A Link to the Past 100% Completion Walkthrough
- Princess Zelda Rescue : Infiltrate Hyrule Castle to rescue Zelda and kickstart Link’s epic quest.
- Eastern Palace : Solve Armos Knights’ traps in your first dungeon to claim the Pendant of Courage.
- Desert Palace: Navigate shifting sands and defeat Lanmolas to earn the Pendant of Power.
- Tower of Hera: Climb Death Mountain’s Tower to obtain the Moon Pearl and final pendant.
- The Master Sword & Hyrule Castle: Claim the Master Sword, confront Agahnim, and set your destiny in motion.
- Dark Palace: Explore the Dark World’s Palace and free the first Maiden from darkness.
- Light World Exploration: Unlock warps, collect hearts, and prepare for deeper Dark World dungeons.
- Swamp Palace: Use Cane of Somaria blocks to navigate the toxic swamp and rescue another Maiden.
- Skull Woods: Uncover hidden tunnels and puzzles among the skull trees to free a trapped Maiden.
- Gargoyle’s Domain: Enter via pitchfork statue, secure the Titan’s Mitt, and beat Blind the Thief.
- Ice Palace: Traverse icy floors, gain Blue Mail, and defeat a freezing foe.
- Misery Mire: Master Cane of Byrna and Ether Medallion to rescue another Maiden in the mire.
- Turtle Rock: Face volcano hazards and rescue the last Maiden within this volcanic fortress.
- Ganon’s Tower : Climb the tower’s gauntlet of traps and minibosses to battle Agahnim.
- Pyramid of Power: The Ultimate Showdown with Ganon.
Item Upgrade: Tempered Sword
After conquering Thieves’ Town, you now have the Titan’s Mitt, which opens up powerful upgrades before the next dungeon. Head to the Village of Outcasts in the Dark World and exit south. In the clearing just west, you’ll find a frog-like creature bouncing around. This is actually one of the missing Dwarven Swordsmiths!
Lift the large skulls blocking his path (possible now thanks to the Titan’s Mitt) and talk to the frog. He will happily follow you, hoping to be reunited with his brother. Lead the lost Swordsmith east of Kakariko Village, lift the large stones blocking the path, and use the Magic Mirror to return to the Light World. The frog transforms back into his true form – a grateful blacksmith.
Enter the nearby Swordsmiths’ Shop (the smithy’s house east of Kakariko Village) to reunite the two brothers. Step back outside, then re-enter their shop; the pair will offer to temper your sword – a paltry fee for such a huge upgrade. Agree to their offer. You’ll briefly be without a weapon (so avoid or ignore enemies during this time).
Step outside and give them a moment (walk one screen over to Kakariko Village and back). Talk to the Smiths again, and they’ll return your blade – now reforged into the Tempered Sword! This orange-red sword deals significantly more damage (roughly double the Master Sword’s power), making fights much easier. (Fun fact: in the GBA version, the Tempered Sword can even cut signs and bushes, a trick not possible in the original SNES release.)
Heart Piece #20
With your new sword in hand, let’s grab a few optional upgrades before tackling the next dungeon. Return to the Dark World via the portal outside the smithy. Just south of the Swordsmiths’ house location (in the Dark World this area is an open field), you’ll see a circle of wooden stakes.
Use the Magic Hammer to pound all of the stakes into the ground. Once the last stake is hammered, a secret staircase appears in the center. Head down into the hidden cave and claim Piece of Heart #20 from the ledge inside. (This is an optional collectible, but every four Pieces of Heart give you a full Heart Container – well worth the effort in a 100% run.)
Magic Bottle #4
While in the Dark World smithy area, you’ll notice a mysterious treasure chest has now appeared near the house. This chest is locked and “follows” you when you touch it, but you cannot open it on your own. It’s time to find someone who can! Make sure not to dash (Pegasus Boots) while escorting the chest, or it will be left behind.
Bring the chest along and Mirror back to the Light World. If you have the Flute, use it to warp to Warp Point 7 (Swamp) on the overworld map. From the warp point, head west toward the Desert of Mystery entrance. There, by a signpost, you’ll find an Average Middle-Aged Man sitting on the ground (he’s the wanderer who used to be at the inn).
Speak to him while the chest is following you. Tell him you’ll keep his secret, and he will kindly pop the lock open. Inside is the fourth and final Magic Bottle! This Bottle #4 is optional, but having all four bottles means you can carry more fairies or potions for your adventure. Be sure to stock up on any needed supplies before the next dungeon.
