History YMMV / TheLegendofZeldaSkywardSword

* FandomRivalry:
** ''Skyward Sword'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', and all because of the name. Well that, ''and'' both games were released in November of 2011, with both coming from well established action/adventure/fantasy franchises (''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' and ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''). There's a bit of FriendlyFandoms at play, though, especially considering Eiji Aonuma stated he was a fan of ''Skyrim'' (to the point that it influenced the more open-world approach he took with ''Breath of the Wild'').
** The HD remaster gained one against ''VideoGame/SonicColors'' when its ''Ultimate'' remaster was announced. The fact that ''Sonic'' was $20 less didn't help. Though after the latter's [[PortingDisaster disastrous launch]], ''Zelda'' fans have gotten the last laugh.

** [[spoiler:The fact that Link travels back in time and kills Demise in the past after ''also'' killing Demise in the present has led to many fans theorizing that this game created yet another alternate timeline, dubbed the [[AlliterativeTitle "Skyward Split"]]. Some use it as an effective HandWave to explain the existence of the controversial [[FanDislikedExplanation "Downfall" timeline]], while others use it to give ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' a definitive place in the series' chronology.]]

** The HD remaster gained one against ''VideoGame/SonicColors'' when its ''Ultimate'' Edition was announced. The fact that ''Sonic'' was $20 less didn't help. Though after the latter's [[PortingDisaster disastrous launch]] Zelda fans have gotten the last laugh.
* {{Fanon}}: [[spoiler: The residents of Skyloft are all but said to be the original Hylians, with Zelda and Link creating the royal family of Hyrule]]. Conversely, many have accepted a theory that Groose's descendants are the Gerudo, as he is a very large-framed, athletic, muscular person with very red hair, traits that would show up in the Gerudo race [[spoiler: especially in Ganondorf]].

** The most controversial addition was the revelation that the Sky-Era Link is the reincarnation of an older Link who directly served Goddess Hylia. Many fans immediately deemed the manga non-canon because his presence contradicts the game's lore, [[spoiler:particularly with Demise exclaiming that no human had ever stood up to him until the Sky-Era Link,]] and they prefer the idea that Sky-Era Link is the first hero and any mention of a predecessor is the result of Link travelling back to the past and defeating Demise there. Proponents for the manga, however, argue that contradictions are deliberately common in Zelda lore and that the story explains the reincarnation cycle of Link and Zelda better [[spoiler:than Demise's DyingCurse (namely that they choose to reincarnate to fight evil rather than be dragged into Demise's eternal war)]].

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:[[MaouTheDemonKing Demon King Demise]] rises from [[BeneathTheEarth beneath the Surface]] to TakeOverTheWorld. Seeking the Triforce, Demise leads his army of monsters across the land, slaughtering as many humans as possible and burning entire villages to the ground, even [[HeroKiller killing Link himself]] in the process while mocking the hero's courage. After facing the Goddess Hylia in a final battle and being defeated, Demise spitefully vows to return as he is [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]].]]

* BrokenBase: On whether the manga should be considered canon in some form. Unlike the other Zelda manga by Akira Himekawa, this is not an adaptation of ''Skyward Sword'' but rather its backstory detailing the Ancient Battle between Hylia and Demise, and it was only released with ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'', a canonical book that first detailed the Zelda Timeline. Naturally, fans argue over its canonicity status.
** The most controversial addition was the revelation that the Sky-Era Link is the reincarnation of an older Link who directly served Goddess Hylia. Many fans immediately deemed the manga non-canon because his presence contradicts the game's lore, particularly with Demise exclaiming that no human had ever stood up to him until the Sky-Era Link, and they prefer the idea that Sky-Era Link is the first hero and any mention of a predecessor is the result of Link travelling back to the past and defeating Demise there. Proponents for the manga, however, argue that contradictions are deliberately common in Zelda lore and that the story explains the reincarnation cycle of Link and Zelda better than Demise's DyingCurse (namely that they choose to reincarnate to fight evil rather than be dragged into Demise's eternal war).

