Wii vs Switch - Which Skyward Sword Has the Better Motion Controls? In-Depth Comparison + Analysis

[@blazingamer2706]

my favorite part about calibration on the switch is that you can press it at any and i mean ANY point in the game. ruin heartwarming or tense cutscenes by spamming Y

[@GameXplain]

Haha I did that so many times by mistake or out of habit -Andre

[@thegoofiestmf8744]

I play the he version with my older and I spam y so she pays attention bc she always on her phone

[@tam1783]

U can also do that on Wii .-.

[@Nat1vecs]

@@thegoofiestmf8744 maybe she doesn't enjoy the game?

[@LalitoTV]

I wish Nintendo had put the Joycons' IR camera on the front part, imagine being able to use a LABO reflective sticker as a re-calibration option

[@carloszarraga1990]

They could actually make something like the rails you use for the strap that goes to the bottom and has mirrors inside so that the ir points to the front

[@Tailslol]

im surprised the switch can have a sensorbar since it has an ir cam on the back of the joycon but youll have to hold the joycon backward....(zelda backward sword?)

[@sethgob5591]

I believe there was simply no room on top. Wouldve been great tho

[@browal14]

Switch uses a gyroscope not ir

[@sethgob5591]

@@browal14 the joycon as an ir camera, just at the bottom.

[@notsocooldude7720]

I’ve been playing skyward sword HD a lot recently, but I just booted up my Wii to compare the motion controls to the switch version, and I can’t even begin to explain how night and day it is with the sensor bar when there is no gyro drift at all. On the switch version it feels like I have to hit Y to calibrate the gyro every minute or two while I literally NEVER have to do so on Wii. The switch version looks so much better and feels so much smoother with the 60fps and that along with the QoL improvements make it the better version of the game but it’s hard not to feel like the motion controls on the wii version are just flat out superior

[@DieterPrivate]

The Wii motion controls were awesome and great. It's just that lots of people don't have the feel for motion, similar like having no sense of rythm. That's why they tell the motion controls are bad.... I never had problems, and I just used my wrist while sitting in the sofa.

[@skunner0955]

Agree. I noticed it straight away- something just felt off

[@slaughterbottle69]

I think the biggest thing for me is that each time I try to aim precisely, it won’t stay exactly where I need it. This makes Fledge’s pumpkin game especially hard, because the gyro drifts so much that I have to press y BETWEEN PUMPKINS! Every single one.

[@teddybruscie]

@@DieterPrivate agreed. Many people don't understand that it doesn't matter what you do it's what you do in relation to what your character is doing on screen. It takes a while to get used to it but once you sync your movements with the character not even the y button will break your immersion.

[@ChristopherMoon31415]

@@slaughterbottle69 Constantly in that game. Just about every pumpkin. Then about 70% through the game the controls would be so off they'd be inverted. Up is down, etc.

[@karnovrpg]

Logic dictates if you duct tape a PS Move to the Wiimote/Joycon and a Kinect camera to the sensor bar, you have the most accurate motion controller in the universe.

[@kryzethx]

Sounds like a standard VR setup to me lol

[@JustIn-sr1xe]

And if you chuck 3 VR base stations around your room. Forming a triangle. You'll have the power of the Goddesses.

[@Monody512]

Or the least. What if it just compounds all of their problems? :P

[@ddnava96]

Except the PSMove controller doesn't need a Wiimote/joy con

[@3dluigi875]

I felt like I had to recalibrate the joycon every time I used an item that required aiming. I prefer the wii's motion controls, where I never had any problems.

[@MERCHIODOS]

Lucky. When I played Skyward Sword on Wii I had to recalibrate so many times.

[@GabrielCarvalho-lj6gn]

I never had any problems too

[@IonSquared]

I did a 50 hour playthrough 2 years ago and never had to recalibrate literally a single time. 50 hours. Not once. Compare that to recentering every 2 damn seconds in the Switch version. Can't believe Nintendo thought that was acceptable. Truly baffling.

[@BILLYBOBERTJOE]

@@IonSquared it ruins the experience. When i swing right, link swings left. I miss the wii motion controls, but i don’t miss the nunchuck constantly disconnecting.

[@brandonroque2226]

If you know you are going to use an item that aims, why not recalibrate it right there on the item select window? That's what I do. Works well enough.

[@Mr.Foxhat]

The only time I ever had to "recalibrate" the Wiimote was when aiming arrows. I still don't understand what people were doing to get the janky results I occasionally hear about.

[@narwhal3638]

exactly. people complained about nonexistent problems with the wii and now they're baffled when their made-up problems actually exist on switch.

[@agad1177]

@@narwhal3638 the problems were far from made up. I owned a wii since launch and even when the wii motion plus came out it made the experience better, but not perfect. That's the reason they puy recalibration in the game, obviously nintendo foresaw that some folks would run into issues

[@teddybruscie]

@@agad1177 no one said it was perfect but some people's horror stories are so extreme and exaggerated, those of us who actually mastered the controls smell something sus. Like, if you can't consistently get at least 23 out of 25 Skyward Strikes (example form the video), it's not the game. It's you.

