__________ T H E L E G E N D O F /\ \ _________ ____ _________ _________ \ \_____ \ /\ ____\/\ \ /\ __ \ /\ ___ \ \/_____/ / \ \ \___/\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ / / \ \ \___ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \__\ \ / /_____ \ \ __\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ___ \ /\ \ \ \ \_/__\ \ \____\ \ \__/ /\ \ \_/\ \ \ \_________\ \ \_______\\ \________\ \______/ \ \__\\ \__\ \/_________/ \/_______/ \/________/\/_____/ \/__/ \/__/ -= O R A C L E O F S E A S O N S =- ,----------------------------------------------------------------------. | FAQ/Walkthrough || Version 1.11 || June 18, 2004 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------| | by Michael Gonzalez (Coffee) | | http://www.geocities.com/coffeefaqs | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' IMPORTANT NOTE: This FAQ only covers Oracle of Seasons as a standalone game. It does not cover Oracle of Ages, or the linked-game continued from Oracle of Ages. I'd really like to get all that info done eventually though. Hmm...maybe after an Oracle of Ages FAQ... ;) Contents: 1) Story 2) Walkthrough - The 1st Essence: Fertile Soil - The 2nd Essence: Gift of Time - The 3rd Essence: Bright Sun - The 4th Essence: Soothing Rain - The 5th Essence: Nurturing Warmth - The 6th Essence: Blowing Wind - The 7th Essence: Seed of Life - The 8th Essence: Changing Seasons - Onox's Castle 3) Boss strategies 4) Side-quests - The Trading Sequence - Item Upgrades - Four Golden Beasts 5) Heart Piece Locations 6) Gasha seeds/Soft soil 7) Rings 8) Items 9) Cool stuff 10) Frequently Asked Questions 11) Credits & Info Version 1.11 (06/18/2004): - Changed email address (Gmail!) Version 1.1 (01/23/2003): - Completed info in ring section - Added question to FAQ Version 1.0 (01/13/2003): - It's taken forever, but the walkthrough it finally done - Gasha, item, boss, & heart piece sections are done - Four golden beasts - Frequently Asked Questions - Some more cool stuff Version 0.8 (12/09/2002): - Walkthrough is now up to the Explorer's Crypt - More bosses and mini-bosses added - New rings section - New items section Version 0.7 (11/23/2002): - First released version ,----------------------------------------------------------------------. | 1) STORY | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' [NOTE: This is the same story found in the instruction booklet. It doesn't say much about how this game fits into the whole Zelda continuity, if such a thing even exists anymore. I honestly don't know and don't even care anymore.] One day in Hyrule, a strange force drew Link deep within Hyrule castle, where he found the Triforce resting, glittering brilliantly as it awaited him. "Link... Link... Accept the quest of the Triforce!" Suddenly, Link was enveloped in a *shaft* of light, and the next moment, he vanished. When Link awoke, he found himself in a forest he had never seen. Confused, he looked around blankly at the unfamiliar surroundings. He heard pleasant music and laughing voices echoing from deep within the woods. Link followed the inviting voices until he came upon a traveling troupe of actors. He was immediately struck by the beauty of a young woman who was dancing about in circles. When the girl noticed Link, she smiled brightly and called to him. "Welcome to Holodrum. I am Din, the dancer," she said with glee. "Would you like to dance with me? Don't be shy. It will be more fun if we dance together." She took him by the hand, and he reluctantly began to dance. Unfortunately, this blissful moment did not last long. The sky suddenly went dark, and there was a loud crash of thunder, followed by a resounding, thunderous voice. "I've found you, Din! You can't deceive me by disguising yourself as a dancer. I am Onox, General of Darkness! Now reveal yourself, Oracle of Seasons!" Then a great tornado dropped from the sky and drew near Din, as if to engulf her. "Help me, Link!" she cried. Link was blown back by the tornado as he struggled against its awesome force, and Din was swept away in the wind... And then strange things began to happen throughout the land. When Onox carried off the Oracle of Seasons from the land of Holodrum, the seasons fell into chaos and the land was deprived of the bountiful gifts of nature. Life was slowly being drained from the land, and all living things began to wither. And so Onox set in motion his plan to gather the power from the withering land and create a world of total darkness. Will Link be able to rescue Din from the hand of evil, the General of Darkness? Such is the quest Link must undertake. ,----------------------------------------------------------------------. | 2) WALKTHROUGH | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' [IMPORTANT NOTE: This walkthrough was designed for players who are NOT continuing their quest from the Oracle of Ages game. If you are continuing the quest from Ages, some parts of the game will be slightly different, but for the most part the instructions in this walkthrough will still apply.] wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE FIRST ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm -- THE BEGINNING -- "Accept our quest, hero!" When you first gain control of you character, go right and meet this "jovial troupe of performers". First talk to Din, the girl dancing on top of the tree stump. Apparently, Din found you lying unconscious in the woods and rescued you. Then talk to the other 5 performers. After you've talked to everybody, talk to Din one more time. After a cute dance, Din notices a triangle mark on the back of your hand. It's a special mark that means you are a hero with a special fate. Blah, blah...enter cliché story... Suddenly, everything turns dark and lightning bolts rain down, destroying the camp. "Ha ha ha.. I've found you, Din, Oracle of Seasons!" the voice of Onox, General of Darkness, proclaims. A whirlwind appears, sweeping everyone away and capturing Din. Onox imprisons Din, the Oracle of Seasons, and buries the Temple of Seasons, the temple which houses the Season spirits! Seasons thrown into chaos! Nature gone wild! Cats and dogs living together! When you awaken, Impa is at your side. She reveals that she is actually the nurse of Hyrule's Princess Zelda. She was instructed to bring Din, the Oracle of Seasons, to Hyrule. But she is injured and cannot continue her quest, so she gives you the mission to rescue Din and bring order back to the land of Holodrum. First, you need to report to the Maku Tree in Horon Village. The Maku Tree is in east Horon Village. But in order to get you him, you will need the sword. Go south into Horon Village, then take the path going left out of the village. Continue to the south. Along the beach you'll find a cave with roots growing on the walls at the sides of it (this is NOT the first cave you come across). This is the Hero's cave, where you'll find your sword. Proceed inside... -- HERO'S CAVE -- Hero's cave? This place is so insultingly simple, with the music so dorky... the name Dork's Cave is more fitting. Nevertheless, here's the walkthrough, though I doubt anyone will ever need it. If you do, you're either using the walkthrough from the beginning or you're a hopeless retard, I'm sorry. There are enemies in here, but until you get a sword you can't do a thing about them... so just do your best to avoid them. In the first room, go right. Push the block in the next room to open the doors, then head up to the next room. Push aside the block and follow the narrow winding path. Be wary of the places where the floor is cracked...if you stand there for too long, the floor will crumble and you'll get hurt. If that ever happens and there's a hole blocking your path, just exit and reenter the room. When you get to two blocks, push the left one down and the right one to the side. Continue to the next room. Step on the switch at the far side of this room (careful to avoid the enemies), then open the chest that appears to get a small key. Now retrace your steps two rooms back to the room with the block in the middle. Push the block to open the doors, but this time go south. Then go through the locked door at the right. Step on the switch the open the door, then continue. Climb the steps and claim your reward: The WOODEN SWORD! This truly is a sign of courage! You are transported out of the Hero's Cave... -- THE MAKU TREE -- Now that you've got the sword, it's time to visit the Maku Tree. Head north to Horon Village, then follow the path right to the Maku Tree Gate. The sign says "Show courage to gain passage". The sword is a sign of courage, right? Use the sword on the gate to do your little courage dance and open up the gate. Proceed to the Maku Tree... A sleepy fellow, the Maku Tree is. Hit the snot bubble coming out from his nose to wake him up. He tells you some important stuff, the fundamentals of the game's story. The General of Darkness, Onox, has casted a shadow barrier over the Northern Peak. You need to find the EIGHT ESSENCES OF NATURE to break this shadow barrier and save Din. He gives you the "GNARLED KEY", the key to the Gnarled Root Dungeon, which is your next destination. But first, you may want to check out the neat stuff in Horon Village: - You can go to Bipin and Blossom's house to name their baby - If you have money, buy bombs and/or the wooden shield from the shop - Get interesting information by talking to the villagers - Learn the game basics by talking to the wise Know-It-All Birds If you're all done taking care of business in Horon Village, it's time to begin your quest for the first essence of nature. Exit Horon Village through the north. Keep going north... When you see a bridge over water, cut the bushes with your sword and cross it. There's a rock with a keyhole in it! Stick your key in there to reveal the Gnarled Root Dungeon. Proceed... -- GNARLED ROOT DUNGEON -- From the first room, go straight up to the next room. The door slams shut behind you. In fact, your surrounded by shut doors. Push the upper-right block to open them, then go right. Defeat all the enemies here, then pick up the key that drops down. Return to the previous room, then use the key to go through the locked door a the left. Once more, defeat all the enemies. A chest appears containing the dungeon map (press select to use it). Now go up to the next room. Hop onto the mine cart. In the room that the mine cart brings you to, go up the steps and right. Inside the treasure chest you'll find the dungeon compass (used to find keys and treasure chests, though it's quite useless if you're going to use this walkthrough). Hit the switch with your sword so that the lever is at the left (this alters the course of the mine cart). Return to the mine cart and hop in. If the lever is at the left, the mine cart will take you to a new room. See the treasure chest you passed? Go one screen back and open it for 10 bombs. Go up the steps, then down the steps at the right. Step on the switch, then open the chest that appears to get a small key. Return up the steps, then go one screen left. There's a crack here in the north wall. Use a bomb on it to open up a passage, then go through. This room is dangerous, full of switchblades, so be careful. Make your way through this room, then go through the locked door at the top. Now it's time to meet the mini-boss: the Twin Minotaurs. Every dungeon has a mini-boss and a final boss. See the bosses section (right after the walkthrough) for details. After you defeat them, a portal appears providing easy transportation to the entrance. From the room where the mini-boss was, go left. Push aside the block at the left corner of the diamond, then go down the stairway. Here's a cute little side-scrolling basement. Go down the ladder, then climb the ladder at the right. Pick up the bag...this is the SEED SACHEL (with 20 EMBER SEEDS). Ember seeds are used for burning stuff and lighting fires. Return to the previous room. Now push the block at the bottom-left of the left block...push it down. Then go to the room at the right. Enter the portal... Use the Ember seeds to light the torches at the left. Remember this as a general rule of any Zelda game: If a torch is unlit, light it. Enter the door that opens. Defeat all the enemies, then open the chest to find the Boss Key. This is the key required to get to the dungeon's final boss. Return to the previous room. Go down (defeat the enemies), then right, then push the block at the upper-right and go right again. Use the ember seeds on the torches and go up to the next room. Be very very careful to avoid the hands here. If one of them gets you, it will transport you to the entrance of the dungeon (ouch!). There's a chest in this room with a ring. Go one screen right using the top-most path..then enter the door that requires the Boss Key. Hey, we're at the final boss already! Wasn't that quick? So, the dungeon's final boss: Aquamentus. Once again, visit the boss section for all the juicy details. When he's been disposed of collect the heart container and go into the room at the left. It's the first Essence of Nature: The FERTILE SOIL! Seeds scattered across bountiful lands are nourished in this Fertile Soil! You now have the first essence of nature, still 7 more to go. You are transported out of the Gnarled Root Dungeon... wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE SECOND ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm -- MEET MAPLE -- After exiting the Gnarled Root Dungeon and going to the next screen, you will meet Maple, a witch that flies around the screen. Maple is the "Great Witch Syrup's apprentice". Every once in a while she'll come along and bump into you, causing both of your stuff to fall all over the place, then it's a race for you to collect the stuff! Get as much as you can, and hopefully these meetings will work to your advantage. You'll be meeting her every once in a while from now on. -- GOING TO SUBROSIA -- Return to Horon Village. In the right side of the city, there are two saplings blocking the path. Walk up to them and the sleeping prophet, Sokra will awaken and tell you some worthless BS. When he's done talking, use Ember seeds to burn down the saplings, then continue going right. Go north-east in this area and you'll run into Rosa, a strange looking creature wearing a robe with a ribbon on its head. She's a member of the Subrosians, a race that lives in the mysterious underworld of Subrosia. She says that a temple fell into Subrosia, and she must return there in secret, without being seen... (hint, hint...) Follow her north, but do NOT let her see you. Always stay on the opposite side of the tree from her. If she see's you, she'll run away. Be careful on the third screen...she'll leave the screen for a second then come back. In the final screen, you see her disappear into the bushes. Hack down the bushes to uncover a vortex, then enter it to reach the world of Subrosia. -- SUBROSIA -- First thing to do here is get the boomerang. From the vortex, go down the stairs at the LEFT. Follow the path until you find a stairway, then go inside to find the "Subrosian Dance Hall". Talk to the guy there and volunteer to dance with them. This dance is a super-simplified Parappa the Rapper. The dance master in the center does 3 dance moves, and you need to mimic him by pressing right ("doo"), left ("dah"), or A ("dee"). The sequences gradually get faster. Make a mistake and you're kicked out of the dance hall. But get 9 sequences correct and you're the proud owner of a new BOOMERANG! You can continue playing to get other prizes such as Gasha seeds, ore chunks, or the strange flute. When you have the boomerang, make your way back to the screen with the vortex. Now go down the right steps. Continue south to a small Subrosian Village, then head east to find... the Temple of the Seasons! As you enter, an ominous voice welcomes you. Continue going straight north until you enter the temple. Keep going north on the path. When you get to a room with a platform in the middle, stand on the platform. The powers of the seasons combine to give you the ROD OF SEASONS! This is a very important item that allows you to control the seasons. Go out of the temple, then head for the south-east corner and enter the tower of winter (the top of the tower is blue). Use the boomerang to hit the orb and create a bridge. Head up the stairs and follow the path until you reach a statue of a goddess. When you approach, your rod will be given the power of the SPIRIT OF WINTER. Your rod now has the power to change the season to winter! Use it while standing upon a tree stump. In winter, water freezes and snow piles up. When you exit the tower, you'll hear the Maku Tree speaking to you. He says that the next essence is in the woods in the east, which is your next destination. Exit the temple. Return to the vortex that you used to get into Subrosia to go back to the overworld. -- TO THE SNAKE'S REMAINS -- When you go right, Sokra the wandering prophet appears. He gives you advice about how to use the Rod of Seasons. Try it out! Stand on top of the tree stump and use it to change the season to winter. At this point that's all it can do... (you'll get the other seasons later on). When you've changed the season to winter, the pond will be frozen to ice. Go right across the frozen pond, then 2 screens north, then 2 screens right. Hop onto the tree stump and use the Ron of Seasons to change the season to winter. Climp the steps, then go right. Enter the house here by dropping down into the chimney. The girl inside, expecting Santa, gives you the SHOVEL. Go outside. Use the shovel to clear the snow. Go south 3 screens, then left. Use the tree stump to change the season to winter. Continue left 1 screen, then take the right path north. Clear away some snow (with the shovel) and go right. Take these MYSTERY SEEDS, they will be slightly useful later on. Sprinkle them on owl statues (like the one beside the tree) to recieve a hint. Go north, then 1 screen left to find the entrance to the second dungeon of the game: Snake's Remains. -- SNAKE'S REMAINS -- The first room is dark, but don't bother lighting the torches yet. Just go into the room at the left. There's a chest there, with a grand treasure of 5 rupees. Oh joy. Just head north to the next room. Kill the four snakes and grab the small key that drops down. Backtrack to the first room. Light the two torches to open the door, then go north. Careful here, the torches throw fireballs at you. Go to the room at the right. The blocks there would form a square if it wasn't for that one out-of-place block. Push the block right to make everything line up and a chest appear containing the dungeon compass. Return to the previous room, then go up. Hmmm...the blocks in this room form an arrow. Bomb the section of wall that the arrow points to and you will reveal a passage to a secret room filled with rupees! The total worth of all the treasure is over 200 rupees. 