Walkthrough 006: escaping the guardhouse

After entering the hidden passage, you can go either east or west. However, since you don't have the Big Key to open the chest on the east side of the room, you have no choice but to head the other direction. Go through the next rooms and take the stairs down.

Secret passage - 1F (click to enlarge)

Guardhouse sewers - 1B (click to enlarge)

Make your way through the maze, while carefully avoiding the blade traps. My choice would be to go south, take the second intersection heading west. Keep going that way until your reach the wall and then go north again until you find the doorway.

In the next room, be careful for the pits and rats. There are a number of fake floor switches in this room. The only one that opens the north door may be found in between the two pits west of  the entrance. Walk on the tile and enter the door.

Make your way through the maze and take the stairs at the north of the room. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out using the map on the left. You will run into quite some rats and bats, so watch your step and use that shiny sword to finish them off.

By the way, do not take the south exit, as you will be back whence you came.





 You now enter the Church passage.

Church passage - 1F (click to enlarge)

Head south and follow the path which will lead you to stairs. Take them to find yourself near a maze of square pegs. Follow the open pathway through the pegs and head west to find the peg switch. Hit it once to invert the pegs' positions.

Church back room (click to enlarge)

Go back to the peg maze and follow the new path so you can reach the stairs going down. Move north to find other stairs heading back up. Head into the maze until you reach the doorway that will lead to another floor. Once above, you should see a chest. This chest holds the Big Key which is required to open the treasure chest you walked by earlier. It contains the blue boomerang.

Caution: you now have the choice to take it or leave it. If you take it, you cannot acquire the red boomerang, which has a longer range, later in the game. If you leave it, you will need bombs to advance to the exit.

Stand here if you have the boomerang

Whatever your choice may be, return to the church passage and make sure the blue pegs are up. Go back to the church back room, using the other set of stairs which you haven't used yet. Now move south. If you have the boomerang, position yourself as shown in the picture on the left and use it to hit the crystal switch to move the blue pegs down.

If you don't have the boomerang, place a bomb next to the switch and move to the same spot as shown on the left. Now you can advance to the next room. Pull the left switch and the passage to the church will open.

Read the story about Draegor and the parallel tower and take note of the clue of using the blue button (X) and the right shoulder buttons as this is important later on. Pick up a heart container on your way out if you didn't pick it up before entering the guardhouse.

Village church and heart container

Walkthrough 005: castle guardhouse #2

Link gets the sword and shield

Once you have returned to the entrance, return to the wine cellar by heading west. Open the locked door with the Big Key. In the next room, head east and use the floor tile to open the door and get the key. Now head back to the interrogation room.

Head north and open the cell door with the Big Key. Enter the next room and carefully make your way past the guards and spiked floor. You can just walk past the spikes if you walk parallel to the south wall. Open the locked door and get the sword and shield from your uncle.

You use your shield automatically against any attack it can withstand, but only when you're not using your sword. Use your sword with the B-button. Press and hold the B-button to charge your sword and release the button to do a spin-attack.



Now you need to return to the prison warden's room on the lower floor and kill the Chain Trooper there. He will reward you with a small key.
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Three soldiers and a locked cell door

Return to the prison upper floor and head east until you reach a room with three soldiers and a locked cell door. You need to kill all the guards to open the upper doorway.

Kill the blue soldier and use your last key on the locked door and enter the next room.

Kill the soldiers and open the locked cell to save princess Zelda. Before you leave, don't forget to open the chest for some small change.

A suspiciously looking ornament shelf

It's time to return to wine cellar once again and find the big ornament shelf against the wall. Push it from the left. This opens a hidden passage to the sewers which is our escape route.

But... we haven't opened the treasure chest in the guardhouse yet, you say? Unfortunately, the Big Key that we have now, only opens locked doors. You'll actually need another Big Key, which we cannot get to right now, to open the treasure chest.

2B Interrogation Room (click to enlarge)

Walkthrough 004: castle guardhouse #1

Once inside the guardhouse, go west through all the rooms until you find some stairs leading to the "wine celler" (sic). Take the small key and backtrack your way to the entrance of the guardhouse.

The second key

Once you've returned to the first room, activate the floor switch next to the wooden log near the north door. Enter the door that opened east and continue your way through all the rooms until you reach the room with the bookcases. Although the north cracked wall suggests to be bomb-able, it will not open a passageway so don't try to blow it. Activate the floor switch and proceed to the next room. Go down the stairs and lift the pots to find a key. You can use the pots to take out the guards; one hit per guard should do the trick. You can't open the big treasure chest yet, so make your way back to the main entrance once again.

Stairs to interrogation room

Use one of your keys to open the locked door and make your way through the rooms until you find the stairs. Go down and avoid the guard. Run down the second set of stairs and activate the floor switch to open the door and proceed to the next room. Sneak past the guard and take him out with a pot. This is good practice as the guards may drop a heart to replenish your health. Activate yet another floor switch and exit the room south-ways. Continue through another set of rooms with more guards and floor switches until you reach a room with a set of stairs in the middle. Go down and you'll enter the interrogation room.



Take the west door and continue down the stairs to get to the prison upper floor. Go west and make your way past the guards. Pay special attention to the Gray Ball and Chain Trooper as he is ranged and very dangerous. Go down the stairs and you'll be at the prison's lower floor.

Chest with the Big Key

Immediately enter the door next to the one you just came out of. Move to the east of the room and take the first door south. Walk past the soldier and take the door north. Next go east to enter the prison warden's room. You'll encounter another Ball and Chain Trooper so be careful as you cannot fight him yet. Enter the south doorway and continue moving in that direction for a couple of rooms.

Make your way past a blue soldier and ignore the heart container as you'll need the hookshot to get it. Enter the next room through the north doorway... the door slams shut behind you. Floor tiles will rise and fire themselves at you. Avoid them until they stop and the doors will automatically unlock again. If you're having trouble avoiding them, I've created a video that shows you how to do it.

Go north and open the treasure chest to find the Big Key. Now backtrack all the way to the main entrance. Let's go and find a keyhole that fits!

Castle guardhouse 1F (click to enlarge)

Castle Guardhouse 1B (click to enlarge)

Castle Guardhouse 2B (click to enlarge)