[@agad1177]

@@teddybruscie or it could be that some folks have different experiences with their systems and controllers. I've had pretty bad experiences with ss on Wii and close to none with sshd on the switch but that doesn't invalidate what folks are saying about the switch re release. Complaints about the motion controls on both systems are to this day valid the way i see it

[@Wyatt_James]

I've thought about this a bit lately and my best guess is incandescent light bulbs. They dump out a LOT of infrared light and could interfere with the sensor bar quite a bit, and in 2011 they were more or less ubiquitous. Lots of people had issues back then, but over time as they've been replaced by LED bulbs the experience has quite literally improved since there's a lot less random infrared in the room.

[@Lanosrep]

The Wii sensor bar is the Gamecube controller of motion controls

[@noizeygamer982]

I actually liked it honestly

[@notsocooldude7720]

Yea they had it perfected with Wii motion plus and also having the sensor bar as a reference point to counteract drift. Such a clever solution to the gyro drift problem. It baffles me when people complain about the original skyward sword’s motion controls being inaccurate

[@noizeygamer982]

Yeah a ton of people complain about the bar, however it was never the bars fault, people just didn't set it up right, plus the whole drift situation on the switch ruins it, the joy Jon's need to re calibrate every 5minutes

[@ember2200]

Nintendo should remake the Wii controller and merge it with the switch. It would be so much fun

[@timbrosius]

@@ember2200 They are Bluetooth so all it would take is a firmware update to allow them to sync with a Switch. Then a usb sensor bar and boom, best of both worlds! Sadly we can’t even get folders ;p

[@gmaster2647]

Ironically, the Switch's more accurate motion controls made it more difficult to get the precise slashes you need. That's funny.

[@Tailslol]

im surprised the switch can have a sensorbar since it has an ir cam on the back of the joycon but youll have to hold the joycon backward....(zelda backward sword?)

[@dandansfu]

Not really. Many things are like that in real life Take television eg we r so used to 24 frames therefore the more frames suppose to be smoother are weird to many human eyes Or keyboard. They don’t always register every single key taking human motion into consideration Or Mario 64 when it first came out. U don’t actually have to jump on goomba exact spot to kill it due to the fact it was 3d and no way for human to be perfect. They can do it but it will b frustrated and then ppl will not find it fun so they program in a way that even nearby slightly it will register as u stomp on their head Same as touchscreen keyboard if they calibrate to be sensitive and exact you won’t be able to type Many tech actually take human not being prefect and precise into consideration We end users just don’t see it

[@adamx9065]

How are you concluding that the joycons are more accurate after this test? The swings he does are pretty close to the intended actions and the wii version gets it correct more often than the switch version. Check out 6:01 where he does a very clear horizontal slash, yet it registers a diagonal one. In what world does that mean the joycons are "more accurate"? He was doing these tests without the sensor bar too. With it, the wiimote is even more accurate.

[@heinknudsen8970]

@@adamx9065 If I understood correctly he said that becuase if you see on the video he does make a slight upturn, wich the swich picked up on and making Link slash with a upturn. Therefore making the switch version more accurte but making it harder. But it doesent realy matter cause buttons are better anyway

[@ParadoxalDream]

Your joy-con is strapped at an angle to your Wii remote so of course it's going to screw up the results. The inclination with which you hold your joy-con affects the registered movement. This can easily be noticed when you roll bombs, as a light tilt will allow you to adjust the spin/curve of the bombs. Same when you're controlling your Loftwing.

[@PassTheSnails]

YOU CAN CURVE THE BOMBS???

[@ParadoxalDream]

@@PassTheSnails lol yes you can put a curve on your bomb rolls. The stick controls are really bad for that...

[@PassTheSnails]

@@ParadoxalDream just went in-game and tried them out using the joystick. It’s actually pretty easy to pull off, I just had no idea since I don’t think the game tells you you can do this. Thanks man.

[@rendelldraw]

I agree. Maybe instead of strapping it to the side, it wouldn't be as wonky if it's possible to strap it on top of the wiimote?

[@PokeHunterStudio]

@@ParadoxalDream wut, the stick controls make it 10x easier lol

[@linksoni213]

the fact that people had trouble with skywardsword's motion controls is still beyond my understanging

[@nore5888]

the game ran perfectly for me

[@Refreshment01]

Because the majority of people that played the Wii didn't have an understanding of: 1) How the controls work. 2)How to properly setup the system. 3)The limitations of the tech. On one hand maybe it's a bit much to ask from someone that just want to play. But what i don't get is when you take the time to educate a person yet they still claim controls "don't work".

[@blazingamer2706]

my interpretation of it is that people didn’t take/have the time to understand the controls and understand how sword battling actually works. probably just swinging wildly like how you could in twilight princess wii

[@Refreshment01]

@@blazingamer2706 Also motor coordination is totally different than what people that use normal controllers are used to. It takes some time to adjust. It's weird many gamers are more concerned to advance & get done with the game than actually learning a new skill.

