Skyward Sword: Onward to Skyloft! (Her Perspective)

After a long hiatus from our Zelda blog, we’re back and with a more engaging strategy. Initially, John proposed we play through the Zelda games in the order they were released. At first it didn’t seem so bad, but it was tough to go from Skyward Sword graphics and storyline to the Legend of Zelda intended for the original Nintendo System graphics. Halfway through the Legend of Zelda, it was Game. Over.

But tonight John surprised me by agreeing to replay Skyward Sword. Not only that, but we would play through according to timeline. This had way more appeal to me, so it was  game on!

Admittedly, this was a tough game the first time we played it four years ago. Flying the bird around Skyloft was the cause behind the first time I threw the controller at John. I loved the game except for the bird because I would get so flustered and frustrated. For years I would tell John that Skyward Sword would be my favorite Zelda game, had it not been for the bird. But about 6 months ago, and quite randomly, I decided to give it another go on my own. This time I payed more attention to the tutorial, and it was so easy that I felt extremely sheepish. Skyward Sword is my favorite now.

To me, this is the rare Zelda that actually deserves a second play through. Hear me out. The hints of what is coming are all there in the beginning. You just don’t notice them because you don’t know where to look. For Instance, when you arrive in Faron Woods and enter the temple to meet the old woman. If you go behind her and peek through the doors, you can see the crystal where Zelda lies dormant. On the first play through it just a funny looking crystal that you can’t reach. But on a repeat play through, you know exactly what it is and I’m surprised Nintendo shows this so early in the game. There are tons of these hints sprinkled throughout the game though. 

My theory is that Nintendo intended for this game to be played multiple times and those hints are the rewards for replaying the game. Each time you play, there’s always something new that you catch…well unless you cheat and look it all up in a blog post. But as John would say, where’s the fun in that?

 The tutorial took up most of our game time tonight. But that’s OK because the tutorial isn’t bad. In fact it sets up the story quite nicely and makes investing emotionally into the game very easy. The characters are more fleshed out and their relationships are more dynamic. I love that Zelda has so much spirit and sass in this game! Link isn’t just described as lazy, you can see it in his facial expressions.

It’s safe to say that the remote controller will not be flying at John’s head tonight. But it’s only the beginning of a very long game…