Summary and Analysis – 3DS Conference Skyward Sword Videos

Over the past few days, we have been inundated with new Skyward Sword content, including summaries, videos, screenshots, developer comments, and announcements. Instead of writing an article filled with more theoretical analysis (at this point I might as well wait until the game comes out), I’ve created a list of important new details along with some commentary. Most of the information from GameInformer has already been summarized, so I focused on the three new videos.

Nintendo 3DS Conference Video

0:06 – New item: Bug-Catching Net. This item makes a return from A Link to the Past and serves the same function. It can be seen in action later on.

0:14 – Another member of the penguin-like race? The first was seen in the E3 trailer. This one is much larger, and doesn’t disguise itself as a bush. Maybe he’s trying to be a rock?

0:38 – Clear water, Super Mario 64-style swimming. There a structure to the right – possibly the Water Temple? (Its architecture looks similar to that of the Forest/Sky Temple.)

0:41 – A third member of the penguin-like race. Of gameplay importance, Link can dash up the Spear Moblin’s shield, right over his head!

0:50 – Off in the distance… could that be the Arbiter’s Ground? It doesn’t look quite right, so I’m not going to try to push that connection. I do think that this shot is from atop the ship though. (More on that later)

1:02 – This is the slope that GameInformer mentioned, where you have to dash to get up, and dodge boulders.

1:20 – Triforceless bird crest again. This appears to serve several purposes. In this shot, something (not shown) enables you to draw on the wall, and the crest brings your drawing to life.

1:26 – Some crests can also be activated by hitting them with a charged sword blast. GameInformer describes this action in another context when performed on boxes bearing the crest:

1:30 – Another new item: The Double Clawshot returns from Twilight Princess.

1:36 – A third new item: something very similar to the Gust Jar from The Minish Cap. Actually, this item is not new. We saw it in the GDC trailer, in the mechanical dungeon with the Mechats and Mechanical Totem. Its design has been refined, but it’s still the same general shape, and the area where he’s using it also appears to be in the same dungeon. (Pay attention to the patterns to the left at 1:39) We can also see a new enemy, a floating puffer fish.

1:43 – Momentarily taking your attention away from this awesome-looking ship, there’s another large structure on the horizon. It reminds me of the Great Fox from the Star Fox series…

1:48 – Back to the ship, there’s a pattern on the edges of the sails that resembles one seen in the Fire Temple. A common pattern between the inside of a volcano and a ship in a bay doesn’t make much sense at the moment, but it might have some other significance (or none at all).

2:05 – This stone acts the same as the one seen in the E3 trailer – it’s just a different shape and has different symbols. The symbol (as well as the E3 one) looks like it fits right in with the the pattern on the boxart. In fact, I think it may directly map to the images around the outside of the circle (possibly the one at ten o’clock).

2:08 – There’s an enemy that we saw in the GDC trailer, but this time we can see more than its shell. We now know that it’s called a Pyrup.

2:10 – Here’s a good view of the desert region. I think this is the home of the mechanical dungeon, since the dungeon has been seen to contain sand in sections. These large statues may have been what we saw at 0:50.

2:17 – This lantern ghost that was shown at the E3 Developers Roundtable isn’t a guardian as I had thought. Guardians are bigger, more intimidating, and each one seems to be unique.

2:28 – Bug catching!

2:39 – Bugs you catch can be used to upgrade potions at this potion shop in Skyloft.

2:48 – Fujibayashi again can’t resist borrowing characters from The Wind Waker. Say hello to Beedle! (No, it’s not the same one as in The Wind Waker.) He sells rather unique-looking items. A heart container coin, a bag of who knows what, and two things I can’t identify. Uses for these items aren’t clear at this time. Maybe they have something to do with the upgrade system.

2:52 – Here’s a demonstration of dowsing, including digging up treasure with the Mole Mitts. GameInformer reports that this can uncover keys, hidden treasure, and even Zelda.

3:01 – A puzzle involving rotating concentric circles. Lightning is linked to the inner circle, fire to the intermediate, and water to the outer circle. My first guess at a solution: Make the elements point to their respective dungeons. Solving this appears to cause a structure to rise up out of the sand, if scene sequence can be trusted.

3:10 – Interacting with a bird statue creates a magical updraft that you can catch with your sailcloth.

3:22 – We were told that the bosses would be large… We really would have missed out without an aerial boss battle in Skyward Sword. The whale’s design is epic and the battle looks like a lot of fun.

