14 Years Later, Zelda Fans Discover New Way To Kill Wind Waker Boss

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker has some pretty tricky bosses. But a sneaky new trick allows players to slay one dangerous boss monster without ever swinging their sword.

Kalle Demos is the boss of the Forbidden Woods. Normally, you are required to use a combination of the sword and boomerang to defeat it. If you’re fast enough, you can dispose of the boss in one round. But now there’s another quick and easy way to slay the beast.

Fish_waffle65 tried sprinkling some magical forest water on the blighted plant. The result? Instant death. No need to swing your sword!

The forest water is used in The Wind Waker to complete a lengthy sidequest that earns the player a health upgrading heart piece. Using it against a boss is a very strange decision given its limited use. The result has members of the game’s community nonplussed. Testing shows it working in both the original GameCube version and the Wii U HD remaster.

There’s actually a few alternate ways to defeat Kalle Demos. A recent tool assisted speedrun uses a host of glitches to glide into the boss using the deku leaf and damage it from the inside. You can also use bombs instead and never use the boomerang at all, as seen in this video by sva161620.

I asked Wind Waker HD world record holder gymnast86 if the forest water method could be useful in speedruns. According to him, it doesn’t look like new runs will use the trick.

“Kalle Demos is already really fast with the sword,” gymnast told me. “It’s cool and hilarious that this works but it will not be used in runs as far as I can see.”

It’s pretty damn amazing that dedicated fans are discovering these tricks over a decade after the game’s release. Recently, one of the game’s most sought after glitches was found.

Using magical water to defeat an evil plant definitely feels in line with The Legend of Zelda’s puzzles and logic. The next time you find yourself in the Forbidden Woods, consider bringing a fresh bottle of water.