The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time #2 - Gerudo Valley

1. Gerudo's Fortress, Gerudo Valley

Gerudo's Fortress is located at the far end of Gerudo Valley and is the gateway to the Haunted Wasteland. It serves as the hideout for the race of thieves known as the Gerudo who heavily guard the entire Fortress. As such, any trespassers will be immediately caught and thrown into a cell high above the complex. The Fortress is a structure with a maze-like interior and halls, which lead to various parts of the outside. Both in the outside and the inside, naginata-armed Gerudo are on patrol. Inside, they are reinforced by Gerudo armed with twin scimitars who will fight Link.

As an adult, Link travels to Gerudo's Fortress. If he is knocked out while duelling a Gerudo Thief, or spotted by a patrolling guard, he will be thrown into a cell near the top of the fortress. If he does not yet have the Hookshot, he will be thrown in front of the Carpenters' tent beside the Master Craftsman. Otherwise, he will be thrown into a jail cell inside the Fortress. Link can escape this cell by using his Hookshot on a wooden, opened window if jailed. Link can safely navigate the complex by shooting the patrolling Gerudo guards with with the Fairy Bow, temporarily stunning them. However, he will still need to use his stealth abilities to keep himself from getting caught and getting thrown into the cell.

Link's objective while in Gerudo's Fortress is to sneak through the fortress undetected, and rescue the four captured Carpenters that are being kept in scattered prisons throughout the structure. Any time he finds a carpenter inside a cell, he must talk to the prisoner who, after explaining his situation, will cause a Gerudo to appear from behind. Link must defeat her without receiving too much damage; otherwise, he will get thrown back into the cell. If Link successfully defeats the Gerudo, she will escape and leave behind a Small Key which will open the Carpenter's cell. Once all four of the Carpenters have been freed, a Gerudo Warrior will commend Link for his skills and grant him the Gerudo Token, allowing him free access to the entire Fortress. This also grants entrance to the Gerudo Training Ground, as well as permission to participate in the Horseback Archery Range; moreover, the gates to the Haunted Wasteland will open, which eventually leads to the Desert Colossus, home to the Spirit Temple.

Trivia

• If child Link warps to the Desert Colossus and makes his way through the Haunted Wasteland, he will find a Gerudo guarding the back entrance to the fortress. She looks exactly like the one guarding the front entrance and even shares the same dialogue.
• By using glitches or hacks, child Link can explore Gerudo's Fortress. The Odd Mushroom can be found inside the Treasure Chest that contains a Piece of Heart as an adult. On top of the jail cell, Link can find another Piece of Heart. This might suggest that early on, the Fortress was supposed to be explored by child Link.
• If Link defeats one of the Gerudo guarding the jail cells of the Carpenters, takes the Small Key, and tries to use it on a different door, the door will not open and Navi will tell Link that it is not the correct key. In all other areas of the game, a Small Key will open any locked door in the area.

2. Gerudo's Training Ground, Gerudo Valley

The Gerudo's Training Ground, is an optional mini-dungeon in Ocarina of Time. It consists of various difficult obstacles that Link must overcome in order to prove his abilities as a hero. If he manages to complete the training ground, he will be rewarded with the Ice Arrow as proof of his skill.

The place can be found within the Gerudo's Fortress. The Gerudo Token is required to enter along with a small fee of 10 Rupees.

The Gerudo Training Ground consists of eleven rooms full of traps, enemies, puzzles, and other obstacles that Link must overcome to receive a series of Small Keys. These keys are necessary in order to unlock the various doors within the chamber where the Ice Arrow resides. The Ice Arrow chamber, which is located at the center of the Training Ground, is made up of a small maze of locked doors. There are two paths that Link can take to reach the Ice Arrow; however, only one of them will lead to the treasure while the other one leads to a dead-end. A total of 9 Small Keys can be found hidden in the training ground, but only 7 are required to reach the Ice Arrow if the correct path is chosen from the beginning. Many assume that if Link chooses the wrong path to get to where the Ice Arrow is, there will not be enough Small Keys to correct the mistake, rendering the Ice Arrow impossible to reach. This is a common misunderstanding since there are other well-hidden keys inside the Gerudo Training Ground that can help him correct the error.

