There are two words etched into the brain of any long-time gamer that elicit fear and loathing on a near-primal level. No, not Game Over, as that is merely a fate one wishes to avoid. These two words are far worse, even worse than Navi’s “Hey! Listen!” mantra that plays even when you are on your way to do whatever she is reminding you to do. I speak of the one true horror of the video game world: escort missions.
But today, I want to talk about how one of these missions, specifically one from Skyward Sword, is far from terrible. In fact, it’s always been one of my favorite sections in the game!
Now, believe me, I definitely understand the hatred directed at escort missions. There are so many valid complaints, from movement speed ranging between a walk and a run, to unlimited enemies constantly going after your incredibly frustrating charge (who, I should mention, willingly wander into danger, despite the fact that you, their one protector, are currently occupied with the last danger they threw you into). Even the escort missions in fun, easy games like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon can be incredibly difficult. Heck, even in the Zelda series, Twilight Princess has an infamously irritating escort mission involving a wagon that I refuse to even speak of here.
So, what in the world could make escorting Scrapper up Eldin Volcano in Skyward Sword an enjoyable experience? At first glance, it seems miserable! You have a robot who doesn’t like you, he’s carrying a giant tub of water up a mountain littered with more enemies than ever before, and he hovers in such a way that you can’t even protect him from all dangers. Yet I love every minute of it.
The main reason for this is simple: this is an escort mission done right. Sure, the basics are there, but there aren’t endless waves of difficult obstacles heading your way. Instead, you have a very reasonable number of baddies, most of whom you can snipe with your Bow before they cause trouble. It is more of a stealth mission than anything else, one that you can complete in only a few minutes.
However, there is much more to this mission for me, personally. My first time experiencing this mission was as a viewer. As I’ve said in previous articles, I am not the best Zelda gamer in general, but from the moment I saw this mission, which involves moving slowly and using the bow (my one true specialty), I knew it was something I could do well. Recently as of writing this, my wife and I recorded a Let’s Play of Skyward Sword HD, during which I was the one playing for this particular point in the game. In that Let’s Play, I did possibly the coolest thing in a video game I’ve ever done: I hit an arrow heading towards me with my own. So now, this escort mission is forever linked in my mind to the single greatest arrow I’ve ever shot in my many years of practicing archery in video games.
Putting that aside, I stand by my initial assessment that the rest of the trip up the volcano is a genuinely fun escort mission. Overall, it is well-designed and fun while not being particularly long, so it’s just a quick, enjoyable experience rather than the slog players might expect.
How did the rest of that marvelous attempt go, you ask? Um, just fine, I didn’t mess up once the sniping part was over, not at all. No need to check up on that, just look up at the cool arrow image again!
All things considered, playing that particular escort mission has softened my view towards the concept of escort missions as a whole. Of course, I’ve played through other missions since then that have mainly resulted in me dying, and then my desire to exact revenge against whoever came up with the idea of an escort mission is renewed. At least now, when I realize one is coming, I don’t necessarily dread it; and it’s all thanks to my buddy Scrapper and his giant bucket of water.
