game menus, picking between dialogue choices or navigating item wheels with the smoothest of gestures.
Comments
46Day one purchase after that review.
This review made me do a sex wee. Want.
I just hope it's on a normal format disc as I got my wii on day one too!
If you're comment is relating to a problem some Wii's have of not being able to play Super Smash Bros Brawl and other high capacity discs then i just want to let you know that you can send your Wii away to Nintendo to get the part replaced that reads the discs.
I was an early purchaser of the Wii as well and found myself severel years down the line having to do this myself and if i remember correctly i didn't need to provide proof of purchase and it was out of warranty and Nintendo paid for postage and delivery. I think i did this about 9 months ago and it took about 2 weeks to be returned to me with the problem solved.
SSMB was the game that brought this problem to my attention and when i was looking for info about it i came across the website and from the information available, there seemed to be quite a few folk affected and that's why the service was provided. I havn't visited the website since then until today and the layout has changed and i couldn't find the exact page with the specific details of the problem on it but i hope it can still be of use to you.
Here is the website:
http://www.nintendoservicecentre.co.uk
Send an email to them explaining your problem and they'll get back to you telling you if you should send it to them.
I was really glad to get mine fixed (me, my wife and my son are all avid gamers) so incase you werent aware of this service i thought i would let you know and i hope it's of some use to you.
Marc.
That's the first I've ever heard of this dual-layer Wii disc thing. Do any Wii games other than Super Smash Bros Brawl come on dual-layer discs?
Another fantastic review. In all fairness the quality of writing seems to be skyrocketing [Oh God, punfest] around here lately.
That one line speaks volumes to a whole legion of Zelda fans who cast their minds back to times when indeed, such a game was enjoyed on Christmas Day.
I know this is sacrilege, but I just can’t get excited by this, despite the review and awarding of the ever-treasured 10.
I’ve enjoyed many a Zelda title in the past (Link to the Past, Ocarina, and Wind Waker in particular), but the thought of playing another is simply unappealing. I can’t decide whether it’s the console (even SMG2 couldn’t entice me to dust-off the Wii) or just that I feel as though I’ve played enough of this franchise now to last me a lifetime. Perhaps it’s just that I’m dead inside :0(
It does sound as though Nintendo have FINALLY made some changes to a formula that had grown stale. I may yet yield and pick it up in the New Year...
I feel exactly the same way. I'm sure its a fantastic game but I have a lot of built up apathy toward zelda and the wii. I'm interested but not sure if i'll be climbing up into the loft to get the boxed up wii.
I feel the same, edd. I finally got around to playing my copy of the Twilight Princess recently, and having played part of it, I lost interest and I'm not sure I can be bothered to continue playing. And so, I too am having trouble in mustering much enthusiasm for this latest Zelda. Perhaps I'm simply growing tired of gaming in my old age (I turned 40 a few months ago) ; I don't know.
Felt the same before I read the review.
From what I've read, it sounds like they've plundered Unchartered's style of fast pacing, mixed it with elements known to work well with Motionplus and, most crucially, given one of gamings most loved characters the chance to show us that he can evolve more than just graphically.
The changes seem bold, and are certainly necessary, but to get it this right takes a lot more guts and skill than I thought Nintendo were capable of...and to think, when I first saw the screenshots I thought it was a shame that the graphics were truly beautiful yet I wouldn't want play it?
I'm off to give myself forty lashes and say a hundred hail Mario's, I should have had more faith.
I totally feel the same. I dug out my wii for SMG2 (not as good as the 1st, imo, but still great), and haven't seen it since. I got bored of twilight princess in pretty short order, and I've never even bought a motionplus.
Therefore, cost of skyward sword for me = game + motionplus (which i'll probably never use again) + time fishing in loft + motivation to actually play.
I'm just not sure I can be bothered! It's not like there are a shortage of fantastic games about at the moment. It's a weird motivational thing, because I know that if it gets anywhere near the heights of wind-waker (my favourite), I'll love it to death.
