Spirit Tracks Walkthrough – The Sand Realm

If you haven’t already, leave the Tower of Spirits through the Ocean Realm exit. Set a course into the sand area of the map. Once you enter, Princess Zelda mentions that the statue here is incredibly big and asks who built it. Rather, what will be important to us is which direction the statue is facing. This one in particular is facing to the northeast. Pull out your map and draw a path in the direction that this statue is facing.

Watch out for the Malgyorg that are found in the sand. These sand shark creatures will jump out from the ground and try to attack Link’s train. Just use the cannon once they leave the ground. Pull your train whistle and they will jump out from under the sand.

There are three other large statues in this area. One is at the northwest portion of the rails and that one is facing to the southeast. There is also one at the northeast corner of the rails and that is facing an angle. It isn’t quite southwest, as it is facing west much more than it is facing south. Be sure to trace a path in the direction that the statue is facing. The final statue is in the middle near the bottom of this area, and it is facing to the northwest. Once you see all four of them, trace a path that they are facing and you’ll see that they all intersect. We will be using this information in just a moment.

In the center of the newly formed Spirit Tracks, there is a rail that just appears to stop. This is our next destination so ride on over there to get to the Sand Sanctuary.

Once you arrive at the Sand Sanctuary, if you look carefully at the map, the darker areas of the map are the exact same as the overall Spirit Tracks layout of the Sand Realm thus far. So mark up on your map where the four statues were and draw out a line as to where they faced. If you mapped them out properly, you’ll see that the four intersect near the middle of the map.

There is a rectangular area in the sand just to the left of the middle of the map and the lines intersect near the top-right part of this rectangle. Place a bomb here or use a bomb flower from one of the higher platforms. This will cause a staircase to appear in the sand. Walk down the steps.

Walk to the left and enter to meet up with Rael, the guardian of the Sand Realm. After some talk, Rael will practice a song with you. Listen to it carefully and practice so you get it down. This song is the longest that we’ve learned thus far at six notes. It goes; Lime Green, Silver, Turquoise, Silver, Turquoise, and Lime Green. Practice it and once you’ve got it down, play the real thing. The Ocean Rail map will light up and new tracks will form to the east! Rael will tell you that you must pass three trials in order to reach the Sand Temple. You’ll encounter a big eye that looms in the shadows, then you’ll need to navigate the twisted tunnels, and finally you’ll face the impenetrable temple. Exit Rael’s chamber.

You’ll notice that there are some small islands at the bottom-right part of the map. This is where the stamp station is located but we unfortunately cannot reach it just yet. For now, just jump back onto the train.

Optional: Desert Rabbit Roundup

There are four more rabbits that we can pick up in this area of the overworld.

Desert Rabbit #2 – South of the Sand Sanctuary, found on the southeast part of the tracks.

Desert Rabbit #3 – Far west of the Sand Sanctuary, found on the southwest side of the tracks.

Desert Rabbit #4 – North of the Sand Sanctuary, found on the north side of the tracks.

Desert Rabbit #5 – Far east of the Sand Sanctuary, found on the southwest part of the tracks.

Trace a path across the new tracks that lead north towards the Fire Realm. Defeat any malgyorgs as they appear from underground. Once you arrive at the edge of map you’ll enter a cave.

This cave is almost identical to the cave that we went through in the Snow Realm much earlier in the game. A massive rocktite is found within this cave. Just like before, the rocktite will be storming through the cave trying to jump on top of the train and cause damage. Repeatedly use your stylus and hit the rocktite in the eye over and over until it falls back. Repeat this same process until the rocktite starts adjusting its style. It will run after Link but it will keep its eyes close. Conveniently there are explosive barrels around the cave. Target one of the barrels when the rocktite is nearby and it will explode, opening up rocktite’s eye. The rocktite will alternate between methods, so just keep attacking until it has been defeated.

This is basically a Lost Woods type deal where you need to go in the proper path to successfully get through. It is rather simple…if you know the right way to go.

1. Once you get through the tunnel, stop the train and go in reverse. Back up the train into the tunnel an you’ll appear elsewhere along the twisted tunnels.

