November 2018 marked The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s twentieth birthday. In its heyday, it was considered the greatest video game of all time. While other titles have refined the formula since, few actually manage to understand what made the game so great: balance. Twenty years later, Ocarina of Time is still one of the, if not the, greatest video games of all time. Every facet of its design is fine tuned to offer an experience that very few developers can replicate. Even Nintendo struggles with each new installment in the series. After twenty years, Ocarina of Time is still a masterpiece.
And somehow full of countless secrets. By this point in time, everything the game offers should be common knowledge. After all, fans have been playing the “greatest game of a💧ll time” for decades now. Nintendo knew what they were doing, though, and while every secret has been found by this point, not every fan is going to be aware of the more obscure ones. This is a game so simple on a surface level that it’s easy to take for granted just how much you can actually see or do. Even if you’ve been playing this game for years, chances are you missed more than a fair share of secrets.
25 The Kn꧂ight’s Last Wo🧸rds
Ocarina of Time is a surprisingly dark game all things considered. The Goron get fed to Volvagia one by one; the Zora get completely encased in ice; and Ganondorf straight de🐼stroys Castle Town, turning it into a ReDead infested inferno. Those♛ are all the dark moments on the surface, though.
One of the darkest moments in the entire game is totally optional. Upon obtaining the Ocarina of Time from Zelda, Link can encounter a guard in Hyrule Market’s back alleys. Naturally, most players would rush⭕ to the Temple of Time so this is impeccably well hid. The guard will inform Link of what happened at the castle before passing away in front of the boy’s eyes🌱.
24 ꦯ Fun With The Sinking Lure 👍
Fishing is always a bit of a contentious sport when it comes to video games. Some people love fishing minigames for the leisure they offer players on a long journey. Others hate them for often tying content behind entirely new mechanics. Ocarina of Time i𝓡s really no different, but it does let Link cheat.
Funny enough, using the Sinking Lure to catch the Loach doesn't register as illegal fishing.
After catching a 10-pound fish in the past and a 15 pound fish in the future, Link can find the Sinking Lure, an illegal lure that allows him to fish deep into the pond’s waters. The Sinking Lure will spawn randomly on t𝐆he field and is extremely useful for helping Link catch the legendary Hylian Loach.
23 Balding Througꦜh Time ꦏ
While we’re at the fishing hole, there’s a little easter egg that gets a brief and quick line of foreshadowing once Link returns after obtaining the Master Sword. Upon recognizing Link from seven years prior, the man in charge of the fishing hole will mention h💯ow much Link has grown and quickly make an offhand comment about hair.
Should Link rent a fishing rod and then fling it at the man, it’s possible to snag the hat right off his head, revealing that he has balded over the seven-year time skip. It’s such a minor detail, and one fans won’t know to look for if they s✱ped through his dialogue, but it’s a charming easter egg hiding in plain sight.
22 You Don’t Need The Bow Fo🌄r The Fire Temple ﷽
Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing dictating that the Forest Temple absolutely needs to be first. For progression purposes, it is perhaps best to do the Forest T🌠emple as soon as Link gets the Hookshot, but it’s unnecessary. The misconception comes from how useful the Bow is, but you don’t need it for the Fire Temple.
You'll probably still want it, but experiment on your next playthrough.
The only puzzle that absolutely requires the Bow simply leads Link to a room with an optional chest. If players really want the chest, it’s possible to actually get the chest through other means, makinꦕg the puzzles pointless. As a result, players can realis🌟tically tackle the Fire Temple first.
21 ꦛ Or💦 The Water Temple
Not only can the Fire Temple be done without the Bow, so can t🐓he Water Temple. The Water Temple’s status is a bit trickier since the Bow is attached to a room that gives Link one of the final keys in the dungeon, but there’s a workaround. Hoard the first two keys and save them until the very end.
The lowermost locked rooms are actually completely optional in the context of the Water Temple. Naturally, you’ll probably want to do everything, but avoiding those locked doors will allow Link t🎐o carry two keys that will help h🌼im open two doors later on without ever needing the Bow.
20 The Spirit Temple Can Be Done Third ♔
Although you do need the Bow and Arrow to complete the Spirit Temple, it doesn’t actually need to come so late into the game. While it makes use of all the major dungeon items, the only ones that absolutely MUST be used to complete the dungeon are the Bow and the Longshot from the Forest and Water Temples r♑es🌃pectively.
It's hard, but doable.
This me🎃ans that the Spirit Temple can indeed be done third. Of course, this is a feat you’ll only want to attempt if you’re already familiar with the🦹 game. Getting through the Spirit Temple without the Lens of Truth, Hover Boots, and Megaton Hammer is possible, but only worth the trouble if you’re a master of the game.
19 The Shadow Temple Primarily Focuses On Combat 👍
In recent years, the Shadow Temple has come under fire as the weakest of the Adult dungeons. While many fans still recognize the fact that the Shadow Temple is a good dungeon in its ownℱ right, its linearity has come under fire. In defense of the Shadow Templ😼e, however, the linearity is masking the dungeon’s real purpose: combat.
When it comes down to it, the Shadow Temple is pretty much all about combat. This ⛄dungeon features the most sword fights of any dungeon outside of Ganon’s Tower. Link constantly fights Stalfos from start to finish, and the challenge comes not from puzzles but from surviving an onslaught of enemies.
18 🌃 The Water Temple Can Be Done Before Fire
While we’ve established that the Water Temple can be done without the Bow, and therefore before the Fores𒆙t Temple, it’s worth mentioning that the Water Temple can also be done before the Fire Temple. While this seems like a given, the implication is more so the fact that the first t🏅hree Adult dungeons can be done in any order.
Get the Water Temple out of the way asap.
Upon getting the Hookshot, Link can realistically tackle the Forest, Fire, and Water Te💯mples in any order the player so chooses. Complacency nudges us towards Forest, Fire, and W𒊎ater in that order, but the game is so much more lenient than it lets on. No other 3D Zelda, save for Breath of the Wild, offers as much wiggle room.
17 ✃ You Can Get More Heart Pieces Than You Neeꦆd
In remaking the title for the 3DS, Grezzo decided to leave as many harmless glitches in the game as possible. Glitches were actually a big part of Ocarina of Time’s early identity, and played a large role in the speedrunning community, so this move was quite thoughtful on Grezz☂o’s part.
One such glitch is actually quite helpful for those fans struggling to collect every Heart Piece. Dampe’s digging game actually contains an infinite number of Heart Pieces through an oversight. Continually pꦓlaying the game will reward Link with more pieces than he needs. Be warned, though, getting too many might wreck your game.
16 Boss Songs Are Themed 𝕴
You may have noticed that the game itself has a few different variants for boss fights, but they’re actually t♈hemed for what the boss♚ represents. For bosses possessed or influenced by Ganondorf, the normal boss theme will play. For bosses not necessarily aligned with Ganon, a different version will play.
It's a shame that the reptile theme only gets used twice.
What’s a good way of remembering the difference? Easy, who’s a reptile? The secondℱ variant most notably plays for both Dodongo and Volvagia, reptilian monsters of yore. Basically, dinosaurs get their own boss themes while the others stick to the default. You have to wonder why Koji Kondo didn’t go even further with the theming.