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On 21 February 1986, The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo EAD, 1986) was first released in Japan. The creation of legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, The Legend of Zelda launched one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises. This year, I’ve been dedicating every Friday to Nintendo’s most famous silent protagonist, Link and his vast and enduring fantasy world of sword and sorcery.

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Released: 12 May 2023
Developer: Nintendo EPD

The Background:
Selling over 6.5 million copies, The Legend of Zelda was a big hit for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and kickstarted one of Nintendo’s most lucrative and popular franchises of all time. After a successful jump to 3D with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (ibid, 1998), Zelda titles have only gotten more ambitious with each successive entry, though none were more ambitious than the critical and commercial success of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD, 2017). While producing the downloadable content for Breath of the Wild, the developers had so many ideas that they were inspired to create a follow-up title and sought to expand upon the existing world and game engine with new areas. The Dungeons were revised to be more visually unique compared to the last game and the developers added a building mechanic to allow players to craft new vehicles and expand their exploration potential, with Link’s new abilities presenting new challenges for the developers to overcome. Like its predecessor, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was met with universal acclaim; reviews praised the expanded map, the implementation of Link’s new abilities, and the expansive story. While the Dungeon design and performance was criticised, the game still sold 21.04 million copies worldwide and won numerous awards.

The Plot:
Years after Breath of the Wild, Link and Zelda discover the rancid “Gloom” seeping from the depths beneath Hyrule, heralding Ganondorf’s return. When Zelda disappears and the Master Sword is shattered, Link turns to an ancient race to combat the Dark King once more.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Like its predecessor, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an open-world action/adventure game in which players control Link (in one of the rare instances of him not only having that name but being the same incarnation) and explore the vast wilds of Hyrule, a diverse and treacherous land of sword and sorcery. Fundamentally, the controls and basic gameplay mechanics remain unchanged from Breath of the Wild, for better or worse. You press A to talk to Hyrule’s many and varied non-playable characters (NPCs), interact with the environment or pick up objects (stones, weapons, etc), and open treasure chests. To run, simply hold B but keep an eye on your stamina wheel as Link will quickly get exhausted unless you expand it by conquering the returning mini Dungeons (again dubbed “Shrines”). Y swings your currently equipped weapon in a simple combo; hold it to charge up a spin but, again, watch your stamina as you don’t want to end up dizzy and vulnerable. X jumps, with Link deftly hopping over most low objects or executing a jumping attack; you’ll also use this to clamber up walls and surfaces (again, stamina willing). When in combat, press ZR to target the nearest enemy and raise your currently equipped shield to fend off attacks. Successfully tap A while raising your shield to perform a “Perfect Guard” that reflects certain attacks and leaves enemies stunned (though I still can’t get the timing right). Similarly, pressing X at just the right time to dodge an attack allows you to hit a powerful “Flurry Rush” to whittle down their health. Pressing in the left stick sees Link crouch and stealthily sneak around, allowing for one-hit strikes, and you can hold down R when at full health to unleash a Sword Beam.

As before, Link can utilise almost anything as a weapon; sticks, skeletal arms, various swords, clubs, and axes are all acquired by defeating enemies or exploring your surroundings. Each has a different power rating that determines not just how much damage it does, but also how durable it is. The lower the rating, the more likely your weapon will shatter after a few hits. Wooden weapons also catch fire and metal weapons attract lightning, so you must swap them out or drop them to avoid taking damage or being caught short. Similarly, items like pot lids, wooden circles, and iron shields can defend against incoming attacks and have the same elemental issues to consider. Link also acquires various bows, with some firing more shots at the cost of their durability and others hitting harder; similar effects are also applied to weapons and shields. Link can also throw items and attach them to his arrows for additional effects, such as blowing up rock walls and enemy hoards with Bomb Flowers, freezing them with Ice Fruit, or setting vines and baddies alight with Fire Fruit. In Tears of the Kingdom, this comes courtesy of Link’s new Purah Pad, and upgrade to the previous game’s Sheikah Slate, which quickly allows him to “Fuse” objects to his arsenal. This is a versatile ability, allowing you to Fuse items to your swords (and even combine weapons) for added effects and damage. Fuse makes shields more durable or rocket you into the air with…well, an attached rocket…and is also essential for solving puzzles since you must cobble together wooden boards to create bridges, rafts, or more complex vehicles. You can manipulate almost anything with the “Ultrahand” ability, which telekinetically picks up objects to be awkwardly rotated to solve puzzles or piece together your creations. Eventually, you learn the “Autobuild” ability that makes this much easier but at the cost of “Zonaite”, a new mineral that powers your creations and allows your gliders to fly, your fans to blow, and your carts to roll along. Perhaps Link’s most useful new ability is “Ascend”, which sees him clip upwards through the environment when able, eliminating the need to expend stamina climbing rugged mountains and sheer walls. Link can also rewind time, to a limited degree, with “Recall”, allowing him to dart into the sky by reversing the direction of falling debris and bypass raging lava flows on makeshift rafts.

As before, Link’s weapon inventory is painfully limited. It can be expanded by finding Korok seeds, but only one slot at a time and the cost increases as you progress. Link’s defensive options are also tied to his outfits, which are found in chests, tied to tricky side quests, or bought from various shops for ridiculous prices. Instead of relying on gathering Rupees, you’re better off selling the precious gems you find by smashing rocks with rock-Fused weapons. You’ll need to do this as Link won’t last long in extreme heat or cold without the right outfits, and some offer additional perks such as speeding up your swimming rate, rocketing you up waterfalls, resisting elements, and upping your attack and defence. Rather than collecting hearts from defeated enemies, Link can either spend Rupees at an inn, collect a “Light of Blessing” from Shrines, or cook meals. This time, any meals you cook are recorded for easy reference; meals can also have added effects, such as temporarily increasing your maximum hearts and stamina wheel. To permanently extend these, you must trade four Light of Blessings at prayer statues dotted around Hyrule to gain either a new heart container or an extra slither to your stamina wheel, a process that remains as tedious as before. Similarly, you can still sneak up on and tame wild horses, adding them to stables and calling them with a whistle. If you have a Breath of the Wild save file, your horses will even be carried over, which is nice. There is a generous fast track mechanic, as before, but you must again activate towers (revealing more of the map in the process) or beat Shrines to utilise this. Finally, you can jump from high places and glide using your Paraglider and, though you can’t drop bombs like before, you can whip out your bow and use the slowdown effect to pick enemies off and, eventually, speed up your gliding with a gust of wind.

Like in Breath of the Wild, Link is aided in his journey by reincarnations of the ancient Sages. Following the main story quest (something easily done from the extensive “Adventure Log”) sees you conquer five ancient “Temples” and encounter these allies, who then join your quest, in spirit. Tulin blasts a gust of wind that speeds up your gliding and blows over enemies; Yunobo cannonballs ahead, setting fire to grass and smashing rocks; Sidon protects you with a water shield and blasts foes with a burst of water; Riju adds a lightning bolt to your arrows; and you can pilot Mineru’s mech, attaching various accessories to essentially make a Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robot. Each ability has a cooldown element (with Mineru’s abilities tied to Zonite) and each Saga follows you on the overworld unless dismissed, battling enemies and bosses alongside you to take some of the heat off you. Mineru is especially usefully when explore the “Depths”, a vast, pitch-black, incredible dangerous environment found beneath Hyrule and accessed via chasms. Down here, you’ll activate Lightroots and toss Brightbulbs to brighten up the area and encounter vast deposits of “Gloom”, a Malice-like substance that permanently saps your maximum health unless you recharge at Lightroots or cook special food. Mineru walks through Gloom and lava without fear, but you must watch for Gloom-infected enemies and the horrific Gloom Spawn, which essentially act as this game’s second counterpart to the Guardians (the first being the various Zonai Constructs). While it’s not necessary to explore the entirety of the Depths, you will visit there many times throughout the story, and it can be beneficial to venture down there to collect powerful weapons or Poes to obtain new clothing. Additionally, you can blast up to the skies to explore various disparate floating ruins not a million miles away from the floating islands of Skyloft. Up here, you’ll find mine carts, caves, and the remnants of the Zonai people, alongside additional Shrines and rewards. The skies are also great for scoping out points of interest on the surface, such as Shrines, towns, or the various geoglyphs that dot Hyrule’s landscape. If you’re really lucky, you’ll spot one of four elemental dragons who can be farmed for precious minerals, with one in particular (the Light Dragon) awarding the legendary Master Sword if you have enough stamina to retrieve it.

Hyrule’s surface remains relatively unchanged from Breath of the Wild; many of the same towns, locations, and landmarks can still be found, though with some alterations. Lurelin Village has been infested with ruffians who need to be fought off, for example; the Rito Village has been beset by a blizzard; and the Gorons have become obsessed with Marbled Rock Roast. The Korok Forest and eerie Lost Woods are shrouded by an impassable mist, Hyrule Castle floats above a chasm of Gloom thanks to the “Upheaval” caused by Ganondorf’s awakening, and Zora’s Domain is polluted by sludge. You must clear out these issues with both your items and by completing Temples, which are thankfully far more visually distinct this time around. Rather than every Temple relying on a clunky rotating gimmick and a repetitive Sheikah aesthetic, they’re much more traditional in their depiction and use of elemental themes. You’ll solve a primary puzzle in each, from activating propellers to unlock giant locks, hitting gongs to release padlocks, powering up water wheels and ancient batteries, and collecting Mineru’s parts. While you do collect keys, this element is downplayed, though you still activate levers and switches (albeit with Ultrahand). Typically, you’re more likely to be moving or combining items, rolling giant balls into targets, and either using Ascend or fans to progress upwards. The Water Temple has a unique gravity gimmick that sees you float around in bubbles, you’ll get a prelude to the Lightning Temple’s boss battle before entering, and the Fire Temple is full of mine carts that require you to switch tracks by firing Yunobo at targets. Just getting to the Temples is a feat in itself, with you forced to venture higher and higher into the skies and cross flying ships to reach the Wind Temple and explore the murky Depths to find the Spirit Temple. Hyrule Castle again acts as a Temple, one guarded by powerful enemies and covering Gloom, and you must venture deep into the hazardous, Gloom-filled chasm beneath it to confront the Demon King. Shrines are far more challenging and diverse this time around, ranging from combat challenges to logic puzzles that’ll have you using Link’s Purah Pad abilities in unexpected ways or battling enemies with makeshift items.

