143-560: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a 2011 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii . A high-definition remaster of the game, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD , was co-developed by Tantalus Media and released for the Nintendo Switch in July 2021. Taking the role of series protagonist Link , players navigate the floating island of Skyloft and
286-469: A New Game Plus feature when saved into a file), many of Fi's hints now being optional, the ability to skip dialogue boxes and cutscenes , and item descriptions no longer appearing after the first encounter with an item, with the Gratitude Crystals being the lone exception. One Amiibo figure is supported, being a figure depicting Zelda and a Loftwing enabling fast travel between the sky and
429-627: A fantasy " setting. Tutankham , debuted by Konami in January 1982, was an action-adventure released for arcades . It combined maze, shoot 'em up, puzzle-solving and adventure elements, with a 1983 review by Computer and Video Games magazine calling it "the first game that effectively combined the elements of an adventure game with frenetic shoot 'em up gameplay." It inspired the similar Time Bandit (1983). Action Quest , released in May 1982, blended puzzle elements of adventure games into
572-446: A joystick -controlled, arcade-style action game, which surprised reviewers at the time. While noting some similarities to Adventure , IGN argues that The Legend of Zelda (1986) by Nintendo "helped to establish a new subgenre of action-adventure", becoming a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid, including exploration, adventure-style inventory puzzles , an action component,
715-571: A monetary system , and simplified RPG-style level building without the experience points . The Legend of Zelda series was the most prolific action-adventure game franchise through to the 2000s. Roe R. Adams also cited the arcade-style side-scrolling fantasy games Castlevania (1986), Trojan (1986) and Wizards & Warriors (1987) as early examples of action-adventure games. Games like Brain Breaker (1985), Xanadu (1985), Metroid (1986) and Vampire Killer (1986) combined
858-767: A subgenre of open world action-adventure video games in the third-person perspective . They are characterized by their likeness to the Grand Theft Auto series in either gameplay or overall design. In these types of open world games, players may find and use a variety of vehicles and weapons while roaming freely in an open world setting. Metroidvania is a portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania ; such games are sometimes referred to as "search action", and are generally based on two-dimensional platformers. They emphasize both exploration and puzzle-solving with traditional platform gameplay. Survival horror games emphasize "inventory management" and making sure
1001-415: A tarsus length of 21.7 to 25.5 cm (8.5 to 10.0 in). The shoebill's feet are exceptionally large, with the middle toe reaching 16.8 to 18.5 cm (6.6 to 7.3 in) in length, likely assisting the species in its ability to stand on aquatic vegetation while hunting. The neck is relatively shorter and thicker than other long-legged wading birds such as herons and cranes . The wings are broad, with
1144-414: A wing chord length of 58.8 to 78 cm (23.1 to 30.7 in), and well-adapted to soaring . The plumage of adult birds is blue-grey with darker slaty -grey flight feathers . The breast presents some elongated feathers, which have dark shafts. The juvenile has a similar plumage colour, but is a darker grey with a brown tinge. When they are first born, shoebills have a more modestly-sized bill, which
1287-474: A Loftwing racing minigame could not be implemented. Each Surface overworld had a specific theme: the forest overworld revolved around landforms altering gameplay, the volcano overworld focused around changing the rules of gameplay, while the desert overworld was themed around duality between past and present. The first areas, the Sealed Grounds and Faron Woods, were created so players could be eased into
1430-525: A Nintendo Switch version of Skyward Sword , though it was delisted soon after. The remaster features high-definition graphics and runs at 60 frames per second . The remaster features two control schemes, one of which aims to replicate the functions of the Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuck through the motion controls of the Joy-Con, while the other aims to replicate a traditional control scheme by using
1573-449: A bed of floating vegetation is a requirement. They are also found where there is poorly oxygenated water. This causes the fish living in the water to surface for air more often, increasing the likelihood a shoebill stork will successfully capture it. The shoebill is non-migratory with limited seasonal movements due to habitat changes, food availability and disturbance by humans. Petroglyphs from Oued Djerat , eastern Algeria , show that
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#17327723620241716-468: A bird motif, while those from other Surface regions used more intricate designs. The Beetle acted as a replacement for the boomerang, as the team wanted an item that players could control. The Beetle and other pseudo-technical items gave rise to the ancient mechanical theme that appeared in the Lanayru Desert region. At Miyamoto's insistence, the more desirable items that were normally placed towards
1859-436: A bird this large, the shoebill often stands and perches on floating vegetation, making them appear somewhat like a giant jacana , although the similarly sized and occasionally sympatric Goliath heron ( Ardea goliath ) is also known to stand on aquatic vegetation. Shoebills, being solitary, forage at 20 m (66 ft) or more from one another even where relatively densely populated. This species stalks its prey patiently, in
2002-400: A celebratory concert featuring orchestrated versions of classic Zelda themes. Music was also woven into the story and gameplay through the use of the harp Link receives, using a recurring theme within the series of music being a central part of the experience. In contrast to previous games, the instrument could be played at any time rather than at specific times and places. A new Zelda game
2145-545: A choice of what to say. The NPC gives a scripted response to the player, and the game offers the player several new ways to respond. Due to the action-adventure subgenre's broad and inclusive nature, it causes some players to have difficulty finishing a particular game. Companies have devised ways to give the player help, such as offering clues or allowing the player to skip puzzles to compensate for this lack of ability. Brett Weiss cites Atari 's Superman (1979) as an action-adventure game, with Retro Gamer crediting it as
2288-474: A combination of complex story elements, which are often displayed for players using audio and video. The story is heavily reliant upon the player character's movement, which triggers story events and thus affects the flow of the game. Popular examples of action-adventure games include The Legend of Zelda , God of War , and Tomb Raider series. There is a good deal of controversy over what actually constitutes an action-adventure game. One definition of
2431-448: A complex text parser and no free-moving character. While they share general gameplay dynamics, action-adventures vary widely in the design of their viewpoints, including bird's eye , side-scrolling, first-person, third-person , over-the-shoulder, or even a 3/4 isometric view . Many action-adventure games simulate a conversation through a conversation tree . When the player encounters a non-player character , they are allowed to select
2574-623: A considerable range of wetland vertebrates. Preferred prey species have reportedly included marbled lungfish ( Protopterus aethiopicus ), African lungfish ( Protopterus annectens ), and Senegal bichir ( Polypterus senegalus ), various Tilapia species and catfish , the latter mainly in the genus Clarias . Other prey eaten by this species has included frogs , water snakes , Nile monitors ( Varanus niloticus ) and baby crocodiles . More rarely, small turtles , snails , rodents , small waterfowl and carrion have reportedly been eaten. Given its sharp-edged beak, huge bill, and wide gape,
