The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD feels like growing up, and not just because this is the first time I've played it since experiencing the original as a teenager. There's something about Link leaving his student dorm to enjoy another day in paradise and having all of that swiftly torn away that resonates. His boyish crush on the girl-next-door Zelda, his rivalry with the headstrong bully Groose, and the small but friendly commune of Skyloft - it all feels homely in such a nostalgic way that it seems a bit too real when everything begins to fall apart.

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Link's life here is a delicate balance. School, friends, the village, no parents to call his own. Whatever Link lacks, his surroundings make up for. That process of going from relative tranquillity to a life of active strife and combat feels a lot like leaving home for the first time, getting a job and paying your own way. Some of us manage to be sheltered from the harsh realities of life for as long as possible, but eventually it all comes crashing down and HMRC starts sending you emails about taxes. I imagine that’s exactly how it feels for Link as he plunges down from his home in the clouds and lands on the surface, immediately discovering brand new creatures and hostile monsters.

But that's also where the adventure starts. Adulthood can be too much to take in at once - there are a lot of responsibilities to deal with and it can feel like the weight of the world rests squarely on your shoulders. But it comes with freedom, a whole new world to explore, and absolutely nothing holding you back - other than your means and ability, of course. But unlike the critically acclaimed and hated-by-Stacey-Henley Breath of the Wild, which prepares you for the world and then lets you loose, Skyward Sword puts you on a linear path forward.

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Skyward Sword sees Link drop down from Skyloft, a floating island community that believes there's no civilization beneath it, and finally pierce the thick cloud layer below, discovering an ancient land overtaken by nature and malicious forces. Zelda has taken a tumble while riding through the sky on the back of her Loftwing, a large and powerful bird that resembles a shoebill, and thus an archaic and magical destiny is set in motion. The spirit of the legendary Master Sword, Fi, approaches Link and puts him on the road to become the legendary hero chosen by the Goddess.

From here you can expect a broadly traditional 3D Zelda experience, with a small handful of differences. The key change is the combat, which is vastly different when compared to any other Zelda game. Skyward Sword was originally designed with the Wii Motion Plus in mind, and all combat was linked to motion control gestures. Every swipe of Link's sword in battle is either effective or useless, and it depends on the angle of the swing. You can swipe vertically, horizontally, diagonally, or you can jab at an adversary’s centre. Enemies defend specific locations, or will only have select weak points available to hit. The right kind of slash can reward you, while hitting a defending enemy will just leave you wide open for a counter.

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But those unique features go further than just combat. You'll be cutting through spider webs, ropes, vines, and even inserting your sword into mechanisms in place of a key. Pretty much every item Link gains in his travels was originally built to use motion controls in some way, whether that's aiming your Slingshot or moving the controller in the air like a paper aeroplane to navigate with the Beetle. The decision to ingrain motion controls into every aspect of Skyward Sword has always been met with ambivalence. Either you adore the unique way of interacting with everything or hate the fact it was built with players moving their arms around in mind. More importantly though, it made the game far more difficult to interact with for anyone requiring a bit more accessibility - not all of us can comfortably move our wrists and arms around for hours at a time, so it's great that Skyward Sword HD finally gives us a few more control options.

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If you decide to use two detached Joy-Con controllers, you'll be using motion controls. These are broadly similar to what you might have played with on the Wii, but the Joy-Con have a few more buttons available, so you get the added benefit of complete camera control, as well as a button to centre your gyro sensors. You'll likely use this a lot, since the act of flicking around the controller will make it go off-centre regularly. Seriously, you'll be pressing this at least once per minute, to the point where it'll make you wonder if it's worth the frustration.

Button controls are also an option now, available in either handheld mode or when using a more traditional controller. Here you can still access gyro features, such as Slingshot aiming, but your sword swipes will be mapped to the right stick, allowing you more direct and accurate control over your weapon. Tap the stick in any direction and Link will mirror a slash, while clicking in the stick will perform a sharp jab. This does, however, mean you can't use the right stick for camera movement - it is instead accessed by holding the L button, which is guaranteed to confuse you a few times during your adventure.

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The button controls come with a few frustrations of their own. For example, a Spin Attack is performed by moving both Joy-Con controllers with motion controls, but it's changed to flicking the stick from left to right - or vice versa - while using the buttons. This can mean you'll use Spin Attacks when you don't mean to, and given that this technique drains your stamina, it will inevitably leave you vulnerable.

The controls were always the sticking point when it came to criticism of Skyward Sword, and that won't change overnight with Skyward Sword HD, though the option to use button controls is definitely a plus. Hopefully, now that hurdle is easier to jump over, people can finally enjoy the rest of the game - which is excellent.