Like Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom is an unforgiving experience. Link begins with three hearts and acquiring more is a chore since you’re forced to seek out Shrines (something made much easier by completing a side quest to add the Sensor to your Purah Pad). Even then, having more health can be detrimental since it means consuming more food to replenish your health and Link is frustratingly weak at times. Even simple encounters can end in a game over, meaning it’s often better to just sprint past enemies to preserve your weapons, health, and sanity. To make matters worse, all enemies and treasure respawn when the “Blood Moon” rises, meaning the environment never gets any less dangerous. This remains a frustrating experience for me as I enjoy the combat in the Zelda games but the risk/reward of battling even simple enemies often isn’t worth it. Add to that the frustrating weather effects, which see you slip down mountains, tumble about like a ragdoll from a lightning strike, and collapse from heat exhaustion and you have a game that can be a chore to play. While the Gloom and the Depths can largely be avoided, you’ll endure both eventually and they’re a major headache as it’s not fun to stumble about in the darkness, have your hearts sapped away, and then be surprised by a Gloom-infected rematch with a boss! It seems like every NPC has a story to tell and a mission for you, be it reuniting lost Koroks, exploring wells, seeking out evidence of Zelda sightings, or bringing musicians to the Great Fairies so you can upgrade your clothing (for a small free…) Sometimes, you’re forced to battle waves of enemies or NPCs will turn out to be the aggravating Yiga Clan in disguise. Other times, you’re performing glorified fetch quests for minimal rewards or cobbling together constructs to help Addison campaign for President Hudson. Some Shrines only reveal themselves after you retrieve their crystal, either by battling a mini boss or solving some tedious nearby puzzle; others offer no challenge at all, making for a nice change of pace. Link’s building abilities can result in some remarkable craft, from boats to full-blown planes, but it can be annoying rotating pieces into position, and you’ll expend a lot of your resources to get all the pieces you need and power everything.

Presentation:
Link’s model, like all the character models, appears essentially unchanged from Breath of the Wild save for some different attire and his new monster arm. When in sweltering heat, he pants and sweats; when in blistering cold, he shivers; and when standing too close to an explosion, he catches fire. Although he doesn’t speak save for some grunts, there are dialogue options here and there that show is does communicate with those around him. Other NPCs communicate through traditional text boxes or voice acting, which is generally saved for the more dramatic cutscenes and the various memories. Link’s companions have a fair bit of personality, with Yunobo being a standout for me since he’s brainwashed into turning against his people and then determined to make up for it with an enthusiastic gusto! Tears of the Kingdom takes the expansive overworld from Breath of the Wild and expands upon it considerably. The surface is largely the same from what I remember, featuring towns, swamps, mountains, a massive volcano, and rushing waters. Settlements like Kakariko Village and Hateno Village remain, with Link now having a home and encountering many of the same NPCs (some of whom recognise him and others who strangely don’t). The landscape is altered by the presence of chasms leading to the Depths but still contains hidden caves, stables, the ruins of the old world, and recognisable landmarks like the Temple of Time. Hyrule is gigantic and full of different cultures, from the distrustful Gerudo in the arid desert to the proud Zora in their waterfall kingdom. Each area has different weather effects to worry about, from stifling heat to bitter cold, something exacerbated by random thunderstorms and the titanic elemental Gleeoks. There’s also a day/night cycle present, some mist and fog effects here and there, and a real sense of the world having changed both between games and from the fallout of the Upheaval, which sees debris rain from the skies and uncovers long-forgotten ruins that you must explore and decipher.

By their very nature, the Depths aren’t as immediately impressive simply because they’re seeped in darkness. It’s an oppressive, bleak, and dangerous environment with no inhabitants save for Ganondrof’s minions, the remains of a Zonai outpost, and Robbie’s tentative efforts to explore the Gloom-infested environment. Still, there is a lot to see here once you illuminate your surroundings; Zonai depots, lava flows, and Gloom-versions of the game’s bosses all dwell alongside Bargainer statues where you trade your Poes and rusted weapons you can take. The skies aren’t much better, being a fragmented series of ruins, tracks, and Zonai deposits that you must often glide between. The Shrines have been redesigned (for the worst, in my opinion) and returning areas like Hyrule’s labyrinths and even the elegant castle have an added danger thanks to being infested by Gloom. Shrine interiors are very similar to what we saw in Breath of the Wild, favouring substance over style and restricting your abilities so you can’t just glide to the exit. They retain the ancient mixture of science and magic from Breath of the Wild, but I remain unimpressed by how tedious it gets searching for Shrines just to get enough Light of Blessings to gain one extra heart that’s immediately shattered by Gloom. Still, as mentioned, the Temples are much improved this time around. They not only have a better visual identity but contain more interesting puzzles and a greater enemy variety. The standout for me was the Lightning Temple, which sits within a vast pyramid in the storm-swept Gerudo Desert and is home to the mummified Gibdos. I felt like a proper tomb raider shifting blocks and riding wind currents in here, though the Fire Temple also impressed by being an abandoned mine within a volcano. The Spirit Temple was the most disappointing since it simply hosts a boss battle, but the journey to it through the Construct Factory in the murky Depths was challenge enough.

Tears of the Kingdom makes great use of ambient sound for the most part. There’s no sweeping Zelda theme when galloping across the overworld here; just the sounds of enemies approaching or light piano tunes. This changes once you get into battles, ramping up the anxiety when you’re suddenly attacked by a spear-wielding Moblin and battling the finnicky controls as you tumble down a mountainside. Music really only plays a role in the game’s cutscenes, however, which can be replayed from the Adventure Log. Like its predecessor, Tears of the Kingdom invites you to challenge yourself; if you’re brave (or stupid), you can head right to the final confrontation (and win!) and you’re free to explore every area out of sequence, for the most part. The map and Adventure Log can quickly become cluttered with waypoints and primary and optional quests, making it difficult to remember where you’re going and what’s happening next. However, I never experienced any performance issues save for one terrifying moment where the game crashed during the Yunobo fight. The environment renders well; wild animals and NPCs roam freely with no slowdown or noticeable pop-up, though the weather effects do help mask this at times, I feel. Traversing the surface is far less hazardous thanks to the absence of Guardians but the Gloom Hands definitely get your blood pumping when they slither to life and relentlessly chase you across walls and ceilings. Long-time Zelda fans should also enjoy the various nods to previous games in the names of certain locations and NPCs, as in the last game, and Tears of the Kingdom definitely feels like a celebration of the franchise’s rich history as much as anything else. Probably the best callback for me was exploring Hyrule Castle again; though much more restricted thanks to the Gloom and the damage, it was fun revisiting the library and royal rooms. Unfortunately, the plot lost me a bit; I still don’t understand why no one makes a connection between Ganondorf and Calamity Ganon and I must have been distracted when the game explained why Zelda’s been sighted across Hyrule when she’s actually flying through the skies as the Light Dragon.

Enemies and Bosses:
As far as I could tell and remember, every enemy encountered in Breath of the Wild reappears here, sporting the same strengths and weaknesses and dropping the same items upon defeat. Hyrule is full of sentient trees, jelly-like Chuchus, odd Pebblits, bat-like Keese, and rock-spitting Octoroks. These common enemies aren’t much to shout about, popping up as you explore and generally being more a nuisance than a threat, but the land is also patrolled by Ganondorf’s more organised and formidable forces. The most commonly encountered are the squawking Bokoblins, often found around campfires, guarding towers, or riding Battle Talus’s. They’re often subordinate to their more challenging silver-clad commanders, trailing behind bulbous Boss Bokoblins, or taking orders from large, goblin-like Moblin. Skeletal variants of these are also encountered, some ride horses on the overworld, and Gloom-infested variants swarm the Depths, but they’re also echoed in the cave-dwelling, ape-like Horriblins. Exploring deserts, swamps, and water-rich areas sees you surprised by the lizard-like Lizalfos, who spit water and turn invisible, and you’ll often face a double threat as Aerocudas patrol the skies. Bokoblins, Moblins, and Lizalfos wield various weapons, from swords to lances and bows, and will call for backup upon spotting you, making even a handful of them a significant threat. Various Wizzrobes are also encountered, often skipping and teleporting about and firing different elemental magic, and the Yiga Clan will jump you when you least expect it, disappearing in a puff of smoke and charging you with their blades. You’ll also contend with mummified Gibdos both on the ground and in the air, though fire- and lightning-based attacks make short work of them. Various armed Zonai Constructs test your combat prowess, acting as smaller but no less threatening counterparts to Breath of the Wild’s Guardians.  

Hyrule is also populated by various mini bosses. Boss Bokoblins are larger versions of regular Bokoblins that wield big clubs and can take quite a beating, caves house different elemental Like-Likes, and giant stone Talus’ assemble from the environment to catch you by surprise, with their only real weak point being the Ore Deposit on their heads. If you’re really unlucky, a massive cyclopean Hinox will wake up and chase you (though targeting the eye turns the tide in your favour), mutated crocodile-like Molduga burrow through the Gerudo Desert and in the sands of the Depths, and a combination of the two, the Frox, also appears down there, sporting the same weaknesses as both. Flux Constructs are usually found in the skies; these sentient Zonai cubes are controlled by a central cube that must be targeted before they pummel you into the stone. Master Kohga also returns, having dropped to the Depths and mastered the Autobuild ability to fashion giant trucks, flying machines, and even a mech to rival Mineru. Though he’s more troublesome this time around, he’s quite susceptible to arrows in each encounter. Before he joins your cause, you must fight the brainwashed Yunobo, dodging his cannonball-like roll in a prelude to one of Ganondorf’s devastating charge attacks. Though far less prominent (at least in my playthrough), powerful, centaur-like Lynels still exist in Hyrule, with a silver variant encountered in the Gloom-filled Depths prior to battling Ganondorf. They’re joined by the various elemental Gleeoks, massive, three-headed dragons that breathe fire, frost, and lightning and are lorded over by an even tougher king. I’m gonna be honest and say I never fought these; I saw them flying around or standing atop mountains and felt their power in the intense weather effects they emit, but didn’t dare test myself against them (or the Lynels, for that matter). Similarly, I simply fled from every Gloom Swarm so I wouldn’t be decimated by Phantom Ganon, though you’re forced to fight this terrifying foe at least twice, once when exploring Hyrule Castle and again to free the Great Deku Tree. Phantom Ganon acts as an appetiser for Ganondrof’s battle, charging with a sword, striking with a lance, causing massive shockwaves with a club, duplicating himself, and spreading Gloom everywhere in easily some of the toughest battles in the game.

