Hyrule Castle

Hyrule Castle is the home of the royal family of Hyrule, a mythical land in the popular Nintendo video game series The Legend of Zelda. The castle's first appearance was in the game A Link to the Past, the third in the series. 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. Hyrule Castle is fairly important in most the games it has appeared in and is often shown as a dungeon or a level in these games.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Main article: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

Though there is no actual "Hyrule Castle" in this game, its equivalent is generally thought to be the North Castle, the resting place of Princess Zelda. This is partly because it's the only "friendly" palace in the in game and, like most Hyrule Castles in other games, is surrounded by a moat.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Main article: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

The third game in the series was the first to name a location Hyrule Castle. It 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. 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 moat.

In the Dark World/Sacred Realm, Hyrule Castle becomes the Pyramid of Power where Ganon crashes in to start the challenge to fight.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Main article: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

The castle is first seen during the opening credits. The castle is situated west of Death Mountain and just directly north of Hyrule Castle Town. The entrance to Hyrule Castle Town alone is protected by a moat and a drawbridge which lowers only during the day. Beyond Hyrule Castle Town is a path which leads eventually to Hyrule Castle, but features a gate and several guards along the way. In order to infiltrate the castle, Link must sneak past each guard until he gets to the castle itself, surrounded by a moat. Link never directly enters any "important" parts of the castle, but he does manage to enter the courtyard (where he meets Zelda) using a secret entrance on the east side (similar to his infiltration in A Link to the Past. Hyrule Castle is later destroyed and replaced by Ganon's Castle. The castle and its surrounding area is the arguably most prominent and important place in the game, housing both the Temple of Time, a town, many of the game's plot twists, and the game's final bosses, Ganon and Ganondorf. Surrounded by a small village, drawbridge, and moat, it models the stereotypical monarchial or feudalist castle. The king of Hyrule is never seen in the game, although Ganondorf is seen inside the castle at one point, apparently bribing or otherwise influencing the king to support his plans. Along with the poor castle defense and the subsequent sack of Hyrule Castle, the entire ruling body of Hyrule is generally made out to seem powerless against him. This is a common theme throughout the Zelda games, leaving room for Link to quest and make right that which the kingdom cannot.

Most of the castle is never seen or explored. The extensive castle gardens and the castle courtyard are the only areas available to explore. The castle courtyard serves several purposes, both as introducing the characters of Princess Zelda and Impa, and as a staging point for embarking on the next series of quests. One curious feature of the courtyard is the paintings of several Nintendo characters, including Mario and  Yoshi, as can be seen through one window.

The Beta Quest, a game mode unlockable through usage of a  Gameshark, reveals the complete Triforce hidden under 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 original intent to make the Triforce an obtainable item.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Main article: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures.

Hyrule Castle lies just south of Death Mountain, somewhat near the center of Hyrule (seemingly a combination of its locations in A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time).

The interior is very similar to its A Link to the Past incarnation, while the exterior (shown) is based on that in The Wind Waker.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Main article: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. Hyrule Castle has a fairly large presence in the game. To restore power in the magic sword broken by Vaati, Link must find four elemental artifacts and imbue the blade with their essence at an 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, which is much larger than normal Hyrule Castle and is by far the most difficult dungeon in the game.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Main article: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Hyrule Castle, at first frozen in time, is situated under the Great Sea and accessible at the site of the Tower of the Gods. 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 takes the Master Sword, the castle and the land around it unfreezes. Enemies who were assaulting the castle at the time it was frozen reawaken and must be defeated. As time continues in the game, an area outside the castle is made accessible for Link to explore.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess '''
Main article: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

In Twilight Princess Hyrule Castle plays a fairly important role in the newest installment in the Zelda series. Hyrule Castle looks similar to the Wind Waker’s version of the castle with small pointy towers jutting out from its roof and a large bridge connecting it with the surrounding area. It is also the source of the Twilight that is infecting Hyrule. Inside the castle itself is Zelda, who has become the Twilight Princess herself.

Super Smash Bros.
Main article: Super Smash Bros. series.

Hyrule Castle also appears as an arena in Super Smash Bros., but not in the sequel,  Super Smash Bros. Melee, where it was replaced by Hyrule Temple. Super Smash Bros.' Hyrule Castle appears to be based largely on the one present in Ocarina of Time, which at the time was the latest Legend of Zelda game. The Hyrule Temple in Melee is seemingly a combination of various Zelda temples and castles.

Soul Calibur II
Main article: Soul Calibur II.

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