As many fans had hoped, Nintendo revealed the latest installment in theLegend of Zeldafranchise today. Nintendo bigwig Shigeru Miyamoto took the stage to demoThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, braving fierce deku babas, misfiring bombs, and mysterious “control interference” issues to show off the new title, and I have to say, it’s looking damn sexy.
While most of the action is what we’ve come to expect from the Zelda series, the art direction sports a unique fusion ofTwilight Princessby way ofThe Wind Waker. Link is once again a teenager, but now the world is a colorful fantasy land rendered in tastefully restrained cel shading, in sharp contrast to the overuse of browns and bloom lighting seen in the landscape ofTwilight Princess. It strikes the perfect balance between realism and cartoons, and will surely age less quickly than the visuals of the last console installment.
WhileTwilight Princesshad motion controls grafted on to what was essentially a Gamecube port,Skyward Swordis designed from the ground up for the Wii Motion Plus. For example, to defeat a deku baba in the demo, Miyamoto had to swing the Wiimote in the direction that the deku opened its mouth, or else the deku baba’s hard exterior would block the sword. It seems they are finally delivering on the promises made for the first WiiZelda. Hit the jump to see more gameplay footage from the showfloor demo!
