If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. This must have been Nintendo's thinking when making Skyward Sword, arguably the most convincing case for motion controls in a 'traditional' game yet, though that isn't saying a whole lot. While games like Mario Galaxy have already incorporated motion controls to a degree, they haven't really been crucial to the experience in the same way as they are to Skyward Sword. As everyone surely knows by now, Link swings his sword almost identically to how you move the Wii remote, which is the basis for the game's combat system. This is both one of the game's greatest strengths as well as one of its shortcomings, of which there are many.
Controls aside, Skyward Sword is largely Zelda by the numbers. What this means is that the game's structure is almost identical to how it's been since A Link to the Past. We're introduced to Link, Zelda and the floating town Skyloft in the game's lengthy opening act, which is packed with tender character moments and an almost Pixar-like charm. It's a bit of a slow start but it does a great job of introducing the lively characters and the setting. Link and Zelda are childhood friends here, but there's clearly something more profound to their relationship. The game expertly portrays these two innocent teenagers and makes their bond feel genuine. This relationship is the foundation of the game's entire story, and it carries that weight masterfully. Of course, disaster quickly strikes and Zelda disappears, jump starting Link's adventurous journey into the mythical land below the clouds.
As it turns out, what's below the clouds is a forest area, a volcanic mountain region and an arid desert. Of course, each of these areas contains one of the initial three dungeons, after which Link repeatedly gets sent back to each area for more puzzling, light exploration and dungeoneering. It's this repetitive structure that's one of the major flaws with the game. Because it is so easy to predict where the game will have you go next, it feels like working off a checklist. As soon as you go back to the forest a second time, it's obvious that return trips to the other two areas will soon follow. While each area will introduce new sections upon each revisit, thanks to new gadgets and plot events, the sensation of 'been there, done that' is hard to avoid. You still end up looking at the same dull desert area over the course of three separate visits there, and the same goes for the other two areas. This dreaded Rule of Threes even impacts one of the bosses, who must be fought three separate times in encounters that are largely identical.
Perhaps equally disappointing is the fact that there is no connective tissue between the three disparate regions. They are completely separated, and the only way to travel between the three is by returning to the clouds, slowly flying over to the next area and dropping back down below. As such, one of the hallmarks of the Zelda series, exploration, is largely absent from Skyward Sword. Each area is generally a fairly linear path to the dungeon, often needlessly padded out with a fetch quest to elongate a game that already feels stretched thin. With a much reduced focus on exploration, Skyward Sword basically becomes one huge dungeon, as puzzling is now the main focus. By and large, the puzzles outside of the dungeons proper won't hold you up for long, as the solutions are usually fairly obvious. If anything, they tend to feel laborious, as the game's slow pace means that even if you know what to do, it will still take longer than it should.
The slow pace is an issue in almost all facets of the game. NPC-spoken dialogue crawls across the screen, with no way to skip through it. Likewise, catching a bug or finding a material Link can use to upgrade his arsenal (a shallow and superfluous addition) prompts the descriptive text of said item every single time you boot the game up again. The slow text is especially egregious when playing a ten-second log-cutting minigame, which is preceeded and followed by about fifteen seconds of text each and every time. Fi, Link's sword-lady friend, also has a habit of frequently and slowly stating the obvious. It's patronizing to all but the most inexperiences gamers.
Flying Link's bird around the sky above the clouds is a similarly slow and tedious affair, as there is almost nothing to do in the entire place. Unlike Wind Waker's ocean, there are no fun diversions while flying, no mysterious islands on the horizon that beg exploring. There's just sky, clouds, and the occasional floating rock. Skyloft itself is similarly bereft of activity, with only a few mundane sidequests of the "bring item X to character Y" variety. There is a large cast of colourful characters who are given almost nothing to do except stand around and repeat some pithy lines of dialogue. There is a vague echo of Majora's Mask as one side quest sees you bring two lovestruck teenagers together, but it only serves as a reminder of what the game is mostly lacking.
Once in the dungeons, things tend to pick up, fortunately. While they're nowhere near the series' best, as they, like the rest of the game, are quite linear, they serve as the game's high points. The puzzles ramp up in challenge fairly evenly and unlike most Zelda games, they actually require you to use most of Link's arsenal of gadgets, instead of just the one item found in each dungeon. Two dungeons with a focus on time manipulation are easily the standouts. The bosses range from disappointingly easy to pleasantly challenging, with the ones focusing on deft swordplay generally being the hardest. They introduce some spectacle in an otherwise fairly tepid game.
The swordplay, Skyward Sword's calling card, is satisfying at first but not without its share of issues. While it does what it should on the surface, when finesse is required, things get a bit trickier, and not for the right reasons. Hitting through an enemy's defense is often a case of feinting in one direction and quickly switching directions to catch them off guard. However, switching sides quickly is often interpreted by the game as slashing, sending Link's sword clanging uselessly into an opponent's guard. Similarly, stabbing motions are also hard to get across, often registering as a slash. As if the designers realized this issue, they made it so that most enemies can actually be defeated by hapless remote waggling, as long as you're persistent and have health to spare. Another way to circumvent the game's arbitrary enemy design is to wait until they attack and parry with the shield, giving you an opening to waggle to your heart's content. Instead of fixing the fundamental pacing issues with the combat, they simply designed loopholes around them. You're stuck either waiting or flailing around, and neither is particularly fun.
Underneath all the weight of the Zelda name, the all-too familiar structure, the repetition and the snail's pacing is a game with genuine charm and heart, however. The creature design is outstanding, contrasting with the unimaginative world surrounding them, time-traveling desert boat notwithstanding. Link and Zelda share a genuine chemistry that is surprisingly resonant, considering one of the two is mute. The primary motivation to keep playing was to see the story through to its conclusion, which does not disappoint if you are a fan of the franchise, though this also comes with a caveat: literally nothing happens in the story for about a third of the game. Skyward Sword has a rousing, climactic finale, closing out with a succession of great boss fights and story beats. It's a stark contrast to the majority of the game, but at least it ends on a high note.
Ultimately, Skyward Sword just feels bogged down, held back by the burdens of too many series staples and traditions and a tired structure. It's a slow, lumbering beast of a game in far too many ways. Fundamentally, there isn't anything new to be experienced in this game that you haven't experienced if you've played Ocarina of Time or any of the Zelda games after that.