The Minish Cap Walkthrough – Dark Hyrule Castle

Now that you have Roc’s Cape, there is plenty to do in the overworld. However, if you’d like, you can continue onward to the final dungeon by making your way to the Elemental Sanctuary. We’ll be traveling there in just a bit.

For now, play the Ocarina of Wind and fly over to Hyrule Town. Run over to Swiftblade’s Dojo at the south part of town. Now that you have Roc’s Cape, he will teach you the Down Thrust! It’s rather simple to perform and very rewarding when used properly. Since you are nearby, you can visit Carlov at the Figurine Shop, as several new figurines from Cloud Tops and the Palace of Winds are now available. It’s a good idea to spend them now, especially if you are close to the maximum number of shells, since we’ll be collecting some shortly.

If you’ve been following along with the Walkthrough, you should now have the first seven Tiger Scrolls. This means we can now get the final Tiger Scroll, located within Caster Wilds. Use the Ocarina of Wind and fly over. Dash over to the west end of the area and enter the tomb. Speak with Swiftblade the First, Spirit of the Swordsman to learn the Great Spin Attack! To perform the attack, just charge up and do a standard spin attack. However, keep pressing the sword attack button to continue to spin.

Now that you have all eight of the Tiger Scrolls, we can now get the final secret hidden skill. Fly over to Hyrule Town and then enter North Hyrule Field. Walk to the west, near the bridge, and then fall off the ledge to the north. If you’ve been following the guide, we previously fused Kinstones with Waveblade at the southwest part of Lake Hylia. If you haven’t done so, you should run over and do just that. This will open up a secret entrance within the waterfall.

Inside Link will encounter Greatblade. At this Dojo, Link will learn how to prolong the duration of the Great Spin Attack that he just learned! With this added ability, Link can repeatedly press the sword, moving around the room will continuing to perform the Great Spin Attack. It’s quite useful in rooms with lots of enemies.

Now that we have the Roc’s Cape, there are also several additional heart pieces that we can now collect, as well as some additional Kinstone Fusions we can make. Start off by flying back over to Hyrule Town. In the center of the town there is the town bell that is hanging down overhead. Link can use Roc’s Cape to jump and hit the bell, causing Piece of Heart #38 to drop down.

Our next stop is over in Lake Hylia, so fly on over there. First thing we will do here is make a Kinstone Fusion that we could have actually done earlier, but we couldn’t quite get the reward. Make your way to the southeast part of Lake Hylia and shrink down in size, using the tree stump found here.

As a Minish, walk northward into the water and swim up. Along the right wall you will find a small vine that you can climb and drop down into a hole. Inside you will find a Minish and you can fuse blue kinstones with him. This will cause a beanstalk to appear in Lake Hylia, but it is in a location that we have yet to be. For now, return to the tree stump and revert back to normal size.

As normal Link, make your way over to the center of Lake Hylia, near where David Jr, one of the Tingle brothers, is located. There is a piece of heart located just to the right and it’s probably one you’ve been tempted by for so long. Now that we have Roc’s Cape, we can fly over and grab Piece of Heart #39.

Use Roc’s Cape and fly over to the north end of Lake Hylia. You can finally reach this land patch where you can then use the Mole Mitts to dig inside. There is a lot to find in this cave. Walk to the left and take the southern path. Dig up all the dirt and you’ll find a trio of treasure chests here, one containing a Red Kinstone, another a Blue Kinstone, and a third containing 50 mysterious shells.

Dig your way to the west and defeat the mini-moldorm that is nearby. If you dig up just a bit, you’ll find the sixth and final Mysterious Wall. Fuse Blue Kinstones with it and a final Goron will appear within the cave at Lon Lon Ranch, finally breaking through the rocks that have blocked your pathway. We’ll check this out shortly.

Make your way back to the entrance and this time dig your way straight to the left. Follow the pathway until you find an exit to the south. This leads to Lon Lon Ranch and you’ll find Piece of Heart #40 waiting for you just on the outside!

Back inside the cave, dig along the north area and you’ll find a series of treasure chests, one containing a Blue Kinstone, another a Red Kinstone, and then the one all the way to the right contains 50 Mysterious Shells.

