Link’s Awakening – How to complete Level 3 Key Cavern

Once you’ve found the Slime Key and opened up Key Cavern you can begin Level 3. In this guide, I’ll go through each step to complete the Key Cavern Dungeon in Link’s Awakening.

Before you enter the dungeon go to the shop in Mabe Village and buy some bombs, for one particular part of this dungeon you’re going to need them. If you can afford it, buy 20-30 just to make sure.

When you first enter the dungeon you’ll be faced with a door with a pot drawing on it. You’ll want to pick up a pot and throw it at the door to open the door. Go through to the next room and kill all the enemies there to reveal a chest with a small key inside.

Keep going north until you find some stairs. Go down the stairs and use your small key on the door to the north. Kill all the enemies in the room to drop a small key, pick that up and hit the switch.

Go back out of the room and use the small key on the door to the left. Here you’ll find some enemies that look like birds and shoot stars at you. When you get near them they teleport away. What you want to do here is place bombs where they teleport to and jump over the gap to make them teleport into the bombs. You can also throw bombs at the enemies from a distance. Once you’ve killed them a small key will be revealed.

Get the Stone Beak

Go up the stairs and open up the chest that you can now access because the blue blocks have been removed by hitting the switch earlier. Go back down the stairs and speak to the bird and he’ll teach you to long jump by saying ‘Far away… do not fear – dash and fly’. This indicates the item for the dungeon will be the Pegasus boots, helping you run fast.

Get the map

Go back towards the start of the dungeon to the room with the four green slime enemies in the room, where you revealed the chest with the slime inside. Go to the right and now you can access the raised platform because the blue blocks are removed from your path by hitting the switch earlier. Kill the enemies and open the chest to reveal the map.

Go back to the room where you had four locked doors and this time opens up the door to the south. Kill all the enemies, being careful not to get knocked down the hole in the middle. You can use the directional floor tiles and bombs to kill the enemies. Once you kill them you’ll get another small key allowing you to open up the final locked door in the room with four locked doors. Open up the one to the right.

In the next room kill all the enemies and then go up the stairs. Walk around the room to reveal the slime enemies and kill them to reveal a small key. Go north and to the left, kill the red slimes and then north again to face off against the mini-boss.

Mini-boss

Two large slug-like creatures crawl around the room with their mouths open. You’ll want to place bombs in front of them, so they eat the bombs and kill them. Hitting them with your sword is no good here.

Get the Pegasus Boots

Once you have killed the mini-boss go right and move the blocks out the way and open the chest to reveal the Pegasus Boots. These are equipped the whole time and you can run fast by using L. You can also dash jump by running and then jumping, allowing you to jump further than before.

Back in the room with the locked blocks, you’ll want to go to the left, through the door and kill the teleporting enemies. This will reveal a small key. Pick up the small key and go north, kill the enemies in the room and reveal the chest on the raised area of the level.

Continue north and kill all the enemies in the room. Go up the stairs and access the chest that fell down moments ago to reveal 50 rupees. Go down the stairs and open up the locked blocks.

Nightmare Key

Just to the right of the final locked block, you can go north. You’ll see a big arrow on the floor. The Stone Bird Statue here says to use the tip of your sword to listen to the sound of the walls. Place a bomb at the tip of the arrow to reveal a door. Jump over the gap with a long jump and pick up the Nightmare Key.

Get the compass

Jump down and go through the door to the north and kill the enemies to open the door. Kill the enemies again to reveal the compass. Now it’s time to find the final key to open the locked block.

Small keys

Go back to the start of the dungeon and you’ll want to make your way to the right. There’s a force that will prevent you from gaining access to the chest by pushing you away, however, if you run into it then you’ll be able to kill it and gain access to the chest. A small key is inside the chest. The final small key you are looking for is in the room to the north of the castle with the chest in the middle of nine blue blocks.

Remembering what the Stone Bird Statue said before and use your sword on the wall to find a wall that sounds different, go to the left-hand wall and search there with your sword. When you find a section of the wall that sounds different then the rest use a bomb there to reveal a door. Kill the bombs and reveal the final small key. Now you know why it’s called Key Cavern.

Go down the stairs and use and run against the Thwomp. Run and jump again over the gap and cling onto the ladder and up into the next room. Here there are lots of teleporting enemies and rubber shapes. Make your way through to the next room and open the boss door.

Boss Battle – Slime Eye

The boss here is a huge slime with one eye, known as Slime Eye. You’ll want to hit the eye to split him in half and then run into the gap, separating the Slime.

Once the slime has been split into two parts you can focus your attacks on the eyes. They will jump up and try and attack you from above, but move out of the way of their attacks and hit the eyes with your sword to kill them. Once you’ve killed them you’ll get a heart container.

Go north and pick up the next instrument – the Sea Lily’s Bell.