Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Switch Tech Review - A Dramatically Improved Game!

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword isn't one of the most celebrated series entries - but its transition from Wii to Switch brings about a whole host of advantages (not just graphics related) that truly elevate the game, dramatically improving on the experience. Here's John with the full lowdown.
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[@chaseincats]

"wind waker focuses on the sea, twilight princess the woof" lol

[@Jbayz]

its funny how things like seeing text every time you picked up an item is something I still remember pretty clearly. lol

[@michaelmay4981]

It was a carry over from Twilight Princess. I originally thought it was a bug that Nintendo never corrected, because Twilight Princess did the same with rupees and bugs. I struggle with the idea that it was intentional, but you never know with Nintendo sometimes.

[@1KayBilly]

Trauma does that.

[@RH-to8dh]

I always thought it was a bug that they never fixed

[@Steinegal]

Kept my Wii running in game just to avoid that

[@Jbayz]

@@ramonandrajo6348 I don't like pirating games. Theres always some jank to it and even if there isn't, it never feels great. Even with dolphin, its hard for me to finish a game thats emulated. But I didn't grow up with emulation being available like some of you.

[@Schraiber]

I haven't picked this up yet but it's interesting how you say in contrast to the popularity of open world games it feels surprisingly fresh. I definitely remember a significant amount of criticism when it came out saying that it felt like there was nothing new and interesting about it! The cycles of game design are really cool to watch over the long term: open world going from mind blowing and exciting to generic and boring; shooters going from gameplay driven mazes to exposition driven "realism" and back again; and here we have a reminder that maybe the reason Skyward Sword didn't feel fresh at the time is because it wasn't broken in the first place!

[@mennopietersma4958]

Well said!

[@adamm784]

You're 100% right. SS is amazing. BOTW Lacked raw story and drama. Nothing felt intense or felt pressure of the hero. Link has amnesia and just site seeing until he literally remembers something he needs to do lmao. Gameplay is amazing though and the features. It just lacked the story presentation imo. SS I think has the best story presentation and flow. You get the sense that the stakes are high and you need to fix it.

[@voided_reality6863]

Very few people said that. After a few years noone. The majority of longtime fans of TLoZ series love it because of its specific formula. What most actually admitted to being the reason for the hate and criticism was the motion controls, everyone just wanted to play the game the way they were used to playing the series.

[@Taijifufu]

The world was smaller than other games, felt less detailed, and of the like 3 different areas there were they just gave them a new skin to rehash later in the game. It was easily the worst 3D Zelda game and now people are able to trick themselves into believing it wasn't super dated back in 2011.

[@liquidgeorge]

@@Taijifufu As much as it pains me as a huge Zelda fan, you are absolutely right. The constrained, linear nature of SS was not the problem in the first place; the tired and hackneyed implementation of gameplay was.

[@nickgiannetti3873]

Highly agree w button control camera usage. Should be “hold L for sword” or at least have options.

[@romelohodge9238]

But if you do that then you will also have to hold down zL for lock on

[@nickgiannetti3873]

@@romelohodge9238 maybe zl toggle would alleviate that a bit. Cant remember if thats an option

[@RhythmGrizz]

@@romelohodge9238 excellent point

[@MrMetroidDread]

Maybe if they did an option where if you press L you go to a mode, like "Camera Mode" and "Sword Mode", this way you can change quickly without the need to hold L to use the camera or the sword.

[@nicerhabara]

@@romelohodge9238 What if ZL would also allow us to use the sword? I mean ZL is used to lock on enemies or face the camera forwards so you won't want to move the camera in this situation anyway

[@XmorganlamiaX]

Something not mentioned - Some models have had their poly count increased. Link for example has had a few parts improved, like his shoulders and sleeves which are much rounder now.

[@sethfeldpausch4337]

“With Twilight Princess: the WOOF” 😂😂😂

[@cybersosis]

the woofening

[@spacechannelfiver]

played it for 10 minutes, then it went back in the box. so disappointing.

[@mikeslemonade]

Twilight Princess > Breath of the Wild

[@66777jason]

@@spacechannelfiver I'm not gonna lie the wolf parts are actually some of my least favorite parts in any zelda. But you missed out on some of the best dungeons, cities, music, and stories in Zelda games if you skip TP.

[@spacechannelfiver]

@@66777jason TBH I didn't like the Switch - gave mine to my Mum and she got much more use out of it with the WiiFit stuff. The only thing I can remember being alright on it was Super Mario Galaxy

[@ronniewhitedx]

to be fair twilight princess was originally designed with the gamecube in mind then they delayed it so they could push a wii release

[@ronniewhitedx]

They did links crossbow training to try and remedy that lol

[@joesterling4299]

Yes. Because of waggle and the mirrored world, I consider the Wii version to be much inferior to the original on Gamecube. They fixed that in TP HD (giving you the option of a proper or mirrored Hyrule), but that's on the Wii U, which most of us never bought. I hope they port that to the Switch sometime, along with WW HD.

[@DimitriMoreira]

@@joesterling4299 even graphically, the GC version of TP is better than the Wii. I still have my GC version and played until the HD release. Although I played SS on my Wii and loved the game despite the awful dialogue annoyances. I'll definitely pick this HD version up as soon as I get another Switch.

