Link returns to the surface, and goes back the way he came to find a tree stump to try out his new power. With the vines growing, Link can climb to where a secret is promised, and it seem Vasu has left his best customer a ring. Link digs it up and proceeds to the next dungeon.
Poison Moth’s Lair
Once again, it’s immediately obvious what the treasure’s going to be; this time, there are a lot of short gaps, which point to the roc’s feather. It is the treasure, and there’s a new puzzle component with it: Link can jump onto trampolines to bounce up to a higher level of the dungeon, and push them around so they’re where they need to be. Also, Link can push pots around instead of lifting and smashing them, which is needed for a “switch only stays down with a weight on it” puzzle that was infuriating until I accidentally pushed one of the pots and realized that’s what needs to be done. Shortly before the miniboss, an owl statue hints that it is invincible in water. It turns out to be Omuai/Calamareye, three squids that travel between a set of pools. The strategy is basically Morpha minus the hookshot: pick them up, take them out of their pools, and whack them till they die.
The dungeon’s boss is a returnee, not from the first game, but from A Link to the Past: Mothula. This version lacks the features that made the original frustrating; instead it tries to knock Link off the central platforms of its room into the room below to restart the fight. The strategy I found for the phase where Mothula’s flying around shooting fireballs is to stand on the central platforms and jump between them with each fireball, then repeatedly whack Mothula when it lands to catch its breath. It only takes a couple cycles to win, and then the way opens for Link to claim the third Essence, the Bright Sun.
The Maku Tree says the next goal should be a waterfall to the north.
The Sunken City
With the roc’s feather, Link can jump over some of the holes in the overworld. There’s a cave with a heart piece he can get to, and then it’s time to go exploring some more, eventually covering the northwest area of the map. The first section changes forms based on which animal companion Link got – the options are Ricky, Moosh, and one I’ll get to in a moment here. With Moosh, it becomes the Natzu Wasteland, and I’m starting to regret my choice because the long flying leaps over the big gaps are getting harder and harder to do. Of particular interest in this area is a Deku scrub who’ll refill Link’s entire seed bag just for dropping by, and the Moblin’s Keep to the east, where the Moblin King shoots bombs at a passing Link.
Once through the wasteland, Link and Moosh come to the Sunken City. All the water unnerves Moosh, who leaves Link to explore on his own. There are hints of a master diver who’s hidden his gear somewhere, but first, Link comes to another seed tree, which gives him gale seeds, which will teleport him to any other seed tree he’s visited. Finally, a useful quick travel item. Link also comes across a dodongo being bullied by some kids, and gets the kids to leave it alone. The dodongo, Dimitri, offers to help Link in return. His particular abilities are swimming and climbing waterfalls.
At the top of the Sunken City, Link finds the master diver, who offers Link a chance to become his pupil. First, of course, Link must pass a test: go to another cave and hit four statues in a single stroke. It seems impossible, but the solution is to push the statues together and hit them all with a spin attack. Link gets a plaque, which he takes back to the diver, and gets the flippers, finally gaining the ability to swim. Swimming gives access to the Moblin’s Keep, where Link can finally confront the Moblin King. The King throws bombs at Link, who can throw them back and occasionally catch the King in the blast. The whole thing feels like Wart from Super Mario Bros. 2. Eventually one of the bombs catches the entire bomb stash, defeating the King and wrecking the keep. Link claims his reward, another heart piece.
Near the first dungeon, there’s an old man who challenges Link to defeat four golden beasts throughout Holodrum. The first of these, an octorok in Spool Swamp that only spawns during summer, can be fought now.
Next: The Rod of Seasons reaches its full potential.
