Walkthrough

This walkthrough takes you through The Minish Cap from the Picori Festival to the final battle with Vaati. It sticks to the main path, but it also points out the Pieces of Heart, Kinstones and upgrades you pass along the way. For complete lists, see the Heart Pieces, Bottle Locations, Items and Sword Techniques pages.

A few basics before you start:

• Kinstones: when a thought bubble appears over someone (or something), press L to try to fuse Kinstones with them. Matching halves unlock new paths, treasure chests and side quests all over Hyrule, so fuse whenever you get the chance.
• Shrinking: once Ezlo joins you, stand on a sparkling stump, pot or rock (a Minish Portal) and press R to shrink to Minish size. Stand next to the portal and press R again to grow back. While tiny, puddles will drown you and even small enemies are dangerous.
• Ezlo: press Select at any time for a hint from Ezlo about where to go next.
• Mysterious Shells: you'll find these in many chests. Trade them to Carlov in Hyrule Town for figurines.

1. The Picori Festival

1. After the opening scene, go downstairs and through the door on the east side of the house. Smith, Link's grandfather, gives you a sword and asks you to deliver it to the castle. Open the chest in the house for 20 Rupees, then head outside.
2. Go west and follow Princess Zelda into Hyrule Town, where the Picori Festival is under way. Follow her as she runs around town, talking to her each time she stops. She wins a prize drawing and gives you the Small Shield.
3. As you head north with Zelda, a Business Scrub blocks the way. Stand in front of it and hold up your shield; its attack bounces back and it runs off.
4. Continue north to Hyrule Castle for the swordsmanship ceremony. The champion, Vaati, shatters the legendary Picori Blade, releases the monsters sealed in the shrine, and turns Zelda to stone.
5. When you wake up in the castle, you learn that only children can see the Picori (the Minish), and you're sent to find them so the blade can be repaired. You now carry the broken Picori Blade, and your map shows your destination: the Minish Woods.

2. The Minish Woods

1. Head south from the castle. The way through town is blocked, so go east past the short trees (cut them down) into Lon Lon Ranch. Keep going south as far as you can, then east into the Minish Woods.
2. Follow the path through the forest. Before you reach the shrine, you'll hear a cry for help. First, though, head west to pick up a Piece of Heart. You can't come back for this one at Minish size, so grab it now.
3. Return and defeat the Octoroks that are attacking a strange talking hat. This is Ezlo, and he hops onto your head and joins you.
4. Go to the sparkling tree stump. Ezlo shows you how to shrink: stand on it and press R.
5. At Minish size, go west through the hollow log. At the pond, step onto a lily pad as it drifts past and hop off on the north side. Follow the path of giant acorns and leaves north into Minish Village.
6. You can't understand the Minish yet. Cross the bridge to the north and enter Festari's abbey, the building with the blue hexagonal roofs. Festari is the only Minish who speaks your language. He tells you to look for the Jabber Nut in the barrel-shaped house in the south-east of the village.
7. In the barrel house, push the southernmost crate to either side, then walk to the Jabber Nut and press R to eat it. Now you can understand every Minish.
8. Optional: follow the wooden walkway east of the bridge that leads to Festari's abbey for another Piece of Heart.
9. Visit the Elder, Gentari, in the house west of the abbey. He explains that the blade must be restored with four Elements and marks the first one on your map: Deepwood Shrine, north of the abbey. Talk to Festari again and he'll let you pass.
10. Still tiny, go straight north through the little holes in the undergrowth to reach Deepwood Shrine.

3. Deepwood Shrine

Mini-boss: Madderpillar. Boss: Big Green Chuchu. Item: Gust Jar.

