Ganon’s Castle

Approach Ganon’s Castle and a short cinematic will play involving Rauru the Sage. Rauru will gather the power of the six Sages to create a bridge leading to Ganon’s Tower. Cross the rainbow bridge and enter the tower to begin the last dungeon of the game. Travel down the stairwell and past the Beamos.

Entering Ganon’s Castle title screen
Rainbow bridge across to Ganon’s Castle

Inside Ganon’s Castle

This large room has a huge barrier blocking the center tower. The goal here is to complete each of the six elemental rooms powering the magical barrier in order to deactivate them. Start off by taking a right and going through the doorway with the Shadow Emblem above it (the purple one). The purple door is in the back right corner.

Entering the Inside of Ganon’s Castle title screen
Entering the Purple Shadow Trial

Purple/Shadow Trial

Use your Fire Arrows to light up the unlit torch on the left side of the room. Quickly run across the platforms that appear to reach the other side – be careful of the Green Bubble (flying skull enemy) as you pass.

Run directly past the Like Like and onto the next platform before the timer runs out. If you did not make it you will have to light the torch again using the Fire Arrows.

The entrance to the Shadow Trial
Traveling across the timed platform and dodging the Green Bubble

You now have to reach a switch on a floating platform down to the left. There are two methods that you can use to reach it; you can either light the unlit torch again with the Fire Arrows and run down the stairs that appear or you can use the Hover Boots and run quickly out towards the platform.

Step on the switch to make a large treasure chest appear and then Longshot up to the treasure chest. Open it to obtain the Golden Gauntlets – even more powerful than the Silver Gauntlets.

Link standing on the switch in the Shadow Trial room
Using the Longshot to reach back to the platform with the treasure chest

Use the Lens of Truth and look off to the left side of the screen to see an invisible pathway. Walk along the pathway to reach the switch on the other side of the room. The switch is rusty so you will have to use the Megaton Hammer in order to trigger it. Follow the invisible pathway leading towards the doorway at the end of the room and go through the door.

Obtaining the Golden Gauntlets in the Shadow Trial Room
Travelling across the invisible platform towards the rusty switch

This is the first of six sources that are powering the magical barrier. Equip the Light Arrows and shoot one of them through the orange, glowing orb. This will cause the orb to burst and will cause Impa to appear. Impa will dispel the Shadow Barrier.

Hitting the Shadow Trial barrier with a Light Arrow
The Shadow Barrier is dispelled! Please save the Princess!

Now that you have the Golden Gauntlets there is another Great Fairy’s Fountain nearby that you can access:

Re-enter Ganon’s Tower once you are done.

You can now go through the regular rotation and complete the remaining rooms in order. Head through the doorway with the Green / Forest Emblem.

The doorway to the Forest Trial

Green/Forest Trial

Enter the room and defeat the Wolfos enemy that spawns in the center. Open the treasure chest that appears to receive a Blue Rupee. Use Din’s Fire to light the torches around the circle and then quickly aim and shoot a Fire Arrow at the unlit torch above the doorway. Go through the doorway that unlocks.

Using Din’s Fire to light the torches in the Forest Trial
Lighting the last torch above the doorway with the Fire Arrows

The next room contains two fans on the far wall. Make sure not to run around while the fans are blowing and then use the Hover Boots and Longshot to reach each of the Silver Rupees. Start off by traveling over to the switch at the back left side of the room and step on it to make a target appear. You need this target pillar in order to reach one of the Silver Rupees.

Entering the room with the Silver Rupees
Climbing on top of the pillar to grab a Silver Rupee

Enter the unlocked door and hit the orange orb with a Light Arrows to make Saria appear. Saria will destroy the next piece of the barrier. Continue to the right to reach the next room which is the Blue / Water Room.

Using the Hover Boots to walk in front of the fans in the Forest Trial
Hitting the Forest Trial barrier with a Light Arrow

Blue/Water or Ice Trial

Destroy both of the Freezards in this room to unlock the door, but you can’t quite reach it just yet. The treasure chest on the left side of the room will freeze you if you open it but the treasure chest on the right side of the room contains a Recovery Heart.

Use one of your Bottles to capture some of the Blue Fire and then use it on the red ice on the far wall. Grab some more Blue Fire in one of your Bottles and then go through the unlocked door.

The Water / Ice Trial door in Ganon’s Castle
The entrance to the Water Trial

The next room contains a 2:00 minute timer that starts as soon as you enter. Assume that the door you enter from is on the south side of the room. Run over to the block furthest away and push it east and then south. This will cause it to drop into the small crevasse in the ground. Push the second block east (over top of the now filled crevasse), north and then west.

Climb the block up to the red ice wall and use the Blue Fire to get through. Smash the rusty switch with the Megaton Hammer and then run over to the unlocked door.

The ice room with the timer
The ice room with the block pushed into the crevasse

Aim another Light Arrows at the strange orange orb to make Princess Ruto appear. Princess Ruto will dispel the water barrier for you.

