Category: Zelda News

Nintendo recently translated Mr. Miyamoto’s Skyward Sword demonstration from the 3DS Conference and put it up on the Skyward Sword official site. We’ve heard most of the “news-y” bits already from various outlets: the confirmation of a second quest, boss challenge mode, as well as “50 to 100 hours” of playtime, but now we get to see all of this information in context.

For those of you worrying that Miyamoto’s estimation of the total game time might actually include that second quest – rest assured that that doesn’t seem to be the case. He doesn’t talk about all the stuff you can do once you’ve “finished” the game until after setting the game’s duration.

Want to see the rest? Jump inside for the info.

While, the special edition bundle pack of Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is only $70 in the United States, those in Australia and Japan aren’t so lucky. Video games are simply more expensive in both countries, and it’s something both countries have come to expect.

However, while the Skyward Sword costs ¥8,800 ($115) in Japan (the regular edition costing ¥6,800/$88), pre-orders are soaring.

More inside.

IGN wasn’t kidding when they said they’d have new Skyward Sword goodies as they have just revealed a brand new trailer for the game. I have completed a time-stamp analysis of the trailer and you can see that after the jump. Additionally, there were a subsequent Combat Tutorial as well as a Romance Trailer posted by IGN and you can check them out after the jump!

IGN has continued their blowout of Skyward Sword content, this time adding 30 new screenshots. Some of them are pulled directly from the trailers that we saw earlier while others are brand new and never before seen. We have added the new screenshots to our very own Skyward Sword Screenshot gallery. Additionally, some of my favorites can be seen right after the jump.

Many Zelda fans cringe at the lengthy introductory area that made up Twilight Princess. They hated herding goats… multiple times… finding baby cradles, fishing for the first time, or chasing kids into the woods. It was slow, somewhat boring, and just way too long. Then when the action finally got going, it seemed there was a subsequent introductory area, this time for Link’s Wolf Form in Hyrule Castle. Argh. Just the thought of playing the intro area has caused me…

Our Aussie fans know that Australia commonly gets the shaft when it comes to release dates, sometimes waiting weeks or even months for games to come to retail after they release in other markets. With Nitnendo’s AU branch refusing to commit to a specific date for Skyward Sword at first, saying it’ll be here “before Christmas,” many of our readers and staff have been worried whether their experience with the game will be utterly spoiled by the time they get a chance to play…

Worry no more: Nintendo of Australia has finally confirmed the local release date for Skyward Sword. Hop inside for the good news.

Sometimes it pays to check the Zelda 25th Anniversary hub site. Today I found a neat little page detailing retailer info on the limited-edition Zelda prepaid 3DS and Wii Points cards. Remember when Nintendo said they’d be available to certain specified retailers? Well, they’ve just revealed the list of those stores – as well as images of the versions of the cards that are coming stateside.

Info for the U.S. and Canada after the jump.

So remember when we heard that NGamer was supposed to be covering some “new Skyward Sword levels”? Turns out reality wasn’t quite that exciting – but regardless, the magazine did manage to sneak in a few bits of info we haven’t come across yet, including the rather bold statement I included in the title. One piece of evidence to corroborate the claim: Stalfos, one of the toughest enemies from the demos so far, have been known to attack in groups of four. Take that as you will.

But while the game’s reported difficulty is assuring news (not to mention something I’ve been thinking for some time), some of the other pieces we learned… well, aren’t.  Jump inside for the good, the bad, and the ugly.

November 24th 2011 is the date that Australians will be able to get their hands on Skyward Sword. When the Australian Official Skyward Sword Website launched a few weeks back they had the same date as the Japanese website of November 23rd. However, the Australian website has fixed this error and it now has the proper release date of November 24th, or as it is listed in Australia 24/11/2011. November 18th – Europe November 20th – North America November 23rd…

Skyward Sword is really shaping up to do some great things. I haven’t touched the game personally (press copy wont arrive for another month), but all signs are pointing to a rather successful experience ahead. My reasoning behind this thought process may come as a surprise for many of you, as a chunk of our reader base has me painted into a corner. I’m a Nintendo hater, I love “realistic” graphics, I should be fired… the hate goes on.

In reality, I am a very avid Nintendo gamer. I have bought almost every single Nintendo game made for the Wii. Yes, I even bought Wii Music. Still, I am openly critical when I see ways they can improve on their business model. No, they shouldn’t make mobile phone games, but they can expand in other areas. That being said, it’s time to profess my “eventual” love fest for Skyward Sword.

Calling any game the best is always subjective. Can anything really top Ocarina of Time for most of you? What about Majora’s Mask? Heck, lets kick it back to A Link to the Past. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to determining the best Zelda game, but it sure takes a lot for me to really feel something is “the best” without even having played it. So, how can I come to such conclusions? Well, it’s because Nintendo is doing a lot of things I really can get behind.