Level 4


 * This article is about the fourth dungeon in The Legend of Zelda. For other uses, see Snake (disambiguation).

Snake, also known simply as Level 4, is the fourth dungeon in The Legend of Zelda.

The Dungeon Entrance
In the First Quest, its entrance is located within the lake area of central Hyrule. The Raft, that is obtained in the previous dungeon, is required to reach this dungeon's entrance. In the Second Quest, the Snake labyrinth's entrance is moved to another location, and is therefor placed in the maze area of Lost Hills. Its entrance, in the form of a hidden stairway, is under a stone which requires the use of the Power Bracelet to be moved.

First Quest
The interior of this dungeon appears to be made of stone bricks, like most dungeons in The Legend of Zelda, with its primary color being dark yellow. This dungeon introduces dark rooms that need to use Candles to illuminate them. As enemies, it introduces the demonic Vire and the uncomfortable Like Like.

The main dungeon item of this dungeon in first quest is the Stepladder, and unlike most dungeons in The Legend of Zelda, the Stepladder is needed to progress further within this dungeon. The Snake dungeon is also the first dungeon in the First Quest to have a mini-boss, Manhandla, whereas the main boss is Gleeok who guards one of the Triforce pieces.

When looked on a map, this dungeon resembles the shape of a snake, hence the dungeon's name.

Second Quest
Of all the dungeons in the Second Quests, Snake is one of the most heavily modified. For example, this is the first dungeon where colored Bubbles appear, with the red ones being able to prevent Link from using his sword permanently unless he touches a Blue Bubble. Additionally, the walls and floors of the dungeon were changed into the color green, thus being more similar to the Manji and Lizard.

The main items of this dungeon in the Second Quest are the Raft and the Magic Book, although only the raft is required for later use in the game. There is also an Old Man who will increase Link's bomb capacity for 100 Rupees. This dungeon is the first to house an old man who requires Link to pay 50 Rupees or give up one of his Heart Containers from his health bar in order to progress further. If Link gives up 'his life' as the man puts it, he will be unable to get it back. This dungeon also has quite a higher number of mini-bosses compared to previous dungeons, having a room with a Digdogger, a room with Aquamentus, a room with a single Dodongo, and another room with three Dodongos. Another Digdogger also appears as the main boss who guards one of the Triforce pieces.

After Link enters the room with the Triforce fragment, he must not retrieve it yet; instead, he first has to keep walking to the right to find some more rooms, and then the Raft. If Link takes the fragment first, then he'll be warped to the game's overworld, but won't be able to find the next dungeon without first exploring once more the one he just cleared so that the Raft is found. This is because the fifth dungeon is on an island, and Link is unable to swim on his own towards it.

The most notable difference in the shape of this dungeon was that it was changed from the shape of a snake into the shape of the letter D, sharing a common link with most second quest dungeon that use letters to make up a word. When the shapes of the Lizard (Letter Z), Eagle (Letter E), Manji (Letter L), Snake (Letter D), and Moon (Letter A) dungeons are listed in that order, they spell Zelda.