What was Skyward Sword's metacritic score?

"Skyward Sword" received acclaim from multiple journalistic magazines and websites upon release; it received a score of 93/100 on aggregate site Metacritic based on 81 reviews. It was the site's 10th highest scoring game of 2011, and also ranked as the 6th best-reviewed Wii game of all time. It received perfect scores from multiple publications: these included "Famitsu", IGN, Eurogamer, "Game Informer", "Edge Magazine" and "VideoGamer.com". In the case of "Famitsu", "Skyward Sword" was the third "Zelda" game and sixteenth video game in the magazine's history to be given a perfect score at that time.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is an action-adventure game for the Wii home console, developed and published by Nintendo. The sixteenth mainline entry in "The Legend of Zelda" series, it was released worldwide in November 2011. The game was made available worldwide on the Wii U eShop in September 2016. Taking the role of series protagonist Link, players navigate the floating island of Skyloft and the land below it, completing quests that advance the story and solving environmental and dungeon-based puzzles. Gameplay mechanics and combat, the latter focusing on attacking and blocking with sword and shield, are reliant on the Wii MotionPlus expansion device.

"Skyward Sword" is the first game in the "Zelda" continuity, detailing the origins of the Master Sword, a recurring weapon within the series. Link, resident of a floating town called Skyloft, heads on a quest to rescue his childhood friend Zelda after she is kidnapped and brought to the Surface, an abandoned land below the clouds. Armed with the Goddess Sword and aided by a spirit named Fi, Link must ensure Zelda's safety and stop Ghirahim as he attempts to resurrect his master, Demise.

Development lasted around five years, beginning after the release of "" in 2006. Multiple earlier "Zelda" games influenced the developers, including "Twilight Princess", "" and "". Many aspects of the game's overworld and gameplay were designed to streamline and populate the experience for players. The art style was influenced by the work of impressionist painters including Paul Cézanne. The implementation of Wii MotionPlus proved problematic for the developers, to the point where it was nearly discarded. It was the first "Zelda" game to use a live orchestra for the majority of its tracks, with music composed by a team led by Hajime Wakai and supervised by Koji Kondo.

First revealed in 2009, it was initially planned for release in 2010 before being delayed to 2011 to further refine and expand it. The game was a critical and commercial success, receiving perfect scores from multiple journalistic sites, winning and receiving nominations for numerous industry and journalist awards, and selling over three million copies worldwide. Despite the accolades it received, points of widespread criticism directed toward certain aspects of the game's design proved to be a key influence in the development of the next entry for home consoles, "".

"The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword" is an action-adventure video game in which players take on the role of series protagonist Link through a series of monster-populated overworlds and navigating dungeons featuring puzzles and bosses. Link is controlled using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, and the Wii MotionPlus expansion device is required to play. The greater majority of gameplay mechanics revolve around use of motion controls: these include camera control with the Nunchuk and general hotkey actions and movement linked to the Wii Remote. Jumping across gaps and scaling ledges happen automatically within context. The Nunchuk is also used to make Link perform a forward roll. Link can sprint for short distances, but sprinting and other actions such as climbing and carrying heavy objects is limited by a stamina meter, which recharges after a few seconds when not performing actions that drain it. When depleted entirely, Link's movement speed is reduced and he is left vulnerable until the meter refills. Standard navigation takes place from a third-person perspective, while the Dowsing search function switches to a first-person view: Dowsing scans an area for a selected object, with new Dowsing objectives appearing depending on game context.

Fighting enemies, which appear in both the overworld and dungeons, relies on Link's use of his sword and shield. Link's sword movements are mapped to the direction the Wii Remote is flicked by the player, and other moves include a forward thrust and a stab. Enemy movements are designed to anticipate and block Link's combat movements. By raising the Wii Remote, the sword gathers energy which can be unleashed in a Skyward Strike. Skyward Strikes are also used to trigger environmental elements such as magical switches. The shield is controlled with the Nunchuck: when the shield is raised, it can be used to reflect attacks. Spin attacks and Finishing Blows are activated by swinging both the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Link's health is represented with Hearts, with Link taking damage whenever he is hit: if he loses all Hearts, the game ends.

The game takes place on the floating island of Skyloft and surrounding airborne islands; the three Surface overworlds where the majority of the main adventure takes place. Side quests for the town's citizens are unlocked as the game progresses. The different areas of the Surface are accessed through portals in the clouds. Side quests for characters of the Surface are also available, and are sometimes mandatory for completing the main quest. Skyloft is navigated with a bird called a Loftwing, while the Surface is navigated on foot. Beacons can be set on the map for Link to follow, and save points in the form of statues preserve Link's progress up to that point. During his quest, Link is aided by the sword spirit Fi, who is able to give hints to the player for both environmental elements and enemies: for example, when an enemy is targeted and Fi is summoned, she will give the enemy's characteristics and weaknesses.

Traditional series items such as Bombs and the Bow and Arrow appear, along with new additions such as a mechanical Beetle that flies to areas beyond Link's reach and a whip for grabbing otherwise-unreachable objects and activating levers. Link's shield takes damage when blocking attacks fail, and may eventually break. Items and equipment can be upgraded, making them stronger and more durable. In addition to consuming resources, Link must also pay for the upgrade with Rupees, the game's currency which is scattered throughout the world.

"Skyward Sword" takes place at the beginning of the "Zelda" continuity: according to legend, three ancient Goddesses bestowed a great wish-granting power: the Triforce. The Demon King Demise sought the Triforce, and laid waste to much of the land in his quest for it. The Goddess Hylia gathered the survivors and sent them into the sky, allowing her to launch a full-scale offensive against Demise. She was victorious, but the land was severely damaged. Uncounted years later, the outcrop is known as Skyloft, and its people believe the "Surface" below the clouds is a myth.

