Video: What Could The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword Look Like In HD?

It would be beautiful and I would love Nintendo to do it!

Even though it isn't too old. It really would be deserving of a HD remaster.

Much rather have a Majora's mask HD Remake.

Considering it's my favorite 3d entry in the series, my vote went to Other M. Xenoblade would definitely be my second choice, however.

Looks good. Never understood the hate towards the game. Prob the zelda cycle.

@ZeroZX_Dev I think there is a fair chance for Majoras Mask 3D ... So Skyward Sword HD wouldn't be a bad thing. Though I'm getting really curious to see what Zelda WiiU will look like ... more than anything

Twilight princess, xenoblade and then metroid prime 3! Even though I own all three games I would definitely double dip with all three games!

Ticked Galaxy 2 but meant Mario Kart Wii

I'd rather have some new games

Skyward Sword would have made an excellent Wii U launch title...

They should strive to do HD versions of all of their games so down the line they can continue to offer it as a VC game w
hen the Wii3, Wii4, etc. get released.

This video made me smile through its soundtrack and gorgeous set pieces. I really loved that game for its atmosphere because it was quite unique...

Meh. The SS art art style worked because it was in SD. Everything looked like a swirling portrait from a distance. Still not as good as the Wii U Zelda spider demo!

Imo the only game they should be giving a whack with the HD stick is super mario sunshine !

That and considering it was the latest zelda game (wwhd excluded) its really not its time

Twilight Princess next! That's my favorite and first 3D Zelda game.

Who just got excited of E3!!!!!!!

I consider this the best Zelda ever made. It got a lot of hate when it came out and I do understand some of it but still don't agree. One of the highlights of my gaming "career" for sure To each one's own I guess.

Great video!

Was gonna go with Smash Bros. Brawl or Metroid Prime 3, but after seeing it was listed, I'd love to see how MadWorld looks in 1080p.

@ToniK I agree with you! Skyward Sword gets a lot of undeserved hate IMO. It's not my absolute favorite Zelda game, but it's up there.

Other than the HUD icons, I didn't notice any difference.

Metroid needs to be in HD. Immediately. I don't care which one.

@Ralek85 oh yeah E3 can't come soon enough, if they balls up a Zelda reveal then I would start to worry about wii u

I wouldn't mind seeing Fzero GX in HD.

I'm about 2 hours into Xenoblade and it really is hard playing an SD game after years of PS3 and almost a year of Wii U. I was going to hold out and wait for a HD version someday but I used a B2G1 coupon for Xeno, Kirby Return to Dreamland and DKCTF so about $32.50 for each game. (We're going to trade in DKCTF for SMG2 when we're done so its basically a $5 rental.)

If Xeno gets an HD update before X comes out maybe I'll still buy it anyway.

For me, personally, the hate for SS comes from it having a 'hub-like overworld' instead of your traditional (actual) overworld that was in every previous Zelda game (and more recently in A Link Between Worlds, which is probably why that got hardly any hate).

Truth be told, I would re-buy every one of those games if they were released in HD on Wii-U. All of them expect Brawl, since that would only be worth anything if Smash 4 is still a long way off (which it shouldn't be).

honestly, if they were going to make an HD remake, I'd want it to be a game that we cannot already play using the Wii U meaning. no Wii games.

OTHER M!!!

All that succeeded in doing was making me want to play this again. Can't seem to find any of my Wii games though?!

@ikki5 Only GC and 3DS then? Everything else is or can be on the VC..

To me, if there's to be an HD remake, I hope is a game which can greatly benefit from the gamepad. Like Xenoblade, which menus would be several times better with a touch screen and with info like quest or skill tree always at hand.. I would probably buy it again even if the graphics were the same...

Wouldn't we all prefer some awesome Gamecube games (no longer playable on wii u) get the HD treatment, or at least some VC.
like, but not limited to:
f-zero gx,
super mario sunshine,
eternal darkness,
Baten Kaitos.
Wave Race: Blue Storm,

@rjejr I wish we were friends because I would trade you my copy of SMG2 for DKTF!

