Graphics: This game is gorgeous, the cell shaded look from Wind Waker combined with the more realistic character proportions from Twilight Princess combine to create a water colour effect which just demonstrates that good art direction doesn't depend on resolution! At no point have I ever been confused by what I'm looking at or what elements I can interact with.
Music: As soon as I first started playing I was grabbed by the music. The game features an orchestrated musical score, which incorporates leitmotifs and past melodies, and creates a very memorable musical experience. The game also includes a CD of orchestral arrangements of music from Zelda's 25 year history.
Controls: There has been some controversy regarding the controls after Tom McShea from Gamespot gave the game a 7.5 review score strongly criticising the controls. Part of what made his comments so controversial is that he didn't describe the controls correctly, claiming that the sensor bar was involved in aiming, when in fact it is all handled by the gyroscope inside the Wiimote. He was also critical of the 1:1 swordplay claiming that often his motions would miss-register. The only time I have experienced any control issues is when I have been trying to use the sword with just a flick of the wrist rather than using my whole arm (I did this quite a lot at the start as this is how most other Wii games control). Once you realise that this game controls differently to most other games you have played then the depth and immersion of the scheme is realised (I often find myself standing for boss battles). Actually my one criticism of the controls is that sometimes you are not sure if you are playing the game to experience the story or as a sort of tech demo of what can be achieved through good motion controls.
Story: The story follows the standard Zelda fare with you needing to rescue the princess and defeat evil, with a few twists that I'm not going to go into as I don't want to spoil anyone. The pacing in the game is quite slow compared to most other modern games, you seem to be almost encouraged to take your time and look around before solving the puzzles that are presented to you. For people who have played Zelda games in the past they will be use to this, however, if someone who is new to the franchise sees that the game is classified as action-adventure they might be surprised by this slower pace.
Innovations: While the game doesn't stray too much from the main Zelda formula there are some welcome changes. Firstly, there are now many more save points, and when you return to an area you can choose any of these locations as your start point. Secondly, the map you are carrying is much more detailed, after you visit someone or something it is recorded on your map, also you are able to place beacon markers to help you find what you are looking for. Thirdly, while Link and friends are still silent you are presented with multiple options during conversations, this is especially noticeable when you talk to Fi and can ask for a reminder of what you are supposed to do, a hint about how to go about it, or for rumours (each of these has a couple of sub-options). And finally, the controls but I've already mentioned them.
Nostalgia: I've played Zelda, Zelda II, A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Phantom Hourglass so for me there were many small jokes and reference that I greatly appreciated. Right at the start the game talks about how they will tell you a story that has been retold time and time again, later on you meet a character who uses the line 'it's a secret to everybody', and I'm just waiting for someone to tell me that 'it's dangerous to go alone'. Link is still his usual anti-social self breaking things and sleeping on people's beds, sometimes with them still in it, but now the town folk sort of call him on it with a side quest revolving around paying for the damage he caused. I do wonder how someone who hasn't played a Zelda game before would find Skyward Sword, as for me it was exactly what I expected and wanted, but could easily see someone being confused by the way that various things work and the more rustic game design.
Closing Comments: I am greatly enjoying Skyward Sword, it is exactly what I want in a Zelda game, with just enough innovations to prevent it from feeling like I am playing Ocarina of Time again. The game that I am most reminded of when playing is Wind Waker, and that's not due to the art style but rather the way you fly around Skyloft visiting different islands and dungeons; thankfully it's much quicker to get around than in Wind Waker. I think about the slow pacing and believe that if you changed things to provide a full warp system it would detract from the sense of adventure and trivialise a lot of the experience, maybe if they created a faster paced more action orientated game then a quick travel system would be appropriate, but then again I could just go buy Skyrim if that is what I wanted.
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