The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds reminds us of A Link to the Past on Super Nintendo, but it manages to separate itself from the timeless classic with Link’s unique merging ability. With it, our young hero turns 2D and slides along walls, which is ideal for solving tricky puzzles and locating hard-to-reach items. With this in mind, expect to use it quite a bit in part 5 of our free walkthrough. For more in-depth strategies, check out Prima’s Collector’s Edition Guide, along with this extremely limited Legend of Zelda Box Set.
For the complete walkthrough, visit Prima’s free A Link Between Worlds guide.
House of Gales
Lake Hylia
Empty Bottle #2
If you venture to the east side of the House of Gales in Lake Hylia, you’ll stumble upon a letter in the bottle. The note is from a fellowman stuck on the mountain beyond the Tower of Hera, and he desires some premium milk. Luckily, you’ll be heading that way after completing the House of Gales. In the meantime, you get to keep the bottle.
Gone with the Wind
Swim to the House of Gales at the X mark on your map. The entrance is shut, but you’ll notice the Tornado Rod symbol on the pedestals nearby. Equip the Tornado Rod and use it to blow off the tiles on the floor, revealing a switch. Step on the switch to open the gate, then step inside the House of Gales.
House of Gales – 1F
The Entrance
As you enter the House of Gales, destroy the set of barrels in front of you to discover another floor switch. Stepping on it triggers two wind fans on the left and right side of the hall. It seems you can’t reach the upper ledge ahead of you. Stand in front of either fan and use your Tornado Rod – this will launch Link up in the air and land him on the higher ledge.
Critter Party
The second-central hall on 1F is large and infested with rats and Keese. You cannot access the second level of this room yet. Swipe all your foes with your sword and head north. You will see two unlit torches in the north section; light them both with your lamp to reveal a chest containing a Red Rupee. Afterwards, hop down the ledge in upper-right corner and proceed into the northeast room.
Slimy Group
Numerous slime foes guard this hall. There are also two wind fans blowing that can knock you into the pit in this room, but you can turn them off by hitting the crystal switch. Defeat the enemies here to spawn a chest that carries some monster guts. When finished, return to the previous chamber to your left.
Paper Link
Back in the central hall, merge into the eastern wall and work your way to the southeast section. There, you’ll discover a crystal switch. Triggering it will lower the ledge to the right of you, but you still won’t be able to reach it. Ascend the stairs in the central area and make your way to the south portion of the hall (near the entrance). Then, move east and merge into the wall. Doing so will allow you to crossover and reach the passage in the southeast corner.
Ghost Rider
The following chamber has you pitted against some flaming skull heads. Use your Tornado Rod to blow off their fire, and then strike them with your sword. Defeating them reveals a chest; open it to claim the small key. When finished, backtrack to the previous room, merge into the southern wall and unlock the door in the southwestern corner.
Collect the Compass
Electrical Baris enemies guard this hall. To dismiss them easily, stun them with your Tornado Rod. A chest can be seen nearby, but it’s on higher ground. Merge into the moving platform to your left from its side and ride it until it lines up with the ledge carrying the chest. Morph out of the wall and open the chest to obtain the compass.
Now that you’ve got the compass, merge into the wall nearby and make your way to the northeastern ledge. From there, wait until the other movable cube approaches you, and then merge into it to cross over to the left side. Ascend the stairs there to reach the higher level.
Get some air
When you reach the higher level of this hall, move south and use the moving blocks to crossover to the east side. A floor switch can be found in the northeast section. Step on it to activate a wind fan from the southern wall. The fan doesn’t serve a purpose yet, but will become useful later. In the meantime, exit the hall via the passage next to the floor switch.
Gimme’ a Boost
You end up on the higher level of the central hall. Take care of the Bari roaming aboutand then activate the floor switch nearby. Doing so will trigger another fan from the southern wall. Stand in front of the fan’s wind and use the Tornado Rod to send Link flying to the central catwalk to the north.
