The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past - A Walkthrough with Dagger

[Dagger Dias]

This room is just north of where the map was. You can defeat the Helmasaur and Hardhat beetle, but not the spark. It rotates around the skull jars. Lift some to trap it or disrupt its path for fun if you want. When you are ready, bomb open the crack in the western wall. There's a skeleton on the wall north of you. It's cool looking but otherwise irrelevant. Step on the star tiles if you cannot reach the lever in the next room. Pull the level to open the wall south of you, now you can get to a couple of Moldorms and the Big Chest which has.... The Fire Rod!

Did you think that was fun? You're only halfway done with the temple. Now you get to go use the Fire Rod to open up the main portion of the temple. Before we do that though, go make sure you have a Good Bee in a bottle and Blue Potion in your other bottles. If not, go buy some Blue Potion and/or see the Good Bee sidequest several posts back. In the meantime, here are some spotlights.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Gibdos

A very strong enemy. Boasting quite possibly the highest Health count of any regular enemy in the game, Gibdos can take many attacks from your sword to defeat. One hit from the Fire Rod can defeat them, so will casting the Bombos spell.​

 

[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Guruguru Bar

This is a snake of fireballs that rotates around a block. You cannot defeat them so just try to avoid the fireballs and move past them quickly if one is in your way.​

 

[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Spark

These are similar to the Guruguru Bar but there is only one fireball and it rotates around any nearby jars or blocks. You can lift jars if it is rotating around jars to disrupt its path and potentially trap it. You cannot defeat them though.​

 

[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Wallmaster

Widely regarded as one of the most hated enemies in Zelda history, these looks hands that jump down and try to grab you. If one grabs you, then you are warped back to the spot you entered the temple from. If one is coming, you will hear the noise the game makes when you throw a jar into a pit. Move away from where you were standing so that they do not touch you. When it lands, defeat it immediately. They respawn after a while, so do not be surprised when another shows up.​

 

[Dagger Dias]

Item Spotlight: Fire Rod

My least favorite item in this game. I don't really hate this thing itself, but it is required to clear some of the game's worst puzzles, and therefore I've never been able to look back on the item fondly. These puzzles all include lighting distant torches in time to open a door, before one or all of them can stop burning. I loathe all of those puzzles. The upside is it's useful against Gibdos, Freezors, as well as two bosses late in the game.... Kholdstare from the Ice Palace and Trinexx from Turtle Rock.​

 

[Dagger Dias]

Ready for the last part of Skull Woods? Ok. Go back through the entrance into the woods north of the upper right corner of the Village of Outcasts. Walk past the cluster of foliage, follow the ribcage tunnels, and enter the Skull door. Go left a couple of screens and exit south. Follow the left ribcage tunnel and you will find a weird looking large purple skull.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Use the Fire Rod on this to burn open the door. It opens the skull, which now makes a weird face, revealing the entrance to the main portion of the temple. Well? Let's head inside.

 

[Dagger Dias]

You'll find a walkway leading to a locked door. There is a chest just below the entrance, this part is a little annoying. The walkway hides from sight which path you are able to walk or not. From the steps go right, up, right, up, left, up. Both sides are available here ignore the Spark and go up then right through the eastern door. Use the walkway to get to the lower portion in this next room without having to deal with the Gibdos, Rabbit Beam, saw traps, and bumpers below. Enter the door to the left, you will get to the chest that has a Key in it! Use the Magic Mirror to warp back to the entrance so you can avoid the traps and enemies again. NOW go directly north across the ramp and through the door in the first room using the key. Watch out for the Winder.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This next room is crazy. There are star tiles all over the room and holes that make it seemingly impossible to get through. To make matters worse, there's a Wallmaster. Follow these exact instructions to get through with little to no frustration. Step on the star tile north of you. Go north after lifting the jar one spot north of you. Step onto the star tile in the lower left of the cluster of four north of you. Go stand on the star tile in the lower left corner of the room. Lift the skull jar one spot north of you. Go north and lift the skull jar north of that in the upper left corner of the room. Stand on the star tiles in the rightmost cluster of four of the two clusters of four. Stand on the star tile in the upper right corner of the room. Lift the skull jar just south of you. Exit through the door to your right. There, you did it!

 

[Dagger Dias]

Unfortunately, the next room is even worse. It has the first of the game's horrible distant torch lighting puzzles. Cast Bombos to defeat the Gibdos in the room since there are several, to save time. Now use the Fire Rod to light the torches on your way as fast as possible. Do not feel bad if it takes multiple attempts. These puzzles are absolutely awful and you have no choice but to do it. Go from the bottom of the room up, to make it easier. Now go through the door. Several enemies are in here. Use Bombos again if your Magic Meter can afford it unless you'd rather face a Gibdos, three Moldorms, and a Rabbit Beam all at once while also avoiding a Wallmaster. When the enemies are gone, use your sword to slash open the entryway to the next room north of you in the middle of the wall behind the.... cobwebs? I have no idea what that stuff is. You might hear a chime randomly go off, that's one of the torches in the previous room losing its fire and locking the door in there.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The next room has another large group of enemies. A Helmasaur, a Blue Hardhat Beetle, a Gibdos, a Moldorm, and a hiding Wallmaster. Defeat them all and go through the door to your right. The Gibdos has the key but you might as well defeat everything else too. Use the key to go through the door to your right. This leads you to a room with two saw traps and a hole. It seems like a dead end, but if you look carefully you will see that the hole is in fact a hole leading to the 2nd Basement Floor, you must jump down and the moment you do, the boss battle against Mothula begins.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Mothula

I hate this boss so much. Much like the temple, he is more annoying than difficult. The floor is a conveyor belt so you move around constantly and there are saw traps all along the walls that keep moving across the floor. If you have a Good Bee in a bottle, release it to fight the boss. The Bee is not going to be able to survive if you have him fight the boss alone while you just stand there, but a decent amount of damage will be done. This is the only boss that Bees can attack. If/when the Bee is gone, it's your turn. Either attack with your sword or from a distance with the Fire Rod. Keep watching out for the saw traps or the energy beams that Mothula sends out. The boss is a lot tougher if you do not have a Good Bee or the Tempered Sword.