Heart Piece #21
Our next stop is the desolate swamp area where the next dungeon is located – but before entering, there are two more Heart Pieces to collect. Use the Flute again and warp to Point 6 (Desert).
From the Desert of Mystery, lift the heavy black rock on the right side of the desert entrance to reveal a hidden teleporter, and step through into the Dark World. You’ll arrive in the Swamp of Evil (Misery Mire region) in the Dark World.
From where you appear, jump off the ledge and head north-west across the mire. In the northwest corner, tucked amid ruins, you’ll find a cave entrance. Enter this cave. Inside, defeat or avoid the foes and open the two chests: one has some rupees, and the other holds Piece of Heart #21. Grab the heart piece and exit back to the swamp.
Heart Piece #22
Still in the Dark World swamp, make your way to the northeast corner of the area (just below where the desert teleporter was in the Light World). Use the Magic Mirror once more to return to the Light World while standing near that northeast corner.
You should materialize on a high ledge in the Light World Great Swamp, next to a cave opening. Lift the large rock blocking the cave and go inside. This little puzzle cave has a few blocks—push them aside to reach the item. At the end, you’ll be rewarded with Piece of Heart #22. This is the last Heart Piece we can get for now (just two more remain later on). With your health and gear bolstered, you’re ready to brave the icy depths of the next Dark World dungeon.
Ice Palace Entrance
The Ice Palace is Dark World Dungeon #5, located in the icy lake region of the Dark World (roughly corresponding to Lake Hylia in the Light World). To reach it, return to the Light World and use the Flute to warp to Point 8 (Lake Hylia). From the shoreline, jump into Lake Hylia and swim to the small island at the center with a lone cave entrance (where you got a Piece of Heart in the Light World earlier). Lift the huge dark rock on this island to reveal a portal, and step into the Dark World. You’ll arrive on an icy island in the Dark World – a cold, barren place with the dungeon entrance right ahead. Prepare any last items (the Ice Palace is challenging; having Green or Blue Potions and a Fairy or two in your new bottles is wise), then step into the Ice Palace.
Note: If you’re playing on SNES (or the Switch Online version) and want to make the Ice Palace a bit easier, you could have completed Misery Mire first to obtain the Cane of Somaria. The Cane can simplify a particular Ice Palace puzzle, as we’ll mention later. In the Game Boy Advance version, this trick no longer applies – the Ice Palace’s design was tweaked, so there’s no advantage in doing Misery Mire first. For our walkthrough, we assume you’re entering Ice Palace now (the intended order). Make sure you have the Fire Rod from Skull Woods, as it’s required here to melt frozen enemies.
Key #1 (Ice Palace)
You find yourself in a frigid entry chamber. Head north into the first room. An icy foe called a Freezor will emerge to block your path. Quickly blast it with the Fire Rod to melt it away – a single shot will do. Continue through the door into the next chamber.
In this second room, you’re ambushed by a pack of Pengators – slippery penguin-like monsters that charge at you on the ice. Keep moving to avoid their lunges. The bottom-most Pengator is holding a small key; defeat that one (and any others in your way) to make it drop Small Key #1. Pick up the key. With it, unlock the locked door on the north side of the chamber and descend the staircase to the floor below.
Compass (Ice Palace)
On the next floor, you enter an icy hall. Step on the floor switch in the northwest corner of the room to temporarily unseal the doors. Proceed through the now-open door to the east, entering a room with a large movable block in the center. Push the block out of your way and go south into the following room.
You’re now in a chilly hallway where more Pengators slide in from the walls to attack. Optional – Compass: If you’d like to collect the dungeon’s Compass (which helps track treasure chests and boss location), you’ll need to clear out these Pengators. A fast way to dispatch them is using the Bombos Medallion – activating Bombos will incinerate all the Pengators at once. Otherwise, carefully fight them one by one on the slippery floor. Once the room is clear, a chest will be accessible in the center. Open it to obtain the Compass for the Ice Palace. (If you prefer, you can skip fighting and leave – but for a 100% playthrough we grab all items.)
After grabbing the Compass, head back north to the previous room (the one with the block). Push the central block northward this time to move it aside, and then go east through the door you opened earlier. In this small side room, lift the skull pot at the bottom to reveal a hidden floor switch. Step on the switch to hear a door open nearby. Now return west to the block room.
Back in the block room, the door on the north side is now open. Step on the floor switch one more time and go through the north door.