Obstacles and required items

The entrance hall of the training ground has three doors that lead to different puzzles. The northern door grants access to the Ice Arrow chamber, the eastern door leads to a room where Link must defeat two Dinolfos and one Beamos under a limited time, and the western door takes the young hero to a room full of quicksand where two Stalfos have to be eliminated within the time limit. The east and west doors all lead to the rest of the obstacles, in which the majority consist of collecting Silver Rupees under various conditions to receive a Small Key as a reward. Every time Link enters a new room, the conditions to be met will be displayed on-screen as well as mentioning whether the obstacle has to be complete under a limited time or not.

The following lists the necessary items to successfully complete the training ground and collect everything:

• Fairy Bow – Forest Temple
• Megaton Hammer – Fire Temple
• Hookshot – Kakariko Village
• Lens of Truth – Bottom of the Well
• Iron Boots - Ice Cavern
• Silver Gauntlets – Spirit Temple

It is worth noting that the Silver Gauntlets are not required to ultimately reach the treasure since the Small Key obtained through the gauntlets is only used if Link chooses the wrong path at the Ice Arrow chamber. In fact, it is possible to collect seven out of the nine keys with only the Hookshot, Bow, and Hammer, although the player must memorize the locations of the false wall and ceiling that would be visible with the Lens of Truth; the keys unobtainable at that time are the ones which require the Iron Boots and Silver Gauntlets. The Hover Boots are not required; if Link plays the "Song of Time" in the Lava Room, he can use the blocks created to reach the upper platform, from which he can reach all the Silver Rupees. The Longshot is also not required in Ocarina of Time, but in Master Quest it is required in the Lava Room and Maze Room. It is not required in either game in the Statue Room, as Link can walk to the other side of the facility to access the upper ledge, although the Scarecrow's Song in Ocarina of Time and the Hookshot posts in Master Quest provide a useful shortcut.

3. Horseback Archery Range, Gerudo Valley

The Horseback Archery Range is located in the rear of the Gerudo Fortress, with a dirt path leading to it. It can only be played after Link has obtained the Gerudo Token and retrieved Epona from Lon Lon Ranch. Link must mount Epona and speak to the Gerudo in charge of the Archery Range, who will charge him a fee of 20 Rupees to play.

The objective of the minigame is to shoot as many targets as possible with only 20 Arrows while Epona gallops. If Link hits a Pot or the center of a target on the side, he will receive 100 points; if he misses the center of the target but still hits it, he will still be rewarded with points depending on the distance from the center at which the Arrow struck. By scoring 1,000 or more points, Link will receive a Piece of Heart. If the hero tries again and scores 1,500 points or more, he will be awarded with a bigger Quiver.

4. Haunted Wasteland, Gerudo Valley

The Haunted Wasteland is a location in Ocarina of Time. It is a massive desert between Gerudo's Fortress and the Desert Colossus, far outside the land of Hyrule. As well as being extremely difficult to navigate, with a lack of landmarks and constant sand-storms, it is also said to be haunted. Due to this, the entrance to the Haunted Wasteland remains closed until Link shows his Gerudo Token to the Gerudo guard nearby. However, before opening up the gate to the young hero, the guard mentions to Link that he will not be able reach the Desert Colossus unless he passes a set of two trials: the River of Sand and the Phantom Guide.

Trials

River of Sand

The first trial, known as the River of Sand, consists of crossing the large river of quicksand that cuts through the desert. In order for Link to pass this trial, he will need the assistance of either the Hover Boots or the Longshot. Equipping the Hover Boots allows the young hero to float over the River of Sand; likewise, he can also cross the valley of quicksand by using the Longshot to grapple to one of the boxes on the other side of the river. Once Link has successfully completed the first trial, he must follow the series of flags that have been placed throughout the desert. Straying too far from these flags will cause him to wind up back at the entrance of the wasteland.

