The next level is Kakariko Village, which has fallen under assault from Shadow Links that are burning everything. Kaepora Gaebora says that the villagers are being affected by the dark power that’s taken root in the area, but there’s no evidence of that in the game. Tingle’s sign complaining about thieves stealing his Force Gems is a lot more relevant: there are a bunch of thieves in the village, and the Links have to round them all up to proceed. Rounding them all up involves tasks such as stealing a Cucco to give to a widower as a pet to ease his loneliness, digging up pits, and using a power bracelet to lift all the village’s trees to get to the thieves hiding underneath.
Once the thieves are all rounded up, a man in the village lowers the spikes that have been impeding the Links’ progress. This lets them advance to a maze with fire walls and a Chain Chomp in the center, where they find a Fire Rod in a cave. Armed with the Fire Rod, they can continue onward and light a set of torches, sending up a rain prayer to put out all the fires in the village. With the fires out, they can start making their way out of the village. First, there’s a minigame involving steering fish into the mouth of a hungry Zora. Then, on the way out, they fight four more Shadow Links, who like to hide in dark pits that can only be lit by a Link standing on a switch on the surface. Like other multi-Shadow Link fights, one of the Shadow Links is the leader, who forces hits from the proper-colored Link, and whose defeat causes the rest to disappear.
A man in town talks about following the river to the temple where the Links could swear allegiance to the great king. Given who the “great king” probably is, they’re more likely to fight him, but either way, they need to go down the river. Which in this case means an extended swimming sequence, collecting Force Gems along the way. At the end of the river path, there’s a final boss fight, with another Big Dark Stalfos. After he’s down, the Knight is restored to his normal form and gives the Links the Green sacred jewel for safekeeping, and comes close to saying Ganon’s name before going off on a tangent and speculating about why Ganon’s done all this.
The next stage is the Temple of Darkness. Outside, there are a bunch of Deku Scrubs who were warned to be mindful of approaching strangers, especially if they’re traveling in a group of four. But a bunch of kids like the Links shouldn’t be a problem, so they don’t try to stop them from entering the Temple. Despite the name, the Temple doesn’t bear much similarity to the Palace of Darkness from A Link to the Past – although Terrorpins make their return to the series; instead, it’s more like a remix of the Eastern Temple with less lighting (including a room that’s entirely dark, even if the Links are carrying lamps).
The two most memorable puzzles in the dungeon involve a giant statue of Ganon the Deku Scrubs are building. At one point, the Links comes across the foundation of the statue, and by blowing holes in it, loosens it enough that it can be pushed and pulled around. This has two uses: first, it can make a makeshift bridge across a gap, and afterward, it can be used to destroy spikes blocking the way forward. Near the end of the level, a group of Deku Scrubs recounts the inscription that’s going on the statue, which is actually directions for how to progress through the next room, where the Links can break down certain walls by pushing against them in formation.
The boss is, once again, Phantom Ganon, and he takes another page out of Agahnim’s playbook and splits into four doubles. Only the real Phantom Ganon’s attacks can be reflected; the other three just kinda evaporate when struck. The real Ganon’s attacks start out green and change color to reflect the Link who last struck them, but it doesn’t seem to make any real difference. Even with the doubles, the fight’s more or less the same as the first Phantom Ganon fight, even with his odd tendency to hit wide right. When he’s gone, the maiden from the last visit to Hyrule Castle is dismayed to see that the Dark Mirror is gone, and figures that it’s what’s creating the Shadow Links. Together with the maiden held in this temple, the two speculate about Ganon, and decide the Links should visit the Gerudo in the desert next.
Next: It’s a Zelda game, so sooner or later I begin questioning the timeline placement.
