Even though most installations inThe Legend of Zeldaare stand-alone stories that let new fans jump in anywhere they want, the franchise is chock-full of lore. That was made eminently clear when Nintendo published the Hyrule Historia, the official compendium summarizing and drawing connecting lines through all ofThe Legend of Zelda’s central lore. There’s all kinds of examples ofZeldalore branching and spreading out between the games, likethe various incarnations of Ganon and Ganondorf, how the Triforce gets used through different generations of Hyrule, and so on. It also officially established the chronological order in which all theZeldagames take place, and at the head of them all isThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
Skyward Swordis an interesting installation in the franchise. It innovated theZeldafranchise’s gameplay in a lot of ways, with an increased focus on motion controls, a new stamina meter, much more flexible equipment than usual, and so on. Fan reactions toSkyward Sword’s new ideas were mixed, but its additional contributions toThe Legend of Zelda’s lore are undeniable. The name gives away one of the most important ones.Skyward Sword’s plot centrally involves the creation of Link’s signature weapon: The Master Sword. Any fan who hasn’t played the game before can discover the Master Sword’s origin story onceSkyward Sword HDreleases on Switch.Warning:The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swordspoilers ahead!
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Link’s Unique Relationship with the Master Sword
The majority ofZeldagames arm Link in a similar way. At the start of the game, he’ll obtain a simple, normal sword of some kind that’ll serve Link well for the first couple hours or the first few dungeons of the game until he obtains the Master Sword. Even inBreath of the Wild,Link focuses on using a wide arsenal of different weapons collected from around Hyrule and can only collect the Master Sword much later in the game. Once he gets it, The Master Swordoften makes Link much strongerin one way or another, like with the Master Sword’s signature blade beams, which tweaks the player’s capabilities in combat up until the end of the game.
Skyward Swordstarts off pretty similarly to this standard way of arming Link. At the start of the game, Link borrows a training sword to go on a brief adventure to save his Loftwing from danger, but then he sets the training sword aside about as quickly as he obtained it. That’s because, only a short ways intoSkyward Sword’s opening act, Link meets a mysterious being called Fi who leads him to a secret chamber containing a short sword called the Goddess Sword. It’s given to Link in a ceremonious, destiny-heavy way that the Master Sword is usually treated, which hints heavily at the Goddess Sword’s own destiny. By the end ofSkyward Sword,fans won’t just replace the Goddess Sword with the Master Sword, but they’ll forge and strengthen the Goddess Sword until it becomes the Master Sword.
Skyward Sword and the Master Sword’s Creation
One big clue that the Goddess Sword is actually just the Master Sword in its infancy is its ability to produce blade beams. From very early inSkyward Sword,the player needs to raise the Goddess Sword toward the sky and charge it with magic to shoot blade beams at various objects to interact with them. The game doesn’t put an emphasis on the Goddess Sword’s role for a long time, though. Link goes throughSkyward Sword’s first few dungeonswith just the Goddess Sword, and only during the next act of the game does it begin to transform.
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Link discovers thatthe only way he can save Zeldais by forging the Goddess Sword in three magical fires left behind by three of Hyrule’s gods, who fans might find familiar: Farore, Nayru, and Din. The large greater portion ofSkyward Swordinvolves tracking down these flames on the surface world and applying their magical power to the sword. By doing this, the Goddess Sword transforms into the Goddess Longsword, then the Goddess White Sword, and then finally the Master Sword. With each forging, the sword deals more damage and gains more range, visibly growing over time into the longsword that Link is famous for.
However,Zeldafans might notice that the Master Sword doesn’t appear to become the sword they’re used to after its third forging. It’s duller in color and not quite as large. The final transformation comes near the end of the game when Link and Zelda reunite. Channeling the power of the goddess Hylia,Zelda blesses the Master Sword, which transforms it into the True Master Sword – the long-bladed weapon with the bright blue crossguard that fans are familiar with. Thus, fans have fully created the sword that every following incarnation of Link will eventually discover and wield.
The Legend of Zelda’s Incredible Origins
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword’s importance in the franchise’s lore can’t be understated. It establishes the conflict between the goddess Hylia and Hyrule’s demons that kicks off the cycle of hero reincarnation that motivates every following game’s plot. It also establishes the creation of the Triforce and sees its first union by Link to protect Hyrule. Perhaps most importantly of all, though, it seesthe creation of the Link’s signature weapon: the holy Master Sword that he constantly uses to defeat and cast down evils like Ganon.
Skyward Sword’s port to Switch comes at a very important time.Breath of the Wild 2is on the horizon, and that game has to decide how to treat this important relic. The sword was much less central inBreath of the Wildthan it is in most games, which is ironic considering how historically crucial the Master Sword usually is. Dark times are clearly ahead inBreath of the Wild 2,so this time Link might learn thatthe Master Sword is absolutely necessaryin preventing Ganondorf’s rumored return to power. With that possibility in mind, it’s great thatZeldafans are getting the chance to relive the Master Sword’s creation. In order to appreciate the power and importance of the sword in the present, it’s valuable to look at what made it powerful in the past.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HDreleases for Nintendo Switch on June 06, 2025.
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