The Stone Tower Temple is a unique dungeon in Majora’s Mask. Located in the Ikana Canyon region of Termina, the dungeon puts everything Link has learned to the test. The puzzles in the dungeon often require the use of multiple weapons and masks that Link has obtained. Looking back at my first playthrough of this dungeon, I recall seeing the many upside-down switches, Deku Flowers, and fixtures and wondering to myself about the purpose of them. Do I get anti-gravity boots or something that flips the world?
About halfway through the dungeon, Link will find the Light Arrows, which have many purposes including rupee farming. Hitting a Blue Bubble with a Light Arrow will reward the player a Purple Rupee. Also, and more importantly, the Light Arrows need to be used on the Red Gem outside the entrance to the Temple. Shooting the Red Gem with one of the Temple’s Arrows will cause the entire Stone Tower and the Temple to flip upside down.
The first time I saw the Stone Tower upside down, I was amazed. I always thought that the whole world flipped upside down as well. I warped to Clock Town with the Song of Soaring to check and see if the world was upside down. To my chagrin, everything was normal in Clock Town. Despite my disappointment with the lack of a flipped world, I enjoyed traversing the upside-down Stone Tower Temple.
The strange upside-down fixtures from before now made sense as I was able to utilize them for the upside-down puzzles that existed. Despite traveling through the same rooms, each puzzle felt new and unique. Some utilized the Deku Mask and others made use of the light arrows to flip the room. Flipping the temple also resulted in new music playing. The theme for the upside-down portion of the Stone Tower Temple perfectly supplements the strange theme of the dungeon and remains a stand out track in the Zelda series.
The diversity of enemies in the Stone Tower Temple also supplement the dungeon’s unique identity. The enemies inhabiting the temple include Eyegores, Real Bombchus, a Wizzrobe, Death Armos and the most annoying enemy in the game, Black Boes. The most infamous section of the Stone Tower Temple features a section in which Link must use the Mirror Shield to reflect light onto other mirrors and then use the light from those mirrors on Sun Blocks to remove them. The Black Boes will attack Link until the room is cleared and forgotten. Recently, I figured out that wearing the Stone Mask will prevent the Black Boes from attacking. I could’ve save myself a lot of frustration if I had the patience to realize that sooner.
The minibosses and bosses of the Dungeon are far more fun than the Black Boes. The Garo Master, a dual swordfighter whose defeat gives Link access to the Light Arrows, and Gomess, a scythe-wielding monster covered in Bad Bats guards the Boss Key, are both fun battles that challenged me and forced me to think rather than throw out simple attacks. The final boss of the dungeon is Twinmold, a pair of giant worms that Link can only attack with the Giant’s Mask (also found in this dungeon). The Giant’s Mask consumes magic so it is best to have drunk the Chateau Romani Milk that offers infinite magic through a cycle of three days.
The defeat of Twinmold ends a journey through one of the most unique areas of any Legend of Zelda game, Ikana Canyon. The Stone Tower Temple, despite not having any elements of death like the canyon, fits well into the journey through Ikana. I enjoyed my time in this part of Termina and I recommend anyone to check out the Stone Tower Temple. At least so that one may look down at the sky and wonder, “Why didn’t the rest of the world flip upside down too?”
