The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Master Minimalist Quest FAQ
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All lines in this FAQ are 79 characters or less in length.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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- TABLE OF CONTENTS
Here's a hint - we're reading it.
- MISSION STATEMENT
Why did I make this FAQ?
- INTRODUCTION
Three hearts? No way!
- THE BARE ESSENTIALS
What do you need for this quest?
- CHAPTER 1: Through the Eastern Palace
The early phases of your quest.
- CHAPTER 2: To the Moon Pearl!
Get the Moon Pearl, without the Power Gloves!
- CHAPTER 3: Hammer Time!
Get into the Dark Palace, without entering the Dark World!
- CHAPTER 4: The Titan's Mitts
Get the Titan's Mitts, using your Hammer!
- CHAPTER 5: Building your Arsenal
Build up your equipment, and (finally) get the Magic Mirror!
- CHAPTER 6: The Cane of Somaria
Get the Cane of Somaria, without the Ether Medallion!
- CHAPTER 7: Into the Palace of the Four Swords
Enter the Palace of the Four Swords, without even playing Four Swords!
(The chapter to read if you want "access".)
- CHAPTER 8: The Palace of the Four Swords
A few pointers and tips for players with very little life.
- CHAPTER 9: Alternate Quest
For those causal gamers who don't want to tear the game apart with glitches.
- CHAPTER 10: Final Boss Strategy
Final fight giving you trouble? You have an entire chapter to help!
- CONCLUSION
I conclude and write out some boring thoughts that I force you to read.
- BORING STUFF
Boring stuff.
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MISSION STATEMENT
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I wrote this FAQ for two reasons. My first mission with this FAQ is simple...
"Show the people how to enter the Palace of the Four Swords, without ever even
playing Four Swords in the first place!"
I call this the "Master Minimalist Quest" FAQ. I believe that I have the quest
by which elite LttP players can be judged. Judge for yourself.
"Finish the Palace of the Four Swords, carrying only three hearts of life!"
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INTRODUCTION
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The Palace of the Four Swords. A very ominous dungeon, filled with multiple
bosses and strange puzzles. The majority of players have never even stepped
foot into this dungeon. And yet, we are now about to attempt a minimal quest
into the Palace of the Four Swords with THREE HEARTS!
(Of course, you could always bring in your own tricked-out 20 heart Link with
maximum arrows, bombs, and the Level 4 Sword, with 4 Life Bottles... but where
is the fun in THAT?)
This will not be an easy task. Without picking up any heart containers, you
will need to be extremely careful. Furthermore, getting this far into the game
without the equipment will require you to glitch up the game in ways you could
never imagine.
During our quest, we will use the glitch known as the "Up Down Exploration
Glitch". This glitch has the potential to do almost anything, and it might
physically damage your Control Pad. Therefore, you may want to be careful.
Be even more careful. Using all exploration glitches improperly may result in
crashing of the game, which can lead to deleted save files! Of course, if you
follow my instructions, you should have no problems. Just don't go too far to
the North or South. Zanapher has a better explanation of what exactly causes
this.
You can also do a four heart quest by getting the first pendant and picking up
the Pegasus Boots. It is less challenging, but doesn't require you to
understand the true nature of the Exploration Zone.
Now, what do we need to finish this quest?
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THE BARE ESSENTIALS
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To finish the Palace of the Four Swords, you need this equipment:
- Sword. Upgrade level is currently in dispute, but Level 3 will be enough.
- Lantern.
- Bow and Arrow.
- Bombs.
- Flippers.
- Hookshot.
- Cane of Somaria.
To obtain all this equipment and enter the Palace of the Four Swords, you need
this equipment:
- Magic Mirror.
- Magic Hammer.
- Titan's Mitts.
- Moon Pearl. Offically unnecessary, but it really is simpler to acquire.
There is some equipment that you will NEVER be able to obtain. Here is a list:
- Pegasus Boots. This requires you to pick up a heart.
- Book of Mudora. No Pegasus Boots.
- Power Gloves. No Pegasus Boots.
- Ether Medallion. No Book of Mudora.