[@blazingamer2706]

@@Refreshment01 true. i always wondered why people play this way, and then call the game bad. i’m all for experiencing games the way you want, but if you’re going to call a game bad just because you had a poor time with it maybe it’s time to change some things.

[@maindsy182]

Hey, great video!! Just a note on gyros, they naturally drift (15 degrees per hour) due to the rotation of the earth so they need to be recalibrated often. Due to the switch being more sensitive and having no automatic calibration from the sensor bar it becomes more noticeable sooner.

[@ReffyAquaria]

Is it the exact same motions though? on the footage, your diagonal swings are curved, and the joycon is on the inside of the curve; wouldn't this actually result in the game correcting the motion as its overal more horizontal than vertical?

[@PvtScottish]

Agreed. A good control would be to swap controller positions and run the tests again.

[@Memo-yh4nc]

Definitely the Wii’s is better. With the joycon, I feel as if I’m pressing Y every two seconds because it desyncs super often. On Wii, I could go up to two hours before having to push the button. The joycons also aren’t as sensitive so I have to swing harder or aim my hand up higher to do a skyward strike or a sword slash.

[@NintenPizza]

How does SWS Switch fair with button based controls instead of gyro motion? Gyro motion never had a chance in hell against the wii remote + Sensor bar.

[@Memo-yh4nc]

@@NintenPizza Button controls are good for most things with the exception of combat. Combat is difficult with button controls, mostly because of how difficult it is to chain spin attacks. That’s why I usually used button controls when I did basic overworld movement or sidequests, then switched to motion for the dungeons/more gameplay heavy sections.

[@IceYetiWins]

​@@Memo-yh4ncfor me combat was the one time I basically had to use button controls. Some of the boss fights require very precise swinging and the motion controls were not at all accurate enough for those fights.

[@NintenPizza]

@@Memo-yh4nc The Pro controller's Camera movement is pretty awful. I could never get the hang of it. Plus the joy-cons are just super uncomfortable, backed up with the teeny tiny cheap buttons, and awful stubby non traditional analog sticks, aside from the motion controls being inferior. It's so frustrating, because Skyward Sword Looks SO much better running on Switch with it's 60fps, 1080p, QOL adjustments(etc) on something like a 65" QD-OLED TV, but it's a step backwards with controller/button comfort(Joy-cons) and it's inferior sensorless motion controls. Nintendo settled for Style and compactness over comfort with the joy-con's. Hilarious how the Wii remote Plus & Nunchuck run laps over the joy-cons in terms of motion control reliablity and accuracy AND comfort. Joy-cons do one thing better and that's HD Rumble. :P

[@jasondsouza3698]

I never had any problems with the Wii remote. Never understood why so many people had problems.

[@wosop6667]

Guess you’re better than everybody else huh

[@notsocooldude7720]

There’s two main reasons: 1) Nintendo didn’t emphasize the importance of the sensor bar so some people either didn’t have it plugged in or had it set up incorrectly causing calibration issues. 2) Some people would just flail their arms wildly (not actually doing the motions they thought they were doing) and then blame it on the controls being inaccurate instead of realizing they were the problem

[@geminisfl]

Some things to consider: 1) The joycon is strapped to the wiimote in a slight different angle, that can affect the results. 2) I feel like the joycon doesn't need so wide movements. That's why the reading is different. It's not like the joycons are less accurate, maybe they can read movements in a more subtle way. 3) Could it be some bluetooth interference between the joycon and the wiimote so close together? Even with different frequencies, the signals could interfere with each other. 4) So all the people that complained sooooo much about motion controls SUCKING on wii, now say "it was much better then!" ... OH THE IRONY!

[@ganados0]

Wiimote wins, IR sensor trumps gyro aiming though Skyward Sword sadly lacked that, and I didn't have to keep tapping Y to recalibrate on Wii. I think I'll keep my Wii U on standby with RE4 and Skyward Sword.

[@KyleTBelmont]

Bro it was always gyro

[@NintenPizza]

Dont forget to hold on to metroid prime 3. ;) There's rumors that an HD Prime trilogy is coming to switch, but us Wii remote wizards know good and well that switch gyro will fall flat on it's face. :P

[@diamonshade7484]

The Wii is using both

[@Reviver25]

Why RE4? Is the Wii version better than HD?

[@NintenPizza]

RE4(Wii version) has been trumped big time by the recent Quest 3 version in VR. ;) That's the only version I'll play now if it's OG RE4.

[@miguelito6031]

Man was this thorough, massive kudos to Chris!

