The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is an adventure game in the Zelda series. You navigate the floating island of Skyloft before diving down to explore, escape dungeons and bring balance back to the world. It stands out not only for the cleverly designed dungeons and new weapons but how these make perfect use of the motion controls of the Wii and Switch.

CONTENT RATING

Moderate Violence

PLATFORMS

Nintendo Switch

POSITIVE GAMEPLAY

Designing

Exploration

Popular Choice

Comprehension

Critical Thinking

Decision Making

Over 50 hours

PLAY STYLE

Player vs Enemies

The game is the earliest in the Zelda timeline and tells the story of the origins of the Master Sword. Link must ensure Zelda's safety and stop Ghirahim as he attempts to resurrect his master, Demise. Fighting enemies makes use of the motion controls of Link's sword and shield. Movements are mapped to the direction the Wii Remote is motioned and enemies are designed to anticipate and block attacks.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is a version on the Nintendo Switch with optimised motion controls and new button controls. When playing with two Joy-Con controllers, these become your sword and shield. Swing the right Joy-Con to have Link swing his sword in-game and use the left Joy-Con to raise his shield to block enemy attacks.

GAMEPLAY TRAILER

Good to know

Insights to ensure your child's gaming experience remains safe and enjoyable

Consider time investment

Adventure games often take a long time to finish. Encourage regular breaks to get moving, rest their eyes and balance their time with other activities.

Nurture key skills

Many adventure games incorporate problem solving and critical thinking, important skills for school, work and more offline. Talk to them about their game to see how it supports them and their goals.

Build resilience

Encourage children to take risks with their characters in-game to safely learn potential consequences. Talk about what might happen outside of the game and why it's important to keep those risks in-game only. While playing, encourage them to think about innovative risks their character can take.

Skill level

Suggested by Family Gaming Database

You do need good exploration and combat skills for this game. There's quite a bit of reading although this isn't critical to progressing. You can choose whether to use the motions, which can help (or hinder) younger players.

Content rating

Rated PEGI 12 for moderate violence. Violence consists of fights between the human-like Link, who is armed with a bow and a sword, and a variety of fantastical characters, armed with a range of physical and magical weapons. Responses to being attacked are non-realistic, with blows resulting in bright flashes and sound effects. No blood or injuries are shown. Defeated foes simply disappear, while Link himself faints.

PEGI rating explained?