While following the flag posts, Link will encounter a sign advertising a shop. He can follow the direction in which the sign is pointing to find a merchant hovering over a Flying Carpet ready to sell Bombchus to Link for 200 Rupees. It is necessary to use the Hover Boots to reach the merchant since the flying carpet is far off a ledge.

At the end of the flag posts is a stone monument that houses the second trial: the Phantom Guide.

Phantom Guide

Once Link climbs the stone structure, there will be a small plaque mentioning that one with the "eye of truth" will be guided to the Spirit Temple by the "uninvited ghost." Here, Link must equip the Lens of Truth to see a Poe known as the Phantom Guide[citation needed] who will be his guide on the way to the Desert Colossus; however, the Phantom Guide will not take the young hero on his way back to Gerudo's Fortress. Link has to follow the guide closely, since deviating too far from the phantom's path will result in him getting lost and returning to the Haunted Wasteland entrance. While following the Poe, various Leevers will appear in an attempt to distract Link from following the Phantom's path.

Successfully completing these two trials will lead Link to the Desert Colossus, a vast, secluded desert that is home to the Spirit Temple.

Trivia

• According to The Great Hyrule Encyclopedia from the official Zelda website, the Haunted Wasteland later became known as the Desert of Mystery.
• There is an unused Navi dialog within the game's data that makes reference to the flags in the Haunted Wasteland.

5. Desert Colossus, Gerudo Valley

The Desert Colossus is a location in Ocarina of Time. It is also the name of a similar statue inside of the Spirit Temple.

In order to enter the massive desert, Link must first venture through the two trials of the Haunted Wasteland. The first trial is the River of Sand, forcing Link to use either the Hover Boots or the Longshot to safely get across the river of quicksand. After crossing the river, the young hero must then follow several flags to reach a stone structure that leads to the second trial: the Phantom Guide. Using the Lens of Truth while on top of the monument reveals a Poe that will guide Link into the Desert Colossus itself.

The colossus is a vast, secluded area situated at the rear of the Haunted Wasteland, far out of Hyrule's boundaries and even those of the Gerudo's Fortress, the nearest civilization to the region. It can only be accessed by those who possess the "eye of truth." The Desert Colossus, while a name for this isolated desert, is also the name of the artistic stone carving of a female "goddess" upon the face of the Spirit Temple, and the title of the similar Buddha-like female statue within the main room of the temple itself.

The most prominent feature of the desert is a giant monument known as the Desert Colossus and the "goddess of the sand." Due to differences in religion, the Gerudo goddess depicted is believed by the people of Hyrule to be an evil deity. Located inside the Goddess of the Sand is the Spirit Temple, which serves as the headquarters of Nabooru, the leader of the Gerudo and second-in-command to Ganondorf, in order to conduct experiments in brainwashing people.

The enormous statue is a vast carving into the face of the Spirit Temple believed to have been made by the Gerudo to represent their Goddess of the Sand. Before Ganondorf gained entrance to the Sacred Realm and took the Triforce of Power, this ancient stronghold was the secret hideout for him and his followers. During his seven year reign as ruler of Hyrule, the ancient building became the base of operations for his surrogate mothers, collectively known as Twinrova.

When Link first enters the Spirit Temple located inside the Goddess of the Sand itself, he finds that he cannot go in further than the first chamber since both the west and east entrances are impassable. Sheik appears before him as the young hero exits the temple and teaches him the Requiem of Spirit, the melody necessary to access the Desert Colossus as a child and successfully enter the first half of the Spirit Temple.

Oasis

The Desert Colossus is home to an oasis located just west of the Spirit Temple. At first, the oasis is dried up, but rapidly fills after Link plays the Song of Storms on a small rock platform nearby. Fairies will also sprout up from the filled oasis, serving as a Fairy's Fountain of sorts where Link can return to heal his injuries at any time.

On the opposite side of the oasis is a Great Fairy's Fountain; however, its entrance is blocked off by a cracked wall. Link can reveal the fountain by simply bombing the wall; the Great Fairy inside will give Link Nayru's Love, a magical, impregnable barrier that can be activated about Link in times of heavy damage, battle, or dangerous situation.

