There was once a time when grown men would cry when a new Legend of Zelda game was announced. The 25 year-old franchise is second only to Mario when it comes to Nintendo’s most valuable and beloved intellectual properties. In a time when Nintendo has gone from the most successful console manufacturer to one that is hemorrhaging money it will be important for Skyward Sword to find success. Will Nintendo’s final major release on the Wii give Nintendo fans enough to sustain them until the launch of the Wii U next year?
Probably not. At this point most core fans will need a search team just to discover what happened to their Wii. The console was dated when it launched and its motion control gimmick has lost its appeal over the past five years. The Kinect has replaced the Wii as the motion control gimmick of the holiday, and it makes better use of that big HD TV in the living room. Only the most dedicated of Zelda fans will return to the Wii and experience what Skyward Sword has to offer.
Skyward Sword utilizes the Wii MotionPlus in order to map the controller to Link’s arm for one-to-one sword swings. Enemies will be vulnerable to vertical/horizontal swings or jabs, forcing players to plan their swings. Whether or not the wave of the wrist will replace the precision of a button press is debatable, but it’s nice seeing a core Nintendo game actually utilize the Wii’s tech. Besides, who wouldn’t want to spend 30 hours swinging your arm around like a sword in the living room?
Since Nintendo launches games on Sunday instead of Tuesday, the reviews are already out. It appears that Skyward Sword is possibly the best Zelda game ever made. This leaves just one question for gamers: If Nintendo launches a Zelda game on the Wii during the holiday, does anyone still care? Or have gamers moved on to the Skyrims of the world for good? Either way, Nintendo and Zelda faithful alike are getting a rare treat on a dying platform.
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