Fi pops up and introduces the area Link has entered as the Deep Woods. Then she reminds him of his quest to find the temple and Zelda. A little way in, Gorko peeks his head over a cliff to invite Link to come take a look at something with him. Getting to Gorko requires fighting a new variant of Deku Baba, the Quadro Baba, which can change if the mouth/split is horizontal or vertical. The object of Gorko’s interest is a cube marked with the Loftwing crest that’s said to be left behind by the Goddess for her chosen Hero. There’s an instruction attached to the Goddess Cubes: “Summon forth the light from a heavenly blade, and may that sword’s master receive aid.” Gorko asks Link to see if they can figure out what it means, and points out the key phrase in the instruction, so it’s not just Fi who over-explains things. Link whacks the Cube with a Skyward Strike, and it glows before disappearing, sending a ball of light to the sky. There are more of these things, so they’re… treasure maps from Wind Waker? As if proving the concept, there’s a second Goddess Cube to whack between the first one and the dungeon.
At the dungeon, Fi says she senses Zelda’s aura inside, along with a bunch of monsters. She advises against overconfidence, suggesting Link could use a bird statue to return to the sky… to get a shield and potions. *headdesk* But there’s the Goddess Cubes’ output to investigate, so why not? As Link mounts his Loftwing again, Fi brings up the map to highlight the points where the Goddess Cubes’ energy landed. This confirms my guess about what the Goddess Cubes are meant to resemble: the sky is sort of like the Great Sea, only with… skislands, if you will. And no Fishmen to talk to.
The first Goddess Cube’s chest expands Link’s Adventure Pouch by one slot. He still only has three items to fit in the five slots, so there’s no need to go back to the Item Check. There’s a bar on the island, and as Link walks in, the camera tantalizingly hovers on the chandelier, which has rupees and a heart piece. The bartender warns Link not to break the chandelier. The waitress calls attention to the rupees inside, which I don’t care about because my wallet’s full. Among the patrons, there’s an old man who saw a monster in the cemetery one night and Groose’s non-egg throwing lackey.
Link goes up to the upper level of the bar and rolls into the guardrail, causing the chandelier to sway. Doing it again knocks it down onto the large table in the center of the bar, leaving Link free to take the heart piece. The bartender’s pissed, and demands Link come talk to him. He wants Link to work for him until the chandelier’s paid off; the first errand is to deliver pumpkin soup to Eagus, the man in the Sparring Hall, the Knight Commander of Skyloft. Sadly, he’s not inclined to give Link a bottle – maybe if someone hadn’t broken his chandelier, he might be more generous – so Link’s got to drink one of his potions so he can carry the pumpkin soup. Then he drinks it, just to see the bartender’s reaction. Then he gets another bottle to deliver. Eagus is grateful for the soup once it’s delivered. The bartender’s satisfied with Link’s postal service and tells him to check back later for another job.
While on Skyloft, Link has some shopping to do. First, he gets a potion to replace the one he had to drink. (Actually, he drank a Revitalizing Potion and got a Heart Potion. I wonder if the bartender will let him count that expense toward paying for the chandelier. Probably not.) While he’s there, he’s got the materials to upgrade his shield so it’s a little sturdier, and the item shop has a seed bag upgrade – that takes a spot in the Adventure Pouch. Are you fscking serious? Hoo boy, this is going to suck worse than I thought. Beedle flies an airship over Skyloft, and if Link gets his attention by shooting the bell on the ship, he’ll lower a rope so Link can come up to shop. Link can buy an Extra Wallet and Bug Net now; there’s an Adventure Pouch upgrade he could afford by farming a lot, but still has no need for, so he lets it go for now.
There are two more things to do in the sky before going back to the surface. First, the second Goddess Chest has another heart piece that doesn’t require destruction of property. Second, north of Skyloft, there’s a minigame where Link tries to cut a piece of bamboo as many times as he can before it falls to the ground. I had trouble with this at first because I was too deliberate, and I could get eight or so cuts before the Wiimote decided I was doing something other than what I was trying for, and once this game goes wrong, there’s no saving it. Then I closed my eyes, held the Wiimote flat, and waved it wildly, and got 31 cuts.
Next: Exactly how thick does this game think Link (and/or the player) is?