2. In this area stop the train immediately once again and go in reverse. Doing so will send you to another part of the Twisted Tunnel.

3. At the last section, turn to the right and you’ll leave the twisted tunnels. Continue on southwards and you’ll reach the Ocean Realm.

If you turn to the left, you’ll see one of those stone structures that extend over the tracks. Ride on over and hit the gem that is above the tracks and this will activate a warp portal to the west side of the Sand Realm. Don’t mind this for now, but it is useful for easier travel.

Ride around the temple and you’ll see numerous cannons attached to the sides of the temple. Shoot down these cannons one by one, but be careful of the cannonballs that they fire! If a cannonball is being shot at you, shoot at the cannonball so you do not take damage.

Just keep riding in a circle around the Temple and fight off all the cannons. It can be quite difficult to get by as the cannons gang up on you. Just remember to hit the cannonballs instead of the cannons when they are shot at you. Once they have all been defeated, you can now enter the Sand Temple.

Optional: Five Desert Rabbits

Before entering the Sand Temple, you can finish off collecting the five remaining Desert Rabbits.

Desert Rabbit #6 – Located in the upside down T shaped section of the Forgotten Tunnels. It is on the west side, just south of the tracks.

Desert Rabbit #7 – Located in the upside down T shaped section of the Forgotten Tunnels. It is on the east side, just north of the tracks.

Desert Rabbit #8 – Located in the T shaped section of the Forgotten Tunnels. It is in the middle on the east side of the tracks.

Desert Rabbit #9 – Found on the south side of the tracks, along the path leading to the Sand Temple.

Desert Rabbit #10 – West of the Sand Temple, found on the west side of the tracks.

Break the jars for some health and then head up north to enter the main part of the temple. Run to the right side of the room and you’ll see a bunch of boulders rolling southwards. There is pattern to these boulders and it is easy to pick up on. Dodge the boulders as you run northward. Be careful, as what appears to be a safe area on the left is actually a trap door. Run upwards and then take a left down a corridor.

The door to the left is locked and there are numerous boulders rolling at the top of the screen. Use the bow and arrow to hit the switch to the north. You’ll have to time it so you the arrow squeezes through the onslaught of the boulders. Once you hit the wall switch the door to the left will open up.

Run to the left and open the treasure chest to get…1 rupee? Several stalfos will appear in this area and if you defeat them one by one, a seemingly infinite number of them will come up from underground. The trick is that you need to defeat all of the active stalfos within a short period of time. Corner them if you need to, but once they are done away with a treasure chest appears. Open it up to get a small key! Run back to the east end of the room and dodge the boulders as you run southward.

Walk up the steps in the main area of the room and use the small key on the locked door. Walk up the stairs to get to the 2nd floor.

Jump off the higher area to the right and run south. You’ll find a new sand enemy here known as a Gerune. We cannot do anything to defeat these guys just yet. Run to the southeast part of the room and you can see there is a statue here. You can awaken it and it will show you the location of a statue…but we’ll be getting that soon anyway.

Run northward and you’ll see three massive rotating spikes. Wait for the middle one to head upwards and then follow it. Squeeze through when there is a gap between the middle rotating spike and the one on the right. Run up the stairs here to get to the 3rd floor.

Run south and the door will close behind you. There are three Stalfos Warriors here. These fellows are a bit tougher than ordinary stalfos. Bombs work best against these warriors as one bomb each will do them in. Once all three stalfos warriors have been defeated, walk through the open door to the west. Climb the steps and open the treasure chest here to get the dungeon item, the Sand Wand! This baby can be used to raise sand into a wall! Once you get it, you’ll hear a rumbling from somewhere else in the temple.

Run back to where you fought the stalfos warriors and you can experiment with your new item. Use it to reach the platform to the north. (That’s why that platform is there!) Once you’ve gotten accustomed to how it works, run down the stairs to get back to the 2nd floor.

Optional: Two Treasure Chests

There are two treasure chests in this room, one on the left side and one on the right. The rolling spikes are now rolling in unison, but thanks to the Sand Wand, we can stop them right in their tracks! (pun intended) You can raise the sand on the left side of the room to reach a treasure chest with a red rupee.

