Chapter 3 - The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Guide - IGN (2024)

At this break in the adventure, you can choose to digress from the course of the main quest in search of higher thrills. A few options are open to you at this point. Check the Sidequests section for more details.

Safely get through the fog

Get Small Key #1

The mapped out route from the hideaway is integral to surmounting this treacherous blanket of fog. Deviating from the path will just warp you back to the starting location and waste precious time that Tetra simply doesn't have! Mimic every turn and loop as the Wayfarer's path through the rocky isles until you're in the clear.

Travel to the Temple of Wind

Finely named for its rather windy peculiarity, the Isle of Gust is no vacation hotspot. The mostly barren island features an intermittent, westward bound wind that sweeps our not-so-big hero a few steps back with every gust of wind. You must stand your ground by maintaining constant motion heading east. The wind also makes combat somewhat more draining because you are left more vulnerable while the wind whistles past. As such, you would be better off finishing your enemies quickly and avoiding being surrounded.

Move north into the clearing to dice up a couple of Miniblins and back down south on the other side. Wait until the wind subsides before leaping over the gaps to the separated land masses.

Eventually, you arrive at what appears to be a dead-end, but your fine-tuned deductive instincts tell you that the wall can be bombed. Well, as the saying goes, go with your instincts! Sure enough, the wall collapses upon the explosion, unveiling a cave entrance of some sort. This peaceful room offers a welcoming refuge from the gales, as well as a Courage Gem from the chest and information on the possible whereabouts of this elusive Wayfarer. Copy the markings onto your map for future reference. There doesn't seem to be anything else left in the room, so head on out back to the sign that warns of strong winds. No kidding!

While the strong winds can be quite the nuisance, you will need to call upon their power to help you get past this upcoming part. The gaps between the platforms are far too wide for Link to make on his own. Wait for the wind to start blowing and then jump—the extra boost from the passing torrent will help Link more than easily sail across the gaps. Be careful about overshooting and falling down though. You got to find the right balance between shielding yourself from the wind and using it to propel yourself forward.

Once across, hop down into the enclosed area. The high walls here prevent you from getting roughed up by the wind. There are three digging spots (easily distinguished by the swirl in the ground) here out of which pop 20 Rupees each. This digging business pays off quite well, don't it? Head into the dark, cave-like entrance here, ignoring the southern stairs (they lead back to the starting point).

Deeper into the cave is a pit teeming with Miniblins and a chest sitting among them. Defeating them all to trigger the appearance of a second gem. Get your Wisdom Gem from within the first chest and a Treasure Map from the second. After claiming your hard-earned booty, exit via the southeastern opening. Outside, hop atop the geyser for a fun ride to the top. Shovel the patch of soil hidden beneath the clump of grass for an additional 100 Rupees. By now, you should have Rupees just pouring out of your ears. Harness the power of the wind to complete the jump to the platform to the west.

Follow the green-tiled floor north to an inscription on the center pillar. An "X" has been marked on the far northwest corner of the map. Better make a note of it. From reading the adjacent tablet, you learn that you need to deactivate the temple's defenses before you can proceed in. The X on the map must be where the windmills are located.

Activate the windmills

Get Small Key #1

Nothing more you can do at the temple entrance until those wind statues are done away with. Back down south, ride the geyser up and head north. The path wraps around, past a sealed blue door, back to the south. Ciela's acute senses make notice of uneven clumps of dirt. Shoveling these spots unleashes spouts of geysers. The geyser to the far west helps you attain a Power Gem. Take the geyser northward to the next area, and unplug the left-hand geyser.

Top off the next geyser with soil to cover it up so that you may proceed onward. At the point marked by the X on your map, you will be instructed to blow three secret windmills. To aid you in this task, a map nearby specifies the locations of the three windmills. Now the hard part: these windmills sit above a sand-filled pit, under which live frightening Sandworms. They are much too quick for you to outrun them, but a helpful tip from the statue suggests making minimal noise by walking slowly. By walking slowly, we mean slowly as in crawling-through-molasses slowly.

Head to the locations you previously marked on your map and blow on the windmills to get them spinning. While you can use the bomb plants scattered around the area to dispatch the Sandworms and make traversing the sand much less nerve-wracking, do it only if you happen to pass by bomb plants. Otherwise, it's not completely necessary. Once the three windmills are activated, the wind statues abruptly stop doing their thing, allowing you to enter the temple.

Into the Temple of Wind

Temple of Wind

• Key items to obtain: Bomb Bag (plus Bombs)
• Enemies: Red Chuchu, Keese, Rock Chuchu, Rope, Sandworm

Is it us or is there a draft in here? Ho ho ho...we crack ourselves up. Anyway, the Temple of Wind is standard windy dungeon fare, although a tad short. No complaints here, though.

Descend into the temple depths

Dash past the line of wind statues to a lone bomb plant. Scouting ahead, you may notice a neatly lined row of bomb plants. Something is not quite right here. Toss the bomb plant onto the uniquely designed tile to fill the space in the center. The ensuing explosion sets off an explosive chain that rocks the two opposing orbs simultaneously and forms a pair of bridges over the gap. Across the bridge and beyond, you will come to a movable block that can be slowly dragged across a tiled path. But wait! Two wind statues unceasingly breathe out strong puffs of air that are capable of sweeping Link off into the abyss.

Strangely enough, though, there are two ways to get around this. You can either push the block in front of the first wind statue to stopper the mouth of the wind statue and then hit the orb between the two to shut them down, or just use the Boomerang on the orb to achieve the same results. Either way, cross the catwalk heading south and down a flight of stairs. Along the northern wall is a door cannot open as of yet, but tap on the southern one to fling it open. The floor switch here creates a shortcut that lets you to skip the initial set of wind statues entirely.

