Legend Of Zelda: Collector's Edition - Strategy Guide - Zelda 2: The Adventure Of Link (Page 02)

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RED MOA: A very hard foe that packs a powerful attack and is hard
to kill. There are two types. The first is seldom seen, as it's
only in graveyards and all it does is fly back and forth, btu can
be very annoying. The other is found in forests and a few swamps
in East Hyrule. It moves slowly, sometimes stopping to open its
eye, then continues moving. It isn't too hard, just stab it when
it's eye is open.

GORIYA: It's a toss-up whether these wolf-like things should be
covered in the cave section, as they are common there too.
There's three types: orange, red and blue. All do the same: they
move back and forth and throw boomerangs. They can cause heavy
damage early in the game, although good shield-movers can block
their boomerangs. The red and blue kinds throw progressively
more. If you have downthrust, use it - it's their Achilles' Heal.

TEKTITE: This jumping spider, found in fields early in East
Hyrule, is a real pain in the ass. Is shoots fireballs and jumps
like nobody's business, can take a lot of abuse, and can only be
hurt at all with the Fire spell.

KILLER BEE: Ha, and you thought the Tektite was bad. This
annoying little bugger flies above you and drops rocks like
there's no tomorrow, and is really, really quick, so scoring hits
is all but impossible. Use upthrust if you're going to fight
them.

FIRE DRAGON: This blue lizard isn't much of a threat as long as
you're good with a shield. Block their fireballs with it. They
can only be hurt by the Fire spell, and can take quite a few
hits.

LEEVER: You'll probably never run into these on your quest as
they are only found in East Hyrule deserts. They aren't hard
either, just jump and downthrust them. They burrow through the
ground.

SCORPION: A hard foe, well, not really hard, but hard to beat,
but gives quite a tidy experience gain. It shoots fireballs which
can't be blocked and do hell-o damage! Even worse, you can only
hurt them when their eye is open.

Cave

LOWDER: Slug-like creature. It's a joke. Squat and stab, or use
downthrust. Killable in one hit.

ACHE: A flying bat that swoops down at you. Not a problem, just
stab from the side, although you must be quick.

ACHEMAN: Again, not much of a problem. Basically an Ache that
swoops down, becomes a dragon and shoots fireballs. Stab it hard
and fast.

BAGO-BAGO: I'm not sure why I'm putting them here, as they are
more common in the overworld. Anyway, this is a fishbone creature
that flies around on bridges, and shoots rocks at you, which are
blockable. Slash him if you really want to, but I suggest just
running away.

DAIRA: Ah yes, the Daira. One of the tougher enemies indeed. Two
kinds. Both have axes, but the orange ones just swing them at you
and red ones hurl them fast and furious. I shudder to think what
the blue Daira is like... anyway, they are common on the caves in
Death Mountain, and can do BIG damage! They can also take a lot
of abuse. Best bet is to use the Shield spell, then attack them
right after they swing their axe. After they swing it, run in,
stab, then move back. For red ones, jump over their axes and try
to stab them. BOTH types require perfect timing to take down.
MYUS: A little spiky critter that can ONLY be damaged by
downthrust. That's the bad news. The good news is, you'll hardly
ever meet them until you have downthrust!

LIZARDMAN: Sometimes found in the overworld, but mostly on the
way to the Great Palace. It is like an Ironknuckle, only much
harder. Use the same Ironknuckle tactics, stab the head, although
that fails to work annoyingly often. They also attack pretty
well, with spears for the orange ones, axes for the red ones, and
thrown axes for the blue ones. Just keep trying to attack, or
better yet, avoid them altogether!

BLUE MOA: An eye thing that is a real thorn in your side. It is
very fast, zipping around the screen, and steals experience.
Thankfully, they are only found on the road to the Great Palace.
Sadly, they are very common there. Oh, and don't even dream of
fighting one until you get the cross, as they're invisible then.

Palace

MINI-HORSEHEAD: Oh, give me a break. This cute little thing
bounces toward you... I actually pity it. Just slash it once.

STALFOS: If you know what you're doing, this can be real easy. If
not, well... anyway, there are many kinds. A direct attack will
be repulsed by their shields, and they also have swords. No
matter. Just duck and as they come close, stab the things in the
legs. I guess their heart isn't in lowering their shield.