Make your way back to the original entrance of this cave and dig your way to the right. Near the far wall on the right, you’ll find a treasure chest containing a Red Kinstone. Grab it and then climb the ladder here to get outside. Walk to the left and climb down the ladder here to reenter the cave. Dig over to another ladder and exit the cave once again.

You will now be outside at the north end of Lake Hylia where we just fuse kinstones and caused a beanstalk to appear. Climb up and open the two treasure chests to get 200 Rupees and 200 Mysterious Shells! Then of course collect Piece of Heart #41!

Let’s now go search that Goron Cave, so use your Ocarina of Wind to fly over to to the Hyrule Town Wind Crest. Make your way East to Lon Lon Ranch and enter the Goron Cave. If you haven’t already, open the small treasure chest here to get 200 Rupees! At the end of the cave you’ll find a large treasure chest. Open it up to get the 4th and final Empty Bottle!

At this point you can now technically collect the first 130 Figurines from the Figurine Shop in Hyrule Town. Some of the figurines are only unlocked after certain Green Kinstone fusions have been done. This includes the green kinstone fusions that caused the Golden Enemies to appear. However, after completing the Goron Quest, the Goron figurine becomes unlocked and thus, you can get all 130 Figurines.

Getting all 130 Figurines is no easy task and it takes a lot of time and patience. However, you’ve done so, there is a Piece of Heart that you can now collect. Just north of Swiftblade’s Dojo and west of Mama’s Cafe, Link can find Herb, a man sitting at the table. After collecting 130 Figurines, speak to him and he’ll be greatly impressed. He gives you a key to his house and tells you that you can go inside and take whatever you want.

Herb’s house is located just north of where he is sitting and can be entered from the right. Link can open the three treasure chests to get 600 Rupees! The final prize is Piece of Heart #42!

There are still two additional heart pieces for us to collect, and even a full heart container, but we cannot get them quite yet. Thus, it is now finally time to head over to the Elemental Sanctuary at Hyrule Castle.

It’s now time to make your way to the Elemental Sanctuary, found within Hyrule Castle. Warp over to Hyrule Town and then make your way north to the Hyrule Castle Garden. Just like you did earlier, you’ll have to sneak by the guards on the west side of the Garden to reach a secret ladder. Climb down the ladder and once again make your way to the Elemental Sanctuary.

Inside the Sanctuary, place the sword into the Pedestal and power it up using the Wind Element. This also causes the tablet to the north to disappear and a hidden door can be found. Walk up a screen and examine the stained glass pictures to trigger a cut-scene.

After the cut-scene travel back down a screen and then step on the switches so you can head through the door below. Travel down another screen and something will seem awkward. Some of the characters have turned into stone and Hyrule Castle looks completely different. Charge up your sword while facing one of the stone characters and then release to shoot out a beam attack. Hitting each of the three stones will cause them to awaken, allowing you to pass.

Welcome to Dark Hyrule Castle. You can always come back to the room to the south, where you’ll find several fairies, as well as some extra bombs and arrows. For now though, head left a screen and then up a screen, defeating the enemies along the way.

Make your way passed the Guruguru Bar and head up a screen. Watch out for the enemies here and place a bomb along the wall to the right. Use the stone that is found here and shrink down to Minish size.

As a Minish, walk back left a screen and down a screen. Fall down the large hole in the center of the room to get down to the floor below.

Watch out for the spark and walk up a screen. There is a small hole at the top of the room, so walk on through and then revert to normal size using the stone here. Step on the switch and it will open up the prison door, along with the one to the right.

Walk to the right and you’ll find the King in stone form! Charge up your sword and deliver a beam blade to awaken him. In return for helping him out, the King will give you a small key! With key in hand, head to the west end of the room and climb up the steps.

It appears there is a locked door in this room, but it is actually a fake door, so don’t go near it. Instead head down a screen. Multiply Link and push the block out of the way and continue down another screen.

Watch out for another fake door on the left side of the room. The door at the south end of the hall is actually real, so go ahead and use the small key you just got. Defeat the Stalfos, Wizzrobes, and Mini-Moldorms if you’d like. Walk by the staircase for now, and instead head up to find a larger treasure chest containing the Dungeon Map! Now return to the staircase and climb up to get to the first floor.

