Level 9

This article is about the Dungeon in The Legend of Zelda series. For the Level in Link's Crossbow Training, see Finale.

Level 9,^[1] also stylized as Level-9,^(TLoZ)[2] and known as Death Mountain,^[1] is the ninth and final Dungeon in The Legend of Zelda.

Entrance

In the First Quest, Death Mountain is found by using a Bomb on the western peak of Spectacle Rock.

In the Second Quest, it is instead found by bombing the northern wall of the very narrow passageway found at the northwesternmost area of the game.

Themes and Navigation

First Quest

In the First Quest, Level-9 is shaped like a skull. It is the largest Dungeon in the entire game - containing 57 rooms, which can easily make a player become lost. An Old Man waits at the entrance of Level-9, preventing any who do not possess the complete Triforce of Wisdom from entering. Therefore, Link must have obtained all eight Triforce fragments from the previous eight Dungeons in order to enter Level-9. Link must fight his way through swarms of enemies, including hordes of dangerous Wizzrobes, groups of deadly Lanmolas and several mini-bosses known as Patras. Ganon, the main antagonist, is the boss of this Dungeon and therefore the Final Boss of the game. Level-9 contains two main items. One of them is the Red Ring, which reduces Link's damage taken to a quarter of the normal amount as opposed to the Blue Ring that halves damage. The other key item is the legendary Silver Arrow, which is required for Link to vanquish Ganon. Once Ganon is ultimately defeated, Link will find Princess Zelda in the final room and the game will be completed.

Second Quest

Unlike most Second Quest dungeons, Level-9 in this mode is very similar to its First Quest counterpart. Like in the main quest, the main items of the Dungeon are the Red Ring and the Silver Arrows and Ganon is the Final Boss in Second Quest as well. However, the layout is very different and even more complex, as it includes numerous one-way passages and a seemingly impassable wall that prevents Link from reaching Ganon, effectively becoming more maze-like. In the Second Quest, rather than a skull, the dungeon is shaped like Ganon's head. Once more, Level-9 is the largest Dungeon in the Second Quest.

Final Boss battle

When Link eventually enters Ganon's location, the room is dark. The hero himself will use the restored Triforce of Wisdom to light up the room, and the sacred triangle's energy causes Ganon to become exposed and cover his face, and then the final battle begins. The Demon King, using the Technique of Darkness, is invisible and will shoot fireballs at Link which cannot be blocked with the Magical Shield as with other bosses. He moves at random areas of the room, so Link must continually thrust his Sword to land hits on Ganon when he stands at the correct location, in which the beast will appear briefly. It takes 15 hits with the Sword, 8 with the White Sword, or just 4 with the Magical Sword for Ganon to become stunned, appearing brown. Here, Link must use one Silver Arrow to finish him off (otherwise he will recover after several seconds), which will cause Ganon to completely explode into ashes, ultimately killing him and revealing the Triforce of Power he had stolen. Link will then obtain and absorb this piece of the Triforce for himself before reaching Princess Zelda to restore peace to Hyrule.

Minor Enemies and Traps

First Quest

• 
  Trap
• 
  Blue Wizzrobe
• 
  Bubble
• 
  Gel
• 
  Keese
• 
  Keese
• 
  Red Lanmola
• 
  Red Lanmola
• 
  Like Like
• 
  Patra
• 
  Red Wizzrobe
• 
  Stone Statue
• 
  Stone Statue
• 
  Stone Statue
• 
  Stone Statue
• 
  Vire
• 
  Zol

Second Quest

• 
  Trap
• 
  Blue Wizzrobe
• 
  Bubble
• 
  Bubble
• 
  Bubble
• 
  Gel
• 
  Keese
• 
  Keese
• 
  Keese
• 
  Red Lanmola
• 
  Red Lanmola
• 
  Like Like
• 
  Patra
• 
  Red Wizzrobe
• 
  Stone Statue
• 
  Stone Statue
• 
  Stone Statue
• 
  Stone Statue
• 
  Vire
• 
  Zol

Trivia

• Level-9 has its own unique music, while the other eight Dungeons share the same theme.
• Ironically, Ganon's lair has its floor in the shape of a skull like how the dungeon appears in the First Quest.
• Majora's Incarantion, the second form of Majora in Majora's Mask, can be heard singing part of this Dungeon's theme when it is spinning around, likely as an Easter Egg.
• An alternate version of the music of Level-9 plays in the Tower of Flames in Four Swords Adventures. This theme also plays in the Desert Temple (Four Swords Adventures) after pressing the Switch that fills the temple with sand.
• The melody for Level-9 plays in Death Mountain in Breath of the Wild.
• An arrangement of the music of Level-9 also appears as a medley in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
• In Breath of the Wild, skull-shaped enemy hideouts were based on Death Mountain's skull shape.^[3]

Nomenclature

Gallery

• 
  Second Quest Map
• 
  A skull-shaped hideout based on Level-9 from Breath of the Wild

References