Recalling the "Legend of Zelda Concert" event in November 2018, producer Eiji Aonuma said a suggestive, "I know what you're thinking, the Switch's" Sky Sword, "right? It exploded in an instant, and Zelda fans all over the Internet went wild with it.
Despite Nintendo's official denial of the existence of a Switch version of the Skysword, rumors and Revelations continue to grow.
Finally, at yesterday's Nintendo conference, the long-rumored Heavenly Sword kicked off the "35th Anniversary of the Zelda series" with an official announcement on Switch as the Chinese translation of Legend of Zelda: Heavenly Sword.
Although the game isn't the expected remake, it's just an HD port, and fans' enthusiasm for Sword of the Heavenly Kingdom is so strong that it begs the question: why is the game made ten years ago still so appealing today?
In 2011 with the release of the Wii "sword of imperial days" as a tribute to the 25th anniversary of the legend of Zelda "series, to absorb the previous cartoon of the staff of the wind, fresh material and twilight princess mature deep texture, formed the art style of balance is very comfortable, this design also gradually evolved into later in the adjustment and upgrading of the Breath of the desert.
And the fact that Nintendo has always been inferior to other consoles of its generation doesn't hurt the picture's look and feel. The art can go a long way to making up for the lack of quality, and thanks to the power of Nintendo's art team, Sword of the Heavens looks and feels just as good as the mainstream titles on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Also, Sword of the Heaven is officially positioned as the beginning of the Zelda series' timeline, where players will witness the Hailaru Kingdom and the birth of Master Sword, which is a significant part of the series.
The consistently excellent soundtrack keeps the storyline experience at a high level. Simultaneously, the series has plenty of sugar-spicing interactions between Link and Zelda, as well as a great cast of other characters, making it one that the drama party will love.
As one of the most daring changes in the series, The Royal Sword caused a lot of controversy in its day. It was loved by those who loved it and hated by those who hated it. The split in player preferences comes from the game's core system: motion.
Sword of the Heavenly requires full use of motion, which means that sword-swinging, shield defense, archery, swimming, and bird-riding are all done with movement.
This gives the player a greater sense of immersion, especially since attacking in different directions depending on the enemy's position makes every battle interesting.
But at the same time, the judgment of motion sensation operation needs players to adapt for some time. Otherwise, it is comfortable to appear in the "sword is not obedient" situation. The game requires some precise operation of the link and makes players feel agitated, just this, in the early game to persuade many people to quit.
Players who can't get used to the motion controls will naturally feel wrong about the game, and if they overcome that discomfort, the experience will be wonderful. As a "pick and choose" game, Sword of the Heavenly Kingdom's operating mode is not meant to please everyone, which is perhaps the inevitable result of innovation.
Perhaps because of the fatigue caused by motion sensing, Sword of the Heavenly Kingdom uses the most "crude" pure linear flow design.
Although the purely linear flow makes the play process smoother, it also makes the world less layered and realistic to a certain extent, making it a less flattering design.
Also, the game has the series' most annoying partner: Fi. Much of the ingenuity of game design is destroyed by its "telltale reminders," which disrupt the pace and rob the player of the motivation to think and the desire to explore.
Many veteran players are not satisfied with Breath of the Wild's simple little temple labyrinth because they have experienced the best of the series of large labyrinth designs in the Royal Sword.
Before Breath of the Wild, the Legend of Zelda series had been praised for its expansion, but one undoubted fact was that the Zelda series, and the Japanese game industry as a whole, had been plagued by "overserving players."
Phil Fish, the renowned producer behind Fez, published a powerful critique of Japanese games at the time. He cites the Legend of Zelda series as an example of how game design has surrendered to the player:
"The original Zelda was about throwing the player into a dangerous open world where you had to do your best to survive, grow from failure, learn on your own, and throw in all sorts of little secrets that were hard to find...
"But the latest Zelda, the road is paved for you, the secret is hanging an arrow over your head telling you where to go, how to do it, almost all the exploration, surprise, unknown is gone.
"An exhaustive tutorial ensures that the player knows everything about the game, but it also kills the fun of the game." Phil's words sting, but they also make sense.
Starting with Wind Waker, the Zelda series' famous multi-dimensional, all-in-one, all-around mazes have all but disappeared. Fewer branches and more linear paths, disconnected small rooms, and level design that guides the player hand in hand are dominant.
And with it, the Zelda series' most unique and proud sense of adventure has been diminished.
Nintendo straddled the line between "serve the player" and "clever design" at times, but Sword of the Ace brought back Zelda's excellent, creative, and imaginative maze design series.
The puzzles of structural transformations that have been elusive since Mayzula's Mask are brought to light in Sword of the Heavens, and the clever micro-puzzles that have been in play since The Wind Waker are filled in nicely.
Sword of Heaven's maze-like design was an Epiphany for Nintendo's designers after they were confused and struggling.
The last
For all its controversies and shortcomings, Sword of the Heavenly Kingdom still represents the Zelda series's highest standards and top quality. In this game, we can see Nintendo's reflection in the era of heavy industrialization of fun; it is the courage to rethink and continue to break out of the self to give birth to such masterpieces Breath of the Wild.
While it's not nice for an HD port to sell for the same price as a top game, it's nice to be able to replay traditional Zelda on the Switch. Let's hope that Triangle Power, Ocarina of Time, Masquerade, Twilight Princess, and more will be on the agenda soon.
