Hyrule Field and Hyrule Castle Walkthrough

Hyrule Field is the hub that links every region, and the Hyrule Castle visit is the first real story beat after the Deku Tree. This chapter follows the straight route from the forest to Zelda, and also lists everything hidden in the Field and on the castle grounds so you can pick it up as you pass or on later trips. A good number of the secrets need Bombs, a bottle, the Song of Storms or adult gear, so they are marked with what they need.

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Leaving Kokiri Forest

Cross the bridge out of Kokiri Forest. Saria gives you the Fairy Ocarina there, if you have not already got it (see the Deku Tree chapter). Past the end of the bridge the title card appears and Hyrule Field opens up in front of you: a huge round meadow with the castle in the distance. Keep moving, because the day is already running.

Kaepora Gaebora, the old owl, lands in front of you the first time you step out. He tells you to go to Hyrule Castle and see the princess, and he reminds you that you have a map. He loves to talk, so if he asks whether you want to hear it again, answer no. He appears again at the castle entrance and at several other spots later in the game, and he sometimes lifts you across a gap.

Hyrule Field

Day and night

The Field runs on a day and night cycle, and it matters for your route. During the day, Peahats, flying plants with spinning blades, patrol the open ground; hit them in the roots when they land, and run from the small larvae they release. At night, skeletal Stalchildren climb out of the grass and chase you; kill enough of them and a larger one appears. Stalchildren never appear on dirt roads, so stay on the road after dark, or stand on a rock ledge by the moat if you reach the bridge too late. The drawbridge of Castle Town goes up at sunset and comes down at sunrise. The Sun’s Song, once you have it, changes the time.

What leaves the Field

The Field connects every region. Castle Town is at the north end; Kakariko Village is to the north-east, with Death Mountain behind it; Lon Lon Ranch is in the middle (see Lon Lon Ranch); Zora’s River leaves to the east; Lake Hylia is to the south, behind a gate that you climb round by a ladder; Gerudo Valley is to the west; and the bridge you came by leads back to the forest. Owls watch over some of the exits.

Secrets in Hyrule Field

All the field grottos open with Bombs (or the Megaton Hammer as an adult) unless noted otherwise, and the Stone of Agony from the House of Skulltula makes your controller rumble near them. Here is the whole list.

The Business Scrub in the fenced square sells his Piece of Heart for 10 Rupees only after you stun him: reflect his nuts with the shield or hit him with a Deku Nut, a Seed or the Boomerang. It costs very little, so do it as soon as you own Bombs. You can enter as either age.

The north-west pool is deeper than the Silver Scale allows, so wait until you are an adult with the Iron Boots or the Golden Scale, and then dive to the bottom for the Piece of Heart. The Tektite in the pool is harmless if you ignore it.

The two Gold Skulltula grottos are child-friendly: the one near Kakariko needs only a Bomb and the Boomerang or Hookshot to collect the token off the wall, and the one near Gerudo Valley needs Din’s Fire (child) or Fire Arrows to burn the web covering the Skulltula, the cow and the pots. See the Gold Skulltula Locations for every other token.

Free money at the drawbridge

Hidden rupees are tucked along the chains of the Castle Town drawbridge: jumping off the chains, you can grab three 20-Rupee drops. They are a handy early source of cash, and they reset when you leave the area. Side-hop along the chains rather than trying to walk up the bridge, which is slow.

Castle Town and the drawbridge

Follow the road north to the castle. The walls and towers of Castle Town rise ahead, and the drawbridge is lowered only in the day. If you arrive after dark, wait on the road for sunrise. The Market behind the gate holds the Bazaar, the Happy Mask Shop, three mini-games and a Heart Piece. They are all in the Kakariko and Market chapter.

Later, once you hold all three Spiritual Stones and walk near the drawbridge, Zelda and Impa flee Ganondorf in a short scene, and Zelda throws the Ocarina of Time into the river. That is the start of the Master Sword chapter, so for now just note that the Market also leads to the Temple of Time.

The Hyrule Castle grounds

The path to the gate

From the Market, go through the north gate and follow the castle road. A short cutscene introduces the castle the first time you arrive, and guards will not let you through the front. If Malon has not appeared yet, walk back to the Market and return. The owl waits here on top of a lone tree surrounded by three rocks. Talk to him, then roll into the tree: a Gold Skulltula falls out.

