The End of the Trading Sequence

With the Hookshot, Link can visit the mermaid statue, which is missing a scale. He uses the scale he got from the actual mermaid, opening a cave. Inside the cave are invisible enemies, but once Link gets the cave’s treasure, a Magnifying Glass, they show up. The trading sequence itself is now complete, so to recap: Link spent 10 rupees to win a Yoshi doll, which he traded for a ribbon, which he traded for canned food, which he traded for bananas, which he gave to monkeys who left behind a stick, which he gave to Tarin who left behind a honeycomb, which he traded for a pineapple, which he traded for a hibiscus, which he gave to a demanding goat who further asked him to deliver a letter, which he delivered and was rewarded with a broom, which he traded for a fishing hook, which he gave to a fisherman who caught a mermaid’s necklace, which he traded for one of the mermaid’s scales, which opened a cave where he got a magnifying glass.

But wait! There’s more! The magnifying glass lets Link see a Goriya in a cave on the shores. The Goriya offers to trade an item for one of Link’s, so Link figures the Shovel’s no longer needed and makes the trade and gets the Boomerang. And this isn’t the Boomerang he’s as he’s used to it, oh, no. This boomerang will actually kill most enemies, often in a single hit. Anti-Fairies become Fairies. Even the final boss can be killed in a single shot from the Boomerang. Only the fact that things like the Shield, Pegasus Boots, Power Bracelet, and Roc’s Feather need to be equipped to use keep the boomerang/sword combo from being a near-permanent fixture.

There’s a heart piece in a cave in the northeast corner of Animal Village, and then there’s one more stop before it’s on to the next dungeon. This doesn’t have to be done just yet, and requires 300 rupees rather soon after buying the bow depleted Link’s funds, but as long as Link has 10, he can refill his rupees with the Mabe Village claw game. Southeast of Mabe Village is a bunch of signs arranged in a loose pattern, and if Link follows the direction each sign points in to the next one, a cave will open up and he’ll meet Wart from Super Mario Bros. 2, here known by his Japanese name, Mamu. Mamu appears to be some kind of rock star, complete with an Elvisesque “Thank you… thank you very much.” He teaches Link the third and final song for the ocarina, Frog’s Song of Soul, which apparently has the power to “liven up unliving things.”

Southern Face Shrine

As Link approaches the Face Shrine, the owl reappears, telling Link that there are two shrines, and he should visit the southern one first, where the ruins speak of the Wind Fish and Link will learn something. Before entering the southern shrine’s grounds, Link finds another owl statue.

“THE WIND FISH SLUMBERS LONG… THE HERO’S LIFE GONE…”

I’m not sure what to make of this. A simple statement that Link can’t return to his life outside the island until he wakes the Wind Fish? A warning that if the Wind Fish doesn’t wake soon, Link may not have a life to get back to?

The southern Face Shrine’s grounds are populated by Armos. They’re immune to the sword, but can be killed with the bow or boomerang, or simply ignored. Inside the shrine itself, Link fights an Armos Knight miniboss, completing the set of Light World dungeon bosses from A Link to the Past. After defeating the miniboss, Link finds a relief of the Wind Fish with a message:

“TO THE FINDER…
“THE ISLE OF KOHOLINT, IS BUT AN ILLUSION…
“HUMAN, MONSTER, SEA, SKY…
“A SCENE ON THE LID OF A SLEEPER’S EYE…
“AWAKE THE DREAMER, AND KOHOLINT WILL VANISH MUCH LIKE A BUBBLE ON A NEEDLE…
“CASTAWAY, YOU SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH!”

So Koholint Island is only real because the Wind Fish is dreaming about it, and when he wakes, it’ll be gone. That explains so much, from the general surreal atmosphere, to the Mario cameos, to why no one except Marin seems able to contemplate a life outside the island.

On Link leaving the shrine, the Owl comes back and lies his ass off. Despite being the one who told Link to come to the shrine, now he says that no one knows for sure if the shrine’s telling the truth. If it’s not telling the truth, what’s the point of sending Link to read it? Of course, despite what he says, the owl knows for sure that the shrine is accurate, but I suppose he senses that Link’s resolve is wavering: Can he really complete the quest, knowing that it’ll mean everyone on the island ceases to exist? So he lies.

Not that that’s really a justification.

Next: Face Shrine.