Follow the narrow catwalk east and into the room north. Once inside, a door rises behind Link, initiating a blood battle against a group of slithering Ropes. Continue through to the adjacent room when the doors re-open. After happily helping yourself to the generous serving of Rupees, push the movable gray block out to enter the next room. You will only be passing by this long, rectangular chamber this time, but rest assured you will be returning very shortly to face down the boss of the dungeon soon.

The room west of the rectangular chamber features a wind statue that can be shifted. Get a good grip on it and start shoving it down and to the left, following the tiles outlined on the ground. Deposit it at the bottom one of the two specially designed tiles. Now run in front of it and leap across the chasm. The added boost of the wind statue ensures that you complete the jump successfully. The floor switch here drops the blue door you couldn't open earlier, creating another shortcut.

Get Small Key #1

Shortly after descending the steps to the basem*nt level, you find yourself trapped in a room again, this time facing off against a fresh batch of baddies called Rock Chuchus. Use the bombs clustered in the center to lure the Rock Chuchus out of hiding, and use them again to remove the outer rock coating. They are a cinch once the rock armor is taken away.

Leave the battle site and descend into a large sand pit filled with Miniblins. The tablet in the center of a room provides a vital hint for progression, and the floor switch opens up the door in the southeast. Clamber up the stairs and fall into an enclosed area just ahead. Take the northern most geyser onto a high platform, atop which sits a chest. Claim the Courage Gem from within and continue your exploration of the dungeon. Head back to the southeast and down the other steps to the very southeast corner. There you will find a chest nestled beside two pots. This chest holds a nice Treasure.

Now return to the gray block sitting among the geysers. Grab the block and push it over the third geyser from the bottom until it joins a tan-colored block that overlooks a section off to the right. Ride the second geyser from the bottom to get atop the gray block and hop over to the sectioned off passageway. The flight of stairs lead further down the temple, the main room of which appears to be an enormous, sand-filled chamber. Snatch up a bomb plant to blow away the weak wall.

Remember those scary-looking Sandworms from before? Well, they're here in this main room. Aim for the raised platform in the center of the room for a clue as to what to do here. The main goal is to quietly journey to each of the four marked points and dig up covered geysers. Uncovering each correct geyser will light a torch in the corner of the room; when all four are lit, two new passageways to the north and southwest will be accessible to you. If need be, the stone paths will keep you safe from being worm food while you roam around on the sand. You'll also be happy to know that along the far west wall lies a chest that contains a Power Gem.

Both new passageways carry you back to B1, but in different sections of it. You will need to visit both, so whichever you choose first is up to you. The north will take you through a short romp across near the center of the room. A wind statue sits blowing relentlessly at nothing in particular. But a small nudge to the left will transfer that wind power onto the windmill. The southwest exit also leads you to another similarly inactive windmill that you must breathe life into. When both windmills are up and running again, a Small Key drops to the ground below. Fall into the pit to recover the key.

Acquire the boss key

The door you want to unlock can be found among the sand pit in the northeast corner. Return to B2 in the same fashion you did before. Follow the stone path to the locked door and tap it open. From within fancy chest, you will find a Bomb Bag filled with your very own Bombs! Hallelujah! These portable bombs enable you to make things explode at will, so long as you have bombs available, of course. That wouldn't be a problem, though, as you can now find bombs stashed away in pots, barrels and the like.

Looking at the map now, you may notice an entire room in the northwest that has yet to be explored. If you also recall, there was a crack in the wall there as well. Put these things to the test and melt away the wall. Inside the room, you'll find a geyser jet waiting to launch you onto the higher ledge. However, a breakable rock has occupied your landing spot. You need to do away with it first—chuck a bomb directly at the geyser, which will lift the bomb up to the block's level and remove it from sight.

The next room features a time challenge. Extending across a thin ledge is a parade of bomb plants with an unlit orb at the end. Ride the geyser up and set a bomb next to the bomb plant. As soon as the chain reaction activates the orb, you have a few moments to race to the now opened doorway at the end of the long corridor. The trick is to plant the bomb and start hauling your butt to the door!

The next narrow corridor is home to skulking Rock Chuchus and a cryptic message from the stone tablet. Squash the Rock Chuchus and set a bomb on the tile. The detonation of this bomb unleashes a destructive force so great that the wall immediately gives way. At first glance there appears to be no exit. A close inspection of the northern wall will give away the room's secret exit. A set of tiles in the neighboring room signifies a part of the wall that is most susceptible to a good bombing. Blow your way out of this prison and continue to an odd arrangement of bomb plants. Each line of bomb plants lead to an unlit orb.

Place a bomb on each of the designed tiles to activate both orbs and open the doorway. Pop the lid on the large chest to acquire the Boss Key. Drop down with it and place it down on the ground for now. Toss two bombs into the pair of geysers so that the rocks can finally be destroyed, allowing you to proceed to the boss. But first you need to pick up the key again and ride the geyser up with it in order for you to fit the key into the enormous lock, the only remaining obstacle that stands between you and the boss.

Beat the dungeon boss

Beyond the door lies a long corridor leading north to the boss. Inspect the stone tablet to create a sparkling blue teleport and smash the pots for hearts and bombs in preparation for the trying battle ahead.

Following the battle, your hourglass becomes fortified with additional Sand of Hours, and thus consequently adding two whole minutes to its duration. On top of that, the Spirit of Wisdom, Nari, joins the team! Two spirits down, one more to go! The ultimate prize, of course, is a Heart Container, which augments your life total. Step into the blue teleport to be whisked away instantly to the temple entrance.

Set sail for Mercay Island

The course has been set to return to the Temple of the Ocean King once again. With two out of three of the required spirits, you can now delve deeper into the temple's unknown. You can simply draw the sea route straight down to return to the Southwestern Sea.