The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is an action-adventure game in the Legend of Zelda series currently in development by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development. Scheduled for 2011, it will be released for the Wii console and will heavily use the Wii MotionPlus peripheral for sword-fighting, with a revised Wii Remote pointing system used for targeting.
Release Date: TBA 2011
Exclusively on: Wii
RP for Rating Pending
Genre: Action Adventure
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: TBA 2011
Exclusively on: Wii
RP for Rating Pending
Genre: Action Adventure
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Development:
The development of Skyward Sword started right after Phantom Hourglass was finished and before that of Spirit Tracks had begun. Until the Nintendo DS title was completed and all staff was transferred to work solely on the Wii game, director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and his team developed both games simultaneously. In April 2008, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed the Zelda team to be "forming again to work on new games", and later clarified at E3 2008 that the development team has been working on a new Zelda title for the Wii. However, the November issue of Official Nintendo Magazine pointed out that the developers were still in the planning stages at that time and considered a first screening at E3 2009 an optimistic prediction.
While the implementation of the graphics was not advanced enough to present actual footage at the show, the story was already nearly completed and a single piece of concept art was revealed to a select group of journalists. Released to the public a few days later, the picture showed a near-adult Link with a shield in his left hand, a mysterious female figure standing at his back. During an interview, Shigeru Miyamoto gave a hint on the story by pointing out that Link doesn't hold a sword in the illustration, which raised speculation about the mysterious female actually being a personification of the Master Sword.
He also announced employment of the Wii MotionPlus for integral parts of the gameplay, such as sword-fighting. Though support for the peripheral was dropped for a time because producer Eiji Aonuma didn't feel it was effective enough, it eventually found its way back in when Miyamoto told Katsuya Eguchi to challenge Aonuma with creating swordplay similar in quality to that found in Wii Sports Resort, which also resulted in Skyward Sword borrowing some of the technology from the sports game. The producer later confirmed the peripheral to be mandatory for the title and described aforementioned swordplay as feeling very natural, as if Link's sword and the player's controller became one. The game system was developed first this time, in favor of building the game around cutscenes. Miyamoto stated that they are preparing "gorgeous" graphics for the title, which will focus on conveying the atmosphere of a real adventure again, and will try to correct the flaw of too big and vacant areas in Twilight Princess while maintaining and improving on the realism it portrayed. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed plans to release the game by the end of 2010, and mentioned that it would debut at E3 2010.At Nintendo's coinciding press conference in June 2010, it was announced that the subtitle was Skyward Sword and that the game would be delayed until 2011, though the team is still aiming for a release early that year. The presentation also revealed a hybrid of graphics from Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker, resulting in a style resembling a painting come to life, inspired by French artist Paul Cézanne and Miyamoto's love for impressionist art. One of the reasons the fully realistic visuals were dropped is to allow for more exaggerated character designs, pointing the player to the enemies' attacks and weaknesses. In concordance with Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel, staff members have expressed their wish to include orchestral music in Skyward Sword, though the matter has not been thoroughly discussed and decided upon yet. In late January 2011, it was announced that Skyward Sword was entering the final stages of completion, and will be released after the Nintendo 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time which in turn will be available after E3 2011.
The development of Skyward Sword started right after Phantom Hourglass was finished and before that of Spirit Tracks had begun. Until the Nintendo DS title was completed and all staff was transferred to work solely on the Wii game, director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and his team developed both games simultaneously. In April 2008, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed the Zelda team to be "forming again to work on new games", and later clarified at E3 2008 that the development team has been working on a new Zelda title for the Wii. However, the November issue of Official Nintendo Magazine pointed out that the developers were still in the planning stages at that time and considered a first screening at E3 2009 an optimistic prediction.
While the implementation of the graphics was not advanced enough to present actual footage at the show, the story was already nearly completed and a single piece of concept art was revealed to a select group of journalists. Released to the public a few days later, the picture showed a near-adult Link with a shield in his left hand, a mysterious female figure standing at his back. During an interview, Shigeru Miyamoto gave a hint on the story by pointing out that Link doesn't hold a sword in the illustration, which raised speculation about the mysterious female actually being a personification of the Master Sword.
He also announced employment of the Wii MotionPlus for integral parts of the gameplay, such as sword-fighting. Though support for the peripheral was dropped for a time because producer Eiji Aonuma didn't feel it was effective enough, it eventually found its way back in when Miyamoto told Katsuya Eguchi to challenge Aonuma with creating swordplay similar in quality to that found in Wii Sports Resort, which also resulted in Skyward Sword borrowing some of the technology from the sports game. The producer later confirmed the peripheral to be mandatory for the title and described aforementioned swordplay as feeling very natural, as if Link's sword and the player's controller became one. The game system was developed first this time, in favor of building the game around cutscenes. Miyamoto stated that they are preparing "gorgeous" graphics for the title, which will focus on conveying the atmosphere of a real adventure again, and will try to correct the flaw of too big and vacant areas in Twilight Princess while maintaining and improving on the realism it portrayed. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed plans to release the game by the end of 2010, and mentioned that it would debut at E3 2010.At Nintendo's coinciding press conference in June 2010, it was announced that the subtitle was Skyward Sword and that the game would be delayed until 2011, though the team is still aiming for a release early that year. The presentation also revealed a hybrid of graphics from Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker, resulting in a style resembling a painting come to life, inspired by French artist Paul Cézanne and Miyamoto's love for impressionist art. One of the reasons the fully realistic visuals were dropped is to allow for more exaggerated character designs, pointing the player to the enemies' attacks and weaknesses. In concordance with Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel, staff members have expressed their wish to include orchestral music in Skyward Sword, though the matter has not been thoroughly discussed and decided upon yet. In late January 2011, it was announced that Skyward Sword was entering the final stages of completion, and will be released after the Nintendo 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time which in turn will be available after E3 2011.
RSS Feed