1. In the entrance, push the southernmost statue to the left and go through the north door.
2. Step on the switches beside the torches to make a chest appear with Small Key #1. Use it on the locked door to the north.
3. In the room with the pool, grab the handle in the corner (hold R) and pull it away from the wall to raise a bridge. Cross, then grab the stretchy mushroom, pull back and let go to be flung across the water. Continue north.
4. Throw a pot at the Puffstool to beat it. Go up and step on the floor switch; this lights a torch that burns away the vines on one end of the giant barrel. Go back down and enter the barrel through its door.
5. The giant barrel rolls as you walk inside it. Walk until the exit is facing the direction you need, then step out. Use this to reach the next area to the west.
6. Defeat the Mulldozer, then use the next stretchy mushroom to launch yourself to the north end of the room. Climb the stairs and open the chest for the Dungeon Map.
7. Use the mushroom again, pulling it back only as far as the scratch marks, to land on the narrow strip between the water. Push the pot in the north-west corner onto the floor switch to make a bridge.
8. In the room with two statues and two switches, pull one statue off its switch, step into the enclosed area, pull the other statue onto the switch beside it, and then pull the first statue back onto its switch. A chest appears with Small Key #2.
9. Make your way back to the barrel, roll it until the exit faces north-east, and use Key #2 on the locked door to the east.
10. Use the mushrooms to cross the next room, then line up the statues so that only the left one ends up on the switch. Go north.
11. Defeat the three Mulldozers that ambush you; Small Key #3 drops from the ceiling.
12. Head north-east and down the stairs. Push the right-hand block up and the left-hand block left to reach a chest with the Compass.
13. Push a pot onto the floor switch in the north-west, return upstairs, and use Key #3 on the locked door on the west side to fight Madderpillar (see the Bosses page). Open the chest that appears for the Gust Jar.
14. Use the Gust Jar to suck the cobweb off the south door, and take the Piece of Heart beyond it.
15. Optional: clear the cobweb on the east door and suck up the sand in the rooms beyond to uncover switches and chests of Mysterious Shells.
16. Get back into the barrel and roll it until the cobwebbed hole in its floor is in the center. Suck up the web and drop through. Pull the lily pad toward you with the Gust Jar, stand on it, and face away from the direction you want to travel; tapping the Gust Jar pushes you along. Ride it down the waterfall and go east at the split.
17. Push a pot onto the floor switch to lower the gate, ride through, and follow the water to a chest with Small Key #4. If the chest isn't there, push a pot onto the switch to the north.
18. Ride back and take the north branch this time. Unlock the door and use the stretchy mushrooms (pull them with the Gust Jar) to cross to a big chest with the Big Key.
19. A warp tile appears that takes you back to the entrance. Step on the other warp tile there to reach a ledge with another Piece of Heart.
20. Suck the cobwebs off the north-east stairs, cross with the mushrooms, and open the boss door with the Big Key. Defeat the Big Green Chuchu to earn a Heart Container and the Earth Element.

4. Back to Hyrule Town

1. Return to the Elder in Minish Village; he opens a new path and tells you to head for Mt. Crenel.
2. Go west through the log and into the little orange house to the north. The Minish inventor Belari gives you a Bomb Bag.
3. Grow back at the portal outside and check the gravestone to the north to activate a Wind Crest. You'll be able to warp to these later.
4. Head west and blast through the cracked stones with bombs on your way out of the woods. North of here, bomb the odd-looking wall for a cave with 20 Mysterious Shells. Then go north into Hyrule Town.
5. The Hurdy-Gurdy Man gives you the Kinstone Bag and a Kinstone piece. Fuse with him: this opens a hollow tree in South Hyrule Field with a Piece of Heart inside.
6. Visit Swiftblade in the log cabin west of the town entrance and learn the Spin Attack.
7. Optional: in Mayor Hagen's house in the north-east of town, go out the east door and down the ladder for a red Kinstone piece, then fuse it with Hagen. Buy the Big Wallet at Stockwell's shop for 80 Rupees once you can afford it.
8. Make sure you have at least 20 Rupees, then go to the north-west exit of town and show the soldier your Spin Attack. He lets you through.