SKULL BALL: Not a very serious threat, but can endure LOTS of
hits and is really annoying as it steals magic. It bounces
around, often in important locations. If you want to beat it,
walk right up to it, and keep slashing like heck until it dies. I
loathe this bugger.

HAMMER BROTHER: A... strange creature that throws hammers at you.
The tough part is just getting under the hammer's arc, after
slipping through an opening, stab the source a few times. They DO
take a lot of hits, though.

IRONKNUCKLE: Ah yes, the Ironknuckle. The single most important
enemy to master bashing in the game. There's three types. First,
the orange and red, who attack by charging, then stabbing you
with their swords and adjusting their shield to block your
attacks. To beat them, and their cousins the Lizardmen, you must
jump, and as you come down, stab the head. This is the only
reliable method. Jump, and stab the head. You MUST master this
technique, it's as important as the one-foot jump in Mega Man I,
as Ironknuckles are very common. Oh, I haven't mentioned the blue
kind. This is a very annoying knight, which throws daggers at you
like nobody's business and takes a LOT of hits. Best bet is to
use the Shield spell, and maybe try to jump over than rather than
slug it out.

ROPE: This little snake isn't really bad, it's like an Octorok.
All it does is slither around, spitting fireballs. Block them,
duck, and slash like crazy. Red ones, which are found only in the
Great Palace, are no tougher, except their fireballs can't be
blocked.

SKULL HEAD: This is a really annoying bugger. Interestingly, the
ORANGE type is the toughest. Red ones will move slowly, and shoot
fireballs, and appear in large groups. Your best bet is to run
rather than be slowly bitten up. Blue and orange ones are
basically the same, except orange ones are found only in the
Great Palace. Both bob up and down very quickly, can steal
experience if they hit you, and are very annoying. Downthrust
repeatedly is your best bet.

STONE WARRIOR: A relative of the blue Ironknuckles, and a tad
less civilized. He's just like the Ironknuckles except he throws
axes which return like boomerangs, he takes a lot of damage, and
he is a major hemorrhoid. Shield is a good idea.

ORANGE MOA: Finally, the last Moa! This darned thing is almost
impossible to kill (except maybe with upthrust), you just have to
dodge the fire it drops. 

DOOMKNOCKER: A close cousin of the Wizzrobe of Zelda I. He
appears, shoots a spell, and disappears. If you want to bag one
(and you may want to if they are attacking in full force) you
must cast Reflect, and then duck right in front of one and let it
do itself in (for some reason, that didn't sound quite right...)

FIRE DROPPER: Another wizard, only found in the Sea Palace. He'll
appear, drop a fireball, and then disappear. Forget killing them.
He can take about six hits, can do a lot of damage, and is almost
impossible to hit, as he's only vulnerable for half a second. He
pretty much has to appear right on you for you to hurt him.
Beating them requires too much time and energy.

Great Palace enemies are covered in the Great Palace section.

***<<>>***

Q: HELP!!! I can't get the hammer!
A: They covered this in Nintendo Power. You need to talk to Bagu,
the guy in the woods northwest of Saria, before you can get
within a mile of the hammer. Hang around there until you find him
and receive his note. Then go back to Saria. Go to the end of
town. Whoops! A huge unbridged lake... great. Well, enter the
booth nearby, and the river man will look at Bagu's letter and
let you cross. (If you're playing an already beaten game, don't
bother ,just fly over with the Fairy spell). Congratulations -
you have made it to one of the most dangerous places in Hyrule.
Whenever you have a choice, always CHOOSE THE CAVE TO THE EAST.
Otherwise you'll get nowhere. Each cave has really strong enemies
like Dairas and Goriyas. Use Shield on almost every screen -
thankfully, a few red jars are along the trek. After escaping
this place, you'll come out in a desert. Go west... that cave
there looks a bit suspicious, it isn't in a rock wall! Enter,
beat up some Dairas, and the Hammer is yours for keeps. You'd
better develop your levels to life 5, or you will probably get a
good whacking from these guys.

