The Legend of Zelda has always dabbled in multiple worlds for players to manipulate, but Skyward Sword still stands alone from the rest.
What I mean by multiple worlds is the series often uses time travel or alternate dimensions as a means to present a similar map but of the same world. For example, the light and dark world from A Link to the Past or the adult and child eras in Ocarina of Time.
Most Zelda games do this and pull it off really well. Skyward Sword, on the other hand, takes that approach differently by using Timeshift Stones.
Timeshift Stones are found in the Lanayru Desert. Link can activate them, creating a bubble that contains a version of the map from 100 years prior.
This comes to past in various dungeon or desert segments to the memorable boat ride on the sand sea. What this brings is a unique approach to puzzle-solving and a quick mechanic of a tried and true Zelda staple.
Rather than making a second world fully explorable, Nintendo opted to segment that “second world” via the Timeshift Stones. It allowed players to jump between both quickly and straddle the line between the two.
This approach is not common among other Zelda titles. That is why it is so memorable from the game.
Whenever I play Skyward Sword, it is this mechanic that first comes to mind, not the motion controls.
For one, it created the best puzzle-solving elements in the entire game. Environmental puzzles are staples in the franchise and Timeshift Stones added another layer by actually changing the landscape itself. Pairing this with a much softer change between dual worlds kept the game fresh.
That doesn’t mean it’s perfect. There are still kinks that developers can work out such as the tedious nature and lack of movement when fighting some enemies within it.
That is something the franchise does well at: building on a mechanic in future titles. That said, we haven’t seen this mechanic return in this form since the game originally released in 2011.
Nintendo has a great opportunity to further build on this idea. I great place to see this mechanic return could’ve been with Tears of the Kingdom since much of the story revolved around what happened in the past.
All of that said, the Timeshift Stones remain Skyward Sword‘s most memorable feature. There is a fair argument in favor of that distinction going to the motion controls, but I think that more qualifies as the most defining feature.
For the most part, discussions around the actual gameplay tend to focus on the use of Timeshift Stones, among other features. While there were a lot of experiments happening in Skyward Sword, this one remains a resounding success and deserves more attention.
What about you? What did you think of Timeshift Stones in Skyward Sword? Would you like to see them return? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.
Featured Image: Nintendo (via Polygon)
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