3:29 – Those fallen beams behind Link bear a pattern similar to the one I pointed out on the ship’s sails. This looks like a boss encounter on that ship. So, is the ship a dungeon, or is the overworld so much like a dungeon that it contains its own bosses?

3:41 – Even though Zelda is not a princess, she does have some important role. “Ghirahim calls Zelda a ‘precious oracle’ and a ‘female servant of the Goddess'” (GameInformer) Link shows his respect.

3:43 – Zelda’s wearing a new outfit. She looks worried. The gear behind her looks ominous. It’s what appears on the box art. One difference I noticed is that the Goddesses’ names and attributes are missing. In the center you can just make out the Triforce – a rare sight in this game – and surrounding it are rays that also appear on the shield design in one of the new screenshots.

3:47 – The Fire Temple’s boss, seen originally in the GDC trailer, is called Scaldera.

3:56 – Another giant boss. Link must make use of his Deku Leaf-like sailcloth to climb to the top of the crater and jump on its head. There’s a meter on the left, which I assume tracks the boss’s distance to some castle. This appears to be the monster that swallowed Zelda in the E3 trailer. Notice its scaly texture and vaporous ‘hair.’

4:11 – The mechanical totems act like Beamos, and you can reflect their beam with their sheild. It’s possible that weaker shields won’t work…

25th Anniversary History Video

5:04 – Not only is the region above the clouds built like the islands in The Wind Waker, but boat riding returns as well. This probably won’t be a very prominent feature, only used in this region. The Desert/Sea region looks vast, with many things to do in it. The new videos show areas such as the roller coaster, an underground building raised to the surface through solving a puzzle, and a large ship.

5:05 – This seems to be the classic training room, as seen in many previous games. Link has a weak shield and few hearts, and just the nature of the objects in the room make it fairly obvious. There’s a wooden post in the lower-right corner that appears to be used for vertical swing practice.

5:10 – Link explores the Bazaar. This is shown in more detail in the next video.

5:14 – The desert region again. The region features many puzzles in the overworld, displaying its emphasized dungeon-like feel.

5:18 – More desert region. That looks like a fun minigame. It’s a pretty complex track, too.

5:20 – It looks like Peahats might serve the same purpose they did in Twilight Princess.

5:23 – Another new shield. Kite-shaped, purple, with a talon design. It looks plain to me… it will probably be upgraded to the one in the new Scrap Shop screenshot, and finally to the Hylian Shield.

5:25 – This is very important. If you catch this new character at the very first frame, you can clearly see the Sheikah symbol at her waist. She also has tear markings under her eyes. When I first saw this character, I thought she might be related to Ghirahim. Their designs are alike in many ways – only Ghirahim is much more white. I have written before about the possibility of a faction of the Sheikah breaking off and becoming the interlopers from Twilight Princess (or the good Sheikah break off). Link is seen running towards this character without his sword drawn, indicating that she is either good or mysterious. The difference in coloration between her and Ghirahim could be attributed to Ghirahim being an “evil Sheikah” (an interloper, as discussed in Another Look at the E3 2010 Skyward Sword Trailer’s Intro and E3 2011 Analysis: Skyward Sword Story Explosion). This new character’s interaction with Ghirahim will certainly be of prime interest.

5:26 – Zelda’s wearing the same clothes as in the scene with the giant gear.

Item Upgrade Trailer

This one’s self-explanatory, so I’ll just point out some somewhat irrelevant things.

0:48 – Bokoblins are now Bokobolins. I hope that’s just a localization error and will be fixed in the final release. Other naming inconsistencies include Phi/Fi, Sky/Forest Temple, and Siren World/Silent Realm. Some of these may have actually changed since they were first announced (Fi’s spelling was never actually confirmed anyway), while others may be the result of localization discrepancies.

1:07 – The wallet capacity is 300 at some point. Other scenes show it at higher numbers, so it can be upgraded as usual. This save statue is just outside the Sky/Forest Temple. (That’s the entrance to the right.)

1:36 – The large tent near the center of Skyloft is the Bazaar. It contains many shops including the Scrap Shop.

2:02 – A simple shield upgrade costs 30 rupees (plus certain collectible items). This shows hope for an effective economic system. In many games, you find yourself with so many rupees that you don’t know what to do with them; in others (The Wind Waker) you’re required to fork over large sums in order to continue the story. With upgrades, you’ll always have something to spend excess rupees on but they aren’t essential to progress through the game.

2:34 – New shield: The Banded Shield.

Related: Skyward Sword Walkthrough