Mermaid's Cave

The Mermaid's Cave is the sixth dungeon in, found at the base of Rolling Ridge. This dungeon exists in both the past and the present.

Entrance to the Cave
The entrance to the dungeon is found behind a waterfall at the base of Rolling Ridge. However, the waterfall seems to have dried up in the present, in which case the entrance is simply built into the cliff wall. The Mermaid Key and Old Mermaid Key are required to enter the dungeon in the past and the present, respectively.

Themes and Navigation
The Mermaid's Cave is a water-themed dungeon. Unlike other dungeons in, Link visits this dungeon twice in both the present and past. In order to complete the dungeon in its entirety, Link must travel back and forth through the present and past forms of the dungeon. The dungeon's layout and color scheme differs between the two time periods. During the present, the entire first floor of the Cave somewhat resembles the shape of a Mermaid, hence the name of the dungeon. During the past, the layout only partly resembles the makings of the future layout.

In the present time of Mermaid's Cave, Link finds the mini-boss, Vire, along with the Boss Key. There he also finds the Mermaid Suit, which is required to explore the submerged section of the dungeon in the past. The boss of the dungeon, Octogon, and the Essence of Time it is guarding, are found in the past. After defeating Octogon, Link will receive a Heart Container and the Lonely Peak, his sixth Essence of Time.

Trivia

 * Vire, the dungeon's mini-boss, bears some similarity to Swoop, the mini-boss of the Wing Dungeon. Vire also appears in and.
 * If the floors of this dungeon in the past are combined, they make the shape of the dungeon in the present. This means that between the two ages, something may have caused the floors to drain and merge together.
 * The fewest number of sword slashes to defeat Vire in this dungeon is 2. One must play first and beat that, and then link it up with . One then must use secrets to obtain the Master Sword and equip the Red Ring.