VIII-1. Hyrule Castle

Required

Nothing...it's the beginning of the game!

To Get There

When you start the game, you will be in Link’s house. After his uncle leaves, go over to the nearby chest and open it to find the LAMP. Go through the door, and you’ll wind up outside in the storm. Jump down to the path in front of you and head east, then north. When you get to the river, turn west and head that way until you reach the big bridge to the castle’s front gate. However, there is a guard standing there. To get around him, turn east, following the path east and then north to a bush. Lift the bush to reveal a secret passage, and fall down it.

When you land, head west until you reach Link’s uncle, who is injured. Talk to him, and he will give you the FIGHTER’S SWORD and BLUE SHIELD. He will also tell you how to do a Spin Attack with the sword (by holding and releasing B). Head east and south, and go through the door. In this next room there are two Soldiers; either ignore them and go up the steps, or kill them and go to the east of the room, which has a chest containing a blue Rupee (or the Lamp, if you didn’t get it in Link’s house) and some pots containing small Magic Decanters. Anyway, to continue, go up the steps in the west of the room and head south through the door. You will now be within the Castle grounds. Head southwest and then north to the front door (taking out or avoiding Soldiers).

Inside the Castle

Once inside, go east or west (either way works), turn north, and go through the next room, taking out any Soldiers in your way. When you go through the next door, take the stairs in the middle of the hallway down.

The next room has a blue Soldier and a chest in it. Kill the Soldier for a KEY, and open the chest to get the MAP, then go through the locked door. This next room involves crossing a narrow ledge or two while taking out Soldiers. Head south, then all the way west, and go through the nearby door. (The steps in the south and north of the room both lead back to the northeast area of the room.) Anyway, once going through the north door, kill the Soldier to open the east door. In this room is a blue Soldier (kill him for another KEY), and a chest containing the BOOMERANG. Go back to the previous room, up the north steps, and through the door. The next room is just a connecting room; head down the steps and go down the north stairs, then go down another set of stairs in the next room.

You will now be in the dungeon, where there is a Soldier and a Ball and Chain Trooper. In the first cell are a few pots with Healing Hearts, which you may need in a minute. The Trooper (at the east end of the room in front of Zelda’s cell) is tricky to get, but if you use the Boomerang and Sword in combination, or throw pots (the ones that had the Healing Hearts), it shouldn’t be too difficult. When he dies he’ll drop the BIG KEY, which will open Zelda’s cell. Get the Rupees in the chest and talk to Zelda, and she’ll tell you to take her to the first floor, where there’s a secret way out of the castle.

So, backtrack to the large abyss room (taking out Soldiers where appropriate) and take the shortcut up the steps I mentioned earlier (so you can avoid a Soldier or two). Go up the stairs in the next room to wind up back on the first floor. From here, go west, south, and east (or east, south, and west—again, it doesn’t matter), killing Soldiers as you go. When you finally get back to the first room Zelda will tell you to go to the throne room, which is to the north. So, go up the north stairs, killing or avoiding the Soldiers, and all the way to the north of the throne room. She’ll ask you to push the ornamental shelf that’s behind the thrones from the left. Doing this will reveal a secret passage.

In the rooms that follow, you’ll need to use your Lamp to light the torches (Zelda says so before you go in), so make sure you have some Magic Power. The main dangers in the dungeons and sewers are rats, snakes, and bats. In the first room, light the torch in the west, and make your way northeast to the stairs there. Go down the stairs, and you’ll be in a connecting room with a bunch of snakes. Kill them, and go down another set of stairs. The next room has some bats, so look out as you get the KEY from the chest in the east of the room, and go through the locked door in the north.

You’ll now be in the sewers. This room has a torch immediately to your right; light it and take out the hostiles, and go through the west door. This next room has two torches, but they’re in the west of the room. Make your way over there, light them and kill the hostiles, and go through the north door. Head left in this next room, and kill the snakes for another KEY, then go through the northeast door.

You’ll now be back in well-lit rooms, so you won’t need your Lamp. This room has two weak walls in the west, but as you have no Bombs or Pegasus Boots at this time, you can’t break them until later. Anyway, make your way to the north of this room, where you’ll have to push the middle block north to get past it to the north stairs. The next room has some more rats; deal with them as you like and make your way to the south door. This next room is the last before Sanctuary; Zelda tells you to pull one of the switches. The one you need to pull to open the door is on the right; if you pull the left one, a bunch of snakes will rain down on you. After you pull the switch, the south door will open. Upon arriving in Sanctuary and after listening to what Zelda and the sage have to say, you can grab the HEART CONTAINER from the chest.

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