Each Temple houses at least one boss, a “Scourge”, that is, thankfully, not simply a variant of Ganon this time around. You can tackle these in any order but I first battled Colgera, Scourge of the Wind Temple, a gigantic insectoid creature that flies up from within the Wind Temple and forces you to battle it in mid-air (not unlike the game’s final challenge). Colgera emerges from portals and fires ice shards from its body, unwittingly exposing its weak spot, which you must target with Fire Arrows (using Keese eyeballs to help aid your aim). Tornados keep you in the air and Tulin gives you a speed boost, but this wasn’t an especially taxing boss, even when its weak spot switches to its underbelly in the second phase. Next, I battled the Water Temple’s Mucktorok (after getting to grips with Sidon’s abilities in battle with the Sludge Like), a cackling little imp who rides a Molduga-like sludge shark. You must blast this with Sidon’s water wave, clearing a path through the sludge, avoiding its spit attack and shockwaves and chasing the slippery devil down to give it a good thrashing. To enter the Fire Temple, you first dispatch the volcanic dragon, Moragia, that’s attached to Death Mountain by flying around on a nearby Zonai flyer and firing Yunobo at it. Inside, you’ll face the Marbled Gohma, a spider-like rock beast that tries to stomp you and fires explosive chunks of rock. You must fire Yunobo at its legs, crippling it so you can pummel its eye, then send Yunobo rolling up to smack it when it retreats to the ceiling. The difficulty noticeably spikes when you face Queen Gibdo in the Lightning Temple, mainly because you’re so reliant upon Riju’s lightning attacks and lightning-adjacent attachments to your bow. The battle’s further complicated by the Gibdos she spawns in, distracting you and making things very frustrating and difficult near the end. In comparison, the Seized Construct is much easier. Fought in an electrified boxing ring with you controlling Mineru, this thing’s a breeze with the right attachments as you stun it with your arm cannon and smash it into the electrified ropes using a wrecking ball.

These bosses return in the Depths, if you fancy testing your skills further, and are fought as part of the final battle, much like in the last game. If you best them prior to confronting Ganondorf, however, you obviously won’t need to worry about them. The King of Evil is no joke, however, and is fought in an aggravating multi-stage battle. First, you and the Sages face four waves of Gloom-infested enemies, collecting their loot and hoping you have enough Gloom-resistant armour or food to survive the next stage. Here, you face Ganondorf one-on-one in a fight functionally identical to those against Phantom Ganon. Ganondorf switches between a sword, spear, club, and bow, inflicting Gloom damage with each hit and both parrying and perfect-dodging your attacks. With the right timing, you can whittle him down with the Master Sword; attack-boosting gear and food is a must here, as is Gloom food, but you can also fire Bomb Flowers, Rubies, and Gibdo Bones to take chunks off his health. Victory sees Ganondrof duplicate himself, gaining a ridiculously long health bar in the process. Though the Sages help you, they mostly end up cluttering the screen so it’s advisable to take to the air however you can (Fusing a rocket or Autobuilding something) to litter the battlefield with Rubies and Bomb Flowers. After many deaths, I finally got lucky and got Ganondorf back to half health, which returns the fight to a one-on-one contest. Unfortunately, the Demon King is faster and stronger than ever, sending waves of Gloom and Gloom projectiles, causing Gloom shockwaves, and charging at you, leaving a trail of Gloom in his wake. Luckily, you can strike his projectiles to stun him and, with the right food and a little luck, he’ll eventually be bested. In his rage, Ganondorf consumes his Secret Stone and transforms into a gigantic dragon! Zelda, as the Light Dragon, swoops in to save you, keeping you from falling to your doom, and giving you a boost to reach the Demon Dragon’s back. This stage is mostly a formality, however; just avoid the Gloom scales and target the Gloom pustules on the Demon Dragon’s back. When you get the chance to target the Sacred Stone on his forehead, hold Y to deliver the killing blow and then dive through the sky to rescue Zelda in freefall!

Additional Features:
There are 152 Shrines to find across the skies and surface of Hyrule. Each one houses a chest that contains a weapon or some kind of treasure and also awards a Light of Blessing. With four of them, you can trade for an extra heart or an extra sliver of your stamina wheel, which can make combat and exploration much less of a headache. There are also 120 Lightroots in the Depths which, like the Skyview Towers, simply exist as fast travel points (though Lightroots also restore your Gloom-shattered hearts). There are now a whopping 1000 Koroks to find; some are under rocks, some require transporting to their friends, and some task you with solving puzzles. Finding them all expands your inventory and again awards you with a useless (but golden) piece of poop. You’ll also find loads of treasure chests in every area of Hyrule; some house Rupees or rare materials, some gift weapons, and some have clothing. Collecting all three pieces of an armour set can award additional buffs both by default and courtesy of a Great Fairy, and you can dress Link up as his dark counterpart, an enraged God, and even to resemble various enemies. Some materials can be dyed to further customise them and you can further bolster your stats by cooking food, with recipes being saved for further use. Your horses can also be upgraded and customised; by discovering stables and boarding your horse, you’ll earn “Pony Points” to trade in for harnesses and accessories to complete side quests.

Speaking of, there are loads of optional missions in Tears of the Kingdom. Some are pretty simple, like liberating villages from enemy hordes or retrieving Shrine stones. Others see you gathering materials, photographing enemies and objects, investigating Zelda sightings, and recovering lost or stolen items. Completing side quests earns you Rupees and other rewards, such as food, additional shops, and even armour. Helping Robbie with his research not only upgrades the Purah Pad to detect Shrines and other targets, it also adds the “Hero’s Path” mode to the tablet so you can see where you’ve travelled and gifts you “Travel Medallions” that are essential when fighting your way to Ganondorf. Misko will mark the locations of rare treasure on your map, allowing you to find new armour sets, dogs can be befriended to dig up treasure chests, shop prices can be reduced, and the truth about Zelda’s draconification can be discovered if you explore high and low. Completing the game adds a star to your save file but returns you to your last manual save before battling Ganondorf, meaning you never get to see peace returned to the land on your save file. You can go back and finish any tasks remaining, however, exploring Hyrule Castle docks for the powerful Hylian Shield and collecting Poes to collect new gear. Tears of the Kingdom is also compatible with Amiibos, allowing you to scan in entire armour sets quickly and easily. Sadly, the Master Cycle from Breath of the Wild’s downloadable content isn’t available (though you can build a close approximation) and there is currently no additional content available for the game, but it’s not as if there aren’t hours of content to return to once you’ve completed the main story.

The Summary:
Since I struggled with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I was hesitant to get into the sequel, and these fears were entirely justified. The weapon durability mechanic is as tedious as ever, forcing me to run from most encounters when I’d rather be fighting like in the Nintendo 64 games. Link is frustratingly fragile, easily being killed by even the weakest of enemies, and the entire game is an uphill battle to learn and improve. Link’s new abilities do mitigate these issues somewhat; you can effectively double your weapon inventory by Fusing swords and shields together, though often at the cost of holding a shield. I was also very pleased by how much easier the five main bosses were compared to Breath of the Wild’s and how much more visually unique the Temples were. Getting to them was a chore at times but it was much closer to a traditional Zelda experience once I was inside. The Shrine mechanic is as annoying as before, though, and I wish there was a “Novice” option to give you at least one set of weapons that don’t break and that allocated hearts to one set of Shrines and stamina to the other. I didn’t really like the focus on building; it was finnicky to rotate and Fuse things together to solve puzzles and the vehicles weren’t very fun to control. The mechanic didn’t work for Banjo-Kazooie so I don’t see why Nintendo thought it’d work for Zelda, and it just got in the way most of the time. I liked seeing how Hyrule had changed, with familiar areas altered from the passage of time, and how much bigger the world was, but I hated the Gloom mechanic, the sky islands were dull, and battling Ganondorf was like chewing nails. The story was convoluted and somewhat lost amidst all the hundreds of other sub-plots and side quests, though I enjoyed seeing bigger, more ferocious optional bosses patrolling the overworld. Despite all the changes, though, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom still feels like a glorified expansion pack of its predecessor. I had the same issues as before, if not more thanks to the new inclusions, but remain impressed by the scope and sheer scale of the world, so I think it’s fair to give it the same rating as Breath of the Wild and stay in the minority of people who just don’t click with this approach to the Zelda franchise.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom? How do you think it holds up against its predecessor and were you excited to revisit this world? What did you think to Link’s new abilities, specifically the building and Fusing mechanics? Were you also frustrated by the Depths and the dangerous Gloom? Did you also find the main bosses easier than Breath of the Wild’s only to struggle against Ganondorf? Did you ever complete all the side quests and find all the Koroks? Which Zelda game is your favourite and how did you celebrate the franchise this month? Whatever your thoughts on Tears of the Kingdom, drop a comment down below and go check out my other Zelda reviews.

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On 21 February 1986, The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo EAD, 1986) was first released in Japan. The creation of legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, The Legend of Zelda launched one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises. This year, I’ve been dedicating every Friday to Nintendo’s most famous silent protagonist, Link and his vast and enduring fantasy world of sword and sorcery.