Q: Where the heck is Secret Kasuto?
A: I could say something really revealing here. I'd best bite my
tongue... what's that? Hey, you're SUPPOSED to spill the beans!
Either spill the beans, or I'll spill your intestines? Okay,
okay! Go to southeast Hyrule and that huge forest. In the
northeast corner is a cave. Inside are Tektites and Lizardmen.
Since fighting these guys is suicidal, just run whenever
possible. After coming out the other side... uh oh, nothing here?
Well, stand facing the second forest block from the west in the
second row from the south, and press A. Ta Da! Secret Kasuto.

Q: Where's the best place to send my levels to the moon?
A: Anywhere the enemies are strong enough to give you good
experience, but not so strong they wipe you out. Just pick a good
spot. Early in the game, the swamps in southwest Hyrule are a
good choice, as they have mostly Octoroks, who are easy to kill
and give a lot of experience. Late in the game, the
Lizardman-infested forests in southeast Hyrule are an excellent
place to gain, but only if you get slaughtering Lizardmen down
pat and regularly do so without sustaining any damage.

Q: Where's the Great Palace? I've looked everywhere and had no
luck.
A: Everywhere but south of southeast Hyrule's graveyard, that is!

Q: Any 1-UPS in Zelda II?
A: You bet. Note that you can only get these once EVER, so DO NOT
get them until you're ready to tackle the last two palaces. You
need all the lives you can get! One is one square southwest of
the boulder blocking the cave with the medicine. One is two
squares southwest of the bridge in Maze Island. And another is in
the swamp in southeast Hyrule in the northwest corner (you need
the Jump spell to get it). The last two are in the last two
palaces, one each.

Q: Okay, I'm on the way to the Great Palace. I'm getting
slaughtered by something invisible!
A: Ever thought that there might be an item in the 3-Rock Palace?
Ever thought that you might need to get it? Well, it's the cross,
and it reveals the invisible buggers.

Q: Thank you very much. I'm still getting slaughtered.
A: Well, you need to have all spells and all your levels at
eight, as well as plenty of lives, before taking the Great Palace
on. Also, don't kill everything. If you can, take to the hills
and avoid fighting. The problem is, the enemies are usually in
narrow corridors which means you kind of have to fight them (the
narrowness isn't exactly, handy, either)... and use Shield and
Jump every screen, unless you're a magic miser.

Q: When should I use the Shield spell?
A: When you feel overpowered by an enemy. Problem is, more often
than not, you either take no or very little damage, and waste
magic. Still, use it on your own whims, and remember that Life is
three times as expensive in MP as Shield, and Shield effectively
doubles your life for one screen.

Q: What spells should I use the most?
A: The first four. The last four will only be used in very
specialized situations.

Q: YIPEE!!! I got the Fairy spell!!! Now I can fly around all my
enemies!
A: Sure, waste all your magic. Good idea.

Q: When does giving water get fire?
A: You win the prize for dumbest question. Another gamer pointed
out that to get the Fire spell, you need to give a chick water. I
loathe riddles. And I don't have a lot of time. So shut up with
your stupid questions and give me something interesting.

Q: Where are the containers, items, power bags, that stuff?
A: Are you out of your skull?!? I dedicated a whole section to
the containers and items!!! As for power bags, they aren't really
important, so there. Now, these questions are just so dumb I'm
ending my FAQ right now.

***<<>>***

1. Fairy Trick

Ever just seen a locked door and thought, oh, wouldn't it be
divine if I could just get through that thing? Well, you can, as
a fairy! Problem? Fairy is expensive. Real expensive. And don't
try it if you have any keys, you'll use the key anyway. I suggest
saving up keys in early game sections and using them later on.

2. Not beating palaces

This is the single most important trick in the game! If you don't
beat the palaces, just go in, get the treasure and leave, you: A:
Will not have to go through the annoying at best process of key
searching. B: Have the sheer pleasure of frigging butchering the
early palaces at level 8. C: Get an extra life for every palace
you beat. Isn't it awesome?

3. Replaying the game

This is another terrific trick. If you start an already beaten
game, you'll start with all your levels at 8, all spells and
sword techniques, but all items and containers will be lost.
Then, you can just breeze right through the early game. It's
awesome!