[@XDLugia]

@@DimitriMoreira Are you sure about the GameCube version being graphically superior? That doesn't even make sense. Besides, I believe that widescreen support was only for the Wii version.

[@ronniewhitedx]

@@joesterling4299 WW HD was a proper remaster

[@Wesley-pk5de]

This sentence at 08:37 synthesizes many of the Wii U ports on Switch: "but hey, at least the shadows are in higher resolution".

[@hoodrat1632]

Synthesizes?

[@Wesley-pk5de]

@@hoodrat1632 Sum up, summarize.... don't know the exact english word for it.

[@Lucrei.]

@@Wesley-pk5de Surmises?

[@3dmarth]

@@Wesley-pk5de Yes, summarize(s) would be the best word to use.

[@blabo6427]

I am a fan of the Zelda series and Skyward Sword was the first to hesitate to buy after many negative comments about the game. I ended up buying a Wii to enjoy this title and Metroid Prime Trilogy and it was quite a surprise. For me it has the best temples and puzzles of all the Zelda and the combat with the Wiimote is very entertaining. I'll play it again this time in HD.

[@charsquatch600]

I hated the Wiimote, it's what ruined the game for me with having to reset it constantly mid combat or item use. The joycons are worse in that regard.

[@No-onesgayformoleman]

@@charsquatch600 What? No they're not lol not by a country mile With the Wii remote you had to set down the controller every 30 minutes for it to sync. With the Joycons all you gotta do is press Y to reset its position.

[@charsquatch600]

@@No-onesgayformoleman yeah, they are easier to sync for sure, but they go off center every minute or so. Also on the wiimotes you could push a button combination to recenter them. I can't remember what that is anymore

[@ShallBePurified]

Skyward Sword is one of my favorite Zelda games and it gets way too much hate. I think the flaw in some of the designs mentioned in this video contributes to most of the issues people had, so I'm glad the HD remaster fixes almost all of them so that people are actually enjoying the good parts of the game now. And yes, the motion control is a good part of the game. Combat is so fun in this. Except fighting The Imprisoned 3 times. That's the only combat section I hate in this game. But besides that, the bosses in this game are fun to fight. It has some of the best dungeons in Zelda. Lanayru Desert with the Time Shift Stones is probably the most fun mechanic in Zelda I've played. They were so creative with it and it was magical.

[@mutoneon]

@@ramonandrajo6348 Not really, you’re just rationalizing theft.

[@lynxofhyrule]

The HD resolution works wonders for the art style of this game imo. It's so much more pleasant to look at than the wii version.

[@jhkuno88]

Wrong

[@LSelecDgns]

Really hoping OoT and MM 3D get this treatment at some point. Really liking this game so far.

[@jackofthecoke]

OoT needs a full remake, my friend.

[@brandonizaguirre2963]

Majora's Mask did get this treatment on the 3DS

[@LSelecDgns]

@@jackofthecoke Nah, I’d rather they just remaster the 3DS version in HD. A full remake would be a waste of Nintendo’s resources.

[@iau]

The 3DS versions added _more_ of the annoying hand-holding stuff, no the other way around

[@LSelecDgns]

@@iau You mean the save statues? What else?

[@gnovincejr2]

I know I'm in minority but I Love this game so much, I get people don't like motion controls but I felt this was the best of the wii motion control games.

[@babyjiren9676]

Nah, it’s not even about that. It’s people being sheep as usual, parroting what moronic youtubers said at the time who moaned about motion controls. SS is good, always has been, always will be.

[@darthwiizius]

I liked Red Steel 2s motion plus implementation too.

[@itsaxel8088]

@@darthwiizius a man of culture

[@darthwiizius]

@@itsaxel8088 Why thank you, RS2 must be the King of Wii hidden gems, I paid £2 for my complete pristine copy. BTW my favourite Wii game is Sin & Punishment 2: Successor of the Skies.

[@donkeypong1847]

@@babyjiren9676 This! Conservative/traditionalist youtubers where fighting innovation to try stop gyro/motion controls from becoming popular. The sword controls of SS worked great but they med up a narrative of them being broken. A similar thing happened to Star Fox Zero.

[@dante19890]

A collection with wind waker hd, twilight princess HD and skyward sword HD would have been something

[@Dread24]

Why do that when Nintendo knows suckers will pay $60 each

[@HKdagreat]

I know right?? This is an almost 10 year old game that sells for $60. Goddamn Nintendo

[@rickyknowles]

This is what should of happend. Then next year release OoT/MM hd pack for 60 bucks.

[@dante19890]

@@Dread24 they did with mario

[@luisugalde6956]

No way Nintendo will put 3 mainline games in a single package. The Mario thing was an anomaly not the norm. It would have been great though.

[@ActionJaxonH]

While the button controls aren’t perfect, I find them more than usable. I played all day yesterday on my Lite, and had very few issues. Once you build muscle memory for the camera using L it’s second nature. I’m using motion today though and it’s great.

