No left-handed mode in Skyward Sword

By Fred Dutton Published 17 October, 2011

Southpaws will have to make do.

Nintendo's incoming motion-controlled epic The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword does not feature a left-handed mode, the publisher has confirmed to Kotaku.

This could cause lefties a few issues as the MotionPlus-enabled game demands rather more precision from your sword swipes than the more primitive Twilight Princess did back in 2006.

The games sees Link wielding his sword in his right hand, matching the gestures the player makes with the Wii Remote.

Left-handers can of course hold the Remote in their left hand regardelss but that's hardly intuitive when viewing the action on-screen. The other option means potentially awkward sword flailing with your less dextrous arm.

There had been suggestions that Nintendo planned to offer a left-handed mode in which Link holds his sword in his left hand - just as he traditioally did in earlier Zelda titles - but that clearly hasn't materialised.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (74) Latest comment 7 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Pinky_Floyd #1 7 months ago

    Ban this sick filth.

  • randompanda #2 7 months ago

    In this day and age it's just irresponsible to treat a portion of your market like they dont exist.

    It's probably best I just treat them the same way then.

  • oi #3 7 months ago

    "It's probably best I just treat them the same way then"

    Indeed.

  • Nevflinn #4 7 months ago

    AN OUTRAGE!

  • captainCandy #5 7 months ago

    RACISTS!

  • darkmorgado #6 7 months ago

    Cheers ninty.

    Speaking on behalf of 10% of the gaming audience, most wii games are virtually unplayable because they don't accommodate us lefties. If you righties want to know what it's like, try playing Metroid Prime with the wiimote and nunchuk swapped over.

    Not fun is it?

    Don't get me started on fucking PC peripherals.

    "Wow, that mouse is so cool! OH WAIT I FORGOT US LEFTIES ARE TREATED LIKE FUCKING LEPERS SO WE CAN'T USE THE FUCKING THING BECAUSE OF THAT STUPID FUCKING GROOVE"

  • OneClassyBloke #7 7 months ago

    The problem with motion controls. It removes the creative decision to make your character left handed, unless the developer is one of those good ones who accommodates all play styles.

  • mkaikon #8 7 months ago

    As a fellow southpaw, I agree it's stupid in this day and age not to have the option to play left handed... and don't get me started on the Guitar Hero whammy bar arrrggh.

    The irony is Link is left handed himself (in most games) as is Shigeru Miyamoto.

  • MattEdWithCheese #9 7 months ago

    Next they'll be wanting the right to vote...

  • makeamazing #10 7 months ago

    To be honest i didn't think it would be a problem, because i didn't think anyone was still playing the wii....

  • wez_316 #11 7 months ago

    I actually don't understand this. What is stopping people having Wiimote in their left hand and nunchuck in their right hand? This whole left hand business is odd. The only thing I understand there being a left handed version of is scissors. How is the Wiimote any less comfortable for lefties than say the Xbox or PS3 controllers?

  • dr_zoidthrob #12 7 months ago

    Well, that's just bollocks isn't it?

  • Hedja #13 7 months ago

    Holy shit, Nintendo, you're making me hate you as the months go by. First it was Artstyle CODE not having left-handed mode (wasted 250 free points there I guess), then the 3DS' slidepad+stylus combos making it impossible for me to play Kid Icarus (but I hoped there'd be a dual analogue 3DS revision--guess not) and any other T/FPS that'll be released on the system and now... you've made the only left-handed character you've created strictly right-handed? You want all this "high-precision" control, yet you can't implement a simple mirroring mechanic?

    Well fuck, I hate to say this, but, Nintendo... go fuck yourselves.

  • Ranger_Ryu #14 7 months ago

    Well this will be fun to try and play........

  • MattEdWithCheese #15 7 months ago

    http://mynintendonews.com/2011/10/18/nin...

  • Pwnsweet #16 7 months ago

    Phew, that was close! I was getting worried that I might have to *gasp!* buy this game. With the release of this game imminent and no legitimate reason to pirate the game, I can now do so completely guilt-free. Thanks Nintendo!

  • el_pollo_diablo #17 7 months ago

    I'm a lefty. After all these years I've managed to adapt to every controller layout ever, and so really this is no different.

    Come on lefties, let's show the world that they can strike us down but we will not retaliate, Gandhi style.
    Edited by el_pollo_diablo at 18/10/11 @ 09:02

  • madsox1 #18 7 months ago

    @MattEdWithCheese - no way brother slow down there. These filthy lefties still gotta sit on the back of the bus so I reckon giving them the vote is a LONG way off!!!

