The Beginning

Zelda: Twilight Princess Guide - The Beginning

A day in the life of Link: Day 1

Ordon Village

Ok, so after the cutscene that's obviously setting the tone for the story (cryptic “their world” message and “your adventure begins tomorrow”), you are now outside your house, noticing your horse is missing.

You cant go into the village yet, so turn around and take the northern path out. In the next area, about half way down is a pond. Turn in and talk to Llia. She'll ask you to play a song for Epona. Turn about and pick the grass behind you (it's horseshoe grass). Blow into it to attract Epona. Get on her and ride back to your house (take a left), then take the southern exit this time.

You can talk to some people here if you like, but really theres not anything to do. Follow the dirt path left, over the small bridge and through the gate just ahead.

Now you have to herd goats. It's not that hard once you get the hang of it. Remember that you have to stay on Epona or else the goats wont move. The goats move in the opposite direction at which you come at them, and they are fairly sensitive, so make large circles to get around and get in position. I also wouldn't move too quickly, as the faster you move, the quicker things can get out of hand.

Something like this

Now that that's over with, Fado will set up some gates for a sort of obstacle course. This is good practice if you're still not used to riding Epona (trust me, you'll HAVE to be VERY good with her later in the game). To get over gates, you have to press A while moving to dash. You cant dash just a few feet from the gate, it has be to a little farter back, but not so far that your dash runs out before you reach it. When you're done, just jump the gate in the north.

Save your game.

A day in the life of Link: Day 2

You are now in your house. Climb down the ladder behind you and the one after that. There's not much (read: anything) to do here, so exit out the door and go talk with your callers.

We need a slingshot, apparently. Go into town. As you walk in, talk to the guy ahead on the left staring at the sky. He'll tell you about his bee problem, which we'll fix later, and his wife problem, which we'll also fix (cant any do anything themselves anymore?).

Veer a little bit right to talk to be caught by someone on a rock. He'll tell you to climb up the vines on the side of the rock. Walk up to them and press forward to climb up. Once up there, he'll tell you about a cat and the Flacon Grass over on the right. Jump across till you get to the grass. Don't stop here, however. Jump to the roof of the building and then to the two platforms on the left. Once you get to the one on the end, there should be some more grass.

Position yourself like so

Pick the grass and blow to call in an flacon. Face downstream (opposite the picture) to see something jumping in the distance. Point at it and send the flacon after it with A. He should fly off and grab a basket and bring it back to you. You cant do anything with it where you are now, so turn about and face the grass on the other rock you pasted. You wont be able to jump that far, but we're not aiming for the rock. Jump down into the river. You'll drop the basket and start to swim, but that's ok. Climb out and climb back up vines on the rock over to the first patch of grass. Use this grass to call the flacon, and this time pick the basket up out of the water.

Like so

(Note: if you cant get the basket, you can jump down and swim into it to push it into position) Now that you have the basket again, jump back to the rock behind you then down to dry land. Carry it to the little bridge you crossed yesterday and talk to the woman there.

Uli

She'll ask you to follow her back to her house. She walks REALLY SLOW, but you don't have anything else to do at this point. Upon arrive, you get the fishing rod. Equip it and run back to the large bridge you've pasted several times now (near the water wheel). Go around the side of the building on the right to a pier where the cat sits.

You got fish!

Get on the pier and catch 2 fish (the first fish attracts the cat to you and make him follow you around. The second it grabs and runs back to the shop with). We're not quite ready to follow the cat yet, however. Go back around the building and climb the ladder near the bridge.

Jump down to the left between some fences to find a couple pumpkins. Pick up the pumpkins and throw them at something to break them. One of them should contain a blue rupee (5). Climb back up and this time go across the ledge to find some boxes.

Boxes.

Climb on them and use them to get over to the ledge. Now climb the ladder on the side of the building. Up top is a yellow rupee (10) and some grass. Pick the grass and blow to call your falcon friend. Aim straight across to the bees nest the guy was talking about

Bees nest

Launch the falcon and he should knock the nest down. Jump down and go over to the nest (theres a small path that winds up to it). Before you get to the nest, there is a couple rupees over behind you. Behind the nest are some vines. Climb up.

Now's when you learn Links afraid of heights...

Walk across the branches carefully to claim a total of 15 rupees (you should now have at least 30 total, if not 33). Jump down and go into the building that cat ran to (should be straight across from you).

It's the shop. The owner will give you a bottle of Lon Lon Milk, which you'll probably need soon, so save that away and talk to her again. This time, buy the slingshot off the shelf. Go back out and exit the village to talk with your friends.

Target practice!

Your friends will tell you everything you need to know about controlling the slingshot. There are 2 scarecrows and 5 red targets. If you aim to the far right, you can Z-target a spider on the ladder to your house.

