History TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword / TropesAToL

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: While beating physical god level enemies is nothing new, [[spoiler:Hylia was left crippled after her battle with Demise, and Link goes and beats him without any lasting injuries. So he did better against the GodOfEvil than an actual deity did. May be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in that Demise has technically not fully absorbed Zelda's soul yet so he may not have been at the same level of power he was back then when he challenged Link, not to mention his lack of a huge Demon army]].

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: While beating physical god level enemies is nothing new, [[spoiler:Hylia was left crippled after her battle with Demise, and Link goes and beats him without any lasting injuries. So he did better against the GodOfEvil than an actual deity did]].

* ArtisticLicenseChemistry: It's never explained how rupoors cause Link to lose money or why the black ore that they're made of has such an undesirable reaction with rupees. To top it off, glittering spores will change rupoors into rupees. Also, only [[Main/RuleOfCool the Rule of Cool]] could even begin explain/justify the ability to hold a portable lightning rod in one's hand and NOT get fried to hell when it's struck by lightning.

* ArtisticLicenseChemistry: It's never explained how rupoors cause Link to lose money or why the black ore that they're made of has such an undesirable reaction with rupees. To top it off, glittering spores will change rupoors into rupees.

* AncientEvil: The game reveals that [[spoiler:Ganondorf (or Ganon, as the case may be) is the corporeal form of the "curse of Demise", who is the ''true'' Ancient Evil in the series. An otherworldly being whose death in ''Skyward Sword'' laid a curse on all those who would descend from the Link and Zelda of that game (so those possessing the spirit of the Hero and the bloodline of Hylia, respectively). Ganondorf's malice towards Link, Zelda, and the kingdom of Hyrule is that debt being paid]].

** [[spoiler:The Big Bad himself, Demise,]] appears first as The Imprisoned, an inhuman monster, scattered and sealed in a mystical pillar since ancient times, unable even to restore his physical appearance for ages.

* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: The game [[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-eu9o8-MRUnV6Rpuzu6YSuM0Ue3CrYiKwRzISRVvFHQ/edit reveals]] why Hyrule and the rest of the world is [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda still]] plagued by evil. [[spoiler:After being defeated by Link, Demise informs Link, that the hatred and grudge of him and the entire demon race (''"Mazoku"'') he spawned, is always evolving and will spawn incarnations (such as Vaati and Ganondorf), which shall haunt not only the Gods and the surface dwellers for all eternity, but also those who try to stand in the way of the demons (''"Spirit of the Hero"'') and the descendants of Hylia's mortal bloodline (''"Divine Blood"'')]].

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Even through all the happiness of reawakening Zelda and the two protagonists settling down to start a new land, Fi and Impa's departures are sad, and Demise goes out with an AsLongAsThereIsEvil speech, setting up for the later villains in the series (especially but not limited to Ganon/Ganondorf)]]. JustifiedTrope, of course, as this is chronologically the first game in the franchise, and a completely perfect ending would mean the later games in the timeline and its eventual branches wouldn't happen.

* CerebusRetcon: The game reveals that every appearance of Ganon/Ganondorf is the result of [[spoiler:a [[DyingCurse curse]] laid on the bloodlines of the hero and the goddess Hylia (aka the first Zelda) by the ancient GodOfEvil Demise, who was destroyed by the first Link. The curse states that an incarnation of Demise's hatred will always return to torment the hero and the princess of Hyrule]]; no matter what, in every one of their lifetimes and reincarnations, Link and Zelda will never know true peace.

* DivineConflict: When the Demon King, Demise and his minions invaded the surface, the goddess Hylia drove them back and sealed Demise away. [[spoiler:Their conflict eventually continues throughout the rest of the Zelda's series, where Link must help Zelda (reincarnation of Hylia) fight Ganon (reincarnation of Demise).]]

** This game explains [[spoiler:Ganondorf's origins]], so be careful when you think the game has ended early.

* HijackedByGanon: [[spoiler:Inverted with Demise. TheReveal that Ganon is the reincarnated hatred of Demise means he retroactively hijacks everything Ganon has ever done.]]

