Plot Summary and Story Synopsis

This article is about the story of The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD for the Nintendo Switch. Read on to learn the plot summary of Skyward Sword, as well as the timeline of The Legend of Zelda series!

Warning: There are no spoilers ahead for the game, but read with caution as it contains spoilers from other games in the series!

Skyward Sword Story Synopsis

Beginning of the Legend of Zelda

Skyward Sword is located at the beginning of the timeline of the entire Legend of Zelda series. The story that takes place in Skyward Sword will influence the entire Legend of Zelda series.

Important things to note in Skyward Sword are the Master Sword and Triforce, as well as the last boss, which is connected to every other game in the series.

Link as the Main Character

The main character of this game, as with the other games from The Legend of Zelda series is Link. Link in this game is a knight apprentice who attends a Knight Academy and has a red Loftwing, which is different from those who live in Skyloft.

Also, as is customary in the series, Link has a hard time getting up from bed.

Chasing Zelda to the Surface

Zelda suddenly appears at the beginning of the story and is swallowed by a black tornado that disappears under the clouds.

After that, Link sees the sword hidden in the statue of the goddess and the spirit Fi who dwells in the sword, and begins an adventure to descend to the vast land under the sea of clouds in search of Zelda.

Link: Character Profile and Story Information

Zelda, the Heroine

Zelda is the heroine of Skyward Sword. She is the daughter of the headmaster of Knight Academy and Link's childhood friend. With a lively personality, you can see a glimpse Zelda that is barely visible in other works, such as pushing Link off the bridge to fly with his Loftwing.

Not Yet a Princess (Pre-Kingdom of Hyrule)

In Skyward Sword, the kingdom of Hyrule does not exist yet so Zelda is not a princess. However, the Zelda in this game has a fate that she does not know and becomes an important key figure later in the story.

Zelda: Character Profile and Story Information

Fi and the Master Sword

Link will meet Fi's spirit in the Goddess Sword at the beginning of the story. In addition to being one of the most important characters in the story of this game, she is like a companion who gives advice during Link's adventures. The probability that the advice given will be useful is about 80%.

Fi's Influence in Other Zelda Games

In The Legend of Zelda's latest game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there is a scene that makes you feel Fi in the last memory of the Link.

Fi is an important character who you will see throughout the Legend of Zelda series.

Fi: Character Profile and Story Information

Beginning at Skyloft

A long time ago, after a war between evil beings and humans, the goddess appeared on the ground carrying the surviving humans up to the Sky. The story of Skyward Sword begins on the island Skyloft, which floats on the far end of the sky beyond the reach of monsters.

Skyloft is the main hub of the game that allows you to explore the skies, which is the main feature of this game.

Complete Story Walkthrough

Timeline of the Legend of Zelda Series

Timeline Diagram

Timeline of Zelda Games
Enlarge Click / tap to enlarge the image.

Note that only playable Legend of Zelda games are shown in the above diagram.

Zelda Games in Chronological Order

From Skyward Sword to Ocarina of Time

Title	Overview
Skyward Sword	Era: The Oldest Story The story of the creation of the Master Sword. A story set in the vast sky and the earth.
The Minish Cap	Era: A long time after the founding of the Kingdom of Hyrule Princess Zelda has been turned to stone by Vaati, who freed the Light Force from the seal. To cure Zelda, Link meets the magic hat Ezlo that makes Link's body Minish-sized. Together with Ezlo, he sets out on a journey to fix the Picori Sword and defeat the Vaati.
Four Swords	Era: Vaati is resurrected Vaati is resurrected, and Princess Zelda is kidnapped. With the sword that sealed Vaati, Link embarks on a journey to rescue Zelda.
Ocarina of Time	Era: After the Hyrule Unification War This is the first game that features Ganondorf, which is said to be the enemy of fate. Link uses the power of the Master Sword to go back and forth between childhood and adulthood to prevent Ganondorf from conquering the world.

From Skyward Sword to Ocarina of Time, the timeline can be told with a single line.

However, due to the time-consuming events that happened in Ocarina of Time, three parallel worlds are born.

Hero wins: Child Era

Title	Overview
Majora's Mask	Era: Sequel to Ocarina of Time, set a few months after the game. After saving Hyrule from Ganondorf, Link, who returned to his original era, set out on a journey with his beloved horse, Epona, in search of his friend Navi, who had left him. Along the way, while passing through the forest, he is attacked by a demon Skull Kid who wears a strange mask and is invited to another world called Termina.
Twilight Princess	Era: Hundreds of years after Majora's Mask Strange shadow monsters appear and kidnap the children of Ordon Village. Link chases the monsters to save the children, but transforms into a wolf and passes out. Link is dragged to prison and finds Hyrule shrouded in Twilight. A mysterious imp named Midna frees Link, and an adventure to save the world of light, Hyrule and the world of shadow , Twilight begins.
Four Swords Adventures	Era: Centuries after Majora's Mask Princess Zelda visits the sanctuary where the Four Sword is sealed with six shrine maidens. However, a shadow similar to Link kidnaps Princess Zelda and the shrine maidens. Link pulls out the Four Sword to save Princess Zelda, but at the same time breaks the seal of Vaati.

These are works derived from the timeline of Ocarina of Time, where the Hero of Time returns to his original time and stops Ganondorf's ambitions from taking shape.

Except for Majora's Mask, the gap between these games are hundreds of years, but all of them are works closely related to Ganondorf.

