Forest Temple Dungeon Walkthrough - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake Guide - IGN

Welcome to IGN's Guide to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake. After 28 years, Ocarina of Time has been fully remade, and while much of it remains the same, there's plenty of new differences to be found while exploring Hyrule. Seven years have passed since Link pulled the Master Sword free, and now seeks an old friend deep within the Forest Temple that has been corrupted by Ganondorf's influence.

Meeting with Sheik, Link learns a new melody to return to the Sacred Grove at any time, and with his new trusty Hookshot, ascends to the entrance of the temple to find a Sage and the Forest Medallion they keep.

As you enter the strange temple, it seems more like a manor overtaken by the greenery around it. You'll find a large entryway with a locked door, with giant trees flanking you on both sides.

No sooner than taking your first steps will two Wolfos appear to ambush you! You might be bigger, but that doesn't make these foes any less dangerous. Much like the Lizalfos, they'll alternate which one pursues while the other lurks in the background. Try to keep your eye on both while focusing on the present threat, and dodge backward away from their swipes to jump forward when their back is exposed, or charge up a spin attack!

Once the pair have been defeated, you'll notice the door in front of you is locked. Some people stash their front door key under a nearby rock, but the owners of the Forest Temple have opted for a different approach. Look up to the eastern side for a long wall of vines going up the massive tree, which will lead you to some high branches. You'll need to run along the long branch to the tree on the opposite side to find a small Treasure Chest with a Small Key inside!

While you're up here on the high trees that you climbed up via the vines, be sure to look back at the top of the vine wall on the eastern tree. Near the top past the branches you climbed up to is the first of several Gold Skulltulas, which you can defeat at a distance with your hookshot and claim its token.

Unlock the front door to head inside the temple proper, and defeat the large Skulltula who tries to block your way by slicing its backside.

Once in the main foyer of the Forest Temple, you'll find a large ornate lift around four colored torches. The residents of the Forest Temple will make themselves known - the Four Poe Sisters - and each will take one of the colored flames away, sealing the lift as they vanish with a laugh. Your objective will be to claim these fires back, which are now hidden across the temple grounds.

The foyer is divided up into several color-coded sections: Red windows to the left on the west, blue on the right to the east, and a green window straight ahead to the north, though several entrances are blocked or otherwise barred.

Before moving on, be sure to head straight ahead toward the green stained-glass window. As you move up the stairs, turn to the right to find a Gold Skulltula hiding on an inner wall by a blue window, and hit it with your Hookshot.

Head north through the door under the green stained-glass window, and into a hall with a new enemy. The Blue Bubble is a crazed flying skull protected by blue flames, and will try to ram into you. Hold your ground with shield raised, and the flames will douse as it bounces off, giving you the opportunity to quickly slice it apart or use your Hookshot.

As you enter the next room, the door will seal, pitting you against much more formidable foes: Stalfos.

These enemies are as patient as they are lethal. The only good news is that similar to Lizlafos and Wolfos, they'll respect the rules of engagement and face you one at a time, but can alternate who attacks. They are incredibly defensive foes, and trying to slash head-on will have little effect.

Instead, you'll want to become even more patient than your foes. Bait out their attacks, and watch their movements. Stalfos often employ a series of swings, slashing to the side twice before a delayed overhand hit. Get in a quick hit after the first two swings, then dodge out of the way of the last strike.

Be warned, as the Stalfos are lethal even at a distance. If you see one back up only for its blade to glint, be ready for a massive jump attack! Quickly strafe jump to the side, then launch your own strike before the skeleton can recover!

Once both foes are down, a new Small Treasure Chest will appear, holding another Small Key for you to move deeper into the temple.

Head back to the foyer, but don't use it on the red door just yet. Instead, turn your attention to the northwest, where a large blue block is in the way of a door on the lower floor. Play the Song of Time in front of the block, and it will disappear, letting you access the northwestern courtyard.

This large outdoor area is full of greenery, and a few lurking enemies like Deku Babas lying in wait, so be careful when exploring. A small island in the middle of a pond holds a large well, and off to the right you can spy a huge trail of vines crawling with Skullwalltulas trailing all the way up to a distant balcony.