  • sjmlondon #19 7 months ago

    Silly Nintendo, everyone knows left handed people are generally more intelligent and creative.

  • Salaminizer #20 7 months ago

    fascists, HEIL IWATA.

  • Dr_Cowley #21 7 months ago

    Every game in this day and age should have fully mapable controls

  • WAusJackBauer #22 7 months ago

    LOL fail Nintendo.

  • Bluetooth #23 7 months ago

    Apparently lefties are the spawn of the devil

  • Bumbuliuz #24 7 months ago

    A bit sad to see that happened. I really wanted that in Twilight Princess but understood it maybe there wasn't time for that. But the same with Skyward sword is a missed opportunity and ironic since Link is left handed.

  • landlock #25 7 months ago

    I guess leftys can adapt better then there right-handed counterparts that's why they changed it.

  • kenichi-san #26 7 months ago

    Well, since no more then approx 10% of the worlds population is left-handed, and then subtract all non-gamers, it not that high % count left.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #27 7 months ago

    Well, since no more then approx 10% of the worlds population is left-handed, and then subtract all non-gamers, it not that high % count left.

    Uhm, that is not how percent work.

    A bit of an oversight from Nintendo - especially because Link is left handed. I don't think it would have been that much effort to put in a mode where Link holds his sword with the left hand, the question is whether this has such an impact on the game (puzzles) that it would have required more hours in testing.

  • RevanEleven #28 7 months ago

    If 10% of the worls population is left handed then 10% of gamers will be also. Muppet.

  • evild_edd #29 7 months ago

    @Pwnsweet: urrr, this is hardly an excuse to pirate is it? Whether you pay for the game or not doesn't affect your ability to play it wrong-handed (assuming you're even a southpaw). If you feel strongly about the lefties then just don't play it at all.....

  • Whitster #30 7 months ago

    To everyone claiming Link is left handed, technicly this Link predates all the others. So the original Link is a righty all the others are just wrong copies. Also whoever moaned about the guitar hero whammy, it didnt stop Hendrix did it.

  • Stratix #31 7 months ago

    Twilight Princess was left handed. Right handed yanks complained that it felt weird and what do Ninty do? Flip both Link, and the entire fucking world over from West to East.

    It then felt weird for ME then to play, because I am left handed. Fair enough, the moves don't need to be too accurate.

    But Skyward sword? Accurate movement? Damn, this is gonna be difficult.

  • deez #32 7 months ago

    Amidst all this moaning, I honesty believe this game will be perfectly playable left handed, i.e.wiimote in left, and the weirdness of having link using his right will take all of ten minutes to evaporate. Apologies to those who enjoy a rant.

  • GamesConnoisseur #33 7 months ago

    I m a lifelong lefty by a choice!

    Seriously, as much as anyone had a choice in having chosen their sex! Man, saying that it's easy to adapt is just so ignorant, some are more ambidextrous than others. I could NEVER control mouse in right hand and that not for lack of trying.

    In every place I been to, or helping my kids, always struggled before flicking it over.

    Now this just killed dead my interests in the game, I ain't gonna humiliate myself and get frustrated. So thanks Nintendo for making it simple, my last shreds of loyalty is now gone and soon gonna trade in all Wii related stuff.

    That's a lot as I still retain N64 and GameCube. This is just the final nail for me. Bye, it's been fun...not its wasn't as much it could have been.

  • Cobalt_Jackal #34 7 months ago

    Im Left-handed (I was born this way :) and even though I don't own a Wii (I haven't owned a Nintendo console since 2004), but none the less this backward behavoir from Nintendo is just stupid. I mean WHY?, its not like it would be that hard for them to implement a mode for us lefties. I just don't get Nintendo sometimes.

    Although being a Left hander has as a gamer mean't I've pretty much been forced to adapt to whatever challenge i face with reguards to controls (although sometimes I can only do things with my Left hand which makes adapting very hard for me). But i've had to adapt to the best of my abilitys because IMO quite a few publishers/devs (sadly) seem to think left handed gamers don't exist :(. And that attitude does piss me off at times, but still I soldier on in this crazy world.
    Edited by Cobalt_Jackal at 18/10/11 @ 07:53

  • Deckard1 #35 7 months ago

    I for one applaud Nintendo for not catering to these freaks of nature.

