The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Retrospective | A Newfound Appreciation

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and I have quite the history. For years I have seen it as one of the few truly terrible Zelda games. But as I have been reminded of time and time again, opinions can change. Let's just say that after replaying Skyward Sword HD, I'm happy to say that this isn't going to be another negative review of the game.
Note: Apologies for the subpar gameplay footage quality. I was having some technical difficulties capturing Switch footage using my main laptop back in July when I recorded the game. I had to resort to using an older, underpowered laptop that couldn't record higher than 720p without dropping frames. Hope it isn't too distracting and you enjoy the video regardless! :)
Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
0:45 - Development/Personal History
4:15 - Plot Summary/Thoughts
15:40 - Skyward Sword's Structure & Linearity
20:20 - The Dungeons, Overworld, & Backtracking
25:56 - Combat & Motion Controls
28:06 - Items & Crafting
31:06 - The Sidequests
33:05 - The Bosses
35:15 - Closing Thoughts
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#Zelda #SkywardSword #Review

[@djordan1873]

34:15 “It’s not every day you can say you performed an exorcism on a giant sky whale.” *Link’s Awakening has entered the chat*

[@dgc1570]

This is something that both TP and SS nailed perfectly. The dungeons in those games were so good

[@traviscunningham7062]

I’m going to say it: The Wii had two of the best Zelda games.

[@wills-way7664]

I love this channel, the quality of each video is amazing, it’s everything I want to do starting my own channel. Your humor is great, and your videos are organized like someone with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, I bet you’ll grow big dude.

[@adamrogowski2748]

Agreed! Even though I haven't played most of the games the guy has video essayed I enjoy the fleshed out and articulated nature. Have been binging, liking, and commenting for the algorithm.

[@themetroidprime]

Groose should have become the first "Ganon" by becoming corrupted in some way, shape or form by Demise, who should habe just been the pure embodiment of evil. It would have made so much sense. The dude is strong, has a rivalry with Link, and kind of a crush for Zelda. He's by far the most proactive and useful character. Him, Link and Zelda participated in defeating evil incarnate. Literally the three parts of the triforce united against the Nemesis of the Godess herself. That evil should then have found a way to use that tiny bit of resentment in Groose's heart to corrupt him, giving birth to the first Ganon, and the endless cycle of these three character always having to fight in an endless cycle to preserve the world.

[@amarg7657]

I’ve honestly never thought of this but I agree

[@infinityonsighh]

I've always thought of Groose as a probable patriarch for the Gerudo clan, personally.

[@NintendoHero]

Pgreviews Zelda content?! Am I dreaming?! Totally agree with all your thoughts here, Skyward Sword is a very flawed game but it still has so many amazing things in it. The music, story, visuals, and dungeons are just incredible. Great review and retrospective!

[@Kurasai56]

The Hylian shield has never looked so good. SSHD makes it look incredible!

[@brandonbaggaley2317]

Dexterity options are needed for Skyward Sword HD. Locking the sword controls to the right joycon is obviously bad because there are left-handed players.

[@PGReviews_]

Completely agree.

[@GoldenfoxxPrime]

I've always enjoyed Skyward Sword, though I had different concerns when the game initially released. I deal with lupus, so joint pain is thing. As a massive Zelda fan since I got the first game for Christmas back in '87 or '88, I was worried that they'd released a game I literally couldn't physically play. When I finally got around to trying it (mostly out of boredom, and what did I have to lose), I found that for the most part, I really enjoyed the game, and that it wasn't nearly as taxing on my body as I was worried it would be. My other concerns with the game are the ones you mentioned here: obnoxious levels of hand-holding, straight-up linearity, and the fact that The Sky™ is "no Zelda NES Overworld...it's not even Wind Waker's The Sea™" practically verbatim. The linearity I can deal with, as in the current age of RPGs I've REALLY come to appreciate concise, story-driven worlds that don't have any aim to give me a billion different endings over 300 hours. But I have to say the one point of disagreement I have is that I always felt Skyward Sword should've have regular pro controller options, and this edition of the game proved to me that it works just fine and that I don't need to swing my arms around to enjoy this game. (And btw, no, on the Wii version, I was constantly having to recalibrate center. That's not something exclusive to the Switch version.) The hand-holding can just eff right off, though.

[@amarg7657]

Disagree with your opinion of fi, her being a. Lifeless robot and learning what happiness is by the end was very endearing to me

[@agustigarciavila1880]

I think Zelda is a weird franchise that is full of different types of games and athmospheres. And everyone gets to enjoy It differently. The first Zelda Game I played was Twilight Princess, and when I think of Zelda I expect a similar story, tone and Gameplay. TP IS Zelda to me. And every other Game is "different/similar to TP on X or Y". What I'm trying to say is that you can enjoy Zelda for all its aspects a or just for one (say puzzles, dungeons, exploration, etc.). What do you like more? An extensive open world, a dark and linear narrative, puzzles whimsical adventures, top down camera, third person action camera, etc. Every Zelda Game has a bit of everything and develops one or Two more per release. SS conveys the narrative, epicness and linear storytelling greatly sacrifying some of the other parts that characterize the franchise. Love this Games.

