While visiting Hogsmeade, we discover an actual haunted house! Or, "haunted store" may be more accurate. Not only can we obtain the store if we brave the perils inside, but we can also have someone run the store for us so that we don't have to take any time away from not attending class! Thinking of the great store owners of old, like Beedle and Malo, we face the challenge ahead!
It is time! We have made our preparations and played our mini-games, and now we are finally ready to track down the Demon Train! The limits of riding the rails will make this a tough fight, but Link has literally been TRAINing the entire game for this moment!
We meet up with Lodgok to learn just how good Amit's Gobbledegook is, then we investigate a crypt with Sebastian. Now, I don't want to tell anyone how they can or can't dabble in the Dark Arts, but if your goal is to heal someone and accomplish something good, investigating a tomb with doorways made out of countless human bones seems a bit counter-productive.
After stopping the Demon Train, we're ready to take on the big bad, Malladus himself! It's a little strange that Zelda helping out in the battle actually makes it a bit more challenging than it might be otherwise, but it's fun that we get one last chance to fight as a team!
It's time to head back into the distant past, where Link is a knight-in-training on the sky island of Skyloft. Danger constantly threatens him, not least because his "best friend" Zelda is constantly pushing him off of high ledges. Is she truly not thinking of the dangers, or mightn't she just be the greatest, most sinister villain this series has seen yet? Find out as we soar into The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword!
Since classes at Hogwarts are so short, we have plenty of time to evade dragons, thwart criminals, and otherwise risk life and limb. However, it does raise the question of what all the other students do when we're not around. Some, like Natty and Sebastian, seem adventurous enough on their own, but how are other students getting their money's worth from the school if they're not facing death daily?
As we prepare to chase after Zelda, we meet our our traveling companion for the game, who happens to be...our sword? It turns out that swords aren't extremely snarky or sarcastic or anything like that, but if you need someone to point out and explain things you've just figured out yourself, she's got you covered!
For our next trial, we're going to need access to the Headmaster's Office, which means we need Polyjuice Potion to transform into Professor Black. This raises the troubling question: what good is fighting if it causes you to become the very thing you hate?
The Kikwis are strange creatures who are really bad at hiding. They appear to be a mix between hedgehogs and bushes, and Link can't proceed until he finds all of them. They're clearly Pokemon, but Fi does not inform Link of this, for some reason.
After tracking Zelda as far as he can, Link discovers that she's already left the area on a quest of her own. Returning to the sky, Link heads over to the local hangout, the Lumpy Pumpkin, and spies a heart piece atop the chandelier. Fortunately, heroes like Link can break stuff to get rewards as much as they want, and it'll just magically be fixed when the exit the building and reenter, with absolutely no negative consequences.
Tall tower in the sky
The next trial's up so high
Take a look, it's in a book
A Reading Rainbow!
...except the book ISN'T a rainbow of imagination and wonder, but a dark, monochrome lesson about the hubris of wizards thinking they can go against the natural order. The powerful wizard, Levar Burton, won't be born for many decades yet at this point, so we'll just have to explore this book on our own!
Link climbs the Eldin Volcano and makes his way to the Earth Temple. As someone who has spent his entire life in the sky, Link is excited to see what wonders the Earth Temple might contain! Maybe it will showcase the bounteous fruit of the nurturing soil! Maybe it'll just be an open expanse of land as far as they eye can see! Maybe it will have...
...fire. Fire and lava. That's what's inside the Earth Temple. If Link has his way, the history books will remember this place as the Temple of False Advertising.
Why do so many people fear spiders? Is it because their limbs and movements seem completely alien compared to vertebrates? Is it because they're always nearby, no matter where we are? Or is it because they can grow to the size of a Volkswagen and devour entire settlements of people as if they were just so many flies?
It's probably a combination of all three, but I'd say the freaky movements carry slightly more weight, personally.
Link has had it with the Earth Temple. It's hot, it's dangerous, and everything is far, far too orange. But don't worry, Link. Once you defeat the boss, you can finally return to real heroic tasks like carrying pumpkins and shopping at the bazaar!
Some people seem to think that attending magic school is all about memorizing Latin-sounding phrases and learning wand movements, but anyone who's actually attended knows how little time is actually spent in class. Most of your time is either spent running around in ruins and watching cool things happen, if you're a main character; or just standing around waiting for the main character to talk to you if you're not.
We return after a lengthy break for the holidays to confront Ranrok, but that doesn't go so well for our friend Lodgok. It's a sad, solemn moment, but perhaps some time with our friends can cheer us up a bit. At least we won't have to worry about anyone killing anyone else, right Sebastian?
Kukiel has gone missing, and there are reports of a demonic monster prowling Skyloft at night! But fear not, for Link, the academy student, is here to save the day! Though, as it turns out, maybe Kukiel's not the one who really needs our help...
After making our way through the last of the Keepers' challenges, we meet up with Natty to take down Harlow. After all this time of merely hearing about her animagus form, it's cool that we finally get to see it. However, it would have been nicer if the circumstances had been a bit better...
As Link explores the Lanayru desert, he keeps encountering strange crystals that seem to transport him into the past within a limited area. Will Link run into old friends, or relive the pain of heartbreak and loss?
No, it turns out this time travel is much less personal, and just lets Link see what things were like in the area hundreds of years ago. Still, it sets up some pretty fun puzzles.
Link manages to make his way into the Lanayru mining facility, and the question really needs to be asked: what's with all the statues and imagery of robots? We see their faces on doors, we see carvings of them on the panels that hide alcoves, and we even see their likeness incorporated into the overall structure of the mine. This would be like finding a facility in our time where pretty much everything is designed to look like a Roomba, even things that have seemingly no connection to a Roomba. It just doesn't seem like a healthy obsession.
