zelda-skyward-sword
When fighting Koloktos, after breaking the cage that covers his chest, should I keep using his giant ali baba sword to slash at his heart, or is it faster to drop it and use my own?
I only get about 2 good swings with the giant one, and I could probably get 5 or 6 in at least with my own, but I'm not sure if it makes a difference.
As far as I can tell, the bird statues are the only way to save. This article mentions save points in dungeons, and I am assuming they are refering to the bird statues as well.
There are save points scattered throughout the adventure, even in the middle of dungeons. This might sound like an obvious improvement, but it will be taken as something approaching heresy by the more traditionalist of Zelda fans. If you die, you can continue at the last save point with all of the items you've found. Nintendo clearly wants players of all skill levels to be able to finish the adventure.
Note: This is not available until you insert the first tablet (confirmed by @kareen and @jeffmercado)
Open up the gear menu with "1", and you'll see an interface button near the bottom left area of the screen. It should have "Standard" on it. Set it to "Pro" to remove the button layout.
Here is a picture of the button:
(original image taken from: http://www.zeldadungeon.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ss-gear1.jpg)
Here is the location of it (circled):
(original image taken from: http://www.zeldadungeon.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ss-gear.png )
Best Answer
I don't have any numerical data, but I think the large sword does way more damage than your own. I remember going through five or six phases of slashing with the Goddess Sword without killing him, while with the scimitars it takes only two or three.