The treasure chest on the right is a bit more complicated. You need to halt the rolling spike in the middle and the one on the right, but make sure the one on the right is even with the treasure chest. You can run across the top of the rolling spike without getting hurt. Open the treasure chest to get a random piece of treasure!

Run to the southwest part of the room and the door will close behind you. Now that we have the Sand Wand we can take on the gerune. Use the Sand Wand on each of the enemies and they will stop moving and form a wall. Run over and either pick up and throw the gerune, or just slash away with your sword. The gerune fear the Sand Wand and will aggressively try to run away from it, but just follow them and this should be no problem.

Walk to the north end of the room and you’ll see that the rolling spike here is activated. Use the Sand Wand raise Link up and walk to the higher platform above. In order to reach the staircase below, you need to use the Sand Wand to stop the rolling spike while it is on the part of the ground with no sand. Then run right across rolling spike and down the stairs back to the 1st floor.

Optional: Piece of Treasure

To your left you’ll notice that there is a treasure chest. Walk down to the main part of the room and use the sand wand to raise the sand. Repeat this again on the higher platform as you make your way over to the treasure chest. Open it up to get a random piece of treasure!

Run to the southwest part of the room and you’ll see a large rolling stone block. Use the sand wand to raise the sand, which will cause the stone block to roll all the way to the west and into a hole. Walk up to the platform here and then use the whip to hook onto the wooden pole on the right.

After crossing the gap you’ll see another rolling stone block. Push it to the right and this will leave just enough room for Link to squeeze by. Run northward and to the west where you’ll see three wall switches to the north. Use the sand wand to raise the sand and then pull out the arrows. Hit the two wall switches above and then once the sand lowers, hit the third switch. This will cause a door to the right to open up.

Run past the door and you’ll find another rolling stone block. The goal with this one is to get it to roll to the south. Stand in the sandy area on the right and then use the sand wand on the sand above the rolling stone. This will cause it to roll southward. Roll it to the south so that Link can pass, and then run to the north.

Use the sand wand to raise Link up and then head left. There are short stairs on the right, but you cannot walk across because they are higher up. Use the sand wand once again on the rolling stone so that it is right in between the steps to the north. Walk across to the right and then repeat this same thing to get the rolling stone in line with the steps at the bottom. Run across the rolling stone.

Use the sand wand on the two gerune to defeat them and it will cause a treasure chest to appear nearby. Use the sand wand to get across the barrier at the top of this room and then check out the map. It says that between one and three is where the key hides. There are also pictures of wall switches here.

If you remember, we just hit three wall switches to an area south of here. There was also just one wall switch at the square area at the northeast part of the map. Draw a line between these two sections on the map and then mark the middle point. The middle point is in the sand just north of the middle of the entire room. Leave this area and go open the treasure chest that we unveiled to get a red rupee. Run south and jump off the two ledges to get back to the main part of the room.

Run to the east end of the room again and you’ll see that the boulders have now changed their route, making it impossible for Link to run passed them. Instead, run to the sand area to the right and use the Sand Wand to raise Link up. Run northward as much as you can. From here, you want to time the boulders on the left. As soon as the boulders pass, quickly run to the northwest.

The area above now has two stationary boulders that are blocking the path. Use the sand wand to roll these boulders out of the way. Now pull out the bow and arrow once again and hit the wall switch to open the door to the left.

This area now has new enemies known as Ergtoroks. These creatures will crawl under the sand and occasionally pop out, attempting to shoot rocks at Link. Use the sand wand on them and bring them above the surface. They will be stunned for a short period of time, so raise Link up to their height and slash at them with your sword. After all three have been defeated a treasure chest will appear to the west. Run over and use the sand wand to get up to this area. Open the treasure chest to get a red rupee.

Just to the south use the sand wand on the ground where we marked it on the map. The sand will rise up and this will reveal a small key! Now run to the area to the south and use the sand wand. Jump over the ledge to the south to get back to the main part of the room.