2717-575: A covering of thick microglobular material over the crystalline shells. In 2003, the shoebill was again suggested as closer to the pelicans (based on anatomical comparisons) or the herons (based on biochemical evidence). A 2008 DNA study reinforces their membership among the Pelecaniformes. So far, two fossilized relatives of the shoebill have been described: Goliathia from the Early Oligocene of Egypt and Paludiavis from
2860-582: A crystal to strengthen Demise's seal, granting her power to the Goddess Sword and upgrading it into the Master Sword. Link locates the Triforce on Skyloft and uses it to destroy Demise. With Demise dead, Zelda is freed, but Ghirahim arrives and kidnaps Zelda: though Demise is dead in the present, Ghirahim intends to use Zelda as a sacrifice to resurrect him in the past. Link pursues Ghirahim into
3003-414: A forward roll. In addition to his standard pace, Link can sprint for short distances. Sprinting and other actions such as climbing and carrying heavy objects are limited by a stamina meter, which recharges after a few seconds when not performing actions that drain it. When depleted entirely, Link's movement speed is reduced and he is left vulnerable until the meter refills. Standard navigation takes place from
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#17327723620243146-517: A game with a mix of elements from an action game and an adventure game , especially crucial elements like puzzles inspired by older adventure games. Action-adventures require many of the same physical skills as action games, but may also offer a storyline, numerous characters, an inventory system, dialogue, and other features of adventure games. They are typically faster-paced than pure adventure games, because they include both physical and conceptual challenges. Action-adventure games normally include
3289-554: A graphical style for the new game. This ultimately led to the production of The Wind Waker HD , whose success encouraged the Zelda team to pursue other high-definition remasters. Aonuma recognized the interest in a Skyward Sword remaster, though a spokesperson from Nintendo would later clarify to Eurogamer that there were no plans to bring the game to the Nintendo Switch at that time. In August 2020, Amazon UK had listed
3432-523: A mechanical Beetle that flies to areas beyond Link's reach for a variety of actions including activating switches, and a Whip for grabbing otherwise-unreachable objects and levers. Some items and equipment will degrade and eventually break depending on their use, such as the shield taking damage when it fails to block a strike. Items and equipment can be optionally upgraded using materials gathered from defeated monsters and within each overworld environment. In addition to consuming resources, Link must also pay for
3575-404: A month or more after this. It will take the young shoebills three years before they become fully sexually mature. Shoebills are elusive when nesting, so cameras must be placed to observe them from afar to collect behavioral data. There is an advantage for birds that are early breeders, as the chicks are tended for a longer period. Shoebills are largely piscivorous but are assured predators of
3718-552: A new mechanic, filled with enemies that could not be defeated and relying on Link's sprinting ability rather than his weapons or items. While they had experimented with indestructible enemies in Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks , but this time it was changed by restricting Link's options and actions. They also created a time limit for added strategy, as knowledge of the areas where the Spirit Realms were located
3861-512: A place where he could prepare for his adventures. An initial idea, when jumping down from the sky seemed unlikely to be approved, was to have a huge tower acting as a central hub, with the height at which Link jumped lengthening the duration of his free fall. Once the concept of traveling from the sky had been chosen instead, the Loftwing mounts were created so it looked and felt more rational to players. These overlapping gameplay mechanics triggered
4004-711: A side-scrolling platformer format with adventure exploration, creating the Metroidvania platform-adventure subgenre. Similarly, games like 005 (1981), Castle Wolfenstein and Metal Gear (1987) combined action-adventure exploration with stealth mechanics, laying the foundations for the stealth game subgenre, which would later be popularized in 1998 with the releases of Metal Gear Solid , Tenchu: Stealth Assassins , and Thief: The Dark Project . The cinematic platformer Prince of Persia (1989) featured action-adventure elements, inspiring games such as Another World (1991) and Flashback (1992). Alone in
4147-400: A single avatar as the protagonist . This type of game is often quite similar to role-playing video games . They are distinct from graphic adventures , which sometimes have free-moving central characters, but also a wider variety of commands and fewer or no action game elements and are distinct too from text adventures , characterized by many different commands introduced by the user via
4290-449: A slow and lurking fashion. While hunting, the shoebill strides very slowly and is frequently motionless. Unlike some other large waders, this species hunts entirely using vision and is not known to engage in tactile hunting. When prey is spotted, it launches a quick violent strike. However, depending on the size of the prey, handling time after the strike can exceed 10 minutes. Around 60% of strikes yield prey. Frequently water and vegetation
4433-546: A special channel on their Wii site in Japan to gain feedback, along with offering to manually repair corrupted save files. The game was later re-released for the Wii U via the Virtual Console on September 1, 2016, as part of the series' 30th anniversary celebrations. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD , a high-definition remaster for the Nintendo Switch , was released on July 16, 2021. A Joy-Con pair themed after
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Misplaced Pages Continue
4576-473: A team led by Hajime Wakai and supervised by Koji Kondo . Announced in 2009, Skyward Sword was planned for release in 2010 but was delayed to November 2011 to further refine and expand it. It was a critical and commercial success, receiving perfect scores from multiple journalistic sites, winning and receiving nominations for numerous industry and journalist awards, and selling over three million copies worldwide. The 2021 remaster sold over 4 million worldwide on
4719-516: A territory of 2 to 4 km (0.77 to 1.54 sq mi) from conspecifics . In the extreme north and south of the species' range, nesting starts right after the rains end. In more central regions of the range, it may nest near the end of the wet season in order for the eggs to hatch around the beginning of the following wet season. Both parents engage in building the nest on a floating platform after clearing out an area of approximately 3 m (9.8 ft) across. The large, flattish nesting platform
4862-513: A third-person perspective, while the Dowsing search function switches to a first-person view: Dowsing scans an area for a selected object, with new Dowsing objectives appearing depending on game context. Fighting enemies, which appear in both the overworld and dungeons, relies on Link's use of his sword and shield. Link's sword movements are mapped to the direction the Wii Remote is flicked by
5005-535: A whole. Multiple promotional elements were created: a five-part online comic was written and illustrated by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik under their Penny Arcade Presents series, and television commercials featuring actor and comedian Robin Williams and his daughter Zelda were made, playing on the actor's stated love for the series. Skyward Sword was released in all regions in November 2011. The game
5148-412: Is 230 to 260 cm (7 ft 7 in to 8 ft 6 in). Weight has reportedly ranged from 4 to 7 kg (8.8 to 15.4 lb). A male will weigh on average around 5.6 kg (12 lb) and is larger than a typical female of 4.9 kg (11 lb). The signature feature of the species is its huge, bulbous bill , which is straw-coloured with erratic greyish markings. The exposed culmen (or