* DarkIsNotEvil: The game features a demonic-looking bat guy named Batreaux who lives in a creepy dark house under a graveyard. It turns out he's a soft-hearted wuss who wants to befriend the local humans, but everyone's just too freaked out by him to give him the time of day; helping him turn human is one of the game's sidequests. On an interesting note, even though he himself is benevolent, his very presence seems to [[CastingAShadow exude evil energies]] or something, as [[spoiler:once you complete the quest and turn him human, all of the monsters that appear in Skyloft at night stop appearing and the Remlits no longer go rabid]].

* LightIsNotGood: Ghirahim has a predominantly "white" look, but he's clearly a villain. He is also portrayed as an EvilCounterpart to [[DarkIsNotEvil Impa]]. [[spoiler:The whiteness gradually "molts" off, though, revealing the dark demon underneath]].

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: Though the game is a prequel to the franchise, Ghirahim was designed with this mindset as a contrast to Ganondorf. Ganondorf wears black armor while Ghirahim wears a white suit. Ganondorf is muscular and masculine, Ghirahim is slim and feminine. Both take on transformations, but while Ganon is a hulking pig monster, Ghirahim's transformation, his true form, is still the same body type. Even their {{Leitmotif}}s sound like opposites with Ganondorf's ascending and Ghirahim's descending.

* LightningCanDoAnything: [[spoiler:Demise]] uses lightning as a way for making his sword like the Master Sword, which also includes using it like a Skyward Strike when [[IncrediblyLamePun fully charged]]. [[spoiler:This [[HoistByHisOwnPetard ends up being his undoing, however,]] as Link can do the same.]]

%% If it's the latter, then add it there inatead. Thank you!

* AluminumChristmasTrees: At first glance, the large-beaked Loftwings might appear to look that way because of the stylized cartoonish aesthetic of the game. They actually look almost exactly like the real life [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoebill Shoebill]].

** [[http://historyofhyrule.com/publications/manga_ssprequel_jp/001.html A prequel chapter]] by the two-woman team who created most of ''Manga/TheLegendOfZelda'' manga, Akira Himekawa. It focuses on both Link when he was little and when he gets his crimson Loftwing, and on a ''previous'' Link who fought in the war mentioned in the back story.

* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: Beedle is the only seller of the valuable Adventurer's Poach, which holds your bombs, bottles, medals, etc. He sells three out of the four available Adventurer's Poach, but will only sell them one at a time and the price of them increases from 300, to 600, and finally to 1200 rupees. [[LampshadeHanging He completely denies]] about the increasingly high prices of the Poaches.

* TheApocalypseBringsOutTheBestInPeople: Originally, Groose was just a bully and a JerkJock, when he follows Link to the surface and sees [[EldritchAbomination The Imprisoned]] nearly break free of its seal, he volunteers to keep watch over the seal and even builds a surprisingly effective bomb launcher to help Link the next few times the Imprisoned tries to escape. By the end of the game, he's a hero in his own right, and there's no trace of his former enmity with Link.

* TheBadGuyWins: The game is a prequel to the rest of the series, with the antagonist being [[spoiler:the ancient god Demise]]. While the game ends with him defeated, he [[spoiler:curses Link and Zelda to constantly be faced with an incarnation of his hatred, which will be the evil Ganon. Because of Demise's curse, there will always have to be a Link and Zelda to fight the evil, which will always cause catastrophe for Hyrule before being defeated]].

* BigDamnReunion: Link and Zelda enjoy a happy reunion every time they encounter each other someplace on the surface for the first time in a while. They are all short-lived, however, due to Zelda's status and responsibilities as [[spoiler:the reincarnation of Hylia]].

* CatsAreMean: At night, Remlits turn from adorable lemur-esque kittens to feral beasts with glowing eyes and fangs that will attack until Link fights back and scares them off. Even Instructor Owlan won't be in the room with Gaepora's pet Remlit Mia during the night.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The game is in the middle between the darker style of ''Twilight Princess'' and the lighter style of ''The Wind Waker'', which is evident by both the visual style and the storyline. Played literally with [[spoiler:the final boss' weapon: a black Master Sword with a SerratedBladeOfPain]].

