Daily Debate: Which Version of Castle Town Was the Best?
Posted on April 28 2024 by Jared Eubanks
In the Legend of Zelda series, a handful of towns make appearances in multiple games, with each version having its own unique aesthetic and charm. Hyrule Castle is a commonly occurring location in Zelda, but the adjacent Castle Town doesn’t always appear with it. When it does, it is often a market square for buying goods, a hub connecting multiple key regions, and/or filled with non-playable characters (NPCs) for mini-games, side quests, or informants advancing the game’s narrative. In my playthrough experiences, I have found three games in the Zelda series — Ocarina of Time, The Minish Cap, and Twilight Princess — to have robust and lively versions of Castle Town that have stood out amongst its other appearances.
Before jumping into a look at my three personal favorites, I do want to acknowledge that Castle Town makes multiple other appearances in the series beyond these. In games like Spirit Tracks, it is paired with Hyrule Castle and located in the Forest Realm, though smaller in size as compared to some of its other renditions, and in Tri Force Heroes, it is located outside Hytopia Castle with an open area market. Castle Town Ruins appears in Breath of the Wild, and we get a glimpse of what that would have looked like before Ganon’s return in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Nintendo has also depicted what Castle Town looked like before the Calamity in artistic imaginations in books like Creating a Champion.
Ocarina of Time
In the child era of Ocarina of Time, Castle Town, which sits to the north of Hyrule Field, is only accessible during the day via a drawbridge spanning the castle’s encompassing moat. During the night, the drawbridge rises to keep out the roaming enemies in Hyrule Field. Once inside Link finds the Market with crowds gathered, music playing, and people dancing.
The shops include a Bazaar with weapons and supplies, a Potion Shop with reviving elixirs and other goods for storing in bottles, and a Happy Mask Shop used in the mask trading sequence. Mini-game activities include the Bombchu Bowling Alley for perfecting your timing and aiming of Bombchus, which is critical in later dungeon tasks, a Shooting Gallery for honing your slingshot skills, and a Treasure Chest Game for pushing your luck (or “cheesing” with the Lens of Truth). The Market also includes a Back Alley which houses a Bombchu Shop that is only open at night and NPCs like the Pooch Lady, who rewards Link for returning her lost dog Richard, who roams around in the Market square with other similar-looking dogs.
One of my favorite upgrades from the original N64 version of Ocarina of Time to the 3DS version was the full rendering of the Market in 3D space. In the N64 version, the people within the Market are rendered in 3D, but the surrounding buildings in the background are a pre-rendered image, much like the Temple of Time entrance and inside other small buildings. The contrast between the 3D rendered characters and the pre-rendered background can be jarring to some. However, with the 3DS version, the setting comes alive in a new and fresh way that fully communicates how much of a vibrant and joyous locale that it is.
During the adult era of Ocarina of Time, Castle Town drastically changes once Ganondorf takes control of Hyrule Castle. Residents and shopkeepers flee to other areas like Kakariko Village, and the Market square falls into disrepair and becomes infested with ReDeads.
The Minish Cap
Castle Town in The Minish Cap lies at the heart of the game’s map, and it is a central hub for access to the surrounding areas. Link returns to Castle Town time and again during his adventure, but with each new item and ability, additional areas become accessible to Link.
One of my favorite aspects of the design of Castle Town in The Minish Cap is the dual population of the town with both Hylians and Picori. Link interacts with each group as he switches between his full-size and miniature form, sometimes in puzzles that require close attention to detail in how certain actions change conditions in the world of Link’s alternate size. For example, the Cane of Pacci allows full-size Link to flip pots over, opening up a new Minish Portal so that he can hop inside of them and shrink down. Quests like the one associated with the Library and returning three lost books are intricate and challenging puzzles.
This version of Castle Town also includes many public buildings one would expect to find in a population center such as a library, school, bakery, cafe, inn, and post office, along with an open area market of merchants like Beedle and a traveling Goron. Many resident NPCs throughout the town are also eager to match interlocking halves of Kinstones in either their green, blue, or red variations. Each color has numerous shapes, so it’s important to revisit the buildings as Link grows his collection of various Kinstone-half permutations.
Twilight Princess
Twilight Princess’ Castle Town includes multiple distinct areas with a West Road, East Road, South Road, and a Central Square. The northern exit from the Central Square heads to Hyrule Castle itself. The town sits at the heart of the map with connections to the various compartments of Hyrule Field. In terms of population, this iteration of Castle Town is the most densely populated and is buzzing with foot traffic. It is also ornate in its decoration, with a large fountain functioning as a centerpiece in its Central Square, as shown in the featured image at the beginning of this article.
Link must traverse Castle Town in both his human and wolf forms at various times in the games, and his wolf form allows for access into locked areas by digging tunnels underground, like at Jovani’s house. Shops are available both within dedicated building entrances and walkway-lining booths. The famed Malo Mart opens up a Castle Town-specific branch if Link provides enough rupees to Malo so that he can buy out a previous shop owner and relocate from Kakariko Village.
Telma’s Bar along the town’s South Road serves as a key landmark to which Link returns multiple times during the adventure. Telma is well-connected in the community, as she serves as a critical source of information to Link. Her pub also serves as homebase for members of The Resistance, who seek to re-establish peace in Hyrule in the midst of the oppressive Twilight hanging over both their metaphorical and physical heads. Fan favorite Agitha also resides in Castle Town as she prepares a ball for the golden bugs found throughout Hyrule and the surrounding regions. Finding matching pairs of male and female bugs can be a lucrative endeavor as she is quite generous to Link when he frequents Agitha’s Castle to give her a fresh delivery of golden bugs.
Conclusion
My personal favorite is Twilight Princess largely because of its unique NPCs and establishments listed above, with Malo Mart, Telma’s Bar, and Agitha’s Castle. However, The Minish Cap is a close second with its innovative and progressive unraveling as Link switches forms. What do you think about these versions of Castle Town or any of its other appearances in the series? Which is your favorite and why? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Jared Eubanks is a staff writer at Zelda Dungeon, and he is also a husband, father, and engineer. He is originally from the Atlanta, GA area and still lives there. He graduated from Georgia Tech and is a proud Yellow Jacket. He loves to play boardgames, build Lego, and read books with his family. He’s been gaming since childhood with the original NES and GameBoy, and he enjoys retro gaming, collecting, and modding consoles and handhelds. His favorite Zelda game is Breath of the Wild but is also fond of the older classic titles.
