Skyward Sword Dungeons: Sky Keep
Posted on June 19 2012 by Axle D. Wilder
Alright, guys! Now it’s time to talk about the final dungeon of Skyward Sword, the Sky Keep. Games in the Zelda series tend to differ greatly on how they deal with the final dungeon. Sometimes there is no “final dungeon”, but instead a final area after the last of the main dungeons, like how it was in Spirit Tracks. Sometimes the final dungeon is shorter and simpler than a normal dungeon like Hyrule Castle in Twilight Princess. Other times it’s much larger and more elaborate than any other, like Ganon’s Tower in A Link to the Past. So how does the Sky Keep do it?
The Sky Keep is a full-on dungeon. Almost all of the key elements are there and it has length (and indeed is longer than numerous other dungeons in Skyward Sword). It is very challenging, with a unique dungeon-wide puzzle where you have to rearrange the rooms in a sliding puzzle to navigate, and challenging puzzles in each of the rooms and a handful of powerful enemies, though by this point in the game you will probably be used to them. It lacks a dungeon item, as virtually all true final dungeons do, as well as a traditional dungeon boss. Nintendo makes up for this, for better or for worse, by having a miniboss gauntlet instead. It also serves as the final trial to claim the Triforce, making it one of the few dungeons not ruled by evil but instead presented as a test, just like the Tower of the Gods from The Wind Waker.
The unfortunate thing about the Sky Keep is how it bases itself entirely off of other dungeons. While its rooms are unique, they carry the design, graphics, and themes of the other dungeons in the game. This means that very little of the dungeon will be spent in a unique environment, and instead you’re revisiting old ones. I’ve always thought this was an interesting way of doing a final area, but not necessarily my preference and I think it’s unfortunate that the Sky Keep lacks much identity of its own.
The Sky Keep’s first chamber is unique and has the dungeon’s music, but every other room looks like a previous area to some degree, and I wish we got to see more of the dungeon’s own ideas. Perhaps it could have had another room or two that used the design and music of the first chamber, or instead, perhaps they could have expanded the Silent Realm-esque rooms where you do nothing but grab the Triforces (where the song and unique design also appear) into short Silent Realm sections that take place in rooms resembling the Sky Keep’s main chamber. I think this would have been a good way to handle this and make the dungeon just slightly more epic.
Regardless, the dungeon is very cool and while it may be a bit lacking on its own identity, it does do a few cool new things with the themes it borrows, like meshing Skyview Temple and the Ancient Cistern together within a single room, or having the surreal and vaguely Skyview Temple-esque chamber where you fight the dungeon’s miniboss, Dreadfuse.
Unfortunately, aside from its miniboss battles, the Sky Keep does not offer any particularly challenging fights. Most of the enemies are weak ones, and the strong ones are few in number and don’t attack in groups. This is a dungeon where the bulk of the challenge will be found in its brutal puzzles, which are formidable — easily the game’s hardest and indeed some of the hardest in the entire series. The minibosses themselves differ. Dreadfuse is a repeat of Scervo, so unless you had trouble with Scervo and have yet to adapt, he will be easy (as he was for me). The miniboss gauntlet before the Triforce of Courage, however, can be brutal if you find yourself unprepared and I think it’s an acceptable substitute for a unique dungeon boss (especially since the conclusion of the dungeon segued directly into the final confrontation against, Ghirahim, Demise, and their horde anyway). Both fights take place in very cool rooms, as well. Dreadfuse, as I already mentioned, is fought on a suspended platform in a surreal twisting tunnel vaguely resembling the Skyview Temple, whereas the miniboss gauntlet is fought in a series of chambers based on the Ancient Cistern’s underground areas, which is nice to see again. Excellent locations to hold fights in and some of the dungeon’s coolest rooms.
All in all, I think the Sky Keep is one of the best final dungeons of the series. With the possible exception of Ganon’s Tower in A Link to the Past, I don’t think any other final dungeons are as full and as challenging as this one. It’s a great way to end off the game, and while I definitely think it could have used a few improvements, it was an excellent experience. Not my favorite dungeon of the game (that’s still Lanayru Mining Facility), but a darn good one. It was especially epic to have the game suddenly drop the previous “you’re entering a dungeon” jingle for a final, epic new one.
But how do you feel about the Sky Keep? Did you think it was a worthy dungeon to cap off Skyward Sword, or do you think it was lame? How does it stack up to previous final dungeons of the series? What did you like or dislike about it? Tell me in the comments!
And with that, we conclude the Skyward Sword Dungeons series. It’s been a blast talking about the dungeons of this game, going really in-depth with them and giving my thoughts, as well as hearing your guys’ thoughts. If you like the idea (tell me!) I may continue doing this for future Zelda games… or perhaps even older ones.
~~~Recent Content Updates~~~