- Bombos Medallion. No Book of Mudora.
- Master Sword. This requires you to pick up three hearts.
- Big Bomb. This requires you to pick up two hearts.
- Silver Arrows. No Big Bomb.
- Golden Sword. No Big Bomb.
There is some equipment that you don't need, but you might want. Here is a
list:
- Boomerang. Not necessary.
- Fire Rod. Not necessary.
- Quake Medallion. Not necessary.
- Flute. Not necessary.
- Shovel. Not necessary.
- Shield. Not necessary.
- Magic Bottles. Not necessary, but helpful.
- Bug-Catching Net. Not necessary, but helpful.
- Ice Rod. Not necessary, but helpful.
- Magic Powder. Not necessary, but helpful.
There is some equipment that is considered illegal. Here is a list:
- Blue Mail. Requires the Fire Rod.
- Red Mail. Glitching is required to reach it, but it can be done.
- Magic Cape. If you need this, you will never achieve true greatness.
- Cane of Byrna. Aspiring to true greatness is the method behind this FAQ!
I pose the question. If you are going to just grab these items, why play a
three heart quest to begin with?
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CHAPTER 1: Through the Eastern Palace
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You should just play through until you get the Bow and Arrow.
1) Finish Hyrule Castle as normal. Don't even THINK about picking up the Heart
Container.
2) Get a high supply of Bombs, sooner rather than later.
You might want to get two bottles and the Bug Catching Net right now.
3) Head to the Eastern Palace.
4) Acquire the Bow and Arrow. This is required for the Palace of Four Swords.
5) Leave the Eastern Palace. Don't finish off the boss.
What we must do now is get the Magic Mirror. To get the Magic Mirror, we need
the Power Gloves or the Titan's Mitts.
To get the Power Gloves, we need the Book of Mudora. To get the Book of
Mudora, we need the Pegasus Boots. So we're trapped... right? Not exactly.
What we can do is get the Titan's Mitts. No, really. We can get it. It will
not be easy, but we can manage. To get the Titan's Mitts, you need the Magic
Hammer. To get the Magic Hammer, you need to enter the Dark Palace. However,
the Dark Palace is in the Dark World. It would help to have the Moon Pearl
first.
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CHAPTER 2: To the Moon Pearl!
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Wait. We can get to the Moon Pearl? We can't get the Magic Mirror, but we can
get the MOON PEARL? Simply put, yes. This may go way over your head, and you
may want to be very careful with how much you try this kind of method, but here
is how it goes.
6) Enter Hyrule Castle.
7) Move through the door on the left.
This is where we start to glitch the game. This particular glitch, nicknamed
the Up Down Exploration Glitch (UDEG), has the potential to damage your Control
Pad, so proceed at your own risk.
8) Move up to the door at the top of the room. Move in front of it.
9) Hold up and down at the same time on your Control Pad.
What will happen, if you did it right, is that Link will start walking up. But
he will be facing down. You're confusing the game system, and that is how we
glitch it. Note that this isn't the same as holding your sword down and moving
up. That would be too easy.
10) When you walk through the door, the screen will move DOWN instead of UP.
Keep holding the buttons, and it will happen again.
11) Let go of the buttons.
Welcome to the area that Zanapher (who helped bring these glitches together)
has dubbed the Exploration Zone. This area will be your hub to the areas that
you cannot enter normally. Be VERY careful with these instructions. It is
possible to become trapped FOREVER! If this happens, reset the game.
You'll start to see some very familiar rooms, only in very glitchy ways. Bring
up your map to fix the graphics somewhat.
12) Move left until you come across a room with spikes and blue/red blocks. Be
sure that most of the room is in view, and don't move too far or you will end
up trapped.
13) Move down until you come across a room with pits and blocks.
14) Start moving left.
15) You'll come across a room with red switch blocks.
16) Move up.
You will appear in the first room of the Mountain Palace.
17) Move left. You will be able to see the edge of Link in the lower wall.
18) Manuever until you are above the blue tiles at the entrance.
19) Move up to jump onto the tiles. Leave through the door.
