Finished!

Zelda Skyward Sword completed! Not 100%... but I've reached the end nonetheless. It has been a trilling 50+ hour ride and I've enjoyed every bit of it! Playing a Zelda game using motion controls (that work really well mind you), I find myself thinking that it'll be a shame to revert back to traditional methods of control. You only need to get into a couple of battles to feel the exhilaration of tactical sword fighting using motion controls... And my word, I can still feel my heart pumping hard from the final duel of the game, which was a good while ago.

The motion controls work really well, but yes they do require a little more concentration than you would normally put into playing games. Case in point, playing Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (played in the Xbox360, another excellent game I'll have you know too) was particularly exciting but there was nothing stopping you from slouching and adopting a more comfortable position lying down, especially during it's rather lengthy loading screens. Eventually I found myself playing through a couple of dungeons in a semi-asleep state.

There were even one or two incidents of me blanking out for a couple of minutes with the controller in my hands only to snort back to reality after someone shakes me awake. There were a couple of things in Skyward Sword they could do without. One of them was the game's insistence of telling you what a particular treasure or bug was even if you got several dozens of them in your inventory. All I can say is that at least the game doesn't do that for rupees (the game's currency), otherwise I would have gone completely bananas (an exaggeration, but you get my point). Another is Fledge. I found him to be even more annoying than the bullies you face (eventually as the game went on) and when he got around to introducing his mini-game I knew for sure he was a troll with a seemingly friendly exterior. Allow me this one say, I dislike Fledge. Apart from him, everyone else was more or less likable. Even Ghirahim felt more accommodating... and that's saying something.

I've read complaints about the stamina bar the game introduces and from what I can see I don't have much to complain about it. Sure it would be nice to run at full speeds everywhere, or do spin attacks every time you'd like. However I feel the addition of the stamina bar adds to the game by forcing the player to consider a variety of attacks rather than going for reckless usage of powerful moves. Also, stamina fruits (which replenish stamina as its name suggests) are relatively abundant, especially in areas where stamina becomes an issue e.g. climbing vines (I've not run out of stamina during those segments, not once).

Stepping back I can see this entry slowly descending into the realms of obscurity where the words just keep piling and piling on and the point takes a 480 hour ticket for a merry-go-round. So I'll like to finish things up by saying... I love this game. I've not played a Zelda game or any game quite like it (the motion controls help make it very much unique) and I've had such a blast during my time with it. I will miss Fi in particular as she's my favorite character, what with her deadpan delivery of advice and hints which were always lost amongst the realms of probability. She's also quite a singer too! I will also miss the boss battles (not you, Imprisoned) the game has to offer. There nothing quite like fighting Koloktos and his multiple appendages, or wrenching your blade from Ghirahim's finger catch (the man's crazy!). Put it simply, fighting Skyward Sword bosses is uniquely fun.

I always wondered what I felt when playing through Ocarina of Time as a kid. I know I found it an amazing game back then (it still is now, 3ds style), but any details to what I've felt as i went through the game are lost within the passages of time. Playing through Skyward Sword I've come to an epiphany. I believe that the feeling I had playing through Skyward Sword is pretty much the one I had back so very long ago playing through Ocarina of time. A testament to Nintendo's (and Shigeru Miyamoto's) ability to come up with masterpieces, something not a lot of video game franchises can claim to give.

Now another page in the Zelda timeline turns... what's next? I am looking forward to seeing how will Zelda WiiU and Zelda 3ds will turn out. But as I eagerly await any news on those games, I shall turn my attention now to a much overdue appointment with Ashley in one of Cing's last games. Where ever you guys in Cing are now I hope you will continue to produce quality adventure games as you've always done (with the exception of Again).

~Onery