  __________   T   H   E      L   E   G   E   N   D     O   F
 /\         \    _________  ____       _________   _________
 \ \_____    \  /\    ____\/\   \     /\    __  \ /\    ___ \
  \/_____/   /  \ \   \___/\ \   \    \ \  \   \  \ \   \  \ \
        /   /    \ \   \___ \ \   \    \ \  \   \  \ \   \__\ \
       /   /_____ \ \    __\ \ \   \    \ \  \   \  \ \   ___  \
      /\         \ \ \   \_/__\ \   \____\ \  \__/  /\ \  \_/\  \
      \ \_________\ \ \_______\\ \________\ \______/  \ \__\\ \__\
       \/_________/  \/_______/ \/________/\/_____/    \/__/ \/__/
                  -= O R A C L E   O F   S E A S O N S =-

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
|           FAQ/Walkthrough  || Version 1.11 || June 18, 2004          |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|          by Michael Gonzalez (Coffee) <mpgonzalez@gmail.com>         |
|                  http://www.geocities.com/coffeefaqs                 |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

   IMPORTANT NOTE:
      This FAQ only covers Oracle of Seasons as a standalone game. It
   does not cover Oracle of Ages, or the linked-game continued from
   Oracle of Ages. I'd really like to get all that info done
   eventually though. Hmm...maybe after an Oracle of Ages FAQ... ;)

Contents:
   1) Story
   2) Walkthrough
         - The 1st Essence: Fertile Soil
         - The 2nd Essence: Gift of Time
         - The 3rd Essence: Bright Sun
         - The 4th Essence: Soothing Rain
         - The 5th Essence: Nurturing Warmth
         - The 6th Essence: Blowing Wind
         - The 7th Essence: Seed of Life
         - The 8th Essence: Changing Seasons
         - Onox's Castle
   3) Boss strategies
   4) Side-quests
         - The Trading Sequence
         - Item Upgrades
         - Four Golden Beasts
   5) Heart Piece Locations
   6) Gasha seeds/Soft soil
   7) Rings
   8) Items
   9) Cool stuff
   10) Frequently Asked Questions
   11) Credits & Info

Version 1.11 (06/18/2004):
- Changed email address (Gmail!)

Version 1.1 (01/23/2003):
- Completed info in ring section
- Added question to FAQ

Version 1.0 (01/13/2003):
- It's taken forever, but the walkthrough it finally done
- Gasha, item, boss, & heart piece sections are done
- Four golden beasts
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Some more cool stuff

Version 0.8 (12/09/2002):
- Walkthrough is now up to the Explorer's Crypt
- More bosses and mini-bosses added
- New rings section
- New items section

Version 0.7 (11/23/2002):
- First released version

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 1) STORY                                                             |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

[NOTE: This is the same story found in the instruction booklet. It
doesn't say much about how this game fits into the whole Zelda
continuity, if such a thing even exists anymore. I honestly don't know
and don't even care anymore.]

One day in Hyrule, a strange force drew Link deep within Hyrule castle,
where he found the Triforce resting, glittering brilliantly as it
awaited him. "Link... Link... Accept the quest of the Triforce!"

Suddenly, Link was enveloped in a *shaft* of light, and the next moment,
he vanished.

When Link awoke, he found himself in a forest he had never seen.
Confused, he looked around blankly at the unfamiliar surroundings. He
heard pleasant music and laughing voices echoing from deep within the
woods. Link followed the inviting voices until he came upon a traveling
troupe of actors. He was immediately struck by the beauty of a young
woman who was dancing about in circles. When the girl noticed Link, she
smiled brightly and called to him.

"Welcome to Holodrum. I am Din, the dancer," she said with glee. "Would
you like to dance with me? Don't be shy. It will be more fun if we dance
together." She took him by the hand, and he reluctantly began to dance.
Unfortunately, this blissful moment did not last long. The sky suddenly
went dark, and there was a loud crash of thunder, followed by a
resounding, thunderous voice.

"I've found you, Din! You can't deceive me by disguising yourself as a
dancer. I am Onox, General of Darkness! Now reveal yourself, Oracle of
Seasons!"

Then a great tornado dropped from the sky and drew near Din, as if to
engulf her.

"Help me, Link!" she cried.

Link was blown back by the tornado as he struggled against its awesome
force, and Din was swept away in the wind...

And then strange things began to happen throughout the land.
When Onox carried off the Oracle of Seasons from the land of Holodrum,
the seasons fell into chaos and the land was deprived of the bountiful
gifts of nature. Life was slowly being drained from the land, and all
living things began to wither.

And so Onox set in motion his plan to gather the power from the
withering land and create a world of total darkness. Will Link be able
to rescue Din from the hand of evil, the General of Darkness? Such is
the quest Link must undertake.

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 2) WALKTHROUGH                                                       |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

[IMPORTANT NOTE: This walkthrough was designed for players who are NOT
continuing their quest from the Oracle of Ages game. If you are
continuing the quest from Ages, some parts of the game will be slightly
different, but for the most part the instructions in this walkthrough
will still apply.]

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE FIRST ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

                           -- THE BEGINNING --

"Accept our quest, hero!"

When you first gain control of you character, go right and meet this
"jovial troupe of performers". First talk to Din, the girl dancing on
top of the tree stump. Apparently, Din found you lying unconscious in
the woods and rescued you. Then talk to the other 5 performers. After
you've talked to everybody, talk to Din one more time. After a cute
dance, Din notices a triangle mark on the back of your hand. It's a
special mark that means you are a hero with a special fate. Blah,
blah...enter cliché story...

Suddenly, everything turns dark and lightning bolts rain down,
destroying the camp. "Ha ha ha.. I've found you, Din, Oracle of
Seasons!" the voice of Onox, General of Darkness, proclaims. A
whirlwind appears, sweeping everyone away and capturing Din. Onox
imprisons Din, the Oracle of Seasons, and buries the Temple of Seasons,
the temple which houses the Season spirits! Seasons thrown into chaos!
Nature gone wild! Cats and dogs living together!

When you awaken, Impa is at your side. She reveals that she is actually
the nurse of Hyrule's Princess Zelda. She was instructed to bring Din,
the Oracle of Seasons, to Hyrule. But she is injured and cannot continue
her quest, so she gives you the mission to rescue Din and bring order
back to the land of Holodrum. First, you need to report to the Maku Tree
in Horon Village.

The Maku Tree is in east Horon Village. But in order to get you him, you
will need the sword. Go south into Horon Village, then take the path
going left out of the village. Continue to the south. Along the beach
you'll find a cave with roots growing on the walls at the sides of it
(this is NOT the first cave you come across). This is the Hero's cave,
where you'll find your sword. Proceed inside...

                            -- HERO'S CAVE --

Hero's cave? This place is so insultingly simple, with the music so
dorky... the name Dork's Cave is more fitting. Nevertheless, here's the
walkthrough, though I doubt anyone will ever need it. If you do, you're
either using the walkthrough from the beginning or you're a hopeless
retard, I'm sorry.

There are enemies in here, but until you get a sword you can't do a
thing about them... so just do your best to avoid them. In the first
room, go right. Push the block in the next room to open the doors, then
head up to the next room.

Push aside the block and follow the narrow winding path. Be wary of the
places where the floor is cracked...if you stand there for too long, the
floor will crumble and you'll get hurt. If that ever happens and there's
a hole blocking your path, just exit and reenter the room. When you get
to two blocks, push the left one down and the right one to the side.
Continue to the next room.

Step on the switch at the far side of this room (careful to avoid the
enemies), then open the chest that appears to get a small key. Now
retrace your steps two rooms back to the room with the block in the
middle. Push the block to open the doors, but this time go south. Then
go through the locked door at the right. Step on the switch the open the
door, then continue.

Climb the steps and claim your reward: The WOODEN SWORD! This truly is a
sign of courage! You are transported out of the Hero's Cave...

                           -- THE MAKU TREE --

Now that you've got the sword, it's time to visit the Maku Tree. Head
north to Horon Village, then follow the path right to the Maku Tree
Gate. The sign says "Show courage to gain passage". The sword is a sign
of courage, right? Use the sword on the gate to do your little courage
dance and open up the gate. Proceed to the Maku Tree...

A sleepy fellow, the Maku Tree is. Hit the snot bubble coming out from
his nose to wake him up. He tells you some important stuff, the
fundamentals of the game's story. The General of Darkness, Onox, has
casted a shadow barrier over the Northern Peak. You need to find the
EIGHT ESSENCES OF NATURE to break this shadow barrier and save Din.

He gives you the "GNARLED KEY", the key to the Gnarled Root Dungeon,
which is your next destination.

But first, you may want to check out the neat stuff in Horon Village:
- You can go to Bipin and Blossom's house to name their baby
- If you have money, buy bombs and/or the wooden shield from the shop
- Get interesting information by talking to the villagers
- Learn the game basics by talking to the wise Know-It-All Birds

If you're all done taking care of business in Horon Village, it's time
to begin your quest for the first essence of nature. Exit Horon Village
through the north. Keep going north... When you see a bridge over water,
cut the bushes with your sword and cross it. There's a rock with a
keyhole in it! Stick your key in there to reveal the Gnarled Root
Dungeon. Proceed...

                        -- GNARLED ROOT DUNGEON --

From the first room, go straight up to the next room. The door slams
shut behind you. In fact, your surrounded by shut doors. Push the
upper-right block to open them, then go right. Defeat all the enemies
here, then pick up the key that drops down. Return to the previous room,
then use the key to go through the locked door a the left. Once more,
defeat all the enemies. A chest appears containing the dungeon map
(press select to use it). Now go up to the next room.

Hop onto the mine cart. In the room that the mine cart brings you to,
go up the steps and right. Inside the treasure chest you'll find the
dungeon compass (used to find keys and treasure chests, though it's
quite useless if you're going to use this walkthrough). Hit the switch
with your sword so that the lever is at the left (this alters the course
of the mine cart).

Return to the mine cart and hop in. If the lever is at the left, the
mine cart will take you to a new room. See the treasure chest you
passed? Go one screen back and open it for 10 bombs. Go up the steps,
then down the steps at the right. Step on the switch, then open the
chest that appears to get a small key. Return up the steps, then go one
screen left. There's a crack here in the north wall. Use a bomb on it
to open up a passage, then go through.

This room is dangerous, full of switchblades, so be careful. Make your
way through this room, then go through the locked door at the top. Now
it's time to meet the mini-boss: the Twin Minotaurs. Every dungeon has
a mini-boss and a final boss. See the bosses section (right after the
walkthrough) for details. After you defeat them, a portal appears
providing easy transportation to the entrance.

From the room where the mini-boss was, go left. Push aside the block at
the left corner of the diamond, then go down the stairway. Here's a cute
little side-scrolling basement. Go down the ladder, then climb the
ladder at the right. Pick up the bag...this is the SEED SACHEL (with 20
EMBER SEEDS). Ember seeds are used for burning stuff and lighting fires.
Return to the previous room. Now push the block at the bottom-left of
the left block...push it down. Then go to the room at the right. Enter
the portal...

Use the Ember seeds to light the torches at the left. Remember this as
a general rule of any Zelda game: If a torch is unlit, light it. Enter
the door that opens. Defeat all the enemies, then open the chest to find
the Boss Key. This is the key required to get to the dungeon's final
boss. Return to the previous room. Go down (defeat the enemies), then
right, then push the block at the upper-right and go right again. Use
the ember seeds on the torches and go up to the next room.

Be very very careful to avoid the hands here. If one of them gets you,
it will transport you to the entrance of the dungeon (ouch!). There's a
chest in this room with a ring. Go one screen right using the top-most
path..then enter the door that requires the Boss Key.

Hey, we're at the final boss already! Wasn't that quick? So, the
dungeon's final boss: Aquamentus. Once again, visit the boss section for
all the juicy details. When he's been disposed of collect the heart
container and go into the room at the left.

It's the first Essence of Nature: The FERTILE SOIL! Seeds scattered
across bountiful lands are nourished in this Fertile Soil! You now have
the first essence of nature, still 7 more to go. You are transported out
of the Gnarled Root Dungeon...

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE SECOND ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

                             -- MEET MAPLE --

After exiting the Gnarled Root Dungeon and going to the next screen, you
will meet Maple, a witch that flies around the screen. Maple is the
"Great Witch Syrup's apprentice". Every once in a while she'll come
along and bump into you, causing both of your stuff to fall all over the
place, then it's a race for you to collect the stuff! Get as much as you
can, and hopefully these meetings will work to your advantage. You'll be
meeting her every once in a while from now on.

                          -- GOING TO SUBROSIA --

Return to Horon Village. In the right side of the city, there are two
saplings blocking the path. Walk up to them and the sleeping prophet,
Sokra will awaken and tell you some worthless BS. When he's done
talking, use Ember seeds to burn down the saplings, then continue going
right.

Go north-east in this area and you'll run into Rosa, a strange looking
creature wearing a robe with a ribbon on its head. She's a member of the
Subrosians, a race that lives in the mysterious underworld of Subrosia.
She says that a temple fell into Subrosia, and she must return there in
secret, without being seen... (hint, hint...)

Follow her north, but do NOT let her see you. Always stay on the
opposite side of the tree from her. If she see's you, she'll run away.
Be careful on the third screen...she'll leave the screen for a second
then come back. In the final screen, you see her disappear into the
bushes. Hack down the bushes to uncover a vortex, then enter it to reach
the world of Subrosia.

                              -- SUBROSIA --

First thing to do here is get the boomerang. From the vortex, go down
the stairs at the LEFT. Follow the path until you find a stairway, then
go inside to find the "Subrosian Dance Hall". Talk to the guy there and
volunteer to dance with them. This dance is a super-simplified Parappa
the Rapper. The dance master in the center does 3 dance moves, and you
need to mimic him by pressing right ("doo"), left ("dah"), or A ("dee").
The sequences gradually get faster. Make a mistake and you're kicked out
of the dance hall. But get 9 sequences correct and you're the proud
owner of a new BOOMERANG! You can continue playing to get other prizes
such as Gasha seeds, ore chunks, or the strange flute.

When you have the boomerang, make your way back to the screen with the
vortex. Now go down the right steps. Continue south to a small Subrosian
Village, then head east to find... the Temple of the Seasons!

As you enter, an ominous voice welcomes you. Continue going straight
north until you enter the temple. Keep going north on the path. When you
get to a room with a platform in the middle, stand on the platform. The
powers of the seasons combine to give you the ROD OF SEASONS! This is a
very important item that allows you to control the seasons.

Go out of the temple, then head for the south-east corner and enter the
tower of winter (the top of the tower is blue). Use the boomerang to hit
the orb and create a bridge. Head up the stairs and follow the path
until you reach a statue of a goddess. When you approach, your rod will
be given the power of the SPIRIT OF WINTER. Your rod now has the power
to change the season to winter! Use it while standing upon a tree stump.
In winter, water freezes and snow piles up.

When you exit the tower, you'll hear the Maku Tree speaking to you. He
says that the next essence is in the woods in the east, which is your
next destination. Exit the temple. Return to the vortex that you used to
get into Subrosia to go back to the overworld.

                        -- TO THE SNAKE'S REMAINS --

When you go right, Sokra the wandering prophet appears. He gives you
advice about how to use the Rod of Seasons. Try it out! Stand on top of
the tree stump and use it to change the season to winter. At this point
that's all it can do... (you'll get the other seasons later on).

When you've changed the season to winter, the pond will be frozen to
ice. Go right across the frozen pond, then 2 screens north, then 2
screens right. Hop onto the tree stump and use the Ron of Seasons to
change the season to winter. Climp the steps, then go right. Enter the
house here by dropping down into the chimney. The girl inside, expecting
Santa, gives you the SHOVEL. Go outside.

Use the shovel to clear the snow. Go south 3 screens, then left. Use the
tree stump to change the season to winter. Continue left 1 screen, then
take the right path north. Clear away some snow (with the shovel) and go
right. Take these MYSTERY SEEDS, they will be slightly useful later on.
Sprinkle them on owl statues (like the one beside the tree) to recieve a
hint.

Go north, then 1 screen left to find the entrance to the second dungeon
of the game: Snake's Remains.

                            -- SNAKE'S REMAINS --

The first room is dark, but don't bother lighting the torches yet. Just
go into the room at the left. There's a chest there, with a grand
treasure of 5 rupees. Oh joy. Just head north to the next room. Kill the
four snakes and grab the small key that drops down. Backtrack to the
first room.

Light the two torches to open the door, then go north. Careful here, the
torches throw fireballs at you. Go to the room at the right. The blocks
there would form a square if it wasn't for that one out-of-place block.
Push the block right to make everything line up and a chest appear
containing the dungeon compass. Return to the previous room, then go up.

Hmmm...the blocks in this room form an arrow. Bomb the section of wall
that the arrow points to and you will reveal a passage to a secret room
filled with rupees! The total worth of all the treasure is over 200
rupees. 234 rupees, to be exact! Return to the room with the big arrow.
Then go north through the locked door.

The enemies here can't be defeated by normal hits from your sword.
You'll need to hit them with the sword to push them into the pits.
Defeat both of them to open the door, then go through it.

