As Link nears his 16th birthday, a mark like the crest of the kingdom appears on the back of his hand. He takes it to Impa, Princess Zelda's nursemaid.
Impa leads him to the North Castle and a door that no one can open. She presses the back of Link's left hand against it, the lock falls open, and inside a sleeping woman lies on an altar: Princess Zelda.
There was a door in the North Castle called "the door that does not open."
Impa tells the old legend. A great king once ruled Hyrule with the Triforce, but when he died the prince received only part of it.
The king had told the rest of the secret only to Princess Zelda, the prince's younger sister. She would not tell it, and a magician cast a sleeping spell on her.
The magician died as the spell took hold. The grieving prince laid his sister in the room and decreed that every girl born to the royal family would be named Zelda.
he ordered that every female child born into the royal household shall be given the name Zelda.
Impa gives Link six crystals and a scroll that carries the same crest. The scroll is written in an old script nobody can read, yet Link reads it at once.
The scroll tells of three Triforces: Power, Wisdom, and Courage. The king left Power and Wisdom in the kingdom and hid Courage, to wait for a worthy young man marked with the crest.
Of the three, I have left Power and Wisdom in the kingdom. But the Triforce Courage I have hidden for a reason.
After beating the guardian of each of the six palaces, Link must set a crystal in the forehead of the statue there. When all six are set, the binding force lifts and the last guardian waits in the Great Palace.
set a crystal in the forehead of the statue you find.
Six palaces are hidden around Hyrule. Link gains experience by fighting Ganon's underlings, gathers information in the towns, beats the palace guardians, and then claims the Triforce of Courage.
A map of Hyrule names Ruto Town, Rauru Town, Saria Town, and Mido Town, the North Castle, the Tantari and Parapa Deserts, the Moruge and Midoro Swamps, the Port, the King's Tomb, and the Death Mountain area.
Make a New Link
Press START at the title screen to reach SELECT mode. Choose REGISTER YOUR NAME to make a new Link, and spell the name with the cross button and the A button.
You can create a new Link if you select letters from the bottom using the cross button and the A button (up to eight letters).
The adventure starts in the North Castle, where Zelda sleeps on the altar. Link starts with three lives and loses one when his LIFE runs out or when he falls into water.
The top of the screen shows Link's ATTACK, MAGIC, and LIFE levels. Pressing START during side-view play opens the sub screen.
The status bar also shows current experience points, the points needed for the next level, the MAGIC and LIFE left, lives left, items held, and each usable spell with its MAGIC cost.
North Castle: The Outskirts
Outside the castle the view switches to an overhead map of Hyrule. Link heads east along the path from the castle, which stands in a lake.
The screen when Link is moving like this is called the "land map."
On the land map the cross button moves Link, the A button uses the Hammer, the B button plays the Flute, and START pauses. A and B do nothing until Link has the item.
You can't use buttons A and B if there's no item in hand.
Towns, forests, and mountains: The various land shapes in Hyrule
Hyrule is made of roads, plains, forests, seas and rivers, deserts, swamps, mountains, graveyards, and bridges. Towns, caves, and large boulders sit along the roads.
Link can move anywhere except on water, such as rivers, and on dangerous landscapes such as mountains.
The Adventures of Link: Searching for the Third Triforce
Encountering Ganon's Underlings
Off the road, enemy symbols come after Link on the land map. One symbol stands for strong enemies and one for weak ones. When Link touches a symbol, the screen changes to a fight.
When Link walks off the road, Ganon's underlings approach watching for a chance to attack.
Fights are side-on. Watch the size of each enemy and the height of its attack. Link's shield only blocks attacks that come at the height it covers, so crouch or stand to match.
The basics of fighting are to inflict damage with the sword and fend off attacks with the shield.
In a fight the cross button moves Link and lowers his shield, the A button jumps, the B button swings the sword, SELECT uses MAGIC, and START opens the sub screen.
Swordsmen in the towns teach Link to jump and thrust up and down.
If a swordsman teaches him the art of sword fighting, he'll be able to jump and thrust up and down.
In a fight or in town, pick a spell on the sub screen and press SELECT to cast it. The sub screen lists the spells and their MAGIC costs, lives, keys, crystals left, and items held.
You can use magic by pressing the SELECT button when in a fight scene or in town.
The palaces have stood for ages and hold very strong enemies. If Link's levels are still low and he knows no magic, it may be better to come back later.
If you have not raised your level yet and have not been taught any magic, it may be better to withdraw once more.
With all six crystals in the statues, Link can enter the Great Palace. It is far bigger than he expected, and his true heart is tested after the last guardian.
If the six crystals are placed in the stone statues, you finally enter the Great Palace.
The map at the start of the booklet's back part shows the way from the North Castle. Ruto Town lies to the north, a cave to the south, and the Tantari Desert to the northeast.
Further east are Rauru Town, a cave through the mountains, and the Parapa Desert. The First Palace stands at the desert's northeast corner by the sea.
This is the magic that Link will learn
Link learns eight spells in the towns. Weigh the MAGIC points left against what each spell costs and does. Some places cannot be passed without magic.
Magic wears off if the display changes to another.
Items are found in the six palaces and in caves. Link picks one up by finding it and striking it with his sword. The items on page 46 show on the sub screen.
Items can be obtained by finding and striking them with the sword.
On the land map: the cross button moves Link, A uses the Hammer, B plays the Flute, and START pauses and resumes.
In a fight: the cross button moves Link, lowers the shield, aims thrusts in the air, and picks magic or a level to raise. A jumps, B swings the sword, SELECT uses magic, and START opens the sub screen.
In town: the cross button moves Link and enters houses, and B talks to people. Everything else works as in a fight.
Other controller operations are the same as at the fight scene.