Demon Lord: Ghirahim (First Time)
Weakness: Goddess Sword.
Ghirahim is the head of all of the demons and creatures plaguing the world beyond the clouds. Even though he looks like he’s weak due to his size, he is a difficult foe due to his sorcerer powers which he can use to conjure up different diamonds to attack you. He also has a black sword he can use to attack you with.
At the start of the battle, he will raise his hand to block your sword by grabbing it when you swing at him. Lure him into blocking in a certain direction and when he stops moving his hand, swing in the opposite direction. If he does grab your sword, thrust the Wiimote upward a couple times to break out of his grip, or else he will take the sword and use it against you. Be sure to defend yourself by either using your shield when he attacks to knock it out of his grip, or keeping your distance until he eventually throws it away. Continue to use this pattern and eventually he will back off.
Oh, but it isn’t over yet. Ghirahim will lick his lips, lusting for your bloodshed, and then summon a sword of his own. When he does so, he’ll either charge at you with the sword at his side or summon red crystal projectiles to attack you. Block those crystals either with your shield (Keep an eye on your shield durability!), or slash horizontally, vertically, or diagonally in the pattern they come at you as they’re flying.
When he dashes at you to slash at you, time your shield attack to block him and daze him. This is your chance to damage him a lot. If he warps in front or behind you in a blocking stance, slash in the direction he’s not blocking and attack while he’s dazed. Repeat this process a good amount of times and Ghirahim will call it quits, disappearing from Skyview Temple without first giving you a good warning.
Pyroclastic Fiend: Scaldera
Weakness: Bombs.
Scaldera is a giant magma-filled insect-like boss with a cooled protective igneous rock shell. It has a single weakpoint: its giant eye. In order to even get close to striking its weak point, you need to use your bombs in a well planned manner. To those who are experts of the Legend of Zelda series, you will see that this boss is similar to King Dondogo in Ocarina of Time.
First off, Scaldera will be charging after you and you need to run away from him. If you are low on bombs, near the top of the hill there are some bomb flowers you can pick up and leave in your bag. When Scaldera hits these bomb flowers at the top, they will explode and cause it to roll all the way to the bottom of the hill. When it does, run down there (while keeping an eye on your stamina meter). When Scaldera opens its maw to breathe in air for a fireball attack, throw a bomb into its mouth which will explode inside it and break some of its rock shell. If you don’t, he’ll begin shooting big fireballs at you. Its eye will be exposed if you’re successful, allowing you to attack with your sword. Be sure to keep up with the eye, as it will sometimes use its rocky shell to protect its vulnerable spot.
Doing this enough times will cause Scaldera to get upset and he’ll extend to his full height. He’ll rush up the hill, drop, and roll down hoping to ram you. If he does, bait him to go toward the edges of the hallway and move to the other side when he gets close. Once he crashes at the bottom, repeat tossing bombs into its mouth and attacking the eye. Repeat this process a little more, and Scaldera will eventually shrivel up and die.
Thousand-Year Arachnid: Moldarach
Weakness: Goddess Sword.
Effective: Gust Bellow.
This is the giant scorpion boss we have seen in E3 demos, if you’ve been watching and waiting for Skyward Sword since we heard about it during the summer of 2009.
This giant arachnid has two large pincers with a set of eyes in each one as well as a giant stinger like tail. Depending on the direction of each of pincers are facing you need to attack them the opposite way. Meaning, for example, if the pincer is horizontal, then you swing vertically. The same if it is vertical; you swing horizontal. Continue to do this several times until both claws are destroyed. Once they are, its main eye will be exposed. Periodically during the fight, Moldarach will dig under the ground to surprise attack you. When it digs underground, you can uncover it using the Gust Bellow. Doing so will make it come out of the ground, but will also uncover baby scorpions that pop out. However, your bellow should be able to continuously push them aside so much that they won’t be much of a threat to you. Try to stab its central eye to deal damage. Doing so enough times will cause the scorpion to fall.
The Imprisoned (First Time)
Weakness: Goddess Sword.
This battle differs greatly from the others, since you must prevent the creature from going to the very top of the Sealed Grounds. If it succeeds, you’ll be granted an instant Game Over, so you absolutely cannot let that happen!
