The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword does not push any single theme heavily, but one concept that sees repetition throughout the narrative is the concept of embracing destiny. From the beginning of the game, when Link first dreams of Fi, destiny calls out to him, and that same destiny comes for Zelda as well. By embracing their destinies, both Link and Zelda can overcome hardships and grow as people. Conversely, it is Groose, antagonist-turned-ally, who rejects his destiny and suffers for it. It is only when he accepts his destiny that he finds true happiness. This reinforces the idea that those who accept destiny will be rewarded for it, and those who reject destiny will be doomed to suffer. 

Destiny makes its presence known from the beginning of the game, when Fi calls out to Link in his dreams. As he sleeps, she says: “You are fated to have a hand in a great destiny, and it will soon find you…” She reiterates this claim when Link meets her inside the Goddess Statue, saying: “The one chosen by my creator. I have been waiting for you. You will play a role in a great destiny.” Link is willing to follow the path fate lays out for him to save Zelda, but her father’s encouragement helps. “Just think,” he says, “if what this Fi says is true, Zelda is alive!” Just as accepting destiny is Link’s only hope for saving Zelda, accepting destiny is her father’s only hope as well. Together, they embrace the legends they’ve been told, and in the end, they’re rewarded by Zelda’s safe return. 

Zelda faces her own complex destiny, and she also grows by embracing it. In the opening sequence, Zelda muses about the voice she sometimes hears calling to her, but she dismisses it when Link doesn’t hear it with her. It’s only when a tornado pulls her to the surface that she begins to learn the truth of who she is, and she’s only able to get the full story by turning Link away and seeking her destiny herself. As it turns out, she was the very person who engineered her own destiny, as she is the mortal reincarnation of the Goddess Hylia. Had she not accepted her destiny, she would have never regained her memories, and an entire past life would have remained inaccessible to her. Instead, she embraces fate and her past and is rewarded with the life on the surface she always wanted.

Groose acts as the lone hold-out against destiny when he insists that he will be the one to save Zelda. He goes so far as to mock the very concept when Impa tells him his fate, saying: “What a joke! Look, all I’ve heard so far is a bunch of babbling about destiny, but that’s a load of garbage.” He quickly changes his tune when the Imprisoned returns, as he realizes there’s nothing he can do in his present condition to help. It’s only when Impa insists that fate has a plan for him to play as well that he begins to consider other roles he could play, and he ends up building a powerful weapon that’s instrumental in slowing the Imprisoned’s return. By the time Link and Zelda have embraced their true roles as hero and goddess, Groose is willing to embrace his own destiny, saying: 

“Someone’s gotta watch that big, ugly monster, and someone’s gotta make sure Grannie’s doing all right. It ain’t as action-packed as what you’re doing, but maybe this is my destiny. Know what I mean?”

 He’s still uncertain, but he’s come a long way from calling destiny garbage. In the end, he too is rewarded for embracing his destiny, as he grows as a person and finds a renewed sense of purpose he would have never found in the world above. 

In the end, Skyward Sword’s entire cast is bound by destiny. Those who accept it find happiness, while those who reject it are doomed to despair. As a result, it is the heroes who embrace their destinies who triumph, and the villains who fight against that destiny who fail.