Now defeat the enemies at the left side of the room by throwing bombs
over the hole (alternatively, you can simply reach over the hole with
your sword). Inside the chest that appears, you will find the POWER
BRACELET. The Power Bracelet is a very useful item to pick up pots.
Go left to the previous room.

Try out your shiny new Power Bracelet here. Toss aside the pots to get
to the chest, then open it for the dungeon map. Now go south to the room
with the big arrow, then go right. Once again a stubborn block is out of
place and ruining the symmetry for everyone. Push the block at the right
to the right then go through the door that opens.

Watch out! Huge switchblades patrol this room. They follow a fixed path,
so figure out their pattern and move only when it's safe. Open the
easily visible chest to get a small key. Make your way across the room,
then go through the passageway at the bottom right.

With the help of the Power Bracelet, you can push aside the huge rollers
in this room (careful though, they roll back). Make your way to the
bottom-right corner of the room and take the stairway... to a ledge
outside! Open the chest for a Gasha seed. Then go left and down into
another stairway. Cut away the bushes and go north.

This room is filled with blocks, some of which are cracked. The cracked
blocks can be destroyed with a bomb. You need to get the the chest in
the center that contains a small key...but you'll need to be quick
because the chest disappears about 25 seconds after you enter the room!
To go faster, put the bomb in your hand already before you even reach
the block so it will be ready to blow up soon after you drop it. If you
run out of bombs and need to start over, buy some from the Deku Scrub in
the previous room (10 bombs for 30 rupees). After getting the small key,
retrace your steps all the way back to the room with the giant
switchblades. Now go right. Use a bomb to destroy the cracked blocks,
then go down into the stairway.

In the side-scrolling basement, get really close to the edge of the
ledge to make the thwomp-type enemy come crashing down. When he's below
you, drop on top of him and proceed left. To get past the four smaller
guys, simply walk under them quickly. Go up the ladder at the left.

Push the roller aside to make your way through this room (the chest
there has 10 rupees in it). In the next screen, it's a little more
difficult because of the cracked floors. Don't do anything stupid like
stand on a cracked floor for more than a second. Toss aside the pot to
clear your path, then go into the locked door at the bottom-right.

Mini-boss time! Players of Link's Awakening will be familiar with this
guy: Facade. See the bosses section below for details (right after the
walkthrough). When you're done fooling around with him, go right 2
rooms.

Use your last key on the keyhole block. Go right to the next room. Make
your way past the switchblades and the snakes and go down to the next
room. A lot of moving platforms here... it may be a bit tricky, but ride
all on the platforms to make your way to the floor at the right side of
the room. Then go up the steps north... and open the chest to finally
get the boss key. Hop off the ledge, then go left 2 rooms.

Toss aside the pots at the bottom part, then use a bomb to blow open the
cracked portion of the wall. Enter the passage... Careful now, the torch
at the center spits fireballs at you. Toss bombs at the cute little
bunnies to kill them (poor guys...). After killing the cute little
bunny rabbits, go right.

The lights on the circle at the center should indicate *counter
clockwise*, so that when you step on it it will bring you to the lower
part. Go south. Ride over the 3 moving platforms, then toss aside the
pot and enter the boss door at the right.

The final boss of this dungeon is Dodongo. Yep, that's Dodongo. I can't
believe Ninteno let Capcom do that to such a classic Zelda boss. Dodongo
is just butt ugly in this game. Anyway, after you've defeated him go
south to claim your prize...

It's the second Essence of Nature: The GIFT OF TIME! Seeds sprout as
seasons change with the Gift of Time! You now have two of the eight
Essences of Nature. You are transported out of the Snake's Remains...

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE THIRD ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

                       -- LOTS OF VARIOUS STUFF --

After coming out of Snake's Remains, toss aside the stone and go left.
Go up and change the season to winter, then go southwest to Horon
Village.

Exit Horon Village through the north. Continue north-east until you find
two rocks blocking the path. Previously, these rocks prevented you from
going further. But now that you have the power glove, simply throw them
aside and continue north 2 screens.

Get the SCENT SEEDS from the tree. Scent seeds attract monsters, and
will be of little real use in this game. Anyway, go right, then down a
screen to find Blaino's Gym.

Inside, Blaino offers to fight with you for 10 rupees. Accept his
challenge and the fight is on! The objective here is to push him out of
the ring (no items allowed, just fists). His punches don't really hurt
you in terms of hearts. Just run up to him and let your fists fly like
crazy. When you win the fight, you'll get RICKY'S GLOVES. That's what
we're here for. Leave Blaino's Gym (and don't forget to re-equip your
items).

From Blaino's Gym, go up, left, down, left, up, left, left, then up.
Here's Ricky the kangaroo, and he wants his gloves. In exchange for the
gloves, he will give you a ride to Spool Swamp. In addition, if you
didn't get the strange flute from either the Subrosian Dance Hall or
Horon Shop, he will give you Ricky's Flute and be your animal buddy from
now on.

Hop into his pouch and head south. He has the ability to jump over small
holes...simply hop over them! Continue on the path south and around
until you get to a tall ledge. Ricky can leap up there without breaking
a sweat. Go one screen up and you'll have to part ways with Ricky.
Continue north. When you get to a sign with directions, go left.

Hit the tree with your sword for some PEGASUS SEEDS. Like the Pegasus
Boots of previous Zelda games, the Pegasus Seeds allow you to move
quickly (I still miss the boots though...). Go south and follow the path
around until you find a little house, the Floodgate Keeper's House.

The guy inside says he 'lost' the key to open the swamp floodgates.
The moron...hit the lever at the bottom-right to drain the water.
There's the key! Get it and go outside. Go into the stairway at the
right.

Use your new Pegasus Boots, err, Seeds to hit the switch and cross the
bridge quickly and go left. Push some stones and toss some rocks to
reach the stairway, then go down into it... Follow the path around the
water, then go up the stairway at the end. Make your way through this
room and up another stairway to find yourself back above ground.

Go two screens down, then right. Use the Floodgate Key on the little
keyhole here and... the floodgates open! Spool Swamp is now drained of
deep water. Go around to where you'll find Sokra, the wandering prophet,
dozing off. If you talk to him he'll give you some guiding advice: It's
time to return to Subrosia for another Power of the Seasons! Drop down
the ledge beside him, then go three screens south.

Now there are three possibilities depending on which flute you have:

1) If you have Ricky's Flute: Go one screen left and use flute to call
   Ricky. With him, you can jump up the ledge. Go around and south. With
   Ricky's super tornado punch, destroy the bushes and continue south
   over the holes. Continue on the path and enter the vortex to
   Subrosia.

2) If you bought the mysterious flute from the Horon Village shop: Go
   left and up, where you'll find poor Moosh being attacked. When the
   monsters see you they'll run off. Talk to Moosh -- and the monsters
   come back! Kill them all and talk to Moosh again. Your flute is now
   Moosh's flute, and Moosh is your animal buddy. Riding him, go down
   and right. Use Moosh to fly over the holes. Now go down, right, left
   (at the lower path), left, up (at the right path). Remove the rock
   and enter the vortex to Subrosia.

3) If you got the mysterious flute from the Subrosia Dance Hall: Go
   right and up, where poor Dimitri is surrounded by monsters. Talk to
   the one wearing green and pay him whatever he asks for (a total of 80
   rupees). He'll be satisfied, and the monsters will leave Dimitri
   alone. Talk to him... your flute is now Dimitri's flute, and Dimitri
   is your animal buddy. Ride on him and go south 3 screens. You'll get
   off of him because he wants you to try picking him up. No need for
   that... in fact, no need to get back on him. Go left at the lower
   path (be careful for very dangerous enemies here). Follow the path to
   the vortex to Subrosia.

                              -- SUBROSIA --

From the vortex, go one screen left and south. The helpful Subrosian
tells you that you can find 'Star-Shaped Ore' in the sands around here.
That's exactly what you're looking for, so get your shovel and start
digging! Dig all around the beach... this will take a while...

When you finally find the Star-Shaped Ore, go north to the village.
Enter the tent conveniently labelled "Market". In the Subrosian Market,
trade the Star-Shaped Ore for the ribbon. Now go south and return to the
beach.

At the south-east part of the beach, you'll find a Subrosian with a
yellow robe and a key. This is Rosa, and she'll follow you around in
exchange for that nice ribbon. She's useful because her key can open up
any lock here in Subrosia. "Let's go look in that Temple," she says.
Sigh...does it get any easier than this?

First, go north and enter the cave with the locked door. Go through the
cave and out the other side. Now the doors are unlocked and you can
easily travel between the north and south parts of the village. Now go
right to the Temple of Seasons. The north-west tower of the temple is
the tower of summer, which requires a key to get inside! Enter...

Toss away these rocks to get to the stairway. Follow the path up... and
up... until you reach the goddess statue. When you approach, your rod
will be given the power of the SPIRIT OF SUMMER. Your rod now has the
power to change the season to summer! In summer, vines grow tall and
creeks dry up.

Exit the temple. Return to the village, then go through the cave again
to the southern part. Then use the south vortex to return to Spool
Swamp.

                             -- SPOOL SWAMP --

Now go to the north-west corner of Spool Swamp (with the help of your
animal buddy, if necessary). You'll come upon a cave on a high part of
a wall that you can't get up to. Go south from there and use the tree
stump to change the season to summer. Now go north and there will be
vines so you can climb up and enter the next dungeon, the Poison Moth's
Lair...

                          -- POISON MOTH'S LAIR --

Go straight north through the first room. In the next room, bump into
the spikey enemies with the shield to flip them over, then finish them
off with the sword. Go up to the next room, then go 3 rooms to the
right.

Watch out here! Blue hands appear and try to grab you, and if they get
you you'll be brought back to the dungeon entrance! I suggest killing
them first to get them out of your way. There's a button in this room
that opens the door, but the button doesn't stay down. Use a pot from
the right side of the room...push it over the button to keep it down,
then go south through the door. Go left, then south again.

Push the rollers to get through this room and to the chest. Inside it is
a small key. Push the block at the right side of the room to get out.
Trace your steps back to the stairway, then go up it.

Push the block away and go north. Kill the Moldorms here to make the
chest appear, then get the bombs inside. The top part of this room has
some unusual tiling... put two and two together and you'll get the
picture: Put a bomb in the center of those tiles and you'll blow open a
passage in the wall. Inside, open the chest for the dungeon map. Now go
two rooms south.

Push the second block from the right down to get inside. Now push the
*third* block from the bottom to the left, and push the second block
down. Go left to the next screen...

This is a tricky puzzle: You need to make the statues at the bottom look
like the statues at the top. It took me a while to figure this one out.
For easy reference, see the little ascii illustrations below. First of
all, push the 2nd and 4th statues down (see fig. 1). Then push the
leftmost red statue to the right (see fig. 2). Push the one under it to
the right (see fig. 3). Then push the left red statue down into place
(see fig. 4). Now its easy to see how this will work out...push the gray
statues into place (see fig. 5) and the door will open. Go left.

     1:  [G]   [R]   [G][R]              4:  [G]         [G]
           [G]   [R]                            [G]   [R][R][R]

     2:  [G]      [R][G][R]              5:
            [G]   [R]                        [G][G][G][R][R][R]

     3:  [G]      [R][G]
            [G]      [R][R]

Go left through the next two rooms, then north. Go north through the
locked door. You need to kill the enemies here while avoiding the
dangerous switchblade. The enemies mirror your every move. After killing
them all, a chest will appear containing... ROC'S FEATHER! Now you
finally have the power to jump. Go south to the previous room. Equip
Roc's Feather and use it to jump to the moving platform. Get off at the
left side and fall into the hole there. You'll fall down to the first
floor. Go down the stairway.

Do NOT use the moving platform at the bottom of the screen here. Jump
on the stone platforms in the air and go right. Jump onto the lower
platform and ride it to the right, then use the next platform and right
it to the left. Jump onto the ladders, then go up the ladder at the
right of the screen.

Jump onto the blue trampoline to bounce up to the second floor (and
press down to land on the floor). Open the chest to get the compass.
Fall back to the first floor. Now push the trampoline to the other
purple tile, south-east of the owl statue. Use it to jump up to another
part of the second floor. Go right.

Another tricky room with rollers...this time there are spikes to make
your life more difficult. Equip Roc's Feather and the Power Bracelet,
you'll need both. Push the first roller 2 spaces right, then jump north
over the spikes. Get it? Do this two more times to get across the room,
then go right. Down the stairway...

Push the trampoline onto the orange tile at the right side of the room.
Jump on it to reach the second floor, where you'll find a chest with the
small key. Drop back to the first floor then go down the stairs.

Get across by jumping on the platforms. The second jump is quite far,
and it helps to use the Pegasus seeds. At the next screen, keep up the
jumping to get across, then climb up the ladder at the left.

Use the moving platform to cross the gap (with a jump at the end to
reach the floor). Go right, down (use the jar on the button again), and
left. Jump *over* the button (don't hit it) and enter the locked door
at the left.

Mini-boss time! This one's name is Calamareye. *yawn*...see the boss
section for details. When you're done with them, go up the stairs at the
bottom-right corner. Go 2 rooms left along the path. There's a little
piece of floor that sticks off the ledge here...just try walking off of
it and you'll jump to the other side. Drop into the hole at the end.

Be careful with the giant switchblade patrolling the area! To get to the
chest, push the fourth block from the top, then jump over the gap.
Inside the chest is the boss key. Move the block at the bottom and jump
right, off the ledge. Go right, then down and into the portal. Go up the
stairs (at the bottom right corner) and go left, then jump up to the
other ledge. Follow the path and you'll reach the big door. You know
what's coming next...

This final boss of Poison Moth's Lair is, quite appropriately, a poison
moth named Mothula. The juicy details about this guy are availible in
the boss section. After the fight, collect the heart piece, then go down
the stairs. Go north and...

It's the third Essence of Nature: The BRIGHT SUN! Young shoots grow
quickly under the warm rays of the Bright Sun! There are five more
Essences of Nature for you to find. You are transported out of the
Poison Moth's Liar...

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE FOURTH ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

                         -- TO THE SUNKEN CITY --

Our next destination is the Sunken City in the east. Somewhere in North
Horon, you'll find a hollow log behind a hole. Jump over the hole, and
go north through the hollow log.

Once again, the walkthrough splits into 3 possibilities depending on
what animal you have:

1) DIMITRI. Go right. Use Dimitri's Flute to call Dimitri, then ride
   east through the Natzu River. Go 3 screens right, 1 screen up, then
   right again. Climb onto the land at the right. You need to pick
   Dimitri up, throw him over the hole, then get back on him at the
   other side. Now go down and right to the Sunken City.

2) MOOSH. Hit the red switch with the sword to extend the bridge. Go
   right. Fly north over the holes and go up, right, down, right, up,
   right, and right. Fly over the gap and go down and right to the
   Sunken City.

3) RICKY. Hit the red switch with the sword to extend the bridge. Go
   north. Call Ricky with the flute, then use him to jump up the ledge.
   Follow the path east... Use Ricky's hurricane punch (hold and release
   A) to destroy the bushes, then jump over the hole. Continue in the
   general direction of east until you get to the Sunken City.

                          -- THE SUNKEN CITY --

The whole city is flooded, but you can stand on the shallow water. Jump
over the deep water, then go south. Follow the path of the shallow water
around until you get to a tree. Hit the tree to get some GALE SEEDS.
These wonderful seeds instantly transport you to any of 5 points in
Holodrum: The Sunken City, Woods of Winter, Horon Village, North Horon,
or Spool Swamp. How delightfully convenient!

Go back in the direction you came. If Dimitri is NOT your animal buddy,
you will see Dimitri being attacked! Talk to the kid in the middle...
he will give you Dimitri in exchange for all your bombs.

Ride Dimitri north. Good Dimitri will remind you that he can go up
waterfalls. Swim up the waterfall, then swim up the waterfall at the
left. Inside the cave, leave Dimitri on the land at the right (he can't
cross bridges). Push the statues so that they all form a square and you
can stand in the center of them. Stand in the center and do the spin
attack (hold the button for a second, then release) hitting all four
statues. If you hit them all, stairs will form at the right allowing you
to get to the chest containing the MASTER'S PLAQUE. Jump off the ledge,
hop on Dimitri, and get out of here.

Go down the waterfall, then go up the waterfall at the right. The guy
here calls himself the 'Master Diver'. Because you proved yourself by
getting the Master's Plaque, he gives you the flippers. Now you can swim
in deep water! You won't be needing Dimitri anymore (unless you need to
go up the waterfall again). Leave the cave and go down both waterfalls.

Go left to the screen with Ingo's House (there's a sign outside it that
reads "Vases wanted! Ingo, collector"). On this screen, swim to the
place full of rocks and dive down (press B) to find a secret underwater
diving spot! Make your way through the tunnel, avoiding the fish, and
you will emerge in Mt. Cucco.

Climb up the vines and go north, then go right, north, and climb the
steps. Fall down the ledge and into yet another vortex to Subrosia.

                             -- SUBROSIA --

Now just jump over the lava and-- hey! Two Subrosians come along and
take your Roc's Feather! In exchange you got the Fool's Ore. It's not a
fair trade at all... this will not do... get your feather back! Go left
and enter the house. Inside you'll find the two Subrosians, scheming to
bury your feather. "Make sure no one sees us".

