Zelda II: The Adventure of Link/Maze Palace

A new continent
After shoving off from the dock in West Hyrule, you will float across the water to the dock on East Hyrule. The challenge is greater here, and you will encounter many enemies who are much more difficult to hit, and even harder to kill.

Your first destination should be the town directly to your east. However, it's not such a long detour to visit the Secret Forest (label 1 on the map) and collect the 200 point bag that is contained within. It's very far out of the way, but if you happen to find yourself on the left side of the lake below, you can find the home of a fairy (label 2 on the map) who can restore your health.

Nabooru Town
The towns in the east are not so different from the towns in the west. You will pick up quite a bit of information here, but the most important tip is to visit a man in Darunia before you travel to the palace. You will come across a woman who complains of thirst. Ironically, her house is situated right next door to a fountain. Since she won't help herself, you'll have to help her out. Walk over to the fountain and investigate it to collect the water, then return to her. She will invite you in to talk to her father. Inside, you will meet a Wizard who will teach you Fire magic, a spell which allows your sword to fire a ball of flame at any level of health. You'll need it against certain tougher opponents in this land.

There's not much else to do in Nabooru except get healed, so you may as well be on your way. Before we head to Darunia, there's a cave to the south that's worth checking out. Head due south from the town and you'll see a cave to the right of the river devil which blocks your entry to the southern regions of the continent. Head inside the cave, and prepare to cast Fire if you wish to defeat the two Tektites that live within. In the next segment is a Skettlar which you can only hurt when its eye is open. However, you can use the Downward Thrust against this creature at those moments, making it a little easier to defeat. It's guarding a 500 point bag in the back. Collect it at all costs!

Now head north of Nabooru Town to the Nabooru cave. In this cave, a couple of Achemen will swoop down from the ceiling in an effort to attack you. Defeat them and advance until you see the Basilisk. This is another enemy which can only be defeated by employing the spell of Fire. Once you're through the cave, head west to reach Darunia. As you travel through the desert area, you will be forced into a side-scrolling view of a rising slope occupied by Blue Octoroks. They should present little trouble for you. However, immediately beyond that is a repeat scenario, only there are deadly bubbles rising throughout the screen as well. Do your best to avoid them.

Darunia Town
Darunia Town appears to be stricken with the same curse as Saria Town, which converts its citizens into bats after you talk to some of them. Be very careful when talking to the wandering townsfolk. There are two lessons to learn in this town. One is from the second soldier who can teach you a new attack technique. Like the first soldier in Mido Town, this soldier is hiding out from Ganon's forces, and you'll need to figure out how to locate him.

In the second segment, you may notice a low-lying building with a solid roof that you can't jump through. If you cast the spell of Jump, you can get on top of it and advance to the right on top of the roofs. Eventually, you will return to the first house, with a chimney. Jump on to the chimney and squat down, and you will drop into the house below. There you will find the soldier, who will teach you the technique of the Upward Thrust (hold while jumping). This will be helpful against floating enemies such as Moas.

The second lesson is from the town's Wizard, but the only citizen who appears to need help is an old lady in the third segment of town who asks you to rescue the kidnapped child who has been taken to "the island." The island in question here is Maze Island, far to the east. When you are prepared, leave town and make your way back to Nabooru Cave, and onward to the long bridge that leads to Maze Island. Along the way, if you search the edge of the beach (label 3 on the map), you will discover an extra 1-Up Doll.

An island labyrinth
In an unusual twist for the game, the trip across the long bridge to Maze Island is instantaneous. Just set foot on the bridge, and you will find that you have arrived.

Rescuing the child
Your first step should be to rescue the child, which is actually quite simple. Take the southernmost route to the east side of the island. Continue along the bottom and travel up the right side and into a dead-end, and you will fall into a pit. The pit is occupied by a single orange Lizardman, probably the first you have ever encountered. Fight him exactly as you would an Ironknuckle. He is guarding the kidnapped child, so defeat the Lizardman and walk to the right to collect the Lost Child. Now you must return to Darunia Town and return the child to the old lady in the third segment. She will invite you into her home, where you can meet the Wizard who will teach you the sixth spell of Reflect, a spell which is required for the completion of the fourth palace. You must have four magic containers to get the spell so don't forget to get the fourth one from the maze island.

Reaching the palace
Once you have the spell of Reflect, return to Maze Island and embark on your quest to reach the palace. You will have to travel through various pathways of the island. Along the way, you will be forced into several side-scrolling encounters. Be prepared to fight against Octoroks, Tektites, and Basilisks. To make the trip worthwhile, be sure to visit the area labeled 2 on the map. If you do, you will fall into a pit and find a Magic Container, raising your magic meter from six bars to seven.

There are several ways to reach the palace. You can take your choice, but you will find forced encounters no matter which path you take. In general, you must travel up the left side of the island, across the top, and back down the right side of the island to reach the palace. A couple of forced encounters contain red potions which will help you keep your health up.