Key #2 (Ice Palace)
The next chamber has orange and blue crystal switch blocks and a raised platform. Strike the crystal switch with your sword or boomerang to lower the blue blocks (and raise the orange). There’s a time-sensitive puzzle here: place a Bomb next to the crystal switch, then quickly run to the top of the room. The bomb will explode and flip the switch again behind you, raising the blue blocks and lowering the orange. This clever use of the bomb-switch trick allows you to reach a cracked floor tile at the top of the chamber. Now lay a Bomb on the cracked floor and step aside. The explosion will blast open a hole in the floor. Jump into that hole to drop down to the floor below.
You land in a dark icy room. As you recover, two Stalfos Knights crash down from above, one after the other! These skeletal warriors won’t die from your sword alone – when you slash them, they collapse into a pile of bones that will soon reanimate. A good tactic is to strike a Stalfos once with your sword to knock it down, then immediately place a Bomb by the bones to destroy it for good when it tries to reform. Bomb both Stalfos Knights in this way, and once the second one is blown up, the door to the west unlocks.
Go through the west door into a room filled with jelly-like Bari and floating Babusu (spiked rolling foes). Carefully maneuver around or defeat these enemies – watch out for the Babusu that bounces around, as it can knock you into pits. Notably, one of the Blue Baris holds a small key. In fact, the second Blue Bari that approaches you contains Small Key #2. Defeat that Bari and grab the key it drops. You’ll see a locked door on the west side of this chamber. Before going through, make sure the crystal switch in this room is set so that the blue blocks are lowered (and orange blocks raised). You might spot a crystal switch on the far side; hit it if necessary to get the blue tiles down. With the blue blocks lowered, use Key #2 to unlock the door and head east.
Key #3 (Ice Palace)
Pick up the skull located in the southwest corner to find a switch that opens the door to the east. Carefully skirting a spinning Guruguru Bar (fire bar) and proceed through it. You’ll enter a hallway with enemies emerging from the ground, avoid them proceeding east and go through the door on the north wall.
The next area is a large icy hall occupied by a pack of Pengators. As they swarm you, don’t hesitate to use the Bombos or Quake medallion again to clear them out instantly. Otherwise, carefully lure them and slash them one by one. There’s also a Blade Trap zipping across the floor – trigger it and dodge out of its path. Your goal is the door on north side of this room. The door is shut tight at first, but it will open as soon as all the enemies are defeated.
You’ll enter a room with a large trap that moves north to south. As it moves north, follow behind it and go through the door to the west.
You’re now in a perilous chamber with a spinning fire bar (a ring of flames rotating around a central point, also known as a Guruguru Bar) and a lot of ice, which makes movement tricky. To get across safely, you can time your dash to slip by between the flames, or use the Magic Cape to turn invisible and avoid damage while walking over the ice. Either way, make your way to the left side of this room and go down the stairs.
On this lower floor, you enter a small room with a cracked floor on the right. Walk over to the right side and intentionally fall through the large crack in the floor. Link drops down one more level into a basement area. You’ll land in an icy corridor. From your landing spot, head right (east) two screens to reach the next area.
In this new room, you’ll see four blocks grouped together and some pots around. Lift the very first pot you encounter (just north of the doorway you came in) – underneath it is Small Key #3. Grab this key. Also, note the four solitary blocks in the center: lift the top-right block, which hides a pressure plate. Step on that plate to unlock the door to the south. Now go through the south door (down one screen).
Key #4 (Ice Palace)
You’re now in a perilous chamber with a spinning fire bar (a ring of flames rotating around a central point, also known as a Guruguru Bar) and a lot of ice, which makes movement tricky. To get across safely, you can time your dash to slip by between the flames, or use the Magic Cape to turn invisible and avoid damage while walking over the ice. Either way, make your way to the left side of this room. There’s a single pot on the left; lift it to find a floor switch and step on it. A treasure chest appears on the right side of the room. Use the Hookshot to quickly zip across the gap and land by the chest. Open it to obtain Small Key #4.
Now we have another key in hand. Backtrack by heading up the staircase you see nearby – it leads back to the previous floor. Open the door to the north with a small key.
Key #5 (Ice Palace)
Through this door is a tall passage. Carefully slide up toward the north end while avoiding another Blade Trap. Go through the door at the top. Now you find yourself facing a wide gap in the floor. On the opposite side is a ledge. Use the Hookshot to grapple across this gap (hook onto the pot or block on the far side). Once across, continue down to the next screen.