5291-464: Is aided by the sword spirit Fi , who can give hints to the player for both environmental elements and enemies: for example, when an enemy is targeted and Fi is summoned, she will give the enemy's characteristics and weaknesses. Traditional series items such as Bombs used for demolition and the Bow and Arrow for ranged attacks are available as Link progresses through the game, along with new additions such as
5434-735: Is an action game that includes situational problem-solving. Adventure gamers may also be purists, rejecting any game that makes use of physical challenges or time pressure. Regardless, the action-adventure label is prominent in articles over the internet and media. The term "action-adventure" is usually substituted for a particular subgenre due to its wide scope. Although action-adventure games are diverse and difficult to classify, there are some distinct subgenres. Many games with gameplay similar to those in The Legend of Zelda series are called Zelda clones or Zelda -like games. Popular subgenres include: A Grand Theft Auto clone belongs to
5577-682: Is considered to be one of the five most desirable birds in Africa by birdwatchers . They are docile with humans and show no threatening behavior. Researchers were able to observe a bird on its nest at a close distance – within 2 meters (6 ft 7 in). Shoebills are often kept in zoos, but breeding is rarely reported. Shoebills have bred successfully at Pairi Daiza in Belgium and at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo in Florida. Beginning in 2014 and with various interspersed surges of attention since then,
5720-658: Is controlled using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk , and the Wii MotionPlus expansion device is required to play. The greater majority of gameplay mechanics revolve around use of motion controls: these include camera control with the Nunchuck and general hotkey actions and movement linked to the Remote. Jumping across gaps and scaling ledges happen automatically within context. The Nunchuck is also used to make Link perform
5863-527: Is guided by Fi to the Sealed Temple, where he meets an old woman who tells him to track Zelda: this leads Link across the regions of Faron Woods, Eldin Volcano, and the Lanayru Desert. While he catches up with Zelda, he is prevented from returning her to Skyloft by Impa, a young woman guarding and guiding Zelda. Link also encounters Ghirahim, a self-proclaimed Demon Lord working towards freeing Demise. At
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Misplaced Pages Continue
6006-413: Is initially silvery-grey. The bill becomes more noticeably large when the chicks are 23 days old and becomes well developed by 43 days. The shoebill is normally silent, but they perform bill-clattering displays at the nest. When engaging in these displays, adult birds have also been noted to utter a cow -like moo as well as high-pitched whines. Both nestlings and adults engage in bill-clattering during
6149-520: Is often attracted to poorly oxygenated waters such as swamps, marshes, and bogs where fish frequently surface to breathe. They also seem to exhibit migratory behaviors based upon differences in the surface water level. Immature shoebills abandon nesting sites which increased in the surface water level whereas adult shoebills abandon nesting sites which decreased in surface water level. It is suggested that both adult and immature shoebills prefer nesting sites with similar surface water levels. Exceptionally for
6292-495: Is often partially submerged in water and can be as much as 3 m (9.8 ft) deep. The nest itself is about 1 to 1.7 m (3.3 to 5.6 ft) wide. Both the nest and platform are made of aquatic vegetation. From one to three white eggs are laid. These eggs measure 80 to 90 mm (3.1 to 3.5 in) high by 56 to 61 mm (2.2 to 2.4 in) and weigh around 164 g (5.8 oz). Incubation lasts for approximately 30 days. Both parents actively brood, shade, guard and feed
6435-493: Is snatched up during the strike and is spilled out from the edges of the mandibles. The activity of hippopotamus may inadvertently benefit the shoebill, as submerged hippos occasionally force fish to the surface. The solitary nature of shoebills extends to their breeding habits. Nests typically occur at less than three nests per square kilometre, unlike herons, cormorants , pelicans, and storks, which predominantly nest in colonies. The breeding pair of shoebills vigorously defends
6578-510: The Uncharted franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Ark: Survival Evolved . Shoebill The shoebill ( Balaeniceps rex ), also known as the whale-headed stork , and shoe-billed stork , is a large long-legged wading bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill . It has a somewhat stork -like overall form and has previously been classified with
6721-514: The Late Miocene of Pakistan and Tunisia . It has been suggested that the enigmatic African fossil bird Eremopezus have features resembling those of the shoebill and the secretary bird. The shoebill is a tall bird, with a typical height range of 110 to 140 cm (43 to 55 in) and some specimens reaching as much as 152 cm (60 in). Length from tail to beak can range from 100 to 140 cm (39 to 55 in) and wingspan
6864-471: The Nintendo DS , Skyward Sword was his first project for home consoles. He began work on Skyward Sword after finishing Phantom Hourglass , and continued working on the game alongside his work on Spirit Tracks . When Spirit Tracks was finished, Fujibayashi and the game's development team transferred back to working on Skyward Sword . According to Aonuma, the team's starting point for development
7007-864: The Sudd , a main stronghold for the species); it is also significant in wetlands of Uganda and western Tanzania. More isolated records have been reported of shoebills in Kenya , the Central African Republic , northern Cameroon , south-western Ethiopia , and Malawi . Vagrant strays to the Okavango Basin , Botswana and the upper Congo River have also been sighted. The distribution of this species seems to largely coincide with that of papyrus and lungfish . They are often found in areas of flood plain interspersed with undisturbed papyrus and reedbeds. When shoebill storks are in an area with deep water,
7150-569: The storks ( Ciconiiformes ), it was retained there in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy which lumped a massive number of unrelated taxa into their "Ciconiiformes". Based on osteological evidence, the suggestion of a pelecaniform affinity was made in 1957 by Patricia Cottam. Microscopic analysis of eggshell structure by Konstantin Mikhailov in 1995 found that the eggshells of shoebills closely resembled those of other Pelecaniformes in having
7293-818: The "first to utilize multiple screens as playing area". Mark J.P. Wolf credits Adventure (1980) for the Atari VCS as the earliest-known action-adventure game. The game involves exploring a 2D environment, finding and using items which each have prescribed abilities, and fighting dragons in real-time like in an action game . Muse Software 's Castle Wolfenstein (1981) was another early action-adventure game, merging exploration, combat, stealth, and maze game elements, drawing inspiration from arcade shoot 'em ups and maze games (such as maze-shooter Berzerk ) and war films (such as The Guns of Navarone ). According to Wizardry developer Roe R. Adams, early action-adventure games "were basically arcade games done in
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#17327723620247436-490: The Dark (1992) used 3D graphics , which would later be popularized by Resident Evil (1996) and Tomb Raider (1996). Resident Evil in particular created the survival horror subgenre, inspiring titles such as Silent Hill (1999) and Fatal Frame (2001). Action-adventure games have gone on to become more popular than the pure adventure games and pure platform games that inspired them. Recent examples include
7579-484: The Gate of Time and traveling to the past, he finds Zelda and learns that she is the mortal reincarnation of Hylia; Hylia could not kill Demise and was too weakened from their battle to fend him off again, so she created the Goddess Sword and reincarnated as a mortal to find someone who would fulfill her duty by using the Triforce to wish Demise's destruction, as only mortals can use the artifact. Zelda then seals herself inside
