The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swordis regarded as one of the most linearZeldatitles, in part because of its multitude of handholding mechanics. It looks like Nintendo is continuing to work against this stigma by allowing players to skip certain tutorial sequences in the upcomingSkyward Sword HD.
Tutorials inZeldagames have varied in execution over the years. At its worst are games likeTwilight PrincessandSkyward Sword, that lock the player through hours of tutorials before finally letting them free to play the game. Yet, titles likeA Link Between WorldsandBreath of the Wildset the player loose from the gate and gradually teach them new information as necessary. With Nintendo already confirmingchanges to Fi’s interference inSkyward Sword HD, it seems the title is making changes across the board to streamline the user experience.
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In a recent tweet, Nintendo revealed another change coming toSkyward Sword HDas its launch comes closer and closer. The post indicates that after players acquire their first sword early into the adventure, they will not have to participate in further practice and may proceed with the game. The original game forces players to complete a series of tutorial swings to introduce them to the swordplay mechanics, and does not let them continue until it is done. This is another ofSkyward Sword HD’s many quality of life improvementsNintendo has been unveiling over the last few months.
Accompanying the post is a video that is rather humorous for fans of the original game. The clip shows Link receiving his first sword and proceeding to talk with Eagus, the sword trainer, before stoically and abruptly leaving the room. Where the player originally would have to work their way around the room, practicing their swings on each of the many targets, has been replaced with a suggestion by Eagus to practice as the player sees fit. With themotion controls being smoother inSkyward Sword HD, original players and new ones alike benefit from this change in the tutorial.
In the originalSkyward Sword, this tutorial was likely the first indicator for players whether they were going to continue with the game or not. There are two staunch fields that those who played that game have since fallen into: the motion controls worked, or they did not. At the time,Skyward Swordrequired players to have updated Wiimotes that used the Wii Motion Plus technology, that could track the player’s hand one-to-0ne with the sword. Theremaster is also including button controlsthis time around, mitigating the motion control problem entirely, so now there is no reason to not give the game a shot.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HDlaunches July 16, exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