4. Red jars: the secrets

Red jars, which are really hard to find can really restore magic
AND life. When you find one, use Life, then grab it. Or, if you
don't have enough for Life, grab it, and the second you have
enough for Life, use it. You'll restore life, and your bar will
keep refilling. It'll go almost to full.

5. Red jars: the locales

A red jar is located at the beginning of every palace (except
Parapa Desert and Sea Palaces, the latter of which has a nearby
town), just stab the statue. However, it will annoyingly often
become a red Ironknuckle instead of a jar. If that happens, leave
the screen and try again! In the palaces themselves, be sure to
stab every statue, including the ones on the walls (well,
probably not the ones that spit fireballs). Sometimes you'll get
a red jar, sometimes you'll get an enemy. Some can only be
reached with the Jump spell, which makes it a real casino!

6. Chicks: the secrets

In every town (except Rauru, which has only the life lady) are
two gals, one in orange and the other in red. The orange one is
easy to find. The red one is also easy, she'll, instead of
wandering, constantly patrol her dwelling. Talk to either one and
they'll let you into their house. Inside, you'll get your life
(from the red lady) or your magic (from the... guess) restored to
full!!!

7. Fairy: the problems

Beware when in fairy form. You can still get hurt, you can still
die if you're foolish enough to go into lava or water, and you
can't use your sword. This means you are helpless you defeat
enemies, pass through blocks or collect goodies.

8. The spell of... Spell

Spell, the spell, has strange effects. If used, I believe enemies
on screen will either die, or become Bots. Weird, huh?

***<<<3-ROCK PALACE WALKTHROUGH>>>***

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a tough palace. While it's nothing
compared to the Great Palace, it's stuffed full of old buddies
like Ironknuckles and Doomknockers. It's time to nail down some
basics.

-Be sure to use the red jar at the palace entrance opportunity to
refill your magic and life to FULL before proceeding.
-Have all levels at 8, and several lives in reserve.
-Don't use magic unless necessary: save it for Jump and Life.
-Ignore all power bags and enemies. Well, don't ignore enemies as
in walk right through them. I just meant that since we don't need
experience anymore (you'll have more than ten lives by now,
you'll get one for each of the five previous palaces, and should
also be grabbing all three overworld 1-UPS now).
-Since you don't need experience, you can and should try to run
away from your foes and save your strength for places where you
must fight. This doesn't work as well with Ironknuckles, though,
since they can and do follow you if you do get by them.

Alright, let's go - we aren't accomplishing anything by hanging
around the outside, so let's go down the elevator. Ignore the
first floor, nothing's there. Go down again. Uh, a door... no
problem, just walk right through (you DID get the magic key,
didn't you...) Now it gets interesting.

Use Reflect here in this room. There are THREE Doomknockers, and
without Reflect, you'll have a, well, hard time jumping over all
their spells. So kill them. Also, with Reflect active you can
actually block the Stone Warrior's axes, making him very easy.
One room down, a few zillion to go. Next up comes a spot with a
blue Ironknuckle and some holes. Cast Shield if you're desperate,
but I suggest just running in, slashing the Ironknuckle hard and
fast, and either killing him or knocking him into the hole.

For the longest time I thought that if you fell into these holes
you couldn't get back up, but then I realized that if you fall
down past the bottom floor, the pattern repeats and you're
whisked back up here. Nevertheless, cast Jump, you can't get over
the holes without it. See that statue? It's a red jar/Ironknuckle
thing. However, DO NOT TOUCH IT! We'll get it later, but now,
we've hardly started. Next, continue right... Yikes! Another blue
Ironknuckle! We'll kill him later, but for now, just jump over
him after backing him to the steps, and climb up.

The next room you may want to use Reflect in, as there's some
Doomknockers here, but I wouldn't - just jump over their magic.
If you can, jump over the Stalfos rather than kill them (all
though they're way too easy anyway). The fireball streams from
above are almost impossible to dodge, but do almost no damage.
Then... de-ja-vu, Island Palace! A block steps room! Don't
release the things inside their prisons (you could have probably
figured that out). Cast Jump, it makes it a lot easier. Besides,
you need it to get over that gap on the far right. Make me proud:
did you grab that power bag?