First things first, head over to the trail of vines and use your Hookshot to eliminate the Skullwalltulas cluttering up the path before ascending to the first floor balcony yourself. The passage has crumbled close, but there's another balcony to the north, with a target you can latch onto using your Hookshot.

Zip across and explore this section to find a switch. Stepping on it will lower the water in the large well below, allowing you dive down into it.

Take a leap into the well to land in the shallower water, revealing a path to the northeast courtyard. Along this basement trail, you'll also find another Small Treasure Chest with your third Small Key!

Climb up the ladder here into the other courtyard, which has a few different features. Octoroks lurk in a small moat here that you'll want to deflect their projectiles first, and then look for a target to Hookshot across the water to find a large Treasure Chest, which holds the Dungeon Map!

There's a block above you that prevents going higher, so return to the other side of the moat and go through the door to return to the foyer, stepping on a switch to unlock the gate on the blue side of the room.

Now armed with two keys, use one of them on the eastern red door. Defeat the Blue Bubble in the hallway to enter the next large room.

In this large room to the east that spans multiple stories, the first thing you may notice is a spotlight above your head. Soon, the shadow beneath you will grow to reveal the shape of a hand, and the moment the spotlight turns from blue to red, quickly dash away to avoid an incoming Wallmaster!

These large hands will try and grab you if you remain unaware or preoccupied. If you get grabbed, you'll only have a moment to try to break free before the Wallmaster yanks you upward to warp you back to the entrance to the Forest Temple!

Instead, dodge out of the way as it lands, then quickly lunge in with a sword slice before the Wallmaster can retreat, and it will trouble you no more in this room.

With the threats out of the way, turn your attention to the nearby ladder, and climb up to find a series of corridor passages. Looking along the floor, you can spot yellow arrows pointing to the south, and they are coming from a large stone block to the west. Run around the corner and along a balcony to get to the other side of the block, then push it east and then south, before going around back along the balcony to push it west until it sits down in a recessed slot.

If you try to climb up here to the second floor, you'll find a similar narrow passage with another stone block, but there's not enough room to pull it back. Instead, return to where you first pushed the block on the lower level, and you'll find that it revealed a ladder up to another part of the second floor, putting you on the other side of the stone block.

Push the block to the south until it won't move, then return back downstairs and take the other ledge back up so that you can continue to push the block east until it also falls into a small recess, allowing you to climb upward to floor 3F.

This path leads to another large room with a new locked door, and a strange eye target above in a twisted frame. There are also a few smaller floating Blue Bubbles here, and you can snipe them out of the sky with your Hookshot to douse their flames before running in to finish them off.

Before unlocking the door to the north, be sure to look west for a switch, which will activate a lift, allowing you to quickly move up and down this large multi-story area (in case you forgot to explore the courtyard first and need to get that key).

Unlocking then next corridor will lead to a strange twisting path effecting not only the hallway, but the red chapel room beyond. All the floors, platforms, and balconies (even a large blue chest!) will have twisted to the left, meaning you'll need to hop along the tilted platforms instead of exploring the room normally. Beware of another Wallmaster, and quickly cross to a doorway leading east (if you fall down, there's a ladder to take you back up to the middle platform).

The next area is a long stairwell, with strange portraits placed across its floors. One will bear the resemblance of a certain Poe Sister you at the start of the dungeon, and it will run away to a different portrait when you draw close. Ignore the Poe for now, and head down to floor 2F to enter the far door.

In this arena, you'll be pitted against more Stalfos, with giant bubbling pit of toxic green ooze in the middle of the room! Spacing will be key here, as you'll want to both bait out the Stalfos attack, but leave them open on even ground that you can land your own attacks without taking damage. Leave space open to dodge toward the walls instead of dodging toward the pit in the middle.

Once you've defeated the first, two more will appear, and you'll need to move carefully to ensure you aren't flanked. Let them come to you on safe ground, rather than trying to advance on them into toxic territory.

When the next two Stalfos go down, a large Treasure Chest will appear as your reward. Be sure to look for pots around the room to heal up, and then claim your new ranged weapon -- the Fairy Bow!

Much like the Fairy Slingshot, this ranged weapon can hit all types of targets at a distance -- from enemies to eye switches, and even foes lurking in paintings...

One of the doors to the west is locked, so instead turn back east to find an eye target above the door, and unlock it to return to the previous room.

