Skyward Sword and Metroid Other M: When Showing is Better Than Telling

Recently, I re-played The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword on Switch, a game I hadn't played since it came out on Wii a decade ago (god I feel old). Overall, I enjoyed the frame rate boost and quality of life changes that the port makes over the Wii original. I also think playing through Breath of the Wild has given me an appreciation for the dungeon crawling of Skyward Sword. Motion controls were still a pain , but I did love that camera control the motion controls have now.

But as I was playing, I remembered a criticism about Skyward Sword that I had as a kid, a lot happens emotionally but Link doesn't speak, at all. It's normal for Zelda games but feels weird in Skyward Sword because it puts a lot more effort into making the player care about what's happening. So, it seems weird that Link doesn't say anything when it feels like he should or when someone directly addresses him and it's only implied that he speaks back.

I came to the realization however that, while Link doesn't speak in Skyward Sword, he does react, a lot actually.  Link's reactions are told in simple gestures, miming, and body language, something that was also done in Wind Waker but feels refined here. We even see a slight character arc where Link grows from sleepy idiot to a stubborn determined hero, all through his body language and facial expressions. It's the standard hero's journey fare sure, but it's noteworthy that it's all basically told in gestures without Link saying a word.

It's not just Link either, every major character has fantastic body language and facial expression that sells their personality without needing voice acting. And while Link's the only mute one in the cast I appreciate that the developers took the time to give other characters unique body language that sells their personality. Would having Link speak or even full voice acting ruin that? I can't say, but I got the feeling that having those things would reduce the focus on body language and gestures that the game clearly has.

There are even moments in the Skyward Sword's endgame where characters are shown speaking, but you don't know what they're saying. Because it doesn't matter what they're saying, the point is the emotion of the moment, which the devs wisely realized you could sell without words if you make the player pay attention to what's on screen.

To fully appreciate it we have to look at another Nintendo property that came out around the same time, Metroid Other M. That game has full voice acting and tries for a deep and rich story filled with emotion just like Skyward Sword did. But trying is not the same as succeeding and Other M fails at it's goal despite having voice acting and even giving Samus the speaking role that Link lacks in Skyward Sword. 

Now, I have gone over some of Other M's problems before, but that was largely with the story being told. The other major problem was in how the actual story is being told to you. With characters that just stand around and dump exposition with almost no emotion or dynamic camera or character movement, it's bland and sterile. Worse, it doesn't feel like anyone goes through an arc or develops meaningfully.  And that's before we get into Samus' never-ending monologues; a 5-minute monologue right after the tutorial? Are you kidding me? 

It's notable that the only character anyone who played Other M tends to like is Anthony, who played a minor role but he's also the only who feels like he has a personality, so he's like rain in a California drought. Everyone else is either death fodder, so terribly written you wish they were dead, or tossed into the plot so abruptly that the game doesn't know what to do with them outside of another five-minute monologue.

And it's those monologues that highlight the difference body language and facial expression can make. Samus can spend 5 minutes talking about her daddy issues and I don't care, I'm spending the entire time wondering why Other M didn't put a "skip" button in these cutscenes. It also doesn't help that the dialogue, while sounding important, has no substance and like I mentioned feels sterile.

Conversely for Skyward Sword, I understand exactly how Link feels when the main villain is running around and getting in his personal space. Because Link doesn't need to say a word; his body language and facial expressions do the talking in less than a sixth of the time it takes Samus to articulate her emotions. Skyward Sword may have a "simpler" story on it's surface, but its characters resonate far more than in a game like Other M.

It's worth noting however most games aren't this stark or dramatic in the difference between dialogue and no dialogue. Most games understand that body language, facial expression, and dialogue can mix to create great characters and fantastic story telling. Games like Horizon Fobidden West, Halo Infinite, Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga, and even Metroid Dread are great examples of that mix in action.

Skyward Sword and Other M however execute the extremes, one relying on body language and facial expression while the other relies on dialogue with minimal character movement. It's kind of clear which one is executed better if you ask me. Because sometimes what you see is more important than what you hear.