Link visits two dungeons on the west side of the sea, then two towns on the east side.
The Next Two Dungeons
In Midoro Palace, new enemies include snakelike Anerus, Moas that rain fire on Link, floating guys that spit energy, upgraded Stalfos who can jump over Link and try to downward stab him, and red Iron Knuckles. Nothing really stands out as being more difficult. Shortly before Link gets to the Handy Glove there’s the first sequence of falling blocks; it’s not hard to run through, though. The boss is Helmethead1, and the downward thrust turns him into a joke. Activate jump, bounce on his head a few times, put the crystal in the statue, and we’re on to palace #3.
The Island Palace is a great example of (what I think of as) The Legend of Zelda’s approach to gradually opening the world. Just getting there requires jump, fairy, and the Hammer. Completing the dungeon requires the Handy Glove and downward thrust. The Candle, shield, and life are technically optional but make things so much easier. The statue in the beginning drops a red potion or Iron Knuckle if you hit it with the sword, and resets if you leave the dungeon, which makes it fairly convenient for farming.
Inside the dungeon we quickly meet a Doomknocker, which is like an unholy cross between a Goriya and Daira and/or is an upgraded Guma. The Stalfos are replaced with Parutamus, which are basically the same only they have helmets. And, of course, it’s time for blue Iron Knuckles to come out to play. These guys are tough, spamming sword beams as Link gets close and, at this point in the game, likely able to kill him in fewer hits than it takes to kill them. It’s telling that Rebonack, the boss, is just a standard issue Iron Knuckle with an added dismounting phase. It’s tempting to use jump against him, but it actually messes up the jump timing and I find it easier to dismount him without it. The other major difference is that unlike most Iron Knuckles that will eventually back into something solid to keep them from running too far, this one doesn’t. It can go off the screen where Link can’t follow, so Link has to lure it back out to continue the fight properly, which is really an unneeded annoyance.
Somewhere, Beyond the Sea…
Nabooru is the first town Link encounters after taking the raft across the sea. Although it’s closer to the Palace on the Sea than the Maze Island Palace, all the hints here are about the latter. Darunia will reverse that, although Link has to deal with both towns before Maze Island Palace2.
“With boots I could walk on the water.” I won’t poke at the fact that he’s seeming to say that any boots will let him walk on water, because I know it’s due to translation condensation issues.
“Jump in a hole in the palace if you go.” Well, up yours, too, kid. (Okay, seriously, he’s hinting about a navigational feature of the palace. Just some unfortunate wording.)
“See a man in Darunia before the islands.” I assume this is meant to hint that Link needs the spell from Darunia to beat the Maze Island Palace boss, but there’s a second man in Darunia whose teachings are needed, too. Also, Link needs to go to the islands to get the “item” that lets you see the magic man of Darunia.
“The river devil eats those who are weak.” A warning that Link can’t go south just yet, just like in Rauru.
There’s a sleeping ache who’ll hint about a heart container over the ocean if Link pesters him enough, but then we come to the longest, hardest, most epic quest in the game. A woman complains about being thirsty, so Link walks twenty yards from her house to a water fountain, gets some water, and brings it to her. She invites him in to learn the town’s spell, fire, which lets Link shoot fireballs that can damage otherwise invincible enemies. It’s a decent spell, but really not needed; there are only a few enemies that require it, and they can be run from and/or pogoed over pretty easily. That said, farming the Tektites around the village is a reasonably fast way to get XP/levels/extra lives, and if you want to do that, you need the spell.
Darunia is in the mountains, protected by two sequences of jumping over water pits while octoroks and floating bubbles try to knock you in. The town itself has the same thing as Saria, townsfolk turning into Aches, only without warning. This is really annoying, because it makes you hesitant to talk to people, especially the generic-looking ones who say the same thing across appearances in all towns on a side of the sea, and one of them has a hint about the Palace on the Sea.
“The palace has a false wall.” Sometimes I wonder how these people know so much about these palaces which are infested with dangerous creatures.
“It is said east of Nabooru has…” Oof. This one’s just barely useful: go due east from Nabooru and you’ll reach the palace. There has to be a way they could have condensed it better.
“The devil does not like noise.” Hinting about the palace’s treasure and also how to get to the south area.
“A powerful knight lives in town.” Welp, there’s nothing to do but check every door to see if there’s anything. The house that Link notes has a chimney, so we find a house low enough to jump on, hop over roofs, and do our best Santa Claus impression. The jump thrust isn’t as generally useful as the downward one is, but it’s needed, and killing Aches as they swoop in, or catching boss keys as they fall from the air, or being able to kill Fokkas, or swatting the giant Bot in the Great Palace make for a nice bonus.
Next: Maze Island, the Island Palace, and Kasuto ×2.