[@Katie-hb8iq]

Some control changes I would want to make the experience better. 1. When using motion controls, have an option to disable motion controls for the loftwing, beetle, etc. and use the standard button controls for these things. 2. When using motion controls, allow the player to press the Left stick to shield bash and press the Right-stick for a thrust as an alternative. These buttons aren't used for anything, so just give players 2 alternatives 3. When using button controls and lifting bombs, make throw the default option. And instead of having to hold the R-stick down or up, just make it a toggle. Default is throw - pressing down sets it to "Place bomb" and pressing down on R-stick again changes it to rolling. No more holding R-stick here will make bombs so much nicer to use. 4. When using button controls, make the Y button do normal sword attacks from left to right so people can destroy objects in the environment and defeat routine fights without having to resort to the R-stick. 5. When using button controls and the Spin Attack, implement it using a full analog stick circle rotation, either clockwise or counter-clockwise instead of the left-right or up-down. The reason for this is that the player might use a spin attack accidently when they really just want to attack normally. 6. When using button controls, reduce latency for first swing - it's slower than the motion control alternative 7. Consider making camera rotation the default and only enabling right-stick sword swings when Z-targeting enemies. I don't know if this will not work for the whole game, but at about 10 hours in, I see no reason this can't work so far and it would feel much more natural.

[@CasepbX]

That 60fps is so awesome. We need some Wind Waker 60fps now!

[@RantKid]

We already have that in Wind Waker HD

[@fakeninjitsu]

@@RantKid Wind Waker on Wii U is 30fps

[@RantKid]

@@fakeninjitsu I see. Must've conflated that with my playthrough on the PC Dolphin emulator

[@kiaelinkx]

@@RantKid 30 and also not stable at all

[@G_Rad_Ski]

@@RantKid No we don't

[@importsport]

Now let me get Metroid prime Trilogy please 😁

[@TerraWare]

That'd be nice. 60 fps with some enhancements. I've got them all cib but wouldn't mind having one cart with all three for the nsw

[@fellahuman]

@@TerraWare All three Prime games already run at 60fps 👍

[@Oversensitive-S-poster]

@@fellahuman then we need MOAR FRAMES

[@chrisscott3071]

It's already made. Nintendo is just sitting on it till the games they have a month with no big games coming out then release them. They are sitting on wind water and twilight princess as well

[@MelodyMecato6156]

Emulate it on the Steam Deck when it comes out. You're welcome =)

[@FireBreatherMP1]

I just wanna play Ocarina of Time 3D in HD on Switch man

[@Z-Man7]

Could you imagine a bump to 60fps for Ocarina?

[@saricubra2867]

@@Z-Man7 Wind Waker and Twilight Princess are the most interesting games at 60fps because Toon Link and Midna are by far the most expressive characters in the franchise.

[@sethfeldpausch4337]

Imagine if the did a ground up remake?! It won’t happen, but that would be so cool!

[@sethfeldpausch4337]

@@saricubra2867 I would LOVE a double pack of both those games, and if they made them 60fps 👄👌

[@syunafrost351]

Lol almost every game u guys asked for from Nintendo and received u guys still complained about the game.

[@DoshindeReus]

Wow, I played Skyward Sword years after its release on the Wii U. Got to the final boss but somehow never finished it. This clip reminds me I need to go back. What a beautiful masterpiece. The artstyle truly makes it feel like you are inside a Cezanne painting

[@FirlowXD]

I've been playing with motion and buttons, swapping between, in handheld and TV. The game feels so much better. The gamepad controls work great for me, though I can see why someone may not like it.

[@nlikeflynn8837]

1080p/60fps ports of TP and WW would be perfect for the Switch.

[@Louisthesaxman1]

I need it.

[@tatsumaru12345]

They'll play on the Valve Steam Deck pretty easily. 4k too.

[@MajoraWaffle]

wasn't WWHD 1080p anyway?

[@solachesis451]

@@MajoraWaffle yep, bought a Wii u to play it, got breath of the wild with it too. However I haven't touched it in months, I'm just very exhausted of huge open worlds right now

[@saricubra2867]

I will go crazy if i see Midna and Toon Link at 60fps. The best animated characters in the franchise.

[@Qrec12]

Started playing yesterday and I'm already hooked. Amazed at how nice it looks on the switch, and yes going back to the old Zelda formula feels good. There's plenty of open world games right now, and this feels less stressful to play. Music is beautiful too, man this game is awesome.

[@christopherbaxter434]

For me the wind-maker, was one of my favourite additions of all time, timeless cell-shading art-style and immersive sound and music.

[@noblealfred5010]

Which they ruined by pumping endless amounts of Bloom in the remaster.

[@BLINDCABBY]

@@noblealfred5010 shut up. You’re no expert just a negative person. Shut up 🤫

[@Tulder]

@@BLINDCABBY yo wtf? youre weird and he is right

[@thelastgogeta]

@@noblealfred5010 Fortunately Dolphin exists, even if it doesn't change that Nintendo should have scored the lay-up of higher rez, more QOL and best version with ease. OoT3D worked out better at least even if it is portable only.

[@gerritjan1983able]

@@Tulder I loved the remaster but also love the original

[@stephaneponcet5293]

Thank you for specifying that the game is surround sound compatible. I looked for this info everywhere, no one bothers to speak about the sound format nor its quality. So again, thanks a lot for your professionalism.

[@DarshanBhambhani]

9:55 I also encountered this slowdown problem sometimes, for example if too many bombs go off at once or if there’s a lot of particle effect at once the game’s frame dips drastically for a very short moment

[@WllKiedSnake]

I kinda like that. It's like you are pushing a game to its limits. Remember when you could do this in older games.

