Basic sword attacks in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD – how to use spin attack and thrust attack with buttons

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD now lets you play the game without motion controls. This means that the game primarily uses the right stick for its input. Surprisingly, it works as if that was a setting in the original version of the game on the Wii. It can be a little tricky to remember every input, however. Here’s a breakdown of how every sword attack can be performed.

Standard swipes

Link can slash his sword in eight different ways. This includes horizontal and vertical swipes, in addition to diagonal attacks. To input this, flick the right stick in the direction you’d like. When fighting enemies, you’ll be faced with challenges surrounding the position of your strikes. For example, the deku baba will have its mouth either vertically or horizontally, and Link will have to slash in a particular way to take them out.

Thrust attacks

To thrust your sword forward, you simply press the right stick. This move is best used to counter projectiles incoming bullets from octoroks. This is also effective against boboklins, who guard very often.

Skyward strikes

To perform this, you must hold the analog stick up and then strike with a flick in a downward or horizontal direction. This will send a light-based projectile at your foes or important items. This is great against enemies who are airborne like bats or birds.

Spin attacks

Spin attacks allow Link to take out multiple foes at once. Perform left, right, left (or the other way around) to perform the trick. You can make this attack vertical as well by going up, down, up (or the other way around).