ZELDA II: THE ADVENTURE OF LINK A North Castle 'Hint-file' Version 3.0 By Juliet A. Singleton This is one of the best, and most difficult games for the NES. However, I persevered until I finally beat it (hehe) and decided it would be nice to help all those people out there who are still struggling (and the damn battery does last longer than 5 years! So there's no excuse!) Here's what is covered in my hint-file; - Basic Walkthrough - Locations of heart & magic containers, and other items of importance - Magic Spells - Levels and Experience - Game Genie Codes - Cheats - Boss Strategies - Palace Maps - General Tips ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ GENERAL WALKTHROUGH This section briefly covers where you have to go and what to do. Details, such as palaces, are explained in the palace chapter. It's divided into three subchapters so you don't get confused (hopefully!) START-EARLY GAME First of all, I'd advise you to go to the cave south of North Castle. It's dark inside but you can easily avoid the lowders and octoroks. There's a magic container at the end of the cave. Once you're outside again, travel north, until you see a single block of trees. There's a battle scene here and you get a cool P-bag which gives you experience points. Next, go to Rauru and get the shield spell. Now you're ready to tackle the first palace. Near Rauru, there's a cave. Go through the cave and you will arrive in Parapa Desert. Due south of the first palace, you'll find a road leading to a small forest. Go to the patch of grass in the middle of the woods, where you will find a Heart Container. It is guarded by an Orange Goriya. Kill the Goriya, then take the container. Get the candle from the first palace, and clear it, if possible. If you aren't strong enough to deal with the guardian, you can always come back later when your experience is higher. Go back through the cave and to Tantari Desert. Keep going north until you see a cave. At the end of the cave is a trophy. Take it to Ruto, where you can trade it for the jump spell. Go south from Ruto through the cave. Go in the forest north of Saria and find a man called Bagu. Then, go to Saria. In the town, you should find a mirror in the third 'open' house. Take it to the lady who has lost her mirror and she will let you inside where you can get the life spell. Make sure you've spoken to Bagu otherwise you cannot cross the river in Saria. Navigate the Death Mountain maze area (it's not too hard). Make sure that whenever there's a fork in the road and you have to choose between two or more caves, choose the one to your right. When you come across a cave with an up/down elevator, leave it alone and continue straight. When you get to the last cave, take the elevator down then go right. After beating some Dairas, you will have the hammer. After getting the Hammer, immediately use it on the rock right next to the cave from which you emerge. There is a magic container in the cave. Next, head towards Midoro Swamp. Go to the road from which you'd head west for the second palace, but instead walk east. Use the hammer on the boulder, and a Heart Container will be at the end. Then, head towards Moruge Swamp. There's a cave blocked by a boulder. Inside is the medicine. Go to Mido. Using the jump spell, jump onto the top of the church and go through the door. In here, a guard will teach you the valuable downthrust. Trade the medicine for the fairy spell. Finally, head back to Midoro Swamp and clear the second palace and get the handy power glove. MIDDLE GAME Go to the graveyard and from the center walk south. You *should* fall down a hole, which is a cave that leads to an island. Clear the island palace and get the raft. Now, you can gain access to East Hyrule! Near Mido is a pier, so just walk onto it and the raft will do the rest. Walk east until you reach Nabrooru. Go to one of the fountains and click on it. Then, you can trade the water for the fire spell. Go north through the cave, then head east to Maze Island. Go to the dead end that's just south of the fourth palace. Defeat the Lizardman and you'll rescue the child (which is to the right - the left is the exit). Now you need to get the third magic container. When you're given a choice between two L-shaped corridors, choose the outer one. On one of the squares there is a hidden pit, where you will find a magic container. Go back to the mainland and travel west until you reach Darunia. Here you can get the reflect spell by handing the child over and learn upthrust from one of the soldiers by jumping down a chimney (I'm not sure which one. Use the jump spell to get on the roof first). Once more, head back to Maze Island. Clear the fourth palace and get the boots. Go back to Nabrooru then turn east and you'll be able to walk on the water. After some