Fire Sanctuary

Author: Efrain Silva

The Fire Sanctuary is one place that I know is found in the Flame Summit of Skyward Sword. This semi - last dungeon will test your spirit. Can you finish strong and finally be done with Zelda dungeons in this game, before getting to the real one with the boss that’s been setting you up from the start? And that is the question.

The Real Enemy

No, I am not quite talking about Ghirahim, whom you taught a lesson before, earlier. He will also be faced again, at the end, but there has been someone at work behind him, someone who perhaps (though he may not know it) has been using him as a puppet. There is someone greater and more evil at work --- there usually always is. 

To find out who that might be, you need to beat Fire Sanctuary. So to do so, let me offer some knowledge and tips. Start off with removing the fire barrier that holds the sanctuary’s entrance. Once you do so, proving you’re smarter than the ones who created it, you’ll be able to enter, where you’ll notice all kinds of different, strange lava flows just inside. These are kind of like those you came upon in the Earth Temple.

The next part will be fun : Use your slingshot to shoot down a water fruit that happens to hang right above those lava flows. Is anything by coincidence, now, you might ask? It seems things are so carefully laid out here, for your success, to help you make your way through…..I guess Nintendo developers will have to try and be a little less obvious next time, if that’s not what they were going for. 

Fire Sanctuary: Lava Flow

You’ll find, throughout your sanctuary experience, that you can even change lava flow direction and duration, not to mention intensity, as you go along. This game is the first where you really get to do that and feel its effects more closely. And this temple - dungeon, particularly, really expands upon that notion. The game’s creators did well here. 

You need to use your Mogma Mitts to tunnel underground, too ; these upgraded versions of your usual Digging Mitts are quite special as they can even let you hit certain switches, set off entire bombs, break through rocks or break them open, and even attack those annoying Moldorm worm assailants you so often find under the earth. Once you save a new friend, named Silva, in this sanctuary, from a certain peril, he will reward you with this prize. These Mogma Mitts are truly invaluable, a sure sign of his gratitude. 

Fire Sanctuary: Imprisoned Creature

There’s another imprisoned creature just like him (known as a Mogma), who happens to go by the name of Bronzi, and needs to be rescued as well. Why not take the time and go out of your way for a good guy? This guy will give you your treasure map, letting you see more of the dungeon and its rooms, in one spot, once you set him free. The third and final Mogma, named Plats, will also give you something on his rescue. 

Heart Piece

He’ll give to you a Piece of Heart. You’ll also come to learn that the illusory puzzle in this sanctuary is famous among these types of Mogma creatures. You will additionally find an empty bottle inside one of the treasure chests of the Fire Sanctuary. In addition, dark fog that surrounds many dungeon monsters here can get on you, causing you to be cursed for a short period of time ; this will affect your reflexes, state of mobility, health and more, so be as careful as you can not to make impact. 

The Green Bokoblins here, angry as they can be, wield around something like a big mallet in their right hand, swinging to bang you into submission. Slash them first, and they’ll know what the pain of a real weapon feels like, in case they’ve forgotten from your last meeting. Their little belts, with a skeleton - face buckle and button in the very center, are actually funny looking and give these guys a little ‘look’ overall.

If you remember how goofy some of these Bokoblin - type creatures looked back in The Legend of Zelda : The Wind Waker, then you’ll laugh a little more when you realize that these guys were the best that your enemy had to send against you in this next - to - last dungeon for the game. It should make you feel but a large sigh of relief, altogether, because you perhaps thought something multitudes worse was coming your way…..

Still, grab that sword and strike. These guys don’t give up until they’re down. And their boss, Prince Ghirahim (hardly a real prince or gentlemen, in any sense) would not have it any other way. If they fail him, they face his fury. Blue Bokoblins, which, instead of welding around a big, ridiculous mallet, are a little more civilized and carry a sword. But they are still no less goofy or stupid altogether ; yes, their cartoony whacko faces give them away.

You should be scared of them --- yes, I think that might have been the original intent here --- but instead, you can’t help but laugh. The same holds true for when you run into the Bokoblin Archers, which are supposed to be one more ‘step up’, taking things a little more serious, still, than the Blue Bokoblins tried to do. Just watch out that the Bokoblin Archers’ arrows don’t hit you when they fly by.

Fire Sanctuary Boss: Ghirahim

Finally, you do fight Ghirahim here, in another form. He fights harder than he used to, now, taking your threat more seriously than he did. This time, it’s not a light little duel, but it’s full fight on. And after snapping to reality, realizing all the pain and hardship that this guy’s evil dungeons have brought upon your life, you’re now okay with that. So challenge accepted, but it won’t be the last….you now have to face Ghirahim, and his unknown master, at the end, when all is to be revealed. 

Learn more here Fire Sanctuary.