234 rupees, to be exact! Return to the room with the big arrow. Then go north through the locked door. The enemies here can't be defeated by normal hits from your sword. You'll need to hit them with the sword to push them into the pits. Defeat both of them to open the door, then go through it. Now defeat the enemies at the left side of the room by throwing bombs over the hole (alternatively, you can simply reach over the hole with your sword). Inside the chest that appears, you will find the POWER BRACELET. The Power Bracelet is a very useful item to pick up pots. Go left to the previous room. Try out your shiny new Power Bracelet here. Toss aside the pots to get to the chest, then open it for the dungeon map. Now go south to the room with the big arrow, then go right. Once again a stubborn block is out of place and ruining the symmetry for everyone. Push the block at the right to the right then go through the door that opens. Watch out! Huge switchblades patrol this room. They follow a fixed path, so figure out their pattern and move only when it's safe. Open the easily visible chest to get a small key. Make your way across the room, then go through the passageway at the bottom right. With the help of the Power Bracelet, you can push aside the huge rollers in this room (careful though, they roll back). Make your way to the bottom-right corner of the room and take the stairway... to a ledge outside! Open the chest for a Gasha seed. Then go left and down into another stairway. Cut away the bushes and go north. This room is filled with blocks, some of which are cracked. The cracked blocks can be destroyed with a bomb. You need to get the the chest in the center that contains a small key...but you'll need to be quick because the chest disappears about 25 seconds after you enter the room! To go faster, put the bomb in your hand already before you even reach the block so it will be ready to blow up soon after you drop it. If you run out of bombs and need to start over, buy some from the Deku Scrub in the previous room (10 bombs for 30 rupees). After getting the small key, retrace your steps all the way back to the room with the giant switchblades. Now go right. Use a bomb to destroy the cracked blocks, then go down into the stairway. In the side-scrolling basement, get really close to the edge of the ledge to make the thwomp-type enemy come crashing down. When he's below you, drop on top of him and proceed left. To get past the four smaller guys, simply walk under them quickly. Go up the ladder at the left. Push the roller aside to make your way through this room (the chest there has 10 rupees in it). In the next screen, it's a little more difficult because of the cracked floors. Don't do anything stupid like stand on a cracked floor for more than a second. Toss aside the pot to clear your path, then go into the locked door at the bottom-right. Mini-boss time! Players of Link's Awakening will be familiar with this guy: Facade. See the bosses section below for details (right after the walkthrough). When you're done fooling around with him, go right 2 rooms. Use your last key on the keyhole block. Go right to the next room. Make your way past the switchblades and the snakes and go down to the next room. A lot of moving platforms here... it may be a bit tricky, but ride all on the platforms to make your way to the floor at the right side of the room. Then go up the steps north... and open the chest to finally get the boss key. Hop off the ledge, then go left 2 rooms. Toss aside the pots at the bottom part, then use a bomb to blow open the cracked portion of the wall. Enter the passage... Careful now, the torch at the center spits fireballs at you. Toss bombs at the cute little bunnies to kill them (poor guys...). After killing the cute little bunny rabbits, go right. The lights on the circle at the center should indicate *counter clockwise*, so that when you step on it it will bring you to the lower part. Go south. Ride over the 3 moving platforms, then toss aside the pot and enter the boss door at the right. The final boss of this dungeon is Dodongo. Yep, that's Dodongo. I can't believe Ninteno let Capcom do that to such a classic Zelda boss. Dodongo is just butt ugly in this game. Anyway, after you've defeated him go south to claim your prize... It's the second Essence of Nature: The GIFT OF TIME! Seeds sprout as seasons change with the Gift of Time! You now have two of the eight Essences of Nature. You are transported out of the Snake's Remains... wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE THIRD ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm -- LOTS OF VARIOUS STUFF -- After coming out of Snake's Remains, toss aside the stone and go left. Go up and change the season to winter, then go southwest to Horon Village. Exit Horon Village through the north. Continue north-east until you find two rocks blocking the path. Previously, these rocks prevented you from going further. But now that you have the power glove, simply throw them aside and continue north 2 screens. Get the SCENT SEEDS from the tree. Scent seeds attract monsters, and will be of little real use in this game. Anyway, go right, then down a screen to find Blaino's Gym. Inside, Blaino offers to fight with you for 10 rupees. Accept his challenge and the fight is on! The objective here is to push him out of the ring (no items allowed, just fists). His punches don't really hurt you in terms of hearts. Just run up to him and let your fists fly like crazy. When you win the fight, you'll get RICKY'S GLOVES. That's what we're here for. Leave Blaino's Gym (and don't forget to re-equip your items). From Blaino's Gym, go up, left, down, left, up, left, left, then up. Here's Ricky the kangaroo, and he wants his gloves. In exchange for the gloves, he will give you a ride to Spool Swamp. In addition, if you didn't get the strange flute from either the Subrosian Dance Hall or Horon Shop, he will give you Ricky's Flute and be your animal buddy from now on. Hop into his pouch and head south. He has the ability to jump over small holes...simply hop over them! Continue on the path south and around until you get to a tall ledge. Ricky can leap up there without breaking a sweat. Go one screen up and you'll have to part ways with Ricky. Continue north. When you get to a sign with directions, go left. Hit the tree with your sword for some PEGASUS SEEDS. Like the Pegasus Boots of previous Zelda games, the Pegasus Seeds allow you to move quickly (I still miss the boots though...). Go south and follow the path around until you find a little house, the Floodgate Keeper's House. The guy inside says he 'lost' the key to open the swamp floodgates. The moron...hit the lever at the bottom-right to drain the water. There's the key! Get it and go outside. Go into the stairway at the right. Use your new Pegasus Boots, err, Seeds to hit the switch and cross the bridge quickly and go left. Push some stones and toss some rocks to reach the stairway, then go down into it... Follow the path around the water, then go up the stairway at the end. Make your way through this room and up another stairway to find yourself back above ground. Go two screens down, then right. Use the Floodgate Key on the little keyhole here and... the floodgates open! Spool Swamp is now drained of deep water. Go around to where you'll find Sokra, the wandering prophet, dozing off. If you talk to him he'll give you some guiding advice: It's time to return to Subrosia for another Power of the Seasons! Drop down the ledge beside him, then go three screens south. Now there are three possibilities depending on which flute you have: 1) If you have Ricky's Flute: Go one screen left and use flute to call Ricky. With him, you can jump up the ledge. Go around and south. With Ricky's super tornado punch, destroy the bushes and continue south over the holes. Continue on the path and enter the vortex to Subrosia. 2) If you bought the mysterious flute from the Horon Village shop: Go left and up, where you'll find poor Moosh being attacked. When the monsters see you they'll run off. Talk to Moosh -- and the monsters come back! Kill them all and talk to Moosh again. Your flute is now Moosh's flute, and Moosh is your animal buddy. Riding him, go down and right. Use Moosh to fly over the holes. Now go down, right, left (at the lower path), left, up (at the right path). Remove the rock and enter the vortex to Subrosia. 3) If you got the mysterious flute from the Subrosia Dance Hall: Go right and up, where poor Dimitri is surrounded by monsters. Talk to the one wearing green and pay him whatever he asks for (a total of 80 rupees). He'll be satisfied, and the monsters will leave Dimitri alone. Talk to him... your flute is now Dimitri's flute, and Dimitri is your animal buddy. Ride on him and go south 3 screens. You'll get off of him because he wants you to try picking him up. No need for that... in fact, no need to get back on him. Go left at the lower path (be careful for very dangerous enemies here). Follow the path to the vortex to Subrosia. -- SUBROSIA -- From the vortex, go one screen left and south. The helpful Subrosian tells you that you can find 'Star-Shaped Ore' in the sands around here. That's exactly what you're looking for, so get your shovel and start digging! Dig all around the beach... this will take a while... When you finally find the Star-Shaped Ore, go north to the village. Enter the tent conveniently labelled "Market". In the Subrosian Market, trade the Star-Shaped Ore for the ribbon. Now go south and return to the beach. At the south-east part of the beach, you'll find a Subrosian with a yellow robe and a key. This is Rosa, and she'll follow you around in exchange for that nice ribbon. She's useful because her key can open up any lock here in Subrosia. "Let's go look in that Temple," she says. Sigh...does it get any easier than this? First, go north and enter the cave with the locked door. Go through the cave and out the other side. Now the doors are unlocked and you can easily travel between the north and south parts of the village. Now go right to the Temple of Seasons. The north-west tower of the temple is the tower of summer, which requires a key to get inside! Enter... Toss away these rocks to get to the stairway. Follow the path up... and up... until you reach the goddess statue. When you approach, your rod will be given the power of the SPIRIT OF SUMMER. Your rod now has the power to change the season to summer! In summer, vines grow tall and creeks dry up. Exit the temple. Return to the village, then go through the cave again to the southern part. Then use the south vortex to return to Spool Swamp. -- SPOOL SWAMP -- Now go to the north-west corner of Spool Swamp (with the help of your animal buddy, if necessary). You'll come upon a cave on a high part of a wall that you can't get up to. Go south from there and use the tree stump to change the season to summer. Now go north and there will be vines so you can climb up and enter the next dungeon, the Poison Moth's Lair... -- POISON MOTH'S LAIR -- Go straight north through the first room. In the next room, bump into the spikey enemies with the shield to flip them over, then finish them off with the sword. Go up to the next room, then go 3 rooms to the right. Watch out here! Blue hands appear and try to grab you, and if they get you you'll be brought back to the dungeon entrance! I suggest killing them first to get them out of your way. There's a button in this room that opens the door, but the button doesn't stay down. Use a pot from the right side of the room...push it over the button to keep it down, then go south through the door. Go left, then south again. Push the rollers to get through this room and to the chest. Inside it is a small key. Push the block at the right side of the room to get out. Trace your steps back to the stairway, then go up it. Push the block away and go north. Kill the Moldorms here to make the chest appear, then get the bombs inside. The top part of this room has some unusual tiling... put two and two together and you'll get the picture: Put a bomb in the center of those tiles and you'll blow open a passage in the wall. Inside, open the chest for the dungeon map. Now go two rooms south. Push the second block from the right down to get inside. Now push the *third* block from the bottom to the left, and push the second block down. Go left to the next screen... This is a tricky puzzle: You need to make the statues at the bottom look like the statues at the top. It took me a while to figure this one out. For easy reference, see the little ascii illustrations below. First of all, push the 2nd and 4th statues down (see fig. 1). Then push the leftmost red statue to the right (see fig. 2). Push the one under it to the right (see fig. 3). Then push the left red statue down into place (see fig. 4). Now its easy to see how this will work out...push the gray statues into place (see fig. 5) and the door will open. Go left. 1: [G] [R] [G][R] 4: [G] [G] [G] [R] [G] [R][R][R] 2: [G] [R][G][R] 5: [G] [R] [G][G][G][R][R][R] 3: [G] [R][G] [G] [R][R] Go left through the next two rooms, then north. Go north through the locked door. You need to kill the enemies here while avoiding the dangerous switchblade. The enemies mirror your every move. After killing them all, a chest will appear containing... ROC'S FEATHER! Now you finally have the power to jump. Go south to the previous room. Equip Roc's Feather and use it to jump to the moving platform. Get off at the left side and fall into the hole there. You'll fall down to the first floor. Go down the stairway. Do NOT use the moving platform at the bottom of the screen here. Jump on the stone platforms in the air and go right. Jump onto the lower platform and ride it to the right, then use the next platform and right it to the left. Jump onto the ladders, then go up the ladder at the right of the screen. Jump onto the blue trampoline to bounce up to the second floor (and press down to land on the floor). Open the chest to get the compass. Fall back to the first floor. Now push the trampoline to the other purple tile, south-east of the owl statue. Use it to jump up to another part of the second floor. Go right. Another tricky room with rollers...this time there are spikes to make your life more difficult. Equip Roc's Feather and the Power Bracelet, you'll need both. Push the first roller 2 spaces right, then jump north over the spikes. Get it? Do this two more times to get across the room, then go right. Down the stairway... Push the trampoline onto the orange tile at the right side of the room. Jump on it to reach the second floor, where you'll find a chest with the small key. Drop back to the first floor then go down the stairs. Get across by jumping on the platforms. The second jump is quite far, and it helps to use the Pegasus seeds. At the next screen, keep up the jumping to get across, then climb up the ladder at the left. Use the moving platform to cross the gap (with a jump at the end to reach the floor). Go right, down (use the jar on the button again), and left. Jump *over* the button (don't hit it) and enter the locked door at the left. Mini-boss time! This one's name is Calamareye. *yawn*...see the boss section for details. When you're done with them, go up the stairs at the bottom-right corner. Go 2 rooms left along the path. There's a little piece of floor that sticks off the ledge here...just try walking off of it and you'll jump to the other side. Drop into the hole at the end. Be careful with the giant switchblade patrolling the area! To get to the chest, push the fourth block from the top, then jump over the gap. Inside the chest is the boss key. Move the block at the bottom and jump right, off the ledge. Go right, then down and into the portal. Go up the stairs (at the bottom right corner) and go left, then jump up to the other ledge. Follow the path and you'll reach the big door. You know what's coming next... This final boss of Poison Moth's Lair is, quite appropriately, a poison moth named Mothula. The juicy details about this guy are availible in the boss section. After the fight, collect the heart piece, then go down the stairs. Go north and... It's the third Essence of Nature: The BRIGHT SUN! Young shoots grow quickly under the warm rays of the Bright Sun! There are five more Essences of Nature for you to find. You are transported out of the Poison Moth's Liar... wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE FOURTH ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm -- TO THE SUNKEN CITY -- Our next destination is the Sunken City in the east. Somewhere in North Horon, you'll find a hollow log behind a hole. Jump over the hole, and go north through the hollow log. Once again, the walkthrough splits into 3 possibilities depending on what animal you have: 1) DIMITRI. Go right. Use Dimitri's Flute to call Dimitri, then ride east through the Natzu River. Go 3 screens right, 1 screen up, then right again. Climb onto the land at the right. You need to pick Dimitri up, throw him over the hole, then get back on him at the other side. Now go down and right to the Sunken City. 2) MOOSH. Hit the red switch with the sword to extend the bridge. Go right. Fly north over the holes and go up, right, down, right, up, right, and right. Fly over the gap and go down and right to the Sunken City. 3) RICKY. Hit the red switch with the sword to extend the bridge. Go north. Call Ricky with the flute, then use him to jump up the ledge. Follow the path east... Use Ricky's hurricane punch (hold and release A) to destroy the bushes, then jump over the hole. Continue in the general direction of east until you get to the Sunken City. -- THE SUNKEN CITY -- The whole city is flooded, but you can stand on the shallow water. Jump over the deep water, then go south. Follow the path of the shallow water around until you get to a tree. Hit the tree to get some GALE SEEDS. These wonderful seeds instantly transport you to any of 5 points in Holodrum: The Sunken City, Woods of Winter, Horon Village, North Horon, or Spool Swamp. How delightfully convenient! Go back in the direction you came. If Dimitri is NOT your animal buddy, you will see Dimitri being attacked! Talk to the kid in the middle... he will give you Dimitri in exchange for all your bombs. Ride Dimitri north. Good Dimitri will remind you that he can go up waterfalls. Swim up the waterfall, then swim up the waterfall at the left. Inside the cave, leave Dimitri on the land at the right (he can't cross bridges). Push the statues so that they all form a square and you can stand in the center of them. Stand in the center and do the spin attack (hold the button for a second, then release) hitting all four statues. If you hit them all, stairs will form at the right allowing you to get to the chest containing the MASTER'S PLAQUE. Jump off the ledge, hop on Dimitri, and get out of here. Go down the waterfall, then go up the waterfall at the right. The guy here calls himself the 'Master Diver'. Because you proved yourself by getting the Master's Plaque, he gives you the flippers. Now you can swim in deep water! You won't be needing Dimitri anymore (unless you need to go up the waterfall again). Leave the cave and go down both waterfalls. Go left to the screen with Ingo's House (there's a sign outside it that reads "Vases wanted! Ingo, collector"). On this screen, swim to the place full of rocks and dive down (press B) to find a secret underwater diving spot! Make your way through the tunnel, avoiding the fish, and you will emerge in Mt. Cucco. Climb up the vines and go north, then go right, north, and climb the steps. Fall down the ledge and into yet another vortex to Subrosia. -- SUBROSIA -- Now just jump over the lava and-- hey! Two Subrosians come along and take your Roc's Feather! In exchange you got the Fool's Ore. It's not a fair trade at all... this will not do... get your feather back! Go left and enter the house. Inside you'll find the two Subrosians, scheming to bury your feather. "Make sure no one sees us". Just like following Rosa in the Woods of Winter, you'll need to follow these guys without being seen. It's tougher this time since there's two of them you'll need to look out for. Exit the house and follow the Subrosians. Hide