The next stage is called Infiltration of Hyrule Castle, and as the name implies, it’s got stealth aspects. There are searchlights on all outside areas, and if the Links get spotted, they’ll land in the dungeon. The searchlights are also keyed to sounds, so if a pot breaks, they’ll all converge on where it broke, and if the Links are there when they arrive, he’s in trouble. Breaking the pots can be done if careful – particularly by picking them up, standing outside the lights’ range, and throwing them somewhere where they’ll be able to get the contents once the lights move off. It’s really more trouble than it’s worth, but asking one Link, let alone four, not to break pots to get what’s inside is futile.
The palace’s interior is dimly lit, and the only enemies inside are Ghinis and Bubbles. Walking around is mostly an exercise in finding the path and using the one item inside – the bow – to light torches (either via switch or by shooting through other torches) to reveal the way forward. There’s one large room with switches that light torches that reveal invisible tiles nearby that I managed to kinda cheat my way quickly through by abusing tossing Links over the small gaps; I got the three treasure chests and made it to the other side quickly. Having the bow makes breaking pots outside a little easier since a charged shot can break the pots in place while the Links are far away, then scoop up the Force Gems when the lights move off.
Overall, the level is fairly short, and there aren’t a whole lot of Force Gems to find, even with taking chances with the pots outside. I was short when I came to the boss room, but I know boss defeats generally trigger a rupee shower so I wasn’t too worried. The boss is a rematch with Big Poe, who doesn’t freeze in the light anymore. Instead, if all four torches in the room are lit, he becomes corporeal enough for the Links to damage. Then he sucks them inside of him, where they have to fight his inner self. Then he blows out all the torches, and if his lantern’s light catches the Links before they get all four lit again, he’ll blow them out again. Once the inner being is destroyed, so too is Big Poe, and the next maiden is freed. The maiden asks about the jewel from the Knights of Hyrule, then mentions that her home is the forest. She wants to take the Links there so they can get the Dark Mirror for safekeeping, so that’s the next destination.
Level 5 is The Dark World, so even though the first stage is called Lost Woods, it looks more like A Link to the Past’s Skeleton Woods, complete with the same theme from the area in A Link to the Past playing. The woods are, of course, a giant maze, as humorously illustrated by a sign left by Tingle giving directions to points of interest in the area: arrows pointing in all directions, with “Woods” by each one. The area is populated by Deku Scrubs, who keep a couple areas with useful items locked up. They also seem to revere Ganon, whom they credit with the area’s corruptions, confirming (to no one’s surprise, I’m sure, especially after Phantom Ganon showed up earlier) that he’s the one behind everything. There are also Floormasters, who instead of resetting progress simply drag the Links to the Dark World.
A key part of the stage is helping the Deku Scrubs gather up things to their dumping ground. Well, one of the things they wanted was a bomb, which a Link picked up from a bomb flower in the dumping ground and hurried over to the lead Scrub before it exploded (and promptly regrew on the flower), but whatever. The reward for this is a Power Bracelet, which lets the Links lift trees out of the way to finish exploring. This leads them to a screen with several pits they can fall into, one of which has a bow. Then there’s a larger Gohma who throws rocks at the Links and takes more arrows to kill – I’m reminded of the original Gohmas.
The big Gohma was the boss fight for the level, but that’s not the end. The Links get a key nearby, then have to find the door the key opens, and use the items inside (lantern and shovel) to clear the way to the end of the stage. Then the final screen has Shadow Link dropping Big Bombs, leaving the Links little windows of time to dig around for the entrances to the tunnels that will lead them to the barrier and finally out of the maze.
Next: The tool needed to put out fires is the Fire Rod. No, seriously.
