Skull Woods

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Not to be confused with Skeleton Forest, or Skull Dungeon from Oracle of Ages.

Skull Woods
Entrance to the final branch of the dungeon
Location(s)	Skeleton Forest
Game(s)	A Link to the Past
Main Item	Fire Rod
Boss(es)	Mothula
Quest Reward(s)	Crystal
Element(s)
Theme Music	Dark World Dungeon

The Skull Woods, also known as the Skull Dungeon^[1] or Skull Palace^[2] is the third dungeon in the Dark World in A Link to the Past.

Contents 1 Entrance to the Dungeon 2 Themes and Navigation 3 Enemies and Traps 4 Trivia 5 References

Entrance to the Dungeon

The Skull Woods dungeon is found in Skeleton Forest (the Dark World counterpart of Lost Woods), north of the Village of Outcasts. Unlike other dungeons, it has a vast number of entrances throughout the forest, hidden within large, gaping skulls. It is also possible to enter the dungeon by dropping through pits in the forest floor. The dungeon sprawls under almost the entirety of the Skeleton Forest. The number of entrances to this dungeon, a total of eight in all, makes it entirely unique among Zelda dungeons.

Themes and Navigation

While Link can enter almost any entrance first, the section of the dungeon that leads to the boss is cut off from the rest of the dungeon, similar to the Desert Palace. To reach the Dungeon Master, Link must enter a huge insect-like skull near the resting place of the Master Sword in the Light World. To enter this part of the dungeon, Link will first have to obtain the Fire Rod, then locate the correct exit to reach this final section.

The dungeon introduces the powerful Gibdos to the game, and also the notorious Wallmaster, who for the first time in the series drops from the ceiling, dragging Link back to where he entered the dungeon. With the variety of entrances, this can get very disorientating. The dungeon also makes heavy use of Star Tiles, which rearrange the layout of the pitfalls found on the floors throughout the dungeon. To reach the Fire Rod, Link will have to destroy an entire a wall to reach the Big Chest, which is otherwise inaccessible. The Fire Rod is vital in the dungeon, able to destroy the immensely resilient Gibdos in one hit, and is required to light torches from a distance so Link can reach the Dungeon Master, Mothula. Mothula is also unique among bosses in the game, as the room itself is more of an enemy than it is, with moving a moving floor and unpredictable Traps lining the arena. After defeating it, Link will receive a Heart Container and the third Crystal.

Enemies and Traps

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  Bari

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  Bari

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  Biri

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  Bumper

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  Gibdo

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  Guruguru Bar

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  Hardhat Beetle

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  Hardhat Beetle

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  Helmasaur

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  Mini-Moldorm

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  Rabbit Beam

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  Spark

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  Stalfos

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  Stalfos

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  Trap

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  Wallmaster

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  Winder

Trivia

• In the Japanese version of the game, both the Skeleton Forest and Skull Woods share the same name, Dokuro no Mori, meaning "Skull Forest". There is no apparent distinction between the forest and the dungeon itself in terms of their name. This also applies to the Thieves' Town and Misery Mire dungeons.

References

1. ↑ "The passages of Skull Dungeon were connected by a network of dungeon entrances on the forest floor." (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Nintendo Player's Guide (Nintendo of America Inc.), pg. 84)
2. ↑ "By taking the exit from the second stage of the Skull Palace, Link discovered the main entrance—a giant skull with columns made of bones." (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Nintendo Player's Guide (Nintendo of America Inc.), pg. 127)

Names in Other Regions
Language		Name	Meaning
Japanese		ドクロの森 (Dokuro no Mori)	Skull Forest
French		Foret de Squelettes	Skeleton Forest
German		Skelettwald	Skeleton Forest
Italian		Bosco d'ossa	Forest of Bones