Maze Palace

 * A: Right when you enter the palace, you will be confronted by Wizzrobes who cast a wave of magic at you. As soon as you see them, cast Reflect, and duck down to reflect the spells they cast back at them with your shield.  Remove them before continuing; they usually appear in pairs.  When you're done, start out by heading to the right to room B.
 * B: Two Blue Paltumas will drop down in the columns. You may have some difficulty convincing them to hop out of the holes they land in so that you can attack them, but it's worth it.  The P bag in the room is worth 100 points.  Continue to the elevator and head down to room C.
 * C: Get off on the floor, attack the Red Paltuma, and proceed to room D.
 * D: Walk across the crumbling blocks, and jump (very late) off the last block to reach the ledge beyond and avoid falling in the pit. Watch out for the Kobolds that advance, and attack the Helgooma before reaching room E.
 * E: Jump up to the first platform. Destroy the blocks that hold the flame and let it drop so that it's easier to leap over.  Repeat that twice more (watch out for the Helgooma that's likely to fall into the lava on its own), and collect the key.  You can attack the statue to see if you can get a red potion, but you are more likely to create a Red Ironknuckle.  When you're done, return to room D and intentionally drop down the pit to room F.
 * F: When you land, move immediately to the right to land safely on the floor. As you advance, you will face a Bubble and a Kobold, followed by a Helgooma.  Defeat it and advance to room G.
 * G: Fight the Red and Blue Paltumas that drop from the ceiling. Then advance to the locked door guarded by the Blue Ironknuckle.  Carefully face off with this dangerous foe, then unlock the door and collect the BootsAdventure of Link Boots.png.  Now return to room F and drop down the pit to room H.
 * H: When you land, start by heading to the right. Watch out for the floating statue heads.  Head to room I.
 * I: This room is just like room E, but with more enemies. There is a Red Paltuma, a Helgooma, and a Bubble.  Collect the key at the end, and return to room H.  Advance all the way to the left to reach room J.
 * J: When you arrive, prepare to cast Reflect in order to deal with the Wizzrobes in the room. Defeat the Bot and unlock the door.  Walk past the elevator and head left over to room K.
 * K: You visited a room just like this in the previous castle. Mau statues float through the room.  At the left end, you will find a key.  Dig it out of the blocks and return to room J.  Ride the elevator up to room L.
 * L: This room is nothing but an elevator shaft. Ride it all the way up to room B, and then return to the starting room A.  Head out and leave the palace and return if you're low on magic or health.  Hit the statue to see if a red potion drops out (watch out for a Red Ironkunckle.)  Refuel your magic and health and return to room A.  Head left to room M.
 * M: As soon as you arrive, you will find a key stuck in a high chamber, sectioned off by blocks. First, fight the Red Ironknuckle.  Then use your Upward Thrust technique to break the blocks, and use the Jump spell to reach the key, but watch out for the Bubble.  Walk beyond the elevator to room N.  Watch out for the Helgooma on the left side.
 * N: At first glance, this room appears like room K, but fortunately, there are no Maus to deal with. There are, however, two Helgoomas to fight.  You can fight them or avoid them entirely by tunneling under the blocks.  There's a key to collect, as well as a 200 point bag.  When you have the key, return to room M, and travel down the elevator to reach room O.
 * O: This room combines Kobolds with Wizzrobes. Cast Reflect, but keep an eye out for the experience-stealing Kobolds.  Head right to room P.
 * P: It may seem like your third trip through this room, but this one is by far the most dangerous. There is a key on the opposite end that you need to collect.  Along the way, Ra statues will float throughout the room, and you have to be extremely careful of them as you jump across each gap.  If you can, take them up with a straight Downward Thrust to make the room safer.  Return to room O, and head to the opposite end to room Q.
 * Q: Jump onto the crumbling bridges, and watch out for the Myus that crawl on top of them. You can take them out with a Downward Thrust, but be careful not to let your momentum carry you off the bridge.  Take the elevator down to room R.
 * R: There are two Blue Paltumas waiting for you here. There is also a 100 point bag that you need to cast Jump in order to reach.  Cross the room and head to room S.
 * S: Only two Red Ironknuckles stand between you and the palace boss.
 * !: Despite being the fourth palace boss, Carock is probably the easiest boss to defeat in the whole game. You'll notice that he casts the same magic as the Wizzrobes, which means the spell of Reflect will be quite effective.  Cast the spell and stand to one side of the room.  Face the center and squat down and simply wait for Carock to be defeated with his own magic that you reflect back at him.  Collect the key and place the fourth crystal in the statue.

Walking on water
Now that you've obtained the boots, you may notice that you can shortcut the entire island by merely walking along the river. Use this ability to return to the bridge and make it back to Nabooru Town, in preparation for the next palace.