Come to think of it o.O_Q, it could have been possible. It would've been just really awkward. And for forward thrusts, the press of a button is overly simplistic in comparison to actually getting the forward thrust motion right...
But they could have. Mapping the right analog to x-y axis sword movements. But Z would have been impossible except with the PS3/360 analog click, which is, really, overly simplistic in light of SS's control difficulty (which made it more challenging, but also more interesting to play).
That's from a control design perspective, doable but not really interesting. Much more interesting with the Motion+ it is imho. But above and beyond that, Link has increasingly become about You, the player, being in the place of Link, doing what he is doing, living what he is living. To actually stand up, smite with your shield, swing in different angles and directions, and get into the action. That would have been a binding experience given motion controls, from an immersion standpoint.
