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| Andrew Barker |
Acrobatics, item dowsing, cute animals and more!
10.10.11 - 12:18 AM
Over the weekend some new information arrived for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. It seems like the best place to start is the beginning, so first up is a video featuring the opening story of the game. It's in Japanese, but subtitles are included:
Next is another video of Skyview Temple (you know, in case you haven't seen enough of it yet):
Now for something new! There are some minor spoilers contained so you may want to be careful if you don't want to know too much.
During Link's adventure, Fi, the spirit of the Goddess Sword, explains that he can use the sword to search for items through dowsing. As Link holds out the sword it will beep, along with giving visual feedback, when pointed at a target. It picks up on more than just objects too. In Faron Woods, Link uses it to search for Zelda's aura, a little like Link's wolf senses in Twilight Princess. Check the video out below:
In the video you may have also noticed some small, cute, furry creatures. The Kikwis are creatures that Link will encounter while exploring Faron Woods. He can locate them through dowsing. The forest itself is the first location Link will arrive after leaving Skyloft. The people who live in Skyloft have never actually been to the surface so entering the woods will be a foreign experience for Link. Deep within the forest is Skyview Temple where Zelda may be held.
A few other details about game mechanics have come our way from Nintendo of America too. One new feature to the series is the endurance meter. By holding down the A button Link can increase his movement speed and begin to sprint. When sprinting he can run up curved walls and perform acrobatic feats. Doing so will drain his endurance and, if it runs out, his movement will be dramatically slowed for a short period of time. His signature sword spin attack drains endurance too.
This had already been revealed to a degree, but the first item Link will come across is the well-known Slingshot. It's not very powerful, but can be used to stun enemies and activate objects in the environment. Like some of the other equipment, the slingshot can be directed accurately by using the Wii Motion Plus.
Finally, here's another version of the opening movie for the game:
Lastly (we mean it this time!), we've added 20 new screenshots which you'll find in our gallery linked below. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is due for release on November 18th in Europe, 20th in North America, 23rd in Japan, and 24th in Australia.