At this point you have the option to leave Dark Hyrule Castle. Considering we just infused the fourth Element into our sword, there are now two additional heart pieces that can be collected, as well as a full heart container! Now is the best time to get these goodies. If you’d like to, exit to the south. Otherwise, skip over to section 6.4 to continue the journey through Dark Hyrule Castle.

With the fourth element infused, we can now collect the final few heart pieces as well as a full heart container. Use the Ocarina of Wind and fly over to Hyrule Town. Just to the right of the warp point is the Hyrule Town school. Enter the building and then head right a screen to reach the classroom. Flip over the pot with the Cane of Pacci and use it shrink down to Minish size. Exit the room through the small hole on the right.

Walk over to the area just north of the small track and you’ll zoom in to the Minish size screen. Watch out for the Scissors Beetles as you walk northward. At the north end of the screen, use the flashing tiles to multiply Link. Use all four Links, push the massive boulder out of the way and collect Piece of Heart #43. Be sure to also open up the treasures chests found here to get some Red Kinstones. Return to the school and resize.

Warp over to the Minish Woods and enter the Minish Village. Travel to the northeast part of the Minish Village and exit to the right, where we previously got a heart piece.

Jump into the water and swim to the right. Enter the pink-roofed building and fuse kinstones with Forest Minish found inside. After fusing for the first time, exit the hut and re-enter. Once again fuse kinstones with this Forest Minish, this time using a Red Kinstone. This will cause a platform to appear within Veil Falls, giving us access to a secret cave.

Once again leave the hut and re-enter. Fuse Red Kinstones with the Forest Minish again, causing a small hole to appear in Lake Hylia, right near the warp point. After fusing all three times with this Forest Minish, exit out of the Minish Village and re-size using the tree stump.

Use the Ocarina of Wind to warp over to Veil Falls. Climb down the wall on the right side and then leap off the west platform to drop down to the water below. Just to the right of where we previously got a heart piece, there is a small cave, and because of a recent fusion, we can now dig inside. Dig straight up until you come across Piece of Heart #44! You can continue digging through this cave and it will eventually lead to a treasure chest containing 50 Mysterious Shells.

Back outside, use the Ocarina of Wind to warp over to Lake Hylia. Shrink down in size using the tree stump and then fall into the small hole that recently appeared through a kinstone fusion. Make your way through this cave, using Roc’s Cape to jump over the obstacles. At the end of the cave, climb up the ladder and then enter the small Minish house. Speak to the Minish Elder Librari and he’ll be shocked that you found him here. As a reward, he will give Link a full Heart Container!

This now completes all of the hearts in the game, as well as virtually all of the collectible items. Despite this, there is still one more upgradable item that we can get, but unfortunately for whatever reason that isn’t available until AFTER you beat the main quest. Thus, it’s now time to head back to Dark Hyrule Castle.

Once you re-enter Dark Hyrule Castle walk straight northward to the next screen. Take the left pathway and follow it until you get to a screen where four balls are being shot towards you. You’ll need to use the floor tiles here to multiply Link. Then deflect the four balls all at the same time, causing the four launcher to break and the door to open. Climb the steps and head up a screen.

Continue to the right a screen and you’ll find a room with a bunch of blue tiles. You have to make it through the maze in one continuous pathway, while stepping on every blue tile. If you mess up, you can step on the switch to the left to reset the puzzle. Step on the first tile and from there walk right 3, up 1, left 2, up 1, right 2, up 1, left 3, up 2, right 1, down 1, right 1, up 1, right 1, down 1, and then right to exit the maze. There are other paths you can take to make it through, but the door will open when you succeed.

Continue down a screen and you’ll find a blade trap that is moving around some blocks. Multiply Link as the blade trap nears the top. Run ahead of it and then carefully make your way downward, watching out for the blocks along the way. Step on the four switches below and a treasure chest appears. Open it up to get a Small Key and then leap off the ledge.

Walk back down a screen, left a screen, and down a screen to get back to the entrance. Climb up the staircase on the right and use the small key on the locked door, taking you back down to the basement.

Continue up two screens along the right pathway. Defeat the Stalfos and then use the four vertical tiles on the left or right to multiply Link. Be sure the last multiple of Link is at the top for ease in the next puzzle. There are some more cannons shooting balls towards you. The easiest way to accomplish this is to stand all the way to the right as close to the right cannons as you can. Slash your sword to hit the balls at the cannons and then quickly turn around to slash the other balls as well. If done quick enough, the four cannons will break and the pathway will open up.

