Hyrule Castle
From Lozwiki
Hyrule Castle (ハイラル城, Hairaru-jō) 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. It is now known, however, that this Triforce is simply the Triforce symbol that appears on the player's hand during the game.
Ganon's Castle
Appears only as Adult Link and contains six mini-dungeons which must be cleared to access the central tower.