[@swearfreegamer]

I love the idea of comparing the techs of past and present however, have a few issues with this exact method of testing them: 1: the Joy-Con being rubberbanded to the Wiimite means you have less grip on the JC itself as opposed to the bigger and bulkier Wiimote meaning more margin of error for the JC 2: the rubber bands may have slight “looseness” to the Joy-Con meaning it could shift in position relative to the Wiimote causing some minor desync between the controllers, this is noticeable at 1:43 you can see the Joy-Con pointed slightly more upwards than the Wiimote meaning it would logically have a higher gyro position, even if this was the most “safe” way outside of supergluing them together 3: The Joy-Con was connected in the middle of the Wiimote, for accuracy’s sake you most likely should have had the JC and Wiimote connected with the bottoms or tops near flush giving each a set “anchor” point for the most accurate results for a comparison

[@anwmus]

I cannot praise you enough for doing such an arduous task of comparing the motion controls side-by-side, well done! This is far difficult than performing a paired statistical test!

[@chutneybe]

I think the reason that the switch didn't get the hits right on the combat test sometimes, was because you have to hit differently depending on your sword. The master sword has a much longer blade, so you can slice it easyer, and it doesn't miss as much. But with the goddess sword (the one you had on the switch) it has a shorter blade, and you have to hit it more precisely. (like in the diagonal hits) Hope this clears things up.

[@slimmy1873]

This gives me hope for a new wii sports styled game, it could be called mii sports.

[@jabokchoy4960]

This is probably why we will never get something like that. The joycons motion controls is not as good as the Wii mote, even with constant calibration.

[@SuperBerry123]

They could just make a sensor bar for switch, honestly it wouldn’t cost them that much.

[@nilschaves6681]

@@SuperBerry123 that's not possible, then sensor Bar was just two infrared lights that the Wii Mote use as reference But the Joy con can't see those lights

[@classicspeeder]

@@nilschaves6681 Add Wiimote support then. people already made something with some basic controls even if its not that good

[@r.c.c.10]

Switch sports would be another good name.

[@badlydrawnturtle8484]

It's worth noting that there's another factor at play here other than the several years of technological advance: The original game was made by the A-team from the ground up, while the Switch port was made by a B-team who didn't necessarily have the same attention to detail and precision.

[@CaptViewtiful98]

From what I played so far I say the Switch motion controls are good enough. Something I prefer over the Wii version is that the pointer sensitivity is much higher. Overall for both versions you’ll have much better results just flicking your wrist instead of going for full swings.

[@Tinglethemapmaker]

after beating skyward sword on the switch for the first time ever, i went back to the wii to compare and i was blown away by how much better the wiimotion plus was than the joycons. I wanted to try more games and started playing red steel 2 as it also require the wii motion plus and wow, its really impressive how good that game controls. its too bad that the wiimote didnt come with wiimotion plus at launch, i really think the wii library would be so much better.

[@BILLYBOBERTJOE]

Hopefully nintendo launches buyable joycons with wii motion plus

[@diamonshade7484]

@@BILLYBOBERTJOE motion plus was the gyro which aided the IR motion

[@ijustbevibin0425]

@@diamonshade7484 bruh no wii remotes used gyro motion controls

[@diamonshade7484]

@@ijustbevibin0425 the Wii motion plus controllers or the adapter it really aided the motion too bad it wasn't a day one decision

[@Faine212]

@@ijustbevibin0425 Wii motion plus, the upgrade adapter had gyro, that's what added accuracy

[@Leguna]

Videos like this is why I have such respect for GameXplain. Thank you.

[@MeJJo]

Just a small note. Your setup with the joy-con attached to the wiimote might have added to the input drift of the joy-con. From what i can see from the footage your reference point is always going to be from the wiimote becuase it is bigger and the joy-con becomes tilted due to the rubber bands. A more accurate test would be if you could glue or fix the joy-con in place so it does'nt tilt.

[@J-Pow]

I noticed when I moved the left Joy-Con far away from the right Joy-Con, like to my side, the right Joy-Con would show more drifting when doing things like archery. Less drifting occurred when keeping the controllers close to each other.

[@daniloberserk]

What I find it extra weird is that aiming works great with button scheme controls with motion aiming (seems to work like BOTW). But as soon as you change to motion controls, you can't change that option. Hope they let we customize further the controls with some update. I don't like the fact that you can't change your camera rotation with button scheme without holding L.

[@DarkLink1996.]

It's worth noting that the Wii Remote has more than just the gyro. In fact, without Plus, it doesn't have one at all. It has three linear accelerometers specifically for being swung or pointed in a specific direction. Hence why Brawl could have swing smashes, and Other M could have you pointing straight up to concentrate with a base Wii Remote. Skyward Sword could combine the data from the gyro and three accelerometers for more accurate controls. Joycons are more limited, with only one accelerometer and the gyro, resulting in less accurate readings.