Once the battle begins, The Imprisoned will start walking up the pathway towards the entrance. Its weakness lies on-top of its head. There are two ways to reach the weak spot. You can either attack its toes to make it fall over, in which case use an upward slash three times on the stone pillar, or you can catch a gust of wind above The Imprisoned and jump on its head, which you have to use three downward slashes to spike the pillar inside. If you decide to attack its toes, be careful of the shock waves it creates as it walks. There’s also a gust of wind in the middle of the area that will send you high into the air and let you sky dive onto of The Imprisoned if you’re having difficulty getting on-top of it.
Once you spike the pillar into its head the first time, The Imprisoned will either toss you off its head or get back up as it pops the pillar back out again. Afterwards, it will fall over and start worming its way up the path increasing in speed. Stay out of its way so you don’t get ran over, and it will eventually get back up and continue walking. Do this three times, and you’ll seal The Imprisoned once more.
Ancient Automation: Koloktos
Weaknesses: Whip. Goddess Sword (1st phase), Koloktos’ Sword (2nd phase).
Koloktos is a mechanized statue that is similar to Guanyin, a legendary figure in Buddhist religion which the temple seems to be centered around. This statue use two arms to protect the cage around its heart. In order to defeat him, you need to pull off all of its arms using the whip and then attack its heart. Pull off the arms and pick up one of the swords, then swing the Wiimote like you would with your sword to break its cage. You can use the Goddess Sword to deal more damage, but its highly suggested that you just use one Koloktos’ swords. You’ll be kept at a safe distance this way.
Do this enough times, and Koloktos will pull himself out of the ground and become mobile. Just follow the same strategy before while avoiding him and pick up one of the swords. Take out his legs to make it easier and then strike at the cage. Sometimes he’ll attack at a rapid pace with his swords in which you will need to avoid until he has calmed down. Be sure to keep your distance so that you are not harmed by Koloktos’ attack as you’re baiting him. It’s best if you don’t lock onto him during the 2nd phase, as it will make Link mobile enough to dodge his attacks. After a few rounds, Koloktos will eventually fall over and explode.
Abyssmal Leviathan: Tentalus
Weaknesses: Bow & Arrow. Skyward Strike.
Tentalus is a giant sea squid that is loosely based on the Greek mythology creature named Tantalus. The battle starts off with Link needing to exit the ship as Tentalus’ tentacles pierce through the dungeon’s hull. Escape out of the door and through the hallway, using your Skyward Strike to cut through the tentacles. As you move on, the water will rise and block your way back. Soon, barrels will start rolling down the hallway you’re about to go through. Move out of the way of the barrels as you get up to the stairway exit, and the water will once again rise and block your way out. Exit through the door and Tentalus will finally reveal itself.
During the first half of the battle, Tentalus will start piercing its tentacles through the ground below you. Use your Skyward Strike in a horizontal or diagonal swipe to cut the tentacles. If one grabs you, shake the wiimote and nunchuck back and forth to escape its grip. Soon enough, the tentacles will stop appearing and Tentalus will reveal itself and let out a big roar. Use the Bow & Arrow to fire at its eye to bring it down, then use your sword to swipe at the eye continuously. The next time Tentalus appears, it will try to crush you with its massive arms. Sprint out of the way of each arm and wait for it to roar so that you can shoot its eye again.
Do enough damage, and Tentalus will begin to destroy the area you’re walking in. As it does this, a metal box falls over, granting you access to the upper deck. Quickly sprint over and climb up to the deck and Phase 2 will begin. This time, Tentalus will use its tentacles on its head to tackle you. Use your sword to block each tentacle coming your way. If you’re running low on health, some of them will drop hearts for you to collect. After a while, Tentalus will let out yet another roar, leaving itself vulnerable to another arrow strike. Hit its eye with the arrows like before and rush over to attack its eye. Continue doing this, and Tentalus will eventually shrivel up and die.
Demon Lord: Ghirahim (Second Time)
Weakness: Goddess Sword.
This battle plays out much like the first time you encountered him. However, there are some key differences that must be mentioned.
