In our previous coverage of Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, we focused largely at the overall feel of the in-game world.
This time, we thought we’d take things to the following level and think about what it’s desire to actually play the sport, paying particular attention to how Wii MotionPlus will drive the whole experience.
Our gameplay demo happened round the end of the 14-hour mark inside the game, allowing us the liberty to take a look at out a number of Link’s more updated skills and skills in addition to a number of different swordplay moves.
Nearly all of our time was spent in Faron Woods, going through a large assortment of idiosyncratic small-scale enemies who provided the ideal opportunity for some creative swordplay. Unlike Twilight Princess, Link’s sword attacks aren’t confined to only a couple of moves. The Wii MotionPlus provides loads of different directional combinations: swinging in any direction or lunging forward will elicit a variety basic attacks, while shaking the Nunchuk and Wii MotionPlus controller simultaneously will make Link perform a spin attack. Performing a downward motion with both the controllers can even see Link embark on an overhead attack that typically has him stomping right on top of his enemies with the fashion and panache we adore him for.
Link too can use his shield in an attack called the shield bash attack; it’s done by shaking the nunchuk just as an enemy’s attack is set to succeed in its target. The attack will deflect off Link’s shield and hit the enemy instead. (Here is great for those pesky little guys who insist on spitting spiky things at you.) The largest thing to keep in mind in combat, however, is to always use the lock-on feature first, before you do any sword-swinging or bomb-throwing–it really is done by pressing Z at the nunchuk. After this, it is all about thinking ahead–swiping from left to right gets you simply up to now. The sport really rewards players who’ve put a bit of effort into understanding and utilising the various attack combinations. a short flick of the Wii MotionPlus remote can even see Link swapping between his current weapon and his last-selected item, saving you from pulling up the in-game menu if you for some reason require a bee-catching net halfway through a fight (which happens more often than you’d think).
The in-game menus also require you to exploit the remote, but not within the way you’d think: the menu works similar to an elastic band, meaning players cannot just simply point to the object they need with the Wii MotionPlus remote but rather slowly move in a curve either left or right until the menu required is highlighted.
During our demo we also had the likelihood to look one of the vital rare tree logs scattered in the course of the game–merely sitting down on one when prompted will replenish all of Link’s health in a single hit. However, we were warned to not depend on them an excessive amount of, as there aren’t as many around as we want to determine, and they are often tucked away out of sight.
The control scheme gets much more creative in terms of Link’s other weapons. Because we were thus far into the sport, we had a number of of those at our disposal and at last had the prospect to place them to good use in a single of the dungeons.
The most important feature of this actual dungeon was lava, and Link needed to solve about a elementary door-opening puzzles with a bit platform work for good measure. Our first chance to apply Link’s bow came up after we spotted quite a few enemies behind a grilled door. Players can have two options on the subject of the bow: the straightforward option (automatic pull-back) and the choice that requires some actual physical effort (the non-automatic pull-back). The previous requires a straightforward press of the A button, aiming with the Wii MotionPlus controller, and releasing the A button when satisfied. The latter is trickier: after pressing the C button, you’re required to make a pull-back motion along with your nunchuk hand just as though you were drawing a true bow. Aim, release. (Obviously, aiming goes to be slightly tougher with this feature unless you’re a professional archer). There’s also a difference in accuracy between both options: the automated one is speedy, but it is advisable to look ahead to accuracy to construct, while the alternative is slower and instantly accurate.
There’s also a whip (handy for should you don’t fancy getting too with regards to some enemies or when items are only out of reach), which requires an extremely satisfying whipping motion to manage, and the handy flying beetle, which Link can deploy to assist him flick faraway switches, attain faraway items, or deploy well-timed bombs. The beetle requires you to navigate left and right until it reaches its intended destination.
Even many of the puzzles within the dungeons would require you to accomplish a chain of spatial maths feats via the Wii MotionPlus controller to control puzzle pieces to slot them correctly right into a certain door lock.
Finally–and we all know this has nothing to do with controls–we couldn’t help but notice over again how incredibly beautiful the sport looks with its Impressionism-inspired visuals and vivid colour palette.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is out for the Nintendo Wii on November 20.