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Released: 18 May 2018
Originally Released: 14 August 2014
Developer: Omega Force / Team Ninja
Also Available For: Nintendo Wii U (Original Version), Nintendo 3DS (Legends Version)

The Background:
The Legend of Zelda has consistently been one of Nintendo’s most popular, celebrated, and successful franchises and one of the reasons for this is the consistent quality of its games. While Zelda titles have often included unique gimmicks to separate them from each other, the tried-and-true sword and sorcery formula has remained present throughout the series. Indeed, Nintendo’s few attempts at veering away from this formula have resulted in mediocrity, at best, and ridicule, at worst. It was therefore surprisingly (to me, at least) when Nintendo joined forces with Koei Tecmo to produce a spin-off game, one that incorporated the chaotic hack-and-slash action of Koei Tecmo’s popular Dynasty Warriors series (Omega Force, 1997 to 2018). Long-time Zelda producer, Eiji Aonuma jumped at the chance to do something new with the franchise and the game pulled inspirations from across the entire Zelda series and eventually achieved Koei Tecmo’s president Yoichi Erikawa’s dream of selling of a million copies. Initially released on the Wii U and bolstered by a slew of downloadable content (including a previously cut female version of Link), Hyrule Warriors garnered positive reviews, with critics praising the merging of the two franchises while criticising the repetitive gameplay. In 2016, the game was ported to the Nintendo 3DS as Hyrule Warriors Legends; it included all previous downloadable content, a new Fairy system, and new gear for existing characters as well as a code to upload these additions to the Wii U version. Although reviews still praised the port, the limitations of the 3DS hardware (even when playing on the more powerful New Nintendo 3DS) were highlighted as negatives. Regardless, a newer port later came to the Nintendo Switch; billed as the Definitive Edition, this version included everything from the previous games alongside some new costumes. It was also received much more favourably, perhaps contributing to the release of a sequel title in 2020.

The Plot:
In an alternative timeline, the sorceress Cia seeks to resurrect the King of Evil, Ganon, by waging war against the kingdom of Hyrule. To defend her kingdom, Princess Zelda recruits lowly knight Link, the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, to amass an army of familiar faces against Ganon’s dark forces.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
This is the Definitive Edition of Hyrule Warriors, a third-person hack-and-slash action//adventure in which players take control of Link (and many other new and familiar faces from across the Legend of Zelda franchise) to plough their way through seemingly endless hordes of enemies, many of them also series staples. Although each character has their own strengths and weaknesses, they share similar attributes, abilities, and control methods, with a couple of exceptions. Players can fully customise their control scheme but, by default, you’ll throw a regular attack with Y, a combo attack with X, a special attack (when your Special Attack Gauge is full) with A, and dodge with B. You can string together presses of Y and end them with X to pull off combos and character-specific special attacks (such as Link’s trademark sword spin), with more being unlocked as you defeat enemies, earn Materials, and level-up. I preferred to mix these buttons up, assigning B to the regular attack, special to Y, combo to X, and dodge to A but it’s entirely up to you. L targets nearby enemies (an occasionally finnicky system that can keep you from targeting the right enemy if larger bosses are around), ZL guards, R unleashes a powerful “Focus Spirit” attack when the Magic Power meter is full, and ZR lets you use sub-items, such as bombs, arrows, or bottles to restore or buff your character. Later on, if you have a Fairy in a bottle, you can press in the right stick to activate Fairy Magic. You can also switch items by pressing left and right on the directional buttons, or switch characters by pressing up and down. Characters are largely differentiated by their stats; Darunia and Impa, for example, are slower but more powerful characters compared to Sheik and Ruto. Their weapons are also a factor, with Wizzro favouring blasts of dark energy, Midna riding and attacking with Link’s wolf form and her malleable hand, and Young Link having a unique Focus Spirit ability that allows him to potentially retain an empowered state indefinitely.

As you defeat the game’s near-infinite enemies, your Special Attack gauge will fill; you can also collect Force Fragments from enemies or pots to fill it faster, and increase its length by levelling-up. Similarly, the Magic Power meter fills by collecting Magic Jars, with these collectibles being as abundant as the hearts and Rupees that enemies, pots, and chests drop all over the map. When these meters are full, you can pull off more powerful special, character-specific attacks that change depending on which weapon you have equipped and any elemental effects associated with that weapon. For example, Lana can equip a spell book or a spear and Link can equip both a Magic Rod with fire properties and swords (including the legendary Master Sword), with each weapon unleashing different special attacks (often with cameos by other Zelda staples, such as Dark Link or the Great Deku Tree). Focus Spirit is a little different and more universal; activating it empowers you for a short time, negating any knockback and instantly exposing an enemy’s “Weak Point Gauge” if you perform a special attack. The Weak Point Gauge appears on tougher enemies and bosses; draining this lets you perform a bigger, more devastating attack to dramatically reduce or completely destroy your target. Other enemies, mini boss types like enemy commanders and such, are susceptible to specific sub-weapons. Bombs against shield Moblins, arrows against the Deku Babas, the hammer against the Blins; whatever the case, an onscreen indicator shows which sub-weapon is most effective against your target. Sub-weapons can also be temporarily powered up from random pick-ups and to activate switches, cross gaps, or stun giant bosses. When equipped with a bottle, your character can drink various potions for buffs and restorative effects, or utilise Fairy Magic in much the same way. Finally, activating Owl Statues across each map sets up warp points so you can quickly teleport to different areas using the ocarina.

The game’s onscreen map shows the locations of allies, enemies, bosses, and other notable objectives and items. It’ll display which of your allies are talking, flash when Keeps are in danger, and show the many different objectives that pop up throughout each mission. Pressing + pauses the action and accesses a more comprehensive map. From here, you can check mission dialogue and objectives, review the controls, create a manual save point (though checkpoints occur during most missions), and issue orders to your allies. This is crucial as the game progresses and more objectives appear in each mission; ideally, you want four playable characters in each mission, each powerful enough to hold their own in battle, and to order them to different objectives. The AI attacks enemies and bosses, with allies reducing a boss’s health and defence, but they do tend to wander about or stay in place and I often found it difficult to select a specific target from the map. Ideally, you want to play Hyrule Warriors with a friend as the game can get very chaotic; tutorials, dialogue, objectives, and notifications swamp the already messy battlefield. While you can turn some of these and other onscreen effects off to clear things up, it can make it easy to fail missions if you miss an objective. Luckily, mission success is often malleable; you can lose a Keep or have captains and commanders flee and not fail the mission, and you can fail side missions (usually escorting an ally, defending a Mama Cucco, or defeating Messenger enemies) and still continue. However, if a primary ally (usually Princess Zelda) or your main Allied Base falls, you’ll restart from the last save, checkpoint, or the start of the mission.

“Chaotic” is definitely the best word to describe Hyrule Warriors; enemies spawn (or pop) in constantly, swarming from Outposts and Keeps that must be captured to secure your position on each map. Mission objectives usually always boil down to capturing as many as four Keeps or strategic locations, such as the Fairy Fountain (which you activate with B to weaken bosses or otherwise aid your allies). Sometimes, you’ll intercept giant Bombchus to keep them from damaging or destroying Keeps. Other times, you’ll defend against enemy commanders, searching for allies or the correct enemy in a swarm of doubles, or taking out Transport troops and Keep Saboteurs. Generally, it’s not a massive issue if a Keep falls, but it is inconvenient. To secure a Keep, you must drain its energy bar by defeating the enemies housed there. This spawns the Keep Boss, who’s easily defeated, and secures the Keep for yourself, occasionally spawning a treasure chest containing Rupees, a weapon, a Heart Piece, or other item. If a Keep or Outpost is captured by the enemy, simply retake it in the same manner. Other times, allies will call for aid; you must rush to them and enter the glowing circle around them to rescue them and restore their health, and you must do this for certain allies (again, Zelda, but often Darunia or Impa and the like) for the mission to continue. Often, enemy Keeps are locked, forcing you to find alternative routes or, you guessed it, search for and destroy specific enemies to open the doors. Combat is satisfying and fun; you plough through hundreds and thousands of enemy troops with relative ease when playing on “Easy” mode, especially with a higher level character. However, it can become frustrating and repetitive; when there are four or five different objectives and you’re bombarded by notifications, it can be hard to know what you should prioritise. Things can get very frantic when playing alone as you’re constantly switching characters and warping across the map to put out fires, so to speak.

Defeating enemies earns you experience points (EXP), which allow you to level-up and become stronger. It also earns you power-ups, Materials, and Rupees. Outside of battle, Materials and Rupees are used to further improve your character. They unlock “Badges” that gift additional combos, attacks, and increase their stats and meters in the attack skill tree. You can unlock additional bottles and improve their defence against elemental attacks, reduce knockback and stun, and other defensive buffs; or you can speed up how fast your meters fill or how quickly you take Keeps. You can also spend Rupees to quickly level-up any characters you haven’t used much (since AI-controlled characters don’t appear to level-up) or new characters you’ve unlocked, or spend them in the Smithy. Here, you sell or fuse weapons to reduce your inventory and add extra buffs to weapons. Weapons will either have no “slots” or as many as three, allowing them to be empowered to strengthen your regular or special attacks, earn extra EXP, spawn extra Rupees, deal elemental damage, and so forth. Initially, your inventory is quite limited, but it expands as you progress through the story, though I found it easier to stick with the most powerful weapon and sell the weaker ones and rarely saw a benefit of fusing weapons. There’s also an apothecary, where you mix new potions and elixirs, and you’ll gain new items and sub-weapons from treasure chests. After clearing each mission in “Legend Mode”, you can replay it either in this mode or with any character in “Free Mode”. You can play on a harder difficulty to earn more rewards, or search for the elusive and skittish Gold Skulltulas, which add to various portraits and unlocks additional maps and bonuses. On the whole, Hyrule Warriors is quite easy; if you stick to one or two characters as I did (usually Link), you can become very powerful very quickly. However, it’s easy to get caught off-guard when stronger enemies or multiple objectives pop-up. The game obviously gets tougher on harder difficulties as enemies are stronger and deal more damage, and some missions add additional hazards, such as lightning strikes, bombardments, and health-sapping auras.

Presentation:
I first played Hyrule Warriors on the 3DS, where the game was serviceable but the hardware struggled with all the enemies and action, causing some slowdown an pop-up. I specifically bought the Definitive Edition to mitigate these issues and, for the most part, the upgrade is immediate and welcome. The game still suffers from a bit of pop-up and occasional slowdown when there’s a lot happening onscreen or when you’ve completed a mission (meaning many battles abruptly end). There are also noticeable loading times between missions (though tips, fun 8-bit graphics, and story dialogue help to speed them up), but the game performs really well otherwise. Hyrule Warriors mostly pulls its locations and characters from Zelda’s 3D adventures, recreating and reimagining areas such as Hyrule Field and Hyrule Castle, the Twilight Realm, and Skyloft as restrictive sandbox battlefields populated by Keeps, pots, and occasional bridges, dips, and alternate paths. These locations are rather hit and miss; later, you’ll battle in cel-shaded arenas like Windfall Island, which are far more vibrant and fun than the dense, confusing forest or the apocalyptic wastelands ruled by Ganon or the relatively sparse Gerudo Desert. One enjoyable exception was Lake Hylia, which includes not just the lakeside area but the labyrinthine catacombs of the Water Temple. Indeed, with the game’s emphasis on fast-paced, chaotic combat, it’s no surprise that the locations are rather bland. Sometimes, bridges will crumble and you’ll hookshot over gaps, or lightning and other bombardments will fall, or there’ll be plumes of lava or some limited scenery to see (fortifications, usually, or ruins). However, the environments are there to contain you, not distract you, and are largely fun, if limited, nostalgia trips to Zelda’s 3D games.

