Palace of Darkness

The Palace of Darkness (ヤミの神殿, Darkness Temple) is the first dungeon of the Dark World in A Link to the Past, and the fifth dungeon overall. When Link enters the dungeon in the Game Boy Advance remake of the game, its name is just "Dark Palace".

It is located in the east, in the area were first stood the Eastern Palace. Access to the dungeon is granted by walking through the maze. Eventually, a monkey named Kiki follows Link and asks for ten rupees. Link gives him the requested amount and continues towards the dungeon. There, the monkey will offer to reveal the dungeon's entrance for one hundred more rupees. Link gives him these as well and the monkey opens the dungeon for Link by hopping onto an otherwise inaccessible switch.

Concept
The first room is a replica of that of the Eastern Palace, but the rest of the dungeon is entirely different. Some rooms are filled with holes; some of them lead to lower floors, others don't. In order to avoid falling, Link runs into the chasms from parts marked by yellow arrows in the floors and automatically jumps into a safe ground. Some objects can push Link if he touches them, the same thing can happen to some enemies. Certain creatures mimic Link's moves (much like the statues controlled by the Dominion Rod in Twilight Princess), and if one faces the young hero directly, a beam will be shot. They're easy to defeat, though, thanks to the arrows. The main treasure is the Magic Hammer, vital to remove hardened obstacles. The end boss is the dreaded Helmasaur King. After defeating him Link receives a Heart Container and the first crystal.