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Skyward Sword Walkthrough Chapter 4: The Skyview Temple
Chapter 4: The Skyview Temple
Skyward Sword Story Guides:
Skyward Sword Secrets Guides:
- Skyward Sword Heart Pieces
- Skyward Sword Goddess Cubes
- Skyward Sword Gratitude Crystals
- Skyward Sword Items & Gear
- Skyward Sword Item Upgrades
- Skyward Sword Enemies
- Skyward Sword Bosses
Objectives:
- Travel to the water-filled chamber.
- Find the key needed to reach the skyview chamber.
- Recover the Beetle from the central structure.
- Collect the key needed to reach the heart of the temple.
- Use the Golden Carving to open the final door.
- Defeat Ghirahim.
Important Obtainables:
New Enemies:
Secrets:
1 - Travel to the water-filled chamber.
The first stretch of the temple is fairly simple - a winding staircase leading down to the first door. Keese will dog your steps and you'll occasionally run into a spiderweb blocking the path, but they're nothing your sword can't easily take care of. Make sure you cut a complete hole through the web, however, as otherwise your legs will get snagged and you'll have to shake your way free.
At the bottom of the stairs is a barred door. The switch is up above, but there's a Deku Baba sitting in waiting at the top of the vines you need to climb up to reach it. Stun the Baba with your Slingshot before you hazard the climb, then cut through it and hit the switch with your sword to open the door.
In the next room, approach the eyeball on the wall. In previous Zelda games, this would be your cue to fire a Slingshot bullet at the eye, but that won't work this time. Shooting the eye will just make it slam shut. Instead, you have to brandish your sword and draw circles in the air in front of the eye. It will follow the tip of your blade and eventually get dizzy from watching, causing it to unlock the door ahead.
2- Find the key needed to reach the skyview chamber.
This room is waterlogged. Cut through the Babas and sticky traps to make it to the central walkway, then about-face to take out the Walltulas from the hanging vines above the room's entrance. You can climb up these vines to cut open a shortcut back to and from the entrance. Return to the water chamber and make note of the two barred doors on either side of the locked door at the opposite end of the room. You'll need to travel through both to find the key to the lock.
Walltula
Walltulas hang out on walls where they could possibly be of some inconvenience to travelers. They'll attack you if you try to climb past them, but they're pretty easy to pick off from a distance with projectiles.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Walltula.
Aim your Slingshot at the crystal switch positioned above the one on the right and head through. There's a Skulltula hanging from the ceiling here that you can defeat if you feel confident enough in your stabbing abilities, but you needn't deal with it yet. Just drop down into the pit and crawl through the crawlspace on the left to reach a hidden room. Strike the crystal switch here with a Deku Seed to flood the room as well as raise the water level in the main water chamber. Return there and then dive in to take a swim underneath the walkway leading to the other barred door. You can swim towards another crystal switch hidden beneath the gate and hit it to unbar the way.
Skulltula
Skulltulas have spun sticky webs all over the Skyview Temple. Many of them still lurk within its depths, hanging from the ceiling by their strings. You can cut them down with the Beetle to get them back on the ground, then flip them over with a careful uppercut with your sword or a well-placed Bomb explosion to get them on their backs. From there, a simple Finishing Blow will squish them. Alternatively, you can spin them around with your sword while they're still suspended and, with good timing, stab them right in their glowing guts.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Skulltula.
Here you'll see two more Skulltulas, this time sheathed by spiderwebs. You can't deal with these yet, so look to the right for some curled vines and shoot them down to create a way across the room. Swing carefully across - this is your first time swinging between two vines, so it can be kind of difficult to time correctly - and then stab the exposed underbellies of the Skulltulas so that you can cross the bridge. Stand about midway on the bridge and aim your Slingshot at the crystal switch in the alcove on the wall to your left. This will fully raise the water level in the main water chamber.
Head through the door on the far side of the bridge and you'll emerge on a tall ledge overlooking the room. Here you'll find a treasure chest containing the Dungeon Map, which you can use to figure out which way to go and better orient yourself to the area. Hop down into the main chamber and look for a series of vines along the opposite wall with Walltulas lurking about. Now that the water level is fully raised, you can jump onto a toppled pillar which works as a stepping stone that can help you reach the vines. Shoot down the Walltulas and climb up to reach another previously unopened door.