If you desire, head into the northwestern room. A bunch of rats roam the hall, but they can easily be defeated. Exit from the southern passage to return to the moving block chamber. Merge into the western wall here and move all the way down to the southwestern ledge holding a chest. Open it to claim a Silver Rupee!
Afterward, merge into the southern wall next to the chest and proceed to the eastern ledge. Remember that fan you activated earlier? Equip your Tornado Rod in front of the wind and blow your way to the northern platform. The door nearby leads you back to the central hall on 1F.
Back in the central hall (on the upper level), walk to the end of the catwalk to the right and merge into the eastern wall. Then move south to land on the southern ledge. Here, nail the crystal switch to activate a large fan in the corridor’s north section. Approach the large fan and jump into it – you get a free ride to the second floor of the dungeon!
House of Gales – 2F
Spike Lee
Now on the second floor, go south to encounter a spiked pillar rolling before you. To get around it, you’ll need to use the Tornado Rod and hover over the trap (wait for it to roll towards you). When clear, descend the stairs to the south and destroy the barrels in the southwest corner. A floor switch rests underneath them. Step on it to drop a small key – which, unfortunately – lands on a higher board. You can easily snag the key with the boomerang using a diagonal-shot from the stairs. If you don’t have it, check the section below.
Way to the Key
Enter the southeast passage to arrive in the large east chamber of 2F. This is another important area that contains another giant fan which you’ll need to revisit. For now, slash the baddies here and ascend the staircase. Head through the passage to arrive on the higher part of the previous hall. Merge into the lower-right wall and go south until you reach the beam carrying the key.
The Big Key
Head back to the large east hall (through the southeast passage just below the beam) and exit via the south door. This takes you to an outside balcony of the dungeon on 2F’s southeast section. Two levers can be seen on the wall. Pull the right one to reveal a large chest to the west of you.
The other level has a firewall that emerges. To put out the fire, simply deploy the Tornado Rod, but be careful: the flames will reappear after some time. Upon doing this, two Armos statues ambush you. Stun them with your Tornado Rod and stab them with your sword!
Approach the large chest and open it to claim the big key. Remember, these ones open the boss’s lair! Once you acquire the big key, numerous flames emerge in front of you, and two more Armos attack. Like before, use your sword and Tornado Rod to get out of this mess!
Ring of Fire
Make your way back to the central hall of 2F. Remember where you collected the small key on the beam? There’s a locked door on the south wall of this corridor; unlock it now that you’ve got the key. This leads you back to the outside balcony, but on an higher catwalk. Drop down to the left-side balcony to discover four more levers; three on the lower level, and another on the higher catwalk next to the locked door.
Begin by pulling the first two levers. Both will spawn some enemies, but it should be a breeze to dismiss them. After, approach the third lever to the west next to the circle of fire. Pull the lever to have a small platform move above you. To reach the moving platform, use your Tornado Rod and pounce upward as it comes your way. Then ride the platform to the locked door to the west.
Pull the lever next to the locked door to spawn a couple slime foes. Defeat them, then merge into the wall to the left of the locked door and move along to the west side of the building. Another catwalk will be discovered here with a floor switch. Step on the switch to have a small key appear in that ring of fire near the levers on the balcony. Return there, blow out the fire with your Tornado Rod and then claim the small key.
Mini-boss!
Now that you’ve acquired another small key, you can unlock the door on the western balcony (remember to use your Tornado Rod to reach the platform and ride to the higher catwalk). Inside, you’ll battle two large snake-like creatures. These monsters are covered in fire and leave trails of lava behind them that can damage you. Your Tornado Rod is the key to win – it will remove the beasts’ fire and allow you to inflict damage with your sword. To avoid damage, merge into the walls since they can’t touch you. Each one takes roughly 7-8 sword hits to bring down.
After you defeat the enemies, a warp point emerges and the east door unlocks. Warp if you’d like to save your progress, then return to this room and enter the eastern passage.
