The shortest way to finish Zelda: Skyward Sword

Having trouble with Zelda: Skyward Sword? Here’s a foolproof shortcut to get to one of the game’s unintended endings.

1. At the beginning of the quest, go to Lanayru Desert to retrieve the song of the Thunder Dragon.

2. In the Lanayru Mine, speak with Golo the Goron.

3. Complete the Thunder Dragon’s event, and receive his song.

4. Before heading to the forest or volcano regions, speak with Golo in the mine again.

5. At this point, the forest and volcano events will no longer occur, making it impossible to continue.

The above instructions come from the email reply Nintendo sends to players who contact customer support looking for help after having done exactly those steps. Zelda Informer has reprinted the entire email here. I haven’t played Skyward Sword, so I have no idea how easy it is to stumble through those step and kill your game. But it’s a sad day when a Nintendo game can stop you in your tracks as cold as a Bethesda game.