History Trivia / TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword

* TroubledProduction: While it didn't involve any particular hostility or turnover, the five-year development of this game was rather turbulent. Production of the game started soon after ''Twilight Princess'' was finished, but most of the game's initial two years was caught up in experimentation in trying to fully realize the idea of motion-controlled swordplay, which was nearly abandoned until ''VideoGame/WiiSportsResort'' was released. Further disagreements arose regarding the art style, the design of items, and the design of the world, resulting in many planned elements being cut (as seen below under WhatCouldHaveBeen). Fortunately, the last few years of development were smooth sailing.

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/EijiAonuma [[http://nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-reflects-on-zelda-skyward-swords-tutorials-will-be-careful-with-them-going-forward/ came to regret]] the game's large amount of hand-holding, acknowledging that the {{Forced Tutorial}}s and Fi being an AnnoyingVideoGameHelper hurt the gameplay experience. He made sure to tone this down in later ''Zelda'' entries and even the game's own remaster.

** Fi for Creator/AyumiFujimura, who would voice the titular princess in the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds following game]] and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', along with [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ibuki]] & [[Manga/MaidSama Misaki Ayuzawa]].

* TroubledProduction: While it didn't involve any particular hostility or turnover, the five-year development of this game was rather turbulent. Production of the game started soon after ''Twilight Princess'' was finished, but most of the game's initial two years was caught up in experimentation in trying to fully realize the idea of motion-controlled swordplay, which was nearly abandoned until VideoGame/WiiSportsResort was released. Further disagreements arose regarding the art style, the design of items, and the design of the world, resulting in many planned elements being cut (as seen below under WhatCouldHaveBeen). Fortunately, the last few years of development were smooth sailing.

* HeAlsoDid: Many developers who assisted the game's production may sound familiar, such as [[VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} Monolith]] [[VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}} Soft.]]

* MilestoneCelebration: The game was released to commemorate 25 years of ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda.'' The HD remaster was also released as part of the franchise's 35th anniversary.

* RelationshipVoiceActor: [[Creator/YuShimamura Zelda]] and [[Creator/AyumiFujimura Fi]] are [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Sougyo no Kotowari's Twin spirits, Hachigen and Katen]].

** Fi for Creator/AyumiFujimura, who will voice the titular princess in the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds following game]] and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', along with [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ibuki]] & [[Manga/MaidSama Misaki Ayuzawa]].

* MilestoneCelebration: The game was released to commemorate 25 years of ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda.'' The HD remaster followed suit 10 years later.

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/EijiAonuma [[http://nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-reflects-on-zelda-skyward-swords-tutorials-will-be-careful-with-them-going-forward/ came to regret]] the game's large amount of hand-holding, acknowledging that the {{Forced Tutorial}}s and AnnoyingVideoGameHelper hurt the gameplay experience. He made sure to tone this down in later ''Zelda'' entries and even the game's own remaster.

* RelationshipVoiceActor:
** [[Creator/YuShimamura Zelda]], [[Creator/TakashiNagasako Demise]] and [[Creator/AyumiFujimura Fi]] are [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Sougyo no Kotowari's Twin spirits, Hachigen and Katen]].
** [[Creator/TakashiNagasako Demise]] and [[Creator/AyumiFujimura Fi]] are [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Yashiro Uchiha and Shion]], [[Franchise/StreetFighter Darun Mister and Ibuki]] and [[VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Ganryu and Miharu Hirano]].
** [[Creator/TakashiNagasako Demise]] and [[Creator/MasakoNozawa Old Woman]] are [[Franchise/DragonBall Dodoria and Goku]].
* RoleReprise: Played with. Creator/TakashiNagasako previously voiced Ganondorf in ''Ocarina of Time'', ''The Wind Waker'', and ''Four Swords Adventures''. In this game, [[spoiler:he provides the voice of Ganondorf's predecessor and source, Demise]].

** Princess Zelda for Creator/YuShimamura, who will reprise her role in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. In the anime world, [[Manga/AttackOnTitan Annie Leonhart]].

* AcclaimedFlop: The game did quite poorly in Japan, selling only around 360K units in total despite the positive critical reception, including a 40/40 from the Famitsu Magazine. Which makes it, not only THE worst seller out of all 3D installments in Japan by a landslide[[note]]For contrast, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' sold 1.45 million units, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' around 600K, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' around 740K and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' around 640K[[/note]], but also one of the worst sellers in the entire core series, only surpassing ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTriForceHeroes Tri-Force Heroes]]''. As for world-wide sales, the game didn't exactly "flop", it did under-perform, given that it sold a bit over 3.6 million copies worldwide. The only other 3D Zelda to sell less was ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask''.

