Announced in February 2021 and released just five months later, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD was a welcome upgrade for an oft-under loved Zelda title. One of the biggest changes to the HD port was the addition of a second control scheme — the ability to play the game without motion controls, which made the game more accessible to tons of people.
Tom Crago, CEO of Tantalus — the developers who made this port possible — spoke about the difficulties of translating the motion controls of the Wii Remote to the Switch's button inputs on a recent episode of the Fragments of Silicon podcast.
During the episode, Crago clearly relished the chance to work on Skyward Sword because of the control scheme of the original:
The ability to bring that Wii Remote gameplay to a Joy-Con, I mean, I've always wanted to do that because, for me, I think that's — dare I say it — a comparable and in some senses superior experience playing it with the Joy-Con rather than waving around the Wii Remote.
The original Skyward Sword on the Wii required the Wii MotionPlus to play with, and there was no option to play with just button inputs, so this meant adding a second, more accessible control scheme was going to prove difficult. When asked if it was the "hardest" part of the process, Crago felt that because the motion controls were "kinda the game" and the unique selling point, and that "having it work button-only, joystick only, was probably the biggest challenge for us"
But it wasn't a challenge the developer wanted to back down from, as it would allow the game to be more accessible to people who struggled with motion controls or people who perhaps didn't have the space to use them.
...the great majority of people loved it, a few people didn't, so what we're trying to do is replicate the joy of freedom of that experience on a totally different piece of hardware. We felt that we had the potential to be criticised for it but we also felt "here is a huge opportunity", especially for people who maybe found it challenging or a little bit kind of exhausting waving the Wii Remote around to give them a different option with the gamepad.
This updated control scheme also lets people who have a Switch Lite play the game without worrying about waving their consoles around — a win in our books! But Crago says the process of converting the original control scheme was a "back and forth" process. The studio wanted to retain the "feel" of Skyward Sword through this additional control scheme, so it wanted to make sure it nailed them. Tantalus did this by making the right stick the choice for sword attacks, which means you still get the directional feel of swinging your Master Sword around.
In terms of how long development on the game, and the controls, took, Crago said it was around "a year and a half", though the controls themselves were ready before the game launched:
I don't know on what day we were actually able to pronounce that we'd nailed the control — it certainly wasn't at the last minute, and we certainly sent lots of different options and suggestions to Kyoto for their review, but yes it was a big part of the process. But also with games like this, you know, if we hadn't figured it out, Nintendo just wouldn't have published it, so they're not going to put something out there that doesn't resonate with The Legend of Zelda, with the fan base, and with the legacy, so we knew that we needed to get that right.
Given this, it makes sense that Crago recalls that the game was "pretty much done" by the time Skyward Sword HD was announced. The motion controls are a key part of the game, but having an extra option that would likely be a draw to fans old and new would also be an important focal point.
And it worked, too! Even the motion controls felt better to us, which we remarked in our 9/10 review of Skyward Sword HD last year, and we call the button controls "remarkably good", so everyone's a winner!
In the same podcast, Tom Crago also talks about Twilight Princess HD and how the team learned a lot from working on the Wii U Zelda port. He also mentions that Tantalus would "love" to bring Twilight Princess HD to the Switch, but that the studio hasn't been approached yet.
You can listen to the full episode below, where Crago talks about Tantalus' many projects, as well as the studio's upcoming game.
Share your thoughts on the new control scheme of Skyward Sword HD in the comments!
[source twitch.tv, via giantfreakinrobot.com]
Comments 46
God, imagine doing for Wario Land: Shake It.
Skyward Sword was always my favorite title due to the motion controls adding a new level of interaction, so I'm glad they were able to get it functioning in tandem with button controls for a new audience to enjoy 10 years later.
It still annoys me that you have to press the L-Button if you want to use the camera instead of using the sword. Don't get where there isn't an option where I have to press the L-Button to use the sword instead. I use the camera more often than the sword after all.
I like the new button controls. It's fun when you get the hang of it
Is this the point where I admit I didn't use the motion controls in the HD version at all? Aside from aiming certain weapons anyway.
I’m glad they put in the good effort. Played the entire game with button controls and was very happy for it!
Maybe it's down to muscle memory from playing on the Wii, but using button-only on the switch felt so clunky and awkward - I quickly changed back to motion controls. Great for those who don't like motion control though
Props to the developers for their ingenuity.