  • DSman59 #36 7 months ago

    OK, I understand that some of you are less gifted than others and can't adapt to doing something differently. I can say for myself that I am right-handed but I can use my left hand almost as well as my right one because of practise. Well, years of practise, actually, but it's worth it to strive for ambidexterity! Makes life so much better because I'm able to use my limbs more efficiently. I do many things left-handed like writing, holding the stylus etc. just for the sake of it.
    If Nintendo announced that this new Zelda is playable only left-handed, it would be more fun and challenging for me.

  • Zozzilla #37 7 months ago

    Meh, I'm left handed and have spent all 28 years of my life so far having to adapt to doing things the right handed way. No skin off my back. I can use a Wiimote perfectly fine with my right hand, same with a mouse...both scarily with more control than if I was to try with my left hand. I also use the guitar controller for Guitar Hero World Tour right handed, use right handed scissors (I just turn them upside down) and hold a knife and fork the proper way round. I've grown up in a right hander's world, ever other lefty has, no one has any excuses about not being able to play this.
    Edited by Zozzilla at 18/10/11 @ 08:20

  • rock27gr #38 7 months ago

    I also am left handed. However, I find it harder controlling a character (i.e. using the analogue stick) with my right hand, than controlling the pointing in Metroid Prime 3 with my right hand.

    I would expect the same would apply for Zelda.

  • CrispyXUK64 #39 7 months ago

    As a leftie I have no problem with this at all.

  • cardboardMonster #40 7 months ago

    Link is going to be stuffed.

  • rob_of_the_robots #41 7 months ago

    The word sinister comes from the Latin word sinistra meaning left, as it was believed that people writing with their left hand were possessed by the devil.

  • el_pollo_diablo #42 7 months ago

    This is a left handed thread, for left handed people.

  • Cappy #43 7 months ago

    I've never had any problems using standard gamepads as a left handed person, the left thumb controlling character movement suits me fine. I don't really play many games that require aiming with the right stick, so I'd consider it an advantage even.

    Motion control is an entirely different kettle of fish though, since I'm used to controlling the character with my left thumb that forces the Wii remote into my right hand and to the point where I simply can't forget that I'm trying to control something that won't quite do what I want it to do with my right hand. Swapping around will feel just as awkward, character movement on a 'right stick' feels totally wrong.

    You just can't immerse yourself in the game when you're constantly warring with the controls and thinking about them rather than just the game. Sadly, I'll have to give Skyward Sword a miss, It will feel a bit strange having to pass on a console Zelda game but a game I can't play comfortably isn't worth the money.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #44 7 months ago

    I dont get it the controllers are symmetrical, would this not just be a case of flipping that garish HUD for left handed people? Its like 30 mins work?

  • kinky_mong #45 7 months ago

    I'm left-handed, but I'm not a complete dyspraxic retard so can cope perfectly well using the wii-remote in my right hand.

    No surprise to see lots of left-handers wallowing in their own pity though. "Boo hoo! I'm slightly different and the whole world isn't catered for me! Boo Hoo!" Adapt or die whingers!

  • GamesConnoisseur #46 7 months ago

    Man, some people!!!

    I don't have problem playing the standard controller and never configured it for Southpaw, as minimal movements with sticks and dpads etc.

    Accuracy with remote pointings and twistings are a different magnitude and more tricky than trying mouse in wrong hand, I said some are more ambidextrous than others. You call us moaners and cry babies, I simply ask you to play demanding game like Metroid Prime on Wii with both controllers in wrong hands.. Go on try it, and if you can.. Do the boss battle.. That would illustrate the issue better.

    Ain't it my choice if I believe that my needs are being excluded for me not to buy the game or follow the company that doesn't believe that it's worth the effort? I would prefer an option to play Zelda in mirror mode, so all the maps etc would be 'wrong way round' but able to play comfortably in left hand?

    If that is wrong expectations, then Wii and Nintendo is wrong for me, simple as..
    Edited by GamesConnoisseur at 18/10/11 @ 12:59

  • ResidentKnievel #47 7 months ago

    There's almost as many colour blind people as there is left handed people and they're rarely thought of in games, either.

  • geeza2020 #48 7 months ago

    Nintendo are sick fascists! Although I agree with them, lefties should be hampered at all opportunities.

  • Cappy #49 7 months ago

    I don't think anybody is suggesting that using the Wii Remote in their right hand is impossible. The complaint is that it won't feel natural so you can't forget that you're holding a controller and immerse yourself in the game.