[@dallaynavokan5513]

Thank you! Seriously. I played a *lot* of the original over the years and, I have been going crazy trying to figure out how the controls could feel so much tighter but less accurate at the same time and, now it finally makes sense: Their programed for finer movement control because of 10 years of programing advancements *but* gyro is, of course, less pinpoint accurate than IR. That being said, I know that it felt immersion breaking at first to hit that Y button every so often but, honestly? I stopped even noticing I was doing it a few hours into the game as I took to just doing it periodically-- regardless of if I felt it needed it. Cut scene? Point and hit the Y. Draw a weapon? Point and hit the Y. Loading Screen? Point and hit the Y. Long, empty corridor?..... Well, you get the idea. lol. Also, to be fair, it aims very much like BotW and Splatoon 2 and after so many hundreds of hours sunk into those... I can't say that I'm not already familiar and comfortable with that- this is just another rendition. Still, even with the small loss of accuracy though, the 60 FPS and loss of the jar of petroleum jelly smear on the "camera" just makes it the better version imho so, I'm okay letting the old version go in favor of the new one even if I'm still going to sit firm with declaring that they can have my Wii Shooters when they pry the remote from my cold, dead fingers. ;)

[@Optidorf]

No surprise the Wii has the superior motion controls, but the joy-cons do a surprisingly good job mimicking the near flawless motion controls of the Wii. The Switch version needs lots of recalibrating while the Wii version hasn't that issue with the sensor bar.

[@juandaviduribe8267]

What

[@bruskedragon]

i think the primary thing in regard to "accuracy" on the joy cons is they are alot more tilt reliant. since they are smaller, and there is no need to aim toward a IR bar, the joycons are expected to be tilted more during actions. This is notable when small little twists in your movement altered what would have otherwise been a vertical strike.

[@TheLetterbomber]

There are a lot of things that I LOVE (and prefer) about HD, but I've definitely noticed that I don't find the motion controls quite as tight as I did on Wii (caveat: I never disliked the motion controls, and felt like I got rather used to them). This was an AWESOME video, the testing was so thorough and I knew as soon as I saw the rubber band controllers, I was in for a treat. Keeping GameXplain's video quality high as always!

[@reevo7048]

Skyward sword HD was the first time I played the game and I never really found the motion controls a problem at all. I sort of made a habit of recalibrating every single time I used one of my items to the point I stopped realising i was doing it.

[@Dantes61680]

I never had problems with the motion controls on the original wii, I felt they were really good. For Switch I felt the motion controls were worst, you have to press Y all the time, I did get use to it by pressing Y every time before any sword fight or using a item so at the end it was comparable but still I felt I had a better experience on the wii

[@thatrandomguy7383]

I didn’t play the Wii version but I knew something was off, I also never was able to get the skyward strike consistently with really different turns of the joy con, and having to recalibrate all the time is annoying

[@brandonbaggaley2317]

There is one thing about Skyward Sword HD that makes it inferior to its Wii version and it comes down to the design of the Wii Remote and Nunchuck combo compared to the Joy-cons. The Wii remote has an ambidextrous design for motion control heavy games like Skyward Sword, letting left-handed players use the sword controls with their left hand with little discomfort. With the Joy-con controllers, the sword controls are mapped to the right Joy-con, a controller that isn’t meant to be used in the left hand when used in conjunction with the left Joy-con. If you are left-handed, stick to the Wii version.

[@coolmacncheese]

As a lefty myself I actually never felt like I needed to use the sword on my left to be more comfortable. I honestly always liked the nunchuck in my left hand more, with a few exceptions.

[@brandonbaggaley2317]

I always held the Wii Remote with my left hand and since games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit have mini games that are basically actions that Link can do with the motion controls in Skyward Sword, dexterity options should have been taken into account from the start. Automatically locking Link to being right handed can hamper the intended experience of 1-to-1 swordplay for some players. And locking the sword controls to the right Joy-con can also hamper the experience of a left-handed player because they would have to choose between slight discomfort and sacrificing the 1-to-1 swordplay gimmick for better motor control so the sword swings could be more accurate or sacrifice their higher motor control that their left hand would have due to the design of the right Joy-con.

[@HonterDax]

As a left handed person myself, I concur with Melodic Minty. The Wii had, in a lot of games, given options to choose which hand to use, but Wiimote kn the right hand felt right. And in SS HD, it didn't hamper my ability to finish the game one bit. This obviously all comes down to personal experience and preferences, but I think SS HD being "only right handed" won't matter too much as long as you get used to it.

[@brandonbaggaley2317]

But that is no excuse for the option not existing. Nintendo set the president for dexterity options for motion control heavy games and they didn’t follow through with Skyward Sword and the Switch version removes the option for using the sword controls with the left hand due to the locking them to the right Joy-con, a controller that wasn’t designed to be held in the left hand when used in conjunction with the other Joy-con.

[@WubbaVision]

Great video! That's what I call good journalism!

[@BananaSmoothie-]

Good video! Cant wait to play this game again.

[@Hippienolic2]

The most scientific study ever conducted

[@MrLukeStump]

I do like how the skyward strike at 4:18 is very similar to what we see in breath of the wild with the master sword beam.

[@marklangridge2734]

I can add to the information on upwards pointing charging the sword: I had that problem ALL THE TIME on wii. Pointing upwards was not enough, I had to point backwards over my shoulder. This was on the Gold Remote that came with the game. I wonder if your "Motion plus" controller is a later iteration?

[@donpatch42]

This is an incredibly well done video with so much thought put into it.

