DARK AND DINGY CAVES
When you first enter the cavern, you'll find yourself in a very small room with no way to go. See the wall opposite the entrance, and how it looks different to the rest of the wall? Grab a nearby Bomb Flower and blow the wall to gain entrance to the main room. There are some lava pools in the main room, but by sticking to the edge of the pools you can walk around them without getting injured. The centre of the main room is a path to the mouth of a giant Dodongo head statue, but that comes later.
There are several weak walls along the edge of the main room, all which should be blown with Bomb Flowers. Behind one such weak wall is the Map, another hides a Business Scrub who will sell you a Deku Shield for 50 Rupees if you don't have one yourself, and yet another one hides the way to the Dodongo passage. Use Bomb Flowers to take out the Beamos statues if you like, but you can keep running from them to avoid their beams, which is just as effective.
The Dodongo passage is a passage which contains a series of Dodongo Larvae who will come out of the ground and attack Link. Take them out with single sword strokes, but remember that their corpses will explode a few seconds after they die. When you get to the end of the passage, you'll come to a barred door. Pull an Armos statue onto the switch to lock it down and you can proceed.
In the next room you'll encounter two Lizalfos, which attack one at a time. These guys are difficult to beat if you don't know what you're doing. Most people I know stun them with Deku Nuts, then use a Jump Attack; I prefer to get them onto the edge of a platform, then hit them with a normal sword stroke. Use the Hylian Shield to duck under their attacks, and make sure you raise the Shield when the Lizalfos jump at you. Once one reaches half-health (or carks it), he'll let his mate take over. Once both Lizalfos are down, the door will open and you can proceed.
The next room has mature Dodongos, though in the passage just before here are some Business Scrubs behind a weak wall. Make sure you have the Hylian Shield equipped, so that you don't lose any gear should you get hit by their fire breath. To take out the Dodongos, let them take in a breath in preperation for their fire attack, then sneak around behind them and attack their tail. Repeat until all Dodongos are out, then ignite all the torches in the room to proceed.
You'll now find yourself back in the main room, but on a high passage which Link couldn't jump high enough to reach. On this passage is a switch which will raise the bars off another door in this room, which is the door you should proceed through.

In the next room there are a large number of Bomb Flowers around a central pillar. Along the edge of this room is a weak wall, inside is three Armous statues. Touch the centre statue and it will come to life, so toss a Deku Nut to stun it then finish it with a single sword stroke. Make sure you back off because the statue will bounce around a fair bit before exploding. Behind the living Armous statue will be a big chest containing the Compass.
Go back to the Bomb Flowers surrounding the pillar. Grab the Bomb Flower which is not surrounding the pillar, then place it on in the gap where one is obviously missing. Now stand back and wait for all of the Bomb Flowers to blow, and the pillar will collapse and form a useful stairwell.
After you climb up the stairway pillar, you can break open some pots for powerups, then go along the gantry on the opposite side of the room. A Skullwalltula is on some vines, but you don't have to climb those vines so you don't have to kill him.
Make sure you have the Hylian Shield equipped when you enter the next room, since there are several Fire Keese (bats) there. Knock out all of the bats, but steer clear of the Armos statues around the pillar in the centre of the room. Once all the bats are knocked out, look behind all of the Armos statues for a red-orange ladder. When you find the ladder, pull the Armos out of the way and climb the ladder to reach a switch. Enter the now-open door and proceed.

You are now on the second floor of the main room. Look out for the Fire Keese as you cross the gantry to the other side. You'll now find yourself in the switchblade maze. As Navi says, look out for the moving switchblades as you proceed. Find your way to the ladder which has a blue Time Block underneath it. Pull the block out of the way to find a recovery heart, but you need to use the Time Block to reach the ladder. Climb the ladder, and you'll find the path is blocked. Look behind you for a platform with a Bomb Flower and a chest (containing Rupees).
What now follows is one of the hardest sections of the game, mostly because in order to proceed you must strut your Bomb-throwing accuracy stuff. You must throw a Bomb Flower and blow the blocked doorway to proceed. You can either pluck the Bomb Flower and time the throw so that it blows when its close enough to the wall, or you can throw the Bomb Flower so that it lands between the wall and the top of the ladder you climbed. I usually try to wedge the Bomb Flower between the ladder and wall, but neither option is easier than the other.
In the next room, use the Slingshot to activate the Eye Switch and lower the flames so you can cross the platforms to the other side of the room. The Switch is timed, so watch out. Next you must fight some more Lizalfos, but use the same tactics as before and they'll be a breeze. Next, you'll encounter more flaming platforms. Hit the Eye Switch to lower the first lot of flames and hop along, then turn left and hit that Eye Switch to lower the next lot of flames. Remember to be quick since the flames will return.

You'll find yourself on the top level of the switchblade maze, and on a platform you can jump to is a large chest containing the Bomb Bag and twenty Bombs. Continue along the path and you'll come to the main room again. Near here is a switch which should be activated, as it allows a moving pillar to rise up and gives you access to the second floor from the main room. Now, head for the nearby gantry which has two gaps in it. On the opposite end of the gantry is a weak wall, behind which is a chest containing five Rupees (or Deku Shield if you lost yours). Drop a Bomb down each gap in the gantry, and once they blow a new doorway through the mouth of the Dodongo head statue. Jump to the first floor and enter the new route.
In the next room, avoid the Fire Keese and go down the one passage you can jump to. In the next room, watch out for more Fire Keese as you go through the room, climbing walls and blocks. Once you get out of that passage, you'll be able to push a block down to the floor of the room just before the Keeper. Heave the block into the hole in the centre of the room and the grille over the door will remove, and you can enter the Keeper's lair. Firstly, Bomb the floor where it looks suspicious to access the battlefield. A chest in this room hides some Bombs. When Link falls down the hole, he'll come face-to-face with the giant...

KING DODONGO: Infernal Dinosaur
In the centre of the battlefield is a pit of lava, which will gradually drain Link's health. Obviously, avoid this lava like the plague. Along the safe ground, you will be vunerable to KD's attacks but you'll be able to avoid them easily. In two corners of the room are Bomb Flowers.
Firstly, KD takes a long breath in before blowing a ball of fire accross the room. KD then curls himself into a ball and rolls around the room, turning at one corner then coming to a stop at the second. Above all, make sure you have the Hylian Shield equipped at this point in time.
When KD breathes in, you must toss an explosive into his mouth. Don't waste your own Bombs, just use the Bomb Flowers. Pluck one of the flowers, then lock onto KD with Z-Targeting. Now, run as close to him as you dare then throw the Flower. Remember, you have to hit A on the fly in order to throw the darned Bomb!
KD will swallow the Bomb and it'll explode in his belly, stunning him. Now attack his tender mouth with the sword; most people use a Jump Attack. After you hit KD, he'll recover and use a rolling attack. Duck underneath the Hylian Shield to avoid taking damage, and make sure you're against the wall for this attack so Link isn't pushed into the lava pit. Repeat the process until KD goes down for good.
One more thing: when KD recovers from his rolling attack, he'll turn and face one direction. Often he'll turn and face Link, but there are occasions when KD turns and faces an empty passage. If KD does face the wrong way, he'll do another rolling attack to get into position. When KD does two rolling attacks, just watch him to see which corner he'll land in, then get ready to attack.
When KD is gone for good, he'll roll into the lava pit in the middle of the room. The lava will then harden and become safe to walk on, so don't be scared about getting the Heart Container or stepping into the warp.

"Anyone who seeks fame need only become familiar with all that I have acheived." - Claudius Galen
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