Summary

  • A potential sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword could explore the story of how the people of Skyloft settled the land below and established the Kingdom of Hyrule.
  • An open-world Skyward Sword sequel could introduce a settlement-building mechanic, allowing players to build and manage towns in Hyrule.
  • The game could expand upon the survival crafting elements introduced in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, creating a balance between settlement building, exploration, and action gameplay.

Despite being a controversial entry in the franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword introduced a lot of ideas that the series has yet to circle back to in some of its recent entries. While Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom features sky exploration in addition to traversal around the land of Hyrule and the Depths below, it's not a direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and fails to follow up on certain story elements of that title. There is one major part of Skyward Sword's plot that could be the premise for a future Zelda title if the series wants to create another open-world entry.

While it's already been confirmed that the next Zelda game will likely ditch the version of Hyrule that players have become familiar with between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, this title could still retain a similarly open world map. As such, the next entry in the Zelda series has the perfect opportunity to pick up where Skyward Sword leaves off in the Zelda timeline and tell the tale of how the people of Skyloft came to settle the land down below in what would eventually become known as the Kingdom of Hyrule.

One Pillar of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Could Make Its Mark on the Next Game
One Pillar of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Could Make Its Mark on the Next Game

Skyward Sword HD feels very different from the open world Zelda games, and the series' next installment could bring the cause of that back.

By 

A Skyward Sword Sequel Could Explore Hyrule's First Settlements

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword acts as a prequel to the series, taking place at the earliest point of the Zelda timeline. With the next game on the timeline being The Minish Cap, there is a big gap in time between the two eras these games are set in that is perfect for the next Zelda game to fill. Skyward Sword ends with Link, Zelda, and the people of Skyloft descending to the surface world to begin repopulating it after the defeat of Demise brought the land back to being inhabitable, leaving the door open for a future game to expand upon these events.

This ending gives a potential Skyward Sword sequel the perfect basis for an open-world game that sees players getting to explore the uncharted land that would become Hyrule for the first time. Not only could this type of game give players the chance to discover a much more feral version of Hyrule, but it could introduce a new settlement-building mechanic to shake up the series' gameplay as well. Games like Animal Crossing or Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth's Dondoko Island show the value of having a mode where players can build a town however they like, and the Zelda series already has a strong foundation for this mechanic.

Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom Already Have the Foundation for Settlement-Building Mechanics

Much like how Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom drastically iterated upon the Zelda series' established formula, an open-world Skyward Sword sequel that places emphasis on both exploration and settlement building would take the series to the next level once again. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom introduced light survival crafting elements to the Zelda series, and a game like this could see those mechanics expanded upon to their logical next level. The premise of repopulating and charting an unexplored world following the events of Skyward Sword could create the perfect balance between settlement building, survival crafting, and action exploration gameplay.

The Tarrey Town side quest in Breath of the Wild shows what a potential settlement-building mechanic in this future game could play like, as players would need to recruit townsfolk to act in different roles as they establish the Kingdom of Hyrule. Players could also have to deal with the remaining forces of Demise attacking the settlement via raids, forcing them to fortify their towns appropriately and manage their time between exploration and town building. While a lot of these mechanics have been seen in games before, a Zelda game could put its own unique spin on them while further developing the lore of a post-Skyward Sword timeline.

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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Tag Page Cover Art
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
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9 /10
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Released
November 20, 2011
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

ESRB
E10+ for Everyone E10+: Animated Blood, Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence
Developer(s)
Nintendo
Publisher(s)
Nintendo
Platform(s)
Wii
Genre(s)
Action, Adventure
How Long To Beat
31 Hours