Desert Palace (A Link to the Past)

Desert Palace
The entrances and exits of the palace
Location(s)	Desert of Mystery
Game(s)	A Link to the Past
Main Item	Power Glove
Boss(es)	Lanmolas
Quest Reward(s)	Pendant of Power Heart Container

The Desert Palace is the third dungeon in the Light World of A Link to the Past, and it serves as the dungeon that guards the Pendant of Power.

Entrance to the Palace

The palace is located in the south-west corner of Hyrule in the Desert of Mystery. Access is granted only by using the Book of Mudora to read the inscription on the stone that is placed on a small square with three statues surrounding it. Upon using the book, the statues will move around and grant a pathway that Link can use to get to the entrance.

Themes and Navigation

Many of this dungeon's rooms have sand floors, with enemies that hide inside quicksand which attack Link by firing projectiles at him. It is also the first time Beamos are found. Interestingly, most of the rooms are accessible at first, and some of them lead to alternate exits. The main treasure is the Power Glove, which allows Link to lift boulders. The boss is a group of three Lanmolas. After defeating them, Link receives a Heart Container and the Pendant of Power.

Around three-fourths of the way through the dungeon, Link must actually exit through one of the outer stone heads and use the Power Glove to venture toward the second floor, where the bosses are found a few rooms further. This feature of exiting a dungeon entirely in order to progress further is shared with the Skull Woods in the same game, the Spirit Temple in Ocarina of Time, and Mermaid's Cave in Oracle of Ages.

Enemies and Traps

Trivia

This is one of the few dungeons which Link is required to leave and re-enter in order to complete it.
The Spirit Temple in Ocarina of Time borrowed elements from this dungeon such as the dungeon setting, the multiple entrances and the dungeon treasure being the Silver Gauntlets, very similar items to the Power Gloves.
The Desert Temple from Four Swords Adventures is extremely similar to the Desert Palace, with almost identical architecture and enemies. Their names are the same in Japanese, so they are possibly intended to be the same location.
The Stone Tower Temple of Majora's Mask is strikingly similar to the Desert Palace concerning its architecture, desert location, and boss (Twinmold and Lanmola being nearly identical in physical appearance, surroundings, mannerisms, and weaknesses).
In A Link to the Past, once Link reads the inscription in front of the Palace and the statues move, he cannot leave the dungeon through the main entrance. He must find an alternate exit if he wishes to leave.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Regions
Language		Name	Meaning
	Japanese	砂漠の神殿 (Sabaku no Shinden)	Desert Temple
	French^EU	Palais du Désert	Desert Palace
	German	Wüstenpalast	Desert Palace
	Italian	Castello di Sabbia	Castle of Sand