Nintendo: Zelda's Motion Controls Here to Stay

[Mike Kayatta]

Nintendo: Zelda's Motion Controls Here to Stay

With two motion-controlled Zelda games now under his belt, Eiji Aonuma believes that buttons would be a step backward.

While most Zelda fans played Twilight Princess on the Wii, motion controls weren't a requirement. The game was even released on the GameCube, giving standard-controller stalwarts the option to play things old school. More recently, however, Skyward Sword, actually forced players to move if they wanted Link's sword to do the same. The game even required Wii MotionPlus, shelving any hope gamers had of lazy play. If you're someone hoping that this was just a fad, think again. According to series producer Eiji Aonuma, Skyward Sword's motion control scheme will likely become the new standard for the series moving forward.

"I honestly think we cannot go back to button controls now," Aonuma said during an interview with Official Nintendo Magazine, "so I think that these controls will be used in future Zelda titles, too."

Earlier this year at E3, Nintendo showed some of how it hopes to utilize new control schemes to continue evolving player experience. The demonstration included showcasing the Wii U's tablet as an inventory management screen for a hypothetical Zelda title. Considering Aonuma's recent comments, it may not be a bold conclusion to assume that in the future, the Wii MotionPlus and the tablet controller might be used in conjunction to help players save Hyrule from whatever various magical tomfoolery is overtaking it. Regardless, we'll be seeing the final Wii U design at E3 2012, and possibly hearing more news for what's in store for the series alongside of it.

Source: Official Nintendo Magazine [http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/33313/aonuma-future-zelda-games-will-use-skyward-sword-controls/]


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[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

*sigh*

i'll get skyward sword eventually..but damn them to hell if they are going to require those controls from here on out.

too bad there isn't a pc release and someone would just mod kb+m and gamepad support for it..

 

[Fappy]

Sorry if I am being a bit nit-picky here but I am pretty sure you COULD use a Gamecube controller with the Wii version of Twilight Princess too.

 

[Marshall Honorof]

Last night, I finally sat down to play Skyward Sword in earnest, and the motion controls are the only part of the game I don't like. The level design is fantastic, the new gadgets are fun, and even the art style is surprisingly attractive. However, except for the one-on-one sword fights (which I admit, are very engaging), the controls are incredibly imprecise. I have fallen off ledges more times than I care to count, and getting the bird or beetle to fly around is painful. Raising the shield is so haphazard that I basically don't use it unless I absolutely have to.

Granted, I'm sure I'll get the hang of all of these things and more before the end of the game, but I bet I would have enjoyed this game a lot more with a controller. It's too bad we won't have that option going forward.

 

[willsham45]

If it works then it does not matter it is just the way its played. If the system does not work then its a problem but I have not had problems with it.

 

[Sabrestar]

To quote Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda: Disappointed!

I like my traditional controllers more than I like Zelda games. I never did enjoy Twilight Princess, nor really any other Wii game that has forced me to mess with the blasted remote/chuck combination that I've never gotten to feel comfortable. Oh well. The original NES games never get old.

 

[Blastinburn]

YAAAAY. I really do love the motion controls in Skyward Sword and Twilight princess. The motion controlled sword adds an extra dimension to combat and pointing to aim makes it faster. I do have a few problems that I'm hoping will be fixed:

Sword control isn't 1-to-1- It works well, but the game has trouble detecting the wiimote at certain angles, mostly lower angles;

Using motion plus to aim is a no no- while it isn't terrible and works quite well, twilight princess's aiming worked better. They're trying too hard to sell us on wii motion plus and are cramming it into every mechanic, regardless of actual use;

The whip- It's useless, and you will never touch it again after leaving the temple you get it in, except to fight 2 birds that were in the temple later and require you to use it, despite the fact that the clawshot would work just as well if the game allowed it.

 

[Kae]

DAMN! I hated TP's motion controls, and though I haven't played skyward, I have yet to play a game with motion controls that wouldn't play better with buttons so I have to ask.
Why can't you add multiple control schemes?
Seriously is it really that hard?

 

[Rad Party God]

Not a big deal really. In fact, I think that Skyward Sword, along with Metroid Prime Trilogy, is the greatest example of how can anyone do motion controls right and no, you don't need a lot of room space to "flail" you arms to play.

 

[newwiseman]

I've only come across one enemy that couldn't be beaten by flailing my arm around like i'm having a seizure and I still haven't equipped a shield.

I'm not a fan of the motion controls, I either end up moving my arm to fast and it thinks I'm swinging in another direction or to slow and nothing happens.

The flying is fun but I'm constantly having to recenter my controller... this game could easily have been controlled by joystick movements.

 

[LordXel]

Well thats good news considering that the controls and changes in Skyward Sword were easy to get used to. Another feature that should always be kept in future Zelda games: The Toliet.

 

[Sampler]

Damn - I was hoping they'd go away, the only reasons I've died so far in Skyward Sword are due to the lame controls - it's the only thorn on a perfect rose of a game

 

[Mr. Omega]

I didn't like the controls in Twilight Princess. They felt tacked on in everything except the bow.

However, the motion controls in Skyward were extremely responsive, with some being a little hard to figure out (flying the bird and the whole "flapping" thing, and you need to hold it upright while balancing across tightropes), but once you figure it out, it all works well. It's not so much that the controls were bad, it's that the instructions and on-screen prompts weren't helpful in explaining them. There's a bit of a learning curve, but once you get it, it just clicks. I can't imagine going back at this point either. Well I can, it'd be a bit of a letdown. They just need to improve the responsiveness of the nunchuck and hopefully the WiiU will have a better motion detecting mechanism than the sensor bar. I also did like that certain enemies actually punished you for trying to get through the game by flailing your arms around, actually forcing people to think about their strikes.

On a topic of voice acting, though: If it ever is included, Link must never speak. It worked for Gordon Freeman, it can work for Link. Also, people must never refer to him by name so we can still call him hilariously inappropriate names.

 

[the spud]

I actually don't mind, as the controls in both Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword felt responsive (at least to me, anyway). I do hope they incorporate the tablet in some way, however.

 

[Aerograt]

Nintendo, I LIKE most of the motion control implementations in Skyward Sword, but swinging Link's sword for a couple hours makes my wrist hurt. I had the same issue with TP and Mario Galaxy. Just put in a gamepad option as well.

 

[wooty]

Doesnt bother me, I'm quite liking the way the motion controls work in Skyward Sword, it also keeps you thinking in a battle situation other than just swiping side-to-side constantly or mashing a button over again.

 

[Something Amyss]

Remember when the Game Boy brand was here to stay?

Yeah. with an updated console, I suspect there will be a new, tablet-related gimmick.

 

[ZeroMachine]

Sorry if I am being a bit nit-picky here but I am pretty sure you COULD use a Gamecube controller with the Wii version of Twilight Princess too.

Nope. Gamecube version for Gamecube controller. Wii version for Wii controller. Only Nintendo game I can think of off the top of my head that has it as optional is Brawl.

Anyway, if it just keeps getting better from Skyward Sword, I'm actually totally OK with it. The game's controls were AMAZING for a Wii game and a lot of fun, if a little awkward at times.