[@mymusicaljesus]

@@WllKiedSnake It still happens now in BOTW.

[@BMW-sd6nn]

First time playing this one and I'm super impressed, enjoying the button controls, and it looks gorgeous tbh.

[@Mr_G_s_Route_66]

Of course it looks gorgious.

[@ThibautMahringer]

I love the Switch version right now. Looks great on my TV. But I agree with John, holding L to use the sword would have been so much better than what we have.

[@5izzy557]

That's baffling to me that this isn't an option. I'll emulate it myself so it's easily fixed. Hopefully they update the game so people playing it on the switch can have a FAR better experience.

[@manojlds]

They should just add an option to invert it as needed.

[@5izzy557]

@@manojlds 100%. GL guys, Nintendo is very stubborn, I truly hope they fix this for you guys.

[@PatLund]

I think it should be a toggle, but the way it is doesn't really bother me.

[@mjc0961]

@@5izzy557 They didn't even update Link's Awakening on Switch so people could play at a stable framerate. Skyward Sword isn't getting updated to improve the experience either. Maybe they'll put out a new amiibo that enables this functionality, though.

[@Mitchlett]

What if for the button controls, the camera has priority on the right stick until you're Z-targeting something? You don't need to move the camera when z-targeting and it's probably when you're using the sword the most.

[@nlikeflynn8837]

I love this idea. Wish Nintendo would’ve thought about it.

[@manojlds]

This feels obvious after 1 hour of playing, wonder why they didn't do it.

[@PatLund]

I honestly like it the way it is. I don't move the camera that often, and when I do it isn't a big deal to press the L button.

[@saricubra2867]

That is basically the OG version of Twilight Princess (Gamecube) and Wind Waker. Nintendo should study how Twilight Princess and Wind Waker control on the Gamecube, both still hold up very well to this day.

[@epik4023]

That's what I hope they add. It's annoying holding L all the time to use the camera. Great game otherwise

[@Nobutehuhh]

Anyone remember that Nintendo Land Zelda game? That shit was like 1 to 1 when it came to motion controls. Still blown away by how smooth it is.

[@TheMagnificentGman]

Nintendo should really port Nintendo land

[@andyc6542]

@@TheMagnificentGman wouldn’t work as a lot of the games needed the game pad/two screen aspect of the WI U..

[@TheMagnificentGman]

@@andyc6542 online or local multiplayer would fix that

[@No-onesgayformoleman]

@@andyc6542 Wii fit exists and that's solely a TV mode game, I'm sure they could make due with Nintendo Land.

[@mareo187]

I thought you was talking about that 2000 concept of zelda what then became Wind Waker. But nintendo land game from 2012 it was alright but I think the people around that time was getting tired of motion sensing games and they eventually focused on Breath of the Wild that brought back the simple gamepad control method

[@Badolo]

I miss the "chunkiness" of the Wii original distant stuff filter, it had an almost Van Goghesque flair. But HD and (specially) 60 fps is still a good trade all things considered.

[@GeraltORivia]

God the music is so good

[@lovelyla85]

Ikr 😭

[@BlackPaperMoon18]

I remember i was like what the heck is John talking about my beloved open world games back in the day. And now after many years i get it. I hate them So much. I stopped playing them and i have blast with more linear games. No Way back. They need to do something special or i dont care. I wasted So much time in open world doing nothing fun. No more.

[@sethfeldpausch4337]

I think what’s critical with open world games, is interactivity. The player may be walking across a vast distance from point A to point B, but if there are an infinite amount of distractions/objects they can interact with along the way, and goofy ways to mess with the world, kinda like the insane physics engine in BOTW, then the game is fun because of how unscripted it is! Ultimately, it takes a creative person to have a lot of fun in an open world game, whereas with a linear game, you’re basically being taken on an exciting roller coaster ride; it’s a blast the first time, but nothing really changes on repeat experiences. I agree that open worlds need to stop being barren, boring walking sims. I find that the Assassin’s Creed series is starting to fall in that rut. The games are pretty, but not at all interactive and that’s my biggest problem with them!

[@syunafrost351]

I mainly didn't like botw cuz of the open world it just feels lifeless and empty and prefer the traditional zelda games.

[@jerrodshack7610]

I also lost interest for the most part. I think botw is so packed full of great stuff that it works incredibly well, and maybe a few other games I can't think of at the moment. But in general I'd much rather play a fairly linear game I can complete in a reasonable amount of time and enjoy the story of.

[@troyschnierer2940]

I still really enjoy open-world games. But need a good break between them, can't play back to back. Fenyx Rising was amazing! But I have taken a 6 month break from anything open world afterwards. Well, longer, cause I want to play PS5 Ghosts of Tsushima... just can't get a PS5.

[@XDLugia]

So pleased to hear that the motion controls work as well on the Switch as on the Wii. It felt really great to play the game back then with motion controls, so this is great news! PS: Thanks John for not spending half the video moaning about disliking motion controls like most reviews of this game.

[@XDLugia]

@@ramonandrajo6348 Bro, I think you replied to the wrong comment.

[@dreworyan5652]

Bro what? I literally couldn’t even get into the game cause the terrible motion controls on WiiU. I got this literally only for the better controls. The graphics and gameplay changes are just a bonus

[@XDLugia]

@@dreworyan5652 I don't know what to tell you man. My experience is mostly like John says here. The motion controls felt natural everywhere with maybe the exception of the harp and swimming. The easy calibration button was necessary though.

