Sword of the Sea Trophy Guide: Your Platinum Roadmap

Platinum Requirements and Where to Start

The route to Platinum runs through hidden shells, aerial combos, and one clean fight against Tornamun. This Sword of the Sea trophy guide organizes those challenges so you can finish exploration before combining your New Game Plus completion with the two-hour speedrun. Save the no-hit boss attempt for after your first ending, when Chapter Select lets you practice the entire encounter.

Achievement	How to unlock
Sword of the Sea	Complete the adventure and view the credits.
New Game Plus Completed	Complete the entire adventure in New Game Plus and view the credits.
Pro Surfer	Earn every other trophy.

Finish your first adventure while collecting shells, reading stele, restoring optional water points, and buying vendor rewards. Collectible progress carries into Chapter Select and New Game Plus, so you can recover anything you missed.

Once you begin your New Game Plus completion run, play through the adventure without using Chapter Select. Selecting a chapter resets progress for that playthrough.

Install available updates before starting cleanup. Several changes directly affect trophy hunting:

• The September 19, 2025 update added collectible tracking to Chapter Select and the New Game Plus pause screen.
• That update also fixed incorrect collectible counts that could prevent an associated trophy from unlocking.
• The September 23, 2025 update fixed a trophy/achievement award issue when starting the final level through Chapter Select.

Official page: Sword of the Sea (swordoftheseagame.com)

Collectible Trophies: Shells, Stele, Frogs, and Water

Image: Steam / Giant Squid

Find all 50 secret shells

Water Whisperer requires 50 secret shells: 49 spread across seven chapters and one purchased through the mysterious vendor’s final reward.

Achievement	Chapter	Shells required
Veiled Sea Shell Collector	Veiled Sea	10
Lost Grotto Shell Collector	Lost Grotto	11
Forbidden Valley Shell Collector	Forbidden Valley	1
Shadow Tundra Shell Collector	Shadow Tundra	10
Frozen Drifts Shell Collector	Frozen Drifts	1
Sacred River Shell Collector	Sacred River	11
Boiling Cavern Shell Collector	Boiling Cavern	5
Water Whisperer	All chapter shells plus the vendor reward	50 total

Shells glow white and are collected by moving close to them. Search elevated ledges, hidden caves, statue details, and routes away from the main objective.

Collecting all 50 unlocks water rails throughout the game, extending that movement ability beyond Sacred River. Finish this collection before your New Game Plus run to bring that extra traversal option into earlier chapters.

Read all 23 stele

Wisdom of the Ancients requires interacting with all 23 lore pillars.

A stele’s yellow writing disappears after you read it during a chapter visit. That visual indicator resets in Chapter Select and New Game Plus, so keep a separate checklist for individual messages rather than relying on their appearance during replays.

Restore every water point

The six Cleanse trophies correspond to:

• Veiled Sea
• Lost Grotto
• Forbidden Valley
• Shadow Tundra
• Frozen Drifts
• Sacred River

Activate optional water points along with those needed for the story. These detours can also reveal rideable animals and additional Tetra.

In Shadow Tundra, the optional water point inside the cave reached through the boost-and-jellyfish platforming route brings elasmosaurs into the area. Collect the shell inside the skull directly above that water point while you are there.

Find the five hidden frogs

Approach each frog’s resting place to register it.

• Desert Rain Frog — Veiled Sea: After activating the sphere water point tied to the right-side chain, use the kelp behind the building to reach the waterfall’s upper edge. Follow the cliffs right, then descend the projecting stone platforms to the lowest ledge.
• Bullfrog — Lost Grotto: After activating the sphere water point that opens the exit chain, stay on the building and move behind the large shark statue. Cross the narrow rooftop toward the stone pillar, then climb its ledges.
• Horned Frog — Shadow Tundra: Beyond the first golden bell, find the ramp leading toward the tallest central platform in the large open area. Use boost and a charged jump to reach the rock stack.
• Poison Dart Frog — Sacred River: After activating the sphere water point on the boat, reach the first pillar along its chain. Jump and water grind toward the cliff with a boat in the direction the chain continues.
• Frog Skeleton — Boiling Cavern: At the water sphere before the large door, cross the boat to the right and climb toward the boat on the tall platform. Look on top of its lantern.