Welcome to Death Mountain.
20) Re-enter the Mountain Palace. Play through it as normal until you get the
Moon Pearl.
We have the Moon Pearl. Now what? We can actually get the hammer?
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CHAPTER 3: Hammer Time!
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Amazing FAQs need lame titles, especially when they are in chapter format.
Now, we need to get the Magic Hammer. It is buried within the Dark Palace,
and it will take a lot of effort to get to it. A casual gamer on a normal
playthrough would have at least seven hearts by now. You have three.
Now, there are a few challenges that must be overcome. The first challenge is
getting into the Dark Palace. We do not start at the beginning in this. This
is why it is so difficult - you will enter deep within the dungeon, and you
must get back to the front door in order for the game to act properly.
21) Go to the main floor of the Mountain Palace. Head to the back of the room
and go down the stairway.
22) Get through this room and move right.
23) In this room, hit the switch, then move to the lower doorway and hit the
switch from a distance. The red walls will become active and they will trap
you down here. You want the red walls active and trapping you down here.
MAKE ABSOLUTELY AND POSITIVELY SURE THE RED WALLS ARE ACTIVE AND TRAPPING YOU
DOWN HERE!
24) Enter the room that once held a Big Key.
25) Use the UDEG glitch inside of this room.
There's something we never talked about - the Exploration Zone can only truly
be entered and exited from the lower level of a multi-level room. However, we
don't have access to a dungeon that has both a lower level and a Crystal Switch
in it, so we do it from here.
Follow the instructions to the letter or you will screw up.
26) Move down as far as you can go, then move one tile up (tap up 2-3 times).
Move right.
You'll fall into another room. The camera will look weird.
If you want, check out the map. It's very weird. Just don't experiment.
27) Move up through the center of your current room and enter the door at the
top.
This will give you the "focus", and the camera will begin to follow you.
28) Walk back down through the doors until you get to the ledge.
29) Perform the UDEG in this room.
You'll be in another weird area.
30) Press up, even though you're at the top of the room. You'll make the sound
of jumping off a cliff.
31) Alternate holding up and down until you can see Link. You won't be able to
get the full focus, but you should be able to see Link.
32) Perform the LREG (left/right instead of up/down) to go right a room.
Since you performed the glitch from a lower level of a multi-level room, you
have returned to the Exploration Zone! You are in a room with faeries.
However, there's a problem. Repurcussions of the original use of the UDEG
combined with the use of the LREG have stacked. Therefore, weird things will
happen! We must fix this to get where we are going.
33) Move up until the screen scrolls.
Weird scroll glitch. You will return to the fairy room.
34) Keep moving up until the screen scrolls. Don't be fooled by the camera
cutting positions; wait until a nice scroll effect occurs.
You end up in a solid room.
35) Move down until the camera scrolls.
36) Move up until the camera scrolls.
This stops the vertical looping. Now, we must deal with the horizontal loop.
37) Move left until the camera scrolls.
The screen loops back into the room you were in.
38) Move right until the camera scrolls.
Now you're in a weird room where you can see yourself. This will help you
with the next part.
39) Move left until you appear on the other side of the screen.
More weirdness. How strange is this going to get?
40) Move right until the camera scrolls.
41) Move left until the camera scrolls TWICE.
42) Move down until the camera scrolls.
You have fixed the looping problem. Now, let's get to where we are going.
43) Move left until you pass by an area that looks like it came out of Hyrule
Castle. Once you reach the solid screen, move up.
44) Keep moving up, and pass by a room out of the Ice Palace with a teleporter.
Keep moving until you come across a similar room.
45) Move left until you come across a teleporter inside of a cross made out of
blocks.
46) Keep moving left. In the next room over, move right until the camera
begins to move, then attempt to center the camera in the room.
47) Move upward until you walk into the room with a lower floor.
48) Keep moving. You should hear Link going up a stairway while you move up.
49) Once you scroll again, Link will appear in the room.
You're here! Now you need to get out of this palace.
50) Move down from this room. Go down the stairway, and take the left door out
of here.
