The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Shadow Temple

Amongst the rot and filth of scum is the Shadow Temple. No one dares venture into it or speak of its accursed name, for it is a symbol of pure evil. The Sages themselves consider sending it into the underworld.

The Shadow Temple

The Shadow Temple, land of nightmares.

The Shadow Temple is a dark, unforgiving dungeon filled with some of the nastiest monsters in Hyrule. You'll need to be wary of your surroundings to escape this nightmare land alive.

Dark Trickery

Once you are inside, go forward and use the longshot to get past the gap. It looks like a dead end, but it isn't. Just put on the Lens of Truth, and go past the wall. In this room turn left and put on the Lens of Truth to reveal another fake wall. Go through this wall and open the door at the end of the corridor. You will enter a hallway that wraps around in a circle with eyes in the walls. Now keep to your right and follow the path around, entering the first fake door you find on the right hand side.

Enter the door and kill the one Re-Dead and two Keese in this room to get the Dungeon Map. Leave the room and head right again, entering through the next fake wall, which leads into another room identical to the one you were just in. At the end of this room is a fake wall with a door behind it. Enter the door to get to the next room containing the Deadhand.

Deadhand's Revenge

Deadhand's back; you know what to do!

In here, you'll fight Deadhand again. Fight him the same way you did before to kill him. However, Deadhand has taken further precaution against you and several more hands now stand in this room. On the plus side, the Lens of Truth will allow you to see a shadow on the ground to see where the monster is hiding. Use a bomb on the shadow to lure the monster out of the ground and away from his hands to strike him down.

You got the Hover Boots!

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Once you do, a chest will appear like before, only this one contains the Hover Boots. These boots have built-in hovering capabilities that allow you to walk across pits and reach inaccessible areas. However, the boots have no traction and only work for brief periods of time. Now leave and head back to the main room.

Descent into Darkness

Skull of Truth

This statue must face the Skull of Truth.

Push it to face the real skull!

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In the main room there is a circle of skull torches around a bird statue. There is also a locked door that seems unreachable. It will open if you move the statue. It says to face its beak towards the Skull of Truth or descend into darkness. Put the Lens of Truth on and see the real skull. The rest are illusions. Now, push the statue until it is aligned with the correct skull to make the door open. If it isn't, run away, because the floor surrounding the statue is a trapdoor.
When you've pointed the statue at the right skull, they will all light up, and the door at the end of the chasm will open. Put on the Hover Boots and run straight as far as the boots will take you to get to the doorway. Go through it and down the passage, where you'll reach a Big Beamos. This one requires two bombs to destroy instead of one. Once you destroy it Navi will go green in the center of the room. Play the Song of Storms and a fairy will appear.

You may think you've run into a dead end, but don't be fooled; the Dungeon Map and the Lens of Truth reveal several hidden corridors. Go through the fake wall on the right and enter the next room.

Gibdos and the Compass

There is a new enemy here; a Gibdo. You've seen one in the well, but this is the first time you must truly battle them. They use bone-rattling shrieks like Re-Deads do, and only attack when they hear you getting too close to them, but their screeches inflict paralysis longer, and they suck away more life energy when they bind you. Get caught by one, and it will steal 1/2 a heart of your health a second rather than a fourth. Defeat the two Gibdos here to get the Compass.

Three easy ways to defeat the two Gibdos

Freeze them by playing the Sun's Song as soon as you enter the room.
Two hits from Din's Fire will defeat them. They also tend to give you magic when they die, so your magic meter may be filled afterwards.
One charged spin attack with Biggoron's Sword.

After you get the Compass, exit the room and walk straight across. Be careful because the the big Beamos will respawn.

Silver Rupees, Evil Reapers

In this room there are a bunch of Silver Rupees and a scythe trap. You'll have to keep ducking to avoid getting carved up. Stay on the outer regions of the scythe, because you'll still get hit if you duck right next to the reaper statues. Collect all of the Silver Rupees in here to move on. Use the Longshot and Hoverboots to reach the highest one in the far corner. Your reward is a Small Key, which can be found in the alcove on the right as you come in the room, having opened up. Return to the last room with the Beamos. Turn to your left and bomb the wall of bones. You'll find a locked door you can open.

Skulltula corridor

If you like spiders, then this next area of the dungeon is a thrill. Carefully go down the hallway and watch out for the numerous Big Skulltula. Your best bet is to hit each one with the Longshot and go on.

Eventually, you reach a corridor with falling guillotine blades. Keep a close eye on the blades and time your runs through them. Some are a little faster than others in the temple.

Keep going until you reach the end of the corridor. Here, the path opens up into a cavern with a bottomless pit. There are several hidden, moving, and blade-trapped platforms. There is a Wallmaster lurking about, so if it comes after you and it gets you, you'll end up back at the temple entrance. If you have Farore's Wind, it would be a good idea to create a warp point here.

Put on the Hover Boots and carefully make your way through the falling blades to the platform on the other side. A Red Bubble will hop out at you, but one Deku Nut will stun it. Try not to get into conflict with the Stalfos that will appear. If you defeat it Navi will indicate another spot to play the Song of Storms for a Fairy. Now, you can either progress onward, or seek out a Gold Skulltula.