In this next room there are a ton of Keatons waiting to attack. Use any of your various attack methods to defeat these critters. Afterward, turn your attention to the wall on the left side. There is a bombable wall if you place a bomb just below the center on the left. Do so and then head on through.

Continue up a screen and then climb up the staircase. Walk up a screen and you’ll be confronted by a Red Darknut. After defeating the Darknut, the doors in the room will open, but the throne will also shake. You can push it to the side to reveal a hidden staircase. For now just head right a screen and open the large treasure chest to get the Compass! Walk back left a screen and then head down the secret chamber.

Use the lantern in this dark chamber and head right a screen. Defeat the enemies if you’d like and then continue up the staircase to get back to the first floor.

Continue to the right a screen and then head up the staircase to reach the 2F. Exit through the door to find yourself back outside at a strange area. Use the whirlwinds here and land at the platform to the south. Get rid of the bow moblin here, making traversal much easier. Use the whirlwinds and make your way to the southwest corner of the room.

Defeat the moblins here and then reenter the dungeon to the left. Use the four warp tiles here to multiply Link just when the Guruguru bar to the left passes its top revolution. Quickly run left and then down. When the fire is out of the way, push the large block downward and then exit to the right.

Defeat the enemies and you’ll find more whirlwinds to the south. Just avoid the balls being shot at you and float down the screen, using the whirlwinds. Walk down a screen and then left a screen. Use a projectile to hit the switch across the gap to the left, causing the bridge to extend. Defeat the enemies if you’d like and then re-enter the building.

There are plenty of glowing tiles here, along with four switches just to the north. Multiply Link using the four tiles in the picture: Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right, and then one square towards the middle from the Top-Left and Top-Right. Walk northward and strike the switches to open the door.

In the next room you will find two Ball and Chain Soldiers. Defeat them both using similar strategies as you did in the past. Once defeated, a red warp portal will appear and both doors to the sides will open up. Walk to the left a screen and then head up.

You will find a moving platform here with a number of bombites. There are some cracked blocks just to the north. The easiest way to get through the blocks is to use the gust jar to suck in one of the bombites. Quickly move south of the blocks and launch the bombite so that it will explode the blocks.

Step onto the moving platform and allow it to ride you to the north end of the room. Jump on top of the gate and hit the two switches at the top corners of the room, causing the door to open. Jump back on to the moving platform and then head up a screen.

The door to the north is closed, so just head right a screen. Continue up a screen and you’ll encounter atBlack Darknut. Use the same tactics that you’ve used in the past to defeat this enemy. Once defeated, a blue warp portal will appear within the room. Additionally, several Darknuts will appear in some of the adjacent rooms of the floor.

From the Black Darknut, walk down and right a screen to encounter a pair of Darknuts. Defeat these simpler enemies and then head up through the door that opens up. Use the Flame Lantern to light up the eight torches in this room and then head up through the door that opens up.

Defeat the Ghinis found in this room and then continue onward to the scree to the right. Climb down the staircase here and open the treasure chest to get a Small Key!

Backtrack a few screens to where you just fought a pair of Darknuts. This time head down a screen to find yourself in a familiar room. Use Roc’s Cape to jump up on top of the metal grating. Walk to the south end of the screen and jump off the ledge. Continue down a screen to battle with a Red Darknut.

After defeating the Darknut, walk down through the door that opens up. There are two sets of nine flashing tiles here and south of the guruguru bars, there are four switches. If you stand right in the center between the four switches and perform a spin-attack, you can hit all four at once. Alternative, use either of the sets of tiles to multiply Link. You want to multiply Link in a ‘Plus Sign’ formation, using the top-middle, right-middle, bottom-middle, and left-middle squares. Carefully make your way by the center of the two fire bars to reach the switches. Stand in the middle and perform a spin-attack to hit them all, causing the door to the right to open up.

There are a pair of Fire Wizzrobes in this room, so go ahead and defeat them if you’d like. You can step on the switch in this room, causing a staircase to appear to the left. The hole in the ground and the staircase to the right both lead down to the floor below, but unfortunately there is nothing to find other than a trio of Gibdos. Instead, climb the steps to the left and open the treasure chest here to get a second small key!