Character models far much better, despite constantly being in motion, attacking, or being bashed about. While I’m not a big fan of Link’s weird scarf, he’s well represented, pulling off all his signature attacks with the same gusto I’d expect from his first 3D adventure. This extends to other playable characters, who all exude their own personalities and fighting styles (helped by intro and outro cutscenes): Darunia is a mighty Goron warrior swinging a giant hammer, Fi gracefully flies and dances about, and Ruto conjures water geysers as she attacks. New characters like Agatha, Volga, and Cia also impress, spawning large magical allies, transforming into dragons, and conjuring dark minions, respectively. Each character has a few costumes to unlock and is fully voiced, with the exception of Link (who talks via a fairy appropriately named “Proxie”) and certain cutscenes, furthering the convoluted plot and alerting you to objectives. Outside of battle, the narrative is told through impressive, high-quality pre-rendered cutscenes that show these heroes coming from across all the Zelda timelines to combat Cia’s threat and Ganon’s return, and they were a joy to watch for how lovingly they recreated the 3D Zelda games. Similarly, the game’s soundtrack includes orchestral remixes of classic Zelda tunes, especially those associated with each of the environments, and collecting Materials and weapons plays a remix of the “Get Item” Zelda jingle. The character selection is impressive, with each having different weapons and attack animations, some more elaborate than others to include cameos and references from across the franchise, and I was really impressed by the stability and options offered, alongside the presentation. Things can get very cluttered and frantic, but Hyrule Warriors is a great homage to the entire Zelda franchise, even with its restrictive environments.

Enemies and Bosses:
There are seemingly infinite enemies in Hyrule Warriors, technically speaking, with maps being flooded by monstrous beings recognisable to long-time Zelda fans, most of them being simple cannon fodder to up your combo, EXP, Rupee, and KO count. You’ll cut through swarms of relatively harmless Bokoblins, Miniblins, and Stalchilds (and even Gorons and Hyrulian Soldiers when playing as bad guys or they’re turned against you), which offer only a token resistance. Amongst them, you’ll encounter more formidable commanders, captains, summoners (who quickly become a priority to keep enemy forces down), and the like who target your allies or Keeps and must be prioritised. From there, it only escalates: Dinolfos, Lizalfos, and elemental Poes appear spewing fire, welding stronger weapons, or teleporting and firing elemental or dark projectiles, respectively. Darknuts, Shield Moblins, and Big/Stone Blins put up a tougher fight thanks to their greater armour and more powerful attacks, Gibdos and ReDeads can freeze you in your tracks and spew a heart-sapping poisonous aura, and Aeralfos hover overhead, swopping down and spewing fire. Deku Babas also emit a poisonous aura and are only vulnerable to arrows; Beamos status will blast away unless you explode them with bombs; Cuccos will turn against you if their mother is defeated; Manhandla Stalks burst from the ground to take a bite out of you; and elemental Chuchus need a good whack with your hammer. You’ll also contend with traitorous or mind-controlled forces, restless spirits of dead soldiers, and dark doppelgängers of all the game’s playable characters, with Dark Link being especially notable as numerous versions of him spawn in across maps and must be taken down.

These dark doppelgängers often serve as the primary target of a mission, but you’ll also battle the real versions of these on more than one occasion, especially in “Legend Mode”. You’ll battle the likes of Volga, Wizzro, Ghirahim, and Zant more than once, with boss encounters against these often taking place multiple times across a mission. Often, you encounter the boss early on, causing them to flee to the fortified Keep. Defeating enemies or activating a Fairy Fountain draws them out or weakens them, kicking off a rematch, though sometimes you’ll battle two at once or at different times in a mission. One may appear as an ally and then turn against you, adding more enemies to your path, or they’ll summon a Giant Boss to distract you so they can increase their power and send more troops against you, your allies, and your Allied Base. Often, you’ll also battle traditionally heroic characters like Lana, Impa, and Darunia, either because they’ve been corrupted or you’re playing one of Cia’s missions. Either way, these battles aren’t much different than facing regular enemies or their commanders: simply lock on and pummel away, dodging and blocking as needed and unleashing your special attacks whenever possible. Sure, Ghirahim is pretty swift, Volga becomes a gigantic fire-breathing dragon, Wizzro can be a pain in the ass, and Zant can crush you with totem poles, but I never had any issues battling the playable characters when they appeared as bosses. Cia and Ganondorf put up a bit more of a fight, but this was mainly due to them being invulnerable, magically empowered, or hidden behind dark forcefields or fortified Keeps. In these instances, you must cut off the dark power protecting them by, you guessed it, capturing Keeps, defeating enemies, and activating Fairy Fountains. It’s advisable to order your allies to target these bosses to whittle them down and reduce their defences, but I actually had more trouble against Phantom Ganon than regular Ganondorf since the phantom conjured duplicates and did a bit more than aggressively swipe with his swords.

As mentioned, these bosses are often joined by Giant Bosses, with multiple sometimes spawning across the map and causing a real headache on the harder missions. These include series staples such as the massive, armoured spider queen Gohma, the fire-breathing dragon King Dodongo, and the monstrous plant-creature Manhandla. These can be some of the most annoying encounters due to having to whittle down their Weak Point Gauge, their high health pool, and the ways you must attack them. Gohma, for example, shields itself from all regular attacks and is only vulnerable when you shoot its laser-blasting eye with an arrow. Similarly, the rolling, rampaging King Dodongo can only be stunned by tossing bombs into its mouth, the Argorok can only be brought down by hookshotting its tail when it glows blue, and you’ll only get to go nuts on the Helmaroc King after whacking its head with your hammer. By far the worst of these for me was the Manhandla, which can only be stunned with the boomerang and, even then, there’s a small window where you can do this. The rest of the time, it spits seeds and bombs about the place completely impervious, making it the most aggravating of the Giant Bosses, especially when it teams up with the others! Another Giant Boss you face (and even control in one mode) is Ganondorf’s true form: the Dark Beast, Ganon. Accompanied by a perpetual lightning storm and attacking with claw and tail swipes, Ganon incorporates the attacks and the associated weaknesses of the other Giant Bosses, meaning you toss bombs when he’s charging a fireball, fire arrows when he charges a laser blast, hookshot his tail when it glows blue, and throw your boomerang after a seed bombardment. You must gather all your allies around Ganon to weaken him, but you’ll only defeat him once Zelda gifts you the Light Arrows in a cutscene. When playing as Ganon in “Ganon’s Fury”, you’ll battle the other Giant Bosses in kaiju fights. However, despite Ganon’s vast size and incredible power, he struggles against these (and, strangely, even regular enemies and commanders) in a straight up fight. Finally, you’ll also contend with the Imprisoned and its smaller minions; this aggravating walking slug can only be brought down by attacking its toes and can send you flying or stun you with paralyzing stomps and a big slam.

Additional Features:
There are 100 Gold Skulltulas to find in Hyrule Warriors, with one appearing for a short time in each mission. Collecting them uncovers a picture; there are thirteen of these to uncover, and completing them adds to the game’s options and maps. Completing each mission in “Legend Mode” unlocks it in “Free Play” mode, allowing you to tackle any mission with any character and grind up their level. Since this is the Definitive Edition of Hyrule Warriors, the DLC missions are available as you play through “Legend Mode”. These see you playing a side mission as Linkle, utilising her unique dual crossbows to prove her worth in recycled maps against recycled enemies and bosses, and secondary side missions as Cia and Ganondorf. These act as a prequel and midquel to the main story and see you cutting down Gorons and Hyrule’s finest and recruiting (or outright controlling) dark allies like Wizzro, Volga, and Ghirahim. Finally, there’s an epilogue to the main story where the cel-shaded world of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Nintendo EAD, 2002) bleeds into that of Hyrule Warriors, resulting in you teaming up with Tetra and battling the Helmaroc King and Phantom Ganon to stave off the incursion. As mentioned, there are three difficulty settings (“Easy”, “Normal”, and “Hard”), with the even harder “Hero Mode” unlocked after beating “Legend Mode”. The game can be played with another player as well, which I think I would recommend given how chaotic battles can get, and you can test your mettle in the game’s “Challenge Mode”. Here, you’ll be tasked with defeating set numbers of enemies against a time limit, though this is easier said than done as not only are the enemies far stronger, but you also often have to content with multiple, far tougher Giant Bosses stomping about the place. You can also customise your fairy setup in “My Fairy” mode, but I couldn’t access this despite acquiring fairies in “Adventure Mode” (I think you may need an empty bottle on hand for this to activate).

There’s also the aforementioned “Ganon’s Fury” mode, where you rampage as Ganon, wiping out hordes of enemies and battling other Giant Bosses, sometimes without the ability to restore your health or against a time limit. Sadly, I found this mode wasn’t as enjoyable as it could’ve been as Ganon is surprisingly weak. The major source of replayability in Hyrule Warriors, though is “Adventure Mode”. Unlocked after you clear “Legend Mode”, “Adventure Mode” is a series of additional maps and challenges all themed around different games from the Zelda series. There are two maps based on the first game, one for Link’s first Game Boy adventure, a Wind Waker map, and others themed around his other 3D adventures. Generally, these boil down to the same gameplay loop of taking Keeps and defeating enemies, but they carry a few more modifiers. Manual saves appear to be deactivated, for example, as the missions are much shorter. You’re more likely to be fighting against a time limit, for example, or encountering heart-sapping Keeps. Fun new additions include competing with other forces for KOs or Rupees or taking quizzes where you must defeat the right enemy. Map items acquired in this mode allow you to search for and uncover secrets using bombs, candles, and the like, unlocking new Heart Pieces, costumes, and even characters like the Skull Kid and Marin. These maps can get very difficult thanks to additional concerns: the “Master Quest” map includes stronger enemies, for example; the Wind Waker map includes wind elements, the Majora’s Mask (Nintendo EAD, 2000) map resets with a devastating moon strike after you’ve exhausted your turns; and you must watch out for Nightmare’s influence and portals to Lorule on the Link’s Awakening (ibid, 1993) and A Link Between Worlds (ibid, 2013) maps, respectively. As fun as these maps are, though, it’s the same repetitive gameplay loop over and over and you’ll need a decent guide to unlock all the extras, and even need to find all the Skulltulas to unlock all the maps!