The Christmas Day quote does indeed resonate deeply. Zelda has been a fixture on so many festive occasions in my life:
Christmas 1992: A Link to the Past
Christmas 1998: Ocarina of Time
Christmas 2006: Twilight Princess
And now this :-)
This actually sounds not shit and that Nintendo are finally trying something new with Zelda.
I might actually buy it.
I'm with ya my UK friends, as Christmas & Zelda seem the perfect match for great memories of Hyrulian adventures... (my first Zelda experience)
But across the pond in the US, some of ours tend come from the Thanksgiving time, as the releases seem to be made to coincide -mainly with the approaching "Black Friday" Christmas opening shopping blitz.
One of my best was picking up Ocarina of Time's golden-foil box at the beginning of that week (with even a Time magazine tease just before):
Having that short & yummy early holiday pause for family in the background, while the fresh 3D exploration grandness & immersiveness of that experience unfolded in poignant cut-scenes leading to epic boss battles & moments of pure discovery played out in the foreground of eternal unforgettableness.
Special memories indeed.
I'll toast them anew with ya again with this game.
Enjoy it when it does arrive.
Cheers!
Really overjoyed that Ninty delivering another great Christmas gaming..
But a serious question, is the game still playable and a 10/10 for left handed gamers like me?
Wished Ninty included a mirror mode that switches the whole world and allows to wields motion plus in left hand as I don't do things well in reverse (right hand).
According to Neal Ronaghan of Nintendo World Report, absolutely. In fact, "Skyward Sword's lefty-friendly to the point that it doesn't need to be discussed further."
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/blog/28102
I just did a little squeal. Opening this on Christmas Day is going to be amaze. Delayed gratification ftw.
I said I was finally bored of Zelda and wouldn't buy another unless they really did something interesting with the formula. Sounds like they actually might have done it. I won't go out and buy it straight away, but I'm certainly more interested than before.
omg, read this article when it came, and the rest of the day ive been dreaming about about this zelda every ten minutes.
thnk u edge for explaining that the wii controlls now work - thank u nintendo once again making the world a better place. and bringing new to gaming
i seriously feel like a kid waiting for christmas :) or like after halo ce review
THIS is why I stick with Nintendo! AAA games may come around infrequently but when they eventually do they can truly call themselves "masterpieces". Yes Ive enjoyed games on my PS3 like Uncharted 2 and Arkham Asylum (for example) but its ALWAYS Nintendo which leaves me with the fondest/strongest memories. Goldeneye (N64), Mario 64, Ocarina, Mario Galaxy, Wind Waker, Resident Evil 4...the list is endless. Looks now like I can add Skyward Sword to that list...
Resident Evil 4 may be synonymous with the Gamecube for its temporary exclusivity, but that's ultimately a Capcom game. I won't hold you bringing it up against you, but for an argument like this it's not the best idea to bring up titles by 3rd parties that aren't in-house like Rare was.
Each to their own.
I think it's been a long time (SNES era) since having a Nintendo console alone would sate one's gaming needs. You yourself have had to play your PS3 to plug the (MASSIVE) gaps in the Wii's release schedule.
I think the only way to own a Nintendo console is to have it as the 'back-up' machine to play when the bi-annual quality title comes along. The 'problem' is that you end up favouring the machine you play the most. For me it's been the 360, and if I'd had to take just one machine's AAA titles (if that term still applies), I'd take it's library over the Wii's every time:
Wii: SMG 1&2; Zelda: SS, Wii Sports....erm?
360: Mass Effect; Gears; Halo 3/Reach; Fable 2; Batman AA/AC; Bayonetta; the Orange Box; Portal 2; Street Fighter 4; Oblivion; even CoD4:MW (say what you like about the others, CoD4 was a genre-defining release)....and let's not even go on to the XBLA releases shall we (oh go on then: Limbo; Braid; Geometry Wars 1&2; From Dust; Trial HD; Shadow Complex.......aaaargh too many!)
