[1]
As Link returns to civilization from his trip into the mountains, the postman stops him with a letter from Yeta. She’s feeling better and has taken to sledding down the mountain path with Yeto. I should have known that snowboard course wasn’t just a fun way to get to the dungeon. No, there’s a minigame to race down the mountain. The many frustrations I experienced in doing this race over and over and over: Yeto can just start the race, Link has to kick a few times before he reaches racing speed, by which time, he’s several yards behind. As seen multiple times by now, Yeto is big and strong and doesn’t quite realize he’s either. If Link gets too close, he’ll be knocked over. And there are narrow spots where there’s no room for Link and Yeto to race side by side. Near the end of the race the track curves extremely sharply, and even on my winning runs I wasn’t able to make the turn without bumping into the wall. I wouldn’t swear there’s a rubber band AI effect here… but that’s the impression I got.
Beating Yeto’s not so bad, really. There’s a shortcut near the end that he doesn’t use that lets Link shave a lot of time off his run and win comfortably. But then, to get the real reward, he needs to go against Yeta. Yeta’s not as big; Link can knock her off-track if he whacks her with his sword. (Yes, it’s mean. But so is whoever designed this sadistic race.) But she can make it onto the shortcut, so… yeah, all those times I bounced around in the end meant she had plenty of opportunity to zip past and steal a win. And her giggles and squeals as she made it down the mountain got old. The reward for beating this game is the inevitable heart piece, and now it’s filed with mail sorting and Cucco wrangling.
Look, I’m not saying I’d rather be playing SkiFree and have Link get eaten if he fails to outrun them with another Abominable Snow Monster waiting ten seconds down the mountain. But it really couldn’t be that much more aggravating. Also on Snowpeak, there’s a Poe Soul going down the mountain toward Zora’s Domain. In the mountains north of the castle but south of Zora’s Domain, there’s a cave with three sliding ice block puzzles; the reward for beating it is another heart piece.
It’s Rusl’s turn to lead Link to the next dungeon, and this one is back in the Sacred Grove. Since Rusl needs to lead Link there and Midna won’t let Link turn into the wolf in front of him, Rusl presents another option for crossing the gaps leading from Faron Woods to the Sacred Grove: Cuccogliding. Once again, the Skull Kid is there to welcome Link to the woods and guide him through the woods to the grove. I don’t know if it was there last time or not, but this time, the Skull Kid’s lantern casts a golden glow to mark the right way forward, which spares a lot of pointless searching and chasing. Also, since Link’s human this time and can use ranged weapons, some of his hiding spots are out of reach of Link’s sword. On the other hand, the bow makes the actual fight phase of the Skull Kid’s game a breeze, provided Link can line up the shot before being swarmed by the marionettes. There’s also a Poe Link can catch while chasing the Skull Kid: fifty down, ten to go.
As the Skull Kid leaves, he opens the path to the Sacred Grove, only it’s a different one that lets him up higher that he could reach the previous time. The way to the dungeon is to return to the Master Sword’s pedestal and put the Master Sword back for a second; this causes a statue to disappear. (There’s also a Poe hanging out here.) As Link runs back to investigate, he’s attacked by five cursed Twili, opening a portal right over the Triforce mark on the ground. The doors that the disappeared statue blocked can now be opened, revealing a portal to the past when a structure used to stand in the area: the Temple of Time. Where the Master Sword once lived. The antechamber even has the same music as the temple did in Ocarina, and also the female snail, completing Link’s insect collection.
At this point, I weighed my options and decided to go ahead and deliver the insects to Agitha’s ball. Agitha tells Link his deeds will be forever remembered in the insect kingdom, and gives him the Giant Wallet, upgrading his rupee capacity to 1000. At this point, I’m pretty sure there’s not going to be a Tinglesque extortion scam needed to complete the game, because if there were Link’s wallet would probably have been bigger enough to handle it. So I think I made the right choice. The postman also has a letter from Agitha, and… well, I could have told that without being told who it was from.
Link returns to the Temple of Time and plunges the Master Sword into the past pedestal. This creates a staircase of light and opens the way into the actual dungeon. Before Link can head in, Ooccoo and Jr. come running up behind him, up the stairs, and into the temple.
Next: How did the statue get way up there anyway?
[1] I try not to repeat references too many times, but the A Link to the Past title is too good to not riff on, and hey, it’s within this series.
