Hyrule Castle (Twilight Princess): Difference between revisions

'''Hyrule Castle''' is the final [[dungeon]] in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|Twilight Princess]]''. It isn't the longest dungeon in the game; however, it contains a collection of some of the most difficult enemies in the entire game. [[Link]] and [[Midna]] go to Hyrule Castle directly after learning from [[Zant]] that his ''God'' ([[Ganon|Ganondorf]]) has escaped the [[Twilight Realm]], and has been reborn in the Light World.{{Ref|TP|1754|[[Zant]]}} Midna makes the connection to the strange [[Twilight Barrier]] that has taken shape surrounding Hyrule Castle. She uses the [[Fused Shadow]]s to destroy the barrier and open the entrance to Hyrule Castle.  

The first obstacle for Link as he enters the Hyrule Castle Courtyard is to collect a [[Small Key|key]] to unlock the entrance to the actual ''castle'' portion of the dungeon. This objective leads him into a fight with one of the [[Mini-Boss]]es of Hyrule Castle, [[King Bulblin]]. Once Link has gotten the key and has entered the castle, he will face off against the other two Mini-Bosses of the dungeon; a [[Darknut]] and an [[Aeralfos]]. Eventually, Link makes his way to the top of the castle, and into the [[Throne Room]]. Here, he finds Ganondorf, sitting on the Throne of Hyrule. They chat; which mainly consists of Ganondorf calling the [[Interlopers]]' attempt to defy the gods pathetic.{{Ref|TP|1770|[[Ganon]]}} He later admits that they had possessed some skill, just lacked power.{{Ref|TP|1773|[[Ganon]]}} Soon enough, Link and Ganondorf begin the final fight of the game; an epic four-phase battle that requires Link to have mastered everything he has learned throughout his adventure.

[[File:Aeralfos Small.png|right|150px|thumb|The final Mini-Boss: an Aeralfos]]

Hyrule Castle features three separate Mini-Bosses, all of which are very difficult enemies that are each much too familiar to Link. The three Mini-Bosses include King Bulblin, a Darknut, and an Aeralfos. The first battle is against King Bulblin in the Hyrule Castle Courtyard. This battle is very similar to the one that they had in the [[Bulblin Fortress|Bulblin hideout]] in the [[Gerudo Desert]], where King Bulblin was guarding the entrance to [[Arbiter's Grounds]]. It is a difficult battle, but one that can easily be won by using constant [[Hidden Skills#Back Slice|Back Slices]] or [[Hidden Skills#Helm Splitter|Helm Splitters]]. The reward for defeating him is the key that will unlock the door that leads to Hyrule Castle. Next up is the battle against the Darknut. It is not any different from any Darknut fight Link has had before, and is a quick and easy battle. The only reward for winning this battle is the ability to move on in the dungeon. The final Mini-Boss battle in Hyrule Castle is against an Aeralfos. The Aeralfos is an enemy that Link has seen multiple times before, mainly inside the [[City in the Sky]], so again the battle is quite easy. The reward for defeating it is another Small Key.

[[File:Dark-Lord-Ganondorf.png|left|200px|thumb|Ganondorf holding the Sages Sword]]

The [[Boss]] of Hyrule Castle, who is also the Final Boss of ''Twilight Princess'', is a very common [[The Legend of Zelda (Series)|''The Legend of Zelda'']] villain, Ganondorf. The battle against Ganondorf has four different phases, all of which involve Ganondorf being in a different form. In the first phase, he has possessed [[Princess Zelda|Zelda]] and used her as a puppet to fight Link. Phase Number 2 has Ganondorf in his Ganon form, very similarly to the final battle against Ganondorf in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|Ocarina of Time]]''. The third phase takes place on horseback in [[Hyrule Field]]. The fourth and final phase is a classic [[Sword]]-and-[[Shield]] battle, where the best swordsman will win. Ganondorf wields the [[Sages' Sword]], the same one they tried to kill him with, which he kept after being imprisoned into the Twilight Realm. After hitting Ganondorf with the [[Hidden Skills#Ending Blow|Ending Blow]], he will stand and start to talk. He tells Link to not think that this is the end,{{Ref|TP|1819|[[Ganon]]}} saying the history of light and shadow will be written in blood.{{Ref|TP|1820|[[Ganon]]}} It is then that the [[Triforce of Power]] leaves Ganondorf, and he dies.

 

 

The [[Dungeon Map]] can be found in a Treasure Chest while Link is searching the left side, right side in the GCN version, of the Hyrule Castle Courtyard. The chest is guarded by a fence, and the only way to move this fence is to use the [[Gale Boomerang]] on the windmills in the area in a specific way designated by the design on the ground just ahead of the fence. Doing it correcting with allow Link the opportunity to grab the Dungeon Map.  

 

The second Dungeon Item is known as the [[Compass]]. The Compass will show Link the location of every [[Treasure Chest]] in the dungeon by displaying a small icon on the map which corresponds to the actual location of the chest. It can be found in the first room of the actual ''castle'' portion of the dungeon on the platform that Link can climb to with his [[Clawshot]]. The chest will not appear until Link has defeated all the [[Bokoblin]]s and [[Lizalfos]] in the area below.

 

[[File:ImagesCAWFCURQ.jpg|right|thumb|Big Key]]

 

In total, there are sixteen Treasure Chests in Hyrule Castle that house any amount of Rupees. Two of these chests holds the most valuable rupee in the entire game, the [[Silver Rupee]]. It is worth a whopping 200 Rupees, and is very, very rare. The next two chests both carry a single Orange Rupee, which in ''Twilight Princess'' is worth 100 Rupees. The third most valuable rupee in ''Twilight Princess'', the Purple Rupee, can be found in three chests. Of the 9 remaining chests, four hold a Red Rupee, two hold a Yellow Rupee, one carries a Blue Rupee, and the final two house a single Green Rupee. That's a total of 857 Rupees waiting to be collected. Unfortunately, Rupees are pretty much useless at this point in the game, so most of, if not all of, these Rupees will be wasted.

 

Of the six Dungeon Items that are found in Hyrule Castle, all of them except for a single Small Key are found in a Treasure Chest throughout the dungeon. The Dungeon Map is, the Compass is, the Big Key is, and two of the three Small Keys are.