Dungeon 6: Mermaid's Cave (Past) - The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages Wiki Guide - IGN (2023)

The sixth chapter of Oracle of Ages brings you to the sixth dungeon, the Mermaid's Cave. Along the way, you encounter many obstacles, such as:

• Level 6: Bereft Peak
• Dungeon #6: Mermaid's Cave (Past)
• Mermaid's Cave (Present)
• Mini-Boss: Vire
• Mermaid's Cave (Past)
• Boss: Octogon

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You're still in Rolling Ridge. As you exit the Crown Dungeon, you'll meetan enthusiastic Goron who tells you about the games fad that's been going around. In the next area, you'll be playing a lot of mini-games to get to the Dungeon. Get crackin'! Move to theright and enter the cave to the right (the other one goes back to the area near the GreatMoblin's palace).

Once in the cave, make your way across the path until you reach the opposite exit. In the next area, make a path through the gold stones to reach a sleeping villager. He tells you that the tunnel you just went through has made a bunch of new shops available. Leave the cave and move right one screen, then head north. You'll see a bridge to you left. Cross it to find a stone. Use the Bracelet to move it and expose a dormant time hole.

Use the Harp to change time back to the past. Once there, go up into the cave. Give the Goron here 20 Ember Seeds and 20 Bombs and he'll search for treasure. Return there later to get goodies that he finds. After this errand is complete, return over the bridge and go into the entrance in the blue wall. Go down the stairs into a room with a switch next to a chasm. Put a Somaria block on the switch to bring a drawbridge across the gap. Go across the bridge and exit the cave.

You're at the base of Rolling Ridge, a grassy, flowery area crawling with Otoroks! And Leevers! Keep moving to the east until you find a small stump. Put an Ember Seed on it and go into the exposed hole to meet an old man. He'll charge you a bunch of Rupees for wrecking his door.

Note: If you visit this guy in the past, he'll actually give you money, so you may want to avoid him during the present age and make some money.

From the crusty coot's hole in the ground, proceed north to the ridge. There is a path leading off to theleft. This leads to the Dungeon, but you can't go there yet. Instead, head into the left cave that's carved into the ridge. Inside is a Fairy fountain. Go in for a quick heal, then exit and go right into the next cave over.

There are a few Gorons milling about in this cave. Talk to the one near the stairs. He tells you you need a Symbol of Brotherhood to get past. To do this, you'll need to impress them with your dancing skills. Go in the door at the back of the room. Here you'll meet the Graceful Goron. He'll challenge you to a dancing competition. In order to earn the respect of the Gorons, you'll need to mimic his dance movements. A little song will play, and you'll have to match it. There are only two tones, one each assigned to the A and B buttons. To successfully complete this challenge, you'll have to match both the notes and the rhythm. To beat the challenge, you'll have to match six of eight dances.When you do, you'll get the Brother Emblem. Take it back to the Goron near the stairs.He'll let you go up the stairs, but tells you he's hungry. Know what would really hit his spot? Some nice Rock Brisket.

Mount the stairs. In the room above, use the Switch Hook to get across the large gap here, then use the Hook to transfer over the ravine at the top of the room. Get the Bombs here, then move left and use the diamond stone across the ravine here to get to the strip of land to the west. Go up the stairs here. In the next room, climb the stairs again. Go up to meet the aGoron who runs a game called "The Big Bang." This guy looks pretty pooped, so needs an energy drink. Go back to the previous room and mount the stairs. In the room above, search the chest for a Gasha Seed. Then hop off the small platform and follow the path around to an exit on the south wall. You'll see aPiece of Heart hidden to the right.

Note: You can return to this spot once you get the Tune of Ages. Once you do, play the Tune to change to the past, then step over and scoop up the goodies.

