Link's Awakening, Level 7

I've played Link's Awakening many many times before, and I was playing it today. I was at Level 7, Eagle's Tower, and after I beat it I tried to make my way to Level 8, but noticed something.

Every single time I've played this game and beaten this level, I've always always done it without ever having gotten the level 2 shield.

Have any of you ever beaten level 7 without the level 2 shield and then realized you actually HAD forgotten something back there?

I thought the L-2 shield helps against the Eagle's feather storm. Doesn't make a difference?

Have you tried fighting the Eagle with the Magic Rod from Level 8? Simply head out to Level 8 after getting the L-2 shield then head back with the rod. It dies after a few fireballs. >;D

You don't need the Mirror Shield to beat the Eagle Tower. You only need it in the cave with the flame thrower on your way to Turtle Rock.

That the dungeon items can be optional was very common in the classic games, but not so much since Ocarina of Time.

I never went the weak way and got the fire rod for the Eagle. I think that's cheating and that the eagle is not hard enough to skip one boss to go get an item from the next temple and come back to kill it. But I always got the mirror shield from the tower. Never thought that you could just run past it and not notice it there in the dungeon.

I never had any issues with Eagle's Tower. I always found the Mirror Shield and got it there, always defeated the eagle too. XD

I've always gotten it, no exceptions. Although I love how it's set up in a way where you CAN skip the item until you go to the next dungeon, but actually getting it requires considerable skill in just general navigating.

Actually, general navigating over singular puzzles is what makes the last three dungeons in Link's Awakening some of the very, very best in the entire series. Seriously, singular puzzles like the ones you see today pale in comparison to large, complex dungeons where skill in navigation is crucial above all else.