The Summary:
I knew that Hyrule Warriors wasn’t optimised for the 3DS when I bought it, but I got it anyway as I’m a big fan of the Zelda series and the gameplay looked fast-paced and hectic. Given I didn’t own a Wii U, this was my only way of playing the game and I remember enjoying it at the time as a bit of mindless fun, so I jumped at the chance to upgrade to this Definitive Edition of the game. The upgrade is readily apparent; the game shines on the Nintendo Switch, performing leagues better and packing all the extra content into one convenient package but still leaving plenty of stuff for you to unlock and discover. The character roster is great, as are the references to the franchise in their appearances, moves, and interactions. While the locations aren’t as impressive, they do what they’re made to do, which is provide a limited, recognisable sandbox for you to plough through thousands of disposable pawns with ease, and the music is absolutely on point. Sadly, the gameplay loop can be very mind-numbing and, at times, aggravating. As the game progresses, the action becomes a chaotic assault on your senses as you desperately try to spread yourself across the map and solve every problem to reap the best regards. This means Hyrule Warriors is probably best played with a friend so you can share the anxiety of having multiple objectives at once, but it’s perfectly do-able alone as long as you know what missions can be prioritised over others. This also means that Hyrule Warriors is probably best enjoyed in short bursts rather than one long session. Missions can get repetitive and annoying as enemies disappear and reappear and the goal posts constantly move, but it’s endlessly satisfying cutting them down with your powered-up character, taking out those annoying Giant Bosses, and snagging new rewards. The sheer variety and content packed into the “Adventure Mode” is daunting, to say the least, and I don’t know if I’ll ever 100% even a single map, much less the entire game, but it’s good to know it’s always there to pick up and bash out a few missions when I need to wind down.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Have you ever played Hyrule Warriors? If so, what did you think to this definitive Edition of the game? Which character was your favourite? What did you think to the chaotic gameplay and playable roster? Have you ever played the Dynasty Warriors games and, if so, do you think the formula translated well into the Zelda series? Did you ever find all the Gold Skulltulas? Which of the “Adventure Mode” maps was your favourite? Would you like to see more Zelda spin-off titles? How are you celebrating the Zelda franchise today? Whatever your thoughts on Hyrule Warriors and the Zelda games, feel free to leave them below or on my social media, and be sure to check out my other Zelda content across the site!

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On 21 February 1986, The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo EAD, 1986) was first released in Japan. The creation of legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, The Legend of Zelda launched one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises, with its silent protagonist, Link, and his vast fantasy world of sword and sorcery not only enduring over time but constantly evolving and improving as the series progressed.

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Released: 16 July 2021
Originally Released: 18 November 2018
Developer: Tantalus Media
Original Developer: Nintendo EAD
Also Available For: Nintendo Wii

The Background:
I’d like to think that even Nintendo couldn’t have predicted just how impactful the Legend of Zelda series’ (Nintendo EAD/Various, 1986) first foray into 3D was going to be; their attempts to follow up on the unprecedented success of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo EAD, 1998) resulted in one of the franchise’s darkest and most underappreciated entries, and Nintendo were keen to appeal to a wider audience with Ocarina of Time’s spiritual successor, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (ibid, 2006), which proved to be an the incredible success for Nintendo’s fledgling GameCube. Having turned the videogame industry on its head with the Nintendo Wii, producer Eiji Aonuma aimed to build upon the expansive nature of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess to present the biggest and most detailed Zelda gameworld to date by offering something new through the Wii’s unique motion controls, more elaborate sword combat, a greater focus on exploration, and providing an origin story for the Master Sword. Since I struggle a bit with the Wii’s ridiculous motion controls, I missed out on Skyward Sword when it first released, but it was a massive critical success; considering how widely praised the game was, it was perhaps inevitable that Nintendo would produce a high definition remake for the Nintendo Switch as part of the 25^th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda series. The long-rumoured upgrade of the lauded title was developed by Tantalus Media and the gameplay mechanics were redesigned so players could use either the Joy-Cons or a more traditional control scheme, alongside numerous other quality of life improvements to the graphics, frame rate, and save feature. Preorders for Skyward Sword HD sold out on Amazon, and the game sold over 3.6 million units worldwide; however, while it was met with largely positive reviews, it did score less than the original version. Still, reviews praised the more focused gameplay mechanics compared to other, larger Zelda games, and its technical achievements, though faced some criticism for the dated motion controls.

The Plot:
Positioned as the first adventure in the Legend of Zelda timeline, Skyward Sword details the origins of the powerful Master Sword as Link, resident of the floating island of Skyloft, embarks on a quest to rescue Zelda, his childhood friend, after she is kidnapped and taken to the Surface, an abandoned land below the clouds, by the malevolent Ghirahim as part of a plot to awaken an ages-old darkness upon the world.

Gameplay:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a partially open world action/adventure in which players once again assume the role of an incarnation of Link, here a knight-in-training on an island above the clouds. Right away, players have two control options available to them that allows them to utilise motion controls much like the original Nintendo Wii release or to use a more traditional control scheme; however, while this latter option is more comfortable for me, it’s very different from how a Zelda game traditionally plays. A is now an action button that allows you to open doors and chests, talk to non-playable characters (NPCs), and pick up items; B is used to put your weapons away or can be help down while running or otherwise moving for a burst of speed (though you can’t hold it down indefinitely or you’ll drain your stamina wheel and be left defenceless as Link tries to catch his breath), X is mainly used to charge ahead when on your Loftwing, and Y isn’t really used at all. Consequently, sword combat is mapped to the right analogue stick; you can hold ZL to target enemies or interactable objects and flick the stick to unleash a sword attack (perhaps because of this, Link is now right-handed, as opposed to the traditional left). This actually took me a bit of time to adapt to as Link seems to swing his sword in the opposite direction you flick (swinging left with you flick to the right, for example), which can make activating certain switches and attacking some enemies tricky as you need to swing where there’s an opening.

If you knock an enemy down, they’ll sometimes be left open for a “Fatal Blow” that allows you to leap at them for an instant kill, and Link and both perform is signature spin attack, jump swing, and also stab at enemies with his sword. Eventually, you’ll also learn the “Skyward Strike” which sees Link hold his sword aloft to charge it and then sending out an energy wave to damage enemies from a distance, which is a handy feature. Link can also defend himself with his shield by holding ZL and perform a shield bash, which doubles as a parry, by pressing in the left analogue stick. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the game’s shields can be burnt or broken, meaning you’ll either need to upgrade them to toughen them up, buy now ones, or complete a side quest to get a more durable shield. Like many 3D Zelda games, Link automatically jumps from ledges; he can also hang down, shimmy along, and climb vines, all of which will drain your stamina meter. Link can also swing from ropes to reach new areas, which can be a bit tricky to perform as you need to aim yourself with the left stick and flick the right stick up and down in just the right motion to get the momentum you need. Chatting with some NPCs will also offer you a few dialogue options, which don’t really factor into the plot or change their perception of you, but they do help to give Link a little bit more characterisation this time around. Once Link acquires the Master Sword, he also gains one of the most annoying travelling companions I’ve ever had the misfortune of being lumbered with as Fi, the spirit of the sword, acts as a guide, navigator, and tutorial to the player very much in the same way as Navi did back in the day. You can call upon Fi at anytime using the directional pad (D-pad) to gain insight into targeted enemies, remind yourself of your current objective, or get some advice, but she also pops up uninvited at various points to hold your hand or point out the obvious. She also helps you to search for objectives, treasure, and other items by using the sword’s “Dowsing” ability, which puts you into a first-person mode and guides you towards your set target.

You can bring up the map using the – menu and set markers to also help guide you in the right direction, which is very useful as it can be easy to get turned around a bit. One thing to keep in mind here is that there are no manual saves; you need to find a Bird Statue to manually save your progress to one of three save files, though there is an autosave feature that effectively adds as a checkpoint system. Similar to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Nintendo EAD, 2002), the game’s overworld is a series of islands and set areas connected by a large void, in this case the open sky; Link can fly to new destinations using his Loftwing, which replaces the traditional horse, by tapping A to ascend and B to slow down or charge into enemies using X. You’ll be utilising the Loftwing a lot to travel back and forth between the three main areas of the game, as well as Skyloft and the smaller items as the story demands, but you can five down to any Bird Statue in any area and exit dungeons (or teleport to the Sky) from these same statues, though you can’t fast travel between destinations using this system. Though Link takes fall damage, you’ll soon acquire a Sailcloth that lets you glide to the ground from high falls by holding ZR (though you can’t actually manoeuvre him while he’s descending). This also allows you to ride air currents upwards and you’ll eventually gain the ability to swim and even twirl through and jump out of the water very much like Zora Link in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (ibid, 2000). Link also later acquires the Digging Mitts, which allow him to burrow underground and crawl through narrow caves, smashing boulders and activating switches to progress further, and also gets his hands on the Goddess’s Harp that lets him open up new areas by strumming the stings with well-timed movements of the right stick, which is a far cry from the ocarina playing or wind conducting from previous games. Link will also have to complete four trials in the “Silent Realm”; here, he loses all of his equipment and items and must race around collecting fifteen Sacred Tears across the map while avoiding the ghost-like Watchers and making sure you don’t touch the Waking Water or your Spirit Vessel doesn’t deplete as this will awakens the Guardians, who will hunt you down and eject you from the dimension upon impact, forcing you to begin all over again.