Please stop asking for HD remakes of Wii games. I really don't think Skyward Sword or Galaxy benefit significantly from the treatment due to the art style.
I am curious what Xenoblade would look like in proper HD but I doubt you can do anything about the textures so it won't make a huge difference.
On the plus side, any excuse to listen to Phi's lamentation (is it that one?) is great by me!

That music.....

I wish they'd release a HD remake of SS for the Wii U, less for the HD and more for the traditional control scheme.

My vote went for Other M out of sheer curiosity. I think I've seen the others

@RennanNT I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo gave us HD Remakes of The Last Story and Pandora's Tower before they did it for Xenoblade!

@ricklongo I doubt they'd do that. Nearly every enemy would need a redesign. I wish they were sticking to the Motion Plus controls because that was the only saving grace of Skyward Sword for me. (when compared to other Zeldas)

Love this game, love the HD.

I'm playing right now Other M and I would ask for an HD remake with the option to play always in first person. That would fix the two big issues of the game.

Everyone wants HD remakes of this game. Me too. But, maybe to make things faster, they should release an "HD pack" (like PS3 did with a lot of older PlayStation titles) and just port them into HD. An HD pack containing Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess, would sell a lot, I'm sure.

BTW, what would be really cool is if the WiiU could play all Wii Games upcaled to 1080p. I mean, not just upscaling, but aplaying the 1080p output from the game, just like some emulators. Nintendo is missing a big opportunity there.

@Nintenjoe64 Why do you think so? XB has more hype, is 1st-party and there's an spiritual successor coming that Nintendo is giving a lot of attention.

@shigulicious - Yeah, that would work, too bad.

@Monkeh I really like SS,but there are some glaring flaws for me. There are few sidequests,much of the second half of the game consists of exploring previous areas and too damn much hand holding. I'm not a fan of the hub-like overworld because it limits the exploring and side quests.

That said,there is a lot to love about the game, and they make me overlook the flaws a bit to enjoy it. A lot of Zelda fans are a fickle bunch. In my opinion, there isn't a flat-out bad game in the main series.

@Silent Zelda cycle?

Why would you want a wii remake when there's n64 and gamecube games that could use the updated graphics much more?

And about the HD treatments, a Kid Icarus Uprising HD for the Wii U would be pretty awesome,with support for both pointer and touch controls. I would buy the hell out of that.

@RennanNT

Well, what would be the point in them making a remake of a game that is already available for the Wii U? If I want to play Xenoblade, Ill just take it off my shelf and put it in the Wii U. If they do an HD remake, there would be a 0% chance of me buying it because well... I already have it for my system. Why would I buy it again just to get slightly better visuals and a touch screen.

Can't really see a difference.

@LtAldoRaine Yess, I would love a HD WiiU version of Kid Icarus: Uprising. With the WiiU, it could have a lot of different control schemes.

@RennanNT Mainly because it would be typical Nintendo to give us the HD remake that nobody asked for and also because Xenoblade is getting a sequel already. I think a Metroid Prime Trilogy HD with online would be awesome and the prices for MPT online show there is demand for the game on Wii so I can't see why Nintendo don't want to do a quick remake. WWHD took 6 months to develop and sold a million.

Minor difference.

If they would ever do a remake of any Wii title I want them to do it like with Wind Waker HD. Added visual effects etc. Not just an upped resolution.

This is my favorite game of all time. I love it, and would absolutely buy it again if it came out in HD. I think Nintendo would go even further to make it look even better though. When they did Wind Waker HD, the updated a lot of the textures and lighting. It wasn't your standard HD re-release.

@Kyloctopus I've always said if Skyward Sword with Wii Motion Plus would have been how the system worked at launch, the Wii would have dominated last gen. Instead, there was a huge sugar rush at launch, and then it died down. 100 million units is nothing to dismiss, but it could have been in PS2 territory. Now, if the Wii had 1:1, HD, and a killer Zelda at launch, it would have been game over.

I bet the next HD remaster of a Wii game will come out on this site on May 3rd. Seems to take a month to make these remasters.

@LtAldoRaine Yeah, exploration is one of my main drives in games like this and I really feel the hub-like overworld dumbed it down on that part. Apart from that there's obviously still a lot to enjoy... plus the music is just perfect IMO.