I don't have a PS3 but as well as the multi-format titles mentioned for 360, they have LBP and the Uncharted series to throw in the mix.
Brand loyalty is all well and good, but in terms of quality titles that will be remembered for generations, I'll take your latest iterations of Mario and Zelda and raise you Portal, Bayonetta, Halo, and the rest...
@Evil Ed
In general, I think that favouring 'the machine' alone is foolish as brand loyalty for gamers should surely come from game developers, not platform developers. Brand loyalty to Nintendo stems from the quality and creative breadth and depth of their games but where they differ from other developers is that these games are to varying degrees a more tightly integrated hardware and software experience given that they are also the platform developer too.
It's this complete mastery of the design process from a hardware AND software perspective is why Nintendo can push the boundaries of interactive entertainment further than any of the other developers efforts you cited and in my opinion why they are the greatest game developer the world has ever seen (and have been since the 1980's). Skyward Sword looks like further evidence of this, as despite running on a machine with graphical capabilities a small fraction of it's competitors, Nintendo have summoned their creative mastery of hardware and software once again to produce a gaming experience that has won more critical acclaim than absolutely every other game on every other system this year. Only a true master of the craft could ever achieve such a feat, and this feat is what creates true brand loyalty :- a loyalty to Nintendo as a creative powerhouse across the generations.
@kirinnokoshin - I get your point about Nintendo being a great developer and don't disagree. I wasn't saying that Ninty's output doesn't have moments of outstanding quality; their history and pedigree is beyond question. Pazuzu's post intimates that the PS3 is a side dish to his main Nintendo experience - that's just not sustainable given the sparce offerings Nintendo provide releasing a quality title every other year.
"It's this complete mastery of the design process from a hardware AND software perspective is why Nintendo can push the boundaries of interactive entertainment further than any of the other developers efforts you cited and in my opinion why they are the greatest game developer the world has ever seen (and have been since the 1980's)"
Respectfully disagree and I can prove it to you simply in one term: online gaming. Nintendo have been a disgraceful abject failure in all things online related. Other developers have produced titles that have surpassed anything Nintendo's produced in the past decade because of Nintendo's reluctance to embrace this bold new future. Off the top of my head:
Halo series - installed the FPS genre on consoles; online MP taken to new heights
Minecraft - creation; collaboration; community. Compare what Minecraft does to Animal Crossing and you can see how far behind Nintendo have fallen.
Demons/Dark Souls - the leaving of (helpful?) clues for others affecting what is otherwise a lonely SP experience. Wonderful twist.
What you really should be saying is that Nintendo still produce wonderful SP titles in established series. Even just comparing SP titles, I'd politely point you in the direction of our good friends at Valve who with Half Life and Portal, have done more to develop in-game narrative and raise the benchmark for scripting and pacing for the entire industry.
Nostalgia and familiarity combine with occassional moments of brilliance to keep us all (me included) coming back for our Nintendo fix; but it's neither fair nor correct to simply label them as the greatest any longer. That's not a bad thing - others have just raised their standards and pushed gaming beyond Nintendo's reach.
@evil edd
"Respectfully disagree and I can prove it to you simply in one term: online gaming."
Good point, but it's still not 'proof' of Nintendo not being number one (I appreciate that we have different tastes and will undoubtedly hit a stalemate imminently :-) )
My view of Nintendo being the best game design company ever is rooted in the fact they've demonstrated that they can turn their hand to just about any genre of game and make it a success. The depth of quality and variety of their Portfolio is so rich compared to most other development studios it isn't even funny. I don't disagree that the games you cite are of similar quality, but they are all developed by studios who are either plainly not comparable (From Software - I love Dark Souls too but come on) have largely specialised in one type of game only (Bungie) or have made just one game (Mojang).
It is clearly impossible for any developer to be essentially perfect/masters of everything , but we live in the real world and within this world Nintendo come closer than any other IMO.
So respectfully, I maintain my stance that Nintendo are the best game design company in the world.
