Though many of the islands and locations present in The Wind Waker can be considered exotic, environmental diversity doesn’t get much more intense than what is encountered on Fire Mountain.
Fire Mountain is a relatively small island located south of Dragon Roost Island. In a way, it almost seems like Dragon Roost’s smaller but more temperamental, teenage sibling, with the never-ending explosions of lava that
It’s a sight to see, but it also poses a problem for Link: How is he suppose to enter the island’s cave and pilfer its treasures when approaching the mountain will result in a fiery death?
The solution is found in a visit to Link’s biggest fan, which earns him the ever-useful Ice Arrows. With these in hand, all Link needs to do is fire one frosty shaft at the pillar of flames to extinguish them. Back to the teenager analogy, this is Link telling the island to take a chill pill.
The fires are out for now, but that’s the problem. They are only out temporarily, and the appearance of the constantly dwindling timer reminds Link of this fact. He needs to act fast.
Luckily, quick thinking is a talent of Link’s, and this island — despite the flames, handful of pestering Kargarocs, and narrows cliffs — is not treacherous enough to warrant any real stress on his part. It’s a simple climb up the mountain’s exterior, with the occasional stop to snipe the flying enemies with arrows. Once he reaches the top, Link drops into the cavern to begin the second half of his fiery quest.
The inside of the mountain almost seems like Nintendo is saying: “Remember Dragon Cavern? Well, do part of it again.” The interior is comprised mostly of pieces of rock floating in a pool of lava. Link’s goal is to the right of him, but the entrance is blocked by a wall and a large stone, which means his only option is to jump from rock to rock to get around both. There are also Fire Keese flying all around, as well as a couple of Magtails scurrying about, that Link must avoid or defeat before reaching his prize.
Once he reaches the chest, Link steals obtains the Power Bracelets, magical pieces of jewelry that allow him to effortlessly lift heavy objects — such as the aforementioned stone object, which turns out to be an odd-looking stone head.
Fire Mountain is imposing at first, but the bracelets are a reward worth braving the flames for, especially since they can be used to obtain photos like the one below.