Ah yes, the next room. It's a really nasty one. Go on as normal
jumping over Doomknocker spells until you get to the third
Ironknuckle statue. Take a few steps to the right. Move so you're
standing on top of the block two blocks right of the statue. Then
make a huge, Jump-assisted leap to the right and pray you land on
solid ground. What the hell are you worried about, you ask? Well,
a false floor, which happens to drop you into a Doomknocker and
StoneWarrior-infested area. Heck, cast Fairy if you're desperate.

After making it across, you'll enter.. The boss room?!? No, it's
NOT the boss room. This is a sub- boss room, where you'll meet
another MBI, back from the Island Palace! The only reason it's a
boss is to force you to beat him. Same as before, don't bother
casting Shield, Ironknuckle will die in four hits, two to get him
off his mount. After scrapping him, enter the final area to
get... the Cross! Now we have every single item in the game!

Now, get ready for some serious backtracking. Head back all the
way to the room with the two pits, using spells as necessary. You
are probably almost out of magic by now, so you may want to kill
yourself on the trek back. Resist that urge. In the room with the
holes, time to recharge ourselves with that statue! First, trash
the BI (Blue Ironkncukle). Then cast Jump and leap up and stab
the statue. If it's the knight, get the heck out of there and try
again until you run out of magic or get the jar (in the former
case, kill yourself). Then drop down the holes. Nothing but a
power bag here, so drop down again, and this time go right.

Now that we've got the treasure, the real fun begins! First on
your search and destroy mission of Barba (the boss): a BI. Kill
or jump over him and continue. Uh oh, a room with some lava pits
that you've got to leap over. Don't use Jump: the pits are rather
small. Problem: BLUE SKULL HEADS!!! Kill all three BEFORE making
any jumps. Then cross at your leisure. The next room isn't too
bad, it's an orange Moa and some RI's. Oh no. Not a giant, Skull
Ball infested lava pit. The Skull Balls won't be a problem, but
how to get over... use Fairy (you could probably have figured
that out).

A few more enemies in the next room, shouldn't be a problem. That
elevator going down? Forget it. Continue right... ah, another
MBI. You know the drill. Then comes the final room. You'll be on
a ledge and a hole is before you. What do you do? Well, if you
have at least three magic containers, you can just plow on to the
boss. If you don't, cast Jump, jump over the gap, and say hi to a
BI and two Skull Balls. You can't defeat them: run through, grab
a 1-UP at the end there, but it's gonna be a short life... kill
yourself. DO NOT get this if you are not going to kill yourself,
as if you do, the BI and Skull Balls (who can steal magic) will
make short work of you anyway. When you're ready to take on
Barba, drop through the hole. You're in a chasm place... pause
the game NOW! Select Fairy, and use it BEFORE you drop off the
screen. Otherwise, consider yourself Doomknocker and Ironknuckle
food. After casting Fairy, go through that little hole (no, you
CANNOT get through in your normal form) and go right, into a room
with some lava, but with something in it...

BOSS: As we know, there's no such thing as an adventure game
without a dragon. Zelda II lives up to that tradition, with this
next boss, Barba the Dragon.

Finally, a challenge. Barba is not really hard, but he's LONG.
Also very scary. Cast Jump for this battle. Don't cast Shield.
Why? Because if you get hit, you'll die! Die by being knocked
into the lava... the platforms are pretty darned thin. See why
it's so tense? Anyway get onto the middle island. Barba will
randomly rise up on one of the three holes... if he rises on the
far left, ignore him and wait for him to go back down. If he
rises up on either side of you, jump up, and get CLOSE
(practically kissing the creature, not that anybody would want
to, but...) to his head, with the help of Jump, and slash. He
will then shoot a laser beam at you (you'd think it would be a
fireball). Immediately after hitting him, jump to the island away
from him. Then immediately jump again and you'll be cool as ice.
Jump back to the middle island and repeat. Hit him eight times
and he'll sink for good.

***<<>>***

Before you embark on this journey, from which you will never
return, you MUST have: full magic and life, all abilities at 8,
all spells, all items, all palaces beaten, and at least ten
lives. Don't have ten lives? Hang about the nearby forests and
fight Lizardmen. When you're ready, go to southeast Hyrule. Stay
east of the bridge, near the graveyard. Notice the path leading
down south from it? Don't go there just yet. Instead, step into
the swamp and QUICKLY step back onto the path. The wandering
monsters will then hit you on the path, resulting in a no fight.
Then after leaving, QUICKLY (before more monsters attack) head
down through the graveyard into that path, and you'll enter a
battle scene.

