Ahhh, you know, I had some trepidations about this game, and some disappointment with the whole NO GANNY thing, but...


HOT DAMN, I am going to love this game. I am OVERWHELMED. >.>
But hey, you know, this game has been in the works for FIVE years. It one of the biggest bridges to the future of nintendo, and lucky for us, it's Zelda.

Nintendo official magazine's review put SS at 98/100. That's one of the highest scores given out ever.
This is a masterpiece, and the homage to Cezanne's skies are gonna make this one of the most gorgeous Zelda games.


As you guys probably know already, SS is a prequel to OoT, and will have alot of information and connections directly to the game.

Ganon/Ganondorf's involvement in the game, despite everything, has actually not been denied.
Aonuma has stated, when questioned on it, that Ganon was not *planned* to be in Skyward Sword, and though we can be 99% sure he won't be, there is always a chance that a direct predecessor may cameo.

What I CAN say about Ganny in SS is that Ghirahim and those surrounding Debbie... I mean Ghirahim... will give pointed information and reasoning toward OoT and Ganondorf in that.

So, failing him being in the game, we are still set to learn a few things about our favourite villain that we didn't know beforehand.

The Triforce WILL have a role, though not a huge one, and not particularly relevant to the main plot.


Um, since we're drawing really close now, I just wanna give an outline to those who haven't been following it.

SOME SPOILERAGE~ But, I won't overstep anything really. I'm just going to elaborate on some stuff that's been pondered at. I don't want to spoil anything, and I'm fairly sure that I haven't put any real Spoilers here. Just bits and pieces.

LETSA GO!


Alot of peeps have been wondering what instrument Link will have, and in fact, It is a Lyre. (small harp, like Shiek's in OoT, which in itself is a fascinating connection.)

Sword beams are back, in the form of the Skyward Strike. (point sword skyward, charge beam.) I have personally been waiting for the sword beam to return for a while, in one of the Main games.
So, I'm very pleased by this, as I'm sure many other Nostalgia fags out there will be too.

There WILL be a master quest mode, and also a Boss Battle Replay mode.

AAAAAAND besides that, Skyward Sword is going to be really long, gameplay hours wise.
It is going to take around SEVEN hours just to get to the bit where Zelda gets taken in the tornado.

AND THAT'S JUST THE INTRO, in Skyloft, without Link even getting the Hero's clothes, going to Hyrule, or anything.

The personalities and new characters that I've seen are by no means a disappointment at all. All the imagination and intrigue you expect of the Zelda universe.
As well as a plethora of fantastic characters that, while new, seem really familiar; there's alot of people you'll see that are perfect homage to OoT.

Like Groose and his bullies, and the knights academy that Link is a part of in Skyloft.
How fitting, that Groose is a red head.
He also has a crush on Zelda, and picking on Link for his closeness to her, Groose pelts Link with eggs to make him lose a race and  also hides Link's Loft bird, to discourage him from participating.
A wonderful throwback to Mido, with the 'Link is bullied' theme, and to be honest, Groose also reminds me of Gaston from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

Also, to me, it's a very vague hint to Ganondorf, with blazing red hair and gold eyes, and a muscular, tall build.
AND Groose is a prick.
Love it.

And yes, Loft birds are those giant birds you guys may have seen them riding. ***NOTE that Link's loft Bird is RED, explaining how the red winged bird came to be on the Hylian shield.

(About the Shield, I THINK our shield is, rather than a different few, actually upgradable. I've seen a few pics of it and screen shots, as well as the trailers thus far, and I've seen to identical shields, with different patterns on the front. Most weapons are looking to be upgradable, so.... That could be interesting too.)

And, if I'm not mistaken, Zelda's Loft Bird is yellow. This could also explain the golden wings of the Royal Crest.

More on Zelda, I don't believe she is a Princess in this one. However, she is referred to as Her Holiness by baddies. Sooo, this is likely the first chronological Zelda, and Skyward Sword is obviously going to show where the Monarchy began.
Also, I think she shares a similar status to say, Ilia in TP, being the daughter of an important figure like a mayor, rather than her usual Princessly self.
Thankfully, this Zelda is, without such status, free to pursue more normal activities...

Zelda's father seems to be a throwback to Kaepora Gaebora. (Let's hope that doesn't include the whole, 'didja get that' yes/no = repeat.)

And ZELINK FANS REJOICE!!
When I say normal activities, that means teen romance too!
There looks to be affection and romance onside between this incarnation of Link and Zelda in game, and quite early on. Sending letters to eachother, within kissing distances- Quite close- and also, they are childhood friends.

So it looks like this Link and Zelda, at the very least, DO share a romance of sorts, or visible, obvious, and CANONICAL FEELINGS!!


