The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword/WMG/Pre-Release

This page is an archive of guesses about what was going to be in the game before the game was actually released.

Skyward Sword WILL be Hijacked By Ganon, but not Ganondorf
Ganon was originally one of the demons that ravaged Pre-Skyloft Hyrule and will be some sort of patron for Ghirahim. After Girahim is defeated Link will fight Ganon, and when he is defeated, he won't be killed. Rather than being destroyed or sealed in a can, He will be temporarily dispersed...only to be reincarnated centuries later as a Gerudo prince...
 * Alternatively, he'll be sealed in a trident, which a certain Gerudo prince is fated to find in Four Swords Adventures...
 * The first option is somewhat confirm,

Sheik's Harp Will Make a Return, as Well as the Warp Songs and The Sharp and Flat Bros. from OoT
In the GDC trailer, we can see an icon depicting a new instrument - a harp - on the D-pad about halfway through the footage. Compare the harp icon with Sheik's harp on OoT 3DS's new American boxart, and you'll quickly notice that they look completely identical to each other. In other words, Link hands his harp over to the new Royal Family after saving Hyrule from a great evil, it's passed down generation after generation until it's back story or history is eventually forgotten, finally finding itself in the hands of OoT's Princess Zelda before it is potentially destroyed or abandoned. Seeing that Sheik also taught the warp songs to Link on his//her harp, it's possible that we may see the warp songs return, and this is how Link will travel around Hyrule or between Hyrule and Skyloft in the game.

As for The Sharp and Flat Bros. in OoT, (who were clearly ghosts who died long ago,) we may see them return in SS. However, they will be alive instead of dead, helping Link travel between the two lands via magical warps songs that they had personally composed. By the end of the game, they're noted for their accomplishments and become Hyrule's famous composers, devoting much of their practices and time towards magical songs created solely for the Royal Family's needs.
 * Sharp and Flat claim to have been killed by Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time.
 * Seriously, who are these guys? I've played the game through a good number of times and never run into them before. This site is the first I've heard of them.
 * The ghosts who teach you the Sun Song, as I recall.
 * Face Palm Examine the gravestones next to the royal tomb. You'll have to fight two unique poes. Talk to the flame with a face after you defeat one. Rinse and repeat with the other gravestone.
 * Partially confirmed. The harp in the game is apparently the same one that Sheik uses, although it is never spelled out explicitly. However, the harp is not used for warping, and the Royal Composer Brothers are not in the game at all.

Twinrova will be a major antagonist, or at least appear in some fashion, likely a boss

 * Having been around for 400 years before Ocarina of Time, there's no reason to think they couldn't be alive during Skyward Sword. For all the speculation regarding a young Ganondorf, I'm surprised they haven't been mentioned yet. It's likely that Link will wind up dealing with them during the game only for them to escape at the last second. Bonus points if they adopt an orphaned Gerudo boy during the storyline.
 * Jossed. Twinrova do not appear in the game.

This game involves Majora, explaining the origin both of Majora's Mask and the Master Sword.

 * We know that the Skyward Sword becomes the Master Sword, so this has to be set before Ocarina of Time, and Ganon/dorf can't appear. And there's a new model of Majora's Mask. So...Majora winds up sealed away in a pocket dimension, Termina, after Skyward. Skyward Sword is the tale of the first Link, who comes from the heavens to a Hyrule under the thumb of the God of Evil, Majora. Through the game, he imbues his sword with sacred energies to turn it into the Master Sword, defeats Majora, seals him in a mask, and casts it into Termina..
 * Where does the Fierce Deity play into the story though? We still don't have an origin story for him yet, even if Majora somehow gets one here.
 * Ghirahim looks not entirely unlike the Fierce Deity...
 * White Haired Pretty Boy and wields a sword. I wouldn't say that's enough to say that there's a possibility that they're the same person.
 * Jossed.

This game will explain the origins of Hyrule and is connected to the mythology presented in Twilight Princess.

 * In Twilight Princess, Shad tells Link about how the Oocca, the Sky people, created Hyrule. However, he may have gotten his facts mixed up (or the records may be inaccurate) and this game will explain about how the Hylians originally lived among the clouds among the Oocca, and then descended to the world below to fight the evil there, and stayed to establish Hyrule.
 * Alternatively, while the game shows the origins of the City in the Sky, it doesn't show the origins of the Oocca or the Sky Statues (or that magnificent cannon in Lake Hylia).

The game is somehow connected to the Backstory of The Minish Cap.

 * (Non-Ganon) Evil threatens the humans on the ground and a sword from the heavens is bestowed upon a green-clad Hylian hero, who is chosen to save the land. Sounds a lot like the prologue of The Minish Cap, doesn't it? Maybe the Four Sword and the Master Sword were the same all along.
 * But the Hero of Men apparently didn't have a hat, whereas this Link currently does. (Incidentally, it has been confirmed that the Skyward Sword, which is also the girl in the concept art, becomes the Master Sword.)
 * I am aware of this (both), but seriously with this argument, you could also wonder why the Hero of Time Statue in TWW looked so vastly different from "The real thing", and why Faron claimed that TP Link's tunic was that of The Hero of Time, when there were several obvious differences, which had nothing to do with the graphical style.
 * Gustaf, who's theorized to be the Hero of Men, figurine states that he's fond of the Wind Tribe. Hint hint?
 * Except the Four Sword is in the LTTP remake's bonus dungeon when Link alreddy has the Master Sword...
 * But the Four Sword also reappears in Minish Cap, hence, this WMG.

The Sword Spirit and the main villain are connected in some way.

 * In the GDC trailer, the villain is shown having pale skin and white hair, similar to the Sword Spirit. Perhaps they're from the same race.
 * Similarly, when a TV interviewer mentioned that Fie and Ghirahim have similar diamond motifs and asked if they were somehow connected, the interviewee gave some very typical "you've hit on something important that I can't talk about yet" answers.
 * Oh so very much

This game either takes place during or immediately before the war immediately prior to Ocarina of Time
We know that there was a war that took place a decade or so before Ocarina of Time, where the Shekiah were driven to extinction and Ocarina of Time Link's father was killed and his mother driven to flee to the Forest. If this is that war, the Shekiah Massacre will occur onscreen, probably invoking the law of Conservation of Ninjutsu.
 * As a corollary, the Link of this game is the father of Ocarina of Time Link, and will either die in the ending, or shortly thereafter. The last scene will be the mother fleeing to the forest, grievously wounded.
 * Well, that'll have them rolling in the aisles.

This Link is related to the Wind Tribe from The Minish Cap somehow.

 * In addition to the myths about the Oocca in Twilight Princess, The Minish Cap showed a race of people living in a city above the clouds. This Link may be of their race, or the Hylians may be their descendants.
 * The Wind Tribe weren't always in the clouds, though. Remember that tablet at the end of the swamp dungeon, it says they departed for the sky. They were originally just Hylians.
 * maybe the game takes place between those games
 * The myths about the Oocca say that they only moved to the City in the Sky after founding Hyrule, which means they must have lived below prior to that. Perhaps there's a connection between them and the Wind Tribe, considering the similar histories. Certainly, the City in the Sky in Twilight Princess is both ruined and built to human proportions, so the Oocca may not have been the only ones living there in the past.

Link will meet the forebearers of the Kokiri
After saving them or doing something heroic, they honor him by dressing as him.
 * Wouldn't be the first time (Well, it is chronologically) that this has happened.
 * On two counts. He would be the first/third hero to inspire this.
 * So, Link from Skyward Sword would indirectly influence Ocarina Of Time Link, who directly influences Wind Waker Link, who influences Spirit Tracks Link. Woah.

Ganondorf will appear, but not as the main antagonist.
Given the timeline for this game, I don't think it's possible for Ganondorf to be the villain. (Maybe Ganon, but not Ganondorf.) But in an effort to compromise with the Unpleasable Fanbase, an early incarnation of Ganondorf will appear...as a total fanboy of Link. And maybe as a little kid.
 * Jossed, in a complicated way. Neither Ganondorf nor Ganon appear in the game,

This game is actually a long, long way back in Hyrule's past, and explains the origins of the different races.
Link's people, the people of the sky, became divided in some way. There was an earlier group that did actually make it to the land below, but finding it dangerous, they took to the shadows and became the Sheikah. Others had already been there for longer - depending on their hiding place, they became the Gorons or the Zora or the Dekus, perhaps the Kokiri. Once the land was purified of the monsters, the rest descended and became the Hylians (aside from the ones that went to the desert and eventually became the Gerudo).
 * While the Oocca stayed in the sky because they were so horribly ill-suited to anything else.

Vaati will be the villain.
Since the game is a prequel to Ocarina of Time, we know that Ganondorf cannot be the villain. Also, since the sky is an important part of the plot and gameplay, having a wind mage as the main villain would make sense.
 * There was an article written a while back about how the following elements from the The Legend of Zelda Four Swords backstory were left unexplained:
 * Vaati is supposedly known as a Wind Mage, but is never referred to as such during The Minish Cap.
 * Vaati was also famous for kidnapping numerous maidens. The only kidnapping he performed in The Minish Cap was when he abducted Zelda upon realizing she held the Light Force.
 * In addition, how Vaati wound up sealed in the Four Sword (he appears to simply die at the end of The Minish Cap) and acquired the Palace of Winds is not explained, despite him referring to it as "my Palace of Winds" in The Legend of Zelda Four Swords. In The Minish Cap, however, there is a Palace of Winds, except it is guarded by the Wind Tribe living above the clouds. Now, the Wind Tribe and the Palace of Winds could well be involved with Skyloft in the next game, and kidnapping maidens would be a good excuse to have Link perform his usual dungeon-crawling. Plus, Vaati needs a 3D appearance after all this time.
 * Recent interviews have stated explicitly Ganon(dorf) isn't present, but remained vague when asked a question about Vaati. Hmm...
 * The Legend of Zelda Four Swords, the game Vaati debuted in, will be available for free on the 3DS eShop this September. Perhaps a way of introducing Vaati to new players before Skyward Sword is released...?
 * One recent press release revealed the possibility of Ganondorf appearing in the game after all, but not as main villain. Instead the game might explain Ganondorf's origins and his Start of Darkness. Now, remember how in Wind Waker Ganondorf was jealous of Hyrule's gentle winds? That in his homeland, the winds only meant death and despair? Vaati is the evil Wind Mage. He causes death and despair with his wind powers. This could make it even more likely that Vaati will be the main villain, as well as the one who (indirectly) made Ganondorf what he is today.
 * Jossed,.

The Dark Interlopers (aka the proto-Twili) will be the villains.
As the backstory of Ocarina of Time told, the Master Sword was set in the Pedestal of Time as the final key to opening the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce was hidden. We also know that this game deals with the origins of the Master Sword, aka the Skyward Sword, so the Blade of Evil's Bane cannot be used for this function just yet.

Now, we know from Twilight Princess that the Twili were descendants of a tribe of sorcerers who attempted to take the Triforce for themselves. But in Ocarina Of Time, the Great Deku Tree, Zelda, and Ganondorf are the few who actually have a clue where the Triforce rests. So by that time in the chronology, the knowledge of the Triforce must have been forgotten by the vast majority of the people of Hyrule on account of them having never seen it. Therefore, there must have been a time before the Triforce was sealed away when the proto-Twili would have been able to obtain in-depth knowledge of the Golden Power. Skyward Sword could very well be the story of how the proto-Twili were foiled in their efforts, how they were banished to the Twilight Realm as punishment, and how the Master Sword was first used to seal the Triforce away from those who would use it for evil purposes.

Ganondorf will be the villain.
The Master Sword will play a vital role to the story, and it has never appeared in a game that Ganon wasn't in.
 * The Legend of Zelda a Link To T He Past: The Master Sword is needed to defeat Agahnim, who is later revealed to be Ganon in disguise.
 * The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time: The backgrounds of the Master Sword and Ganon are explored. This game marks the first appearance of the human (okay, Gerudo) Ganondorf.
 * Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons: Ganon is the final boss of a linked game. The Master Sword is only obtainable during a linked game.
 * The Wind Waker: The Master Sword's power needs to be restored for it to even be able to hurt Ganondorf.
 * Twilight Princess: The Master Sword is a forgotten relic that must be retrieved to break the curse Zant placed on Link. Ganondorf is revealed to be in the story one dungeon later.

