There are two unmarked islands in the northwest quadrant. One, Zauz’s Island to the north, is mostly uninteresting for now – there’s a treasure chest with a Wisdom Gem, another “draw an X on the mark and dig there” quest to find a treasure map, and Zauz himself, who says he may be able to help Link later, but not yet. The second island is unexplored, meaning Link has to completely draw the map himself. A gossip stone has a poem that suggests Link hit the other gossip stones in a particular order (based on their location and the island’s whale shape); when he does, a bridge appears leading to a cave where Link meets Golden Chief Cylos, leader of the golden frogs he’s seen around the seas. He recognizes Link as a friend of Oshus’ by the Phantom Hourglass, and gives him a Cyclone Slate to aid in his quest. The other golden frogs teach Link symbols he can draw on the slate to be warped by cyclone to their location – even more convenient than quick travel normally is, given the difficulties in going from the southwest to northwest quadrants.
The dungeon mark on the map is on the Isle of Gust, and as one might guess from that name, there are strong winds that blow across the island, making walking difficult. This can interfere with combat, and of course there are jumping puzzles. Sometimes Link has to be careful not to get blown backward as he jumps, sometimes he has to use the wind to make an extra-long jump. And there are geysers he can use to jump up to a higher location. Along the way on the path through the island, Link can use a bomb flower to blast into a cave where the Wayfarer stayed for a bit. His journal notes that he’s gone to chase the mermaid, and he left a map with both his new location marked as well as the two unmarked islands Link explored.
The dungeon entrance is blocked by strong winds, with a tablet nearby saying that shutting the winds off will require manipulating some windmills. In the northwest corner of the island, another tablet clarifies that the hero must blow on three sacred windmills to open the way forward. The windmills are in a giant sandy area, and a nearby gossip stone warns that the area is home to creatures sensitive to sound. So Link has to basically tiptoe through the sand; if he goes too fast, Sandworms (surprisingly, that’s their name and not Moldorms or Lanmolas) pop out from underground to eat him. Link’s options at that point are run, try to trick them into eating a bomb instead, or take it and shake loose before taking too much damage. Once all three windmills are activated, the winds blocking the temple subside and doors open from the sandy area leading back near the entrance.
Inside the Temple of Wind is really a lot like outside, only the winds now come from the walls or statues and can be blocked or turned off. There’s even a windmill puzzle on the second floor, although the solution there involves pushing statues to blow on the windmills rather than Link doing it himself. The bottom floor has more Sandworms and a puzzle involving lighting torches by digging open four geysers. Once both of those puzzles are done, Link can claim the dungeon’s treasure: bombs. The starting bomb bag only holds ten, and while drops are quite common throughout the dungeon, I was constantly afraid of running out so used them sparingly (no blowing up Sandworms, for instance).
The dungeon boss is Cyclok, Stirrer of Winds, a giant Octorokesque creature that floats above Link in a cyclone. He’s got two attacks: come down to Link’s level and charge, and summon cyclones to send at Link. Both are easy enough to dodge, and there are bomb flowers in the arena so Link never has to worry about running out of bombs. There are three spots where non-threatening cyclones appear, and Link can throw a bomb into these and have it explode up where Cyclok floats. If one explodes close enough to Cyclok, he’ll fall to the ground, stunned, for the customary chance for Link to whack him until he gets back up or dies. Just like with Blaaz, the number of hits Cyclok can take is astounding, and I had trouble with timing the bombs, so this fight took a while.
Cyclok explodes into golden dust when becomes two more minutes of enchanted sand for the Phantom Hourglass, and the spirit of wisdom, Neri, emerges from the seal. After she introduces herself, Ciela helpfully chimes in, telling Link who she is in case the player dozed off for five seconds and missed her introduction. Neri agrees to join with Link’s party, and they all go down to the dock to meet with Linebeck and sail off.
Before returning to Mercay Island, there’s one last thing to take care of in the northeast quadrant. Back on Bannan Island, there was a cave that required bombs to fully explore. By blowing a hole in the wall, Link can pass through the cave and find his old friend Salvatore. He’s running a new game that involves riding in a boat and shooting at targets and as bored out of his mind as ever, except when he explains the rules; sadly, no cutouts this time, just a dramatization of the game. Thanks to the DS’ “poke the screen where you want to shoot” controls, the game’s much easier than it would have been in Wind Waker; the big prize is a larger bomb bag.
Next: They really are determined to make use of every last feature of the DS, aren’t they? (Aside from the buttons and D-Pad, I mean.)
