This cache is NOT at the posted coordinates, nor is there anything pursuant to the cache that location!
This cache is part of the Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask series! The Legend of Zelda is, by many accounts, the most popular and beloved video game franchise of all time. Many of its entries have revolutionized the way people create and experience video games, with some particularly noteworthy examples being Ocarina of Time, Link to the Past, Breath of the Wild, and of course the 1986 classic that started it all.
While Ocarina of Time is considered by many to be the best video game of all time, Majora’s Mask, its immediate successor, gets comparatively less attention. Some of this is understandable: Nintendo rushed the game out only one year after the groundbreaking Ocarina of Time and recycled many of the character models and items from this game to make Majora’s Mask, leading some to think of it as little more than an appendix to a much more famous title. Yet Majora’s Mask departed from the Zelda formula in so many ways and had so many innovations of its own that it is undoubtedly worth a look.
The two most drastic differences between Majora’s Mask and Ocarina of Time are the ways in which they be contrasted thematically and structurally. Ocarina of Time is the prototypical adventure game: you start the game as a small child, answer the call of the Great Deku Tree to save the land of Hyrule, gradually hone your skills and increase your weaponry until you are able to defeat Ganon himself. It features wide open fields filled with quirky and lovable characters, from the dimwitted but earnest Gorons, to the good-natured but narcoleptic Talon, to the feisty (if petulant) Princess Ruto. Majora’s Mask, by contrast, is a creepy carnival of horrors, in many ways. You are greeted in the opening moments of the game by a malevolent being who possesses a child, curses you into the form of a monster, then turns the very moon into a demonic creature intent on destroying the world of Termina within three days. Where Ganon sought to conquer, Majora just wants to destroy.
Despite how unnerving the game can be at times, it integrates you into the lives of its characters in a way that few other games have: if you choose, you can help two lovers reunite for their wedding, lift the curse on a young girl’s father who has been turned into a monster, play a lullaby for a young child whose father is lost in the snow, and help out two sisters whose ranch has been ravaged by both jealous neighbors and invaders from another world. The stories you experience will stick with you for years to come!
I hope you’ll take the time to solve the puzzles and find the caches in this series, and maybe even try the classic video game for yourself! As for the cache series, there are six standalone mystery caches, each loosely based on the events of the game and the Zelda series in general, and one final cache. To check out the final, click the link below. the Each cache has a clue (trust me, you will need ALL SIX to locate the final), and three of them have an additional hint to help you figure out how to get the final coordinates from the clues. Good luck!
LoZ:MMs - FINAL - The Moon
Now for the puzzle....
No Zelda game would be complete without a fair complement of dungeons: massive, deadly labyrinthes filled with mind-bending puzzles and ferocious enemies. Majora's Mask is no different. While it has only four official dungeons (which is low for a Zelda game), they are filled with some of the most memorable and impenetrable puzzles that you will encounter in a video game. Stone Tower temple, a dungeon that forces you to flip gravity upside-down and walk on the ceiling, is a particularly fine example.
In any Zelda dungeon, it is VERY easy to lose your way within the manifold twists and turns. For this reason, the game develops are merciful and give you a map and compass to find your way. But you must find it first. Those first few minutes where you're aimlessly wandering through a lethal and mystifying maze can be brutal. With that in mind, take a look at the diagramlass crossword puzzle below; after all, getting through a crossword puzzle without knowing what the grid looks like is not altogether unlike blundering through a Zelda dungeon without a map or compass.
A few pointers: first, I have tried to follow all the New York Times rules of proper crossword puzzle constructing, with a few exceptions. The "rules" say that all answers must be at least three letters long, but I had to bend that rule for a few. Don't worry: any answer that is under three letters will be clearly marked in the clue. Second, I will inform you that the grid follows left-right symmetry. Last, for all the Zelda fans out there, the grid, when completed, will depict a classic Zelda location. Once you see what it is, you will understand why I had to bend the rules a bit. Good luck!
The cache is located at N 39° AB.CDE W 74° FG.HIJ. To solve for the letters, heed the following clues:
AB - Who or what can be found above 16-Down (two words)? Take digital root, then switch the digits
C - Ones place of the position in the alphabet of the letter in the red box
D - Ones place of the position in the alphabet of the letter in the orange box
E - Ones place of the position in the alphabet of the letter in the yellow box
FG - Who or what can be found to the left of 30-Across (one word)? Take digital root, then add four
H - Ones place of the position in the alphabet of the letter in the green box
I - Ones place of the position in the alphabet of the letter in the blue box
J - Ones place of the position in the alphabet of the letter in the purple box
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.