Our Link’s Awakening Kanalet Castle walkthrough shows you how to find the Slime Key that you’ll need to get inside Key Cavern. You’ll need to have completed Bottle Grotto to continue.
Below, we’ll walk you through all the non-dungeon work you have to put in — like finding trade items and their locations, what to buy and bring with you, how to solve any puzzles, and beat any bosses. We’ll also direct you to any useful items along the way.
Table of contents
Buy a shovel and some bombs
You’ll need to do some preparation for this leg of your journey. Head to the shop in Mabe Village.
Buy a shovel for 200 rupees (you won’t actually need it until the very end of this process, so you can hold off a little bit if you’re short on cash).
You can also buy some bombs for 10 rupees. You’ll need two for this part of the walkthrough, and you’ll find some along the way, so this is optional (but they’re nice to have).
Trade up for a Banana
You’ll also need to be at the fourth step in Link’s trading sequence to get into the castle we’ll be exploring.
- Win the Yoshi Doll from the Trendy Game (that frustrating crane game) in Mabe Village.
- Take the Yoshi Doll to Papahl’s House in Mabe Village to receive the Ribbon.
- Take the Ribbon to Madam MeowMeow’s (dog)house in Mabe Village to get the Dog Food.
- Take the Dog Food to Sale’s Banana Shop in Toronbo Shores to get a Banana.
Once you have the Banana, we can press on.
Go to Ukuku Prairie and meet Richard
In Mabe Village, head to the shop on the right side. Follow the road east to the sign pointing to Ukuku Prairie to the right. Lift the two rocks and pass through.
Head south to find a telephone booth. Call Old Man Ulriria, and he’ll tell you about a man named Richard who lives in Pothole Field to the southeast.
From the telephone booth, head right past the wall, and then turn south. You’ll soon come to the entrance to Key Cavern, but you won’t be able to get in yet. Turn away from the keyhole and head south down the stairs.
Snake your way south down the narrow path and into the stone building to meet Richard.
He asks you to retrieve the Golden Leaf he left in the castle. Well, actually, it’s five Golden Leaves. And you’ll need to provide your own shovel.
Meet Kiki the Monkey to find a way into the Kanalet Castle
Back outside, head to the right. There’s a sign halfway across the field directing you to Kanalet Castle — right and then up. Keep heading right, and then follow the field up. Take the right fork in the path and keep heading up — you’ll see another sign directing you right.
Just north of that sign, you’ll find another phone booth. Ulrira suggests bombing suspicious places to help you find the Golden Leaves. Back outside, follow the path right. You’ll meet a couple new enemies here — Beetles and Pincers. Keep following the path as it heads north.
There, you’ll find the castle gate, but it’s locked. Follow along the moat to the right, where you’ll meet Kiki the Monkey. Hand over your Banana and a bunch of monkeys will build a bridge for you — and leave you the gift of a Stick.
First Golden Leaf
Cross the bridge and keep heading north until you find another phone booth. Call Ulrira again, and he’ll tell you to try scaring a crow.
Outside, head directly left. There’s a bush there in front of the trees. Destroy it to find some stairs down.
Head left through the Goomba tunnel. On the other side, you’ll come up inside the castle walls. Head left first.
Handle the knights you bump into as you follow the wall down. You’ll see the crow on top of a tree on the left. Pick up one of the nearby rocks, and throw it at the tree to scare the crow. It’ll attack you, so keep your shield up. Hit it with your sword a few times to defeat it, and it’ll drop your first Golden Leaf.
Second Golden Leaf
From where you picked up the first Golden Leaf, keep heading down, and then to the right. Go right past the entrance and follow the walls up. Take out the two Darknut knights and turn your attention to the Mad Bomber playing whack-a-mole in the six holes there.
He’ll pop up and toss a bomb at you. Whenever you see him pop up, run straight at him. You’ll run under the bomb and have time to hit him before he ducks back down. You’ll have to hit him several times (five, we think). Once defeated, he’ll drop your second Golden Leaf.
Third Golden Leaf
Head back down and to the left and go into the castle’s entrance.
The first thing you’ll see is an Anti-Fairy, and they’re annoying as all heck. Keep your shield up and block it away as you make your way left.
At the end of the hall, you’ll find two more Darknuts and a Zol. Take them all out — while dodging the Anti-Fairy — to get your third Golden Leaf.
Fourth Golden Leaf
Continue up and take out the next two Darknuts.
Cross to the right, handle one more Darknut and a Keese, and then stand on the switch in the corner to open the main gates.
Backtrack a little and go up the stairs. Continue left and go through the door along the top of the screen.
In the first room you come to, dodge the Spark and go down the stairs. Place a bomb in front of the cracked sculpture-thing on the wall. When the bomb goes off, a Darknut will appear. Take it out — while dodging the Spark — and repeat the process with the other cracked carving. Defeating the second one will earn you your fourth Golden Leaf.
Fifth Golden Leaf — Fight Ball and Chain Soldier
Go back up the stairs and follow the blue walkway right, down, and left until you find another door. Head out onto the castle roof, and right back inside through the door to the right.
A door with a pot drawing on it will close in front of you. Pick up a nearby pot and throw it at the door to get it open. Continue up.
For your fifth and final Golden Leaf, you’ll need to defeat this Ball and Chain Soldier. Keep your shield up stand near a wall. The Ball and Chain Soldier will spin his ball around a few times and then throw it at you. He doesn’t have perfect aim, though, so it’ll hit the wall near you. Keep your shield up and you should be fine.
When the ball is stuck in the wall, step in and hit him once. And then just keep repeating that for a while (seven or eight hits, we think).
He’ll drop the fifth Golden Leaf when you defeat him.
Return to Richard
Return to Richard’s house in Pothole Field. He’ll step back in celebration, giving you a path to the statue he was standing next to. Shove the statue to the side to reveal some stairs.
Find the Slime Key
Take the left fork, shove the rock, jump the gap, and open the chest for a Secret Seashell.
Head back, take right fork this time, and go up the stairs.
Head left, down the stairs and through the door outside.
Cut through the bushes to find the path through the potholes — remember you can jump into a space with grass, but not one with a bush. There’s a Heart Piece in the top right corner of this field. Your goal is the Owl Statue in the top left.
Talk to the Owl Statue for your clue — dig right in front of it. Equip your new shovel and dig to find the Slime Key.
Now you can continue on to Key Cavern.