Animal Riding and Movement Trophies

Restoring water brings large animals back into exploration areas. Jump onto their backs, ride along, then jump off to collect the corresponding riding trophy.

Image: Nintendo

Achievement	How to unlock
Orca Rider	Ride an orca in Veiled Sea after activating the story water point linked to the left chain.
Archelon Rider	Ride an archelon in Lost Grotto after activating the main water point on top of the building that opens the exit.
Humpback Rider	Ride a humpback whale in Shadow Tundra after restoring water at the giant statue’s hand.
Sperm Whale Rider	Ride a sperm whale.
Whale Shark Rider	Ride a whale shark.
Blue Whale Rider	Ride a blue whale.
Elasmosaur Rider	Ride an elasmosaur after activating Shadow Tundra’s optional cave water point.
Long Distance Jumper	Travel a large distance in one jump without touching the ground.
Water Rider	Use water rails four times without touching the ground.

For Archelon Rider, use the large animals that appear after the main rooftop water point. The similar turtles encountered earlier do not count.

For Long Distance Jumper, use Shadow Tundra’s boost-wisp area. Gather boost charges, climb to an elevated launch point, and aim downhill toward lower ground to extend your jump.

For Water Rider, use a jellyfish near the beginning of Sacred River:

1. Bounce from the jellyfish.
2. Triple jump to create a water rail.
3. Jump off the rail and return to the jellyfish without landing on the ground.
4. Repeat until you have used four water rails in the same airborne sequence.

Vendor Rewards, Treasure Chests, and Tetra

Image: Steam / Giant Squid

Drop requires all five rewards from the mysterious vendor. The full purchase chain costs 8,550 Tetra, including the shell needed for Water Whisperer.

Reward	Individual cost	Cumulative cost
Tricks	50 Tetra	50 Tetra
Spin Tricks	500 Tetra	550 Tetra
Drop	1,000 Tetra	1,550 Tetra
Super Jump	2,000 Tetra	3,550 Tetra
Secret Shell	5,000 Tetra	8,550 Tetra

Collect gold triangular Tetra throughout the world, open treasure chests, activate fish tiles, and beat Trick Attack targets. The vendor appears along the main route in multiple locations, so spend your Tetra when you encounter them.

Two trophies fit naturally into this collection:

• Treasure Tracker: Open 10 treasure chests.
• Tile Finder: Activate 10 fish tiles by landing on them.

Fish tiles glow blue and frequently sit on rooftops, statues, and other elevated surfaces. Chests and tiles become available again during Chapter Select replays and New Game Plus.

For additional Tetra, replay Frozen Drifts and activate its optional water points while breaking crystals along the route. Sacred River also produces substantial Tetra through its main and optional water points.

All Trick Attack Locations and Combo Trophies

There are four Trick Attack arenas. Trick Attack Seeker requires finding them all and interacting with each arena’s stone pillar. Trick Attack Expert requires beating every arena’s target score.

Look for the hourglass symbol marking the entrances.

Area	Chapter	Target score	Entrance landmark
Veiled Sea	1	8,000	After restoring water, look left of the building near the route toward the hidden frog.
Lost Grotto	2	10,000	From the rooftop-jumping area, look right toward the separate group of buildings marked with an hourglass.
Shadow Tundra	4	10,000	Beyond the first golden bell, follow the far-right side of the large open ice area toward the right bell tower.
Sacred River	6	10,000	Near the suspended boats, cross right using jellyfish, activate the lanterns on the separate island, and enter the revealed passage.

Interact with the stone pillar inside each arena to reveal its hourglass, then activate the hourglass to begin. Challenges give you 40–60 seconds to beat their scores.

Veiled Sea: use the halfpipe

Ride through the yellow boost strip in the center of the halfpipe, launch from either side, and perform aerial tricks. On PS5, hold L1 and use the trick buttons while airborne.

Focus on landing your tricks cleanly. The 8,000-point target leaves little reason to stretch a combo beyond what you can safely finish.

Lost Grotto and Shadow Tundra: extend your airtime

Use jellyfish, wall rides, and rails to keep your combo alive. Alternate tricks while airborne, then land to bank the points.