If the pattern continues, the Skyward Sword will not be powerful enough to defeat Ganondorf, and will need to become the Master Sword. In fact, if the Master Sword is being created, then this game is almost guaranteed to be Ganondorf's Start of Darkness!
 * Jossed somewhat: A recent Interview states that Ganon will not appear in this game.

Skyward Sword will possibly detail the fall of the Gerudo tribe and their exile to the desert.
It has already been speculated that Skyward Sword will take place before Ocarina of Time due to the fact that the titular sword transforms into the Master Sword at some point in the game and the fact that Link is born on a floating island called Skyloft and will descend to the land below.

With the exception of Link (who can unknowingly charm every woman ever), the Gerudo tribe is shown to be highly distrustful of Hyrulean culture and society, indicating a great level of detachment from the Hylian way. During Ganondorf's Alas Poor Villain moment in Wind Waker, he's given a Freudian Excuse that actually gives his trecherous deeds a slightly more altruistic motive: Gerudo Desert was nothing more than a harsh, barren wasteland and Ganondorf coveted the gentle winds of Hyrule.

If said "prequel" theory is indeed correct, Skyward Sword could depict how the Gerudo ended up in their current predicament. Perhaps they're the "evil forces" plaguing Hyrule. A falling-out with the other Hylians, maybe? If the pieces fall in place we might even see a young and bitter Ganondorf. Who knows? But given how Aonuma has been throwing in nods to affirm the whole "split timeline" theory, I wouldn't doubt him addressing a plot element like this.
 * Jossed. The Gerudo tribe does not appear in the game at all. In fact, almost no humans appear in Hyrule, instead living on Skyloft and other floating islands.

The graphics are this way because of a Xanatos Gambit on the part of Nintendo's PR Department(s)
They're trying to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Zelda's overprotective fans are 100% unpleasable. In fact, since this game can be found in both They Changed It Now It Sucks and Its the Same Now It Sucks, I'd say they've succeeded.

Link will gain the power of flight, via the Master Sword.
Well, duh. It's a bit of an obvious guess, but don't let that stop you.
 * As a corollary to this, it's possible that the Master Sword's winglike crossguard will morph into wings while still sheathed. That way, Link himself would technically have wings himself, and Motionplus will still only be used for the sword itself.
 * Jossed. Link rides an awesome bird.

There will be a powerful musical instrument again, and it will be a woodwind instrument.
This is to keep up with the trend of Zelda having musical instruments that look vaguely like controllers. Since the Wii Remote with Motion Plus looks like a rod, I'm willing to bet it'll be a flute, a clarinet, or a saxophone. And it will have "sky" in the name, because all Zelda musical instruments have title drops. Or the sword may function as a conductor's baton, but, since they already did that with Wind Waker, probably not.
 * The GDC trailer showed the ^ d-pad assigned to a harp, similar to the one Shiek used in Ocarina of Time.
 * The harp also has very little use in normal gameplay. Its main purpose is to be played at certain plot-important locations to reveal the way forward.

The Sheikah will play a role in this game.
This game takes place before Ocarina of Time, so this is their chance to show us what the Sheikah were like before going near extinct.
 * The afore-mentioned villain-like character looks like a Sheikah.
 * Partially confirmed. Impa makes an appearance as Zelda's protector and provides exposition.

Ganon will be the villain, but with a special twist on the typical Start of Darkness.
A version of Ganon from the very, very distant future (nothing specific, as we don't really want an end to the Zelda timeline) goes back in time to when the Master Sword was created, and before the Triforce was fully sealed in the Sacred Realm. That way, he can destroy the Master Sword before it can be a nuisance to him, and he can get the whole Triforce with minimal interferance.

In fact, while we're at it, maybe both Ganons can appear; that is, the one from the child timeline, and the one from the adult timeline. Then, near the end, when it looks like Link is going to defeat them both, they merge together (think Dracula and Death merging in Portrait of Ruin), turning into an unholy Eldritch Abomination that Link will have a hard time bringing down. But in the end, Link defeats Eldritch Ganon, banishing its crushed spirit to the netherworld, where it is eventually reincarnated into...the original Ganondorf.

Keep in mind that Nintendo has never shied away from time travel confusion before in regards to this franchise, so why stop here?
 * An interview says that Ganon won't be appearing in this game at all, so pretty much jossed. Not that this was likely anyway.

Ganondorf will be the Big Bad of the game, but no one knows who he is in Ocarina because...
Ganondorf hasn't appeared in a Zelda game since Twilight Princess. That's an absence of two games, the longest Ganon has gone without an appearance. There are various theories being batted around for why Ganondorf can't be the Big Bad because the game is a prequel to The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time which was the first time anyone realized his true intentions. But what if no one knew he was evil in Ocarina because he was successful in Skyward Sword?

After the final fight against Ganondorf, Link and Zelda share an emotional farewell with the Spirit of the Sword (whatever her name turns out to be) and just as they're about to seal the Sacred Realm by plunging the Master Sword into the Pedestal of Time, Ganondorf comes back to life. He succeeds in killing Link and Zelda, and is about to take the Triforce for himself when the Spirit puts the Sword into the Pedestal, thereby locking the Sacred Realm, and sealing Ganondorf's soul away until someone who can destroy him forever is born. He is then released at the moment of the Hero of Time's birth. It's a Downer Ending for a Zelda game, but if done right, it could be quite touching and bittersweet.


 * Jossed by the fact that the Master Sword was ancient before Ganondorf was even born. Remember, Ocarina of Time was the first time he ever rose to power.

Ganondorf will appear in this game, but he will not be evil.
Instead, this Ganondorf will be benevolent, and help Link in his quest.
 * As a corollary, it will be his Start of Darkness, and will end with his jealousy of Hyrule's prosperity nearing the breaking point, and him beginning to Plan.
 * He may even fight alongside Link at some points and become a trusted friend just to add to the irony.
 * Jossed by Word of God.

This Game will detail all of the following:

 * The origins of the 3 Goddesses of Hyrule (it would be very interesting if they too were denizens of Skyloft before they attained their powers).
 * But Hyrule already exists, "the land below", right? Unless the land underneath (the?) Skyloft isn't yet the Hyrule that we know, and the Goddesses you mention go on to make it Hyrule.
 * How the magical artifacts like the Wind Waker, the Ocarina of Time, etc. were created.
 * How Hyrule came to be a united Kingdom of the different tribes.
 * Naturally, this all assumes that the game takes place VERY far in the past.

The game will be Hijacked By Ganon.

 * Just getting it out of the way.
 * Apparently Jossed, as a recent interview says he won't appear this time.

This game will contain intense amounts of Player Punch.

 * At the very least, it's almost guaranteed that the Skyward Sword will probably make some sort of Heroic Sacrifice, possibly in becoming the Master Sword.
 * Well, the Master Sword still exists in the future...but, well, it's never spoken in any of the games, so it's possible it gave up it's sentience. Personally this troper is hoping for a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming, with Link somehow finding out about his "future incarnations" and the sword vowing to look over every reincarnation of the Legendary Hero.

This Link is the Hero's Shade, not the Hero of Time
The armor he has is ''really' old looking. Much older than the style seen on the guards and enemies in OoT.
 * Jossed. He's the Hero of Legend.

Possible titles for this Link.

 * Hero of (the) Sky
 * Hero of the Master Sword
 * Master of the Sword? Eh?

Link's starter village will have a windmill in it.
Think about it: It's in the sky, windmills show up in many Zelda games prominently (Windfall and Kakariko for example), there was a windmill on the floating terrance thing in the Feel Good Inc. video, which implies a Windmill can be useful for things in the sky (possibly for perpulsion or steering while in the air.) plus and old rumor stated that Link's hometown would be the biggest of any Zelda game in existance, so they may use a Windmill for electricity/grinding grains.
 * There are two windmills in Skyloft, but they do not seem to serve any purpose for the citizens of Skyloft.

Skyward Sword is NOT a prologue.
Instead, it is the next game after Twilight Princess. The only reason we all think that it's a prologue is because Miyamoto has said that the Skyward Sword becomes the Master Sword. But maybe Ganondorf (who will almost certainly be back) actually physically breaks the Master Sword and the Skyward Sword becomes the next Master Sword.
 * Jossed by Word of God, Eiji Anouma stated that both he and Miyamoto agreed this game came before Oot.
 * If Word of God isn't enough for you, then certain major spoilers will.

This game will yet again feature many varied characters fans will pair up with Link for little to no adequately explainable reason.
Because the fans totally didn't do that with Oot, WW and TP. These charecters will probably include:
 * The Zelda (Duh).
 * The Sidekick.
 * The Childhood Friend and/or the Farmgirl.
 * The Non-Human/Hylian/WhateverLinkIs in this game.
 * The one Chick that's too old for him but acts interested anyway.
 * That one, rarely mentioned male character that while holding some relevance to the plot shows no interest in Link, but the fangirls want it.
 * GHIRAHIM!!!
 * Hey, Pipit's pretty hot.
 * But he helps link out at one point, which can count as "showing interest."
 * Demise.
 * ...Ganondorf?

Ganondorf becomes evil out of jealousy of this game's Link.
Ganondorf is a Gerudo, and the only male of his kind alive. Everyone around him is female. He's guaranteed to be very popular. Then Link comes along, and we all know what happens then. THINK ABOUT IT.
 * Partially Jossed. There is no Ganon in the game, but considering the Final Boss' last words...

The Scorpion boss seen in the trailer is Skyward Sword's version of Gohma.
Gohma is usually thought of as a spider, but her Ocarina of Time description just says "Arachnid" and her portrayal has been inconsistent. Sure, sometimes she's a spider (a bigass spider), but other times she's a crab, some sort of armoured centipede (which isn't an arachnid), and sometimes what she's supposed to be is completely unidentifiable. And regardless of her physical appearance, her theme is always eyes. The Scorpion is an arachnid, and the point is to swing your sword in the right direction to hit the eyes in its claws. Sounds like a Gohma battle to me.
 * Jossed. Its name is Moldarach, it's the adult version of tiny enemies called Arachas, and more than one appear in the game.

The only difference between the Skyward Sword and the Master Sword is the name.
Everyone speculates about what sort of miraculous change comes over the SS to make it the MS. Really, does it need one? The two swords are already identical plus it's already established that the swords share almost all concievable powers. So why doesn't Fii talk to us in any other games? She doesn't think it's urgent and just likes silently observing the world in sword form.
 * Probably not. The GDC trailer indicates that early in the game, the Sword has a noticeably smaller hilt and crossguard that is greenish, in contrast with the larger and more ornate blue hilt and crossguard unique to the Master Sword.
 * Confirmed. The Goddess Sword turns into the Master Sword after various events.

Entering Hyrule from Skyloft will be identical in execution to skydiving in Wii Sports Resort.
Only instead of jumping out of a plane, you jump off of Skyloft, and instead of linking up to people you're trying to Link up with "Steve" and trying to land in the right place. Your sword saves you from going splat each time.
 * A parachute I could understand. A magic spell like "Fairy" I could understand. But a sword preventing you from going splat?
 * The way I see it, it's not the fall that kills you. It's the ground. So I blocked it.
 * Partly confirmed: Skydiving over Pumpkin Landing (Sidequest Island) causes several multicolored creatures to link up with you, with the reward of 20 Rupees if you get all of them before they disperse and you have to land. However, nothing of the sort appears over Skyloft.

As mentioned before in the main Zelda WMG, the legend of Zelda is real and remnants of it still remain.
My proof? This Video of the Skyward Sword walking about Fresno California without a care in the world!

Link's relationship with Sword Girl will be that of a father and a daughter, and her becoming the Master Sword will mirror a young girl growing up.

 * To start, how old does this girl look to you? Not very, right? Maybe twelve or thirteen. Miyamoto has mentioned that Link in this game is going to be older than the other Links. Probably not old enough to be a biological father of a girl twelve or thirteen years of age, but perhaps old enough to be a father figure. Now, think about what we know about the game so far. In the game, the Skyward Sword (which this girl is) becomes the Master Sword, possibly over time. This troper's theory is that Sword Girl, over the course of the game, becomes more powerful and is capable of doing more things "on her own". Link, who becomes attached to Sword Girl in a paternal way, doesn't like this, as he realizes someday he will have to part with her (her "leaving the nest") so that she can become a grand weapon for future heroes. However, he eventually realizes he has to let his little girl grow up and gives her up at the end. Which, by the way, will be the most painfully sweet thing you will ever see.

