With the sequel toBreath of the Wildcoming sometime in 2022, next month’sThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward SwordHDwill have to hold fans over until then. This remaster of the franchise’s black sheep, 2011’sSkyward Sword, reportedly boasts a litany of enhancements planning to make the game more accessible than ever before.
Skyward Swordserves a unique position withinThe Legend of Zeldacontinuity. Story-wise,Skyward Swordisthe earliest game in theZeldatimeline, showing the founding of Hyrule and the first incarnations of Link and Zelda. However, many fans ultimately ended up skipping onSkyward Sword, due to its emphasis on motion controls. For some people, the one-to-one swordplay worked great, creating an immersive experience unlike anyZeldagame prior—for the majority though, the motion controls did not consistently work, leading to more headaches than actual playthroughs.
RELATED:The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Motion Controls Are ‘Smoother’ and ‘More Intuitive’
Fortunately, according to the game’s website,Skyward Sword HDis going to address this problem with the original and then some. Among the features Nintendo lists are:
While some of these improvements are still vague, and stillmay not addressSkyward Sword’s greatest flaw, the most explicit addition here is certainly a welcome one: the ability to play the game without motion controls. By mapping sword controls to the right thumb-stick, players will be able to precisely mimic the directional combat ofSkyward Swordwithout fumbling over the motion controls.
Another improvement from this list worth investigating is the last one. Those who were fortunate enough to have a problem-less experience with the original gameplay-wise, undoubtedly they at least became frustrated with the constant hand-holding from Link’s companion Fi. WhileFi is the spirit of the Master Sword, she can be a nuisance who constantly stops gameplay to talk. A direct alternation of Fi’s guidance would be extremely welcomed by veterans of the game and so that newcomers do not suffer.
Although these improvements are promising, there are still some troubling factors at play here, most notably,Skyward SwordHDlocking features behind amiibo. By using the exclusive Zelda and Loftwing amiibo, players can fast-travel from anywhere on the map, a feature that will help mitigate the already tedious amounts of backtracking the game requires. Restricting this feature is unfair for fans ofSkyward Swordand for people looking to try out the game. Hopefully, the fun to be had inSkyward Sword HDis enough to truly celebrateZelda’s 35th Anniversary.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HDreleases for Nintendo Switch on July 14, 2025.
