In part three of our Zelda: Link's Awakening walkthrough his continuing adventures, we deal with a dastardly dognapping, step into a suspicious swamp and delve into the game’s second dungeon.
BowWow And Goponga Swamp Walkthrough
Returning to Mabe Village
Start heading back towards Mabe Village and you are immediately stopped by the wise Owl, clarifying your goal on the island and suggesting your next destination:
Hoot! That is an Instrument of the Sirens!
I have to admit, at first I did not believe you were real…
That instrument, along with the seven others in the set, has the power to wake the Wind Fish!
You must collect them all! I was instructed to give you directions…
Your next goal is north, in Goponga Swamp! Hoot, indeed!
Goponga Swamp will be our ultimate destination, however, Link’s quest is rarely without detours. Return to Mabe and you’ll see what we mean.
As you enter the village’s southern entrance, the two kids that usually play there (Joonya and Kidoh) frantically approach you and let you know that the village was attacked while you were gone:
Hey, buddy! It’s serious! Yeah, really serious!
Yeah, it is! The moblins came to the village!
Yeah, that’s right! A whole gang of moblins!
Then… It’s for real! They all went to the house…
It was a really bad scene, with the m-m-moblins!
The house they’re talking about is Madam MeowMeow’s (in the centre of the village), her pet chain chomp BowWow conspicuously absent. She laments:
AIEEEEEEEE! It’s terrrrible! My BowWow was dognapped by… M-M-MOBLINS!
OHHH! AHHH! Please! Somebody help my poor BowWow!
That someone, of course, is you. You’re not just doing this out of the goodness of your heart though – if you were to head directly to the Goponga Swamp, you would find that he is name-dropped by a sign there, and it turns out he’s actually the key to gaining access to the next dungeon.
Before leaving Mabe, visit the tool store and trendy game to pick up any items you haven’t purchased yet (we recommend completing the first steps of the trading quest if you haven’t already, and purchasing a shovel, as BowWow can help sniff out buried secret seashells).
Rescuing BowWow from the Moblin Cave
The game is vague about where exactly the Moblins reside, seemingly because the designers want you to take the initiative to explore some of the new paths opened up by the Roc’s Feather item you picked up in the Tail Cave – specifically, the path north of where you found the toadstool and the paths available on Koholint Prairie (where you took the toadstool to gain the magic powder).
The latter (Koholint Prairie) is the one you should visit first – accessible from the Mysterious Forest’s northeast exit. Use Roc’s Feather to jump over the pits surrounding the heart piece, head north and then east.
On the lower pathway, you will find an owl statue with some cryptic words and the entrance to the Moblins’ Cave. Step inside and you’ll encounter a couple of rooms of Moblins to defeat: in the first, a sword and shield Moblin (which must be staggered with your shield before you can do damage with your sword). Then, you’ll have to clear a room of four spear throwing moblins (keep your shield up until there is an opening to attack).
In the third room, you will have to fight the Moblin Chief. Deflect his spear-throws with your shield and watch for him beating his chest with his fists – this means he’s going to charge, and if you get out of the way in time, he will slam into the wall and become vulnerable to hits from your sword.
Once the chief is dealt with. head through the next door to the final room and free BowWow. BowWow is a very useful ally – in addition to clearing the path to the next dungeon, he will attack enemies and even tell you to dig for secret seashells!
Heading to Goponga Swamp with BowWow
Return to the Mysterious Forest, and the clearing in which you found the Sleepy Toadstool (via the log leading to the short cave system – you may want to take one back to the witch if you are running low on Magic Powder, as this item is used in the next dungeon). If you head north you will come across a pit that previously blocked your path – use Roc’s Feather to jump over it and continue north to exit the forest.
Explore the area on the other side of the pits here if you want – there are rupees in the caves and a new NPC to meet (Mr. Write, who doesn’t have anything useful for you at this point). Once you’re done, head east to Goponga Swamp.
Head to the northeast of the swamp, weaving in and out of the vines as you go. BowWow will attack any Goponga Flowers he sees, including a Giant Goponga Flower blocking access to a chest with 50 rupees inside, and most importantly the flowers in front of the entrance to Goponga Swamp’s dungeon – the Bottle Grotto. When you’re ready, step inside.
Great work! To continue our Zelda: Link's Awakening walkthrough we need to head inside the Bottle Grotto before learning How To Defeat The Bottle Grotto Boss.
Comments 3
That first part of Bottle Grotto infuriated me to no end, there is absolutely no reason to believe that you can use Magic Powder to light torches. It isn't mentioned or hinted at in any way in the game and doesn't make any logical sense. What a Guide Dang It moment.
@Bolt_Strike I believe the Witch actually encourages you to light the torch in her hut if you talk to her after she's handed over the powder... but I was about 5 dungeons in before I found this out
@kupocake Would've been better if that dialogue had taken place while she's giving you the Magic Powder instead of afterwards. Then that would make sure the player knows Magic Powder can do that.
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