Musings about the white haired figure in the trailer.
. "The eye-marks resemble those worn by the Shiekah (reference pic: Ocarina of Time's Impa) and Vaati. Come to think of it, Agitha also has similar marks. Possible Shiekah blood could be debunked by the lack of red eyes, but he/she could have some ties to them. Possible connection to Vaati is unproven, but given the game's titiluar item and the revealed location, connection to the Wind Mage himself or the Wind Tribe would not be surprising. Connection to the butterfly girl would be a complete surprise.

The cloak as a whole looks unusual, though it reminds me a little of Rauru. However, the pattern has more of a jester feel to it.

He looks like he's wearing long gloves, similar to the ones Zelda and other royalty are often is seen wearing excluding Ganondorf. Even "Princess" Agitha wore somewhat similar gloves.

The white hair makes me think of either old person, Vaati, or Ocarina!Impa.

The lips are a bit too pronounced. Perhaps covered in lipstick?

Villainous hints: The thing he's sitting on attacks you in another shot and the way his eyes look."

White Haired Guy is Alternate Dimension Dimentio.
Come on! The jester-ish outfit, the way the eyes look, the fact he vanishes like that...Totally an Alternate of Dimentio.

Alternately, White Haired Guy is Alternate Dimension Kefka.
He just doesn't have as much makeup on.

Alternately alternately, White haired guy is the finalized and original version of the Skyward Sword.
Well, did say that the sword design in the concept art didn't mach the final version and was a place holder, and that the sword was not necessarily a female. And when I say original, all I mean is that the sword we see in the trailer is a biginners sword that Link loses quickly in favor of the Skyward Sword. Then the White Haired guy, aka the Skyward Sword, becomes the master sword and takes on the appearence in the concept art. Wheter this means that the previously assumed tearjerker moment the transformation was going to be turns out to be a narmish magical transvestite operation or not is irrelevant, since Nintedo has done that one to death already in the Mario series.

Why do I believe this? three reasons: 1.He transports in the same fasion Midna did in Twilight Princess, and a male version of Midna would be amazing. 2.Literally everyone has assumed that WHG is a villain in this trailer due to the fact that he was sitting on top of a monster "before" it started attacking Link. But do we really know that? It's certainly implied, but the Zelda team has a nasty habit of implying things that aren't true. For all we know, that clip was taken out of context after the fight ended, or possible the fight was a secret test of charecter from the Skyward Sword to see if Link was worthy of the challenge of being a hero. 3.That would be f*cking hilarious. I know Zelda is mostly meant to be a serious series, but the few bits of humor in it don't hurt the experience at all. And let's be honest here, making the possibly gay mystical version of the Situation the main sidekick of a Zelda game would make the game worth playing no matter what the graphics look like or how weird the controls are.

The Zelda in this game, if any, is either related to Link or the same Zelda from the second game
It's unknown that game she came from, and she appears to know (a) Link. The Japanese manual has her as the "first Zelda", which she technically is.

The Skyward Sword will be, or at least start out as, and Emotionless Girl.
Her official art makes it look like she fits the part.
 * As does her dialogue upon finding the upgraded beetle in the E3 demo ("Scanning...").
 * Confirmed.

Zelda won't be called Zelda
The name "Zelda: wasn't a tradition until the princess in the second game fell into her slumber.
 * Alternately, this Zelda is the one Link saved in the second game--they implied that a very, very long time had passed between her being cursed and the second game, after all.
 * If this is true, it follows that Zelda being placed into the cursed sleep will be part of the plot.
 * Jossed. She's referred to as Zelda in one of the demos.

This game will be much more difficult than Twilight Princess.
The difficulty level of the previous console Zelda game was quite low, compounded by what seemed to be endless amounts of easily accessible healing items and enemies doing next-to-no damage.

Skyward Sword, however, will be a huge surprise to those expecting an easy time. Enemies will actually be a threat and able to kill you quickly if unprepared (much like the very first Zelda game), you will only be able to hold two bottles or so, and full-restoring potions will be rare and limited in number.

Puzzles that guard key items and bosses would be cranked Up to Eleven, and as a consolation Super Guide would be added in. In the case of puzzles, at any time you could quit and choose to activate Super Guide, in which the puzzle would be automatically solved (you would not see how) and give you access to the item. However, any items obtained this way would be clearly marked as being received with help, and many optional areas in the game requiring the use of that item would be inaccessible. You'd need the real version of the item to access them, by going back and solving the puzzle on your own.

For bosses, Super Guide will only be accessible if you have died a certain number of times. Letting the computer defeat the boss will allow you to progress further on in the game, but if you have even one Super-Guided boss the game will end prematurely after what seems to be the definite final boss, and present you with an ending complete with credits. You'll be given a hint by the game itself that something will happen if you beat all the bosses yourself, though.

Thus, The Very Definitely Final Dungeon is accessed by beating all of the bosses yourself. If you Super-Guided any and decide to go back to beat them, your health and inventory is temporarily reduced to what you had at the time you first came across said boss. In addition to this, in order to get past the first few rooms of the final dungeon at all, you can't have any Super-Guided items and will have to go back and redo said puzzles. The boss of the final dungeon will be revealed to be none other than Ganon, who is responsible for everything that happened in the game. After beating him (no Super Guide available for him), you get the true ending.
 * Perfectly fine until the Hijacked By Ganon ending. Ugh.
 * If the higher difficulty of Spirit Tracks was any indication, then this may very well happen. Minus the Hijacked By Ganon part.
 * If not Ganon, then the boss would be a souped-up version of the 'final' boss that moves and attacks faster, does more damage, is much larger, and looks completely and utterly deranged.
 * The part about the increased difficulty might be partly-confirmed. Reports from E3 2011 suggest that the game is all about precision, and the whole world is practically one giant dungeon. Even individual Mooks have their own puzzles you have to figure out via precise swordplay.
 * And SS will also be the first Zelda game to feature not three, but SIX hearts for starting off. Now, Nintendo wouldn't do something like that without a reason; they could be coddling the players, or we might actually need them...Uh-oh.

One of the main features will be on reversing things, call backs, and things to come.

 * 1, The first call back is in the first trailer, with all of the previous Zelda games. This game is sorta a combo of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, while having potential for a call back to Majora's Mask and OoT.
 * 2, There was the reversed Zelda's Lullaby in the second trailer, and we're descending from the sky, rather than going up to the sky, which you did in Twilight Princess. Maybe if there is time involved at some point, going back in time to reverse the bad things could happen too.
 * 3, This is obviously before OoT, thanks to Word of God, but I think the main villain will be a new one, or Link's dark side. If it's Link's dark side, It could be the Fierce Deity, or what would become Majora. Hell, it could be BEN for all we know.

The white-haired guy is Vaati.
The last time we saw Vaati, he was also a white-haired human(oid) with pale skin and dark clothes. The guy in the GDC trailer looks almost exactly like MC Vaati, just with more years and less clothes. Plus, this game deals with the sky, and Vaati is a wind mage...
 * Possibly jossed - his name is Demon Lord Ghirahim. On the other hand, he still does appear to have some connection to wind.
 * Ghirahim may be Vaati's alter-ego the way Agahnim was for Ganon in A Link to The Past. More plausibly, Ghirahim is attempting to awaken his "master"...and Vaati has to get from apparently dead to sealed in the Four Sword somehow.

The clothes the Hero of Time wears as an adult actually belong to this Link.
In Ocarina of Time, when Link wakes upas an adult, he finds that he's been given new (adult-sized) clothes that still have a Kokiri style, with no explanation whatsoever. In the E3 2011 trailer, a man with a striking resemblance to Rauru (the Sage of Light in Oot) can be seen...giving SS! Link his trademark green clothes.
 * Alternatively, the clothes that Ocarina Link wears are just bigger versions of the Kokiri clothes he's used to, and the clothes that SS Link wears later become the Hero's Clothes in Twilight Princess. They are identical, down to the embroidery on the tunic and the chainmail.
 * It says in the manual for OoT that the Kokiri tunic is "One Size Fits All". Clothes changing would be pointless, he just got bigger in his One Size Fits All tunic.
 * That outfit (at least in Skyward Sword) is supposed to be the Skyloft Knight academy outfit in Link's year's color. For example, you meet a character who is stated to have graduated last year, with the same outfit...but in yellow.

The Big Bad will be Ganondorf's father
So we've confirmed that the game is a prequel. And by pattern, games with the Master Sword are usually Hijacked by Ganon. So, the Big Bad of the game will be Ganondorf's father. Since the Gerudo can only birth boys once every hundred years, his father will probably be really old or have some magic to keep him looking young. He wants the power of the Triforce, and the only thing that can stop him is the Master Sword. So the Skyward Sword has to turn into the Master Sword. And to keep with legends, he will be Ganon. By the end of the game, after Link defeats him, he seals his power into his son who vows to avenge his father by obtaining the power of the Triforce and taking over Hyrule

Where's Ghirahim in this? He's actually second in command
 * Semi-Jossed. While Giraham is the Dragon, his master is

The Birds from Skyloft are the origin of the Hylian Shield's design
Self-explanatory.

This game will explain the origins of the Royal Family
From what we can tell from the trailers and demos, Zelda is not yet a princess. However, she does appear to have some sacred power that Ghirahim is rather intent on getting (he refers to her as 'her Holiness'). Perhaps it's the Light Force, such as in Minish Cap, perhaps it's the Triforce.

Although Zelda does not appear to be a princess, she does appear to have some status - things like the hip cloth having the future Royal Family crest on it (it also appears on the belt of the Rauru-looking guy) - it's a symbol of Skyloft now, but maybe it becomes a symbol of the Royal Family later on. Royals have often been attributed to having powers or a connection to deities (just look at Egypt!), so maybe this Zelda's power is what elevates her to royal status.

That 'loathsome servant of the goddess' who rescues Zelda is a Sheikah
The game is pre-Ocarina, so it's entirely possible that they're around. And while we're establishing things left, right, and center, an explanation for how the Sheikah came to serve the Royal Family wouldn't be out of place. Who better to protect future royalty than a Sheikah? Perhaps they even come from the surface, but as a breakaway sect - it could explain the shadow affinity.

Hell, it may even be Sheik - an original Sheikah from this time period who later becomes the disguise of Ocarina Zelda. We've already seen that lyre as an item Link can equip - perhaps he (since Sheik is referred to as 'he' in Ocarina, even if the person we're actually seeing is Zelda - that indicates that the persona of Sheik is male, at least) gives Link the lyre as a way to stay in contact with him.


 * Or not - Zelda is seen holding the lyre. Oh well, it was a nice theory - and the servant still could be a Sheikah.
 * Confirmed.

Zelda will be put to sleep at the end of the game
Remember Zelda 2?
 * In other words, this Zelda just isn't any Zelda in the series. She's THE Zelda, the one the Legend is named after...which means the game will have a serious Bittersweet Ending...
 * Except, for this to happen, this Zelda will have to have a brother who is poised to become King of Hyrule after his Father who was *already* King of Hyrule. Because the former King telling Zelda about the full info regarding the triforce - but her not telling her brother what the king told her, and the prince only being able to gain part of it - is what caused her brother to ally himself with the evil wizard who cast the sleeping spell on Zelda in the first place. Not only does this Zelda not appear to be a princess just yet, but Hyrule has already been confirmed to be the land below Skyloft - the place she and this Link both live - that hasn't been really settled yet and is overrun by monsters. So not only would Hyrule have to be settled by the Skyloft Hylians for this to happen, but then Zelda's family would have to be established as the royal family - with her father made King - before the sleeping princess thing could even *begin* to get set up. (Plus, as noted below, Zelda's clothes don't have the triforce symbol on them - just the bird part of the royal crest - meaning knowledge of the triforce is probably very limited at this point).

This game takes place before Twilight Princess in the timeline.
Before Link obtains the Hero's Clothes, he wears clothes that look very similar to the outfit he wore in Twilight Princess, before getting his traditional outfit. Proof is in the E3 2011 trailer.
 * Um...hate to burst your bubble, but...duh. Miyamoto himself already confirmed that Skyward Sword takes place before OoT, let alone TP.

