It doesn't seem like over a year ago that we first saw what the Zelda team had been cooking up for the series' one chance to prove that Nintendo could dispel the doubts about its ability to pull out all the stops on Wii. It is no hyperbole to say that fans of 25 year-old series really do expect better-than-the-best with each major Zelda game. So it was almost surreal back at E3 2010 when the unveiling of Skyward Sword was met with a fairly measured reaction. Nintendo could not have been expecting much different � the reveal itself was tentative and subdued. Skyward Sword's first public appearance confirmed only two fundamental things: a return to a stylish aesthetic, and fully integrated MotionPlus controls. It was indicative of the game's entire philosophy � this was Nintendo embracing its hardware to give an experience that could and would not be found on any rival system; it was never about working within technical limitations, it was about smashing design boundaries. The real challenge would be convincing their own fan-base that they could pull it off.

Fast-forward to the present day, and with the game out in less than a month, the mood is entirely different. If you wade through the oddly intense pledges emanating from the most fervent fans to not read anything about the game, there is a fell glimmer of hope. Could this be the swansong a Nintendo console deserves? We'd go one further by making an argument for the franchise in general, namely, that if the stars are aligning as we daresay they seem to be doing, Skyward Sword could be that which again puts the series on a plateau impossible to ignore by any facet of the industry. Put simply, we believe Skyward Sword could legitimately be Zelda's 'Galaxy', for five key reasons.

In With The New

'Freshness' was certainly a buzzword lavished upon Super Mario Galaxy following its debut, and it wore its unabashed originality with pride. Whereas Mario could make itself feel new by utilising outside-the-box game design in a number of different ways in each individual level; a seamless adventure experience like Zelda is obviously a beast requiring a different approach. But it can achieve the same result with a shared tactic � namely some dynamic new blood from within Nintendo.

Yoshiaki Koizumi made a name for himself with Galaxy, quickly being tipped among the more hardcore fan circles as a possible successor for Miyamoto. Does the Zelda team have a similar reserve on the bench? Step forward Hidemaro Fujibayashi. The former Capcom man might be a left-field choice for the Nintendo onlooker, but he's got some seriously cult history. Skyward Sword may surprisingly be Fujibayashi's first mainline, home console Zelda game, but he comes off the back of heading up The Minish Cap � certainly one of the more underrated and quietly loved games in the series. He's also on record as a worshiper of the very original game. Could he be the one to deliver a much more open, non-linear quest once again? As much as we love Aonuma-san, we'd put more money on Fujibayashi any day.

Revelatory Control

If there was one thing no-one ever worried about with Super Mario Galaxy, it was the controls. If there was one thing almost everyone has fretted over at some point with Skyward Sword, it's the controls. Mario pulls off a slick, fluid feel with aplomb; it's in his nature. Surely Zelda is incomparable? Well the team is putting the feel of the controls at the forefront of the entire experience, so like it or not, it all rests on that Wii Remote.

It may be optimistic, but we'd say the MotionPlus sceptics are the ones who have it wrong here. It is well-established by now: the team has simply not botched the motion controls as one may have feared. Think back to when the 'Revolution' controller was first unveiled. Those fantasies about slashing up enemies with 1:1 responsiveness? It would put a sceptic on more accurate grounds to rescue those feelings and channel it into some genuine anticipation than it would to stay in any position of pessimism. In a way, Galaxy had it easy � the perfection of 3D control had been established by Nintendo for years; ever since Super Mario 64. Skyward Sword has the potential to re-write the rulebook in the same way for combat control, and we should not resist celebrating that achievement just as so.

Pushing The Boundaries

When Mario quite literally reaches for the stars, it can be a hard act to follow. Zelda games have always been big on exploration, and in this sense, Skyward Sword faces fierce competition from ever angle. While the franchise has been stewing in development for years, pretenders to the adventure throne on rival consoles have had an open goal to become the trend-setters of the generation on 'going big'. Galaxy's sequel managed to wow critics yet again on the humble Wii hardware as late as 2010 by turning ambitious design ideas into sprawling, topsy-turvy environments. Can Skyward Sword pull off a similar trick?

It's all about breaking out of norms, and there are signs that the team has understood this. The one thing Zelda historically has going for it is non-linearity; and this is where Skyward Sword can stick it to HD rivals that allege openness but tend to be fundamentally restrictive. Combining a new way of overworld design that blends dungeons and fields more than ever before; and a vast, open skyline to explore on the back of your trusty bird, Skyward Sword could excel in this crucial department. Wind Waker's ocean may not have given us the freedom of limitless exploration we went in hoping for, but with this game, the sky may well be the limit.

A Presentational Exemplar

It may be a trivial tradition, but it has been the case since Ocarina of Time that mainline Zelda games have been the absolute archetype of the best of what a Nintendo system can achieve in terms of presentation. However, Galaxy and its sequel are still arguably unchallenged as the best looking games on Wii � Skyward Sword has quite the job on its hands to usurp them.

Yet there is one subtle but intrinsic advantage that Zelda can boast over its fellow first-party darling. Galaxy looks gorgeous because it is a meticulous refinement of the classic, ever-unchanging Mario aesthetic. But Skyward Sword brings a uniqueness that is now innate within its franchise. When it was revealed that Skyward Sword would be courting yet another new art style � this time clearly inspired by the French Impressionist movement � Nintendo gave a clear signal that there was no default aesthetic that Zelda is tied to: it's all about finding the best style for the game on a case-by-case basis; often embarking on fresh new paths. So not only do we get the customarily scrupulous polish of a big-budget first party game, we also get the bold and exciting vision of an all-new look. For that reason, we'd say Zelda is now the most trail-blazing Nintendo franchise of them all.

The Critical Factor

Now this may be an underwhelming and even circular point to end on, but perhaps the best reason to believe that Skyward Sword is the great refresh of the Zelda franchise is simply that it's already being established that it is. In the end, the ones who decide how a game goes down in the footnotes of history are us the gamers, and at the time of writing, the first advance reviews of Skyward Sword say more for the game than any of us could over the past year. A proclamation of the best ever Zelda from a Nintendo publication can legitimately invite dubiousness, but a famously frugal, prestigious magazine dishing out only their 14th 10/10 score is worth noting. There is a feeling at the moment - just a feeling � and it's telling us it's okay to have that little bit of faith. Is it going to result in the game many of us don't dare imagine is possible? We still have just under a month to go to find out for ourselves. If there's one thing we can surely all agree on though: the wait is going to be excruciating.

Written by Aaron Clegg