Just like following Rosa in the Woods of Winter, you'll need to follow
these guys without being seen. It's tougher this time since there's two
of them you'll need to look out for. Exit the house and follow the
Subrosians. Hide behind the trees and rocks so that they don't see you.
If one of them does, you'll need to start all over again from the house.

Eventually, you'll see them bury your treasure. Dig inside the red
square to recover your Roc's Feather and return the Fool's Ore. Return
to the village.

In the southeastern corner (one screen right of the vortex you used to
get here), jump over the lava and enter the stairway. Cross the first
screen by jumping on the moving platforms. Collect the Gasha seed in the
next screen, then go up the ladder.

Well, you find yourself right in front of the Tower of Spring in the
temple! Go inside. Jump over the lava and go up the stairway... up...
until you reach the godess statue. When you approach, your rod will be
given the power of the SPIRIT OF SPRING. Your rod now has the power to
change the season to spring! Rock-hard buds bloom in spring. It is a
season of discovery.

Exit the temple. Make your way back through the cave. Go back into the
vortex that you used to get here... and you'll return to Mt. Cucco...

                             -- MT. CUCCO --

From the vortex, jump off the ledge. Let's try out your new ability...
use the tree stump to change the season to spring. Go one screen right,
where you'll find Moosh. He wants Spring Bananas, and it's your duty to
get them for him (regardless of whether Moosh is your animal buddy or
not).

Since it's spring, the rock flowers are soft and pink. Chop then down
and go north. With the Power Bracelet, pick up the blue cucco and
rapidly tap the A button to fly. The cucco will bring you to the high
ledge. Go north and enter the cave. Do a lot of jumping on the tiny
platforms to get around to the stairs, then go up them. Take the SPRING
BANANAS from the ledge, then drop down the ledges to Moosh. For bringing
him a Spring Banana, he'll give you a ride. Hop on!

Ride Mooch left until you reach a wintery place (this is now Goron
Mountain), then go north. Use Moosh's hovering thing (jump and rapidly
tap the A button in the air) to get over the pits and reach the key.
This is the DRAGON KEY...but where's the keyhole? Return over the pits
and down the the previous screen.

Go right until you get to the tree stump in Mt. Cucco, then use it to
change the season to spring. Go three screens left, then use the flower
to get to the higher ledge. Now go right until you get to another tree
stump. Use it to change the season to winter, then go 2 screens left.
Climb up the steps, follow the path over the snow, then enter the cave
at the right.

Make your way through this rather straight-forward cave. When you emerge
at the top, there's another one of those flying cuccos. Grab on to it,
then tap the buttons rapidly to fly to the other side. And there you
find...a keyhole! Use the key there and the waterfall will drain,
revealing the entrance to the next dungeon. Fall off the ledge at the
left.

Change the season back to summer to make vines grow, and then you can
finally enter the game's fourth dungeon: The Dancing Dragon Dungeon.

                       -- DANCING DRAGON DUNGEON --

From the first room, swim through the water and go north to the next
room. Move away some of the blocks here and open the chest to get 10
bombs. Now jump into the minecart and ride it away... do *not* hit the
switch yet! Let it carry you north to the next room. At the right side
of the room there's a cracked wall. Use a bomb on it and go through.

In this room there are nine pots and eight buttons. With the Power
Glove, throw away two of them (the second one being the pot at the
center). Push the remaining seven pots onto seven of the buttons around
the room. Then step on the final button to get a small key. Return to
the previous room.

Hop into the minecart. Hit the switch so that the lever points left,
and you will be carried to the left room. At the left side of this room,
push the statue over the button to hold the door open, then go north to
the next room. At the top-left corner of this room, push aside some
blocks and go down the stairway.

Get through the maze-like room...then go right through another maze-like
room. Open the chest for the dungeon map. Return to the previous room
and go down the stairway at the bottom-left corner. Get through the
first screen of the side-scrolling place by jumping on the platforms.
The next screen is pretty tough... the platforms disappear and are
replaced by new ones every second. Get past that and go up the ladder at
the right.

Light the torch so you can see the path. Go quickly, before the light
burns out (but even if it does, you can still barely make out the path).
Open the chest for another small key. Trace your steps all the way back
to the room with the minecart. Hop into the minecart and ride north.
When you're dropped off, jump right back in again, and hit the lever so
that the minecart brings you to the right. Go down and you'll be at the
entrance room of the dungeon. Now go right through the locked door.

Jump right over the spikes. Bomb the crack at the right side of the
room, then go inside. Push the block at the right (after defeating all
the enemies in the room) to make a chest appear. Inside it is the
dungeon compass. Return left, then go up to the next room.

Dive underwater (press B) to get past the rollers in this room. In the
next room, be careful when jumping over the small platform because
they're cracked and will collapse if you stand there for more than a
second. Hop into the minecart and let it bring you right. When it drops
you off, jump back in. Hit the lever on the way so that it faces left
and the minecart brings you on the left path. Defeat all the enemies in
the room to make a key drop down... you'll need to dive underwater to
collect the key. Jump into the minecart and let it bring you right.

Use the key on the keyhole block, then continue right. Defeat all the
enemies to make steps appear. As the owl statue tells you, "Greater
speed gives greater distance". So use the Pegasus Seeds with the Roc's
Feather so you can left jump over the gap. Follow the path left, jumping
over two more similar gaps. Go down the stairway to the 1st floor.

Go down the steps, push away a block, then hop into another minecart.
Open the chest in the room you stop in to get a small key. Go down...
Jump over the spikes here and go south into the next room, where you'll
face a rather difficult mini-boss. It's Agahnim from the SNES Zelda!
See the boss section for details. After defeating him, go south.

Hop into another minecart... and go south to the next room when it drops
you off. You can simply avoid all the enemies here, just hurry left
through the locked door. Push the statue left over the button... this
makes the chest appear AND it triggers the floor to start collapsing
starting from the bottom-right. So hurry up to the chest before the
floor completely collapses (Pegasus seeds would help, though they aren't
required). Inside the chest is this dungeon's treasure: The SLINGSHOT!
This is a great weapon/tool for shooting seeds. Drop off the ledge, then
return to the minecart. Ride the minecart back, then go two rooms north
(past the mini-boss room and the spiky room).

Hop onto this minecart again. In the room that it goes through, there
are three unlit torches. Use your new slingshot here to shoot ember
seeds at all 3 torches, lighting them. When they're all lit, a chest
will appear in the southern part. When the minecart drops you off, ride
it back then go south to the spike-filled room. Make your way to the
right side of the room, then go up the steps and follow the path to the
chest to get the small key. Return to the spike-filled room and go 2
rooms south.

Hop into the minecart again... while you ride the minecart through the
next room, use your slingshot to hit the 2 levers at the right. Make
them both face left, so that you take the rightmost path. When it drops
you off, go north and right. With the help of the pegasus seeds, jump
over the gaps to make your way to the keyhole block. Go north through it
and to the next room.

The boss key is here, and its underwater. Dive underwater in the right
'puddle' of the center area to get it. Trace your steps back to the
minecart, then ride it back. In the room where it takes you, there's a</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
switchblade at the bottom-left. Push one of the blocks down so that you
trap the switchblade. Then use the slingshot to hit the lever at the
bottom-right (make sure it faces left). Ride in the minecart (*again*)
and it will bring you to a new area.

There are 3 Wizzrobes in this room that appear at random locations. Kill
all 3 of them to open the door, then continue north. In the next room,
there's a statue with an eye that rotates and shoots a laserbeam at you
when it sees you. Be careful about him...that laser hurts. Hurry through
the room and through the keyhole block. Down the stairway...

Use the slingshot to shoot ember seeds across the gap and at the unlit
torches at the right. This extends the bridge so you can cross it and
go to the next room... then just go north. Ride the quick moving
platform around the room (careful to avoid the Keese)... and get off in
front of the boss door at the top-right. You know what you're in for
next. Behind that door is...

Gohma! The final boss of the Dancing Dragon Dungeon is another classic
Zelda boss. For details, why don't you go pay a visit to the boss
section? It's a pretty hard battle, in my opinion. It's a good thing
Capcom developed this game, if Nintendo did it they would soften up the
bosses for us. I like hard bosses like this bitch we have right here.
Strong and deadly. Reminds me of the old days... Ahem, after beating
Gohma, go right.

It's the fourth Essence of Nature: The SOOTHING RAIN! Bathed in drops of
Soothing Rain, shoots grow into saplings! You now have half of the eight
Essences of Nature. You are transported out of the Dancing Dragon
Dungeon...

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE FIFTH ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Your next task is to get the Spirit of Autumn. Use a warp seed to
teleport to Horon Village. Exit Horon Village through the north exit.
Continue north until you get to a sign that points you to Eyeglass Lake.
Then go right, south 2 screens, then right again. Climb on the island
and enter the vortex, once again, to Subrosia...

                             -- SUBROSIA --

From the vortex, go south. Climb down the steps, then continue following
the path south. Keep going through the Lava Lake. You'll need to do a
lot of delicate jumping to get by here. If you fall into the lava you
lose half a heart and you're tansported to the point where you entered
the screen. At the end of this long path you'll find something peculiar
on the ground... pull it out with the Power Bracelet. It's a BOMB
FLOWER! Now trace your steps back through the lava lake.

When you get to the screen with the 'Sign-loving Subrosian's Home', go
left. Jump over the lava, go left, then north. Toss away the rock, then
use Roc's Feather with the Pegasus Seeds to get over the gap. You're now
in familiar terrirory... make your way to the Temple of Seasons in the
north-east.

At the north-east part of the temple, jump over the lava and you'll meet
a fellow with a bandana on his head. He needs your bomb flower to clear
away the rocks. When the rocks are cleared, enter the tower.

Jump over the lava in the first room, then go up the stairway... and
up... until you reach the goddess statue. When you approach, your rod
will be given the power of the SPIRIT OF AUTUMN. Your rod now has the
power to change the season to autumn! In autumn, pits are filled with
autumn leaves and mushrooms are ripe for picking!

Excellent, you now have the powers of all four seasons. Exit the temple.
Return to the south-eastern part of Subrosia and use the vortex there to
return to where you came from.

                           -- EYEGLASS LAKE --

When you get back to the overworld, go two screens north. Ahh... a tree
stump! Try out your new power here: change the season to autumn. Go
north, then right. The mushrooms here can now be removes because it's
autumn. Get rid of them, then enter this scary looking cave. The
Unicorn's Cave.

                        -- THE UNICORN'S CAVE --

From the first room, go to the room at the left, then go two rooms
north. Kill all the enemies here... the guys with some kind of hard
plating on them have to be attacked at the soft backside. After killing
all the enemies, go left through the door that just opened.

This room is tough, I know. The floor is constantly moving, pushing you
towards the pit. So make your way across the floor very carefully. It
gets especially difficult when the path isn't against the wall! Open the
chest and get the compass. Then make your way back to the entrance (or
more practically, you can fall down so that you reappear at the
entrance). Return to the previous room. Go south, then swim two rooms
right through the water.

Hop onto the *left* minecart. As it brings you along through the next
room, hit the lever to the left of the tracks so that the lever points
left. The tracks will change and the minecart brings you straight north.
Go up the steps, then follow the path around and right. Push the lonely
block here to make a big metal ball fall down. You'll learn more about
that big metal ball leter, but for now return to the minecart and ride
it back.

Now ride in the *right* minecart. As it brings you through the next
room, hit the lever so that it points left and the minecart brings you
straight north. Open the chest to get a small key, then ride the
minecart back south. Jump back into the same minecart, and hit the lever
again to make it point right. The tracks change and you'll be brought
right. When it drops you off, go down the stairway.

Jump to get past the fireballs in the first screen. In the next screen,
get close to the edge to make the Thwomp come crashing down, then jump
on top of him. Do the same thing with the next Thwomp, then go up the
ladder at the left.

Go right. Defeat all the enemies in this room. The mummy-type enemies
take a lot of hits before dying. When all the enemies are dead, a chest
appears containing the dungeon map. Get it and go two rooms left. Climb
up the steps, go north, then drop off the ledge. Get past all the
monsters and go through the locked door at the left.

Open the chest and you will recieve... the MAGNETIC GLOVES! "Their
magnetic might attracts and repels. Press the button to reverse
polarity". I cannot overemphasize the coolness of this item. Try it out
on the big metal ball in this room. Because it has a letter "N" on it,
its polarity is north. When your glove's polarity is south, it will be
pulled towards you; When your glove's polarity is north, it will be
pushed away. Try it out: Using south polarity, get the metal ball and
put it on the button in this room to hold the door open. Go to the
previous room.

Go south, push the blocks away (push the left and right blocks down, and
the center block to the side), then go right and down the stairs again.
Use bombs to destroy the cracked blocks here. Take the path left to the
next screen. Jump to avoid the attacks from the statues. When the moving
platform approaches, jump on it. Use the moving platforms to get across,
then climb up the ladder at the left.

There are two statues in this room. The one at the left mirrors the
movements of the one at the right. Push the right statue 4 spaces down,
2 spaces right, then 1 space up. The left statue will mirror the
movements and land on the button, holding the door open. Go south.

Follow the path to the left room. Open the chest here for a sweet 100
rupees. "I bet you're thrilled!". I still miss the sarcastic remarks of
Link's Awakening ("You got 10 rupees. Oh joy!"). Anyway, go north. Kill
all the enemies here to make the door open. Go left. Kill the four
statues here one by one and *remember* the order in which you kill them.
When they're all gone, four chests appear. Open the chests in the order
that you killed the statues (so if you killed the upper-right one 1st,
1st open the chest at the upper-right). The 1st chest has 1 rupee (...),
the 2nd chest has 10 bombs, the 3rd has 4 ember seeds, and the 4th has
a small key! Go right and south. Move away the metal ball, then go south
3 more rooms.

Stand on the yellow tile, face right, then use north polarity to pull
yourself over the gap. Cool, eh? Go north and open the chest to get a
small key. Go back south. Standing at the right of the "S-block" (that's
what I'll call them rom now on) and facing it, use south polarity to
push yourself back over the gap. Very, very cool. Go north, then swim
two rooms to the right.

Jump into the minecart at the left (if you followed the walkthrough from
the beginning, there should only be 1 minecart there). As it brings you
along the tracks, hit the lever so that it points right. The minecart
should bring you to the left. See that spinning "S" thing in the middle
of the room? Use the magnetic gloves with north polarity to pull
yourself to it, then hold the button to let the thing bring you around.
When you're facing the other way, quickly push the button again to
change polarity and push you to the other side! Nifty! Open the chest
for the small key, then use the spinning block again to go back. Jump
into the minecart and let it bring you south.

Go two rooms left, then two rooms north. Go right and follow the path...
then go down the stairs. Make your way through the side-scrolling place
all the way to the leftmost screen, then go up the ladder. Use south
polarity on the S-block to get past the gap. Hop into the minecart at
the left. Open the chest for a small key. If you've been following my
walkthrough from the beginning, that makes 4 keys! Ride the minecart
back, then go through the locked door at the right.

The mini-boss here is some kind of tiger named Syger. And for a
mini-boss, this guy is tough! See the boss section for details. After
defeating him, go north.

Go to the room at the right. Careful to avoid the enemies, hit the
button to open the door, then proceed through it. Watch put for Mr.
Laser Eye, then go left through this room. Defeat all the enemies
here... you can use the magnetic gloves to pull them towards you if you
want... then go through the door at the left.

See the metal ball at the other side of the wall? Stand under it and use
south polarity to pull it towards you, then move left while attracting
it so that it comes closer to you. Then stand on its right side and use
north polarity to push it away into the flames. It should be blocking
the flames at the far left of the room. Go back 4 rooms (go right,
right, south, left).

Go through the locked door at the left. With the magnetic gloves, get
the metal ball and put it on the button to hold the door open. Go north
and you'll find yourself in the room witht he flames. If you followed my
instructions properly, the metal ball should now be blocking the first
line of flames. Use the metal ball like a shield to get past the flames.
Then go north through the metal door... and down the stairs.

Use north polarity to pull yourself toward the higher ledge. Jump onto
the moving platform. It has a conveyer belt going around it, so you
should be constantly pressing right to keep your balance. Go down the
stairs at the left. Get past more of these conveyer moving platforms.
At the end, pull yourself up with north polarity and get the boss key.
Make your way back through the side-scrolling area, then back up the
ladder.

Go south to the flame room. Once again, use the big metal ball like a
shield to protect you as you go past the flames. Go south, then right.
Use the key to get past the keyhole block (if you haven't already done
so), then go down the stairs.

Here's another side-scrolling area where you'll need to do some fancy
stuff with the magnetic gloves. Jump onto the first platform. Pull
yourself up to the S-block, then drop down onto the next platform. Go
left to the next screen. Here, you'll need to look down at the S-block
and use south polarity to push yourself upwards! I must reiterate my
opinion-- the magnetic gloves are the coolest thing ever. Jump left to
the ladder and climb up.

Throw away the pots at the left. Stand where the pots were and look up,
so that you face the S-block. Use north polarity to pull yourself
forward, but stop when your over the next platform. Then face right and
pull yourself over the gap with north polarity. Go north a little bit,
face left, then pull yourself with north polarity so that you're in
front of the boss door. And behind this door, you will find...

