As you make your way through Skyward Sword HD, you are destined to run a sword-wielding foe called Ghirahim, the creepy Lord who wishes to resurrect Demise. Between taunts and tongue-waggles, he will challenge your swordsmanship and skills in ways that no other enemy will be able to. And a challenge he will be! He brings quite a few tricks to every fight to keep things fresh as he keeps being a major thorn in Link’s side. So, if you need help taking down Ghirahim in Skyward Sword HD, this quick guide will walk you through all three fights!
Spoiler Warning: Please read on with caution! Ghirahim is important to the story of Skyward Sword, and thus the upcoming guide will include some minor story spoilers.
How to Beat Ghirahim in Zelda: Skyward Sword HD
Ghirahim shows up for a total of three fights throughout the course of the Skyward Sword. In all three, he will force Link to use some of his swords skills – and other clever maneuvers – if he wants to come up on top! Here’s how to beat Ghirahim in all three boss battles.
First Ghirahim Fight
This fight occurs at the end of the Skyview Temple. The Demon Lord seems to be quite confident in his skills, and will block your sword swings in the direction that you’re holding your blade. However, his hand is rather slow to follow you around; use this to your advantage! Move Ghirahim’s hand to one side, and then quickly swing from the opposite direction. This will let you land a hit early on.
If your sword gets caught, then he will attack you with it. Play defensively and shield bash the Demon Lord to make him drop your blade early, and then pick it up before he gets it again. Alternatively, you can wait for Ghirahim to throw the blade, and then get to it before he does.
When Ghirahim draws his own sword, the real fight begins. Reflect his red blades with a shield bash or a well-timed sword swing in the direction that they’re traveling. When he lowers himself down to charge at Link, you can wail on him to stop the charge, or Shield Bash to knock him off balance to get free damage. Finally, when he teleports behind link and holds his sword out, you must strike him in the same direction.
Once you deal enough damage, the Demon Lord retreats. Great work!
Second Fight
This fight occurs at the end of the Fire Sanctuary. Now, Ghirahim is using his red squares to defend himself; simply swinging the sword in the opposite direction isn’t going to work now. You can deal damage early on by guiding Ghirahim’s hand in the direction that the squares are not. Essentially, you want to have a straight line between the two squares, with Ghirahim’s hand at one end of the path. You then swing from the opposite end to hit the Lord.
This won’t work when he summons four squares, however. Then, you’ll have to retreat and force him to fire the squares at you. These can be dodged or deflected with ease. Just run at him afterwards and get your hits in!
Now when he gets mad, he’ll draw two blades! Use the same path strategy to deal damage to Ghirahim without hitting his swords, just like you’ve done with Stalfos in the past.
He’ll also charge at you. You can Shield Bash him with good timing to knock him off balance, which will leave him open to attack. You may be able to slash at him before he strikes you, but that timing is harder to land.
When he jumps up and teleports, dodge the attack to get Ghirahim stuck in the floor. That will leave him open to attack, giving you some free damage.
Finally, when he’s on his last limb, he will summon a bunch of red diamonds. Sometimes, he will surround Link with the diamonds. To destroy those, you must either use a horizontal or vertical spin attack. Alternatively, when the diamonds are fired at you, slash them in the right direction to knock them out of the air.
After a while of slapping at diamonds, Ghirahim will again retreat… Though this time, a little less sure of himself. You’re getting to him now!
Third Fight
Ghirahim isn’t messing around anymore; he’s trying to revive the demon king! You’ll need to handle him quickly, but it won’t be easy.
Slaughter the hoard of monsters using the same tactics you’ve used all game: Find the correct angle to break their guard, or use Spin Attacks to decimate large groups of them.
Your goal during this fight isn’t to just hit Ghirahim; he’s invulnerable to attacks. You’ll need to push him off of the ledge using a flurry of well-aimed blows. Then, follow up with a Fatal Blow.
Watch out, though: Ghirahim will try to avoid falling off the ledge by kicking you or trying to switch places with Link. You can avoid this by watching for the grab and dodging at the right time. When he holds up his hand covered with electricity, you must attack his unprotected regions to continue beating him back.
After three fatal blows, he will draw his blade once more. Now, in order to defeat him, you must use thrust attacks to hit the jewel in the center of his chest. Some new moves include a slow version of the Skyward Strike. Reflect it by hitting it in the same direction that it’s moving to stun the Demon Lord. If you get close to Ghirahim, he’ll attack you, though a Shield Bash will once again knock him off guard. He’s never learned to deal with a shield, huh?
The final phase involves Ghirahim creating a massive broadsword. Dodge or block his swings until he raises the sword vertically or horizontally. Chip away at the sword by hitting it consecutively in the opposite direction that it’s held. Don’t take too long! The Demon Lord can and will restore the sword after a while.
Love Skyward Sword and want to know more about the game? Check out some of our guides to it!
- Where to Find Paper in Skyward Sword HD
- How to Catch Birds in Skyward Sword HD
- How to Dive Underwater in Skyward Sword HD
