Plenty of Wii games get you up off your couch. “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” is the first game to keep you there. Between motion-controlled sword fighting, archery, bowling and even skydiving, “Skyward Sword” feels a bit like “The Legend of Wii Sports.” Which is a good thing. Finally, five years after the Wii launched, it reaches its destination. “Skyward Sword” takes all the motion-sensing capabilities of Nintendo’s ubiquitous white console, and ties them together in an adventure that not only makes them feel organic, but touches your heart as only this series can.
To the uninitiated, “Zelda” is synonymous with puzzle solving and sword fighting. With “Skyward Sword,” the two at last stand on equal footing. Sword fighting with the Wii’s MotionPlus controller isn’t perfect, but it’s darn close. One senses the game occasionally “translating” your motions into premapped swings, but most of the time the movements of your sword perfectly match what you’re doing with your controller. After sword fighting with buttons for so long, it’s exhilarating to see a bat approaching you from behind, swing the controller at the perfect angle over your shoulder, and bam — right in the kisser. Enemies with their own swords can read the telegraphs you send with your windups, and block accordingly, so fighting becomes a kind of puzzle unto itself.