The rest of the trek is a mixture of normal battles on a new kind
of terrain, lava field, and also there will be some caves and
battle squares. Here's some basic advice:

-Try not to cast Shield often, unless you absolutely have to, you
need your magic.
-In every battle square except the first, (in which you must
cross a fence dodging flung rocks and a Moa or two) you'll be in
a cave with two orange (in the last one, red) Lizardmen and
plenty of Moas. Also some lava pits. In each and every one, start
off by casting the Jump spell. It makes hitting blue Moas easier,
and it is needed for the final lava pit, and makes the others
much easier to make.
-You sort of have to kill enemies because they will keep hitting
you if you try to run, and you do not, under any circumstances
want to get hit while jumping over a lava pit. You might want to
run in normal battles, though.
-Fighting conditions aren't exactly ideal, because there's plenty
of lava pits, and when fighting Lizardmen, you're often in a thin
corridor, making hitting them hard indeed.
-Now that you can see them, you'd think the blue Moas would be
easy. You'd be quite wrong. They hit for pretty good damage and
can steal experience, but the real problem is their movement,
zipping across the screen at fast speed and changing height,
makes attacking them hard. Since fighting normally is pretty much
out, your best bet is upthrust or downthrust, depending on their
elevation, twice. A few red Moas are also thrown in, and they can
be really annoying.
-The first cave contains nothing but Moas, but the second - your
final challenge - has all colors of Lizardmen and a Scorpion.
-Ah yes, the Lizardmen. When fighting them, be aggressive - don't
cast Shield, just leap and lash their head as best you can, and
keep fighting forward. You'll usually best them. Orange ones
won't be too bad. Red ones are pretty much like orange ones. Only
difference is they take three hits instead of two, and their axes
can't be blocked, but the orange one's spears are very hard to
block, so it's not a problem.
-In a few battles, you'll encounter the very last, and very
hardest, overworld enemy: blue Lizardmen. They are basically red
Lizardmen and red Dairas into one. They throw axes, although not
as fast as Dairas, but otherwise are the same as their cousins,
jump and attack the head.

After the second cave, you'll reach a palace. Let's see... what
could it be...? Now that you've made it to the Great Palace, the
real fun begins!

***<<>>***

No, there's no magic refill here. Sorry. But there is a giant
energy field before the elevator going down. Yep, the binding
force from the story! However, it won't be a problem, because
you've beaten all the other palaces (at least you'd better!) Now,
the Great Palace is... WEIRD. For one, all the enemies here are
either new outright, or v2.0s of previous enemies. Next, there's
no keys, locks, item, or need to gain experience. Second, there's
a lot more "puzzles" - some of the rooms can be very tricky.

Also, half the palace is a gigantic loop! You'll think you're on
a roll, you're going without fail, then you'll either hit a dead
end, or end up back where you were before, hopelessly lost. So
either meet that rather grisly fate, or follow my directions from
start to Thunderbird. OK? Also there are a few shorter dead ends,
and to ease your suffering, some fairies, red jar opportunities
and a 1- UP.

To start off, when you come to a fork, go left. The path to the
right is a dead end. It's... A DREADHAWK! This younger cousin of
the boss is the toughest enemy group in the game, found only
here. Surprise! This one is the most common, a deep red, type 1
red Dreadhawk, which is, while the easiest, very menacing. It
gives up awesome experience, but if you can, jump over and run.
He can endure like six hits, and attacks by throwing fire. He
throws the fire in an arc like the Hammer Brother, only when it
hits the ground, it remains and sometimes moves. You can try
jumping over the bugger, but you'll probably have an encounter
with his fire as he throws it upward, and it may be more
economical to simply get in close and cut the hell out of him in
the first place.

