The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Oh. My. GoodnessI've been playing video games all of my life, ever since 2000, but I just recently, and by that I mean since October 2013, got into the Zelda franchise. I've heard so many things from so many people about how awesome the games are, which left me curious.So first, I played Wind Waker, which I thought was a really great game, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, it had it's share of problems that kept it from being something truly amazing, but it was still very fun to play overall.Next, there was Twilight Princess, a game that was just ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE, and I LOVE IT TO DEATH! It did everything right in improving upon what worked for me in Wind Waker, as well as addressing the problems I had.Then came A Link to the Past, which I think is truly a GEM to behold, an amazing game to play and I can definitely see why so many people absolutely love it. I personally thought it was better than Wind Waker, but still not as great as Twilight Princess.So there I was, thinking that it couldn't possibly get any better than The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess...And then, I played this game. <3 <3 <3 :')The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, is just... beautiful! Everything from the great looking graphics, great music, incredible gameplay, well designed dungeons, and just the overall adventure & THE ATMOSPHERE of the adventure was just something out of this world! The last time I felt this strongly about a game, was the first time I played Super Mario Galaxy!So what made this game such a wonderful joy for me, well.Positives:-Outstanding presentation - The graphics look great for Wii standards, the character models also look great, animations look smooth and well designed. The story, while the same as every other usual Zelda gig, which is (Zelda is kidnapped, bad guy want's to destroy everything, go stop and save), is more meaningful this time around, because unlike the other Zelda incarnations, I actually care about this one. And finally, my favorite Link & Zelda incarnations. The principle of Link as a character is to represent the Link between you and the character, and out of the 4 Zelda games I've played, Skyward Sword has done the best job of that. I can relate PERFECTLY to this Link & I feel the same things he feels & go through the same expressions, when Zelda sealed herself in the crystal & Link and deeply saddened, so was I. I actually feel a strong bond & connection with not only Link, but Zelda as well, especially her. Throughout the intro, and hearing/listening to the things she told me, really made me develop a special bond with her, like the character himself does. So as a result, in the main journey, I want to do EVERYTHING in my power to help her. I always have one goal: HELP ZELDA!-Incredible gameplay-The 3D Zelda formula was already an awesome formula as it was, but I still had just one problem from Wind Waker & Twilight Princess, Link's overall speed. Link WAS NO Sonic the Hedgehog when it comes to speed, he moved like a tank & I constantly found myself rolling all over the place just to pick up the pace. Skyward Sword fixes that! How, a little thing called a dash button! Holding down A will enable Link to pick up the pace & run much faster, making his overall mobility MILES better than what it was before, he can also climb up vines and ladders faster as well be shaking the Wii remote in the corresponding direction. Now that I'm on the topic of the Wii remote, this game requires the Wii+MotionPlus in order play, no MotionPlus=no Skyward Sword, SO GET A MOTIONPLUS! Haha, kidding. But thanks to the MotionPlus, you have much more control of Link's sword then before, as well as all of the other items in his inventory, and his sword strikes are much faster than they were in the last 2 games, making the combat and swordplay overall move much quicker.Thus, making the one issue I had with the gameplay of the previous 2 3D Zelda games, a thing of the past!That was the overall pacing, it was too slow for my taste in Wind Waker & Twilight Princess, but thanks to Skyward Sword.. This is Perfect!Level/Dungeon Design:What you play a Zelda game for!Exploring the many levels and dungeons within the game to discover the items and have them aid you on your quest.I obviously thoroughly enjoyed it very much, as I've stated before in the first 3 games I played before this one.But there were a few dungeons in the previous game that I didn't take too much of a liking towards, now A Link to the Past didn't have that problem, Wind Waker & even Twilight Princess on the other hand, did.For Wind Waker, their was the Forbidden Woods & the Air Temple, I thought the aesthetics of those temples were just bleak and uninteresting & they turned me off while I was playing through them, while the other dungeons made up for it. This goes back to one of the reasons why I say Wind Waker was simply just great and not GREAT, like Twilight Princess. But even Twilight Princess had that issue, Lakebed Temple and City in the Sky, 2 dungeons, that I swear just DRAGGED, I spent as much as an hour maybe even longer on those 2 temples each. While I didn't mind it too much, I just kept thinking to myself, "Are we done yet? Are we done yet? Are we done yet?" I just wanted to move on to the next dungeon by the time I got the boss keys.Now back to Skyward Sword, those 2 seperate issues I had with those two games, are nowhere to be seen here. Like I said, the graphics look great for the Wii, and there was never a point where I thought the graphics look underwhelming, or that I thought the temples were taking to long. There was never a point in Skyward Sword where I felt the game dragged, that pacing stated consistent and I found a lot of enjoyment out of exploring the dungeons. Now that may have to do with the dungeons being smaller than they were in Twilight Princess, but there's a catch, here, it isn't necessarily so much as the dungeon itself where the fun & challenge lies in previous titles, but there's more emphasis on getting to the that dungeon where the fun is to be had. So it balances out evenly and like I said, the pacing stays consistent!-Atmosphere, this game just DREW ME IN, from the minute it started, I was always on the edge of my seat, anticipating the next challenge, and what came next. Whether it was seriousness from encountering Ghirahim, or joy in seeing Zelda, horror in watching her soul being swallowed by Demise, or triumph in defeating Demise, saving Zelda, and the world, this game kept me EXTREMELY ENTERTAINED from beginning to end. And I think that the ending of Skyward Sword, where Link & Zelda stand on top of the Goddess' statue, where Zelda tells Link that she wants to stay on the surface & asks him what he wants to do, then it screen cuts out where they are seen to be holding hands on the statue and then the camera zooms to the sky as their Loftwings fly away, applying that Link chose to stay with Zelda as the ABSOLUTLY HEART-MELTING music plays in the background...(DEEP BREATH)... This ending, is. without a doubt. the best ending I have ever seen to a video game ever. It absolutely brought me to TEARS! I can not stress enough just how absolutely wonderful, amazing, and smile-enducing this game is!If you have a Wii, you know all about the Zelda franchise, but have never played Skyward Sword, THAN WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!! It does EVERYTHING right in improving upon what worked with it's predecessors and fixing the issues from before, as well as distinguishing itself from the rest of the games in the franchise to provide an entirely different experience altogether.With that said, not only is this the best Zelda game I've played & my favorite Zelda game.It is my favorite video game I have every played, PERIOD!Do yourself a favor right now, if you have a Wii, PLAY THIS GAME!BUY IT OFF AMAZON, GET IT AT GAMESTOP, BORROW A COPY FROM A FRIEND, I DON'T CARE HOW YOU GET IT & PLAY IT! JUST PLAY IT!!!!So my final score is: (And I'll give the scores of the other Zelda games I've played while I'm at it.The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD - 8.5/10The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - 9.5/10The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - 9/10And the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - A PERFECT TEN OUT OF TEN!!!This game. Is. Simply... Beautiful! <3 :')

