Link’s Awakening has an optional dungeon, Color Dungeon, you can tackle after you retrieve the Pegasus Boots from Key Cavern. Your reward in this dungeon is a new outfit that will increase either your attack or your defense. Below, you’ll find a walkthrough for every step of the process, from finding the entrance to defeating the boss.
Table of contents
- Go to the library in Mabe Village
- Go to the Cemetery
- Color Dungeon item and boss locations
- Find the Compass
- Find the Stone Beak
- Go to Giant Buzz Blob mini-boss fight
- Giant Buzz Blob
- Get the Nightmare Key
- Get to Dekudon mini-boss fight
- Dekudon mini-boss fight
- Find the Color Dungeon Map
- Get to the Hardhit Beetle boss fight
- Hardhit Beetle boss fight
- Pick your new outfit
Go to the library in Mabe Village
Return to the library in Mabe Village. There’s a book teetering on top of the shelves along the top wall. Dash at that wall to knock it free.
It will give you a code to enter this hidden dungeon: 3 up, 4 right, 5 up, 2 left, 1 down.
Go to the Cemetery
Now head to the cemetery. From the Ukuku Prairie warp pad (due east of the Mabe Village shop), head up and climb the ladder. Continue north until you get to the Witch’s house (where you can stock up on Magic Powder — you’ll need it soon).
Turn right to find the Cemetery. Go to the bottom right corner.
Touch each of the headstones — but don’t move them — to summon the Ghinis inside. Take out the first of them — the one that was floating around before you got here — to destroy them all.
Now, use the instructions from the book to move the headstones. The numbers from the book are the order you need to push the stones in. (If you screw up, head into the Witch’s house to reset the cemetery.)
- Move the bottom right (it’s in the middle) down.
- Bottom left left.
- Upper left up.
- Top middle right.
- Top right up.
This will uncover some stairs (and play that oh-so-satisfying discovery sound). Head down the stairs.
Color Dungeon item and boss locations
The map above shows an overview of the Color Dungeon. We’ve marked the locations of the important items like the Compass, Stone Beak, and Map, as well as the Fairy Queen. We’ve also marked the boss fights locations.
Find the Compass
The Color Guard will sell you Magic Powder at an exorbitant markup if you need it. Head u,a and take out the three enemies to unlock the door to the right.
To turn all the statues in this room blue:
- Hit the top left red one once.
- Hit the bottom right red one once.
Open the chest that appears to get for the Compass.
Bomb the bottom wall of this room to open a room full of rupees.
Find the Stone Beak
From the Compass room, head right two rooms.
The Red and Blue Karakoro in the next room will turn into a ball when you hit them. Slash once, pick them up, and then throw them into the corresponding colored hole. Sink them both, and a chest will appear with the Stone Beak.
Go to Giant Buzz Blob mini-boss fight
From the Karakoro puzzle, go up. Take out the Bone Putters, and go up again.
To turn all the balls blue again:
- Hit the bottom right yellow one once.
- Hit the upper left red one twice.
Do that and a Small Key will fall. Go right.
Take out the three Goblins and unlock the door at the top. Head through to your first mini-boss fight.
Giant Buzz Blob
You can’t hit the Blob with your sword until you hit it with some Magic Powder. So make sure your that’s equipped.
Get close, throw the powder, and then swing. The Powder will make the Blob revert to its blob form, and you can deal damage.
The Blob will jump and try to land on you — and will deal a bunch of damage if it does. Just keep moving, and then spin around and swing as soon as it hits the ground. You’ll have to hit it six or so times to defeat it.
Get the Nightmare Key
From the Giant Buzz Blob mini-boss fight, go left. Push the top and bottom blocks to the left, and then push the middle block up to open a path. Open the chest for the Nightmare Key.
Get to Dekudon mini-boss fight
Backtrack to the room with the Karakoros — each room only has one other door, so you can’t get lost. Go down this time.
Get rid of the goblins to go left. (And smash the pots to get some Magic Powder.)
Open the chest in the next room for another Small Key.
Go up through the one-way door. Go up and unlock the door at the top of the room.
Dekudon mini-boss fight
Dekudon has one attack that is kind of two attacks. It’ll jump and do a ground pound that will stun you, and that ground pound will also cause boulders to bounce around the room. Jump to avoid his ground pound attack so you’re not stunned and can avoid the boulders.
You can slash at it if you want, or stay along the bottom edge of the room and toss bombs at it. Either way works, but we prefer bombs.
Once it’s defeated, collect your fairy.
Find the Color Dungeon Map
From the Dekudon mini-boss fight, go left. You can ignore the Bone Putters in the next room. Just get to the top left, lift the pot, and step on the switch.
Go up.
Take out all the Zols to get a chest to appear and collect the Color Dungeon Map.
Go right.
Get all the Karakoros into the correctly colored holes to get another Small Key to drop.
Get to the Hardhit Beetle boss fight
From the second Karakoro puzzle, backtrack left and down, and then go left again.
Once again, you have to hit balls to turn them all blue. This one is actually easier than it looks. You’re only going to hit the balls that were originally red. Hit the top center, the middle left, the middle right, and the bottom middle in order.
Go left.
Head to the bottom left corner. Make sure you’re standing on the blue tile, and hit the crystal. Go up and use the Nightmare Key.
Hardhit Beetle boss fight
Each time you hit the Hardhit Beetle, its shell will turn a different color. It’ll also get a little more aggressive and shoot things at you. Your goal is to turn its shell red, and then hit it one more time.
If a few seconds pass and you haven’t hit it, though, it’ll de-escalate one color. Keep your shield up and keep pressing the attack.
Toward the end of the fight, it’ll summon some green Stalfos — don’t let them distract you. Dash and block until you land that final hit.
Pick your new outfit
From the Hardhit Beetle boss fight, go right.
Talk to the Fairy Queen. She’ll give you a choice of colors to buff one of your abilities. Powerful red mail will increase your attack strength, while Sturdy blue mail will increase your defense.