12.1 Lorule Castle

After saving all seven sages, you’ll be able to climb to the top of the area and claim the Triforce of Courage. Our next destination is over at Lorule Castle. Warp over to the Vacant House, the area of Lorule that corresponds to Ravio’s shop. If you don’t have that weather vane activated, just make your way over to that area in Lorule.

Walk northward to Lorule Castle and save at the weather vane. Walk northward and Hilda will break the barrier, allowing you to enter Lorule Castle.

There are some tough enemies on the first floor of the dungeon. I’d suggest stunning them with the hookshot and then slashing away with your sword. At the north end of the room, push the gargoyle statue to the right, causing it to fall in the lava. Now merge into the wall and walk to the right side of the room to reach a treasure chest containing a red rupee. Merge back into the wall and head through the door to the north.

You’ll encounter another ball and chain trooper here. Aggressively strike at him with your sword, preventing him from attacking. Once he blocks, move away and then repeat. Defeat the enemies and head up the staircase to the 2nd floor.

Walk down a screen and head through the door on the right. Open the treasure chest here to get a red rupee. Slash at the two torches to make this room dark. When you walk to the south end of the room, you’ll see a secret pathway. Make your way southward and open the treasure chest to get a silver rupee.

Return to the previous room and walk near the south part of the room. Climb up the steps to reach the 3rd floor.

Slash at the orb in the center of the room, creating a warp point to the dungeon entrance. Push the gargoyle statues northward and then drop down to the first floor. Open the treasure chest here to get a small key. Drop off the ledge and step into the green portal on the right to get back to the 3rd floor.

Use the small key on the locked door to the left and climb up to the 4th floor. Open the treasure chest here to find the Compass.

Slash at the two nearby torches to cause them to go out. This will reveal secret ledges just to the south. Walk across these ledges and then pull out the lamp. Open the treasure chest here to get the Red Mail.

If you look just to the right of the treasure chest, you’ll see a gap in the corner of the room for the floor below. Merge onto the wall at the southeast corner of the room and drop down the hole. Link will drop down all the way to the 2nd floor, but will land on the higher ledge.

Merge along the southern wall and make your way to the west end of the room. Go through the door to the west to find this dungeons fairy fountain. In the large just to the right, you can drop down to the lower ledge below to find a treasure chest containing a monster tail.

Return to the 3rd floor and step on the switch at the northeast corner of the room to open the nearby door. Walk to the north end of this room and as you draw near, new hidden platforms will appear from the lava. This will only appear when Link is close by. Walk to the right to reach the pillar with a red rupee.

Walk to the right and then up to find a gargoyle statue. There is a spiked boulder that is being blocked by the statue. Move the gargoyle statue to the left, and the spiked boulder will begin to roll. Follow closely behind it until it crashes into another spiked boulder, opening up the pathway.

Walk southward and merge against the wall that appears to the right. Take this path to the south end of the room and head to the next screen.

There are floor tiles that will begin to fly up towards you. The trick here is to just stand against one of the sides of the room, causing small pillars to rise. Face the opposite direction and hold out your shield until all the floor tiles have come up. Climb the stairs that appear and head back up a screen.

Follow the platforms at they appear to reach the northeast part of the room. There is a spiked boulder here that you will need to guide southward. Walk along with the spiked boulder until you reach the platform that is in the way. Merge onto its wall and continue southward to another wall, allowing the spiked boulder to continue onward until it bumps into the other boulder, opening the pathway.

Run northward and quickly turn to the left before the spiked boulder crushes you. Open the treasure chest to get a small key. Make your way to the northwest part of the room, open the treasure chest to get a monster tail, and then head through the locked door.

Here you will face off with a giant purple bari. This battle is nearly identical to the mini-boss we fought during the Swamp Palace. Slash at it with your sword or use a projectile attack to harm it. Repeat this process until it splits into smaller biri. Defeat them and then step into the warp tile within the room.

Step on the floor switch at the northwest part of the room and head through the door that has bombs on the nearby pillars. Obviously, you will need the bombs to make it through this area. Run to the north end of the room and hit the crystal switch, lowering the blue blocks.

Use a bomb or the bombite to toss a bomb at the crystal switch and head head southward. Toss a bomb at the crystal switch to the west and then head in this direction. Stand on the blue blocks and hit the switch again, causing you to rise up to the higher platform.

Stand on blocks to the right and toss a bomb up to the higher platform to bring yourself up. Open the treasure to get a red rupee. Drop down below and repeat the same process to reach the higher ledge on the left.

Merge along the northern wall and make your way over to the nearby enemy. Toss a bomb northward to raise the blue blocks. Now run southward and around the corner until you reach the huge bomb flower.

Lead the bomb flower back to the crystal switch and toss another to lower the blue blocks. Toss a second bomb over to the switch, but then quickly run to the right, so you can get passed the blue blocks and then the red blocks.

Continue around to the north end of the room but watch out for the stone statue. Stand to the left and wait for it to shoot ice. As soon as it shoots it and hits the wall, quickly run to the right, as you don’t want it to hit the bomb flower. Blow up the boulder and open the treasure chest to get a small key. Leap down to the ledge below and head through the locked door.

Leap off the ledge to take on the purple moldorm. The battle is the same as before, except the wall will enclose, making the battle area much smaller. You could merge with the wall when you are in trouble. Slash at its tail until it is defeated and then step into the warp portal.