* AcclaimedFlop: The game did quite poorly in Japan, selling only around 360K units in total despite the positive critical reception, including a 40/40 from the Famitsu Magazine. Which makes it, not only THE worst seller out of all 3D installments in Japan by a landslide[[note]]For contrast, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' sold 1.45 million units, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' around 600K, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' around 740K and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' around 640K[[/note]], but also one of the worst sellers in the entire core series, only surpassing ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTriForceHeroes Tri-Force Heroes]]''. As for world-wide sales, the game didn't exactly "flop", it did under-perform, given that it sold a bit over 3.6 million copies worldwide. The only other 3D Zelda to sell less was ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', but when you take into account that a) ''Majora's Mask'' was nevertheless close behind, with 3.36 million units, b) the Wii installed based was almost ''three times'' bigger than the N64's when both games first came out, and c) ''Majora's Mask'' was released almost at the same time as the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 in North America and Europe, which was overall a far bigger competitor than even ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' was to ''Skyward Sword'', it easily becomes the worst seller out of the 3D entries world-wide as well. This was one of the main reasons why Nintendo decided to take the series in a vastly different direction with ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''.

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/EijiAonuma [[http://nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-reflects-on-zelda-skyward-swords-tutorials-will-be-careful-with-them-going-forward/ came to regret]] the game's large amount of hand-holding, acknowledging that the {{Forced Tutorial}}s and AnnoyingVideoGameHelper hurt the gameplay experience. He made sure to tone this down in later ''Zelda'' entries.

* RelationshipVoiceActor: [[Creator/TakashiNagasako Demise]] and [[Creator/AyumiFujimura Fi]] are [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Hachigen and Katen]], [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Yashiro Uchiha and Shion]], [[Franchise/StreetFighter Darun Mister and Ibuki]] and [[VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Ganryu and Miharu Hirano]].

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Shortly after launch, Nintendo released a patch to fix a GameBreakingBug that corrupted save files. But due to the Wii Shop Channel's shutdown in 2019, the patch is unavailable for players who don't wish to resort to piracy, unless an UpdatedRerelease is made somewhere down the line. It is still possible to send in your Wii to have Nintendo fix the bug manually, but time will tell how long they continue to offer this service in the future.

** Practically nobody was surprised by the announcement of an HD port for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, considering it’s the only 3D Zelda prior to have not been remastered and the HD rerelease having been an incredibly popular rumor amongst fans prior to it’s announcement.

* CreatorBacklash: Eiji Aonuma [[http://nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-reflects-on-zelda-skyward-swords-tutorials-will-be-careful-with-them-going-forward/ came to regret]] the game's large amount of hand-holding, acknowledging that the {{Forced Tutorial}}s and AnnoyingVideoGameHelper hurt the gameplay experience. He made sure to tone this down in later ''Zelda'' entries.

* AcclaimedFlop: The game did quite poorly in Japan, selling only around 360K units in total despite the positive critical reception, including a 40/40 from the Famitsu Magazine. Which makes it THE worst seller out of all 3D installments in Japan by a landslide[[note]]For contrast, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' sold 1.45 million units, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' around 600K, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' around 740K and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' around 640K.[[/note]]. As for world-wide sales, the game didn't exactly "flop", it did under-perform, given that it sold a bit over 3.6 million copies worldwide. The only other 3D Zelda to sell less was ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', but when you take into account that a) ''Majora's Mask'' was nevertheless close behind, with 3.36 million units, b) the Wii installed based was almost ''three times'' bigger than the N64's when both games first came out, and c) ''Majora's Mask'' was released almost at the same time as the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 in North America and Europe, which was overall a far bigger competitor than even ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' was to ''Skyward Sword'', it easily becomes the worst seller out of the 3D entries world-wide as well. This was one of the main reasons why Nintendo decided to take the series in a vastly different direction with ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''.

* AcclaimedFlop: The game did quite poorly in Japan, selling only around 360K units in total despite the positive critical reception, including a 40/40 from the Famitsu Magazine. Which makes it THE worst seller out of all 3D installments in Japan by a landslide[[note]]For contrast, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' sold 1.45 million units, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' around 600K, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' around 740K and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' around 640K.[[/note]]. As for world-wide sales, the game didn't exactly "flop", it did under-perform, given that it sold a bit over 3.6 million copies worldwide. The only other 3D Zelda to sell less was ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', but when you take into account that a) ''Majora's Mask'' was nevertheless close behind, with 3.36 million units, b) the Wii installed based was almost ''three times'' bigger than the N64's when both games first came out, and c) ''Majora's Mask'' was released almost at the same time as the ''UsefulNotes/PlayStation2'' in North America and Europe, which was overall a far bigger competitor than even ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' was to ''Skyward Sword'', it easily becomes the worst seller out of the 3D entries world-wide as well. This was one of the main reasons why Nintendo decided to take the series in a vastly different direction with ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''.

