An Ode to Skyward Sword’s Lanayru Province

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was much maligned when it first came out. The hand holding tutorials, chiming in Fi, easier gameplay, and backtracking irked many players then. But there is one shining spot in the game that even the most critical of players can appreciate and that is the Lanayru Province. The arid desert hub area is well liked for its interesting time bending twists on the cliché setting. *Game spoilers to follow

Just Deserts

At face value, Lanayru is a pretty cookie cutter desert video game setting. Cacti, tumbleweeds, dead trees, old bones, and pesky quicksand as far as the eye can see (called sink sand here). Filled with caves, gorges, mines, and seas of sand. The most interesting wrinkle on this time worn setting is the traces of an ancient but highly advanced robotic civilization. Interesting set dressing but it goes further than when the time shift stones come into play.

Hold onto your butts

The Time Shift Stones

Easily the best part about Lanaryu are the native time shift stones deep inside their mines. These time defying stones let Link interact with the world be delving into it’s past. Simply striking a stone transports…