Beyond this door is the far end of the first room where you raised the water level. You can hit the Skulltula hanging in the middle of the room pretty easily from here, so do so and then look to the two eyes hanging nearby the gate, inside of which is another treasure chest. You'll need to confuse these eyes as well, but you'll have to get them both at once. Stand in between the two and use the same circular waving motion to get the job done, then grab the key from the chest.
3 - Recover the Beetle from the central structure.
Bring this key back to the central water chamber and use it to pass through the locked door you couldn't breach earlier. You'll emerge in a central chamber with tons of light seeping in. A massive bird-shaped structure sits in the middle of the room, with a conspicuous crystal switch placed above a door leading inside. Shoot the switch with your Slingshot and head inside.
Here you'll fight a Stalfos, one of the toughest foes you've faced so far. Use careful timing and quick reflexes to hit it before it can chip away at you. You'll earn the Beetle for defeating it. Unfortunately, the gate to this room is still shut. Point your Beetle through the giant gaping hole up above and guide it to the same crystal switch you hit earlier to unseal the door.
Stalfos
Stalfos fight with multiple weapons at once, meaning twice the threat level and twice the blocking potential. You can still find gaps in their defenses to exploit with your sword, however. They don't go down easily, though - expect a long battle during your early encounters. A well-placed Shield Bash can knock off their arms temporarily, leaving them open to more damage. Watch out for their Double Strike attack, as it knocks off two hearts!
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Stalfos.
Beetle
This mechanical marvel can fly anywhere you can guide it. It can only travel for a limited time, but it's useful in snipping spiderwebs, cutting through Baba stems, and striking out-of-reach switches.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Beetle.
4 - Collect the key needed to reach the heart of the temple.
Once you've exited the central structure, hang a right and look for a door with a Bird Statue just next to it. Point your Beetle at either entrance to the tunnel above the doorway and guide it past the Deku Babas hanging out there to reach a hidden crystal switch that unseals the door.
There's a lot of standing water in this room - just run on through to the door up ahead. Make note of the eye sentinels at the far side of the room - the two lower ones will spot you and track your sword's movements, but the one up above won't quite be able to spot you so you can't fully interact with them yet. A Skulltula will descend from the ceiling, so fight it off with your sword. Once the monster's been dealt with, look at the right side of the room for some vines that you can climb to reach the ledge above.
A block is suspended above the ledge - chop it down with your Beetle and then push it off the edge of the ledge just like you would any other block in the previous games. From here, position the block so that it's roughly centered right ahead of the eye sentinels' gazes and climb on top of it. Now you're high enough that the center-top eye can see you. Stand so that all three eyes are on you - you might need to move the block a little - and use your sword to draw circles in the air. If all three eyes are tracking you, this will cause all them to become dizzy, destroying them and unsealing the gate ahead. Open up the treasure chest inside and you'll find a Small Key.
5 - Use the Golden Carving to open the final door.
You'll need to use your key on a locked door in the central area. Head back the way you came and you'll notice that you can't reach the exit thanks to the stairs being out. Fortunately, there's a crystal switch ahead that can flood the room so that you can float up and reach the upper ledge. You can launch the Beetle to reach it - look out for the Skulltula hanging in its web!
Swim towards the broken stairs and climb up onto the ledge, then head straight ahead towards the far side of the room. Cut through the web when you reach it or you'll get tangled and be easy pickings for the Skulltula waiting nearby. Climb the stairs ahead and cut through the trees blocking the crawlspace at the top, then approach it and you'll automatically crouch down and crawl into it. At the end of the crawlspace, you'll drop back in front of the door leading back to the central area.
Head around the egg to the opposite side of the room, where you'll see the locked door across a long pit. A nest of Deku Babas hangs from the ceiling and will snap at you as you approach. You can easily cut them all down with your Beetle. After you've dealt with the Babas, step onto the tightrope connecting both sides of the pit and you can walk across. Use your Wii Remote to help you balance as you cross, or else you'll fall down and have Quadro Babas to deal with.
Inside the locked door, you'll find a hallway leading up to a wooden barricade. Cut through it with your sword and proceed to the next chamber, where you'll find a three-headed serpent enemy known as a Staldra. It's another tough customer but if you watch its three heads carefully you can cut through all three at once.
Staldra
Staldra will try to bite you with any or all of its three heads, so keep your eyes on all three of them to avoid getting chomped. To defeat it, slash through all three of its heads. Fail to cut them all and the severed ones will just grow back, meaning you have to work quickly. A Spin Attack is great for getting the job done if you find a moment during which the heads are neatly aligned.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Staldra.