7722-557: The Goddess Sword), a recurring weapon within the series. Link, a resident of a floating town called Skyloft, sets out to rescue his childhood friend Zelda after she is kidnapped and brought to the surface, the abandoned lands below the clouds. Development took around five years, beginning after the release of Twilight Princess in 2006. Multiple earlier Zelda games influenced the developers, including Twilight Princess , Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask . Many aspects of
7865-552: The Kyoto branch of Monolith Soft . Its producer was Eiji Aonuma , a major contributor to the Legend of Zelda series. His main preoccupation during these early stages was whether the developers could continue creating The Legend of Zelda games using the same development mindset that had been used up to Twilight Princess . The game's director was Hidemaro Fujibayashi : previously working as assistant director on Phantom Hourglass for
8008-476: The Master Sword and Hylian Shield from the game was released separately on the same date. Aonuma said in June 2016 that it might be possible to create an HD remaster of Skyward Sword for then-current hardware. Years prior, during the development of another entry in the series, Breath of the Wild , Nintendo experimented with an HD version of Skyward Sword running on Wii U development kits when trying to settle on
8151-421: The Nintendo Switch. Feedback on the game later influenced the development of the next entry for home consoles, Breath of the Wild . The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is an action-adventure video game in which players take on the role of series protagonist Link through a series of overworlds populated by monsters and navigating dungeons featuring puzzles and further enemies including dedicated bosses. Link
8294-521: The Surface are accessed through portals, or columns of light, in the clouds. Side quests for characters of the Surface are also available and are sometimes mandatory for completing the main quest. The sky is navigated with a giant Shoebill -like bird called a Loftwing, while the Surface is navigated on foot. Beacons can be set on the map for Link to follow, and save points in the form of statues preserve Link's progress up to that point. During his quest, Link
8437-530: The Temple of Time in the Lanayru Desert, Link defends Zelda and Impa from Ghirahim, buying the two enough time to depart through a Gate of Time into the past, which Impa destroys as they pass through. Returning to the Sealed Temple, Link is followed by Groose and the two end up on the surface together. Link then has to defeat the Imprisoned, a monstrous form of Demise attempting to reach the Sealed Temple, after
8580-511: The Top 20 within a few weeks. By the end of December, it had sold less than 320,000 units: this was below equivalent sales for other recent home console and portable Zelda games. The game's sales were strong overall going into January 2012, with its largest sales coming from North America. Its first month sales in North America came to around 600,000 units, nearly double its Japanese sales. In
8723-553: The UK, Skyward Sword was the seventh best-selling game of November in the multiformat charts, stated as impressive given the waning popularity of the platform. It was also the region's top-selling Wii game during its week of release, supplanting the previous week's top seller Just Dance 3 . It failed to reach the top-five best-selling Wii games for that year. Its total worldwide first-week sales came to 919,119 units. According to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé , Skyward Sword
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#17327723620248866-422: The Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Link's health is represented with Hearts, with Link taking damage whenever he is hit: if he loses all Hearts, the game ends. The game is set on the floating island of Skyloft and surrounding airborne islands, and the three Surface overworlds where the majority of the main adventure takes place. Side quests for the town's citizens are unlocked as the game progresses. The different areas of
9009-592: The Wii category. It was also given the "Reader's Choice" award in the "Best Overall Game" category: it was also among those nominated as the site's " Game of the Year ". In Digital Trends ' similar awards, it was named as "Best Action-Adventure" and "Best Wii Exclusive", and was nominated for the site's "Game of the Year" award. RPGamer ' s own "Best of 2011" awards named Skyward Sword "Best Console and PC Game" and awarded it for "Best Music". It also received "Game of
9152-400: The Wii with Skyward Sword . GamesRadar ' s Carolyn Gudmundson called it "A perfectly balanced mix of innovation and classic Zelda gameplay" despite minor control issues. GameTrailers noted that, despite its many strengths such as a believable relationship between Link and Zelda, Skyward Sword represented the series' "first gray hairs" due to some of its mechanics feeling dated in
9295-522: The Wild was "to expand and make a better Skyward Sword ". Various publications noted that the sequel to Breath of the Wild , Tears of the Kingdom , contains influences from Skyward Sword . Specifically, the game's incorporation of floating islands above Hyrule kingdom drew comparisons to Skyloft. The developers themselves commented on these comparisons, saying the Switch's hardware allowed them to allow
9438-485: The Year ", " Adventure Game of the Year ", and " Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering "), Game Developers Choice Awards ("Best Game Design"), and the 8th British Academy Games Awards (" Best Game ", "Game Innovation" and fan-voted "GAME Award of 2011"). Upon its Japanese debut, Skyward Sword sold nearly 195,000 units, reaching the top of sales charts. Sales quickly declined, dropping out of
9581-498: The Year" awards from Electronic Gaming Monthly , GameSpot , Edge and Nintendo Power . It received "Excellence" and "Most Valuable Character" awards from Famitsu , the latter being awarded for the protagonist Link. At the Spike Video Game Awards in 2011, the game won "Best Wii Game" and "Best Motion Game". In 2012, it received multiple nominations at the 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (" Game of
9724-437: The art style was that it was a fantasy world. The final version was referred to as a balance between the cartoon styling of The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess , where the cartoon shading was transferred onto an older version of Link. The team settled this art style as it would properly portray the more exaggerated actions of some characters and general swordplay while preserving Link's mature appearance. During development,
9867-547: The atmosphere. The Skyward Strike was initially born from Aonuma thinking up a possible mechanic of holding the sword above Link: these also gave rise to the game's title. Having sword fighting relying on Wii MotionPlus freed up other buttons on the controller, allowing the addition of the Dash sprinting option. So as not to interrupt the flow of gameplay, they incorporated other elements into the Dash function, such as scaling walls rather than just slamming into them. The Dowsing mechanic
10010-465: The creation of Skyloft, along with elements of the early game such as the Knight Academy. The continual movements and routines of Skyloft's people were modeled after similar time-driven mechanics from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask , with similar links between character-specific side quests and the main narrative. Despite the aerial element, the mechanics necessary for free navigation meant
10153-514: The department's musical lead Yokota was brought on to help orchestrate the score. Aonuma initially did not think of using an orchestra and was still sure the score would remain synthesized even after Wakai asked him about it. An orchestra was finally chosen after Miyamoto insisted upon it, a decision which surprised the entire team. Using the orchestra enabled a greater expression of emotion, which meant that they used it when creating scores for environments, cinematic scenes, and emotional moments within