You’re now in a basement hall with dual Blade Traps that shoot along the floor. Run or dash past them (timing it so you’re not in their path) and ascend the staircase at the end of the hall. This brings you up to yet another floor.
Start by lifting using your hook shot to on the skull pot to pull yourself across the gap. Pick up the skull pot and stepping on the floor switch beneath it. This causes a chest to appear on side you just were. Use the Hookshot once more to fly across the gap to that chest. Open it to claim Small Key #5.
Use your Magic Cape to cross the gap again and head up the stairs on the north wall. At the top, as you enter, a Stalfos Knight drop floor. Deal it with accordingly. Use the Magic Hammer to smash the mole pegs surrounding the large rock– lift it to reveal Small Key #6 hidden underneath. Take the key. Another Stalfos Knights drop in here – you can fight or ignore them as you proceed.
Make your way to the left side of this room. You’ll find a stone statue with a tongue. Step on the floor switch in this room (it’s hidden under one of the pots). This will spawn a chest nearby. Open it to obtain the Dungeon Map. Grab and pull the statue’s tongue, and a door on the right side of the room will open up.
Climb the staircase at the north end of this room onto a high ledge. Here you’ll find a couple of pots. Lift them out of the way to reveal a large chest. Open the chest to get the Big Key! This is a crucial item – it will unlock the big treasure chest of the dungeon (containing a special item) and also open certain big doors.
Now that you have the Big Key, backtrack a little: descend the steps and pull the tongue of the statue again to reopen the door, then go back left to the previous room (the one where you got Key #5). From there, head down the staircase in the floor (this is in the lower left of that room) to return to an earlier floor of the dungeon.
Key #6 (Ice Palace)
Open the door on the left wall with your small key and descend the staircase there. If you are having trouble hitting the stairs from the appropriate angle, dashing into them with the Pegasus Boots is a known effective method. You’re now in the room with the large blade trap. Continue west through the door and down the stairs in the next room.
Two big Freezors will still be moving about here. It’s wise to use the Fire Rod to melt them; doing so will make a chest appear containing extra bombs. (If you’re low on Bombs, open it; if you’re full, you can skip it.) Next, locate the cracked floor on the left side of this room (just above where a blue rupee tile is visible on the floor below). Place a Bomb there and detonate it to blow open another hole. Now drop through that new hole to the floor below.
You’ll land in the treasure chamber of the Ice Palace. Right in front of you is the big treasure chest, which we can finally open using the Big Key. Inside, you’ll find the Blue Mail!
Item: Blue Mail
This magical blue tunic upgrades Link’s armor, cutting all damage he takes by half. Your green outfit is now changed to blue, signifying the improved defense. This will be a huge help in surviving the upcoming boss battle and remaining dungeons.
With the Blue Mail equipped, push aside the blocks blocking the door and head right into the next room. In this room, you’ll see a locked door above and another locked door to the right. Use your Big Key to open the upper door, and immediately beyond it, use Small Key #6 to unlock the door on the north side, leading deeper down into the palace.
Use a small key on the locked door to the right (this is effectively using the same Key #6 again, since one key opened the door above and the other opened this door). In this new room, hit the crystal switch once to toggle the blocks – you want the blue blocks lowered (and orange blocks up) before proceeding.
With the blue blocks down, backtrack left one room, then up one room (to the large chamber where you found the Big Key), and go up the staircase again on the north side to the floor above. In the next room, continue up the stairs.
You’ll need to retrace your path through the dungeon: head right by one screen, then down a screen, then left, and finally climb back up the stairs. Run through the door above to return to the long corridor, where you should lift the pots on the right to uncover a hidden floor switch—step on it, then go through the door to the left. Drop through the hole beneath and you’ll land back in the large treasure room. Finally, move right by one screen to continue.
Now that you’ve returned to the left side of the room with the blue blocks lowered, push one of the blocks off the ledge to the floor below. Move the lower block to the right, then drop down behind it. You drop down with the blue block to the floor below. The block will land near a floor switch that is otherwise unreachable. Now, lift the pot next to you to reveal the floor switch (if it’s not already visible) and push the fallen block onto the switch. The heavy block depresses the switch, causing the nearby door to the south to unlock. Go through that door to the next room below.