In the present, knight-in-training Link passes his final exam despite the attempted interference of his class rival Groose, who considers himself a romantic rival for Link's childhood friend Zelda. After passing the exam and on a celebratory flight together, Zelda is whisked away below the clouds by a dark tornado. After recovering back on Skyloft, Link is led to the island's statue of Hylia by Fi, the spirit of the Goddess Sword residing within the statue. Link draws the sword, showing himself to be the prophesied hero who will finally destroy Demise. Opening a way to the Surface, Link is guided by Fi to the Sealed Temple, where he meets an old woman who tells him to track Zelda: this leads Link across the regions of Faron Woods, Eldin Volcano, and the Lanayru Desert. While he catches up with Zelda, he is prevented from returning her to Skyloft by Impa, a young woman guarding and guiding Zelda. Link is also confronted by Ghirahim, a self-proclaimed Demon Lord working towards freeing Demise. At the Temple of Time in the Lanayru Desert, Link defends Zelda and Impa from Ghirahim, giving the two time to depart through a Time Gate into the past which Impa destroys as they pass through.

Returning to the Temple of Hylia, Link is followed by Groose and the two end up on the Surface together. Link then has to defeat the Imprisoned, a monstrous form of Demise attempting to reach the Sealed Temple, after the old woman shows him a second dormant Time Gate. With the Imprisoned defeated, Link sets out to strengthen the Goddess Sword by passing trials set by the ancient Goddesses and using their gifts to find Sacred Flames to purify and strengthen the blade so the Time Gate can be awakened. Returning to find the Imprisoned attempting to break free, Link reseals it with help from Groose. Activating the Time Gate and traveling to the past, he finds Zelda and learns that she is the mortal reincarnation of Hylia: Hylia could not kill Demise and was too weakened from their battle to fend him off again, so she created the Goddess Sword and reincarnated as a mortal to find someone who would fulfill her duty by using the Triforce to wish Demise's destruction, as only mortals can use the artifact. Zelda then seals herself inside a crystal to strengthen Demise's seal, granting her power to the Goddess Sword and upgrading it into the Master Sword.

Link locates the Triforce on Skyloft and uses it to destroy Demise. With Demise dead, Zelda is freed, but Ghirahim arrives and kidnaps Zelda: though Demise is dead in the present, Ghirahim intends to use Zelda as a sacrifice to resurrect him in the past. Link pursues Ghirahim into the past and fights through his army. He then defeats Ghirahim, who turns out to be the spirit of Demise's sword, but is unable to prevent Zelda from being used to reincarnate Demise's humanoid form. Groose guards Zelda's body while Link challenges Demise: Link triumphs and absorbs Demise's essence into the sword, but Demise curses Link and Zelda's descendants to be haunted by his reincarnated rage. To complete the sword's seal, Link drives it into a pedestal in the Sealed Temple, with Fi accepting eternal slumber as a result. Groose, Link and Zelda return to their time while Impa remains behind and destroys the Time Gate, as she is a person of that time period and must watch over the Master Sword. In the present, the old woman greets them one last time before she dies and vanishes, revealing that she was Impa. The game ends with Zelda deciding to remain on the Surface to watch over the Triforce: she and Link together establish the kingdom of Hyrule.

"Skyward Sword"s development began in 2006, after the release of "" for GameCube and Wii. It was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development, a development division of series publisher Nintendo. They were assisted in development by the Kyoto branch of Monolith Soft. Its producer was Eiji Aonuma, a major contributor to the "Legend of Zelda" series. His main preoccupation during these early stages was whether the developers could continue creating "The Legend of Zelda" games using the same development mindset that had been used up to "Twilight Princess". The game's director was Hidemaro Fujibayashi: previously working as assistant director on "" for the Nintendo DS, "Skyward Sword" was his first project for home consoles. He began work on "Skyward Sword" after finishing "Phantom Hourglass", and continued working on the game alongside his work on "". When "Spirit Tracks" was finished, Fujibayashi and the game's development team transferred back to working on "Skyward Sword".

According to Aonuma, the team's starting point for development was the Wii version of "Twilight Princess": feeling they had not fully realized their goal of creating a vast and realistic world with "Twilight Princess", they used their previous work as a foundation for the next game. They also sought to create a memorable experience equivalent to "", by that time considered the series' most memorable game. Development lasted around five years, and according to series producer Shigeru Miyamoto, the game's budget was considered quite high for a Nintendo project. The development time was initially estimated at three years, but difficulties and changes in the game's development extended development time by a further two years: despite this, Miyamoto felt that this was not wasted development time as the first two years went into experimentation. By June 2011, the game was complete aside from fine tuning and balancing its mechanics.

A new "Zelda" game was first hinted at in April 2008, when Miyamoto stated that the "Zelda" development team were reforming to create new games. Miyamoto later confirmed at the 2008 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) that a new "Zelda" was in development for the Wii. The game was unveiled at E3 2009, although its title remained unknown. Due to its in-development state, Miyamoto could not show off gameplay as he had wished. Instead, he showed promotional art featuring Link and Fi. He also announced the game's use of Wii MotionPlus, along with its planned 2010 release window. In a later interview, Aonuma's comments on the game's playability brought this release window into doubt. He also noted that his wish to focus on the new game meant that the release date of "Spirit Tracks" was shifted to the end of 2009 rather than its initial projected release in early 2010. The game's title was announced at the event, along with its revised release period in 2011 and a playable demonstration. According to Miyamoto, the game was delayed from its planned 2010 release window as the staff felt that they would be releasing an unfinished product if they put the convenience of the company ahead of creating a quality experience. They used the extra year to both finish the core elements and polish up the game as a whole.

Multiple promotional elements were created: a five-part online comic was written and illustrated by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik under their "Penny Arcade Presents" series, and television commercials featuring actor and comedian Robin Williams and his daughter Zelda were made, playing on the actor's stated love for the series. "Skyward Sword" released in all regions in November 2011: it released in Europe on November 18, North America on November 20, Japan on November 23, and Australia on November 24. The game was released as both a standard edition and a limited deluxe edition that included a gold Wii Remote Plus. An anniversary CD was included with both editions containing orchestrated versions of various iconic musical pieces from the series. Following its release, a glitch was discovered that corrupted save files if three late-game events were taken in a certain order. Once revealed, Nintendo issued instructions on avoiding it and set up a special channel on their Wii site in Japan to gain feedback, along with offering to manually repair corrupted save files.