From here, hop over the edge of the cliff, to the base of the Ridge. Move all the way to the west. There is a lone plant here. Hack it down to reveal another Time Hole. Change to the past age. You'll be in front of alarge waterfall. Move left, then up to a cavein the ridge face. Go inside and use Bombs to open a path to the upper left corner. In the chest here is a rare Gasha Seed.

Go to the right and use your Switch Hook on the diamond stones to traverse the space in the floor, then move to the staircase on the other end of the room. Slash through the plants in the room above on your way to the exit. Once outside, head to the right. Bomb the mouth of the Goron to open another cave.Go inside to find 100 Rupees, then move to the left. Drop to the area below. Position yourself below the Vine Sprout and use the Switch Hook on it, then Switch it to the right. Keep doing this until the Vine Sprout comes to rest underneath the channel in the ridge around the corner. Use the Harp to change time to the present. There's a vine where the Sprout used to be. Crazy, this time travel! Climb the vine and go into the cave entrance with a train track over it.

Here, you'll meet aGoron who runs a Seed shooting game. To do it, you'll have to climb inside the mine cart and zip around the room shooting at blue gems. In order to win the game and collect the prize--Rock Brisket. In order to play the game, you'll have to pay (as is the case with most of the mini-games you'll encounter). The cost is 10 Rupees. If you manage to shoot 9 of 12 gems, you'll get 30 Rupees back.

Thegame is tougher than it originally appears. Once you hop in the cart, you'll have to hit all of the gems without missing once. The problem is, if you accidentally shoota Seed wrong, it will bounce around the area and not allow you to shoot another right away. Basically, if you miss a shot, you will not clear the challenge. To mazimize your chances, only shoot when youare right next to agem. This works for three quarters of the gems in the game. The last three, however, are tough to get because they are close together, but not close to you. Isuggest riding past them and angling diagnoal shots back at them once you drive by. After youhit all 12 gems, you will get the Rock Brisket.

Although you probably want to take it right back to your friend, you might as well playanother mini-game while you're here. Wedemand it! Leave the caveand search for a pile of stones here. Move them aside to find another Time Hole. Play your Harp to go to the past. This cave has a baseball mini-game thatcosts 20 Rupees a pop to play. Ifyou remember the Target Practice game fromLyanna City, this is quite similar. A central device will spit balls at you, and you'll have to bat them back using yourSword. If you miss, it will costyou 50 points. The object is to hit the multi-colored blocks in the gallery in frontof you.

To effectively complete this challenge, you'll have to time your swings, as you can't hope to hitthe ball otherwise. Listen for the two tones that play before the pitch. Count these as the first two beats of a four-beat pattern. Count one twoon the sounds, then wait on count three and swing on count four. Once in a while you'll get a slow pitch, and this pattern won't work, butthere are veryfew slow pitches overall. If you can score over 100 points, you'll get a vial of precious Lava Juice.

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Optional:If you want the Boomerang, play the game until you get 400 points or more.

Now leave this cave and go back to present time. Scoot down the vine, then follow the path around to the cave. Make your way back to the guardian of the stairs in the Goron dancing hall. Give this hungry bugger the Rock Brisket and he'll float you the Goron Vase. See how things work here? On the barter system. Leave the cave and head to the nearest Time Hole, swithcing to the past. Now work your way back to the east, entering the cave to the right of the waterfall. Give the Vase to the guardian of this age and he'll slip you the Goronade.

Move past the guardian up the stairs. In the large cavern above, use your Pegasus Seeds and Feather to transfer over to the left side of the cave. There's the crazy Goron Elder (who's notas elderly). Move past him and go up the stair set here. Talk to the tired Goron here. He's in the market for some Lava Juice. Give him some and he'll present you with the Letter of Introduction.

