New Skyward Sword Footage and Details. UPDATED!

Note: This post has been updated with more details. Jump inside for more information.

Just about every week Satoru Iwata calls a few of his employees in to sit down for his Iwata Asks segments. As the name implies, these sessions consist of Iwata interviewing his chosen people, mostly questioning them on their ongoing projects. Lately Iwata has been focusing more and more on The Legend of Zelda with todays session focusing on Skyward Sword. The interview even includes a video with new footage for us.

This new Skyward Sword video starts off in Faron Province with the camera panning down from the sky as Link glides down with his SailCloth. We see a little of the Sealed Grounds. It then continues to show us more of Faron Province and the Skyview Temple. Later we see Link showing off the game’s dowsing feature and an up close look at The Imprisoned. We can see that the game lets us save our own points of interest on the map which makes a beam of light shoot up from the land at the place we marked on the map. We then are able to see how intense the Silent Realm can be and how music really plays an important role. Right before the video ends we get a look at what I presume to be Link first obtaining the Goddess Sword and Fi materializing out of the sword to introduce herself to Link. Blue birds appear in the game although we are not sure of their purpose. Make the jump to see all of this and more for yourself.

This video is loaded with new details and gameplay we haven’t seen before and just makes the game look that much more incredible. I love that we get to see an up close look at Ghirahim’s supposed master, The Imprisoned, but am sad to see he isn’t really all that terrifying. Atlhough the time between now and the release date is becoming shorter with every second, every new video and spoiler I see makes it seem as if that release date is further away than ever.

  • We will be seeing various types of birds in the game with blue birds being rare, although we don’t know why!
  • Bugs in the game seem more real than in Twilight Princess despite Skyward Sword focusing on a more exaggerated painting art style.
  • As we all know Dowsing will very useful, taking the place of the compass and leading us to places of interest!
  • When viewing the map we can set markers that act as a beacon sending off a beam of light from the ground!
  • The Imprisoned boss walks toward the top of the Sealed Grounds. This encounter seems to be early in the game.
  • The Silent Realm plays a creepier version of the area’s theme song. All of Link’s actions seemed to have an echo to add on to the scariness of the area.
  • Guardians of the Silent Realm chase Link making the stamina meter very useful!
  • Fi’s line to Link in the video translates: “I beg that thou wouldst forgive my tarrying… I am the one that was destined to be chosen by the creator. …Fi… that is the name that was given to me.”
  • The final scene shows improvements over cinematics in past Zelda games of the series.
  • Aonuma. Fujibayashi, and others wanted the forest area to feel bright and friendly rather than “lost” and foreboding like in other games.
Iwata: To begin, rather than making another field similar to the ones in previous Zelda games, you instead pursued the interest factor of playing in places familiar to the player. Would you consider talking about why you decided on that sort of structure?

Fujibayashi: We were told at the very beginning by Aonuma, the producer, that we ought to make the game compact.

Iwata: So you mean that this time, it was Aonuma who told you what Miyamoto had been saying all along. *laughing* It is a little silly to make another field that just extends in all directions, its only feature being its width.

Fujibayashi: That’s right. I thought that by making a field with vertical depth instead of making one that got wider and wider, players would get new surprise and enjoyment out of it each time they visited.

Iwata: In short, when you say “compact”, you don’t mean making a small and narrow field, but rather a field that’s dense.

  • Blue beacons function a lot like smoke signals.
  • They wanted to capture Wind Waker’s artistic impact using the watercolor style. After E3 2010, Nintendo of America told them to ramp it up, because people didn’t find it convincing.
  • Making the Sealed Grounds a compact spiraling area has a lot to do with making sure the camera angles can always be optimal for fighting a giant boss like the Imprisoned. Originally they envisioned a large fiend area for that fight.
  • We will fight The Imprisoned several times during the game. They suggest he wasn’t totally sealed, explaining why he appears in a twisted, incomplete beast-like form.
  • They compare the Silent Realm sections to a game of tag. Link’s weapons become useless only having his ability to maneuver around the areas.
  • Unlike games in the past the dungeons and fields aren’t very different. We will use items the same way in both. We will return to dungeons multiple times throughout the game finding new enemies and undiscovered areas
Ito: I think that, generally, there are many people in the Western world who embrace a fantasy image when it comes to Zelda. But there are robots in this one…

Iwata: That’s right. In the last Iwata Asks, we heard about “The Ancient Civilization that birthed the Robot Punch.”

Ito: You got it. *laughing* That means people often question what, exactly, is Zelda-esque. I think, though, that Zelda has depth in that you can put anything into the game as long as it has charm. Because it’s a game that allows such freedom of expression, many different people are able to put forth their ideas, something I feel contributes to the richness of Skyward Sword. Players will be able to play intuitively through the rich content using the Wii Motion Plus, so I really want them to enjoy the game.

Iwata: Playing through a rich environment is always fun.

Ito: Yep. Also, if I might add one more thing, my favorite character is Fi.

Iwata: Fi is a character that navigates for Link on their adventures together, correct?

Ito: That’s right. When you target things like characters and enemies, you can summon Fi and she’ll tell you about them using a system called Ficaption. What she has to say is really interesting. *laughing*

How did you feel about the new Skyward Sword footage? Did you think The Imprisoned was going to be a little more terrifying like I did? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below and remember to always check back for the constant Zelda updates coming in! Also don’t forget to check out our new Zelda Wiki and our Skyward Sword Story guide that Mases and everyone has been working hard on to provide you with the newest and most accurate Zelda news!

Source: GoNintendo
Source: Iwata Asks
Source: Zelda Informer

~~~Recent Content Updates~~~
Zelda Wiki
Skyward Sword Boss Guide
Skyward Sword Character Guide
Skyward Sword Enemy Guide
Skyward Sword Heart Pieces
Skyward Sword Item Guide
Skyward Sword Official Artwork
Skyward Sword Screenshots
Skyward Sword Story Guide
Skyward Sword Upgrade Guide
Skyward Sword Walkthrough

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