“What I really wanted to explore was how these tiny beings, the hero and his companions, would grow, and whether they would be able to embark on their adventure. That’s why I think that if I were to sum up this title in a single word, I would say that it was ‘embarking’. In the initial part of the game, the hero and his companions set out on their journey, facing the future in an unfamiliar world, and I wanted to describe the way they progress."
- Tetsuya Takahashi (creator of Xenogears, the Xenosaga series, and Xenoblade Chronicles), describing what he hoped to achieve with the creation of Xenoblade Chronicles.
Also, as a side note, I was able to finish The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword last night. All in all, the main quest took me 35 hours to complete (and it was a GOOD 35 hours indeed). I didn’t like the Silent Realm segments at all, there were a few too many fetch quests, and I absolutely abhorred anything that had to do with catching bugs/birds and flying the loftwing. Apart from these minor hiccups though, I think that Skyward Sword is a remarkably well-designed adventure with some superb boss encounters (the 4th dungeon boss in particular is absolutely amazing). The fact that the origins of Link, Zelda, Ganon, Impa, and the Master Sword are all revealed was a nice little bonus as well. I’m always glad when a Zelda title goes out of its way to add something new to the series’ mythology.
In my opinion, Skyward Sword is a long, well-designed adventure that does much to redeem five years of motion controlled shovelware. When I look back on it, I think I'll mainly remember its combat -- not something I've ever said about a Zelda title in the past. Whether that's enough to push it into the upper echelons of the franchise is for history to decide. But for me, it is most definitely one of the best console titles to come out of Japan this year.
