Skyward Sword to feature upgradable items

Link's expanding toolset has long been one of The Legend of Zelda's charms, and Skyward Sword carries on this tradition with upgradable items - and a MotionPlus-powered harp.

"What we've done with the game this time that I think is a little different is we've built an entire upgrade system into the game," Nintendo's Bill Trinen told Gamespot.

"Link has his traditional shield, but you actually get a lot of different shields in the game. You start off with a very basic one, and as you fight enemies you're recover these treasure or artifacts that you then use as resources to upgrade your items.

"You can do that with the shield, you can do that with the beetle, and some of the other items that you have. You'll be combining your collection of rupees and your collection of these resources and improve the items you have."

Details on Skyward Sword's harp have also recently come to light.

"The harp is sort of the central instrument hat you’ll see this time," producer Eiji Aonuma revealed in the latest issue of Nintendo Power, as reported by NintendoCharged.

"With a lot of previous Zelda games it has been about inputting specific notes to compose things. Given the nature of what a harp is, and the fact that it’s an instrument that one strums, this time we’re using the Wii MotionPlus to really make it based on the rhythm of strumming to get across the musical element."

Aonuma revealed that Skyward Sword's birds fill a similar role to Spirit Tracks' train and Wind Waker's boat.

Skyward Sword is expected to release towards the end of 2011.

Thanks, GameInformer, Siliconera.