The Triforce does not exist yet at the start of the game.
Look at Zelda's outfit. It has the crest of the Hyrulean Royal Family on it. However, the head of the "bird" on the crest isn't the Triforce yet.
 * Or, it probably does exist, it's just not known about - at least among the people of Skyloft. Because the triforce was said to have been created when the three goddesses created Hyrule, and Hyrule does exist in the game - it's the land below Skyloft.
 * Jossed:

Ganondorf and Vaati are not going to be in the game; even if they are, they won't have significant roles/hijack the plot.
While it is true that the series has a habit of going back further and further (A Link to The Past was thought to be the first game in the series by many when it came out, then Ocarina of Time, and now Skyward Sword), it doesn't make much sense for either to be in this game, and for similar reasons.

This is simply because, as SS is either the first in the timeline or close to it, either villain is simply not important because they haven't become evil yet. Ganondorf is only important starting from Ocarina of Time because that is the origin of how he became Ganon. We don't know just how much time passes between OoT and SS, but given how the master sword is already legendary and hyrule is a relatively well-established nation in OoT, it would be a while. Ganondorf probably isn't even BORN yet.

With Vaati it's even more unlikely because he is the villain of the FOUR SWORD series. It doesn't make sense to have him in a game that is *all about* the origin of the MASTER Sword. If this game is before Minish Cap, he isn't even an evil wizard yet (and thusly, not of relevance).

Ghirahim is a sword-person like Fi.
More specifically, he's the Evil Counterpart to the Skyward Sword, created by some race (Gerudo? Dark Interlopers?) to harness the power of the Triforce rather than seal it away like the SS is supposed to. He's got a red cape, with a white body and a red jewel on his hip. Seem familiar?
 * Considering how everyone's reaction to him at first was "Gilded Sword from Majora's Mask", I think this has merit.
 * The Gilded Sword was, in essence, just an upgraded Kokiri Sword. That said, there is a resemblance and Ghirahim could still be a sword-person. If there's one, why not more?
 * Note that Ghirahim's cape has three points to it, maybe he's not a sword-person but a trident-person. The red gem on his belt is also similar to the one on the trident used by Phantom Ganon and Four Swords Adventures Ganon.

Ghirahim is an ancestor of Zant, and by proxy a Dark Interloper.
Both are sorcerers, both use Villain Teleportation liberally, both get really unhinged and crazy when angry, and both are Memetic Molesters. Also, access to the Triforce seems like a pretty good reason for Ghirahim to seek out Zelda, considering how she is usually connected to it.
 * By extension, this game will be based on the backstory of Twilight Princess, and any of the following could happen:
 * The Light Spirits will be involved (the game does involve something very similar to collecting the Tears of Light).
 * As per a WMG below, Dark Link will make an appearance (given his prominence in Lanayru's story).
 * The origins of the Fused Shadows and the Mirror of Twilight will be explained.
 * The final battle against Ghirahim will involve him using the Fused Shadows.
 * The game will end with Ghirahim and his followers sealed in the Twilight Realm.
 * Possible supporting evidence:
 * The game is set far enough in the past to make the dating plausible.
 * The developers stated that Midna could make another appearance if fans really wanted it.
 * Most importantly, Midna told Zant to remember how the Twili's ancestors "lost their king to such madness."

The Goddesses will choose three "champions" to save Hyrule, giving each a piece of the Triforce.
These champions are of course, Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf. However, they didn't expect a few of Ganondorf's future incarnations to turn evil...

Ghirahim has a thing for Link.
And it gets creepier (with his actions more reminiscent of rape) the further the game goes along.

Ghirahim is the true Big Bad of the series.
He's a powerful wizard. He was born before Ganondorf. He even calls himself a Demon Lord. It certainly seems possible that he gave Ganondorf his power, or at least his inspiration.

The islands in the sky are in fact the islands from the Wind Waker.
Just compare the Skyloft island where Link lives, and the layout looks very similar to Windfall Island. It also stands to reason that the gods flooded Hyrule because they knew civilization could find and take refuge on the islands that were always there.
 * That's an awfully large height for water to get to....
 * Two Words: Colony Drop.

The flying in this game got it's inception with the flying in Twilight Princess.
When Nintendo was working on the flying minigame parts of TP, they probably got the idea that "hey, why don't we make this the main mode of transportation in the same manner as the horse and boat?" Thus, they took notes from how the flying worked in that game and how it worked in Wii Sports Resort and came up with the flying in Skyward Sword.

A central theme of the game will be reversal
There appears to be a bit of reversing going on with traditional elements of the series. Given how heavily the series relies on Leitmotif, I doubt this is unintentional. Some evidence:


 * The reverse Zelda's Lullaby heard in the trailers, obviously. However, remember that Midna's theme was also Zelda's Lullaby backwards.
 * Ghirahim's body is mostly white with blue highlights, which is the inverse of Midna's design that was mostly black with firey orange highlights.
 * Additionally, Ghirahim wields a black sword, while Ganondorf was struck and then wielded a white Hard Light sword in Twilight Princess.
 * The creature that swallows Zelda is black with white design lines. The Wind Fish and Ocean King were white with dark design lines.
 * You enter a Dark World at times, though admittedly this is nothing new to the series.
 * In Twilight Princess, you were in Hyrule first and visited a city in the sky last. Here, you start in a sky town first then visit Hyrule later.

To extrapolate, I'd say an event will occur around the end of the game that will "reverse" everything and make things different for the characters, but make perfect sense to long time players of the series.
 * The general theory sounds like it could work. But since when was Midna's theme Zelda's Lullaby backwards? It sounds more like Saria's Song in a minor chord.
 * Midna is Zelda's Twilight counterpart, so her theme is Zelda's Lullaby's six basic notes in reverse. Much like how the Song of Healing is the six notes of Saria's Song in reverse. Try it out on the Ocarina in OoT or MM if you don't believe me.
 * I just did. It sounds SIMILAR, but Midna's theme is closer to a Bflat-G-D rather than Zelda's D-F-Bflat. It's either a coincidence, or an intended tweak, however, since Skyward Sword's theme was MUCH MORE CLEARLY Zelda's Lullaby backwards, I think Midna's theme would've been more clearly Zelda's theme backwards if it were intended.

Ganondorf, or an Identical Grandfather, will be a major player in the plot
The world below Skyloft is supposed to be a dark, war-torn place. This is similar to the back-story in Ocarina of Time, and civil war may have gone on for a long time before then. Ganondorf will lead his faction of Gerudo against the other races of Hyrule, and he may be set up to be the mastermind behind the events of the game. However, the Big Bad (possibly the proto-Twili) will eventually reveal himself, forcing an uneasy alliance between Ganondorf, Link, and other faction leaders. Together they will fight a bigger threat to them all, but Ganondorf will insist that while he and the Big Bad are after the same thing, he recognizes that the world will be much worse off if the interlopers were to win.

In-universe, Ghirahim was the inspiration for Agahnim
Based off nothing more than the similarities of their names.

Ghirahim is half-Sheikah and half-Gerudo.
Ghirahim has one pointed ear (like the Sheikah/Hylian races) and one normal ear (like the Gerudo/Human races). Ghirahim's hair is white/silver which is likely a characteristic of the Sheikah race, making him unlikely to be of Hylian descent. It is claimed that the Sheikah were extremely skilled in magic and combat. Instead of having red eyes like a Sheikah though he has the dark eyes and eye shape of the Gerudos. Humans were obscure during the time of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask and didn't begin to be more prevalent until the time of the original Zelda game, Zelda II, and Twilight Princess. It has been stated Skyward Sword takes place before Ocarina of Time, so Ghirahim's normal ear is unlikely to be caused from being a human mix.

Ghirahim is Ganon's father.
Basing this on the above theory, but why the hell not? Plus, it'd be a nice way to slip in a pseudo-Hijacked By Ganon.

This Zelda is the Ao L one.
How the coma thing happens, I don't know.
 * Probably Jossed, as a (very) recent interview stated that Zelda is not a princess in Skyward Sword.
 * If this game covers the royal family's rise to power then she could potentially become a princess two thirds of the way through and have the spell cast on her at the end. There is already an evil wizard who needs her for some unknown purpose. Admittedly, the Zelda II backstory does make it sound like she was a princess all her life, but any discrepancies could be explained away by the legend changing as it is passed down (Skyward Sword is the first game, Zelda II is one of the last so there's been plenty of time). It wouldn't be the first time that a backstory had been retconned by a later game - Ocarina of Time took elements from the backstory of A Link to the Past, but changed details such as replacing the Knights of Hyrule with just Link and changing the sex and species of many of the seven wise men/ sages.
 * Doesn't this mean she needs to either already have children to continue the new royal line or get pregnant while in the magical sleep?
 * Nope, there's always her brother.
 * I don't think someone founding a royal dynasty from scratch makes their siblings eligible, since said siblings don't actually have descent from the dynastic founder in non-severely-inbred families...
 * It could be that her father becomes king, which would also explain why she becomes a princess rather than a queen.

The original Sages of Earth and Wind will make an appearance.

 * The Master Sword's power to banish evil is supplied by the prayers of the Sages of Earth and Wind. Because the Skyward Sword becomes the Master Sword, the two Sages must have a role in the transformation somewhere.

This game will be the result of Ganondorf's attempt to alter time.

 * After breaking free from his sealing for the umpteenth time, he finds himself in the far past long before the events of Ocarina of Time, and thus is behind all the events of the entire game but will only be revealed as so near the end. He ultimately fails, of course, and his actions ironically lead to the creation of Hyrule, the Master Sword, and the legends and bloodlines of Zelda and Link, all of which he set out to destroy so he could claim the entire Triforce for himself and have nobody to ever stand against him. Ganondorf will be ultimately responsible for his own failures and downfall long before he was even born.

The village elder is Rauru, Sage of Light from Ocarina of Time
In Oo T, Rauru claims to have been involved in the creation of the Temple of Time to protect the Master Sword, which presumably happens during or shortly after the events of this game. The trailers have shown a very similar-looking old man who appears to be the elder of the village.
 * Jossed? Maybe? Sorta? The character's name, it turns out, is "Gaepora", which invokes images of a somewhat repetitious owl...but then, another WMG is that Rauru and Kaepora are the same entity, sooo...

There will be an in-universe explaination as to why the future incarnations of Link are left-handed.
At some point, SS Link will be prevented from wielding the Skyward Sword/Master Sword with his right hand. Thus, future Links have to wield it with their left hands as a way to exploit a loophole.
 * Why? Twilight Princess on the Wii had Link be right-handed, and several of the handheld games had him be ambidextrous.
 * However, Skyward Sword is the ONLY Zelda game where the OFFICIAL ART (and, by implication, official canon) depicts Link to be right-handed (the only other exception is the art for the first game, where he held his sword with both his left and right hand, depending on the artist, but that can be chalked up to Early Installment Weirdness).

This game will be the origin of Shadow Link
When it becomes clear that Link is a genuine thorn in Ghirahim's side, he'll call upon his dark magics to create an evil copy with all the strengths and abilities of the original. Perhaps in this game's version of the Water Temple, where he was met in Ocarina of Time.

Fi is Fee
FEEE!

There will be a HUGE battle at Eldin Volcano
Something really noteworthy has to happen there, since that place is called Death Mountain later in the series. Also, wasn't Death Mountain the original base of Ganon???
 * Volvagia, perhaps?
 * There is a rather Volvagia-like tail in the lava during this trailer.

The City in the Sky was Foreshadowing the introduction of Skyloft, and the Oocca will make a cameo
I mean, come on. Same basic Floating Continent theme, seems to be in ruins(presumably from Ghirahim's invasion), and no signs of Hylian life beyond the Oocca and the normal dungeon enemies, besides Link of course. It doesn't seem like the Oocca built the city by themselves, but rather were once built by Hylians and the Oocca together prior to the formation of the kingdom, and the Hylians fled when Ghirahim's forces attacked. The Oocca were the only ones remaining, and soon made the ruins their home.

Ghirahim is arming for war
A war with another demon king trying to get his territory, he's planning to extract Zelda's holiness to convert it into a weapon, because his own dark powers aren't enough. Unfortunately her holiness is extracted but Fi becomes the bearer and the invading demon is the final boss.

Gaepora has a son named Rauru.
This fits both the Zelda II backstory (Zelda has a brother) and the fact that Gaepora looks like Rauru...though it runs contrary to the theory that Kaepora Gaebora (presuming he's Gaepora) and Rauru are the same person.
 * Or Kaepora is actually Gaepora's first name and Rauru's last name is Gaepora.