@Monkeh See I've always really enjoyed the dungeons more than anything, and I guess that's why I enjoyed SS so much. It had some of the coolest dungeon design in the history of the series. I think that's why I liked Minish Cap so much as well.

I can't tell the difference tbh. Your HD looks the same as the SD imo.

In a world where we don't have "Super Mario Galaxy HD", "Skyward Sword HD" or even the SNES version of Yoshi's Island on Virtual Console these conversations are pointless.

For my money three games I mention are first obvious stops on the "embracing the past train" I used to include Wind Waker HD and Earthbound on that list so I live in hope we'll see them. After that I really would much rather completely new games. Wii U versions of Mario vs. Donkey Kong, F-Zero, Luigi's Mansion and Animal Crossing would all be things I don't think would be commercially very risky (i.e. low budgets, guaranteed sales in the right release windows) and would please Nintendo fans no end.

@Interneto Zelda cycle summarized = hype for next Zelda, hate for the most recent Zelda, love for the previous ones. Some hate SS now, but later will complain how the new game should be more like SS.

@ikki5 I much rather have the same graphics with significantly improved gameplay than the contrary. Of course, I wouldn't buy a second time, if I wasn't planing on replaying it a couple time, but that goes for graphics changes too..
I understand you only is interested if theres a big gap in graphics (and don't think you're wrong), but saying that its not worth because is available on Wii U means that no remake is worthwhile since they can port nearly anything to VC.
And it does make sense, because remaking an N64 or below game in HD cost much more money, time and is way more complex than one on Wii or GC (because they have to remodel everything or won't be any better than an remake for 3DS). That's why WWHD made more sense to Nintendo than MMHD, less sales but much more gain.
And since I talked about WWHD, thats a borderline example for me. The graphics didn't change much, but they took out annoying parts, speed up slow things, made an harder mode and give an decent improvements with the gamepad. And that raised a lot the replay value. I don't have the original but even if I had and it was playable on Wii U, I would be ok in buying it.

@RennanNT

I think you missed more the point if you think I am only interested in graphics. my main point is why would I buy it on the Wii U... again if I can already play it on the Wii U especially when there would be minimal changes to it and a few new added controls. Now, if they did this for their next system, not the Wii u which couldn't play the Wii discs, then you may have me looking at it, but for a game where I can already play it on the Wii U, you won't ever get me buying it.

@QBertFarnsworth I agree but I think the Wii did have a killer Zelda at launch.

I think: TP>SS in every aspect except motion controls

@ikki5 In complete fairness, not everyone has Xenoblade and with the prices copies of it go for an HD remaster would probably be cheaper.

It would be fun to see Mad World next since that's the only black & white & red-game I've played.

@ikki5 I'm just saying that you're not interested in improved gameplay like I am, (not that you are a "graphic jerk" by any means, in case it sounded like this). As remake are basically improvements on gameplay, graphics and/or content, and additional content are rarely worth a second buy by themselves, so if gameplay improvements isn't enough, then a big gap in graphics is necessary for a second buy, right?

Things like the iron boots on OoT3D or the sailing speed on WWHD (not them alone, but several small improvements together) made them worth to buy again for me. But I understand not everybody find it worth enough...

I think the Wii games can wait for an HD release, the graphics of SS or SMG never bothered me. I would much rather see Super Mario 64, Goldeneye 007, Starfox 64 or the Banjo-Kazooie games produced in HD.

In my opinion, the gameplay of classic games is of a high level, because they had to "compensate" for the lack of graphic power, enabling them to sell the games purely on gameplay and ofcourse music. Combine that gameplay with HD Graphics and you've got an amazing game I think the original creators would have loved to see in their day, but were limited by the technology of their time.

@wombatkidd I picked up Xenoblade Chronicles at my local Gamestop for like $50. Expensive for last gen, sure, but not prohibitive.

I agree I'd rather see Mario 64 and other such games made in HD before the Wii games but here in Skyward Sword? I can BARELY see the difference. I'd MUCH rather Twilight Princess that could actually benefit from superbly good graphics.

For all the comments of people who mention the hate Skyward Sword gets:

I have a pretty simple explanation: It hit just when the hating Nintendo is hip cycle really got underway. It released in 2011, but it was late 2011 right before the holidays.