* AcclaimedFlop: The game did quite poorly in Japan, selling only around 360K units in total despite the positive critical reception, including a 40/40 from the Famitsu Magazine. Which makes it THE worst seller out of all 3D installments in Japan by a landslide[[note]]For contrast, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' sold 1.45 million units, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' around 600K, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' around 740K and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' around 640K.[[/note]]. As for world-wide sales, the game didn't exactly "flop", it did under-perform, given that it sold a bit over 3.6 million copies worldwide. The only other 3D to sell less was ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', but when you take into account that a) ''Majora's Mask'' was nevertheless close behind, with 3.36 million units, b) the Wii installed based was almost ''three times'' bigger than the N64's when both games first came out, and c) ''Majora's Mask'' was released almost at the same time as the ''UsefulNotes/PlayStation2'' in North America and Europe, which was overall a far bigger competitor than even ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' was to ''Skyward Sword'', it easily becomes the worst seller out of the 3D entries world-wide as well. This was one of the main reasons why Nintendo decided to take the series in a vastly different direction with ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''.

* AcclaimedFlop: The game did quite poorly in Japan, selling only around 360K units in total despite the positive critical reception, including a 40/40 from the Famitsu Magazine. Which makes it THE worst seller out of all 3D installments in Japan by a landslide[[note]]For contrast, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' sold 1.45 million units, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' around 600K, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' around 740K and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' around 640K.[[/note]]. As for world-wide sales, the game didn't exactly "flop", it did under-perform, given that it sold a bit over 3.6 million copies worldwide. The only other 3D to sell less was ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', but when you take into account that a) ''Majora's Mask'' was nevertheless close behind, with 3.36 million units, b) the Wii installed based was almost ''three times'' bigger than the N64's when both games first came out, and c) ''Majora's Mask'' was released almost at the same time as the ''UsefulNotes/PlayStation2'' in North America and Europe, which was overall a far bigger competitor than even ''[[TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' was to ''Skyward Sword'', it easily becomes the worst seller out of the 3D entries world-wide as well. This was one of the main reasons why Nintendo decided to take the series in a vastly different direction with ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''.

* AcclaimedFlop: The game did quite poorly in Japan, selling only around 360K units in total despite the positive critical reception, including a 40/40 from the Famitsu Magazine. Which makes it THE worst seller out of all 3D installments in Japan by a landslide[[note]]For contrast, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' sold 1.45 million units, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' around 600K, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' around 740K and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' around 640K.[[/note]]. As for world-wide sales, the game didn't exactly "flopped", it did under-perform, given that it sold a bit over 3.5 million copies worldwide. The only other 3D to sell less was ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', but when you take into account that a) ''Majora's Mask'' was only a couple hundred thousand units behind and b) the Wii installed based was almost ''three times'' bigger than the N64's when both games first came out, it easily becomes the worst seller out of the 3D entries. This was one of the main reasons why Nintendo decided to take the series in a vastly different direction with ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''.

* GodNeverSaidThat: Aonuma never that the Parella tribe evolved into the Zoras. What he actually said was that the Parella's original design was changed because it was too similar to the Zora.

* OldShame: Eiji Aonuma [[http://nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-reflects-on-zelda-skyward-swords-tutorials-will-be-careful-with-them-going-forward/ came to regret]] the game's large amount of hand-holding, acknowledging that the {{Forced Tutorial}}s and AnnoyingVideoGameHelper hurt the gameplay experience. He made sure to tone this down in later ''Zelda'' entries.

* MilestoneCelebration: The game was released to commemorate 25 years of ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda.''

* OldShame: Eiji Aonuma [[http://nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-reflects-on-zelda-skyward-swords-tutorials-will-be-careful-with-them-going-forward/ came to regret]] the game's large amount of hand-holding, acknowledging that the {{Forced Tutorial}}s and AnnoyingVideoGameHelper hurt the gameplay experience. He made sure to tone this down in later ''Zelda'' entries.

* CreatorBacklash: Eiji Aonuma [[http://nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-reflects-on-zelda-skyward-swords-tutorials-will-be-careful-with-them-going-forward/ came to regret]] the game's large amount of hand-holding, acknowledging that the {{Forced Tutorial}}s and AnnoyingVideoGameHelper hurt the gameplay experience. He made sure to tone this down in later ''Zelda'' entries.