5. Mt. Crenel

1. Head south-west and down the ladder. Bomb the rock wall, deflect the Business Scrub's seeds with your shield, and buy an Empty Bottle for 20 Rupees.
2. Go north and west to the base of the mountain. Fill your bottle at the water's edge, then pour it on the vine sprout to make it grow, and climb up.
3. Further up, bomb your way into a cave and shrink at the portal inside. Follow the Minish path to the end and fill your bottle with the green mineral water there.
4. Use the whirlwinds to float west along the cliffs. Bomb the wall between the two tree stumps for a cave with a blue Kinstone, 50 Rupees and a Piece of Heart.
5. At Minish size, find the giant sprout in the Minish path. Don't water it there: pick it up, carry it out, and drop it into the round hole. Grow back, pour the mineral water on it, and climb the vine that sprouts.
6. Optional: bomb the spot between two rocks near the north wall for a fairy fountain cave with another Piece of Heart.
7. Cross the wooden bridge and bomb into the cave beyond. Work through the block puzzle to the top, ride the whirlwinds west, and bomb the strange wall next to the sign to find a Business Scrub who sells the Grip Ring. You need it to climb the rough rock walls.
8. Optional: on a small ledge to the east, bomb the wall between the two fence pieces to find a Great Fairy. Throw a bomb into her fountain and answer "Neither" for a bigger Bomb Bag.
9. Climb to the top of the mountain. (Down the ladder to the west lives the Crenel Hermit, who has Kinstones to fuse.) Use the stretchy mushroom and the Minish paths to reach the boulder puzzles: boulders can only be pushed, never pulled, so plan your moves and roll them into the round holes to clear the way.
10. At the end of the Minish path you meet Melari, the Minish blacksmith. Go west past the Minish guarding the door, grow back, check the gravestone for a Wind Crest, and go north into the Cave of Flames.

6. Cave of Flames

Boss: Gleerok. Item: Cane of Pacci.

1. Go through the east door. Hit a Bob-omb to light it, then throw it (or use a bomb) at the north wall to blow it open.
2. Hold up your shield to flip the Spiked Beetles, then strike them. Once both are gone, a chest appears with the Compass.
3. Go west; some of the Rupees on the floor are actually a Like Like, so don't pick them up. Take the stairs down.
4. Head east at the split and push the minecart to ride it west. Bomb the wall at the end of the line.
5. Use the Gust Jar to pull the masks off the Helmasaurs, then defeat them; a Minish Portal appears. Shrink and follow the small holes through the walls. Go west, drop down, grow back at the portal, and climb the stairs to a big chest with the Dungeon Map.
6. Cross the lava on the moving platforms (don't stand still too long). A chest to the west holds a blue Kinstone. Step on the switch to open the south door.
7. Hit a Rollobite so it curls into a ball, pick it up, and throw it into a hole to fill it. Use this trick to cross the room and open the chest for 50 Rupees.
8. Ride the whirlwinds across the next room and climb to the north-east corner. Step on the switch, push the right-hand block up, and push the pillar holding the chest west into the hole. Open it for Small Key #1.
9. Past the sliding blade traps, bomb the cracked wall on the south side between the pots to find a hidden room with a Piece of Heart.
10. Defeat the eight small Spiny Chuchus (wait for their spikes to drop, or use bombs) and open the big chest for the Cane of Pacci. Fire it into a hole and jump in to be launched upward.
11. Use the Cane to reach the higher ledges and switches. Flip the minecart with the Cane, ride it, and push the pillar with the chest into the hole at the end for Small Key #2.
12. In the room with four Rollobites, throw them all into the holes, then push the pillar with the switch into the last hole. Continue past the moving spiky platforms (flip them with the Cane to stop them), collecting the Kinstones along the way.
13. Use the whirlwinds and Cane holes to cross the big lava room. One ledge has a chest with 100 Rupees. Head north-east to the ledge with the Big Key.
14. Use the Cane on the moving spiky platform to reach the boss door. Defeat Gleerok for a Heart Container and the Fire Element.

