Heart Pieces, or Pieces as Heart, as they're referred to in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, are a staple of the Zelda franchise and have appeared in just about every mainline entry to date. Collecting four of them will give Link an additional heart of health, allowing the young adventurer to withstand a little extra damage when his back's against the wall. In total, there are 24 Pieces of Heart in Skyward Sword HD, meaning that players can gain an additional six hearts of health if they collect them all. Doing so will not be easy though.
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Many of the Pieces of Heart in Skyward Sword HD are hidden away in hard-to-reach places, while others require players to set high scores in some of the game's many mini-games. There are also Pieces of Heart that are locked away in special Goddess Chests up in the sky, meaning players will first need to find their corresponding Goddess Cubes before they can get their hands on the heart pieces inside.
The very first Piece of Heart that Link can get his hands on can be found on Pumpkin Landing, a medium-sized island southeast of Skyloft. To get the piece of heart, players will need to head to the upstairs area of the Lumpy Pumpkin pub and have Link roll into the wooden support pillar. This will cause the chandelier to fall down, at which point players can head back downstairs and pick up the Piece of Heart.
Though Batreaux primarily rewards players with wallet upgrades, he'll also give Link a Piece of Heart for finding ten Gratitude Crystals. Players won't be able to start collecting the crystals until after they have defeated Ghirahim at Skyview Temple. After placing the Ruby Tablet into the alter inside the Goddess Statue though, they'll be able to complete the Lost Child and Missing Sister side quests to get the amount that they need fairly early on.
Once players have acquired the Slingshot from the Kikwi Elder, Bucha, in Faron Woods, they'll be able to access Beedle's Flying Shop. After purchasing a few of the smaller items, he'll eventually have a Piece of Heart for sale for 1,600 Rupees. Unfortunately, however, players' wallets won't be big enough to carry that many Rupees at this point, so they'll need to wait until after they get the Big Wallet from Batreaux before they can buy it. Some may prefer to wait until much later on in the game though, as players can buy the Heart Piece for 800 Rupees after completing the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest.
After breaking the chandelier at the Lumpy Pumpkin, players will be able to complete three tasks for Pumm in order to pay off their debt. The first of these involves delivering soup to the commander at the Knight Academy and can be completed straight away. Players can take on the second task, which requires Link to help carry some pumpkins, after making their way through the Earth Temple. The final task becomes available once Link has completed the Lanayru Mining Facility dungeon and acquired the Goddess' Harp. He'll need to accompany Pumm's daughter on the harp, and doing so successfully will see Pumm reward the young hero with another Piece of Heart.
Upon completing the Fixing Fun Fun Island side quest, players will be able to take part in a special mini-game called Dodoh's Drop. Passing through all five Fortune Rings and landing on the 50 Rupee segment while playing the game will see Link rewarded with a Piece of Heart as well as 500 Rupees.
To get inside Zelda's bedroom, players will first need to have completed the Lanayru Desert Silent Realm and obtained the Clawshot. Once they have it, they should head up onto the roof of the Knight Academy via the vines and then use the Clawshot to get inside the chimney. After following a short passageway, players will arrive in Zelda's bedroom and can find a Piece of Heart hidden away inside her closet.
Once players have finished the Fledge's Workout side quest, they'll be able to play a new mini-game by speaking to Fledge outside the Knight Academy sparring hall. If they're able to shoot enough pumpkins to score 600 points, Fledge will reward Link with a Piece of Heart.
By climbing along the southwest root of the Great Tree in the center of Faron Woods, players will be able to reach a platform with a tightrope. Crossing this rope will take them to another platform, on which they will find a piece of heart.
Shortly after obtaining the Beetle in Skyview Temple, players will be able to use it to hit a red switch inside the top of the giant statue. This will cause some metal bars at the back of the statue to rise, allowing players to collect the piece of heart inside.
If players return to Faron Woods after obtaining the Bomb Bag in the Earth Temple, they'll be able to find a bombable wall to the north of the In the Woods bird statue. After destroying it, they'll find a cave containing a Piece of Heart.
Once players have obtained the Goddess' Harp from Zelda, they'll find Gorko hanging around in the area behind the temple in the Sealed Grounds. They'll then need to play their Goddess' Harp near the group of Blessed Butterflies to make a Goddess Wall appear and draw the symbol that matches Gorko's riddle. It will more than likely be an arrow, although occasionally players may need to draw a bomb, a Triforce, a Rupee, or a heart instead. After drawing the correct item, Gorko will give Link a Piece of Heart for helping him with his research.
There's a piece of heart on a ledge in the southeast corner of the first area of the Eldin Volcano. To get to it, players will need to use the Beetle to crash into a bomb by the Pyrup's shell and then follow the path around to reach the ledge.
Once players have obtained the Mogma Mitts in the Fire Sanctuary, they'll reach an underground section where they'll need to catch a fleeing Mogma called Plats. Upon being caught by Link, the Mogma will bring the young hero a buried chest containing a Piece of Heart.
There's a piece of heart hidden in the second chamber in which players have to feed water to a frog statue in order to gain access to the Fire Sanctuary. Players won't be able to get to it without the Mogma Mitts, however, as it involves burrowing underground at a dig spot on the east side of the chamber.
