Hyrule Castle

Hyrule Castle is a recurring location in the Legend of Zelda series. It is the ancestral home of the Royal Family of Hyrule. Each game that contains a Hyrule Castle either features a different layout, or denies the player access to parts that are available in other games. There are grounds for speculation that the castle is actually a different castle in each game, or that it is the same castle but was changed in each game for aesthetic or gameplay purposes.

The castle itself is prone to conflict not only because it houses the head of Hyrule's government, but also because its security is often less than impenetrable. In fact, in many of the games Link takes advantage of this and manages to sneak into the castle in spite of security measures. Hyrule Castle is fairly important in most of the games in which it has appeared, and occasionally serves as a dungeon in certain games.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Hyrule Castle is situated in the middle of Hyrule and appears to be the seat of power of the government as well as the home of Princess Zelda. During the course of the game, Link must break into the castle on more than one occasion. He manages to find entrance via a secret passage on the eastern side of the castle. It has a total of six floors and features a courtyard and a moat. In the Dark World, the Pyramid, Ganon's final refuge which serves as the arena for the final battle, is located where Hyrule Castle was found in the Light World.

When Link first enters the castle via the secret entrance, he finds his uncle mortally wounded near the entrance. Before he dies, he gives Link the Fighter's Sword and Fighter's Shield. After navigating the rest of the castle, Link finds Princess Zelda who is guarded by a Ball & Chain Trooper. After it is defeated, she and Link escape to the Sanctuary through the Secret Passage in the sewers.

Later in the game, after Link retrieves the Master Sword from the Lost Woods, he must return to Hyrule Castle to save Princess Zelda. Link breaks the seal placed on Hyrule Castle Tower with the Master Sword and ascends it. At the top of the tower, Link encounters Agahnim, however, he is too late in stopping him from sending Zelda to the Dark World. Link uses the Master Sword to deflect Agahnim's magic against him. Upon his defeat, Agahnim sends Link to the Dark World as well. Sahasrahla then contacts Link, telling him to free the Seven Maidens in order to gain entry into Ganon's Tower and defeat Ganon.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Hyrule Castle is situated west of Death Mountain and directly north of Hyrule Field. Surrounded by a town, drawbridge, and moat, it models the stereotypical monarchial or feudalistic castle. The castle and its surrounding area is arguably the most prominent and important place in the game, housing the Temple of Time, the castle town, many of the game's plot twists, and the game's final boss. Most of the castle is never seen or explored &mdash; the extensive castle gardens and the Castle Courtyard are the only areas Link can access.

Separating Hyrule Castle Town from the castle is the castle grounds, a grassy area patrolled by Hyrulean Soldiers. Sneaking past the guards, Link manages to gain entrance to the courtyard area, which is guarded day and night; however, at daytime, the security is a little more lax, allowing Link to sneak past the patrols and meet with Princess Zelda in the central courtyard. Here, Zelda tells Link about the prophesied destruction to come and what she believes her prophetic dreams symbolize. Impa teaches Link "Zelda's Lullaby" and helps him escape undetected.

Later, Ganondorf and his minions overtake the castle and apparently kill the King of Hyrule. Later, Hyrule Castle is shown to have been completely destroyed after Ganondorf's rise to power and replaced with Ganon's Castle, Ganondorf's own dark seat of power.

