Skyward Sword: How To Beat The Imprisoned at Sealed Grounds (Second Form)

This hub is going to explain how to beat The Imprisoned in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the second time you do battle with him. The second form of The Imprisoned is the eighth boss of the game and, as you may expect, is a timed boss battle. Just like the first time, you need to defeat this boss before he can reach the Sealed Temple.

This second form of The Imprisoned adds arms that he can use to climb the spiral of the Sealed Grounds, giving him a boost in his progress to reach the Sealed Temple. However, you gain an ally in Groose, whose aptly named Groosenator can shoot oversized Bombs at The Imprisoned to momentarily stun him.

So, it's time to read on and see how this boss can be beaten!

Should you miss with the Groosenator, you have a very small window to slash The Imprisoned's hand appendages to force him to let go of the ledge. If you're not already above him (whether by coincidence or because you're attempting to win this fight via jumping on his forehead), you probably won't have time. Just one successful climb brings him a lot closer to his objective, so careful!

At the start of the fight, The Imprisoned will once again attempt to reach the top of the Sealed Grounds. This time, his steps create shockwaves (just like Phase III of The Imprisoned's first form) from the get-go, so that's something to watch out for. Just like the first fight, there are two ways to get at that sealing spike on The Imprisoned's forehead:

• Bring it down to your level by destroying all of The Imprisoned's foot appendages.
• Leap onto his forehead.

However, since The Imprisoned is faster and stronger this time, trying to leap on his forehead is just going to get you thrown off. So, what to do? The Imprisoned will soon use his newly acquired arms to attempt to climb up one level. It is at this time that Groose will call out to you so that he can use the Groosenator to lob a Bomb at The Imprisoned.

I didn't mention the option before because The Imprisoned's first climb attempt is the trigger that allows you to use the Groosenator in the first place.

Anyway, use the Groosenator to land a solid hit on The Imprisoned and he will be stunned, causing him to lose his grip, and forcing him to take the long way around (until he attempts to climb once again).

• Finish off all of the appendages on one foot before moving to the other. Once a foot is out of appendages, The Imprisoned's movement is slowed (he's forced to drag that foot instead of step on it).

• You can also use your Bow to attack the appendages from afar. This is especially useful for that solitary heel appendage on each foot.

If you're trying to win via the forehead approach, the Bomb's stun gives you the chance to drive the spike in. Otherwise, you can use the time to start slashing away at The Imprisoned's feet appendages.

After you destroy all of The Imprisoned's foot appendages, he will tip backwards and fall on the ground, just like the first fight. However, there's a complication: The Imprisoned's arms will prevent you from just dashing behind him. So, what can we do? Simple. Use an air vent to fly to the floor above him and then drop down behind him. Then, just drive the spike in using upward slashes as usual.

Note: If you can't reach the sealing spike in time, The Imprisoned will reset the phase (regrow all appendages) and you'll be even more pressed for time (since you haven't dealt any actual damage yet). Time is of the essence!

Note: It's for the above reason that most people try to jump on The Imprisoned's forehead instead of slashing all of the foot appendages.

In any case, let's assume that you've managed to drive the spike in three times. The Imprisoned will then force the spike out of his forehead and let out a resounding roar, before switching to Phase II.

In this Phase, The Imprisoned moves slightly faster. To be quite honest, there's not much to say. What worked in Phase I will work here.

Note: After the first, plot-triggered, time that you get to use the Groosenator, an invisible clock is started. Once the time is up on that clock, you get to use it again (you will know because Groose will call out to you). This clock resets each time you use the Groosenator, so make sure to take full advantage of those Bombs!

After driving in the spike a second time, The Imprisoned will start slithering like a snake in an attempt to gain ground. This marks the start of Phase III.

You're going to want to fly up to the floor above The Imprisoned using an air vent, so as to be closer to him once he stands up and drives the spike out of his forehead once again. His movement is drastically increased in this last leg of the fight, so you're going to want to target one foot exclusively so you can slow him down.

Note: Or, you could just wait for the Groosenator so you can lob a bomb at him for the stunning effect. Seriously, short of using the Bow, hitting those appendages without eating shockwaves is hard at The Imprisoned's current speed.

Once you have driven the sealing spike in a third time, the battle will finally be over!

The Imprisoned will be sealed inside the spike once again, and you won't even receive a Heart Container for your troubles (boo!). However, you will get some crucial plot exposition, so I guess that's something.

That's about it for this hub. If you would like to add something to this hub, or talk about Zelda in general (keep spoilers at a minimum please!), then feel free to post in the comments section!

Until the next time, take care and have fun! ;)

-Winterfate

P.S: If anyone reading this finds a high-quality pic of The Imprisoned's second form, please let me know.