Although Skyward Sword looks like the biggest Zelda experience ever seen at the time, it really doesn’t actually feel that way; I’d argue that Twilight Princess felt much bigger and more connected thanks to actually having a large overworld with different routes and areas all linked together. In Skyward Sword, you’ll be spending most of your time travelling back and forth between the three main regions on the Surface (Faron Woods, Eldin Volcano, and the Lanayru Desert), Skyloft, and the Thundercloud up in the Sky. Each area is an isolated environment; you won’t find any routes or means to travelling from Faron Woods to Eldin Volcano beyond flying there on your Loftwing, but each of those regions does have a few other areas that you’ll explore as the game progresses. The Lanayru Desert, for example, is home to a treacherous desert, the Temple of Time, and a mine, all of which you’ll need to explore at various points. The main quest of the game asks Link to travel to each area thee times and acquire one of three different key items or meet three different objectives each time. At first, you’ll need to find three stone fragments form each region to access the Thundercloud; then, you need to find three Sacred Flames to power up the Master Sword. Then, you need to travel back again and find three pieces of the Song of the Hero and access the game’s final dungeon, all of which can get a bit repetitive even though the enemies and the environments do change which each revisit. Faron Woods becomes flooded, for example, and Eldin Volcano erupts, and you’ll find new regions opening up with your new gear and completing story-based tasks, such as Lake Floria just off Faron Woods, the ghostly Sandship and Rickety Coaster in Lanayru Desert’s Sand Sea (both of which are accessed by piloting a boat armed with a cannon), and at one point you’ll find yourself relieved of your weapons and gear and having to escape (and retrieve them) from Eldin Volcano without being spotting in an expansion of the Gerudo Fortress section of Ocarina of Time.

Naturally, you’ll visit a number of dungeons in your quest, which (as is tradition) are realised as elemental-themed temples. Inside, you’ll find small keys to opens doors and a Dungeon Map (which now reveals Bird Statues, chests, and points of interest by default to replace the Compass) to help you progress, and you’ll need to clear rooms of enemies, activate switches and pressure pads, and take on sub-bosses to acquire the temple’s new weapon, which will allow you to progress further and tackle the boss. Sometimes you’ll need to move a weighted block onto a switch or out of the way to climb a ladder; other times, you’ll need to hit switches to raise or lower water and lava, cut through cobwebs, send eyeballs spinning, and shoot or hit faraway switches to open doors. Link will also need to hit plant bulbs (or carry them on the tip of his sword) to create temporary platforms in lava, grapple to floating plants or specific targets with the Clawshots, toss or guide bombs into baskets to create platforms over quicksand, and sever ropes to lower drawbridges. In Lanayru Desert, the majority of the puzzles are based around the “Timeshift Stones” which, when struck, will turn part of the immediate area from a desolate desert into a vibrant landscape, causing enemies, switches, equipment, and even land formations to form so you can progress. Many puzzles require you to carry a Timeshift Stone around or placing it in a specific area to lower one barrier while activating another, which is quite a unique and creative mechanic that really makes you think about how to tackle puzzles. All of these puzzle gimmicks and mechanics are revisited in the game’s final area, Sky Keep, which also features a unique and annoying gimmick that sees you rearranging the different rooms of the temple to open up new paths and acquire the three pieces of the Triforce.

Graphics and Sound:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword certainly looks impressive; this HD version of the game has potentially upscaled the graphics to make everything very vibrant and moody, when necessary, and the game employs an aesthetic style that merges the fantastical realism of Twilight Princess with the cartoony presentation of The Wind Waker. In addition to having dialogue options during some conversations, Link continues to showcase a variety of facial expressions to help flesh out his otherwise silent character, and you’ll be hearing a lot of gibberish (mainly from Fi) when talking to others. Otherwise, there is no voice acting here, as is to be expected from a Zelda title; some dialogue can be sped up by pressing B and you can skip some cutscenes entirely by pressing the – button, but it can mean you’re left a bit clueless afterwards. Although each region is populated by unique NPCs, many of which are new to the series (such as the Ancient Robots but, while Parellas replace Zoras, Gorons are still present in the game), you’ll find the vast majority in Skyloft. Here, you can chat to Headmaster Gaepora, buy, sell, and upgrade items in the market, and will come across Link’s obnoxious rival, Groose, whose pratfalls and antagonism eventually turns into heroism as he helps aid Link’s quest to rescue Zelda.

The game also features an appropriately operatic score that includes new renditions of the iconic Legend of Zelda main theme and versions of memorable tunes such as “Zelda’s Lullaby”; when you engage with enemies, successive strikes also speeds up the tempo of the battle music to help keep the adrenaline pumping and each area is nicely punctuated by both ambiant sounds and a fitting soundtrack. Skyloft is an impressive starting area and a pretty large central hub; you’ll find rooms to sleep in to pass the time and replenish your health, the market, a graveyard, and a practice hall to work on your sword techniques. While the Sky is basically just a barren void, there are small islands and rocks floating around that you can visit to find chests, mini games, and a prominent side quest centred around the Lumpy Pumpkin establishment. Shafts of red, yellow, green, and blue light will point you towards the three main regions and wherever you’ve placed a marker, and you’ll need to dodge Octoroks spitting rocks at you and tornados that will blow you off your Loftwing. The inside of the Thundercloud is initially best by storms and lightning and home to both one of the more annoying push puzzles in the game and the decidedly Wind Fish-like Levias, a gigantic whale that flies through the sky and clears the air after you free him from the parasite that has infected him. Although it’s possible to advance and alter the time of day by sleeping in beds, this rarely factors into the main plot, but it does turn Skyloft from a safe, vibrant location to a dangerous area as enemies spawn in under the cover of darkness. Similarly, when taking on the four Trial Gates, the immediate area takes on a darker, more ethereal quality as shadows become more prominent and glowing magical barriers bar your progress.

The game’s three main regions are based around classic Zelda tropes such as the forest, volcano, and desert, while also incorporating themes like water, wind, and time into their later areas. You can create shortcuts in each but pushing logs and mine carts, blowing up rocks, or grabbing levers to open gates (and also using your new weapons), but the areas will fundamentally change as the story progresses. Faron Woods start off as a kind of confusing wooded area that leads onto a cliffside leading to the Skyview Temple, a water and bug-infested cave or sorts, is home to a great tree, and also leads to a flowing river that takes you to Lake Florina (which later floods the woods) and the Ancient Cistern, a kind of steampunk-like Temple whose golden Oriental aesthetic hides a scary underground area. Eldin Volcano is full of lava and steep hills for you to run up while avoiding boulders tossed by enemies; enemies also wait atop wooden columns that you can knock over with bombs, and you’ll run around on a spherical rock, lobbing bombs are walls and trying to not burn your ass in the Earth Temple. Later, the whole area is covered in ash as the volcano erupts and you need to sneak around and recover your gear, avoiding spotlights, and douse face statues with water to gain access to the Fire Sanctuary, where you’ll be digging through the dirt with the Mogma Mitts. Lanayru Desert sees you racing across quicksand, using the map and markers to avoid sinking, activating three power generators to raise the Mining Facility, an area which springs to life with the Timeshift Stones to reveal conveyer belts, wind-powered platforms, and all manner of mechanical obstacles. You’ll also use one of these Timeshift Stones to safely cross the Sand Sea and ride the Rickety Coaster’s insane mine cart, and awaken the long-dead dragon that resides in the Lanayru Gorge.

Enemies and Bosses:
Longtime fans of the franchise will recognise many of the enemies that crop up in Skyward Sword, most of which are tailored to the game’s new combat system; Deku Babas and Bokoblins, for example, need specific horizontal or vertical swipes of your sword to dispatch, and this is carried through to tougher enemies like the Lizalfos and Stalfos. While you can easily mow down the bat-like Keese and Chuchus with reckless abandon, you’ll have to factor in elemental variants that will electrocute or burn you, you generally can’t just swipe away at enemies; you’ll need to either cut down Beamos columns and stab them in the “eye” or shoot an arrow at them from afar to destroy them, reflect back Sentrobe missiles with well-timed swings of your sword, run up and over Moblin shields to attack them from behind, drag Furnix to the ground with your Whip, blow the spinning magnets atop the Armos’ heads with the Gust Bellows to expose their weak spot, and toss water on Magmanos to turn it to stone and chip away with your sword. Enemies become tougher and more prevalent as the game progresses, causing less dangerous areas to become more hazardous as shield-carrying Moblins wander about and archer Bokoblins take shots at you from above; these latter can also call in reinforcements with horns, carry bombs, and even take on a zombie-like appearance to cause even more bother.

Naturally, each of the game’s Temples is home to a sub-boss as well as the main boss. These are often newer, tougher enemies that soon become part of the regular ensemble you encounter, such as the Lizalfos, Moblins, and Moldorms. Lizalfos can be tricky to defeat as they swipe at you with their tails, guard against your attacks with their armoured arms, and breath fire, but you can parry their attacks to leave them open to your attacks, which is a system that serves you well for other sub-bosses like the Stalfos and its four-armed cousin, the Stalmaster. You can use a similar tactic against the two skeletal pirates, LD-0016 Scervo and LD-003D Dreadfuse, who swipe at you with a sword and hook hand and try to force you back into a spiked wall as you try to sever their limbs and force them off a narrow walkway. Easily the most recurring (and frustrating) sub-boss is “The Imprisoned”, a gigantic beast who you must defeat three times, with each battle getting harder and adding new wrinkles. The Imprisoned can only be hurt by attacking its toes; slice off all eight and you then have to frantically run around it to attack the sealing spike in its head, but it causes shockwaves with each step, crawls around in an invulnerable state, tries to climb upwards, and even flies in later encounters. Groose is on hand to help you in the latter two battles; you can switch to him to catapult bombs at the creature to stun it, and will need to perfectly fire Link at the creature’s head to finish it off for good before it can reach the Sealed Temple, which will cause a game over and force you to begin the fight all over again.