[@JM_Traslo]

Now if we could get this QoL in ports of the HD versions for WW and TP

[@WllKiedSnake]

Or for potential ports of Majoras Mask 3d and Ocarina of Time 3d. Majoras Mask 3d needs a few things tweaking they messed up.

[@Oversensitive-S-poster]

@@WllKiedSnake like the swimming?

[@WllKiedSnake]

@@Oversensitive-S-poster Yeah! The swimming needs to be sped up and not tied to using magic when your wearing the Zora mask. The Deku scrubs momentum when you acelerate off a lilypad should be the same as it was on N64. I think these are the only big things needed? The 3ds Remake did quite a few things right. Like the ability to track your tasks is great I think. And the ability to spend rupees on getting info on side quests you can do. They just need to tweak a few things small things.

[@voided_reality6863]

I have a feeling we will see Winder Waker HD get a 60fps release on Switch first, it is the closest to the architecture of Skyward Sword. Once that releases Nintendo will have time to revamp the absolutely most requested titles in the series Ocarina of Time and Majora's mask. Those games ran at 15fps on N64, imagine how wonderful they would be at 60fps with the textures and character models of the 3DS remake but at 1080p!!

[@66777jason]

I'm seeing a lot of people ask for TP and WW... you think they would do it again after they did already last gen? I mean, they might, but OOT and MM could use the HD treatment way more than those games.

[@kadosho02]

Picked up my copy on Friday. Close to ten hours played so far. Enjoying the journey so far. Controls take some getting used to. I have been using the motion controls option. I never played Skyward Sword on the Wii, as I did not own one back then. To dive into this remaster, I love it. Plus the audio quality, and soundtrack is phenomenal. Also your video was recommended by MVG

[@hadokenexe]

Great video! I fully agree on the camera control with the gamepad. I love the conversion in every aspect except dealing with the camera. If you played a lot of OoT, you can make do with just Z targeting to correct camera movement. I really hope they give the option to reverse the L toggle for camera/sword. It wouldn't hurt to have the option.

[@ersia87]

When I first played the remake on the 16th, five days ago, (my first playthrough of SS) I almost felt robbed of my 50$ because of the bad controlls of both controll schemes. But eventually I learned them, though it took a good few hours to really feel like they didn’t detract from the games. During the rest of the game the camera controlls vs sword controlls were second nature. In the end (upon finishing the game today) the one problem I had with the controlls (not a biggie, but frustrating nontheless) was the item management. I often found myself fumbling and using the wrong item (both the tools as well as the puch items) in the heat of the moment.

[@timg2727]

I seem to be in the minority so far, but I'm actually really enjoying the button controls. The game's automatic camera works well enough for me that I don't really miss having easy access to camera controls, and the sword works great.

[@syunafrost351]

Good enjoy the game as I am too don't be like these snobs always asking for Nintendo game ports then complain about the games price tag.

[@PoliMaster64]

Same, it feels really natural to me

[@deangulberry1876]

I had to stop playing after a few hours. Too much camera view re-adjusting really ruined it for me

[@kambocommando6009]

Great review! The best I’ve watched so far! Gonna pick up a copy today

[@philbln]

Really nice review!! Thank you, it's been really a while since I played the Wii version and I'm glad, that I sold it already. Really great comparison, I didn't remember that huge Wii Remote, which blocks almost 1/4 of the screen 😁. It didn't catch me too back then, even if I loved the controls.

[@vp_wrld]

I swear I remember people saying Skyward Sword was a masterpiece in 2011. Didn’t know it was disliked until this week

[@thechicagobox]

Skyward Sword was oftentimes looked down upon due to it’s motion controls. Also the 480p was already very out of date in 2011. While this Switch version has many upgrades (some most people won’t even notice, like adding names to the text boxes) it’s the addition of controller use (the best they could offer) and the 1080p/60fps visuals that make this version far superior. I am enjoying it significantly more than I did 10 years ago and I believe that it’s almost like a lost Zelda game coming back to it this way, as a lot of people have not played it yet.

[@AxelStone]

I wonder why they didn't do this with mario 64 and sunshine, even 720p60 would be fine imo

[@yarc9]

@JackBauer137 super mario odyssey is 60 fps no excuses

[@DrGamelove]

Yeah, I guess we can give up on that being patched by now or Galaxy 2 added.

[@lipe6649]

@JackBauer137 Mario 64 on PC uses the original code and the PC Community put Ray Tracing LOL.

[@timsmyth7942]

money? greed? deadlines? laziness? take your pick

[@PimpMatt0]

@@timsmyth7942 All of the above.

[@anthonymendoza1783]

19:13 “the lick” makes an appearance haha

[@SNMG7664]

I've seen a few comments about this lol. Fi (The Zelda character) is written as "ファイ" Japanese. Like Φ ("Phi" in English). The "Fi" from the way people say "Wi-Fi" is correct for the character's name, not "fee".

[@voided_reality6863]

No, you are wrong. Deal with it. You can try and justify it any way you like. The name has been pronounced Fee since the original reveal of her name. How it is pronounced in Japan holds no relevance to how it is spoken by all media in english for the last 10yrs.

