Hidden Skill

Hidden Skills are seven special sword techniques taught by the Hero's Shade and learned by Link in Twilight Princess.

Learning a Hidden Skill
To acquire a Hidden Skill, Link must first find specific Howling Stones that will teach him a new song. Once the young hero howls the melody with the Golden Wolf, which is the wolf form of the Hero's Shade, the skeleton warrior will ask Link to transform into his human self and find him, pinpointing the location on the young hero's map. When Link has found the golden wolf, Link will walk up to the wolf and be transported to a cloudy area, where he will be taught the hidden skill by the Hero's Shade. However, before the session begins, the Hero's Shade will always ask Link if he is ready to learn the next skill. Should the young hero say no, the warrior will transport Link back to Hyrule. If Link says yes, the Hero's Shade will test him to see if he properly learned the previous hidden skill, and if he passes the test, the Hero's Shade will proceed to teach Link the next skill.

Although up to seven hidden skills can be learned throughout the game, only the first one, the Ending Blow, is required to complete the game. As such, the first meeting with the Golden Wolf cannot be avoided.

Ending Blow
"The enemies that are filled with energy will quickly recover and attack again even when stunned by a powerful strike. The ending blow is a secret technique you can use to end their breath before they spring back into action."

- Hero's Shade

The Ending Blow is the first Hidden Skill that is taught to Link by the Hero's Spirit. It is the only Hidden Skill that must be learned in order to advance through the game.

As its name implies, the Ending Blow is a decisive stroke that will eliminate any enemy if properly executed. Once an enemy is temporarily knocked down, Link will have a chance to finish off the foe by jumping in the air and performing a Down Thrust right into the enemy's chest, thus instantly defeating it. The chance to execute this skill is notified when the player is prompted to press the Action Button on the controller when "Finish" appears on the screen. If the button is pressed, Link will dispatch the downed foe with a jump and a downward thrust of his sword. However, if the enemy moves out of the way, Link will be temporarily vulnerable while trying to pull the sword out of the ground.

The Ending Blow can also be used on certain bosses and minibosses, such as the Deku Toad. The Ending Blow is used in the final part of the battle against Ganondorf. Once Link has dealt enough damage to Ganondorf to knock him down to the ground, the young hero will use this skill to deliver the final blow to the Evil King, thrusting the Master Sword into Ganondorf's chest and thus defeating him.

Torch Slugs are the only foes that will prompt a Ending Blow "Finish" without taking damage, for they will emit a burst of flames that will fling Link off before he has a chance to make contact. Due to the control setup, this also makes a targeted Jump Attack impossible on a Torch Slug.

The move reappears in Skyward Sword as the Fatal Blow, executed by shaking the Wii Remote and Nunchuck vertically while targeting a downed enemy. The technique does not have to be learned explicitly and is again required to finish the game.

Shield Attack
"No matter how well-tempered a blade is, if a foe is clad in armor and bears a shield, the sword will do it no harm. When facing such a foe, you must [...] thrust your shield against the defenses of your enemy, causing the fiend to recoil."

- Hero's Shade

The Shield Attack is the second Hidden Skill in Twilight Princess. This skill lets Link bash the enemy with his shield to open their defenses. To perform the Shield Attack on the GameCube version, Link must get close enough to the enemy while targeting it and then press the R-Button, which will cause the enemy to lower its defense and thus allow the young hero to attack the foe with another skill, such as the Helm Splitter. In the Wii version of the game, this Hidden Skill can be executed by thrusting the nunchuk forward.

Other than bringing the enemy's defenses down, the Shield Attack can also be used to deflect certain enemy projectiles.

The move reappears in Skyward Sword as the Shield Bash, executed by shaking the Nunchuck.

Back Slice
"A mere shield attack is no match for an enemy protected not just by a shield, but by a thick, full-body coat of armor. Such enemies are often focused on guarding against frequent frontal attacks. They often leave their rear unprotected."

- Hero's Shade

The Back Slice is the third Hidden Skill in Twilight Princess. While Link is targeting his enemy, he can side jump with the Action Button to roll around the foe, which will cause for the young hero to end up directly behind his opponent and thus give him a chance to strike. By pressing the Sword Button at the end of the sidewards roll, Link will perform a jumping slice to stab into the enemy's back. This is seemingly one of the most useful Hidden Skills, as it can be used anytime and is one of the fastest ways to attack and defeat armored foes, such as Darknuts.