Another boss you’ll encounter numerous times throughout the main story is the game’s primary antagonist, Ghirahim the Demon Lord, who serves as the boss of the Skyview Temple, Fire Sanctuary, and the penultimate boss of the game. Ghirahim is perhaps one of the most frustrating boss characters I’ve ever fought as all of your weapons and tactics are useless and must be set aside for patience and well-timed strikes; Ghirahim can easily block, avoid, parry, and even steal your sword while tossing hard-to-avoid daggers at you, charging in for big damage, and teleporting all over the place. However, you’ll notice that he mirrors the position of your sword; so, if his hand is on the left, lure him in and strike from any direction other than left. When he teleports, roll or dash away and hell get stuck in the ground, leaving him open for a flurry, and you can utilise the same tactics as with Stalfos and the Stalmaster and strike at him wherever his swords aren’t positioned when he brings out his own blade. You can also interrupt his charging attack with a well-timed strike, but these can be pretty tough battles though, ironically, I actually found the final encounter with him to be the easiest of the three (potentially because I had actually figured out how to fight him by this point). This is a three-stage encounter against Ghirahim’s true form that you must wade through a hoard of enemies to even get to; you start off on a magical platform and must perform shield parries to expose the glowing jewel in his chest that can only be damaged with stabs. Hit a few to knock him down to the next platform and perform a Fatal Blow to deal damage and trigger the next phase, which sees him busting out his daggers, and his final phase where he shields himself with a gigantic sword. However, you can chop away at this with repeated swipes of the Master Sword to leave him defenceless and finally put him down for good soon after, which actually makes for a pretty exhilarating final battle against the so-called Demon Lord.

Outside of these fights with Ghirahim, you’ll also have to contend with some pretty inventive, if a bit aggravating, boss battles. The insectoid Scaldera awaits at the end of the Earth Temple and sees you rolling bombs into is rocky hide, and gaping mouth, while avoiding fireballs (and getting blown up yourself), to crack its outer shell and swipe at its exposed eye. Moldarch awaits in the Lanayru Mining Facility and Lanayru Shipyard; this giant scorpion clamps you in its pincers and swipes at you with its tail, but can be hurt by swiping at the eyes in its appendages. When it burrows under the sand, you’ll need to blow the sand away with the Gust Bellows to get it to emerge so you can stab it in the face. Koloktos guards the Ancient Cistern and is probably the first most visually interesting and mechanically engaging boss battle; you basically need to avoid the blades it tosses at you and dodge out of the way when it swings its swords at you, and then use your Whip to detach the arms and use one of the dropped swords to slash at its legs and main body. Eventually, it starts to attack more aggressively, meaning you’ll need to use the nearby columns for cover, and you’ll need to slash at its repeatedly with its own weapon to cut it down to size and finish it off. The Cthulu-like Tentalus attacks the Sandship, smashing its squid-like tentacles through the hull, flooding, and capsizing the boat and leading to a dramatic confrontation in the storm swept deck of the ship. You’ll need to run about avoiding the tentacles as they burst through the deck, or slice them in half with a Skyward Strike, then avoid being swatted by them to shoot an arrow into the beast’s eye to down it and slash at it with your sword. When Tentalus switches to the upper deck, it lashes at you with its Medusa-like hair, which you must wade through with sword slashes to get the final blow on the massive sea creature. After enticing out Levias with a massive cauldron of Pumpkin Soup, Link must chase after the gigantic whale on his Loftwing, charging into the eye-ball tentacles that sprout from its hide, before landing on its back and battling Bilocyte. This is easily the easiest boss battle in the entire game and simple requires you to reflect Bilocyte’s projectiles with swipes of your sword, then attack its head when it gets stunned.

After defeating all of the game’s bosses, travelling back and forth, and collecting everything the plot requires you to get, Ghirahim kidnaps Zelda and flees through the Fate of Time to the past, where he sets a whole hoard of enemies against you that you must wade through before battling the Demon Lord for the last time. Even if you’re victorious though, the Imprisoned rises one last time and begins absorbing Zelda’s essence, allowing the demonic Demise to be reborn. After dispatching Ghirahim and reverting him to his natural form of a sword, the malevolent demon transports away to another dimension to await your final challenge. I recommend preparing yourself for this final battle, and saving your game, before following Demise and engaging with him in a one-on-one sword battle with two phase; first, you need to keep your guard up and parry Demise’s attacks to leave him momentarily vulnerable to a sword swipe. Demise will occasionally charge at you, but also keeps you on your toes with fake-out attacks, but the main issue you’ll have here is timing your parries properly and not letting your shield break. In the second phase, lightning strikes all around, charging both Demise’s sword and yours; holding the Master Sword aloft will let you charge it for a Skyward Strike, which will both counteract Demise’s own energy beam and stun him long enough for you to strike. Ultimately, it’s not a particularly difficult battle, but the atmosphere and music definitely help to make it quite engaging, it’s just a shame that it involves so much waiting and strategy. While there is no boss battle in the Sky Keep (beyond rematches with some of the sub-bosses), you can unlock a boss rush, of sorts, after resurrecting and restoring Lanayru the dragon. Lanayru allows you to battle every boss in the game (aside from Levias and Bilocyte) in succession, with only the items he held when he first fought them, or playthrough the Silent Realm challenges again in order to earn rewards such as Rupees, treasures, a Heart Piece, or the indestructible Hylian Shield.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
As you embark on your epic quest, a wide variety of recognisable pick-ups and power-ups are at your disposal; slashing bushes, pots, rolling into trees, and defeating enemies will yield hearts to refill your health and Rupees, which can be spent buying new gear, potions, and upgrades for your gear. You’ll also find Stamina Fruit scattered all over the place, which will refill your stamina meter, and Goddess Cubes, which can be dispelled with a Skyward Strike and allow you to open special chests all over the place and gain more Rupees or treasures. I recommend scooping a fairy up in your bottle so you can restore six hearts upon defeat and you can buy potions for your empty bottles, which will replenish your health or stamina meter, but you can’t permanently upgrade the stamina meter, acquire new tunics, or learn any magic. Defeating bosses will yield a Heart Container, and you’ll occasionally find Heart Pieces all over the place, four of which will also increase your maximum health by one heart.

Each of the games dungeons includes a new weapon for you to add to your inventory: the Beetle allows you to pilot a little mechanical beetle to hit switches, defeat or stun enemies, and drop bombs; the Clawshots let you grapple to vines and specific targets (and even disarm enemies); the Whip lets you pull switches and swing from certain hooks; you can roll or toss bombs to blow upon certain rocks; the Digging and Mogma Mitts let you dig up collectibles or burrow underground; the Slingshot and Bow let you shoot at enemies and targets from a distance; and the Gust Bellows disorientates enemies and lets you move platforms or blow away sand. You can also buy new gear from the market, such as extra bomb bags and quivers to increase your maximum capacity, shields to defend yourself, and a Bug Net to capture bugs that can be sold in Skyloft. As you explore, you’ll find a variety of treasures that can be used to upgrade your gear in Skyloft to increase their damage or range. Furthermore, key items like the Water Dragon Scale and Fireshield Earrings allow you to swim and withstand extreme heat and you can also purchase expensive extras from Beedle to increase your adventure pouch, expand your wallet, and spawn additional health among other things.

Additional Features:
There are sixteen different treasures and twelve bugs to find throughout Skyward Sword, in addition to twenty-seven Goddess Cubes to activate, thus awarding yourself additional Rupees and gear. There are also twenty-four Heart Pieces to find, which will extend your maximum health to twenty hearts, and a number of side quests available to keep you busy. The owner of the Lumpy Pumpkin will have you ferrying hot soup, collecting pumpkins, and playing the harp with his daughter (both extremely tricky mini games) in order to make up for damaging his property, the Thrill Digger has you digging in specific spots for Rupees, and you can dive for Rupees after fixing up Fun Fun Island. You can also rapidly slice bamboo sticks with your upgraded sword and shoot arrows at pumpkins for additional awards, but the most prominent side quest is the pursuit of “Gratitude Crystals”. After finding a lost girl in Skyloft, the cursed   Batreaux asks you to help others to earn these crystals and bring them to him to receive big Rupee rewards, a Heart Piece, the biggest wallet available, and also restore him (as in Batreaux) to human. These crystals are earned from helping NPCs in various ways, such as bringing a scrap of paper to a mysterious man in a toilet, bringing medicine for a wounded Loftwing, and repairing the fortune teller’s crystal ball. After completing the game for the first time, you can create a new save file that allows you to play through in “Hero Mode” where the enemies are tougher and shuffled about and neither enemies or pots will drop hearts, making the game much more challenging (although the Skyward Strike does instantly charge).

The Summary:
After struggling to get to grips with, and properly enjoy, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD, 2017), I was somewhat excited to finally get the chance to play Skyward Sword, a title I had long avoided as I have no desire to play any game, much less a Zelda game, using purely motion controls. Although it took me a little while to adjust to the analogue-based combat and camera controls, both of which are a little clunky due to the control mapping, I found a lot to enjoy in this game. The focus on using specific sword swipes to defeat enemies and bosses made this a very unique Zelda experience, but did make the combat a bit awkward at times, especially with the reversed controls. The visual presentation was very good, but I do feel like many of the areas are much too empty and restricted; since the game’s set in a world of disparate islands above the clouds and a surface accessible only from specific points, it didn’t really feel like a large, interconnected world and reminded me a little too much of the wide, largely empty ocean from The Wind Waker. Flying on the Loftwing was fun, and the boss battles were very engaging and inventive; even the battles against Ghirahim, despite being frustrating at times, were interesting as it required more than just slashing at them mindlessly but the game really lets itself down with the constant back and forth. I feel like it might’ve been better to have areas like Lake Floria as separate as the other regions, just so that the world felt a little bigger and had a bit more variety, but continuously having to revisit the three main regions again and again find something else in each area quickly became repetitive and disappointing, even when the areas visually changed. The lack of tunics and customisation options for Link was a shame, though I felt the game had a better balance between the stamina meter and destructible items compared to Breath of the Wild, which went way overboard in those aspects. Ultimately, there’s a lot to like here and it’s a perfectly enjoyable Zelda title, but, despite being visually superior, I think I still prefer Twilight Princess as it did a much better job of crafting a large, interconnected fantasy world with a lot of variety and a better mixture of new and old gameplay elements.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Have you played this HD version of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword? How do you feel it compares to the original Wii release and were would you rank it amongst all the other Zelda titles? Were you a fan of the motion controls and the switch to a vast world above the clouds? Which of the dungeons and bosses was your most, or least, favourite? What did you think to the constant back and forth between the same areas? Which of the Silent Realm trials was the hardest for you? Were you able to find all of the bugs and treasures? Which Zelda game is your favourite and how are you celebrating the franchise today? Whatever your thoughts on Skyward Sword, sign up to leave a comment below, or let me know on my social media.