The final dungeon, Ancient Tomb, feels like a final exam after everything Link’s done. There are switch blocks, rolling cube puzzles, lava flows to disrupt, mine carts, and puzzles that require most of the inventory items to pass. The dungeon’s treasure is the power glove, an upgrade for the power bracelet, and it only comes up a few times over the course of the dungeon, and it feels like it’s really just here because a Zelda dungeon without a treasure item is not a true Zelda dungeon. The central puzzle, to open the path to the main part of the bottom floor, involves recovering four tablets from the four corners of the dungeon and inserting them into a statue.
The dungeon’s miniboss is Blue Stalfos, but he’s incredibly reminiscent of Agahnim: he has two attacks, one that can be reflected back at him, and one that breaks apart if Link tries. When the reflected attack hits him, he turns into a bat, which gives Link a chance to damage him. Just before the final boss, there are four barriers that Link needs to overcome: a bush that he cuts with his sword, a cracked block he blows up with a bomb, a torch he lights with the seed shooter to place a bridge over a gap, and a statue he picks up with the power glove. Ramrock, the final boss, has four forms, and those four items, in that order, are needed to defeat each of the forms. The second form is the hardest, requiring tossing a bomb so that Ramrock crushes it before it explodes; the placement and timing required make for a tough challenge. Once all four forms are defeated, Link claims the final Essence, the Falling Star.
With all eight Essences of Time, the Maku Tree can make a Huge Maku Seed, which will let him see through Veran’s illusions and enter the Black Tower. Twinrova come and buzz him again, taunting him about how he can’t win. Link sets out for the Black Tower in the past anyway, where he meets Ralph, Nayru, Impa, and Zelda. Ralph is determined to stop Veran, even if it means killing Ambi… who turns out to be Ralph’s ancestor, so killing her would erase him from time. He seems okay with it, but Nayru asks Link to stop him somehow.
Black Tower
Link fights his way through the monsters that have infested the lower levels of the Black Tower, then uses the Maku Seed to reveal the true entrance to the turret where Ambi is. The scene cuts away to Twinrova again, celebrating as the Flame of Sorrow is lit. The Black Tower Turret is a short maze of stairways; the final section of the maze has a bunch of stairways that lead to the wrong entrance of the floor above, with only one, marked by one of the fires that appear in the room as Link enters, leading to the proper way up. Afterward, Link has a few more fights before coming to the heart of the tower, where Ralph makes his charge against Verambi, and fails. Even if he’s been ridiculous all game, I have to admire him for trying, even if he failed.
Ralph’s still alive, which only leads to Veran using that as leverage, seemingly forgetting that Link’s already kicked her out of one body without hurting the host. The first phase, getting Veran out of Ambi’s body, is much like the earlier fight against Veranayru. Once Veran’s out, Ambi leaves, and Veran tries to possess Link, which fails. This sets up round two of their fight, with Veran flying across the room attacking Link, while summoning four shadow Links to distract him. After a few hits, she goes down again, and Ralph and Nayru come to Link to lead him out of the tower. As they head out, the tower begins crumbling, and a wallmaster grabs Link and drags him back for one final confrontation with Veran.
Veran, in her true form, is a gigantic beetle that can also shift into a bee or spider. After she’s defeated again, she dies, but tells Link her part in Twinrova’s plan is complete, and Ganon will return. Link escapes the tower and is reunited with Ralph and Nayru. As they leave the tower grounds, they run into Ambi with a few knights. Ralph worries that she’s there to fight them, but Ambi’s back to herself and was coming to help. Veran’s mucking with the timeline is undone, but the celebration is cut short when Impa runs up and reveals that Twinrova has kidnapped Zelda. Her kidnapping will light the Flame of Despair, and they intend for her to serve as their sacrifice to bring Ganon back.
Well, that’s not good. Din and Nayru combine their powers to send Link to fight Twinrova and stop Ganon’s resurrection.
Next: The final boss.
