Not long after defeating The Imprisoned for the first time, players will need to give Gondo an Ancient Flower so that he can repair his grandpa's old robot, the LD-301S Scrapper. Once the machine is up and running again, they'll be able to begin the Fixing Fun Fun Island side quest, which will not only reward players with five Gratitude Crystals, but also unlock one of the best mini-games in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD.
The quest involves Link tracking down Dodoh's missing party wheel, which has fallen down through the clouds and landed somewhere in the Lanayru desert. After Link finds it, he'll be able to play a special skydiving mini-game, which is a great way to earn enough Rupees to buy some of Beedle's more expensive items. There's also a Piece of Heart on offer for those who achieve the maximum score, so it's definitely a worthwhile endeavor for anyone with a little time on their hands.
Updated October 16, 2021 by Tom Bowen: Skyward Sword HD is full of great mini-games, though not all of them are available right away. Some, like the Rickety Coaster, are tied to main story progression, while others only become available once players have completed a particular side quest. One such mini-game involves Link skydiving down onto a giant spinning wheel and is one of the best ways to make money in Skyward Sword HD. Before players can do so, however, they'll first need to complete the Fixing Fun Fun Island side quest, which becomes available after players have helped Gondo to repair the LD-301S Scrapper.
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How To Start The Fixing Fun Fun Island Side Quest
Once the scrapper robot is operational again and has agreed to help Fi, players should head over to Fun Fun Island. It's a small green circular island to the southwest of Skyloft. It's fairly easy to spot, so players shouldn't have too much trouble finding it. Upon their arrival, they'll need to speak with Dodoh, who'll tell Link that he can't officially open the island until his missing party wheel has been found. Link agrees to help look for it and Fi will offer to set the wheel as one of Link's dowsing targets.
How To Find The Missing Party Wheel
Adventurous players may have already stumbled upon the party wheel on their first visit to the Lanayru desert, but regardless, it's fairly easy to find. Players should head for the gold pillar of light and then choose the Desert Entrance bird statue when asked where they'd like to go. If they didn't activate the Desert Entrance statue, they'll instead need to pass through the mines again or head south back up towards the mine entrance from the Lanayru Mining Facility dungeon.
Once they've arrived at their destination, players will need to hit the nearby Timeshift Stone, which is initially hidden by a bombable rock. Hitting the stone will cause some vines to appear on one of the surrounding walls to the right and Link can climb up to reach a newly accessible area. Here, players will need to hang from a ledge and shimmy their way along to the left to get across to the other side.
Shortly after crossing, players will find the party wheel half-buried in the sand, and examining it will lead to Fi calling the scrapper robot to come and collect it. After it leaves, players can return to the bird statue and then make their way back up to the sky. The robot will follow Link's Loftwing to Fun Fun Island, before eventually dropping the party wheel right at Dodoh's feet.
Claiming The Reward
Dodoh is so happy to have his party wheel back that he rewards Link with five more Gratitude Crystals. What's more, he's now ready to officially open Fun Fun Island and tells Link that he can try out his new skydiving mini-game free of charge. This is something that players should definitely do, as there are plenty of Rupees on offer, as well as another Piece of Heart for those who achieve the game's maximum score of 500.
How To Beat The Fun Fun Island Mini-Game
Other than perhaps grinding the boss rush mode, Fun Fun Island's skydiving mini-game is one of the best ways to farm Rupees in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD. Each run takes less than a minute, and players can win as many as 500 Rupees per run if they know what they're doing. At the very least, it's worth playing the game at least once in order to acquire the extra Piece of Heart.
Achieving the maximum score requires players to pass through all five fortune rings without hitting any of the Dodoh balls to achieve a ten-times multiplier and then land on the multicolored 50 Rupee section of the spinning wheel. The first part is relatively easy, although landing in the right segment of the wheel can feel a little like blind luck at first. Thankfully though, there is a viable strategy for pulling it off consistently.
The speed that the wheel spins is determined by the player's multiplier, and, while it's at ten, it's possible to accurately predict how far the wheel will move in the time between Link passing through the final fortune ring and landing on the wheel. With a ten-times multiplier, the final position of the 50 Rupee segment will be 90 degrees clockwise from where it was at the moment when Link passed through the final fortune ring.
To make things easier, players should try to picture the wheel as a giant clock, with the fifty Rupee segment being the hour hand. If it's 11 O'Clock when players pass through the final fortune ring, it will be 2 O'Clock by the time they land. If it's 6 O'Clock, however, they should instead aim to land at nine, and so on. With this plus three hours strategy, players can earn an awful lot of Rupees in a very short amount of time and also get themselves an extra Heart Piece while they're at it.
Other Side Quests in Skyward Sword HD
- Lost Child
- Missing Sister
- Item Check Crush
- Cleaning Pipit's House
- Fledge's Workout
- Haunted Restroom
- Missing Baby Rattle
- Pumpkin Harvest
- Broken Crystal Ball
- Beedle's Missing Beetle
- Owlan's Exotic Plant