Skip to main content
Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Buying Guides
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Buying Guides
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Video
    • View Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
Trending
  • Best gaming gadgets
  • New Games 2026
  • Arc Raiders
  • Summer Game Fest 2026 schedule
  • Submit your clips. Win prizes
Don't miss these
Best Ps5 games
Games Best PS5 games: The 25 greatest PlayStation 5 games in 2026, ranked
Lego Batman Legacy of the Dark Knight preview
Adventure Games Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight hands-on preview
A picture of a Nintendo 3DS console next to several of the best 3DS games and Nintendo cards.
Games The 25 best Nintendo 3DS games of all time
Lost Odyssey screenshot
RPGs If you loved Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, find a way to play one of the Xbox 360's best-kept secrets
Fox McCloud's rival Falco sitting in the cockpit of an Arwing in a screenshot taken from Star Fox for the Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2 Star Fox 64 remains one of Nintendo's greatest action games, and its Switch 2 remake will prove it to a new generation
A PS2 games console standing next to some of the best PS2 games and a black controller.
Games The 25 best PS2 games of all time
A header image for the Best Games 2026 list with a GamesRadar+ logo, showing Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata, Marathon, and Monster Hunter Stories 3
Games The best games to play in 2026, so far
Tomodachi Living The Dream
Simulation Games I love Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, but having no Switch 2 version is a mistake
A group of Miis celebrating a birthday during Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
Simulation Games Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream review: "Real Nintendo Housewives meets the OC in my own personal Mii fever dream"
A screenshot of a man holding red fire in his palm in Elden Ring Tarnished Edition on Nintendo Switch 2
Action RPGs I played Elden Ring Tarnished Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 and rolled through the Lands Between as the new Knight class
Mario riding Yoshi through space with Luigi and Peach flying along beside him
Animated Movies The Super Mario Galaxy Movie review: "Never quite reaches Galaxy's gravity-defying game heights"
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Action Games The 25 best Metroidvania games you can play in 2026
Nathan Drake looks at some ruins as Sam watches, in Uncharted 4, from the PS5's Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection
Action Games 10 years later, Uncharted 4 remains the perfect antidote to overly bleak and serious adventuring
A hand holds up the Lego Game Boy, with retro posters visible in the background
Toys & Collectibles Lego Nintendo Game Boy review
Tiny Bookshop screenshot showing the small mobile bookshop decorated with lights and plants set up on the beach as a customer walks inside. A dog can be seen sitting on a couch outside of it
Games The 20 best Switch indie games you should play in 2026
  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. The Legend of Zelda
  4. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword review

The first and last Wii exclusive Zelda strikes the perfect balance of nostalgia and novelty

Reviews
By GamesRadarCarolynGudmundson published 11 November 2011

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

As for everything else

The story bits are best left to discover for yourself. Suffice it to say that seeing what's obviously meant to be the first game in the Zelda timeline feels quite special at times. We won't say much more, but one of the highlights is definitely the beginning of the relationship between Link and Zelda.

Learning about their history together during what might possibly be their very first incarnations retroactively gives new meaning to why Link is always willing to fight for her despite her character not being well-established in early Zelda games. It's also refreshing to see another Zelda game where Zelda doesn't really need rescuing in the traditional sense. Although we don't see her very much, it's clear she's playing her part in the quest just as much as Link is.

Is it the best Zelda ever?

Undoubtedly, Skyward Sword will be many people's new favorite Zelda, so it's understandable that some will honestly feel that it's the best Zelda ever – it's not an unreasonable position to take. The thing is, Zelda is a rare example of a series that has never had a serious misstep to tarnish its record. Every Zelda is someone's favorite Zelda, and there's a legitimate argument for why each Zelda is the "best" Zelda.

Latest Videos From

The question is: is Skyward Sword objectively superior to its predecessors? No, it isn't. But it does live up to the Zelda legacy, and that's enough to make it superior to most other non-Zelda games.

Is it better than...




Darksiders? Yes. Darksiders is a great take on an M-rated, Zelda-inspired game, but nothing beats the real thing. Darksiders is still worth playing if you're a Zelda fan who'd like to see something a little darker and more Zelda-meets-God-of-War, but it's not in the same league.