The next room has a high path and a low path. The high path leads
to the elevator but has a small false floor just after the first
pillar. And on the lower part? A dozen Dreadhawks? No... Bots.
Yes, in the Great Palace, BOTS. These aren't normal Bots though.
They can endure an amazing two hits, and do pretty good damage,
but Bots or Bots, and these guys are easily killed by simply
walking up and chopping away. If you don't have full magic, get
it by killing the Bots, leaving and coming back. They'll
reappear, and every sixth kill you score is worth a blue jar.

Anyway go down the elevator. Do you realize we've spent two
paragraphs talking about two rooms (or three, maybe)? I think we
need to go a little faster. At this fork, go right (the left path
dumps you into the loop). Ah, a nice, enemy-free room to catch
your breath. But paradise just doesn't last that long. Your next
challenge is a red Rope (same as blue, only unblockable
fireballs), some orange Skull Heads (same as blue, only take
additional hit and do more damage) and another of those darned
type 1 red Dreadhawks! And now, there's nada in that Dreadhawk
statue.

Go down the elevator. Unless you conside ornage Skull Heads hard,
this won't be a problem. Just cut through the blocks and keep
going. In the next room, you'll meet (gulp) a TYPE 2 red
Dreadhawk! This guy, while he pails to the blue kind, is really
hard. He can jump and throw knives like nobody's business, gives
alarmingly low experience, but only requires two hits to beat.
That's two too many. Get by him by running under him and climb
the steps. He'll be chasing you, so do this next part very fast.
Jump over or kill the Bot, and quickly cut through the top four
blocks in the column. Then use downthrust and zip down the right
column, and get away from that bird by going down the elevator.

STOP!!! In a small, tiny elevator passage? Well, if it wasn't for
the fact that the left wall, about 1/3 from the bottom, is fake,
I would be nuts, but as it is, go through for a secret area. Yup,
that statue contains a red jar... or maybe a type 2 red
Dreadhawk. In the latter case, RUN! Come back and do it again. It
requires the Jump spell but is worth it, as Jump is very cheap in
magic by now, and a red jar will completely heal you. After
healing up, continue down two more floors... another fork. Right
again (left takes you to the loop). Another type 1 red Dreadhawk
will give you a run for your money.

Another orange Skull Head room, only this time, there IS a red
jar in that statue. We just restored, but why not - just make a
running, normal leap up and stab it. Again, be prepared to run if
it's... not what you want. Refill, and then into the next room
below. Cut through those blocks and defeat the Bots inside with a
thrown sword before doing so. When you reach the other side,
you'll meet the toughest enemy in the game... the blue Dreadhawk.
He's basically a type 2 red one, only all around tougher.
However, this particular one can be beaten with a special trick
(thanks to Nintendo game Atlas for this lovely cheat!)

As you cut through the blocks, leave the FOURTH BLOCK ON THE FAR
RIGHT INTACT. Then stand on it, duck and face the blue bird. As
he jumps at you, slash. You'll hit him in the head, maybe just
use your sword continuously, don't use magic, just sit there,
slashing as he jumps up to you... four hits does him in. Whew, I
thought we were dead! Onward, through more blocks, and into the
next room. Oh no, not a crumbling bridge... complete with a red
Rope. Not a problem, just jump and downthrust the reptile as you
come near, and dodge his fireballs. Then jump over another hole
(the Skull Ball will be a no problem). Roll up the big guns on
these next two rooms...

The first one contains a giant Skull Ball as your first foe. He
can do awesome damage but shouldn't be a problem, just hit him
from below with upthrust until he goes down. He gives no
experience, though... waa waa. Ahhh!!! A blue Dreadhawk! No
blocks here, so instead of fighting, run under him when he jumps
as long as you don't freeze in terror, and get the heck out of
there! As if that wasn't enough, the next room contains ANOTHER
BD. Here, you'll be much more hard-put to escape, but do so
anyway - fighting these guys is sheer suicide. Run under him, and
up those steps fast... you'll get hit by the giant Skull Ball,
sorry. Now get through those blocks, and FAST! Go down the
elevator to escape.