In the northeast corner of the main desert area, players will be able to follow a solid path beneath the sand to a bombable wall. Behind this wall, they'll find another path that will take them to a chest containing a Piece of Heart.
Once they've obtained the Bow and activated the Timeshift Stone on deck, players will be able to climb the Sandship's mast. By using the pulleys and their Bow, they can head to the planks above the ship's stern (east on the map) and then drop down to the area below. If they look off the back of the ship, they'll see a Clawshot target on a wooden pole. Grappling onto this target will allow players to drop down into a new area with a chest containing a Piece of Heart.
After players have completed the Sandship dungeon, they'll be able to return to the Shipyard area and play a new mini-game called Rickety Coaster. They'll earn themselves a Piece of Heart if they're able to complete the Heart-Stopping course in under 65 seconds, which is easier said than done. Players will need to be sure to lean into all of the corners to increase their speed and press in the left analog stick to jump whenever there's a gap in the tracks. There are also five forks in the track where players will need to choose which way to go, with right, right, left, right, right being the optimal route.
To obtain the Thunder Dragon's Piece of Heart, players will first need to heal him with the Life Tree fruit and then return to the sky. After doing so, they'll be able to head back down to Lanayru Gorge and take part in a special boss rush mode by speaking with the dragon again. To get the Heart Piece, they'll need to defeat four bosses and then quit.
Shortly after finding their first Goddess Cube, players will find another directly opposite the entrance to Skyview Temple near the ledge at the end of the stone path. They'll need to deliver a Skyward Strike to this cube in order to activate it and unlock a Goddess Chest up in the sky.
After returning to the sky, players will be able to find the now unlocked chest on a small island south of Skyloft. There's a cluster of four islands that form a triangle of sorts, and the one that players need to land on is the second from the left. If they're having trouble locating it, they'll find it marked on their map with a purple crest.
While searching for the five pieces of the Earth Temple key, players will need to slide down a hill near the volcano's summit. If they aim for the left side of the slope and use the hot air geyser to get onto a platform with a dig spot, they'll be able to jump to another platform with a Goddess Cube on it.
Unfortunately, players will need to wait a while until they can open the corresponding chest, as reaching it involves swimming underwater. Once they have the Water Dragon's Scale though, they'll be able to swim through a tunnel beneath the lake on Skyloft to get inside an otherwise inaccessible building. Once there, they'll find a Goddess Chest containing a Piece of Heart.
When players first reach the blocked-off entrance to the Temple of Time in the Lanayru Desert, they'll be able to find an old minecart near some large stone pillars to the north of the gate. By using the Beetle, they can activate a Timeshift Stone on top of one of these pillars and should then get inside the minecart so that it moves. Next, they'll need to use the Beetle to hit another Timeshift Stone on the platform with the Goddess Cube, which will enable Link to ride the minecart across the gap. As they pass by, players should hit the Goddess Cube with a Skyward Strike from inside the minecart.
After activating the Goddess Cube, players will need to travel to Beedle's Island, which is in the northeast corner of the sky due east of Bamboo Island and the Clean Cut Challenge mini-game. The Goddess Chest containing the Piece of Heart is on top of the large stone pillar, so players will need to time their dismount well due to it being fairly narrow.
The Goddess Cube needed to unlock the chest containing the next Heart Piece is on top of the southeast root of the Great Tree in Faron Woods. For those having trouble finding it, it's the one that goes over the pool of water. If players have the Clawshot, they can simply use the nearby target to get up there. Even if they don't though, it's possible, albeit a little tricky, to jump from the top of the Great Tree and land on the root.
To find the corresponding chest, players will need to head east from the golden pillar of light that leads to the Lanayru Desert and look for a volcano-shaped island. If players don't have the Clawshot, they'll need to fall straight through the opening and then land on a ledge that's off to one side. If they do, they'll find a Clawshot target near the chest, allowing them to reach it easily and claim the Piece of Heart.
After activating the Timeshift Stone and opening the giant mouth of the Pirate Stronghold, players should look for a Clawshot target above the door. Grappling onto this will allow them to reach a hidden area, where they'll find a stone path leading to another Goddess Cube.
The chest that this cube unlocks is on the large island with the waterfall that floats high above Skyloft. To get to it, players will need to head to the northwest area of the town and use the Clawshot to grapple onto some vines on the side of a smaller island to their left. From here, they'll be able to grapple onto the vines on the side of the larger island and reach the Goddess Chest.
Shortly before reaching the entrance to the Fire Sanctuary, players will come to a small outdoor area with a waterfall at the volcano's summit. Here, they'll need to run off the cliff and navigate around several stone pillars as they fall. If done correctly, they should see a pillar with a Goddess Cube down beneath them and should deliver a Skyward Strike to it after they have landed.
Hitting this cube will unlock a Goddess Chest on Bug Island on the west side of the Thunderhead. To get to the chest, players should land on top of the island and then drop down from the southwest edge to a platform. There, they'll find a chest containing yet another Piece of Heart.
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