To unlock the third Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening dungeon in Ukuku Prairie, you’ll need to complete Richard’s quest and gain access to the Pothole Field. Actually completing his quest is pretty complicated, and you can actually get started on it right at the start of the game.
It’s all about trading items. While you won’t be able to complete the item trading quest, you will be able to create an alternate entrance to Kanalet Castle and get all the gold leaves. Finding all five can be pretty challenging too, so I’ll include everything you need to know to find the Slime Key and unlock the dungeon gate in Ukuku Prairie.
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How To Enter Kanalet Castle & Find All 5 Gold Leaves | Ukuku Prairie Gate Guide
Richard is the royal fellow in the small house just south of Ukuku Prairie, next to the Pothole Field area. You’ll be able to meet him once you have the Roc’s Feather and Power Bracelet. Richard wants you to enter Kanalet Castle and locate five Gold Leaves that are hidden inside.
How To Enter Kanalet Castle
To enter Kanalet Castle, you’ll have to partially complete the item trading quest. Starting in Mabe Village, you’ll need to trade a few items.
- Get the Yoshi Doll from the Crane mini-game in the bottom-right corner of Mabe Village.
- Give the Yoshi Doll to Mamasha in the house at the top of the village to get the Ribbon.
- Give the Ribbon to CiaoCiao in the Chainchomp house in the center of the village to get Dog Food.
- Give the Dog Food to Sale the Crocodile, the food-lover with a house on the beach, to get the Bananas.
- Give the Bananas to Kiki the Monkey, found to the right of Kanalet Castle to get the Stick.
We can stop right here — because Kiki and friends build Link a bridge with a path leading into Kanalet Castle. Just go up and you’ll find the stairs leading to a secret back entrance.
How To Find All 5 Golden Leaves
There are five golden leaves hidden in the castle grounds. Two are outside, and three are inside. Here’s how to find them all.
Gold Leaf #1: On the right side of the castle courtyard, you’ll find a bomb-throwing knight that pops out of multiple holes in the ground. Defeat the whack-a-mole monster to earn a gold leaf.
Gold Leaf #2: On the left side of the courtyard, there’s a crow on a tree. Pick up a rock and throw it at the tree to jostle the crow down, then defeat it to make a gold leaf appear.
Gold Leaf #3: Inside the castle, defeat all the enemies in the entrance hall (before switching screens) to get a gold leaf. Don’t forget to press the button ahead to unlock the front gate.
Gold Leaf #4: Deeper inside, bomb the two cracked knight-shaped walls. You can find free bombs in the pot room before the mini-boss knight. Just smash up the pots and a bomb will drop from one every time.
Gold Leaf #5: The final leaf is in the golden knight room. To enter, you’ll have to solve a pot room puzzle — pick up a pot and throw it at the door with a pot on it to unlock it. Then go inside and defeat the knight.
With all five leaves, you can now return to Richard and he’ll give you access to the Pothole Field.
How To Get The Slime Key
Bring Richard all five gold leaves, and you’ll let you enter Pothole Field. Push the big statue to reveal an underground passage that leads to the field — then use your sword to carefully cut away the brush to reveal a path to the owl statue.
At the owl statue, you’ll get a cryptic clue. The Slime Key is located right under your feet when you talk to the Owl Statue — dig up the spot directly below it. Now you can use the key on the Slime Keyhole just above Pothole Field and unlock Level 3.
