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

[Dagger Dias]

Item Spotlight: Hookshot

This item is cool. It can go far in a straight line to grab items that enemies drop. It can also drag you to skulls and some other objects, this ends up being useful if you find a spot where you cannot get across a large hole otherwise.
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[Dagger Dias]

This is a little tricky. First go one space south of the Big Chest and face the right. Use the Hookshot to drag yourself over to the skulls, a key is under one of them. Now, go back up and stand exactly one space north of the Big Chest. Make sure you do not fall into the shallow water. Use the Hookshot to drag yourself over to the skulls. Use the key to go inside. In here is a door to the left that can only be opened by standing on the switch under the skull in the upper left corner. Move the statue near the switch over on top of it. Push it to the left so it's along the wall, then push from the below it, upward onto the switch. This opens both doors, you will want to go through the one to the right because they both lead to stairways but the one on the right allows you to flip a switch to drain water in the next room. There are chests in the room southeast of you containing rupees. Go through the door north of where you came.

The next room has several waterfalls and a door. The door leads to a dead end where there are some skulls in a corner and an opening in the wall for Pirogusus to enter. If you wait long enough, more than half a dozen Pirogusus will enter the room one by one. If this happens you're cornered and have to defeat them or risk getting defeated yourself trying to walk past them all. You'll have to go back into the waterfall room. Now what? The map should show you that there is, in fact, another exit in this room. Use the map, press the X button and match up your location with the exit's. Or you can just look at the screenshot below. You can walk under one of the waterfalls, the one second from the right to be exact. Now go through to the next room and go upstairs.

Defeat the Zols and Buris along the way. You're almost there! Get the key from under the skull on the far right, then jump back in the water. There's a current here so be careful. It is possible for the Hovers to catch you and you not be able to swim away in time due to the current. If the Hovers are in the way, cast Ether, Quake, or Bombos to defeat them before jumping in the water. Climb out using the ladder in the middle. Bomb open the wall. The skulls in the next room have some hearts and other items underneath if you need them. If not, use the key on the locked door above the ladder on the left. It leads to a door with an evil looking icon on the floor just in front of it. Boss battle time! Go inside the next room and there is a boss monster waiting for you.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Arrghus

This is one of the easier bosses in the game if you know what you're doing. You need to use the Hookshot to take one of the orbs surrounding the big jellyfish. Attack said orb a few times using your sword to defeat it. Repeat this until all of the orbs are defeated. He'll attack sometimes by throwing out all of the orbs, find a corner in the room and try to avoid them or Hookshot one when this happens. When they are gone, the jellyfish is vulnerable. He jumps and then dives into the water. Be really careful when he is diving so that he does not dive near you or where you are standing. When he is back in the water he swims around extremely fast. Hit him with your sword or use your Whirlwind attack when he is nearby. He swims in the same diagonal patterns all the time so once you figure out his movement, find a spot and attack him from there. Try to stay toward the bottom of the room when he is diving. Repeat until he is defeated.


Your prize is the 2nd crystal. We'll pick up next time with optional items before the next temple. Skull Woods (3) is the one the game wants you to do next, but we'll do Gargoyle's Domain (4) first so that we'll have the Tempered Sword earlier.
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[Dagger Dias]

Before we enter the next temple, Gargoyle's Domain.... There are some heart pieces and a new item to be found.

Return to the Magic Shop in the Light World if you do not have any bottles filled with blue potion to buy some more. Now, go like you're going to the Magic Shop but on the Dark World's map. The bridge is not there like it was in the Light World. Cut through the foliage and lift the skull. You'll see an opening in the cliff. Do NOT jump down into the water. Stand at the edge of it and use your Hookshot while facing left. This drags you across the gorge over to the screen to the right of where the graveyard was in the Light World. Go left to be in the Dark World's counterpart of the graveyard.

Make your way to the upper left corner of the graveyard dashing into the clusters of five.... whatever those things are.... and lifting skulls as needed. When you get out, go over to the stairs and use the Magic Mirror when at the top of the steps and standing as Link is in the screenshot. Then go inside the cave. Lift the jars in the way and bomb open the wall, the heart piece is inside and you should now have another heart container earned.

 

[Dagger Dias]

You can get the Magic Cape now! Go to the upper right corner of the graveyard in the Dark World. Run into the cluster of five.... whatever those things are.... and then use the Magic Mirror. Make sure you're in a spot where you will not warp back. Dash into the grave to reveal a secret entrance! Watch out for the Poes who are floating around as you dash into the grave. Inside is a chest with one of the coolest items in the game. The Magic Cape!