ONWARD!!!

Ghirahim!

Interesting tidbit about Debbie *cough* Ghirahim, One ear is round, one is pointed. HMMM, that could be of significance SOMEWHEREE (only to the nerdiest of us, most likely.)

And of course, he looks very Shiekah.

BUT!!
Looks like Ghirahim is seeking to resurrect his master, in all this.
SO! Good ol' Debbie MAY NOT be the final boss.

OMG.

Along with a woman who will be helping Link periodically, a Shiekah, (who could actually be a massive Shiek reference, or this game looks set to elaborate upon Shiekah origin).
This woman is referred to as THE SERVANT OF THE GODDESSES for the moment, as per Ghirahim's reference.

But, this Shiekah woman has whisked Zelda off to safety, and I'm pretty confident that'll set the stage for the story of how the Shiekah came to be attendants and guardians to the Royal family.

Also, a new storage system for Link's weaponry and inventory. OOOOOO~


New races of course, SEVEN of them. Like the Mogmas, Around the Eldin Volcano area, in which I am fairly sure Bokoblins are back.

I haven't seen the Gerudo about yet, but THE DESERT is IN THERE, so.

WE LIVE IN HOPE.
Goron's are there, I HAVE seen one. He had a cool looking zigzaggy tattoo on his BELLY. :3
Dunno about the Zora's... Lake Floria is home to a race of squid looking dudes now.... Pirella, I believe?

Now, interestingly enough, there's Wind Waker flavours in this game as well. It seems the three, SS, OoT and WW, are set to be interconnected-- Quite possibly the three most chronologically placeable and concurrent games in the series thus far.

And, like WW, most of the overworld is not actually Hyrule. It will be Skyloft.

Quite like the islands, you fly your loft bird around in Skyloft, and then make the jump down to Hyrule, for the dungeon areas.
Though I use the word dungeon lightly, as it seems the old style of dungeon we knew has been changed quite a bit.

Rather now, it looks as if entire parts of Hyrule (which, itself, is not fully explorable in a connected sense as with, say, OoT and TP) act as dungeons, so to speak.


Another cool little tidbit is that some household items and such are interactive, and you may even be able to peek into people's draws.


Onto Link's companion, the little chick that looks like a cross between the fairy queen (WW) and the Master Sword's hilt.

Her name is Fi. (like thigh, F-ai.) And the Sword that she becomes is the Goddess Sword. She will fly from the hilt and change between forms at will, not unlike Midna flitting from Link's shadow in TP.

The Goddess Sword looks SUSPICIOUSLY like the Master Sword, so, that sword may become the Master Sword at some point. As evidenced in this trailer; [link]


As per time flow in SS, there will be a slight shake up in Day/night cycles like previous games.

Link, notable for only catching sleep at the beginnings of games before going insomniac to save us all, ACTUALLY GETS TO SLEEP in SS.
From what I understand, Day and night segments will come and go with Link actually going to sleep, instead of being natural transitions.

So that's interesting.

AND FOR THE FIRST TIME~

Link's responses can have alignments attached to them.

You can choose positive, negative and even neutral responses and actions to help mould the story in places, particularly, it seems, in regard to relationships with other characters.

We will first see this, in depth, with Link's interactions with Zelda early on in Skyloft.

Now, unlike responses in say, OoT, like, when Zelda confides in you about Ganondorf in the Courtyard, you respond with I don't believe you...
And Zelda gets a hurt look, and you loop from there until you pick OK?

Yeah, These responses won't loop like those. These ones will actually have slight consequences, if I understand correctly. I don't know how far these will extend, but at the very least, you can alter the entire mood of a situation.

Hell, if Link is an asshat, it may even make his quest more tedious. >.>

HOW EPIC IS THAT!?

And then there's FunFun island. A mini game hub, if I'm not mistaken, up around skyloft. No doubt that'll make the most of motion plus.

That could prove to be the main drawback of SS; motion plus tasks in which the joystick could've sufficed (like, over-complication) MAY piss some people off. But, I don't think I'll be that bothered, and once the controls are down pat, we should be right.

Anyway, the motion plus sword play is going to make us all feel like Heroes.
I can't wait to run around with the sword in the air yelling CHAAAARGE like a dick.

So, here's a short clip of the Sword tutorial; [link]

And here's Bill Trinen with a demo of the Motion Plus commands and moveset; [link]


AND AS AN ADDED BONUS, to those who haven't seen it, the Wii U expo heralded a taste of what Zelda may look like in the future.
Here's the full length tech demo in HD, with a showing of  day and night, with a Ghoma like enemy battle.
ENJOY!

[link]


Cheers guys, and I hope everyone pre-ordered. CD and special nerd wiimote for the win. :3

Bai for now!