7. The White Sword and the Elemental Sanctuary

1. Outside the cave, shrink at the portal and head east into Melari's Mines. Melari has repaired the blade: you now have the White Sword. It still has to be infused with the Elements, though.
2. Head back down the mountain to Hyrule Town. Swiftblade now teaches you the Rock Breaker, and Stockwell sells the Boomerang for 300 Rupees.
3. Go north to Hyrule Castle and find the Elemental Sanctuary: from the castle grounds, go north-west up the stairs, down the stairs to the north, and north to a glowing door.
4. Walk to the pedestal in the middle and press A (or R) to place the sword. The Earth and Fire Elements are infused together, and you can now split into two.
5. To make a copy, stand on one of the glowing floor tiles, hold the sword button until it's fully charged, and keep holding it as you step onto the second tile. Your copy copies your movements; it vanishes if it touches a wall, an enemy or a barrier, or when the gauge runs out.
6. To leave, split on the two middle tiles of the four in the south of the room, then walk both Links onto the two switches at once. The door opens.

8. The Pegasus Boots

1. When you leave the castle, Ezlo sends you toward the next Element, beyond the Castor Wilds. Head west through Trilby Highlands into the Western Wood, where a scene plays, and then on to the Castor Wilds. Ezlo says you can't cross the swamp yet.
2. Back in Hyrule Town, enter the shoe shop (the building with a big shoe on its roof), shrink, and talk to the Minish there. They mark Syrup's Hut on your map.
3. Optional: shrink and slip into Talon's house at Lon Lon Ranch, break the pots, and find the key to give back to Talon. This opens up more of the ranch, including a bigger wallet.
4. Visit Syrup the witch in the Minish Woods and buy a Wake-Up Mushroom for 60 Rupees.
5. Take it to the shoe shop, walk up to the counter and press R. The mushroom wakes Rem, the shoemaker, and he gives you the Pegasus Boots. Hold their button to dash. Swiftblade will now teach you the Dash Attack.

9. Castor Wilds and the Wind Ruins

1. Dash across the swamp in the Castor Wilds with the Pegasus Boots.
2. You need three golden Kinstone pieces, all found in the Castor Wilds. One is in a cave where a Darknut appears when you approach the chest; defeat it and the chest reappears. The others are in a cave with a chest between two torches (reached via a whirlwind and vines) and behind a door in the south-west.
3. On a ledge in the north-west, shrink on the stump and use the Gust Jar on the lily pads to cross the water. Drop through the hole, defeat the enemies, and open the big chest for the Bow.
4. Shoot the eye of each one-eyed statue with an arrow to clear the vines behind it.
5. Fuse your three golden Kinstones with the three Mysterious Statues in the south-west of the swamp. The third fusion clears the rock blocking the way south into the Wind Ruins.
6. The Wind Ruins are guarded by Armos statues. Touch one to wake it. To stop one, shrink, climb in through the ladder-like part of a dark-eyed Armos, flip the switch inside, then grow back and defeat it.
7. Clear the Tektites and Armos on each screen. In the room with four Armos, defeat three of them to open two chests, then deal with the last Armos the same way to open the path. Go up and through the door into the Fortress of Winds.

10. Fortress of Winds

Mini-boss: Darknut. Boss: Mazaal. Items: Mole Mitts, Ocarina of Wind.

