Nintendo has managed to find a way to fix the latest Zelda game for the Wii, even though the console’s limitations prevent standard patch downloads like this.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is without a doubt one of the biggest games of the holiday season, but it got publicity for all the wrong reasons when players noticed a bug that essentially forced them to start the game all over again.
The problem doesn’t affect everyone, and it seems Nintendo was able to boil it down to very specific circumstances. Essentially, there is one point in the adventure where if players choose to save their game, something in the code gets messed up and makes it impossible for players to get to the next part of the game.
“The only options at that point are to either start the game over or to use an earlier save file to continue,” Nintendo explained at the time.
The reason this bug got so much attention is because of the Wii’s limitation on game patches. If something like this were to happen on the PS3 or Xbox 360, the game publisher could easily create a patch file that players could download and continue on with no problem.
But on the Wii, things aren’t so simple. Nevertheless, it is Zelda and Nintendo can’t just sit on its hands, so it created a workaround. Currently available only in Japan, the company has released a downloadable “channel” that is available in the Wii Shop.
Players can then load that channel, which causes the Wii to go into their Zelda save file and repair it. It’s inelegant, but it is a way to fix the game. Outside of Japan, Nintendo is telling players to send their save data and have Nintendo repair it by hand. Hopefully, though, the downloadable patch will be released to other regions soon.
