The Face Shrine comes at a pivotal point in the game: Link has just learned the truth about Koholint Island, but has to continue his quest to save the Wind Fish. And yet it’s perhaps the most disappointing dungeon in the game [1]. I will say, however, it’s easy to see the “face” in the map design.
Wizzrobes show up, because of course they do; these wizzrobes are easiest to kill with bombs. It’s a perfect opportunity to practice the bomb arrow maneuver, or play it safe, whack them with the boomerang to stun them, and drop a bomb on them. Also making a return appearance is the floor tile trap, which is even less of a threat now because they can be blocked by the shield, even the basic shield, so it’s just a matter of sitting there waiting it out [2].
The dungeon introduces a new type of recurring puzzle: flip two horse head statues until they both land rightside up. But whoever designed this puzzle forgot that a key element of a good puzzle is thought. There’s no thought required to flipping the statues, just chance, time, and not getting killed in the meantime. In other words, it’s mildly interesting the first time, when it’s not clear what to do. Every other time could be replaced by a button that has a 25% chance of opening the way forward and a 75% chance of popping up a message “Thank you, Link, but our button operator is in another castle,” and gives you another chance in 5 seconds [3].
The dungeon’s treasure is the level 2 power bracelet, and... yeah, that’s kind of disappointing too. Unlike with the Titan’s Mitt in A Link to the Past, there haven’t been any obstacles Link couldn’t lift with just the level 1 bracelet… although the fact that it was labeled such probably should have been a hint that a more powerful version would be needed later down the line. The level 2 bracelet is useful for fighting back against the miniboss, Smasher, who’s by far the best part of the dungeon. Smasher’s got a big ball, and Link can pick it up and throw it back at him. It’s a fun fight.
The Nightmare, Facade… is a giant face on the ground. He throws floor tiles at Link, then starts opening holes. The weakness, of course, is the face, and Link has to drop bombs to kill it. It’s not as completely uninspired as the Angler Fish was, but still, do better. Facade does have one neat feature: Now that Link knows Koholint Island’s nature, the bosses start trying to make him question if he’s any more real than anything else on the island. Which has a bit of a meta feeling to it: of course he’s only one layer realer than anything else.
Even the dungeon’s Instrument of the Sirens is bizarre: the Coral Triangle. Seriously? A triangle? Don’t get me wrong, I played percussion in school and respect the hell out of those who do, but this is what the Sirens decided they needed to complete their ensemble? Anway, since the only area of the map with a significant number of squares still to uncover are in the mountains to the north [4], that’s where Link has to go for the last phase, and sure enough, that’s where the voice tells him to go.
The Mountains
Before Link can go to the mountains, there’s one more thing he needs to do. A flying rooster is buried under the weathercock in Mabe Village, and now with the upgraded power bracelet, Link can push the weathercock out of the way, find the rooster’s bones, and reanimate it with Frog’s Song of Soul. Now, if Link picks up the rooster, he can fly over long or irregularly-shaped gaps. And, in the most hilariously broken combo in the game, if he also equips the boomerang and throws it before picking up the rooster, the boomerang hovers beneath his feet, killing anything that dares enter its path while Link is invincible above harm.
Next: Eagle’s Tower
[1] The final dungeon is literally just a maze of
[2] Also, there are no wallmasters to make continuous movement necessary.
[3] Time and odds of the horse head puzzle are approximate.
[4] Well, and possibly the rapids minigame.