1. From the entrance, go left through the leftmost door and up the stairs. Shoot the red eye on the wall with an arrow to open the way, and defeat the four Stalfos.
2. Watch out for the Like Likes hiding in the pile of Rupees. Climb the ladder, then shoot the two eye switches to open the door.
3. In the room with the glowing tiles, split into two and step on both switches. This wakes two statues; defeat them for the Compass.
4. In the room with the skulls and ropes, use the glowing tiles to split, push the block right, split again on the top tiles, and pull the lever. A key drops to the floor below; jump down the hole and take Small Key #1.
5. Upstairs, the right-hand lever reveals a chest with a blue Kinstone; the left-hand lever opens the door and ladder.
6. Beat the Armos, then use the glowing tiles to split and press the switches. Shrink, climb inside the other Armos, and work your way around to pull the lever that drops another key. Shrink before you jump down to grab it; nearby, a Minish passage leads to a Piece of Heart.
7. Collect the keys, then climb to the big chest with the Dungeon Map. Use a key on the left-hand door to reach a hallway with Wallmasters (watch for their shadows) and shoot two eye switches to make a bridge.
8. Defeat the Darknut by the south door; a blue warp appears. Get past the rotating traps in the next room.
9. Look for three matching tiles on the wall above a corridor. Bomb that wall and follow the passage to the chest with the Mole Mitts. Use them to dig through the soft walls around the room; one hides a chest with 100 Rupees.
10. Push the statue onto the switch with the Mole Mitts' help, unlock the right-hand door, pull the lever, and dash across the bridge with the Pegasus Boots.
11. In the room with four switches, put one statue on the upper-left switch and the other on the bottom-right, then split into two to press the remaining switches. A key drops.
12. Avoid the rolling spiked logs by dropping into the holes, dig to the next key, and climb the ladder past the Moldorm. In the skull room, unlock the door above.
13. Drop down the right-hand hole to reach the big chest with the Big Key. (Defeat the Wizzrobes in the torch arena for a chest with 80 Mysterious Shells.)
14. Go through the middle door above the entrance, climb up, dig to the door, and push the block right to reveal a red warp. Open the boss door with the Big Key and defeat Mazaal for a Heart Container.
15. Climb the stairs to the large green tablet. There's no Element here, but a bird drops the Ocarina of Wind. Play it to call Zeffa, who flies you to any Wind Crest you've activated. The Wind Element has moved on with the Wind Tribe, so you'll have to look for it later.

11. The Library Books and the Flippers

1. Fly to Lake Hylia. Shrink and talk to the Minish in the tiny house above the portal; they tell you about Librari, a Minish sage who lives in the Hyrule Town library.
2. In the library, go up to the roof, shrink, and enter the bookshelf in the upper-left. The Minish inside explain that three books are overdue. The librarian at the left-hand counter tells you who has the first one.
3. Book 1 (Julietta's house): fill a bottle with water. In Romio's house next door, pour the water on the fire in the fireplace. Shrink, walk through the fireplace into Julietta's house (watch out for her cat), climb the tiny ladder and push the book off the shelf. Return through Romio's house, grow, and pick up the book from Julietta's floor. Return it to the counter.
4. Book 2 (the scholar's house): you'll need another bottle of water for the scholar's fireplace. At Minish size, sneak into the scholar's house and talk to the Minish living there before you go further. Put out the fire and go through the fireplace to the Minish house above.
   • This book is out of reach until you have the Power Bracelets. Go to the yellow-roofed house, out through the hole at the back, along the plank over the stream, through the area full of cats, and down the vine to the small fountain. Go around its edge and into the hole.
   • Inside, use the Cane of Pacci hole to reach the ledge, then defeat the four blue Mulldozers to get the Power Bracelets, which let you push and pull heavy objects.
   • Back in the scholar's house, push the bookcases left to reach the ladder. A Minish is standing on the book. Use the Gust Jar on the dust in the corner to uncover glowing tiles, then split into two and stand both Links on the edge of the book; it falls. Return it to the counter.
5. Book 3 (Mayor Hagen): in Hagen's house, dash into the wall beneath each mask with the Pegasus Boots. One hides a hole; shrink and go through it. The Minish inside mark Hagen's lakeside cabin on your map.
   • Travel to the cabin. Dash into the sparkling tree nearby to make a portal, shrink, and follow the Minish path. Use the Gust Jar on the lily pad to blow yourself across the water.
   • Inside the cabin, push the right-hand bookshelf aside to reveal a ladder, and push the book off its shelf. Grow back, pick it up, and return it to the library.
6. With all three books returned, shrink and go back into the library bookshelf. Climb the ladder to Librari's room and fuse Kinstones with him. He opens a trapdoor into his trial room.
7. In the trial, push the corner block to get out of the cage, launch across the gap with the stretchy mushroom, and defeat the two beetles with blue pincers. You can't hit them from the front, so strike from the side or behind, or right after they throw their pincers. The chest holds the Flippers, which let you swim. Press B to dive under obstacles.
8. Optional: shrink in Stockwell's shop to get the Bottle of Dog Food, and take it to his dog at Lake Hylia for another Empty Bottle (see Bottle Locations).

