Ancient Cistern

Author: Efrain Silva

The Ancient Cistern is what lies ahead next for your adventure, and now that you only have four more dungeons to beat (with this one as the first), things really look ‘doable’ going onward. You made it this far. Why not keep going and shoot for the ultimate victory at the end of the game? It only makes sense. Take a break to stretch, if you need to, but don’t put down that Wii controller for good because we still have got a lot more progress to make.

But consider your current progress a true stepping stone forward, if you need encouragement ; after all, when you really break down the numbers and think about it, you have now played, typically, about 25+ hours into this game. It has excited you to make all the progress you have made, too, while showing you that it still gets better. And if you want, actually, you can even pause and save your progress, before continuing into this dungeon, and reset your Wii gaming device so that you get back to the main menu screens of the game, which will tell you exactly how many hours of it you have invested in playing so far.

It should motivate you as it did me. And if it’s your second time and not your first, playing perhaps in the newly unlocked Hero Mode for your second time, then all the more encouragement to you. You’re going to need it for the brave soul that you are. Hero Mode, in this dungeon (and in the others) is a heck of a lot harder to master, at first, than Normal Mode could ever hope to become. Hero Mode is Normal Mode’s dangerous newborn grandchild, so to speak…..

Ancient Cistern: The Experience

This blast of an old cistern is known for its ‘chill - to the bone’ feeling. Walk in and you will see an ugly abandonment of danger and evil at every corner, but it’s not like you were planning on going to a birthday party, now, was it? No, your intention here was to seek out and slay --- the baddies only, of course. Lake Floria is where you will find this old temple, going underwater and more to get further in…..

Obstacles

There will be all kinds of pits, obstacles, platforms, doors and rooms that you have never seen anywhere else in all your life. That's good. There is always a first time for every experience, even for a bad one, at best. Your mission here, first of all, is to get to the Stallmaster, which, though he is a mini - boss, by name, is not so “mini” in size. This dungeon foe wants to take everything you have, especially your hope.

Mini Boss

He is a big Stalfos skeleton with four arms, each with a weapon in it. And last time you checked, you only had two, so where is the fair fight? You have to make up for your lack, thus, with greater smarts than this guy can boast….at least you have some flesh on your bones. This guy is all bones.

Two swords, a club, and what looks like an axe on the tip of a long stick, are what this guy wields around. The good news is this though : He is stupid enough not to use all four of his weapons, at once, which means only two arms will be flinging at you at the same time. This is how it will be at first. But after you deliver enough nightmare damage to this guy, he will then unveil his two other arms.

But enjoy things, at first, when he only uses his two regular arms. Because when the two extra arms come out, it is game on, and you better have a hand on each button of your controller. Thankfully, though, when his four weapons are in use, they’ll all still strike in one singular direction, meaning you can dodge or block (using the shield) as you need to. Block one, and you can block the others. He’ll also swing outward and lunge himself, as he needs to, doing every desperate, last little thing he can because he knows he is going down…..

Once he does, rest easy. He’ll just spawn off a few hearts, to help recover your health, and thank you for fighting him. His helmet will fall off, too, and you’ll know he’s not getting back up anytime soon. It will take some time to heal from that, if he ever comes back. But knowing how Zelda works, he will, but in likely a more threatening form than previously….. 

Moving Along Through The Ancient Cistern

You’ll find cursed Bokoblins in corrupted waters as you continue to pass along. This dungeon will try to not let you advance, using more challenges and ‘baddies’ than you can count, among these being those of Burrs as well. Yes, these are like the Bomb Fish with Spikes we have talked about earlier. There will also be another batch of Froaks, on top of these, to look out for. Spikes can kill you here, if you have not noticed already, and they tend to abound in the Ancient Cistern ; after a few hits, you will go down. 

Blue and Green ChuChus roam the rooms as well. So do Green Bokoblins, which are apparently not as equally menacing as their Cursed Bokoblin cousins are. They are a different kind of evil, and we’ll leave it at that. And to add to all this, there’s also some newly formed Skulltulas, which look fatter, darker and juicier than they once used to. 

And of course, they don’t just hang off walls or roofs, but they move around. This makes them more of a menace. But let’s briefly mention your final square - off here, which you’ve been waiting to hear about : Koloktos. He is the last threat you need to beware. Take him to the grave, and the Ancient Cistern will be restored, and evil will no longer dwell there.