Imprisoned Skulltula

Turn to your left and put on the Lens of Truth. There are hidden platforms leading somewhere. Use your Hover Boots to get across the area. Enter the door you come to.

This room has a hidden scythe trap, Keese, and an annoying Like-Like. Kill all the enemies in here, and a small area will open up. Inside is a Gold Skulltula. Not just that, but two treasure chests. One you can see right away.

The first chest holds a Blue Rupee and the other holds a bundle of arrows. Use the Lens of Truth to unveil it. Lastly, you will find two floating hearts in the corner of the room. These are obtained by playing the Song of Time next to them. When you're done here, exit and go back to the platform with the Stalfos.

Opening Doors of Doom

Kill the Stalfos if you haven't already, and then look to the one side that you haven't been yet. There is a moving platform. Time yourself so that when it is at its lowest point, jump onto it. Jump from there as it rises onto the platform with the Silver Rupees, but run as far as you can to make it.Or you can turn right and jump onto the ledge there, then go left. There are two Spike Traps circling around a Beamos. All but one of the Silver Rupees are either in the path of the traps or near the Beamos. The last one is under the Beamos. Blow the Beamos up to get that one to open and then enter the next room.

Spikes, Spikes, and Monster Spikes

This is the giant spike trap room. Once you come in, a sign will mention a stone umbrella. You'll need it to get past these spikes, as a foolish effort to run under them will cost you one heart. Put on your Lens of Truth and look to your right. There is a stone block in the wall. Pull it out, and then push it towards the falling spikes. It will catch the spikes and let you pass under them unharmed. Once it is holding both of the spikes so they can't hit you, explore the second jail cell to find a Gold Skulltula.

Then, go around to the other side and pull the block as far as you can take it. It now serves as a bridge onto the spikes. Get on top of it and walk onto the top of the spikes it's by. Across the room on the roof of a jail cell is a switch. Use your Hover Boots to get there and press the switch. Although they are moving and slanted on top, you can walk across the top of the spikes. After the switch is pressed, a treasure chest will fall. Hook onto it with your Longshot and open it for a Small Key, then leave the room. There is another chest with a Blue Rupee on another cell roof, and some Recovery Hearts in the first jail cell, but they aren't really worth the effort.

Go back to the location of the Beamos and spike traps. You'll see a small strech of pathway branches to the left and stops at a guillotine. Put on your Lens of Truth and you will see a new platform. Get onto it after dodging the guillotine. The next platform is shifting across a string of chains. Carefully time crossing over to it and go and ride it over to the locked door.

Hidden Deathtraps

This room is very dangerous, although it doesn't look like it. Two ReDead are here, so play the Sun's Song and kill them. This will put their souls at rest, and a chest with a Blue Rupee inside will appear in return. Now, you will need to use the Lens of Truth, because columns of hidden spikes are littered throughout this room. If you wear the Hover boots you will automatically walk over them with out damage, but you can't just stand on them. There are also Silver Rupees you need in this room. Use the Lens of Truth to see hidden platforms and Hookshot targets to get the Silver Rupees without doing yourself any harm.

Destroy the Skull Pot

A Gold Skulltula

On the left side wall next to the skull pot is a Gold Skulltula.

Enter the door that opens in this room. Climb up the stairs in this next room and pick up a Bomb Flower growing at the top of the stairs. Throw it in the the flaming skull pot. When it explodes, the pot will explode as well, shooting out a small key inside. Get it and kill the Keese and Fire Keese in the room to open the door so you can get out of here and back to the last room. Use the Lens of Truth on the ceiling to see a Hookshot target. Latch onto the target to land on a ledge above and enter the locked door there.

Fight the Blowing Fans

A Big Fairy and a Hint

The room you do not need to enter has two ReDead inside. First, play the Sun's Song and kill them. Second, go to the center of the room, play the song again to make a Big Fairy appear. Third, if you look at a skull portrait on the wall, Navi will fly up to it, and if you listen to her, she'll tell you what the portrait is saying.

This next room is a narrow corridor filled with danger. Big Skulltula constantly drop down from above in this room. Not only that, blowing fans threaten to send you flying. Use your Iron Boots to make it through the strong winds the fans are making, or wait for them to stop and use your Kokiri Boots to run through. Go past the first fan and the spike trap, and watch for Big Skulltula in the corridor as well. Now, you'll have to cross a pit with a fan on the other side.

Use either the Hover Boots or the Longshot on a wooden beam above the other side to get across. Then, you'll encounter more fans and Big Skulltula. When you get past them, you'll reach the end of the corridor, which will have a dropoff and a fan above. Jump down. Finally, you'll reach a part of the room with fans on both sides and one straight platform in the middle. Use your Iron Boots to get across. You don't need to enter the room ahead. There is a Fake Eye Switch at the end that will shoot fire at you. To make it stop, blind it with an arrow when it's open.

