The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks/In the Beginning...

An audience with Princess Zelda
'This is a tale from long ago. It's the tale of the first people of this land...'

Those people were led by Tetra and her pirate gang from Wind Waker, and the last surviving member, Niko, stands before you, showing off this tale, his 'masterpiece'. Link is his only audience, but it seems he finds this tale incredibly boring. Niko finds him lying there, fast asleep, and is none too pleased. But Link's mentor, Alfonzo, arrives to find the young engineer dozing off, and shakes the sleep out of him. Alfonzo reminds you that today is your audience with Princess Zelda!

Niko will explain how to control Link. So, walk out of the house, and into Outset/Aboda Village. Follow the path, and a young girl will call you over. She'll ask you to clear away the rocks in front of her house. Your reward is 20 Rupees. Head straight up and you'll find the train station. Alfonzo will come out on his train. Talk to him, and get ready for your final exam.

You have 300 seconds to drive the train to Hyrule Castle Town. On the way, Alfonzo will explain how to operate the train. Along the way, there will be a Moink on the tracks. Blow the whistle to scare it off. At the first junction, Alfonzo will tell you that there will be other trains on the tracks from here on out. You'll need to switch tracks, and/or slow down to avoid them. They don't really follow any fixed route, so check the Map on the top screen to see where they'll go next. If you see a train coming toward you, slow down, wait for it to pass, then switch gears to low speed to follow it safely. Once it changes tracks, you can switch back to top speed. To stop the train safely, slow down, then, at the station, switch gears to neutral. If you safely get to Castle Town, you've passed your exam!

From the station, head straight north. You'll see a red postbox at the Castle gates. If you tap it, you'll be introduced to the Postman, who will give you a letter. To read it, tap the Menu icon and choose Collection, or press, and tap the envelope icon. Now, continue on to the Castle. At the door, there are two guards. Talk to the one on the left, and they'll step aside to let you in. Inside, there's another guard at the stairs. Talk to him, and he'll refuse you entry, until Chancellor Cole arrives. Cole doesn't sound too happy about Zelda holding graduation ceremonies, but still allows you into the Throne Room. Go up the stairs. It's time to meet Princess Zelda!

Link looks up, 'without permission', and Cole gets angry, until Zelda asks him to be quiet, telling you not to pay any attention to him. Cole interrupts again, telling Zelda to hurry up. She will then give you the Engineer's Certificate, as well as a letter. She tells you not to say anything about it, and, "Beware of the Chancellor!" Once she leaves, Cole tells you to "go.. polish your train or something," adding, with an evil laugh, "The thing will be useless before long!"

Read the letter. Zelda has asked you to come to her quarters. The top screen shows a secret path you must take to reach her room unseen. Tap the Map icon at the bottom-left of the screen, and copy the path using the. Go south out of the throne room. Walk down and turn right just before the door. Go down again and you'll find a staircase. Head up it. Now follow the secret path. Walk up the nearest staircase to Zelda's quarters. Inside, she is playing the Spirit Pipes. She'll ask you to help her, telling you about the disappearing Spirit Tracks, and asking you to help her get to the Tower of Spirits. She must sneak out, since Cole won't allow her. She gives you the Recruit's Uniform, the famous green tunic. This allows you to distract the Guards while Zelda sneaks past them. After remarking that 'it suits you', it's time to go.

Escaping with the Princess
Zelda will explain how to draw a path for her to walk while you distract the Guards. There are two Guards patrolling this area. Go down as far as you can, then wait for the Guard to walk to your left, then run right and out the door. You're back outside. The camera shows a Guard who just stands there. Walk behind him, and talk to him. Then, switch to Zelda, and send her past him. Hide her between the two bushes. Do the same with the next Guard. The next Guard, though, is really serious about his job. Talking to him doesn't distract him long enough to send Zelda past. What you need to do is make some noise. Luckily, there are some rocks behind him. Pick one up, and throw it at the guard at the door. Quickly switch to Zelda, and send her to the Gate. Switch back to Link and leave the Castle grounds.

At the station, Alfonzo is surprised to see Zelda, but agrees to go with her and Link to the Tower of Spirits. Almost as soon as the train leaves, the Spirit Tracks disappear from underneath it, derailing the train. A massive cloud of dark energy appears over the Tower of Spirits, and breaks it into five parts! The dark energy suspends them in midair above the Tower. Out of the dark energy appears the Demon Train, driven by none other than… Chancellor Cole and his henchman, Staven/Byrne. The two top hats fly off Cole's head, revealing two large, demonic horns. With the Spirit Tracks disappearing, all Cole needs now to complete his evil plan is "a little help.. from.. the Princess!" Alfonzo steps in to defend Zelda, and battles Staven/Byrne, who overpowers Alfonzo, sending him flying into the train, knocking him unconscious. Link tries to block Staven/Byrne, but is swatted aside like a fly. Cole strikes Zelda with dark magic, forcing her spirit from her body. They take Zelda's body away, as Link falls unconscious.

Finding Zelda's Spirit
You'll reawaken in Hyrule Castle. Talk to Teacher. After hearing your story, he won't believe you at first, but eventually realises that it means Princess Zelda has been kidnapped! Leave for the Throne Room. On the way there, Zelda's Spirit appears. She cries to the Guards for help, but they can't see or hear her. Follow her to her quarters. Zelda will realise that Link is the only person that can see or hear her. After trying to work out what Cole wants with her body, she'll give you the Spirit Pipes, and ask you to help her get to the Tower of Spirits. But the Spirit Tracks have disappeared, so there's no way there… except, as Zelda explains, an old passageway at the back of the Castle. Leave Zelda's room.