First off, the 1st phase, where he will block your sword shots with his hand, will now have the red crystal projectiles surrounding where you swing but leave an opening somewhere. Divert Ghirahim’s hand away from that opening and then swing. Hitting the crystal will give you less time to strike and he’ll more than likely catch your sword.
The 2nd Phase is where the battle greatly differs. Ghirahim will now summon two blades instead of just one and his attacks are much more frequent. However, the biggest difference is that the red crystal projectiles can now be reflected off of your sword and back into Ghirahim for extra damage. Use this to your advantage as he fires off the patterned projectiles one at a time. Sometimes, he’ll surround you with the red crystals in a circle shape either above you or around you. Use the horizontal and/or vertical spin attacks to counter these and damage the Demon Lord. When he teleports, treat it like the first battle and strike at the areas where he isn’t blocking. At some points, Ghirahim will jump high into the air. Move around the arena before he has a chance to land. Once he strikes the ground, his swords will get stuck, leaving you a very quick opening to land a jump strike against him.
Eventually, like in the first dungeon, Ghirahim will call off the battle and exit the Fire Sanctuary, once again leaving a threat to Link as he leaves.
The Imprisoned (Second Time)
Weaknesses: Master Sword (Link), Bomb Flowers (Groose).
The Imprisoned returns back with its seal broken once more however it comes with more surprises than before. It apparently has grown some arms now which it uses to help it scale up the wall on the side of the Sealed Grounds. You can use both Link and Groose in the battle; Link will handle the actual beast while Groose will launch Bomb Flowers at it to stun it when it tries to climb a wall. The procedure is the same as the last fight in which you have to strike down on the sealing pillar on its head, but it’s not as easy.
When you are fighting the Imprisoned, be sure to listen to Groose when he yells out: “Hey!” meaning he is ready to help and launch a Bomb Flower. Whenever the Imprisoned tries to climb a wall, fire a Bomb Flower at it to stun it and make it drop its arms. Take the time to get on top of it to stun it on the head. Eventually the Imprisoned will not like you being on its head and will knock you off whenever you try to do so. When it does, stun it and attack all of the “toes” on its feet to make it fall backwards. You can’t just run to its head no more as the arms block it so you need to jump either a floor and use a geyser to get back up, or use a geyser to a higher level then fall to the level blow just near its head. Use an upwards strike three times to strike the sealing pillar into its head.
The boss doesn’t take long to defeat and as long as you repeat the strategies above, you should be fine.
Great Spirit of the Skies: Levias
Weaknesses: Spiral Charge (Loftwing)
After delivering a batch of Lumpy Pumpkin’s special pumpkin soup, Levias will come out of the clouds of the Thunderhead and will start flying around. This boss is a bit easy as it doesn’t damage you directly (unless you hit it) so all you need to do is Spiral Charge into the many eyes sticking out of the whales body. Some of the eyes are easy but there is one that takes a lot of skill to attack as it will dodge every maneuver. Once you complete this and land on his head, the second battle will begin.
This boss cannot be fought in Boss Rush.
Ocular Parasite: Bilocyte
Weaknesses: Master Sword, Skyward Strikes, Parasite Blob.
This is the second half of the Levias fight fought in the Thunderhead. The boss is a giant one eyed parasite with weird webbing-like appendages on the site of its large head. It will start to shoot you with parasite blobs much like blobs you would see Bellum shooting at you in Phantom Hourglass. Play Dead Man’s Volley with him and reflect the blobs back at the appendages by swinging the sword in the direction you want them to go. After a few hits, his main eye will be susceptible to any damage, so charge up a Skyward Strike and then swing at his main eye to deliver damage. The next phase of his battle, he’ll start avoiding the blobs whenever you reflect them. You can try to hit him if you want and reflect his blobs back at him to stun him or you can constantly charge up Skyward Strikes and strike him.
This boss cannot be fought in Boss Rush.
The Imprisoned (Final Fight)
Weaknesses: Master Sword (Link), Bomb Flowers (Groose).
The battle starts off the same time as last time. You must try and get on its head or knock it down to swing the Sealing Pillar back into its head. It will try and climb the walls again and when it does, shoot it with a Bomb Flower from the Groosenator…
