6.1 Return to Windfall Island

After acquiring Din’s Pearl and regaining control of Link, there are a few different things we can now do. First and foremost, if you didn’t already, our next destination is the Wind Shrine, right here on Dragon Roost Island. From where the King of Red Lions is located, turn around and pass through a narrow tunnel. Jump into the water and swim to the small piece of land.

Examine the marking on the stone and pull out The Wind Waker. Play the tune as it is marked to learn the Wind’s Requiem. Link will then meet Zephos, the god of winds, and he well tell you that your new song has the ability to control the wind.

We are now ready to set sail on the Great Sea. There are a lot of optional things we can get right now, some of which are certainly worth it, including a much faster Sail for your boat. It is not technically required, but it will make your life a lot easier. To progress onward with the main quest, skip down to section 6.2. Nothing else here is required.

Optional: Meet the Fishman

The King of Red Lions won’t let you leave Dragon Roost Island until you change the Wind direction to the South. To do and then jump on the boat. Immediately pull out the Wind Waker and play the Wind’s Requiem. Change the direction of the wind to the west, heading back towards Windfall Island.

When you reach the edge of Dragon Roost’s border, a Fishman will stop you. One of these little guys can be found in every square region of the Great Sea map. He will mark your map and give you a hint about whichever square region you are in. For other square regions, if Link sees a Fishman jumping out of the water, he can ride over to that area and drop some All-Purpose Bait, causing the Fishman to speak with him and mark his map.

In the Wii U version of the game, after speaking to a Fishman, his advice is stored on your Sea Chart. At any point you can pull up the map and when you examine that particular square, the Fishman icon will appear and you can re-read what the Fishman had to say. The Fishmen provide some valuable information and if you are a completionist, then you are going to want to find a Fishman on every single island. Outside of this initial Fishman, all of the other fish require All-Purpose Bait, so be sure to stock up on some from Beedle’s Shop Ship.

Along the way to Windfall Island, I recommend finding the Fishmen surrounding Pawprint Isle and Windfall Island, the two squres that are directly west of Dragon Roost Island.

Optional: Song of Passing

On Windfall Island there are a number of things we can do. Our first stop is over at the lone gravestone near where the Town Jail is located. Run on over and you’ll find a man named Tott dancing next to the gravestone. Speak to him and then pull out the Wind Waker. This will trigger him to remember the proper rhythm. Use the Wind Waker and play the song: Right, Left, and Down. Successfully doing so will allow Link to learn the Song of Passing! This song allows Link to change Day to Night and vice versa almost whenever he pleases.

Optional: Swift Sail

Our next stop is at the Auction House. Run over to the mailbox and then head up passed the archway. The Auction House is the second building on the right with the red door. The auction is only available at night time, so play the Song of Passing before entering if necessary.

At this point in the quest it is not essential to get all the items from the Auction House. We really only want to win the Swift Sail, which is a new item available in the HD version of the game. Enter the Auction House, talk to Zunari and start the auction to see what item is up for auction. If it is any item other than the Swift Sail, exit the auction and leave the Auction House. Re-enter the Auction House and start over, where a new random item will be available. It may take a few attempts before the Swift Sail becomes available. However, given how much time and ease this will make your adventure, it is completely worth waiting for.

At the moment our wallet can only hold 500 rupees and your wallet might not necessarily be full at this point. We don’t have enough rupees to get all the items available at the Auction House, but the most important one by far, is the Swift Sail. Suffice to say, if you have around 200 Rupees, you should have enough to win the auction.

The room quickly fills with residents of Windfall Island. There are five total items that will be up for auction but only four of them are worthwhile. Treasure Chart #18, which starts at 5 rupees, Treasure Chart #38, which starts at 60 rupees, a Piece of Heart, which starts at 80 rupees, and the Swift Sail (HD), which starts at 100 rupees. The fifth auction item is a Joy Pendant, which starts off at 40 rupees.

The amount of rupees that each item sells for is a bit random. However, there are strategies to assure that Link comes away with the winning bid. During the auction, there is a meter at the bottom of the screen. It moves slowly, but you can tap ‘A’ to speed it up. Once the meter is full, Link can submit a bid amount. The auction runs for 1 full minute and there will be two notes stating that the auction is almost over, followed by a 5-second warning.

The trick is to bid a large enough amount to shock the other bidders. As soon as bidding starts, rapidly press ‘A’ to fill the meter. At that point, be sure to bid over 10% of the current bid. This will shock the other participants, stunning them for almost 15 seconds. While they are stunned, press ‘A’ to fill up the meter about 2/3 of the way and then wait. Once the bidders are back to normal, once again press A to fill the meter, and bid more than 10% of the current bid again. This will assure you can win the auction, with closest to the lowest amount each time.

