Tandem Legends: a Legend of Zelda Podcast

Link ventures into the Royal Valley, the location that the ghostly King had marked on his map. Navigating the dark woods and spooky graveyard, Link winds up in the Royal Crypt, the final resting place of King Gustaf. Link is given a Kinstone that gives him access to Veil Falls and the Cloud Tops region high above. Among the clouds Link meets several members of the Wind Tribe who grant him access to the Palace of Winds.

Like most trips to the Library, Link's starts with returning a few overdue books and ends with being visited by a ghost of a long dead king. In this section we run all over Hyrule fusing kinstones, tackling the Temple of Droplets, and receive the Flame Lantern and Water Element. With three of the four crystalline elements in hand, victory is almost in sight!

Link has his sights set on the Wind Element, located deep within the Castor Wilds. Making use of his newly acquired Pegasus Boots and Bow and Arrow, he discovers the Fortress of Winds.  Despite being awarded the Mole Mitts and defeating the dungeon boss, Mazaal, Link does not receive the Wind Element, as it has apparently been taken by the Wind Tribe to parts unknown. For now we settle for the Ocarina of Wind and begin our pursuit of the next element. 

Link's long treacherous journey up Mount Crenel begins with Tektites, Peahats, and falling boulders. The Cave of Flames proves treacherous and convoluted, but Link pulls through, receiving the Cane of Pacci and the Fire Element as reward.  By now Melari has reforged the Picori Blade into the White Sword, and points Link to the Elemental Sanctuary in Hyrule Castle. Exiting the Sanctuary, Vaati appears, and it is revealed that he was once Ezlo's apprentice.

Zelda is turned to stone by the dark sorcerer, Vaati. Her childhood friend, Link, is tasked by the King of Hyrule to find the Picori in hopes of reforging the Picori Blade. Exploring the Minish Woods, Link stumbles upon a magical hat named Ezlo, and the pair set off to find the Minish Village. The two are sent to Deepwood Shrine to recover a magical crystal called the Earth Element, one of four elemental crystals that will reforge the Picori Blade and lift the curse from Zelda.

Today we will review our playthrough of Skyward Sword and chat about our impressions, key themes, connections with Zelda canon, and introduce the next game in the timeline, The Minish Cap.

The time has come. The fate of Zelda, Groose, Impa, the Old Woman, all of Skyloft, all of the world now rests on Link's shoulders. Demise stands before us, but even he, with his careless disdain for human life, will not be able to stand against the combined might of the Triforce, the Master Sword, and Hylia's Chosen Hero.  

The Song of the Hero complete, we gain access to the Sky Keep where the Triforce awaits. It's been a long journey to get here, but with the Power of the Goddesses in hand, surely we can defeat Demise and finally reunite with Zelda..

Link tirelessly works to collect the three pieces of the Song of the Hero from Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru. Along the way he manages to lose all his weapons (temporarily), get pulled into yet another battle with the Imprisoned, and revive an ancient dead dragon. Busy day. 

The Imprisoned once again threatens the Sealed Temple. With the help of Groose and his new super weapon, The Groosenator, Link is able to seal the beast a second time. The Temple secure, Link ventures through the Gate of Time and finally comes face to face with Zelda. And she's got a lot to tell him. 

Link immediately gets busy upon entering the Fire Sanctuary. Rafting across rivers of lava, dispatching cursed enemies and saving the skin of several Mogma treasure hunters. After besting Ghirahim once more, Link acquires Din’s Flame, which transforms the Goddess White Sword into the Master Sword. And, once more, a piece of the Triforce appears on the back of Link’s hand, now complete.

Link achieves spiritual enlightenment after dodging more Spirit Realm Guardians and obtains the Fire Shield Earrings, which allow us to enter the sweltering caverns of the Volcano Summit. There we meet Gorko again and are tasked with dowsing a few gates of fire which block our path to the Fire Sanctuary. Given the size of the basin, we enlist Scrapper to help us carry it safely back to the Volcano Summit.

Now aboard the Sandship, we find it to be derelict and largely abandoned save for a few Keese and Sand Spumes. After a bit of exploration and facing off against the Mechanical Maniac himself, Scervo, we access the ship’s control room, expecting to find the flame, but instead several large tentacles burst from the deck. We quickly escaped the interior as tentacles tore at the hull. Now on the deck we began our fight against Tentalus, Abyssal Leviathan.

We just barely manage to pass Nayru’s Silent Realm and finally receive the Clawshots as reward. Able to access new areas, we explore the Lanayru Desert, meeting two new Gorons named Golo and Gortram along the way. Finding ourselves facing an ancient sea now turned to a sandy wasteland, we meet an Ancient Robot named Skipper once charged with captaining the ship that protected the Sacred Flame.  With his help we find the elusive vessel and board, ready to find the next flame.

This week Tandem Legends duo, Joe and Shannon, continue their Skyward Sword journey in the Ancient Cistern in search of Farore's Sacred Flame. Sit down with your hosts, Shannon and Joe, as they play, discuss and theorize their way through Nintendo's Legend of Zelda video games in the timeline order noted in the Hyrule Historia. New episodes of Tandem Legends: a Legend of Zelda Podcast released every other week. More or less.