The final boss! This one is named Digdogger, and he's a tough little
bastard. For all the yummy details, pay a visit to the boss section
(right after the walkthrough). After he is defeated, collect the heart
piece and go to the north room...

It's the fifth Essence of Nature: The NURTURING WARMTH! Balmy days build
strong saplings with their Nurturing Warmth! Only three Essences of
Nature remain. You are transported out of the Dancing Dragon Dungeon...

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE SIXTH ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

                         -- TREASURE HUNTING --

The Maku Tree tells you that something fishy is going on in the ruins.
The next dungeon, and the next essence of nature, can be found in the
Tarm Ruins. But in order to enter the ruins you must first find four
special treasures scattered in secret locations throughout Holodrum.
Read on...

If you don't already have the Membership Card for the Horon Village
Shop, go to the Subrosian Market and buy it. It's dirt cheap at the
super price of 5 ore chunks.

Go to the Horon Village Shop. Head for the door behind the counter. The
shopkeeper will try to stop you, but he'll let you go through once he
sees your Member's Card he will let you through. Downstairs in the
member's only section there's some neat, and expensive, stuff. Buy the
Treasure Map for 200 rupees.

Now look at your map with the select button. The sparkling points on the
map are points where you'll find the special treasures...

PYRAMID JEWEL:
   This is the sparkling point at the north-east of the map. Climb Mt.
   Cucco to the screen with the entrance to the Dancing Dragon Dungeon.
   Dive in the waters at the top-right corner of the screen and you'll
   find a secret tunnel. Swim through the tunnel to the Pyramid Jewel at
   the end.

SQUARE JEWEL:
   Go to the screen just south of where you find the entrance to the
   Poison Moth's Lair (2nd dungeon). Use the stump to change the season
   to winter. Go right, 4 screens south, right, then 2 more screens
   south. Bomb the cracked portion of the mountain. The chest inside
   contains the Square Jewel.

ROUND JEWEL:
   Go in the waters between North Horon and Holodrum Plain. In the
   southern part, you'll find a cave in a tree. Go inside and talk to
   the strange old man. He gives you the Round Jewel.

X-SHAPED JEWEL:
   Go to the Western Coast, one screen south of the entrance to the
   Hero's Cave. There's an unlit torch in the water. Light it with your
   slingshot (ember seeds). The bridge extends! On the little island,
   the sign reads: "The Black Beast rests here". Uh, huh. The stones
   here are shaped like a question mark. Sprinkle some Mystery Seeds
   on it... and the Black Beast appears! Slay this pathetic wimp to get
   the X-Shaped Jewel. It's good to know Capcom gave this game has a
   sense of humor :P

You may notice that the 4 jewels are the shapes of the buttons on a
Playstation controller. I don't know what kind of statement Capcom is
trying to make by this... but if you have all four treasures, it's time
to head to the next dungeon.

                   -- GETTING TO THE ANCIENT RUINS --

Go to the entrance of the Tarm Ruins. The fastest way to get there is
by using the warp seeds to the Spool Swamp warp point, then going right
and up.

One by one, put the four jewels into their places on the wall. Your
jewels fit perfectly! Once they're all in, the gate opens, allowing you
to proceed north into the Tarm Ruins.

Stand on the tree stump and change the season to summer. Climb the vines
to the next screen, then go left and climb down those vines. Push the
statue here to make steps appear on the high part of the cliff. Go back
up the vines, go right, and go down the vines again. Change the season
to winter. Go left (past the dead tree). Now that it's winter, snow
piles up and forms a path! Go up the steps, fall down to the snow path,
then go up the steps. Push the two lower statues right into the ice.
Change the season to fall... the statues are now in the water! Go right.

[NOTE: At this point in the game, you may wish to complete the trading
sequence to get the Noble Sword. It's not required, but who wouldn't
want a better sword?! See the "side-quests" section for details.]

Toss away the mushrooms and enter the stairway. There's a Deku Shrub
here...use your shield to deflect his seeds back at him. He tells you
a secret: "If you are lost in the woods, travel west, then south, east
and north, taking each step in a warmer season". Go back up the stairs.

Go left, up, left, down, then left. You are now in the lost woods...it
can be quite a confusing place. You go almost any direction and you'll
be in the same screen. To find the way, remember the Deku Scrub's
advise. Change the season to winter, go west, change the season to
autumn, go south, change the season to spring, go east, change the
season to summer, then go north.

You come to a new area. Continue north and you'll find a place where
it's spring. There is a tree here that would bear Gale Seeds in
summer...you can now warp to this point using the Gale Seeds! Go right.
Use the tree stump to change the season to winter. Go south, then right.
Dig away some snow, then go north, north, and left. Push away the statue
then drop off the ledge. Change the season to spring, then get back up
using the flower. Go left...

*flash*! A strange man appears and gives you a prophecy: "Know this,
foolish boy. If you save Din, the world will be filled with destruction,
sorrow and despair. Our great sacrifice will be offered, and the Evil
King revived!!! Then people will know true pain, as darkness falls
across the lands."

Zelda fans may remember that a similar warning, which turned out to be
true, was given in Link's Awakening. Is that also the case here?
Something to think about as we continue.

Enter the tower here, which is the entrance to the Ancient Ruins.

                           -- ANICENT RUINS --

Simply go straight up through the first room. Then go up the steps and
north again. Here we have another rotating thingy, like the one in the
Snake's Remains dungeon. Step on it and go to the room at the right.
Continue going through these rooms until you come full circle to the
second room of the dungeon.

Go north and return to the rotating thingy. You should be at the bottom
path, and it's now indicating *clockwise*. Step on it and go to the room
at the left. Then go north.

Kill the beetle-like enemy here as a precaution. At the bottom-left
corner there's an big metal N-ball. Magnetic gloves time! Using south
polarity attract it to you, drag it upwards, then push it against the
wall with north polarity. Carefully jump over to the north part of the
room. Use south polarity to attract it towards you, then move to the
right so that the ball comes to you. Then switch to north polarity and
push it over the gap to the other side. Now jump over the gaps again to
the metal ball. Use north polarity to push it over the other gap, drag
it right, then pull it onto the switch. Collect the key that drops down.
Whew...

Go two rooms south to a room with a lot of snakes. First of all, go up
the steps at the left and go up to find a chest with the dungeon map in
it. Return to the previous room and kill all the snakes. All of them.
Only when they're all dead you can push the lonely block to open the
door at the right. Go inside...

Use your magnetic gloves to take the big metal ball from the top right
ledge and put it on the switch to hold it down. That will keep the door
open, which will be necessary later. Go north to the rotating thingy
again. Step on it and go right. You've been down this path before...go
through all these rooms until you return to the room where the big metal
ball is holding down the switch. This time go left, up, then right (back
to the rotating thingy). Now you can ride it UP to take the north path!

Inside that room, use your magnetic gloves to maneuver the big metal
ball to hold down the switch. That makes a staircase appear at the top
left. Take it upstairs to the second floor of this 5-story labyrinth.

Quickly jump over the two spikes (careful of the switchblades). Make
your way past these irritating red enemies and go south to the next
room. Open the chest there to get a small key. Now retrace your steps
back through the previous room and go down the stairs.

Go south and ride the rotating thingy. Then go left, south (kill the
snakes and push the block), right, and north. Now you're approaching
the rotating thingy from the south. Ride it once again. And once again
go left, south, right, north. Like de javu all over again, eh? :P But
this time you can ride it *counter* clockwise to take the right path! Go
right one room and through the locked door.

You can ride the moving platforms to the top-left to get the compass in
the chest...if you hate yourself. Seriously, what good would that do you
if you have this guide? ;) Go right to the next room, then go around to
hit the switch. This creates a bridge. Now hurry over there, because the
path starts collapsing as soon as you hit the switch! Pegasus seeds
help, but aren't required. Cross the bridge and take the stairs to the
second floor.

Inside the chest you'll find 10 bombs (hint, hint..). There's a cracked
portion in the south side of this mind-numbingly boring room. Blow it
open with a bomb, and enter.

The chest here contains 5 rupees...and probably isn't worth getting
since it causes the 6 armos statues to come to life. Go to the room at
the left. Remember this room? You're at the other side of the blocks
now. Kill the spiked enemies, then push the trampoline right over the
purple tile. Then jump on it to go up...up to the third floor.

Go south, then right. Open the chest at the far side of the room to get
the dungeon's treasure: The MAGICAL BOOMERANG! This one is stronger than
your old boomerang. Plus, you can control it's flight path (use the
d-pad while holding down the button it's assigned to). And in just two
easy hits, it can kill an armos statue. Speaking of which, all the armos
statues in the room come to life when you opened the chest, so kill them
now to open the door again. Return to the previous room, then drop down
the hole at the bottom-left corner. You'll drop down, down, down to the
first floor.

Go left, climb the steps, follow the path, and go down the steps. Here's
more of those painful red enemies. You should know their pattern in
order to avoid them: When they see you, they go straight at you until
they hit a wall. So, go through the maze of blocks and hit the switch to
open the north door, then proceed north. Now use the magic boomerang and
hit that orb. You'll need to control it's flight path. Go up the
staircase that appears.

Go straight south past the mummies in this room. In the next room, use
your magic boomerang (control its flight path) to hit the orb. That
opens the door on the south side. Arrows shoot out of the wall on the
north side of this room, and you'll need to use Pegasus Seeds to dash
past them, and go south to the next room. Then just fall into the hole
at the upper left corner.

Go to the south room, then go north at the right side. Hop onto a moving
platform. You'll need to light all 5 torches here...do them one side at
a time. When they're all lit, a staircase appears allowing you to return
to the second floor...

Upstairs, go right and you'll find a suspicious looking big rupee.
Prepare your pegasus seeds-- and get it. The whole freakin room starts
caving in! Dash through the room and jump over the spikes. In the next
room you'll need to continue dashing and go around, return through the
previous room, and then you're finally safe. Open the chest to get the
boss key. Return to the previous room (it's back to its normal state
now) and go up the stairs.

Defeat all the skeleton warrior guys, then you can push the upper-left
block to open the door. In the next room, fall into the hole at the
upper-right corner. Take the path around and open the chest for a small
key. Make your way back to the trampoline and use it to return upstairs.

Go through the locked door and you'll meet the mini-boss: Vire, Onox's
loyal henchman. Details are in the boss section. A somewhat
disappointing mini-boss, considering the ones we've faced before. After
the battle with him is done, go to the room at the right.

Stop at the doorway-- ok, use the pegasus seeds and dash straight past
all the obstacles in the room, then continue right. Hop over the two
spiked logs in this room, hit the switch at the upper-right corner, then
enter the door that opens. There are two switches in the next room: One
of them makes stairs appear, and the other one makes snakes drop down.
They seem to be random...find the one that activates the stairs, and go
up them.

Make your way through this room, careful to avoid the horrible blue
hands that bring you back to the dungeon entrance. In the next room,
there are those bouncy beetle creatures, but no hole to push them
into...so do the only thing you can: Take your magnetic gloves and hit
them with the big metal ball. Enter the door that opens when they're
defeated. In left side of the next room, there are 3 moving orbs. You'll
need to make them all red, using the boomerang, to open the door. It's
not that hard.

In the next room, push the trampoline 2 tiles down AND 4 tiles to the
right. Jump on it to get upstairs, and use the boomerang to make the orb
here red. This makes stairs appear downstairs! Fall back down, and take
the stairs up. Push the block to the right, and we come to the boss
door.

Quite obviously behind the door is the final boss. Visit the boss
section for details. A pretty fun and challenging boss if you ask me.
After defeating him, collect the heart containter and go upstairs...to
the outside. Well, this is new. And finally collect your prize...

It's the sixth Essence of Nature: The BLOWING WIND! Sweet fruit is born
when pollen is carried by the Blowing Wind! Just two more Essences of
Nature remain. You are transported out of the Ancint Ruins...

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE SEVENTH ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

                         -- THE PIRATE'S BELL --

Next stop is Subrosia. If you already extended the bridge in the
underground cavern in South Horon Village, you can use the vortex there
to get to Subrosia. Otherwise, you'll need to take the long way and
use the vortex in Mt. Cucco (the same one you used before going to the
Dancing Dragon Dungeon).

Near the south-western corner of Subrosia you'll find a skeleton pirate
guy standing on a ledge beside a vortex. Enter the door to this place.
It's a jolly group of skeleton pirates! Talk to them to find out what's
going on. Specifically, talk to the Cap't, the one wearing black. It
seems that he's lost his bell given to him by a special someone. After
you talk to the Cap't, he'll let you go look for it. Go upstairs and
talk to the pirate at the right. This wierd fellow walks over to the
drawers and pushes them in a special order...remember that order. Now go
upstairs and use the vortex to return to the regular world (you can
extend the bridge now if you haven't already).

Now go just to the right of Horon Village, and you'll see a hollow log
going south. Enter that to get to the beach, and follow the path until
you reach a skeleton pirate. Talk to him to get him out of the way. Now
push the skulls of this gate in that special order that you saw from
that other pirate: Push the 3rd skull twice, the 2nd skull once, the 1st
skull twice, and the 4th skull 3 times. If you did it right, the gate
will come down, allowing you to enter the Samasa Desert.

In the desert you'll find a pirate ship half buried in sand. The
skeleton pirate inside is, well, dead. He tells you to find his skull
that's rolling around in the desert. Go to the upper-right corner of the
desert, where you'll find the skull relaxing beside an oasis. Talk to
him. He'll knows where to find the bell! Carry him around and walk
around the desert. Be sure to walk over the quicksand whirlpools...he'll
go crazy when you're at the one you're supposed to drop into. If you
drop the skull or lose him, he'll reappear at the place where you first
found him.

When you finally find the bell, it's really really rusty. The Cap't will
never accept this hunk of junk! Return to Subrosia (through any vortex
that's convenient).

Somewhere in north-western Subrosia is the "Subrosian Smithy". Talk to
the manager..."Hmm? The Master speaks...He says you hold a bell of great
value." The correct response here is "Do it!". And a few seconds later
you'll have the Pirates Bell! All shiny and new! GONG!

Return to south-western Subrosia and talk to the Cap't again. Yep,
that's his bell alright. And for some reason now they're all able to go
out to their pirate ship and set sail again. What strange logic you find
in the world of Zelda! Anchors aweigh!

The pirates get seasick and you stop, perfectly positioned in the beach
south of Horon Village.

Enter the seemingly abandoned house north of the pirate ship. There are
10 bombs inside that chest. And there's an obvious crack in the right
wall. Use a bomb to blow it open. Follow the path to the outside where
you'll find a tree stump. Use it to turn the season to summer. Go back
through the house and back to the ship. Go 2 screens right, and climb
the vines to reach the graveyard. Continue north and go down the stairs
to enter the next dungeon: The Explorer's Crypt.

                         -- EXPLORER'S CRYPT --

Go straight up through the first room. Then go left, follow the path
around, and go north. Go north through the darkened room. In the next
room go right, and you'll need to move quickly before the four fires go
out (or else you'll be transported to the entrance). Kill all the
enemies to make a chest appear, then open it for a small key. Now trace
your steps all the way back to the locked door and go through it (left,
down, down, left, right, right).

You can kill all the enemies here to get a ring. Now go up the left
steps and follow the path until you reach the darkened room. Use the
slingshot to fire ember seeds at the two torches. When the lights are
switched on, a ghost appears and attacks you. Hit him four times to
defeat him, breaking the curse in that "four torches room" to the north!
Go there.

You can bomb a crack in the left wall to reach a room with the dungeon
compass. Back in the "four torches room", push aside the rollers to
reach the center staircase and go into the basement (B1).

Avoid these armos statues (they come to life when you touch them) and go
to the left room. Hit the switch up on the ledge to make a trampoline
appear. Push it 2 spaces DOWN and 1 space LEFT. Jump on it...and press
left so that you step on the switch, making a key drop into the hole.
Drop back down and collect the key. Return to the room with the armos
statues.

All of these armos statues come to life except for one. Find out which
one that is (you can kill the ones that come to life with the Magic
Boomerang), and push it over the switch to hold the door open. In that
room, go down the steps and struggle through the shifting pathway to
reach the stairs.

Prepare your magnetic gloves, and step onto the moving platform. When it
stops at the other end you'll be beside an S-block, so use south
polarity to repel yourself over the rest of the gap. In the next room,
get over the brige before it rises up and starts attacking you. Then go
left.

Here's a tricky puzzle that kept me scrating me head for a while. You
need to hit the four switches in an order such that the armos statues
would be arranged in a square, with an empty space in the middle. First
hit the lower switch at the side, then the left switch at the bottom,
then the upper switch at the side, then the right switch at the bottom.
Collect the key that drops down. Now retrace your steps back upstairs.

Go south through the locked door. Now at the left side of the square of
blocks, push the top and bottom block inward, and the center block up.
At the right side of the square of blocks, push the top and bottom block
inward, and the center block down. Now push the trampoline 3 tiles LEFT
and 1 tile UP. Then you can jump on it to reach the next floor. Go left,
get the dungeon map, then drop back downstairs.

Now go right through the locked door. In this darkened room, use the
pegasus seeds to move quickly and the ember seeds to light the torches.
If all four are lit, another ghost will appear. This one leaves a trail
of fire. 2 or 3 spin attacks should do him in..after defeating him, go
2 rooms to the left.

