Hello! This is my HD texture pack page for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword!
Some general info regarding this texture pack which you should read before you download it;
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There are ~7000 textures in total in the game (I have tried to dump every single one, however I may have missed a few). Out of these textures a few hundred have been completely re-textured. Many other textures have been been up-scaled using A.I upscaling and some minor touch ups. Some filtered textures have been modified or changed entirely to look better as well. Some textures remain completely untouched until I've worked on them since some textures look bad when upscaled. The game is completely playable all the way through with these textures!
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I am completely up for suggestions, changes and submissions. You will of course be fully credited for any work you submit.
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The 4K version of the texture pack is scaled to 8x the default resolution, this means that (if internal resolution is increased in Dolphin) you may be able to view some textures at a staggering 6832x3480 resolution! The 1080p version is scaled to 4x the default resolution, which results to slightly above 1080p (it still looks really good!). The 4K version will still look better than the 1080p version, even if you're not using a 4K display.
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My goal with this texture pack is to enhance the original game visuals while staying faithful to the original vision. That means my textures are meant to blend in as much as possible with the old textures so the game feel doesn't change.
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This texture pack will work with any custom mods / hacks of Zelda: Skyward Sword as long as they aren't adding new textures or changing old ones (in that case, conflicting textures will be overwritten by one another but it will still work).
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Ishiiruka-Dolphin is required to make material maps, shaders and other nice visual features work and is highly recommended. There is a custom fork of Ishiiruka Dolphin inside the texture pack download which you can use, or alternatively download the latest version of Ishiiruka-Dolphin. If you want to play without a real Wiiremote + Nunchuck, you need to use regular Dolphin (use the latest Development Build).
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There is no 60 FPS patch available as of yet. You can however play the game on a modern TV with active frame interpolation to get a faked 60 FPS, at the cost of increased input lag.
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Currently, only NTCS textures have been modified. You can still use this texture pack on European / Japanense / Korean versions of the game in Dolphin, it will still work. This will not include the PAL/Jap/Kor region specific textures though.
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If you are having issues with stuttering and lag, remember to check "Prefetch Custom Textures" in the 'Advanced' tab of the Graphics settings before asking for help. I also recommend enabling V-Sync as it removes screen tearing in full screen mode.
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This project is in no way affiliated with the glorious Zelda: Skyward Sword Remastered texture Pack project!
Why would I play with this over the original Wii / Switch HD versions?
There are many reasons why you would want to play the game with a HD texture pack over playing it on a real Wii / Wii U or even the Switch HD version. Here are some I've listed out the top of my head;
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Better visuals (Higher resolution textures, material mapping, rim lighting, depth of field, ambient occlusion, global illumination, customizable tonemapping, custom post processing shaders and even ray tracing!)
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You can play it on your PC (duh!)
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It's free, not 60$.
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Android & iOS Support
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Fully customizable controls
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Supports ANY controller, including Joy-Con, Switch Pro Controller, Xbox and PS4/PS5.
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Works on macOS & Linux too
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Less blur / remove it completely if you like
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Superior mods and modding tools
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Free Cam
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Supports a plethora of cheats and patches
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Stereoscopic 3D support
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Supports emulated Wii-controls (You can play the game using a normal controller, no need for a Wiimote & Nunchuck unless you want to!)
Video preview
(Please watch in 2160p, 60 FPS for the best experience!)
Installation:
If you're on Windows: There is minimal installation! A special preconfigured version of Dolphin called Ishiiruka Dolphin is provided alongside the texture pack. Simply extract the folder somewhere and start Dolphin using "Zelda SS 4K (Edition Version).exe", then open up your own game rom of Zelda: Skyward Sword and play.
If you're on Mac or Linux: please manually download Dolphin from this page for your operating system and copy all of the contents of the texture pack's "user" folder (not the folder itself, but everything inside it) to your Dolphin directory (on macOS, your Dolphin Directory is inside of ~/Library/Application Support/Dolphin).
Next make sure to enable "Use Custom Textures" in the Dolphin Graphics Settings > Advanced tab, or else the custom textures won't load!
And finally, you also need the game rom to start the game, which isn't included for legal reasons. Information on how to dump your own game rom legally can be found here.
For SteamDeck users the installation is a bit different. First you must download Dolphin, this can easily be done through the use of a program like Emudeck or through Flatpak. If you installed Dolphin through Emudeck, your Dolphin directory will be located inside of /home/deck/.var/app/org.DolphinEmu.dolphin-emu/config/dolphin-emu/. You must right click inside the Dolphin directory > Menu > Check the box for "Show Hidden Files" or else you may not be able to access the Dolphin folder. The rest of the installation is the same as for Linux/MacOS, which you can find above.
For Android users, the process is also a bit different. First download the latest Dolphin Emulator from the Google Play Store, or download the latest "Development Version" APK directly from here, install it on your device and try running your game rom in it to make sure everything is working before installing the texture pack itself. Next, download the 1080p version of the texture pack on your device (the 4K version might not work on some android devices) and extract it using any .zip unarchival app (some android versions have this feature built in, whilst some require a third party app to unzip .zip files). Once that is done, open the texture pack folder and navigate to the user > load > textures folder.
Next, copy the folder called "GZ2" to this location on your device;
Internal Storage/dolphin-emu/load/textures
Now finally, enable the "Load Custom Textures" option inside the Dolphin Graphics Settings > Advanced tab. Then set the "Internal Resolution" in the Graphics Settings to a higher value than the default 1x (start with 2x and increase from there, if it starts to lag lower the internal resolution again). Then start the game. It should say a disclaimer about the texture pack before the game starts, that's how you know it's working. Enjoy!