Now you'll be able to use your Fairy Bow to snipe the portraits that the Poe sister appears in from afar: on both side of the 2F Floor landing, and at the top of the 3F Floor stairwell.

When all three portraits have been shot down, the ghost will have no choice but to appear at the bottom of the room. Jo, is the second born of the four Poe Sisters, and she moves similarly to other Poes, but hits harder.

If you try to target her directly, she'll often turn invisible, and swing her torch around to deal a lot of damage if you don't strafe the charge attack. This spinning charge will leave her dizzy for a moment, allowing you to quickly step in and get some attacks off before she vanishes.

Repeat the assault after her next spin attack, and Jo will go down, releasing the red flame she carried in her torch, which will unlock a new small Treasure Chest holding the next Small Key.

With a new key, head to other side of the central room you got the Fairy Bow in, and enter the blue wing of the manor. It's nearly identical to the other side, including the same portraits showing a blue ghost this time.

Repeat the process of sniping the portraits from afar on the second and third floor landings to force the next Poe Sister out of hiding. Beth, the third born, is a nearly identical fight.

Watch for the spinning attacks and dodge around them, waiting for Beth to get dizzy from the attack so you can run in and slash her to pieces.

When the second Poe Sister goes down, her blue flame will be yours, unlocking a large Treasure Chest that holds the Compass!

Looking at the map now with the compass, you'll find that even though the blue and red wings of the temple mirror each other pretty closely, there's a locked door up on floor 3F past where you defeated Beth, so you'll need to find a key elsewhere if you want to continue on that path.

Remember that strange twisting frame with the eye switch around the twisted hallway you took to get here?

Retrace your steps to the east, back down through the red wing and twisted red chapel, along the twisted hallway and back outside. Shoot the eye up here, and it will "straighten" the next hallway, moving the room back into its original position too!

Before entering, return back to the multi-story room nearby with all the stone blocks you had to push. Drop down to floor 2F and move along the yellow arrows you pushed the stone block along to a small balcony in the northeast corner. There's another eye switch here you can hit with your bow, causing a small Treasure Chest to drop down holding a Purple Rupee!

Going back through the untwisted red hallway, the red chapel room now has a hole in the middle of the bottom floor. More importantly, there's a stunning blue Treasure Chest next to it, and opening it will reveal the Boss Key -- the special key you'll need to access the boss of this dungeon!

Drop into the hole by the chest you just opened to fall down to floor 1F, and get out of the pool quickly to deal with some Blue Bubbles.

When you exit out to the south, you'll find yourself on a low balcony overlooking the northwest outdoor courtyard, but you don't want to jump down just yet.

When overlooking the northwest courtyard from the balcony you arrived on from floor 2F, look for a doorway to the south. There's a small ledge wrapping around to the side of the door, and if you follow it, you'll find a Gold Skulltula hiding along the wall just past it in reach of your Hookshot from this angle.

Enter the room to the west to get sealed in with a Floormaster. Unlike Wallmasters, these giant hands are far more aggressive, sprouting damaging green flames as they attempt to strike you. Just like the Bubbles, use your shield and stand firm to stun the fires out of them or evade their strike and wait for the flames to diminish before striking.

When a Floormaster is killed, three smaller forms will sprout from it. You'll need to act quickly and slice them all apart -- if they cling onto you and sap your health, they can gain enough power to reform into the larger Floormaster once again! Try using Din's Fire to quickly clear the room. This will spawn a small Treasure Chest holding a new Small Key!

Head through the southern door to find a shortcut back up to floor 3F, and hit the eye target to twist the red hallway and red chapel once again. This way, you can head back through the corridors to the blue wing of the manor, now that you have a key to unlock the door on the top floor of the stairwell where you defeated the Po Sister, Beth.

Head through the blue chapel and up a ladder to go down a hallway with some floating Green Bubbles you can snipe from a distance, then unlock the far door.

You'll be in a strange frigid room now, and much like the western side there is a eye target above the door in a frame, but it's frozen solid! To uncover this puzzle, step on a nearby switch to light a torch, then aim your bow so that the arrow passes through the flame and melts the ice around the eye, and it will twist the blue hallway!

With the blue chapel also twisted, you'll find a pit leading down to floor 1F that mirrors the other side of the temple. This leads to a long room with a trap falling from the ceiling.

