Beneath Hyrule Castle

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Beneath Hyrule Castle is a location in Tears of the Kingdom, serving as both the first and final area of the game.[1] It is a forbidden zone that descends into the very deepest part of Hyrule's Depths. A Stone Tablet in the Royal Hidden Passage indicates that the area beneath the castle was originally accessible through the passage.[2] As the entrance evidently collapsed during the Upheaval, it can now only be reached through the Hyrule Castle Chasm.

Initial Appearances

Prologue

After Gloom starts to seep out from below Hyrule Castle and makes nearby people fall ill, Purah tasks Link and Zelda with investigating the source, which originates in a tunnel system deep Beneath Hyrule Castle. Entry to the tunnels below the castle is forbidden to all, including the Royal Family of Hyrule, though the reason why has been lost to history.

Upon arrival to the area known as the Forgotten Foundation, Zelda notes that the concentration of Gloom found Beneath Hyrule Castle is relatively mild in spite of the effects it has on the people of the Surface. While investigating, Zelda discovers signs of Ruins belonging to the ancient Zonai people and excitedly documents her findings with the Purah Pad. She eventually comes across a series of murals, which she deduces must be about the origin of Hyrule Kingdom and the Imprisoning War that followed. A series of murals to the right of the central relief are concealed by rocks so cannot be viewed.

As they descend further down Beneath Hyrule Castle, the Gloom grows thicker. Eventually, they stumble upon a mummified body held in place by a Right Arm. This Arm releases its grip on the body when Zelda approaches, causing the Secret Stone on the back of its hand to fall to Zelda's feet. When she picks it up, the mummy awakens and attacks with tendrils of Gloom. While defending her against the Gloom, Link's Master Sword is heavily damaged and breaks. Before they can muster a counterattack against the mummy, he launches a burst of Gloom upwards, tearing the earth surrounding most of Hyrule Castle and sending it into the Sky. This also causes the ground beneath the three of them to give way, sending them all into freefall. The Secret Stone in Zelda's possession begins to glow, causing her to disappear. Link is saved by the Right Arm, which Warps him away to the Room of Awakening atop the Great Sky Island.

The Imprisoning War

Rauru seals the Demon King.

The area is seen again in Memory #14 "The Imprisoning War". In the distant past, Rauru leads the Six Sages in a battle against Demon King Ganondorf Beneath Hyrule Castle to bring an end to the Imprisoning War. With no other choice but to sacrifice himself, Rauru relies on the Six Sages to distract the Demon King long enough to grab hold of his chest and bind his heart, simultaneously draining his Magic in the process. This sacrifice traps both of them in place for millennia while Rauru waits for Link and Zelda to arrive in the Era of the Wilds, where they can destroy Ganondorf with the Sword that Seals the Darkness.

The room in which this occurs later comes to be known as the Imprisoning Chamber. The entire area beneath the castle is sealed off throughout the ages with access forbidden to all, including the Royal Family of Hyrule.

Entrance to Beneath Hyrule Castle

The area is revisited for the final Main Quest to Destroy Ganondorf. Demon King Ganondorf is convalescing Beneath Hyrule Castle in the Central Hyrule Depths, and can be faced here at any point after returning to the surface from the Great Sky Island. However, Link will only learn of the Demon King's location after defeating Master Kohga at the Abandoned Hebra Mine.

The destruction wrought by the Upheaval has collapsed the entrance in the Royal Hidden Passage, making it impassable. The only way to access the location is through the Hyrule Castle Chasm that has opened directly below the castle. A cave at the base of the chasm known as Gloom's Approach leads to the ruins and tunnels that make up the passage to the Forgotten Foundation.

Themes and Navigation

The Upheaval appears to have had a profound impact on the area; many passageways are blocked, Zonai-built structures have entered states of extreme disrepair, and an extremely high concentration of Gloom is prevalent all throughout. The Gloom has corrupted the many monsters that now inhabit the passage, turning the area Beneath Hyrule Castle into a long and dangerous gauntlet to its deepest depths.

