The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Makes A Great Game Better, Here’s Why

While fans eagerly wait for the release of Breath of the Wild 2, another Zelda game is here to fill the void. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a great, but flawed, game. I find the narrative, art style, and characters absolutely captivating. However, there are plenty of annoying and momentum-slowing mechanics in the game. Fortunately The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is now here! The remaster doesn’t just add a fresh coat of high-definition paint to the game; the upgraded port makes plenty of quality-of-life changes to the game. Could a great game become straight-up incredible?

Skyward Sword HD Brings Plenty Of Quality-Of-Life Changes To The Game

Item Notifications

Let’s start right off the bat with the greatest quality-of-life change of them all. This one drove me crazy back in 2011! In the original game, every single time Link picked up ANY item for the first time during that play session, you were greeted with an increasingly annoying item notification. Imagine having the description of a rupee shoved in your face each gameplay session.

This was exceptionally annoying in Skyward Sword because there were tons of collectable recipe items. These items are collected in order to upgrade weapons, shields, and items. Every lizard, bug, rupee, and snail collected prompted this annoying notification. As someone who played frequently, this grew tiresome incredibly quick. Thankful this notification only pops up the very first time you receive any item in Skyward Sword HD! This sounds small, but trust me, it is a welcome change.

Fi Now Gives You Some Much Needed Space

One of Skyward Sword’s biggest complaints was the amount of hand-holding forced upon the player. This was extra insulting to long-time fans of the series. Fi often interrupted the player by force, and this was unavoidable and non-optional. Additionally, it was strange that this game specifically forced hand-holding so much, as there were optional shiekah stones that gave the player hints on what to do to advance the game.

In Skyward Sword HD, Fi’s advice is completely optional. An icon will flash on your screen (similar to how Midna from Twilight Princess would notify you of optional tips), and the player can then decide whether or not they want to hear what she has to say. This is a great way to make the experience flow much more smoothly.

Statue Saving Is Still Here, But It Isn’t The Only Way To Save

The original Skyward Sword had a bit of a saving issue. Similar to the N64’s Majora’s Mask, players could only save by visiting a bird statue. This often forced players to either continue playing until they found one, or to go backwards and revisit another one in order to save. Oddly enough, Fi would suggest that players stop playing the game after long play sessions. Fi! I can’t! There is no bird statue around! This was quite odd. Fortunately, in Skyward Sword HD, players can take advantage of the autosave feature. Fans of Breath of the Wild will likely be very comfortable with the security added by the autosave feature. Players will still utilize bird statues to solidify their progress in one-of-three save slots, but the autosave feature is a life-saver nonetheless.

Other Quality-Of-Life Changes

The previously mentioned quality-of-life changes aren’t the only ones too! Nearly all of the changes help with the flow of the game. It is now possible to fast-forward through dialogue and skip cinematics altogether! I don’t recommend skipping the cinematics of Skyward Sword though, as the game has one of the strongest narratives in the series. Additionally there is a Zelda and Loftwing amiibo, that when used, allows the player to return to the sky at any time. The decision to tie such a wonderful quality-of-life feature to an amiibo was met with a great deal of controversy. I choose not to let this sour my thoughts for the remaster.

Skyward Sword HD Adds Another Way To Play The Game

Motion-control haters rejoice! While the quality-of-life changes are a big deal to all players, there is another change that is extra special for the previous mentioned group. If you dislike motion-controls (or just prefer button controls when available), you’re in luck! The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword can finally be played with button controls. I for one enjoyed the motion controls of Skyward Sword (the golden special edition Wiimote helped). So while I am fine with using motion controls while playing Skyward Sword, I am ecstatic for the players who can finally enjoy the game the way they want. Everyone truly wins with Skyward Sword HD.

Final Thoughts On Skyward Sword HD

Skyward Sword is one of my favorite Legend of Zelda games. Sure it was heavily flawed, but fortunately most of these flaws are now corrected! I believe that the game will be appreciated more than ever now. The game incorporated a ton of great ideas; had some of the best dungeons in the series; had a gorgeous art style (which is now more beautiful thanks to the HD remaster); and had one of the strongest narratives in the whole series. I welcome Skyward Sword back in the spotlight, in fact I believe Breath of the Wild 2 could take a few notes from Skyward Sword.

If you you want to pickup a copy of Skyward Sword HD, you can follow the affiliate link below. Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I will never recommend a product or service I don’t have 100% faith in. Happy gaming!

What do you think about Skyward Sword HD? Are you happy with the changes made to the game? Let us know in the comments.