The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past #31 - Hyrule Castle Tower

1. Grab the Master Sword, Hyrule Castle Tower

Coming out of the Tower of Hera, you know that the Master Sword is deep within the Lost Woods. Time’s a wasting, so it is time to make your way there. Head generally west and slightly south until you come to the long, long staircase heading down to the lower ends of Death Mountain. The cave that sits just next to the foot of the staircase is the way down off the mountain, so enter it.

The cave back down is next to the bottom of the great staircase.

The cave heading down is simple enough; there are no real junctions or maze-like elements, and the only traps are a few pits to avoid on the way down, but you should see them coming remarkably easily. Otherwise, the only enemies here are easy-to-kill Keese. Head north through the first section, bearing west when the passageway opens up. Then head southwest in the second area until you arrive at the entrance. All you need to do to have grass under your feet is to jump off the cliff when you leave the cave.

you will want to head into the Lost Woods, but seeing as how it is covered with mist with limited visibility and is also full of new dangers, the most annoying of which are forest Thieves, which will attempt to bump into you and make you lose some of your hard-earned rewards, you will want to be strategic about it. The easiest way to avoid these hooligans is to enter the Lost Woods from the northeastern border. So once you are clear of the mountain ledge, head north; you will only encounter a handful of Buzz Blobs, which you can easily avoid as you head that direction. Once you see the twin lumberjacks cutting down a tree, head to their left and continue your way, and eventually you will find a passageway into the forest/

The forest from this direction is relatively non-threatening; you will only find Crows and Buzz Blobs, so just make sure you give the latter some clearance when you fight the former. Head southwest and you will eventually find a log tunnel that you can walk through. Do so, and when you reach the end, head back north through the log tunnel adjacent to it. Continue west, slashing your way through two bushes. Head north through the log tunnel there and continue around through another log tunnel heading south. Once through, continue walking left until you find one short log tunnel heading up.

The path to the Master Sword passes by the Magic Mushroom; if you have not gotten it yet, it is the perfect time.

Going through that will take you to a small meadow deep within the forest, and, as you journey through, forest animals will greet you. Just ahead is the pedestal where the sacred Master Sword lay. Go behind it and reach for the sword. The three Pendants will begin to glow, brightening the sky and cutting through the mist. Soon enough, the Master Sword will be in your hand! Sahasrahla will speak to you from across the world, congratulating you on your effort and pleading you onward to the wizard.

The world changes around you as you hold up the Master Sword.

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2. Return to Sanctuary, Hyrule Castle Tower

The moment you leave the forest clearing, you hear a plea from a frightened Zelda saying that the wizard’s minions are coming to Sanctuary. You should hurry there without delay.

You can leave the Lost Woods either the way you came in or by heading straight south, but most other routes other than the way you came in will have a Thief standing guard waiting for you. At least the way is much easier to see with the mist finally gone.

The way to Sanctuary from the borders of the Lost Woods should be imminently familiar by now. Head to the northern outskirts and head east, making sure not to pass the graveyard or else you will have gone too far.

No matter how quick you are, invariably you will fail to reach Sanctuary in time. The attack has already transpired, and the Soldiers are long gone. Princess Zelda has been kidnapped, and the Loyal Sage is breathing his last. He urges you to get to Zelda before it is too late, a premonition that is more foreboding than promising.

SEQUENCE BREAK

Now that you have the Master Sword, at this point, you can head off to get the Ether Medallion if you wish. You will not need it until Chapter 11, but it is still a good tool to add to your arsenal.

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3. Enter Hyrule Castle Tower, Hyrule Castle Tower

Leave Sanctuary, and head to the front of Hyrule Castle; the way around its left side is slightly quicker, though both lay open to you. The front gates of Hyrule Castle are now open, so you do not have to sneak through the secret passage that you went through that one night not long ago. Instead just walk in like you own the place, eliminating any Soldiers that give you grief.

Once inside the castle, head west one room. But rather than following the route to the dungeons like you did initially, head south, leaving through the auxiliary entrance to the castle.

This time you can enter the castle through the front gates.

You can also finally break Agahnim’s seal on the upper floors.

you will appear outside, and if you head right you will see a door that is protected by a mysterious energy barrier. you have got the blade that will slash through evil, so now you will have no trouble dispelling it. Swing your sword, and it will vanish into thin air. Enter the door, and prepare to engage with the wizard’s defenses.