The script for cinematic scenes was written by Naoki Mori, who joined the project for one and a quarter years in his role: the cinematic director was Shigeki Yoshida, who was brought on at the same time as and worked on the storyboards with Mori. The initial script was proposed by Fujibayashi based on his perception of the game's structure. As the game's theme was the use of the sword, and the sword most associated with the series was the Master Sword, the team decided to make it an origin story for the weapon. An early element was whether to incorporate the creation of Hyrule, while also needing to explain the creation of Skyloft: this initial stage of story development ended up being difficult as their initial story plans were full of contradictions to established series lore due to them wanting to create an origin story for the entire series. These issues were further complicated by the third year of development with the necessity of finalizing the gameplay and environments. Feigning illness, Fujibayashi shut himself away in a hotel room and wrote the synopsis in a single day. Mori wrote the dialogue based on Fujibayashi's synopsis, who needed to work out the fine details with Fujibayashi. A scene Fujibayashi was intent on including was where Zelda jumped from the edge of Skyloft and Link caught her: this was fitted in for the two characters after the end of Link's exam. The early part of the story was quite different from earlier "Zelda" games, playing out in a similar way to a school drama. Once the script was finished, it was handed to Yoshida so his team could create the cinematics. The total number of cinematics was estimated as 79, coming to over 120 minutes.

The relationship between Link and Zelda was quite different from earlier incarnations, in particular the fact that Zelda was not royalty. According to Aonuma, a recurring difficulty was how contrived the necessity for Link to rescue Zelda became with each passing installment, as their contact may only have been fleeting beforehand. In response to this, the team considered how to make the player care about Zelda and want to rescue her. Having the two characters as childhood friends served this purpose and cut down on extraneous plot elements. They continued to encourage the player by having Link only just miss her on her early travels across the Surface. Mischievous elements were also added to Zelda's personality by her pushing Link over an ledge: initially intended as a rule of three-style gag, it was cut down to two during development. The figure of Hylia was a new addition to the world's lore, although her existence was linked to Zelda, with the two being essentially the same character known under different names in subsequent ages. Groose, who acted as Link's rival, was introduced to make the story more interesting within the school setting. Groose's maturation during the course of the story was intended to help convey Link's parallel growth as a character as he was otherwise mute and static.

Fi was created before the implantation of Wii MotionPlus, when she was going to be part of some different undefined gameplay concepts unrelated to motion control. Her design was based on the design of the Master Sword, referencing her origins as the sword's spirit. She also served as an alternate explanatory voice as Link was a silent protagonist. According to staff, Fi's technical dialogue for each area of the game was written by different people, verbal inconsistencies arose that needed addressing, so Fujibayashi adjusted them all so she sounded consistent. Nearly all of Fi's dialogue was ultimately written by Fujibayashi. Ghirahim was designed to be similar to the Dark Link character from "Ocarina of Time": he could read Link's movements, requiring players to think strategically to defeat him rather than simply swinging Link's sword around randomly. Character designs were far more detailed than in previous "Zelda" games. Clothing was frequently designed to complement backgrounds, such as Zelda's pink and red dress in the opening. The game's use of warm colors and brushstroke-like aesthetics was inspired by impressionist artwork, pioneered in the 19th century by painters such as Claude Monet: a particular element cited by Miyamoto was the sky, which he called a tribute to Paul Cézanne's work. The basic starting point for the art style was that it was a fantasy world. The final version was referred to as a balance between the cartoon styling of "" and "Twilight Princess", where the cartoon shading was transferred onto an older version of Link. The team settled this artstyle as it would properly portray the more exaggerated actions of some characters and general swordplay while preserving Link's mature appearance.

During development, the team faced a lot of problems when designing the game so it would be both familiar for series fans and fresh to old and new players. The pieces of gameplay experimentation meant that the development was "a more fundamental ground-up process" than earlier games such as "The Wind Waker". Their earlier games had involved lifting elements from earlier games and pasting them into a new entry, but for "Skyward Sword" the developers wanted to add a new play structure to avoid fans seeing it as more of the same. The original concept for gameplay using the Wii MotionPlus was proposed by Fujibayashi at a point when the team were already developing the gameplay around the console's standard Wii Remote and Nunchuk control scheme. When first proposed, Aonuma was highly enthusiastic, and his wish to change to Wii MotionPlus meant that work on the game needed to begin all over again. The use of Wii MotionPlus proved challenging for the developers to implement, to the point where at one point Aonuma seriously considered dropping it from the game entirely. After the release of "Wii Sports Resort", the team saw how motion controls could be used for swordplay: after talking with the development team, they were able to borrow the technology and used it to create the motion-driven swordplay. The implementation of Wii MotionPlus meant that the enemy artificial intelligence needed to be able to counter it, adjusting their stances depending on the position of Link's sword.

When creating Link's sword movements, the team initially wanted them to be as realistic as possible, but because it was detrimental to the character's portrayal, they had to include unrealistic movements to preserve the atmosphere. The Skyward Strike was initially born from Aonuma thinking up a possible mechanic of holding the sword above Link: these also gave rise to the game's title. Having sword fighting relying on Wii MotionPlus freed up other buttons on the controller, allowing the addition of the Dash sprinting option. So as not to interrupt the flow of gameplay, they incorporated other elements into the Dash function, such as scaling walls rather than just slamming into them. The Dowsing mechanic was created early on, based on the gameplay themes of discovery and exploration. Due to the introduction of Dowsing, the team did not have to create environmental landmarks for places and objects of importance as they had done in previous games. So players would not get lost in the terrain, they also introduced the marker beacons. Items were designed so they could be visible in any area, such as the bright blue Bombs. They were also designed based on their original location: those from Skyloft used a bird motif, while those from other Surface regions used more intricate designs. The Beetle acted as a replacement for the Boomarang, as the team wanted an item that players could control. The Beetle and other pseudo-technical items gave rise to the ancient mechanical theme that appeared in the Lanayru Desert region. At Miyamoto's insistence, the more desirable items that were normally placed towards the end of a campaign were made available to players from an early stage. When designing items, the developers were faced with the usual problems of the interdependence of items and dungeons creating a chicken-and-egg scenario for the developers. The menu for Item access was also redesigned around the use of Wii MotionPlus.