behind the trees and rocks so that they don't see you. If one of them does, you'll need to start all over again from the house. Eventually, you'll see them bury your treasure. Dig inside the red square to recover your Roc's Feather and return the Fool's Ore. Return to the village. In the southeastern corner (one screen right of the vortex you used to get here), jump over the lava and enter the stairway. Cross the first screen by jumping on the moving platforms. Collect the Gasha seed in the next screen, then go up the ladder. Well, you find yourself right in front of the Tower of Spring in the temple! Go inside. Jump over the lava and go up the stairway... up... until you reach the godess statue. When you approach, your rod will be given the power of the SPIRIT OF SPRING. Your rod now has the power to change the season to spring! Rock-hard buds bloom in spring. It is a season of discovery. Exit the temple. Make your way back through the cave. Go back into the vortex that you used to get here... and you'll return to Mt. Cucco... -- MT. CUCCO -- From the vortex, jump off the ledge. Let's try out your new ability... use the tree stump to change the season to spring. Go one screen right, where you'll find Moosh. He wants Spring Bananas, and it's your duty to get them for him (regardless of whether Moosh is your animal buddy or not). Since it's spring, the rock flowers are soft and pink. Chop then down and go north. With the Power Bracelet, pick up the blue cucco and rapidly tap the A button to fly. The cucco will bring you to the high ledge. Go north and enter the cave. Do a lot of jumping on the tiny platforms to get around to the stairs, then go up them. Take the SPRING BANANAS from the ledge, then drop down the ledges to Moosh. For bringing him a Spring Banana, he'll give you a ride. Hop on! Ride Mooch left until you reach a wintery place (this is now Goron Mountain), then go north. Use Moosh's hovering thing (jump and rapidly tap the A button in the air) to get over the pits and reach the key. This is the DRAGON KEY...but where's the keyhole? Return over the pits and down the the previous screen. Go right until you get to the tree stump in Mt. Cucco, then use it to change the season to spring. Go three screens left, then use the flower to get to the higher ledge. Now go right until you get to another tree stump. Use it to change the season to winter, then go 2 screens left. Climb up the steps, follow the path over the snow, then enter the cave at the right. Make your way through this rather straight-forward cave. When you emerge at the top, there's another one of those flying cuccos. Grab on to it, then tap the buttons rapidly to fly to the other side. And there you find...a keyhole! Use the key there and the waterfall will drain, revealing the entrance to the next dungeon. Fall off the ledge at the left. Change the season back to summer to make vines grow, and then you can finally enter the game's fourth dungeon: The Dancing Dragon Dungeon. -- DANCING DRAGON DUNGEON -- From the first room, swim through the water and go north to the next room. Move away some of the blocks here and open the chest to get 10 bombs. Now jump into the minecart and ride it away... do *not* hit the switch yet! Let it carry you north to the next room. At the right side of the room there's a cracked wall. Use a bomb on it and go through. In this room there are nine pots and eight buttons. With the Power Glove, throw away two of them (the second one being the pot at the center). Push the remaining seven pots onto seven of the buttons around the room. Then step on the final button to get a small key. Return to the previous room. Hop into the minecart. Hit the switch so that the lever points left, and you will be carried to the left room. At the left side of this room, push the statue over the button to hold the door open, then go north to the next room. At the top-left corner of this room, push aside some blocks and go down the stairway. Get through the maze-like room...then go right through another maze-like room. Open the chest for the dungeon map. Return to the previous room and go down the stairway at the bottom-left corner. Get through the first screen of the side-scrolling place by jumping on the platforms. The next screen is pretty tough... the platforms disappear and are replaced by new ones every second. Get past that and go up the ladder at the right. Light the torch so you can see the path. Go quickly, before the light burns out (but even if it does, you can still barely make out the path). Open the chest for another small key. Trace your steps all the way back to the room with the minecart. Hop into the minecart and ride north. When you're dropped off, jump right back in again, and hit the lever so that the minecart brings you to the right. Go down and you'll be at the entrance room of the dungeon. Now go right through the locked door. Jump right over the spikes. Bomb the crack at the right side of the room, then go inside. Push the block at the right (after defeating all the enemies in the room) to make a chest appear. Inside it is the dungeon compass. Return left, then go up to the next room. Dive underwater (press B) to get past the rollers in this room. In the next room, be careful when jumping over the small platform because they're cracked and will collapse if you stand there for more than a second. Hop into the minecart and let it bring you right. When it drops you off, jump back in. Hit the lever on the way so that it faces left and the minecart brings you on the left path. Defeat all the enemies in the room to make a key drop down... you'll need to dive underwater to collect the key. Jump into the minecart and let it bring you right. Use the key on the keyhole block, then continue right. Defeat all the enemies to make steps appear. As the owl statue tells you, "Greater speed gives greater distance". So use the Pegasus Seeds with the Roc's Feather so you can left jump over the gap. Follow the path left, jumping over two more similar gaps. Go down the stairway to the 1st floor. Go down the steps, push away a block, then hop into another minecart. Open the chest in the room you stop in to get a small key. Go down... Jump over the spikes here and go south into the next room, where you'll face a rather difficult mini-boss. It's Agahnim from the SNES Zelda! See the boss section for details. After defeating him, go south. Hop into another minecart... and go south to the next room when it drops you off. You can simply avoid all the enemies here, just hurry left through the locked door. Push the statue left over the button... this makes the chest appear AND it triggers the floor to start collapsing starting from the bottom-right. So hurry up to the chest before the floor completely collapses (Pegasus seeds would help, though they aren't required). Inside the chest is this dungeon's treasure: The SLINGSHOT! This is a great weapon/tool for shooting seeds. Drop off the ledge, then return to the minecart. Ride the minecart back, then go two rooms north (past the mini-boss room and the spiky room). Hop onto this minecart again. In the room that it goes through, there are three unlit torches. Use your new slingshot here to shoot ember seeds at all 3 torches, lighting them. When they're all lit, a chest will appear in the southern part. When the minecart drops you off, ride it back then go south to the spike-filled room. Make your way to the right side of the room, then go up the steps and follow the path to the chest to get the small key. Return to the spike-filled room and go 2 rooms south. Hop into the minecart again... while you ride the minecart through the next room, use your slingshot to hit the 2 levers at the right. Make them both face left, so that you take the rightmost path. When it drops you off, go north and right. With the help of the pegasus seeds, jump over the gaps to make your way to the keyhole block. Go north through it and to the next room. The boss key is here, and its underwater. Dive underwater in the right 'puddle' of the center area to get it. Trace your steps back to the minecart, then ride it back. In the room where it takes you, there's a switchblade at the bottom-left. Push one of the blocks down so that you trap the switchblade. Then use the slingshot to hit the lever at the bottom-right (make sure it faces left). Ride in the minecart (*again*) and it will bring you to a new area. There are 3 Wizzrobes in this room that appear at random locations. Kill all 3 of them to open the door, then continue north. In the next room, there's a statue with an eye that rotates and shoots a laserbeam at you when it sees you. Be careful about him...that laser hurts. Hurry through the room and through the keyhole block. Down the stairway... Use the slingshot to shoot ember seeds across the gap and at the unlit torches at the right. This extends the bridge so you can cross it and go to the next room... then just go north. Ride the quick moving platform around the room (careful to avoid the Keese)... and get off in front of the boss door at the top-right. You know what you're in for next. Behind that door is... Gohma! The final boss of the Dancing Dragon Dungeon is another classic Zelda boss. For details, why don't you go pay a visit to the boss section? It's a pretty hard battle, in my opinion. It's a good thing Capcom developed this game, if Nintendo did it they would soften up the bosses for us. I like hard bosses like this bitch we have right here. Strong and deadly. Reminds me of the old days... Ahem, after beating Gohma, go right. It's the fourth Essence of Nature: The SOOTHING RAIN! Bathed in drops of Soothing Rain, shoots grow into saplings! You now have half of the eight Essences of Nature. You are transported out of the Dancing Dragon Dungeon... wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE FIFTH ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Your next task is to get the Spirit of Autumn. Use a warp seed to teleport to Horon Village. Exit Horon Village through the north exit. Continue north until you get to a sign that points you to Eyeglass Lake. Then go right, south 2 screens, then right again. Climb on the island and enter the vortex, once again, to Subrosia... -- SUBROSIA -- From the vortex, go south. Climb down the steps, then continue following the path south. Keep going through the Lava Lake. You'll need to do a lot of delicate jumping to get by here. If you fall into the lava you lose half a heart and you're tansported to the point where you entered the screen. At the end of this long path you'll find something peculiar on the ground... pull it out with the Power Bracelet. It's a BOMB FLOWER! Now trace your steps back through the lava lake. When you get to the screen with the 'Sign-loving Subrosian's Home', go left. Jump over the lava, go left, then north. Toss away the rock, then use Roc's Feather with the Pegasus Seeds to get over the gap. You're now in familiar terrirory... make your way to the Temple of Seasons in the north-east. At the north-east part of the temple, jump over the lava and you'll meet a fellow with a bandana on his head. He needs your bomb flower to clear away the rocks. When the rocks are cleared, enter the tower. Jump over the lava in the first room, then go up the stairway... and up... until you reach the goddess statue. When you approach, your rod will be given the power of the SPIRIT OF AUTUMN. Your rod now has the power to change the season to autumn! In autumn, pits are filled with autumn leaves and mushrooms are ripe for picking! Excellent, you now have the powers of all four seasons. Exit the temple. Return to the south-eastern part of Subrosia and use the vortex there to return to where you came from. -- EYEGLASS LAKE -- When you get back to the overworld, go two screens north. Ahh... a tree stump! Try out your new power here: change the season to autumn. Go north, then right. The mushrooms here can now be removes because it's autumn. Get rid of them, then enter this scary looking cave. The Unicorn's Cave. -- THE UNICORN'S CAVE -- From the first room, go to the room at the left, then go two rooms north. Kill all the enemies here... the guys with some kind of hard plating on them have to be attacked at the soft backside. After killing all the enemies, go left through the door that just opened. This room is tough, I know. The floor is constantly moving, pushing you towards the pit. So make your way across the floor very carefully. It gets especially difficult when the path isn't against the wall! Open the chest and get the compass. Then make your way back to the entrance (or more practically, you can fall down so that you reappear at the entrance). Return to the previous room. Go south, then swim two rooms right through the water. Hop onto the *left* minecart. As it brings you along through the next room, hit the lever to the left of the tracks so that the lever points left. The tracks will change and the minecart brings you straight north. Go up the steps, then follow the path around and right. Push the lonely block here to make a big metal ball fall down. You'll learn more about that big metal ball leter, but for now return to the minecart and ride it back. Now ride in the *right* minecart. As it brings you through the next room, hit the lever so that it points left and the minecart brings you straight north. Open the chest to get a small key, then ride the minecart back south. Jump back into the same minecart, and hit the lever again to make it point right. The tracks change and you'll be brought right. When it drops you off, go down the stairway. Jump to get past the fireballs in the first screen. In the next screen, get close to the edge to make the Thwomp come crashing down, then jump on top of him. Do the same thing with the next Thwomp, then go up the ladder at the left. Go right. Defeat all the enemies in this room. The mummy-type enemies take a lot of hits before dying. When all the enemies are dead, a chest appears containing the dungeon map. Get it and go two rooms left. Climb up the steps, go north, then drop off the ledge. Get past all the monsters and go through the locked door at the left. Open the chest and you will recieve... the MAGNETIC GLOVES! "Their magnetic might attracts and repels. Press the button to reverse polarity". I cannot overemphasize the coolness of this item. Try it out on the big metal ball in this room. Because it has a letter "N" on it, its polarity is north. When your glove's polarity is south, it will be pulled towards you; When your glove's polarity is north, it will be pushed away. Try it out: Using south polarity, get the metal ball and put it on the button in this room to hold the door open. Go to the previous room. Go south, push the blocks away (push the left and right blocks down, and the center block to the side), then go right and down the stairs again. Use bombs to destroy the cracked blocks here. Take the path left to the next screen. Jump to avoid the attacks from the statues. When the moving platform approaches, jump on it. Use the moving platforms to get across, then climb up the ladder at the left. There are two statues in this room. The one at the left mirrors the movements of the one at the right. Push the right statue 4 spaces down, 2 spaces right, then 1 space up. The left statue will mirror the movements and land on the button, holding the door open. Go south. Follow the path to the left room. Open the chest here for a sweet 100 rupees. "I bet you're thrilled!". I still miss the sarcastic remarks of Link's Awakening ("You got 10 rupees. Oh joy!"). Anyway, go north. Kill all the enemies here to make the door open. Go left. Kill the four statues here one by one and *remember* the order in which you kill them. When they're all gone, four chests appear. Open the chests in the order that you killed the statues (so if you killed the upper-right one 1st, 1st open the chest at the upper-right). The 1st chest has 1 rupee (...), the 2nd chest has 10 bombs, the 3rd has 4 ember seeds, and the 4th has a small key! Go right and south. Move away the metal ball, then go south 3 more rooms. Stand on the yellow tile, face right, then use north polarity to pull yourself over the gap. Cool, eh? Go north and open the chest to get a small key. Go back south. Standing at the right of the "S-block" (that's what I'll call them rom now on) and facing it, use south polarity to push yourself back over the gap. Very, very cool. Go north, then swim two rooms to the right. Jump into the minecart at the left (if you followed the walkthrough from the beginning, there should only be 1 minecart there). As it brings you along the tracks, hit the lever so that it points right. The minecart should bring you to the left. See that spinning "S" thing in the middle of the room? Use the magnetic gloves with north polarity to pull yourself to it, then hold the button to let the thing bring you around. When you're facing the other way, quickly push the button again to change polarity and push you to the other side! Nifty! Open the chest for the small key, then use the spinning block again to go back. Jump into the minecart and let it bring you south. Go two rooms left, then two rooms north. Go right and follow the path... then go down the stairs. Make your way through the side-scrolling place all the way to the leftmost screen, then go up the ladder. Use south polarity on the S-block to get past the gap. Hop into the minecart at the left. Open the chest for a small key. If you've been following my walkthrough from the beginning, that makes 4 keys! Ride the minecart back, then go through the locked door at the right. The mini-boss here is some kind of tiger named Syger. And for a mini-boss, this guy is tough! See the boss section for details. After defeating him, go north. Go to the room at the right. Careful to avoid the enemies, hit the button to open the door, then proceed through it. Watch put for Mr. Laser Eye, then go left through this room. Defeat all the enemies here... you can use the magnetic gloves to pull them towards you if you want... then go through the door at the left. See the metal ball at the other side of the wall? Stand under it and use south polarity to pull it towards you, then move left while attracting it so that it comes closer to you. Then stand on its right side and use north polarity to push it away into the flames. It should be blocking the flames at the far left of the room. Go back 4 rooms (go right, right, south, left). Go through the locked door at the left. With the magnetic gloves, get the metal ball and put it on the button to hold the door open. Go north and you'll find yourself in the room witht he flames. If you followed my instructions properly, the metal ball should now be blocking the first line of flames. Use the metal ball like a shield to get past the flames. Then go north through the metal door... and down the stairs. Use north polarity to pull yourself toward the higher ledge. Jump onto the moving platform. It has a conveyer belt going around it, so you should be constantly pressing right to keep your balance. Go down the stairs at the left. Get past more of these conveyer moving platforms. At the end, pull yourself up with north polarity and get the boss key. Make your way back through the side-scrolling area, then back up the ladder. Go south to the flame room. Once again, use the big metal ball like a shield to protect you as you go past the flames. Go south, then right. Use the key to get past the keyhole block (if you haven't already done so), then go down the stairs. Here's another side-scrolling area where you'll need