The Water Temple: Lake Hylia

The Underwater Sanctuary

Sheik and Impa finally catch a break on the whereabouts of Princess Zelda, but the news is not nearly as positive as they were hoping. Rumor has it that Princess Zelda is actually leading a regiment of Cia’s monster army and she’s used it to take over the Water Temple at the bottom of Lake Hylia! Princess Zelda definitely wouldn’t join Cia willfully, so we’ll need to reach her to get to the bottom of this.

A Brief Reprieve

This Scenario offers a nice reprieve from what you dealt with at Death Mountain, though there are still some tricks and challenges coming your way, especially if you’re looking to get the Hard Gold Skulltula on this map. Hang in there and we’ll give you the best strategies for handling this Scenario and getting all it has to offer.

Ambush the Enemy!

You start the scenario inside the King’s Hall Keep with a mission to ambush the opposing force. To do that, you must get the drop on them. Literally. Take a right out of the Mine Keep and run to the end of the path. There is a ledge you can—and should—jump from. When you take the plunge, it catches the enemies within the mines off guard, dropping their morale. Clear out the enemies in the mines and then head outside.

Rescue and Escort Ruto

Your next mission is to help the Zora Princess, Ruto, who’s had her hands full with Zelda’s army since before you and your allies arrived. Head toward the flag icon on the minimap to find Ruto, then defeat the two glowing Lizalfos attacking her to rescue her.

Once she’s been rescued, Ruto asks you to escort her to the Lakeside Keep on the west side of the lake’s shore. Capture the Keep and then Ruto flips a switch that lowers the lake’s water level, revealing the Water Temple below.

Enter the Water Temple

Head into the Water Temple from the steps in the center of the map. A legion of Big Poe Captains will make their way up those very steps, which means you’ll be able to intercept them and prevent them from causing trouble for your allies who stay behind on the lake’s shore.

The Zora Princess Imprisoned!

Almost immediately after entering the Water Temple, Princess Ruto gets kidnapped by Zelda’s forces and taken to a room in the center of the temple. This is the trickiest part of the Scenario, because enemy Captains will continuously attack Ruto so long as she’s in that room and reaching her is no simple task. You need to hit two different switches in two different Keeps to reach her and the only way to hit the switches is to capture both Keeps.

The Keeps housing the switches are the SE and SW Room Keeps. Head over to the SE Room Keep first and capture it. This switch not only slightly lowers the currents blocking your access to the center of the Water Temple, it also lowers the water on west and east sides of the temple, giving you access to the West and East Room Keeps. Don’t bother going to either Keep just yet; saving Ruto should be your number one priority.

Gold Skulltula Opportunity Just up and to the left of Temple Face Keep; behind a Wall of Vines is the 1,000 KO Gold Skulltula. You’ll need to be prepared to get this one, since you’ll almost certainly be inside the Water Temple when the Skulltula appears on the field. Keep a close eye on your KO count to make sure you’re good and ready to race to the Skulltula. A Wall of Vines will be blocking your path, so you’ll need the Boomerang to open the way.

Head over to the SW Room Keep and capture it to lower the water in the central room.

You can now reach Princess Ruto via the central room’s south entrance, but first you need to take out the Gate Guard standing in front of the door. Once the Gate Guard’s been defeated, the door opens and you find Princess Ruto fighting for her life.

Defeat the Captains attacking Ruto to save her and complete the mission.

Heart Container Opportunity While playing as Darunia, as soon as you rescue Ruto, head through the Central Keep’s east gate and destroy the boulder in the corridor ahead to reveal a chest containing Darunia’s Heart Container for this Scenario.

Piece of Heart Opportunity Before you enter Zelda’s Keep, head over to the East Keep and capture it to reveal Sheik’s Piece of Heart for this Scenario.

Defeat Zelda

Now that Ruto is safe, it’s time to get back to the main objective: stopping Zelda from hurting anyone else. Her Keep opens up after you free Ruto, which means it’s time to get to the bottom of this mystery. In classic villain form, as soon as you enter her Keep, Zelda summons King Dodongo to the center of the map. You must deal with Dodongo before you can face Zelda, or you’ll run the risk of letting it destroy the Allied Base, and your losing the fight.