walking, however, move north four spaces, then continue east. You should find a "battle" square with a mountain holding Heart Container. Walk onto the island and clear the fifth palace and get the whistle. If you go south from Nabrooru, there is a cave which contains a p-bag, and if you head east along the coastline from the cave, there is another 'battle' square with a p-bag. LATE GAME South of Nabrooru is a strange spider thing. Play the flute when you stand next to it and the river devil will vanish. After lots of fighting (lots of valuable experience points here), go west through the forest. When you find the cave, go through it and then use the hammer on the second tree from the first row of four to find Hidden Kasuto. At this point, I strongly advise that you make sure you have seven magic containers. Then, talk to an old lady in blue and she will give you your final container. Now go the empty house with the fireplace. Enter the hearth, and you'll receive the Spell Spell. Go to the end of town (To the right, where there's a dead end) and cast Spell. A house will rise up from the ground and inside you will find the magic key. Go back through the cave to the mainland and search the beach around the sixth palace, around the south-east corner. There is a final heart container in the area. Go west to Kasuto and get the thunder spell from the wizard there. You will be attacked by invisible moas, but just jump. There's not much to see, so don't bother exploring past the only standing house. Where there are three mountains forming a triangle, stand between the bottom two and play the flute to make the sixth palace appear. Clear it and get the cross. Now is the time to get an 1-up dolls etc. Go to the small graveyard the walk south then west through the lava maze. You should eventually reach the final palace. You must have cleared all the previous palaces otherwise the binding force will not go. Clear this palace and you will win the game! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LOCATIONS OF HEART AND MAGIC CONTAINERS AND OTHER ITEMS Your character starts out with 4 Heart and Magic Containers with the potential to get 4 more of each kind in the game. They are often hidden close to each other. It is important to find them all, otherwise you will not be able to progress through certain parts of the game. HEART CONTAINERS 1: Due south of the first palace, you'll find a road leading to a small forest. Go to the patch of grass in the middle of the woods. There is a Heart Container to your right, guarded by an Orange Goriya. 2: After you get the Hammer, go to the road from which you'd head west for the second palace. Instead of going west, though, walk east. There is a cave blocked by a boulder. The heart container is at the end of the cave. 3: When you get the Boots, walk into the sea as you would to get to the fifth palace. After some walking, however, move north four spaces, then continue east. There will be a battle square with a heart container in it. 4: Search the beach around the sixth palace, in the south-east corner. There is a heart container on a square there. MAGIC CONTAINERS 1: Go south from where you start the game. You'll find a cave to the south and slightly to the east of the castle. It's dark inside but you can easily avoid the lowders and octoroks. There's a magic container at the end of the cave. 2: After you get the hammer, immediately use it on the rock right next to the cave from which you emerge. There is a magic container in the cave. 3: In Maze Island, when you're given a choice between two L-shaped corridors, choose the outer one. One of the road squares is a hidden pit, where you can find a magic container. 4: In the hidden town of Kasuto talk to an old lady dressed in blue. She'll say something to the tune of "You'll need my help" and let you in. You'll find the last magic container in the back room of her house. Hammer - From Death Mountain, make sure that whenever there's a fork in the road and you have to choose between two or more caves, choose the one to your right. When you come across a cave with an up/down elevator, leave it alone and continue straight. When you get to the last cave, take the elevator down then go right. After beating some Dairas, you will have the hammer. Trophy : Go to Tantari Desert. Keep going north until you see a cave. At the end of the cave is a trophy. Take it to Ruto, where you can trade it for the jump spell. I suggest beating the first palace and getting the Candle first. Medicine: Head towards Moruge Swamp. There's a cave blocked by a boulder. Inside is the medicine. Trade it in Mido for the fairy spell. Mirror: In Saria you should find a mirror in the third 'open' house. Take it to the lady who has lost her mirror and she will let you inside where you can get the life spell. Child: Go to Maze Island. Go to the dead end that's just south of the fourth palace. Defeat the Lizardman and you'll rescue the child (which is to the right - the left is the exit). Magic Key: In Hidden Kasuto, go the empty house with the fireplace. Enter the hearth, and you'll receive the Spell Spell. Go to the end of town (To the right, where there's a dead end) and cast Spell. A house will rise up from the ground and inside you will find the magic key. P-bags, red jars and faeries * Red Jars often hide out in a big desert or swamp. They also hide in statues in palaces. * P-bags usually stick out like a sore thumb. If you see a large plain and see a block of forest in that plain, check it out. * Fairies are heard to find. They're often in forests. Otherwise, you'll have to catch one on the land map. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MAGIC SPELLS Your character can learn a total of 8 spells in the game. The shield spell is free, but you have to solve puzzles to get the others. SHIELD: This allows you to receive only 1/2 amount of damage for one screen. To get it, just find the house in Rauru that offers it. JUMP: This allows your character to jump double his usual height for one screen To get it, you have to trade the trophy with a woman in Ruto, LIFE: This heals up to three heart containers. To get it, you need to trade the mirror with a lady in Saria. FAIRY: This turns you into a faerie for one screen. To get it, trade the medicine in Mido. FIRE: This enables you to shoot fire for one screen. To get it, give the thirsty lady in Nabrooru some water. REFLECT: This reflects wizards magic beams for one screen. To get it, save the child from the cave in Maze Island and take it to Darunia. SPELL: This has a random effect. To get it , in hidden Kasuto Town, find an empty yet large home with a fireplace and go up it to get the spell. THUNDER: This damages all the enemies on one screen. To get it, Go to Kasuto and enter the first house. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEVELS AND EXPERIENCE Most enemies give experience when you beat them. This allows you to get stronger in three different areas: Life, Magic, and Attack. LIFE: The higher this level, the less damage you take from a hit. MAGIC: The higher this level, the fewer magic points it takes to cast a specific spell. (Each magic container has 16 magic points) ATTACK: The higher this level, the fewer hits it takes to kill other enemies. L | LIFE | MAGIC | ATTACK --|-------|-------|------- 2 | 50 | 100 | 200 3 | 150 | 300 | 500 4 | 400 | 700 | 1000 5 | 800 | 1200 | 2000 6 | 1500 | 2200 | 3000 7 | 2500 | 3500 | 5000 8 | 4000 | 7000 | 8000 This table shows the points needed to advance to the next level. Anything developed past 8 (which requires 9000 points) is worth a 1-up. Unless you cancel the level once you reach it, the schedule will be; L, M, L, A, M, L, A, M, L, A, M, L, A, M, L, A, M, L, A, M, A. (L=Life, M=Magic, A=Attack) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ GAME GENIE CODES SZKKNXVK Infinite lives PAVGGLLA Start with 1 life TAVGGLLA Start with 6 lives PAVGGLLE Start with 9 lives IZKOZIAI Mega jump AAKEEVSA+EPKEOVVE Swap Shield Spell for Fire Spell LYKEEVSA+VAKEOVVE Swap Shield Spell for Spell Spell OLKEEVSA+OPKEOVVA Swap Shield Spell for Fairy Spell IIKEEVSE+VAKEOVVE Swap Shield Spell for Life Spell UYKEEVSA+OPKEOVVA Swap Shield Spell for Thunder Spell Note: Don't use the last code in the final palace. If you do when you fight the final boss, you will end up trapped in the room and unable to finish the game. Sorry about that, folks! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHEATS Unfortunately, there aren't any cheats as such (if only!!) in Zelda II. These two might interest players though. Thanks to Ice of Ice's Zelda Central, for cheats 3 and 4, and John Shepherd for cheat 5. QUICK SAVE: Pause the game using controller one. Then press A and up on controller 2. HOW TO GET A MORE POWERFUL CHARACTER Beat the game first, then restart using the same character and beat a palace guardian. When you place the jewel in the statue, do the quick save as described above. Start the game with a character you wish to improve and the experience points that didn't finish counting in the other game are given to the new character! WARP If you go to a room in any palace where the block fall from the ceiling endlessly, get up onto one of the top blocks. Then, use the faerie spell and press up. You will then find yourself back in the first palace, but the colour and texture of the palace you were in previously shall remain the same! THE SECRET TOWN Hehe, alright this one is real sneaky! In Darunia, find a house near the edge of a screen and get onto the roof using the jump spell. Jump off again, making sure you can disappear to the next screen. When you