Skyward Sword is the fastest-selling game in the Zelda franchise. It was reported by Nintendo Insider that the game sold over 600,000 copies in its’ first week of release in November 2011. Image/Nintendo.com.
By Savanna Rudolph, Copy Editor
Published April 18, 2021
Over a month has passed since Nintendo announced the remake of “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” for the Switch. Ten years ago, “Skyward Sword” was released for the Wii, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the series. Now during the series’ 35 year anniversary, the game will be released for the Nintendo Switch for the first time. The game’s story was made to be the first in the official Zelda Timeline and “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD” is set to be released on July 16, 2021.
The game uses motion controls, introduced by the Wii MotionPlus, and will continue to do so in the remake. On the Wii, players used the Wii Remote to swing Link’s sword in the direction they swung the remote. The nunchuck rose the shield to defend against attacks.
Series producer Eiji Aonuma announced that there will be the addition of ‘button-only controls.’ In the button-only mode, the right control stick becomes the sword.
For the motion controls, the left joy-con raises the shield, and the right joy-con swings the sword. The demonstration video, which can be found on YouTube, shows that little movement is required to have Link swing his sword.
“With the increased processing power of the Nintendo Switch, the controls here are smoother and even more intuitive,” Aonuma says when going over the initial controls of the original game.
A prominent Legend of Zelda speedrunner, those who play games as fast they can with or without glitches, Gymnast86 was surprised by the announcement.
“My thoughts before it were announced were that Nintendo would never remake ‘Skyward Sword’ on the Switch due to it requiring them to come up with an alternate control scheme that could be used on the Switch light or pro controller. And Nintendo giving ‘Skyward Sword’ a control scheme without motion controls was something I thought they would never do. However, they did, and I’m glad I was wrong because I am very excited for it.”
The HD remake will run 60 frames per second (fps), while the Wii ran the original at 30 fps. The Switch will be able to run with less lag and a better overall picture.
However, not all fans are pleased with this announcement. With the upcoming 35 Anniversary of the series, many fans are disappointed that there has been no announcement for a compilation of games. Similar to what the Mario franchise did for their 35 Anniversary.
There’s also a problem with the pricing. The “Skyward Sword” Special Edition for the Wii costs 70 dollars but also came with a Wii Remote and a CD with the 25 Anniversary Orchestra Soundtrack on it. “Super Mario 3D All-Stars” cost 60 dollars but had three games in one.
Many on Reddit feel that the price for just the singular remake, 60 dollars, is too high for a remake of a ten-year-old game. Especially since just last year, they paid the same amount of money for three older games in “3D All-Stars.”
Gymnast86 was not surprised by the pricing of the game. “Previous 3D Zelda remakes were sold at the highest standard price of the consoles that they were for -the exception being ‘Wind Waker HD,’ which was 50 dollars at release instead of 60 dollars… I am surprised that they didn’t mention the 35 Anniversary at all while announcing this game. I do think that the release is probably meant to hold us over until the ‘Breath of the Wild’ sequel comes out.”
The same day the game is set to be released, a new pair of The Legend of Zelda joy-cons will be released at retail stores for an additional 80 dollars.