As Link gets close to the Forgotten Foundation, the avatars of the Sages (if he has received their vows) will disappear, being unable to reach Link at such extreme depths. In the central chamber of the Forgotten Foundation, the rocks covering a series of murals can be blown apart to reveal three additional depictions: the final battle of the Imprisoning War between the sages and Ganondorf, Zelda with the Master Sword, and the Light Dragon. A passage descends further to the cavern in which Link and Zelda first encountered Ganondorf, now revealed as the Imprisoning Chamber. The ground of the chamber has since given way to a huge chasm referred to as Gloom's Lair. A tunnel at the base leads to another chasm that leads deeper still into the depths. A stone platform reaches over the void, and Link can dive from it to begin the final confrontation.

Rising out of the void is an enormous tree-like structure, with roots and branches made out of solidified Gloom. The front of the tree bears a demonic face, with a mouth covered in covered in brightly glowing, pulsing, Gloom. When Link reaches a platform at the base, an all-out war will break out with monsters forming The Demon King's Army being summoned in several waves. If Link has acquired the vows of the sages, those sages will physically appear in-person to assist him in the battle. Following the battle, the mouth will open to reveal a passageway and Colgera, Marbled Gohma, Mucktorok, Queen Gibdo, Seized Construct, and Phantom Ganon are summoned to confront Link. If they have not been defeated during the main quest, Link will have to face the undefeated bosses in succession before being able to proceed. If all bosses have been previously defeated, the sages will urge Link to proceed onwards while each taking on a boss and caving in the passage behind Link. At this point, the only way to move forward is to confront Demon King Ganondorf in the very deepest depths of Hyrule, Gloom's Origin.

Areas

Minor Enemies

All enemies in this location after the Upheaval are Gloom-Wreathed.

Before Upheaval

After Upheaval

Raids

The Demon King's Army

Bosses that Link has not yet defeated will be challenged here in succession following the previous waves.

Bosses

Trivia

  • Beneath Hyrule Castle is the deepest point in Hyrule, with the Z-axis coordinates for Gloom's Origin being -2500.
  • The music will change once Link reaches Forgotten Foundation and its intensity will increase the closer Link is in distance to Gloom's Origin.
  • Gloom's Origin can only be visited during the final confrontation, though it is not possible to save the game, leave, or teleport away once this has begun.


Nomenclature

ZW Nomenclature Asset.png Names in Other Regions ZW Nomenclature Asset 2.png
LanguageNames
Japan
Japanese
ハイラルじょう城ちか地下
The Republic of ChinaThe Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of ChinaThe Macao Special Administrative Region of China
ChineseTR
海拉魯城堡的地下 (Hǎilālǔ chéngbǎo de dìxià)
The People's Republic of China
ChineseSI
海拉鲁城堡的地下 (Hǎilālǔ chéngbǎo de dìxià)
Canada
FrenchCA
Sous-sols du château d'Hyrule
The French Republic
FrenchEU
Sous-sols du château d'Hyrule
The Federal Republic of Germany
German
Schloss-Hyrule-Untergrund
The Italian Republic
Italian
Sotterranei del castello
The Republic of Korea
Korean
하이랄 성 지하
The Kingdom of Spain
SpanishEU
Cimientos del castillo de Hyrule
This table was generated using translation pages.
To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ "Beneath Hyrule Castle" — Game Screen (Tears of the Kingdom)
  2. ↑ "Deep beneath this land, our mighty first ruler imprisoned the Demon King.
    To ensure the king's magic would hold, we erected a castle here to protect this sacred site.
    Without the castle in place, the site may be disturbed, allowing the Demon King's hatred and rage to be revived.
    The preservation of this castle is therefore tied to the prosperity of the kingdom.
    May it watch over an eternal peace.    " — Stone Tablet (Tears of the Kingdom)
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