Now that you've fallen down into the northeast corner of floor 1F, look for a side door leading back out onto the outdoor courtyard, where you can push a stone block to create a shortcut. If you turn around and look up at a strange gust of straw.

If you went back to the scarecrows in Lake Hylia after becoming an adult and played their song again, you'll have learned the Scarecrow's Song. Playing it here will cause Pierre to appear, which you can now hookshot over to, and you'll find a Gold Skulltula with him.

Return to the previous room and watch the falling ceiling tiles, noting the checkerboard design. There are also rays of light coming from some of the ceiling tiles where the trap does not fall, and that will be your guide.

Move between the rays of light when the trap moves upward, but watch out for shadows in the light that denote a Skulltula waiting to drop down an ambush you. Act quickly to stab them or move past them to the right where a switch under the light can be pressed to open the far door.

Carefully make your way forward, and note the two rays of light marking a safe spot in front of a small Treasure Chest holding 5 Arrows, and then make for the door.

The room beyond is an interesting one: There's a large block in the middle of the room with a painting over the top, mirroring one against the wall where a third green Poe Sister is hiding.

Shoot the Poe with your bow and she'll move to the block painting, jumbling it up into pieces. To force her out of hiding, you'll need to slide the block puzzle into place to reform her body.

Note that she'll try to trick you by adding a fifth block that has no place in the full puzzle. Disregard the part of her head with a darkened tassel on the top of the hood (it's the only one that doesn't occasionally move on its own), and use the lighter-colored piece as the top right corner of the block puzzle.

When it's fully formed, Amy, the fourth born of the Poe Sisters, will start to fight. She's stronger than her other sisters, and can spin at you multiple times in a row before getting dizzy and stopping her attack, so watch her movements carefully before moving in and striking.

Don't get too greedy, and keep outpacing the attacks until she reveals herself to be dazed. Once she's defeated, her green fire will be unlocked, and open the nearby door leading back to the foyer.

In the hall beyond, a large portrait of the fourth and final Poe Sister will block your path. Stay near the doorway and shoot when she comes into frame. She'll flee back into the foyer, only to realize her fellow sisters are all gone...

Chase after the weeping purple Poe to draw her into a fight, but Meg, the firstborn, will even the odds by summoning three other copies of herself to throw you off!

Your attacks have no effect on the fake versions, so you'll need to remain calm and act carefully. One of these Poes is not the same -- after all, she's the purple Poe, and should be carrying the right color torch. Wait until the correct Poe circles in front of you to pull out your bow and fire away! This will stun her, allowing you to follow up with several sword swings before she can vanish again.

When she appears a second time, her clones will have gotten wise and ditched the green flame... but she's still giving herself away. Look for the one Poe that has a lit torch, and fire away again.

For her third and final act, all of her clones will now have purple flame torches, making it harder to spot the real one. Be patient and watch them closely for a tell: all of her clones have narrowed eyes, but the real one's mask has wider eyes! Take one final shot at the real Poe to end Meg's reign of terror.

With all four Poe Sisters defeated, the torches will be lit once more, activating the lift to the basement B2.

Upon arriving, you'll find an odd room. The map points to a hall to the boss to the north, and smaller alcoves in many sections of the circular room, but the way forward is sealed except for some small windows. Instead, you'll need to use the large handholds built into the walls to push forward, rotating which sections the walls are blocking.

Before you start rotating the walls in the basement of the temple, look for an open doorway to the south. Be ready for a Skulltula to try and ambush you, and after taking it out, look inside the alcoves inner walls for a Gold Skulltula hiding out of view.

Note the gate with the hole leading a frozen eye switch to the east. You'll need to find some way to melt that ice, so start by pushing the handholds counter-clockwise.

This will move the open doorway to the northwest, revealing a switch you can step on. A torch in one of the small windows along the wall will light up, giving you something to melt that ice with!

Keep pushing the handholds further counter-clockwise, stopping once to enter the alcove in the southwest to find a Treasure Chest with 5 arrows, and then again when the window with the lit torch is in front of the room with the frozen eye.

Shoot an arrow through to melt it, and hit the eye to open the gate north to the boss door, which your Boss Key will now open. It's time to face whoever is responsible for this temple's corruption...