In past "Zelda" games, the team had made numerous new fields for player exploration, but this time they limited the number of overworlds to three and expanded their content so players would be able to full appreciate them through repeated visits. The team also created the world based on their experiences with "Twilight Princess": feeling that the overworld and dungeons were too large with puzzles too thinly dispersed, the team both sought to compact areas and have environmental puzzles in the overworld. The biggest difficulty was ensuring that players could reach areas quickly while still discovering new features and puzzles. The creation of the Skyloft overworld was due to difficulties connecting the three Surface-based overworlds with each other due to drastically contrasting environments. The sky was initially going to be presented similar to the course selection screen from the "Super Mario" series, but this was changed to an overworld with its own quests and population so Link had a place where he could prepare for his adventures. An initial idea, when jumping down from the sky seemed unlikely to be approved, was to have a huge tower acting as a central hub, with the height at which Link jumped lengthening the duration of his free fall. Once the concept of traveling from the sky had been chosen instead, the Loftwing mounts were created so it looked and felt more rational to players. These overlapping gameplay mechanics triggered the creation of Skyloft, along with elements of the early game such as the Knight Academy. The continual movements and routines of Skyloft's people were modeled after similar time-driven mechanics from "", with similar links between character-specific side quests and the main narrative. Despite the aerial element, the mechanics necessary for free navigation meant a Loftwing racing minigame could not be implemented.

Each Surface overworld had a specific theme: the forest overworld revolved around landforms altering gameplay, the volcano overworld focused around changing the rules of gameplay, while the desert overworld was themed around duality between past and present. The first areas, the Sealed Grounds and Faron Woods, were created so players could be eased into the game's mechanics and navigation. While the forest areas were made to be mostly flat, the Eldin Volcano overworld was made with height differences in mind to provide a greater challenge. Elements in the volcano terrain included areas of lava, and slopes where Link's sprinting ability would become necessary for reaching new areas. For the Lanayru Desert, the team created three different overworld zones due to its unique time shifting mechanics, triggered with Time Shift stones: this shifting between different zones was inspired by similar systems in "Ocarina of Time" and "Twilight Princess". The portable Time Shift stones were one of many ideas included in the desert overworld as they did not fit with the forest or volcano environments. A difficult feature to include naturally was the remnants of Lanayru's Ancient Civilization, which used electricity to power both its technology and citizens. Enemy types that recurred in all Surface-based overworld areas were given slightly altered designs so they would be unique to each overworld. The Silent Realms were created as a new mechanic, filled with enemies that could not be defeated and relying on Link's sprinting ability rather than his weapons or items. While they had experimented with indestructible enemies in "Phantom Hourglass" and "Spirit Tracks", but this time it was changed by restricting Link's options and actions. They also created a time limit for added strategy, as knowledge of the areas where the Spirit Realms were located was key to completing them. This was also why they were set up in areas players would already be familiar with. They were originally in the form of special dungeons, but this was discarded in favor of the familiar areas.

The game's sound team consisted of ten people: five handling general sound design, and five handling music composition. Hajime Wakai acted as the game's sound director and lead composer, with the other composers being Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yokota, and Takeshi Hama. Longtime series composer Koji Kondo had a supervisory role, only composing a single piece by himself: the music accompanying the prologue video describing the mythical origins of Demise and Hylia. He also helped in arranging the other composer's pieces, using an electric piano and a Mac computer. Fujii was responsible for the music focused on environments, dungeons, boss battles: among her work was the music for Skyloft. She used art and environmental assets so that her compositions would fit in with their environments. A first for the "Zelda" series, the music was performed using a live orchestra rather than synthesized instruments. It was the first time Nintendo EAD had used a live orchestra. Any previous orchestral elements in "Twilight Princess", which amounted only to one track, were handled by their Tokyo division. Due to his experience, the department's musical lead Yokota was brought on to help orchestrate the score. Aonuma initially did not think of using an orchestra, and was still sure the score would remain synthesized even after Wakai asked him about it. An orchestra was finally chosen after Miyamoto insisted upon it, a decision which surprised the entire team.

Using the orchestra enabled a greater expression of emotion, which meant that they used it when creating scores for environments, cinematic scenes, and emotional moments within the story. Conversely, the team were given less freedom to adjust tracks as they had been able to with synthesized tracks. Something new they did for "Skyward Sword" was producing unique themes for specific characters such as Link and Zelda. They also added people singing songs, another element new to the series. One notable element was the game's main theme "Ballad of the Goddess", which was actually a reversed version of the recurring tune "Zelda's Lullaby". Due to the use of an orchestra and the sheer amount of extra work going into the sound design, the music team doubled in size from the standard five-person group, and became the largest sound team at the time to have worked on a Nintendo game. The positive reception of the orchestral score within the company led to the creation of " The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert", a celebratory concert featuring orchestrated versions of classic "Zelda" themes. Music was also woven into the story and gameplay through the use of the harp Link receives, using a recurring theme within the series of music being a central part of the experience. In contrast to previous games, the instrument could be played at any time rather than at specific times and places.

"Famitsu" was highly positive, praising the overworld and gameplay: one reviewer felt that it would form the new standard for both the "Zelda" series and video games as a whole. "Edge" was highly positive about all aspects of the game aside from the player-driven upgrade system, and even then it was not enough to spoil the experience for the reviewer. "Nintendo Power" gave it similar praise, saying that "it's truly worthy of being called 'epic'". Ray Carsillo of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" appreciated the game's nostalgic value, but found the motion control difficult to handle and kept the game from being truly great. Jose Otero, writing for 1UP.com, praised the developers for putting effort into moving away from "Zelda" tradition and called it one of the better games in the series, but said that those detrimental elements that remained such as side quests and some item usage made "Skyward Sword" "a weird middle ground filled with genuine surprises, inessential carry-overs, and copy/paste quest structures".