One curious feature of the courtyard is the paintings of several Nintendo characters, including Mario and Yoshi, which can be seen through one window. The Beta Quest, a game mode unlockable through usage of a GameShark, reveals the complete Triforce hidden beneath the courtyard. This find, although not an answer to obtaining the Triforce sought by gamers, was an interesting twist to players' understanding of the game's possible original intent to make the Triforce an obtainable item.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Hyrule Castle is situated under the Great Sea; a portal leading to the sunken land of Hyrule is found near the Tower of the Gods. Upon arrival, Hyrule Castle is caught in temporal stasis. Only the main hall, which contains a secret passage to a room where the Master Sword is found, and a small courtyard may be visited. When Link removes the Master Sword from the pedestal, the flow of time is restored, inadvertently causing a horde of Moblins and Darknuts who had been attacking the castle when the flow of time was stopped are awakened and must be defeated for Link to leave. As time continues in the game, an area outside the castle, as well as Ganon's Tower is made accessible for Link to explore.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Hyrule Castle is located south of Death Mountain and serves as the third and final stage of the Whereabouts of the Wind stage. As the level begins, Link, having just exited the Cave of No Return, arrives in the exterior courtyard of Hyrule Castle. Two bomb-throwing soldiers patrol the top of the castle walls, and Link must traverse an underground cave to gain access to the top of the wall. There Link can activate the switch, opening the gate to the castle. Upon entering the inner courtyard, Link is faced with a Chief Soldier and sixteen Hyrulean Soldiers.

The interior of the castle is very similar to Hyrule Castle from A Link to the Past. After exploring the inner chambers and the roof, which contain many items such as the Fire Rod, Bombs, the Bow, Boomerang, Blue Bracelet, and four Heart Containers, Link will appear at a large arena where he must fight a Ball and Chain Trooper and numerous Hyrulean soldiers. After they are defeated, Force Gems fill the arena. After finding the two River Zora in the next area, they combine to form the Queen of Fairies. She helps Link by destroying the barrier blocking the way to the first maiden. After traveling through the rest of the castle, Link is faced with the final boss of the Whereabouts of the Wind, Phantom Ganon. After he is defeated, the first maiden is released.

Hyrule Castle is later revisited as part of the third and final stage of Level 4 - Near the Fields, Infiltration of Hyrule Castle. This time it is set at night, and in order to successfully gain entrance into the castle, the Links must be careful not to be caught by the searchlights used to spot intruders.

A section of Hyrule Castle also appears as a stage in the Shadow Battle multiplayer mode.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Hyrule Castle, located in the northern region of Hyrule, has a fairly large presence in the game. Link first travels to the castle to deliver Smith's Sword, a sword forged for the winner of the tournament held during the Picori Festival. The winner, Vaati, reveals his ambition to remove the Picori Blade from the chest it seals in hopes of gaining the Light Force supposedly contained therein. He successfully opens the chest, but does not find the Light Force inside. Before venturing off in search for the Light Force, he turns Princess Zelda to stone. To restore power in the magic sword broken by Vaati, Link must find four elemental artifacts and imbue the blade with their essence inside the Elemental Sanctuary, which can be found in Hyrule Castle. As the story progresses, Vaati disguises himself as the king, making getting into the Elemental Sanctuary more difficult, requiring some stealth to make it in successfully. Finally, toward the game's completion, Vaati transforms the entire castle into Dark Hyrule Castle, a larger castle filled with enemies and puzzles, which serves as the game's final dungeon.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Hyrule Castle is located at the geographical center of Hyrule, and borders to Hyrule Castle Town. Inside the castle is Princess Zelda, who is being held prisoner by Zant. Early in the game, Link is transformed into a wolf by Twilight and is thrown into the castle dungeon by Shadow Beasts. He escapes, though, with the help of Midna.

Ganondorf's spirit overtakes the castle after he escapes the Twilight Realm through Zant. The castle is surrounded with a force field that blocks any access. After Zant's death, Ganondorf uses Zant's power to resurrect himself, giving himself his body back. The Castle is the last dungeon of the game, with the boss being Ganondorf himself, in two different forms: Possessed Zelda, and Dark Beast Ganon, his boar form. After Link defeats Ganondorf in his dark beast form, Midna warps Link and Zelda to Hyrule Field before she and Ganondorf battle in the castle; much of the castle is destroyed in a subsequent explosion. Ganondorf rides out into Hyrule Field on horseback with Midna's helmet, the Fused Shadow she always wears, in his hands to show that he has defeated her. Link and Zelda then fight him on horseback and, in the climactic sword duel, Link runs the Master Sword into Ganon's chest. The castle is last seen during the credits sequence, revealing that it was rebuilt.