This room was cursed before you defeated the ghost. Dive under the
spiked logs to get past them, then go down the stairs. Defeat the knight
that's close to you, then use the magnetic gloves to pull the others
towards you...and release them over the pit. Bwahaha! Cross the bridge
that appears, then go north. Push aside the block and hit the orb (to
turn it red). Go back down, cross the bridge, then go up.

This is a tricky room...use north polarity to pull yourself to the first
rotating s-block, and when you're at the left push yourself away. There
should now be another s-block just to the north of you. Let go of the
magnetic gloves and IMMEDIATELY face up and use north polarity to latch
on to the other s-block. Neat, eh? When you're at the left with this
one, repel yourself, then face up at the right time and latch on to the
other s-block. Repel yourself to the platform with the trampolines. Jump
on the blue one to reach the next floor.

Kill the two stalfos while avoiding the fireballs from the torches. The
door opens when they're both dead. Drop back into the hole, then hop
onto to red trampline to bounce TWO floors up! Carefully hop over the
spikes, then drop into the hole on the north side. Go north.

Kill the keese here, just to get them out of the way. Carefully jump
onto this fast-moving platform, then to the treasure on the center
platform. Open it to get the ROC'S CAPE! This allows you to jump further
than before, and it replaces your Roc's Feather. Try it out: Press and
hold the button to do a 'double jump' over the gap. Go down and fall
into the hole.

Jump over the platforms here and go south, then right, then up the
stairs. Passed the spiked logs and into the next room, then north, and
down the stairs again. Use the magnetic gloves, like last time, then
continue to the next room and cross the bridge. At the right side of
this room, use your new Roc's Cape to cross these two big holes.

In the next room, attract the enemies towards you with the magnetic
gloves, then defeat them all to make a trampoline appear. Push it three
tiles upwards, then jump on it, onto the moving platform. Go up the
steps, then use the magnetic gloves to push the N-ball to the left and
off the ledge. Jump off the ledge. Use the N-ball to hold down the
switch here. Open the chest for a small key.

Go left. Find the armos statue that doesn't come to life and use it to
hold down the switch. Then go 2 rooms south, 1 room left, and down the
stairs again. Use your key on the keyhole block, but wait until all the
tiles are finished attacking you before you proceed. Then go south
through the room.

Continue on the long path and drop into the pit of muldorms at the end.
Be careful not to stand on any tile for more than a second, or else it
will crumble. Defeat the muldorms to open the door, then go on south.
Use the pegasus seeds combines with the Roc's Cape to make this loooong
jump. Hit the switch to open the door. Make the return jump, push the
block out of the way, and go right to the next room.

Mini-boss time, once again. It's those ghosts that were cursing those
other rooms. See the boss section for details. After defeating them, go
right.

Ah, this looks like fun. Lots and lots of stairs. Our aim here is to get
to the top-right corner of B2F. It's a process of trial and error...just
keep trying and erroring until you get there. Then go north.

Another puzzle with the rotating s-blocks. Use north polarity to latch
on to the first s-block, then repel yourself to the right. Switch
polarity and latch onto the one at the lower left (really quickly, just
like last time), then repel yourself north to the cracked floor. Don't
stay on a cracked tile for more than a second! Use roc's cape to jump
south to the next platform, then onto the moving platform, go north at
the left path to the next room. Jump from platform to platform here,
killing all the enemies in the room, then collect the key that drops
down. Return south.

Jump onto the moving platform, then jump to the path at the right. Go to
the end of the path, then push the block UPWARDS. Go north, and into the
locked door. Jump north over the gap, the continue on the path until you
reach a room with 3 switches. Notice there are statues beside them...
signifying the order that you should step on the switches! Hit the
lowest one first (use the pegasus seeds with roc's feather for the big
jump), then the top one (just the roc's cape will do), then the one in
the center. A platform is created at the right so you can jump over
it.

Go up that path, then hit the switch to make a trampoline appear. Jump
off the ledge and use the trampoline to jump up UP two floors. Press
down to land on the moving platform. If you sprikle mystery seeds on the
owl statue here, he says "Below me, red. My right, red. Only I shall
shine blue." Jump off to the right, then go down the stairs.

Remember the owl's advice. There are four orbs in this room: Two at the
left side and two at the right. Hit them in a way that they are all red
except for the upper one at the left side. Then the door at the north
side will open, for you to proceed...

Kill all four skeleton enemies in this room, careful to avoid the
fireballs bombarding you from all directions. When the enemies are
defeated the torches will leave you alone, and a chest will appear
containing the boss key. Take it and go to the south room, then drop
into the hole.

Go up the steps at the left. Continue on the path all the way until you
reach the room with all the staircases. Take the stairs up, go left and
take the stairs down, then take the stairs at the bottom right corner.
Take the path left and you'll come to the boss door at last. You can
guess what's behind here...

The final boss is a two headed dragon named Gleeok. Just like most of
the bosses in this game, he's quite a toughie. See the boss section for
details. After defeating him, collect the heart container and go left to
get what you're here for. And it looks quite hilariously similar to a
pair of testicles...

It's the seventh Essence of Nature: The SEED OF LIFE. Life begins anew
when birds carry this, the Seed of Life, to new lands! Believe it or
not, only one Essence of Nature remains. You are transported out of the
Explorer's Crypt.

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE EIGHTH ESSENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The Maku Tree grows ever stronger. But this time he sees no dreams...

So you'll have to figure this one out on your own. That isn't too hard
seeing that there's only one big block of unexplored area on the
overworld map.

                   -- TO THE SWORD AND SHIELD MAZE --

Go to the Temple Remains, north of Holodrum Plain (or get there by going
west from Goron Mountain). When you reach a big gap, cross it using
Roc's Cape. You'll reach a sign that indicates "Temple of Seasons".
Proceed north...

Go right and use the tree stump to change the season to autumn. Go 2
screens left, then north (the leaves now cover the space that was
previously a big hole). Continue on the path until you come to another
tree stump. Change the season to winter. Go north, up the steps, then
right. Continue until you reach a vortex to Subrosia.

In Subrosia, go up the steps and enter the cave. The idiot Subrosian
here is throwing all sorts of nice goodies into the lava! Gasha seeds!
Major items! Rings! A piece of heart!!! Oh the humanity...he says it
shoots off huge fireworks. Well, he's never going to make anything
happen with the stuf he's throwing in. Show him how it's done: Throw in
a *bomb*. Kaboom! The volcano erupts, raining fire upon the Temple of
Seasons. Exit the cave and take the vortex back to the overworld.

Go north, then right, then south. Hop onto that tree stump and change
the season to summer. Go right and climb the vines. Continue on the
path...jumping over the lava...until you get to a cave.

Inside, stand on the tile just to the left of the entrance, face north,
and use the magnetic gloves (north polarity) to pull yourself across.
Go right, stand at the rightmost tile, face south, then use the magnetic
gloves (north polarity again) to pull yourself across. Take the stairs
up.

Push the right block down, and the push the others away to clear the
path. Go right, push some more rocks, then head up the stairs. Go one
screen left and go back down the stairs. Simply jump over a few holes,
avoiding the enemies...blah blah...then go up the stairs at the left.
Go two screens right and enter this place.

Ah, how relaxing. Collect the fairies if you wish. Enter the vortex to
Subrosia once again. Climb north up the steps...up, up...until you reach
this scary looking cave. And at last we have found it, the final
dungeon: The Sword and Shield Maze.

                      -- SWORD AND SHIELD MAZE --

Go straight up through the first room, then go to the room at the right.
There's a statue here with no eye...shoot it with the slingshot to give
it an eye and make a small key drop down. Collect it and return to the
previous room. Go north, then continue on the path north again... Use
your magnetic gloves on the enemies here to attract them to you, so you
can hit them with the sword. When they're all defeated, the door opens
for you to continue north.

Kill all the gels here. To kill the beetle-like guy, you'll need the
N-block in the corner. Bomb the cracked blocks to get to it, then use
the magnetic gloves to kill the last enemy...then collect the key that
drops down. Go right. Dangerous room...carefully make your way through
it, continuing right. Use your key on the keyhole block, then go down
the stairs.

Make your way through this maze-like room, and go south. Now you'll need
to watch out for the red hands that drop from the ceiling! If they grab
you you'll be brought back to the dungeon entrance! Make your way past
the spiked rollers, then go down the stairs at the lower-right.

In this side-scrolling place, use Roc's Cape to make your way past the
fast-moving fireballs (you'll need some smart timing there). In the next
screen, jump to the moving platform, then to the left side while
avoiding the fireballs. Go up the ladder at the left.

Jump past the spiked roller while going over the lava here, then go
south. In the next room, avoid the giant switchblades and fire keese...
hit the switch at the right to open the door, then continue right.

Go up the stairs to come to a horrible room with lots of ice and lots of
spikes. Carefully make your way through the path here, then open the
chest for the dungeon compass. Make your way back to the stairs and go
back down.

Go right through the locked door. Step on the rotating thingy to go to
the north path. Go up the steps, left, then drop off the ledge. Return
right to the rotating thingy, and now use it to go to the south path.
Go on to the south room.

The owl statue here says "A silent watch may be needed". So when you
enter the room, do NOT kill any enemies or even swing your sword. Just
wait 5 or 6 seconds and the golden armos statue will come to life and
move out of the way. Go inside there and up the stairs. Head right. Open
the chest for the dungeon map. Wait, see that big N-ball at your north?
Whip out the magnetic gloves and attract it (south polarity), and move
left so that it comes closer to you. Drag it 1 or 2 tiles right. Now
repel it (north polarity) and move it right over the lava as you can.
Then bring it left so that it presses the switch and extends the bridge.
Go left and back down the stairs.

Go right, jump over the stream of lava, then go up the stairs. Head left
to a chest surrounded by blocks and armos statues. Make the statues come
to life and kill them with the boomerang. Push the lower block out of
the way so you can open the chest and get this dungeon's treasure: The
HYPER SLINGSHOT! This replaces your old slingshot...it shoots seeds in
3 directions, while consuming only one seed! Great!

Go right. Take the north path, and jump over the lava to reach the
bridge you extended. Cross it and go down the stairs. Take the path
north, cross over to the other ledge, then go left to the rotating
thingy. Ride it to reach the right path, go right, and open the chest to
get another small key. Return to the rotating thingy and ride it back to
the north path. Go up the steps, and right.

Now go down these steps and use the magnetic gloves (north polarity) to
get over the lava. Continue right. At the right side of this room there
are 3 statues without an eye. Stand about 4 tiles away from the middle
one, then use the hyper slingshot to hit them all at once. Go up the
staircase that appears.

A room full of obviously cracked blocks. Start bombing them away to
clear up the room...and you'll get to a chest surrounded by blocks,
cracked and uncracked. Blow away the cracked ones with bombs, then push
the south one to get to the chest with a small key. Go back downstairs.

Head right through the locked door...and you'll come to this dungeon's
mini-boss. He's another tough one, worth of a final boss in any dungeon.
His name is Frypolar, and details are in the boss section. After
defeating him, go north to the next room.

Use the hyper slingshot to light all 7 torches in this room. First light
the 3 at the left, then the center one, then the 3 at the right. Go up
the stairs that appear, then go north.

Ah, this room is quite a bitch indeed. Had me stumped for a while. There
are 3 blocks of ice here and you'll need to push them around so that
they get to the yellow tiles at the right. Here's what you do: Push the
leftmost block down, then right. Take the upper block and push it down,
then right to the middle tile. Of the two remaining blocks, push the
right one down, right, up, then right to the upper yellow tile. Finally,
push the last block right into the lower yellow tile. A staircase
appears! Go down...

Use Roc's Cape to do some tricky jumps over the ice blocks in the first
screen. Then you'll have to have some quick reflexes jumping over the
conveyer blocks in the second screen. And finally, the third screen has
you jumping over spiked thwomps. Go up the ladder there.

Hit the switch here to extend the bridge, providing easy access to the
rest of the dungeon. But nevermind crossing it now...just go right. Get
past all the enemies and super-fast switchblades (using Roc's Cape might
help). In the next room, use the magical boomerang over the big gap and
control its flight path to hit the orb, extending the bridge. Go south.

Ignore the switch in the center of this room. Just go to the left area
and kill all the enemies (the animal flute kills the bunnies instantly).
After they're all defeated, enter the passage at the bottom-left. Open
the chest in that room for the Boss Key. Then go down to return to that
bitchy ice-room. Hop off the platform and go through the locked door at
the left...and go straight through the next room...

There's a cracked wall on the north side of this room. Bomb it open and
enter. Some kind of phantom armos statue shows you a path on the yellow
tiles. Take note of the path he takes! When he's done, move over the
yellow tiles taking the same path that he did. If you do it right, you
get a small key. Take it and return to the previous room.

Pick up one of those ice crystals and bring it to the south room. Drop
it into the red hole...you'll see it drop to the first floor and freeze
the lava into solid ground! Go down the stairs to get there. Open the
chest for the small key (you should have 2 now). Go to the screen at the
left. You can open the chest for some bombs. Then go up the stairs.

Ride the minecart up to the north room. Go down the stairs at the upper
right. Go right, down, up the stairs, then north back to the room with
the 3 ice crystals. Pick up one of them and ride the minecart in this
room... when it drops you off, put down your crystal for a second and
unlock the keyhole block covering the red hole. Then drop your ice into
this one, freezing the lava below again. Ride the minecart back to the</pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
room with the ice crystals. Take another one of them and ride the
minecart again. When it drops you off, put down the crystal so you can
hit the lever (making if face left and changing the direction of the
tracks). Pick up the chrystal and ride the minecart again. When it drops
you off, simply drop the crystal into the red hole again. Now take the
minecarts all the way back to the room with the crystals.

Pick up yet another crystal and ride the minecart again. When it drops
you off, bring your crystal through the south (possibly locked) door. If
you followed my instructions all the way, another minecart should be
there waiting for you. Take it south and drop this crystal into the
final red hole. Then take the stairs down.

Go right, then north, then take the stairs up. Follow the path right 2
screens and down. Open the chest here for your final small key. Take
the path back, and down the stairs. Then go south, left, and north 2
screens. Use the key on that keyhole block. Just one more screen to the
right and you find yourself in front of the big bad boss door. Whenever
you're ready, equip the sword and roc's cape and enter...

This one is named Medelock. Although he's a nasty boss by normal
Nintendo standards, I was able to defeat him (barely) on my first try.
Refer to the boss section for details. After defeating him, pick up the
heart containter and proceed north to get the last one.

It's the eight Essence of Nature: The CHANGING SEASONS. Scattered seeds
sprout in spring, grow in summer, bear fruit in fall and sleep through
winter. It is an endless cycle of life...the Changing Seasons! And just
like that, you have all eight essences of nature. Give yourself a pat on
the back, but the journey's not over just yet. You are transported out
of the Explorer's Crypt.

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ONOX'S CASTLE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

After being transported out of there, you get another message from the
Maku Tree. He has been "filled with his former power" and wants you to
go see him. Blech, you're still in Subrosia. Go south and find that
vortex back to the overworld. Then use Gale Seeds to transport to Horon
Village and go to the almighty Maku Tree.

Apparently, you've become a true hero that understands the Essences of
Nature. And that gives you the honor of taking the giant Maku Seed. It's
enormous. But you have bigger problems to worry about-- just then you
hear from Onox, who dares you to come over and kick his ass.

So go to him. If you've been a good explorer and uncovered almost
everything you can on the map, there's no problem figuring out where to
go next: There are only 2 blocks on uncharted territory on the map. So
head northwest to the Temple Remains, then north to the Northern Peak.

Where evil forces once ruled, the Maku Seed comes out and repels them
with the Essences of Nature. And just then, Twinrova, our spunky
quasi-villains from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask appear. Then give
you a warning and fly off. Then yet another message from the Maku Tree.
Blah blah blah... just go north and enter Onox's Castle.

                          -- ONOX'S CASTLE --

If you're low on life, go to the room on either the left or the right
(they're both the same thing). Inside there is a fairy, and a room full
of attacking tiles. Deal with the tiles first before getting the fairy,
so you can make up for any damage taken from the tiles. When your life
is full, return to the first room and go north.

Although the doors here are unlocked, you MUST defeat all the enemies in
order to proceed. If you simply go on north, you will find yourself in
the same room over and over again. And don't go to the rooms at the
left or right either, because if you go in them you'll find yourself in
another infinite loop. After defeating all the Wizzrobes, you'll hear a
chime. Go north.

In the next room you'll encounter Facade yet again. Defeat him like you
defeated him before (check out the boss section if you need a review).
After defeating him, get the fairy and go north... and north again...

It's Onox time! You'll have to fight him in a two-phase battle, in which
you will almost definitely need to have the Magic Potion if you want to
survive. See the boss section for the lengthly details about Onox and
his true form, Dark Dragon.

                           -- THE ENDING --

[NOTE: Mucho spoilers ahead. I don't usually give away the ending in my
FAQs, but I barely got 4 hours of sleep last night and I'm feeling
especially cocky today.]

After defeating his first form, Onox reveals himself in his true form:
An enormous dragon (which is strangly un-Zeldaish, yet very Capcomish).
He also reveals that he's not the grand master in this evil operation,
as he was summoned from the Dark Realm by Twinrova.