GameSpot's Tom McShea was notably less positive than other critics, praising the storyline, dungeons, enemies and visuals while faulting the controls for being unreliable and feeling that most of the experience felt both unnecessary and overly familiar. Destructoid's Jonathan Holmes called "Skyward Sword" his new favorite 3D game from the series, but noted that its exclusive use of motion controls would put off potential players. Oli Welsh of Eurogamer was highly positive, praising the controls, gameplay experience and additional elements such as upgrades: he gave particular praise to the game's visuals, which were impressive despite hardware limitations. "Game Informer"s Phil Kollar echoed both general praise of the gameplay and presentation, and minor issues experienced with the motion controls: he concluded by saying that Nintendo had fulfilled its initial promises for the Wii with "Skyward Sword". GamesRadar's Carolyn Gudmundson called it "perfectly balanced mix of innovation and classic Zelda gameplay" despite minor control issues.

GameTrailers noted that, despite its many strengths such as a believable relationship between Link and Zelda, "Skyward Sword" represented the series' "first gray hairs" due to some of its mechanics feeling dated in the modern gaming landscape. IGN's Richard George felt that the game returned "The Legend of Zelda" to being a revolutionary series in the gaming industry, praising almost every aspect of the game with the exception of the soundtrack, which he felt did not live up to series standards despite its quality. Joystiq writer Griffin McElroy noted that a lot of the game's content seemed unnecessary and extravagant, but said that beneath this surface lay "the best "Zelda" game of all time". Steve Hogarty of "Official Nintendo Magazine" shared many points of praise with other positive journalist reviews, calling it the greatest game in the series to date. "VideoGamer.com" Chris Schilling called it one of the best "Zelda" games, praising its motion controls, narrative and treatment of series tradition.

Following its release, "Skyward Sword" won numerous awards. At IGN's "Best of 2011" awards, it was awarded "Best Game", "Best Graphics", "Best Sound" and "Best Story" in the Wii category. It was also given the "Reader's Choice" award in the "Best Overall Game" category: it was also among those nominated as the site's "Game of the Year". In Digital Trends' similar awards, it was named as "Best Action-Adventure" and "Best Wii Exclusive", and was nominated for the site's "Game of the Year" award. RPGamer's own "Best of 2011" awards named "Skyward Sword" "Best Console and PC Game" and awarded it for "Best Music". It also received "Game of the Year" awards from "Electronic Gaming Monthly", GameSpot, "Edge" and "Nintendo Power". It received "Excellence" and "Most Valuable Character" awards from "Famitsu", the latter being awarded for the protagonist Link. It received multiple nominations in 2012 at the D.I.C.E. Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards and the BAFTA Games Awards. At Spike, the game won awards for "Best Wii Game" and "Best Motion Game". "Skyward Sword" has since been ranked among the best games developed for the Wii.

Upon its Japanese debut, "Skyward Sword" sold nearly 195,000 units, reaching the top of sales charts. Sales quickly declined, dropping out of the Top 20 within a few weeks. By the end of December, it had sold less than 320,000 units: this was below equivalent sales for other recent home console and portable "Zelda" games. The game's sales were strong overall going into January 2012, with its largest sales coming from North America. Its first month sales in North America came to around 600,000 units, nearly double its Japanese sales. In the UK, "Skyward Sword" was the seventh best-selling game of November in the multiformat charts, stated as impressive given the waning popularity of the platform. It was also the region's top-selling Wii game during its week of release, supplanting the previous week's top seller "Just Dance 3". It failed to reach the top-five best-selling Wii games for that year. Its total worldwide first-week sales came to 919,119 units. According to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, "Skyward Sword" was the fastest selling game in the series at that time. As of December 2011, the game has sold 3.41 million units worldwide: 380,000 of these units were sold in Japan while 3.04 million units were sold overseas.

When development started on the next home console "Zelda" game, "", the developers wanted to improve on what they had achieved with "Skyward Sword", along with creating a non-linear world based on player complaints about the linearity of "Skyward Sword". Aonuma and Fujibayashi both returned respectively as producer and director. Aonuma's stated wish with "Breath of the Wild" was "to expand and make a better "Skyward Sword"". In addition, Aonuma stated that it might be possible to create an HD remake of "Skyward Sword" for current hardware. The game was later re-released on the eShop for the Wii U on September 1, 2016: it was released as part of the series' 30th anniversary celebrations.


What town does Salem's Lot take place in?

Jerusalem's Lot, Maine (often shortened to 'Salem's Lot or just the Lot) is a fictional town and a part of writer Stephen King's fictional Maine topography. 'Salem's Lot has served as the setting for a number of his novels, novellas, and short stories. 'Salem's Lot first appeared in King's 1975 novel "'Salem's Lot", and has reappeared as late as his 2013 novel "Doctor Sleep" (see list below). The town is described as being located in Cumberland County, between (or including parts of) the towns of Falmouth, Windham, and Cumberland, near the southern part of the state about ten miles north of Portland. A map on King's official website, though, places 'Salem's Lot considerably further north, approximately in Northwest Piscataquis.

Jerusalem's Lot (Stephen King)

King, a native of Durham, Maine, created a trinity of fictional Maine towns – Jerusalem's Lot, Castle Rock and Derry – as central settings in more than one work.

In "Danse Macabre", King's non-fiction, semi-autobiographical review of horror in all media forms, King confesses that 'Salem's Lot was largely derived from the town of Durham, Maine; specifically the area in which he resided as a youth known locally as "Methodist Corners." The Marsten House of Salem's Lot was based upon a vacant house of the same name in Methodist Corners; he and his friends had explored the real Marsten House as children.the last three books of "The Dark Tower" series:

The town that would become Jerusalem's Lot was founded in 1710 by a preacher named James Boon, the leader of a cult of schismatic Puritans. The cult became notorious in the region for its open embrace of witchcraft and for its amoral sexual practices, including inbreeding. Jerusalem's Lot became an incorporated town in 1765, but was abandoned in 1789 after Boon and his followers mysteriously vanished. The mass disappearance occurred not long after Philip Boone, a wealthy individual and unknowing descendant of James Boon, obtained an occultic book known as "De Vermis Mysteriis"; Philip Boone disappeared along with the rest of the village.

