In dungeons, the game switches to a closer view and introduces various obstacles and enemies, which the player must either navigate or destroy to progress.

During gameplay, the player is prompted to dip the letter in water to reveal a hidden code (747), which is required to progress in the game.

While fighting monsters and traveling across the isles of the South Seas in search of Jones, Mike encounters various characters, including a parrot and a mother dolphin looking for her son.

Shortly after, Mike finds Jones, who explains that he discovered the escape pod some time ago, which came from the faraway planet of Argonia.

Their leader, Mica, explains that they are the last of the Argonians, as Argonia was destroyed, and that her father, King Hirocon, sent them to Earth to live in peace.

In a contemporaneous review, the Green Bay Press-Gazette praised the game's graphics and sound, but considered it too similar to The Legend of Zelda and deemed the gameplay "dreadful.

[16] Michael Baker commented on the graphics, noting that the characters and action sequences "look fantastic" while the travel scenes were "kind of dull".

[16] IGN's Lucas M. Thomas praised the creative gameplay of StarTropics, calling it "the natural evolution of the original Legend of Zelda.