If there are walls blocking your path, then YOU ARE A FOOL WHO DOESN'T HEED MY
WARNINGS, and I wonder how you got this far. Do it again!
51) Navigate this room and leave through the lower left door. Be careful when
pushing the block because you will walk through it while it moves.
A locked door stands between you and your escape.
52) Move through this room and leave through the top right door. Again, be
careful of the block or you'll walk right through it. If you fall, you are
trapped!
53) Get the key within the chest.
54) Exit the Dark Palace.
Now, when you come back out to the overworld, don't touch any controls. You
will be in the Dark World, but you'll hear Light World music!
55) You don't want to do THAT again. Save and Continue.
You have just performed the most difficult glitch of this quest. Just don't
think you're on an easy road from here on out just because of it.
56) Press DOWN to re-enter the Dark Palace. DO NOT PRESS UP!
57) Get the Magic Hammer.
With the Magic Hammer in hand, you are now ready to get the Titan's Mitts.
58) Save and Quit. This is your only escape.
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CHAPTER 4: The Titan's Mitts
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59) Load your save and start from the Sanctuary.
60) Head to the portal near the Lost Woods.
Guess what? You have the Hammer. You can access this portal!
61) Hammer the block covering the portal. Yes, you CAN do this.
62) Step into the portal.
Welcome to the Dark World. You have no Magic Mirror, but you have an escape.
63) Enter the Thieves Hideout.
64) Pick up the Titan's Mitts.
With the Titan's Mitts, you are ready to assemble your final equipment.
65) Save and Quit. This is your only escape.
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CHAPTER 5: Building your Arsenal
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66) Load your save and start from the Sanctuary.
67) Go get the Magic Mirror, the way you were meant to get it - by accessing
Death Mountain.
Now, you can warp out of the Dark World. More importantly, using the Magic
Mirror, we can perform a new exploration glitch - and this time, you won't need
to risk Control Pad damage.
68) Pick up the Flippers. With the Titan's Mitts, you can get to it.
Get the tempered sword, unless you want to fight with the Level 1 Sword. This
is not a required step, but a choice.
You can also get the last two bottles, if you need them. It's all about
choice.
69) Go get the Hookshot, now that you have the Flippers and the Magic Mirror.
The only missing piece of the puzzle is the Cane of Somaria. To get the Cane
of Somaria, you need the Ether Medallion. There are two ways to obtain the
Ether Medallion; both of these require picking up a heart container. Have we
hit another dead end? You know the answer to that.
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CHAPTER 6: The Cane of Somaria
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It is time to test out the new glitch we can perform. This method requires the
Magic Mirror and can be difficult to use. However, this glitch is far more
powerful because many of the bugs attributed to the UDEG do not apply with this
method.
70) Enter Level 4 in the Dark World and equip the Magic Mirror. Make sure you
have more than one heart's life.
These next two steps will take multiple tries. I'll let you know that right
now. If you screw up, you can try again without any adverse side effects.
71) Walk up to the ledge in front of you.
72) Jump off the ledge. Right as you start jumping, activate the Magic
Mirror.
If you did this right, then you will hear the sound of Link jumping the cliff,
while warping back to the doorway. If you screwed up, don't sweat it - warp
back to the doorway unless you already have. Keep trying these two steps until
you get it right.
Now, the glitch is "armed". While this glitch is armed, there are things you
must never do, until you are ready to activate the glitch.
- Don't get hit.
- Don't use the Pegasus Boots.
- Don't jump off cliffs. This will disarm the glitch.
If you use the Pegasus Boots or get hit, you will activate the glitch. The
glitch will make Link disappear, and now you will be able to access the
Exploration Zone. Unlike the normal glitch, once you enter an area, you will
be able to interact with it. This makes the glitch FAR more powerful than the
other method. Note that if you activate the glitch on the lower level of a
room, the glitch will not activate.
Now, how do we use this to get to the Cane of Somaria? Well, since there are
no enemies in the place where we need to activate the glitch, we use a bomb.
73) Walk to the southwest corner of this room. Bomb yourself.