When Jerusalem's Lot was incorporated in 1765, Maine was still part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The town got its name from a myth about one of the earliest residents, Charles Belknap Tanner, who raised pigs; one of these pigs was named Jerusalem. One day, Jerusalem escaped from her confines into a nearby forest, and became aggressive and wild. Tanner began warning young children who trespassed on his property to "Keep 'ee out o' Jerusalem's wood lot," lest the pig devour them. Eventually, the phrase "Jerusalem's Lot" was adopted as the town name.

At an unknown date sometime after Boone and McCann's exploration, people began inhabiting the town again. The town had a representative named Elias Jointner in the House of Representatives by 1896. As chronicled in the novel "'Salem's Lot", Jerusalem's Lot has been identified as a residence for great and mysterious evil, particularly vampires.

Jerusalem's Lot appears in episode 8 of the King-produced 2018 Hulu web television series "Castle Rock". Henry Deaver's son Wendell takes a bus to Jerusalem's Lot after being sent away from Castle Rock by his father.

Besides the oft-used trinity of Jerusalem's Lot, Castle Rock, and Derry, King has created other fictional Maine towns, including Chamberlain in "Carrie", Ludlow in "Pet Sematary" and "The Dark Half" (unrelated to the real Maine town of Ludlow), Haven in "The Tommyknockers", Little Tall Island in "Dolores Claiborne" and "Storm of the Century" and "Morning Deliveries" which appeared in the book of short stories called "Skeleton Crew", and Chester's Mill in "Under the Dome".

Following the success of the 1979 television mini-series "Salem's Lot", adapted from King's novel, a 1987 mini-series sequel, "A Return to Salem's Lot", was produced.

King's original novel was also adapted for the 1995 BBC radio drama "Salem's Lot", and the 2004 television mini-series "Salem's Lot".

The town is mentioned in Alan Moore's 2002/03 comic book series "The New Traveller's Almanac".

It is mentioned by rapper Eminem in his 2002 song "Lose Yourself".

The town is mentioned in the Nirvana song "Serve the Servants" on the "In Utero" album.

Salem's Lot is a 1975 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It was his second published novel. The story involves a writer named Ben Mears who returns to the town of Jerusalem's Lot (or 'Salem's Lot for short) in Maine, where he had lived from the age of five through nine, only to discover that the residents are becoming vampires. The town is revisited in the short stories "Jerusalem's Lot" and "One for the Road", both from King's story collection "Night Shift" (1978). The novel was nominated for the World Fantasy Award in 1976, and the Locus Award for the All-Time Best Fantasy Novel in 1987.

'Salem's Lot

In two separate interviews in the 1980s King said that, of all his books, "Salem's Lot" was his favorite. In his June 1983 "Playboy" interview, the interviewer mentioned that because it was his favorite, King was planning a sequel, but King has said on his website that because "The Dark Tower" series already continued the narrative in the "" and "", he felt there was no longer a need for a sequel. In 1987 he told Phil Konstantin in "The Highway Patrolman" magazine: "In a way it is my favorite story, mostly because of what it says about small towns. They are kind of a dying organism right now. The story seems sort of down home to me. I have a special cold spot in my heart for it!"

The book is dedicated to King's daughter Naomi.

Ben Mears, a writer who spent part of his childhood in Jerusalem's Lot, Maine, has returned after twenty-five years. He quickly becomes friends with high-school teacher Matt Burke and strikes up a passionate romantic relationship with Susan Norton, a young college graduate. Ben has returned to the town to write a book about the long-abandoned Marsten House, where he had a bad experience as a child. Mears learns that the house—the former home of Depression-era hitman Hubert "Hubie" Marsten—has been purchased by Kurt Barlow, an Austrian immigrant who has arrived in the Lot ostensibly to open an antiques store. Barlow is on an extended buying trip; only his business partner, Richard Straker, is seen in public.

The duo's arrival coincides with the disappearance of a young boy, Ralphie Glick, and the death of his brother Danny, who becomes the town's first vampire. Danny infects locals including Mike Ryerson, Randy McDougall, Jack Griffen, and his own mother, Marjorie Glick. Danny fails, however, to infect his classmate Mark Petrie, who resists him successfully by holding a plastic cross in Danny's face. Within several days, many of the townspeople are turned into vampires. To fight the spread of the new vampires, Ben and Susan are joined by Matt and his doctor, Jimmy Cody, along with Mark and the local priest, Father Callahan. Susan is captured by Barlow and made into a vampire, eventually being staked through the heart by Ben.

When Father Callahan and Mark head over to Mark's parents' house to explain the danger that the family is in, the power is suddenly cut off and Barlow appears. After killing Mark's parents by smashing their heads together, Barlow briefly takes the boy hostage. Callahan pulls out his cross in an attempt to drive him off, and for a time it works, until Barlow challenges him to throw the cross away. Callahan, not having faith enough to do so, is soon overwhelmed by Barlow, who takes the now-useless cross and snaps it in two. Barlow then forces Callahan to drink his vampire blood, making him "unclean". When Callahan tries to re-enter his church he receives an electric shock, preventing him from going inside. Callahan then leaves Jerusalem's Lot.

Jimmy is killed when he falls from a rigged staircase and is impaled by knives set up by the vampires. Ben and Mark succeed in destroying the master vampire Barlow, but are lucky to escape with their lives and are forced to leave the town to the now-leaderless vampires. The novel's prologue, which is set shortly after the end of the story proper, describes Ben and Mark's flight across the country to a seaside town in Mexico, where they attempt to recover from their ordeal. Mark is received into the Catholic Church by a friendly local priest and confesses for the first time what they have experienced. The epilogue has the two returning to the town a year later, intending to renew the battle. Ben, knowing that there are too many hiding places for the vampires, deliberately starts a brush fire in the woods near the town with the intent of destroying it and the Marsten House once and for all.