    I don't think there really is a perfect solution since Skyward Sword seems to have so much emphasis on motion control, I know that I disliked having to shake the controller in Mario Galaxy and I briefly tried the Wii version of Twilight Princess. So I have a fair idea of what's in store, constantly having to twitch the controller just to cut grass seemed like too much work for me.

  • dominalien #50 7 months ago

    "Next they'll be wanting the right to vote... "

    No, I want the left to vote!

  • the_dudefather #51 7 months ago

    lefties are really going to like Kid Icarus on the 3DS

  • Kwote #52 7 months ago

    i don't see what all the fuss is about. how do lefties play xbox and ps3? do they need a special left handed controller? do they hold the pad upside down? this is the same situation. you should be used to moving your left thumb for movement and right for buttons by now anyway so why not just do the same with this game?

  • higgins78 #53 7 months ago

    I'm a "left-hander" myself but have thus far managed quite admirably using my right for most games, I'm hoping with Skyward Sword this still applies. Of course it would have been nice had an option to play with either hand been included but to be honest I didn't expect as much...seems these days you get what you are given and can choose to like it or lump it.

  • TonyHarrison #54 7 months ago

    I'm left handed, and I've used the Wii remote in my right hand for the last five years. I've never even attempted to use it in my left hand to be honest.

    But still, the option would have been appreciated.

  • ChuckNorris #55 7 months ago

    Mirror mode would do the trick, barely any extra effort needed. Everybody bearing grudge against lefties wanting an alternative are bastards, lefties included. I'm a righty, so this will be perfectly playable for me. For those having issues it will not be. When people complained about Beyond good and evil not having Y and X axis invert option, nobody gave them any shit about it. This is the same thing. Let people decide the control scheme that suits them best. It does not hurt anybody.

  • essexguy1983 #56 7 months ago

    I'm left handed, but the only thing I use my left hand for are writing and using a spoon. No problems for me!

  • darkmorgado #57 7 months ago

    @kwote

    Because using the wiimote isnt like using a joypad; its more akin to using a mouse. Have you tried playing a pc game with the mouse on your offhand? Not fun, is it?

    See also: every single fucking ds game that uses stylus control as well as the analogue stick.

  • Mister-Wario #58 7 months ago

    I tend to hold the Wiimote in my right hand anyway (since I'm so used to using the left analogue stick to move the character) but really, this is utterly ridiculous. Nintendo need to do better than this.

  • SteveHolt #59 7 months ago

    Maybe they plan to release left-handed mode as premium DLC? ;)

    Anyway, I'm 100% left-handed and used to having to adjust etc, but this is supposed to be mainstream entertainment, there should be a solution for every type of customer; especially since great wii games are few and far between, meaning that my brain actually needs an adjustment period every time I start playing, which is an inconvenience.

    Every wii game requires a different solution for me, I can play casual games the right-handed way (and I have to when it's a party game and we don't have enough controllers for every one), but things kinda fall apart as soon as the game requires genuine accuracy and reflexes, it never feels natural.

  • kangarootoo #60 7 months ago

    "Speaking on behalf of 10%"

    Its more than 10% these days, and on the increase. I'm not a left hander, but tbh if I was working on a game where handedness was important and I didn't consider both "sides", I wouldn't consider I had done a professional job.

    I think people saying its not a big deal are missing the point. In this day and age, supporting left and right handed players is the thing that should be considered not "a big deal". Its like including a volume control, or a savegame system. Its a thing that just BE there, rather than become a subject of forum discussion.

  • Pwnsweet #61 7 months ago

    I wrote this post with my left hand

  • CWW #62 7 months ago

    @Eurogameruser: Except the left-handed version on the GC didn't use motion control. Skyward Sword does no matter how you'd slice it. Big difference.

  • koopa #63 7 months ago

    Apparently, it's not a problem:
    http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/blog/...

  • MoGamer2006 #64 7 months ago

    Isn't the only problem for lefties going to be graphical - i.e. that Link is right-handed, while the player is holding the Wiimote in their left hand? After all, the motions are going to be the same - side swipe, down slash, lunge, etc?

    In other words, is this another case of the internet going into full-on Nerd Rage over something that isn't going to actually be a problem? Surely not!

  • Mr.Spo #65 7 months ago

    I saw a play-test article on Kotaku written by a left-handed gamer, and he found the experience perfectly playable and enjoyable. Of course, this IS a Nintendo article we're talking about, and since they're doing something that's less than perfect, the floodgates must be opened and the complaints must pour in. I find it sad that an article like this attracts far more attention than new trailers for Skyward Sword. Hell, even the announcement of a new Wii bundle this Christmas received more attention than new Skyward Sword trailers, simply because it was a half-chance for people to rant about Nintendo.

