Ancient Robot
From Zelda Wiki, the Zelda encyclopedia
 Official artwork of an Ancient Robot | |
| Game(s) | Skyward Sword |
| Habitat(s) | Lanayru Desert |
| Notable Member(s) | Scrapper, Skipper, Scervo, Dreadfuse |
The Ancient Robots[1] are a race featured in Skyward Sword. They are very intelligent mechanical beings who inhabit the Lanayru Province and are powered by Timeshift Stones.[2]
Contents |
History
Thousands of years ago, when the Lanayru Desert was a vast, green landscape, the Ancient Robots performed various mining tasks in the area. However, the land's natural resources were eventually depleted and the land withered,[3] leaving the robots to break down and litter several areas of the desert.
Link can bring the Ancient Robots back to life by hitting the Timeshift Stones scattered throughout the desert. Once saved from a group of Technoblins, one of the awakened robots will grant Link the Hook Beetle upgrade, allowing the Beetle to pick up and drop objects from above.
An inactive Ancient Robot can be seen behind the Scrap Shop in the Bazaar on Skyloft, passed down to Gondo by his grandfather. Gondo claims that his grandfather used to have a flying robot named Scrapper that could transport anything.[4][5] Link can reactivate this robot by giving an Ancient Flower to Gondo.[6]
A group of these robots crewed the Sandship which protects Nayru's Flame before pirates took it over and imprisoned them. Skipper was the captain of the ship, but when the pirates took over the ship, they threw him into the sea, where he drifted on the currents to the port in Lanayru.[7]
Types
Most robots are part of the mass-produced LD-301 Series.[8] They do not usually have names, although Scrapper and Skipper are exceptions. These robots can be commonly seen around Lanayru Desert, and usually mine Timeshift Stones and perform maintenance. The miners are obedient to the dragon Lanayru, and must ask him for permission to collect and make use of Timeshift Stones.[9][10] They worry about their master when he is ill, and try to plant a Life Tree Seedling to revive him.[11][12][13]
Scervo and Dreadfuse are part of the LD-002 and LD-003 Series, respectively. They seem to be more aggressive than the LD-301 Series and serve as mini-bosses. Scervo can be found on the Sandship, but Dreadfuse resides outside the desert in Sky Keep.
Trivia
- In the very beginning of the Lanayru Mine area, massive rock formations can be seen in the distance that appear to be giant versions of the standard Ancient Robot.
- All known Ancient Robots have "LD-" and a model number number prefixed to their names. LD stands for Lanayru Desert, which is strange, as the robots were supposedly built before the area became a desert.
- Unlike real robots, the Ancient Robots have emotions. They are thankful when Link saves them from Technoblins, they are worried when the Thunder Dragon is sick and Scrapper was happy when someone fixed him, but was surprised when discovered that it was Link.
- Lanayru considers giving Link a model number, LD-Link-16, but Link isn't fond of the name.
- The number 16 refers to the fact that Skyward Sword is the 16th game in the Zelda canon.
- The Ancient Robots are based on Dogū, which are clay figurines and pottery found in the Jomon period of Japan.[14]
- Blueprints of the Sandship can be found in the Lanayru Shipyard, bearing Hylian writing that translates to "Dogu Ship".
- A symbol found throughout Lanayru Desert and the Sandship appears to be based off the helmet design on the Ancient Robots. This symbol may be the official symbol for the Ancient Robots. See gallery for a side by side comparison.
Gallery
An inactive Ancient Robot
Side by side comparison of an Ancient Robot and the symbol that appears to be based off their helmet structure
Concept art of an Ancient Robot from Hyrule Historia
Concept art of an Ancient Robot from Hyrule Historia
References
- ↑ Official Skyward Sword Website
- ↑ "The Timeshift Stones power us, as well as the machines we use, vreep! That's why we have to stay hard at work, zoop!" — LD-301 (Skyward Sword)
- ↑ "The Lanayru region was once a lush, green landscape, but due to the irresponsible actions of its past inhabitants, the natural resources of the area have been stripped dry." — The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Zelda.com
- ↑ "His name is Scrapper. He may not be much to look at these days..." — Gondo (Skyward Sword)
- ↑ "But he was an amazing robot once! When you called him, he would go anywhere and haul anything!" — Gondo (Skyward Sword)
- ↑ "But old Gramps did tell me this: you can get him working again with the extract from an Ancient Flower. It's like oil to this guy." — Gondo (Skyward Sword)
- ↑ "And then those brutes, bzzt... the pirates, suddenly attacked us, brrzt. They were after Nayru's Flame, zzpt. My crew was imprison d...vrrrt... and I was thrown into the sea!I drifted on the current to this port, vrrrrm..." — Skipper (Skyward Sword)
- ↑ "This robot is part of the LD-301 Series of artificial life-forms. As just one of a number of mass-produced robots, it was not assigned a name. These robots usually work to mine Timeshift Stones and provide maintenance." — Fi (Skyward Sword)
- ↑ "There are lots of big Timeshift Stones here, zrrt. Did you get permission from Master Thunder Dragon to come here like we did, vrrm? We were just about to transport this Timeshift Stone to Master Thunder Dragon, vweep." — Ancient Robot (Skyward Sword)
- ↑ "And we can't do anything with this Timeshift Stone without Master Thunder Dragon's permission, vrrm." — Ancient Robot (Skyward Sword)
- ↑ "The robots were worried about me, so they planted a seedling from the Tree of Life. The fruit of this tree is said to be able to cure any illness... They planted the seedling over there." — Lanayru (Skyward Sword)
- ↑ "We got permission from our master, the Thunder Dragon, to dig for Timeshift Stones, vweep. But Master Thunder Dragon is very ill right now, brrzrrt. I'm worried about him, vrrm. At this rate, our master may cease functioning, vweep..." — Ancient Robot (Skyward Sword)
- ↑ "Master Thunder Dragon's condition has been bad for a long time, and the soil here is not suitable for growing trees, zrrt. If only we had more time, vrrm..." — Ancient Robot (Skyward Sword)
- ↑ "The designers in charge tried to give them a softer appearance. They referred to ancient clay figurines and pottery from the Jomon period in Japan and wondered what they would be like as robots." — Koji Kitagawa, Iwata Asks: Skyward Sword vol 4-2, http://iwataasks.nintendo.com
 Names in Other Regions 
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | |
| Japanese | 
|
RS-301 |
| Spanish | 
|
DL-301S |
| French | 
|
DL-301 |
| German | 
|
WR-301 |
