The Legend of Zelda/Overworld/Quest 1

It is possible to get half of the items in the game before entering Level 1.

It is actually possible to do it quite quickly if you get all the secret rupees hidden around Hyrule's overworld.

This page guides you through the overworld along the most economical path to get all items and treasures.

Get to the western Fairy Fountain
Link starts the game equipped with a small Shield and three Heart Containers.

On the starting screen, go into the cave, where you will be given the Wooden Sword.

The landscape here is made of green rocks. From there, walk one screen north and two screens west, where you will find a river. Cross the river, follow it south, and enter the cave to get a hint: "Meet the old man at the grave."

Head one screen north and two screens west, where the landscape changes: you're now in the brown forest. From here, walk two screens north, where you find the Fairy Fountain (at D1 in Section 8).

Get some bombs
The Fairy Fountain should become your headquarters, where you can replenish your heart whenever you get near to a critical state.

Fight and defeat the Moblins in the nearby area until they drop some Bombs that you can collect. If you leave one enemy alive in any screen, the other monsters will not respawn: this can be useful to explore and easily backtrack to the Fairy Fountain.

Buy the blue candle
From the Fairy Fountain, walk three screens south then two screens west (when you have a choice of two paths, take the lower one). Use a bomb just right of the notch in the rock wall, and you'll find 30 Rupees.

Now go back to the Fairy Fountain and heal. From there, walk south two screens then four screens east, back in the green rocks area. Set a bomb just to the left of the prominence of the rock wall, and you'll find 30 Rupees.

Go one screen west and enter the door. You can purchase the Blue Candle for 60 Rupees.

Get to the eastern Fairy Fountain
The blue candle can be used to burn trees to reveal secrets. Such secrets are never on the edge of the screen: save time and spare those poor trees.

Go one screen west and then follow the river north. In the next screen you're on Lake Hylia. Follow the coast east.

In the next screen there are six trees in the middle. Use the candle to burn the lower-left one, and you'll get 10 Rupees.

Follow the coast of Lake Hylia one screen north and one east. On this screen burn the fifth tree from the right, and you'll find a fourth Heart Container. Do not choose the potion: that can be purchased elsewhere, but the heart container is unique.

On the next screen, burn the trees in the upper-right corner to find 30 Rupees.

Walk one screen south to leave the Hylia lakeshore and enter the green forest. Walk one screen east, then two screens north, and you'll get to the eastern Fairy Fountain.

Buy a magical shield
Leave the Fairy Fountain and walk two screens east, then you're forced to go south. On the first screen there are six trees in the middle: burn the lower-left one to get 10 Rupees.

Contine south one screen. Now there are several trees in the middle. The third tree from the left on the lower row can be burned down, and this grants you 100 Rupees.

Continue south, and you'll get to the seashore. Place a bomb on the horizontal rock wall to your left, and you'll reveal the fifth Heart Container.

Walk back north two screens in the green forest, then go east two screens (take the top path), then go north one more screen. There are several trees in the middle. Burn the tree on the lower-right, and you'll reveal a shop where you can buy a Magical Shield for just 90 Rupees. You should be left with at least 60 Rupees, plus all the Rupees dropped by defeated enemies.

Get the letter and buy a red potion
From the convenience shop, walk one screen east. Push the Armos on the right, and you can get 10 Rupees.

Back one screen, north one screen. Once more with feeling: push the Armos on the right, and you win 30 Rupees.

Walk north one more screen, and you're on the seashore again. Set a bomb on the horizontal rock wall to the right of the staircase, and you'll find 30 Rupees.

Walk one screen west, and you get at the foot of the eastern mountains. There's a huge rock in the middle of the screen: set a bomb on its lower-right corner, and you can get the sixth Heart Container.

Climb the stairs north, to a screen with eight inanimate Armos. The one to be pushed is the the second one from the right in the upper row. Under it there's a secret hint to find the 7th Dungeon: "Secret is in the tree at the dead-end."

Go east one screen, then go south one screen. Follow the coastline one screen north and one east, then climb the staircase. In the cave the old man gives you the Letter to obtain the potions.

Climb down the stairs, go one screen west, then climb up the next stairs. Place a bomb on the short horizontal part of the rock wall, and you'll meet an old woman. Use the letter, and she'll sell you a Red Potion for 68 Rupees. You should be left with at least 60 Rupees, plus all the Rupees dropped by monsters.

Buy the blue ring
After purchasing the potion, you should be left with at least 60 Rupees, plus all the Rupees dropped by monsters.

Climb down the stairs and walk two screens east, until you get to a dead end. Stand directly next to the right-hand branch of the bigger tree, and walk north straight into the rock wall: you'll get to a secret area that grants you 100 Rupees.

Now it's time to backtrack to the eastern Fairy Fountain and continue on until the western Fairy Fountain. If you remembered to leave one enemy alive on each screen, this should be feasible.

Leave the western Fairy Fountain, and walk one screen east to the coast of Lake Hylia. Follow the coast two screens north. On the top screen, push the upper-middle Armos to reveal a shop. There, you can buy the fabled Blue Ring for a whopping 250 Rupees.

Get the white sword
Follow the lake shore south, east and north. When the landscape changes to brown trees, go north one more screen. In that screen, burn the green tree in the lower-right to get 30 Rupees.

Now, continue west one screen, then follow the river in the eastern mountains. Follow the river up to its spring, and in a cave on the same screen you'll be given the White Sword, but only if you have six heart containers (D1 in Section 3).

Buy the arrows
After heading back to the western Fairy Fountain, leave and walk two screens west. Burn the tree in the lower-right corner to get 10 Rupees.

Walk one screen south and one east. This screen is divided in two by a line of trees. Burn the top tree in the line to get 100 Rupees.

Go north one screen then east two screens, to the coast of Lake Hylia. Go one screen north, then enter the shop to buy the Arrows for 80 Rupees.

Get the Power Bracelet
The Power Bracelet is located on Death Mountain, and this early in the game that area can only be accessed through the graveyard. Both areas are filled with strong monsters, but you should have enough equipment to make it. It is advised that you replenish your health at the Fairy Fountain beforehand.

After doing so, leave the western Fairy Fountain and walk one screen west, one screen south (take the left path), and one screen west again. You are now in the Forest Maze (B1 in Section 8).

In the Forest Maze, it can get very confusing. The North, South and West paths all feed back into the same area in a loop. The only two ways to leave the Forest Maze are by going east one screen, or by a secret method which is currently the only way to get to the graveyard.

The secret method is: walk one screen north, then one screen west, then one screen south, and finally one screen west again. You should now be at the entrance of the graveyard (A3 in Section 8).

Walk three screens north then three screens east (to D4 in Section 7); climb the stairs on the right and walk one screen east (to A3 in Section 5). You are now at the foot of Death Mountain. On this screen there are two rows of Armos: push the one on the upper-right corner to reveal the Power Bracelet.

There is one last hidden stash left. Walk one screen north and one west. Place a bomb in the upper-left corner of the wall rock to reveal 30 Rupees.

Now you can backtrack to the western Fairy Fountain. You can also use the power bracelet to reveal underground passageways and skip the graveyard. Visit the same shop on lake Hylia that sells the Blue Ring: there you can buy the Monster Bait for the lowest price.

Summary
You can now enter Dungeon 1 equipped with:
 * 6 Heart Containers instead of 3
 * White Sword instead of Wooden sword
 * Magical Shield instead of the small shield
 * Blue Ring
 * Bombs, Blue Candle, Red Potion and Power Bracelet
 * Arrows and bait (to be used later)