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4. Ascend the tower, Hyrule Castle Tower

Welcome to the second half of Hyrule Castle, the Castle Tower. This dungeon is a dungeon in its own right, but there is no Map, Compass, Big Key, or special item for you to find here. it is merely a long gauntlet of enemies and traps for you to avoid as you make your way to the wizard. Keep your health high (and full if possible to take advantage of your new sword beams!) and fight to the last, taking advantage of what little breathing room you will get.

The opening room is one of those few moments of breathing room, but the room just to its north is not. you will immediately be faced with two Ball and Chain Troopers—yes, two copies of the first level’s boss—to defeat, and there are no pots to speak of. However, you now have more advantages than you did before; the Master Sword does more damage now, dispatching them more quickly, and you can attack them with your Bow from a distance as well. Defeat them both and move on.

The next room has two Soldiers that will rush after you with knives. You have to kill both as the door heading up is locked. Once you defeat both—each should only require two successful hits—a treasure chest containing the Small Key for the door will appear. Get it, unlock the door, and head up to 3F.

The challenges you will have to face are harder.

You are much stronger now.

The next room would be about the same difficulty if it weren’t for the fact that it is dark. It has just one Soldier and a new enemy called Chasupa, though the latter is really just a variant of the Keese you have already encountered except that it deals higher damage. You can avoid these guys if you wish and just proceed onward to the next room.

The second room of 3F is essentially a big maze made slightly difficult by the fact that it is utterly dark inside. The door will slam behind you, leaving you in the maze with blue Soldiers and Chasupa. Make your way downward, left, and then up to find a torch that you can light to help you navigate the maze, being careful of the enemies that will line the route. Once you have a little bit of light, the rest of the room is fairly straightforward. There is a chest along the left wall which contains the Small Key necessary to unlock the door in the lower right of the room. Head left to the chest, return to the torch you lit, and then down to the locked door.

you will have to overcome some very interesting challenges, all in the dark.

The last room on the floor is a mirror of the last room of the previous floor except for the darkness. Two blue Soldiers will dash at you when you enter, so be prepared for them. However, as the staircase up is open wide, you can ignore them if you want and just head up.

The windows are blocked on the fourth floor as well, and you will have two blue Soldiers standing between you and an open door heading west. The main difference this time is that one of the Soldiers is wielding a bow instead of a blade, so make sure to use your Shield to block any arrows that might zing past you. Head through the door once you manage to clear a path.

The next room requires you to navigate a rather precarious path over a large pit whilst in the dark. Thankfully, there is a torch right in front of you as well as one straight north of you. There are also three blue Soldiers waiting out in the distance, so be wary of them as you approach the torches to light your way. So long as you get the jump on them, you should have no trouble at all with the room.

The final room of 4F features three Soldiers—two of them with bows and one with a sword—and a locked door. Without a doubt, you will probably attract the attention of one or more of the Soldiers as you traverse the room, but the most difficult thing will be to make sure that the two bowmen do not both attack you from different angles. However, taking out the swordsman will definitely be the priority given that he can rush you. The Small Key to open the locked door is in the possession of one of the bowmen; once you grab the key, you can unlock the door and head up to 5F.

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5. Reach the wizard’s room, Hyrule Castle Tower

Reaching the fifth floor puts half of the dungeon behind you; three floors down and three to go. And thankfully there will not be all that many surprises befalling you that you have not seen already. The first room on the floor will feature two spear-throwing red Soldiers and two Chasupa. All four of these enemies will have to be defeated to advance. The Chasupa are by far the easiest to take care of; then deal with the Soldiers one at a time until both are defeated and the sealed door opens.

The second room is even easier as there will be only two spear-wielding Soldiers and plenty of cover to keep you from having to face both at once; again, you need to defeat all of the enemies to advance.

The key is held by the Soldier in the room’s center.

The third room is perhaps the only one like it in the last half of the dungeon. You will face concentric rings of pots and blocks as two Chasupa and two red Soldiers patrol the room. Defeat the Chasupa first and then take care of the Soldier in the outer ring. In order to unlock the locked door, however, you will need to take down the Soldier in the center. You can do this easily by stunning him with the Boomerang from the north or south and then opening the way forward by picking up a pot and throwing it into him, doing the rest of the damage with your sword. Of course, thrown pottery is also an effective technique. Pick up the Small Key he is holding and then continue along.