This technique can also be used when nothing is targeted, but Link will just roll sideways instead of in a semi-circular pattern. Side-jumping then side-rolling repeatedly is the fastest way to travel sideways, but running and rolling forward is still faster, unlike in Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask.

The Back Slice is nearly identical to the vertical-countering parry seen in The Wind Waker.

Helm Splitter
"It is impossible to circle around and perform a back slice against fully armored enemies that move swiftly in combat. Against such foes, you must first use a shield attack to make them flinch, but then quickly [...] leap into the air over the enemy's head and greet them with your blade by immediately striking from behind."

- Hero's Shade

The Helm Splitter is the fourth of the Hidden Skills taught by the Hero's Spirit in Twilight Princess. This skill proves useful when the enemy is too fast to successfully perform a Back Slice. The move is initiated by a Shield Attack to stun the enemy, then, by pressing the Action Button, Link will jump in the air above the foe and slices its head in a vertical flipping motion. After performing the Helm Splitter, Link will land behind his opponent, giving him a possible chance to attack the foe again from behind. This skill is most effective against enemies with helmets (hence the name), such as Darknuts.

The Helm Splitter is nearly identical to the horizontal-countering parry seen in The Wind Waker.

Mortal Draw
"The ways of the sword are known to many creatures, and some have strengthened their guards against shield attacks and back slices. Should you encounter such a foe, the mortal draw that I am about to teach you is most effective. You must sheathe your sword and cast aside the most basic of sword skills, the [...] target. You must wait until your foe is upon you... Then, before the enemy can see through your ruse, you must quickly draw your blade [...]. There is no defense for this. The mortal draw deals death."

- Hero's Shade

The Mortal Draw is the fifth Hidden Skill taught by the Hero's Spirit in Twilight Princess. It is perhaps one of the most useful and devastating of the hidden skills, but it requires a low defense. To perform it, Link must stand still with his sword sheathed and not target the opponent he wishes to eliminate. Once the foe gets close enough to the young hero, the Action Button will change to "Draw", which causes Link to quickly draw his sword and perform a devastating blow to the nearest enemy.

This skill will defeat most enemies in a single hit, and is notably the most damaging sword technique in the entire series in terms of how much it amplifies Link's regular slash.

Jump Strike
"One of the basic sword techniques is the jump attack. It inflicts great damage, but none would call it effective against multiple foes. To perform the jump strike, prepare a jump attack, but focus power in your blade. The surge the blade releases can strike all enemies around you."

- Hero's Shade

The Jump Strike is the sixth Hidden Skill in Twilight Princess. This move is an upgraded version of Link's already devastating Jump Attack, giving him a greater advantage against a group of enemies. Instead of tapping the Action Button while locked on to an enemy, holding the button will charge the Jump Attack to the upgraded Jump Strike. When the A Button is released, Link will jump into the air, swing his sword left and right to knock any enemies in his path, and then slam his sword into the ground, creating a shock wave that will knock down all enemies in range.

Unfortunately, this attack is harder to pull off than most other Hidden Skills. It forces Link to remain in one place for a moment to charge before striking, allowing enemies to strike him prior to his strike. Even after Link leaps up and swings away in mid-air, many enemies will still be able to attack him mid-jump.

Great Spin
"You have at your disposal the basic sword technique known as the spin attack. You now have in you the ability to magnify the power of your spin attack. But the only time you can draw out that power is when your life energy is brimming full."

- Hero's Shade

The Great Spin is the last Hidden Skill in Twilight Princess. This move is a much stronger version of Link's normal Spin Attack. At full health, Link uses a wide-range Spin Attack with a powerful wave for extended radius. The difference between the Great Spin and the Spin Attack can be noticed by how the Great Spin's attack radius is red instead of the Spin Attack's light green.

In the Twilight Realm, if Link is at full health and has recovered the light to the realm, the Spin Attack will reach its maximum reach, as the Light Spin Attack has the same reach as the Great Spin, and combined with the Great Spin's radius makes it much wider (approximately 1.5 the radius of the Great Spin).

The Great Spin returns in A Link Between Worlds as the reward for returning all 100 Lost Maiamais to Mother Maiamai. It works in pretty much the same fashion as in Twilight Princess, an increase in power and radius over the normal Spin Attack.