[@LeannefunkE]

Is there any difference between the goddess sword and the master sword? I remember when you upgrade the sword it becomes longer, I’m just wondering if that may have given the wii version a bit of an advantage?

[@konch7567]

I remember my time in Skyward Sword quite fondly, it was an amazing adventure and was probably my favorite Zelda game before Breath of the Wild came out. That said, the motion controls gave me more than a few problems during my time, and it probably didn't help that I had younger siblings at the time who didn't treat the remotes very well. The sword controls were my most notable problem, but when I got the fully-upgraded master sword, the whole experience felt like it went smoother. Perhaps it was just because of the faster skyward strike times, the smaller use of stamina or me just getting better at dealing with it, but something about unlocking the True Master Sword really helped emerge me more into the experience.

[@Michael-xt1xt]

Hmm just a quick thought. I wonder if another reason why the joy cons are not hitting the same swings as the Wii remote is because in the Wii version you’re using the master sword but the switch version you have the Goddess sword (which is much shorter)

[@Navi1Lo]

I've learnt that the sensor bar recalibrate the Wiimote from this video, I thought the game ignored the sensor bar. But I do wish the pointing used the sensor bar like in Twilight Princess or Metroid Prime 3, pointing using the sensor bar is very sensitive and doesn't need constant calibration

[@BurningBaboon]

I'm hitting Y instinctively every time I do anything in this game. Still very much enjoying it, originally played on Wii and enjoyed motion controls!

[@SwedePotato314]

This video is amazing! 👏 very well researched and you did a great job giving us examples of the differences. I already got Skyward Sword HD as a pre-order, but I don't have an older wii to compare it to and don't always trust my memory. This video is awesome.

[@Disturbed1ne]

Great job Chris!

[@andersstrom5985]

I would assume the main reason the motion controls work better on the Wii is that the game was made for wiimotes and calibrated for them. They probably didn't put enough work into tweaking the game to fit a different set of controllers.

[@switchnx]

_Sees the thumbnail._ That’s… in depth, I guess.

[@chaosprime1629]

one major problem with the button controls is how it is very difficult input spin attacks and there is no quick shot. my experience on the wii was pretty bad but i am not sure if this because of the sensor bar as i had a wireless one.

[@SuperSavajin]

The items not centering on switch version was the worst decision. Why would they do that. I press zr and y at the same time all the time to just mimic the Wii solution.

[@postmastergaming]

2:03 how did you got acces to the Switch OLED????

[@legend510_]

I never got to play the original on my Wii back in the day, but I picked up SSHD yesterday. I have to say that the motion controls are really cool. I haven’t really had any problems and recalibrating is second nature within the first 2 hours of playing.

[@ameteuraspirant]

my sensor bar broke while playing skyward sword, so this is basically how I played it way back when. I can say for certain that the skyward strike was the bane of my existence. It was always a toss up whether it'd think I was pointing up for long enough to charge, or if it would just randomly stop charging even though it was still pointed up.

8:58 This is such a stupid issue on Switch. What were they thinking?! You have to press Y to re-center the cursor *every time* you pull out the slingshot, beetle, etc..

[@jmacosta]

I love this, because I share the same thoughts and feelings toward the Joycon performance, also thinking constantly that I had never been as frustrated back when I played with the Wiimote.

[@bryanaraujo5455]

I think that the joycons use a smaller range of motion then the Wii. So like the radius you’re supposed to swing stays within your wrist. I remember playing the Wii version and it required a lot more range of motion, usually having me move from my elbows. Whereas the switch I’m only moving my wrists. Idk just a theory

[@habz2242]

I play with motion controls whilst sitting down, I wonder if that would change the results slightly 😐

[@notsocooldude7720]

Probably not. The controller can’t tell the difference if you’re standing or sitting

[@minilink6692]

In my experience the item I had the most trouble using with the switch motion controls was the spirit belows.

[@Carlete17]

Great analysis!

[@StarzGecko]

Not sure if you notice this so I recall in the game we can twist the blade so instead of attacking with the sharp part of the blade you attack with the middle of it. I haven’t played the game in a long time though I notice on the video it seemed on the Switch when you were in the sword practice room swinging at those logs you seemed to be twisting the sword while the Wii one wasn’t 🤔

[@savannahcarlon7033]

I wish I could get used to using the button controls but I just can't - having the right stick for the sword and NOT camera control is something I cannot get used to no matter how many times I try.

[@notsocooldude7720]

Great video!

[@RellenMcDee]

I think this is more a result of the way you connected the controllers together than it is the difference in their motion control ability

[@tigerspruce8580]

on the wii I always had problems with the skyward strike, but I think it might've been because I didn't have a big room and I am short? Or the wiimote was always uncalibrated and I never really fixed all too often?

[@patrickmurphy9470]

Just completed the Wii version about a month ago. No problems with motion controls. Got it for $17. I’ll save my $60.

[@tsukinoakuma]

Seriously, what were they thinking?