The last room on the fifth floor has two Soldiers—one red and one blue, both of which will be running at you with breakneck speed—and one Ball and Chain Trooper. You do not need to fight any of these; the door is wide open. However, you might need to deal with one or two of them first before you get proper clearance to get to the door (especially without taking damage!). Defeat the Soldiers if you must, but you can feel free to leave the Ball and Chain Trooper alive unless you feel particularly driven.

As you ascend the steps to the sixth floor, you will find the way barricaded by four statues. The one on the left can be pushed out, but be careful as you do so as some of the Soldiers might spot you, and the bow-wielding blue Soldiers will likely snipe you as you are pushing the statue out. You can run straight for the door or dispatch the trio as you wish.

Only a few well-positioned Soldiers stand between you and the wizard.

The second room of the sixth floor is the last obstacle to overcome before facing down the wizard once and for all. you will be walking upon a narrow catwalk over a bottomless pit. Only two blue Soldiers stand between you and the wizard. Take them both down so that you can take your time walking over the precarious pathway, and then you can finally ascend the last set of steps of Hyrule Castle Tower.

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6. Defeat Agahnim, Hyrule Castle Tower

Finally, now at 7F, proceed forward until you see Agahnim standing beside an unconscious Princess Zelda. He will, unfortunately, stop you in your tracks, preventing you from coming at him. he will make some brave boasts and claims, but it seems he has the capacity to back them up as, not long afterward, Zelda will vanish from sight, disappeared from the world!

he will then make a hasty retreat to his inner sanctum, and you have no choice but to pursue him. After all, the door heading back is sealed shut, not that you’d think about running away of course. Head to the north end of the room, and use your sword to slash at the curtains in the center, revealing the passageway Agahnim took. Head through the door, and prepare to face down the evil reigning over Hyrule.

The wizard will make the princess disappear; then he will vanish as well.

You cannot follow the princess, but you can follow the wizard into his lair.

You cannot harm Agahnim directly; any attempt to use an item directly to damage him will either fail or, in the case of your sword, deal you damage instead. Instead, you have to use the wizard’s own magic against him. The wizard will start off by teleporting himself to a different position within the room, and then he will cast some flavor of magic at you. Once cast, he will pause for a few seconds before repeating the process until one of you is finished. The key to defeating Agahnim is knowing how to react to his magic.

Agahnim has three different spells that he uses, and you will want to recognize them early. The most devastating of his attacks is that he will rain down lightning from the top of the screen. Agahnim will only use this while standing in the center of the screen at the top of the room. He might use one of his other spells while standing here, but when he is calling down lightning, Agahnim will always face directly southward and will not bother to turn to look in your direction. When you see this, escape to the northern corners of the room as those will be guaranteed safe points. Thankfully, this is his least common spell; he will cast this maybe once every six to eight spells.

Agahnim will only cast lightning from the top of the room.

Stay out of the way of the lightning.

The other two spells he can cast from any position, and he will always be looking in Link’s direction when he does so. you will only be able to tell which spell it is only after you see the magical burst, so always keep a good bit of distance from the wizard to give you time to react, but it is always best to stand directly horizontal or vertical with him.

The spell with which you can actually damage the wizard will be a bright glowing ball of energy. When you see this, use your sword when it reaches you to bat it back at the wizard so that it strikes him instead. So long as you are not standing too far away, it is likely that Agahnim will not have teleported away and that it will not stray too far off target in the process. (Technically, you can also use the Bug-catching Net to reflect these as well for some reason! In fact, it is actually somewhat advantageous to do so since it has a longer animation than a simple sword swipe.)

The other spell Agahnim can cast will look like four blue orbs swirling about each other. When you see these, avoid these and let them hit the wall. When they hit a wall, they will scatter off into six small specks—two travelling vertically and the rest heading off along diagonals. Make sure to avoid these as well. This sort of spell cannot be reflected, and attempting to hit it with your sword will just cause the spell to break apart when it hits your sword.

There is absolutely zero cover from the Beamos’ deadly eye.

you will want to look out for the single orb spell; these you can reflect back to the wizard.

Once you recognize the patterns, defeating Agahnim is not all that tricky, and it is certainly easier than taking down Moldorm was. Keep persisting by reflecting his spells, and given enough damage, Agahnim will call it quits and flee to fight another day. However, he will go down swinging; once he is defeated, he will draw you into the Dark World in an attempt to trap you there forever. Good thing you have got the Magic Mirror and the Moon Pearl to thwart that plan, right?

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