[@johnjuandemarco]

Skyward sword was my first fully completed Zelda game. I have always loved it

[@bigjas9723]

tbh it’s never been my favorite zelda, but i’ve always really liked this game since it first came out

[@mlpfanboy1701]

24:35 i think yatzzee put it best “I’m surprised link doesn’t just look up and ask “do you want this f***er dead or not?” I feel like im trying to arrest the guy burglarizing your house and your telling me to f off untill i get nicer shoes”

[@KBXband]

I enjoyed the hell out of the Switch version. A few quests pissed me off like the swimming through the flooded forest and the part where you lose all your items including Fi, but it was a great time. When I finished the Switch remaster I got the Wii version and it was night and day difference. The controls were fine, no issues but the dialogue boxes... OVERKILL.

[@obsoletetrunks]

Just beat this game today. I absolutely love it.

[@napoleonfeanor]

Never understood both the hype and hate of the game. I thoroughly enjoyed the Wii version but it was not amazing

[@Zerolink30]

I don't know about going back to the Linear Zelda style, maybe aim for the perfect mix off both? It might just take some time for the Zelda team to get it just right but that future is possible! Just imagine a BotW and OoT fusion or BotW and MM fusion. Another true open world with a 7day cycle [or 5 day idk what a week is in Hyrule] (no time shenanigans) where the residents off the world have something different to do on a daily basis, big dungeons that put your skills to the test (battle and wits) culminating in an spectacle off a boss battle. You get the idea

[@wesley6571]

Combat really brought the game down for me, but I will admit the dungeons were very fun and the game is beautiful in the HD edition.

[@retropalooza]

I was there for the 2010 stage demo. When miyamoto joked is someone using wireless They actually had the ushers say please put your phones aside till conclusion unless your using it for photos you could see he was looking for any excuse if failure happened the issue was they were perpendicular to the console and there was huge reflective glass on the side of the stage with the receiving unit. The sensor bar was like five times usual size

[@mlpfanboy1701]

12:26 not just Gannon but all the Zelda villains.

[@ChrisLT]

Great video. I bought this way back when it originally came out, but never played it. Maybe one day.

[@BadBlitz]

Never had a wii so played it for the first time on switch, probably my favourite Zelda game alongside Wind Waker

[@NAVEVALORANT]

Awesome work man!😊

[@joeslickback]

34:21 RIP OFF THAT ARM AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN

[@PGReviews_]

Greetings fellow SomecallmeJohnny enjoyer!

[@DanielMartinez-nw1pn]

Cool intro... ... "Not me btw". Lol 😂😂😂

[@gwimbly519]

I wonder how many people that wanted Zelda to "go back to its roots" actually played and beat the first Zelda. Botw may be good but nothing in it compares to the highs in Skyward Sword, such as the last couple of battles or the final dungeon (which is among many great ones in the game)

[@BigBoss1292]

oof

[@aaaaaaaaaa190]

Now something compares, I guess

[@traviscunningham7062]

Which is?

[@coyy9106]

As someone that’s also played both, I massively disagree. That being said, rather than drawing comparisons it’s better to appreciate what both titles did well.

[@vincentr.6109]

I wasn't a fan of the motion controls, with the exception of the death blow. I could not for the life of me execute it with traditional controls. I had to toggle both settings when I actually need to do it.

[@napoleonfeanor]

I felt like I fought the imprisoned even more often...

[@Doktario_Mystario]

38:15 considering we got a Links awakening remake on Switch because "the devs wanted a traditional Zelda game on Switch", i wouldn't worry about it Nintendo isn't the type of company to completely ditch a gameplay style just because the game that went in a different direction was succesful

[@Royalhanburglar]

Commenting & watching more from you in hopes this explodes!!!

[@leftovernoise]

Let's fuckin gooooo

[@bignono1486]

1 of the few zelda games I haven't played, but honestly, still don't have a interest of buying it, even after watching this video. Great review tho

[@dgc1570]

Yes, I'd love to see them try their hand at motion controls again

[@_sparrowhawk]

Fuck no. They learned their lesson - stop trying to bring this shit back.

[@betterthanflapjacks]

I played this game 2 years ago my first time, I heard about how people hated it, but I enjoyed it. I agree with things said in this video, but overall it’s a great game

[@dgc1570]

Definitely, both TP and SS needed voice acting

[@elnino9m]

13:10 Oh wow, i just realised that since BOTW we didn't have companion with link

[@Retrogameplayer8000]

It deserves its good comments. Everyone commented on it after 1 playthrough and if coursevit was stellar. U dint realize how annoying the party of three train is until you constantly do it

[@yaboimat8187]

a word of advice (hopefully). i tend to associate a retroactive w someone ONLY recapping the event of the story, so i tend not to watch retrospectives. That being said i associate your video w an analysis or just something deeper than a retrospective. just would hate to see more people not click because of my same bias.

[@agreedboarart3188]

Retrospectives are not exclusively about story, and considering this is about a video game, it would be odd for a "[insert video game title here] Retrospective" video to not talk about the gameplay itself.