Malon and the Weird Egg

Malon from Lon Lon Ranch stands near some green vines on the wall. She is worried because her father Talon went to deliver milk to the castle and never came back. Talk to her twice and she gives you a Weird Egg, hoping you can wake him up. The egg hatches into a Cucco at the next sunrise, so if it is still an egg when you reach Talon, wait out the night and try again in the morning.

Din’s Fire (come back after the Bomb Bag)

On the road to the gate, the right fork ends at a boulder under a “Dead End” sign. Once you have Bombs from Dodongo’s Cavern and have learned Zelda’s Lullaby, blow up the boulder and step on the Triforce symbol with the Ocarina out to play Zelda’s Lullaby. A Great Fairy appears and teaches you Din’s Fire, a fire spell that you need to burn webs. You will need the Magic Meter from the Death Mountain summit to cast it. Bring a bottle if you want to take a pink fairy with you. The other fountains are listed in Great Fairy Fountains.

Gold Skulltula in the moat grotto

On the castle grounds proper, the small water channel bends round a corner, and a lone tree stands beside it. Play the Song of Storms under the tree (an adult song, so this is a later trip as a child) and a hole opens. Inside, bomb the mud walls: there is a Gossip Stone, pots with Rupees, Bombs and Nuts, and two Skulltulas. The Gold Skulltula needs the Boomerang to collect.

Sneaking in

Climb the vines

Climb the middle one of the vines by Malon. It leads to a ledge above the castle gate, where you follow the narrow edge around and drop to the ground on the other side. Take the dirt path up toward the castle but keep to the grass on the left, away from the guards, and do not try the stone steps. Along the left side a second set of vines runs up a castle wall; climb it and look down.

Swim the moat

At the top you see the moat. Jump in and swim across the water to the far corner, collecting a few Rupees on the way if you pass the middle. Pull yourself onto the small bank on the other side.

Wake Talon

Talon is asleep beside two milk crates, dreaming about the ranch. Stand next to him, open your item menu and use the Cucco. It crows and wakes him up. He realizes how long Malon must have waited, and he runs off for home. He heads home to Lon Lon Ranch, which you can visit from now on (see Lon Lon Ranch).

Move the crates and crawl in

With Talon gone, push and pull the two crates into place under the small opening in the castle wall, marked with a Triforce symbol above it, so that you can climb up and jump to it. Crawl through to enter the courtyard. Do the whole sneak-in in daylight, because the courtyard guards do not let anyone in at night.

The courtyard

Past the guards

The courtyard is a stealth area with several patrolling guards. If one sees you, you are thrown out and have to start the section again. Study each guard’s route from behind a hedge, a fountain or a statue, and move when his back is turned. You can even run behind a guard, as long as you do not get too close. The guards get a little quicker as you go deeper, and the music changes when you reach the main courtyard. Take your time and keep to the shadows.

Zelda at the window

The princess stands at a window on the far left side of the main courtyard. She is surprised to see a boy, but she recognizes the Kokiri’s Emerald when you show it. She tells you about the dream she had, the Triforce and the Sacred Realm, and that the Temple of Time is the way in. She asks you to gather the other two Spiritual Stones and has you look through the window at the man in her dream: Ganondorf.

Zelda’s Letter and Zelda’s Lullaby

Zelda gives you Zelda’s Letter as proof of your mission. Impa then comes in, teaches you Zelda’s Lullaby (N64: C-Left, C-Up, C-Right, C-Left, C-Up, C-Right) and tells you to go to Kakariko Village, her home, and then to Death Mountain. She escorts you back to the drawbridge. Zelda’s Lullaby opens the doors of the Triforce symbols across Hyrule and calls Great Fairies, so you will use it constantly.

Go to Kakariko Village next: the gate guard there will let you pass up Death Mountain Trail when you show him Zelda’s Letter, and the Happy Mask Shop in the Market opens at the same time.

The Field as an adult

After you pull the Master Sword the Field is a different place. The Stalchildren and Peahats are gone, and Poes and Big Poes roam at night in certain spots (see Big Poes). The drawbridge is gone and Castle Town is a ruin full of ReDeads. The Business Scrub’s Heart Piece can be bought at either age, and the water one needs adult gear. Epona is the fast way to cross the Field once you own her.

Play Epona’s Song in any open stretch of the Field and she gallops over. Mount her and press A to spend a carrot and run faster; the carrots recharge as you ride. Stay clear of walls when you call her. How to win her is in the Lon Lon Ranch chapter.

Chapter checklist