After taking down all the targets, they'll tell you Rusl left something in your house. Climb up and go in to find a large chest. Open it to get your wood sword back! Exit out and talk with the kids again to get a crash course in swordsmanship. (one thing they don't tell you have to wait for it to recharge, which is when a gleam goes up your sword accompanied by a “shing” noise).

I so abuse this move throughout the game...

After that's over, everyone runs after the monkey. Hop on Epona and run after them. Just keep heading straight (no one has anything interesting to say) and cross the bridge.

Faron Woods

Ok, in this first area, jump the fence with Epona. Make note of the pond over on the right, you'll need to know where these are later. Take the cave to the left (it's kind of dark and hard to see).

Out of the cave there is a path that goes left. Go down and dismount near the strange man. Talk to him to get a lantern. To turn the lantern off, set it to B and use it, then wait a second. An A button command will come up and say “put away.” Also, you can walk around with it on your belt by taking it out and then swinging your sword. Careful not to run out of oil!

Very shred, except for the fact that oil is abundant around Hyrule.

Get back on Epona and head back out to the path. Take a left. Kill the Deku Baba guarding the entrance. You'll need to dismount Epona before you enter the cave. You'll find Talo's stick at the entrance.

In the cave, you'll encounter Deku Baba, Keese, and some rats. Keep your sword handy. When you reach a spider web, use the lantern to burn through it, just like how you lit the pot.

You can also light the lamps with the lantern.

About halfway through, you'll find a path that splits off near some hanging pots (pictured above). Go in and follow it to the end to find a small chest that contains 10 rupees. Go back to the main hall.

Oh, and you can destroy the pots with the slingshot

Take a right and continue down until you see the light. Exit the cave.

This area has Deku Baba, Keese, and Bokoblins. Bokoblins are going to be the main threat, though the Keese do seem to come out of nowhere.

Head west to the left red dot on your map.

It's a cave.

Inside, open the small chest for a key. You'll need this in a minute. Now light both the lamps with your lantern to reveal a large chest up above. Climb up and open it for your first heart piece (3 1/5)!

Jump down and head out. Now go to the other red dot on your map.
A couple Bokoblins guard the gate. A spin attack followed by a jump attack or two should get rid of them. Now, before you unlock the gate, there is another Bokoblin on the other side. You can use your slingshot to shoot through the gate and kill him before he ever even gets close!

Just Z-target and let it rip!

Now open the gate and go through the tunnel.

Couple more Bokoblins in your path. You're probably getting used to this by now. A little bit more north and you'll be caught by a bird in a strange little shop.

This shop uses the honor system. You can take oil, red potion or both (though I doubt you have the cash), but you have to pay in the donation box by the bird. If you don't, the bird will chase after you and inflict minor damage (plus it'll never let you shop there again). DO NOT ANGER THE PARROT! You'll need to buy some stuff here later. Unless you REALLY need health (you do have some Lon Lon Milk, remember?), I wouldn't bother with this right now. You wont be needing your lantern again for a while (at least not more then a second).
 
Continue up the path a bit more. Just before the narrow part is a chest on the right.

Chest.

It's guarded by a Deku Baba. Open it to get 10 rupees. Continue to the top of the path.

Talo and the monkey are trapped by two Bokoblins. Defeat them, then use a spin attack to open the cage. 

A cutscene ensues, wrapping up the day.

A day in the life of Link: Day 3

Back to herding goats. Use the Horseshoe Grass to call Epona. This tiem, there are more goats and you have a timer. The time to beat is 3 minutes. Any slower and Fado will comment about your lack of speed, though you can still progress through the game. So, herd them up again (get in some good practice. Next time we do this, you'll have to beat a time of 2:00, and it's for a heart piece) and head out into the village.

A cutscene takes place where Link is getting ready to head out, but Llia steals Epona again. Chase after her back to your house. Upon arrival, head in to your house. There should be a hole in the floor near the back that leads to the basement. Jump down and light your lamp to find a chest that contains 50 rupees (no, you couldn't have gotten it any earlier. I've tried.)

Lovely...

Go back out and talk to Talo. You'll have to give him your sword to pass.

Head to the spring where Epona is to find that Llia locked the locked the gate, and the only way in is through a tunnel. The tunnel can be hard to spot, so heres a picture:

Tunnel

Crawl through and talk to Llia. A cutscene follows.
Whoa, didn't see that one coming... Well, actually, kind of did. I mean, SOMETHING had to happen... That's ok, the next part is even worse.

Told you :P

Prison Break

Ok, so, you're a wolf, locked in a dungeon at an unknown location, and now this weird girl says she can help you. ... just go with it, man @_@

Enter: Midna

Alright, there are some boxes on the right. Attack them to break them, then use dig where they were to dig up under the cell bars. The door to the cell next to yours is open. Head in. Midna will prompt you about the chain hanging down. Lock on and press A to jump onto it and pull it down. The gate beside you will open. Follow the passage down.

Alright, your first spirit. Use your senses to listen in. I don't think any spirit anywhere in the game has anything useful to say, so I wouldn't bother with most unless you're prompted to do so.