Leave this cave and switch to the present, working your way backthrough the cave you justleft. Go up the stairs here, finding the Big Bang proprietor again. Give himthe Goronade and he'll get a sudden burst of energy. He invites youto participate inhis Big Bang game gratis (or for 10 Rupees after the first go-around). Might as well do it, as you'll need what he's carrying in order to get tothe dungeon.This game isall about dodging. The mad Goron will toss scads of Bombs at you and you'll have to avoid them. Gethit once and the game's over. Make sure you have your Feather equipped, as you can hopover the explosions. The best way to win this challengeisto make a circular path around the arena, dodging Bombs as you pick your way around the rocks. Use theFeather to jump a lot, as thefloorisconstantlymoving in different directions. Once you beat the game, you'll get the Old Mermaid Key, which will allow you to open the Dungeon of the Present. *NOTE: Sometimes you must complete this mini game before being able to give the goron the Lava Juice.

Exit the cave and move one screen to the right, then hop off of the ridge here down to a ledge below. Here, you'll find the Mystical Tree, your second warp point into Rolling Ridge. Hop off of this ledge to find yourself back at the base of Rolling Ridge. Go into the rightmost cave here, entering the Goron Dance Hall. Go all the way to the back of the cave and give your Letter of Introduction to the Graceful Goron. He'll ask you to take him on in adance-off again. This one is much like the last competition. Beat the Goron and he'll give you the Mermaid Key. Now you have what it takes to get into both dungeons. Leave the cave and go to the waterfall. By moving under it, you can get into a secret cave. Use the Mermaid Key on the door here to enter Mermaid's Cave.

You'll have to begin in this dungeon, then go to the Present, then return to this Dungeon in order to geteverything you need to get through. In the first room, place a Bomb on the cracked right wall, opening a passage. In the nextroom, slay the Wizzrobes anda chest will comedown. Search itto finda rare Gasha Seed. Move to the next room and equip your Seed Shooter with Ember ammo. Shoot each of the Candles here with an Ember Seed atit will fly aroundtheroom,ultimately meeting its tragic end. Once all three Candles blow out, the door at the top of the room will open. Head through to find a large underground lake. Swim all the way to theleft to find a small chest on a dry piece of land. Open the chest to findthe Dungeon Map.

Now swim back across the lake to the lower right corner. Here, you'll find a grouping of torches that gave us fits. They are ultimately easy to manage, it just took us a while to figure out the pattern. Begin byshooting an Ember Seed at the leftmost torch (in the back row of three). Light that one, then angle a shot off of the right wall to light the center torch in the back row. Then light the single torch in front, and finish by shooting an Ember Seed at the rightmost torch in the back row. When all the torches are lit, the walls will rumble and open to the east, exposing a new portion of Dungeon. To access this area, you'll need to go to the Present Dungeon. Exit the Past Dungeon and change time to the Present, then step in the western cave. Head through the cave to the entrance to the Present Dungeon.

In the first room of the Present Dungeon, head north into a room full of Snakeropes. Kill them to stop the torches from shooting at you. Continue to the north, intoa large room and go through the doorway on the left wall. This chamber is split to to bottom. Use the diamond stone to switch over to the opposite side, then claim the Dungeon Map from the chest in the upper left corner of the room. Once you have the map, go back through the previous room, going down the small stairs to the eaxst. Once inthis lowered area, slosh through the water and exit to the north.

You'll find yourself in a large room with a crystal switch ball at its center. Shoot a Seed at the ball to change the path in the room, then follow the newly-created floor to the exit on the right wall. In the next area, you'll find a blue owl. He'll give you ahint about using Scent Seeds. Equip your Satchel with some Scent Seeds and drop one in the area left of the large pit. Sensing the smell, the Snakeropes here will cast themselves into the abyss. Once they're all dead, a chest will fall. Search it to find a Small Key.

Go back to the crystal ballroom andswitch the ball to allow access to the westexit. Gothrough it andkill the Wizzrobes andWallmasters here. On the south wall is a cracked segment. Put a Bomb there to open a passage, then head through. Useyour Switch Hook to get to the southern half of the room and leave through the passage to thesouth.