12. Temple of Droplets

Mini-bosses: Big Blue Chuchu, Madderpillar. Boss: Big Octorok. Item: Flame Lantern.

1. At Lake Hylia, swim north to the giant crack in the ice, stand on it, and press R to shrink and fall into the temple.
2. The floors are icy and ice blocks slide until they hit something. Push the blocks to clear a path north, then east, and go downstairs. Pull the lever to open the trapdoor in the ceiling and let sunlight in.
3. A key is frozen inside an ice block. Go back up, drop through the trapdoor, and push the block into the sunlight to melt it for Small Key #1.
4. The Big Key is frozen in a block too. Push the plain blocks out of the way and slide the key block into the sunbeam. Pull the lever to close the trapdoor again.
5. The Big Key opens the south door, where you can see the Water Element frozen in ice, with the boss asleep beneath it. You can't free it yet.
6. Continue through the water rooms: dive under the rolling spiked logs, read the stone tablet's hint, and drop down the waterfall. In the round, pot-shaped pool, dive to the bottom for Small Key #2. The waterfall room also holds the Dungeon Map.
7. Ride the lily pads (blow them along with the Gust Jar), stepping on the switches on the islands to lower the gates. At the fork, go east and defeat Madderpillar on the ice. The Compass is in the room beyond.
8. Solve the ice block puzzle by sliding a block onto the switch, then pass through the dark room along the ledge.
9. Upstairs, defeat the three blue-pincered Mulldozers. Split into two on the glowing tiles so both Links can pull the large lever together; sunlight melts an ice block and opens a path down.
10. Use the two levers in the lower room to let the sun melt the frozen chest for Small Key #3.
11. Unlock the door and pull the lever to let in sunlight. This wakes the Big Blue Chuchu. Wait for its electricity to fade, tip it over with the Gust Jar, and attack. The chest that appears holds the Flame Lantern, which lights dark rooms and torches and melts ice.
12. Use the lantern to melt the ice blocking the way. Light torches to clear blocks, bomb the cracked wall, and defeat the enemies for Small Key #4. Use it on the locked door in the maze, collecting the red Kinstones along the way.
13. Work through the block rooms with your clones, and light all nine torches in the grid room to open the door. They go out over time, so be quick.
14. Burn away the cobwebs and defeat the two Madderpillars. Then split into a column of copies on the tiles to push the last lever. Sunlight thaws the Element, but the Big Octorok swallows it and drops into the room below.
15. Defeat the Big Octorok (see the Bosses page) for a Heart Container and the Water Element.

13. To Find a Ghost

1. A ghost appears and marks your next destination on the map, and reminds you to infuse the new Element first.
2. Optional: in the Minish Woods, fuse Kinstones with Gentari, then visit Belari to swap your bombs for Remote Bombs.
3. The castle's main entrance is now guarded. In Hyrule Castle Garden, cut the bushes on the east side and go down the ladder to Grimblade's dojo (a Piece of Heart is here). Light the torches and Grimblade teaches you the Sword Beam.
4. Sneak through the hedges on the west side of the garden. Stay out of the soldiers' line of sight and wait for each guard to turn away before moving. Then cut the bushes to reveal a ladder into the castle.
5. Follow the path to the Elemental Sanctuary and infuse the Water Element. You can now split into three. Split to press the switches and leave.
6. Head into the Royal Valley and keep your lantern lit the whole time. Ghosts will grab you if they get too close; mash the buttons to break free. Bomb the two fence pieces by the wall to find the Great Fairy, who upgrades your quiver if you answer No, No, Yes, No, No.
7. Get through the Lost Woods by going up, left, left, up, right, up. Then head north-east to Dampé's house.
8. Dampé gives you the Graveyard Key, but a crow snatches it as you leave. Don't get too close to the tree the crow lands in, or it flies off again. Dash into the tree with the Pegasus Boots to knock the key loose. Then ask Dampé to open the graveyard gate.
9. In the graveyard, push the tombstones aside. A lone tombstone in the upper left hides steps down; split into three below to push the block and reach a Piece of Heart.
10. Near the gate, break the rocks to reveal glowing tiles. Split into three and walk the copies to the switches that move the big tombstone, then go down the steps into the Royal Crypt.

