Daily Debate: What’s Your Favorite Piece of “Filler Content” in Skyward Sword?

One of the most common criticisms I’ve seen against The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is that it features an overabundance of filler content. Finding Faron Woods’ lost Kikwi, completing the Silent Realm trials, procuring sacred water for Faron’s basin — despite being required in order to complete Link’s adventure, these sequences are often criticized as unnecessary diversions from the main quest. Indeed, even as someone who adores Skyward Sword, I have vented my frustrations toward the game’s reliance on these mandatory side quests.

That said, it’s more of a collective issue for me, as some of these errands are pretty fun on their own. I’m especially fond of gathering musical notes throughout a water-submerged Faron Woods. As a massive fan of 3D platformers — Banjo-Kazooie in particular, which features musical notes among its main collectables — I can’t help but enjoy this sequence every time I revisit it. And though it may have been an excuse to pad out the game’s runtime, I’m A-OK with such diversions as long as they’re fun.

What about you, though? Looking back at these portions of Skyward Sword, which one do you enjoy playing through the most? Let us know in the comments below!