VIII-2. Eastern Palace

Required

Lamp, Sword, Shield, Boomerang.

To Get There

After rescuing Princess Zelda and taking her to Sanctuary, Zelda tells you that you need to find the legendary Master Sword. She says to go see the elder in Kakariko Village, who might know where it is. Well, the woman who is there tells you she doesn’t know where the elder is, but that someone else in the village might know. Explore the village (collecting some Pieces of Heart, Magic Bottles, and the Bug-Catching Net, if desired), and you’ll eventually find a boy in the south end of the village who tells you that the elder is in the east, and he marks the location on your map. Sahasrahla’s hut is just west of the Eastern Palace, which is your next goal. When you get there, he tells you that you must collect three Pendants in order to claim the Master Sword from the Lost Woods.

Exit the hut, and go up the steps (beware of Armos Knights) and around to the southeast. Go east a little and down and up some steps to reach the entrance to the Palace.

Inside the Palace

Enemies that you'll see in the Eastern Palace: Leevers (weird-looking blue-and-orange creatures), Stalfos (skeletons; they’ll try to dodge your Sword), Bubbles (faces with red bubbles around them, rotating and bouncing off walls), and red and green Rocklops (large one-eyed creatures; use Arrows on them once you get the Bow).

The first room consists of three pots and three doors, the left and right of which are dead ends. Pick up the middle pot and step on the switch to open the middle door, and go through it. The next room has a few Leevers; kill them and step on the switch in the floor to go through the north door. This next room has a long corridor with balls rolling south towards Link, either on one side of the corridor or the other. Sometimes there’ll be a big one (which you should avoid), but you should be able to make it to the north fairly easily. Go west and south to reach a chest with 100 Rupees, or up the steps and through the north door to continue.

In the main room, go to the east of this narrow platform and lift a pot out of the way so you can step on the switch in the corner. Go through the east door, avoiding the Stalfos, and head for the northeast door. Avoid the Bubble, and lift the center pot to step on the switch that opens the south door. Go through it, and you’ll find a chest with the MAP. Backtrack to the main room, and go through the west door (lifting a pot to get at the floor switch). Avoid the Stalfos, and go through the southwest door. This room has four Stalfos that will appear when you head for the pot in the middle of the room; kill them all to open the north door. The next room has a chest with the COMPASS; go down the stairs after getting it and through the east door. Head through the east door in this next room to reach the lower area of the main room.

Head straight for the east door, ignoring the Stalfos and Rocklops for now. In the next room, go south under the upper platform until you reach some steps in the south. Go up them and through the door, then go east and south (avoiding the Bubbles) and step on the floor switch to open the east door. This next room has three Stalfos and lots of pots; the northeast pot has a KEY. Backtrack to the Bubble room, go south and west, and head through the locked west door. You will now be back in the rolling-ball room, on a different gantry; head all the way west and through the door. In this room, kill the Leevers, Stalfos, and Rocklop to release the Bubbles, who are guarding the pot in the middle of the room. Pick up the pot to reveal a switch, which in turn reveals a chest in the north of the room. Open the chest to get the BIG KEY, then go through the locked north door.

Head down the steps, and push the east block north to get past, then all the way north and east to reach the main room again. Head to the south of the room and grab the Bow from the big chest, but be careful because Stalfos will drop down and their heads will fly around and try to hurt Link. Avoid them if possible, and head for the locked door in the north of the main room, which opens with the Big Key (feel free to lob a couple of arrows into the Rocklops). In this room, kill all of the Leevers and the two Rocklops, one of which will drop a KEY. The northeast door leads to a room with a bunch of Blue Rupees (guarded by two Bubbles); to continue, go through the locked northwest door.

The next room has two Bubbles and some pots; lift the southwest one to reveal the switch that opens the west door. Go through the door to reach a room with three Rocklops. Kill all three with Arrows, and step on the floor switch (it’s the south-most raised tile) to open the west door. In the next room you’ll have to dodge more balls, except that in here they’re rolling in all directions. Quickly make your way to the northwest floor tile, which will open the west door. Go through it to reach a room with two Stalfos and a red Rocklop; he must be killed with two arrows. Kill all three, and the north door will open. The last room has six Leevers in a semicircle (use the Spin Attack to get them) and two red Rocklops. Kill them all to open the last door, and grab Healing Hearts and Arrows from the pots before going to the boss room through the north door.

Keeper: Armos Knights

The Armos Knights here are much larger than the Armos Knights you saw outside the Palace. There are six of them, and they follow a set path: expand, rotate clockwise, retract, expand, and then they all line up at the top of the room. You can shoot them with Arrows at any time; it takes a total of 3 Arrows to kill each one. When there is only one left, it will turn red and try to stomp on Link. In addition, it will be healed of any previous damage, so you'll have to hit it with three more Arrows. Once it's gone, you will receive a HEART CONTAINER and the PENDANT OF COURAGE.

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