HOOKSHOT
GITHUB First appearance
Hookshot in A Link to the Past
The item is a Swamp Palace prize. Hookshot Cave is a different place you visit afterward, and only if you want the Piece of Heart and the fairy.
Swamp Palace
Zelda Wiki and the Fandom page both treat A Link to the Past as the Hookshot's first game, and both put the chest in the Swamp Palace. You need it to cross gaps that are a chain-length apart and to stun some enemies. The artwork on this page is the Zelda Wiki piece, small because that is the size of the scan. I did not blow it up.
Hookshot Cave is optional
Hookshot Cave sits on the east side of Death Mountain. IGN's cave page and Zelda Wiki describe it as optional. The route in uses the Hammer, the Magic Mirror, the Titan's Mitt, and the Ether medallion. Inside you can reach Piece of Heart number 23 and a great fairy. None of that is how you obtain the Hookshot. People merge the two because the cave has the item's name. I split them so the Swamp Palace chest stays the answer to 'where do I get it'.
Questions
Is the Hookshot in Hookshot Cave?
No. You bring the Hookshot to that cave. You find the item in the Swamp Palace.
What do I need before the cave?
IGN lists the Hammer, Magic Mirror, Titan's Mitt, and Ether, after you already own the Hookshot.
Sources
| Source | Evidence status | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Zelda Wiki — Hookshot | 1 reference · shared publishers and mirrors count together | 2026-11-11 |
| Zelda Fandom — Hookshot | 1 reference · shared publishers and mirrors count together | 2026-11-11 |
| IGN — Hookshot Cave | 1 reference · shared publishers and mirrors count together | 2026-11-11 |