to do some fancy stuff with the magnetic gloves. Jump onto the first platform. Pull yourself up to the S-block, then drop down onto the next platform. Go left to the next screen. Here, you'll need to look down at the S-block and use south polarity to push yourself upwards! I must reiterate my opinion-- the magnetic gloves are the coolest thing ever. Jump left to the ladder and climb up. Throw away the pots at the left. Stand where the pots were and look up, so that you face the S-block. Use north polarity to pull yourself forward, but stop when your over the next platform. Then face right and pull yourself over the gap with north polarity. Go north a little bit, face left, then pull yourself with north polarity so that you're in front of the boss door. And behind this door, you will find... The final boss! This one is named Digdogger, and he's a tough little bastard. For all the yummy details, pay a visit to the boss section (right after the walkthrough). After he is defeated, collect the heart piece and go to the north room... It's the fifth Essence of Nature: The NURTURING WARMTH! Balmy days build strong saplings with their Nurturing Warmth! Only three Essences of Nature remain. You are transported out of the Dancing Dragon Dungeon... wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE SIXTH ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm -- TREASURE HUNTING -- The Maku Tree tells you that something fishy is going on in the ruins. The next dungeon, and the next essence of nature, can be found in the Tarm Ruins. But in order to enter the ruins you must first find four special treasures scattered in secret locations throughout Holodrum. Read on... If you don't already have the Membership Card for the Horon Village Shop, go to the Subrosian Market and buy it. It's dirt cheap at the super price of 5 ore chunks. Go to the Horon Village Shop. Head for the door behind the counter. The shopkeeper will try to stop you, but he'll let you go through once he sees your Member's Card he will let you through. Downstairs in the member's only section there's some neat, and expensive, stuff. Buy the Treasure Map for 200 rupees. Now look at your map with the select button. The sparkling points on the map are points where you'll find the special treasures... PYRAMID JEWEL: This is the sparkling point at the north-east of the map. Climb Mt. Cucco to the screen with the entrance to the Dancing Dragon Dungeon. Dive in the waters at the top-right corner of the screen and you'll find a secret tunnel. Swim through the tunnel to the Pyramid Jewel at the end. SQUARE JEWEL: Go to the screen just south of where you find the entrance to the Poison Moth's Lair (2nd dungeon). Use the stump to change the season to winter. Go right, 4 screens south, right, then 2 more screens south. Bomb the cracked portion of the mountain. The chest inside contains the Square Jewel. ROUND JEWEL: Go in the waters between North Horon and Holodrum Plain. In the southern part, you'll find a cave in a tree. Go inside and talk to the strange old man. He gives you the Round Jewel. X-SHAPED JEWEL: Go to the Western Coast, one screen south of the entrance to the Hero's Cave. There's an unlit torch in the water. Light it with your slingshot (ember seeds). The bridge extends! On the little island, the sign reads: "The Black Beast rests here". Uh, huh. The stones here are shaped like a question mark. Sprinkle some Mystery Seeds on it... and the Black Beast appears! Slay this pathetic wimp to get the X-Shaped Jewel. It's good to know Capcom gave this game has a sense of humor :P You may notice that the 4 jewels are the shapes of the buttons on a Playstation controller. I don't know what kind of statement Capcom is trying to make by this... but if you have all four treasures, it's time to head to the next dungeon. -- GETTING TO THE ANCIENT RUINS -- Go to the entrance of the Tarm Ruins. The fastest way to get there is by using the warp seeds to the Spool Swamp warp point, then going right and up. One by one, put the four jewels into their places on the wall. Your jewels fit perfectly! Once they're all in, the gate opens, allowing you to proceed north into the Tarm Ruins. Stand on the tree stump and change the season to summer. Climb the vines to the next screen, then go left and climb down those vines. Push the statue here to make steps appear on the high part of the cliff. Go back up the vines, go right, and go down the vines again. Change the season to winter. Go left (past the dead tree). Now that it's winter, snow piles up and forms a path! Go up the steps, fall down to the snow path, then go up the steps. Push the two lower statues right into the ice. Change the season to fall... the statues are now in the water! Go right. [NOTE: At this point in the game, you may wish to complete the trading sequence to get the Noble Sword. It's not required, but who wouldn't want a better sword?! See the "side-quests" section for details.] Toss away the mushrooms and enter the stairway. There's a Deku Shrub here...use your shield to deflect his seeds back at him. He tells you a secret: "If you are lost in the woods, travel west, then south, east and north, taking each step in a warmer season". Go back up the stairs. Go left, up, left, down, then left. You are now in the lost woods...it can be quite a confusing place. You go almost any direction and you'll be in the same screen. To find the way, remember the Deku Scrub's advise. Change the season to winter, go west, change the season to autumn, go south, change the season to spring, go east, change the season to summer, then go north. You come to a new area. Continue north and you'll find a place where it's spring. There is a tree here that would bear Gale Seeds in summer...you can now warp to this point using the Gale Seeds! Go right. Use the tree stump to change the season to winter. Go south, then right. Dig away some snow, then go north, north, and left. Push away the statue then drop off the ledge. Change the season to spring, then get back up using the flower. Go left... *flash*! A strange man appears and gives you a prophecy: "Know this, foolish boy. If you save Din, the world will be filled with destruction, sorrow and despair. Our great sacrifice will be offered, and the Evil King revived!!! Then people will know true pain, as darkness falls across the lands." Zelda fans may remember that a similar warning, which turned out to be true, was given in Link's Awakening. Is that also the case here? Something to think about as we continue. Enter the tower here, which is the entrance to the Ancient Ruins. -- ANICENT RUINS -- Simply go straight up through the first room. Then go up the steps and north again. Here we have another rotating thingy, like the one in the Snake's Remains dungeon. Step on it and go to the room at the right. Continue going through these rooms until you come full circle to the second room of the dungeon. Go north and return to the rotating thingy. You should be at the bottom path, and it's now indicating *clockwise*. Step on it and go to the room at the left. Then go north. Kill the beetle-like enemy here as a precaution. At the bottom-left corner there's an big metal N-ball. Magnetic gloves time! Using south polarity attract it to you, drag it upwards, then push it against the wall with north polarity. Carefully jump over to the north part of the room. Use south polarity to attract it towards you, then move to the right so that the ball comes to you. Then switch to north polarity and push it over the gap to the other side. Now jump over the gaps again to the metal ball. Use north polarity to push it over the other gap, drag it right, then pull it onto the switch. Collect the key that drops down. Whew... Go two rooms south to a room with a lot of snakes. First of all, go up the steps at the left and go up to find a chest with the dungeon map in it. Return to the previous room and kill all the snakes. All of them. Only when they're all dead you can push the lonely block to open the door at the right. Go inside... Use your magnetic gloves to take the big metal ball from the top right ledge and put it on the switch to hold it down. That will keep the door open, which will be necessary later. Go north to the rotating thingy again. Step on it and go right. You've been down this path before...go through all these rooms until you return to the room where the big metal ball is holding down the switch. This time go left, up, then right (back to the rotating thingy). Now you can ride it UP to take the north path! Inside that room, use your magnetic gloves to maneuver the big metal ball to hold down the switch. That makes a staircase appear at the top left. Take it upstairs to the second floor of this 5-story labyrinth. Quickly jump over the two spikes (careful of the switchblades). Make your way past these irritating red enemies and go south to the next room. Open the chest there to get a small key. Now retrace your steps back through the previous room and go down the stairs. Go south and ride the rotating thingy. Then go left, south (kill the snakes and push the block), right, and north. Now you're approaching the rotating thingy from the south. Ride it once again. And once again go left, south, right, north. Like de javu all over again, eh? :P But this time you can ride it *counter* clockwise to take the right path! Go right one room and through the locked door. You can ride the moving platforms to the top-left to get the compass in the chest...if you hate yourself. Seriously, what good would that do you if you have this guide? ;) Go right to the next room, then go around to hit the switch. This creates a bridge. Now hurry over there, because the path starts collapsing as soon as you hit the switch! Pegasus seeds help, but aren't required. Cross the bridge and take the stairs to the second floor. Inside the chest you'll find 10 bombs (hint, hint..). There's a cracked portion in the south side of this mind-numbingly boring room. Blow it open with a bomb, and enter. The chest here contains 5 rupees...and probably isn't worth getting since it causes the 6 armos statues to come to life. Go to the room at the left. Remember this room? You're at the other side of the blocks now. Kill the spiked enemies, then push the trampoline right over the purple tile. Then jump on it to go up...up to the third floor. Go south, then right. Open the chest at the far side of the room to get the dungeon's treasure: The MAGICAL BOOMERANG! This one is stronger than your old boomerang. Plus, you can control it's flight path (use the d-pad while holding down the button it's assigned to). And in just two easy hits, it can kill an armos statue. Speaking of which, all the armos statues in the room come to life when you opened the chest, so kill them now to open the door again. Return to the previous room, then drop down the hole at the bottom-left corner. You'll drop down, down, down to the first floor. Go left, climb the steps, follow the path, and go down the steps. Here's more of those painful red enemies. You should know their pattern in order to avoid them: When they see you, they go straight at you until they hit a wall. So, go through the maze of blocks and hit the switch to open the north door, then proceed north. Now use the magic boomerang and hit that orb. You'll need to control it's flight path. Go up the staircase that appears. Go straight south past the mummies in this room. In the next room, use your magic boomerang (control its flight path) to hit the orb. That opens the door on the south side. Arrows shoot out of the wall on the north side of this room, and you'll need to use Pegasus Seeds to dash past them, and go south to the next room. Then just fall into the hole at the upper left corner. Go to the south room, then go north at the right side. Hop onto a moving platform. You'll need to light all 5 torches here...do them one side at a time. When they're all lit, a staircase appears allowing you to return to the second floor... Upstairs, go right and you'll find a suspicious looking big rupee. Prepare your pegasus seeds-- and get it. The whole freakin room starts caving in! Dash through the room and jump over the spikes. In the next room you'll need to continue dashing and go around, return through the previous room, and then you're finally safe. Open the chest to get the boss key. Return to the previous room (it's back to its normal state now) and go up the stairs. Defeat all the skeleton warrior guys, then you can push the upper-left block to open the door. In the next room, fall into the hole at the upper-right corner. Take the path around and open the chest for a small key. Make your way back to the trampoline and use it to return upstairs. Go through the locked door and you'll meet the mini-boss: Vire, Onox's loyal henchman. Details are in the boss section. A somewhat disappointing mini-boss, considering the ones we've faced before. After the battle with him is done, go to the room at the right. Stop at the doorway-- ok, use the pegasus seeds and dash straight past all the obstacles in the room, then continue right. Hop over the two spiked logs in this room, hit the switch at the upper-right corner, then enter the door that opens. There are two switches in the next room: One of them makes stairs appear, and the other one makes snakes drop down. They seem to be random...find the one that activates the stairs, and go up them. Make your way through this room, careful to avoid the horrible blue hands that bring you back to the dungeon entrance. In the next room, there are those bouncy beetle creatures, but no hole to push them into...so do the only thing you can: Take your magnetic gloves and hit them with the big metal ball. Enter the door that opens when they're defeated. In left side of the next room, there are 3 moving orbs. You'll need to make them all red, using the boomerang, to open the door. It's not that hard. In the next room, push the trampoline 2 tiles down AND 4 tiles to the right. Jump on it to get upstairs, and use the boomerang to make the orb here red. This makes stairs appear downstairs! Fall back down, and take the stairs up. Push the block to the right, and we come to the boss door. Quite obviously behind the door is the final boss. Visit the boss section for details. A pretty fun and challenging boss if you ask me. After defeating him, collect the heart containter and go upstairs...to the outside. Well, this is new. And finally collect your prize... It's the sixth Essence of Nature: The BLOWING WIND! Sweet fruit is born when pollen is carried by the Blowing Wind! Just two more Essences of Nature remain. You are transported out of the Ancint Ruins... wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE SEVENTH ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm -- THE PIRATE'S BELL -- Next stop is Subrosia. If you already extended the bridge in the underground cavern in South Horon Village, you can use the vortex there to get to Subrosia. Otherwise, you'll need to take the long way and use the vortex in Mt. Cucco (the same one you used before going to the Dancing Dragon Dungeon). Near the south-western corner of Subrosia you'll find a skeleton pirate guy standing on a ledge beside a vortex. Enter the door to this place. It's a jolly group of skeleton pirates! Talk to them to find out what's going on. Specifically, talk to the Cap't, the one wearing black. It seems that he's lost his bell given to him by a special someone. After you talk to the Cap't, he'll let you go look for it. Go upstairs and talk to the pirate at the right. This wierd fellow walks over to the drawers and pushes them in a special order...remember that order. Now go upstairs and use the vortex to return to the regular world (you can extend the bridge now if you haven't already). Now go just to the right of Horon Village, and you'll see a hollow log going south. Enter that to get to the beach, and follow the path until you reach a skeleton pirate. Talk to him to get him out of the way. Now push the skulls of this gate in that special order that you saw from that other pirate: Push the 3rd skull twice, the 2nd skull once, the 1st skull twice, and the 4th skull 3 times. If you did it right, the gate will come down, allowing you to enter the Samasa Desert. In the desert you'll find a pirate ship half buried in sand. The skeleton pirate inside is, well, dead. He tells you to find his skull that's rolling around in the desert. Go to the upper-right corner of the desert, where you'll find the skull relaxing beside an oasis. Talk to him. He'll knows where to find the bell! Carry him around and walk around the desert. Be sure to walk over the quicksand whirlpools...he'll go crazy when you're at the one you're supposed to drop into. If you drop the skull or lose him, he'll reappear at the place where you first found him. When you finally find the bell, it's really really rusty. The Cap't will never accept this hunk of junk! Return to Subrosia (through any vortex that's convenient). Somewhere in north-western Subrosia is the "Subrosian Smithy". Talk to the manager..."Hmm? The Master speaks...He says you hold a bell of great value." The correct response here is "Do it!". And a few seconds later you'll have the Pirates Bell! All shiny and new! GONG! Return to south-western Subrosia and talk to the Cap't again. Yep, that's his bell alright. And for some reason now they're all able to go out to their pirate ship and set sail again. What strange logic you find in the world of Zelda! Anchors aweigh! The pirates get seasick and you stop, perfectly positioned in the beach south of Horon Village. Enter the seemingly abandoned house north of the pirate ship. There are 10 bombs inside that chest. And there's an obvious crack in the right wall. Use a bomb to blow it open. Follow the path to the outside where you'll find a tree stump. Use it to turn the season to summer. Go back through the house and back to the ship. Go 2 screens right, and climb the vines to reach the graveyard. Continue north and go down the stairs to enter the next dungeon: The Explorer's Crypt. -- EXPLORER'S CRYPT -- Go straight up through the first room. Then go left, follow the path around, and go north. Go north through the darkened room. In the next room go right, and you'll need to move quickly before the four fires go out (or else you'll be transported to the entrance). Kill all the enemies to make a chest appear, then open it for a small key. Now trace your steps all the way back to the locked door and go through it (left, down, down, left, right, right). You can kill all the enemies here to get a ring. Now go up the left steps and follow the path until you reach the darkened room. Use the slingshot to fire ember seeds at the two torches. When the lights are switched on, a ghost appears and attacks you. Hit him four times to defeat him, breaking the curse in that "four torches room" to the north! Go there. You can bomb a crack in the left wall to reach a room with the dungeon compass. Back in the "four torches room", push aside the rollers to reach the center staircase and go into the basement (B1). Avoid these armos statues (they come to life when you touch them) and go to the left room. Hit the switch up on the ledge to make a trampoline appear. Push it 2 spaces DOWN and 1 space LEFT. Jump on it...and press left so that you step on the switch, making a key drop into the hole. Drop back down and collect the key. Return to the room with the armos statues. All of these armos statues come to life except for one. Find out which one that is (you can kill the ones that come to life with the Magic