 

[Dagger Dias]

Item Spotlight: Magic Cape

This item turns you invisible until you turn its effects off or until your Magic Meter runs out. While useful for avoiding enemies, it uses up your Magic Meter if you keep it in effect for too long. Only use it when you need to.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Poe

You may recognize these guys from later Zelda titles. In this game they float around in the graveyard. They aren't too dangerous but can get in the way when you are trying to get to the entrance to where the Magic Cape is. There are Poes in the Dark World too, found primarily in the Village of Outcasts. They have a different looking graphic but are otherwise pretty much identical to the Light World's type of Poe.
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[Dagger Dias]

Warp back to the Dark World. You'll want to go left for a few screens to get to the town. Also, stop by where the Sanctuary was in the Light World. In the Dark World it is replaced by a cave which is home to another storyteller. This one is an octopus. He gives you a hint about a fairy who is trapped inside the pyramid, you need a Super Bomb to find her. You cannot until late in the game.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Now keep going left like you're going to Kakariko Village in the Light World. In the Dark World it is replaced by the Village of Outcasts. There's a couple of heart pieces here in town you might want to grab before going inside the temple, which is located where the weathervane was in the Light World. The layout of the town is very similar to Kakariko Village. There's several Poes and Moblins around so defeat them if you want. Watch out for thieves! They are just like the thieves from the Lost Woods in the Light World only they look like foxes instead of people. The house in the upper left corner has a chest opening game. Play this a few times so that you can get the Heart Piece hidden in a chest there! Pay the fox 30 rupees to open two chests. re-enter and keep playing if you do not get the heart piece. There is only one so once you find it, there are no others.

 

[Dagger Dias]

NPC Spotlight: Thief

Very annoying. They intentionally bump into you in the Village of Outcasts and try to steal items that you dropped. If this happens, grab everything immediately before he has a chance to take any of the items. If he takes something, it's gone. They cannot be killed but your sword will knock them back a distance allowing you to get away. They look like the foxes who run shops in the Dark World. There's human thieves in the Light World too that you may have encountered in the Lost Woods.
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[Dagger Dias]

NPC Spotlight: Cucco Skeleton

Just like the Light World Cuccos but skeletal. You can be attacked by a swarm of them too just like in the Light World if you attack one with your sword continuously for a long time. I find the skeletal swarm even funnier than the regular one.

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[Dagger Dias]

The entrance to the temple is to your right, but we're not entering it yet. There's a house further right and inside it is a chest with 300 rupees! Watch out for thieves along the path. The house south of this is a store, but it does not offer anything you need. Left of that is a skeletal cucco and some destroyed houses. South of here is where the elder's grandson was in the Light World. Bomb open the house to find a chest inside with 300 rupees in it! You'll need this for the digging minigame. To your right is a path blocked by dark rocks you need the Titan's Mitt to lift. Go south. There's a frog surrounded by dark rocks, he will be important soon but you cannot help him yet. Jump down the cliff southeast of the frog. There's a gap that enables you to make it down just to the right of the dark rock. The building here is a Shooting Gallery! Go inside to play a bow and arrows minigame. Shoot an octopus without hitting a hand and you'll get some rupees. The guy running the shop is very funny looking, especially when he claps each time you successfully shoot an octopus.

 

[Dagger Dias]

To the left of the Shooting Gallery is the Digging Game. I hate this minigame and it is my least favorite heart piece sidequest in the game. Sometimes you get lucky, other times it can take hours of tries (and lots of rupees....) to find the heart piece hidden here. Show up with plenty of rupees, maxed out at 999 preferably, and keep playing until you find it. Once a round ends you have to leave the screen, return, and pay the man again. You CANNOT use the Shovel given to you by the Flute Boy to try to find the items. I tried that 21 years ago back when I was a kid playing the game for the first time. The heart piece can only be found during the minigame itself.

 

[Dagger Dias]

If you played the Digging Game or Shooting Gallery game you will have to work your way back to the town the long way, as you do not have the Titan's Mitt yet if you have been following this walkthrough up to this point and there's a dark rock in the way. When you are back in the town and are done exploring, enter the temple by pulling on the trident of the Gargoyle statue located where the weathervane was in the Light World. It breaks, revealing an entrance to the temple. We'll pick up there with Gargoyle's Domain next. This is one of the more fun temples in the game.

 

[Dagger Dias]

From the moment you step inside Gargoyle's Domain you will find a room that has an upper and lower portion in it. The upper portion is made up of walkways on top of the lower portion, making it harder to see the lower portion as some of the walkways cover parts you can still walk under. There are four quadrants of rooms like this all next to each other. Go down into the lower portion and defeat the Zazaks if you want. Watch out for the red ones, you cannot defend yourself against their beams at this time. There is a chest in the upper left corner with this temple's Map in it!