Backtrack several screens to where you just fought a Red Darknut. From here, travel left two screens to find a pair of Darknuts. Defeat them both and then travel down a screen.

Here you will find another floor puzzle. Step on the first blue tile and walk down 5 tiles, right 1, up 1, right 2, down 1, right 3, up 1, left 1, up 1, left 3, up 1, left 1, up 1, right 2, down 1, right 2, up 1, right 1, down 2, and right 1 to reach the end of the maze. If you mess up you can step on the switch in the corner to reset the puzzle.

In the next room there are four Ghinis, so go ahead and dispatch them just as you’ve done before. Continue southward to get back outside of the dungeon. Defeat the enemies if you’d like and then head left a screen. Walk back inside of the dungeon here.

The staircase to the right leads to some extra arrows and bombs, so be sure to fill up if you’d like. Walk up the staircase on the left to find a treasure chest containing the third Small Key! After acquiring it, backtrack several screens all the way to the room where we recently fought two Darknuts.

Travel northward two screens, making your way passed the bombite room once again. Defeat the Red Darknut that is waiting for you here and then continue northward through the door that opens. Defeat the four Red Stalfos that are in this room and also watch out for the Wallmasters that fall from the ceiling. Make your way to the north end of the room and you’ll see four targets along the north wall. Use the Bow and Arrow to hit the four targets, causing the door to the left to open up.

Push the blocks out of the way and then drop down the hole in the center of the room. Avoid the Gibdos and then climb back up the staircase. Now on the left side of the room, climb the staircase on the left and open the treasure chest to get a fourth Small Key!

Climb back down the stairs and step on the floor switch found here. The door to the south leads outside where you can get some recovery hearts, but it isn’t of much importance. Afterwards, backtrack to where you fought the Black Darknut and uncovered the Blue Portal. From there travel north one screen.

Use the four Small Keys that you recently got to unlock the four blocks in the room. Now use the floor tiles at the top-right portion of the room to multiply Link. Push the large block to the left and then open up the large treasure chest to get the Big Key!

It’s now time to take on the final set of boss battles! Walk through the Blue Portal to get back to the dungeon entrance. You can head to down if you’d like to replenish your health and fill up your bottles. Alternatively, you can get some fairies right here within the dungeon. From the dungeon entrance climb down the staircase to the left. Walk to where the large treasure chest was in the center of this room and jump off the ledge to the north. The pots on the left side contain some fairies that you can catch in a bottle.

Once you are ready, return to the dungeon entrance and step through the Red Portal. From here, use the big key and make your way through the large locked door.

This next portion is timed and Link will need to defeat a series of enemies before the bell chimes three times. You’ll have to move quickly. Defeat the Ball and Chain Trooper and then head up a screen.

There are some floor tiles here as well as a number of Keatons. Multiply Link and walk straight up, defeating the enemies along the way. Step on the four switches and then head up a screen.

You’ll be confronted by three Darknuts, including one Black Darknut! These enemies can be quite difficult and you are also timed in battle! The best methods are to either use Remote Bombs to temporarily stun the enemies, or use Roc’s Cape to jump over them. Remember, don’t press and hold Roc’s Cape as you don’t want to glide. Just a simple jump and then quickly turn around and slash away. After defeating the Darknuts climb up the staircase.

After a cut-scene the first phase of the final battle will begin. During the first stage, Link will battle with ‘Vaati Reborn’. Vaati will shoot out fireballs towards Link while a series of eyes revolve around him. If the eyes stop for a moment be careful as they are about to shoot out lasers. Also be careful as Vaati will shoot out a purple ball towards Link that will grab him and cause damage.

Slash away at the eyes and it will reveal Vaati’s weak spot in the center of its body. Run over and slash away with your sword. After a few hits, Vaati will summon four eyes this time and the first phase repeats. Be careful as Vaati will also teleport around the room and can be difficult to hit.

After hitting Vaati’s weak spot a number of times, Vaati will start giving his eyes more armor. These large balls are still Vaati’s weak spot, but Link will first need to use the Gust Jar to suck them away. After using the Gust Jar, Link can then once again repeat the same process of attacking the eyes and then Vaati’s weak spot.

