Giving Skyward Sword Another Chance

I've once again reached the point in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword that halted me at age nine. Before I surpass it and play what parts of the game are new to me, I'd like to reflect a little, if you'll indulge me.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a linear action-adventure game with puzzle elements, one of the most controversial in the Zelda series due to its reliance on motion-controlled gameplay. The game was recently rereleased in HD on the Switch. Originally requiring a newer revision of the Wii Remote with better motion sensing capabilities, Link's sword (among most other items) followed your movement of the Wii Remote in the real world. This proved impractical at points, with most reviews citing the motion controls as unnecessary. Of course, as a young child with undiagnosed ADHD, I had the energy to flail my arms all day long.

I fell hard into this painterly iteration of early Hyrule, and it still holds up ten years later. Nintendo's games manage to age much finer than their competition in every era, even when they were on weaker hardware, due to their prioritization of art style over the latest "realistic" graphical techniques. It's rare to see a game so uniquely careful with its visuals, like each frame sprung from an artist's brush. This pastel palette is so easy on the eyes. Even the series' traditionally red hearts have been modified to a soft pink.

Something I remembered doing in my first playthrough years back was staring at this one pearlescent material used symbolically throughout the game. In an era where materials were often represented by static textures, I couldn't believe my eyes at the time as the reflection moved with my view.

As Link relentlessly trails Princess Zelda through the harsh underworld, her power and mystique grow. To help portray this, she is later seen with jewelry made from the same symbolic material. I still adore this detail.

Nintendo's HD rerelease of this game brings one game-changing addition: An option to turn off motion controls and emulate their functions with joysticks instead. As a result, the game is fully playable in handheld mode, and is accessible to those who lack the ability to wave a controller around for hours. No matter your personal thoughts on motion controls, the option is fantastic to see.

I started my new playthrough with motion controls, but quickly turned to joystick controls due to their consistency and so I could play while sitting outside in a lawn chair. I'm happy to report the game is just as enjoyable this way. I won't go as far as to say the motion controls are a worse way to play, but I don't miss them too much.

Replaying the game after the open-world Breath of the Wild released and completely reimagined the Zelda formula, I see now that the linear limitations of prior titles were as much intentional as they were technologically necessary. The game plays out differently when you can't magically climb or fly to every distant mystery you spot, and I've gained an appreciation for the way Skyward Sword uses these limitations to guide you through its gated world.

What stopped me years ago was my fear of the Spirit Trials. These trials take place in an otherworldly nighttime version of the game's primary locales, in which you must sneak past demonic guardians, collecting sacred teardrops along the way to keep them at bay. If you get caught or go too long without collecting a teardrop, the world floods with primal bloodlust and thumping music as every guardian is alerted to your location. You are helpless.

Through literal tears and nightmares, my child self pushed through the first two trials in the forest and the desert, but couldn't get through the third trial at the volcano. My sister and a neighborhood friend attempted the trial for me one summer morning whilst I cowered upstairs in my bedroom. They too failed. So that was where I left my love and obsession for this game years ago.

Here I am, as an adult, at the entrance to the third trial in the game's rerelease. Just like I gave up on the game, I almost gave up on this post. I've never written about video games before and feared failure. I need to do this, to prove to my younger self that I could, and show him what comes next. Wish me luck.