Knowing how much to bid to stun the other bidders is relatively simple. For whatever price the current auction is, simply drop the last number, and then add one. That is how much more you should bid. For example, if the price of the Swift Sail is currently going for 126 Rupees. Drop the last digit from that number and you have 12, and then add one to get to 13. You want to bid 13 more rupees. 126 + 13 = 139. A little simple math is required, but this will assure you can get the best value.

Optional: Kashiko's Letter - Piece of Heart #5

Back at Dragon Roost Island, if you played the Mail Sorting mini-game and completed the Part-Time Job side quest with Baito, he will have given you a letter to send to his mom. If you dropped the Note to Mom in the mailbox earlier, the Mailbox here at Dragon Roost Island will be shaking at this point, indicating you have a letter waiting for you.

Examine the mailbox and you’ll get a letter from Kashiko, who is Baito’s mother. She thanks Link for his kindness in helping out his soon. She includes a Piece of Heart with the letter as her sign of gratitude.

Optional: I Wish I Was the Moon‎‎ - Treasure Chart #31

Note: This can only be completed at this time if you are playing the HD version, where you can obtain the Deluxe Picto Box before traveling to the Forest Haven to obtain the Forest Firefly.

Just outside of the Auction House, during the daytime, Link will find Kamo seemingly very lonely and upset. He mumbles his words and wants to be left alone. Link can tell Kamo that he understands him, which causes Kamo to open up a bit. He will ask Link to bring him something ‘perfectly pale and round’.

At nighttime, Kamo can be found higher up on Windfall Island, just up the ladder from Mrs. Marie’s School of Joy. He is using his Telescope to stare out at the Moon. Now that Link has the Song of Passing, he can play the song repeatedly. Each time it is nighttime, the Moon will shift to a new phase, with 7 phases in total. Once a full moon is out, use the Picto Box to snap a picture. Then, during the daytime, return to Kamo and show him a picture of a full moon. He will be delighted to see it, thanking Link for his efforts. Kamo will award Link with Treasure Chart #31, which eventually leads to a Piece of Heart.

Optional: Playing Cupid - Piece of Heart #6

Note: This can only be completed at this time if you are playing the HD version, where you can obtain the Deluxe Picto Box before traveling to the Forest Haven to obtain the Forest Firefly.

After returning to Windfall Island, Link can speak with both Linda and Anton to find each of them are both on the edge about dating one another, but seem nervous to make things happen themselves. Linda will ask Link to take a Pictograph of her, asking Link to be he captures her full body, including the clothing she is wearing. Link can then take that Pictograph and show it to Anton, who is still walking around on Windfall Island. This will give Anton the courage to finally ask Linda out on a date.

Link can then play the Song of Passing a couple times to pass time to the next day. At this time, Linda and Anton have begun to start dating and can now be found during the daytime at the Cafe Bar. Link can speak with Linda, who will thank Link and reward him with a Piece of Heart.

Optional: Lenzo's Secret‎‎ - Treasure Charts #24 and #29

Note: This can only be completed at this time if you are playing the HD version, where you can obtain the Deluxe Picto Box before traveling to the Forest Haven to obtain the Forest Firefly.

Link can speak with Pompie and Vera, who the two gossip women, standing near Zunari’s Shop. They heard a rumor that he currently has a girlfriend. To find out, Link will need to sneak into his house.

First, Link will need to get the Windmill on Windfall Island spinning again. To do so, play the Wind’s Requiem and change the direction of the wind to the north. Then, climb the tall ladder, located just behind the Sinking Ships mini-game. Step on the switch here to activate the Windmill. Then enter the Sinking Ships mini-game building and climb up the stairs to the higher exit. From there he can ride on the Windmill.

After riding the Windmill to its highest point, it will start to head down. As it heads down, Link can leap over the ledge of the seat, landing on the balcony of Lenzo’s house. This doors leads to a secret back room which has two treasure chests. Open them to get a Purple Rupee as well as Treasure Chart 29.

Link can then crawl through the narrow passageway and he’ll eventually find Lenzo talking with Minenco. After talking to them, snap a pictograph with the Deluxe Picto Box. Take that Pictograph back to Pompie and Vera to show them. The two admit that they were wrong about Lenzo having a girlfriend. Instead, it appears Lenzo and Minenco are just friends who share a hobby. Pompie will then give Link Treasure Chart 24.

Optional: Chu Jelly Juice Shop

At Pawprint Isle and within Dragon Roost Cavern, we encountered numerous Red Chuchu, which regularly drop Chu Jelly as a spoil. At any point, if Link has collected five globs of Chu Jelly, he can bring it to Doc Bandam’s Chu Jelly Juice Shop. After presenting Chu Jelly to Doc, he’ll reward Link with a serving of Red Potion which Link can store in the bottle he has. Alternatively, Link can simply purchase Red Potion for 20 Rupees.

6.2 The Great Sea

From Dragon Roost Island, change the direction of the wind to the South and jump on the King of Red Lions. Pull out your sail and head southward towards the destination on your map. Along the way, you can find the various Fishmen and mark your map. The first two square regions that Link travels through are Fire Mountain and Eastern Triangle Island. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything significant that we can do at this point at either location.

Optional: Bomb Island Empty Bottle

The next square region, which is one square north of our destination, is Bomb Island. There isn’t much we can do on the actual island itself, but just south of it, Link will find a submarine, along with a small raft with a Pink Bokoblin on it. Whenever you see Bokoblins, you can use your grappling hook on them to get a spoil. In the case of Bokoblins, this will always be a Joy Pendant. We will be needing a handful of these later on in the quest.

Jump over the submarine and head inside. There are a trio of Bokoblins in here, so collect joy pendants from them and then defeat them. Once all three have been done away with, a treasure chest will appear. Open it open to get the second Empty Bottle! Head back to the King of Red Lions and continue sailing southward.

Once you get near the Forest Haven, the King of Red Lions will tell you that inside this sacred place lies the spirit of the earth, the Great Deku Tree, and that he will give you Farore’s Pearl.

6.3 Forest Haven

Once arriving at the Forest Haven, you may see a red mailbox bouncing around if you did not earlier. Examine the mailbox to find that there is a letter for you. The letter comes from Kashiko, the mother of the mailman Baito. She thanks Link for helping her son and rewards him with a Piece of Heart! Additionally, you will see Beedle’s Ship Shop floating around near by. To complete an upcoming optional quest, you’ll need at least one Hyoi Pear.

Climb up the raised areas to make your way up the island. Defeat the Boko Babas and collect their Boko Baba Seeds as you continue up to the top of the island.

Use your grappling hook to swing over the water and land on solid ground. You’ll find some Octoroks in this area that shoot rocks towards you. Raise your shield and the rocks will deflect back, defeating the enemy. Continue navigating across the water using the grappling hook and enter the large cave.

Follow the small river up to the massive tree and stand on the lilypad. The Great Deku Tree will wake up and be covered with Red and Green ChuChus. Roll into the tree to knock off all the enemies and then defeat them with your sword. The Green ChuChus will drop Green Chu Jelly.

After a lengthy conversation with the Great Deku Tree and the Korok, Link will be set on a quest to save Makar from the Forbidden Woods. Before Link can do so, he must collect a special leaf.

Run behind the Deku Tree and you should see a firefly that is bigger and brighter than the rest of them. Use a bottle to swipe and catch this Forest Firefly. This is required to obtain the Deluxe Picto Box in the original Wind Waker, but will only result in a Joy Pendant in the HD version.

Run to the lilypad and face the Great Deku Tree. Just to the left there is a Boko Bulb. It looks similar to a Boko Baba’s roots, but is slightly discolored. Link can jump into this boko bulb and it will launch him into the air. Face the the stem of the other bulb that is just beside it and hold that direction while Link is being shot up. Link will land inside of the boko bulb. Continue across a series of boko bulbs until you can land on top of the tree branches.

On the tree, use your Grappling Hook to swing across to the next bulb. Continue going from bulb to bulb until you reach the glowing Deku Leaf.

One of the Koroks tells you to fly to him so that you can get to the Forbidden Woods. Notice you now have a small green bar underneath your health, this is your Magic Meter. You can fly with the Deku Leaf as long as you have magic. If your magic runs out, you will fall to the ground.

Note, there are a few optional things to do here at the Forest Haven at this point. None of this required in the main quest of the game. Optional content is covered in 6.4 down below. Skip ahead to 6.5 to progress onward to the next major objective, the Forbidden Woods.

6.4 Nintendo Gallery and More

Optional: Nintendo Gallery

After acquiring the Deku Leaf, there is another area even further up within the Forest Haven. If you jump off the ledge and fly to the boko bulb, you can shoot yourself higher and glide to the highest portion of this area. Walk through the passage to get back outside.

Play the Wind’s Requiem and change the wind so that it is blowing to the north. Now leap off the ledge and use your Deku Leaf to glide on over to the island here. You can speak to the man here who is impressed about your ability to fly. He asks if you can hit the switch that is at the top of the Forest Haven. Pull out your Bait Bag and select a Hyoi Pear. Use the Pear and a Seagull will come down and grab it. You will now be able to control the seagull. Guide it in the direction of the switch and have the seagull hit the switch. This will cause the door on the island to open, as well as the ladder to drop down.

Link can drop down into this area here to find the Nintendo Gallery. Also, since the ladder has fallen, Link now has easy access to this island from the sea, without having to travel through the Forest Haven. The Nintendo Gallery is a completely optional side quest that does not really have much of a reward, outside of just completing the game 100%. For more information please visit our Nintendo Gallery Guide.

If you’ve been following along with the guide, we did capture a few Pictographs of some characters and you might have a couple from other quests. Speak with Carlov and show him the Pictographs you have taken. Only the ones with a ‘GOOD’ symbol in the corner will be enough for him to turn into Figurines. Particularly, there were two Pictographs that we have taken.

  • Gohma – The Boss of Dragon Roost Cavern
  • Kogoli – One of the Rito who was outdoors at upper level of Dragon Roost Island

If you didn’t take either of these pictures. No worries. We can still get them, although Kogoli later becomes a miss-able Figurine, and Gohma is quite a bit out of the way. Nevertheless, you are still okay at this point.

Optional: Treasure Chart #3

Make your way back inside of the Forest Haven to the Deku Tree. Use the boko bulbs to climb near the top of the Forest Haven, right where we got the Deku Leaf. This time, we don’t want to go all the way to the top, but instead float over to the exit that has a Korok. The bushes on the ground form an arrow, pointing towards the exit. This leads out towards the Forbidden Woods.

Once outside, play the Wind’s Requiem and shift the wind so that it is blowing to the southeast. There is an island way way off in the distance and it might seem like it’s too far to even reach. However, with the wind blowing southeast, leap off and float on over. It will take most of your magic, but you’ll be able to reach the island. Open the chest that is found here to get Treasure Chart #3.

Optional: Hollo's Potion Shop - Blue Potion

Inside of the Forest Haven, when facing the Deku Tree, Link can turn to the right to find another exit. This leads to Hollo’s Potion Shop. Inside, Link will meet Hollo, master of potions, although he doesn’t seem to have the ingredients needed to make a potion for somebody like Link. He mentions the monsters of the Forbidden Woods hold these ingredients. He’s referring to the Boka Babas, several of which we have defeated on our way to entering the Forest Haven.

Show Hollo some Boko Baba Seeds and it will cause Hollo to jump over to his mixing pot and give Link some blue potion! Link will need to have an empty bottle in order to get this potion. Blue Potion replenishes both life and energy and it costs four Boko Baba Seeds for Hollow to create. Since Boko Baba are abundant just outside of the Forest Haven and continuously respawn, it’s very easy to grind these seeds out.

Optional: Forest Water

Inside the Forest Haven, Link can use a bottle in the deeper water to collect some Forest Water. Forest Water has some mystical qualities to it that are beneficial in the upcoming dungeon, the Forbidden Woods. As soon as Link heads back outside from the Forest Haven, a clock will start ticking. In The Wind Waker for GameCube, Link has 20 minutes until the Forest Water loses its power. In The Wind Waker HD, this time limit is extended to 30 minutes. While there is a quest involving Forest Water much later on, for now, it doesn’t have too much of a purpose. However, it makes the boss of the upcoming dungeon significantly easier. That said, the 30-minute time limit doesn’t make it too practical to use, if this is your first time going through the game.

Optional: Forest Firefly

Near Hollo’s Potion Shop, there is a super bright Forest Firefly that is flying around. Link is able to capture this Forest Firefly in a bottle. The The Wind Waker for GameCube, Link will need to give this Firefly to Lenzo, back at Windfall Island. This will cause Lenzo to upgrade the Pictobox to the Deluxe Pictobox. In The Wind Waker HD, this is no longer required, and instead, Lenzo will simply give Link a Joy Butterfly.

6.5 - Enter the Forbidden Woods

Return to the Forest Haven and climb back up to where you acquired the Deku Leaf. From there, jump towards the Korok by the exit and pull out your Deku Leaf. Use it to float over to him. It’s easiest to adjust the camera so you can see below you. Once your shadow reaches the next section, you can let go of the leaf by pressing A. Cut down the grass to fill up on magic and then head outside.

You should notice a Korok standing on the ledge. Climb up there and play the Wind’s Requiem to make the wind blow to the southwest. Hop off the ledge and use your Deku Leaf to float over to the small island in the ocean.

Cut down the grass for some extra magic and blow the wind northwest. This part can be tricky. You have to time your jump just right so that you float over the small cyclone so it pushes you upward. If you miss, just drop down and try again.

When you get close to the ledge, the three peahats will try and knock you down. Do your best to avoid them, because if they make contact you will fall to the ground. Once you make it to the ledge, cut down the grass for some extra magic and hearts. You can use the grappling hook on the peahats here to get a Golden Feather spoil. These will be needed for optional rewards later on in a side quest. Once you are ready, head inside to take on the second major dungeon, the Forbidden Woods.