Link will disappear. You're in the Exploration Zone again.
74) Move left until you see a stairway and a narrow hallway.
75) Move up until you find the central room of Misery Mire. Walk into the area
in the center that is on a lower level. Link will jump in.
Welcome to Misery Mire.
76) Since you already have a Big Key, make your way to the Cane of Somaria and
pick it up.
77) Use the Magic Mirror. Save and Continue.
Now that you have assembled your equipment, you are ready to enter the Palace
of the Four Swords.
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CHAPTER 7: Into the Palace of the Four Swords
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78) Enter Level 4 in the Dark World, Magic Mirror in hand.
79) Jump off the ledge in front of you.
80) At the exact time that you jump off the ledge, activate the Magic Mirror.
If you succeed in using this glitch, you will hear Link's voice as you jump off
of the ledge and warp back to the doorway. At this point, you can't use the
Pegasus Boots, jump off a ledge, or get hit. Doing either of these three things
will activate the glitch before it is ready to be used.
If you fail, start over. It will take a few tries at the very least, but it
will eventually get easier.
81) There are four rooms in the beginning of this dungeon. Make your way to
the room in the upper-right. Use stairways or you will cancel the glitch.
82) Get to the upper-left corner of this room.
83) Slam into the North wall by using the Pegasus Boots. (If you don't have
the Pegasus Boots, break the pot and bomb yourself into the heart it leaves
behind.)
Link will disappear. If he doesn't, you did something wrong.
When using this glitch to move between rooms, you must bring up the map and
turn it off. This will ensure that the proper level graphics appear.
84) Move to the right. Eventually, you will come across a room with Ice Palace
graphics.
85) Move to the left and scroll the screen. Do NOT move the control pad
afterwards.
The room you see should have a pedestal in the center and a warp tile in the
corner. Yes, you did just walk through this room. The reason you scrolled the
screen is so that you would have the proper horizontal alignment.
86) Tap left twice. The exact distance that you need to move is difficult to
figure out without a frame of reference.
87) Move down.
Link will appear in a wall within the Palace of the Four Swords. If you can
jump down into the water, you will be in the Palace.
If not, you messed up on Step 86. Use the Magic Mirror and try again.
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CHAPTER 8: The Palace of the Four Swords
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It is not my intention to lead you through the Palace of the Four Swords, but
you just might need some help. Therefore, I have provided my personal strategy
for the boss enemies you will need to fight.
- Blind II: Possible to defeat with Level 1 Sword.
- A Level 1 Sword will deal the same damage of a Level 4 Sword.
- Predictable main body movements.
- When he is hit, he shoots projectiles
- He uses an eye laser attack at random intervals
- He periodically switches sides of the room
- When you get the chance, hit him in the head.
- When hit enough times, heads fly around room
- Hit a head and it flies around room at weird angles
- Second and third heads shoot projectiles
- Knock a head into the body for the kill!
- Mothula II: Possible to defeat with Level 1 Sword.
- It splits into three forms. One is real, two are fake.
- Hit a fake Mothula and it will explode into a bee swarm.
- If only the real Mothula remains, it will split back into three forms.
- They will stop periodically and attack you with projectiles
- Stay at the lower wall. They can't touch you down here.
- Mothula likes to get near walls and bounce off them at high speeds.
- Do NOT spinstrike Mothula unless you are next to the bottom of the screen.
- Sword lasers DO hurt him. Laser him until he gets to the back wall, then
when he flies at you, he will be in range for a good slashing.
- Arrghus II: Possible to defeat with Level 1 Sword spin-strike.
- First, you must destroy the jellyfish around Arrghus.
- Hook a jellyfish and slash it, but if it goes electric, don't slash.
- Arrghus will move three times, then spin the jellyfish from its body, so
back off.
- After killing all jellyfish, Arrghus will jump and land, then move around
the room at high speed
- Spinslash him before he starts moving or you will be in trouble.
- Water droplets will fly around the room as long as Arrghus is on the ground
and moving
- Helmasaur King II: Possible to defeat with Level 1 Sword spin-strike.
