Hero's Cave

The Hero's Cave is a recurring mini-dungeon in The Legend of Zelda series.^[1]

Entrance to the Dungeon[]

In Oracle of Seasons, the Hero's Cave is found at the Western Coast. In a normal game, Link must come here to find the Wooden Sword.^[2] The cave is found at the same location in a Linked Game, however the cave is far more expansive and is no longer required.

In Oracle of Ages, the Hero's Cave only appears in a Linked Game, near the entrance to Maku Road in Lynna City in the present.

Themes and Navigation[]

In a normal game of Oracle of Seasons, the Hero's cave is a small mini-dungeon featuring only a small number of weak enemies (which must be avoided due to the lack of a sword), a few block puzzles, and a single locked door that requires a key. Clearing the cave rewards Link with the Wooden Sword.

In a Linked Game, the Hero's Cave acts as an optional dungeon, requiring the treasure from the sixth dungeon of either game to fully complete, though the cave can also be partially explored with earlier items. The layout of the cave changes entirely between the two games to make use of items not present in the other game. Both versions of the Hero's Cave are linear dungeons, with each room containing a puzzle Link must solve to proceed, either by opening a door or by obtaining a key to open the door. At various points, warp points will spawn in rooms, acting as checkpoints - Link can escape the cave and return to the dungeon later, the warp point in the entrance always taking him into the deepest warp point accessed in the cave. The dungeon itself is also split up by warp points that take Link to different sections in the dungeon.

Upon completing the dungeon, Link finds a treasure chest with a Magic Ring in it. In Oracle of Ages it is the Armor Ring L-3, while in Oracle of Seasons it is the Power Ring L-3. This is the only way to obtain these two rings.

Minor Traps and Enemies[]

Oracle of Seasons[]

Oracle of Ages[]

Trivia[]

In Oracle of Seasons, a Zora can be found in the cave that gives Link a secret to pass along to King Zora in Labrynna. This secret improves Link's Sword by one level. The cave contains no secrets in Oracle of Ages.
In the North American version of Oracle of Ages, if Link enters the Hero's Cave and checks the map, it will say he is in the Ancient Tomb, the eighth dungeon in the game.
Because the Power Ring L-3 and Armor Ring L-3 are exclusive to their game's version of the Hero's Cave, this means in order to get a complete collection of Magic Rings, Link would have to complete each game twice (or use the Veran Warp Glitch in Linked Ages to skip a second playthrough of Ages), inverting the order of play for the second playthrough to be able to play a Linked Game for both.

Nomenclature[]

Names in Other Regions
Language		Name	Meaning
	German	Heroenhöhle	Hero's Cave

Gallery[]

Hero's Cave entrance from Oracle of Seasons
Hero's Cave final room from Oracle of Seasons
Obtaining the Wooden Sword from Oracle of Seasons
Hero's Cave first visit map from Oracle of Seasons
Linked Hero's Cave map from Oracle of Seasons
Linked Hero's Cave map from Oracle of Ages

References

↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 150 ^(OoS) & 151 ^(OoA)
↑ "Do you know of the Hero's Cave near the Western Coast? The Hero's Sword is said to be hidden there, but no one has ever found it." — N/A (Oracle of Seasons)