When you defeat Mothula you have cleared the game's least fun temple. We will be heading to the Ice Palace next!​

 

[Dagger Dias]

So no side quests this time. We are going straight to the Ice Temple. In the Light World, use the Flute and have the duck fly you to location number 8. Jump into the water and swim left. Now swim north a little and climb out. You should be on an island that has some foliage surrounding a dark rock and a couple of Buzzblobs. The cave leads to the Waterfall of Wishing. I'll cover that another time. Lift the rock to be warped to the Dark World. You're right at the entrance to the Ice Palace! Head inside. Before you do, make sure that all four bottles are in your possession and that all four have blue potion. You will need it.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Immediately upon entering you will encounter a Freezor for the first time. He attacks by coming to life after pretending to be part of the wall. Use the Fire Rod or cast Bombos, these are unfortunately the only ways to defeat them. Defeating the Freezor opens the door to the next room. Inside are three Blue Buris, one has the key to unlock the door to the north so defeat them and go unlock the door. It leads downstairs. Step on the switch in the lower left corner and defeat the Zols on the way as you make your way to the door on the right. You'll find a room shaped like a plus sign. Move the block in the middle to the right and enter the door to the south. Inside are some Pengators. This room is a little tricky due to the slippery tiles. Use the Hook-Shot on each one to defeat them or cast Bombos if you can afford it. When they are all defeated a chest appears. It has this temple's Compass!

 

[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Freezor

These are frustrating. They can ONLY be defeated using the Fire Rod or by casting Bombos. Keep an close eye on your Magic Meter as dealing with these enemies will use up a lot of magic power.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Pengator

A green penguin type enemy with teeth like an alligator. These tend to attack in very large groups but not always. The easiest way to defeat them is to use the Hook-Shot which will take one out in one shot. You can also use your sword or cast Bombos, but the Hook-Shot is the fastest way to take care of them and conserves magic power. They run after you on the ice and slide into you with their fangs out, which is cool looking.
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[Dagger Dias]

Head back into the plus sign room and move the block in the middle upward. Now go the the right, flip the switch, and enter the door. In here are a pack of Pengators, and a Fire Fairy. The lower skull has a switch to open the doors under it while the upper one has a Rabbit Beam under it. Go through the door to the right. It's a dead end, for now. Return to the plus sign room, move the block to the left, and enter the north door. In here you have to bomb open a cracked tile in the middle of the room. Flip the red/blue switch to make the red blocks go down by having a bomb explode by the switch. Now bomb the cracked tile and jump down the entrance it creates.

 

[Dagger Dias]

In here you encounter a Stalfos Knight! You must attack him to weaken him, once the bones fall to the ground you have to use a bomb to finish him off. Defeat two of these enemies to open the door south of you. The floor in here moves to the left and right. Watch out for the saw traps along the path and the Babusus which move extremely fast. Defeat the Blue Buris, one has a key that you need to open the door at the lower left corner. If the next room has the red blocks up, go back a room and flip the red/blue switch. Avoid the Guruguru Bar and enter the door on the right after stepping on the switch in the lower left corner. The door shuts on you as you enter the next room but you can open it by hitting the switch in the lower right corner. Take the stairs downstairs in the upper right corner after defeating the Zols.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Stalfos Knight

Attack using your sword to cause the bones to fall to the ground, once they do you have to use a bomb to fully defeat them. They can also be defeated by dozens of consecutive hits by the Boomerang or Tempered Sword, but this method takes forever.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Babusu

These guys are fast!!!! They also do a large amount of damage so avoid them if you can. You can defeat them using your sword if you can reach them. They hide in holes then run out onto the ice in a straight line into another hole across the room.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Huge Saw Trap

Just like the regular saw traps but they take up four times as much space on the map and move slower. Avoid them as best you can.
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[Dagger Dias]

Here's where it starts to get tougher. A pack of Pengators attacks you as you enter the Third Basement floor. Use the Hook-Shot or cast Bombos. Enter the door north of you. It's another plus sign room and there is a huge saw trap in there. Avoid it and go to left, then trick the saw trap into going south again due to its motion sensor. Now go through the door north of you and the floor begins falling down a hole, jump down into it. You will be in a large room with a couple of Pengators. Go right, do not worry about the lower portion of this room yet. Defeat the Red Buris in the next room if they are in your way, use the Hook-Shot to make it across the large chasm in the room. Exit through the southern door.

 

[Dagger Dias]

In here are more large saw traps. Walk carefully near one to set off its motion sensor and then when it's safe you can walk to the next part of the room. Make your way to the stairs leading upstairs. In this room is another stairway to your right. You'll want to use the Hookshot to get to the skull and avoid the spikes. Go upstairs. Defeat the Stalfos Knight and use the Hammer to get past the obstacles. Lift the strange large block. It has a key and a Rabbit Beam under it! Throw the block and quickly move out of the Rabbit Beam's way so it will not turn you into a Bunny. Use the Hammer on the rest of the obstacles. Step on the switch under the skull in the most southwestern spot of the room. A chest appears and it has this temple's Map in it!

 

[Dagger Dias]

Now that you have the map and the compass you can see this temple's floorplan. It is one of the largest in the game, spanning a grand total of 7 Basement floors.