Boomerang), and push it over the switch to hold the door open. In that room, go down the steps and struggle through the shifting pathway to reach the stairs. Prepare your magnetic gloves, and step onto the moving platform. When it stops at the other end you'll be beside an S-block, so use south polarity to repel yourself over the rest of the gap. In the next room, get over the brige before it rises up and starts attacking you. Then go left. Here's a tricky puzzle that kept me scrating me head for a while. You need to hit the four switches in an order such that the armos statues would be arranged in a square, with an empty space in the middle. First hit the lower switch at the side, then the left switch at the bottom, then the upper switch at the side, then the right switch at the bottom. Collect the key that drops down. Now retrace your steps back upstairs. Go south through the locked door. Now at the left side of the square of blocks, push the top and bottom block inward, and the center block up. At the right side of the square of blocks, push the top and bottom block inward, and the center block down. Now push the trampoline 3 tiles LEFT and 1 tile UP. Then you can jump on it to reach the next floor. Go left, get the dungeon map, then drop back downstairs. Now go right through the locked door. In this darkened room, use the pegasus seeds to move quickly and the ember seeds to light the torches. If all four are lit, another ghost will appear. This one leaves a trail of fire. 2 or 3 spin attacks should do him in..after defeating him, go 2 rooms to the left. This room was cursed before you defeated the ghost. Dive under the spiked logs to get past them, then go down the stairs. Defeat the knight that's close to you, then use the magnetic gloves to pull the others towards you...and release them over the pit. Bwahaha! Cross the bridge that appears, then go north. Push aside the block and hit the orb (to turn it red). Go back down, cross the bridge, then go up. This is a tricky room...use north polarity to pull yourself to the first rotating s-block, and when you're at the left push yourself away. There should now be another s-block just to the north of you. Let go of the magnetic gloves and IMMEDIATELY face up and use north polarity to latch on to the other s-block. Neat, eh? When you're at the left with this one, repel yourself, then face up at the right time and latch on to the other s-block. Repel yourself to the platform with the trampolines. Jump on the blue one to reach the next floor. Kill the two stalfos while avoiding the fireballs from the torches. The door opens when they're both dead. Drop back into the hole, then hop onto to red trampline to bounce TWO floors up! Carefully hop over the spikes, then drop into the hole on the north side. Go north. Kill the keese here, just to get them out of the way. Carefully jump onto this fast-moving platform, then to the treasure on the center platform. Open it to get the ROC'S CAPE! This allows you to jump further than before, and it replaces your Roc's Feather. Try it out: Press and hold the button to do a 'double jump' over the gap. Go down and fall into the hole. Jump over the platforms here and go south, then right, then up the stairs. Passed the spiked logs and into the next room, then north, and down the stairs again. Use the magnetic gloves, like last time, then continue to the next room and cross the bridge. At the right side of this room, use your new Roc's Cape to cross these two big holes. In the next room, attract the enemies towards you with the magnetic gloves, then defeat them all to make a trampoline appear. Push it three tiles upwards, then jump on it, onto the moving platform. Go up the steps, then use the magnetic gloves to push the N-ball to the left and off the ledge. Jump off the ledge. Use the N-ball to hold down the switch here. Open the chest for a small key. Go left. Find the armos statue that doesn't come to life and use it to hold down the switch. Then go 2 rooms south, 1 room left, and down the stairs again. Use your key on the keyhole block, but wait until all the tiles are finished attacking you before you proceed. Then go south through the room. Continue on the long path and drop into the pit of muldorms at the end. Be careful not to stand on any tile for more than a second, or else it will crumble. Defeat the muldorms to open the door, then go on south. Use the pegasus seeds combines with the Roc's Cape to make this loooong jump. Hit the switch to open the door. Make the return jump, push the block out of the way, and go right to the next room. Mini-boss time, once again. It's those ghosts that were cursing those other rooms. See the boss section for details. After defeating them, go right. Ah, this looks like fun. Lots and lots of stairs. Our aim here is to get to the top-right corner of B2F. It's a process of trial and error...just keep trying and erroring until you get there. Then go north. Another puzzle with the rotating s-blocks. Use north polarity to latch on to the first s-block, then repel yourself to the right. Switch polarity and latch onto the one at the lower left (really quickly, just like last time), then repel yourself north to the cracked floor. Don't stay on a cracked tile for more than a second! Use roc's cape to jump south to the next platform, then onto the moving platform, go north at the left path to the next room. Jump from platform to platform here, killing all the enemies in the room, then collect the key that drops down. Return south. Jump onto the moving platform, then jump to the path at the right. Go to the end of the path, then push the block UPWARDS. Go north, and into the locked door. Jump north over the gap, the continue on the path until you reach a room with 3 switches. Notice there are statues beside them... signifying the order that you should step on the switches! Hit the lowest one first (use the pegasus seeds with roc's feather for the big jump), then the top one (just the roc's cape will do), then the one in the center. A platform is created at the right so you can jump over it. Go up that path, then hit the switch to make a trampoline appear. Jump off the ledge and use the trampoline to jump up UP two floors. Press down to land on the moving platform. If you sprikle mystery seeds on the owl statue here, he says "Below me, red. My right, red. Only I shall shine blue." Jump off to the right, then go down the stairs. Remember the owl's advice. There are four orbs in this room: Two at the left side and two at the right. Hit them in a way that they are all red except for the upper one at the left side. Then the door at the north side will open, for you to proceed... Kill all four skeleton enemies in this room, careful to avoid the fireballs bombarding you from all directions. When the enemies are defeated the torches will leave you alone, and a chest will appear containing the boss key. Take it and go to the south room, then drop into the hole. Go up the steps at the left. Continue on the path all the way until you reach the room with all the staircases. Take the stairs up, go left and take the stairs down, then take the stairs at the bottom right corner. Take the path left and you'll come to the boss door at last. You can guess what's behind here... The final boss is a two headed dragon named Gleeok. Just like most of the bosses in this game, he's quite a toughie. See the boss section for details. After defeating him, collect the heart container and go left to get what you're here for. And it looks quite hilariously similar to a pair of testicles... It's the seventh Essence of Nature: The SEED OF LIFE. Life begins anew when birds carry this, the Seed of Life, to new lands! Believe it or not, only one Essence of Nature remains. You are transported out of the Explorer's Crypt. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE EIGHTH ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm The Maku Tree grows ever stronger. But this time he sees no dreams... So you'll have to figure this one out on your own. That isn't too hard seeing that there's only one big block of unexplored area on the overworld map. -- TO THE SWORD AND SHIELD MAZE -- Go to the Temple Remains, north of Holodrum Plain (or get there by going west from Goron Mountain). When you reach a big gap, cross it using Roc's Cape. You'll reach a sign that indicates "Temple of Seasons". Proceed north... Go right and use the tree stump to change the season to autumn. Go 2 screens left, then north (the leaves now cover the space that was previously a big hole). Continue on the path until you come to another tree stump. Change the season to winter. Go north, up the steps, then right. Continue until you reach a vortex to Subrosia. In Subrosia, go up the steps and enter the cave. The idiot Subrosian here is throwing all sorts of nice goodies into the lava! Gasha seeds! Major items! Rings! A piece of heart!!! Oh the humanity...he says it shoots off huge fireworks. Well, he's never going to make anything happen with the stuf he's throwing in. Show him how it's done: Throw in a *bomb*. Kaboom! The volcano erupts, raining fire upon the Temple of Seasons. Exit the cave and take the vortex back to the overworld. Go north, then right, then south. Hop onto that tree stump and change the season to summer. Go right and climb the vines. Continue on the path...jumping over the lava...until you get to a cave. Inside, stand on the tile just to the left of the entrance, face north, and use the magnetic gloves (north polarity) to pull yourself across. Go right, stand at the rightmost tile, face south, then use the magnetic gloves (north polarity again) to pull yourself across. Take the stairs up. Push the right block down, and the push the others away to clear the path. Go right, push some more rocks, then head up the stairs. Go one screen left and go back down the stairs. Simply jump over a few holes, avoiding the enemies...blah blah...then go up the stairs at the left. Go two screens right and enter this place. Ah, how relaxing. Collect the fairies if you wish. Enter the vortex to Subrosia once again. Climb north up the steps...up, up...until you reach this scary looking cave. And at last we have found it, the final dungeon: The Sword and Shield Maze. -- SWORD AND SHIELD MAZE -- Go straight up through the first room, then go to the room at the right. There's a statue here with no eye...shoot it with the slingshot to give it an eye and make a small key drop down. Collect it and return to the previous room. Go north, then continue on the path north again... Use your magnetic gloves on the enemies here to attract them to you, so you can hit them with the sword. When they're all defeated, the door opens for you to continue north. Kill all the gels here. To kill the beetle-like guy, you'll need the N-block in the corner. Bomb the cracked blocks to get to it, then use the magnetic gloves to kill the last enemy...then collect the key that drops down. Go right. Dangerous room...carefully make your way through it, continuing right. Use your key on the keyhole block, then go down the stairs. Make your way through this maze-like room, and go south. Now you'll need to watch out for the red hands that drop from the ceiling! If they grab you you'll be brought back to the dungeon entrance! Make your way past the spiked rollers, then go down the stairs at the lower-right. In this side-scrolling place, use Roc's Cape to make your way past the fast-moving fireballs (you'll need some smart timing there). In the next screen, jump to the moving platform, then to the left side while avoiding the fireballs. Go up the ladder at the left. Jump past the spiked roller while going over the lava here, then go south. In the next room, avoid the giant switchblades and fire keese... hit the switch at the right to open the door, then continue right. Go up the stairs to come to a horrible room with lots of ice and lots of spikes. Carefully make your way through the path here, then open the chest for the dungeon compass. Make your way back to the stairs and go back down. Go right through the locked door. Step on the rotating thingy to go to the north path. Go up the steps, left, then drop off the ledge. Return right to the rotating thingy, and now use it to go to the south path. Go on to the south room. The owl statue here says "A silent watch may be needed". So when you enter the room, do NOT kill any enemies or even swing your sword. Just wait 5 or 6 seconds and the golden armos statue will come to life and move out of the way. Go inside there and up the stairs. Head right. Open the chest for the dungeon map. Wait, see that big N-ball at your north? Whip out the magnetic gloves and attract it (south polarity), and move left so that it comes closer to you. Drag it 1 or 2 tiles right. Now repel it (north polarity) and move it right over the lava as you can. Then bring it left so that it presses the switch and extends the bridge. Go left and back down the stairs. Go right, jump over the stream of lava, then go up the stairs. Head left to a chest surrounded by blocks and armos statues. Make the statues come to life and kill them with the boomerang. Push the lower block out of the way so you can open the chest and get this dungeon's treasure: The HYPER SLINGSHOT! This replaces your old slingshot...it shoots seeds in 3 directions, while consuming only one seed! Great! Go right. Take the north path, and jump over the lava to reach the bridge you extended. Cross it and go down the stairs. Take the path north, cross over to the other ledge, then go left to the rotating thingy. Ride it to reach the right path, go right, and open the chest to get another small key. Return to the rotating thingy and ride it back to the north path. Go up the steps, and right. Now go down these steps and use the magnetic gloves (north polarity) to get over the lava. Continue right. At the right side of this room there are 3 statues without an eye. Stand about 4 tiles away from the middle one, then use the hyper slingshot to hit them all at once. Go up the staircase that appears. A room full of obviously cracked blocks. Start bombing them away to clear up the room...and you'll get to a chest surrounded by blocks, cracked and uncracked. Blow away the cracked ones with bombs, then push the south one to get to the chest with a small key. Go back downstairs. Head right through the locked door...and you'll come to this dungeon's mini-boss. He's another tough one, worth of a final boss in any dungeon. His name is Frypolar, and details are in the boss section. After defeating him, go north to the next room. Use the hyper slingshot to light all 7 torches in this room. First light the 3 at the left, then the center one, then the 3 at the right. Go up the stairs that appear, then go north. Ah, this room is quite a bitch indeed. Had me stumped for a while. There are 3 blocks of ice here and you'll need to push them around so that they get to the yellow tiles at the right. Here's what you do: Push the leftmost block down, then right. Take the upper block and push it down, then right to the middle tile. Of the two remaining blocks, push the right one down, right, up, then right to the upper yellow tile. Finally, push the last block right into the lower yellow tile. A staircase appears! Go down... Use Roc's Cape to do some tricky jumps over the ice blocks in the first screen. Then you'll have to have some quick reflexes jumping over the conveyer blocks in the second screen. And finally, the third screen has you jumping over spiked thwomps. Go up the ladder there. Hit the switch here to extend the bridge, providing easy access to the rest of the dungeon. But nevermind crossing it now...just go right. Get past all the enemies and super-fast switchblades (using Roc's Cape might help). In the next room, use the magical boomerang over the big gap and control its flight path to hit the orb, extending the bridge. Go south. Ignore the switch in the center of this room. Just go to the left area and kill all the enemies (the animal flute kills the bunnies instantly). After they're all defeated, enter the passage at the bottom-left. Open the chest in that room for the Boss Key. Then go down to return to that bitchy ice-room. Hop off the platform and go through the locked door at the left...and go straight through the next room... There's a cracked wall on the north side of this room. Bomb it open and enter. Some kind of phantom armos statue shows you a path on the yellow tiles. Take note of the path he takes! When he's done, move over the yellow tiles taking the same path that he did. If you do it right, you get a small key. Take it and return to the previous room. Pick up one of those ice crystals and bring it to the south room. Drop it into the red hole...you'll see it drop to the first floor and freeze the lava into solid ground! Go down the stairs to get there. Open the chest for the small key (you should have 2 now). Go to the screen at the left. You can open the chest for some bombs. Then go up the stairs. Ride the minecart up to the north room. Go down the stairs at the upper right. Go right, down, up the stairs, then north back to the room with the 3 ice crystals. Pick up one of them and ride the minecart in this room... when it drops you off, put down your crystal for a second and unlock the keyhole block covering the red hole. Then drop your ice into this one, freezing the lava below again. Ride the minecart back to the room with the ice crystals. Take another one of them and ride the minecart again. When it drops you off, put down the crystal so you can hit the lever (making if face left and changing the direction of the tracks). Pick up the chrystal and ride the minecart again. When it drops you off, simply drop the crystal into the red hole again. Now take the minecarts all the way back to the room with the crystals. Pick up yet another crystal and ride the minecart again. When it drops you off, bring your crystal through the south (possibly locked) door. If you followed my instructions all the way, another minecart should be there waiting for you. Take it south and drop this crystal into the final red hole. Then take the stairs down. Go right, then north, then take the stairs up. Follow the path right 2 screens and down. Open the chest here for your final small key. Take the path back, and down the stairs. Then go south, left, and north 2 screens. Use the key on that keyhole block. Just one more screen to the right and you find yourself in front of the big bad boss door. Whenever you're ready, equip the sword and roc's cape and enter... This one is named Medelock. Although he's a nasty boss by normal Nintendo standards, I was able to defeat him (barely) on my first try. Refer to the boss section for details. After defeating him, pick up the heart containter and proceed north to get the last one. It's the eight Essence of Nature: The CHANGING SEASONS. Scattered seeds sprout in spring, grow in summer, bear fruit in fall and sleep through winter. It is an endless cycle of life...the Changing Seasons! And just like that, you have all eight essences of nature. Give yourself a pat on the back, but the journey's not over just yet. You are transported out of the Explorer's Crypt. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ONOX'S CASTLE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm After being transported out of there, you get another message from the Maku Tree. He has been "filled with his former power" and wants you to go see him. Blech, you're still in Subrosia. Go south and find that vortex back to the overworld. Then use Gale Seeds to transport to Horon Village and go to the almighty Maku Tree. Apparently, you've become a true hero that understands the Essences of Nature. And that gives you the honor of taking the giant Maku Seed. It's enormous. But you have bigger problems to worry about-- just then you hear from Onox, who dares you to come over and kick his ass. So go to him. If you've been a good explorer and uncovered almost everything you can on the map, there's no problem figuring out where to go next: There are only 2 blocks on uncharted territory on the map. So head northwest to the Temple Remains, then north to the Northern Peak. Where evil forces once ruled, the Maku Seed comes out and repels them with the Essences of Nature. And just then, Twinrova, our spunky quasi-villains from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask appear. Then give you a warning and fly off. Then yet another message from the Maku Tree. Blah blah blah... just go north and enter Onox's Castle. -- ONOX'S CASTLE -- If you're low on life, go to the room on either the left or the right (they're both the same thing). Inside there is a fairy, and a room full of attacking tiles. Deal with the tiles first before getting the fairy, so you can make up for any damage taken from the tiles. When your life is full, return to the first room and go north. Although the doors here are unlocked, you MUST defeat all the enemies in order to proceed. If you simply go on north, you will find yourself in the same room over and over again. And don't go to the rooms at the left or right either, because if you go in them you'll find yourself in another infinite loop. After defeating all the Wizzrobes, you'll hear a chime. Go north. In the next room you'll encounter Facade yet again. Defeat him like you defeated him before (check out the boss section if you need a review). After defeating him, get the fairy and go north... and north again... It's Onox time! You'll have to fight him in a two-phase battle, in which you will almost definitely need to have the Magic Potion if you want to survive. See the boss section for the lengthly details about Onox and his true form, Dark Dragon. -- THE ENDING -- [NOTE: Mucho spoilers ahead. I don't usually give away the ending in my FAQs, but I barely got 4 hours of sleep last night and I'm feeling especially cocky today.] After defeating his first form, Onox reveals himself in his true form: An enormous dragon (which is strangly un-Zeldaish, yet very Capcomish). He also reveals that he's not the grand master in this evil operation, as he was summoned from the Dark Realm by Twinrova. When his Dark Dragon form is defeated..."Gurrrgh... No... It's too late. My orders were to capture Din and deliver the destructive power of a seasonless land to Twinrova. Now, as the Flame of Destruction, that power is set to devour this land!" Gah ha ha..." Din comes down in her crystal imprisonment. Walk up to her and she's free. And the seasons all over Holodrum are returned to normal. All is well again in the world...or is it? The Twinrova sisters watch the scene from afar. "Don't think this is the end... Onox has fallen, but the damage he has done to this land burns on in the Flame of Destruction! When this flame lights the dark, our wish shall be granted!" The credits roll, amidst scenes of a a peaceful Holodrum. After the credits, you are given a lenghly password, the Secret to Labrynna, and a reminder that your quest is to be continued in The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. That'll do, pig. That'll do. ~ The End ~ ,----------------------------------------------------------------------. | 3) BOSS STRATEGIES | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' TWIN MINOTAURS Location: Gnarled Root Dungeon (Mini-boss) These guys attack by simply moving around and tossing a boomerang to each other. For example, if the blue Minotaur throws the boomerang, the red Minotaur catches it. Then it's the red Minotaur's turn to throw the boomerang. That's funny...it's not much of a boomerang if it doesn't return to the person that threw it. Beating these guys is simple enough: Just hack like crazy with the sword. Focus your attacks on one of them, because when one is defeated the other one dies as well. AQUAMENTUS Location: Gnarled Root Dungeon (Final boss) Aquamentus looks like the perfect cliché boss. A muscular green dragon with wings and a horn sticking out of it's forehead. Where's the originality, Capcom? Anyway, the horn on it's forehead is flashing, so it's quite obvious that it's the weak spot. Hit the horn with your sword. Despite the crappiness of his design, he's actually pretty hard to defeat. He has an attack where energy balls come out from his horn with barely any warning. There's also an attack where he lowers his head and charges at you. You'll need quick reflexes to dodge his attacks. My advice: Go crazy slashing at his horn from the very beginning before he has much oppurtunity to hurt you. FACADE Location: Snake's Remains (Mini-boss) Long-time Zelda fans will remember Facade as the boss of the Key Cavern in Link's Awakening. Facade is a face on the dungeon floor. When he attacks by creating holes in the ground, just be sure not to stay still so he won't get to you. When he spits fireballs, be wary of the shadows cast on the floor where the fireballs are about to drop. Another attack causes bugs to drop from the ceiling, but this can be more of a blessing since the bugs give you goodies like hearts, rupees, and bombs. Speaking of bombs, use them on Facade to hurt him. Of course, they only work when the face appears. Five bombs should do it. DODONGO Location: Snake's Remains (Final boss) THIS is Dodongo? Oh well, disappointing to say the least. Dodongo looked radically different in Link's Awakening and Ocarina of Time. This guy is short and stubby. Anyway, he attacks mainly by breathing fire at you (and gives you a good 2 seconds to warn you about it). He also occationally attacks by charging (which can be anticipated by the faster movement of his feet). See when he opens his mouth when he's about to breath fire? There's a reason he keeps it open for so long. When he does that, throw bombs into his mouth. Then when he inflates like a balloon, pick him up with the Power Bracelet and throw him into the spikes. Three times is enough to defeat him. CALAMAREYE Location: Poison Moth's Lair (Mini-boss) There are actually three squid-type things that pop out of the puddles in the room. Each time they pop out they will attack you by spitting a single fireball. It isn't too hard to beat them, as long as you know how. These guys are invincible in the water, so what you need to do is get them *out* of the water. Pick it up when it pops out of the water (Power Bracelet) and throw it somewhere else. While it's jumping around, attack it with the sword to hurt it. Continue that pattern until all three of them are dead. MOTHULA Location: Poison Moth's Lair (Final boss) Suprise, suprise. The final boss of Poison Moth's Lair is a moth! There are pits in the room, so if you fall into one use the trampoline to get back up. Mothula flies around the room quickly and shoots fireballs at you. Stay on the platforms at the center (and equip Roc's Feather so you can get around easily). Mothula also attacks by sending baby moths at you. There are no secrets to be found here: Kill Mothula by simply hitting it with the sword. Still, it's quite a hard fight if you ask me. If you get low on hearts, get some by killing the baby moths. And if you fall into the pit, you'll just need to use the trampoline to get back up (and I think Mothula's health would be replenished). AGAHNIM Location: Dancing Dragon Dungeon (Mini-boss) Yes, it's Agahnim from 'A Link to the Past' for a cameo appearance. And after being defeated twice in LttP, he's been degraded to a mini-boss. But he's different from how we've previously seen him, as you can't deflect the energy balls back at him. Instead it's back to the old mindless slashing technique. Use ember seeds to keep the torches lit... you can't attack Agahnim when it's dark. Get more seeds from the corners of the room if you're running low. Three Agahnims appear, but only the one with a *shadow* under him is the real one. Just be careful to avoid the energy balls that are thrown around. The best time to attack is before they throw the energy balls. After seven hits from your sword, Agahnim is no more. GOHMA Location: Dancing Dragon Dungeon (Final boss) Gohma is a popular classic Zelda boss you may remember from 'Link's Awakening' and 'Ocarina of Time'. This one has a deadly pincer that it uses to attack you. First of all, you need to attack the pincer until if falls off. That thing is scary...if Gohma raises it, quickly raise your shield because she's about to charge and grab you. If she does, it will cost you TWO hearts! Ouch...use of the shield is very very important here if your want to live. After the pincer is destroyed, go for the eye with the slingshot. Gohma will release some babies at you, which may actually work to your advantage because of the items you might get from them. Keep shooting at the eye until Gohma is defeated. THE GREAT MOBLIN Location: Moblin's Keep This strange fellow rules over Moblin's Keep. He attacks by throwing big bombs at you. They don't hurt you if you touch them, but just don't be around when they explode. You need to use the power bracelet to pick up these bombs and throw them back at him. After five explosions he turns grey and flat out tells you how to defeat him. Hit him one more time while he has a bomb in his hand. He'll drop it, blow up all the bombs behind him, and destroy his own keep. SYGER Location: Unicorn's Cave (mini-boss) Syger looks like some kind of saber tooth tiger with a ball at the end of his tail. His only attack is turning into a spiked ball and rapidly attacking you. The 'spiked ball attacks' come in many forms. Sometimes he comes charging at you, and other times he patrols the room in a spiral. I don't think there's anyway of predicting how he will move. He moves very quickly, so I suggest using pegasus seeds so you can quickly avoid him. To attack him, slash at his tail when he's not in spiked ball form. It's really hard because without warning he can suddenly just attack you. Keep slashing at the tail until he's defeated. DIGDOGGER Location: Unicorn's Cave (final boss) This boss is a really ugly creature... some kind of hairy beatle with a single huge eye. In it's normal form, it just bounces around the room. Occasionally, it jumps high in the air and drops down on your location. There's a large spiked ball at the upper-right corner of the room. You can attract it with north polarity and repel it with south polarity. So use the magnetic boots and maneuver the ball to hit Digdogger. It's really tough at first, but you'll get the hang of it. When it gets hit 4 times, it splits up into lots of smaller creatures. You can either hit them with the sword or continue hitting them with the spiked ball (I prefer the spiked ball). In a few seconds, they combine into the normal form again. When all the little guys are destroyed, Digdogger is defeated. VIRE Location: Ancient Ruins (mini-boss) Onox's loyal henchman. For such an important position he's rather disappointing mini-boss. He's looks like a gargoyle...come to think of it I have a feeling I've seen him in another game. Anyway, he comes in and out of the room, usually staying near the sides. He doesn't do much really, except for occassionally throw energy balls at you. And if you're lucky he'll fly at you, giving you a golden oppurtunity to hit him. Just walk up to him and slash away with the sword. After about 6 hits he splits up into 2 small bats. They fly around and suddenly charge at you. Just keep your sword extended, let it charge up, then release a spin attack when they come flying at you. Defeat them, and Vire is no more. MANHANDLA Location: Ancient Ruins (final boss) This boss reminds me of the creature from Little Shop of Horrors (or I think it does..it's been so long since I've seen that movie). He looks like one of those electric gel enemies with four Mario-style piranha plants on his head. The four heads shoot energy balls at you, and the whole thing seems to move around randomly. To make things worse is the shifting sand floor. First you'll need to defeat the four heads with the boomerang. They can only be hurt when their mouth is open, so you'll need a combination of good aim, skill, timing, and luck. With each head you kill, he moves faster (but at least you'll have less fireballs to worry about). When all the heads are defeated, keep attacking the gel with to boomerang. You need to attack it with rapid fire so that it splits apart revealing some kind of crystal inside. Slash at that crystal with the sword and Manhandla is no more. GHINIS Location: Explorer's Crypt (mini-boss) These are the ghosts you encountered earlier in the dungeon. There are four torches in the room. The ghosts will try to put out the light...but don't let them! If all the light in the torches is put out, you will be transported to the entrance of the dungeon! Just make sure that at least one of them is always lit. And at the same time, you'll need to do battle with these guys. Just slash at them with the sword. The two of them attack just like they did when you faced them before...one of them charges at you, the other leaves a trail of fire. If you need ember seeds get them from the plants at the center of the room. The battle isn't over until both of them are defeated. GLEEOK Location: Explorer's Crypt (final boss) This boss is a quite a difficult one. He's a dragon with two heads that spits fire out at you. In the first part of the battle, he attacks by spitting fire in three directions at you. What you need to do here is slash at the head until it comes flying off. But that's not enough... when a head comes off, it goes flying around for a few seconds then reattaches itself. What you need to do is cut BOTH heads off at the same time. I suggest coming at him with the sword charged and unleashing a spin attack. Each time Gleeok is hit he unleashes another fire attack. When both heads are detached from the body, it becomes a skeleton and the second part of the battle begins. This skeleton jumps into the air and hits the ground, stunning you. To avoid being stunned, jump into the air so you're not on the ground when he hits the floor. Then he'll come charging at you...move slightly out of his way and hit him with the sword. Continue that until he is defeated. FRYPOLAR Location: Sword and Shield Maze (mini-boss) The owl statue gives you an extremely vague hint about defeating Frypolar: "Icy cores make piercing blades". This boss has two forms. When he's a blue flame, a shadow comes out from him and becomes a blade of ice that stabs from beneath the ground. When he's in this form, damage him by shooting ember seeds at him. When he's a red flame, he throws lines of fire at you, two at a time. Damaging him in this mode isn't nearly as simple: Blue flame, hit one of the ice swords with mystery seeds to make it some kind of rock, then hit Frypolar with mystery seeds to make him change form (or alternatively, you could simply wait for him to change form). Then pick up the ice rock using the power bracelet, and throw it at Frypolar in his red flame mode. Just continue this process until he's defeated. MEDELOCK Location: Sword and Shield Maze (final boss) This boss is kinda greenish with snake-like hairs...looks a bit like the Pokemon Misdreavus. Defeating him is simple enough: Just slash at him with the sword while avoiding his attacks. The best way to avoid his attacks is with the Roc's Cape. There are 3 major attacks. In the first type, he simply spits out fireballs at you...a lot of fireballs. It's difficult to avoid staying on the ground, so just use the cape. In the second attack, he teleports to the center of the room and lets out a whirl of attack, which you should jump over. And in the third attack he teleports to an upper corner of the room, shoots out a laser and sweeps across the room. Just use quick reflexes to avoid these attacks, and attack him whenever he's vulnerable. ONOX Location: Onox's Castle We all know Onox. He's the king of darkness, the master of disaster, the big kahuna...or so we are led to believe. Anyway, in his first form he can only be defeated by spin attacks. Regular slashes with the sword don't even faze him. All the while, he is swinging a giant mace around that he occassionally uses to attack you. His other attacks are a stomp that causes an avalanche of boulders to rain down, and an attack where whirlwinds come out to attack you. The pegasus seeds are a big help in avoiding the attacks and getting to Onox. After 7 hits by spin attacks, he'll use Din in her crystal as a shield. Knock her aside with the Rod of Seasons, then continue coming at Onox with Spin Attacks. After 7 more spin attack hits, he will be defeated. At least in this form. Because he wastes no time in turning into his true form... DARK DRAGON Location: Onox's Castle My God, this boss is huge for a Game Boy game. For some reason, it doesn't seem right for a Zelda game, yet it reminds me of its Capcom roots. This huge guy occassionally attacks you by stomping his hand on the ground. When that happens, jump onto the back of his hand and let it lift you up. Then jump at his head and slash the red thing on his face to hurt him. Continue this process until he's dead (it takes a mind- boggling 15 hits or so). He has other attacks too, like his blue fire that he spits at you from his mouth. To avoid those, stand still and move out of the way just after he spits the fire (and you can jump over it when its on the floor). In another attack, he goes to the top of the screen and rapidly shoots fireballs at you. Just avoid those by moving out of the way (pegasus seeds may help). And for his swipe attack, he swipes his hand across the screen, and you must go to the opposide side from where the hand is coming from. This is a very long battle, I know. ,----------------------------------------------------------------------. | 4) SIDE-QUESTS | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE TRADING SEQUENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm The Trading Sequence is a Zelda tradition that started with the original Link's Awakening. Here you get seemingly ordinary items from regular people and trade them for another item, which you in turn trade for yet another item. This routine continues for a long time and at the end you get a special item. In this case, the special item is the Noble Sword. Not only is it more powerful than the wooden sword, it also shoots out beams when your heart containers are full. GETTING THE CUCCODEX: In the south-east corner of Horon Village there's a little house with a pond (the map labels it as "Biologist's Home"). The light in the house is too dim to read by, and the guy want's you to "light his fire". All sexual joking aside, light his lamp with an ember seed to get the Cuccodex. GETTING THE LON LON EGG: In North Horon (marked on the map as "Talon and Malon's house), a little girl lives in a hut to raise cuccos by herself. Give her the Cuccudex in exchange for the Lon Lon Egg, which is apparently a beauty aid in some sick, twisted way. GETTING THE GHASTLY DOLL: Next time Maple comes flying along, bump into her and you'll drop the Lon Lon Egg. She wants it... it's all the rage with the girls. In exchange, she gives you the Ghastly doll. GETTING THE IRON POT: In Holodrum Plain (marked on the map as "Mrs. Ruul's Villa"), a woman is hot and wants something