Nintendo today revealed during its first Direct of 2021 that it’s porting Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword to the Switch. Skyward Sword HD is coming out on July 16. It’s currently available to pre-order from the Nintendo eShop.
Eiji Aonuma revealed the HD remaster, which offers a huge visual upgrade from the original Wii release. The original’s motion control combat has also been updated, with the removable Joy-Con serving the same function as the Wii controller and nunchuk did at the game’s initial release.
In addition to the game itself, Nintendo is also releasing a pair of Skyward Sword-themed Joy-Con. One controller patterned after the Master Sword and the other after the Hylian Shield. Though Aonuma noted that if you don’t like motion controls (or have a Switch Lite or a Pro controller), the developers have adjusted the controls so it’s possible to play without them.
Skyward Sword is far from the only Zelda game that needed to be ported to the Switch. We’re still waiting to see the likes of Twilight Princess or Wind Waker. Both of those games received HD remakes for the Wii U, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to move them to the Switch. Nintendo seems to be on a crusade to get every game that has ever existed on the Wii U onto the Switch anyway, so I have a feeling those games will eventually receive ports too.
In case you were wondering, there are no updates on the Breath of the Wild sequel, unfortunately. Aonuma mentioned that specifically before revealing Skyward Sword, just in case we were holding our breath for that. That’s disappointing, as the gameplay reveal of Splatoon 3, coming in 2022, would imply that that game is further along in development than Breath of the Wild 2 — otherwise why show one and not the other?