Hero wins: Adult Era

Title	Overview
Wind Waker	Era: After the Hero of Time wins and Hyrule Kingdom is submerged hundreds of years later A boy born on an island where the folklore of the hero of the time remains, travels over the ocean to save his sister who has been kidnapped by a monster bird.
Phantom Hourglass	Era: A few months after Wind Waker A story set by the sea area next to Hyrule, which is governed by a great spirit, who visits with the pirates led by Tetra in search of a new world that can become a new Hyrule. Tetra gets kidnapped by a ghost ship, so Link travels with Linebeck in order to find the ghost ship and rescue his friend.
Spirit Tracks	Era: Future of Phantom Hourglass, after establishing the new Kingdom of Hyrule A story about a place where the railway network had developed before people moved in, and the vast land was made into the new Kingdom of Hyrule.

These are works derived from when the Hero of Time progresses from adulthood after winning the battle with Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. Ganon returns, but the hero does not. To prevent the destruction of the world, the goddesses submerge and seal Hyrule beneath the Great Sea. After Hyrule is sealed and flooded, the era progresses to Wind Waker.

Since time has not progressed much between the games, it is often talked about how the times progressed from Wind Waker to Spirit Tracks.

Hero Fails

Title	Overview
A Link to the Past	Era: The Hero of Time is defeated in Ocarina of Time and Ganon is imprisoned in the Sacred Realm in his Dark Beast form. On a stormy night, Link hears a mysterious voice in his dreams. Ganondorf is resurrected and an adventure to save Hyrule begins to prevent Hyrule from being covered in the darkness.
BS The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets	Era: 6 Years after A Link to the Past. A Japan-only downloadable Zelda game released in the Satellaview, an add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. In this game, the player controls a male or female avatar dubbed as the Hero of Light instead of Link. The hero then must acquire the eight stone tablets and save Hyrule from Ganon. Due to the nature of the games' platform, it is no longer commercially available.
Link's Awakening	Era: A story after subduing Ganon and embarking on a journey to train. After completing his training journey, Link loses consciousness due to a storm on his way back to home. He woke up to the call of the girl Marin at Koholint Island, an island holding a huge egg on the top of the mountain.
Oracle of Ages Oracle of Seasons	Era: Hundreds of years after Link's Awakening. Link with a Triforce is challenged to see if he is worthy to handle its power. This work is divided into a Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages. In addition to different stories being developed, there are also endings that can be unlocked by playing both.
A Link Between Worlds	Era: Set in Hyrule and Lorule, Hyrule's dark twin. The triforce remains a legend. Suddenly, Yuga who plans to revive Ganon appears and seals the descendants of the Seven Sages in the painting. Link will also be sealed in graffiti, but with the power of a special bracelet, he has the power to move freely on the wall, and with that power Link chases Yuga and reach the world of Lorule.
Tri Force Heroes	Era: A few years after A Link Between Worlds. The game takes place in Hytopia, a kingdom whose citizens are into fashion. Princess Styla holds reigns free on Hytopia until a witch known as The Lady curses her, forcing an unremovable brown jumpsuit upon her. The king recruits legendary heroes to break the witch's curse, and three young people who come there are selected as heroes and are tasked with subduing the witch.
The Legend of Zelda	Era: After the Kingdom of Hyrule has declined, time has passed, and divided into several smaller countries. The army of Ganon, the Great Demon King, rushes into a small country in the Hyrule region, and the national treasure Triforce of Power is robbed. Link, who was traveling at the same time, helps Zelda's nanny Impa who is being attacked by monsters. Impa tells Link that he is looking for someone who can defeat Ganon, and Link goes on a journey to find the Triforce of Wisdom to subdue Ganon.
The Adventure of Link	Era: 6 Years after The Legend of Zelda. Link subdued the Great Demon King Ganon and regained the Triforce of Power and Wisdom. On his 16th birthday, a Triforce emerges on the back of his hand, and Impa instructs him to head to the North Castle. At the castle, he finds a sleeping Zelda from a distant era and is ordered to look for the Triforce of Courage to wake her up from her long slumber.

This is the timeline where Ganondorf defeats the Hero of Time and steals the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage. With the hero defeated, Princess Zelda and the six sages seal Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm in his dark beast form.

In this timeline, the Kingdom of Hyrule slowly declines and was divided into smaller countries.

Games with no known timeline

Title	Overview
Hyrule Warriors	Era: Unknown time and route. There is a theory that the beginning of time is different here compared to older games. A work released as Zelda's first Warriors game. Although it is set in Hyrule, it is a festive work with various Zelda characters.
Breath of the Wild	Era: The exact route is timeline is unknown. We only know that it is the last in the history of Hyrule. Link answers a woman's call and wakes up in a regenerative shrine. With the guidance of the voice, he picks up the Sheikah Slate and leaves the shrine. Set in the land of Hyrule that spreads beyond, Link embarks on a journey to save Princess Zelda while learning how to fight.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity	Era: A story about a 100-year-old calamity set before Breath of the Wild. Unlike the Breath of the Wild, it is a Warriors game, and it is a story in which Link, Zelda, and heroes of various races fight against a large number of monsters that can be expressed only in the Warriors series. It's a story in which the "defeat" that leads to the Breath of the Wild was decided.

The above series are games whose timeline is unknown in the currently known Hyrule Hystoria. Breath of the Wild and Age of Calamity are connected stories, but since we do not know which timeline the Breath of the Wild is in, we expect that future releases will reveal this information.

Also, since the sequel of Breath of the Wild is scheduled to be released in 2022, there is a great possibility that the timeline will be revealed there.

The Timeline may change in the future

The timeline described above are current collected knowledge about the games.

The Hyrule Historia has officially stated that the setting of each era may change someday, and every time a new game appears, the setting of the era changes due to new discoveries and new interpretations like a history textbook.

Skyward Sword HD Related Links

Zelda: Skyward Sword HD News