14. The Royal Crypt

1. The mummies here are wrapped in bandages; burn them with the lantern to turn them into Stalfos you can defeat. Don't let them grab you.
2. Pull the leftmost stretchy mushroom to cross the first room. The doors on the left and right are fakes that hurt you; the middle door is the real one.
3. Collect the small keys by splitting into three on the glowing tiles to press groups of three switches. In one room you'll have to dodge a trap circling the blocks; in another, split as a moving platform comes near and ride it to the switches.
4. Defeat the charging ropes, then light the four lanterns to make the mummies appear. Defeat them and go through the final door.
5. Step onto the platform to meet the spirit of King Gustaf, who gives you a golden Kinstone and tells you to seek the source of the flow. Then you're taken back outside.
6. Optional: around the Royal Valley you can now fuse Kinstones with the ghosts and with Dampé. Dampé's fusion reveals an easier route through the Lost Woods: left, left, left, up, up, up, up.

15. Veil Falls and the Cloud Tops

1. From North Hyrule Field, go north past the four trees and take the north-east exit to Veil Falls.
2. Fuse your golden Kinstone with the stone door to the north to open it. Light your lantern and climb through the caves, collecting Mysterious Shells, and split into three to push the heavy block.
3. Climb the rock face and check the tombstone at the top to activate a Wind Crest. Continue north through the cave and climb the wall outside.
4. Jump into the big whirlwind at the top of the falls to be launched into the sky, to the Cloud Tops.
5. Your goal up here is to get every pinwheel spinning. Collect the golden Kinstones scattered around (dig through the thick clouds with the Mole Mitts, and beat the cloud piranhas and the Lakitu that guard some of them), then fuse each one with the mysterious clouds. Ride the red and white whirlwinds to move between the cloud levels.
6. When the last pinwheel spins, a large whirlwind appears. Take it up to the House in the Clouds, home of the Wind Tribe, and check the tombstone outside for a Wind Crest.
7. Inside, explore the floors for Kinstones. If you rescued Gregal from his ghost earlier, he gives you the Light Arrows here. Fuse Kinstones with the Wind Tribe members until you're granted access to the Palace of Winds, then go up past the child on the stairs and take the giant whirlwind to the palace.

16. Palace of Winds

Boss: Gyorg Pair. Item: Roc's Cape.

1. Hit the switches to extend the bridges, push the middle block up, and hit the far switch with the Boomerang or an arrow. Then split into three to push the big block out of the way.
2. Ride the platform up and ignore the Stalfos; the ground they stand on crumbles. Hit the red switch, race the spiked roller to the blue switch, and cross the new bridge.
3. Defeat the Wizzrobes as they appear in waves of two, four, and six. The big chest holds the Roc's Cape: press its button to jump, and hold it in mid-air to glide. Swiftblade will now teach you the Down Thrust.
4. Glide from cloud to cloud and over the floating bombs. In the block room, clear a path to the glowing tiles, split into three, stand between the brown switches, and use a Spin Attack to hit all four at once.
5. Wait for each fan to stop before crossing. Use the Cane of Pacci on holes to launch yourself onto ledges. The grated panels flip when you jump on them from above or below.
6. Keep heading right, jumping between moving platforms and dodging the crows. Use the shrinking portal and Minish paths to get around, and push the pots in the right order to clear the way.
7. Defeat the ball-and-chain soldiers to earn a key. Keep going west, use the switches and fans to cross the stream, and push the block away from the chest for another small key. Unlock the door above and open the chest for the Big Key.
8. Go straight down to the big door. On the sky platform, defeat the Darknut to open a blue warp. In the dark room (light your lantern), climb to the platform with the Compass.
9. Drop through the hole for a small key, split into three on the tiles to spin-attack the switches past the Peahats, and ride the whirlwinds across the gap.
10. Defeat the fire Wizzrobes for the Dungeon Map. Beat the Floormasters, pull the lever, and push the blocks into the hole to reach a Piece of Heart.
11. Bomb through the walls, clear the floating bombs with arrows or the Boomerang, and navigate the Wizzrobe maze up to the final big door. Take the giant whirlwind up to the boss.
12. Defeat the Gyorg Pair (see the Bosses page). You start on the blue Gyorg; step across to the pink one when it passes beneath you. Your reward is a Heart Container and the Wind Element.

