E3 2011: Five Cool Things I Saw in Zelda - Skyward Sword

If you spend enough time with a game, even a demo, you notice a lot of details. As I played through various pieces of Nintendo's Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword demos, I saw plenty of things that I wanted to tell you about but had no reasonable place to put them. I figured it'd make sense to assemble everything here instead.

Bit #1 - The game doesn't appear to use IR - at all.
From the demo's menus to aiming a bow and arrow to guiding the beetle item to selecting items, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword doesn't use the Wii Remote's ability to aim at the screen. Even Twilight Princess used some of these functions. It's a curious choice, one that seems designed to reinforce the game being built around Wii Motion Plus.

Bit #2 - Link still gets fatigued.
This one stands out because it's not exactly something that thrills me. Link gets tired in a variety of ways in Skyward Sword. If you start sprinting (yes, there's a sprint button), Link will eventually get tired. A dial-based meter will tick down, and when it runs out, Link will stop and gasp for air. In addition to running, our hero will tire out when executing more complicated moves and climbing.

Bit #3 - Shields can break.
The idea of item depletion isn't exactly new. Remember how your wooden shield in Ocarina of Time could burn away? This time around, two of your shields - wood and iron - can be broken when a meter wears down. It's also worth noting that there seems to be a standard count of three shields in the game - Wood, Iron and Hylian. From what I've observed there should be three swords as well (Standard, Skyward and Master).

Bit #4 - Swordplay is enhanced.
Link continues to add to his moves list. Sword slashes now operate in a variety angles (upwards, sideways and everything in between), including a thrust that can be quickly executed over and over. Holding the Wii Remote straight up will charge Link's sword, allowing him to execute an energy blast. Most notably, however, are the power moves that will actually deplete the fatigue meter. Moving both the nunchuck and Wii Remote sideways will execute a spin attack. Moving them upward at the same time will pull off a flipping sword swipe.

Bit #5 - Walls won't stop Link.
Call me a Zelda nerd, but I loved this little bit. If Link runs across a cliff that's a bit too tall for him to climb, he won't simply stare at it. In Skyward Sword, our hero will actually push off the side of the wall to give himself a boost, and then pull himself up and over the obstacle. It's a small detail, but a cool one. It adds to the stellar animation and overall fluidity of this latest Zelda adventure.

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Stay tuned for more coverage of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Nintendo may have only brought three segments to E3 2011, but we're going to keep writing about them until we get more to play.

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