[@theninjamaster67]

Honestly this is like people correcting the pronunciation of Tidus from Final Fantasy X which has the opposite problem of pronouncing the i as ee and all I've learned from this is Japanese is an annoying language.

[@voided_reality6863]

@@theninjamaster67 Exactly, for the last decade in english it has been pronounced Fee in all media. How it is pronounced in Japan based on the character spelling holds no relevance to that. If you want to be right about it being pronounced FY, then move to fucking Japan and brag about being right there.

[@Taijifufu]

@@voided_reality6863 it's a name though. It has a specific pronunciation. Stop getting nationalistic about it. I've accepted Gif is meant to be pronounced like Jif peanut butter... it ain't gonna happen and I will always pronounce it with a soft G, but I know it's the wrong pronunciation.

[@ThePilgrums]

@@theninjamaster67 as if English doesn't have even more "annoying" different ways of pronouncing the same series of letters lol

[@arborstone6546]

I could never get into this one back in the day. Iv been waiting for this video df ty.

[@FailingDuke64]

Not sure if you tried it out yet, but if you get it and try out the motion controls its best to recalibrate your controllers as often as possible ( really just pressing Y after every encounter or action). I had an issue with it with my launch pair of joycons, however newer ones seem to require it much less often.

[@RadDudeTeamate]

Skyward Sword HD is how I remember the game looking back on the Wii, crazy to see how well it holds up with the changes they made.

[@senorsnipey1595]

I love that music when pursuing Fi on Skyloft at night

[@Xerkrosis]

20:03 Oh no, I forgot these sections. I'm going to cry (again, and again, and again...)

[@Lukulele1989]

I love the context provided in this review on motion controls. I remember playing TP on my new Wii and wanting something closer to what we eventually got in SS.

[@moik5185]

7:45 - I assume they had the original textures they created for the game on-file. Most were probably higher resolution than they were able to keep them when they optimized it for Wii.

[@canosisplays5152]

This was great. I have been really enjoying the game overall. MVG brought up a great control change idea of having the right stick default to look and activate sword control with L button. That tweak alone would make this one of my favorite Zelda games.

[@keithwilson965]

I'm using the 8bitdo SN30 pro plus 2 and I mapped the L button to the bottom button on the handle and it works great, but I do agree with having an option swap the action of the L button. Would also be nice to toggle the ZL lock control.

[@M0rbllD]

I like the subtle placement of the stream deck in the background of the shots of the switch.... Steam deck anyone? haha

[@Conchobhar]

6:31 It's not watercolour! Miyamoto explicitly cited impressionist artists like Cézanne as inspiration for the game's art direction-artists who worked overwhelmingly in oils, saving watercolours for sketches. Oil paint packaged in tubes, a new technology at the time, is what allowed the movement to even occur. Where previously artists were tied to their studios, they were now free to paint outdoors (en plein air). Thus began the study of the play of light on the natural world that would become impressionism. Those textured bokehs are meant to simulate the obvious brushstrokes (obvious because the artists made no effort to hide them, which meant there could only be so much fine detail, thus giving only an "impression" of the subject) characteristic of the style.

[@TheScarletKing]

@@edy1361 The sheer irony of that statement lmao

[@bowi1332]

@@TheScarletKing What?

[@bowi1332]

@@edy1361 Yeah... Lack of knowledge is so cool! 🤟 /s

[@russmawson6744]

@@edy1361 I was thinking same thing mate. Nothing like a pedantic know it all having to tell us that we're all wrong is there?

[@Zeee530]

That skyloft soundtrack when chasing fi is still amazing

[@fruitjuiceshibe]

picking this up next week and I can't wait to get back in:)

[@Sabbalab92]

I always had a feeling that the motion controls would fit just fine on Switch.

[@Xshinobi2k8]

While highly doubtful, I do hope that Nintendo's patches in the control option that John recommended. I want to check this but I would prefer to use the button setup and having to constantly hold down the trigger to move the camera sounds painful.

[@Ray-dl5mp]

It’s not perfect but it’s not hard to do. Makes sense for how the game works. But an option wouldn’t hurt.

[@voided_reality6863]

Totally agree. That would make a huge difference. I wouldn't be surprised if they did add it. They give you the option to swap I believe A and Y buttons in the menu for BoTW (I may be mistaken on the exact buttons that swap)

[@MelodyMecato6156]

Why are people complaining about the camera in a pre-BotW Zelda game? The analog sword controls are the issue.

[@MelodyMecato6156]

@@vulcanbrady I'm used to modern controls, yet I can still go back to Ocarina on the N64 and have zero issues with the camera. Same goes for GTA 3/Vice City on PS2. These games are not difficult at all to adapt to lol.

[@MelodyMecato6156]

@@vulcanbrady What are you talking about? *Skyward Sword was NOT a dual stick game either* LOL

[@justintantiongloc6987]

I was holding off on this to see how it turned out, since I never played it on the Wii, and I've heard mixed reviews about the original for years. But between this video, and the fact that it's on sale for $10, I actually decided to grab it. Thanks for the review!

[@erghjunk]

I missed this game the first time around (probably because I had two young kids at the time), but I'm really motivated to try it now - thanks! also, probably been pointed out by others, but I am pretty sure you can use joycons with a Switch lite. small screen to try and play on the tabletop (and you have to prop it up... lol) but it can still be done!

