What Happens In The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword Ending

While we wait for the eventual release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, Nintendo has something to keep Zelda fans happy. Although those rumours of a remastered collection haven't amounted to anything yet, there is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD to tide us over.

First released on the Nintendo Wii in 2011, Skyward Sword joins the complicated lore of Zelda but comes in a unique place at the start of the franchise. Long before Ocarina, the OG Zelda, or Breath of the Wild, the events of Skyward Sword and our trip to Skyloft set the whole fantasy saga in motion. 

Even though Skyward Sword might not be the best-received entry in the franchise, there's no escaping its importance in establishing the Hero of Time and the titular Princess Zelda. If you need a refresher on how The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword rounds off, here's the game's story and ending explained. 

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword story

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The crux of Skyward Sword involves Link trying to save the floating realm of Skyloft. Everything kicks off with three goddesses (Din, Nayru, and Farore) dropping from the heavens to create the world. In their wake, they leave the Triforce, which is a mythical artefact that can grant the owner's inner desires. There's a fourth goddess called Hylia, who is left behind to guard the Triforce.

Things seem to be going fine for the mortal realm, however, a demon known as Demise tries to steal the Triforce from Hylia. She seals Demise away and sends the population to live in the floating realm of Skyloft to keep them safe. A weakened Hylia then transfers her soul into a mortal girl called Zelda and creates a goddess-powered sword that bestows itself onto a hero "who possesses an unbreakable spirit". For those familiar with the tried and tested formula of Zelda games, you'll know where this is going. 

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword ending

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With more time travel and plot holes than your average episode of LOST, Skyward Sword culminates in your usual battle of Link facing off against the big bad. The problem is, Skyward Sword has two villainous powers in the form of Demise and Demon Lord Ghirahim. Although Link manages to defeat Demise in the present, Ghirahim takes the group into the past and plans to break Demise free from his sealed tomb. 

In one of the strangest Zelda twists ever, Ghirahim is revealed to be the essence of Demise's sword. Link bests Ghirahim, but he's still had time to free Demise - who turns Ghiarhim into his sword form and takes on our hero in a final battle. You know the drill, Demise is defeated and Link saves the day with a little help from his friends. With his dying breath, Demise is absorbed into the Goddess Sword (which eventually becomes the Master Sword) and curses Link for all of time.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - what happens next?

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Things round off with Link placing his Goddess Sword on a pedestal in the Sealed Temple. Impa stays behind to destroy the Time Gate, while Link, Zelda, and Groose pop back to the present. In a twist most of us saw coming, the old woman who has sporadically popped up through the game is revealed as Impa. 

Link and Zelda are doomed to have their descendants trapped in an eternal loop of good versus evil. This cleverly leads to the batsh*t timeline of the Zelda games and explains how Link(s) are repeatedly the Hero of Time and heavily implies Ganondorf is a repeated incarnation of Demise. The game ends as Zelda stays she's going to stay on the surface to guard it, while a cheeky smile from Link implies he'll join her. So, Hyrule is born and the chronology starts to line up. 

So there we have it. Zelda games aren't exactly known for their simplistic plots, however, Skyward Sword is easily the most complicated. We know Ocarina can be confusing as a point where the timelines split, but that's nothing compared to Skyward Sword's time-hopping showdown. Importantly, the game puts in some serious groundwork into establishing the lore of the Zelda franchise and giving the long-running franchise a much-needed backstory to where it all began.