 

[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Blue Zazak

These are quite common in Gargoyle's Domain. They are not too tough to finish off, but they are cool looking. They have fangs and mohawk hair. The blue ones are easier to deal with than the red ones.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Red Zazak

These are actually a bit dangerous. They have more health than the Blue Zazaks and they can shoot beams at you that only the Mirror Shield (not available until late in the game) can protect you from. Be careful around them.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Rabbit Beam

I hate these. They chase you and turn you into Bunny Link for a moment if they touch you. If the Rabbit Beam touches a wall or certain solid objects, they vanish. You can also defeat it yourself by using the Magic Powder on it which turns it into a Fairy, exactly like you did with the Fire Fairies. A third method of dealing with them if you do not want to use Magic Powder or trick one into running into a wall/object is to simply cast Bombos/Ether/Quake and it will kill it.
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[Dagger Dias]

From where the map was, go north into the upper left of the four large quadrant rooms on this floor. Climb up to the upper portion and make your way to the chest that has rupees. There is a Rabbit Beam under the skull jar to the right of the chest. Go back down into the lower portion. Go to the upper right portion of this room and climb up to the upper portion. There is a crack you need to bomb open on the right wall toward the middle. This takes you to the upper right quadrant room.

In this room if you go to the upper left corner there is a crack you can bomb open. It does not lead anywhere important though. Jump down into the lower portion. You'll see a spider door as you make your way right. Dodge the Zazaks and Winders if a Rabbit Beam catches you, until you turn back to normal. There's nothing else relevant in here really other than the spider door so head south into the lower right quadrant room. Go up the stairs in the upper right part of this room to get to the upper portion. Go over to the chest and open it to get this temple's Compass!

You're actually pretty close to the boss room. It's past the spider door and a couple of rooms north of that. You still have a ways to go though, there's a puzzle you have to solve on the upper floor and an NPC to meet in the basement first. Let's keep going.

 

[Dagger Dias]

From where the compass was, jump down into the lower portion. Do NOT go through the door on the upper portion, it will shut when you go through it and cannot be re-opened. If you enter the lower left quadrant room from the lower portion of the lower right quadrant room (It makes sense if you're playing the game as you read it, didn't know how else to describe it) then you'll find a chest you couldn't reach before. It has this temple's Big Key!

 

[Dagger Dias]

Now that you have the Big Key you can go through the spider door in the upper right quadrant room. It leads into a hall with some skeletons in it. The skull in the upper right corner has a key in it. Take that. The northern door takes you to the boss room. Enter that room to fight.... nothing? Yeah, the compass is right in that the boss fight does take place in this room but he won't show up until after you complete a puzzle upstairs and meet an NPC downstairs. Use the key to open the lower door. There's nothing important in this next room just go to the left.

The room after has some Geebos and conveyor belts. Go through the door on the left. In here you'll find more Geebos, a Winder, and a Fire Fairy. Go through the door to the north. There is a key under the skull. Take that and use the Boomerang to flip the red/blue switch. Use the key and go upstairs. The telepathy tile gives you a hint about the boss in this temple. Pull the switch and a bunch of masked snakes fall into the room! They are funny looking. Step on the switch under the skull jar in the lower right to open the door to east of you.

In the room in the far right you will see an important puzzle for this temple. Defeat the Buzzes (the green lizard/bug enemies) and open the chest to get some bombs. Throw a bomb onto the cracked tile north of you. It will open a hole where the light will shine down into the boss room downstairs. You cannot fight the boss without doing this.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Geebo

These are amoeba-like enemies. If you attack the nucleus when it floats away from the cell, you can defeat it. The cell cannot be attacked but it will be defeated when the nucleus is.
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[Dagger Dias]

Enemy Spotlight: Buzz

Little green enemies that resemble lizards or bugs. They move really fast and do a lot more damage than they might look like they would. Defeat them quickly or avoid them.
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[Dagger Dias]

Once you've bombed the tile upstairs from the boss room, head back the way you came. Make sure the blue blocks are down. If not, flip the red/blue switch. Head into the room with the conveyor belts and enter the lower door. Go north in the room after that. Now you should be able to pass through the blue blocks. Defeat the Red Zazaks and Geebos then go through the door to the right. This room has a ton of conveyor belts, don't go through the door to on the right it will lead to the hall by the boss door and the door shuts. You'd have to make your way back the long way. If this happens go through the lower left door, left, up, right to be back in the conveyor room you were in. Go downstairs. You'll find a room that has some Zazaks, a skeleton, and a huge weird looking block. You can lift the block! Do so and go through the door south of you. Or defeat the enemies and go through the door on the left that opens.

 

[Dagger Dias]

There is another of those weird large blocks to your left. Lift that and go inside the room. If you defeat the Buris it opens the door so you can leave. Yep, that was pointless. You need a key in order to enter the lower right room. So, head right. You'll find a cage. And another. Go through each of the cages to find an NPC. Let her out and she will follow you. The chest has a key.