The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time #2 - Zora's Domain

1. High-Dive Practice Spot, Zora's Domain

The High-Dive Practice Spot is located atop the waterfall in Zora's Domain to the side of King Zora's Throne Room. In the Child Era, it is the location of the Diving Game and the Zora who operates it. In the Adult Era, the Zora overseeing the Diving Game has disappeared due to the water in Zora's Domain freezing over.

2. Ice Cavern, Zora's Domain

The Ice Cavern is a frozen cave behind Zora's Fountain. After his seven year sleep, Link finds Zora's Domain frozen and the Zoras encased in ice. King Zora is encased in a mysterious Red Ice, as is the entrance to the Zora's Shop. Lord Jabu-Jabu is missing from the fountain and is replaced with a path of ice floes leading to a previously inaccessible cavern, the Ice Cavern.

With the Gerudo's Training Ground, the Ice Cavern is the smallest dungeon in the entire game: it only has one floor and, unique among all the other dungeons in The Legend of Zelda series, each room (with the exception of the individual mini-boss room) is connected by hallways instead of doors, giving the illusion of one extremely large room divided into rooms and hallways. It is ice-themed, and inside Link finds Blue Fire, an unnaturally occurring fire only found within the cavern and the Water Barrier in Ganon's Castle (although it can also be bought in the Medicine Shop for an exceptionally high price). Blue Fire melts Red Ice, and as such, Link uses Bottles to carry the fire and melt the Red Ice that is found throughout the cavern to unblock certain paths and rooms.

Link receives the Iron Boots in the Cavern after defeating a White Wolfos. Sheik appears to tell the young hero about the Zoras frozen beneath Zora's domain as well as telling Link he saved Princess Ruto, who headed to the Water Temple underneath Lake Hylia. Afterwards, Sheik teaches Link the Serenade of Water, the warping song of the Water Temple, before disappearing again.

In Master Quest, many of the elements of this dungeon have been removed or replaced. The spinning scythe is gone, and there are very few Freezards and Ice Keese. Instead of the ice block puzzle, the Song of Time can be played to make a block appear, which gives access to the Blue Fire. Some Switches need to be activated to make some platforms disappear. However, they are very well hidden. One switch is camouflaged between some diamonds, another is behind a stalactite and the last one's tip is protruding from the floor. Because there is Red Ice blocking several ways, the first time Blue Fire is seen is where the Piece of Heart originally was (it has been moved to the other room with Blue Fire). New features include Boulders rolling in connecting rooms and two White Wolfos throughout the dungeon. The mini-boss is now a Stalfos.

3. Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly, Zora's Domain

The dungeon is set inside the body of Lord Jabu-Jabu, who spends every day on Zora's Fountain. To enter, Link must drop a Fish from his Bottle in front of Jabu-Jabu, causing him to open his mouth and suck both the fish and Link inside. His mission here, while he is looking for the third Spiritual Stone, the Zora's Sapphire, is to rescue Princess Ruto.

While inside, Link must initially avoid the vast variety of parasitic enemies, including an especially large tentacle-like organism with electrified appendages in the shape of unstable pillars and jellyfish-like creatures called Bari, since they become much harder to kill without the Boomerang, the weapon found inside the dungeon. Shortly thereafter, Link locates Princess Ruto inside what appears to be the stomach, who initially refuses to accept any help from Link, and accidentally falls into a hole. Once found again by the young hero, she commands him to help her recover the Sapphire. Link must carry Ruto throughout many rooms to help her find it. These rooms include areas where Link must fight numerous tentacles with the help of the Boomerang, so that new areas can be explored. He eventually enters a large room that has a central platform with the Zora's Sapphire on it.

After taking the Zora's Sapphire, Ruto is captured, and Link is ambushed by a Big Octo that must be defeated in order to continue. After defeating it, Link continues until he locates the creature causing Jabu-Jabu's discomfort: a parasite called Barinade, the dungeon's boss. Link eventually defeats Barinade, rescues Princess Ruto, and receives the Zora's Sapphire as a reward.

The dungeon has many strange changes in the Master Quest version of the game. Instead of uvula-like switches on the ceilings of Jabu Jabu's intestinal tract, there are now cow head switches attached to walls that operate the opening of doors. As for enemies, Lizalfos and Like Likes were added to several rooms, the Parasitic Tentacles were dispersed evenly and in larger quantities throughout Jabu-Jabu's insides, and invisible Keese were supplied to one room that includes an extra Gold Skulltula. Only three Tailpasarans appear in an optional room with a Gold Skulltula, and Business Scrubs were deleted from the Master Quest version. In terms of items, the Dungeon Map, Compass, and Boomerang can be obtained much earlier; the room that contained the Boomerang in the original version now contains the Compass, and vice versa. Other changes include the placement of a grown cow in a room, the addition of a water pillar in the suckhole room, and the presence of Bombchus, which are used to complete various new puzzles throughout the dungeon. Princess Ruto is utilized much less as a gameplay mechanic, as she is only required to hit one switch.

4. King Zora's Throne Room, Zora's Domain

King Zora's Throne Room is located in Zora's Domain. It is where King Zora sits, protecting the entrance to Zora's Fountain and Lord Jabu-Jabu. Any visitors to Zora's Domain seeking counsel with King Zora must visit the raised platform at the center of the Throne Room to speak with him. In pursuit of the Zora's Sapphire, Ganondorf visited King Zora's Throne Room and made his way to Lord Jabu-Jabu in order to infect the Zora deity with a deadly parasite. After Link rescues Princess Ruto from Inside Jabu Jabu's Belly and kills the parasite, Barinade, Princess Ruto will take her place beside her father in the Throne Room.