By this time, the Kinect and Move had flooded the market and failed, and motion controls in general were losing their appeal in the marketplace while the gaming media had declared them objects of ridicule and scorn.

Nintendo releases the most motion-intensive game ever made, the game that answered the promise of true 1:1 interactivity, but also required you to upgrade your old school motion control Wii mote.

It was the perfect storm of negative external factors, and the modern gamers of course jumped on top never to let an opportunity to pile negativity on something pass by when directed by marketing hype.

@Interneto http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/9641/zeldacycle.png

i would certainly love to see Nintendo do more HD updates. They could hand over coding to other companies. noone would be forced to buy them, so criticizing Nintendo for updating classics would be stupid (galaxy 1-2, zelda tp&ss would benefit a lot, imo)

Didn't really make much of a difference, and since I never got into SS, I would be very annoyed to see Nintendo remake it instead of Majora's Mask, which actually needs the remake. I don't really need HD Wii games at this point in time. And if you're wondering what Mario Kart Wii HD looks like, perhaps try Mario Kart 8?

This is a perfect example of why Skyward Sword is just not among the best Zelda's. When you see Mario Galaxy in HD you can see the massive difference the upgrade made. With this, it's pretty minimal. It would appear that it's 'base' was not as polished. There is so little detail in SS to be upgraded sadly. They focused way too much on the motion control aspect where they could have improved graphics by a lot.

I WANT SONIC COLORS!! NL, please make this happen!

Super Mario Sunshine

@Jazzer94
This so much. F-Zero GX would be timeless in full HD...

Man... Skyward Sword is SUCH a great game- I really gotta get back to finishing it sometime. I'm saddened that I'm on the last dungeon of Link Between Worlds. My goodness that game is amazing as well. Possibly even better than Twilight Princess, which has always been my personal fave.

Guys, try watching this on a 32" display, as you would with the game itself, and tell me you can't see a difference.

@Damo No, I wasn't. Oops! (Thanks for reminding me of the different settings), I can definitely tell a difference now.

Please do Xenoblade Chronicles next!!!!

@Monkeh I also didn't like the hub overworld aspect of SS. They completely removed the freedom, exploration and sidequests of the series in favour of turning the land into dungeons and making the quest linear and repetitive. It was a bit like Wind Waker without any islands or interesting people to meet.
I genuinely would have preferred them to have recycled the Twilight Princess overworld and remade OoT or LttP with 1:1 controls but I still think the gameplay of SS has yet to be beaten by any action-adventure game.

@arkady77 @Action51 I want to start by saying I'm a huge Zelda fan, I even dressed as Link form SS flour Halloween twice in a row. That been said, I was rather disappointed by the ending of Skyward Sword and I wasn't too kin of the "Forth Goddess" plot.

To me the forth Goddess plot undermined the significance of the creation of Hyrule by the three (not four) Goddesses and undermined the symbolism and meaning of the Triforce (again, three, not four).

Anyway, going back to topic, I think Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, and Ocarina of Time would've been better candidates to see how would they look like in HD instead of SS.

@Miss_Dark This.

@Chubblings That cycle applies to almost everything in gaming these days. People consistently rate the gamecube and N64 highly, but when they were out and struggling, everyone said the SNES was the last good Nintendo console. Now the Wii U is struggling, most hipsters say the gamecube was awesome but insist the Wii wasnt (despite it playing every GC game and nearly every other Nintendo console game before it). I personally loved Skyward Sword but have to place it as my least favourite Zelda because every aspect of it being a Zelda game has been surpassed by another game in the series except the controls.

twilight princess HD enough said...

I would have voted for "none" if it were an option. I would rather Nintendo move forward with new games. However, since I had to pick one, I picked Zelda since this is one of the only Zelda games that I have not played yet. I would like to play HD versions of Luigi's Mansion, Fire Emblem (Wii or GC) and/or Super Mario Sunshine though.

Wow this is trully stuning! As one of my fave Zelda games is really awesome seeing this in HD.

