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

[Dagger Dias]

Item Spotlight: Crystal

You get one of these every time you complete one of the temples in the Dark World. You must collect all 7 in order to enter the final temple, Ganon's Tower.
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[Dagger Dias]

You've completed the first Dark World temple and now have the 1st of 7 crystals. Next time we'll do some optional stuff such as grabbing the third spell, Bombos, before going to the 2nd temple.... the Swamp Palace.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Before the Swamp Palace there are items that you can get now. Also, note the fact that the remaining 7 temples show up on the map. You may go to them out of order if you wish, I prefer to mostly stick to the numerical order. I do temple 4 (Gargoyle's Domain) before temple 3 (Skull Woods), but I follow the numerical order otherwise. The numerical order is recommended. The good thing about doing the 4th temple earlier is that you would then get to the Tempered Sword faster, and it makes the awful 3rd temple (my least favorite in the game!!!!) easier. So, anyway, let's grab some items and go to the 2nd temple. Here's the map and what you should see once you have cleared the Dark Palace:

 

[Dagger Dias]

Our first stop is going to be the Bombos spell. You can get that when you have the Hammer, which you should if you have followed this thread and completed the Dark Palace. From the Dark Palace, work your way back through the thorn bush mazes and go south, then left on the next screen. You'll see purple obstacles that you need the hammer to get past. Hammer the obstacles and cross southward. You might run into some White Skulls along the way, they are easy to defeat. Go left and you'll be at the Dark World's counterpart of where your house was. It's a Bomb Shop. It isn't important right now, it will be late in the game though. Go south from the Bomb Shop. You're in the swamp area now, keep going south for one more screen. Remember where the dam was in the Light World? Go there. You'll see that this is where the 2nd temple is, but you do not have to enter it yet. Go left one screen from the Swamp Temple's entrance. Keep going left and you'll see a line of purple obstacles. Stand on the dirt path inside the dotted line they form and use the Magic Mirror. Now you're in the Light World on a cliff above the desert! Use the Book Of Mudora to read the text on the gigantic book, you will get the Bombos spell!

 

[Dagger Dias]

Item Spotlight: Bombos

This is a cool spell that creates an explosion onscreen damaging nearby enemies. It is useful against a certain boss later on. It's the only one of the three spells that is not required to be obtained in the game, yet it is the one I use the most.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: White Skull

These guys are skulls on the ground that come to life if you walk too close to them. They are easy to defeat and not very dangerous.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Pickitt

These guys are a pain. They steal items from you, even your shield! If they steal something from you, kill them immediately to get the item back. If you lose the item and he does not drop it after you defeat him, you might have to look for it in a shop to get another one. It's best to defeat these guys from a distance or avoid them so they cannot steal from you. I ignore them completely. It's not even worth it.
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[Dagger Dias]

Next we'll get the Flute. Remember where the Flute boy was in the Light World? Go like you're going to Kakariko Village from Link's House but in the Dark World. Enter the woods south of the town. Cut through the foliage in the way using your sword. You'll find a guy sitting on the tree stump who looks like an ant eater. Talk to him to find out it is the Flute Boy. He gives you a Shovel asking you to look for his Flute. Use the Magic Mirror to be in the Light World. You have to dig in this grove using the Shovel to find the Flute.

The bunnies and birds will run away and he will vanish when you approach them. Dig around the flowers northwest from the Flute Boy, you will find the Flute there!

Go back to the Dark World and play the Flute for the Flute Boy. He will turn from an ant eater into a tree. Before he turns into a tree he asks you to play the Flute for an old man in Kakariko Village. Go to the Light World and do this. The old man is at the bar to the left of the town's southern entrance. Play the Flute for him and talk to him twice. This was the Flute Boy's father. He asks you to play the Flute for the bird in the center of the town. He is referring to the weathervane. Doing this, it releases a Duck who was inside the weathervane. You can now summon The Duck if you play the Flute on the overworld map in the Light World.

 

[Dagger Dias]

NPC Spotlight: Flute Boy

The Flute Boy in the Light World plays his Flute for the animals in the grove. In the Dark World he is an ant eater who gives you his Shovel to look for the Flute with. Then he turns into a tree when he hears his Flute one last time.
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[Dagger Dias]

Item Spotlight: Shovel

This item's only purpose is to be used to dig in the forest grove to find the Flute. Once you find the Flute, it replaces the Shovel in your inventory which is kind of stupid. That never made sense to me. I always wanted to keep the Shovel. In the GBA remake, you do get to keep the Shovel as it takes up a different item slot than the Flute. In the original, it just mysteriously disappears from your inventory with no explanation the moment you get the Flute.
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[Dagger Dias]

Item Spotlight: Flute

The Flute is an important item. In the Light World it summons The Duck that can fly you to certain locations. This is required in order to get to a temple later on.
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[Dagger Dias]

NPC Spotlight: The Duck

This is The Duck. When you play the Flute in the Light World (after you have released him from the weathervane in Kakariko Village in the Light World by playing the Flute there) he shows up to grab you to fly you to one of 8 different locations. You can also try to avoid him when he flies down to try to grab you which can be fun. Here is the map that shows up when the Duck takes you offscreen:

1 sends you to Death Mountain down by the Mountain Cave. 2 sends you to The Magic Shop which is convenient if you need to get more Blue potion and want to get there faster. 3 sends you to Kakariko Village. 4 sends you to Link's House. 5 sends you to a cave south of the Eastern Palace. 6 sends you to a cliff above the desert, you need to go here and find a warp tile to get into a temple later on in the game. 7 takes you to the dam. 8 takes you to the Big Octo on the way to the Ice Rod's cave.
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[Dagger Dias]

Have the Duck take you to spot 5. Use the Hammer to get past the obstacles and lift the rock to find a warp panel. Use that to get back to the Dark World. North of you is a cavern. In there you'll find a bird storyteller. You do not have to visit him, but you might find his story interesting and worth a read.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Our last stop before the Swamp Palace is a heart piece. Go to where the Flute Boy was in the Dark World. South of there is a diamond shaped bunch of foliage. Cut down some of it with your sword or lift one to get inside the shape. Use the Magic Mirror inside there to be back in the Light World. Now go into the cave to the north of you. The heart piece is inside. Watch out for the bomb partially buried in the ground nearby.

We'll pick up next time with the 2nd Dark World temple, the Swamp Palace. It is the easiest Dark World temple in my opinion.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Now we will go to the second Dark World temple, the Swamp Palace. It is located where the dam was in the Light World. You'll need to go there first, the dam that is, if the water looks like it does in the screenshot:

Use the Magic Mirror to return to the dam in the Light World. Go inside and pull the lever on the right. This makes the water get drained. You should see a heart piece in the water outside if you did not grab it back when I mentioned it was possible to do so a few segments back. Now go back to the Dark World and you should be able to enter the temple.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Inside the temple you'll be able to swim to the next area if you opened the dam in the Light World. Ignore the bubble enemies called Kyamerons, you can defeat them by freezing them and using your Hammer but it's not even worth it as they are tough to hit. There's also some spiders called Hovers floating around on the water. They are everywhere in this temple and easy to defeat. Defeat the Hovers to reveal a chest with a key! Use that to go downstairs. This next room has a crack in the wall that you need to use a bomb in, just to your left as you come down the stairs. There is also a key under the jar furthest to the south from you. Go through the hole you opened in the wall using the Bomb to find a chest with this temple's Map in it! Then go back into the previous room and use the key on the door in the lower left corner.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Hover

These are spiders that float on the water. They are extremely common in the Swamp Palace, easy to defeat other than in the room right before the boss where there is a current. Use Ether, Quake, or Bombos to defeat the Hovers in there.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Kyameron

Not even worth wasting your time on. They fly around the shallow water and try to fly into you. The only way to defeat them is to freeze one and use your Hammer. They are hard to hit so it is better to avoid them to conserve your magic meter.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Zol

One of the weaker enemies in the game. They show up in a few of the temples by jumping up from under the ground. Harmless for the most part.
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[Dagger Dias]

In the next room you'll find a Winder, you cannot defeat these. Just leave them alone and avoid them as best you can. There's also a Yomo Medusa trap. It shoots a fireball anytime you swinfg your sword. Literally every time. If you don't swing, it does nothing. Holding your sword out with the B button makes it fire repeatedly. Watch out for this as you defeat the Red Skeleton and Buris in here. Go downstairs and into the door north of you. You're down in the area below where the Map was. Grab the key from under the skull and head back. Use the key to open the door to the left of where you just went. Inside is a switch. Use the Hammer to get past the obstacles in front of it. Flip that by pushing it to the left. Water fills up so that you can now swim over to the ladder to the left of where the locked door was, this takes you to the next area. Don't forget to use a Bomb on the cracked wall to the left of the switch before you go if you want to get some items under skulls. In the next room you'll find the Big Chest, but you cannot open it yet. Watch out for Pirogusus, they will enter the room through openings in the walls and then swim in straight lines around the edges of the water. Go through the door to the south. Follow the path to the right and you'll have circled around back to the blocks, push the lower one to the right to reveal a chest. It has the Compass for this temple!

 

[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Winder

You CANNOT defeat these. They are a massive pain because they can get in the way and move somewhat unpredictably. Just avoid them, there's literally nothing else you can do and they cause more damage than most monsters.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Yomo Medusa

These shoot fireballs every time you swing your sword, or repeatedly if you hold down the B button to keep the sword out. They do nothing otherwise and you cannot defeat them.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Pirogusu

These jump into the shallow water from openings in the wall. The Hookshot quickly defeats them, but be careful around them. They are stronger than they look.
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[Dagger Dias]

Go through the door on the lower half of the wall to the left of where the Big Chest is. Defeat the enemie while avoiding the Winder and the fireballs of the Yomo Medusa. Go downstairs and get the key from under the skull. Use that to open the door in the previous room on the upper half of the wall to the left of the Big Chest. In here you need to hit the red/blue switch with your Boomerang to make the blue blocks go down. Flip the switch to fill the lower path with water. You can now go south and jump into the water, swim over to the next area. You might see some Zols on the way. In the next room you need to push the blocks out of the way, push the lowest one to the left and the middle one upward. Now go upstairs. We're making progress. Here's how the map should look so far:

 

[Dagger Dias]

Once upstairs push the block to the right and go to the upper left hole. Push the block downward and jump down. You find a chest that has rupees. Jump down into the shallow water and go back upstairs. This time go jump into the hole on the right side of the room. If the red blocks are up you'll have to go back a few rooms and hit the red/blue switch again. If they are down, go to your right. This takes you to a bunch of skulls and a chest that has this temple's Big Key! Go back to where the Big Chest was, you'll be able to open it now.