This Link is the Fierce Deity
Considering that the Masks Change you into a Physical Copy of whoever they were in life, it wouldn't be impossible. But considering that the mask has massive DARK powers leads to an oddity since Fi seems like she would be more light attuned. But if Ghirahim is in fact a sword person like Fi, as some seem to be guessing well....next to/Final boss of the game is Link, being controlled by Ghirahim, while Zelda and/or Fi fight Him and separate the two.

Demon Lord Ghirahim & Fi will merge to create the Master Sword
This theory is looking more and more convincing by the second. We know that Ghirahim is attempting to resurrect his "master". Therefore, Ghirahim is not the main antagonist. It's also been said that Ghirahim will undergo a "change in character" sometime within the game.

Fi and Ghirahim are quite similar, appearance-wise, and there have been some other hints suggesting that they have an even closer relationship. And it's been practically confirmed that Fi, the Goddess Sword, will soon become the Master Sword itself. So what if the catalyst is Ghirahim himself? What if Ghirahim is another "Sword-Person"? What if he pulls off a Heel Face Turn, and decides to lend his considerable powers to Link by merging as one with Fi to create the Master Sword?

Ghirahim is not the final boss, but he is most definitely a major character. Otherwise he would not be appearing side by side with Fi on the [[http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110927221531/zelda/images/9/96/The_Legend_of_Zelda_-_Skyward_Sword_

The Happy Mask Salesman is one of the old Demon Lords
There's a figure directly to the left of the demon leader in the prologue that looks suspiciously similar to the Mask Salesman. Explains his creepy nature, his immunity to time, his desire to retrieve Majora's Mask, which may very well have been his leader and his subsequent disappearance afterwards.
 * It's also worth noting that the demon lord to the left of said silhouette appears to be wearing a mask.
 * And Chancellor Cole is his descendant.

Most of the other members of the Knight's Academy (e.g. Groose and the others) will wind up dead by the end of the game.
In A Link to The Past, the backstory states that many of the Knights of Hyrule sacrificed their lives to defend the Triforce from evil monsters as it was being sealed within the Sacred Realm. So it appears likely that many of the Loftwing riders will die giving Link, Zelda, and Fi a chance to lock away the Triforce to keep the villains from taking it.

Groose becomes Ganondorf or starts the Gerudo tribe.
Redheaded big guy who hates Link? He'll probably end up in a desert at the end.
 * The first part is Jossed. He gets over it.

Midna, or one of her ancestors will appear
In the latest trailer, a quick shot near the end was devoted to...a mirror. That was being held by some statue. I haven't been able to compare yet, but it at least reminded me of the Twilight Mirror. At some point, Link will visit the Twilight Realm and meet with Midna or her ancestors. This is why Midna trusts Link to help her in Twilight Princess (aside from the Wolf thing). She already had met someone who looked alot like him!

Dark Link will appear in this game.
Hopefully as a boss fight, given the controls.

Ghirahim is trying to revive his master...but he wants his power.
His main motivation is to resurrect his master, but instead of wanting to continue to serve him, he'll try to usurp his master's power.

Zelda's actions will be the reason why all incarnations of Link and Zelda are destined to meet.
Since this is a prequel, and that her name IS in the title...she will have some outcome on the rest of the series. It is the Legend of ZELDA, after all.

There will be a focus on sidequests that rivals The Legend of Zelda Majoras Mask, yet will have a very long main game.
It's been stated that this will be one of the longest Zelda games. With all the collectibles, there must be a bunch of sidequests as well.

Link and Zelda will kiss.
There may be some romance between Link and Zelda.

The homeland of the Gerudo used to be quite luscious.
The desert in this game is shown to have some grounded ships, as if there were once a sea there. Furthermore, Link can switch certain patches of the desert so that they become lush with vegetation, though this effect is only temporary. It's possible that this desert was once a coastal grassland not terribly different from Hyrule Field. This would add an extra dose of bitterness for the Gerudo, and Ganondorf in particular, because the peace and beauty of Hyrule that they envied so much were things that they used to have long ago.
 * It has been confirmed that hundreds of years ago, Lanayru Desert was inhabited by a civilization that pioneered in building robots. Eventually, they used up all their resources and the sea dried up, causing the civilization to collapse and creating the desert. When you get there, the desert is largely uninhabited, only the robots remaining. No word on anyone else living there, though if anything, the Gerudo arrived either probably during or after the events of the game.

At least one nonhuman will resent humanity.
OK, so during the intro, it explains that the Goddess created Skyloft so that the humans would be safe during the war with the demons. This left the other races to fight off demons for an unknown amount of time, and they were eventually left in a Hyrule ruled by Ghirahim while the humans lived happy lives above the clouds. That's a pretty good reason for resentment to pile up.

Humanity was brought to the verge of extinction before the creation of Skyloft.
Which is why the Goddess chose to send them into the skies instead of the other races. Their numbers were too few to risk losing them in battle.
 * Not exactly, as shown by

The Zelda in this game IS a princess; she just doesn't know it. She was raised as a commoner and doesn't know about her royal blood.
And by the end of the game, we'll find out she is heir to the land below (Hyrule). There'll be some big scene where the servant of the goddess tells Zelda about her true origins. Maybe her father (or possibly foster father?) took her away from Hyrule to Skyloft to protect her from those who would seek her holiness for evil (like Ghirahim). I don't know, something like that. It would make a wonderful twist!

== The status as a prequel refers only to the physical timeline. However, for Link, specifically the Hero of Time, it takes place after he leaves Termina in MM, and the game is actuallly the third in the Oo T, MM, SS trilogy ==

Vaati will be the villain.
Since the game is a prequel to Ocarina of Time, we know that Ganondorf cannot be the villain. Also, since the sky is an important part of the plot and gameplay, having a wind mage as the main villain would make sense.
 * There was an article written a while back about how the following elements from the The Legend of Zelda Four Swords backstory were left unexplained:
 * Vaati is supposedly known as a Wind Mage, but is never referred to as such during The Minish Cap.
 * Vaati was also famous for kidnapping numerous maidens. The only kidnapping he performed in The Minish Cap was when he abducted Zelda upon realizing she held the Light Force.
 * In addition, how Vaati wound up sealed in the Four Sword (he appears to simply die at the end of The Minish Cap) and acquired the Palace of Winds is not explained, despite him referring to it as "my Palace of Winds" in The Legend of Zelda Four Swords. In The Minish Cap, however, there is a Palace of Winds, except it is guarded by the Wind Tribe living above the clouds. Now, the Wind Tribe and the Palace of Winds could well be involved with Skyloft in the next game, and kidnapping maidens would be a good excuse to have Link perform his usual dungeon-crawling. Plus, Vaati needs a 3D appearance after all this time.
 * Recent interviews have stated explicitly Ganon(dorf) isn't present, but remained vague when asked a question about Vaati. Hmm...
 * The Legend of Zelda Four Swords, the game Vaati debuted in, will be available for free on the 3DS eShop this September. Perhaps a way of introducing Vaati to new players before Skyward Sword is released...?
 * One recent press release revealed the possibility of Ganondorf appearing in the game after all, but not as main villain. Instead the game might explain Ganondorf's origins and his Start of Darkness. Now, remember how in Wind Waker Ganondorf was jealous of Hyrule's gentle winds? That in his homeland, the winds only meant death and despair? Vaati is the evil Wind Mage. He causes death and despair with his wind powers. This could make it even more likely that Vaati will be the main villain, as well as the one who (indirectly) made Ganondorf what he is today.
 * Jossed,.

The Dark Interlopers (aka the proto-Twili) will be the villains.
As the backstory of Ocarina of Time told, the Master Sword was set in the Pedestal of Time as the final key to opening the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce was hidden. We also know that this game deals with the origins of the Master Sword, aka the Skyward Sword, so the Blade of Evil's Bane cannot be used for this function just yet.

Now, we know from Twilight Princess that the Twili were descendants of a tribe of sorcerers who attempted to take the Triforce for themselves. But in Ocarina Of Time, the Great Deku Tree, Zelda, and Ganondorf are the few who actually have a clue where the Triforce rests. So by that time in the chronology, the knowledge of the Triforce must have been forgotten by the vast majority of the people of Hyrule on account of them having never seen it. Therefore, there must have been a time before the Triforce was sealed away when the proto-Twili would have been able to obtain in-depth knowledge of the Golden Power. Skyward Sword could very well be the story of how the proto-Twili were foiled in their efforts, how they were banished to the Twilight Realm as punishment, and how the Master Sword was first used to seal the Triforce away from those who would use it for evil purposes.

Ganondorf will be the villain.
The Master Sword will play a vital role to the story, and it has never appeared in a game that Ganon wasn't in.
 * A Link to the Past: The Master Sword is needed to defeat Agahnim, who is later revealed to be Ganon in disguise.
 * Ocarina of Time: The backgrounds of the Master Sword and Ganon are explored. This game marks the first appearance of the human (okay, Gerudo) Ganondorf.
 * Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons: Ganon is the final boss of a linked game. The Master Sword is only obtainable during a linked game.
 * The Wind Waker: The Master Sword's power needs to be restored for it to even be able to hurt Ganondorf.
 * Twilight Princess: The Master Sword is a forgotten relic that must be retrieved to break the curse Zant placed on Link. Ganondorf is revealed to be in the story one dungeon later.

If the pattern continues, the Skyward Sword will not be powerful enough to defeat Ganondorf, and will need to become the Master Sword. In fact, if the Master Sword is being created, then this game is almost guaranteed to be Ganondorf's Start of Darkness!
 * Jossed somewhat: A recent Interview states that Ganon will not appear in this game.

Skyward Sword will possibly detail the fall of the Gerudo tribe and their exile to the desert.
It has already been speculated that Skyward Sword will take place before Ocarina of Time due to the fact that the titular sword transforms into the Master Sword at some point in the game and the fact that Link is born on a floating island called Skyloft and will descend to the land below.

With the exception of Link (who can unknowingly charm every woman ever), the Gerudo tribe is shown to be highly distrustful of Hyrulean culture and society, indicating a great level of detachment from the Hylian way. During Ganondorf's Alas Poor Villain moment in Wind Waker, he's given a Freudian Excuse that actually gives his trecherous deeds a slightly more altruistic motive: Gerudo Desert was nothing more than a harsh, barren wasteland and Ganondorf coveted the gentle winds of Hyrule.

If said "prequel" theory is indeed correct, Skyward Sword could depict how the Gerudo ended up in their current predicament. Perhaps they're the "evil forces" plaguing Hyrule. A falling-out with the other Hylians, maybe? If the pieces fall in place we might even see a young and bitter Ganondorf. Who knows? But given how Aonuma has been throwing in nods to affirm the whole "split timeline" theory, I wouldn't doubt him addressing a plot element like this.
 * Jossed. The Gerudo tribe does not appear in the game at all. In fact, almost no humans appear in Hyrule, instead living on Skyloft and other floating islands.

Link will gain the power of flight, via the Master Sword.
Well, duh. It's a bit of an obvious guess, but don't let that stop you.
 * As a corollary to this, it's possible that the Master Sword's winglike crossguard will morph into wings while still sheathed. That way, Link himself would technically have wings himself, and Motionplus will still only be used for the sword itself.
 * Jossed. Link rides an awesome bird.

There will be a powerful musical instrument again, and it will be a woodwind instrument.
This is to keep up with the trend of Zelda having musical instruments that look vaguely like controllers. Since the Wii Remote with Motion Plus looks like a rod, I'm willing to bet it'll be a flute, a clarinet, or a saxophone. And it will have "sky" in the name, because all Zelda musical instruments have title drops. Or the sword may function as a conductor's baton, but, since they already did that with Wind Waker, probably not.
 * The GDC trailer showed the ^ d-pad assigned to a harp, similar to the one Shiek used in Ocarina of Time.
 * The harp also has very little use in normal gameplay. Its main purpose is to be played at certain plot-important locations to reveal the way forward.

The Sheikah will play a role in this game.
This game takes place before Ocarina of Time, so this is their chance to show us what the Sheikah were like before going near extinct.
 * The afore-mentioned villain-like character looks like a Sheikah.
 * Partially confirmed. Impa makes an appearance as Zelda's protector and provides exposition.