For iOS users, the process is very similar to that of Android. However install Dolphin is a bit trickier and will require that you use DolphiniOS, which has it's own installation instructions provided here.
NO GAME ROM OR GAME FILES ARE INCLUDED WITH THIS TEXTURE PACK.
If you encounter any issues with the texture pack please post them on the Forums or on Discord!
Enjoy!
If you want, become a Patron to support the continued development of the texture packs and get all my texture pack updates 1 month early, as well as access to other benefits like personal 24/7 support, beta features, 4K 60 FPS video backgrounds, orchestrated music and more!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Why is the game crashing / displaying "Fifo Error: Shutting Down"
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The reason why is most likely because you don't have the latest C++ Redist from Microsoft installed. This is required on most Windows setups or else the game won't boot. You can download it for free from Microsoft's website here. If it's still crashing after you've installed C++ Redist, it might be because you're using an WBFS, WFS or .NKIT ISO. You need a regular ISO version to play the game without any errors- NKIT is NOT supported. You can convert your NKIT to a regular ISO easily using the free NKIT to ISO converter.
It's night time in Skyloft from the beginning / the image is flickering constantly!
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This is the result of an incompatible Depth of Field removal / Art Impressionist Reducer code being active for your particular revision & region of the game. To fix it, simply replace the "Art Impressionist Reducer" code with the correct one in the game properties (right click the game in the games list > properties > AR Codes / Gecko Codes tabs) for your specific revision and region version of the game. You find your revision and region of the game in the game properties > info tab. See the list here:
PAL ONLY (European version):
Art Style Intensity Modifier for Revision 0 [Anarion]
04593564 00000000
Art Style Intensity Modifier for Revision 1 [Anarion]
0457ba98 00000000
NTSC ONLY (American version):
Background Blur Removal for Revision 0, possibly Revision 1 [Anarion]
0257a350 00000000
Background Blur Removal for Revision 2 [Anarion]
0257aa30 00000000
How do I pull the sword from the altar in the beginning?
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The sword part in the beginning can be a bit tricky. What you need to do is to is hold A+ZR (or R2, depending on the controller you have), and then pull the right stick down and then up again slowly.
Can I customize the visuals any more?
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If you're using the post-processing version which uses Ishiiruka Dolphin, yes absolutely! Go to the Graphics settings in Dolphin > Post-Processing tab and click "Options". Then customize the selected shader to your heart's content!
How do I get it to work on mobile?
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It's easy! Simply download the Android / iOS version of the pack and then extract the included "User" folder to your primary Dolphin directory. You can find Dolphin for Android on the Google Play Store for free, and Dolphin for iOS is available through the service DolphiniOS (An iPhone 11 or later, iPhone SE Gen 2 or iPad Air/Pro 2020 or beyond is recommended for optimal performance!)
Changelog:
1.0.5 (2021-08-01):
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Full Dualshock / Dualsense support (including gyro controls)
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Background Blur Removal now works on ALL western versions of the game!
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New textures in Lanayru desert and Skyloft
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Bug fixes and other minor improvements
1.0.4 (2021-06-01):
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Updated Link's face so that he doesn't look as sleep deprived as before (bags under his eyes)
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Fixed Link's gross finger nails, they now look normal!
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Link's gloves are now in HD.
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New textures for shields and shield icons
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Fixed an issue where Gaepora's eyes would display completely black
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Fixed a freezing issue that would occur before the final fight with Ghirahim (does not fix in saves already affected, unfortunately this fix will only affect new save games made using this version and beyond)
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Fixed a crash that could occur when soaring down to the overworld for the first time if you were using the Vulkan API
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Fixed an issue where the textures wouldn't display if you used Revision 0 of the PAL version of the game.
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Fixed an issue where the the simulated motion controls wouldn't work for Dualsense controllers (PS5 controllers)
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Some textures were missing from the Standard Edition of the pack that existed in the Post Processing version, they are now included in the Standard Edition as well!
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Fixed an issue where cleaning the house of one of the NPCs wasn't possible so you got stuck in the house and couldn't get out (soft lock).
1.0.3 (2021-03-02):
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Much, much improved controls. I present the Ultimate Gamepad Preset 5.0! Completely remade from scratch. It feels awesome! (Use the right stick to move up or down, or to fly faster to either direction. Use the right trigger to flap your wings (to gain height) and lastly use A to boost. That's it! No much fiddeling with both sticks at the same time. No more crossing your fingers to hit three buttons on different sides of the controller at the same time)
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Flying is no longer a pain!
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Combat controls have been overhauled as well. Simply move the right stick to move Link's sword to that direction, and then press RB (right backside button) to slash your sword!
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Jump and spin attack are now easy to do with a regular controller (Just press down the left stick until it clicks!)
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Improved controls for Joy-con, Dualshock/Dualsense and Switch Pro Controllers with gyro support! Flying and aiming has never been easier.
1.0.2 (2021-01-14):
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Improved gamepad controls!
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The infamous reflection / shadow bug has been permanently fixed
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70+ new 4K textures covering environments and interiors in several areas of the game.
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New controller profiles- including non-wiimote ones! This also support joy-con and Switch Pro controllers.
1.0.1 (2020-11-10):
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Introduced the "Standard Edition", which supports emulated WiiMotion Plus controls!
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Improved shader effects
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Various bug fixes and minor changes.
1.0.0 (2020-11-03):
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Initial release