Link has a variety of offensive options at his disposal in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, one of which is the deadly Fatal Blow. However, Link cannot simply turn to this finishing move whenever he feels like it, as certain criteria must first be met.

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Detailing the exact criteria and the specific inputs that are needed in order to perform a Fatal Blow is the precise purpose of this guide. With this in mind, Legend of Zelda fans that read on should have no trouble adding this powerful strike to their offensive arsenals.

Updated December 16, 2021 by Tom Bowen: It's now been five months since the release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, yet the Switch port continues to sell well. This is perhaps due to the fact that, unlike the original release, the HD remaster allows players to choose between either motion controls or a more traditional control scheme. While this extra choice is undoubtedly great for players though, it can make performing certain attacks a little trickier for those who are switching between the two. This guide will therefore explain how to perform a Fatal Blow attack in Skyward Sword HD, both while using button controls and when using motion.

How to Perform a Fatal Blow in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

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The first step toward performing a Fatal Blow in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is to knock the enemy down. This is not something that can be done to all of the adversaries in the game, but repeatedly striking a foe with powerful moves like spin attacks, is the best way to get one on the ground. Once an enemy has been floored, players should use ZL to target it and then walk toward the creature until the words "Fatal Blow" appear at the bottom of the screen.

At that point, it's time for players to unleash the finishing move, though the inputs that are needed will depend on the control scheme that the player has selected. For those who have opted for button controls, administering a Fatal Blow is as simple as pressing up, down, up on the right analogue stick. For anyone that's playing Skyward Sword with motion controls, the attack is instead performed by shaking both Joy-Cons up and down.

One thing to note is that players do not have a tremendous amount of time to act once they have put an opponent on the ground. Indeed, some of the enemies in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword have the ability to rapidly recover from a knockdown, so players should make sure to quickly take advantage of the opportunity to perform a Fatal Blow when it presents itself. Players that don't may soon find that Link is in peril as the rejuvenated foe resumes its assault.

As previously mentioned, the Fatal Blow is just one of many tricks that Link has up his sleeve, and players should spend some time familiarizing themselves with attacks like thrusts and spin attacks in Skyward Sword. Almost all of these unique maneuvers have very useful applications, and fans that master every one of them will have a much easier time with the game than those that don't.

When to Perform a Fatal Blow in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

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Generally speaking, players should perform a Fatal Blow whenever the opportunity presents itself, though there are occasional situations where it might actually be better not to. When Link is surrounded by larger groups of enemies, for example, stopping to perform a Fatal Blow can sometimes lead to the young hero getting dog-pilled and taking unnecessary damage in the process.

After performing just a handful of Fatal Blows, however, players should begin to get a pretty good feel for how long the animation for the attack lasts. Upon mastering the timing, they should then be able to quickly decide when they'll have enough time to use a Fatal Blow without other enemies attacking Link in the moments immediately afterward.

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Conversely, there are a handful of enemies that can only be killed using the Fatal Blow attack. The most common of these is the Cursed Bokoblin, which players will encounter in the Ancient Cistern as well as in the game's final dungeon, Sky Keep. Due to how slow these enemies are though, many players opt to simply run past them whenever the situation allows it.

Players will also need to utilize the Fatal Blow in the final two boss fights of the game. The first sees Link using the attack to dish out massive damage from a great height, while the second ultimately ends up being the very final attack that players will use in the game. More so than usual though, players will need to be quick when performing the maneuvers, as these powerful bosses recover a lot faster than standard enemies do.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is available now on the Nintendo Switch.

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