Ganon will be the villain, but with a special twist on the typical Start of Darkness.
A version of Ganon from the very, very distant future (nothing specific, as we don't really want an end to the Zelda timeline) goes back in time to when the Master Sword was created, and before the Triforce was fully sealed in the Sacred Realm. That way, he can destroy the Master Sword before it can be a nuisance to him, and he can get the whole Triforce with minimal interferance.

In fact, while we're at it, maybe both Ganons can appear; that is, the one from the child timeline, and the one from the adult timeline. Then, near the end, when it looks like Link is going to defeat them both, they merge together (think Dracula and Death merging in Portrait of Ruin), turning into an unholy Eldritch Abomination that Link will have a hard time bringing down. But in the end, Link defeats Eldritch Ganon, banishing its crushed spirit to the netherworld, where it is eventually reincarnated into...the original Ganondorf.

Keep in mind that Nintendo has never shied away from time travel confusion before in regards to this franchise, so why stop here?
 * An interview says that Ganon won't be appearing in this game at all, so pretty much jossed. Not that this was likely anyway.

Ganondorf will be the Big Bad of the game, but no one knows who he is in Ocarina because...
Ganondorf hasn't appeared in a Zelda game since Twilight Princess. That's an absence of two games, the longest Ganon has gone without an appearance. There are various theories being batted around for why Ganondorf can't be the Big Bad because the game is a prequel to Ocarina of Time which was the first time anyone realized his true intentions. But what if no one knew he was evil in Ocarina because he was successful in Skyward Sword?

After the final fight against Ganondorf, Link and Zelda share an emotional farewell with the Spirit of the Sword (whatever her name turns out to be) and just as they're about to seal the Sacred Realm by plunging the Master Sword into the Pedestal of Time, Ganondorf comes back to life. He succeeds in killing Link and Zelda, and is about to take the Triforce for himself when the Spirit puts the Sword into the Pedestal, thereby locking the Sacred Realm, and sealing Ganondorf's soul away until someone who can destroy him forever is born. He is then released at the moment of the Hero of Time's birth. It's a Downer Ending for a Zelda game, but if done right, it could be quite touching and bittersweet.


 * Jossed by the fact that the Master Sword was ancient before Ganondorf was even born. Remember, Ocarina of Time was the first time he ever rose to power.

Ganondorf will appear in this game, but he will not be evil.
Instead, this Ganondorf will be benevolent, and help Link in his quest.
 * As a corollary, it will be his Start of Darkness, and will end with his jealousy of Hyrule's prosperity nearing the breaking point, and him beginning to Plan.
 * He may even fight alongside Link at some points and become a trusted friend just to add to the irony.
 * Jossed by Word of God.

This Game will detail all of the following:

 * The origins of the 3 Goddesses of Hyrule (it would be very interesting if they too were denizens of Skyloft before they attained their powers).
 * But Hyrule already exists, "the land below", right? Unless the land underneath (the?) Skyloft isn't yet the Hyrule that we know, and the Goddesses you mention go on to make it Hyrule.
 * How the magical artifacts like the Wind Waker, the Ocarina of Time, etc. were created.
 * How Hyrule came to be a united Kingdom of the different tribes.
 * Naturally, this all assumes that the game takes place VERY far in the past.

The game will be Hijacked By Ganon.

 * Just getting it out of the way.
 * Apparently Jossed, as a recent interview says he won't appear this time.

This game will contain intense amounts of Player Punch.

 * At the very least, it's almost guaranteed that the Skyward Sword will probably make some sort of Heroic Sacrifice, possibly in becoming the Master Sword.
 * Well, the Master Sword still exists in the future...but, well, it's never spoken in any of the games, so it's possible it gave up it's sentience. Personally this troper is hoping for a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming, with Link somehow finding out about his "future incarnations" and the sword vowing to look over every reincarnation of the Legendary Hero.

Link's starter village will have a windmill in it.
Think about it: It's in the sky, windmills show up in many Zelda games prominently (Windfall and Kakariko for example), there was a windmill on the floating terrance thing in the Feel Good Inc. video, which implies a Windmill can be useful for things in the sky (possibly for perpulsion or steering while in the air.) plus and old rumor stated that Link's hometown would be the biggest of any Zelda game in existance, so they may use a Windmill for electricity/grinding grains.
 * There are two windmills in Skyloft, but they do not seem to serve any purpose for the citizens of Skyloft.

Skyward Sword is NOT a prologue.
Instead, it is the next game after Twilight Princess. The only reason we all think that it's a prologue is because Miyamoto has said that the Skyward Sword becomes the Master Sword. But maybe Ganondorf (who will almost certainly be back) actually physically breaks the Master Sword and the Skyward Sword becomes the next Master Sword.
 * Jossed by Word of God, Eiji Anouma stated that both he and Miyamoto agreed this game came before Oot.
 * If Word of God isn't enough for you, then certain major spoilers will.

This game will yet again feature many varied characters fans will pair up with Link for little to no adequately explainable reason.
Because the fans totally didn't do that with Oot, WW and TP. These charecters will probably include:
 * The Zelda (Duh).
 * The Sidekick.
 * The Childhood Friend and/or the Farmgirl.
 * The Non-Human/Hylian/WhateverLinkIs in this game.
 * The one Chick that's too old for him but acts interested anyway.
 * That one, rarely mentioned male character that while holding some relevance to the plot shows no interest in Link, but the fangirls want it.
 * GHIRAHIM!!!
 * Hey, Pipit's pretty hot.
 * Demise.
 * ...Ganondorf?

Ganondorf becomes evil out of jealousy of this game's Link.
Ganondorf is a Gerudo, and the only male of his kind alive. Everyone around him is female. He's guaranteed to be very popular. Then Link comes along, and we all know what happens then. THINK ABOUT IT.
 * Partially Jossed. There is no Ganon in the game, but considering the Final Boss' last words...

The Scorpion boss seen in the trailer is Skyward Sword's version of Gohma.
Gohma is usually thought of as a spider, but her Ocarina of Time description just says "Arachnid" and her portrayal has been inconsistent. Sure, sometimes she's a spider (a bigass spider), but other times she's a crab, some sort of armoured centipede (which isn't an arachnid), and sometimes what she's supposed to be is completely unidentifiable. And regardless of her physical appearance, her theme is always eyes. The Scorpion is an arachnid, and the point is to swing your sword in the right direction to hit the eyes in its claws. Sounds like a Gohma battle to me.
 * Jossed. Its name is Moldarach, it's the adult version of tiny enemies called Arachas, and more than one appear in the game.

The only difference between the Skyward Sword and the Master Sword is the name.
Everyone speculates about what sort of miraculous change comes over the SS to make it the MS. Really, does it need one? The two swords are already identical plus it's already established that the swords share almost all concievable powers. So why doesn't Fii talk to us in any other games? She doesn't think it's urgent and just likes silently observing the world in sword form.
 * Probably not. The GDC trailer indicates that early in the game, the Sword has a noticeably smaller hilt and crossguard that is greenish, in contrast with the larger and more ornate blue hilt and crossguard unique to the Master Sword.
 * Confirmed. The Goddess Sword turns into the Master Sword after various events.

Entering Hyrule from Skyloft will be identical in execution to skydiving in Wii Sports Resort.
Only instead of jumping out of a plane, you jump off of Skyloft, and instead of linking up to people you're trying to Link up with "Steve" and trying to land in the right place. Your sword saves you from going splat each time.
 * A parachute I could understand. A magic spell like "Fairy" I could understand. But a sword preventing you from going splat?
 * The way I see it, it's not the fall that kills you. It's the ground. So I blocked it.
 * Partly confirmed: Skydiving over Pumpkin Landing (Sidequest Island) causes several multicolored creatures to link up with you, with the reward of 20 Rupees if you get all of them before they disperse and you have to land. However, nothing of the sort appears over Skyloft.

Link's relationship with Sword Girl will be that of a father and a daughter, and her becoming the Master Sword will mirror a young girl growing up.

 * To start, how old does this girl look to you? Not very, right? Maybe twelve or thirteen. Miyamoto has mentioned that Link in this game is going to be older than the other Links. Probably not old enough to be a biological father of a girl twelve or thirteen years of age, but perhaps old enough to be a father figure. Now, think about what we know about the game so far. In the game, the Skyward Sword (which this girl is) becomes the Master Sword, possibly over time. This troper's theory is that Sword Girl, over the course of the game, becomes more powerful and is capable of doing more things "on her own". Link, who becomes attached to Sword Girl in a paternal way, doesn't like this, as he realizes someday he will have to part with her (her "leaving the nest") so that she can become a grand weapon for future heroes. However, he eventually realizes he has to let his little girl grow up and gives her up at the end. Which, by the way, will be the most painfully sweet thing you will ever see.

Musings about the white haired figure in the trailer.
. "The eye-marks resemble those worn by the Shiekah (reference pic: Ocarina of Time's Impa) and Vaati. Come to think of it, Agitha also has similar marks. Possible Shiekah blood could be debunked by the lack of red eyes, but he/she could have some ties to them. Possible connection to Vaati is unproven, but given the game's titiluar item and the revealed location, connection to the Wind Mage himself or the Wind Tribe would not be surprising. Connection to the butterfly girl would be a complete surprise.

The cloak as a whole looks unusual, though it reminds me a little of Rauru. However, the pattern has more of a jester feel to it.

He looks like he's wearing long gloves, similar to the ones Zelda and other royalty are often is seen wearing excluding Ganondorf. Even "Princess" Agitha wore somewhat similar gloves.

The white hair makes me think of either old person, Vaati, or Ocarina!Impa.

The lips are a bit too pronounced. Perhaps covered in lipstick?

Villainous hints: The thing he's sitting on attacks you in another shot and the way his eyes look."

White Haired Guy is Alternate Dimension Dimentio.
Come on! The jester-ish outfit, the way the eyes look, the fact he vanishes like that...Totally an Alternate of Dimentio.

Alternately, White Haired Guy is Alternate Dimension Kefka.
He just doesn't have as much makeup on.

Alternately alternately, White haired guy is the finalized and original version of the Skyward Sword.
Well, did say that the sword design in the concept art didn't mach the final version and was a place holder, and that the sword was not necessarily a female. And when I say original, all I mean is that the sword we see in the trailer is a biginners sword that Link loses quickly in favor of the Skyward Sword. Then the White Haired guy, aka the Skyward Sword, becomes the master sword and takes on the appearence in the concept art. Wheter this means that the previously assumed tearjerker moment the transformation was going to be turns out to be a narmish magical transvestite operation or not is irrelevant, since Nintedo has done that one to death already in the Mario series.

Why do I believe this? three reasons: 1.He transports in the same fasion Midna did in Twilight Princess, and a male version of Midna would be amazing. 2.Literally everyone has assumed that WHG is a villain in this trailer due to the fact that he was sitting on top of a monster "before" it started attacking Link. But do we really know that? It's certainly implied, but the Zelda team has a nasty habit of implying things that aren't true. For all we know, that clip was taken out of context after the fight ended, or possible the fight was a secret test of charecter from the Skyward Sword to see if Link was worthy of the challenge of being a hero. 3.That would be f*cking hilarious. I know Zelda is mostly meant to be a serious series, but the few bits of humor in it don't hurt the experience at all. And let's be honest here, making the possibly gay mystical version of the Situation the main sidekick of a Zelda game would make the game worth playing no matter what the graphics look like or how weird the controls are.

The Zelda in this game, if any, is either related to Link or the same Zelda from the second game
It's unknown that game she came from, and she appears to know (a) Link. The Japanese manual has her as the "first Zelda", which she technically is.

The Skyward Sword will be, or at least start out as, and Emotionless Girl.
Her official art makes it look like she fits the part.
 * As does her dialogue upon finding the upgraded beetle in the E3 demo ("Scanning...").

Zelda won't be called Zelda
The name "Zelda: wasn't a tradition until the princess in the second game fell into her slumber.
 * Alternately, this Zelda is the one Link saved in the second game--they implied that a very, very long time had passed between her being cursed and the second game, after all.
 * If this is true, it follows that Zelda being placed into the cursed sleep will be part of the plot.
 * Jossed. She's referred to as Zelda in one of the demos.

This game will be much more difficult than Twilight Princess.
The difficulty level of the previous console Zelda game was quite low, compounded by what seemed to be endless amounts of easily accessible healing items and enemies doing next-to-no damage.