The Evil Spirit from Beyond, Phantom Ganon is a terrfiying clone of Ganondorf, and seems intent on destroying the Hero of Time here and now. Atop his dread steed, this incarnation of Ganondorf wields a massive spear imbued with lightning!

When the battle begins, Phantom Ganon will take off into one of the six identical paintings that ring this arena. When he returns, he won't be alone! Borrowing a trick from the Poe Sisters, he'll have fake copies also riding up through the paintings to keep you guessing.

When they reach the edge of the painting, the clones will turn back, as the real Phantom Ganon will leap through the painting. If you aren't quick enough to pin down the real one, he'll soar over the arena and slash down this his lightning spear, sending shockwaves of light across the floor that can be tough to dodge.

While you can try to line up Phantom Ganon and his clone to see which one turns back at the last second, there's another way to spot the fakes, though it's a lot less visible than Meg's clones:

If you remember at the start of the fight, Phantom Ganon was wielding his spear in his right hand. His clones however, will be holding the spear in their left hand, showing on the right side of the painting as you watch them approach. Focus instead only on the one holding his spear out to the left side of the painting, and fire away when he draws close.

After getting a few shots with your Fairy Bow in, Phantom Ganon will start getting more clever, adding a second, and then third clone to keep you swiveling. The trick for spotting the fakes still stands, but you'll need to pan the camera quickly to zero in on which one is the real Phantom Ganon before firing your bow.

Once you've hit him around 2-3 times with your bow, Phantom Ganon will leave his horse behind, signaling phase two of this fight. He'll instead opt to float high ahove you, doing away with his clones for a 1 v 1 fight!

Wreathed in green energy, he'll be invulnerable to any ranged attacks you might possess, so instead you'll need to get creative. After a moment, Phantom Ganon will summon a green magic orbs and slam it toward you with his spear.

You can slash your own sword when the orb draws near to send it back to Phantom Ganon imbuing the orb with light from the Master Sword. When he holds his spear up high for a big slash, he'll send it back quicker. You'll need to be just as quick, and get the orb back in his face before he can recover from the swing. This will stun him with his own energy blast, and he'll fall to the ground in a weakened state.

Race on over to his position as he falls to hit him with jump attacks and spin attacks to maximize your damage until he can recover, and then pull back to wait for his next move.

After a few successful rallies, Phantom Ganon may decide to trick you, floating around and then suddenly launching into a dive attack instead of tossing a projectile, and you'll need to react quickly to dodge!

The rallies you'll need to complete to hit the orb back and forth will become more prolonged, but hold your ground and find a steady rhythm to hit the attacks back. Once he falls for a third time, you'll be able to finish him off with another assault from the Master Sword.

The battle may be won, but the true Ganondorf seems unfazed by his minion's pathetic display.

He'll give Link a dire warning should they ever cross blades before his voice fades away, leaving you with a new Heart Container.

As with the other dungeons, you can step into the blue light to be transported out. This time however, you'll return to the Chamber of Sages first to finally meet the Sage of the Forest: Your childhood friend Saria. Thanks to your triumph in the temple, Saria has awoken as a Sage, and can now aid you in the fight against evil. Your reunion will be bittersweet, as her new duty will keep her in this chamber to imprison Ganondorf when the time comes, but before you go, she'll impart to you the Forest Medallion, so that you may carry her resolve with you, always.

Upon returning to the forest, you'll find yourself back in front of the Great Deku Tree. And amazingly, you'll be introduced to a tiny little fellow known as the Deku Tree Sprout! It seems that now that the evil has been beaten back from the forest, Kokiri will know relative peace, and a new Deku Tree will begin to take root. You'll also learn some important details about Link's past, and why it is that he's the only one to have grown in these last seven years.

You can now return to Kokiri Forest and talk to all of your old friends (though most still don't really realize you're actually Link from all those years ago).

Navi will suggest you return to Sheik back at the Temple of Time to update the Sheikah warrior on what's happened in the Forest Temple.

When you meet again, Sheik will have a new melody for you to learn:

This is the Prelude of Light, and like the Minuet of the Forest, you'll now be able to teleport back to the Temple of Time whenever you wish.

This is doubly fortunate, as you're now able to return to the Master Sword to its pedestal to return to the past as a child whenever you wish. Who knows, it just might be useful to do a bit of time-traveling now and again, you never know what might be affected across time...

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