In the Adult Era, Ganondorf caused the waters of Zora's Domain to freeze over, consequently trapping King Zora in a formation of Red Ice inside his Throne Room. If Link defrosts him, he will offer Link a Zora Tunic as thanks. If Link already has a Zora Tunic, King Zora will off him a kiss instead.

5. Sleepless Waterfall, Zora's Domain

The Sleepless Waterfall lies as the final obstacle in the river Link must pass before entering Zora's Domain, of which the entrance is just behind the Waterfall itself. The Waterfall (and therefore, the Zora's River itself) flows from Zora's Fountain where Lord Jabu-Jabu dwells. It is possible to view the drop-off of the Waterfall from Zora's Fountain, but unlike the trip from Gerudo Valley to Lake Hylia, jumping down the Waterfall is impossible due to a series of stakes blocking travel.

The Sleepless Waterfall cannot be entered directly. Instead, Link must play Zelda's Lullaby in front of the Waterfall, as indicated by the inscription on the ledge just in front of the Waterfall; according to that inscription, the flow of the Waterfall serves the King of Hyrule and so, when the King of Hyrule slumbers, so does the waterfall.

6. Zora Shop, Zora's Domain

In Ocarina of Time, the Zora Shop is located on the lowest ground level of Zora's Domain. It is the only place that sells the Zora Tunic, which is handy in case Link loses his to a Like Like. As a child, Link can simply walk into the store. As an adult, because Zora's Domain is frozen, the entrance to the shop in encased in Red Ice. To get inside, Link must pour Blue Fire outside the entrance.

Wares and Pricing

• Arrows (10)
  20 Rupees
• Arrows (30)
  60 Rupees
• Arrows (50)
  90 Rupees
• Deku Nuts (5)
  15 Rupees
• Fish
  200 Rupees
• Heart
  10 Rupees
• Red Potion
  50 Rupees
• Zora Tunic
  300 Rupees

Trivia

• The Zora Tunic sold in the Zora Shop in Ocarina of Time is reportedly so expensive that only the rich family from Kakariko Village can afford it.

7. Zora's Fountain, Zora's Domain

Zora's Fountain is the source of all water in Hyrule. Its waters flow through Zora's River and eventually reach Lake Hylia to the south, passing through the bottom of Gerudo Valley in the process. It is connected to Zora's Domain, which also gets it water from the fountain. In order to enter Zora's Fountain, however, King Zora's permission is required. The Zora's Fountain is famous for being the home of Lord Jabu-Jabu, the guardian deity of the Zora people. Being the source of Hyrule's water, the Zoras guard the sacred fountain as well as their deity since they serve the Royal Family of Hyrule by protecting the water source.

Located at the back of the fountain is the Ice Cavern and a Great Fairy Fountain, where Link can obtain the spell of Farore's Wind from the Great Fairy living within. This is also the place where Link ultimately receives the Zora's Sapphire from Princess Ruto after venturing inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly and defeating Barinade, a parasitical monster.

Seven years later, after Link awakens from having withdrawn the Master Sword from its pedestal, he returns to Zora's Fountain to find that Lord Jabu-Jabu is missing. Since Zora's Domain has been completely frozen due to an evil curse from a monster of the Water Temple, Zora's Fountain has also taken its effects, with small ice platforms covering the fountain; furthermore, the water is now infested with Octoroks. The ice platforms around the fountain allow Link to enter the Ice Cavern and obtain the Iron Boots, which are necessary to enter the Water Temple.

If Link sinks to the bottom with the Zora Tunic and Iron Boots, he will find a Piece of Heart and several green Rupees. Moreover, when he finds the Silver Gauntlets in the Spirit Temple, he can lift a stone near the Great Fairy's Fountain to discover an underground passage. Using the Lens of Truth, Link can see and defeat invisible enemies within, then explore the passage to climb towards the hideout of a Gold Skulltula.

Trivia

• The blocked off waterfall seen in Zora's Fountain might have originally exited to Zora's River. This is evidenced by an entrance where Link falls from the waterfall in Zora's River.
• In the Adult era, Zora's Fountain is one of the few areas where, if Link were to stand still for a while in this area, he will sneeze due to the cold. The other areas include the Ice Cavern, the icy route of Ganon's Castle, and inside any grave.
• According to The Great Hyrule Encyclopedia formerly hosted on Zelda.com, the Zora evolved from fish that swam in Zora's Fountain, which was blessed by the Golden Goddesses during the Creation of the World.

8. Zora's River, Zora's Domain

Zora's River, is a recurring location in the The Legend of Zelda series. It is one of the main bodies of water in Kingdom of Hyrule, with its water source being either Zora's Domain or Zora's Fountain.

In Ocarina of Time, water from the Zora's River flows from Zora's Fountain, which serves as the water source of all Hyrule. While the region known as Zora's River consists of a region of the river to the east, the river itself continues throughout Hyrule Field. Eventually, the water of Zora's River reaches Lake Hylia, passing through Gerudo Valley in the process. At the northern section of the river is the Sleepless Waterfall, a seemingly impassable waterfall that protects the entrance to Zora's Domain. Zora's River is accessible either by Hyrule Field or through an underwater portal located in the Lost Woods.

A few bridges are built over the river for easy traversing. Its waters, however, are infested with monsters. On the way to the Sleepless Waterfall is a group of frogs collectively known as the Fabulous Five Froggish Tenors, although they disappear when Link returns to the river seven years later.

Trivia

Until Link plays "Zelda's Lullaby" at the Sleepless Waterfall in Ocarina of Time, Kaepora Gaebora will constantly reappear near the entrance of Zora's River and instruct him to play the aforementioned song whenever Link moves far away enough to reload him or leaves Zora's River and returns.