So Many Switches
The eastern path lands you back in the central hall of 2F in its lower section. The wind can knock you off the ledge, so stick left, descend the stairs and enter the passage in the upper-left hand corner. This leads you to the northwest cavity. Numerous floor switches are scattered around the room. This is tricky – you need to hit them in a certain order to get across. Each switch carries you by the fans onto the following ledge if done properly. Follow these quick steps below:
- Ledge 1: Step on the left switch
- Ledge 2: Step on the left (northern) switch
- Ledge 3: Step on the northern switch
Succeeding in this puzzle lands you on the northeast ledge. Exit the hall from the nearby path to arrive in the north section of 2F’s central hall.
Too Windy
Jog north and fend off the Keese lurking the hall. Run up the stairs and make your way to the east side to discover a floor switch. Trigger it to turn off the fans in the central hall. Then descend to the southern ledge below the switch and merge into the wall. Move west (underneath the fans) to reach the central stairwell. Ascend them, go east and then enter the northeast passage.
Eye See You
The northeast chamber is guarded by a green Eyegore (those who played A Link to the Past should be in tears at this moment). These baddies are vulnerable when they open their eyes as you approach them. The green ones are easy and will go down after three or four hits.
Once he’s dealt with, drop down to the lower ledge from the north side and hit the floor switch to get the cage platform moving above you. Equip your Tornado Rod and pounce up to the platform. As you ride it south, hit the crystal switch along the way to activate the large fan in the room. That’s your path to the 3F – pounce into it and take a ride!
House of Gales – 3F
Slippery Snake
You arrive on 3F’s east chamber. Dismiss the enemies here and then merge into the eastern wall. Slip to the southern staircase, and then exit the hall via the southwest door. This brings you to the south central hall of 3F. Defeat the Eyegore presence, and ignore the locked door for now. Equip your lamp and ignite the two unlit torches to unlock the west door. Head through.
Ghost Rider Part 2
The eastern hall of 3F is guarded by several flame skulls. This can be tough, but don’t be afraid to merge into the blocks if needed; you can snag a power potion on the central platform. Use your Tornado Rod to dismantle their flame shields and get some hits in. Concentrate on one of them at a time. When they’re dealt with, a chest will appear on the southern ledge, and the northeast door opens. The chest is unreachable right now, so exit from the only accessible door in the northwest corner.
The Last Key
The passage leads you to the room prior to the boss chamber. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to get there just yet, so merge into the wall and crossover to the east side of the hall. Then exit the room from the eastern door. You are now back in the east chamber on its north section, and can access the chest resting here. Open it up for the final small key for this dungeon!
The Last Room
Now you need to return to the locked door in the central hall. Merge into the wall next to the key chest you just opened and move to the south end of this room. Then ascend the stairs and exit via the left to arrive back to the central hall. (If you want, you can head to the western chamber now and collect a Purple Rupee from the chest.) When ready, unlock the northern door to reach the last room.
Two moving platforms lead to the boss’s door, but you’ll need to pounce to the northern platform first. Wait until the platforms move south, then use your Tornado Rod and good timing to boost over to the upper platform. Be careful of the Bari floating ahead; it can knock you off. If you’ve got the boomerang, we suggest using it here. Otherwise, slash it with your sword as you approach it while its electricity is deactivated.
BOSS! Margomill
This eyeball creature’s body is constructed of spinning wheels. It moves fast, and can knock you off the edges around the hall. At the beginning of this fight, Margomill has only one layer of spinning wheels, and his eye is exposed. Approach the beast and deploy your Tornado Rod – you’ll stun him and land on the top layer of its body. Slash away at the eyeball before the monster retreats (there are plenty of hits you can nail here).
After inflicting damage to the beast, he’ll construct additional layers of wheels to his body and shield his eye. At this point, you’ll need to destroy each wheel layer with your sword to expose the eye again. Use caution and swipe it in the center section of the room to avoid falling off the edges. Once you expose the eye again, repeat the previous technique and stun it with the Tornado Rod. Repeat this process for the third and final phase to win the battle.
Need some Wisdom
When the battle concludes, grab the full Heart Container, then examine the glowing object that appears before you. The object is the one and only Pendant of Wisdom. Now we’re getting smarter by the minute!
Published: Nov 22, 2013 08:00 pm