In the next room, use the Feather to leap the divide, then turn your attention to the rolling block before you. To successfully complete this bear, you'll have to roll the multi-colored block to each of the various colored tiles on the floor. The catch? In order to succeed, you'll need tohave the colored face of the block that corresponds to the tile pointing up as you roll. Stand above the block and push it one space down, then twice to the left, taking care of the red tile. Then push it two spaces right, once up, once left andonce down, then scoot it over to the yellow tile. Two down. Now push the block twice left, once up, once right, once down, once left, then to the bluetile. This willfinish thepuzzleandgive youtheSmallKey.

Head all the way back to the original room of the Dungeon and go throughthe right door. You'll have to take down the Candles here to spring the door to the east. Once it's open, scoot through and make your way to the upper right corner of the room, using a Key on the locked door. From your position on the platform, switch over to the opposite bank using your Hook. Continue down the path to an open area. This is the part of the Dungeon you opened when you lit all the toches in the Past Dungeon. Here, you'll find a chest with the Compass in it. Grab it, then hop down into the area below. Go down the staircase in the ground, entering a side-scroller. Use your Feather to hop over the spikes, heading all the way to the right side of the cave, and exiting up the ladder here. Slay the Wizzrobes in this chamber, then collect 10 Rupees from the chest here.

Go to theeast and continue up the passage, unlocking the Block here with a Small Key. Stay on the path until you reach a northern passage. Go in to find a blue owl. He tells you to test your luck. Use your Bracelet to pull one of twopulleys here. When youpull the device, a pair of Snakeropes willattack. Kill them to get a chest containing theBoss Key. Sweet!

Go back upstairs and make your way back to the crystal ball room. Take the west exit in this room. In the next area, use the Feather to cross the center divide, then exit out the north door. Here, you'll find apassage with a pair of large turnstiles. Head through both of them and you'll be on a raised area to the west. You'll have to maneuver things a bit to get where you want. You'll have to hop off the platform and go through the dials a few times to exit south of the leftmost turnstile. Once you do, head left, then up, killing the Gibdo who gets in your way. Keep following the path up to a chest containing a Small Key, then follow the path east and around to the turnstile. Keep turning the dial until you come out the top of the turnstile.Once you do, continue north, dropping down into a room full of Keese. Head south down the corridor between the turnstiles, going through the right one, then heading up through the west. Climb the stairs, then hop down into the room again and move down the middle path again, going back through both both turnstiles, ending up east of the rightmost turnstile. In the next room, follow the raised platform until you reach a locked door to the north. The Mini-Boss Vire awaits you inside.

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Mini-Boss: Vire

Vire is aslippery little biscuit, butcan be defeated with common household items (ie your Wooden Sword). He'll come at you with three separate energy attacks. All of these can be abtted down with your Sword, so theydon't pose much of a threat. The red onesstay as single balls, but the yellow ones split into four balls and the blue ones always come at you in twos. Just keep pumping that Sword button and you should stay safe.

To get at Vire, patrol the outside ring of the arena and slash at him as he scoots from edge to edge. Each time you take a chunk out of him, he'll get a little speedier. After about three solid thwackings, he will become a pair of bats. Hit these once and Vire will be no more.

After the brawl, be sure to grab your fairy. Exit out the right door, then kill the Wizzrobes in the next room. To get to the diamond stone that's suspended above the pit here, you'll have a chuck a Bomb precisely at the cracked brick next to it. To do this, stand to the left of the yellow half-wall and equip a Bomb. Just as it's beginning to flash, run and heave the Bomb toward the cracked brick. This may take a few tries, as it takes some pretty intense timing. Once you get it, Switch Hook the diamond stone and follow the path up to the chest. Search it to find the Mermaid Suit, an item that will allow you to swim in deeper water. Note: When you swim wearing the suit, you'll have to tap the D-Pad in the direction you want to go. This will allow Link to swim fast as all get out.

Leave the Dungeon. Right next to the exit is a pond. Now that you have the Suit, dive down and explore to find a Ring in a chest. Then step out of the cave, change time to the past andgo back behind the waterfall.

