Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Everything we know about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

Few series capture the imagination of the gaming world quite like The Legend of Zelda. This venerated series is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, and what sort of celebration would it be without a Zelda game to play?

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword originally released on the Nintendo Wii in 2011. Now, a new generation of players will be able to experience the game that comes first in the Zelda timeline, with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD. The game arrives in just a few days, and we’ve combed the internet for all the information you need about this HD remaster of a Zelda classic.

Further reading

Release date

Link pulling a sword from a stone.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD arrives on July 16.

This date was revealed during June’s E3 Nintendo Direct by series director Eiji Aonuma. This comes after months of speculation following the initial reveal of the game in February. The game itself has been rumored for many years. It arrived at an odd time in the Nintendo Wii’s lifecycle, just a year before the arrival of the Wii U. Many gamers missed Skyward Sword the first time. Both The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess received HD remasters, so Skyward Sword seemed like the logical next step.

Platforms

Skyward Sword HD is coming exclusively to the Nintendo Switch. No surprise there — this is Nintendo, after all. What is not clear is when we might see the much-rumored Switch Pro Console and whether Skyward Sword HD will be able to run on that hardware.

Trailers

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD – Announcement Trailer – Nintendo Switch

Nintendo has released several trailers for Skyward Sword HD. The game was first announced in a Nintendo Direct in February, showcasing enhanced resolution and updated controls. This trailer gave viewers a first look at the remastered graphics and information about how the controls work on the Nintendo Switch.

The brand new Zelda and Loftwing amiibo debuted in a trailer showcasing some unique functionality. This amiibo allows the player to instantly teleport from the world below to the sky above and back, alleviating some of the backtracking from the original release on the Nintendo Wii U.

Quality of Life Trailer – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD - Nintendo Switch

Quality of life improvements were highlighted in the newest trailer. Most of the changes are minor adjustments to how the player interacts with objects and Fi (who acts as Link’s guide on this journey) to create a smoother user experience.

Gameplay

As this is an HD remaster, we know what to expect. Skyward Sword was the last console entry to fully embrace the classic Zelda gameplay. Link will split his time between the sky — flying through the air on his Loftwing — and the ground below. The classic monsters of Hyrule stand in opposition as Link defeats enemies and solves puzzles across a widely varied landscape.

This game takes place at the beginning of the Legend of Zelda timeline, in a time before Ganon and before the Master Sword itself. Link and Zelda are students at Knight Academy in the floating town of Skyloft. Events that were set in motion long before, in the age of the Goddesses, result in Zelda being abducted, and Link is the only one who can find her.

Link will have the aid of classic tools, from his sword and shield to his trusty Hookshot and more. Players will take on numerous dungeons, with interesting bosses at the end, each with their own unique mechanics.

What improvements have been made

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is a remaster, not a remake. Still, there are many notable improvements from the original release.

The most obvious improvements, of course, are the visuals. Skyward Sword was originally made for the Nintendo Wii, which even at the time was not known for great graphics. The upgraded 1080p graphics are crisp, running at a clean 60 frames per second.

Skyward Sword was built with motion controls in mind, but Nintendo has given players an optional buttons-only control scheme. This eschews the waggling of the past and instead maps the sword swings to the right thumbstick. This gives players the ability to continue slashing at enemies at advantageous angles without having to look like they are fighting off swarms of bees.

The user interface has been adjusted as well. Cutscenes can now be skipped, and dialogue can be sped up. Item information has been streamlined, saving players from having to see text pop up repeatedly when picking up the same item. Fi can now be called upon for helpful hints and advice, adding even more functionality to your companion.

Preorder

A Zelda and Loftwin amiibo statue.
Zelda.com

Preorders for Skyward Sword HD are live. The game has both physical and digital copy options. There are no special editions. There are, however, some special edition accessories in the form of the aforementioned Zelda and Loftwing amiibo, as well as a collector’s Joy-Con set.

Editors' Recommendations

Justin Koreis
Justin is a freelance writer with a lifelong love of video games and technology. He loves writing about games, especially…
Zeldas: Tears of the Kingdom players are creating an industrial revolution
Link with a created mining rig in Tears of the Kingdom.

I expected a lot of cool contraptions to be built when Nintendo revealed that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the long-awaited sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, was going to have a full crafting system. What I didn't expect, though, was that fans would bring a full-on industrial revolution to Hyrule using Ultrahand.

In this new open-world Zelda title, players are given the ability to put together doohickeys of all shapes and sizes. Whether you're making a caveman-style hammer by attaching a simple rock to a stick or a flying boat with a turbo-fan engine to take flight, there seems to be something for every class of player to mold from their imagination. But some players are going even further, creating machinery that calls back to history's own evolution.

Read more
Where to get Hylian rice in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Link looking shocked holding rice.

While technically an action-adventure game, you could easily call The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom a collectathon game as well. You will be scooping up hundreds of items, from ingredients and ores to weapons and monster parts. These are all useful for at least one thing, if not many, and the more difficult they are to find, the more useful they tend to be. Hylian rice may not sound all that valuable or rare, but it has already stumped many players looking for it, especially when trying to complete the "Gourmets Gone Missing" side quest. If you need this versatile cooking ingredient, here's where you can find it in Tears of the Kingdom.
Where to get Hylian rice

Buying Hylian rice is by far the easiest and most reliable way to get this cooking ingredient. It's also cheap, so you won't have to farm a ton of Rupees to afford it. There are five places where you can pick some up, and they all sell it for the same price of just 12 Rupees.

Read more
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s box art contains a cute Easter egg for collectors
Link on island in the sky in Tears of the Kingdom.

If you own physical copies of both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, here's a cute Easter egg for you. Put both boxes side by side with Tears of the Kingdom on the right. If you don't own the games, here's what that looks like.

Do you notice any link between those two covers (and no, I'm not talking about Link himself). Look closely at where those two covers meet and you'll notice that Tears of the Kingdom's box continues the art of Breath of the Wild's.

Read more