@kirinnokoshin
I love a good debate :0)
I agree with most of your points (the broad scope of their game catalogue, for example) just perhaps not your conclusion or categorisation of Nintendo as I see the game market today.
To put it another way, I think I'd say that Nintendo were the greatest, but are no longer and haven't been for some time, at least in terms of developing the medium and pushing boundaries. Online gaming has, and will continue to have, a far greater impact than motion control.
As I said though we can all rely on (and be thankful for) Nintendo producing great titles in familiar boundaries every couple of years.
I just feel it's a shame that I look at Nintendo's developments these days and see only gimmicks, rather than genuine progress for my passion.
@evild edd
Nintendo were the greatest, but are no longer and haven't been for some time, at least in terms of developing the medium and pushing boundaries.
In recent years Nintendo can lay claim to spearheading touch screen gaming which has fundamentally altered how we play handheld games and provided the springboard for smartphone and tablet gaming, which has then fundamentally altered how people consume content on the go. They have also birthed new types of game with this technology and have provided a solid blueprint for countless new developers both big and small to follow and expand the medium.
In motion control they have made tangible a fresh and highly intuitive method of play that was previously a figment of our imagination. This has further redefined the medium and created millions of new gamers out of people who wouldn't have touched a controller with a bargepole. This has had positive and negative impacts on the medium (as has online gaming) the negative 'waggle' shovelware of which cannot be attributed to Nintendo as the majority of their own games using motion control range from alluring to revolutionary (and wait til Skyward Sword). Stating that they've done nothing to develop the gaming medium and push boundaries is frankly baffling. They've done more than any other developer out there recently by a country mile.
Online gaming has, and will continue to have, a far greater impact than motion control.
Maybe, but that doesn't exactly add any weight to the view that Nintendo aren't the best developer out there. Online gaming is part of the infrastructure of gaming, and its success and impact on the gaming landscape cannot be attributed to any one game developer or indeed group of developers. Motion contol on the other hand was brought to the market exclusively by Nintendo, as was touch screen gaming.
As I said though we can all rely on (and be thankful for) Nintendo producing great titles in familiar boundaries every couple of years.
Familiar and nostalgic, well of course, other top developers also follow suit by releasing multiple games in the same canon. Familiar boundaries? Well you can go back to the very beginning to see that Nintendo have broken boundaries with every generation right up until present (I've already listed some recent ones above) and the list is so exhaustive I can't bear to go through it.
I just feel it's a shame that I look at Nintendo's developments these days and see only gimmicks, rather than genuine progress for my passion.
No developer can please absolutely everybody, but Nintendo do a far better job than the rest. Every single person I've ever known who cares one jot about gaming likes Nintendo games to some extent, be they casual, hardcore, mobile or multiplayer and across a whole host of genres, many of which Nintendo invented. This cannot be said about any other developer. What's more (from the sounds of it) it looks like they've just managed to re-invent one of the greatest (and undoubtedly most critically acclaimed, or is it Mario?) game franchises of all time by fully integrating the control revolution they started themselves, which in turn, just might get the millions of newer 'casual' gamers out there introduced to a 'real' game and drive the gaming medium up a further notch toward full mainstream acceptance.
This is why, as previously stated, I maintain my stance that Nintendo are the best game design company in the world
@evild edd
I couldn't give a stuff for online in the vast majority of cases. I can't really think of any way that the Nintendo mainstays could be improved by it. Online multiplayer can go and die in a fire in 99% of cases as far as I'm concerned.
@kirinnokoshin: Again I find myself agreeing with you - to a point. I actually think the touch screen interface is one area where Nintendo have introduced the hardward but not the software. Their core franchises failed to make the most of the DS (Mario 64 was awkward and the Zelda titles uninspired on the DS - Spirit Tracks a huge disappointment). I think touch screen gaming has taken off, but I think Apple has been at the forefront herre, and why is that? Online distribution - cheap, quick, slight, fun and disposable titles. It was actually the merging of the touch screen and online developments that has made this 'genre' of game click....
"In motion control they have made tangible a fresh and highly intuitive method of play that was previously a figment of our imagination."
But the motion control we were sold is still a figment of our imagination. The promise has never been fulfilled. I'm sorry, but motion gaming has (to date) been an abject failure. Except in terms of sales, of course, but on an Edge site I hope I don't need to explain why high sales of something does not denote quality.
"Online gaming is part of the infrastructure of gaming, and its success and impact on the gaming landscape cannot be attributed to any one game developer or indeed group of developers."
Which is why Nintendo's refusal to partake in the act is so baffling. Perhaps they just took one look at XBL and Steam and realised they'd never catch up. If you wish to laud Nintendo for touch screen and motion control (technologies which - and this is a vital point - have produced none of the classic Nintendo games we will look back on for generations to come)
"Every single person I've ever known who cares one jot about gaming likes Nintendo games to some extent, be they casual, hardcore, mobile or multiplayer and across a whole host of genres, many of which Nintendo invented. This cannot be said about any other developer."
This, I will agree with 100%. Perhaps the same could have been said of SEGA once upon a time, but those days have unfortunately been consigned to distant memory.
@Diluted Dante
"I couldn't give a stuff for online" - I pity you then, friend. The things you've missed out on are numerous, varied, and wonderful. Online isn't just consigned to FPS MP shooty-shooty-bang-bang you know. Clever touches like the messages left in Demon Souls; sharing levels in LBP; sharing images and videos of fluke and skilfull moments or joint Forge creation in Halo; co-op in....well so many games. Hell, even just online leaderboards for traditional SP experiences (I never did top that Geometry Wars world leaderboard, but I fondly remember when I topped my Friends List score!). And none of those refrence the types of games we're now seeing as a result of online distribution.
I think you're either underestimating the impact and breadth of online's influence on gaming, or are adopting the stubborn luddite approach of turning your back on new experiences.
Still, as ever, each to their own. I genuinely believe that; though I enjoy arguing my view point in the vain hope that someone might try something they'd otherwise have overlooked.
@evild edd
Their core franchises failed to make the most of the DS (Mario 64 was awkward and the Zelda titles uninspired on the DS - Spirit Tracks a huge disappointment).
As far as Nintendo's core franchises for DS, both Zelda games were revolutionary, highly rated and very successful. Nintendo exhibited how to make a complete, accessible, varied action adventure game with barely any button controls, a design blueprint which has been imitated and expanded ad infinitum (in fact, you'd struggle to pick many worse examples of a game that doesn't make the most of the DS's unique attributes). Metroid Prime Hunters (highly rated) demonstrated it was possible to use a touchscreen to control a first person action game. Kirby Canvas Curse (highly rated) turned 2D platforming on its head by making the player master of the platforms and not the protagonist. And what about Wario Ware Touched? A game that gave new meaning to having fun while 'rubbing and blowing' :-). The Mario games use the DS's unique attributes less so, except in SM64's mini games, which threw out dozens of ideas back in 2004 that mobile games imitate to this day. But why fret about core franchises? What about Nintendogs? Brain Training? Titles that would have been impossible to implement on any other system at the time and brought in a whole new demograph to 'gaming on the go' well before the advent of the mobile gaming culture we find ourselves in today. It's Nintendo's early successes with the DS that sparked the imagination of both the mainstream and indie development industries and convinced them that touch screen gaming was viable.
I think touch screen gaming has taken off, but I think Apple has been at the forefront herre, and why is that? Online distribution - cheap, quick, slight, fun and disposable titles. It was actually the merging of the touch screen and online developments that has made this 'genre' of game click....n ,
Touch screen gaming has most definitely taken off. The touch screen is now the most popular type of control input in the modern gaming era and Apple have been the biggest influence in its success due to their distribution network. Apple are not game designers, and cannot take any credit for the design of mobile and/or touch screen games. My point is about Nintendos' place at the forefront of game design, not of eCommerce or data distribution.
But the motion control we were sold is still a figment of our imagination. The promise has never been fulfilled. I'm sorry, but motion gaming has (to date) been an abject failure.
