Level Six - The Dragon

Entrance to the Underworld - Level VI

The sixth dungeon of Zelda I -- this is, in my opinion, the hardest of the first quest dungeons.  I say this simply because this is where wizzrobes make their first apperences, and these enemies are needlessly difficult.  They deal obscene damage, their attacks are ranged and they teleport without pattern about the room.  Not to mention that they typically will appear in packs, in rooms filled with natural obstacles, making their defeat that much more difficult to secure without taking a beating yourself.  In addition, virtually every room throws a chockful of difficult enemies at you.  This dungeon is perfect for those who play this game for the action element -- for those who are heavier into the puzzle element, like myself, it is an irritant.  Especially in Zelda I, where combat is made so difficult by Link's linear sword movements and his limited mobility, thanks to the NES movement schmema.

Listen to the Old Man

If I remember Impa's advice correctly...Gohma has one eye.  But thanks for the advice!

Again, another obscure hint from an old man that says everything...if you don't decipher this hint to mean that the eye is the boss' weak spot and you should hit it with a certain weapon (the bow and arrow) then you will spend time and energy in vain trying to slash away at the boss.  He's just trying to be helpful, you know?  Hints in future games are a little less obscure, especially since they usually come post-context so that Link isn't wondering on earth the person's talking about.

Obscurity

Listen, old man, that's just like telling me that there are secrets where there isn't water.

I've talked a lot about obscure old man hints, however, dungeon six's takes the cake.  This one tells you that there are secrets where fairies don't live.  Of course, he's pointing out that the entrance to dungeon seven lies beneath a pond which appears to be a fairy pond...except there's no fairy.  However, as Link commented, to tell Link that there are secrets where fairies don't live...virtually every square in Hyrule doesn't house a fairy.  Does every one of them house a secret?  No...especially not the one that he's trying to specifically allude to.  (Of course, the idea of a specific allusion is just plain hypocritical.)  I just find this humorous every time it happens, so I keep showing it to you.

Underworld Boss VI - Gohma

Under the sea, under the sea...darling it's better down where it's wetter...

 

Gohma starts the decline in difficulty of the bosses.  The only difficult underworld boss, really, is Gleeok.  Gohma is irritating because he won't stand still and the opportunity to fire an arrow into his eye is slim, but with the amount of life energy we have at this point there's not much those fireballs can do to us unless we're a really bad shot.  This is a little bit of a disappointment, but there's not too much one can expect from eight-bit graphics and a limited combat engine.  All these factors included, I suppose it is a decent challenge...and perhaps the game figures that since the enemies leading up to the boss chamber are such a pain, maybe the boss should be simple to defeat (provided you can decipher the secret to defeating it.)

Triforce of Wisdom Piece #6

Yahoo!  This one was well earned!

The sixth piece of the Triforce of Wisdom is won.  The first quest is now two-thirds complete, the entire game 33% done.  We're on our way.