[@Piizzachuu]

I’m sure we’ll see an update down the road for alternate control scheme

[@benn8793]

Hopefully. Until then, I'll stay away from the game for the time being...

[@Nahtan123]

Honestly I've gotten used to using L for the camera, I suppose it depends on the person but I caught onto it fairly quickly.

[@KARLOSPCgame]

17:45 FINALLY PTSD in glorious Surround sound

[@Balomis]

It's interesting hearing about how much camera controls matter to people and how the implementation is either preferred or awkward. It hadn't really occurred to me before, but BotW was the first Zelda game to even allow the player to freely control the camera. All previous ones just had you use Z-targeting to shift the camera around and that just became so natural. I feel like my reflex would still be to just use Z-targeting, but at least there's the option for others.

[@dcashley303]

That reversing of the L button as an option would be great. Maybe in an update?

[@liamflan9553]

Yeah would be cool but I’m going to try and play with controller mode over the motion control first, and if it really is inconvenient then I will swap back to motion. I wonder if it’s not too bad to use L all the time, remember when playing ocarina of time, we didn’t need to constantly look around, only when pressing the button to look, we let the camera do its thing. Digital foundry just probably got used to the camera thing on motion side and couldn’t go back. I don’t think I will be holding L all the time. No motion control first run, second run I’ll do motion

[@MrMonkeyCrumpets]

Nintendo add features in an update? Hahaha good one

[@dcashley303]

Their was no camera control in the original and I still absolutely loved it so its not a case that it'll be unplayable through just re-centering the camera behind Link. But yeah, Nintendo are strange.

[@water223]

@@MrMonkeyCrumpets to be fair, they did update some control options in 3D All Stars, so who knows

[@MrMonkeyCrumpets]

@@water223 as a counterpoint, Luigi’s Mansion 3 still doesn’t let you invert the aiming axes.

[@morecklechat5280]

I’ve always said that Skyward Sword had the best music in the series

[@JonnyLin7]

It was tough for me to justify the full price tag of this game, but I really loved this game on the Wii, so once I saw this game went on sale on Amazon, it was enough of an excuse for me to buy it. I feel this game was an awesome game, but it just came at the wrong time near the end of the Wii's lifecycle, where people were a bit tired of motion controls and the classic linear 3D Zelda formula. While Breath of the Wild's non-linear open world is great and was a breath of fresh for the series, I still love the classic linear 3D Zelda games and I loved the motion controls of the Wii (when done well) so I'm really excited to revisit this game with all the improvements. This game had a timeless artstyle, amazing orchestral sound and had some of the best dungeons, puzzles and characters in the Zelda franchise.

[@zackakers9855]

I cannot believe you said Windwaker falls short in the soundtrack department. My respect for this channel just took a massive hit.

[@AusOpening]

Windwaker is a masterpiece! the gamecube was so underrated

[@Rockerfella360]

I actually really enjoyed the motion controls, the boss fights were super fun

[@resonatingraptorid6519]

16:13 Todd Howard: *crying up on the mountain*

[@minerkey682]

tbh the main thing I noted from some of the footage, is how incredibly brightened everything is. In the sky things seem much more white and low-contrast which looks a bit blindingly bright, like someone turned the bloom threshold down a ton which I'm not a fan of

[@gamingrealmhd1444]

Thanks for this video. There are huge improvements! nice

[@leonfrancis3418]

Skyward Sword was always fire and is one of the best LoZ titles. Funny that a re release is what let's people see that.

[@stephenparsons9325]

No...it was always thought of as a great Zelda game, hampered by forced controls and Fi ruining the game. This is not news.

[@TheGebs24]

This is an excellent video! I also love your voice ☺️😆 The game itself is a mammoth update. I cannot wait to dive in to this. Keep up the great work

[@user-ik8vy1rg8f]

Love your game reviews John.

[@GoffredoMarocchi]

Amazing as usual John!

[@RichMcLaughlin]

You can sync your save file via cloud storage, FYI. John said he didn’t have time re-play up to the dungeon.

[@Nint3nd04lif3]

Good SS has such great music.

[@Ray-dl5mp]

It really adds so much to the game. Beautiful so far.

[@saricubra2867]

Because it's the only Zelda game that had the budget for a real life orchestra with real musicians.

[@fruitjuiceshibe]

@@saricubra2867 botw too, and every other Zelda since Skyward Sword

[@saricubra2867]

@@fruitjuiceshibe BOTW's music is mediocre specially compared to Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess. New themes wasted almost for the entirety of the OST instead of being developed. The Staff Roll also s*cks ass.

[@evnthomusic4218]

awesome review!

[@AgentH53]

17:21 Link is playing Powerwash Simulator

[@kekchanbiggestfan]

I’m just imagining all the Splatoon players scoffing at having to reset the gyro often, we already do that competitively

[@fenbops]

That jump animation 😂 I know it’s old but man that looks rough.

[@ThoughTMusic]

Just picked this up. I'm very excited!

[@BogusLettuce]

Wasted money. Shame.

[@ThoughTMusic]

@@BogusLettuce Maybe, but it's mine to waste.

[@OsakaSan]

Okay... i was hesitant, now i need this.

[@TheGameLecturer]

9:27 That's a weird way of handling shadows, Link's shadow appears floating above the sphere.