- Form 1 and 3 are vulnerable to hammer and bombs
- Form 2 is vulnerable to your sword
- Form 4 is vulnerable only to your bow. Three regular arrows will kill him!
- Forms 2-4 will move around very quickly
- There is no way to predict when Helmasaur King will move downward.
- After a downward movement, the next manuever will be back upward.
- Watch out for the tail attack. Helmasaur King will move as it attacks!
- Standing in front of Helmasaur King will nullify the tail attack
- Standing at the bottom of the screen will nullify contact damage
- When Helmasaur King has its mask on, it may stop and shoot a fireball.
- Fireballs will split into three, then split into X shapes
- When Helmasaur King has no mask on, it may stop and spawn enemies.
- Two sword lasers will dispatch these enemies very easily.
- Final Fight: Sword level is in dispute, but a Level 3 Sword will hurt them.
- Four forms of one boss. Three hearts. You do the math.
- Forms 1-4 will hurt you if you touch them.
- Forms 1-4 will use regular slashes on you.
- Forms 1-3 will use a Dashing Slash.
- Forms 2 and 4 will use a Hurricane Slash.
- Forms 3 and 4 will use a Leaping Slash.
- Form 4 will use a Projectile Slash.
- Beware the almighty Cape.
- Recognize these attacks.
- If they run at you normally, they are trying to use regular slashes
- If they jump back, they will use regular slashes or a Dashing Slash
- Form 4 will use a Projectile Slash instead of a Dashing Slash
- If they hold out their sword, they will use a Hurricane Slash
- If they jump up, they are using a Leaping Slash
- He will use cape against your Hurricane Slash and spin-strike
- Dodge attacks if you can.
- Regular slashes can be deflected. Don't try to run; just duel it out.
- A Dashing Slash can be deflected, but the enemy will just try it again.
- Step out of the way of a Dashing Slash.
- A Hurricane Slash cannot be deflected. Don't try it!
- When they use a Hurricane Slash, they bounce off the walls.
- Form 4 will change his trajectory after a bounce. Keep away!
- A Leaping Slash will come completely without warning.
- Don't spin-strike against forms that can use a Leaping Slash.
- The only way to dodge a Leaping Slash is to move out of the way.
- Fight the forms very swiftly.
- Their shield can deflect your sword. Attack from behind if possible.
- It is very difficult to land a hit without making the boss vulnerable
first.
- After a Dashing Slash, the boss will be vulnerable. Attack!
- Before a Hurricane Slash, the boss will be vulnerable, but for a very
short time. Hit him before the attack and he will not do it.
- After a Leaping Slash, the boss will be vulnerable. Attack!
- Don't use your own Hurricane Slash. The boss will use his cape.
- Form 4 is very swift. Be quick about hitting him when he's vulnerable.
DragonFlame, from the GameFAQs forum for this game, told me that use of the
Hurricane Slash on the final boss will trigger the cape. I don't have that
attack, so I'll just take his word for it. Also note that using the "Whirling
Blade Technique" probably sets off the Cape as well. Don't hold out your sword
for any reason.
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CHAPTER 9: Alternate Quest
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Like I said in the introduction, if you do not want to risk damage to your
Control Pad on your GBA, you can do a four heart quest. It just doesn't hold
the novelty of using three hearts, though.
The main difference is that you now have access to the Pegasus Boots. This
will make things MUCH easier to glitch, but as far as game difficulty goes...
1) Go through the game normally until you get the Power Gloves.
2) Grab the Flippers and get a healthy supply of Bombs.
3) Go to the Mountain Palace and get the Moon Pearl.
4) Perform the Death Mountain Descent.
Go to Zanapher's Glitch FAQ for a description of the Death Mountain Descent.
This FAQ is located in the Super Nintendo Link to the Past FAQs.
5) Get the Magic Hammer.
6) Get the Hookshot.
7) Get the Titan's Mitts.
8) Get your sword tempered.
9) Get the Ether Medallion.
10) Get the Cane of Somaria.
You're ready to go. Look at the seventh chapter to see how this next step is
done.