* CompleteMonster: [[MaouTheDemonKing Demon King Demise]] rises from [[BeneathTheEarth beneath the Surface]] to TakeOverTheWorld. Seeking the Triforce, Demise leads his army of monsters across the land, slaughtering as many humans as possible and burning entire villages to the ground, even [[HeroKiller killing Link himself]] in the process while mocking the hero's courage. After facing the Goddess Hylia in a final battle and being defeated, Demise spitefully vows to return as he is [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]].

* AwesomeEgo: Groose, thanks to his bragging being completely hilarious and being able to back it up later in the game.

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: Certain aspects of the game get this criticism even from fans who think it [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks changed too much]] in other aspects.

* FanficFuel: As well as "fanart fuel" at the same time. With the endgame reveal that Ghirahim is the spirit of Demise's sword, itself the EvilCounterpart of the Master Sword, it's common for fans of the game to imagine what Fi would look like if she had a humanoid form similar to Ghirahim.

** "Do you have any idea how that make me feel inside? [[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry FURIOUS!]] [[MilkingTheGiantCow OUTRAGED!]] [[EvilIsHammy SICK WITH ANGER!]]"[[labelnote:Explanation]]Ghirahim screams this trope, complete with ChewingTheScenery when describing how enraged he is that Link is trying to save Zelda. Due to how popular Ghirahim is, people often spoof it when describing their own anger.

* PresumedFlop: This game has been assumed to have not sold well because of its BrokenBase among Zelda fans. However, the game actually sold at a modest 3.41 million units a month after its original release. It did have the misfortunate of being released on [[UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} a console was that soon to be]] [[UsefulNotes/WiiU replaced]], as well as being released too close to the highly anticipated ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' and the out-of-beta-version of ''Videogame/{{Minecraft}}'', but to compare, the original Wii version of ''Skyward Sword'' had outsold the fan-favorite ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]''.

* PresumedFlop: This game has been assumed to have not sold well because of its BrokenBase among Zelda fans. However, the game actually sold at a modest 3.41 million units a month after its original release. It did have the misfortunate of being released on [[UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} a console was that soon to be]] [[UsefulNotes/WiiU replaced]], as well as being released too close to the highly anticipated ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' and the out-of-beta-version of ''Videogame/{{Minecraft}}'', but to compare, it had outsold the SacredCow ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]''.

** The game's "[[GreaterScopeVillain true villain]]", [[spoiler:Demise]], mainly for his effect on the greater lore of the series. [[spoiler:Some fans love him for recontextualizing series' BigBad Ganondorf in a new way and giving an actual explanation to the ContrivedCoincidence of there always being a Link and Zelda when there is a Ganon. Others despise his addition to the lore for removing Ganondorf's agency as a character and for explaning the reappearances of the characters in a clunky, poorly foreshadowed manner.]]

* FanDislikedExplanation: A minority of fans have remained averse to the ramifications this game’s plot introduces into the series lore, such as Hylia’s sudden emergence and upstaging of the three Golden Goddesses in significance. A particular bone of contention is how [[spoiler:Ganondorf has been retconned into being the spawn of Demise’s hateful curse,]] which players feel robs him of his agency after he was given a fleshed-out backstory and motives in previous games. Other fans have used these revelations as FanficFuel, especially as both influenced the plot of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]''.

** [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Demon Lord Ghirahim]] is the sadistic, self-proclaimed ruler of the Surface, who [[TheHeavy seeks to free]] the Demon King and wipe out humanity. On his quest to capture Zelda, Ghirahim unleashes monsters across the Surface to further his goals and repeatedly encounters Link, attempting to torture him to death each time for his own amusement. After successfully kidnapping Zelda, Ghirahim agonizingly feeds her soul to the Imprisoned, reveals his true nature as [[LivingWeapon the spirit of Demise's sword]], and [[WeHaveReserves summons an army of monsters to buy time]], saying they can die by Link's blade or [[BadBoss his own]]. Upon Demise's release, Ghirahim [[DieLaughing gleefully gives up his life to return to his sword form]], content with the knowledge that Link and the rest of the world are doomed to his master's destructive ambitions.