Walk the whole way around this floor until you come to a staircase. Go down, and talk to the Guard standing at the doorway. He'll refuse to let you out, because you don't have a sword yet. Zelda will tell you to go to the Guard Captain. Talk to the Guard again, and he'll show you where the Captain's training hall is. Go up the stairs, through the door, and the Throne Room. Find the Training Hall and talk to the Captain. He will give you the Recruit's Sword! But before you can leave, it's time for some training. Hit each Guard with each attack twice. If you need advice, ask the Captain. Now go back to the passageway, and the Guard will let you pass. But, "be careful out there!"

To the Tower! Tower of Spirits Floors 1-3
Step outside, and you'll see a Guard surrounded by enemies, known as Spinuts. Defeat the enemies. Talk to him. He says "It's dangerous to go alone!" But you're not alone, you've got Zelda with you, so you're okay. He points to a wall, saying that rockfalls have closed off the tunnel to the Tower of Spirits. He can't remember where it was, only that it was along that wall somewhere. Go up to the wall and strike it in different areas with your sword. Around the middle, it makes a hollow sound. That's where the entrance is hidden. You might have noticed some strange blue plants. They're Bomb Flowers. Pick one up and throw it at the hollow-sounding area on the wall. It will explode, revealing the entrance. Enter the Tunnel to the Tower.

Walk up as far as a door with a large keyhole on it. Look around and you'll see a switch, a sign and a block. What you need to do is grab the block and place it on top of the switch. The sign explains how to move the block. The nearby blue door will open, revealing a chest containing the Small Key. Open the door and go upstairs. The sign says "The door won't open if you just hit the switches in a circle." So, there's a certain order in which to hit some switches. Head up, and you'll see three more signs. Together, they make a riddle telling you that order. Cross the gaps, and pick up some Bomb Flowers to destroy the blocks in your way. Now hit these switches in this order: The blue door will open. Head up the stairs. Go straight up this passageway. Zelda will stop you because she hears squeaking. Two purple rats will come out of a hole in the wall! Zelda is terrified of rats, so quickly kill them. Keep going up the passage and up the stairs into…
 * 1) Right switch
 * 2) Top switch
 * 3) Bottom switch
 * 4) Left switch

The Tower of Spirits
Inside the Tower is a statue of a train. Not just any train, but the Spirit Train. The lady who says this is Anjean, the 'wise one' Zelda spoke of earlier. She is a Lokomo, and watches over the Tower of Spirits. She talks about the war between the Spirits of Good and the Demon King, and explains that the Demon King is imprisoned in the Tower. The Spirit Tracks carry energy from four Temples to keep the Demon King imprisoned. With the Spirit Tracks gone, Anjean's energy is all that holds down Malladus, the Demon King, but this energy will not hold for long. Soon, the evil ones will come, and all Cole needs is Zelda's body to resurrect Malladus! Zelda is not best pleased when she hears this. Anjean explains that, to prevent Malladus' return, the Spirit Tracks must be restored. Zelda 'asks' Link to restore the Tracks while she waits in the tower, but Anjean tells her that it would be impossible for Link to do so alone. Zelda asks Anjean to go with Link, but she explains that she cannot leave her post. She suggests to Zelda that instead, she should go with Link. Zelda, albeit reluctantly, agrees.

Go north, up the stairs. Up the long staircase, to the doorway. There's a large door, too big to open alone. Suddenly, a strange monster appears! Quickly, run out. Anjean explains that it is a Phantom, and that it shouldn't attack anyone with a good heart. But with the Spirit Tracks gone, it has been possessed by an evil spirit. Gathering the three Tears of Light, then striking it in the back, should stun it, she tells you. Go back up. Run left into the purple area. This is a safe zone, where the Phantoms cannot attack you. Keep going left, and grab the first Tear of Light. Run back out to the central area, and go north for the second Tear of Light. Now step out of this safe zone and go right. Hit the purple switch. This creates a bridge to the final Tear of Light. Avoiding the Phantom, run around, and cross the bridge to the final Tear of Light! Now you can attack the Phantom! So run out and hit it in the back. However, it will turn around, and try to attack Link! Without thinking, Zelda flies at it… it appears that she has possessed the Phantom! Now you can control the Phantom! The Phantom is controlled exactly the same as Zelda earlier in the game, so draw a path for her towards the door. Then get Link to push the other door. Together, they can open the large door! Go up the stairs.

There is a large pit of spikes here. While Link can't cross them, Zelda can, so send her across, and have her strike the purple switch. This lowers the spikes, allowing Link to cross. There's a blue door here, and two floor switches. Have Zelda stand on one, then stand on the other. The door will open. Through here is another rat-hole. Zelda is still terrified of them, so kill any that get out, then use the block to seal the hole. Continue to another pit of spikes. Send Zelda across and up to the safe zone behind the Phantom, and have her strike the purple switch. This lowers the spikes, allowing Link to cross. Now, as Zelda pointed out, she can distract the Phantom, and allow Link to pass. Get her to stand to the left of the Phantom, and talk to it. Switch to Link, and walk up behind the Phantom into the safe zone. Call Zelda, and go up the stairs. On this floor, Zelda will be forced out of the Phantom's armour, which will then disappear, and the energy will leave Link's sword. "There must be something special about this room..." Zelda says. Floating on the pedestal in front of you is the Forest Glyph/Rail Map. Grab it. Some of the Spirit Tracks will be restored! A blue portal appears. Step into it to return to Anjean in the hall.