Video: The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD's Launch Trailer Is Here

Strangely enough, Nintendo of America doesn't have this trailer (yet).

That trailer is AMAZING!! I can't wait until my copy arrives. I missed this one and looking forward to it.

It's depressing that the "HD" version doesn't even bother to update the textures that were ugly even on t he Wii. What exactly is "HD" about it beyond just rendering at a higher resolution from the same texture and geometry data?

Nintendo doesn't even bother reaching for the brass ring anymore, they just analyze market viability of Product and release to capitalize on market demand. It's not a creative endeavor, it's a Product engineered for an ROI value.

@NEStalgia You do know the game's art style is a direct reference to impressionism, right? Maybe that's what what you find "ugly"?

Not gonna buy it right away, but will eventually ❤️ I already secured a set of SS joycons, so I'm fine at the moment

@inenai The art style that it is more affine to has nothing to do with the texture resolution itself. I think that's what @NEStalgia is critizying. After all, I don't think that impressionists used to draw curves with pronounced sawteeth

Good on u Nintendo, you got this 10 year old game running at 60fps on Switch 👍

Is it sad that this impresses me? Am I setting my expectations for Switch too low? 😅
I feel like a parent that's proud of their 30 year old son for dressing himself 😆

@Smug43 Yes, this is one of the best trailers from Nintendo I‘ve seen so far.

@Smug43 I missed it too. I can't remember if it was because motion plus was a requirement and i couldnt afford to get the add on / a new wii mote as a kid.

So despite all the negativity i am soooo excited to play the only home console zelda i have missed. Without the annoyances of the wii version. Couldn't ask for a better first experience in skyloft.

Also this is the first game i have preordered in years. That's how hyped i am.

@SortingHat I think it's possible, I mean a lot of people are going to go into this expecting something like BotW, but this happens to be the 3d Zelda the LEAST like BotW.

@Manjushri I agree when it comes to the more restrictive titles, but Majoras Mask, Link to the Past, and Wind Waker, even if linear to an extent, scratch my zelda itch.

@inenai The nod to "impressionism" was a camouflage for the Wii's limitations and inability to have high quality textures. Nintendo's good at creating art styles that camouflage their technical limitations.

The problem is, in HD, it no longer looks like impressionism camouflaging sub-SD textures. It just looks like sub-SD textures copied from a Quake 1 engine game in the late 90's. They needed "HD impressionist" textures to look look like the intended aesthetic rather than ancient computer graphics.

Monet's oil transitions are smooth and dream-like:

SS used the blurry SD output of Wii and an artstyle that worked with it to camouflage the very low-res textures. It was inventive use of art and technology on the Wii to use the limitations as an advantage, though the limited geometry severely limited it still.

The problem is in HD, it no longer camouflages the low res textures through natural blur into an impressionistic presentation. It just looks like ill-defined, blocky low res textures. Monet's ground and tree patterns do not look like a 90's video game. SS HD's do:

@NEStalgia I must say I sincerely applaud your commitment to your reply. I get what you meant now, yes, new textures instead of upscaled ones would do the idea better justice.

Now this is why we need classic Zelda the most. BotW doesn’t bring this kind of flair and heroic feeling to the table. It’s cool for the sense of discovery, but it was severely lacking the Zelda feel. I hope the sequel can fix this.
I can’t imagine just having BOTW Zeldas from this point forward.

This video needs Groose!

@SortingHat So not only did this reviewer NOT like the OG Skyward Sword much (calling it so-so) but he's also a graphics junkie?

Who cares what his opinion is then?

It does sound disappointing if Nintendo dropped the ball on a doing a full remaster but I'll wait and see for myself. Otherwise, SS was actually always super fun for me and it's in my top five Zelda titles.

@inenai It is definitely one of the worst impressions of Zelda in a modern series. Doesn't do her justice at all.

@tseliot
What do you mean this is the most beloved Zelda’s in the series. Unless you are talking about how she looks which has more to do with the art style

Only 3D Zelda I haven’t played so sixty is worth it for a new game in my case. After watching chuggaconroys let’s play this is the most exited I have been for a Zelda game in a long time

This is the first Zelda release I have absolutely no interest in, maybe ever. I really hated the gameplay in this game. It had an amazing story, but if I never fight the goddamned Imprisoned ever again, it will be too soon.

@Dethmunk It has nothing to do with art style. The textures look low quality because the textures are low quality. That's not debatable, it's simple truth. They had to be low quality on the Wii because the machine has limits. For the HD release, instead of updating the textures with new textures to maintain the art style in the HD era, that just ran an upscale and called it a day. They cheaped out of a proper hd remaster. Low resolution isn't an art style unless it's an intentionality retro indie game. They just failed to supply textures for 720p display in the original art style. Look at WWHD and TPHD for much better examples of how to handle low res GCN/Wii textures.