I'm a lover of motion controls and stereoscopic 3D, and it saddens me that so many dismiss these awesome innovations as mere "gimmicks". I think Nintendo got it wrong with the Wii insofar as effectively forcing developers to incorporate such fiddly control schemes by default, even where motion wasn't involved (the fact that the Classic Controller had to be plugged into the Wii Remote was a ridiculous design choice, as well as the fact that one wasn't included with the console, hence why developers seldom bothered to program for it).
But considering that Skyward Sword was designed with motion controls in mind, that is how I shall play it, but I'm glad that people who aren't quite as fond of motion as I am have an alternate way to play.
Although there seemed to be some delay after running and pulling out the sword. Wished the response was more immediate
@mariomaster96 I agree completely, why they haven’t gone back to patch this really simple request by fans is beyond me.
The port is so accurate that they even translated Miyamoto's E3 experience to the joycon stick... oh wait...
There was that brief time in the Wii era where having to shake everything seemed amazing; it's a nice memory but I'm glad we're past that. There are still a lot of Wii games (New Super Mario Wii anyone?) I want ported to Switch, so I hope they are getting good at porting the controls.
I loved Skyward Sword with motion controls back in 2011, and I am about to face Demise having played solely with button controls this year, and loved every second of it again. Fantastic game and fantastic port.
I love the motion controls but also love the new button control scheme. I hope Nintendo incorporates motion/right stick analog sword controls in future Zeldas
I liked the motion controls back in the day, but for me they haven't aged all that well... or maybe it's me 😂 Been sticking with button controls.
@mariomaster96 Possibly because the original didn't have any camera controls bar pressing Z-L to lock the camera behind Link.
It is a fantastic port. Really enjoyed it. I felt more immersed playing handheld and with standard button controls surprisingly. I even enjoyed the side questing far more in handheld. I got used to some minor awkwardnesses in the control scheme.
I did love it back in the wii era as well, to be fair, but I prefer the Switch version though.
I'm surprised it's not mentioned in the article, but the most challenging thing has to be the lack of an IR sensor in the Joy-Cons. It can't center itself around an IR emitter like the old Wii sensor bar.
This really was a quality port and it looks fantastic on the Switch OLED running at a smooth 60fps.
Man, the game looks great and most of the changes are for the better, but I cannot get the sword to work right with the stick. I wind up waggling the stick around and actually switching to motion controls for the fights you really need precision.
Always used the Motion Controls the buttons just didnt do it for me, just couldn't get the hang of switching between camera and sword. Wit the motion controls you just had to remember to centre the sword every 10 minutes or so.
It was great and don't understand peoples hate of it.
I prefer the button controls except for the boss fights, which are much easier with the motion controls.
The button controls aren't great, but I understand there is only so much the devs could do with a game that was built around motion controls.
It was the hardest thing in a 3 months job…..
Despite the difficulty of the task, they did a great job
I'm so thankful that this game got a release with button controls. I hated it on the Wii but Tantalus did a great job with this port.
This game was meant to be played with motion controls, and I definitely preferred it. I tag-teamed the remake with a friend, and he was all-button all the time - no wonder he was terrible at combat! That said, some tasks were easier with button controls, like the bamboo slicing game, but overall it's motion all the way fro me! I felt that the remake did a great job of replicating the feel from the Wii.
Too bad that they didn't think of battling the imprisoned 3 - 6 times was not a good idea.
I only played Skyward Sword after having played Breath of Wild.
I can see inspirations for BotW, but it feels like such a huge step back I didn't enjoy it and quit pretty early.
A link to the Past (and Between Worlds) and BotW are by far my fav Zelda games.
I’m sorry but couldn’t play this at all on switch lite the sticks r rubbish for what this game demands xx
The button controls are a nice accessibility feature if nothing else. Glad it let a lot of people who can't/won't use motion controls try one of my favorite games. Though I will say I disagree about the motion controls being better in the remake. I got a lot more misinterpreted movements and had to recenter a lot more with HD than with either of my playthroughs of the original. That might just be down to some limitation of the joycon or the absence of the sensor bar, though.
Well... After this port, I wonder - why we don't have button controls in Super Mario Galaxy in 3D All Stars?