10296-647: The design of the Loftwing birds in the 2011 game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword . The population is estimated at between 5,000 and 8,000 individuals, the majority of which live in swamps in South Sudan, Uganda, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia. There is also a viable population in the Malagarasi wetlands in Tanzania. BirdLife International has classified it as Vulnerable with
10439-488: The developers wanted to add a new play structure to avoid fans seeing it as more of the same. The original concept for gameplay using the Wii MotionPlus was proposed by Fujibayashi at a point when the team was already developing the gameplay around the console's standard Wii Remote and Nunchuk control scheme. When first proposed, Aonuma was highly enthusiastic, and his wish to change to Wii MotionPlus meant that work on
10582-607: The distribution of papyrus in central Africa, the species seems to avoid pure papyrus swamps and is often attracted to areas with mixed vegetation. More rarely, the species has been seen foraging in rice fields and flooded plantations . The shoebill is noted for its slow movements and tendency to stay still for long periods, resulting in descriptions of the species as "statue-like". They are quite sensitive to human disturbance and may abandon their nests if flushed by humans. However, while foraging, if dense vegetation stands between it and humans, this wader can be fairly tame. The shoebill
10725-439: The end of a campaign were made available to players from an early stage. When designing items, the developers were faced with the usual problems of the interdependence of items and dungeons creating a chicken-and-egg scenario for the developers. The menu for Item access was also redesigned around the use of Wii MotionPlus. In past Zelda games, the team had made numerous new fields for player exploration, but this time they limited
10868-416: The entire series. These issues were further complicated by the third year of development with the necessity of finalizing the gameplay and environments. Feigning illness, Fujibayashi shut himself away in a hotel room and wrote the synopsis in a single day. Mori wrote the dialogue based on Fujibayashi's synopsis, who needed to work out the fine details with Fujibayashi. A scene Fujibayashi was intent on including
11011-403: The event, along with its revised release period in 2011 and a playable demonstration. According to Miyamoto, the game was delayed from its planned 2010 release window as the staff felt that they would be releasing an unfinished product if they put the convenience of the company ahead of creating a quality experience. They used the extra year to both finish the core elements and polish up the game as
11154-412: The exam and on a celebratory flight together, Zelda is whisked away below the clouds by a dark tornado. After recovering back on Skyloft, Link is led into the island's statue of Hylia to the Goddess Sword by Fi , the spirit of the sword who resides within it. Link draws the sword, showing himself to be the prophesied hero who will finally destroy Demise. Opening a way through the clouds to the surface, Link
11297-423: The game needed to begin all over again. The use of Wii MotionPlus proved challenging for the developers to implement, to the point where at one point Aonuma seriously considered dropping it from the game entirely. After the release of Wii Sports Resort , the team saw how motion controls could be used for swordplay: after talking with the development team, they were able to borrow the technology and used it to create
11440-592: The game was written by different people, verbal inconsistencies arose that needed addressing, so Fujibayashi adjusted them all so she sounded consistent. Nearly all of Fi's dialogue was ultimately written by Fujibayashi. Ghirahim was designed to be similar to the Dark Link character from Ocarina of Time : he could read Link's movements, requiring players to think strategically to defeat him rather than simply swinging Link's sword around randomly. Character designs were far more detailed than in previous Zelda games. Clothing
11583-475: The game's budget was considered quite high for a Nintendo project. The development time was initially estimated at three years, but difficulties and changes in the game's development extended development time by a further two years: despite this, Miyamoto felt that this was not wasted development time as the first two years went into experimentation. By June 2011, the game was complete aside from fine-tuning and balancing its mechanics. The script for cinematic scenes
11726-584: The game's mechanics and navigation. While the forest areas were made to be mostly flat, the Eldin Volcano overworld was made with height differences in mind to provide a greater challenge. Elements in the volcano terrain included areas of lava and slopes where Link's sprinting ability would become necessary for reaching new areas. For the Lanayru Desert, the team created three different overworld zones due to its unique time-shifting mechanics, triggered with Time Shift stones: this shifting between different zones
11869-553: The game's nostalgic value, but found the motion control difficult to handle and kept the game from being truly great. Jose Otero, writing for 1UP.com , praised the developers for putting effort into moving away from Zelda tradition and called it one of the better games in the series, but said that those detrimental elements that remained such as side quests and some item usage made Skyward Sword "a weird middle ground filled with genuine surprises, inessential carry-overs, and copy/paste quest structures". GameSpot ' s Tom McShea
12012-448: The game's overworld and gameplay were designed to streamline and populate the experience for players. The art style was influenced by the work of impressionist and post-impressionist painters, including Paul Cézanne . The implementation of Wii MotionPlus proved problematic for the developers, to the point where it was nearly discarded. It was the first Zelda game to use a live orchestra for the majority of its tracks, with music composed by
12155-405: The game's use of Wii MotionPlus, along with its planned 2010 release window. In a later interview, Aonuma's comments on the game's playability brought this release window into doubt. He also noted that his wish to focus on the new game meant that the release date of Spirit Tracks was shifted to the end of 2009 rather than its initial projected release in early 2010. The game's title was announced at
12298-406: The gameplay still follows a number of adventure game genre tropes (gathering items , exploration of and interaction with one's environment, often including an overworld connecting areas of importance, and puzzle-solving). While the controls are arcade-style (character movement, few action commands) there is an ultimate goal beyond a high score. In most action-adventure games, the player controls
12441-461: The greatest game in the series to date. VideoGamer.com 's Chris Schilling called it one of the best Zelda games, praising its motion controls, narrative and treatment of series tradition. Skyward Sword has since been ranked among the best games developed for the Wii. Following its release, Skyward Sword won numerous awards. At IGN ' s "Best of 2011" awards, it was awarded "Best Game", "Best Graphics", "Best Sound" and "Best Story" in
12584-538: The land below it, completing quests that advance the story and solving environmental and dungeon-based puzzles. The mechanics and combat, the latter focusing on attacking and blocking with sword and shield, are reliant on the Wii MotionPlus peripheral. A mainline entry in The Legend of Zelda series , Skyward Sword is the first game in the Zelda timeline , and details the origins of the Master Sword (created from