The actual art style intended with the original textures was only actually properly viewed on CRT displays out of the Wii bilinear filter. It softened everything into an impressionism style. But to maintain that intended style without the 240p res into a CRT shadow mask to soften it, new textures are needed.

@METROIDDREAD

I feel like the trailers have done everything short of a 60-hour let's play to make it clear that it's not like BotW. Very little of this looks like BotW. Zelda's clearly in the game for most of the game and not just a voice. There's a greater enemy variety and puzzle variety not the same set of enemies in different colors and elements and the same theme in 140 different mini-dungeons. The little-bad antagonist is in multiple cutscenes. There are lots of actiony cutscenes. There are no bathrobe wearing lava dragons in BotW. No gust bellows, no whip, no double clawshots, no desert roller coasters, no flying whales. No fights with leviathan octopus Pixar characters. No duels with robot pirates. This Link doesn't even dress like BotW Link.

So, yeah, someone who just purchases anything called Zelda having seen absolutely nothing about it and having only ever played BotW and no other Zelda ever, will be surprised that they don't have an additional 1400 Korok seeds to find. No other Zelda is going to let them climb up... well, actually let them climb, period (save ladders and vines) and glide wherever they want or very far away at all if at all.

I love BotW. Exploring it was a magical experience. But not everybody is dependent on being dropped in a sandbox with a sprinkle of direction to have fun. I don't even think MOST people are dependent on that most of the time.

And this isn't the 3D Zelda LEAST like BotW anyway... LINK CAN'T RUN in any other 3D Zelda's. Do you know how jarring it'll be having to roll around in Twilight Princess for someone--a game which, btw, locks the player off from most of the game world while you clear everything of Twilight? Or any Zelda game where you don't start with bombs or bows and bombs and bows or hookshots are required to unlock whole regions?

Wind Waker doesn't even have... ground. I'm really not knocking any of the other games, I love em all ('cept TP, with which I am on good terms). There are going to similarities and differences between all Zeldas. I think any story-focused, dungeon-based, item-heavy Zelda will be massively different for a BotW-only player; I don't think Nintendo is setting up any particularly sharper contrast here and some of the contrasts might actually be appreciated.

@FaroreAbhorsen Well, you are focusing on the details, creatures, scenarios, even how Link dresses, While I was focusing more on how the game plays, players new to this know to expect motion controls, and a good bit, the more hard-core will be expecting a more linear experience, however the every day Joe might not realize just how much more restrictive it is. And how hand holdy and filler filled it is. I know they aren't expecting an open world, and Zeldas don't need to be open, I prefer them to be but I still love Majora and Lttp which are fairly linear games. But players will probably be expecting much more to the overworld and exploring than there is. Like Termina field in Majora. Also I think it is the least like BotW in which it gives the least trust to the player than other Zeldas, its the most hand holdy, the most linear, and the most slow to start, and the most filler filled, I was focusing more on the overall structure and the game at its core, rather than mechanics like running. And also, really? You don't think that most people prefer that open world? Because botw sold more than twice of any Zelda before it, it was critical acclaimed for that world, and the consensus is it is the best. Now as far as appreciating linear elements, some will, but if only 3 million people bought the NEW LATEST 3D ZELDA on a system with an install base of 100 Million, I dunno, it's linear for no reason, it splits of its overworld into 3 parts. This I think was probably done for the story, but the plot wasn't that great any way! The character interactions and development of that plot was good, but in the end the plot is as follows, (SOMEWHAT SPOLIER ALERT) Link lives on skylift. His best friend falls from skyloft. You chase her for 3 dungeons. Then you strengthen the master sword to go through time and retrieve her, but uh oh ghirahim stops them and revives demise. You kill him. Roll Credits The game has lots of lore and good story DEVELOPMENT, but the plot is almost nonexistent. Almost the opposite of Botw, which had a great plot, but poor execution. Zelda need exploring to an extent, that's part of it, at its core its exploring and puzzling, Skyward Sword soars at dungeons, but falls when it comes to exploration (see what I did there...), I expect a good bit will be disappointed, especially those who don't follow video games closely, and sees the title Zelda on it at the store, and remmbers playing BotW.

So many trailers....i think i saw all the game in trailer.....

Yeah, and I guess from an unbiased objective standpoint, that's not inherently bad. I personally think that this goes against the nature of Zelda. I heard someone say it's a game of extreme peaks and valleys, and that's basically how I feel about it. I think it's one of Links lesser adventures.