The hero’s triumph on Cataclysm’s Eve
Wins three symbols of virtue
The Master Sword he will then retrieve
Keeping the Knights’ line true
The Tower of Hera introduces three new enemy types: little fire-breathing dinosaurs called kodongos, hardhat beetles which seem to exist to frustrate Link by not dying and pushing back when they’re hit with the sword, and mini-moldorms. It also introduces the switch blocks, which here seem to exist to trap Link in after his visit to the floor with the big key, forcing him to learn that the magic mirror can warp him back to the dungeon’s entrance. En route to the top, Sahasrahla encourages Link to remember the Moon Pearl, and although it makes for a rather funny moment later if you forget it, I decided to humor him and grab it before I left.
The boss of the Tower of Hera is a giant Moldorm, and my least favorite boss from the four games I’ve played. The challenge it offers is not the one false move and you’re dead we’ll see later with a couple early Dark World bosses, but simply a challenge to not get knocked off the platform. And getting knocked off the platform only resets the boss and forces Link to climb back up to him and resets his health… but there’s a hole Link can fall down the floor below that leads to a pond with respawning faeries that’ll let him come back at full health, too.
They would get the “don’t get knocked off” mechanics right later in this game, and Link’s Awakening has a couple bosses with similar mechanics that aren’t as annoying – and one of those is even another Moldorm.
The Master Sword and Agahnim
With the Moldorm down, the third pendant is Link’s, and he can now claim the Master Sword. No sooner does he come out from the clearing where it was kept than Zelda contacts him for help again, saying the soldiers are coming for her. Now, owing to video game conventions that as far as I know are generally practiced to this very day, no matter what you do, the scenes at Sanctuary1 and Hyrule Tower will play out the same way, but the only thing Link can get right now is the Ether Medallion and that requires going up Death Mountain and back down again, so screw that.
Anyway, Link arrives at Sanctuary moments too late. Zelda is gone and the sage is dying. This should be a sad and touching scene, but the sage’s death animation has him blinking out of existence, accompanied by a ridiculous sound effect. The last chance for the stopping Agahnim from breaking the seal is to rescue Zelda before Agahnim can zap her.
The charge up Hyrule Castle Tower is a fun dungeon. The soldiers don’t pose much threat, but they’re not supposed to, either. Link’s the Legendary Hero, the one who’s destined to save Hyrule, and this is his moment… except he arrives too late. Zelda is zapped into the Dark World before his eyes, and all he can do is take the fight to Agahnim. He reflects Agahnim’s fireballs back at him, and instead of fighting to the end, Agahnim shifts to the Dark World and draws Link with him.
The New Quest
All is not lost, however. Link still has the Moon Pearl, the magic mirror, and the Master Sword. Sahasrahla contacts him to tell him he can still rescue the maidens, recover the Triforce, and stop Ganon and gives him the first location: the Palace of Darkness that’s the Dark World counterpart to the Eastern Palace. There’s a heart piece on the Pyramid, which is another full heart for Link. He can also get one on an island in Lake Hylia, and another under the hollow tree the lumberjacks had been cutting. The Ether Medallion is useful for the next dungeon, so I got that. Finally, in the northeast corner of the Dark World (minus Dark Death Mountain), there’s a circle of stones with a sign saying don’t throw things in. So, the sign got thrown into the circle, and Link got the Quake Medallion too. Getting into the Palace of Darkness requires befriending a monkey named Kiki who asks for 10 rupees. Kiki then opens the door if Link gives him another 100.
Next: It’s hammer time.