When his Dark Dragon form is defeated..."Gurrrgh... No... It's too late.
My orders were to capture Din and deliver the destructive power of a
seasonless land to Twinrova. Now, as the Flame of Destruction, that
power is set to devour this land!" Gah ha ha..."

Din comes down in her crystal imprisonment. Walk up to her and she's
free. And the seasons all over Holodrum are returned to normal. All is
well again in the world...or is it? The Twinrova sisters watch the scene
from afar. "Don't think this is the end... Onox has fallen, but the
damage he has done to this land burns on in the Flame of Destruction!
When this flame lights the dark, our wish shall be granted!"

The credits roll, amidst scenes of a a peaceful Holodrum. After the
credits, you are given a lenghly password, the Secret to Labrynna, and
a reminder that your quest is to be continued in The Legend of Zelda:
Oracle of Ages.

That'll do, pig. That'll do.

                             ~  The End  ~

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 3) BOSS STRATEGIES                                                   |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

TWIN MINOTAURS

Location: Gnarled Root Dungeon (Mini-boss)

These guys attack by simply moving around and tossing a boomerang to
each other. For example, if the blue Minotaur throws the boomerang, the
red Minotaur catches it. Then it's the red Minotaur's turn to throw the
boomerang. That's funny...it's not much of a boomerang if it doesn't
return to the person that threw it. Beating these guys is simple enough:
Just hack like crazy with the sword. Focus your attacks on one of them,
because when one is defeated the other one dies as well.

AQUAMENTUS

Location: Gnarled Root Dungeon (Final boss)

Aquamentus looks like the perfect cliché boss. A muscular green dragon
with wings and a horn sticking out of it's forehead. Where's the
originality, Capcom? Anyway, the horn on it's forehead is flashing, so
it's quite obvious that it's the weak spot. Hit the horn with your
sword. Despite the crappiness of his design, he's actually pretty hard
to defeat. He has an attack where energy balls come out from his horn
with barely any warning. There's also an attack where he lowers his head
and charges at you. You'll need quick reflexes to dodge his attacks. My
advice: Go crazy slashing at his horn from the very beginning before he
has much oppurtunity to hurt you.

FACADE

Location: Snake's Remains (Mini-boss)

Long-time Zelda fans will remember Facade as the boss of the Key Cavern
in Link's Awakening. Facade is a face on the dungeon floor. When he
attacks by creating holes in the ground, just be sure not to stay still
so he won't get to you. When he spits fireballs, be wary of the shadows
cast on the floor where the fireballs are about to drop. Another attack
causes bugs to drop from the ceiling, but this can be more of a blessing
since the bugs give you goodies like hearts, rupees, and bombs. Speaking
of bombs, use them on Facade to hurt him. Of course, they only work when
the face appears. Five bombs should do it.

DODONGO

Location: Snake's Remains (Final boss)

THIS is Dodongo? Oh well, disappointing to say the least. Dodongo looked
radically different in Link's Awakening and Ocarina of Time. This guy is
short and stubby. Anyway, he attacks mainly by breathing fire at you
(and gives you a good 2 seconds to warn you about it). He also
occationally attacks by charging (which can be anticipated by the faster
movement of his feet). See when he opens his mouth when he's about to
breath fire? There's a reason he keeps it open for so long. When he does
that, throw bombs into his mouth. Then when he inflates like a balloon,
pick him up with the Power Bracelet and throw him into the spikes. Three
times is enough to defeat him.

CALAMAREYE

Location: Poison Moth's Lair (Mini-boss)

There are actually three squid-type things that pop out of the puddles
in the room. Each time they pop out they will attack you by spitting a
single fireball. It isn't too hard to beat them, as long as you know
how. These guys are invincible in the water, so what you need to do is
get them *out* of the water. Pick it up when it pops out of the water
(Power Bracelet) and throw it somewhere else. While it's jumping around,
attack it with the sword to hurt it. Continue that pattern until all
three of them are dead.

MOTHULA

Location: Poison Moth's Lair (Final boss)

Suprise, suprise. The final boss of Poison Moth's Lair is a moth! There
are pits in the room, so if you fall into one use the trampoline to get
back up. Mothula flies around the room quickly and shoots fireballs at
you. Stay on the platforms at the center (and equip Roc's Feather so you
can get around easily). Mothula also attacks by sending baby moths at
you. There are no secrets to be found here: Kill Mothula by simply
hitting it with the sword. Still, it's quite a hard fight if you ask me.
If you get low on hearts, get some by killing the baby moths. And if you
fall into the pit, you'll just need to use the trampoline to get back up
(and I think Mothula's health would be replenished).

AGAHNIM

Location: Dancing Dragon Dungeon (Mini-boss)

Yes, it's Agahnim from 'A Link to the Past' for a cameo appearance. And
after being defeated twice in LttP, he's been degraded to a mini-boss.
But he's different from how we've previously seen him, as you can't
deflect the energy balls back at him. Instead it's back to the old
mindless slashing technique. Use ember seeds to keep the torches lit...
you can't attack Agahnim when it's dark. Get more seeds from the corners
of the room if you're running low. Three Agahnims appear, but only the
one with a *shadow* under him is the real one. Just be careful to avoid
the energy balls that are thrown around. The best time to attack is
before they throw the energy balls. After seven hits from your sword,
Agahnim is no more.

GOHMA

Location: Dancing Dragon Dungeon (Final boss)

Gohma is a popular classic Zelda boss you may remember from 'Link's
Awakening' and 'Ocarina of Time'. This one has a deadly pincer that it
uses to attack you. First of all, you need to attack the pincer until
if falls off. That thing is scary...if Gohma raises it, quickly raise
your shield because she's about to charge and grab you. If she does, it
will cost you TWO hearts! Ouch...use of the shield is very very
important here if your want to live. After the pincer is destroyed, go
for the eye with the slingshot. Gohma will release some babies at you,
which may actually work to your advantage because of the items you might
get from them. Keep shooting at the eye until Gohma is defeated.

THE GREAT MOBLIN

Location: Moblin's Keep

This strange fellow rules over Moblin's Keep. He attacks by throwing big
bombs at you. They don't hurt you if you touch them, but just don't be
around when they explode. You need to use the power bracelet to pick up
these bombs and throw them back at him. After five explosions he turns
grey and flat out tells you how to defeat him. Hit him one more time
while he has a bomb in his hand. He'll drop it, blow up all the bombs
behind him, and destroy his own keep.

SYGER

Location: Unicorn's Cave (mini-boss)

Syger looks like some kind of saber tooth tiger with a ball at the end
of his tail. His only attack is turning into a spiked ball and rapidly
attacking you. The 'spiked ball attacks' come in many forms. Sometimes
he comes charging at you, and  other times he patrols the room in a
spiral. I don't think there's anyway of predicting how he will move. He
moves very quickly, so I suggest using pegasus seeds so you can quickly
avoid him. To attack him, slash at his tail when he's not in spiked ball
form. It's really hard because without warning he can suddenly just
attack you. Keep slashing at the tail until he's defeated.

DIGDOGGER

Location: Unicorn's Cave (final boss)

This boss is a really ugly creature... some kind of hairy beatle with a
single huge eye. In it's normal form, it just bounces around the room.
Occasionally, it jumps high in the air and drops down on your location.
There's a large spiked ball at the upper-right corner of the room. You
can attract it with north polarity and repel it with south polarity. So
use the magnetic boots and maneuver the ball to hit Digdogger. It's
really tough at first, but you'll get the hang of it. When it gets hit
4 times, it splits up into lots of smaller creatures. You can either hit
them with the sword or continue hitting them with the spiked ball (I
prefer the spiked ball). In a few seconds, they combine into the normal
form again. When all the little guys are destroyed, Digdogger is
defeated.

VIRE

Location: Ancient Ruins (mini-boss)

Onox's loyal henchman. For such an important position he's rather
disappointing mini-boss. He's looks like a gargoyle...come to think of
it I have a feeling I've seen him in another game. Anyway, he comes in
and out of the room, usually staying near the sides. He doesn't do much
really, except for occassionally throw energy balls at you. And if
you're lucky he'll fly at you, giving you a golden oppurtunity to hit
him. Just walk up to him and slash away with the sword. After about 6
hits he splits up into 2 small bats. They fly around and suddenly charge
at you. Just keep your sword extended, let it charge up, then release a
spin attack when they come flying at you. Defeat them, and Vire is no
more.

MANHANDLA

Location: Ancient Ruins (final boss)

This boss reminds me of the creature from Little Shop of Horrors (or I
think it does..it's been so long since I've seen that movie). He looks
like one of those electric gel enemies with four Mario-style piranha
plants on his head. The four heads shoot energy balls at you, and the
whole thing seems to move around randomly. To make things worse is the
shifting sand floor. First you'll need to defeat the four heads with the
boomerang. They can only be hurt when their mouth is open, so you'll
need a combination of good aim, skill, timing, and luck. With each head
you kill, he moves faster (but at least you'll have less fireballs to
worry about). When all the heads are defeated, keep attacking the gel
with to boomerang. You need to attack it with rapid fire so that it
splits apart revealing some kind of crystal inside. Slash at that
crystal with the sword and Manhandla is no more.

GHINIS

Location: Explorer's Crypt (mini-boss)

These are the ghosts you encountered earlier in the dungeon. There are
four torches in the room. The ghosts will try to put out the light...but
don't let them! If all the light in the torches is put out, you will be
transported to the entrance of the dungeon! Just make sure that at least
one of them is always lit. And at the same time, you'll need to do
battle with these guys. Just slash at them with the sword. The two of
them attack just like they did when you faced them before...one of them
charges at you, the other leaves a trail of fire. If you need ember
seeds get them from the plants at the center of the room. The battle
isn't over until both of them are defeated.

GLEEOK

Location: Explorer's Crypt (final boss)

This boss is a quite a difficult one. He's a dragon with two heads that
spits fire out at you. In the first part of the battle, he attacks by
spitting fire in three directions at you. What you need to do here is
slash at the head until it comes flying off. But that's not enough...
when a head comes off, it goes flying around for a few seconds then
reattaches itself. What you need to do is cut BOTH heads off at the same
time. I suggest coming at him with the sword charged and unleashing a
spin attack. Each time Gleeok is hit he unleashes another fire attack.
When both heads are detached from the body, it becomes a skeleton and
the second part of the battle begins. This skeleton jumps into the air
and hits the ground, stunning you. To avoid being stunned, jump into the
air so you're not on the ground when he hits the floor. Then he'll come
charging at you...move slightly out of his way and hit him with the
sword. Continue that until he is defeated.

FRYPOLAR

Location: Sword and Shield Maze (mini-boss)

The owl statue gives you an extremely vague hint about defeating
Frypolar: "Icy cores make piercing blades". This boss has two forms.
When he's a blue flame, a shadow comes out from him and becomes a blade
of ice that stabs from beneath the ground. When he's in this form,
damage him by shooting ember seeds at him. When he's a red flame, he
throws lines of fire at you, two at a time. Damaging him in this mode
isn't nearly as simple: Blue flame, hit one of the ice swords with
mystery seeds to make it some kind of rock, then hit Frypolar with
mystery seeds to make him change form (or alternatively, you could
simply wait for him to change form). Then pick up the ice rock using
the power bracelet, and throw it at Frypolar in his red flame mode. Just
continue this process until he's defeated.

MEDELOCK

Location: Sword and Shield Maze (final boss)

This boss is kinda greenish with snake-like hairs...looks a bit like the
Pokemon Misdreavus. Defeating him is simple enough: Just slash at him
with the sword while avoiding his attacks. The best way to avoid his
attacks is with the Roc's Cape. There are 3 major attacks. In the first
type, he simply spits out fireballs at you...a lot of fireballs. It's
difficult to avoid staying on the ground, so just use the cape. In the
second attack, he teleports to the center of the room and lets out a
whirl of attack, which you should jump over. And in the third attack he
teleports to an upper corner of the room, shoots out a laser and sweeps
across the room. Just use quick reflexes to avoid these attacks, and
attack him whenever he's vulnerable.

ONOX

Location: Onox's Castle

We all know Onox. He's the king of darkness, the master of disaster, the
big kahuna...or so we are led to believe. Anyway, in his first form he
can only be defeated by spin attacks. Regular slashes with the sword
don't even faze him. All the while, he is swinging a giant mace around
that he occassionally uses to attack you. His other attacks are a stomp
that causes an avalanche of boulders to rain down, and an attack where
whirlwinds come out to attack you. The pegasus seeds are a big help in
avoiding the attacks and getting to Onox. After 7 hits by spin attacks,
he'll use Din in her crystal as a shield. Knock her aside with the Rod
of Seasons, then continue coming at Onox with Spin Attacks. After 7 more
spin attack hits, he will be defeated. At least in this form. Because he
wastes no time in turning into his true form...

DARK DRAGON

Location: Onox's Castle

My God, this boss is huge for a Game Boy game. For some reason, it
doesn't seem right for a Zelda game, yet it reminds me of its Capcom
roots. This huge guy occassionally attacks you by stomping his hand on
the ground. When that happens, jump onto the back of his hand and let it
lift you up. Then jump at his head and slash the red thing on his face
to hurt him. Continue this process until he's dead (it takes a mind-
boggling 15 hits or so). He has other attacks too, like his blue fire
that he spits at you from his mouth. To avoid those, stand still and
move out of the way just after he spits the fire (and you can jump over
it when its on the floor). In another attack, he goes to the top of the
screen and rapidly shoots fireballs at you. Just avoid those by moving
out of the way (pegasus seeds may help). And for his swipe attack, he
swipes his hand across the screen, and you must go to the opposide side
from where the hand is coming from. This is a very long battle, I know.

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 4) SIDE-QUESTS                                                       |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE TRADING SEQUENCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The Trading Sequence is a Zelda tradition that started with the original
Link's Awakening. Here you get seemingly ordinary items from regular
people and trade them for another item, which you in turn trade for yet
another item. This routine continues for a long time and at the end you
get a special item.

In this case, the special item is the Noble Sword. Not only is it more
powerful than the wooden sword, it also shoots out beams when your heart
containers are full.

GETTING THE CUCCODEX: In the south-east corner of Horon Village there's
a little house with a pond (the map labels it as "Biologist's Home").
The light in the house is too dim to read by, and the guy want's you to
"light his fire". All sexual joking aside, light his lamp with an ember
seed to get the Cuccodex.

GETTING THE LON LON EGG: In North Horon (marked on the map as "Talon and
Malon's house), a little girl lives in a hut to raise cuccos by herself.
Give her the Cuccudex in exchange for the Lon Lon Egg, which is
apparently a beauty aid in some sick, twisted way.

GETTING THE GHASTLY DOLL: Next time Maple comes flying along, bump into
her and you'll drop the Lon Lon Egg. She wants it... it's all the rage
with the girls. In exchange, she gives you the Ghastly doll.

GETTING THE IRON POT: In Holodrum Plain (marked on the map as "Mrs.
Ruul's Villa"), a woman is hot and wants something creepy to send chills
down her spine. Yeah, it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard too.
She'll take your Ghastly Doll and give you an Iron Pot.

GETTING THE LAVA SOUP: In western Subrosia (marked on the map as
"Subrosian Chef's Kitchen"), a guy wants to make lava soup but doesn't
have a pot, one of the main ingredients. Give him the pot and he returns
lava soup.

GETTING THE GORON POT: A tribe of Gorons live up in Goron Mountain. The
biggest Goron of them all, Biggoron, lives at the top of the mountain
where he's developed a cold. Give him the lava soup to cure his colds,
and in return you will recieve the covetted Goron Pot.

GETTING THE FISH: Ingo, a strange eccentric guy in west Sunken City,
collects vases. All he wants is the precious Goron Pot, but as much as
he pleads to Biggoron, he doesn't get it. He begs you to give him the
Goron Pot... and in return gives you his dinner, a fish. Market fresh!

GETTING THE MEGAPHONE: In North Horon, surely you've come across an old
man with his cat stuck in a tree. If only he had it's favorite food--
fish. Use the fish to get poor Mittens out of the tree, and as thanks
he'll give you his megaphone.

GETTING THE MUSHROOM: In Mt. Cucco, go to the cave in the screen just to
the left of the Dancing Dungeon Dragon entrance. Talon is inside,
sleeping...and if you simply talk to him he won't wake up! Use the
Megaphone to wake him up. He hurries off to Malon, taking your megaphone
and leaving behind a mushroom.

GETTING THE WOODEN BIRD: In the Sunken City, change the season to
winter. A mound of snow creates a path to the Witch's Hut! Inside, the
witch will take your mushroom in exchange for a wooden bird. She also
opens up her shop, which sells Gasha seeds and Magic Potions.

GETTING THE ENGINE GREASE: Inside the Horon Village Clock Shop, the
clock maker wants to make a cucco clock like never before... but he just
can't find the perfect wooden bird. One that's just breathtaking... like
yours! Give it to him and get the engine grease in return.

GETTING THE PHONOGRAPH: Just to the right of Horon Village, enter the
cave. Go up the stairs at the left to a guy beside a windmill. He wants
the windmill to go faster, so if you give him your engine grease it'll
really turn! He gives you a phonograph.