* EvilIsSexy: Ghirahim and [[spoiler:his master Demise]]. Their skimpy outfits really drive the point home.

** [[spoiler:[[MaouTheDemonKing Demon King Demise]] himself, aka [[SealedEvilInACan The Imprisoned]], is the progenitor of almost all evil in the franchise. The king of monsters, Demise attempted to steal the Triforce for himself while leaving death and destruction in his wake, ultimately resulting in him being sealed away by the goddess Hylia. Demise schemes to return to power by devouring the soul of Hylia's reincarnation, Zelda, guiding the actions of his LivingWeapon Ghirahim before painfully twisting the willing Ghirahim back into a sword the second the latter's freed Demise from his seal. Demise attempts to annihilate the world and all who would oppose him, only entertaining Link's bravery out of amusement while promising him his friends and family will follow him in death. When Demise finds himself bested by Link, Demise [[DyingCurse spitefully curses]] "those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero" with "[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaGanonGanondorf an incarnation of [his] hatred]]...dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time".]]
** [[AxCrazy Demon Lord Ghirahim]] is the sadistic soul of Demise's weapon. [[TheHeavy Seeking to free his master]], Ghirahim kidnaps Zelda, willing to agonizingly feed her soul to unleash Demise. Attempting to awaken multiple monsters to kill Link and eventually desiring to torture Link to death himself, Ghirahim [[WeHaveReserves summons an army of monsters to buy time]], saying [[BadBoss they can die by Link's blade or his own]], even [[DieLaughing gleefully giving his own life]] to awaken Demise and see the entire world ravaged by Demise's monstrosity.

* MemeticMutation: [[Memes/TheLegendOfZelda It has its own page.]]

** An article writer from Kotaku expresses his distaste for the game with one of the reasons being that he doesn't like the Wii. Many question how this is even professional, considering that there is no other way to play this game at the time.

** Due being the first game in the ''Zelda'' chronology, many people incorrectly refers to this game's Link as the "first" Link (something even the ''game itself'' denies). Said title belongs to the Link from the prequel manga, with this Link being the first of his many successors.

** Hylia the goddess (as opposed to [[spoiler:Zelda the human incarnation]]): all-seeing benevolent goddess who defeated the demons and saved Hyrule? Or ManipulativeBitch who laid her plans without any thought to the well-being of [[spoiler:her reincarnation]] or her chosen hero?

** While Link's ItemGet action is fine most of the time, it can look pretty silly in an [[MoodWhiplash otherwise serious cutscene.]] Which Zelda [[LampshadeHanging will call you out on]] during the the Wing Ceremony. The ItemGet pose is pretty bad in the scene where you get [[spoiler:the Goddess Harp]] too.

** Link's expression whenever he hears pieces of [[spoiler:the Song of the Hero.]] The fact that he closes his eyes and becomes engrossed just seems melodramatic given the context, and can even make it look as though he's peeing.

** At one point of the game, Link plays the Harp in the middle of Skyloft, with Fi singing, before he inserts his sword in a lit flower circle. During this entire interactive cutscene, you can watch how the side character Parrow walks in an endless circle in the background, completely oblivious to what you are doing.
** [[spoiler: Hylia couldn’t defeat Demise without a mortal (Link) collecting the [[CosmicKeystone Triforce]]… [[ColonyDrop to drop a piece of Skyloft onto the Imprisoned]]. Why Hylia needed the Triforce to defeat the Demon King when he could be defeated by the equivalent of squishing him with a rock is never explained.]]