12727-897: The main threats being habitat destruction , disturbance and hunting. The bird is listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES ). Habitat destruction and degradation, hunting, disturbance and illegal capture are all contributing factors to the decline of this species. Agriculture cultivation and pasture for cattle have also caused significant habitat loss. Indigenous communities that surround Shoebill habitats capture their eggs and chicks for human consumption and for trade. Frequent fires in southern Sudan and deliberate fires for grazing access contribute to habitat loss. Some swamps in Sudan are being drained for construction of
12870-426: The measurement along the top of the upper mandible) is 18.8 to 24 cm (7.4 to 9.4 in), the third longest bill among extant birds after pelicans and large storks, and can outrival the pelicans in bill circumference, especially if the bill is considered as the hard, bony keratin portion. As in the pelicans, the upper mandible is strongly keeled, ending in a sharp nail. The dark coloured legs are fairly long, with
13013-671: The modern gaming landscape. IGN ' s Richard George felt that the game returned The Legend of Zelda to being a revolutionary series in the gaming industry, praising almost every aspect of the game except for the soundtrack, which he felt did not live up to series standards despite its quality. Joystiq writer Griffin McElroy noted that a lot of the game's content seemed unnecessary and extravagant, but said that beneath this surface lay "the best Zelda game of all time". Steve Hogarty of Official Nintendo Magazine shared many points of praise with other positive journalist reviews, calling it
13156-430: The motion-driven swordplay. The implementation of Wii MotionPlus meant that the enemy artificial intelligence needed to be able to counter it, adjusting their stances depending on the position of Link's sword. When creating Link's sword movements, the team initially wanted them to be as realistic as possible, but because it was detrimental to the character's portrayal, they had to include unrealistic movements to preserve
13299-598: The music focused on environments, dungeons, boss battles: among her work was the music for Skyloft. She used art and environmental assets so that her compositions would fit in with their environments. A first for the Zelda series, the music was performed using a live orchestra rather than synthesized instruments. It was the first time Nintendo EAD had used a live orchestra. Any previous orchestral elements in Twilight Princess , which amounted only to one track, were handled by their Tokyo division. Due to his experience,
13442-400: The nest and eggs. Food items are regurgitated whole from the gullet straight into the bill of the young. Shoebills rarely raise more than one chick but will hatch more. The younger chicks usually die and are intended as "back-ups" in case the eldest chick dies or is weak. Fledging is reached at around 105 days and the young birds can fly well by 112 days. However, they are still fed for possibly
13585-407: The nesting season as a means of communication. When young are begging for food, they call out with a sound uncannily like human hiccups. In one case, a flying adult bird was heard uttering hoarse croaks, apparently as a sign of aggression at a nearby marabou stork ( Leptoptilos crumeniferus ). Its wings are held flat while soaring and, as in the pelicans and the storks of the genus Leptoptilos ,
13728-416: The nestling, though the females are perhaps slightly more attentive. Shoebills use their mandibles to cool their eggs with water during days with high temperatures around 30–33 °C (86–91 °F). They fill their mandible once, swallow the water, and fill another mandible full of water before proceeding back to their nest where they pour out the water and regurgitate the previously swallowed water onto both
13871-422: The next home console Zelda game, Breath of the Wild , the developers wanted to improve on what they had achieved with Skyward Sword and the feedback it received from both fans and critics, along with creating a non-linear world based on player complaints about the linearity of Skyward Sword . Aonuma and Fujibayashi both returned respectively as producer and director. Aonuma's said that his wish with Breath of
14014-420: The number of overworlds to three and expanded their content so players would be able to fully appreciate them through repeated visits. The team also created the world based on their experiences with Twilight Princess : feeling that the overworld and dungeons were too large with puzzles too thinly dispersed, the team both sought to compact areas and have environmental puzzles in the overworld. The biggest difficulty
14157-465: The old woman shows him a second, albeit dormant, Gate of Time. With the Imprisoned defeated, Link sets out to strengthen the Goddess Sword by passing trials set by the ancient Goddesses and using their gifts to find Sacred Flames to purify and strengthen the blade so the Time Gate can be awakened. Returning to find the Imprisoned attempting to break free, Link reseals it with help from Groose. Activating
14300-401: The other composers being Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yokota , and Takeshi Hama. Longtime series composer Koji Kondo had a supervisory role, only composing a single piece by himself: the music accompanying the prologue video describing the mythical origins of Demise and Hylia. He also helped in arranging the other composer's pieces, using an electric piano and a Mac computer . Fujii was responsible for
14443-446: The overworld and gameplay: one reviewer felt that it would form the new standard for the Zelda series and video games as a whole. Edge was positive about all aspects aside from the player-driven upgrade system, and even then it was not enough to spoil the experience for the reviewer. Nintendo Power gave it similar praise, saying that "it's truly worthy of being called 'epic'". Ray Carsillo of Electronic Gaming Monthly appreciated
14586-425: The past and fights through his army. He then defeats Ghirahim, who turns out to be the spirit of Demise's sword but is unable to prevent Zelda from being used to reincarnate Demise's humanoid form. Groose guards Zelda's body while Link challenges Demise: Link triumphs and absorbs Demise's essence into the sword, but not before Demise curses Link and Zelda's bloodlines to be haunted by his reincarnated rage . To complete
14729-489: The player has enough ammunition and recovery items to " survive " the horror setting. This is a thematic genre with diverse gameplay, so not all survival horror games share all the features. The Resident Evil franchise popularized this subgenre. Action-adventure games are faster-paced than pure adventure games, and include physical as well as conceptual challenges where the story is enacted rather than narrated. While motion-based, often reflexive, actions are required,
14872-473: The player to explore and solve to complete a storyline, involving little to no action . If there is action, it is generally confined to isolated instances. Classical action games, on the other hand, have gameplay based on real-time interactions that challenges the player's reflexes and eye-hand coordination . Action-adventure games combine these genres by engaging both eye-hand coordination and problem-solving skills. An action adventure game can be defined as
15015-498: The player to seamlessly travel to the surface from specific areas of the sky, something they were not able to achieve with the Wii's graphical limitations. Nintendo EAD (2011-11-18). The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword ( Wii ). Nintendo . Action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, classical adventure games have situational problems for
15158-554: The player, and other moves include a forward thrust and a stab. Enemy movements are designed to anticipate and block Link's combat movements. By raising the Wii Remote, the sword gathers energy which can be unleashed in a Skyward Strike. Skyward Strikes are also used to trigger environmental elements such as magical switches. The shield is controlled with the Nunchuck: when the shield is raised, it can be used to reflect attacks. Spin attacks and Finishing Blows are activated by swinging both
15301-427: The recurring tune "Zelda's Lullaby". Due to the use of an orchestra and the sheer amount of extra work going into the sound design, the music team doubled in size from the standard five-person group, and became the largest sound team at the time to have worked on a Nintendo game. The positive reception of the orchestral score within the company led to the creation of The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert ,