This is what I didn't understand when I heard the specs of the Wii-U. THEY COULD HAVE DONE THIS EASILY. They could have setup the system to render all Wii games in 1080p but they chose not to. They would have had to use more powerful but compatible original Wii hardware but it could have been done. They could have even supplied texture upgrades in downloadable form. Instead they invest years into making HD updates rather than have the hardware do the work for them...The resolution alone is what most people want, the extra stuff is an added bonus but 1080p is more than half the battle and way more than acceptable for most.

@RennanNT Trust me, unless the next Zelda game is somehow worse, I doubt it will change my opinion of the Skyward Sword. Skyward Sword soured me on Zelda for awhile although A Link Between Worlds brought me back.

I simply don't like Skyward Sword. For me, the Zelda cycle has nothing to do with it. It had some cool ideas, but Skyward Sword for me was not what I wanted as a Zelda fan.

Of course some people like it, but I loved Twilight Princess(My second favorite game in the series) and Skyward Sword felt like a step back from everything that made Twilight Princess awesome. About the only thing Skyward Sword did better was the motion controls.

wow, thanks this is so fantastic to watch. One of my favs as well.
this is the kind of thing I really hope no one walks in on me watching. It's total nerd porn; can't be understood unless you're into the game. Just the music brings a positive chill.

there are always weird picky haters on some zelda games, I just don't get that.
The visual styles vary a little, but besides that the layout, quest structure, side quests, and items are so darn consistent between ever major game that you really have to dig to find some 'flaw' in a particular titles' take on it. If you don't like that consistency, well then you just don't like Zelda.
Oh and then some people seemed to hate the Windwaker style at first, like angrily so; what was that about?

@Caryslan I wasn't saying everyone follow the cycle. There's not a single game that will be loved by everyone. It just that there's SOME fans who look at things with nostalgia glasses, making everything new "not as good as in the old times" until these games become from old times themselves, and these fans are pretty vocal, so you get a hate wave that simply disappear after a few years.

Zelda TP... 1,000 times please do Zelda TP!

@Caryslan , You are correct. SS was awful, and so over-rated. Huge disappointment for me. It had a few glimmers of promise that the designer just fell flat with. TP is such a better game and really needs to be updated for HD asap.

SS just didn't immediately grab me from the start like so many other Zelda games have done in the past. It was slow and lacked any drama, urgency or excitement. I felt no connection to Link or his plight. Plus, all the unending reading-of-dialog was a real momentum killer.

I'm not a fan off buying hd remakes unless i never owned the game

Also, with the hand-painted art style, SS doesn't really benefit much from an HD upgrade.

@Caryslan About the last paragraph:
Fair enough, but to me every Zelda game make some steps back and some steps forward. TP biggest step back, for example, was wanting to be so much an 'better OoT'. The most awesome thing in Zelda to me is the ever-changing game where they let-go things even if it was great, and its the only series with I could do a marathon with more than 3 games (and think I could make the entire series if I keep alternating art-styles and gameplay, with perhaps Zelda 2 as exception - side-scrollers simply aren't my thing).

I hope everyone is aware that this guy is just playing the games on Wii U.

The only game that is truly HD on WII is Muramasa and you can tell the difference when playing it on Wii U

@ToniK why dou you think its the best? just curious...

This has just made me want to replay Skyward Sword. Definitely loved the game, didn't understand all the hate it got.

I ticked Skyward Sword; as not so much for the graphics, but if for the dream of a new control system. The whole game was broken for me as being a Lefty meant the whole thing with the Sword play made me go nuts.

#@$%... NL beat me to doing this as an episode... lol

OTHER M, LETS DO THIS PEOPLE!

@Nintenjoe64 That's a good point and I respect your opinion on Skyward Sword...but it's sad that video game fans have come to this. I wish that we didn't have this cycle, and that people didn't follow 'what's cool.' Rather enjoy what you want, and let nothing change that, but respect other's opinions.

@MrGawain As a fellow lefty, I played the game with no issue. I actually really enjoy the controls in Skyward Sword.

Ok, I honestly can't see much of a difference between the SD version and the HD.