creepy to send chills down her spine. Yeah, it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard too. She'll take your Ghastly Doll and give you an Iron Pot. GETTING THE LAVA SOUP: In western Subrosia (marked on the map as "Subrosian Chef's Kitchen"), a guy wants to make lava soup but doesn't have a pot, one of the main ingredients. Give him the pot and he returns lava soup. GETTING THE GORON POT: A tribe of Gorons live up in Goron Mountain. The biggest Goron of them all, Biggoron, lives at the top of the mountain where he's developed a cold. Give him the lava soup to cure his colds, and in return you will recieve the covetted Goron Pot. GETTING THE FISH: Ingo, a strange eccentric guy in west Sunken City, collects vases. All he wants is the precious Goron Pot, but as much as he pleads to Biggoron, he doesn't get it. He begs you to give him the Goron Pot... and in return gives you his dinner, a fish. Market fresh! GETTING THE MEGAPHONE: In North Horon, surely you've come across an old man with his cat stuck in a tree. If only he had it's favorite food-- fish. Use the fish to get poor Mittens out of the tree, and as thanks he'll give you his megaphone. GETTING THE MUSHROOM: In Mt. Cucco, go to the cave in the screen just to the left of the Dancing Dungeon Dragon entrance. Talon is inside, sleeping...and if you simply talk to him he won't wake up! Use the Megaphone to wake him up. He hurries off to Malon, taking your megaphone and leaving behind a mushroom. GETTING THE WOODEN BIRD: In the Sunken City, change the season to winter. A mound of snow creates a path to the Witch's Hut! Inside, the witch will take your mushroom in exchange for a wooden bird. She also opens up her shop, which sells Gasha seeds and Magic Potions. GETTING THE ENGINE GREASE: Inside the Horon Village Clock Shop, the clock maker wants to make a cucco clock like never before... but he just can't find the perfect wooden bird. One that's just breathtaking... like yours! Give it to him and get the engine grease in return. GETTING THE PHONOGRAPH: Just to the right of Horon Village, enter the cave. Go up the stairs at the left to a guy beside a windmill. He wants the windmill to go faster, so if you give him your engine grease it'll really turn! He gives you a phonograph. GETTING THE NOBLE SWORD: Somewhere in the Lost Woods (past the Tarm Ruins) there's a lonely-looking sapling. Burn it down to uncover a secret stairway beneath it. Inside you'll find a music-loving Deku Scrub who apparently likes your Phonograph. Play it for him and he will tell you the way to his secret spot: "If temperatures rise as you go far to the west, you'll find it!". Go back up the stairs, then go up and left to the part of the Lost Woods that is always repeating. Now follow the Deku Scrub's advise. Go west making the season warmer every screen. In simple directions: Chnage the season to winter, go west, change the season to fall, go west, change the season to spring, go west, change the season to summer, and go west. And you finally find the sacred Noble Sword! wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ITEM UPGRADES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm RING BOX UPGRADE: In Goron Mountain, there's a section of wall that can be blown open with a bomb. Inside, follow the path around the lava and go up the stairs. Go right, climb the steps, and enter the cave. Go through the cave and when you come out there are some really tough enemies you'll need to get by. Get by them, drop off the ledge, and enter the cave. Inside, a Goron child thanks you for visiting him. And what a generous guy, he offers to upgrade your Ring Box. SEED SACHEL UPGRADE: If you don't already have the Horon Shop Member's Card, buy it from the Subrosian Market for a measly 5 Ore Chunks. In the Horon Shop, go to the basement and you can buy the Super Seed Sachel for a whopping 300 rupees. It's quite expensive, but it holds up to 50 seeds of each type. A huge improvement over the 20 seeds of the regular seed sachel. BOMB BAG UPGRADE: In the Subrosia Market, a bigger bomb bag is available for only 10 bombs and 50 ore chunks. What a great deal... God bless the Subrosia Market! It looks like a red bomb. You pick it up and it explodes (not hurting you, though). You can now carry up to 30 bombs! IRON SHIELD: In to get the Iron Shield, you must first get the Blue and Red Ores, both found in Subrosia. Blue Ore - In far-western Subrosia, there's an area full of holes and metal s-blocks. Just to the right of that area is a chest where you'll find the Blue Ore. Red Ore - Now go all the way to the east side of Subrosia...in the screen just south-west of the Great Furnace, there's a really long hole. Cross it using the magnetic gloves. Enter the cave, then follow the path upstairs. Outside is a chest containing the Red Ore. When you have them both, bring them to the Great Furnace in east Subrosia. Talk to the master inside to have the fused into the Hard Ore! Next stop is the Subrosian Smithy, at the west side of Subrosia. Talk to the guy at the counter and tell him to "Do whatever". The blacksmiths do their thing, and forge your cheap wooden shield into the iron shield! It can block more projectiles, and looks a lot cooler. It can still be eaten by Like Likes though. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< FOUR GOLDEN BEASTS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm In North Horon, use the tree stump to change the season to summer, then go west to the screen south of the entrance to the Gnarled Root Dungeon. Enter the stairs there and you'll find a wierd old man who says that he'll grant you his power if you slay the four golden beasts. These golden beasts are found throughout Holodrum and take a lot of hits to defeat. 1) GOLDEN DARKNUT - In the eastern-most screen of the Western Coast. Found only in the *spring* (use the tree stump near the pirate ship). 2) GOLDEN OCTOROK - Use the tree stump near the Poison Moth's Lair entrance to change the season to *summer*. Then go all the way down to the south-westernmost corner of Spool Swamp. 3) GOLDEN MOBLIN - In the Woods of Winter, change the season to *autumn* and you'll find the Golden Moblin in the screen just right of the entrance to Snake's Remains. You may actually have to go through Snake's Remains to get to the tree stump :P 4) GOLDEN LYNEL - In the Tarm Ruins, change the season to *winter* using the tree stump beside the pond with Armos Statues. Then go right 1 screen to meet the Golden Lynel. Return to the wierd old man and he will give you a ring, which when appraised becomes the Red Ring. It doubles your sword damage! The old man tells you not to be tempted to abuse it, but go ahead and abuse it all you want. It will especially make boss battles a lot easier. ,----------------------------------------------------------------------. | 5) HEART PIECE LOCATIONS | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' Pieces of Heart are scattered all around the world. There are 12 of them in all, but you don't have to get all of them. In fact, you can beat the game without getting any of them at all! For every 4 pieces you find, you gain a whole heart container. 1. HORON VILLAGE. Along the path there's a piece of heart in plain view, blocked by a sapling. After getting through the Gnarled Root Dungeon, you can use the ember seeds to burn the sapling to get to the heart piece. If you had trouble finding that one, I pity you. 2. WOODS OF WINTER. At the south-east corner of the Woods of Winter there's a heart piece, once again in plain view, but blocks by a rock and deep water. You can get it when you have the power glove, after getting through the Snakes Remains dungeon. 3. SUBROSIA. In the Subrosia Market they sell a "Rare Peach Stone"... which is obviously an upside-down piece of heart! And what a bargain it is for the low low price of 20 Ore Chunks and 10 Ember seeds! 4. MT. CUCCO. Use the tree stump to change the season to Spring, so that the flowers will bloom. Go left to the flower, and use it to spit you to the higher ledge. Go up and two screens right, then drop off of the ledge to get the piece of heart. 5. EASTERN SUBURBS. The Eastern Suburbs are just to the right of Horon Village. There's a tree stump two screens to the right of Horon Village. Use it to change the season to winter. Go across the path of snow in the north. Enter the cave and there you'll find a piece of heart. 6. GASHA NUT. One of the random prizes that you get from a Gasha Nut is a Piece of Heart. It only appears once, so don't go looking for more heart pieces from Gasha nuts after getting this one :P 7. MAPLE. One of the random things that Maple may drop when you bump into her is a piece of heart. Like heart piece #6, this is a once-only event. You can use the Maple ring to increase Maple appearances. 8. SPOOL SWAMP. Go to the Spool Swamp in Summer, Fall or Winter and you'll see a heart surrounded by rocks or coral or something. But go there in the Spring (use the log just south of the Poison Moth's Lair entrance), and the heart piece will be open for you to collect in the rapids. 9. GREAT MOBLIN'S KEEP. Use your animal buddy to get to the Great Moblin's Keep, east of the Natzu River/Prairie/Wasteland. Once inside, you'll do battle with the Great Moblin. See the boss section for details. After he is defeated, open the chest among the ruins to get a piece of heart. 10. GRAVEYARD. After getting the Roc's Cape from the Explorer's Crypt, go to the screen just north of the pirate ship. Go through the house to the stump, then change the season to autumn. Now go south of the graveyard, where there's a cave in the ledge. Use Roc's Cape to cross the gap, then continue on to the graveyard. Beside the Explorer's Crypt, toss aside the mushrooms and get the piece of heart. 11. TEMPLE REMAINS. After erupting the volcano in Subrosia and causing lava to rain on the temple, go to the screen north of the vortex to Subrosia. Bomb the crack in the wall to open up a cave. Inside, jump from platform to platform over the lava here and collect the heart piece. 12. EYEGLASS LAKE. Use the tree stump in Eyeglass Lake to change the season into summer, drying up the lake. Go right 1 screen, down 2 screens, and enter the now dry lake. Go north and pick up the rock to discover a cave. Take the straightforward path downstairs, and downstairs, until you find a chest with a piece of heart. ,----------------------------------------------------------------------. | 6) GASHA SEEDS | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' The Gasha seed system is a neat little feature in this game. The Mayor of Horon Village explains the system quite nicely: "If you plant one in soft earth, it will grow into a tree that bears nuts! Inside those nuts, you'll find all sorts of things! It's so fun I can't help myself" The longer you wait before getting the nut, the better your reward is. These are some of the things I found inside Gasha nuts: A ring, 200 rupees, a fairy, a potion, a piece of heart, 5 hearts. This first part of this section is a *partial* list of some locations of Gasha seeds. The second part tells you locations of the soft soil where you can plant them. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< GASHA SEED LOCATIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 1. HORON VILLAGE. Ruul, the Mayor of Horon Village, gives you a Gasha seed when you talk to him for the first time. Sucker... 2. SUBROSIA. Play the mini-game in the Subrosian Dance Hall. If you successfully complete the dance, one of the possible prizes is a Gasha seed. 3. SNAKE'S REMAINS. A room in the south-east corner of the dungeon leads to a high ledge outside, where you'll find a chest containing a Gash seed. 4. HORON VILLAGE. In the Mayor's house there's a cracked wall at the right side. Blow it open with a bomb and inside you'll find a Gasha seed. 5. POISON MOTH'S LAIR. There's a chest with a Gasha seed inside. Hmm... I can't give concise instructions on how to get there... just use the compass. Look around ;) 6. HERO'S CAVE. In one of the rooms there are 4 blocks that form a rectangle. Kill all the keese, then push the block at the upper-left. Go down the stairs that appear to find your Gasha seed. 7. SUBROSIA. There's a cave near the north-west corner of Subrosia. Inside there is nothing more than a single chest. And inside the chest is a Gasha Seed. 8. HORON VILLAGE. As you progress through the game, the Maku Tree grows bigger, developing more branches. It develops branches on which you will find more Gasha seeds. 9. SUNKEN CITY. There's a cave in some deep water that you use vines to climb up to. Inside, there's a chest containing a Gasha Seed. 10. WOODS OF WINTER. There's a cave in the Woods of Winter...inside you need to cross some deep water to get to a chest containing a Gasha Seed. 11. SUBROSIA. In a southern part of the Subrosian Village, there's a hut. And inside is a Gasha seed in plain sight in the upper-left corner. You need Roc's Feather to jump over the lava and get it. 12. SUBROSIA. In the southeast part of the village, there's a stairway to a side-scrolling cave that leads to the Tower of Spring. In that cave there's a Gasha Seed. 13. HORON VILLAGE. Get the Member's Card from the Subrosian Market, and in the member's section of the Horon Village Shop you can buy a Gasha Seed for 300 rupees. 14. SUBROSIA. After buying the heart piece and big bomb bag, a Gasha seed will be available at the Subrosia Market for the price of 40 ore chunks and 20 scent seeds. Then for 100 ore chunks and 20 scent seeds. 15. SUNKEN CITY. After you give the mushroom to the witch (part of the trading sequence, see the mini-quest section for details), her store will open and you can buy some expensive Gasha seeds. 16. NORTH HORON. Change the season to autumn, then go two screens right from Impa's House. The autumn leaves cover up the pits so you can get to the chest, which contains a Gahsa seed. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< SOFT SOIL LOCATIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 1. HORON VILLAGE. Outside of the Mayor's house in the north-east corner of the village. 2. NORTH HORON. Simply go one screen north from Impa's House, and there's your soft soil surrounded by bushes. 3. WOODS OF WINTER. In the screen above the one with lots of Like Likes, there's a big clump of bushes. Cut them down and you'll find soft soil. 4. HOLODRUM PLAIN. There's a screen with lots of pink flowers and four bushes that form a diamond. Use the shovel to dig inside the diamond and reveal some soft soil. 5. SPOOL SWAMP. It's in the screen left of where you'll find the keyhole for the Floodgate key. Lift the rock to find the soft soil. 6. SPOOL SWAMP. In the screen south of where you find the vortex to Subrosia. There's soft soil hidden under the rock in the corner. 7. EYEGLASS LAKE. In the grounds around Eyeglass lake, there's a place that is winter. Go to the screen north of the one with the tree stump... dig near the north where it is surrounded by bushes. 8. SUNKEN CITY. At the northeast corner of the village (above the water- fall), there's a house with a bush beside it. Soft soil is under the bush. 9. MT. CUCCO. From the Natzu river, swim up to the lower part of Goron Mountain, then go right until you reach Mt. Cucco. There's soft soil surrounded by rocks. 10. HOLODRUM PLAIN. In the waters to the east of Holodrum Plain, there's a screen with a solitary island. On that island, hidden under the bushes, is a soft soil spot. 11. GORON MOUNTAIN. There's a soft soil location at the base of Goron Mountain, beside a large hole. Just go north from the Natzu area. 12. MT. CUCCO. At the north-east corner of Mt. Cucco (where the flying cucco is), there's a patch of soft soil. It's behind rock mushrooms, so you can only get there in autumn. 13. TARM RUINS. In the area two screens south and two screens right of the Ancient Ruins, dig in the grassy part to find some soft soil. 14. SAMASA DESERT. In the south-eastern corner of the desert, there's a soft soil spot nestled behind some lovely cacti. 15. WESTERN COAST. In the absolute south-westernmost corner of Holodrum, there's a soft soil spot in plain sight. Just south of the graveyard. 16. TEMPLE REMAINS. In the screen you're at right after you enter the Temple Remains through the hollow log, there's a soft soil spot if you dig two spaces to the right from the upper statue at the left. ,----------------------------------------------------------------------. | 7) RINGS | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' The ring system is another neat feature of the oracle games. I'll leave it to Vasu the jeweler to explain this one: "Rings made from Mystical Seeds have very mystical powers. If you wear one, it's mystical power will be passed to you. But you must keep it in your Ring Box. The mystical power will gradually weaken and you won't be able to use it." Rings are found all over the world. But until you get a ring appraised and it's power revealed by Vasu in Horon Village, you cannot wear it. It costs 20 rupees to appraise a ring. If it turns out to be a ring you already have, Vasu will buy it for 30 rupees. The level 1 ring box, which can hold 1 ring, is given to you when you first talk to Vasu. This is a list of all 64 rings found in the Oracle games. Some can only be found in Ages, some can only be found in Seasons. Currently, I don't have the locations of all the rings. Why? Because I simply don't know where I got them. I don't even know what ring I have until they're appraised. Just take what I give you and be happy. #01 Friendship Ring Symbol of a meeting #02 Power Ring L-1 Sword damage +; Damage taken + #03 Power Ring L-2 Sword damage ++; Damage taken ++ #04 Power Ring L-3 Sword damage +++; Damage taken +++ #05 Armor Ring L-1 Damage taken -; Sword power - #06 Armor Ring L-2 Damage taken --; Sword power -- #07 Armor Ring L-3 Damage taken ---; Sword power --- #08 Red Ring Sword damage x2 #09 Blue Ring Damage taken 1/2 #10 Green Ring Sword damage +; Damage taken - #11 Cursed Ring 1/2 Sword damage; Damage taken x2 #12 Expert's Ring Punch when not equipped #13 Blast Ring Bomb damage + #14 Rang Ring L-1 Boomerang damage + #15 GBA Time Ring Life Advanced! #16 Maple's Ring Maple meetings + #17 Steadfast Ring Get knocked back less #18 Pegasus Ring Lengthen Pegasus Seed effect #19 Toss Ring Throwing distance + #20 Heart Ring L-1 Sloiwly recover lost Hearts #21 Heart Ring L-2 Recover lost Hearts #22 Swimmer's Ring Swimming speed + #23 Charge Ring Spin attack charges quickly #24 Light Ring L-1 Sword beams at -2 hearts #25 Light Ring L-2 Sword beams at -3 hearts #26 Bomber's Ring Set two Bombs at once #27 Green Luck Ring 1/2 damage from traps #28 Blue Luck Ring 1/2 damage from beams #29 Gold Luck Ring 1/2 damage from falls #30 Red Luck Ring 1/2 damage from spiked floors #31 Green Holy Ring No damage from electricity #32 Blue Holy Ring No damage from Zora's fire #33 Red Holy Ring No damage from small rocks #34 Snowshoe Ring No sliding on ice #35 Roc's Ring Cracked floors don't crumble #36 Quicksand Ring No sinking in quicksand #37 Red Joy Ring Beasts drop double rupees #38 Blue Joy Ring Beasts drop double hearts #39 Gold Joy Ring Find double items #40 Green Joy Ring Find double ore chunks #41 Discovery Ring Sense soft earth nearby #42 Rang Ring L-2 Boomerang damage ++ #43 Octo Ring Become an Octorok #44 Moblin Ring Become a Moblin #45 Like Like Ring Become a Like Like #46 Subrosian Ring Become a Subrosian #47 First Gen Ring Become something #48 Spin Ring Double spin attack #49 Bombproof Ring No damage from your own bombs #50 Energy Ring Beam replaces spin