For those who skipped straight to the end

A perfectly balanced mix of innovation and classic Zelda gameplay, Skyward Sword truly lives up to the Zelda legacy of excellence and offers the most variety of any Zelda game to date. Its swordplay and puzzles are some of the best in the series, and seeing Link and Zelda's first story chronologically is a treat for longtime fans.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
  • 1
  • 2

Current page: Page 2

Prev Page Page 1
CATEGORIES
Nintendo Platforms
GamesRadarCarolynGudmundson
GamesRadarCarolynGudmundson
Life is nature's way of keeping meat fresh.
Read more
The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword screenshot
The Legend of Zelda Challenges in emulating Zelda titles demonstrates the series' knack for reinvention
 
 
Image of the F4F Hylian Shield sitting on a pile of plastic leaves.
Toys & Collectibles It's not a full-scale replica, but the F4F Hylian Shield now takes center stage in my Zelda collection
 
 
An inkling with orange hair in Splatoon on Wii U using a splat gun to cover the stage with orange paint
Games The 25 best Wii U games of all time
 
 
A picture of a Nintendo 3DS console next to several of the best 3DS games and Nintendo cards.
Games The 25 best Nintendo 3DS games of all time
 
 
Hand holding Zelda Game and Watch handheld with gameplay featuring Link in white outfit in backdrop.
Retro I have 100 different ways to play The Legend of Zelda, but I'm still using the Game and Watch ahead of the 40th anniversary
 
 
Close up of the Proplica Master Sword by Bandai sitting on a white desk.
Toys & Collectibles I spent $200 on this official Master Sword replica, and it made me weep with pure Zelda-fandom joy
 
 
Latest in The Legend of Zelda
Link is shocked in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD.
The Legend of Zelda WWE Champion Cody Rhodes "got a cease and desist from Nintendo" over using Zelda's Triforce on his gear
 
 
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD
The Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess comes to PC thanks to the work of fans
 
 
Link is shocked in a screenshot from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.
The Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake "all but confirmed," fans conclude following Star Fox reveal
 
 
Best NES games: Link holding a sword in the game The Legend of Zelda.
Super Mario Zelda was Nintendo's answer to "traditional RPGs," Shigeru Miyamoto says
 
 
Mario Bros 2 key art showing mario throwing a vegtable at enemies
Super Mario Nintendo was a madhouse thanks to the simultaneous development of Mario and Zelda, Miyamoto says
 
 
Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link
The Legend of Zelda Shigeru Miyamoto thinks Zelda 2 was "sort of a failure," and A Link to the Past is the "real sequel"
 
 
Latest in Reviews
Dante firing his gun Ebony in Devil May Cry's Netflix series
Animated Shows Devil May Cry season 2 review: "This is a new and improved version of what's come before"
 
 
Directive 8020 close-up screenshot of Anders in a space suit stepping out into Tau Ceti f
Horror Games Directive 8020 review: "Held back by the inconsistent implementation of series-first stealth"
 
 
Kill Team: Terror on Devlan Red Terror model against a dark background
Tabletop Gaming If you think you're good at Warhammer, Kill Team Terror on Devlan will truly test your mettle
 
 
A close up of the thumbsticks on the Flydigi Vader 5S
Gaming Controllers Flydigi Vader 5S review
 
 
Mixtape screenshot featuring the three main characters pushing a shopping cart while being chased
Adventure Games Mixtape review: "A nostalgic, vibes-based experience set to a shockingly solid soundtrack"
 
 
Photo showing the size of the FireCuda X Vault 8TB external hard drive.
SSDs and Hard Drives The Seagate FireCuda X Vault hard drive is a welcome sight in a post-inflated SSD world, but only for content-creating gamers
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle aiming a gun at the camera
    1
    First reactions to Marvel's Punisher special compare it to The Raid and say it's like a comic "come to life"
  2. 2
    Devil May Cry season 2 ending explained: who dies and what's next for Dante?
  3. 3
    Devil May Cry season 2 review: "This is a new and improved version of what's come before"
  4. 4
    "Stop submitting AI slop code": PS3 emulator RPCS3 shuts down vibe coders
  5. 5
    Fallout season 3 adds Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul in reunion with Westworld producers

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...