In the next few areas, you'll encounter mostly just Shadow Vermin (basically a rat), but there are also some Shadow Keese down here.

**Just so I don't get complaints later, there are other areas you can explore down here, and maybe earn a few rupees. But with all the Shadow Vermin, high waters, and cramped spaces, it's not the best place for a fight.

Opposite the spirit should be a raised section of land heading north. Follow that down and jump across at the end. Turn left and continue through the gate. At the end of the platform, jump down and head opposite the spikes (south). When you get to the end, jump back up on the platform to your right and grab the chain

Chain

This should release the water and allow you to swim over the spikes  to the north. Stay on the left and climb up on the platform.

When you come to the next spirit, take a left. Midna will leave and hover behind a gate, leaving you to figure things out on your own (she was helping?).

Turn about and head directly behind you. Swim across the gap and get back up on the platform on the other side. Keep going till you reach the end. Turn to the north and you'll see a chain across the water. Jump over and grab it to lower the water.

Chain #2

Now head back to the gate (west). Under the gate is a hole on the left. Go through the tunnel and around to come out near Midna. Keep east into the decaying stairway.

First thing, go right and kill the 2 Shadow Vermin so they don't get you later. Now head up the stairs and try to jump the gap. You'll fall through and Midna will yell at you (you'll get used to it). Go back up, but this time pause before the gap. You'll be prompted to hit up on the D-pad.

Prompt. You'll be seeing it a lot, so get used to it.

Midna will show you stable ground that you can jump to, so just lock on to her and tap A. You'll need to repeat using the prompt several times on the way up. When you come to your first tight rope, ignore it. At the second rope, walk across it to get higher (just walk into it and Link should auto-balance on it). One more prompt and you should be at the top.

Watch for the Shadow Keese. There are several of them in here.
You'll see the window, but you cant reach it. You have to be standing here:

Here

To get the prompt. Once through the window, you'll see you're in a large castle. Jump down and go straight till you have to listen to another spirit.

To the east is a create. Walk up to it and hold A to push it forward. Once it wont move any more, use it to get up and over the wood structure. Hop down and watch for the Shadow Kargarok. They're pretty hard to hit without jumping, and you don't want to fall off. I'd just run past them.

Keep heading north, over a gap, up a wall, and over another gap till you come to here:

Here

Head out onto the wood on the right to get a prompt. Jump a few times onto the roof top. Follow the crest of the roof around and climb in the window. Go up and in the door for a long cutscene that sort of explains things.

What? I'm just borrowing it... for an indefinite period...

Back in the spring. Head back to your house (south). Once there, you'll have to fight two Boblins. After, you'll start conversing with a squirrel (don't they have medication for this?). Anyway, enter the village.

Cross the large bridge to see the Mayor talking about a shield. Sneak up beside them (use the tall grass) and listen in. After they finish talking (you have to get pretty close. If they don't talk about a sword and shield in detail, you're not close enough) they'll spot you and run inside.

Back across the bridge, don't head right for the mill or the crazy guy on the rock will launch a Falcon at you. Instead, head right for the shop. You want to get here:

Here

To get the prompt to jump on the roof. Once on the roof, you can jump across and get behind him and spook him off. Now jump down and face the water wheel to get another prompt. Use that to jump up to the roof and go in the window.

Inside, hop down and get on the table to spot the shield.

Prompt

Jump up and you may or may not see the shield hanging from the back wall. Regardless, Z-target nothing and press A to jump attack into the wall a few times. This will knock the shield loose. Pick it up and exit through the window beside you.

Now for the sword. Remember the house you escorted the pregnant lady to? Head there, only this time take the upper path. You need to wait for Rusl to pass you before moving in. If he or his wife sees you, you'll be chased off and have to wait for him to pass again. I made a little montage below that shows what to do:

Waiting...

Ok, now

Run this way

still running

stop just up ahead beside the house

Now use your animal sense. You'll see some glimmers in the ground. There are hundreds, if not thousands of these all over Hyrule. If you dig in these places, you'll get a rupee or maybe a heart. Hardly worth it. However, up next to the house is a large spot by some wood. Dig here to get into the house. Walk up to the sofa and grab the sword. Now go out the way you came (still staying in the shadows and taking the high road).

Head back to the spring and towards the bridge. Before you get to the bridge would be a good time to scavenge for hearts if you need one. Just attack the tall grass. Once you reach the spring, you get pulled in by a voice and are forced to fight a Shadow Beast.

Shadow Beasts are tough. The do one hearts damage per hit and can take a beating. Best bet is to use a jump attack. If done correctly, you'll latch on to it and then can repeatedly press A to bit it like crazy. Doing this once or twice normally brings one down.

Jump on and start attacking

Once it's down, you'll get a cutscene that explains the a bit about the Light Spirits.

Head across the bridge and go into the twilight (don't know why it asks, you don't have anything else to do)

Onward to the Forest Temple!