I believe motion control has been a success, but more so in circles where the so-called 'traditional' or 'hardcore' gamer does not frequent. I enjoy immersive games as much as the next person and I also enjoy competitive online games. I also greatly enjoy local multiplayer games, none more so in recent years than those that use motion control and there are millions of others who feel the same way. Wii Sports and its sequel are highly enjoyable, refreshing local multiplayer experiences, chipping away at the social boundaries that video games have long been subjected to while significantly expanding gaming's age catchment. To describe these achievements as an 'abject failure' is to ignore the gaming landscape outside of ones' field of influence. Everybody is entitled to enjoy video games, and every video game cannot be expected to appeal to everybody.
Motion control is also a technology still in relative infancy, and presents a whole new set of creative and technical challenges to game designers in order to harness to its fullest. It was unrealistic to expect motion controlled games to match and/or replace traditional control methods for every type of home console game overnight. Nintendo started it, demonstrated that it can work and their competitors followed. Metroid Prime 3 is a deep, rewarding package which has the most fluid and intuitive interface for any first person game I've ever played, and Skyward Sword appears to have trumped it in every department. Progress is being made with Motion Control, it will take time and Nintendo are currently leading the charge.
Which is why Nintendo's refusal to partake in the act is so baffling. Perhaps they just took one look at XBL and Steam and realised they'd never catch up. If you wish to laud Nintendo for touch screen and motion control (technologies which - and this is a vital point - have produced none of the classic Nintendo games we will look back on for generations to come)
I agree that Nintendo's online ambitions have been limited, and only a handful of their titles (e.g. Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Animal Crossing) have used online successfully to enhance their experience. As I stated in an earlier post, no game developer excels in all faculties, but Nintendo fare better than the rest. The reason for Nintendo's limited online ambitions thus far will remain a mystery, but one can take an educated guess that they've felt that investment was better spent elsewhere to assert their market position up to the present day, without which their recent gaming innovations may not have been made reality. Like most others, I would like to see Nintendo expand their online ambitions considerably in the near future, if only for the new gaming experiences they will be able to explore. XBLA and Steam have ushered major industry impacting change, but are once again digital distribution platforms,. As far as looking back on classics, millions of people will look back on the DS' Zeldas, Nintendogs, Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Metroid Prime 3 and undoubtedly Skyward Sword fondly. These titles span a wide variety of demographs, which only serves to assert Nintendo's unflinching and unmatchable talent for making games for all comers.
For these reasons and the many previous is why I maintain my stance that Nintendo are the best game design company in the world.
P.S.
And I wish Sega would manufacture a console again :-)
@kirinnokoshin and evild edd
What the hell is this?! I frequent IGN and Kotaku, and am used to flame wars and annoying claims of personal opinion as facts. I'm so tired of it.
I decided to look up one of the two available Skyward Sword reviews, and when I saw your debate, I couldn't help but to register as a user and applaud the two of you. Both of you have such warranted arguments that I couldn't help but to read through and actually feel something.
Looks like I have a new site to go to. Hello, Edge Magazine.
10/10 just like Ocarina, before i read this review it was already a must buy for me except i wont be buying it, good 'ol Santa will...
..hopefully
I suppose I could be described as a Nintendo 'fanboy' due to my unfailing support for them through the years. My faith has buckled under the weight of the criticism of the Wii in latter times. I don't think Nintendo have had a real success, by way of consoles, since the SNES days. Yes, they continued to create truly great first party games for their machines, but take away those fail safes such as Mario, Metroid and Zelda titles then the gaming catalogue of their last few consoles are quite bare, with regard must-have titles.
I do think ultimately the Wii will be seen as a mere novelty with a few glorious games, but mainly failed software. It was brave of Nintendo to take gaming in a different direction. They have always strived for innovation.
What I'm rambling on about, I suppose, is that this review of Skyward Sword has left me with a bittersweet emotion. A game finally made to showcase the Wiimote's motion controls. But it came near the end of the Wii's shelf life. Others won't bother to emulate at this stage, so this is probably Wiis last great game.