** It's commonly believed that Demon King Demise is voiced by Creator/TakashiNagasako, the voice of Ganondorf in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', with various fan wiki sites, including this site, stating it as fact. But this cannot be the case as Creator/TakashiNagasako, a prominent voice actor best known for voicing Ganondorf and Donkey Kong, was never credited in the voice section, even though Demise was not reusing any sound clips from older ''Zelda'' games. [[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ゼルダの伝説_スカイウォードソード Sources]] [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=31698 in Japan]] lists Creator/TsuguoMogami as the voice of Demise, and this makes sense since the credits list him just behind Kenji Takahashi, the voice of Groose, but after Rei Shimoda, the voice of Impa.

** [[WebVideo/{{Sequelitis}} Egoraptor]] was expecting this trope when he complained about ''Skyward Sword'' in a 2-minute AuthorFilibuster about how much he ''loathes'' it. So far, not a lot of people seem too bothered, beyond a few who mention he's overreacting over a fairly inoffensive game. It wasn't really until he started making extremely controversial statements about the game on ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'', like saying it was worse than ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgeHog2006 Sonic 06'' or that people only pretend to like the game because it has ''Zelda'' in the name, that he really began to experience this.

** [[WebVideo/{{Sequelitis}} Egoraptor]] was expecting this trope when he complained about ''Skyward Sword'' in a 2-minute AuthorFilibuster about how much he ''loathes'' it. So far, not a lot of people seem too bothered, beyond a few who mention he's overreacting over a fairly inoffensive game.

%%* {{Adorkable}}:
%%** Link early on during the game, notably when he's with Zelda. Some of his responses to Zelda's questions help add to this.
%%** Professor Owlan, when Link gives him a Kikwi.
* AlasPoorScrappy: Fi, while not universally hated, is still something of a BaseBreakingCharacter due to her [[AnnoyingVideoGameHelper frequently interrupting gameplay]] with often [[CaptainObvious obvious]] advice. Even if you hate her, her going to sleep inside the Master Sword for centuries at the end of the game, which she prefaces by admitting feelings of happiness that her journey with Link inspired that she was incapable of admitting until the end due to her programming, is still a tear-jerker. Especially in the remake, which dials down her annoying behaviors.

** The pirate Scervo is set up to be the ArcVillain of the Lanayru Sand Sea, as he's the one who hijacked the Sandship from Skipper so many years ago and has kept its cloaking technology active to keep from being found since then. But he serves only as the miniboss of the dungeon itself, is fought quite early on at that, and does himself a disservice by confronting Link on the ship's prow, [[BossArenaIdiocy where he can easily be knocked off to his death.]] The remainder of the dungeon has you performing a series of odd jobs to fully take back control, with the actual boss turning out to be a chance encounter with a random sea monster who has had no bearing on the narrative thus far.

* AwesomeEgo: Groose, thanks to his bragging being completely hilarious and at times being able to back it up with a few badass moments.

** Anything with a Timeshift Stone, especially the Sandship.

** The Guardians encountered in the Silent Realm, which can OneHitKill Link. And even if you're doing your best to avoid them, their lookouts can ruin your day. They're all placed in spots and routes designed to make your Tear collecting as difficult and time-consuming as possible. And as we all know, [[StalkedByTheBell time is a very precious thing in a Silent Realm.]]

** Skulltulas [[TookALevelInBadass seem to have gotten their act together]].

** Koloktos, who is regarded as one of the best bosses in the series.

** It's commonly believed that Demon King Demise is voiced by Creator/TakashiNagasako, the voice of Ganondorf in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', with various fan wiki sites, including this site, stating it as fact. But [[https://zelda.fandom.com/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Skyward_Sword/Credits based on the game's credits]], this cannot be the case as Takashi Nagasako was never credited in the voice section, even though Demise was not reusing any sound clips from older ''Zelda'' games. The most likely voice behind Demise is Tsuguo Mogami, who is listed on the credits just behind Kenji Takahashi, the voice of Groose, but after Rei Shimoda, the voice of Impa.