[@NintenPizza]

@@tsukinoakuma They thought they could get away by not releasing a Switch motion sensor bar or a quality Nunchuck & Wii remote plus controller replacement....Joy-cons are an awful alternative. But guess what? Most people unfortunately don't care, seem to have lower standards and all of these issues constantly get swept under the rug. :P The Switch will be the highest selling Nintendo console of all time, and yet it's pro controller has high input, there's no gyro motion sensor bar for reliable or quality motion based controls and the joy-cons are pure trash in terms of comfort, buttons and sticks. On the flip side, The Switch has an amazingly strong library with tons of support, the Switch OLED has a gorgeous looking screen(The OG LCD Switch looks lousy by comparison), and it's hybrid Docked/Handheld/TableTop feature was a brilliant move by the big N, plus HD rumble is pretty neat at it's best and definitely adds to the experience. Yet I'm not big into handheld gaming, but many are and to have that versatility is a huge part of why it's become such a smash hit. Yet Syward Sword HD, Toad Treasure Tracker, Pikmin 1&2 HD, Pikmin 3, House of the Dead Remake, Metroid Prime Remaster(etc) all play like crap because there's no sensor bar/reference included with the Switch. Wii/Wii U handeled all of the above perfectly! Too many people are biased, play the fanboy game until they're lying to themselves. Ultimately, the Switch's official controllers and Gyro motion are a let down.

[@christiancasaverdepertica1802]

I never played the wii version, but with the switch, I had to recalibrate almost every time I fought or used an aimed item. I would get pretty bad gyro drift, and sometimes I would even have to recalibrate mid fight because it would start to read a side slash as straight up and down somehow

[@SvetlyootSofia]

5:25 On switch you must swing more precisely. Which is a good thing!

[@linkhuesitos15]

Funny enough I feel that Wii controls are more precise if you play in full weeb mode (i.e. moving the whole arm and body).

[@Compucles]

As I thought, the motion controls are better in the Wii version. I also imagine that even beyond pulling out an item initially that the pointer controls need to be re-calibrated a lot more often in the Switch version. I'll stick with the Wii version (not that I would've spent $60 double-dipping on this remake even if the motion controls had been improved). Buttons controls? Why would I want to play with button controls when the point of the game has always been how much fun and immersive all the motions controls are?!

[@IonSquared]

Seriously, the Wii version is way more fun and intuitive to play because of it. QoL changes mean little when you ruin the entire gameplay. I'm about to hit Sky Keep and despite getting used to it, this playthrough was often frustrating. Just replayed the original about 2 years ago and loved every second of it. What a difference good motion controls make.

[@denisvarga2794]

I just picked up Skyward Sword HD for switch, it is my first ever playtrough of the game, i never own wii u and never played anything that rely on motion controlls as the main way of interacting with game (beside BOTW, but there was only bow aiming). And for somebody who just got into this game for the first time - i REALLY enjoy it. I had a very big troubles with flying while using motion controls, but as soon as i understood how to use them right, everything else is amazing. The motion controls in SS is a very unique way of playing a regular third person action game, and i enjoy them a lot. Even tho yes. It is much harder than just using buttons.

[@RedstoneBros]

FYI you can recalibrate the sword on wii by swinging it vertically a few times, you don't need to go through the pause menu stuff

[@rileyhiggins8763]

In terms of the sword controls, I found more success if I kept the button side of the joy-con facing upwards at all times. Turning the joy-con to match the angle of the blade would be as if you were actually swinging a sword caused problems. This mostly occurred for the diagonal slashes.

[@jessicakennedy7387]

Something that I like about the Switch version is that forward can be were ever I want it to be. I tend to shift around when I play so when playing on the Wii there were lots of times I would move and struggle with the controls because I was no longer in line with what the system wanted. On the other hand on the Switch center forward is were ever I want it to be I have literally played curled up on the couch with the Joy-cons pointed up the entire time. So I greatly enjoy the ability to tell the system were I want it to be instead of having to constantly shift back to find the system again.

[@BrandonWestfall]

What's frustrating is the margin of error on the pro controller strikes as well.

[@Lightning-2153]

I definitely prefer the Switch version overall, but I definitely prefer the motion controls of the Wii version. The joy cons are a bit too small for me.

[@Oshadorin]

Wholeheartedly agree. That’s why I bought the Joy-con battery pack. Never mind the better battery life, it’s the grip that it adds that was the selling point for me.

[@antjones]

Does the game know which colour joycons you’re using? When you get jumped by ChuChus and it tells you to shake - the icon is the red and blue joycons for me. Just wondering if this changes with different colours 🧐

[@terriermonisgod]

one of my biggest hopes for switch 2 is perfected motion controls

[@M64bros]

All that said and done I'm just glad the HD version itself got some good reviews.