If one looks closely, the area outside of the castle is, in truth, exactly the same as it appeared in The Wind Waker, except developed. The music that can be heard inside the castle is a reinstrumentalized version of the music inside of The Wind Waker's Hyrule Castle, although it slowly changes into Ganon's Theme as Link gets closer to the boss chamber. Also, before one goes into the room where Link fights Ganon, if one looks in the direction of the southern part of the scenery with the Hawkeye, one can see a total of four identical towers with strange runes shining on them.

Strangely, possibly due to Ganondorf's barrier or a glitch, once Link goes through the arch leading to the steps which lead to the castle gates, it instantly becomes daytime and starts raining, regardless of what the time or weather is like outside. This effect is only contained in the area after the arch and the castle itself and is irreversible.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Hyrule Castle is constructed in New Hyrule and is the home to Princess Zelda. At the beginning of Spirit Tracks, Link must complete a "Final Exam" by going in his train from Aboda Village to Hyrule Castle within 300 seconds. The structure is similar to the castle in Ocarina of Time as there is a market (see Castle Town) and a castle. In the castle, Link is bestowed the title of Royal Engineer. From there, Link must find a way to get into Princess Zelda's room without being stopped by the guards. Then, Link will have to navigate Princess Zelda out of the castle and into the market without letting her be seen.

Interestingly, above Princess Zelda's throne in the Throne Room, there is a stained glass window depicting an image of Tetra. Furthermore, there is a symbol appearing throughout the castle that seems to be two swords crossed in front of a dragon's head. The two swords crossed appears to be the same as the symbol on the sail of Tetra's Pirate Ship, and the dragon looks very similar to the one on the prow of the pirate ship. There is also a special pathway at the back of the castle that leads to the Tower of Spirits. Link can only use this pathway when he acquires the Recruit's Sword.

Link can also take part in a Training Game in the castle, in a special training room with Russell and the other soldiers.

The Legend of Zelda: Mystical Seed of Courage
Hyrule Castle was set to appear in the unreleased game Mystical Seed of Courage. In the game a section of the castle that contained the Rod of Seasons had been sent to another dimension. It is possible that this area of the castle became the Temple of Seasons featured in The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons.

Link's Crossbow Training
Hyrule Castle serves as the location for Hyrule Castle: Defender.

The Legend of Zelda animated series
Link lives in Hyrule Castle with Princess Zelda. It is from here that King Harkinian rules over all of Hyrule. Hyrule Castle has many residents, including the castle handyman, Doof, and it is often a hot spot for attempted sieges by Ganon and his minions.

Super Smash Bros.
Hyrule Castle appears as stage in Super Smash Bros., but was replaced by Hyrule: Temple in the sequel Super Smash Bros. Melee. Super Smash Bros.s Hyrule Castle was based on the design of Ocarina of Times Hyrule Castle. It is one of the biggest stages in the game and features a tower in the center that can be climbed. Tornadoes will sometimes appear on the stage, damaging players and sending them into the air. Death Mountain can be seen in the background.

The third game in the series, Super Smash Bros. Brawl features the Bridge of Eldin as a stage, where Hyrule Castle is visible in the background.

Soulcalibur II
On the Nintendo GameCube version of Soulcalibur II, a picture of Hyrule Castle appears in the end credits when the player beats Arcade Mode as Link.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time manga
Similar to the game, Link and Zelda encounter each other in the courtyard. Unlike in the game, however, they also encounter Ganondorf in the courtyard, who was implied to be eavesdropping on their conversation, and also inadvertently lets slip that he may have sent the Gerudo to ambush Zelda at the Castle Town. In addition, shortly after Link retrieves the Zora's Sapphire, he and his followers set the castle on fire, and is implied to have murdered the king as well, vowing to have Zelda experience "eternal sleep" in the burning castle with her father while Impa and Zelda are attempting to escape. He also ends up snatching Link's fairy ocarina (which he mistook for the Ocarina of Time) during their brief encounter.