Reviews VideoGame / The Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword: A Flawed Masterpiece

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has a receives a lot of criticism. While most complaints lobbed at the game are reasonable and, quite often justified, I still find myself unable to care. This game is a Masterpiece, but not in the typical sense.

The gameplay revolves almost entirely around the use of the Wii Motion Plus. Aside from some basic movement techniques, nearly everything is done with the Wii Remote, and it works brilliantly. Swordplay is dynamic and fun, using a model that can be summed up as "easy to learn, but hard to master". It doesn't clutter up combat with tons of moves and techniques, and instead forces players to master the same basic skills to defeat different enemies. While it seems like a perfect opportunity for crazy complex swordplay, it is really the best way to handle the games combat. There's also the usual item use and puzzle solving, which tend to make use of the Wii Remote in some capacity. For the most part, it feels justified and deep, without getting hokey like the vast majority of Wii titles that came before it.

The story, meanwhile, is a fascinating example of the power of simplicity. The games story is universal and easy to understand. Link must take up the mantle of a hero to face off with an incredible evil and rescue Zelda, his childhood friend. To do so, he must leave his comfortable home in the clouds and travel to the Surface, facing off with various enemies in his search for Zelda, ultimately ending in obtaining The Master Sword and being deemed worthy of The Triforce. It's the most basic Zelda story possible, but it actually offers a brilliant insight into the series as a whole. It's a testament to the trials of becoming a hero and unlocking the potential buried inside of all of us. Coupled with a diverse and immersive cast of characters, including my favorite villain in the series, and you've got one of my favorite stories in the series.

There are things wrong with it, of course. This contains some of the most annoying characters in the series. The handholding is absurd. Areas are small and linear. There's a shit ton of meaningless padding. Freedom is canned for Storytelling. It's not perfect, not even close. But every idea is worked to the best of it's abilities while still innovating on technical scale and telling an incredible, if simple story.

It is, in that way, a Flawed Masterpiece.