Using the Megaton Hammer in the Water Trial
Aiming a Light Arrow to remove the Water Trial

Continue to the right but go past the the Purple / Shadow Door as you have already completed this room. Go into the Red / Fire Room.

Red/Fire Trial

The objective of this room is fairly straight forward. Collect all of the Silver Rupees in the room to unlock the door at the back. There is a video below that demonstrates how to do this. Note that this room can only be completed if you have obtained the Golden Gauntlets from the Shadow Trial (purple room listed above).

The entrance to the Fire Trial in Ganon’s Castle
Link lifting up a large stone in the Fire Trial using the Golden Gauntlets

Start off by grabbing the Silver Rupee on the platform to the right. Follow the sinking platform around to the spinning statue that shoots fire and grab the Silver Rupee behind it. Travel directly north (grabbing the Recover Heart along the way on the sinking platform) and use the Golden Gauntlets to lift the large grey stone. Grab the Silver Rupee underneath.

Travel across the platform to the platform with the Torch Slug on it. Defeat the Slug and pick up the Silver Rupee. Jump across the grey stone which is now firmly planted in the lava to obtain the last Silver Rupee. Reaching the unlocked door with the Longshot can be fairly difficult to time but make sure you take your time to line up the target properly. Use the video below to help guide you:

Shoot an arrow through the orange orb to make Darunia appear. Darunia will dispel the Fire Barrier and warp you outside of the room again. Continue to the right to reach another large grey stone that you can throw out of the way. Get rid of it to reveal the Yellow / Light Door.

Aiming a Longshot at the target near a Fire Trial door
Aiming a Light Arrow at the Fire Trial barrier

Yellow/Light Trial

Use the Golden Gauntlets from the Shadow Trial room to remove the large stone blocking the entrance into the Light Trial.

Lifting the large stone blocking the entrance to the Light Trial door
The yellow Light Trial door

Use the Lens of Truth as soon as you enter the room to reveal the hidden Keese Bats flying around.

There is also a Skulltula hanging from the roof in the center of the room. Open the treasure chest that appears in the center of the room to pick up a Small Key. Use the Small Key to open the door at the back of the room and go through.

Attacking a Keese Bat with the Lens of Truth active
Obtaining a Small Key in the Light Trial room

Stand on the Triforce on the ground and play Zelda’s Lullaby to make a treasure chest appear. Open up the treasure chest to receive another Small Key. Use the Small Key on the locked doorway and then proceed through.

Go around the room collecting the Silver Rupees. Four of the five of them are easy to obtain. The fifth Silver Rupee at the top of the pillar in the middle of the room can be obtained by looking for a target for the Longshot on the roof of the room.

Grabbing the last Silver Rupee using the target on the roof
The end of the Light Trial with no barrier to destroy - use the Lens of Truth

Enter the room that would normally contain the glowing orange orb but it won’t be there. Watch out in this room for a Wallmaster that will drop down on you. Use the Lens of Truth to see that there is another passageway through that leads to the actual Barrier generator. Hit it with a Light Arrows to destroy it. Rauru will appear and dispel the Light Barrier.

The real Light Trial barrier to destroy in behind the fake room

Head to the left to find the last barrier room.

Orange/Spirit Trial

Start off by destroying the Beamos with a Bomb. Aim the Longshot towards the target above where the Beamos was sitting to drop down onto another Silver Rupee.

The rest of the Silver Rupees are guarded by spikes. Move the statues out of the way to get the Spikes to move through larger paths and then snag the Silver Rupees when you can. If you are really impatient you can just roll directly into the spikes to obtain the Silver Rupee, though you will take some damage (not much with the Enhanced Defense upgrade).

The entrance to the Orange / Spirit Trial
Entrance to the Spirit Trial

Destroy the two Torch Slugs and then use a Bombchu to hit the crystal switch on the other side of the room. Look for the hole up near the roof and then aim a Bombchu directly at the crystal. It will automatically explode when it touches it.

Using a Bombchu in the Spirit Trial
Hitting the crystal switch in the Spirit Trial with a Bombchu

Use the Fire Arrows to destroy the cobwebs on the roof in the next room to cause the sun to come shining down. Following that, use the Mirror Shield to reflect the light at the sun faces on the wall. Hitting the wrong sun will cause a Wallmaster to appear. The correct sun is to the right of the doorway that you enter from. Go through the unlocked door to find the last barrier generator.

Using the Fire Arrows to destroy the cobwebs
Aiming the sunlight using the Mirror Shield at each of the sun faces

Fire one last Light Arrows at the glowing orange orb to make Nabooru appear. Nabooru will dispel the Spirit Barrier, which is the final barrier blocking the way into the central tower.

Aiming a Light Arrow at the Spirit Trial barrier generator
The removal of the central barrier in Ganon’s Castle - time to battle Ganondorf!

You are now ready to take on Ganondorf!

Barrier removed from the center of Ganon’s Castle