Yep, another red jar here, same as before. Be ready to run and
keep trying with Jump. After your get that lovely vial, go
down... STOP!!! Since we just refilled, there's no point in
grabbing the fairy to the right, but instead go left. Wait fro
the Bots to jump into the lava, or slay them with a thrown sword,
and jump over the small pits. In the next room... no, you're
seeing things! A practically free 1-UP! Bag it and head back to
the elevator and continue down. Going right is a dead end, so go
left. Okay, last Dreadhawk! A type 1 red. Beat it like you always
would, and then continue left.

This is a key room, one that stumps elite gamers time and time
again. It has an upper and a lower half, and no enemies but some
orange Skull Heads. Most people would say that the upper half is
right, after all, it has two ways to get in and out. The lower
half appears to be a dead end. Actually, it's the lower half
we're in now, and that's the right place to be. If you enter from
the left, you'll reach a cut-and dried dead end. If you enter
from above, you'll be only able to exit to the left, and that
eventually takes you right back where you started. So if you're
in the upper half, reset and try again.

Anyway, the lower half is a dead end, right? Right? No, quite
wrong. Don't those blocks look a bit suspicious to you? Well,
downthrust your way through the fifth block from the left... a
false floor! ARGH! You're almost to the end! Go right (left's a
dead end). A huge Bot will fall! Oh man, what to do? Well, use
upthrust and whack it from below. It splits into six normal Bots.
Don't bother killing them, just go right. A last, gasping try for
a trick. Don't cross the crumbling bridge - dead end again.
Enemies are a joke, just a Skull Ball and some Myus. If you don't
rush through, you'll notice in the center is a small gap in the
lava. Drop through, of course! Now, left is a dead end. Go right
to a room with eight pillars and you've made it to Thunderbird.
Breathe a sigh of relief... which quickly turns into a grimace of
alarm!

***<<>>***

Thunderbird, the... thundering bird, is your first final foe. He
looks more like an Indian statue than a bird. He is the toughest
boss in the game, much tougher than Link's Shadow coming up. He
will drop a continuous stream of fireballs, which are very hard
to dodge, and do MEGA damage - more than one container, even with
Shield active! Thunderbird himself is harmless, though. Problem
is, he's blood-red, and has no head! And the head is the
vulnerable point for all the bosses, well, many of them at least.
I think it's time for a little change of colors. I'll assume you
enter with full or near-full magic and life - if you don't,
you'll probably just die. Or, kill yourself and then have max.

When he is FULLY ON SCREEN (otherwise the latter won't work) cast
3 spells: Shield, Jump and Thunder. The latter will cause
Thunderbird to turn blue, and give him a head, that is, a
weakness! He'll hover around the room, dropping fire, more and
more after you hit him. Get up to the side of him, make a big
leap and slash the guy on his noggin. Then keep dodging the fire
and look for opportunities to hit him. Thunderbird will go down
after you whack his skull eight times on attack strength 8.

THE END?

No, it's NOT the end! After killing Thunderbird enter the next
room. A dwarfed wizard will cause the triforce to disappear, and
the screen turns purple, and Link's Shadow, of all things, jumps
out from him, comes to life, and begins fighting you!!! This
isn't too hard... Link's Shadow does surprisingly little damage.
Kill yourself immediately, then come back on full stats. Cast
Shield immediately. Then, when you're down to less than two life
containers, cast Life twice, so you actually have 14 life
containers. Link's Shadow will move around, stabbing like crazy,
high and low. He can jump but cannot use, or can be hurt by,
either "thrust" move. Be aggressive, jump, keep trying to attack
his head like you would an Ironknuckle or Lizardman, and
eventually you'll score a hit. Just keep jumping and striking,
jumping and striking. Also if the shadow jumps, note that the
instant he lands, stab him - you'll catch him off guard and
usually score a hit. Link's Shadow is "dead" after (surprise!)
eight solid hits. Congratulations - you have just beaten a
classic. Enjoy the ending and the replay option - you've earned
it.

Once again, PLEASE do not plagiarize, as I hate having to do the
dirty work of handling that, but I will if you try. If you see
this FAQ/walkthrough anywhere else, please notify me if there is
no credit to Clasher.

If you want more Zelda, the only other option on the NES is Zelda
I, and I found that rather crummy. But I have The Legend of
Zelda: A Link to the Past for SNES: It's awesome!  And DO enjoy
Zelda II as best you can. Best of luck to you.

Farewell

(End of FAQ)