Skyward Sword, however, will be a huge surprise to those expecting an easy time. Enemies will actually be a threat and able to kill you quickly if unprepared (much like the very first Zelda game), you will only be able to hold two bottles or so, and full-restoring potions will be rare and limited in number.

Puzzles that guard key items and bosses would be cranked Up to Eleven, and as a consolation Super Guide would be added in. In the case of puzzles, at any time you could quit and choose to activate Super Guide, in which the puzzle would be automatically solved (you would not see how) and give you access to the item. However, any items obtained this way would be clearly marked as being received with help, and many optional areas in the game requiring the use of that item would be inaccessible. You'd need the real version of the item to access them, by going back and solving the puzzle on your own.

For bosses, Super Guide will only be accessible if you have died a certain number of times. Letting the computer defeat the boss will allow you to progress further on in the game, but if you have even one Super-Guided boss the game will end prematurely after what seems to be the definite final boss, and present you with an ending complete with credits. You'll be given a hint by the game itself that something will happen if you beat all the bosses yourself, though.

Thus, The Very Definitely Final Dungeon is accessed by beating all of the bosses yourself. If you Super-Guided any and decide to go back to beat them, your health and inventory is temporarily reduced to what you had at the time you first came across said boss. In addition to this, in order to get past the first few rooms of the final dungeon at all, you can't have any Super-Guided items and will have to go back and redo said puzzles. The boss of the final dungeon will be revealed to be none other than Ganon, who is responsible for everything that happened in the game. After beating him (no Super Guide available for him), you get the true ending.
 * Perfectly fine until the Hijacked By Ganon ending. Ugh.
 * If the higher difficulty of Spirit Tracks was any indication, then this may very well happen. Minus the Hijacked By Ganon part.
 * If not Ganon, then the boss would be a souped-up version of the 'final' boss that moves and attacks faster, does more damage, is much larger, and looks completely and utterly deranged.
 * The part about the increased difficulty might be partly-confirmed. Reports from E3 2011 suggest that the game is all about precision, and the whole world is practically one giant dungeon. Even individual Mooks have their own puzzles you have to figure out via precise swordplay.
 * And SS will also be the first Zelda game to feature not three, but SIX hearts for starting off. Now, Nintendo wouldn't do something like that without a reason; they could be coddling the players, or we might actually need them...Uh-oh.

One of the main features will be on reversing things, call backs, and things to come.

 * 1, The first call back is in the first trailer, with all of the previous Zelda games. This game is sorta a combo of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, while having potential for a call back to Majora's Mask and OoT.
 * 2, There was the reversed Zelda's Lullaby in the second trailer, and we're descending from the sky, rather than going up to the sky, which you did in Twilight Princess. Maybe if there is time involved at some point, going back in time to reverse the bad things could happen too.
 * 3, This is obviously before OoT, thanks to Word of God, but I think the main villain will be a new one, or Link's dark side. If it's Link's dark side, It could be the Fierce Deity, or what would become Majora. Hell, it could be BEN for all we know.]
 * Partially confirmed. The time-shift zones in Lanayru desert allow you to return to the desert's (surprisingly futuristic) past. However, neither does it have anything to do with revealing call-backs to previous Zelda games (besides the fact that it caused fans to speculate if the dark interlopers created the ancient robots) nor is it one of the main highlights of the game.

The white-haired guy is Vaati.
The last time we saw Vaati, he was also a white-haired human(oid) with pale skin and dark clothes. The guy in the GDC trailer looks almost exactly like MC Vaati, just with more years and less clothes. Plus, this game deals with the sky, and Vaati is a wind mage...
 * Possibly jossed - his name is Demon Lord Ghirahim. On the other hand, he still does appear to have some connection to wind.
 * Ghirahim may be Vaati's alter-ego the way Agahnim was for Ganon in A Link to The Past. More plausibly, Ghirahim is attempting to awaken his "master"...and Vaati has to get from apparently dead to sealed in the Four Sword somehow.

The Big Bad will be Ganondorf's father
So we've confirmed that the game is a prequel. And by pattern, games with the Master Sword are usually Hijacked by Ganon. So, the Big Bad of the game will be Ganondorf's father. Since the Gerudo can only birth boys once every hundred years, his father will probably be really old or have some magic to keep him looking young. He wants the power of the Triforce, and the only thing that can stop him is the Master Sword. So the Skyward Sword has to turn into the Master Sword. And to keep with legends, he will be Ganon. By the end of the game, after Link defeats him, he seals his power into his son who vows to avenge his father by obtaining the power of the Triforce and taking over Hyrule

Where's Ghirahim in this? He's actually second in command
 * Semi-Jossed. While Giraham is the Dragon, his master is

This game will explain the origins of the Royal Family
From what we can tell from the trailers and demos, Zelda is not yet a princess. However, she does appear to have some sacred power that Ghirahim is rather intent on getting (he refers to her as 'her Holiness'). Perhaps it's the Light Force, such as in Minish Cap, perhaps it's the Triforce.

Although Zelda does not appear to be a princess, she does appear to have some status - things like the hip cloth having the future Royal Family crest on it (it also appears on the belt of the Rauru-looking guy) - it's a symbol of Skyloft now, but maybe it becomes a symbol of the Royal Family later on. Royals have often been attributed to having powers or a connection to deities (just look at Egypt!), so maybe this Zelda's power is what elevates her to royal status.

That 'loathsome servant of the goddess' who rescues Zelda is a Sheikah
The game is pre-Ocarina, so it's entirely possible that they're around. And while we're establishing things left, right, and center, an explanation for how the Sheikah came to serve the Royal Family wouldn't be out of place. Who better to protect future royalty than a Sheikah? Perhaps they even come from the surface, but as a breakaway sect - it could explain the shadow affinity.

Hell, it may even be Sheik - an original Sheikah from this time period who later becomes the disguise of Ocarina Zelda. We've already seen that lyre as an item Link can equip - perhaps he (since Sheik is referred to as 'he' in Ocarina, even if the person we're actually seeing is Zelda - that indicates that the persona of Sheik is male, at least) gives Link the lyre as a way to stay in contact with him.


 * Or not - Zelda is seen holding the lyre. Oh well, it was a nice theory - and the servant still could be a Sheikah.
 * Confirmed.

Zelda will be put to sleep at the end of the game
Remember Zelda 2?
 * In other words, this Zelda just isn't any Zelda in the series. She's THE Zelda, the one the Legend is named after...which means the game will have a serious Bittersweet Ending...
 * Except, for this to happen, this Zelda will have to have a brother who is poised to become King of Hyrule after his Father who was *already* King of Hyrule. Because the former King telling Zelda about the full info regarding the triforce - but her not telling her brother what the king told her, and the prince only being able to gain part of it - is what caused her brother to ally himself with the evil wizard who cast the sleeping spell on Zelda in the first place. Not only does this Zelda not appear to be a princess just yet, but Hyrule has already been confirmed to be the land below Skyloft - the place she and this Link both live - that hasn't been really settled yet and is overrun by monsters. So not only would Hyrule have to be settled by the Skyloft Hylians for this to happen, but then Zelda's family would have to be established as the royal family - with her father made King - before the sleeping princess thing could even *begin* to get set up. (Plus, as noted below, Zelda's clothes don't have the triforce symbol on them - just the bird part of the royal crest - meaning knowledge of the triforce is probably very limited at this point).

This game takes place before Twilight Princess in the timeline.
Before Link obtains the Hero's Clothes, he wears clothes that look very similar to the outfit he wore in Twilight Princess, before getting his traditional outfit. Proof is in the E3 2011 trailer.
 * Um...hate to burst your bubble, but...duh. Miyamoto himself already confirmed that Skyward Sword takes place before OoT, let alone TP.

The Triforce does not exist yet at the start of the game.
Look at Zelda's outfit. It has the crest of the Hyrulean Royal Family on it. However, the head of the "bird" on the crest isn't the Triforce yet.
 * Or, it probably does exist, it's just not known about - at least among the people of Skyloft. Because the triforce was said to have been created when the three goddesses created Hyrule, and Hyrule does exist in the game - it's the land below Skyloft.
 * Jossed:

Ganondorf and Vaati are not going to be in the game; even if they are, they won't have significant roles/hijack the plot.
While it is true that the series has a habit of going back further and further (A Link to The Past was thought to be the first game in the series by many when it came out, then Ocarina of Time, and now Skyward Sword), it doesn't make much sense for either to be in this game, and for similar reasons.

This is simply because, as SS is either the first in the timeline or close to it, either villain is simply not important because they haven't become evil yet. Ganondorf is only important starting from Ocarina of Time because that is the origin of how he became Ganon. We don't know just how much time passes between OoT and SS, but given how the master sword is already legendary and hyrule is a relatively well-established nation in OoT, it would be a while. Ganondorf probably isn't even BORN yet.

With Vaati it's even more unlikely because he is the villain of the FOUR SWORD series. It doesn't make sense to have him in a game that is *all about* the origin of the MASTER Sword. If this game is before Minish Cap, he isn't even an evil wizard yet (and thusly, not of relevance).

Ghirahim is a sword-person like Fi.
More specifically, he's the Evil Counterpart to the Skyward Sword, created by some race (Gerudo? Dark Interlopers?) to harness the power of the Triforce rather than seal it away like the SS is supposed to. He's got a red cape, with a white body and a red jewel on his hip. Seem familiar?
 * Considering how everyone's reaction to him at first was "Gilded Sword from Majora's Mask", I think this has merit.
 * The Gilded Sword was, in essence, just an upgraded Kokiri Sword. That said, there is a resemblance and Ghirahim could still be a sword-person. If there's one, why not more?
 * Note that Ghirahim's cape has three points to it, maybe he's not a sword-person but a trident-person. The red gem on his belt is also similar to the one on the trident used by Phantom Ganon and Four Swords Adventures Ganon.

Ghirahim is an ancestor of Zant, and by proxy a Dark Interloper.
Both are sorcerers, both use Villain Teleportation liberally, both get really unhinged and crazy when angry, and both are Memetic Molesters. Also, access to the Triforce seems like a pretty good reason for Ghirahim to seek out Zelda, considering how she is usually connected to it.
 * By extension, this game will be based on the backstory of Twilight Princess, and any of the following could happen:
 * The Light Spirits will be involved (the game does involve something very similar to collecting the Tears of Light).
 * As per a WMG below, Dark Link will make an appearance (given his prominence in Lanayru's story).
 * The origins of the Fused Shadows and the Mirror of Twilight will be explained.
 * The final battle against Ghirahim will involve him using the Fused Shadows.
 * The game will end with Ghirahim and his followers sealed in the Twilight Realm.
 * Possible supporting evidence:
 * The game is set far enough in the past to make the dating plausible.
 * The developers stated that Midna could make another appearance if fans really wanted it.
 * Most importantly, Midna told Zant to remember how the Twili's ancestors "lost their king to such madness."

The Goddesses will choose three "champions" to save Hyrule, giving each a piece of the Triforce.
These champions are of course, Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf. However, they didn't expect a few of Ganondorf's future incarnations to turn evil...

Ghirahim has a thing for Link.
And it gets creepier (with his actions more reminiscent of rape) the further the game goes along.

Ghirahim is the true Big Bad of the series.
He's a powerful wizard. He was born before Ganondorf. He even calls himself a Demon Lord. It certainly seems possible that he gave Ganondorf his power, or at least his inspiration.

A central theme of the game will be reversal
There appears to be a bit of reversing going on with traditional elements of the series. Given how heavily the series relies on Leitmotif, I doubt this is unintentional. Some evidence:


 * The reverse Zelda's Lullaby heard in the trailers, obviously. However, remember that Midna's theme was also Zelda's Lullaby backwards.
 * Ghirahim's body is mostly white with blue highlights, which is the inverse of Midna's design that was mostly black with firey orange highlights.
 * Additionally, Ghirahim wields a black sword, while Ganondorf was struck and then wielded a white Hard Light sword in Twilight Princess.
 * The creature that swallows Zelda is black with white design lines. The Wind Fish and Ocean King were white with dark design lines.
 * You enter a Dark World at times, though admittedly this is nothing new to the series.
 * In Twilight Princess, you were in Hyrule first and visited a city in the sky last. Here, you start in a sky town first then visit Hyrule later.