11) Waltz into the Palace of the Four Swords. Slam into the wall with the
Pegasus Boots instead of bombing yourself.
You are not much better off than you would be if you had used three hearts.
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CHAPTER 10: Final Boss Strategy
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That final fight is very difficult. Therefore, I have decided to give out my
strategies for this battle. The first three forms are easy. I have managed to
kill all three without taking a hit. But that final form is challenging, even
with my strategies. So here is how it works.
Forms 1-3
1) The enemy will drop in. Hit him from the sides or from behind.
2) After he takes a hit, slash at him right before he starts moving.
3) He will jump backwards and use a Dashing Slash.
- In the case of Form 3, he may just use a Leaping Slash. Be ready.
4) Dodge his attack.
5) Walk up to him and slash him as he recovers.
6) Repeat from Step 2.
That final form is where it gets tricky. His Projectile Slash will move him in
a diagonal direction, and these movements are difficult to predict and follow.
Form 4
1) The enemy will drop in. Hit him from the sides or from behind.
2) After he takes a hit, slash at him right before he starts moving.
3) Run away, as he is about to use a Leaping Slash or Projectile Slash.
4) In the case of a Leaping Slash, dodge and quickly make the hit.
5) In the case of a Projectile Slash, dodge and make the hit on his unshielded
side.
6) Repeat from Step 2.
If you fall out of this method of attack (and you will), you will need...
Damage Control
- If he is running at you, slash like crazy. He will jump back. After a few
jumps, he will use a Dashing Slash or Projectile Slash. Don't rule out the
use of a Leaping Slash, however.
- If a Hurricane Slash is attempted, attack or run based on your distance. Do
NOT try and hit him!
- Never allow him to get close enough to slash at you. If you slash at him, he
will not get close.
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CONCLUSION
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I originally looked at Zanapher's Glitch FAQ, and I was intrigued by the amount
of info floating around in it. He knew how to finish off Ganon using only six
hearts, finish off Ganon without the Moon Pearl, and made reference to a place
called the "Exploration Zone". I used his methods to finish off the game using
six hearts, but there was just something missing...
Months later, I read about a new "Jump and Save" method of glitching the game.
Apparently you jumped off a cliff and saved the game, but it was very glitchy.
It also did not work on the GBA version. In the message boards, I read that
the original method used the Magic Mirror. That one worked for me. When I
used this glitch, I realized how powerful it was. It was the only "clean"
exploration glitch in the GBA version of the game. I used it to my heart's
content, to attempt to map out the Exploration Zone. But it was then that I
stumbled upon something, completely on accident, that shocked me...
I figured out how to enter the Palace of the Four Swords. With six hearts.
Without even attempting to play the game "Four Swords". I just had to tell
Zanapher about this glitch. I finished off the dungeon with my six hearts,
Red Mail and Magic Cape in hand. I aspired to move even further into
greatness, and Zanapher asked me to attempt a minimal challenge. I knew in
my mind what I wanted to accomplish...
"Finish the Palace of the Four Swords, carrying only three hearts of life!"
Not only would this allow a player to play a challenge so great that it would
be nearly impossible, that said player would also get a set of stats at the
end that he could compare to other players!
I went on a rampage. I got the Moon Pearl and the Bow. In the end, however,
the true problem was acquiring the Magic Mirror. I attempted to exploit every
glitch that Zanapher had within his FAQ, but nothing seemed to be working. So
I was forced to go my own way. For a week, I was thinking about how to get the
Magic Hammer, so that I would have a shot at getting the Titan's Mitts. I
actually got into the Dark Palace a few times, but switch blocks were in the
way. I wrote out a resignation of the challenge, for I thought I had explored
all opportunities, and saved it in my mailbox. But I wasn't ready to concede.
That night, I figured it out...
I decided to experiment with the UDEG in the Mountain Tower. Being the only
place with a crystal switch that I could access, it made sense to work here.
And I accidentally made my way into Misery Mire. But I was trapped. So I used
some more experimentation. And that is how I finally figured this quest out.