In this final antechamber, you’ll see a huge white ice floe blocking a pit in the floor, and more mole pegs, pots, and a moving statue. This is directly above the boss’s arena. First, clear the room so you can work: use the Hammer to smash all the mole pegs flat. There’s also a large gray block (the kind you normally can’t move) sitting on top of the hole in the bottom-left; you actually need to remove it. To do so, grab the statue in the center of the room and pull it out of the way, giving you access to the big block. Now use the Titan’s Mitt strength to lift the large block and toss it aside, which uncovers a hidden hole underneath. Drop down through this hole when you’re ready – it’s time to face the boss of the Ice Palace.
Boss: Kholdstare
You land in a spacious frozen chamber, and the door seals shut behind you. Kholdstare, the icy terror of the Ice Palace, appears at the center of the room. In the first phase of the fight, Kholdstare is encased in a huge block of solid ice.
It’s completely impervious to your sword at this stage. Meanwhile, large icicles begin to fall from the ceiling. Upon hitting the floor, each icicle shatters into four sliding shards that shoot out diagonally. Keep moving to avoid these falling ice chunks – their pattern is random, so stay alert.
To break Kholdstare’s icy shell, you must use a fire-based attack. The intended method is the Fire Rod: it takes about 8 shots from the Fire Rod to melt the giant ice block completely. If you’ve been conserving magic (or picked up the half-magic upgrade earlier), you should have enough energy to do this. Aim carefully and don’t get too close while shooting. Alternate Strategy: If you’re low on magic or want a quicker solution, using the Bombos Medallion once will also destroy Kholdstare’s ice casing instantly. Bombos costs a lot of magic power, but it’s very effective here – the entire first phase will be over in one spectacular blast.
Once Kholdstare’s protective shell is gone, the boss reveals its true form – or rather, forms. The single eye splits into three floating eyeball creatures, each surrounded by a frosty cloud. The room is now filled with three independent Kholdstare orbs bouncing around unpredictably. To make matters more hectic, ice chunks are still falling from above for the remainder of the fight. There’s a lot happening, so stay on the move and keep an eye on the shadows of falling icicles to dodge them.
Try to keep your distance from the trio so you have more time to react to their movements and the falling ice. Use spin attacks or dash attacks if an eye corners you. If you have the Cane of Byrna (or Magic Cape), this is a perfect time to use it: activate the cane to envelop Link in a protective magical field. While Byrna’s magic won’t harm Kholdstare directly, it makes you invulnerable, allowing you to aggressively chase and slash the eyeballs without fear of taking damage. Just watch your magic meter if you use this tactic, as it drains energy steadily. Between the Blue Mail’s defense boost and some smart play, you should be able to tank a hit or two if necessary, but don’t hesitate to gulp a potion or let a bottled fairy revive you if your health gets low.
During this second phase, you can damage the eyeballs with your sword or with weapons. The Fire Rod remains a great choice: it will take 4 direct Fire Rod hits to destroy each Kholdstare eye. If you prefer melee combat, your brand new Tempered Sword will dispatch an eye in 6 sword slashes. (If you only had the Master Sword, it would take even more hits, so you can appreciate that upgrade now!) It’s often easiest to focus on one eyeball at a time—deal as much damage as you can to one target to remove it from the fight, which reduces the chaos a bit.
Keep up the assault, avoid the ice blasts, and systematically pick off Kholdstare’s eyes. After enough hits, the last eyeball will explode in a burst of snow. Kholdstare is defeated!
When the boss falls, a Heart Container materializes in the center of the room as your reward. Grab Heart Container #9 (the ninth full Heart Container obtained on your adventure), which boosts your maximum health by one. Congratulations – your life meter increases, which will surely help in the trials ahead. Also, don’t forget to pick up the floating Crystal that appears.
Inside is one of the seven captive Maidens. Upon touching the Crystal, you free the Fifth Maiden, who will thank you for defeating the ice demon and share some lore about Ganon’s evil plans (this story dialog is automatic; you can enjoy the lore or skip through). After her words of encouragement, she uses her power to transport you out of the crumbling Ice Palace.
You have now cleared the Ice Palace and gained the Blue Mail, Tempered Sword, a new Heart Container, and plenty of other upgrades along the way. Take a moment to savor your accomplishment. When you’re ready, it’s time to head toward Misery Mire or pursue any remaining optional quests, as our journey to save Hyrule continues! The forces of evil grow weaker with each victory, and the courage you’ve gathered (and the health you’ve increased) will carry you through the next challenge. Onward to the next dungeon, hero of Hyrule!