If only this had been a release game, showcasing the Wii. The Wii would surely have had a greater existence.
This is an excellent post. Couldn't agree more with your comments!
I think the NES/SNES are so fondly remembered because they were the birth places of all (bar Pokemon - which isn't really my thing) Nintendo's main franchises. Yes we've seen occassional great titles from Ninty since, but far too infrequent and all set in these same franchises.
Console wise (i.e. not Angry Birds), the big new IPs for this generation have come out on 360/PS3 (Gears of War; LBP; Uncharted; Batman AA/AC; Mass Effect) and it really has been a shoddy deal for the Wii by comparison. And I say that as an owner of the console.
I agree with the last sentence. The first Zelda Wii tech-demo really did seem to portray the kind of sensitivity we knew we'd not be getting after just ten minutes of Wii sports boxing with Grandad at Xmas. One Motionplus later and things improve.
Wii's place in history will be a strange one, statisticians will say one thing, true gamers will say another, Grandad will still think it's the best thing since ovaltine. Everybody will agree, however, that it brought gaming outsiders together, blinking into the light of OUR world, the one where we perform fatalities, killing sprees and poke Neptunes eyeballs into his skull. Wii made our favourite hobby a lot more palatable to the masses - still wouldn't put it on my CV though.
A 10? From Edge of all places? Guess this game is an insta-buy...
This is hands down the best review i have ever read. This Review alone has made me quit IGN and i will now use this site as my primary gaming score source. Thank you for such an amazing article i will be buying Edge Mag from now on as well.
I went to the 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert in London last night. It was amazing. Just saying.
im so jealous right now.
also because ur picture
I picked up an old Super Famicom recently and between that and going through all the 2D Marios on GBA I still play a lot of Nintendo games, but Super Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker were the last "big" Nintendo games I delved into.
It's been 8 long years but the most gushing 10 I've ever seen Edge deliver is enough to completely change my plans for the 2 week festive holiday. Out goes Skyrim and Dark Souls, in comes borrowing my bird's dusty Wii, Skyward Sword, a MotionPlus unit and Super Mario Galaxy.
Slightly off topic but any recommendations on the best option out of SMG 1 and 2? (It's fine to say both)
I'd go for Galaxy 2 mate - it's more reminiscent of Super Mario World (my favourite game ever) - it even has that jazzy piano number from the SMW level early in the game.
Yoshi's implementation is there to introduce different game mechanics, something that Galaxy 2 is so abundant in, it makes the mind boggle.
Galaxy 1 is hardly an unpolished turd, mind.
@ gavmoffat I would go for Mario Galaxy 2 it's more refined, has braver level design, a better secondary quest, it's got yoshi and if you like luigi you get to play him a lot earlier and with greater freedom as to when.
finally registered to comment here, i really like edge and the articles here
i might get a wii just for 3 titles: skyward sword, sm galaxy and xenoblade chronicles... there might be more especially with wii ware in mind... i think nintendo has not the biggest library but on the other hand who has time to play every major release... so i guess more is less....
after reading this review i really got excited to play skyward sword ( and get myself a wii after all)
Just want to point out that there are 40 comments so far regarding skyward sword, 6 on Uncharted and 15 on Batman. Seems like Nintendo still stirs deeper emotions in the gaming community after 5 years of Wii than any other company.
i thinks so too, nintendo still releases titles that reaches the "little boy/girl" in the heart of a lot of gamers, including myself... they are also games that cheer people up with their whimsy, which i think i care more for the older i get
@Christoph Binder
Totally agree. Nintendo is true escapism... true fun... no stress... pure joy. For me, their games consistently make me smile like a kid again. And personally this all moves me more than the grandeur of Mass Effect or the thrill of any FPS headshot.
I do love Mass Effect, Halo, Portal, Half Life etc. I just love Ninty games more.
I guess I'd just rather be an adventurer than a marine. Cheers Mr Miyamoto!