6. Spirit Temple, Gerudo Valley

Placed inside the Goddess of Sand, the temple is located in the westernmost area of the Desert Colossus in the Haunted Wasteland. It lies past the Gerudo Fortress. Constructed by the ancient ancestors of the Gerudo, it served as Nabooru's headquarters until Ganondorf rose to power, becoming a base of operations for the King of Thieves and his surrogate mothers.

Unlike the other dungeons of the game, the Spirit Temple has two portions, each requiring a different age of Link. The Spirit Temple carries a theme of the relation between past and future, and the statues in the temple's entrance tell poems relating to such.

Entrance Procedure

As an adult, Link finds the temple after following a ghost that guides him across the desert. However, when he enters the temple for the first time, he cannot make any progress due to the obstacles in front of him being beyond his tools. The west route can only be accessed through a hole too small for Adult Link, and the east route is blocked by a block too big for him. After exiting the temple, he finds Sheik and learns the Requiem of Spirit, which allows him to return to the area anytime regardless of his age. The young hero then goes to the Temple of Time and travels back to the past, and plays the new tune to start exploring the temple's western route as a child. Only after finding the proper tool can Link return to the Spirit Temple as Adult Link and explore it in the future.

Spirit Temple as a Child

As a child, Link explores the western wing of the temple through a crawl space. This is the only time in this age that he encounters Nabooru, who asks him to fetch her the Silver Gauntlets. The puzzles mirror those seen in the first three dungeons (Child Link's period): In one room, a switch behind a fence must be pressed with the boomerang, another switch must be held with a statue, torches must be lit with a Deku Stick, etc.

Upon defeating an Iron Knuckle and finding the Silver Gauntlets, Link has his final meeting with Kaepora Gaebora and witnesses Koume and Kotake abduct Nabooru.

Spirit Temple as an Adult

The adult portion of the temple is not accessible until after Link obtains the Silver Gauntlets. While wearing these, Link is able to explore the eastern wing of the temple as an adult by moving Marble Blocks. Now having a larger repertoire of items, he must solve several puzzles involving light until he ultimately finds the Mirror Shield behind an Iron Knuckle. With said shield acquired, Link's next objective is to find the Boss Key in order to access the whereabouts of Koume and Kotake.

Before battling the bosses, Link must first battle a third Iron Knuckle, who is revealed to be a brainwashed Nabooru. Koume and Kotake abduct her a second time and Link gives chase to the boss room.

After defeating Twinrova, it is revealed that Nabooru is the Sage of Spirit, and she gives Link the Spirit Medallion to aid him in his quest.

Small Keys

In the original, there are five small keys.

Trivia

• The center points on the Desert Colossus statue's nipples inside the Spirit Temple are Longshot targets. This is likely a joke among the developers.
• Both this dungeon and the Forest Temple feature the highest number of mini-boss battles in the game: three in total. However, all three battles in the Spirit Temple are against Iron Knuckles, whereas the first two battles in the Forest Temple are against Stalfos and the third fight is against the last Poe Sister, Meg.
• The Spirit Temple, though generally considered the denouement to Ganon's Castle, can be completed before the Shadow Temple. In fact, the Spirit Medallion comes before the Shadow Medallion on the Quest Status subscreen as well as the file select screen, as well as the Requiem of Spirit being before the Nocturne of Shadow, implying that the Spirit Temple was meant to be completed before the Shadow Temple. However Navi's prompt to head to the desert only begins to occur after completing the Shadow Temple. This could mean that the Shadow Temple was indeed the final temple until late into development.
• This is the only dungeon in the game with two major items to be obtained: the Silver Gauntlets and the Mirror Shield. Technically, though, both major dungeon items are found in the Desert Colossus, just outside the temple. Through glitches, both items can be obtained without even entering the temple. In Ocarina of Time 3D, however, the two Treasure Chests containing said items only appear when Link reaches the platforms they are on, which was made to prevent this trick.
• The climax cinematic of the Spirit Temple is notably present in the opening cinematic in the game, before Start is pressed.