From there onward, this quest was all about the very challenging gameplay that
comes with possessing only three hearts. I picked up the Magic Hammer, then
the Titan's Mitts, then I finally picked up the Magic Mirror. And with these
three items, I could assemble the entire arsenal, save the Cane of Somaria.
Luckily, my experience of glitches gave me more than enough ability to get it
on my own.
As I worked on this quest, I was writing this FAQ. This was meant to guide a
player, step by step, through this quest, as well as myself if I ever attempt
such a feat again. I never forgot that this quest is greater than myself.
This quest is the quest that elite players will be judged by. Even though I
have all the steps written down, how easy do you think it is to do all this
with only three hearts?
If you want this quest to be even more challenging:
- Skip non-essential items, such as the Boomerang and Magic Shield.
- Do it with a Level 1 Sword. Never upgrade to the Tempered Sword.
- Use no bottles. Hard enough for you?
- Do all three at once! If you can do this, you deserve bragging rights.
Credits go to...
- Thanks to Nintendo for making this amazing game and bringing it to the new
generation of gamers.
- Thanks to Zanapher for making his Glitch FAQ and inspiring me to go further
with my gameplay. Without Zanapher, this FAQ would never have happened.
- Thanks to David Wonn for bringing the Death Mountain Descent to light.
- Thanks to Sergio Villicana for bringing the Magic Mirror glitch to light.
- Thanks to DragonFlame for informing me of when the final boss can use a cape
- Thanks to LinkTheValiant for reminding me why I wrote this FAQ in the first
place - FOR THE MILLIONS WHO CAN'T PLAY FOUR SWORDS.
- And finally, thanks to myself, for accidentally finding a way into the Palace
of the Four Swords.
Final Notes:
- If you want to know more about glitching in LttP, you should read the Glitch
FAQ written by Zanapher. It is in the SNES section of The Legend of Zelda: A
Link to the Past. With the info he provides, you can do some amazing things.
Just note that a few things will not work in the GBA version...
- Zanapher has a glitch that will get you the Power Gloves in the SNES version
of this game without the Pegasus Boots or Book of Mudora. To make a long
story short, this does NOT work in the GBA version.
-----------------------
BORING STUFF
-----------------------
Copyright (C) 2006 David Blaszak.
This guide may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal
or private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without my written consent. Use of this guide on any other web site
or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of
copyright law. In other words, keep your hands off!
The UDEG glitch has the potential to damage your Control Pad. I have warned
the reader about this risk many times. I even tell the reader how to fulfill
their purposes without its use. Therefore, I will take no responsibility for
any damages that may result from use of this glitch.
I also warn about the potential of the power of the exploration zone to delete
your save files. Though I have not seen it happen for the GBA version, you
cannot rule out this possibility. Zanapher has a great explanation of how this
is caused. If you wish to experiment with this glitch, take heed of his words.
If you need to contact me, please contact me at XRedShifter@hotmail.com.
- Don't give me spam. It discourages me from releasing amazing FAQs.
- Don't give me flame. Your weak flames are nothing compared to the flame wars
in which I have participated.
- Don't ask me for any basic game-related information.
- Don't tell me when you've finished the game. I'm not making lists.
- On that note, if you can finish off the final boss with a Level 1 Sword, I
want some information. Must you use spin-strikes? Does he take the same
amount of hits as with a Level 4 sword?
- Please inform me if you want to bring up any corrections (even minor ones).
- Please inform me if I am not clear enough on my walkthrough.
- On that note, don't ask me about the Exploration Zone. Zanapher's FAQ
covers that subject far better than I ever could. I mention Zanapher's
name about 14 times in this FAQ, so just read it!
VERSION HISTORY:
Version 1.3 (September 19, 2006)
- Fixed Chapter 7 again.
Version 1.2 (May 29, 2004)
- Clarified the wording of Chapter 7.
Version 1.1 (May 29, 2004)
- Fixed up the vague instructions.
- Figured out why the final boss uses their cape.
- Added "Final Boss Strategy" section.
Version 1.0 (November 21, 2003)
- Originally submitted work.
