Parapa was fairly easy, but the Death Mountain quest is where the game shows its true self.
Saria
The candle makes the caves nice and bright so we can see what Link’s up against, and so we set off on the journey to Saria. The cave’s not that bad; nothing Link hasn’t fought before, only now he can see them. The overworld monsters are a little tougher south of the caves, but overall with the levels already farmed the journey to Saria isn’t that hard.
A man standing by the town entrance greets Link with a cryptic warning: “Eyes of Ganon are everywhere. Be careful.”1 Talk to enough people, and you’ll find out what he means: some of the people who repeat the same phrases we see in every town this side of the sea turn into aches when talked to. It seems to be a random chance; talk to the same person enough times and eventually they’ll turn into an ache.
There’s just not a lot of random chatter in this town otherwise. “In Midoro Swamp find a handy glove” is about all there is. As for that, all I can say is heh, “handy” glove2. The woman who lives with the town’s magician has lost her mirror, which can be found under a table in an otherwise empty house. Return to her with the mirror and she’ll let Link in to learn one of the most useful (if expensive) spells in the game, life, the healing spell.
The town’s other sidequest is more memorable. The guardians of the bridge leading to Death Mountain won’t let Link cross since he’s not of Saria. A sleeping bot gives the hint of how to cross the river if poked enough times: “Master is in woods N of river.” Going to the woods, Link can find a man named Bagu who gives Link his endorsement to cross the river, and we finally begin one of the toughest sections of the game. (I think I farmed up to 6/5/4 before making the approach. At those levels, it’s not that bad.)
Death Mountain
Reasons Death Mountain is brutal:
- It’s a maze. A wrong turn means fighting more enemies, which means further strain on magic and/or lives.
- Dairas. Their weapon can’t be blocked by the shield, so avoiding damage is hard. There are only so many chances to cast shield and life before Link runs out of magic, and not as many refills as one would hope. I’d rather take my chances with blue Iron Knuckles than these guys.
- It’s still the early game, and really easy to stumble in underpowered. I made sure not to do that, but that’s because I know better.
The reward at the end is, as the woman in Ruto said, the hammer. There’s a chance to try it out before returning to the rest of the world, and Link gets a magic container.
Also, the area around Spectacle Rock is a pretty nifty recreation of the overworld map of the first game. That’s an interesting decision that raises a bunch of questions like “How is Link able to move so much faster now?” and “Why were we only interested in such a small portion of the world?”
Oh, and don’t think just because Link has the hammer that he’s out of the woods3. The bridge connecting back to the main area has more Dairas and other tough enemies.
Mido
Armed with the hammer, Link can now visit the fourth and final town west of the sea. In Mido, the hints are mostly about the third palace:
“Ask Error of Ruto about the palace.” If you go back to Ruto, Error now says to go south from Kings Tomb, the one that’s set apart from the others.
“The island palace in the south has a raft.” The item hint.
The magic quest is to help a woman’s sick daughter. Another hint in the town tells Link where to look: “Find magic in a cave in Moruge Swamp.” I already have both magic containers in the west, so it must be something else. Sure enough, it’s water of life, which lets the woman heal her daughter, so she invites Link in to learn the fourth spell, fairy, which turns Link into… well, I’m sure you can guess. It’s a powerful spell, but it’s got too many drawbacks: expensive, can’t end the spell without changing screens, possible to get stuck. There are places where it’s required, but otherwise it’s not really worth it.
Also in the town, Link is told “No one is here but a churchbell will ring.” At the church, Link notes that the door is locked, but there’s an open one on the second story. By jumping up and going inside, Link can learn the downward thrust technique, which is a huge gift. Not everyone’s vulnerable to it, but for those who are, being able to bounce on their heads until they die makes them much easier to defeat4.
There’s one more cave blocked off by a boulder, and that has the second heart container. And then it’s time to go to Midoro Palace.
Next: Get glove in Midoro and raft from the Island. Go East.