You may have noticed some sort of boulder catapult mechanism at the bottom of this room. There is conveniently a boulder here as well. Use the sand wand to get the boulder onto the boulder mechanism and then hit the switch to the left. This will catapult the boulder to the north, destroying the wall. Run down the stairs to get to Basement 1 of the temple.

Walk to the left and you’ll find some quicksand blocking your path. Use the sand wand to create some sand blocks, allowing Link to cross. Use the small key and open the door here.

There are two gerunes in this room. Use the sand wand to turn them into sand statues, but don’t quite defeat them yet. Instead pick them up and toss them onto the two switches that are in the room. This will cause the door to the right to open up, so head through it.

Optional: Sand Temple Stamp Station

This area is filled with quicksand. The path to the left will lead to a Stamp Station. Use the sand wand to create sand block to walk on. Step on them and quickly create more to the west and run onto those. Watch out for the arrow shooters against the north wall. Once you make your way to the stamp station, stamp your stamp book.

We want to make a series of sand blocks and travel all the way to the northeast corner of the room. There are numerous arrow shooters on the walls, so be careful. Remember, if you have a shield Link can block the arrows. Don’t create long stretches of sand blocks as they may disappear before you can make use of them. Just make some small groups of sand blocks and you should be fine.

Once you reach the northeast corner of the room you’ll see a classic block pushing puzzle. There is a diamond hole in the middle of the area here and a large block with a diamond at the top. The goal is to use the sand wand to push the block around and cause it to have the diamond sticking into the hole. Just move the block Down, Right, Down, Right, Up, and Left. (Note: there are several ways to solve this puzzle and this is just one of many.) Once you’ve solved it, the door at the southeast corner will open up, so head through it.

There are boulders coming out of a hole on the left side of the room. Use the sand wand to lift the sand and cause the boulder to stop. Then use the sand wand to push it onto the catapult at the northeast part of the room. Step on the ground switch below to create a bridge leading to the southeast part of the room. While standing on the ground switch, use the boomerang to hit the crystal switch above. This will catapult a boulder to the wall below and blast it open.

Boulders will now start rolling on the left once again. Use the sand wand to create a sand block to stop a boulder. Roll the boulder onto the ground switch so the bridge stays active and then run to the corner of the room.

Walk to the left and you’ll find another one of these block pushing puzzles. This time the blocks have blue diamonds and red circles. Pull out the sand wand and let’s first focus on the block on the left. Use the sand wand to move it Right, Right, Down, Left, Down, Right, and Right. This will set it on the blue diamond at the bottom-right of the puzzle. However, we will need to move this block once again as it interferes with trying to get the second block in place. For now, just move this block to the right and down so that it is in the corner. Now use the sand wand on the other block and move it Left, Left, Down, Right, Down, Left, Up, and Left. Now push the other block back in place by pushing it up and left. The door at the bottom-left will open up.

Just to the left of the puzzle you’ll see a ground switch. This will open up the door to the left, making it easier to reach this location.

Walk to the southwest portion of this area and you’ll find a rolling spike. Use the gap at the bottom to get by the rolling spike. At the corner of the room, defeat the two stalfos warriors using bombs or arrows and a treasure chest will appear. Open it up to get a random piece of treasure.

Walk north and you’ll find two rotating spikes. There is a ground switch on the higher platform to the south that we need to step on. Use the sand wand to stop the upper of the two rolling spikes. Now raise the sand underneath you to lift yourself up. Use the sand wand to block off the rotating spike below. Use the spike to reach the platform below and step on the ground switch. This will open up the door above.

The door above is still at a higher level. We need to use the sand wand to stop the two rotating blocks and create a bridge that Link can run across. Do so and head up through the door which will close behind you.

There are several ergtoroks in this room. Use the sand wand while they are underground to stun them. Raise yourself up and run after them with your sword. Once all three have been defeated, head up through the opened door.

Use the sand wand to lift up all the sand in this area. On the left side you’ll find a big green rupee and on the right side you’ll uncover the Boss Key! Backtrack all the way to the area that had the two-block puzzle. We now need to maneuver the blocks so the red circles are plugged into the ground. Use the sand wand and move the block that is currently on the left. Move it left, down, right, up, left, down, and right, where it will settle on the red circle switch. Move the block that is on the right up one and that’s it! With both red circles plugged, the door above will open up.