[@SNMG7664]

IIRC Wind Waker did the same thing. I didn't like it there either. I think it would have been less distracting if they had just disabled Link's shadow while standing on the ball, the light source is below him anyway so it wouldn't even seem unusual

[@bowi1332]

At least on Wii we probably couldn't see it. 😅

[@MrSerr]

Well, Link was inspired by Peter Pan.

[@Mitzi_DelverVRC]

As someone with a degenerative joint disorder that greatly affects how my hands and fingers move, daaaaamn, doing a spin attack on the Lite is hard now!

[@yel408]

Too bad they don’t have an easier way to do it. Do you only have switch light?

[@saricubra2867]

@@yel408 They have an easy way to do it (Tantalus studios?), it's called Wind Waker and Twilight Princess for the Nintendo Gamecube.

[@fruitjuiceshibe]

@@saricubra2867 girl wants some Skyward Sword in her life 😤 (same)

[@fruitjuiceshibe]

Hope you're able to find a comfortable work around! :(

[@MrPoeGhost]

@@saricubra2867 If you can afford the $50(+?) Twilight Princess costs for the Cube, then sure, maybe.

[@romerolemstra8747]

I don't think everything is in 60fps, the mushrooms in Faron Woods and Skyview Temple when you hit them they move a bit but it looks a bit stuttery to me like it's still in 30fps, but I never played the Wii version of SS so Idk if that was already in yhe Wii version or just in SSHD. Nothing to complain about, just wanted to mention that

[@markwebster4996]

Great analysis John! I wonder if Nintendo could have a toggle for the camera or sword in handheld mode? If they can make it an option it might fix that issue. Love that we have DF Switch content again! Monster Hunter Stories 2 analysis would be excellent!

[@markwebster4996]

All these comments 🤦 nobody cares if it’s not worth $60 to you. Don’t buy it then!

[@TurnaboutAdam]

Anyone else have problems with the joycon connection? Not drift, but the connection to the system. This was more talked about closer to switch launch. I haven’t seen anyone else talk about this for this game. It makes motion control a little challenging.

[@willem8461]

Apparently either the left or the right joycon has a terrible Bluetooth antenna that is nearly fully enclosed by your palm as you grip the joy con. Keeps dropping the signal for seconds at a time. Many Splatoon matches were lost and Overcooked recipes ruined because of this. Prefer the Pro controller for those games.

[@973terminator]

I move the switch and dock closer to me while playing, it helps

[@WllKiedSnake]

Update the controller by going to the system settings and finding controllers. Updating them should fix it.

[@CaptToilet]

Isn't just the joycons. The 3rd party controllers also have an issue. I could be playing a 2d game and all of a sudden my character will just stick to the left or right. It is very damn annoying.

[@frank212212]

@@WllKiedSnake Didn't realize you could do that. Thanks

[@elp3035]

When the game first came out, I felt like this was to linear. After playing BOTW, I appreciate the linearity and the constant puzzles within the world. I know that there is something for me to do that progresses the story every time I turn it on

[@TomClacy5871]

That’s the main reason I never got into BotW. It just doesn’t feel like Zelda

[@nintendokolekcjoner239]

Great video !

[@laggianput]

Its worth noting, on the wii version you could skip cutscenes, but only in the new game plus hero mode

[@flyingplantwhale545]

Link’s character model has increased geometry.

[@andersondavid5829]

I don't think so

[@Elmaku92]

@@andersondavid5829 He is right. It actually did. Its very slight but the polygon density changed.

[@Mitzi_DelverVRC]

As someone with the files to the game, he's right. It's quite a bit higher poly. If you want an easy point of comparison, look at his shoulders or arm bracers.

[@andersondavid5829]

@@Mitzi_DelverVRC Only for Link?

[@raresmacovei8382]

@@andersondavid5829 You can actually see it at 4:08. It doesn't jump at you, but now that somebody mentioned it, I can see it there.

[@kokumosu]

Is it just me or does the poor aliasing just add character to Skyward Sword lmao Im so used to seeing it there and now that its fixed my body is confused on liking it or not

[@retroghastly1209]

I get that with ps2 games

[@agtjackbauer]

Loved the review 👌👏

[@bowi1332]

Question: How did you hook the Wii to make this video? The input lag in your first gyroscope demonstration video sequence is awful. 😬 I bought a basic component-to-HDMI converter recommended by RetroRGB and I swear the experience is awesome! I'm pretty sure the input lag when using the converter is better than when I plug directly my component cables in the TV. I don't feel any input lag at all. The sword swinging is very satisfying!

[@sophiephillips7961]

I just… I really want Wind Waker and Twilight Princess on the switch :(

[@mat_max]

Oh, don't worry, you'll get them for $60 each soon

[@sophiephillips7961]

@@mat_max sadness

[@Zastrutzki]

0:22 He looks like he's ready for a ball game.

[@rufio86]

Thanks John, great vid

[@Veo87]

I appreciate the text speedup. When I played the original version on the Wii, I always hated buying potions at the bazaar because I'd always have to read the same 2 or 3 lines of dialogue slowly scrolling through from the shopkeeper before being able to complete the purchase. Speeding up the text makes that process much more bearable. Problem for me is that if I were to get this game (which I won't because I don't think it's worth $60), I'd need to buy another joycon too, because it's been drifting. Not gonna spend that much.