While teaching a high school Fantasy and Science Fiction course at Hampden Academy, King was inspired by "Dracula", one of the books covered in the class. "One night over supper I wondered aloud what would happen if Dracula came back in the twentieth century, to America. 'He'd probably be run over by a Yellow Cab on Park Avenue and killed,' my wife said. (In the Introduction to the 2004 audiobook recording that Stephen King read himself, he says it was he who said "Probably he'd land in New York and be killed by a Taxi Cab, like Margaret Mitchell in Atlanta", and it was his wife who suggested a rural setting for the book.) That closed the discussion, but in the following days, my mind kept returning to the idea. It occurred to me that my wife was probably right – if the legendary Count came to New York, that is. But if he were to show up in a sleepy little country town, what then? I decided I wanted to find out, so I wrote "'Salem's Lot", which was originally titled "Second Coming"". Though King initially planned to title the novel "Second Coming", he changed it to "Jerusalem's Lot" on the advice of his wife, novelist Tabitha King, who thought the original title sounded too much like a "bad sex story." King's publishers then shortened it to the current title, thinking the author's choice sounded too religious. King's paperback publisher bought the book for $550,000.

King expands on this thought of the 20th-century vampire in his essay for "Adeline Magazine", "On Becoming a Brand Name" (February 1980): "I began to turn the idea over in my mind, and it began to coalesce into a possible novel. I thought it would make a good one, if I could create a fictional town with enough prosaic reality about it to offset the comic-book menace of a bunch of vampires." Yet the inspirations for "'Salem's Lot" go back even farther. In "Danse Macabre", a non-fiction overview of the modern horror genre, King recalls a dream he had when he was eight years old. In the dream, he saw the body of a hanged man dangling from the arm of a scaffold on a hill. "The corpse bore a sign: ROBERT BURNS. But when the wind caused the corpse to turn in the air, I saw that it was my face - rotted and picked by birds, but obviously mine. And then the corpse opened its eyes and looked at me. I woke up screaming, sure that a dead face would be leaning over me in the dark. Sixteen years later, I was able to use the dream as one of the central images in my novel "'Salem's Lot". I just changed the name of the corpse to Hubie Marsten."

King first wrote of Jerusalem's Lot in the short story "Jerusalem's Lot", penned in college, but not published until years later in the short story collection "Night Shift". In a 1969 installment of "The Garbage Truck", a column King wrote for the University of Maine at Orono's campus newspaper, King foreshadowed the coming of "'Salem's Lot" by writing: "In the early 1800s a whole sect of Shakers, a rather strange, religious persuasion at best, disappeared from their village (Jeremiah's Lot) in Vermont. The town remains uninhabited to this day."

Politics during the time influenced King's writing of the story. The corruption in the government was a significant factor in the inspiration of the story. Of this he recalls,
In 2005, Centipede Press released a deluxe limited edition of "'Salem's Lot" with black and white photographs by Jerry Uelsmann and the two short stories "Jerusalem's Lot" and "One for the Road", as well as over 50 pages of deleted material. The book was limited to 315 copies, each signed by Stephen King and Jerry Uelsmann. The book was printed on 100# Mohawk Superfine paper, it measured, was over thick, and weighed more than. The book included a ribbon marker, head and tail bands, three-piece cloth construction, and a slipcase. An unsigned hardcover edition limited to 600 copies, was later released. Both the signed and unsigned editions were sold out. In an interview with the printed trade journal "Fine Books & Collections", King said of the illustrated folio version of his "'Salem's Lot", "I think it's beautiful!" A trade edition was later released.

In the short story anthology "A Century of Great Suspense Stories", editor Jeffery Deaver noted that King

In 1979, "'Salem's Lot" was adapted to a two-part television miniseries of the same name. It stars David Soul as Ben Mears, and was nominated for three primetime Emmys and an Edgar Award. It was filmed on location in Ferndale, California. A truncated two-hour version was also released in cinemas in some countries.

In 1987, Larry Cohen directed the feature "A Return to Salem's Lot", a sequel to the 1979 miniseries.

In 2004, TNT premiered a new version of "'Salem's Lot" starring Rob Lowe, which also received a primetime Emmy nomination.

The novel was adapted in the UK as a radio drama on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.

Ben Mears, a successful writer who grew up in the (fictional) town of Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine (known to locals as "Salem's Lot" or "The Lot"), has returned home following the death of his wife. Ben plans to write a book about the “Marsten House”, an abandoned mansion that gave him nightmares after a traumatic (and possibly supernatural) childhood experience. Once in town, he meets local high school teacher Matt Burke and strikes up a romantic relationship with Susan Norton, a young college graduate.

Salem's Lot (radio drama)

Salem’s Lot was a 1995 BBC Radio 4 dramatization of Stephen King’s novel "'Salem's Lot" written by Gregory Evans. It combines the psychological thriller and the classic horror genres, making references to Bram Stoker’s "Dracula" at several points and sometimes replicating its storyline.

Mears discovers that the Marsten house has been bought by Mr. Straker and Mr. Barlow, a pair of businessmen who are also new to the town, although only Straker has been seen. Their arrival coincides with the disappearance of a young boy, Ralphie Glick, and the suspicious death of his brother Danny. It then becomes clear that Barlow is a vampire, and is taking over the town with Straker's help. Ben, Matt, Susan, and a few other residents of the Lot try to prevent the vampires from spreading. In the end, Ben and young Mark Petrie succeed in neutralizing Straker and destroy the master vampire Barlow, but, lucky to escape with their lives, are forced to leave the town to the newly created vampires.
Although the story's overall structure remains similar, several lines have been consolidated and/or simplified, in keeping with the much-shortened radio format (seven 30-minute broadcasts).


Who won the first Nobel prize for economics?

Laureates in the Memorial Prize in Economics are selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It was first awarded in 1969 to the Dutch and Norwegian economists Jan Tinbergen and Ragnar Frisch, "for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes".

The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics, is an award for outstanding contributions to the field of economics, and generally regarded as the most prestigious award for that field. The award's official name is The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel ().

The prize was established in 1968 by a donation from Sweden's central bank the Riksbank to the Nobel Foundation to commemorate the bank's 300th anniversary. As it is not one of the prizes that Alfred Nobel established in his will in 1895, it is not a Nobel Prize. However, it is administered and referred to along with the Nobel Prizes by the Nobel Foundation. Laureates are announced with the Nobel Prize laureates, and receive the award at the same ceremony.