In the next room, defeat the Bokoblins as you make your way around the walkway. At a certain point you'll need to cut down a Skulltula and then take a running leap across a short gap to grab on to the edge of the ledge ahead. At the far side of the room is a red switch you can hit to open up the last gate from the central area as a sort of shortcut, but it's not necessary to hit it to proceed.
Look to your right and you'll see a tightrope spanning a long gap. Start across and let the Bokoblin give pursuit. It'll summon a second Bokoblin, but you can jostle both off the tightrope before they reach you. On the other side you'll find a giant locked door that you can't open just yet. To the left is a small chest containing 20 Rupees, and to the right is a series of vines leading up to a higher ledge. Cut through the rope here and it'll swing out to the center of the room.
Jump towards it and rotate yourself so that you're facing a nearby ledge in the middle of the room, the give yourself a good swing when you're in position. Climb up the vines here and you'll wind up on top of a giant tree limb that you can travel along to the other side of the room. Shoot down the curled vines hanging above and use them to swing across to a small alcove up ahead. Inside is a big chest containing the Golden Carving! This puzzle cube works as a key of sorts for the big door you passed by just a little while ago.
From here, climb up the nearby vines so you can get back to the tightrope, and cross over to the big door. Approach the door and press A and you'll be able to rotate the Golden Carving with tilts of the Wii Remote until you get it to fit into the slot lock. You'll need to twist the remote to the right and point it somewhat down to get the sculpture into position. Enter the door and you'll reach the deepest part of the dungeon...
6 - Defeat Ghirahim.
Ghirahim is the mysterious person who was following you earlier. He'll taunt you with threats against Zelda as well as demeaning comments regarding your sword abilities before promising to flay you within an inch of your life. You'll have to fight your way past him if you want to catch up with Zelda.
Demon Lord Ghirahim
Ghirahim is the demon lord who rules the surface world. He's after Zelda for reasons currently unknown. He's a master swordsman with abilities that far surpass your own. You'll have to learn quick how to fight a skilled opponent if you want to survive.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Ghirahim.
The Ghirahim battle goes through two stages: the first involves him battling you barehanded, and the second has him wielding his own sword of darkness against you. Both bring with them unique challenges, but the battle is remarkably free and open. You can battle him using advanced strategies, or just try to avoid his attacks and go in for the kill when you get the chance. It's a really excellent improvement from the formulaic boss encounters of previous titles.
In the first round, Ghirahim throws away his sword. That doesn't leave him defenseless, however - he'll track your sword's movements and catch it between his fingers if you're not careful. Flip your Wii Remote up to jerk your sword out of his grip, or else he'll knock it out of your hands. If that happens, you'll have to race to recover it before he does, otherwise he'll use it against you. Block a sword attack with your shield to give yourself a chance to recover it.
If you wave the sword slowly in front of him, you'll notice that his hand traces its movements. You can actually use this to your advantage. Wave the Remote in a circle, just like you did against the eye sentinels, to confuse him, then while his hand reaches towards one side, quickly slash him from the opposite direction. It can take some practice to get the hang of this technique, but it's the best way to ensure you get in a hit. Slash away at him until he teleports or otherwise gets out of range, then lather, rinse, repeat.
After a couple rounds of hits, he'll summon his sword and battle you blade-to-blade. If you get close enough he'll take a swing or two at you with his blade, but otherwise he has two main attacks. One involves him summoning five daggers and hurling them at you with magic. You can either block this attack with your shield or cut the approaching daggers with your sword. The other involves him charging at you and going in for a powerful swing. This attack is best dealt with by using your shield as well. You'll have plenty of warning before he dashes towards you, since he hunkers down for a moment before attacking. You need to perform the Shield Bash just before he hits you to properly stun him, which will give you an opening to get in a few attacks of your own.
Several rounds of hits later, Ghirahim will retreat, and you'll earn a Heart Container. From there, approach the door on the far side of the room to enter the Skyview Spring. This looks to be the place where Zelda was headed when she came through the forest. Hit the Goddess Crest with a Skyward Strike to earn the Ruby Tablet, which will give you access to a new area on the surface after you return it to the Goddess Statue shrine in Skyloft. (There's also a Goddess Cube behind the altar.)
Ruby TabletThis ruby-encrusted tablet will point the way to Eldin Volcano when united with the Emerald Tablet in the Goddess Statue shrine. Return there with all haste so you can resume your search for Zelda and the Earth Spring!
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Ruby Tablet.
