The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD Switch NSP Free Download some ten whole years down the line from its original release, you may be expecting, as we certainly were, to be greeted by a core game that’s unavoidably, naturally, beginning to show its age in some regards. It stands to reason, this is an entry in Nintendo’s storied franchise that’s had its detractors from the get-go, criticised for its sometimes unreliable motion controls, its fractured overworld, intrusive sidekick, pacing and some late-game repetition. Surely by now these issues — these rough edges — have been exacerbated, and even added to, by the natural progression of time. ROMSLAB.COM Best Switch Games

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

Well, whether or not any of that might have been the case seems quite beside the point now; with this HD remaster, Nintendo has taken its gust bellows to a layer of jank that, in hindsight, stood between players and the true promise, the full potential, of this masterpiece. The raft of tweaks, changes and updates drip-fed to us in the months leading up to The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD’s release may not have seemed all that exciting on paper — this isn’t some ground-up remake and there’s no new content or notable changes to how things unfold — but together they give the underlying game here a whole new lease of life. This HD remaster feels like how we were meant to originally experience this adventure, the connection between the game’s world and the player now unimpeded.

A Legend Reborn

Let’s start with those technical changes. The motion controls here, such a divisive element of the original release of this game, now perform so much closer to the way we dreamed they might back in 2011. Tight, responsive and absolutely up to the task in the most frantic of mob battles and boss fights, they may not quite manage the flawless 1:1 swordplay that was touted back in the day, but boy do they come close. Engaging in combat in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD feels fluid, your sword swipes and shield actions responding accurately to your commands and enabling you to properly relax, to feel confident that the inputs you make whilst playing with motion controls will now translate onto the screen. We were impressed with this game’s combat back in 2011, but there was no doubt it could prove hugely frustrating when a thrust or cut failed at some critical moment, when your shield refused to parry an attack or a skyward strike refused to charge. Kotodama The 7 Mysteries of Fujisawa Switch NSP

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

In terms of the all-new button controls, although they don’t quite match up to the feeling of immersion you get from swinging and flicking your Joy-Con as you batter Bokoblins and slice and dice Deku-Babas, they still feel remarkably good and enable Switch Lite and portable players to fully enjoy this experience in handheld mode. Controlling your sword by flicking the right stick works wonderfully well here, and in situations where your sword skills are really put to the test, such as those exacting face-offs against Ghirahim, they prove to be accurate and responsive enough to avoid almost any frustrations.

A fascinating second look at one of the oddest Zeldas out there.

I’m not sure there is a more magical moment in all of Zelda than the moment you first hit a timeshift stone. For five minutes or so you’ve been exploring a dead world of greys and browns, moving through empty tunnels, dodging odd lumpen statues, and shoving heavy mine carts ahead of you to make progress. Then you hit the magical stone that stands in the middle of a plaza, and a bright bubble emerges. And within that bubble everything is different. The brown stones around you are now brightly painted. Nearby statues of slumped robots return to fizzing, bickering life – in truth they were never statues at all. Dead plants sprout hearts for you to take, and those mine carts now hum with energy and ghost along on electrical tracks. Legend of Mana Switch NSP

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

This is a remaster based around generous tweaks and “quality-of-life” updates, so it feels right to talk about the controls from the off. The original Skyward Sword was a Wii game to the hilt – literally, as you had to negotiate with your surroundings every time you wanted to swing your Wii Remote sword, while enemies lined up to block attacks if you opted for the wrong angle. These controls never really clicked for me – and quite a lot of other people, reading around the internet. So one of the things I was most excited about with the HD remaster was the option to play the game using button controls.

Directional Swipes

The sword is the main stickler for me. Because directional swipes are so fundamental to the game, you can’t put sword attacks on a button. Instead, and this is clever for sure, they sit on the right stick – flick up, down, left, right, diagonal to strike, and push up to hold the sword aloft and charge it. Problems: firstly, for me at least, and granted my fingers probably shake a bit more than most people’s do, there was just enough input confusion to make more hectic fights feel like a bodge. Secondly, with hovering threat of intermittent drift and an aging console, I didn’t really feel too hyped about flicking the thumbstick around with the inevitable force that I would fall into using so regularly for twenty-odd hours. More than that, being dumb, I would often forget the camera wasn’t on the thumbstick, so Link would constantly be drawing his sword. I appreciate my mind is more muddled than most, but this never really felt engaging or precise. LEGO Builder’s Journey Switch NSP

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

And those camera controls only muddled me a bit more, actually. Skyward Sword HD now allows you to control the camera, which is a real improvement on the original game. But with the sword on the right stick – the shield, I should add, is a click of the left – if you want to move the camera you now need to hold down L and move the thumbstick simultaneously. This works fine (and yes, you can use motion controls for the camera, even if it quickly becomes a faff) but it was still another thing to think about, and Skyward Sword can get pretty busy, pretty filled with things to think about. I suspect if I had put in more time with this set-up it would have straightened out in my head, but it always felt like a cludge to me. Crucially, the button controls never really seemed that much fun to use. Legrand Legacy: Tale of the Fatebounds Switch

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