To extrapolate, I'd say an event will occur around the end of the game that will "reverse" everything and make things different for the characters, but make perfect sense to long time players of the series.
 * The general theory sounds like it could work. But since when was Midna's theme Zelda's Lullaby backwards? It sounds more like Saria's Song in a minor chord.
 * Midna is Zelda's Twilight counterpart, so her theme is Zelda's Lullaby's six basic notes in reverse. Much like how the Song of Healing is the six notes of Saria's Song in reverse. Try it out on the Ocarina in OoT or MM if you don't believe me.
 * I just did. It sounds SIMILAR, but Midna's theme is closer to a Bflat-G-D rather than Zelda's D-F-Bflat. It's either a coincidence, or an intended tweak, however, since Skyward Sword's theme was MUCH MORE CLEARLY Zelda's Lullaby backwards, I think Midna's theme would've been more clearly Zelda's theme backwards if it were intended.

Ganondorf, or an Identical Grandfather, will be a major player in the plot
The world below Skyloft is supposed to be a dark, war-torn place. This is similar to the back-story in Ocarina of Time, and civil war may have gone on for a long time before then. Ganondorf will lead his faction of Gerudo against the other races of Hyrule, and he may be set up to be the mastermind behind the events of the game. However, the Big Bad (possibly the proto-Twili) will eventually reveal himself, forcing an uneasy alliance between Ganondorf, Link, and other faction leaders. Together they will fight a bigger threat to them all, but Ganondorf will insist that while he and the Big Bad are after the same thing, he recognizes that the world will be much worse off if the interlopers were to win.

In-universe, Ghirahim was the inspiration for Agahnim
Based off nothing more than the similarities of their names.

Ghirahim is half-Sheikah and half-Gerudo.
Ghirahim has one pointed ear (like the Sheikah/Hylian races) and one normal ear (like the Gerudo/Human races). Ghirahim's hair is white/silver which is likely a characteristic of the Sheikah race, making him unlikely to be of Hylian descent. It is claimed that the Sheikah were extremely skilled in magic and combat. Instead of having red eyes like a Sheikah though he has the dark eyes and eye shape of the Gerudos. Humans were obscure during the time of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask and didn't begin to be more prevalent until the time of the original Zelda game, Zelda II, and Twilight Princess. It has been stated Skyward Sword takes place before Ocarina of Time, so Ghirahim's normal ear is unlikely to be caused from being a human mix.

Ghirahim is Ganon's father.
Basing this on the above theory, but why the hell not? Plus, it'd be a nice way to slip in a pseudo-Hijacked By Ganon.

This Zelda is the Ao L one.
How the coma thing happens, I don't know.
 * Probably Jossed, as a (very) recent interview stated that Zelda is not a princess in Skyward Sword.
 * If this game covers the royal family's rise to power then she could potentially become a princess two thirds of the way through and have the spell cast on her at the end. There is already an evil wizard who needs her for some unknown purpose. Admittedly, the Zelda II backstory does make it sound like she was a princess all her life, but any discrepancies could be explained away by the legend changing as it is passed down (Skyward Sword is the first game, Zelda II is one of the last so there's been plenty of time). It wouldn't be the first time that a backstory had been retconned by a later game - Ocarina of Time took elements from the backstory of A Link to the Past, but changed details such as replacing the Knights of Hyrule with just Link and changing the sex and species of many of the seven wise men/ sages.
 * Doesn't this mean she needs to either already have children to continue the new royal line or get pregnant while in the magical sleep?
 * Nope, there's always her brother.
 * I don't think someone founding a royal dynasty from scratch makes their siblings eligible, since said siblings don't actually have descent from the dynastic founder in non-severely-inbred families...
 * It could be that her father becomes king, which would also explain why she becomes a princess rather than a queen.

The original Sages of Earth and Wind will make an appearance.

 * The Master Sword's power to banish evil is supplied by the prayers of the Sages of Earth and Wind. Because the Skyward Sword becomes the Master Sword, the two Sages must have a role in the transformation somewhere.

This game will be the result of Ganondorf's attempt to alter time.

 * After breaking free from his sealing for the umpteenth time, he finds himself in the far past long before the events of Ocarina of Time, and thus is behind all the events of the entire game but will only be revealed as so near the end. He ultimately fails, of course, and his actions ironically lead to the creation of Hyrule, the Master Sword, and the legends and bloodlines of Zelda and Link, all of which he set out to destroy so he could claim the entire Triforce for himself and have nobody to ever stand against him. Ganondorf will be ultimately responsible for his own failures and downfall long before he was even born.

The village elder is Rauru, Sage of Light from Ocarina of Time
In Oo T, Rauru claims to have been involved in the creation of the Temple of Time to protect the Master Sword, which presumably happens during or shortly after the events of this game. The trailers have shown a very similar-looking old man who appears to be the elder of the village.
 * Jossed? Maybe? Sorta? The character's name, it turns out, is "Gaepora", which invokes images of a somewhat repetitious owl...but then, another WMG is that Rauru and Kaepora are the same entity, sooo...

There will be an in-universe explaination as to why the future incarnations of Link are left-handed.
At some point, SS Link will be prevented from wielding the Skyward Sword/Master Sword with his right hand. Thus, future Links have to wield it with their left hands as a way to exploit a loophole.
 * Why? Twilight Princess on the Wii had Link be right-handed, and several of the handheld games had him be ambidextrous.
 * However, Skyward Sword is the ONLY Zelda game where the OFFICIAL ART (and, by implication, official canon) depicts Link to be right-handed (the only other exception is the art for the first game, where he held his sword with both his left and right hand, depending on the artist, but that can be chalked up to Early Installment Weirdness).

This game will be the origin of Shadow Link
When it becomes clear that Link is a genuine thorn in Ghirahim's side, he'll call upon his dark magics to create an evil copy with all the strengths and abilities of the original. Perhaps in this game's version of the Water Temple, where he was met in Ocarina of Time.

There will be a HUGE battle at Eldin Volcano
Something really noteworthy has to happen there, since that place is called Death Mountain later in the series. Also, wasn't Death Mountain the original base of Ganon???
 * Volvagia, perhaps?
 * There is a rather Volvagia-like tail in the lava during this trailer.

The City in the Sky was Foreshadowing the introduction of Skyloft, and the Oocca will make a cameo
I mean, come on. Same basic Floating Continent theme, seems to be in ruins(presumably from Ghirahim's invasion), and no signs of Hylian life beyond the Oocca and the normal dungeon enemies, besides Link of course. It doesn't seem like the Oocca built the city by themselves, but rather were once built by Hylians and the Oocca together prior to the formation of the kingdom, and the Hylians fled when Ghirahim's forces attacked. The Oocca were the only ones remaining, and soon made the ruins their home.

Ghirahim is arming for war
A war with another demon king trying to get his territory, he's planning to extract Zelda's holiness to convert it into a weapon, because his own dark powers aren't enough. Unfortunately her holiness is extracted but Fi becomes the bearer and the invading demon is the final boss.

Gaepora has a son named Rauru.
This fits both the Zelda II backstory (Zelda has a brother) and the fact that Gaepora looks like Rauru...though it runs contrary to the theory that Kaepora Gaebora (presuming he's Gaepora) and Rauru are the same person.
 * Or Kaepora is actually Gaepora's first name and Rauru's last name is Gaepora.

This Link is the Fierce Deity
Considering that the Masks Change you into a Physical Copy of whoever they were in life, it wouldn't be impossible. But considering that the mask has massive DARK powers leads to an oddity since Fi seems like she would be more light attuned. But if Ghirahim is in fact a sword person like Fi, as some seem to be guessing well...Next to/Final boss of the game is Link, being controlled by Ghirahim, while Zelda and/or Fi fight Him and separate the two.

Demon Lord Ghirahim & Fi will merge to create the Master Sword
This theory is looking more and more convincing by the second. We know that Ghirahim is attempting to resurrect his "master". Therefore, Ghirahim is not the main antagonist. It's also been said that Ghirahim will undergo a "change in character" sometime within the game.

Fi and Ghirahim are quite similar, appearance-wise, and there have been some other hints suggesting that they have an even closer relationship. And it's been practically confirmed that Fi, the Goddess Sword, will soon become the Master Sword itself. So what if the catalyst is Ghirahim himself? What if Ghirahim is another "Sword-Person"? What if he pulls off a Heel Face Turn, and decides to lend his considerable powers to Link by merging as one with Fi to create the Master Sword?

Ghirahim is not the final boss, but he is most definitely a major character. Otherwise he would not be appearing side by side with Fi on the [[http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110927221531/zelda/images/9/96/The_Legend_of_Zelda_-_Skyward_Sword_

Most of the other members of the Knight's Academy (e.g. Groose and the others) will wind up dead by the end of the game.
In A Link to The Past, the backstory states that many of the Knights of Hyrule sacrificed their lives to defend the Triforce from evil monsters as it was being sealed within the Sacred Realm. So it appears likely that many of the Loftwing riders will die giving Link, Zelda, and Fi a chance to lock away the Triforce to keep the villains from taking it.

Groose becomes Ganondorf or starts the Gerudo tribe.
Redheaded big guy who hates Link? He'll probably end up in a desert at the end.
 * The first part is Jossed. He gets over it.

Midna, or one of her ancestors will appear
In the latest trailer, a quick shot near the end was devoted to...a mirror. That was being held by some statue. I haven't been able to compare yet, but it at least reminded me of the Twilight Mirror. At some point, Link will visit the Twilight Realm and meet with Midna or her ancestors. This is why Midna trusts Link to help her in Twilight Princess (aside from the Wolf thing). She already had met someone who looked alot like him!

Dark Link will appear in this game.
Hopefully as a boss fight, given the controls.

Ghirahim is trying to revive his master...but he wants his power.
His main motivation is to resurrect his master, but instead of wanting to continue to serve him, he'll try to usurp his master's power.

Zelda's actions will be the reason why all incarnations of Link and Zelda are destined to meet.
Since this is a prequel, and that her name IS in the title...she will have some outcome on the rest of the series. It is the Legend of ZELDA, after all.

There will be a focus on sidequests that rivals The Legend of Zelda Majoras Mask, yet will have a very long main game.
It's been stated that this will be one of the longest Zelda games. With all the collectibles, there must be a bunch of sidequests as well.

Link and Zelda will kiss.
There may be some romance between Link and Zelda.

The homeland of the Gerudo used to be quite luscious.
The desert in this game is shown to have some grounded ships, as if there were once a sea there. Furthermore, Link can switch certain patches of the desert so that they become lush with vegetation, though this effect is only temporary. It's possible that this desert was once a coastal grassland not terribly different from Hyrule Field. This would add an extra dose of bitterness for the Gerudo, and Ganondorf in particular, because the peace and beauty of Hyrule that they envied so much were things that they used to have long ago.
 * It has been confirmed that hundreds of years ago, Lanayru Desert was inhabited by a civilization that pioneered in building robots. Eventually, they used up all their resources and the sea dried up, causing the civilization to collapse and creating the desert. When you get there, the desert is largely uninhabited, only the robots remaining. No word on anyone else living there, though if anything, the Gerudo arrived either probably during or after the events of the game.

At least one nonhuman will resent humanity.
OK, so during the intro, it explains that the Goddess created Skyloft so that the humans would be safe during the war with the demons. This left the other races to fight off demons for an unknown amount of time, and they were eventually left in a Hyrule ruled by Ghirahim while the humans lived happy lives above the clouds. That's a pretty good reason for resentment to pile up.

Humanity was brought to the verge of extinction before the creation of Skyloft.
Which is why the Goddess chose to send them into the skies instead of the other races. Their numbers were too few to risk losing them in battle.
 * Not exactly, as shown by

The Zelda in this game IS a princess; she just doesn't know it. She was raised as a commoner and doesn't know about her royal blood.
And by the end of the game, we'll find out she is heir to the land below (Hyrule). There'll be some big scene where the servant of the goddess tells Zelda about her true origins. Maybe her father (or possibly foster father?) took her away from Hyrule to Skyloft to protect her from those who would seek her holiness for evil (like Ghirahim). I don't know, something like that. It would make a wonderful twist!

== The status as a prequel refers only to the physical timeline. However, for Link, specifically the Hero of Time, it takes place after he leaves Termina in MM, and the game is actuallly the third in the Oo T, MM, SS trilogy ==

Demise is Ganondorf.
Compare these two pics: Flaming headed demon of death and Red-haired monster of a man.
 * The ending seems to confirm it, or at the very least hint that Ganondorf, and by extension, Ganon, is the reincarnation of Demise's hatred.