17. Completing the Four Sword

1. Return to the Elemental Sanctuary in Hyrule Castle (sneak in the same way as before) and infuse the final Element. Your blade becomes the Four Sword: you can now split into four, and a fully charged Spin Attack fires a spinning beam.
2. Vaati is waiting in the sanctuary, and he has learned the truth about the Light Force. Split into four to step on the switches and leave.
3. The castle has changed and its people have been turned to stone. Use your new Spin Attack beam on each statue to free them. In the dungeon, free King Daltus from his cell; he gives you a small key.
4. Before the final dungeon, this is a good time to collect anything you've missed: the last Tiger Scrolls (including the Great Spin Attack from Swiftblade the First), the remaining Pieces of Heart, the Goron quest, and Librari's final Heart Container at Lake Hylia.
5. If you're using Remote Bombs, switch back to regular bombs with Belari before you go in; the final dungeon is easier with them.
6. When you're ready, warp to Hyrule Town and walk north to the castle garden to enter Dark Hyrule Castle.

18. Dark Hyrule Castle

Mini-bosses: Darknuts. Boss: Vaati.

1. Go through the north door, left, then north. Split into four on the tiles and swing your sword as the statues fire orbs, to knock the orbs back at them.
2. The blue tile rooms have to be solved by stepping on every blue tile exactly once, which turns it red. If you make a mistake, step on the switch to reset the room. Look for a single path that covers every tile.
3. In the four-switch room, wait until the trap is at the top before you split, then guide your copies onto the switches for a small key.
4. Split on the glowing tiles so that your four Links stand near the statues, and spin-attack as they fire to destroy them all.
5. In the throne room, defeat the red Darknut. The Compass is through the right-hand door. Push the throne to the right to uncover the stairs down.
6. Outside, ride the whirlwinds while avoiding the statues' orbs. Get past the spinning line of fire by splitting into four, then push the big block all the way down.
7. Defeat the ball-and-chain soldiers, and blow up the cracked blocks with bombs from the moving platform. Turn the Sparks into fairies with the Boomerang for your bottles.
8. Many rooms here are guarded by Darknuts, black and red, some in pairs. Each one opens the way forward.
9. Shoot the four eyes in the north wall quickly with arrows to open the door.
10. When fighting the Ghinis, look for the one that stays solid when you hit it; defeating that one makes all the others disappear.
11. Hit the switches below the flames with a centered Spin Attack, defeat the fire Wizzrobes, and light the lanterns to open the doors.
12. Use your four small keys on the lock blocks, then split on the tiles to push the big block aside and reach the Big Key.
13. Through the big door, fight a ball-and-chain soldier on the narrow walkway. Each time the bell tolls, a new challenge appears: first split into four to beat the monsters and press four switches, then defeat three Darknuts. Then climb the stairs to face Vaati.

19. Vaati

1. Defeat Vaati Reborn, then Vaati Transfigured. The Bosses page has full strategies for every form.
2. You're carried upstairs to the altar where Zelda is held. Walk up to the altar and wait for Ezlo to speak, then use a Spin Attack to free her.
3. The castle starts to collapse and you're sent back to the first room. Follow the path down the stairs to the left. Before you enter the courtyard, step south to refill your hearts, bombs and arrows.
4. Defeat Vaati's Wrath in the courtyard to save Hyrule and win the game.
5. After the ending, save your game. Carlov makes six more figurines, bringing the total to 136. Collect them all for the last Piece of Heart. And once the game is over, Biggoron gives you the Mirror Shield if you've woken him.