attack #51 Dbl. Edge Ring Sword damage up but you get hurt #52 GBA Nature Ring Life advanced! #53 Slayer's Ring 1000 beasts slain #54 Rupee Ring 10,000 rupees collected #55 Victory Ring The Evil King Ganon defeated #56 Sign Ring 100 signs broken #57 100th Ring 100 rings appraised #58 Whisp Ring No effect from jinxes #59 Gasha Ring Grow great Gasha trees #60 Peace Ring No explosion if holding Bomb #61 Zora Ring Dive without breathing #62 Fist Ring Punch when not equipped #63 Whimsical Ring Sword damage -. Sometimes deadly #64 Protection Ring Damage taken is always one heart ,----------------------------------------------------------------------. | 8) ITEMS | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< A & B BUTTON ITEMS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm SWORD: This is Link's weapon of choice. It's a good idea to have it equipped almost ALL the time because you'll always be using it. Hold down the button to charge it, then release to unleash a spin attack Wooden Sword - Found in the Hero's Cave at the beginning of the game. It's the weakest and most basic sword. Noble Sword - Complete the trading sequence to get this one. It shoots beams when you have full energy, and it can destroy pots and signs in a single slash. SHIELD: The dhield is used to deflect certain projectile attacks. You'll need to hold it up to use it, unlike in A Link to the Past. Wooden Shield - Buy it from the Horon Village shop for 30 rupees, or from Deku Skrubs for 50 rupees. It's the weakest shield, and can get stolen by Like Likes. Iron Shield - Give the Hard Ore (made by fusing the Red and Blue Ores) to the Subrosian Blacksmith and he will forge you a knew shield. This one is stronger and can block more types of projectiles. SEED SACHEL: You find the Seed Sachel in the Gnarled Root dungeon. It initially holds 20 seeds of each type. You can later buy an upgrade at the Horon Shop that holds 50 seeds of each type. There are 5 types of seeds: Ember Seeds - These seeds make fire. They are used to light torches and defeat certain types of enemies. Scent Seeds - These seeds give off a scent that attracts monsters. I don't know why you would want to do that, but okay... Pegasus Seeds - Use these seeds to move much faster than usual. They last a few seconds, and are useful when you're in a hurry. Gale Seeds - These wonderful seeds instantly transport you to certain points on the map. Great for getting around the world quickly. Mystery Seeds - Sprinkly these on the blue owl statues and it will give you a helpful hint. BOMBS: These are Zelda fundamentals...used for blowing open holes in cracked walls, destroying some rocks, and occassionally for defeating certain enemies. Also a rather unhealthy snack for Dodongos. Buy them in shops, or find them in chests all over the place. SHOVEL: You get this item from a girl in the Woods of Winter. It's used to dig holes in the ground to discover underground goodies, or to shovel snow out of the way. POWER BRACELET: This is found in the Snake's Remains dungeon, and gives you the ability to lift and throw things, like pots and rocks. It can also be used to push or pull certain heavy objects. ROC'S FEATHER/ROC'S CAPE: Find this one in the Poison Moth Lair. It gives you the power to jump, which seems to be exclusive to the Game Boy Zeldas. When used together with the Pegasus Seeds, you can jump even further. In the Explorer's Crypt you'll find the Roc's Cape, which allows you to jump much further. BOOMERANG: Obtain this item by following the dance in the Subrosian Dance Hall for the first time. It stuns most enemies, and damages others. Later, the Magical Boomerang can be found in the Ancient Ruins. It's stronger than the regular boomerang, and you can control its flight path to an extent. ANIMAL FLUTE: This summons your animal buddy. Who you animal buddy is depends on when and how you obtain the flute. Dimitri's flute - If you win the Strange Flute from the Subrosian Dance Hall, you later rescue Dimitri and it becomes Dimitri's flute. Moosh's flute - If you bought the Strange Flute from the Horon Village shop, you later rescue Moosh and it becomes Moosh's flute. Ricky's flute - If you do not have the Strange Flute when you first meet Ricky, he becomes your animal buddy and give you Ricky's Flute. MAGNETIC GLOVES: Undoubtedly my favorite new item from this game. The Magnetic Gloves can be found in the Unicorn's Cave. There are two main uses. They can attract or repel big metal N-balls away from Link. As for the S-blocks, they are permanent fixtures, so Link is attracted to or repelled away from them to cross gaps. Remember that opposite's attract: North polarity attracts south polarity, and repels north polarity. ROD OF SEASONS: Ah, the Rod of Seasons is central to the game. It's found in the Temple of Seasons in Subrosia. Gradually you will obtain the Spirits of the seasons, which will allow you to transform the world into that season. Use the rod standing upon tree stumps, which are scattered throughout the world SLINGSHOT: Link's projectile weapon, replacing the classic bow and arrow. You get it in the Dancing Dragon Dungeon. It shoots seeds from your seed sachel. The seeds are the same, but the effects are different... Ember seeds - Burn enemies and light torches. Scent seeds - Regular old seeds. Just hurt the enemy. Pegasus seeds - Stuns enemies, like the boomerang. Gale seeds - A whirlwind blows away enemies. Mystery seeds - It's a mystery... the effect is random :P wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< SPECIAL ITEMS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm MASTER'S PLAQUE: By completing a puzzle in a secret cave in the Sunken Village, you earn the Master's Plaque. Give this to the master as proof of your acomplishment, and he will give you the flippers. FLIPPERS: Found in the Sunken City before the 4th dungeon, the flippers allow you to swim in deep water. The A button makes you swim faster, the B button makes you dive underwater. SPECIAL KEYS: At times in the game, you will need to find special keys that only open particular locks. There's the Gnarled Key, which opens the entrance to the Gnarled Root Dungeon, the Floodgate key, which opens the floodgates in Spool Swamp, and the Dragon Key, which reveals the entrance to the Dancing Dragon Dungeon. RICKY'S GLOVES: You get these from Blano by defeating him in a boxing match, then give them to Ricky so he'll give you a ride. Can't ride without those gloves... MEMBER'S CARD: You buy this from the Subrosian market for a measly 5 ore chunks. It gives you access to the Horon Shop basement, where you'll find special items like a treasure map, gasha seeds, and a bigger seed sachel. STAR SHAPED ORE/RIBBON: Dug up in the Subrosian beach, you give this to the Subrosian market in exchange for a ribbon. The ribbon is given to Rosa in exchange for a hot 'date'. RED ORE/BLUE ORE/HARD ORE: The Red Ore and Blue Ore are secret items found in Subrosia. When collected, they can be given to the furnace to produce Hard Ore. Give the Hard Ore to the smithy for the Iron Shield. See the mini-quest section for details. TRADING ITEMS: There's a long sequence of items that must be traded among so many people in Holodrum...starting with the Cuccodex and ending with the Noble Sword. See the mini-quest section for details. RUSTY BELL/PIRATE BELL: The Rusty Bell can be found in the Samasa Desert, with a little help from a disembodied pirate skull. When given to the Subrosian Smithy, it is fixed to become the Pirate Bell, the captains beloved treasure. MAKU SEED: After collecting all eight Essences of Nature, the Maku Tree regains his old strength to give you the Maku Seed, which allows you to get past the evil power that surrounds and protects Onox's Castle. SPRING BANANAS: You find some fresh yummy bananas at the peak of Mt. Cucco in the spring. Give this to Moosh so he will let you ride on his back. BOMB FLOWER: Found in the smouldering south-east corner of Subrosia, this is nature's bomb, used to remove the boulders that block your way in the temple. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< GAMEPLAY ITEMS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm RUPEES: This is the currency of Hyrule, Holodrum, Koholint, and basically every world in the Zelda universe. It's used for buying stuff from shops, deku scrubs, playing mini-games, among other things. You get rupees from chests, grass and bushes, mini-games, defeating enemies... Small green rupees are worth 1, big red rupees are worth 5. ORE CHUNKS: Subrosia has a different currency: Ore chunks. They're used in Subrosia for buying stuff from shops and some other places. You get them by winning in the Subrosian dance hall, or just digging them out of the ground. If only it were that easy in real life. HEARTS: As with all Zelda games, this is your unit of energy. Run low on hearts and you'll hear the mind-numbingly annoying beep of death. Run out of hearts and your dead. Find hearts in grass, bushes, enemies, or pots. A fairy is equal to 7 hearts. HEART CONTAINERS: These are where your energy is stored. You start out the game with 3 heart containters. And with every major boss you defeat you get another heart container. There are 14 total in the game. PIECES OF HEART: These are scattered all throughout Holodrum in hidden places. Four of them are equal to a heart container, and there are 12 all in all. See the heart piece section for more details on their locations. RINGS: This is a special feature of the Oracles games. They're found all over the place, especially in Gasha nuts. If you keep it in your ring box, you inherit it powers. It must be appraised at Vasu jewelers to be of any use. See the ring section for more details. There are a total of 64 types of rings. GASHA SEEDS: You get these from particular locations all over Holodrum, and they can be planted in special soft soil locations. Leave them there for a while and they will grow into big healthy Gasha trees, bearing a Gasha nut, which bears the fruit of your labor (often a magical ring). See the Gasha seed section for details. ESSENCES OF NATURE: These essences are what you are trying to find for much of the game. You get one at the end of each dungeon, and there are 8 all in all. With each essence retrieved, the Maku Tree grows bigger and stronger. When they are all collected, the can come together with the Maku Seed to repel the force of evil protecting Onox's Castle. KEYS: Found in dungeons, small keys allow you to open doors and keyhole blocks. Usually they can be found in chests. There is also a special kind of key called the Boss Key which opens the Boss Door, the final door leading to the dungeon's master. MAP: There is a map found in every dungeon, and once collected, you can press select to see the layout of the dungeon. Each block represents one room of the dungeon. Sometimes super-secret rooms aren't displayed on the map at all. COMPASS: The compass works together with the map in dungeons. There's one compass found in each dungeon, and once collected, you can see the locations of chests and the boss on the dungeon map. MAGIC POTION: You can get a Magic Potion either from the Witch's Potion Shop in the Sunken City, or from Maple when you bump into her. This wonderful potion restores your energy when it decreases to zero. Good for one use. It's especially useful when it comes to bosses. ,----------------------------------------------------------------------. | 9) COOL STUFF | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' DIFFERENT ANIMAL BUDDIES: - When you first go into the area of North Horon where it is spring, your animal buddy for the rest of the game is decided. If you won the Mysterious Flute from the Subrosian Dance Hall, your animal buddy is Dimitri. If you bought the Mysterious Flute from the Horon Shop, your animal buddy is Moosh. If you don't have the Mysterious Flute at all, your animal buddy is Ricky. The "Natzu area" above North Horon will be either the Natzu River, the Natzu Prarie, or the Natzu Wasteland depending on your animal buddy. The quests differ in very small, subtle ways. Sometimes I think Capcom intentionally made this game hard for FAQers like myself... :P REVENGE OF THE CUCCOS: - This is a very popular secret of all Zelda games since A Link to the Past. Chickens can be found at select areas around Holodrum. These seemingly harmless chicken can become deadly if you attack them. Hit them with the sword about 15 times and a whole army of chickens will attack you. They will stop if you go to another screen. MYSTERY SEEDS & CUCCOS: - Here's something new... Try sprinkling Mystery Seeds on adult cuccos. They transform into baby cuccos! And for even more fun, do the trick above to make the cucco's attack you, then sprinkle Mystery Seeds on the cucco you originally attacked. It turns into a HUGE cucco! MAPLE UPGRADE: - For every 30 enemies you defeat, you will run into Maple flying around on her broomstick. But if you bump into her enough times and she takes enough rupees from you, you'll find her riding a vaccuum cleaner! Neat! FAIRY SPRINGS: - All around Holodrum, there are some places where you'll find a fairy who is always willing to ease your weariness. They completely fill up your heart meter! They can be found in the Western Coast, Woods of Winter, Natzu area, Mt. Cucco, and Tarm Ruins. SEED REFILL: - In the Natzu area, there's a cave with a Deku Scrub inside. The exact location of the cave varies depending on your animal buddy, but they aren't hard to find. The Deku Scrub sings "Love, love the seed!". Great song, don't you agree? Well, you better agree because he will completely refill you seed satchel with every type of seed! MAKU TREE GROWING: - As you progress further through the game, the Maku Tree gradually grows bigger with more branches and stuff. For example, after completing the first two dungeons, a cave will appear in him to the Hall of Secrets. With more dungeons completed, the Maku Tree gets bigger and develops branches where you may find Gasha seeds. CRAZY OLD MEN: - Around Holodrum, there are these wierd old guys. You can often find them living underground by burning down saplings. Much like the elderly in real life, they have nothing to do but to give you money or cost you money. Some of these guys are good to you for no particular reason and they give you rupees. But others get pissed and take money from you for burning down their 'door'. ADVANCE SHOP: - I personally don't have a Game Boy Advance (yet), but I've learned that there's a shop that can only be accessed by playing the game with the GBA. It's located in north-west Horon Village, the shop beside the Know-It-All Birds' house. Inside you can buy Gasha seeds, an Advance Ring, or a random ring for 100 rupees. CHEST GAME: - After you buy everything from the member's only section of the Horon Village shop, the owner has nothing more to sell so he turns the basement into a quaint little chest game. It's a very very simple game. It costs 10 rupees to play. There are 2 chests, one with a large rupee and one with nothing. You must choose the one with the rupee. The trick here is to pick the one that the shopkeeper looks at longest (not an easy task). Pick the correct one at least 3 times to get a ring. TORMENT THE GREAT MOBLIN: - After defeating the Great Moblin and destroying his keep, he and his cohorts will move into the abandoned house at the south-east corner of the Sunken City. The poor guy is making bombs...with a pile of bombs in the corner. Hmm...use ember seeds or throw a bomb at that pile to blow the house to bits. But GET OUT of the house or you WILL die! You can do this a couple of times, but after a while they catch on and escape before you can do anything. BIPIN & BLOSSOM'S BABY: - In Horon Village a couple has a baby. When you first meet them they give you, a complete stranger, the liberty of naming their baby. Strange people. Depending on the choices you make throughout the game, the baby will grow up differently. KILL THE BUNNIES: - In dungeons, you'll sometimes find an enemy that looks like a cute bunny rabbit. This is the Pols Voice. If you play your animal flute, they explode! Ah, bliss... ,----------------------------------------------------------------------. | 10) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' This section would more appropriately be titled "Potentially frequently asked questions", since as of this writing nobody has come to me with questions. :P But please do ask me questions if there's anything burning at the back of your head. Send them to . I can't guarantee a reply, but if your lucky... Q: What is this number beside my save file? A: This number indicates how many times you died in the game. That number does NOT increase when you use the Magic Potion when running out of life, or if you turn of the Game Boy at the game over screen. As far as I know, it has no effect on the gameplay. It's just there for th bragging rights ;) Q: What's the difference between Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons? A: Aside from the general gameplay and similar storylines, they're completely different games! It's *not* like Pokemon where there are versions of essentially the same game. Here we have different worlds, different stories, different challenges...essentially different games. However they are somewhat connected into a big uber-game, if you will see the next question... Q: How are the two Oracle games connected? A: This is how it works: When you defeat Oracle of Seasons, you will recieve a password at the end. Then you can start a game in Oracle of Ages, selecting SECRETS instead of NEW GAME, and then you will be playing the 'linked-game' or 'continued quest'. Another password will allow you to transfer your rings to the liked game. The game will have several small changes, and after defeating it's boss, you will have to face the ultimate boss of the Oracle games. Q: How dare you insult Dodongo. Haven't you ever played the original Zelda on the NES? A: Ok, I must confess. As a deep admirer and fan of the Zelda games, I'm ashamed to admit that I have never played through the original Legend of Zelda (or Zelda II, for that matter). I've played a bit of it, on emulators. But my standards for a Zelda game have risen greatly and I just couldn't muster the interest to finish the game. You'll have to forgive me if I don't recognize homages to the original game, such as the appearance of Dodongo and Aquamentus, or the wierd old men that give or take money. ,----------------------------------------------------------------------. | 11) CREDITS & INFO | '----------------------------------------------------------------------' Special thanks to... - AstroBlue/Shdwrlm3's FAQ for the game story, enemy names, and boss names. Many thanks! - GameFAQs.com for posting all my FAQs. This is my 12th so far. - Nintendo and Capcom, makers of this wonderful game. - IGN Pocket for various tidbits of info. NOTE TO WEBMASTERS: You may freely place this document on non-profit websites without explicit permission from the author as long as (1) it is not modified at all and (2) I recieve full credit. Take note that any future updates will be sent only to gamefaqs.com. REGARDING FEEDBACK: Before coming to me with questions, please make sure that it's not already answered in this guide. And make sure you're looking at the most recent version of the guide (always available at www.gamefaqs.com). All feedback goes to mpgonzalez@gmail.com. For news about the progress of my FAQs, and announcements of future projects, visit my site at http://www.geocities.com/coffeefaqs. Copyright (c) Michael Gonzalez 2004