An endowment "in perpetuity" from Sveriges Riksbank pays the Nobel Foundation's administrative expenses associated with the prize and funds the monetary component of the award.

Since 2012, the monetary portion of the Prize in Economics has totaled 8 million Swedish kronor. This is equivalent to the amount given for the original Nobel Prizes. Since 2006, Sveriges Riksbank has given the Nobel Foundation an annual grant of 6.5 million Swedish kronor (in January 2008, approx. US$1 million; 0.7 million Euro) for its administrative expenses associated with the prize as well as 1 million Swedish kronor (until the end of 2008) to include information about the prize on the Nobel Foundation's web site.

The Prize in Economics is not one of the Nobel Prizes, which were endowed by Alfred Nobel in his will. However, the nomination process, selection criteria, and awards presentation of the Prize in Economic Sciences are performed in a manner similar to that of the Nobel Prizes.

Laureates are announced with the Nobel Prize laureates, and receive the award at the same ceremony. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the prize "in accordance with the rules governing the award of the Nobel Prizes instituted through his [Alfred Nobel's] will," which stipulate that the prize be awarded annually to "those who... shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind."

According to its official website, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences "administers a researcher exchange with academies in other countries and publishes six scientific journals. Every year the Academy awards the Nobel Prizes in Physics and in Chemistry, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, the Crafoord Prize and a number of other large prizes".

Each September the Academy's Economics Prize Committee, which consists of five elected members, "sends invitations to thousands of scientists, members of academies and university professors in numerous countries, asking them to nominate candidates for the Prize in Economics for the coming year. Members of the Academy and former laureates are also authorised to nominate candidates." All proposals and their supporting evidence must be received before February 1. The proposals are reviewed by the Prize Committee and specially appointed experts. Before the end of September, the committee chooses potential laureates. If there is a tie, the chairman of the committee casts the deciding vote. Next, the potential laureates must be approved by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Members of the Ninth Class (the social sciences division) of the Academy vote in mid-October to determine the next laureate or laureates of the Prize in Economics. As with the Nobel Prizes, no more than three people can share the prize for a given year; they must still be living at the time of the Prize announcement in October; and information about Prize nominations cannot be disclosed publicly for 50 years.

Like the Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and literature, each laureate in Economics receives a diploma, gold medal, and monetary grant award document from the King of Sweden at the annual Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm, on the anniversary of Nobel's death (December 10).

The first prize in economics was awarded in 1969 to Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen "for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes". In 2009, Elinor Ostrom became the first woman awarded the prize.

In February 1995, following acrimony within the selection committee pertaining to the awarding of the 1994 Prize in Economics to John Forbes Nash, the Prize in Economics was redefined as a prize in social sciences. This made it available to researchers in such topics as political science, psychology, and sociology. Moreover, the composition of the Economics Prize Committee changed to include two non-economists. This has not been confirmed by the Economics Prize Committee. The members of the 2007 Economics Prize Committee are still dominated by economists, as the secretary and four of the five members are professors of economics. In 1978, Herbert A. Simon, whose PhD was in political science, became the first non-economist to win the prize, while Daniel Kahneman, a professor of psychology and international relations at Princeton University is the first non-economist by profession to win the prize.

Some critics argue that the prestige of the Prize in Economics derives in part from its association with the Nobel Prizes, an association that has often been a source of controversy. Among them is the Swedish human rights lawyer Peter Nobel, a great-grandnephew of Ludvig Nobel. Nobel criticizes the awarding institution of misusing his family's name, and states that no member of the Nobel family has ever had the intention of establishing a prize in economics. He explained that "Nobel despised people who cared more about profits than society's well-being", saying that "There is nothing to indicate that he would have wanted such a prize", and that the association with the Nobel prizes is "a PR coup by economists to improve their reputation".

According to Samuel Brittan of the "Financial Times", both former Swedish minister of finance, Kjell-Olof Feldt, and Swedish former minister of commerce, Gunnar Myrdal, wanted the prize abolished, saying, "Myrdal rather less graciously wanted the prize abolished because it had been given to such reactionaries as Hayek (and afterwards Milton Friedman)." Relatedly, it has been noted that several members of the awarding committee have been affiliated with the Mont Pelerin Society.

In his speech at the 1974 Nobel Prize banquet, Friedrich Hayek stated that had he been consulted on the establishment of a Nobel Prize in economics, he would "have decidedly advised against it" primarily because, "The Nobel Prize confers on an individual an authority which in economics no man ought to possess... This does not matter in the natural sciences. Here the influence exercised by an individual is chiefly an influence on his fellow experts; and they will soon cut him down to size if he exceeds his competence. But the influence of the economist that mainly matters is an influence over laymen: politicians, journalists, civil servants and the public generally."

Critics cite the apparent snub of Joan Robinson as evidence of the committee's bias towards mainstream economics, though heterodox economists like Friedrich Hayek (Austrian School) and Ronald Coase (associated with new institutional economics) have won.

Milton Friedman was awarded the 1976 prize in part for his work on monetarism. Awarding the prize to Friedman caused international protests. Friedman was accused of supporting the military dictatorship in Chile because of the relation of economists of the University of Chicago to Pinochet, and a controversial six-day trip he took to Chile during March 1975 (less than two years after the coup that deposed President Salvador Allende). Friedman himself answered that he never was an adviser to the dictatorship, but only gave some lectures and seminars on inflation and met with officials, including Augusto Pinochet, in Chile.

Four Nobel Prize laureatesGeorge Wald, Linus Pauling, David Baltimore and Salvador Luriawrote letters in October 1976 to the "New York Times" protesting Friedman's award.

The 1994 prize to John Forbes Nash caused controversy within the selection committee because of Nash's history of mental illness and alleged anti-Semitism. The controversy resulted in a change to the rules governing the committee during 1994: Prize Committee members are now limited to serve for three years.

The 2005 prize to Robert Aumann was criticized by European press for his alleged use of game theory to justify his stance against the dismantling of Israeli settlements in occupied territories.

The award's official Swedish name is "Sveriges riksbanks pris i ekonomisk vetenskap till Alfred Nobels minne". The Nobel Foundation's translations of the Swedish name into English have varied since 1969: