Skyward Sword HD randomizer announced with release date and trailer
Skyward Sword is a divisive title in the Zelda series. Hailed with praise at launch with a 93 Metacritic average, the game since received criticism for the often-unwieldy and frustrating control scheme that serves as the foundation of its gameplay, paired with a more linear experience than fans were previously used to. In 2020 we saw one of these issues fixed, as the Skyward Sword randomizer saw its first release. For those unfamiliar, a randomizer is a mod that shuffles parts of a game to provide an entirely unique playthrough. In games like Super Mario 64 we’ve seen Mario’s basic abilities be hidden in levels, in the Pokemon series we see wild encounters shuffled. For games like Zelda, you’ll generally find obtainable items being the key point of randomization, with logic in place to ensure no required item is unobtainable (for example, the Bow shouldn’t be hidden in a place you can only access using the Bow).
Along with the item placements changing, the world is opened up. Instead of you progressing in the intended linear way, you’ll find yourself adapting and moving between areas based on the items you find and what they allow you to access. It’s an entirely different way to enjoy a Zelda game that revitalises Skyward Sword more than most with a previously-lacking sense of replayability. Through emulation and custom control schemes you could even have some semblance of a controller-based experience, though the best way to play did remain the Wiimote. Having played through the randomized game a few times myself, I can say the experience is great, and the randomizer has seen plenty of active development and improvement since its 2020 launch, going all the way up to the most recent release in February this year. To me, this was the definitive Skyward Sword. At least until Nintendo remade the game.
In July of 2021 Skyward Sword HD released. The resolution bump to 1080p was welcomed, and the Amiibo functionality sure was something that existed. Where the game really caught my eye, and the eye of many others, was its new non-motion control scheme. I won’t pretend it was perfect, and I’m not going to say it didn't take some getting used to, but it was there, and it sure worked better than the makeshift emulation solutions we had before it. What was it missing though? The randomizer. And it makes sense, these mods don’t just drop out of nowhere. It takes time to research, develop, test, and polish releases that so intricately weave their way into every corner of the game. Frankly I didn’t expect a Skyward Sword HD randomizer to release at all given we’ve still not seen similar projects for either Wind Waker or Twilight Princess on the Wii U. All I can say is that I’m happy to be wrong.
Now my preamble is out of the way, let’s get to the star of the show. Today Zelda speedrunner and randomizer developer gymnast86 posted a trailer to their channel earlier today to announce the upcoming release of a Skyward Sword HD randomizer. Created by the project lead CovenEsme, the trailer shows the updated graphics of the remake alongside a huge variety of items being picked up from places where they shouldn’t be. The project is set to release next week on the 7th of June, with a Discord server being available in advance for those interested in updates. If you want to be prepared to play as soon as the files release, you’ll need to dump your copy of Skyward Sword HD (and its 1.0.1 update) and extract the files. Full guides are available already on the Discord server, though I’m sure you can find help over on the Nintendo Switch forum here too if you are struggling.
With Majora’s Mask 3D getting its own randomizer earlier this year, on top of the already-available randomizers for Link’s Awakening on the Switch, Ocarina of Time 3D, and many more, it feels as though we’re in something of a golden era for Zelda randomization. There's already been ten months of work put into this project, with the development team consisting of CovenEsme, gymnast86, Ninou, TBPixel, and YourAverageLink. I’m incredibly excited to see how it develops in the coming weeks and months, and can’t wait to jump in for myself next Friday.
Source Discord Server