* DidntNeedThoseAnyway: Koloktos' appendages Link attacks them with the whip or one of the boss' own weapons, but it reassembles them anyway.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: The second Imprisoned fight, helped by it being followed by the second Ghirahim fight in Fire Sanctuary. Once Link seals again the monster, he finally enters the Gate of Time and meets Zelda... who then tells him that [[spoiler:the Imprisoned can only be truly slain by using the power of the Triforce, for which Link will have to start a long quest for it (and in the process he'll have to assemble an ancient song whose verses are scattered across the Surface, defeat the Imprisoned for a third time, and complete one more dungeon). And ''then'' he still has to defeat Ghirahim for a third time and finally the true form of the Imprisoned, Demise]].

* DontCelebrateJustYet: [[spoiler: Link may have eradicated Demise completely by dropping the Goddess Statue island into the it where he is sealed, but everyone forgot about Ghirahim. The time portal is still open and Ghirahim takes advantage of it by stealing the awakened Zelda and go back in time to revive Demise.]]

* EarlyBirdBoss: The Skyview Temple battle with Ghirahim mixes this with WakeUpCallBoss. When you fight Ghirahim, you only have your default 6 hearts of health and little else in equipment. You'll have to rely on your sword and shield abilities to get past the boss' defenses and know when to strike.

** [[spoiler:At the start, Zelda says how the Goddess was supposed to have given her Sailcloth to the hero, but the one that Link is receiving is just a replica that she made. But Zelda, it is later revealed, actually ''is'' the Goddess, and therefore she is choosing the hero.]]

** [[spoiler:When Demise is resurrected]], he gives you a break to go back to the present and stock up on items. Despite the Demon King's resurrection, millennia later Hyrule is exactly the same as before. It makes sense in a [[TimeyWimeyBall weird, time-travel-ey sort of way]]; although Link may briefly return to the present day, he will eventually return to the past and defeat Demise before he's able to take over the world, thus leaving the present ultimately unaltered.

* TheHerosJourney: Link goes through the a large part of the path. He starts off in a peaceful island in the sky, unaware of the land below. TheCall comes in the form of Zelda falling beneath the clouds and shortly there after [[TheHerald Fi]] awakens and summons Link. He journeys forth below to Hyrule, The Land of Adventure, and CantRefuseTheCallAnymore when [[spoiler:he fails to save Zelda in Eldin, having been chewed out by his weakness and shortcomings by Impa]]. After this more dungeons are the further trials and the Silent Realm runs are the Nigh Sea Voyage. By the end [[spoiler:he has two moments of waiting before facing [[TheDragon Ghirahim]] and [[BigBad Demise]]. With Demise's defeat, Link's return to Skyloft is up in the air, but now his people can come from the clouds to the great world below.]]

* IconicSequelCharacter: Hylia has become an important part of ''Zelda'' lore and religion, but the name wasn't referenced until ''A Link to the Pat'' game introduced Lake Hylia. Even then, she only debuted as a character in this game, twenty years later.

* LeapOfFaith: As part of an illusory puzzle in Fire Sanctuary, there's a moment in which you must jump off a ledge into what seems like a lava pit. When you're falling, a platform appears just above said lava pit. However, a supporting character does tell you that you have to leap off the edge, and onto ''which'' statue ([[spoiler:the one with its eyes closed]]). This is the only way to unlock the path to the Boss Key that leads to the dungeon's finale.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Ghirahim proves time and time again just ''why'' he's a Demon Lord.

* LimitedWardrobe: As usual, Link spends most of the game clothed in his traditional green garb, after a brief early-game romp in his Skyloft civvies. But aside from the one costume-change, Link never changes his clothes. He is even shown ''sleeping'' in his daywear, even when that involves wearing chain mail to bed.