Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will last 50-100 hours, Nintendo claims

by Justin McElroy on Sep 12th 2011 11:33PM

Hope you brought a change of tights.

During the 3DS-centric press conference Nintendo is currently holding in Tokyo, Shigeru Miyamoto kicked things off with the decidedly unportable Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. While showing off the game's features, Shiggy apparently said that the game would last between 50 and 100 hours. Lest your tan pants, green boots and stupid hat get a little ... musty, you may want to bring spares.

Update: Nintendo confirmed that number on the official twitter account.

Also, we say "apparently" 50-100 hours because the presentation was entirely in Japanese and we can't technically speak the language. Technically speaking. But since Miyamoto added the game has been in development by a team of 100 for over five years, the exorbitant length would make a lot of sense.

Source: Kotaku, Game|Life

Tags: Legend-of-Zelda-2010, nintendo, shigeru-miyamoto, tgs-2011, The-Legend-of-Zelda-Skyward-Sword, wii

Reader Comments (94)

No it won't.

@Exu

Why not? Twilight Princess was 40-45 hours at least, I just hope this one actually has some challenge.

@Raffi256

I don't remember TP being anywhere near that long. I mean I didn't go for 100% or anything, but I doubt that would add another 20 hours or so to total playtime...

@Ospov You may not remember, but I do. Twilight Princess took me 45 hours to beat, and I am pretty sure I didnt do everything.

I have no doubt Skyward Sword will take equally as long.

@Exu

1. Sonic display picture means Sega fanboy. You're 15 years late.

2. I still play Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening to this day. I would've easily sunk 200 hours into each. Sure, that's more than one playthrough, but they didn't state anything about the number of playthroughs of Skyward Sword you'll be doing.

3. Don't you EVER question Miyamoto.

@Raffi256

I did most of the side quests and annoying tasks like looking for stuff all over the world. And I wasted a bunch of time just making money and jumping from roof to roof. In total I ended up with a playtime of 42 hours (just checked).

I like wandering around and just looking at the scenery. A normal person would probably only take like 20 hours

@Apsac D It really doesn't, I love Zelda as much as the next guy but 50 to 100 hours? Bit of a wide range, I reackon for most post we're looking at 20 to 30, little more if they try for 100%.

Don't question Miyamoto? Wii Music.

@Apsac D Good point about multiple playthroughs, that didn't occur to me. Oh God if there's a New Game Plus...

@killerjuice

It was much longer than past Zelda games, I think there were 13 dungeons or something like that, plus tons of filler in between, collection quests. You don't even get to the first dungeon until like 4-5 hours in. My honest to god first playthrouhgh was 45 hours, and it wasn't a difficult game, just really lengthy.

@jtrjuwrue5iiejie5ijeie3i5
Yup, TP took me about 45 hours to finish and I didn't do everything in the game.

I 100%'d Twilight Princess on the GC, took me around 45 hours. Even saying 50 hours for TP is probably an exaggeration, but Miyamoto said TP would be 100 hours.
Oh well, still greatly looking forward to this game.

@Exu I agree. Developer estimations on completion time are always overshot to get people excited.

@Ospov

My playthorugh of TP was about 50 hrs

@jtrjuwrue5iiejie5ijeie3i5

Maybe it's just because I played it like 4 years ago, but I don't remember it seeming like it took a super long time to beat. I definitely remember it being lengthy, but not THAT lengthy. I might check my total playtime for it tomorrow sometime just to double check and see how long it actually took me.

@Exu

Every girl on the planet is laughing at you right now.

@Exu
"Don't question Miyamoto? Wii Music."
Really? The dude made ONE mistake among several hits and you're gonna hold him up on that account?
It's just like Nintendo did to Gunpei Yokoi. After giving the world METROID and THE GAMEBOY, he unfortunatelly came up with the Virtual Boy. Three years later he died and Nintendo would only ackowledge his failure. They were being asses. And so is your comment.

@Ospov

Twilight Princess was like almost exactly 40 hours for me too.

@TopSpot123

Yeah 40 hours-ish is about right. And that's without the Cave of Ordeals.

@TheShaper Which isn't fair but he said not to question Miyamoto, was just making a point that the guy's not perfect. Damn near perfect, but not. Which is probably better, it'd get boring if he was.

@Esposch Hahaha, girl gamers. Like any of them are going to play this.

@Exu

to be honest it all comes down to how stupid you are lol, some people will be able to complete it fine and some people who aren't great at playing games will takes probably years to complete lol

But i like games which are 30-40, such as Mass Effect and Dues Ex, also their story lines went from good to great throughout :)
plus ive not bought a Wii game for years!

@Apsac D
Implying, Miyamoto has anything to do with Zelda development any more. FWIW, the last 3 games that credit Miyamoto as a designer are Steel Diver, Wii Music, and Wii Fit.

It's okay. Just play the song of time backwards so you have enough time to play.