After a number of hits, the battle will move on to its second phase where Link will fight Vaati Transfigured. During this phase Vaati takes more of a large ball like appearance with eight smaller balls surrounding him. During this phase Vaati will slam into the ground, sending these purple spikes out around the battlefield. Link can slash as these and he’ll occasionally find some arrows underneath them. Vaati will also send out electric balls towards Link so be careful.

Use your arrows to shoot the balls that are surrounding Vaati. Four of the eight balls contain eyes and are either above, below, to the left, or to the right of Vaati, but they are all in a row. If Link shoots one of the correct small balls, the eye will be revealed. Shoot four of them until all four eyes are revealed.

Use the tiles in the center of the room to multiply Link in the same orientation as the direction of the four eyes. Now carefully run up to Vaati and hit all four of the eyes repeatedly with your sword. After a series of hits, Vaati will pound the ground and reset its eyes. You’ll have to repeat the process but which eyes are correct will change.

During this phase Vaati will also summon small blocks to fall from the ceiling so be careful to avoid them. Just repeat the process of shooting arrows and then slashing at Vaati’s eyes until he has been defeated. If you need recovery hearts or extra arrows, slash away at the purple spikes that are tossed around the room.

After defeating Vaati Transfigured run up to find Princess Zelda. Charge up a sword beam and hit the stone to awake her and return her to normal form. The dungeon will begin to collapse and next we see, Link and Zelda are at the dungeon entrance. The entrance is blocked off so take the staircase to the left. Follow this linear path up a screen and right a screen. You can get some extra fairies if you’d like and then head north to the Elemental Sanctuary.

The final phase of Vaati will begin in the form of Vaati’s Wrath. Vaati will grow two large hands and will try to shoot at Link with an electric ball. Occasional, Vaati will dig one of its hands into the ground and it will come up at another location, moving around and trying to harm Link.

Once the arm comes up from underground use the Cane of Pacci to flip it upside down. Now quickly run over to the stone at the top of the screen and shrink down to Minish size. Climb into the arm and you’ll find a number of eyes. One of these eyes contains a red pupil, so go ahead and slash at it until it has been defeated.

Revert back to normal size and repeat the same process with the second arm. The only difference is that this time when you enter the arm, it is dark inside. Use the Flame Lantern to knock out the eye with the red pupil.

The final phase of the battle involves the small eyes that are right in front of Vaati. After shooting a series of electric balls, the four eyes will shoot four energy balls directly southward. Link will need to multiply using the floor tiles and deflect these energy balls back at Vaati. After successfully doing so, Vaati will be stunned so run on over and deliver a series of sword slashes.

There is nothing else to this battle so just continue to avoid the electric balls and keep deflecting the energy balls back at Vaati. After a number of hits, Vaati will be defeated!

Strangely, the Minish Cap is one of the few Zelda games where there is some content that can ONLY be acquired AFTER completing the game. This comes in the form of a weapon upgrade and some miscellaneous goodies.

After defeating Vaati, saving your game, and reloading the quest, make your way over to the Goron Cave in Lon Lon Ranch. You will have to have completed the Goron Quest in order to continue onward with this goody. Link will be able to fuse Red Kinstones with the Goron on the right side. Doing so will cause Biggoron to appear at the top of Veil Falls. NOTE: You could make this fusion before beating the game, but you cannot progress much further in the quest.

Make your way to Veil Falls and speak to this Biggoron. He will ask if he can swallow your Shield. Agree to give him the shield and Biggoron will do just that, eat your shield. Biggoron will chew on the shield for quite some time so make your way around the overworld and do any additional quests that you might have missed.

After a long period of time, return to Biggoron at the top of Veil Falls and speak to him. After chewing on the Shield for quite some time he will spit it back out towards Link. However, this time it is no longer the regular Shield, but rather, the Mirror Shield! This shield has the ability to reflect projectile attacks back at enemies.

The last thing we can now do is get a few more Figurines! Since we have defeated Vaati, six new figurines are now available over at Carlov’s shop. They are listed below.

• Black Knight
• Minish Ezlo
• Zelda and Link
• Vaati Reborn
• Vaati’s Wrath
• Vaati Transfigured

Once you acquire all six figurines and have now gotten every single Figurine in the game, Link will be rewarded with the Carlov Medal! This will replace your Mysterious Shells in your inventory.

With that, there is nothing left to acquire in the game. Congratulations on 100% the Minish Cap!