Ganon's Tower (A Link to the Past)

Ganon's Tower, also known as the Level 8 in the Gameboy Advance version of A Link to the Past and Tower of Ganon, is the final Dungeon in.

Themes and Navigation
Ganon's Tower is located in the Dark World. The seal on it can be only broken by the descendants of the Seven Sages, and as such, Link must free the Seven Maidens to break the barrier and reveal the staircase leading to the inside of the tower.

Ganon's Tower consists of a large basement where the Red Mail, Map and Compass are located; however, all of these items are optional and are not required to complete the Dungeon. Link will, however, have to negotiate this floor in order to reach the sub-basement where the Big Key is located. In order to obtain the Big Key and thus the Red Mail, Link must fight the Armos Knights from the first Light World Dungeon. Above the ground floor are four floors leading to a balcony where Agahnim waits. Each of the floors are infested with enemies that will try to impede Link's progress, but the young hero is not required to defeat most of the enemies to scale up the tower. He is, however, required to fight the other two Light World bosses again as he ascends, making it necessary to fight all three Light World bosses to complete the Dungeon. Most rooms are also filled with deadly obstacles like spikes and conveyer belts, and even the former bosses appearing as minibosses have hazards added to their rooms. Once Link reaches the balcony, he must fight Agahnim yet again where, upon the wizard's defeat, Ganon abandons Agahnim's body and escapes to the inside of the Pyramid of Power.

A Link to the Past comic
Ganon's Tower is also featured in the A Link to the Past comic. After Zelda is rescued from Turtle Rock, she asks for the Maiden's help to allow Link, Roam, and her to enter the pitch-dark tower. Inside, The group is attacked by illusions of Link's past foes, and when Roam attacks a specter of Agahnim that was dangerously approaching Zelda, he is killed, with Ganon afterwards rising from the defeated illusion.

Link attacks Ganon but he is easily thrown back by Ganon's Trident. With Ganon distracted fighting Link, Zelda takes up Roam's Crossbow as Link is trapped in between the trident. While Ganon mocks Zelda, Link uses the opportunity to slash the evil thief's trident in half and, as he is falling down, the young hero slashes over Ganon's chest, leaving him paralyzed. Zelda begins to ask for the aid of the maidens and fires an ordinary arrow from the crossbow, but as it approaches Ganon, the power of the maidens, Zelda, Link, and Roam, turn the arrow into the Silver Arrow, destroying Ganon. The Triforce rises from his body, and the Essence of the Triforce tells Link that the Triforce is waiting for a new master now that Ganon has been defeated, asking that the young hero touch it with a wish in his heart. As Link touches the Triforce, Epheremelda sadly bids him goodbye, and Link and Zelda are transported back to Hyrule.

Trivia

 * In the A Link to the Past comic and in A Link to the Past manga by Akira Himekawa, Ganon's stronghold is shown to be a massive spiked orb floating in the air, similar in appearance to an urchin, and inside is nothing but an empty black void. However, it is still addressed as "Ganon's Tower."