[@JeanDeLaCroix_]

very strange. When I played the game on wii the motion control was absolutely awful and here on switch it's not perfect but I get by. I don't know if it's due to the fact that I played with the first version of the wii motion + (with the little box added to the wiimote) and that it wasn't performing well but I remember that for example loading the sword vertically was a hell of a thing whereas here I have no difficulty. Did you try it at different distances from the console? I don't know if it makes a difference (personally I moved away and I have the impression that it became more pleasant, but it may be only my impression)

[@AuxFace056]

I think what most people forget is that while you don't have to reset as often as with switch, on the wii, resetting kinda broke immersion due to having to wait for the controller to recalibrate. Also personally I have more problems with upward swings than diagonal. I will say, however, that I don't understand why they didn't have the controls auto-recalibrate when you take your sword out or begin to select an item.

[@Compucles]

As the video said, it's extremely rare that you ever have to use that recalbration menu, and that only applies to the sword anyway, as the rest of the controls recalibrate just as easily but a whole lot less often.

[@AuxFace056]

@@Compucles As far as items go, you're right that it was more accurate. As far as swordplay goes, I think that might vary depending on the person's experience. I remember back when the original first came out, the motion controls were lambasted either for not being accurate enough or having to reset. I will agree that it did happen less often, but with the reset button, recalibration is less painful. It would be nice if we could have the best of both; perhaps with a patch of some sort. I remember that GameGrumps had made a comment that motion was better on WiiU, so maybe this is an issue of not ironing the metaphorical wrinkles out on the software side.

[@hypermetalsonic]

Even from recollection I felt wii had better motion controls (felt better to hold, too)

[@Daigon95]

Nah the Switch does. SS and the Wiimote Plus were just designed to take into account of human error. Where with the joycons they're way too accurate for the slightest angle and position. So u hav to literally position urself more precisely, which ends up making the "accurate" strikes in the game harder.

[@kryzethx]

11:15 Yeaaah, I don't think that was ever gonna happen. I'm pretty sure the motion technology in the joycons is exactly the same tech they developed for the Wii Motion Plus. Honestly, the Legend of Zelda minigame from Nintendoland (on WiiU) controls better than either version of Skyward Sword ever did, and I still don't really know why, considering they use the exact same sword swinging motions, yet it's flawlessly 1:1 in Nintendoland, without a sensor bar, than it ever was on Wii.

[@heroslippy6666]

Probably had a different developer working on the motion controls. Little changes make a huge difference.

[@andy9184]

i think i may have had a faulty sensor bar on the wii, because in my experience, I had to recalibrate the wii version as much as I had to on the switch, it was just much easier to do it on the switch lol

[@yedi2117]

1:24 What is this game??? It’s wii sports but it looks way too good!! What is it?

[@arbisangria8933]

You should try sitting down, put your elbow on a pillow, and make smaller joycon movements

[@corphish129]

I love the graphical improvements, the optional For hints, etc but man do I miss the Wii's motion controls. I played this game 3 or 4 times on the Wii and I'm pretty sure I literally never recalibrated. I'm probably a little obsessive, but in Switch I recalibrate pretty much before and after each fight. I also noticed the difference with aiming instantly, and I really hope that patch that, because it's annoying.

[@cl1694]

Lol I fast forward to 12:22 to get the answer I was looking for. Good commentary; I'm just more impatient, the older I get

[@andreworders7305]

Is this a completed save file on Wii? The swords are different.

[@claridagio]

I still don't understand why it matters if you're pointing at the screen when aiming on Switch. Why can't it just reset to centre every time you aim? That's basically what you do every time when you press the Y button anyway.

[@James2210]

the horizontal log with a bat on it is meant for a shield bash/parry

[@Meatytheburrito]

I've heard so many people say the Switch motion controls are much better and I just don't understand that. Those people must have had interference with their sensor bars

[@KingsRight]

Did you say if this Wiimote you tested has MOTION PLUS adapter or is this the original wiimote?

[@JustIn-sr1xe]

NGL. I couldn't even play the wii versions of zelda games due to the sensitivity of those remotes. I got shaky hands... I got stuck in the flying canyon level with Twilight Princess. And couldn't get the controls to co-operate when trying to complete the Lanyru Desert trails for the hookshot things... Dumbrse kept getting stuck when moving one of those carts.

[@Sebby_Nineteen]

This was VERY well put together video. Congrats! I had known the Wii Remotes where better, when I was playing Club House Games: 51 Worldwide classics. Especially when comparing the target shooting game it had, to the one that was in Wii Play. I hope the next nintendo console has a sensor bar.

[@CyrilOfTheWind]

I'm playing the HD version as my first playthrough of skyward sword, just got past the third trial. And i can say that pretty every time that I do something I have to press Y, and I basically never use the skyward strike because it's so finicky that it makes it unreliable to try and use during combat.

[@BlackStarSymphony]

I played the game with mixed controls for most of the game. Then I played it in handheld and only had buttons. And now I'm hooked on buttons and I'm convinced that motion controls are only put in for more engaging combat, but half of the time it doesn't do that at all. It's only annoying.

[@jpllinas]

Excellent video. I thought I was crazy for hating my experience with the joy cons. By the way, back then, I had the PERFECT experience with the Wii Motion Controls. That's why I couldn't understand why I hated this one so much