[@seankuchenbecker5436]

I hated this game when i first played on Wii U. It wasn't until HD remaster that i enjoyed it. The button controls made it easier and more enjoyable for me. The main time i used motion controls was when i had to roll bomb flowers. Once i had bomb bag, i went bag to button controls

[@nz7166]

great video!

[@PGReviews_]

Thanks!

[@dgc1570]

The only thing I dread is having to obtain the song of the hero before getting to sky keep

[@TheBeird]

I had ten years of hearing about this game being utter arse. Played the HD version and, although I was aware it’s more annoying elements had been softened for the Switch, I ended up loving it. Helps that I didn’t need to use motion controls and had already played Breath of the Wild at point but still, I was charmed by it and had a tonne of fun.

[@daniel8181]

Skyward sword's "open zone" style was the only major change, but despite it still having all the oot trappings the "fans" would go on to claim it was "not real zelda" and "a bad zelda game" As usual As we've seen every game since oot As we still see in botw and totk The dumbest thing is that, if the first two games came out after oot, the "fans" would say they were not zelda either.

[@starsroof_1633]

i have no idea how they screwed up Fi so bad... they proved they perfectly knew how to make a good companion character. having almost perfected it in the last game with midna! i really wonder what happened internally. how come we had midna come and go, and then have a character meant to be the embodiment of the whole series' most iconic weapon, be a 3D model of a mannequin, with blue texture mapping. no eyeballs, no arms, no facial expressions, no interesting hair, no interesting facial features, no interesting clothes, no interesting poses, no interesting TEXT, no interesting personality, and a satanic face when singing. really. i can't understand how they got it SO wrong. it's even more jarring when you consider how important her role IN THE WHOLE ZELDA SERIES is meant to be, the spirit inside the master sword. it's not such a big deal if they F'ed up the king of red lions, but the SPIRIT OF THE MASTER SWORD. with toon link they mastered facial expressions, with tatl and midna, they mastered writing personality, heck, they mastered everything with midna (except how she lost all of her personality when turning into her damsel humanoid princess self and lost all sass) i really have to go into absurd territory to imagine how they could have done Fi even worse. there's a 100% probability no companion ever will be worse than her. unless intentional.

[@MM-gw9ld]

I will say I'm replaying the Wii version and I do have to recalibrate SO. MUCH.

[@SuperJoesutton]

I got the remaster for Switch because I didn't like the game but I thought it was because of the Wii motion controls. While the Switch version fixed the issues I had, I still couldn't get through the game. It is really repetitive.

[@_sparrowhawk]

Sorry. I beat this game on Switch with button controls. This game would be a FANTASTIC game if it weren't for motion controls. Yes, even though I played with button controls, I still had to use the joystick to indicate how to slice my sword. If they had just removed motion controls from this completely (kind of impossible as all enemies are based on your controls) it would have been great. Then again, if they had removed those stupid controls this would have been a linear BOTW. Eventually we got a non-linear BOTW and it sold 30M units. This, sadly, is one of the least popular Zelda games because of the annoying controls.

[@deadpoinsettia]

There were aspects of the game that I very much enjoyed..... .....but it was a slog to get through, my GAHD!

[@danrice6562]

The remake is a massive improvement, but it’s still below average as mainline Zelda entries go

[@jackjeager8785]

I own this on switch and to this day it's still the only Zelda I haven't played...I just can't get into it

[@dgc1570]

Agreed

[@queazy03]

Loved it, but can really see how people thought it was too linear & not open world enough. Certainly not enough to do in the skies

[@Perry_Neum]

Hi Bernard!

[@cris3760]

you forgot a link between worlds, which is the third most open ended game in the series

[@thierrys85]

"Crafting nowhere as littered with options as Breath of the Wild"... what? BotW doesn't have crafting. 🤔🤔 Just clothing upgrades by the Great Fairies.

[@PGReviews_]

Bad choice of words, I meant to compare it to all the cooking options in BOTW as well as the armor upgrades.

[@nobleskywalker4639]

Loved the story hated the controls so yeah the HD fixed my biggest problem with the game... motion controls and they should be sent to die like 3D tvs. I'm happy that it's getting love and the short manga

[@jonesygrets6029]

I hate the master sword hilt wraps and cross guard Never liked the design of it

[@retropalooza]

Zelda wasnt scared of ghirahim hurting her she was scared of him using that tongue to touch her....jokes on him though zelda hasnt come out as trans yet, wait he might like that

[@wordedhalo6746]

What kind of comment is this bruh 😭😭

[@Suttonious]

I’ll be honest I hated the last three Zelda games. Skyward Sword was boring and just drug on and on. While Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom just feel like Skyrim clones and have no originality to them. They aren’t Zelda games and whole yes there’s exploration with little to no real story and no dungeons things got Uber boring really quickly.

[@mon0tony]

I truly hate Zelda fandom. That's not a dig at you I'm actually loving your retrospectives, but in general, I hate the fans of the Zelda franchise.

[@AlinktoPersona]

I despise SS. By far the worst game in the series.

[@ralphiecifaretto8961]

This is by far the worst 3d Zelda Game.