PixlBit

Oh my, Skyward Sword is definitely what we call a treat. I couldn't put that game down (except when I literally had to) from beginning to end. Nintendo found a perfect balance in this game. No two side quests are quite the same, and the amazing combat makes for a game you won't want to put down. Also, Nintendo found a way to keep the light-hearted and brightness of Skyward Sword while still infusing the seriousness of Twilight Princess. This game had some of my favorite temples of any Zelda game - usually there are 1 or 2 temples I don't care for, and 1 horribly frustrating temple, but Skyward Sword's temples were all extremely fun. The last temple in particular was very creative and possibly my favorite of the series. Also, some of the boss fights in Skyward Sword outshine all of the other Zelda bosses. The "Koloktos" boss was my absolute favorite, and the last boss segments showed exactly how Zelda swordplay should be. Such a good game, I can't stop thinking about it.

It's amazing that this little wii game running on 10 year old technology somehow managed to impress me more than any other game in a year filled with extremely good games. My personal favorites for this year are Skyward Sword, Dark Souls, and Skyrim. I had a tough time deciding between the three, but after beating Zelda I can safely say that Skyward Sword is my favorite Zelda game of all time and my top pick for 2011. Dark Souls is one of my favorite games ever, but the shear joy I got playing Skyward Sword was a little more enjoyable than the stressfulness of Dark Souls. For Skyrim, the lack of focus (having a million mindless quests at once), lack of interesting combat, and backwards flying dragons (amongst other glitches) stop it from outshining those two games for me. I actually thought My order would have been Dark Souls, then Skyrim, then Skyward Sword, but Skyward Sword is a true masterpiece to behold - it shows how motion gaming should be done and how tweaks to the Zelda formula are very worth while.