15444-483: The right analog stick to control the previously motion-controlled sword. This secondary control method allows the game to be played in handheld mode, on a Pro Controller , and on the Nintendo Switch Lite . Other new features include autosave , the ability to save to any of the three save files instead of just the original file (which also now includes giving Hero Mode its own slot upon unlocking it as
15587-486: The shoebill are rare, and only a few flights beyond its minimum foraging distance of 20 m (66 ft) have been recorded. The shoebill is distributed in freshwater swamps of central tropical Africa, from southern Sudan and South Sudan through parts of eastern Congo , Rwanda , Uganda , western Tanzania and northern Zambia . The species is most numerous in the West Nile sub-region and South Sudan (especially
15730-535: The shoebill can hunt large prey, often targeting prey bigger than is taken by other large wading birds. In the Bangweulu Swamps of Zambia, fish eaten by this species are commonly in the range of 15 to 50 cm (5.9 to 19.7 in). The main prey items fed to young by the parents were the catfish Clarias gariepinus , ( syn. C. mossambicus ) and 50 to 60 cm (20 to 24 in) long water snakes. In Uganda, lungfish and catfish were mainly fed to
15873-551: The shoebill flies with its neck retracted. Its flapping rate, at an estimated 150 flaps per minute, is one of the slowest of any bird, with the exception of the larger stork species. The pattern is alternating flapping and gliding cycles of approximately seven seconds each, putting its gliding distance somewhere between the larger storks and the Andean condor ( Vultur gryphus ). When flushed, shoebills usually try to fly no more than 100 to 500 m (330 to 1,640 ft). Long flights of
16016-433: The shoebill has become the subject of internet memes , in part due to its intimidating appearance and its tendency to stand still for long periods of time. One such example is a video of a shoebill standing in the rain whilst staring into the camera . These memes have since also appeared on the social media platform TikTok , bringing a comparatively unknown species of bird into popular culture . The shoebill also inspired
16159-468: The shoebill occurred during the Early Holocene much more to the north, in the wetlands that covered the present-day Sahara Desert at that time. The shoebill occurs in extensive, dense freshwater marshes . Almost all wetlands that attract the species have undisturbed Cyperus papyrus and reed beds of Phragmites and Typha . Although their distribution largely seems to correspond with
16302-425: The site. It sold 159,089 physical copies within its first week on sale in Japan, making it the bestselling retail game of the week in the country. As of December 2022, Skyward Sword HD has sold 4.15 million units worldwide. While critical reception of the game was very positive overall, fan and retrospective opinions were far more mixed due to its highly traditional and linear structure. When development started on
16445-636: The skin of a specimen collected on the upper White Nile by the English traveller Mansfield Parkyns . Gould provided a more detailed description in the following year. He placed the species in its own genus Balaeniceps and coined the binomial name Balaeniceps rex . The genus name comes from the Latin words balaena "whale", and caput "head", abbreviated to -ceps in compound words. Alternative common names are whalebill, shoe-billed stork and whale-headed stork. Traditionally considered as allied with
16588-445: The sky, allowing her to launch a full-scale offensive against Demise. She was victorious, but the land was severely damaged. Uncounted years later, the outcrop is known as Skyloft, and its people believe the surface below is a myth. In the present, knight-in-training Link passes his final exam despite attempted interference by his class rival Groose, who considers himself a romantic rival for Link's childhood friend Zelda . After passing
16731-582: The storks in the order Ciconiiformes based on this morphology. However, genetic evidence places it with pelicans and herons in the Pelecaniformes . The adult is mainly grey while the juveniles are more brown. It lives in tropical East Africa in large swamps from South Sudan to Zambia. The shoebill may have been known to Ancient Egyptians but was not classified until the 19th century, after skins and eventually live specimens were brought to Europe. John Gould very briefly described it in 1850 from
16874-475: The story. Conversely, the team was given less freedom to adjust tracks as they had been able to with synthesized tracks. Something new they did for Skyward Sword was producing unique themes for specific characters such as Link and Zelda. They also added people singing songs, another element new to the series. One notable element was the game's main theme "Ballad of the Goddess", which was a retrograde version of
17017-468: The surface now freely accessible to the residents of Skyloft, while Zelda decides to remain there to watch over the Triforce; she and Link together establish the kingdom of Hyrule . Skyward Sword ' s development began in 2006, after the release of Twilight Princess for GameCube and Wii. It was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development , a development division of series publisher Nintendo . They were assisted in development by
17160-485: The surface. Skyward Sword received critical acclaim; it has a score of 93/100 on the aggregate site Metacritic , based on 81 reviews. It was the site's 10th highest scoring game of 2011, and ranked as the 6th best-reviewed Wii game. Skyward Sword was the third Zelda game and the sixteenth video game to receive a perfect score from Famitsu . It also received perfect scores from IGN , Eurogamer , Game Informer , Edge , and VideoGamer.com . Famitsu praised
17303-422: The sword's seal, Link drives it into a pedestal in the Sealed Temple, with Fi accepting eternal slumber as a result. Groose, Link and Zelda return to their time while Impa remains behind and destroys the Gate of Time, as she is a person of that time and must watch over the Master Sword. In the present, the old woman greets them one last time before she dies and vanishes, revealing that she was Impa. The game ends with
17446-416: The team faced a lot of problems when designing the game so it would be both familiar for series fans and fresh to old and new players. The pieces of gameplay experimentation meant that the development was "a more fundamental ground-up process" than earlier games such as The Wind Waker . Their earlier games had involved lifting elements from earlier games and pasting them into a new entry, but for Skyward Sword
17589-430: The term "action-adventure" may be '"An action/adventure game is a game that has enough action in it not to be called an adventure game, but not enough action to be called an action game." In some cases an action game with puzzles will be classified as an action-adventure game, but if these puzzles are quite simple they might be classified as an action game. Others see action games as a pure genre, while an action-adventure
17732-423: The two characters as childhood friends served this purpose and cut down on extraneous plot elements. They continued to encourage the player by having Link only just miss her on her early travels across the Surface. Mischievous elements were also added to Zelda's personality by her pushing Link over a ledge: initially intended as a rule of three -style gag, it was cut down to two during development. The figure of Hylia
17875-401: The upgrade with Rupees, the game's currency which is scattered throughout the world. Skyward Sword takes place at the beginning of the Zelda continuity : according to legend, three ancient Goddesses bestowed a great wish-granting power: the Triforce. The Demon King Demise laid waste to much of the land seeking to take the Triforce. The Goddess Hylia gathered the survivors and sent them into
18018-627: The young. Larger lungfish and catfish were taken in Malagarasi wetlands in western Tanzania. During this study, fish around 60 to 80 cm (24 to 31 in) were quite frequently taken and the largest fish caught by the shoebill was 99 cm long. Fish exceeding 60 cm were usually cut into sections and swallowed at intervals. The entire process from scooping to swallowing ranged from 2 to 30 minutes depending on prey size. However, these large prey are relatively hard to handle and often targeted by African fish eagle ( Icthyophaga vocifer ), which frequently steal large wading bird's prey. This species
18161-402: Was a new addition to the world's lore, although her existence was linked to Zelda, with the two being essentially the same character known under different names in subsequent ages. Groose, who acted as Link's rival, was introduced to make the story more interesting within the school setting. Groose's maturation during the story was intended to help convey Link's parallel growth as a character as he
18304-503: Was created early on, based on the gameplay themes of discovery and exploration. Due to the introduction of Dowsing, the team did not have to create environmental landmarks for places and objects of importance as they had done in previous games. So players would not get lost in the terrain, they also introduced the marker beacons. Items were designed so they could be visible in any area, such as the bright blue Bombs. They were also designed based on their original location: those from Skyloft used
18447-567: Was ensuring that players could reach areas quickly while still discovering new features and puzzles. The creation of the Skyloft overworld was due to difficulties connecting the three Surface-based overworlds due to drastically contrasting environments. The sky was initially going to be presented similar to the course selection screen from the Super Mario series, but this was changed to an overworld with its own quests and population so Link had
18590-553: Was first hinted at in April 2008, when Miyamoto stated that the Zelda development team were reforming to create new games. Miyamoto later confirmed at the 2008 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) that a new Zelda was in development for the Wii. The game was unveiled at E3 the following year , although its title remained unknown. Due to its in-development state, Miyamoto could not show off gameplay as he had wished. Instead, he showed promotional art featuring Link and Fi. He also announced
18733-424: Was frequently designed to complement backgrounds, such as Zelda's pink and red dress in the opening. The game's use of warm colors and brushstroke-like aesthetics was inspired by impressionist artwork, pioneered in the 19th century by painters such as Claude Monet : a particular element cited by Miyamoto was the sky, which he called a tribute to post-impressionist Paul Cézanne 's work. The basic starting point for
18876-434: Was highly positive, praising the controls, gameplay experience and additional elements such as upgrades: he gave particular praise to the game's visuals, which were impressive despite hardware limitations. Game Informer ' s Phil Kollar echoed both general praise of the gameplay and presentation, and minor issues experienced with the motion controls: he concluded by saying that Nintendo had fulfilled its initial promises for
19019-614: Was inspired by similar systems in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess . The portable Time Shift stones were one of many ideas included in the desert overworld as they did not fit with the forest or volcano environments. A difficult feature to include naturally was the remnants of Lanayru's Ancient Civilization, which used electricity to power both its technology and citizens. Enemy types that recurred in all Surface-based overworld areas were given slightly altered designs so they would be unique to each overworld. The Silent Realms were created as
19162-414: Was key to completing them. This was also why they were set up in areas players would already be familiar with. They were originally in the form of special dungeons, but this was discarded in favor of the familiar areas. The game's sound team consisted of ten people: five handling general sound design, and five handling music composition. Hajime Wakai acted as the game's sound director and lead composer, with
19305-439: Was notably less positive than other critics, praising the storyline, dungeons, enemies and visuals while faulting the controls for being unreliable and feeling that most of the experience felt both unnecessary and overly familiar. Destructoid ' s Jonathan Holmes called Skyward Sword his new favorite 3D game from the series, but noted that its exclusive use of motion controls would put off potential players. Oli Welsh of Eurogamer
19448-442: Was otherwise mute and static. Fi was created before the implantation of Wii MotionPlus when she was going to be part of some different undefined gameplay concepts unrelated to motion control. Her design was based on the design of the Master Sword, referencing her origins as the sword's spirit. She also served as an alternate explanatory voice as Link was a silent protagonist. According to staff, Fi's technical dialogue for each area of
19591-405: Was quite different from earlier incarnations, in particular the fact that Zelda was not royalty. According to Aonuma, a recurring difficulty was how contrived the necessity for Link to rescue Zelda became with each passing installment, as their contact may only have been fleeting beforehand. In response to this, the team considered how to make the player care about Zelda and want to rescue her. Having
19734-439: Was released as both a standard edition and a limited deluxe edition that included a gold Wii Remote Plus. An anniversary CD was included with both editions containing orchestrated versions of various iconic musical pieces from the series. Following its release, a glitch was discovered that corrupted save files if three late-game events were taken in a certain order. Once revealed, Nintendo issued instructions on avoiding it and set up
19877-403: Was the Master Sword, the team decided to make it an origin story for the weapon. An early element was whether to incorporate the creation of Hyrule, while also needing to explain the creation of Skyloft: this initial stage of story development ended up being difficult as their initial story plans were full of contradictions to established series lore due to them wanting to create an origin story for
20020-474: Was the Wii version of Twilight Princess : feeling they had not fully realized their goal of creating a vast and realistic world with Twilight Princess , they used their previous work as a foundation for the next game. They also sought to create a memorable experience equivalent to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time , by that time considered the series' most memorable game. Development lasted around five years, and according to series producer Shigeru Miyamoto ,
20163-449: Was the fastest-selling game in the series at that time. As of March 2012, the game has sold 3.52 million units worldwide: 360,000 of these units were sold in Japan while 3.15 million units were sold overseas.As of December 2020 the game has sold 3.67 million units worldwide. Pre-orders for Skyward Sword HD sold out on Amazon.com and it was listed as the best-selling game on the US version of
20306-482: Was where Zelda jumped from the edge of Skyloft and Link caught her: this was fitted in for the two characters after the end of Link's exam. The early part of the story was quite different from earlier Zelda games, playing out in a similar way to a school drama. Once the script was finished, it was handed to Yoshida so his team could create the cinematics. The total number of cinematics was estimated as 79, coming to over 120 minutes. The relationship between Link and Zelda
20449-402: Was written by Naoki Mori, who joined the project for one and a quarter years in his role: the cinematic director was Shigeki Yoshida, who was brought on at the same time as and worked on the storyboards with Mori. The initial script was proposed by Fujibayashi based on his perception of the game's structure. As the game's theme was the use of the sword, and the sword most associated with the series
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