Climb up the staircase on the left side of the room to reach the 4th floor. Step on the floor switch to open the door that has pillars with the lamp on it. Climb the steps above and slash at the torch, allowing you to see the floor.

You have to memorize the arrangement of the floor. There are walls that shootout from the sides, but they will go away when the torches are lit. Light the torch and walk to the left and then up tot he next torch. Slash at this one so you can see again.

Repeat this same pattern to get to the northeast corner of the room. Light that torch and then walk westward to the treasure chest. Open it up to get a small key and then head through the locked door.

Here you will take on another ball and chain trooper. The trick is, it is a dark room and he has a flame at the end of its chain. This makes it hard to tell where the barriers are. Carefully sneak in and slash at the enemy until he has been defeated. Step in the warp portal to get back to the 3rd floor.

Once again head up the stairs on the left and this time walk over to the northeast part of the room. Use the hookshot to grab the lever and then head through the door.

Use the hookshot to cross the gap on the right, latching onto the wall. Make your way to the northeast part of the room, while trying to avoid the wallmaster. Open the treasure chest here to get a purple rupee. Just to the west of the rupee, there is a lever that can be pulled using the hookshot. Do so and it will cause the nearby platform to change which direction it moves.

Ride westward and run to the wall at the far west of the room. Merge onto the wall and make your way to the southwest corner. Have the wallmaster slam into the block above, causing the eyeball to drop down.

Pickup the eyeball and toss so it is close to the western wall. Merge along the wall and head back northward. Use the hookshot across the gap to pull the eyeball over. Make sure you aren’t too close to the lava, otherwise the eyeball will fall in. Grab the eyeball and toss it into one of the two eyelids.

Stand on the raft at the north end of the room and use the hookshot against the wall to the west to move along the lava. Move from wall to wall and stand right underneath a floor switch. Allow a wallmaster to drop down and hit the switch, causing the nearby door to open.

Continue using the hookshot to reach the north end of the room. At the north end of the room you’ll find three floor switches. Push the gargoyle statue so it is on the one to the left. Then stand near the center switch and wait for the wallmaster to come crashing down. Quickly move to the right and step on the right switch, while the wallmaster is smashing the middle switch. With all three switches pressed, the nearby gate will lower.

Run over and have the wallmaster crush the platform so the eyeball drops down. Return to the raft and toss the eyeball onto it. Before getting on the raft, it is a good idea to defeat the wallmaster, as it will taking longer for it to respawn. Use the hookshot to ride back along the lava and then place the eyeball in the second eyelid. Open the treasure chest to get a small key and then head through the nearby door.

Here you will battle with Arrghus once again, the boss from the Swamp Palace. The battle is nearly identical as before. Just pull its smaller eyes with the hookshot and then slash at them to defeat them. Then slash at the large eye as you did before to defeat Arrghus. Step into the warp tile to return to the 3rd floor.

With all four sectors of the dungeon complete, the large door will finally open. Step through to get back up to a familiar room at the top of Lorule Castle. Walk to the right and then head up to take on the final sequence of battles. If you’d like, you can quickly return outside of Lorule Castle and save at the weather vane. I’d suggest picking up a few potions before progressing onward.

12.2 Final Battles

The first phase battle with Yuga is actually rather simple. Yuga will use his Trident to deliver a slash towards Link and occasionally a stab attack. Move back when he is slashing and move to the side to avoid the stab. Dodge his attack and deliver a series of sword slashes. Yuga will warp around the room and appear elsewhere, trying to strike at Link.

As Yuga loses some health, he’ll start to throw the Trident around the room. It will spin around and Yuga will appear elsewhere in the room to catch it. Just keep moving to avoid this attack. Yuga will also create energy balls that from the ceiling. Just keep moving and you can avoid these attacks. A weakened Yuga will also start to perform consecutive sword slashes, so be hesitant before getting too close. Keep slashing away until Yuga has been defeated.

The second battle with Yuga begins with Dead Man’s Volley. Yuga will shoot a spherical beam towards you and it can be deflected back with a slash from the Master Sword. Yuga will hit it back immediately, so be ready to slash back. After a number of exchanges, the ball will hit Yuga.

Yuga will then merge into the wall. Link will then get the special Bow of Light from Princess Zelda. Merge into the wall and shoot a light arrow at Yuga. This will hold him in place, while you can run around to his back and shoot him with a second light arrow. Yuga will fall out of the painting and he can then be slashed with your sword.

Yuga will shoot out attacks from the walls in the form of small pink birds. These actually can be quite hard to avoid, but quickly move around the room try to dodge them.

Repeat the Dead Man’s Volley and Yuga will merge into the wall a second time. This however, when Link fires a Light Arrow, Yuga will block it and start to charge towards you. Emerge from the wall and Yuga will slide trying to stop his momentum. Quickly merge behind him and shoot him with a light arrow to pull him out of the painting.

During the final phase of Dead Man’s Volley, Yuga will shoot two orbs out at the same time, so quickly slash at them to send him into painting form. This time in painting form, Yuga will repeatedly block light arrows from the front. After shooting one from the front, turn around and shoot another one in the other direction. It will travel all the way around the room and strike Yuga in the back. Emerge from the painting and slash away to defeat the final boss.