jump, use the faerie spell immediately when you go off the screen. Then, just press any direction on the keypad, and you will fall into another town. Here, the people say different things (stuff that people in previous towns said). However, there is a catch to this, so be careful. There is an orange house, and if you enter it a couple of times, the ground will become unsolidifyed, and your character will fall through constantly. Unfortunately, every area in the game will do this and weird little things (like blocks, blurred images, and just random pixels) will cloud the gaming screen. Also, don't exit the town on the right side or you will end up in the middle of the ocean. QUICK MAGIC/LIFE REFILL When your magic meter is empty, talk to an old woman in the orange dress as usual, but before the meter fills up cast life to heal yourself as many times as you need, the magic will continue to refill regardless. This way, you don't have to see two ladies this trick does not work with a red bottle. Sorry :( ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS STRATEGIES HORSEHEAD (Palace 1 boss): Jump up and hit him in the head, then jump back to dodge his club. Repeat until he dies. HELMETHEAD (Palace 2 boss): Same thing as Horse Head, except you don't need to jump as high and you also have to watch for the other heads shooting at you. IRONKNUCKLE (Palace 3 boss): Downthrust the area between the Ironknuckle and the horse a few times until he falls off. Afterwards keep jumping then stabbing. CAROCK (Palace 4 boss): Cast the Reflect Spell then go to the left end of the screen, and duck. Carock does the rest for you! GOOMA (Palace 5 boss): Hit him in the midriff, then jump away to dodge his mace. Cast the Life Spell once and keep your timing right. BARBA (Palace 6 boss): Stay on the right island and when Barba jumps up, get in close, jump up, and stab him in the head. You'll need the Jump Spell to reach him. THUNDERBIRD (Palace 7 boss #1): Use the Thunder spell to expose his head, which is his weak point. The fire he throws shouldn't be too hard to dodge - just make sure that you don't wind up directly ON Thunderbird's head, because he's sure to hit you. Keep stabbing and stabbing his head until he dies. LINK'S SHADOW (Final Boss): He is very hard. However, keep a good rhythm going, jumping and striking, jumping and striking, and eventually the shadow will make a mistake, or when he jumps you can get a hit when he lands. Use the Shield Spell and you should have enough for 2 doses of Life, so you really have 14 Heart Containers! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PALACE MAPS There are a total of seven palaces all together in the game. I've mapped out each one, numbering the rooms and telling you the quickest path to follow. I've also told you where to find keys, locks, the item, and the boss. PALACE 1: CANDLE (Lights up caves) 1 2 - 3 | | 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 | | 9 -10 -11 12 -13 -14 Keys can be found in rooms 2, 3, and 4. Locks are in rooms 6, 9, and 13. The Candle is in room 6. The Boss is in room 14. Best Path: 1-5-4-5-6-7-8-2-3-2-8-7-11-10-9-10-11-7-8-12-13-14. Other special rooms: 8: Continue right when you come across the elevator, and you'll find a fairy. 9: Here's your first Ironknuckle. Jump up and strike him when you land. By doing this, you're faking him into moving his shield down, thus allowing you to strike high. 10: Watch for the collapsing bridge. Only squares that you step on crumble. PALACE 2: POWER GLOVE (Allows you to break stones with your sword) 1 | 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 | | 7 - 8 - 9 10 -11 | | 12-13 -14 -15 16 -17 | 18 -19 -20 -21 Keys are in rooms 4, 10, 15, and 17. Locks are in rooms 5, 7, 9, and 20. The Glove is in room 7. The Boss is in room 21. Best Path: 1-6-11-16-17-16-11-10-11-6-5-4-3-2-9-8-7-8-9- 12-13-14-15-14-18-19-20-21. Other special rooms: 8: Be careful around the falling blocks. They will damage your character, should one hit you and can trap you as well. Basically run like hell through the room , but once you have the glove, take it easy. Wait until the blocks are stacked three high, then break the ones at your height and walk through the tunnel you create. PALACE 3: RAFT (Gives access to West Hyrule) 1 | 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 | 8 - 9 -10 -11 -12 | 13 -14 -15 -16 Keys can be found in rooms 5, 7, 8, and 11. Locks are in rooms 9, 10, 12, and 13. The Raft is in room 12. The Boss is in room 16. Best Path: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-6-10-11-12-11-10-9-8-9-13-14-15- 16. PALACE 4: BOOTS (Allows you to walk on certain blocks of water, Gives access to fifth palace) Note: A passage marked as V is one-way. 1 | 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 | | 6 - 7 - 8 9 -10 -11 | | V 12 -13 -14 15 -16 -17 | V 18 -19 -20 -21 Keys can be found in rooms 2, 3, 8, 11, 17, and 21. Locks are in rooms 3, 4, 7, 12, 17, and 19. The Boots are in room 17. The Boss is in room 14. Best Path: 1-4-5-9-10-11-10-16-17-16-20-21-20-19-18-19- 15-9-5-4-3-2-3-7-8-7-6-12-13-14. PALACE 5: WHISTLE (Clears away River Devil, gives access to palace 6) 1 | 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 | 6 - 7 8 - 9 -10 -11 | | 12 -13 -14 -15 -16 -17 | | | 18 -19 20 -21 -22 -23 -24 | | 25 -26 27 -28 Keys can be found in rooms 3, 9, 16, and 18. Locks are in rooms 5, 6, 27, and 28. The Whistle is in room 27. The Boss is in room 7. Best Path: 1-2-3-4-3-4-5-10-9-8-14-13-20-21-22-23-24-17-16-17-24-23-28-27-28-23-22-21-20-13-12-19-18-19-12-6-7. Other special rooms: 11, 15, 25, 26: These are extra rooms. Stay away from them. 3: You must revisit this room to get the key. You need to use the Fairy Spell to get over the wall, but you need to be able to use your sword in order to get the key. 16: If you want the key in this room, you can't approach it from the left. A wall separates the two sides of the room, and the key is on the right side. 22: The wall behind the Blue Ironknuckle is FAKE. Jump into the wall to find the secret passage. PALACE 6: CROSS (Reveals hidden enemies) 1 | 2 - 3 | 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 V | V 10 11 -12 V 13 -14 -15 -16 -17 -18 -19 V | V 20 21 22 -23 V | V 5 24 -25 -26 -27 A Key can be found in room 9. Locks are in rooms 4, 5, and 9. The Cross is in room 9. The Boss is in room 23. Best Path: 1-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-8-7-6-5-10-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-22-23. Other special rooms: 4: You MUST have the magic key, otherwise you can't go any further. 8: Beware of the false floor. It's located just after the third Ironknuckle Statue. 16: Only the Fairy Spell willl get you over the lava. 19: Don't drop down the hole immediately. On the other side, a blue Ironknuckle guards a 1-up doll. Take it - you don't want to leave in the palace once you've cleared it. 22: Use your fairy spell when going down. since it's the only way to reach the corridor leading to the boss. PALACE 7 This palace is too huge for me to map out and you don't even need to explore most of it anyway. Instead, I've worked out the quickest route to the bosses. Down 1, Left 1, Down 1, Right 2, Down 1, Right 1, Down 3, Right 1, Down 1, Right 2, Down 1, Right 1, Down 3, Left 1, Down 1 (False floor under the fifth block to the left), Right 1, Down 1 (Through that tiny hole), Right 2. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ GENERAL TIPS - If you find a Red Jar, make sure you finish your remaining magic with as many Life Spells to heal yourself, then take the Jar to get the most out of it. - In the villages a young lady in a red dress will almost always be a healer. The old ladies in orange dresses will restore your magic. Be wary of people dressed in blue - they sometimes turn into bats. - Experience building is important. Early game, fight the weak enemies in Midoro swamp. Mid-game, go for the strong enemies in the desert south of Mido. Late game, do the weak enemies in the forests of southeast Hyrule. - If you find a 1-up doll early in the game, don't take it. There are only 5 1-up dolls in the entire game and they do not reappear when you reset. It is better to save them for the final palace. One is in Midoro swamp. Another is in the desert near Maze Island, in a small dead end just north of the ocean. A third doll is in the swamp of southeast Hyrule. The other two are in the sixth and seventh palaces. - Did you know that when you are a fairy, you can pass through locked doors (like the ones in palaces) without a key? Just keep in mind that when you are a fairy, you cannot pick up any special items. - When fighting a palace boss, always use the shield spell. It effectively doubles your life, and is better than using a life spell. - You don't always have to clear the palace (although the experience points you get make it worthwhile) straight away, especially if you're finding the boss tough, Take the item and continue on with the game, developing your levels. Then, when you think you're strong enough, go back and beat the boss. I used to do this and it works fairly well. - When you complete the game, you'll have the ability to replay it. When you do so, all tangible items (palace items, Heart Containers, etc.) will be reset and you must find them again, but you'll still know all the spells and have the same high level! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 'Zelda II Walkthrough' compiled by Juliet A. Singleton E-mail: juliet.singleton@northcastle.co.uk Website: http://www.northcastle.co.uk/ This file (c) 1998 Juliet A. Singleton. All rights reserved.