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The Legend of Zelda series has never really been one for dramatic cutscenes, and the majority of the time when they are included, they depict events that have already happened, whether that be the Golden Goddesses descending upon and cultivating the lands of Hyrule, or the story of how Hyrule fell prior to Link's adventure. In Skyward Sword, all of the action happens in the moment as opposed to being told via legendary stories from the past. Link will encounter fearsome opponents and protect Zelda from evil in scenes that look like they've been directed by Studio Trigger - when the action starts, it's truly gorgeous.

Zelda herself also gets more of a highlight here than in any other Zelda game, aside from perhaps Spirit Tracks. Usually she's hiding away somewhere awaiting Link's final encounter, but here she's in the action, and she's no princess. As I said, she's the girl-next-door, Link's childhood friend, and their relationship here is adorable. You get to see the bond they've formed in the early hours of the game, and it gives more impetus than ever to go and actually ensure her safety. This is the most story-heavy and linear Zelda game, the inverse of Breath of the Wild, but it has honed that traditional formula to a fine point.

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Nowhere is this more obvious than in the dungeons. The dungeons in Skyward Sword are actually fairly short, especially when compared to the cavernous temples you work your way through in the likes of Ocarina of Time. But that small size means they never feel quite as arduous to navigate and complete, all while still being as satisfying as ever. The unique gimmicks of each dungeon are amazing too; Lanayru's Timeshift Stones, which literally take everything within their range back in time, are particularly excellent, as they continually change the way you analyse your surroundings, both in the present and the past. The Ancient Cistern also might be the very best water dungeon in any Zelda game, taking what is typically a frustrating experience and making it smoother than ever.

That shorter dungeon length might be partially due to the fact that dungeons begin as soon as you touch down into a new area. Each area is somewhat of a struggle to navigate, with blocked-off paths, plenty of items to find, and NPCs to assist. The layout of dungeon exteriors is multi-layered, the kind of design that would fall apart entirely if you had Breath of the Wild's freedom of movement. You'll regularly be rolling logs off of ledges or blowing up vulnerable walls to forge shortcuts through any given area, giving the sense of progression a feel of "Dark Souls" before it became a trend - and this time I'm not even sorry for making the comparison. Fight me.

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But despite all of these excellent moves forward, Skyward Sword still manages to feel outdated in other ways. For example, you can only ever equip one item for quick access at a time. You'll regularly need to swap between your supply of gear and gadgets in every dungeon, but since all of these items can only be accessed by pressing ZR, you'll usually have to stop the action and switch your equipped weapon or tool, which is a nightmare when under pressure. The X button, meanwhile, is exclusively reserved for using the Goddess Harp, which you will never wish to pull out of your bag in an intense moment - why couldn't this game add an extra button for item quick selection like Wind Waker HD did? It would've made dozens of instances less frustrating.

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Other criticisms of the original game still hold up, too. Skyloft is a wonderful hub area that endears you to the residents of the sky as you see them both during the day and at night. The overenthusiastic shopkeeper turns into a right grump once the sun goes down and he opens up his night market, and there are many other characters who experience drastic personality changes as night falls, as well as some who are otherwise entirely hidden. Yes, Skyloft is great, but the sky itself? Rubbish. It clearly mimics Wind Waker's Great Sea, a wide-open area with islands that hold puzzles and secrets, but there's absolutely no reason to explore the sky itself. Each island's "puzzle" is often directly related to opening a Goddess Chest, which can only be unlocked by striking Goddess Cubes while roaming the surface. Ultimately, this just feels like an incredibly drawn-out method of opening chests, and there's not much reason to explore the sky unless you know you're heading towards some loot. Instantly, the sky overworld gets turned into a checklist, instead of a world to discover.

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It's a game of two halves. On the one hand, Skyward Sword HD controls far better than it originally did, while the 1080p/60fps visuals make the entire experience look and play better than ever before. On top of that, the dungeon and overworld design is truly top-tier, paired with one of the most detailed and engaging Zelda stories. But the controls are still not entirely "traditional Zelda," and they come with some more valid criticisms, too. Add the issues with the sky - which is definitely not the most memorable Zelda location - into the mix and it’s easy for the ambivalence that plagued the original Skyward Sword to rear its ugly head. Still, even the weakest of games in a series as brilliant as Zelda is good enough to be a classic, and Skyward Sword HD is by far the best way to play this polarizing but great entry.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD really does revitalise this maligned Nintendo classic. Motion controls proved controversial at launch, but with two robust control schemes included here, and the extra fluidity of the visuals, this should finally please almost everybody. The linear structure of the game and relative empty space of the sky will still frustrate some, but the core sword-fighting gameplay and straightforward Zelda structure is better here than it is in many other games. If you want a traditional 3D Zelda experience, then Skyward Sword HD is an easy choice.

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD Review Score Card

Score: 4/5

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA SKYWARD SWORD 2011
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Remastered for the Nintendo Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword originally launched on Nintendo Wii in 2011. In it, Link must traverse Skyloft, defeat Demise, and rescue Zelda.

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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is available on Nintendo Switch from July 16. Game code was provided by Nintendo for the purposes of review.