[Nintendo Switch Snap]
[wind softly gusting]
[epic orchestral music]
[Link] -Hyup!
[music intensifies]
Dah!
Dyah!
Ha! Yah!
Ha!
[music ends]
[tranquil orchestral music] [speaking Japanese] [male VO] -What you’ve just seen
is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD.
This game originally released in 2011 on the Wii console,
and now it’s coming to Nintendo Switch.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword featured a control scheme in which
players would use the Wii Remote Plus controller as a sword,
and the Nunchuk controller as a shield.
With the increased processing power of the Nintendo Switch system,
the controls here are smoother and even more intuitive.
And we’ve recreated the controls for the sword and the shield here
by having the player hold two Joy-Con controllers. [music ends]
[epic tribal music] The Joy-Con controller in your right hand is the sword.
Swing it to have Link swing his sword in the game.
The Joy-Con controller in your left hand is the shield.
By lifting the controller, you can raise the shield to block enemy attacks.
You can perform other actions, like using both controllers to wield a bow and arrow.
These physical movements add a sense of urgency and tension to combat.
But, we’ve also made it possible to play the game with button controls
to ensure it can be played in handheld mode or on the Nintendo Switch Lite system.
After mulling over how to assign different gameplay elements to different buttons,
we decided to apply the sword motions to tilting the right control stick.
Tilt the stick down when you want to swing the sword downward.
To swing to the right, to the left, or diagonally,
just tilt the stick in the respective direction.
[music ends]
Here’s something else we’ve been working on,
[cheery orchestral music] specially-designed Joy-Con controllers.
The right Joy-Con controller is themed after the Master Sword,
while the left features a Hylian Shield motif.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, as the game depicting
the earliest story in The Legend of Zelda timeline,
details the events around the creation of the Master Sword itself.
We hope that people who played the original game on Wii,
and those playing it for the first time,
will enjoy discovering the origins of The Legend of Zelda.
[music ends]
[epic orchestral music returns] The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD
launches July 16th.
Following this Nintendo Direct, you’ll be able to pre-order the game on Nintendo eShop.
And the specially-designed Joy-Con controllers
will launch on the game’s release day at your local retailers.
Many of you may already know this,
but The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was the last original console game
prior to the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild game,
and it was still following the established conventions of The Legend of Zelda.
However, it gave a glimpse into many features and innovations
that would eventually be adopted in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Using the Sailcloth to descend in midair,
a stamina gauge that depleted as you scaled walls with vines or ran,
even the concept of collecting items to upgrade gear. [lighthearted synth jingle]
I hope those of you who’ve played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
will give this game a try as well.
Please look forward to The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD!