Storming Hyrule Castle

Link's Uncle Passes On

So we arrive within the castle walls.  Like any castle, it appears impregnable.  I should hope it would be so.  After all, it wouldn't be much of a defensive keep against invasive forces if say, the enemy could walk right up to the front door, knock and say "Password" and get in!  I digress.  Link finds his way through this dank passageway to find his uncle who had left before him, lying mortally wounded.  Wow, Nintendo kills a character!  That never happens!  One way or another, he tells you how to use his sword with his dying breath and gives it, along with a shield, to you.  That's good, now we can actually defend ourselves and attack things!  I never really thought much of this moment, though I imagine it actually is very moving for Link...this is his family, after all, and because he didn't act quick enough his uncle is dead.  What a tragedy.  But we must move on, for Zelda is also still in trouble somewhere deep within these walls.

Hyrule Castle Foyer

A hop, skip and a jump through the castle courtyard and we arrive in the main building itself.  Quite nice looking, I might add!  Also, those of you who are paying attention will notice that this is the first time in a Zelda title that we ever truly set foot into Hyrule Castle.  In Zelda I, you only go into the underworld for structures and in Zelda II, you enter palaces, the main hub of which is North Palace, not Hyrule Castle.  Hyrule Castle, while a magnificent structure, is not the hub location of the game: that'd be your own house (what a deal, everything is convenient!)  Now, for our first visit into this castle, it doesn't seem like much with just a few rooms and all and a couple of weak enemies, but it gets better, it always does.  In fact, the primary floor of Hyrule Castle is of no consequence to Link except to provide access to the catacombs and the upper floors, which are of consequence.  Right now in our quest, we are only interested in the catacombs: the upper floors won't even let us go far because we don't have the sword of evil's bane.

The Boomerang

This game reintroduces items which you must use peri-battle, rather than have them be constantly effective or active on the overworld by the press of a button.  This was a welcome return, for a Link who only totes swords is quite dull.  Our first item is the Boomerang, which in this game doesn't serve too much usefulness.  You toss it, and if it goes far enough, it'll stun some enemies (and kill a few).  You can eventually promote the item so that it will fly farther, but this isn't much of an improvement.  It's a mediocre item to help you through battles if your sword skill is bad, really.  The catacombs here seem long, but they really aren't, and very quickly we find ourselves in the prison, where we meet our very first boss.

The Mace Knight

This guy is pathetic for a boss, if he can even be called a boss.  I do simply because he's the last enemy you'll find in this section of Hyrule Castle and he's guarding your goal: Princess Zelda's cell.  While powerful, especially for a three-heart weakling like us, with proper timing this guy is actually a chump.  He swings his mace around several times like a numbskull.  Seriously, good pitchers in baseball don't announce what zone they're aiming the ball for, and that's exactly what this mace knight is doing with his mace.  As long as you're careful and step off as he finishes his wind-up, you're good to go.  Besides, he looks kind of...weird.  Meanwhile, Zelda just sits in her cell, watching.  She could've helped...but then again, maybe she's unarmed.

Rescuing Zelda

You've saved Zelda, so the game must be over, right?  Wrong.  She tells you more about the wizard's vile plot to send her to the dark world and to break the seven wise men's seal; and tells you a great deal about triforce lore that no one has ever known before.  I guess Princesses have the time to read up on all of that.  One way or another, she tells you that the two of you must make your way to the Sanctuary (yeah, no one will think to look there, it's only attached to the castle!) and while your enemy sees you and gets angry about it, trying to kill you, they obviously don't care about the princess behind you who's probably worth a lot more to their boss than you.  Alas, the flawed logic of a minion!

Escape to the Sanctuary

After a bit of exploration of the useless first floor of this castle, Zelda and Link make their way to the giant throne room, where there is a shelf just saying "Here!".  In case you didn't notice it though, Zelda also points that out and then she actually does something...she helps you push it out of the way, and you enter the sewers which attach the Sanctuary to the Castle.  That's just weird...sewers attach the holy Sanctuary to the Castle.  I don't even think I won't to think about an explanation to that one.  Either way, Zelda's help explains why you weren't able to do this if you visited this room before; I suppose those 20 extra newtons of force really made all the difference.  : )

The sewers aren't pleasant because you'll have little to no light (this is why Hyrule Castle, and your home, presented ample opportunities for artificial light in the Lamp).  Not to mention thinking about the trudge that you and your princess are having to walk through...what would the commoners think if they knew the Princess walked in their pee?  After this seemingly long adventure to do what seems like the ultimate goal of the game (which is really only the tip, tip, small tip of the iceberg) we emerge in the Sanctuary.