In Shadow Tundra, the rails and boost ramps give you several ways to link moves before returning to the jellyfish.

Sacred River: connect jellyfish with water rails

The final arena has a 60-second timer. Combine jellyfish bounces with your water-grinding ability, perform tricks between them, and land before the challenge ends.

Earn the three combo trophies

The combo milestones are:

• Nice Combo!: Land a 5x combo.
• Cool Combo!: Land a 10x combo.
• Awesome Combo!: Land a 20x combo.

Bounce between different jellyfish while alternating aerial tricks. Repeatedly touching the same jellyfish does not itself increase the combo multiplier. Use wall rides and grinds to extend the sequence, then land successfully.

During your first playthrough, the score and combo display appears inside Trick Attack arenas. New Game Plus lets you enable it during normal gameplay, making remaining combo cleanup easier to follow.

For Tricky, perform every aerial spin trick. Purchase Spin Tricks from the vendor, then cycle through the available tricks and directions while jumping. There is no individual trick checklist in the game.

Untouchable: Defeat Tornamun Without Taking Damage

Untouchable requires completing the entire Tornamun encounter without taking a hit. The fight occupies Chapter 8, Sky Abyss, and has no checkpoints.

Finish the encounter normally before attempting the trophy through Chapter Select. If you take damage during a no-hit attempt, restart the chapter.

Tower ascent: watch the falling rocks

The opening climb’s damaging hazards are the falling rocks. Watch their approach and steer into clear lanes as you ascend.

Avoid unnecessary movement once you have a safe path. The gaps between rock waves give you room to prepare for the next section.

Cloud halfpipe: stop collecting during meteors

Move across the halfpipe to collect water orbs and attack with Square when ready.

Handle the attacks separately:

• Laser: Keep moving across the halfpipe.
• Fire attack: Jump over it.
• Meteors: Pause your orb collection and focus on avoiding the impacts.

Stay on the riding surface during meteor attacks where possible. Being airborne while chasing an orb limits your ability to adjust sideways before an impact.

Water tube: separate lasers from fire rings

Keep rotating around the tube to evade the laser. When fire attacks begin, move into the uncovered portions of partial rings and jump over full rings.

Prioritize the next safe landing over collecting another orb. Use the easier laser sequences to resume gathering orbs and dealing damage.

Follow the Square prompts during the dolphin and shark sequences, then finish the encounter. Let the credits finish: Untouchable unlocks afterward, rather than immediately when Tornamun falls.

The September 19, 2025 update skips the final chapter’s introductory cutscene when using Restart Chapter or Chapter Select, shortening repeat attempts.

Speed Surfer, Great Score, and New High Score

Combine these objectives with your New Game Plus completion:

• Speed Surfer: Complete the adventure in under two hours.
• Great Score: Earn a game-wide high score of at least 1,000,000 points.
• New High Score: Beat your previous game-wide high score at the end of a playthrough.

Completing the game in under two hours grants a 2x completion score bonus. That means 500,000 points earned during the run can reach the million-point requirement after the bonus.

Check your score in the upper-right corner of the pause menu. For New High Score, compare your progress against your previous completed-run total; reaching one million does not automatically beat an existing record above that amount.

Build score with alternating tricks between jellyfish, then land the combo. Keep those scoring sessions brief so they fit comfortably within the speedrun.

During the timed run, follow the required objectives, use available boosts, and skip collectible detours, optional animal rides, and stele reading you have already completed.

The August 29, 2025 update fixed an issue that could award New High Score on a first playthrough. Plan to earn it by beating your record during New Game Plus.

Completion Order

1. Complete the first adventure: Gather chapter shells, read stele, restore optional water points, find frogs, ride animals, and purchase vendor rewards.
2. Clear all four Trick Attacks: Register every arena, beat its target, and work toward the 20x combo trophy.
3. Use Chapter Select for cleanup: Finish outstanding collections and buy the vendor’s final shell to reach 50.
4. Complete the movement challenges: Finish Long Distance Jumper, Water Rider, and any remaining spin tricks.
5. Earn Untouchable: Replay Sky Abyss without taking damage and let the credits finish.
6. Complete an uninterrupted New Game Plus run: Stay under two hours, build enough score for Great Score, beat your previous record, and view the credits.