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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Coming to Switch With New Control Options

by John Rairdin - February 17, 2021, 6:05 pm EST
Total comments: 15 Source: Nintendo

Don't worry, you don't have to use motion controls while riding the bus... but you could.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is on its way to Switch via The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD. Beyond being upped to high defenition, Skyward Sword HD also features new control options. Two Joy Cons can be used to emulated the original Wii motion controls. A new motion free control setup is also available. In this mode the player can use the right stick to manipulate Link's sword and other motion based items.

In addition to the game itself are a set of Skyward Sword Joy Cons designed to match the Master Sword and Link's wooden shield in Skyward Sword. These will launch alongside the game.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is set to released July 16th.

Talkback

broodwarsFebruary 17, 2021

The worst (official) Zelda game, now with slightly less-unresponsive controls!

As happy as I am to see this game get functional controls, I would have liked it more if they also confirmed that about 1/3 the game was being cut out to improve the game's atrocious pacing...or scrap the project altogether and just port better Zelda games like Wind Waker HD & Twilight Princess HD instead.

EnnerFebruary 17, 2021

The turn from "No BotW2 news" to this was just the most delicious wave of ire I have seen recently.

I enjoyed playing through this game enough the first go around, but never again.

I guess we might see Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD for Switch later this year if Nintendo has large 35th anniversary stuff planned.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorFebruary 17, 2021

"Nintendo spends too much time re-releasing the same games over and over."

also

"Nintendo should release the same Zelda game on four consecutive consoles."

broodwarsFebruary 17, 2021

Quote from: UncleBob

"Nintendo spends too much time re-releasing the same games over and over."

also

"Nintendo should release the same Zelda game on four consecutive consoles."

Hey, if Nintendo can't manage to put out a new Zelda game, they could at least put out a good old one instead of a lightly-remastered port of the worst (official) game in the series. I don't recall people complaining when 3D World + Bowser's Fury was announced instead of Odyssey 2.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorFebruary 17, 2021

>worst game in the series

Taste is subjective.  I'm not one to put a lot of faith in Metacritic, but SS is one of the top rated Zelda games and just under TP.  A lot of people do like the game.  It's okay that you don't.

AdrockFebruary 17, 2021

I don’t get the hate regarding re-releases. They don’t really take tons of resources, and y’all don’t have to buy them. I’ll keep buying them because I’m an lazy asshole who does not want to drag out old consoles but has too much nostalgia to remove them from my living space. That’s an Adrock problem though.

That said, I probably won’t double dip on Skyward Sword. I don’t care that Nintendo is re-releasing it. After nearly 10 years, there’s bound to be a new audience for the game.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorFebruary 17, 2021

I kinda get it.  If they're going to spend any effort upporting an old game, then they should do one *I* want, obviously.

That said, I'd kill for a remaster of Four Swords Adventures with some ability to play in a modern system.

What I don't get is the amount of people asking for them to remake a game that has had three releases, each on the last three Nintendo consoles.  This isn't Ridge Racer, is it?

In fairness, the original LoZ was released on the Game Cube, GBA, 3DS, Wii, Wii U, and Switch... so it didn't release on the DS (although you could play the GBA version on it)... so it's not unheard of.  I just... It's not a battle I'd pick.

AdrockFebruary 17, 2021

Sure, we all want our specific rerelease. Nintendo loves rereleasing games so it'll get around to the one you want eventually. Probably. Suck it, F-Zero fans.

broodwarsFebruary 17, 2021

I would also note that this would be the 3rd consecutive console that Skyward Sword has shown up on, so it's not like this is some bold new re-release. It released on the Wii, got a digital release on Wii U as a Wii VC title, and now has a partial remaster on Switch. In that sense, it's been re-released as much as Wind Waker has.

Luigi DudeFebruary 18, 2021

The fact they're adding button controls already fixes the biggest issue many Skyward Sword haters had.  I'd bet all my money they'll rework Fi so that she doesn't interrupt players anymore as well.  Even if they leave the rest of the game alone, those two changes just opened the experience up to a much wider audience.

Of course since this is a post Breath of the Wild world, I wouldn't be surprised if they've done some other changes to strengthen the game.  Even Wind Waker HD which came years before BOTW made the Triforce quest less tedious, so it's not outside the realm of possibility that some changes will be made to some of this games fetchquests as well.

Shorty McNostrilFebruary 18, 2021

I found the Direct quite lackluster unfortunately. This announcement was the only one that I am interested in - but the interest is very conditional. I will happily admit to being one of the ones who hated the original release. However not because of the game, but the controls only. (Mind you, those three fights on the forbidden monster thing with the toes got old in a screaming hurry).

By the end of the game I was in a rage because the stupid controls just didn't do what I wanted them to. The end boss had me yelling at the TV. When I finally finished it I vowed never to touch the game again until they release a proper version that ran on button and not motion. It seems like we finally have it, but I can't help feeling that this new control system is going to be terrible and I won't be buying it until we get some real world feedback on how the controls feel.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorFebruary 18, 2021

Quote from: broodwars

I would also note that this would be the 3rd consecutive console that Skyward Sword has shown up on, so it's not like this is some bold new re-release. It released on the Wii, got a digital release on Wii U as a Wii VC title, and now has a partial remaster on Switch. In that sense, it's been re-released as much as Wind Waker has.

I mean, kinda?  Is re-releasing the same game as a digital download the same as releasing an HD remaster?

By this line of thinking, Wind Waker was released three times, on GameCube, on Wii U physical, and Wii U digital.

They dumped the iso image and told the Wii U to run it in Wii Mode... Hell, if the Wii had any kind of internal storage, they could have released it digitally on the Wii.

Mop it upFebruary 18, 2021

I like this game but I don't usually rebuy games, and so far it looks the same, but we'll see if there are changes and additions. If this ends up being a light year as it's looking, then I may pick up at some point similar to what a lazy butthole Adrock might do.

Ian SaneFebruary 18, 2021

It's interesting to observe the history of re-releasing old games.  Originally we got retro compilations, usually of arcade titles, around the PS1/PS2 era when games were on cheap optical discs and the hardware could do the emulation.  But on the GBA we got SNES ports.  Then we get the VC and now retro games are released individually but as downloads only and at a low price point.  Then the next gen third parties realized they could make more by making their own retro compilations so they moved back to that and at the same time we got the "HD remaster" idea where literally games from the previous gen got ported to the current consoles which coincidently usually launched with a small lineup of original content.

A Skyward Sword remake doesn't surprise me because Nintendo has been remaking other Zelda games so this was logically going to get its turn.  I can't help but be amused by them putting in normal controls.  During the Wii years I hated motion controls and expressed that 99% of the time they were just mapping gestures to binary on/off actions and could thus do the exact same thing with buttons and get more responsive controls out of it.  But Nintendo was so adamant that these games would only work with motion controls and I like how that marketing spin is being debunked years after the fact.

AdrockFebruary 18, 2021

Quote from: Ian

But Nintendo was so adamant that these games would only work with motion controls and I like how that marketing spin is being debunked years after the fact.

To be fair, we don't know how well mapping motion controls to the right analog stick will work considering Nintendo designed the entire game around Wii Motion+. It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it works out for them.

Personally, while I thought motion controls worked better in Twilight Princess than Skyward Sword, the latter's greatest sins had nothing to do with the controls. Skyward Sword wasted so much time. If Nintendo nixed at least 1/3 of the game (in terms of content, not even just Fi's nagging), it would be a much better experience.

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