Now that you have the Suit, head back to the room where you parted thewall. Find the deep water here anddive down, then swim into the lower right corner of this chamber. Take the submerged set of stairs down a level, finding yourself in aside-scrolling cave. Move through it all the way to the right and climb the ladder there. In the next room, you'll haveto fight the currents as you fight a pair of ornery Jellyfish. Swim to the upper left corner of the room and exit. In the next room, drop the Snakerope to get a chest (Small Key inside). When you get it, go all theway back to the beginning of the Dungeon. Inthe first room, go through the north door and kill allthe baddies before exiting onthe left wall.

In this room, you'll have to step on the center square to see the chameleon Gels. You've done this type of room before. When you've killed all of them, you'll get a Compass. Return to the previous room and head north. In the next area go down the stairs to the right and continue through the north exit. In the next room, slay the Keese with your Sword and the Candles with your Ember Seeds. After all are dead, a door on the right wall will spring open. Go through it. In the next room, use the Feather to hop to the platform to the right. Kill the Stalfos here to get a Small Key.

Go back to the room full of Stalfos (two rooms north of the first room onthe map). Use the Keyyou just acquired to get into the door to the left. Kill the Wizzrobe who's patrolling this area. Equip your Caneof Somaria andplace a block on the floor switch. Onthe opposite side of the puzzle, push the vase atop the other floor switch to open the northern door. Leap over the little gaps and go through this door.

In the next room, smite the Wallmasters and Wizzrobe, then use Bombs to chip your way through the central wall. At the north side of the room (directly in the center), place a Bomb to open a hidden passage. Go through. Another turnstile awaits. Go through the dial twice so that you come out on the east, then move around the blocks to get to the deep water in the lower left corner. Dive in. Once underwater, move up one screen into a room where a pair of Jellyfish guard a chest. Get the Rupees from it, then exit through the right door. Slay the Snakeropes here and work your way against the strong, flowing water and exit in the upper righ corner. In the next room, kill the Snakerope and the right door will open. Go through it. In the next chamber, there is a Switch Hook puzzle. Use this item to place a diamond stone on each and every green tile. Once you do, you'll get a Small Key. Then swim back through the underwater area and resurface in the turlstile room. Turn the stile until you exit on the left side. Use the Small Key to get through the locked door here.

You'll have to useyour Seed Shooter in the next area. Unlock the locked block and move to the left half of the room. Put a Somaria block onthe floor switch to open a path for your fire. Deflect a Seed shot off of the left wall and intothe crystal ball. This will bring a bridge down from the north. Move across and search the vases here for fairies and such, thenuse your Boss Key to get at thewatery beast Octogon.

Boss: Octogon

Octogon is a big, wet squid who will take the fight to you above the surface of the water, then go below to brawl some more. His main tactic is tocircle you as you stand on the central platform, shooting projectiles at you or arching fireballs. Later, he'll submerge and you'll have to follow him below the waves. His attack here isn't toosevere--he'll just try to encase you in abubble and take the fight back up top.

Use either your Noble Sword (which you should have by now after completing the Trading Items quest. See the Items section of this guide) or the Seed Shooter and dodge his projectiles. The beauty of the Noble Sword is that you can knock down what he's shooting at you while you prepare to attack. When he stops shooting projectiles at you, dive into the water, because he's about to unleash some fiery fury.

While underwater, watch out for his bubbles, as they'll sting you and sendyou back above the water. Use the power of your Mermaid Suit to quickly circle him, peppering the squid with rounds from your Seed Shooter. When he's taken enough abuse, he'll go back upstairs and you can follow him. Repeat this pattern until he's belly up. After he dies, make sure you get the Heart Container and the Bereft Peak Essence (through the right door). The Maku Tree tells you that Ambi's guards have temporarily left their posts at the palace, allowing you to infiltrate and save the Oracle.