Use the sand wand on the quicksand above and then quickly pick up the boss key and run across the gap. Toss the boss key into the big lock to open it. Walk downstairs to get to the Basement 2.

Walk to the north and use the sand wand while standing on the sand. There are four jars on the side, each with recovery hearts, so get these if you need them. Climb to the top part of the room and tap on the stone tablet, which will create a blue warp point. Once you are ready, head north to fight Skeldritch, Ancient Demon.

Once you are in the boss room run forward and Skeldritch will come to life.

The battle begins with Skeldritch shooting boulders out the bottom of its body. Use the sand wand to block these boulders and keep them in the arena. Use the sand wand to maneuver them over so they are on top of the catapult. Make sure there are no boulders in the way and then hit the switch. This will hit Skeldritch and cause it to lose a part of its body.

Skeldritch will start sending three boulders out in a row so be alert. The boss will also shoot out a laser at you, so you’ll have to dodge that. The last three parts of Skledritch’s body are protected on certain sides. The next one is only vulnerable from the right side. Load up a boulder on one of the catapults and then run to the left. As a important note, Skeldritch will always face you. When you at the left, pull out the bow and arrow and shoot the crystal switch to the right. This will make the boulder hit Skeldritch on the right side, removing another part of its body.

During the next phase, Skeldritch will shoot out red boulders which will travel through more sand barriers and come out much faster! The next body part of Skeldritch is only vulnerable at its back. So load up a boulder onto a catapult and then run all the way to the other side of the room. Use an arrow to hit the crystal switch and this will send the boulder into Skeldritch’s back.

The last weak spot is a bit tricky. It is a small spot that is not quite on its left and not quite behind him, but right in the middle. Load up a boulder on one of the catapults. It’s quite difficult to reach this area with a bow and arrow, so you have two choices. One is to drop a bomb right next to the switch and then make a run to the right side. Move past the catapult here and stand in between catapults so that Skeldritch’s weak spot is facing the boulder. Once the bomb explodes the boulder will hit its weak spot. Skeldritch will now shoot four consecutive boulders out at Link. Alternatively, instead of using the bombs, you can trace a long path with the boomerang. That leaves Link vulnerable for quite awhile, however. Eventually you’ll hit Skeldritch and its skull will drop to the ground.

The final phase of the battle can be quite hectic. Use the sand wand and create a massive wall of sand surrounding Skeldritch. Skeldritch will begin eating away at the sand. Very quickly run to the backside of Skeldritch and slash away at purple spot at the back of its head. Remember, Link must be elevated on top of sand in order to reach Skeldritch’s head. Make sure you completely surround Skeldritch; if it has any room to move, it will turn around. Repeat this process until Skeldritch has been defeated.

After the battle is over, the sand will disappear and a staircase will appear. Open the treasure chest to get a full Heart Container and then head down the steps. Jump off the ledge to the left and then walk up the steps to find a treasure chest. Open it up to get the Bow of Light!

A blue warp portal will appear to the north. Use your new bow (it replaces the old bow), and hit the eye switch on the wall. Step into the blue portal and you’ll be sent to the temple entrance. Talk to Zelda and enter the Spirits’ Train.

Anjean is still waiting for Link in the train. After a rather excited Princess Zelda tells Anjean the news of the Bow of Light, the mood is shattered as Anjean doesn’t know where Malladus can be. Anjean went searching for the Demon Train but to no avail. Byrne awakens and tells them that there is a hidden section of tracks underneath the Tower of Spirits. Byrne mentions that there is the Compass of Light and that will lead you to the Demon Train, located within the Dark Realm. Cole and Malladus cannot touch the Compass of Light since it uses the power of the spirits.

Before Link heads off, Anjean presents Link with the Lokomo Sword! The sword is filled with sacred energy! You’ll next appear back outside riding the train. Next stop, Tower of Spirits…again! That concludes chapter 10 of the Spirit Tracks Walkthrough.