    It's a little strange they aren't including a left-handed control option, but it isn't a sign of Nintendo being world-hating and backwards looking as some of you claim. I've a left-handed housemate who has regularly used my Wii--he played through both Galaxy games, Twilight Princess and the entire Prime Trilogy without any problems. This is unfortunate for the very small minority who won't be able to adjust to the controls, but it is not the big deal it's made out to be.

  • scouserfuller9 #66 7 months ago

    @wez_316 - Did you not realize you swing the Wiimote around? It may not be the toughest of challenges for left handed people like myself but it can still be a struggle.

    @kenichi-san - I see you care for no one other than yourself!
    Edited by scouserfuller9 at 18/10/11 @ 15:28

  • kinky_mong #67 7 months ago

    Have you tried playing a pc game with the mouse on your offhand?

    Yep, and I coped perfectly well because I've got used to using a mouse in my right "weaker" hand for the last 20 or so years every time I used a computer like a normal person. If anything I had more trouble with my left hand hitting the wrong keys on the keyboard occasionally while playing with "WASD" controls.

    Not fun, is it?

    Only that time I played F.E.A.R. on the PC.

  • Mayhem64 #68 7 months ago

    I'm with Zozzilla. I'm left handed for writing, throwing, playing guitar... but I do most other things right handed. It was the way of things when growing up, partly because left handed items such as scissors did not exist. Likewise when playing videogames, all the early arcade machines generally had the stick on the left and buttons on the right like pads today. So I grew up using a stick in the left and buttons in the right, which translates to normal mode for FPS for me rather than inverse or goofy or left handed mode.

    Hence when I got a Wii, I've been using it with remote in the right and nunchuk in the left, and I don't think I'd be able to do it the other way around. Funnily enough though for Wii Sports etc, where you play recreations of sports such as tennis, I hold the remote in my left...

  • darkmorgado #69 7 months ago

    I've got used to using a mouse in my right "weaker" hand for the last 20 or so years every time I used a computer like a normal person. If anything I had more trouble with my left hand hitting the wrong keys on the keyboard occasionally while playing with "WASD" controls.

    I don't suppose it occurred to you to use the mouse in your left hand and use arrow keys instead of WASD?

  • daymun #70 7 months ago

    I am Lefty, and hence a superior being able to use a silly wand device in my non-favoured hand .... accurately.
    Can most right-handers do the equivalent? Ohhhhhhhh I think not sir, I think not.
    And before you start calling me prejudiced I'll have you know I have a friend who is right-handed. I even slept with a right-hander once. Mebbe.

  • TheFrostedFireFly #71 7 months ago

    See how the comment vote system has the left side negative? *yeah, that - yeah that's pretty much what we call a conspiracy.

  • RealityCheque #72 7 months ago

    For everyone saying "well just use it with your right hand and adjust", that's what schools used to do to left handed people like my great uncle. as a result, he STILL can't use his right hand, and his left atrophied through lack of use.

    Admittedly this isn't exactly the same, but "adjust" doesn't cut the fucking mustard. I only have my Wii to play Zelda games (and DBZ once in a blue moon) so I guess I might as well pack it up in it's box for another couple of years.

  • wizbob #73 7 months ago

    Zozzilla: I can use a Wiimote perfectly fine with my right hand, same with a mouse...both scarily with more control than if I was to try with my left hand. I also use the guitar controller for Guitar Hero World Tour right handed, use right handed scissors (I just turn them upside down) and hold a knife and fork the proper way round.

    Zozilla, I have news for you; you may want to sit down. If your right-hand is dominant and you use it for everything then... you are right-handed.

    Now, there is the possibility that you are a lefty trapped in a right-handed body and nobody has the right to deny you that, but I'm afraid you're going to find the world a very cold place.

    On the upside, you'll be able to fully enjoy Skyward Sword. Unlike the rest of us unloved bastards. At least with Kid Icarus I knew up front, but to find out that the new Zelda has been sabotaged, a month before release... I'll never forgive you Nintendo. I think it's time I went back to consoles with symmetrical controllers - at least everyone is gimped to the same degree with twin sticks.





  • Joco84 #74 7 months ago

    Lost my purchase for Kid Icarus and now you've lost it for Skyward Sword, oh well.......