I don't see enough of a difference to really care. Also, SS is still in stores, and anyone with a WiiU can buy it and play it. Wind Waker being remade makes sense, as it isnt available anywhere at retail and Nintendo refuses to put GCN games on VC. Remaking Skyward Sword (which btw is my favorite Zelda) isnt justified with just a simple graphics upgrade. In fact, simply upgrading a game's graphics is never a good reason. Games should only be remade if they're getting a gameplay overhaul, or if they're old enough to be out of retail for a previous gen console and said game is a classic worth remaking. But no Wii game needs to be remade except for maybe Xenoblade, seeing as how its so hard to find at retail in the west.

No, do not want to see any more of these, not paying for again.

@bizcuthammer I complete agree.

Can I go play some new games now?

Not bad! I can tell a good bit of difference. More so than with the SMG HD comparison (and yes I was watching in HD quality both times).

@ZeroZX_Dev Me too. At this point, Majora's Mask is in MUCH greater need of an HD remake.

@skywake That music indeed.

I would love for this game to be remade. I HATED the controls with an utter passion on the Wii. The motion controls ruined the game for me.

HD remakes are a strange thing, Nintendo have a wonderful ability to make a game feel like it would look exactly the same whatever hardware they used. Like they have designed it just how they wanted it to be in the first place. That being said, I think that games from N64 make the best remakes, still 3d, but well designed or not, technology has moved on since.

@RoomB31 could not agree more! Nintendo are insane sometimes. Why on earth is there no gc vc when so many people want it? I personally would be happy to pay upwards of £20 for games like f zero gx and eternal darkness. Id at the very least like an explanation as to why nintendo arent doing it. Gb advance vc is a step in the right direction though so heres hoping

Oh!! This game doesn't need any extra work - the graphics just work perfectly in HD as it is! Nintendo would be smart to release an HD version of this for the cheap in the eShop (like 20€/$).

The big question is:

How much better would The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword have sold (and played better) if the game design had allowed for the use of the classic controller?

Twilight Princess HD btw.

An HD re-release of Skyward Sword with optional control methods would be A-mazing. I love the original version but still, would be awesome to play it Off-TV with the gamepad and button input rather than motion control.

Name of first song? Been trying to hunt it down on YouTube forever.

Games good, good music, good story, but it felt a bit more unrealistic than previous titles but that just fell into its timeline I guess. Zelda isn't realistic but I loved the traditional feel of OOT and WW.

Skyward Sword in HD would be lovely. I really think Twilight Princess needs to be remade though, the art style is already looking dated.

@K-Gamer

i would love to see skyward sword in hd, but a twilight princess remake i would want to see that so bad.

I really don't care about Skyward Sword being in HD. Just get rid of the god forsaken Wiimote then we'll talk. Twilight Princess though.... I really don't wanna play that game again. Ugh, at this point if they want to give us Zelda remakes let's just get Majora's Mask HD.

NICE

There are a massive number of people in this thread who have no idea what HD entails.

Xenoblade Chronicles has so many scenic peaks and valleys that would look amazing in HD. I would love to see what Satorl Marsh looks like at night in HD or the Makna Forest Waterfalls or the stars in the sky from the Bionis knee. Make it happen.

_{Our community rules forbid such discussions. -Lz}

I found it very hard to tell the difference. Out of the games in the list I chose Xenoblade since I never played it and Super Mario Galaxy 2 because I don't own it yet.

I'm going to be honest here. I really didn't notice that much of a difference. If they remastered it like Wind Waker it might have worked better. But the style Nintendo chose with Skyward Sword worked perfectly without HD, and quite frankly it won't add anything to the experience.

Ugh...my stupid internet can never handle 1080p videos, they take forever to load. >.>

Still not as pretty as Twilight Princess.
Even with the 'brown' it just had more detail in it's characters and backgrounds.

@justjoined You might want to stay tuned

Why does everyone want the to remake wii games like come on why not gamecube games????????

I don't care for wii remakes wait 5 10 years and I do other stuff and thangs!!!!

You know I usually love all of Nintendo Life's content, but they need to stop with these cause there's almost no difference at all.

I think this was pointless even if you put nintendo games in hd it really makes no difference because of the art style! You may see some subtle difference but its really miniscule.

This video got me into giving the game another try, and to be honest, I quite enjoyed the experience! However after being spoiled by the visuals from the video, I can really see where Skyward Sword is lacking in graphical power regardless of its art style. I'm looking forward to seeing what Twilight Princess in HD will look like!