That means it will be at most 20 hours

@BlakeofT

I dunno about that, last game that I remember boasting something like 100hrs..... I was able to beat it in like 5-8hrs (this was like 10+ years ago so exacting numbers are a bit fuzzy) with somewhere around 99% completion.

I was missing a single spell and unless that spell took like 90hrs to attain, they were not even close to their touted mark.

the game in question was still an awesome game mind you.

@BlakeofT

I think Miyamoto is counting "Speed Runs" as the ideal time to complete. I would reckon he is considering someone who isn't intent on being the first kid on their block to finish the game, and on average , this title would take about 50% to 100% to complete.

Challenge Accepted

@KeegdnaB

It's gonna be legend.... wait for it... of Zelda.

I reallllly need this game!

@Foetoid Zelda's my cocaine!!!!1 STRAP IT IN!!!!!!!

If anything it will be around 30 Hours trying to collect everything.

Would love to play this.... but the 480p resolution just KILLS it for me. Not a tech snob by any means but the wii looks so terrible on a 50in tv

@EazySCT

Xenoblade looks awesome on my 32". Maybe there's something I'm missing with the extra 18", but Wii's resolution should not deter anyone from playing it.

First-party Ninty titles are always more polished and clean-looking than other games. Super Mario Galaxy 2 looks awesome on my friend's 4X".

Here's hoping Skyward Sword is no different.

@EazySCT
yeah majoras mask sucks......

I'm sure Majora's Mask (and probably most other Zelda games at that) took just as long if you were to go for 100% completion. I personally have never been bothered with just getting to the regular end.

Thinking about getting a wii just for this game

@MrNewVegas

If you can wait, it might be a better idea to get a Wii U, since it plays Wii titles as well. Of course, we're talking about a wait that could possibly last for a whole year...

Not to mention, the Wii U might not be such a great console (this is hypothetical, not concrete), so the wait might not be worth it.

I don't understand how the gap could be 50 hours wide...

@Ospov: easy. you play a fifty hour game twice!

@Ospov

Might be something like 50 for main story and 100 for getting 100%.

@Ospov
If a game takes 50 hours to complete with a strategy guide, then if you try to complete it without a guide and go for 100% completion you could easily double the length.

That HUD...

If you suck?

Can I play it with a gamecube or classic controller? Cause if not, I'm not getting it. I hated TP with motion controls, I'll hate this too. Thats why I got TP for gamecube: beat it in 9 hours.

@Doctor Who

Not only can you not use Gamecube or Classic controllers, but the game requires the Wii Motion Plus in order to play.

@My Prerogative

Well there goes my purchase. Honestly believe the wii remote is the worst controller I've ever seen.

I'm about 25-27 hours into FF XIII. At this point, I feel like the game won't end, and from what I've read, it could take up to 100 hours if you do all the missions. I couldn't fathom ANY Zelda game being THAT long, although it's welcomed. =)

@nycjunglist You forget, Zelda isn't linear, unlike SOME games you're playing (FFXIII).

@Theneverendingsoda - "Put that Zelda crap away."

Please, someone bomb this dodongo into downvote oblivion.

The footage they showed was amazing.

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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will last 50-100 hours, Nintendo claims

Reader Comments (94)

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:34PM Exu said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:42PM Raffi256 said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:46PM Ospov said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:48PM jtrjuwrue5iiejie5ijeie3i5 said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:50PM Apsac D said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:54PM killerjuice said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 12:12AM Exu said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 12:13AM Exu said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 12:14AM Raffi256 said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 12:19AM fohf said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 12:21AM beano311 said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 12:41AM dscuber9000 said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 1:28AM OnToGloryReturns said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 1:40AM Ospov said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 2:11AM Esposch said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 9:29AM TheShaper said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 9:46AM TopSpot123 said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 10:08AM Ultima said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 10:52AM Exu said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 1:40PM rossguitar said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 5:18PM Giroro said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:35PM JoeSway said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:36PM BlakeofT said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 8:05AM Scuffles said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 8:13AM Spookimitsu said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:38PM KeegdnaB said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 1:04AM Basevi said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:39PM Foetoid said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:47PM religiousjedi said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:40PM Hi iTs SlayeR said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:42PM EazySCT said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:54PM Apsac D said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 4:35PM gevenstaines said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:43PM My Prerogative said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:44PM MrNewVegas said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:48PM My Prerogative said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:50PM My Prerogative said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:44PM Ospov said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 1:05AM rapidix said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 1:19AM Basevi said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 8:04AM KaBob799 said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:46PM Nintenuendo said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:49PM Flame Killa said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:49PM Doctor Who said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 12:02AM My Prerogative said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 1:44AM Doctor Who said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:55PM nycjunglist said

Posted: Sep 13th 2011 12:04AM therandomizer said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:59PM MatthewBlackwell said

Posted: Sep 12th 2011 11:59PM Gooblechev said

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