GETTING THE NOBLE SWORD: Somewhere in the Lost Woods (past the Tarm
Ruins) there's a lonely-looking sapling. Burn it down to uncover a
secret stairway beneath it. Inside you'll find a music-loving Deku Scrub
who apparently likes your Phonograph. Play it for him and he will tell
you the way to his secret spot: "If temperatures rise as you go far to
the west, you'll find it!". Go back up the stairs, then go up and left
to the part of the Lost Woods that is always repeating. Now follow the
Deku Scrub's advise. Go west making the season warmer every screen. In
simple directions: Chnage the season to winter, go west, change the
season to fall, go west, change the season to spring, go west, change
the season to summer, and go west. And you finally find the sacred Noble
Sword!

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ITEM UPGRADES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

RING BOX UPGRADE:
In Goron Mountain, there's a section of wall that can be blown open with
a bomb. Inside, follow the path around the lava and go up the stairs.
Go right, climb the steps, and enter the cave. Go through the cave and
when you come out there are some really tough enemies you'll need to get
by. Get by them, drop off the ledge, and enter the cave. Inside, a Goron
child thanks you for visiting him. And what a generous guy, he offers to
upgrade your Ring Box.

SEED SACHEL UPGRADE:
If you don't already have the Horon Shop Member's Card, buy it from the
Subrosian Market for a measly 5 Ore Chunks. In the Horon Shop, go to the
basement and you can buy the Super Seed Sachel for a whopping 300
rupees. It's quite expensive, but it holds up to 50 seeds of each type.
A huge improvement over the 20 seeds of the regular seed sachel.

BOMB BAG UPGRADE:
In the Subrosia Market, a bigger bomb bag is available for only 10 bombs
and 50 ore chunks. What a great deal... God bless the Subrosia Market!
It looks like a red bomb. You pick it up and it explodes (not hurting
you, though). You can now carry up to 30 bombs!

IRON SHIELD:
In to get the Iron Shield, you must first get the Blue and Red Ores,
both found in Subrosia.
 Blue Ore - In far-western Subrosia, there's an area full of holes and
    metal s-blocks. Just to the right of that area is a chest where
    you'll find the Blue Ore.
 Red Ore - Now go all the way to the east side of Subrosia...in the
    screen just south-west of the Great Furnace, there's a really long
    hole. Cross it using the magnetic gloves. Enter the cave, then
    follow the path upstairs. Outside is a chest containing the Red Ore.
When you have them both, bring them to the Great Furnace in east
Subrosia. Talk to the master inside to have the fused into the Hard Ore!
Next stop is the Subrosian Smithy, at the west side of Subrosia. Talk to
the guy at the counter and tell him to "Do whatever". The blacksmiths
do their thing, and forge your cheap wooden shield into the iron shield!
It can block more projectiles, and looks a lot cooler. It can still be
eaten by Like Likes though.

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< FOUR GOLDEN BEASTS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

In North Horon, use the tree stump to change the season to summer, then
go west to the screen south of the entrance to the Gnarled Root Dungeon.
Enter the stairs there and you'll find a wierd old man who says that
he'll grant you his power if you slay the four golden beasts.

These golden beasts are found throughout Holodrum and take a lot of hits
to defeat.

1) GOLDEN DARKNUT - In the eastern-most screen of the Western Coast.
      Found only in the *spring* (use the tree stump near the pirate
      ship).

2) GOLDEN OCTOROK - Use the tree stump near the Poison Moth's Lair
      entrance to change the season to *summer*. Then go all the way
      down to the south-westernmost corner of Spool Swamp.

3) GOLDEN MOBLIN - In the Woods of Winter, change the season to *autumn*
      and you'll find the Golden Moblin in the screen just right of the
      entrance to Snake's Remains. You may actually have to go through
      Snake's Remains to get to the tree stump :P

4) GOLDEN LYNEL - In the Tarm Ruins, change the season to *winter* using
      the tree stump beside the pond with Armos Statues. Then go right
      1 screen to meet the Golden Lynel.

Return to the wierd old man and he will give you a ring, which when
appraised becomes the Red Ring. It doubles your sword damage! The old
man tells you not to be tempted to abuse it, but go ahead and abuse it
all you want. It will especially make boss battles a lot easier.

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 5) HEART PIECE LOCATIONS                                             |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

Pieces of Heart are scattered all around the world. There are 12 of
them in all, but you don't have to get all of them. In fact, you can
beat the game without getting any of them at all! For every 4 pieces you
find, you gain a whole heart container.

1. HORON VILLAGE. Along the path there's a piece of heart in plain view,
blocked by a sapling. After getting through the Gnarled Root Dungeon,
you can use the ember seeds to burn the sapling to get to the heart
piece. If you had trouble finding that one, I pity you.

2. WOODS OF WINTER. At the south-east corner of the Woods of Winter
there's a heart piece, once again in plain view, but blocks by a rock
and deep water. You can get it when you have the power glove, after
getting through the Snakes Remains dungeon.

3. SUBROSIA. In the Subrosia Market they sell a "Rare Peach Stone"...
which is obviously an upside-down piece of heart! And what a bargain
it is for the low low price of 20 Ore Chunks and 10 Ember seeds!

4. MT. CUCCO. Use the tree stump to change the season to Spring, so that
the flowers will bloom. Go left to the flower, and use it to spit you to
the higher ledge. Go up and two screens right, then drop off of the
ledge to get the piece of heart.

5. EASTERN SUBURBS. The Eastern Suburbs are just to the right of Horon
Village. There's a tree stump two screens to the right of Horon Village.
Use it to change the season to winter. Go across the path of snow in
the north. Enter the cave and there you'll find a piece of heart.

6. GASHA NUT. One of the random prizes that you get from a Gasha Nut is
a Piece of Heart. It only appears once, so don't go looking for more
heart pieces from Gasha nuts after getting this one :P

7. MAPLE. One of the random things that Maple may drop when you bump
into her is a piece of heart. Like heart piece #6, this is a once-only
event. You can use the Maple ring to increase Maple appearances.

8. SPOOL SWAMP. Go to the Spool Swamp in Summer, Fall or Winter and
you'll see a heart surrounded by rocks or coral or something. But go
there in the Spring (use the log just south of the Poison Moth's Lair
entrance), and the heart piece will be open for you to collect in the
rapids.

9. GREAT MOBLIN'S KEEP. Use your animal buddy to get to the Great
Moblin's Keep, east of the Natzu River/Prairie/Wasteland. Once inside,
you'll do battle with the Great Moblin. See the boss section for
details. After he is defeated, open the chest among the ruins to get a
piece of heart.

10. GRAVEYARD. After getting the Roc's Cape from the Explorer's Crypt,
go to the screen just north of the pirate ship. Go through the house to
the stump, then change the season to autumn. Now go south of the
graveyard, where there's a cave in the ledge. Use Roc's Cape to cross
the gap, then continue on to the graveyard. Beside the Explorer's Crypt,
toss aside the mushrooms and get the piece of heart.

11. TEMPLE REMAINS. After erupting the volcano in Subrosia and causing
lava to rain on the temple, go to the screen north of the vortex to
Subrosia. Bomb the crack in the wall to open up a cave. Inside, jump
from platform to platform over the lava here and collect the heart
piece.

12. EYEGLASS LAKE. Use the tree stump in Eyeglass Lake to change the
season into summer, drying up the lake. Go right 1 screen, down 2
screens, and enter the now dry lake. Go north and pick up the rock to
discover a cave. Take the straightforward path downstairs, and
downstairs, until you find a chest with a piece of heart.

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 6) GASHA SEEDS                                                       |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

The Gasha seed system is a neat little feature in this game. The Mayor
of Horon Village explains the system quite nicely: "If you plant one in
soft earth, it will grow into a tree that bears nuts! Inside those nuts,
you'll find all sorts of things! It's so fun I can't help myself"

The longer you wait before getting the nut, the better your reward is.
These are some of the things I found inside Gasha nuts: A ring, 200
rupees, a fairy, a potion, a piece of heart, 5 hearts.

This first part of this section is a *partial* list of some locations of
Gasha seeds. The second part tells you locations of the soft soil where
you can plant them.

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< GASHA SEED LOCATIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

1. HORON VILLAGE. Ruul, the Mayor of Horon Village, gives you a Gasha
seed when you talk to him for the first time. Sucker...

2. SUBROSIA. Play the mini-game in the Subrosian Dance Hall. If you
successfully complete the dance, one of the possible prizes is a Gasha
seed.

3. SNAKE'S REMAINS. A room in the south-east corner of the dungeon leads
to a high ledge outside, where you'll find a chest containing a Gash
seed.

4. HORON VILLAGE. In the Mayor's house there's a cracked wall at the
right side. Blow it open with a bomb and inside you'll find a Gasha
seed.

5. POISON MOTH'S LAIR. There's a chest with a Gasha seed inside. Hmm...
I can't give concise instructions on how to get there... just use the
compass. Look around ;)

6. HERO'S CAVE. In one of the rooms there are 4 blocks that form a
rectangle. Kill all the keese, then push the block at the upper-left.
Go down the stairs that appear to find your Gasha seed.

7. SUBROSIA. There's a cave near the north-west corner of Subrosia.
Inside there is nothing more than a single chest. And inside the chest
is a Gasha Seed.

8. HORON VILLAGE. As you progress through the game, the Maku Tree grows
bigger, developing more branches. It develops branches on which you will
find more Gasha seeds.

9. SUNKEN CITY. There's a cave in some deep water that you use vines to
climb up to. Inside, there's a chest containing a Gasha Seed.

10. WOODS OF WINTER. There's a cave in the Woods of Winter...inside you
need to cross some deep water to get to a chest containing a Gasha Seed.

11. SUBROSIA. In a southern part of the Subrosian Village, there's a
hut. And inside is a Gasha seed in plain sight in the upper-left corner.
You need Roc's Feather to jump over the lava and get it.

12. SUBROSIA. In the southeast part of the village, there's a stairway
to a side-scrolling cave that leads to the Tower of Spring. In that cave
there's a Gasha Seed.

13. HORON VILLAGE. Get the Member's Card from the Subrosian Market, and
in the member's section of the Horon Village Shop you can buy a Gasha
Seed for 300 rupees.

14. SUBROSIA. After buying the heart piece and big bomb bag, a Gasha
seed will be available at the Subrosia Market for the price of 40 ore
chunks and 20 scent seeds. Then for 100 ore chunks and 20 scent seeds.

15. SUNKEN CITY. After you give the mushroom to the witch (part of the
trading sequence, see the mini-quest section for details), her store
will open and you can buy some expensive Gasha seeds.

16. NORTH HORON. Change the season to autumn, then go two screens right
from Impa's House. The autumn leaves cover up the pits so you can get
to the chest, which contains a Gahsa seed.

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< SOFT SOIL LOCATIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

1. HORON VILLAGE. Outside of the Mayor's house in the north-east corner
of the village.

2. NORTH HORON. Simply go one screen north from Impa's House, and
there's your soft soil surrounded by bushes.

3. WOODS OF WINTER. In the screen above the one with lots of Like Likes,
there's a big clump of bushes. Cut them down and you'll find soft soil.

4. HOLODRUM PLAIN. There's a screen with lots of pink flowers and four
bushes that form a diamond. Use the shovel to dig inside the diamond and
reveal some soft soil.

5. SPOOL SWAMP. It's in the screen left of where you'll find the keyhole
for the Floodgate key. Lift the rock to find the soft soil.

6. SPOOL SWAMP. In the screen south of where you find the vortex to
Subrosia. There's soft soil hidden under the rock in the corner.

7. EYEGLASS LAKE. In the grounds around Eyeglass lake, there's a place
that is winter. Go to the screen north of the one with the tree stump...
dig near the north where it is surrounded by bushes.

8. SUNKEN CITY. At the northeast corner of the village (above the water-
fall), there's a house with a bush beside it. Soft soil is under the
bush.

9. MT. CUCCO. From the Natzu river, swim up to the lower part of Goron
Mountain, then go right until you reach Mt. Cucco. There's soft soil
surrounded by rocks.

10. HOLODRUM PLAIN. In the waters to the east of Holodrum Plain, there's
a screen with a solitary island. On that island, hidden under the
bushes, is a soft soil spot.

11. GORON MOUNTAIN. There's a soft soil location at the base of Goron
Mountain, beside a large hole. Just go north from the Natzu area.

12. MT. CUCCO. At the north-east corner of Mt. Cucco (where the flying
cucco is), there's a patch of soft soil. It's behind rock mushrooms, so
you can only get there in autumn.

13. TARM RUINS. In the area two screens south and two screens right of
the Ancient Ruins, dig in the grassy part to find some soft soil.

14. SAMASA DESERT. In the south-eastern corner of the desert, there's
a soft soil spot nestled behind some lovely cacti.

15. WESTERN COAST. In the absolute south-westernmost corner of Holodrum,
there's a soft soil spot in plain sight. Just south of the graveyard.

16. TEMPLE REMAINS. In the screen you're at right after you enter the
Temple Remains through the hollow log, there's a soft soil spot if you
dig two spaces to the right from the upper statue at the left.

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 7) RINGS                                                             |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

The ring system is another neat feature of the oracle games. I'll leave
it to Vasu the jeweler to explain this one: "Rings made from Mystical
Seeds have very mystical powers. If you wear one, it's mystical power
will be passed to you. But you must keep it in your Ring Box. The
mystical power will gradually weaken and you won't be able to use it."

Rings are found all over the world. But until you get a ring appraised
and it's power revealed by Vasu in Horon Village, you cannot wear it.
It costs 20 rupees to appraise a ring. If it turns out to be a ring you
already have, Vasu will buy it for 30 rupees.

The level 1 ring box, which can hold 1 ring, is given to you when you
first talk to Vasu.

This is a list of all 64 rings found in the Oracle games. Some can only
be found in Ages, some can only be found in Seasons. Currently, I don't
have the locations of all the rings. Why? Because I simply don't know
where I got them. I don't even know what ring I have until they're
appraised. Just take what I give you and be happy.

#01   Friendship Ring        Symbol of a meeting
#02   Power Ring L-1         Sword damage +; Damage taken +
#03   Power Ring L-2         Sword damage ++; Damage taken ++
#04   Power Ring L-3         Sword damage +++; Damage taken +++
#05   Armor Ring L-1         Damage taken -; Sword power -
#06   Armor Ring L-2         Damage taken --; Sword power --
#07   Armor Ring L-3         Damage taken ---; Sword power ---
#08   Red Ring               Sword damage x2
#09   Blue Ring              Damage taken 1/2
#10   Green Ring             Sword damage +; Damage taken -
#11   Cursed Ring            1/2 Sword damage; Damage taken x2
#12   Expert's Ring          Punch when not equipped
#13   Blast Ring             Bomb damage +
#14   Rang Ring L-1          Boomerang damage +
#15   GBA Time Ring          Life Advanced!
#16   Maple's Ring           Maple meetings +
#17   Steadfast Ring         Get knocked back less
#18   Pegasus Ring           Lengthen Pegasus Seed effect
#19   Toss Ring              Throwing distance +
#20   Heart Ring L-1         Sloiwly recover lost Hearts
#21   Heart Ring L-2         Recover lost Hearts
#22   Swimmer's Ring         Swimming speed +
#23   Charge Ring            Spin attack charges quickly
#24   Light Ring L-1         Sword beams at -2 hearts
#25   Light Ring L-2         Sword beams at -3 hearts
#26   Bomber's Ring          Set two Bombs at once
#27   Green Luck Ring        1/2 damage from traps
#28   Blue Luck Ring         1/2 damage from beams
#29   Gold Luck Ring         1/2 damage from falls
#30   Red Luck Ring          1/2 damage from spiked floors
#31   Green Holy Ring        No damage from electricity
#32   Blue Holy Ring         No damage from Zora's fire
#33   Red Holy Ring          No damage from small rocks
#34   Snowshoe Ring          No sliding on ice
#35   Roc's Ring             Cracked floors don't crumble
#36   Quicksand Ring         No sinking in quicksand
#37   Red Joy Ring           Beasts drop double rupees
#38   Blue Joy Ring          Beasts drop double hearts
#39   Gold Joy Ring          Find double items
#40   Green Joy Ring         Find double ore chunks
#41   Discovery Ring         Sense soft earth nearby
#42   Rang Ring L-2          Boomerang damage ++
#43   Octo Ring              Become an Octorok
#44   Moblin Ring            Become a Moblin
#45   Like Like Ring         Become a Like Like
#46   Subrosian Ring         Become a Subrosian
#47   First Gen Ring         Become something
#48   Spin Ring              Double spin attack
#49   Bombproof Ring         No damage from your own bombs
#50   Energy Ring            Beam replaces spin attack
#51   Dbl. Edge Ring         Sword damage up but you get hurt
#52   GBA Nature Ring        Life advanced!
#53   Slayer's Ring          1000 beasts slain
#54   Rupee Ring             10,000 rupees collected
#55   Victory Ring           The Evil King Ganon defeated
#56   Sign Ring              100 signs broken
#57   100th Ring             100 rings appraised
#58   Whisp Ring             No effect from jinxes
#59   Gasha Ring             Grow great Gasha trees
#60   Peace Ring             No explosion if holding Bomb
#61   Zora Ring              Dive without breathing
#62   Fist Ring              Punch when not equipped
#63   Whimsical Ring         Sword damage -. Sometimes deadly
#64   Protection Ring        Damage taken is always one heart

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 8) ITEMS                                                             |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< A & B BUTTON ITEMS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

SWORD:
This is Link's weapon of choice. It's a good idea to have it equipped
almost ALL the time because you'll always be using it. Hold down the
button to charge it, then release to unleash a spin attack
 Wooden Sword - Found in the Hero's Cave at the beginning of the game.
    It's the weakest and most basic sword.
 Noble Sword - Complete the trading sequence to get this one. It shoots
    beams when you have full energy, and it can destroy pots and signs
    in a single slash.

SHIELD:
The dhield is used to deflect certain projectile attacks. You'll need to
hold it up to use it, unlike in A Link to the Past.
 Wooden Shield - Buy it from the Horon Village shop for 30 rupees, or
    from Deku Skrubs for 50 rupees. It's the weakest shield, and can get
    stolen by Like Likes.
 Iron Shield - Give the Hard Ore (made by fusing the Red and Blue Ores)
    to the Subrosian Blacksmith and he will forge you a knew shield.
    This one is stronger and can block more types of projectiles.

SEED SACHEL:
You find the Seed Sachel in the Gnarled Root dungeon. It initially holds
20 seeds of each type. You can later buy an upgrade at the Horon Shop
that holds 50 seeds of each type. There are 5 types of seeds:
 Ember Seeds - These seeds make fire. They are used to light torches
    and defeat certain types of enemies.
 Scent Seeds - These seeds give off a scent that attracts monsters. I
    don't know why you would want to do that, but okay...
 Pegasus Seeds - Use these seeds to move much faster than usual. They
    last a few seconds, and are useful when you're in a hurry.
 Gale Seeds - These wonderful seeds instantly transport you to certain
    points on the map. Great for getting around the world quickly.
 Mystery Seeds - Sprinkly these on the blue owl statues and it will
    give you a helpful hint.

BOMBS:
These are Zelda fundamentals...used for blowing open holes in cracked
walls, destroying some rocks, and occassionally for defeating certain
enemies. Also a rather unhealthy snack for Dodongos. Buy them in shops,
or find them in chests all over the place.

SHOVEL:
You get this item from a girl in the Woods of Winter. It's used to dig
holes in the ground to discover underground goodies, or to shovel snow
out of the way.

POWER BRACELET:
This is found in the Snake's Remains dungeon, and gives you the ability
to lift and throw things, like pots and rocks. It can also be used to
push or pull certain heavy objects.

ROC'S FEATHER/ROC'S CAPE:
Find this one in the Poison Moth Lair. It gives you the power to jump,
which seems to be exclusive to the Game Boy Zeldas. When used together
with the Pegasus Seeds, you can jump even further. In the Explorer's
Crypt you'll find the Roc's Cape, which allows you to jump much further.

BOOMERANG:
Obtain this item by following the dance in the Subrosian Dance Hall for
the first time. It stuns most enemies, and damages others. Later, the
Magical Boomerang can be found in the Ancient Ruins. It's stronger than
the regular boomerang, and you can control its flight path to an extent.

ANIMAL FLUTE:
This summons your animal buddy. Who you animal buddy is depends on when
and how you obtain the flute.
 Dimitri's flute - If you win the Strange Flute from the Subrosian
    Dance Hall, you later rescue Dimitri and it becomes Dimitri's flute.
 Moosh's flute - If you bought the Strange Flute from the Horon Village
    shop, you later rescue Moosh and it becomes Moosh's flute.
 Ricky's flute - If you do not have the Strange Flute when you first
    meet Ricky, he becomes your animal buddy and give you Ricky's Flute.

MAGNETIC GLOVES:
Undoubtedly my favorite new item from this game. The Magnetic Gloves can
be found in the Unicorn's Cave. There are two main uses. They can
attract or repel big metal N-balls away from Link. As for the S-blocks,
they are permanent fixtures, so Link is attracted to or repelled away
from them to cross gaps. Remember that opposite's attract: North
polarity attracts south polarity, and repels north polarity.

ROD OF SEASONS:
Ah, the Rod of Seasons is central to the game. It's found in the Temple
of Seasons in Subrosia. Gradually you will obtain the Spirits of the
seasons, which will allow you to transform the world into that season.
Use the rod standing upon tree stumps, which are scattered throughout
the world

SLINGSHOT:
Link's projectile weapon, replacing the classic bow and arrow. You get
it in the Dancing Dragon Dungeon. It shoots seeds from your seed sachel.
The seeds are the same, but the effects are different...
 Ember seeds - Burn enemies and light torches.
 Scent seeds - Regular old seeds. Just hurt the enemy.</pre><pre id="faqspan-4">
 Pegasus seeds - Stuns enemies, like the boomerang.
 Gale seeds - A whirlwind blows away enemies.
 Mystery seeds - It's a mystery... the effect is random :P

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< SPECIAL ITEMS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

MASTER'S PLAQUE:
By completing a puzzle in a secret cave in the Sunken Village, you earn
the Master's Plaque. Give this to the master as proof of your
acomplishment, and he will give you the flippers.

FLIPPERS:
Found in the Sunken City before the 4th dungeon, the flippers allow you
to swim in deep water. The A button makes you swim faster, the B button
makes you dive underwater.

SPECIAL KEYS:
At times in the game, you will need to find special keys that only open
particular locks. There's the Gnarled Key, which opens the entrance to
the Gnarled Root Dungeon, the Floodgate key, which opens the floodgates
in Spool Swamp, and the Dragon Key, which reveals the entrance to the
Dancing Dragon Dungeon.

RICKY'S GLOVES:
You get these from Blano by defeating him in a boxing match, then give
them to Ricky so he'll give you a ride. Can't ride without those
gloves...

MEMBER'S CARD:
You buy this from the Subrosian market for a measly 5 ore chunks. It
gives you access to the Horon Shop basement, where you'll find special
items like a treasure map, gasha seeds, and a bigger seed sachel.

STAR SHAPED ORE/RIBBON:
Dug up in the Subrosian beach, you give this to the Subrosian market in
exchange for a ribbon. The ribbon is given to Rosa in exchange for a hot
'date'.

RED ORE/BLUE ORE/HARD ORE:
The Red Ore and Blue Ore are secret items found in Subrosia. When
collected, they can be given to the furnace to produce Hard Ore. Give
the Hard Ore to the smithy for the Iron Shield. See the mini-quest
section for details.

TRADING ITEMS:
There's a long sequence of items that must be traded among so many
people in Holodrum...starting with the Cuccodex and ending with the
Noble Sword. See the mini-quest section for details.

RUSTY BELL/PIRATE BELL:
The Rusty Bell can be found in the Samasa Desert, with a little help
from a disembodied pirate skull. When given to the Subrosian Smithy, it
is fixed to become the Pirate Bell, the captains beloved treasure.

MAKU SEED:
After collecting all eight Essences of Nature, the Maku Tree regains his
old strength to give you the Maku Seed, which allows you to get past the
evil power that surrounds and protects Onox's Castle.

SPRING BANANAS:
You find some fresh yummy bananas at the peak of Mt. Cucco in the
spring. Give this to Moosh so he will let you ride on his back.

BOMB FLOWER:
Found in the smouldering south-east corner of Subrosia, this is nature's
bomb, used to remove the boulders that block your way in the temple.

        wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< GAMEPLAY ITEMS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

RUPEES:
This is the currency of Hyrule, Holodrum, Koholint, and basically every
world in the Zelda universe. It's used for buying stuff from shops, deku
scrubs, playing mini-games, among other things. You get rupees from
chests, grass and bushes, mini-games, defeating enemies... Small green
rupees are worth 1, big red rupees are worth 5.

ORE CHUNKS:
Subrosia has a different currency: Ore chunks. They're used in Subrosia
for buying stuff from shops and some other places. You get them by
winning in the Subrosian dance hall, or just digging them out of the
ground. If only it were that easy in real life.

HEARTS:
As with all Zelda games, this is your unit of energy. Run low on hearts
and you'll hear the mind-numbingly annoying beep of death. Run out of
hearts and your dead. Find hearts in grass, bushes, enemies, or pots.
A fairy is equal to 7 hearts.

HEART CONTAINERS:
These are where your energy is stored. You start out the game with 3
heart containters. And with every major boss you defeat you get another
heart container. There are 14 total in the game.

PIECES OF HEART:
These are scattered all throughout Holodrum in hidden places. Four of
them are equal to a heart container, and there are 12 all in all. See
the heart piece section for more details on their locations.

RINGS:
This is a special feature of the Oracles games. They're found all over
the place, especially in Gasha nuts. If you keep it in your ring box,
you inherit it powers. It must be appraised at Vasu jewelers to be of
any use. See the ring section for more details. There are a total of 64
types of rings.

GASHA SEEDS:
You get these from particular locations all over Holodrum, and they can
be planted in special soft soil locations. Leave them there for a while
and they will grow into big healthy Gasha trees, bearing a Gasha nut,
which bears the fruit of your labor (often a magical ring). See the
Gasha seed section for details.

ESSENCES OF NATURE:
These essences are what you are trying to find for much of the game. You
get one at the end of each dungeon, and there are 8 all in all. With
each essence retrieved, the Maku Tree grows bigger and stronger. When
they are all collected, the can come together with the Maku Seed to
repel the force of evil protecting Onox's Castle.

KEYS:
Found in dungeons, small keys allow you to open doors and keyhole
blocks. Usually they can be found in chests. There is also a special
kind of key called the Boss Key which opens the Boss Door, the final
door leading to the dungeon's master.

MAP:
There is a map found in every dungeon, and once collected, you can press
select to see the layout of the dungeon. Each block represents one room
of the dungeon. Sometimes super-secret rooms aren't displayed on the map
at all.

COMPASS:
The compass works together with the map in dungeons. There's one compass
found in each dungeon, and once collected, you can see the locations of
chests and the boss on the dungeon map.

MAGIC POTION:
You can get a Magic Potion either from the Witch's Potion Shop in the
Sunken City, or from Maple when you bump into her. This wonderful potion
restores your energy when it decreases to zero. Good for one use. It's
especially useful when it comes to bosses.

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 9) COOL STUFF                                                        |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

DIFFERENT ANIMAL BUDDIES:
- When you first go into the area of North Horon where it is spring,
your animal buddy for the rest of the game is decided. If you won the
Mysterious Flute from the Subrosian Dance Hall, your animal buddy is
Dimitri. If you bought the Mysterious Flute from the Horon Shop, your
animal buddy is Moosh. If you don't have the Mysterious Flute at all,
your animal buddy is Ricky. The "Natzu area" above North Horon will be
either the Natzu River, the Natzu Prarie, or the Natzu Wasteland
depending on your animal buddy. The quests differ in very small, subtle
ways. Sometimes I think Capcom intentionally made this game hard for
FAQers like myself... :P

REVENGE OF THE CUCCOS:
- This is a very popular secret of all Zelda games since A Link to the
Past. Chickens can be found at select areas around Holodrum. These
seemingly harmless chicken can become deadly if you attack them. Hit
them with the sword about 15 times and a whole army of chickens will
attack you. They will stop if you go to another screen.

MYSTERY SEEDS & CUCCOS:
- Here's something new... Try sprinkling Mystery Seeds on adult cuccos.
They transform into baby cuccos! And for even more fun, do the trick
above to make the cucco's attack you, then sprinkle Mystery Seeds on the
cucco you originally attacked. It turns into a HUGE cucco!

MAPLE UPGRADE:
- For every 30 enemies you defeat, you will run into Maple flying around
on her broomstick. But if you bump into her enough times and she takes
enough rupees from you, you'll find her riding a vaccuum cleaner! Neat!

FAIRY SPRINGS:
- All around Holodrum, there are some places where you'll find a fairy
who is always willing to ease your weariness. They completely fill up
your heart meter! They can be found in the Western Coast, Woods of
Winter, Natzu area, Mt. Cucco, and Tarm Ruins.

SEED REFILL:
- In the Natzu area, there's a cave with a Deku Scrub inside. The exact
location of the cave varies depending on your animal buddy, but they
aren't hard to find. The Deku Scrub sings "Love, love the seed!". Great
song, don't you agree? Well, you better agree because he will completely
refill you seed satchel with every type of seed!

MAKU TREE GROWING:
- As you progress further through the game, the Maku Tree gradually
grows bigger with more branches and stuff. For example, after completing
the first two dungeons, a cave will appear in him to the Hall of
Secrets. With more dungeons completed, the Maku Tree gets bigger and
develops branches where you may find Gasha seeds.

CRAZY OLD MEN:
- Around Holodrum, there are these wierd old guys. You can often find
them living underground by burning down saplings. Much like the elderly
in real life, they have nothing to do but to give you money or cost you
money. Some of these guys are good to you for no particular reason and
they give you rupees. But others get pissed and take money from you for
burning down their 'door'.

ADVANCE SHOP:
- I personally don't have a Game Boy Advance (yet), but I've learned
that there's a shop that can only be accessed by playing the game with
the GBA. It's located in north-west Horon Village, the shop beside the
Know-It-All Birds' house. Inside you can buy Gasha seeds, an Advance
Ring, or a random ring for 100 rupees.

CHEST GAME:
- After you buy everything from the member's only section of the Horon
Village shop, the owner has nothing more to sell so he turns the
basement into a quaint little chest game. It's a very very simple game.
It costs 10 rupees to play. There are 2 chests, one with a large rupee
and one with nothing. You must choose the one with the rupee. The trick
here is to pick the one that the shopkeeper looks at longest (not an
easy task). Pick the correct one at least 3 times to get a ring.

TORMENT THE GREAT MOBLIN:
- After defeating the Great Moblin and destroying his keep, he and his
cohorts will move into the abandoned house at the south-east corner of
the Sunken City. The poor guy is making bombs...with a pile of bombs in
the corner. Hmm...use ember seeds or throw a bomb at that pile to blow
the house to bits. But GET OUT of the house or you WILL die! You can do
this a couple of times, but after a while they catch on and escape
before you can do anything.

BIPIN & BLOSSOM'S BABY:
- In Horon Village a couple has a baby. When you first meet them they
give you, a complete stranger, the liberty of naming their baby. Strange
people. Depending on the choices you make throughout the game, the baby
will grow up differently.

KILL THE BUNNIES:
- In dungeons, you'll sometimes find an enemy that looks like a cute
bunny rabbit. This is the Pols Voice. If you play your animal flute,
they explode! Ah, bliss...

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 10) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS                                       |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

This section would more appropriately be titled "Potentially frequently
asked questions", since as of this writing nobody has come to me with
questions. :P But please do ask me questions if there's anything burning
at the back of your head. Send them to <mpgonzalez@gmail.com>. I can't
guarantee a reply, but if your lucky...

Q: What is this number beside my save file?

   A: This number indicates how many times you died in the game. That
   number does NOT increase when you use the Magic Potion when running
   out of life, or if you turn of the Game Boy at the game over screen.
   As far as I know, it has no effect on the gameplay. It's just there
   for th bragging rights ;)

Q: What's the difference between Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons?

   A: Aside from the general gameplay and similar storylines, they're
   completely different games! It's *not* like Pokemon where there are
   versions of essentially the same game. Here we have different worlds,
   different stories, different challenges...essentially different
   games. However they are somewhat connected into a big uber-game, if
   you will see the next question...

Q: How are the two Oracle games connected?

   A: This is how it works: When you defeat Oracle of Seasons, you will
   recieve a password at the end. Then you can start a game in Oracle of
   Ages, selecting SECRETS instead of NEW GAME, and then you will be
   playing the 'linked-game' or 'continued quest'. Another password will
   allow you to transfer your rings to the liked game. The game will
   have several small changes, and after defeating it's boss, you
   will have to face the ultimate boss of the Oracle games.

Q: How dare you insult Dodongo. Haven't you ever played the original
   Zelda on the NES?

   A: Ok, I must confess. As a deep admirer and fan of the Zelda games,
   I'm ashamed to admit that I have never played through the original
   Legend of Zelda (or Zelda II, for that matter). I've played a bit of
   it, on emulators. But my standards for a Zelda game have risen
   greatly and I just couldn't muster the interest to finish the game.
   You'll have to forgive me if I don't recognize homages to the
   original game, such as the appearance of Dodongo and Aquamentus, or
   the wierd old men that give or take money.

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 11) CREDITS & INFO                                                   |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

Special thanks to...
   - AstroBlue/Shdwrlm3's FAQ for the game story, enemy names, and boss
        names. Many thanks!
   - GameFAQs.com for posting all my FAQs. This is my 12th so far.
   - Nintendo and Capcom, makers of this wonderful game.
   - IGN Pocket for various tidbits of info.

NOTE TO WEBMASTERS:
You may freely place this document on non-profit websites without
explicit permission from the author as long as (1) it is not modified at
all and (2) I recieve full credit. Take note that any future
updates will be sent only to gamefaqs.com.

REGARDING FEEDBACK:
Before coming to me with questions, please make sure that it's not
already answered in this guide. And make sure you're looking at the most
recent version of the guide (always available at www.gamefaqs.com). All
feedback goes to mpgonzalez@gmail.com.

For news about the progress of my FAQs, and announcements of future
projects, visit my site at http://www.geocities.com/coffeefaqs.

Copyright (c) Michael Gonzalez 2004