As promised, Nintendo today held a 50-minute presentation focusing on existing and upcoming Nintendo Switch titles. While some may have hoped to hear about the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the company said it needs more time, but it plans to share more about the game later this year. In the meantime, however, fans will be able to play or replay a remastered version of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, originally released on the Wii in 2011.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD will feature higher resolution textures than the original, so you"ll be able to see more detail in the world, but the graphics upgrade is overall fairly minimal from the Wii release. The remastered edition does promise to improve the responsiveness of the motion controls, however, which series producer Eiji Aonuma claims to be possible thanks to the improved processing power of the Switch.
In addition to that, you"ll now be able to play the game entirely with button controls, a major addition for those that weren"t fans of the focus on motion controls in the original. That also means you can play the game in handheld mode or on a Nintendo Switch Lite. Motion controls for Link"s sword are replaced with a flick of the right analog stick, and while that may seem problematic, it"s worth noting that the original game had no camera control either way, so nothing changes there.
For those who got into the franchise with Breath of the Wild, Nintendo reminded fans that Skyward Sword was released a good while before the paradigm set out by that game, so the open-world exploration elements aren"t as prevalent here, instead focusing on a linear story. The title did introduce some familiar features that would get expanded upon in Breath of the Wild, like gliding with a cloth and a stamina gauge for running and climbing.
In addition to the game itself, Nintendo announced a pair of special edition Joy-Con controllers themed after The Legend of Zelda as a franchise. The controllers feature slightly different shades of blue with Zelda elements in gold and red. Both the game and the Joy-Con set will be available for purchase on July 16.
Aside from the Zelda news, Nintendo shared a lot during its 50-minute presentation. The news include Mario Golf Super Rush coming June 22, new DLC content for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and the premiere of Splatoon 3, which is planned for a release in 2022. You can watch the full presentation here if you"d like to learn more.