I had a lot of problems with Skyward Sword and, the harp aside, the controls were never really one of them, but I did use the stick when I played the HD version. And playing that did elevate my opinion of the game a lot, though I think it was less the controls and more the way they tightened the pacing.
@HotGoomba wouldn't be nearly as complicated, since shaking the Wii remote was the equivalent of having a button input initiated whenever the controller detected motion, nothing is specific as Wii Motion Plus. It'd be like how they ported Donkey Kong Country Returns to the 3DS, and mapped the shake to X/Y
EDIT: I just remembered that Wario land also had tilt controls. Still wouldn't be that complicated
@Vyacheslav333 didn’t they change the waggle to the Y button?
Good that they included it, but I played through it with motion controls and loved it. Great game.
@Kainbrightside
I’m one of those who will always hate motion controls.
Give me a controller with an SNES inspired layout, dual clickable analog sticks, and four trigger buttons. Even better, add some grip buttons. If not that, then a mouse and keyboard.
I like for game controls to translate from game to game. That way I’m up to speed quickly and then can focus on learning the gameplay.
I tried motion controls back in the day and immediately despised them. Ended up skipping the Wii entirely because of it.
@Bunkerneath
I’ve always seen motion controls as a gimmick that primarily serve to upset cross game control schemes.
While I have some issues with the way game industry runs now, one thing I’m happy about is that all the major manufacturers are running similar controller set-ups. This means that games across platforms can share control schemes, which helps minimize the learning curve for learning the controls. It allows the gamer to focus more on learning the games rules and basic gameplay loops rather than fighting the control input methods.
Going from the Last of Us Part II to Control Ultimate Edition was super easy, because they share the same controller setup. It’s the gameplay where the games are entirely different. And that’s how I’ve always liked game inputs to be handled.
@tyranny_life don't worry, even if you played it before Botw you'd have felt it backward. Motion controls just because "hey we have them" were wrong from the start. They should've made it as a normal game with additional motion controls not the other way around.
I got it again on switch but the remapping of the motions to the gamepad feels just as wrong as it was years ago. I'd have appreciated more if they'd have changed controls entirely but it would have requested more work and Nintendo when it does remasters it applies the minimum effort
@Cero literally my exact thoughts about this port.
I have no idea why i got it expecting it to be good, it's absolutely terrible. It was 11 years ago too.
Glad he got the controls working, but I do feel like we need a Switchmote that brings back the sensor bar and attempts to give us a bit more than what the joycons offer. I would seriously buy that kit day one to get that feel back from Skyward Sword on Wii. Wii-motion+ was pretty solid, but could do for improvements found in 2022 switch joycons, but it losing track constantly of orientation causes the sword to lose a lot of its precision right out of the game. Especially if you do full swings, which works better on Wii. Guess I'll just wait till the community manages to inject the switch versions visuals intot he wii's code.... maybe something I need to do myself.
The joy of freedom? With joy cons that are ripe for drift? Honestly, giving this game a mix of control options is more likely to allow it to be ported and have a little extra cash squeezed out of it, then a game forever stuck and tied to a gimmick.
I'm not against motion controls per se (they were certainly implemented well in Super Mario Odyssey) but if I can take button controls, I prefer to do so.
I played Skyward Sword for the first time and had a blast. Props to the dev team for making sure that people like me who prefer buttons can do so.
"The great majority of people loved it, a few people didn't"
Ok, regardless of your personal opinion on motion controls, this is just a lie.
I suppose the accessibility is nice, but you're missing out on a lot of what makes the gameplay great if you settle for the traditional controls.
Meanwhile, mainly due to the lack of a sensor bar, the game actually controls quite a bit better in the original Wii version.
@mariomaster96 If Nintendo (outside than Monolith Soft) actually knew how to implement proper automatic 3D cameras, you wouldn't need to move the camera that much with traditional controls.
Well, that's just another reason why the motion controls are the superior way to play the game, since even Nintendo can't mess up a motion-controlled camera.
@OrtadragoonX They may be a gimmick for non-FPS cross-platform games (although with some exceptions), but motion controls really shine when the gameplay is designed around them like with "Skyward Sword."
Furthermore, until the Switch dropped the sensor bar, they were by far the best way to play FPS games on consoles. Dual analog controls absolutely suck in comparison (well, they're pretty bad in the first place), and the only thing that comes close is mouse/keyboard on PC!
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