The first set of puzzles Link finds upon returning to Hyrule Castle all involve using his ability to split into four. Sometimes, it requires making it through a room with staggered walls that a trap zips around. Others require reflecting cannons’ shots back at them simultaneously; the first one isn’t too hard, but the second has the cannons on either side of the Links, who all have to face the same way. This means Link has to turn around quickly to deflect the shots from both directions. I’m not convinced this puzzle didn’t take pity on me after I failed it a bunch of times. When Link comes to the throne room, there’s a Red Darknut miniboss (same as from the Palace of Winds); afterward, Link can claim the Compass and pass through a passage hidden under the throne that leads to way to the second floor.
On the second floor, Link first makes his way outside, then goes around the edge of the castle to the front. From here, he needs to make his way first to a central room and defeat a Black Knight (super Darknut), causing four other Darknuts – either single Red ones or pairs of the normal ones – to spawn. These Darknuts block off the way to the four corner turrets, where Link can find four keys. These keys unlock blocks that are blocking a giant block Link needs to push out of the way to claim the Big Key, which he needs to access the final area.
As Link heads to the roof, Vaati taunts that his work is almost done: when the castle’s bell chimes three more times, he will have absorbed the Light Force from Zelda, killing her and leaving him unstoppable. The first two chimes happen as Link enters the next two rooms: first a bridge with a bunch of purple Keatons, then a room with a Black Knight and two Red Darknuts. The last one is timed: If Link takes too long, Vaati wins. Assuming Link makes it to the roof in time, Vaati drops Link back down into the room where he fought the Darknuts and comes in and transforms himself for the final battle.
Vaati’s first battle form has his body transformed into a giant eye, orbited by four smaller eyes. Link destroys the eyes and attacks the central eye. Vaati eventually makes the orbiting eyes stronger and protected by darkness that Link needs to drain with the Gust Jar. After enough damage, Vaati changes the arena and transforms again, this time to a large eye surrounded by eight orbs. Four of these are decoys, and the other four are eyes. Once Link reveals the four eyes, he needs to split into four to attack them, leaving the central eye vulnerable. Once the central eye is damaged enough, Vaati disappears, allowing Link to go to the roof and restore Zelda.
Once she’s safe, the castle starts collapsing. Link leads Zelda to the Elemental Sanctuary. Just before they make it, Vaati blocks the path with a lightning bolt and draws Link into the final battle. Vaati’s final form is familiar from the Four Swords games: a large eye with two long arms. There are also four small eyes in front of the big one. The arms try to attack through the floor, when they do, they can be severed by the Cane of Pacci. Then Link can use the nearby portal to shrink, enter the arms, and destroy a bunch of eyeballs, destroying the arm. Then, Link needs to split into four and face the small eyes, and reflect their attacks, then attack the core. Once Vaati is defeated this time, it’s over.
Link returns to the Elemental Sanctuary entrance with the mage’s hat. Zelda is relieved to see him, but Vaati was still able to cause a lot of destruction. We can’t have that, so first Vaati’s defeat means Ezlo is returned to his natural form (but human-sized). He gives Zelda the mage’s hat, and by combining his power with hers, all of Vaati’s destruction is undone. The castle is restored to its natural state, the people unpetrified, and the monsters disappear from Hyrule. It’s very much like the ending of A Link to the Past. But the door to the Minish world is closing, so the time for Ezlo to leave has come. He gives Link a final gift to remember him by – a hat, like the one he was turned into – then shrinks to his normal size and passes through the door before it closes.
After the credits, there’s a final display: a stained glass window with Link, Ezlo, the Four Sword, the elemental stones with a sword colored to match them. “Thus did Link’s quest come to an end. But surely, this is not the end of Zelda and Link’s adventures in Hyrule. The legend will continue… as long as the power of the light force echoes throughout the ages.”
There are two last things to do. Carlov has six extra figurines inspired by the events of Hyrule Castle, and when they’re collected, he gives Link a Carlov Medallion. The guy with the house with the heart piece mentioned that, even though Link didn’t have it at the time. Also, defeating Vaati impressed Biggoron enough that he wants to eat Link’s shield, and he spits out a Mirror Shield when done. Would have been nice to have before, but now it’s… well, there’s no real reason to fight anything anymore.
This game feels like a love letter to the series, with references to just about every other game. And on the flipside, if you take what I love about the series and distill it to a single game, you’d pretty much get this. You’ve got a well-designed central mechanic, some cool dungeons with inventive new items and memorable bosses, and the Minish are entirely too lovable. When I think of my favorites in the series, The Minish Cap is definitely among them.