I stupidly traded this game in a few years back for store credit. I finally decided to see if I could locate the game again. I couldn't find any new copies for the same retail price and all the used copies at the same at retail price. However, one doesn't know how good a used copy may be, missing case, paperwork, scratches, etc. I tried a few auction locations and those were a busts as well.I searched Amazon and found similar results. I then saw I had this game listed in my favorites. I checked it and the seller indicated it was new. I read a lot of the Q&A along with some of the reviews. Yes, this game is from another region of the world. Yes, the game is new and wrapped. Yes, all the working on the packaging and manual are in English. Yes, The game plays on a US WiiU using the Wii icon. Yes, the text in the game is also in US English. The only manner to tell this game is not from the US is a icon on the front page stating the regions its for.The game is well worth every dollar for a new fan or a repeat player. You can't find this new in the US at retail price. Why not pay less than retail for a new copy? This may not be for those who are looking to trade the game later, this is for players who are keepers.

Alot of storyline to read.

Love the game but hate the controls. I think they went too far in terms of motion control this time. Twilight Princess on the Wii was the perfect amount of motion control without being excessive. In TP you just have to waggle the remote and Link attacks the enemies. That much I was okay with but in this game you have to make accurate slashes in different directions looking like a stupid idiot who can't get something to work. Also I game in my bedroom and space is a bit limited I felt like I needed more space to perform the sword moves.The motions controls in this game were frustrating and even exhausting. I was literally tired of this game...why did they do this I will wonder for the rest of my life. Twilight Princess not once annoyed me or tired me out, I was able to comfortably waggle the remote and make Link attack while sitting in one place..but NO WE NEED TO RUIN THE PLAYER EXPERIENCE AND MESS WITH MOTION CONTROLS EVEN MORE!!! so players actually move the remote around like a real sword and nunchuk like a shield and look mentally retarded in the process.First Zelda game I will not finish. Thank the higher powers that Wii U got rid of the motion controls.

arrived quick and packed well

It good to finally add to my collection oh I am playing it. - Previously saidOkay fun for anyone who loves the Zelda series, You don't have ride horse in beginning you do get "spoiler" Aquatica armor and Master sword which I find a downer for me I was hoping earn which would been pretty cool but there snag, Master sword doesn't have it original power. You have go out in world recharge jeez really. Fill it with time not very constructive...Lots things to do, learn load of skills and side quest will probably affect you in future. Doing them before you head back to dungeon might be good thing.Before I stopped playing it I had gotten up to area where I trying figure what to do next. I was trying recall um next snag, There wiki and walk-through for upgrading your shield. Yes I said Upgrading unlike link to past you can upgrade your shield, armor, and other things so collecting is necessity. I haven't really found a wiki about inventory so you increase what you collect like rare items, or more stuff falls from mobs, so all I did was enlarged rupee and heart collect so far.Before I was called back to reality its addictive for several hours until you feel to play something else. No offense to nintendo just some games you play for hours, then restrictive storyline can only played a certain way.Game Wikis aren't cheat sheet tells you what you can and can't do..so far If I go back play I should probably play on computer if has means.