Don't Go Through The Door

Once you get to the other side of the platform, turn to the left and use the Lens of Truth. Look to the wall and you'll see a hidden doorway. Equip the Hover Boots and run to it when the fan behind you is blowing. The extra boost from the wind will allow you to get to the door. Unlock it and go in.

Gibdos Guarding the Key

In this room there is a pile of bones in the right-hand corner. As soon as you enter, bomb the bones. Then, use your Lens to find a treasure chest with a Small Key inside. Beyond you are two Gibdos and two Spike Traps. Play the Sun's Song and kill them, and they will leave behind a chest holding a Blue Rupee. Go past the traps and through the locked door.

A Ferry to the Other World

You are now in a room with a large ship. There is a block to your left. Pull it and push it along a small rut in the floor to a ladder on a nearby wall so you can reach it. There are vines behind where the block was originally covering that you can climb up to go into the cage. There are more vines that continue higher--do not go up these vines! There is nothing up there but a door that leads to the old room with the scythe (the one with the first set of Silver Rupees). Once you go inside, the block will reset so you cannot go back down the way you came. If this happens to you, go the lowest cage you can reach and cast Farore's Wind, then use it to warp back to the door you just came in, otherwise you'll have to go through the whole temple again! However it's better to just move the block into place by the ladder and then save to permanently open this shortcut.

Gold Skulltula and Scarecrow

If you remember your scarecrow song, you can play that and the scarcrow will appear. Use your longshot to reach the scarecrow and pull yourself towards the gold Skulltula and two hearts. However, you can use the Longshot to reach it from the edge of the ship.

Once you've moved the block into place, climb up the ladder and jump onto the ship. Play Zelda's Lullaby on the Triforce symbol on the ship to make it start moving. Keep an eye on your map in the corner. The moment you get the ship moving, a Stalfos will drop down onto the ship. After a while, so will a second one. If you have it, use Din's Fire to kill them instantly or hang off of the edge of the ship and they will jump off as they try to move around you. Otherwise, fight them one by one. Whatever you do, don't jump into the murky water below, or you'll end up back at the start of the room.

Eventually the ship will go as far is it can. When it does, it will sink, and Navi will tell you to abandon ship. Jump off the ship and onto the nearby ledge. If you look back at the ship, you'll see it sink completely, meaning you're stuck here for now. Enter the door that is at the end of the ledge.

Maze of the Floormasters

When you enter this room, you will need to use the Lens of Truth. The room is actually filled with hidden walls that form a maze. The Lens of Truth will reveal them. Be very alert while you go through the maze, because a horde of Floormasters patrol the floor. However, if you turn the Lens of Truth off, you can see where the Floormasters are and can even kill them through the wall!

The maze leads to three other doors besides the one you came from. You'd be smart to cast Farore's Wind here. This will mark the exit and get you out of trouble later. Go through the maze and use the Compass and Dungeon Map to find a door in the south corner of the room.

Floormaster Cloaked by Shadows

In this next room, the door will lock behind you. You've ventured into a frightening torture chamber where many poor souls were whipped. If you look around, no enemy can be seen in this room, or so it seems. Put on the Lens of Truth and you'll see a Floormaster. Don't take the lens off, or else it will disappear. Slash it to make it split into its smaller versions and kill them to make a chest with a small key inside appear. The doors will unlock, and you can move on.

Tip: If you have Din's fire, use it as soon as you destroy the big Floormaster, that way it will kill all the babies before they have a chance to get big again.

Face Death For The Boss Key

Return to the maze and guide yourself to a door in the north corner of the room. Go in and you'll face this dungeon's ultimate deathtrap: two walls covered with spikes, and they're closing in to get you! It may seem like there isn't a way to destroy these walls, but there is. The walls are made of shoddy, rotting wood, and are very flammable.

Use Din's Fire to light the wood on fire and destroy the walls. However, you'll find two ReDead in the room's corners. Play the Sun's Song to stun them and then kill them. There are two chests in this room; the chest to the west holds a Blue Rupee, and the chest to the East contains the Boss Key.

Topple the Gargoyle

The North Door

The last door in the maze room in the west corner has three spinning skull pots inside. Like before, on the left side wall next to the pots is a Gold Skulltula.

Rupee Reward!

If you stick around in the west corner room of the maze after killing the Gold Skulltula inside, you can destroy the three skull pots spinning around with Bomb Flowers. Once all three are destroyed, a pile of Rupees will spill out! You just hit the jackpot!

Go out of this room and out of the maze room completely (through the door in the east corner, or warp back to it to save time) so that you're back at the ledge where the ship sank. If you look across the ledge, you'll see another ledge on the other side of a big pit. The only problem is, you can't reach it. Take out the Fairy Bow and look around. You'll find a gargoyle statue with Bomb Flowers under it. Shoot one with an arrow to make the rest explode, which will break the gargoyle statue and cause it to topple across the pit.

You now have a bridge to cross the pit. Make your way to the other ledge, and you'll find a locked door. However, you have a way of replenishing health if you must. There is another ruined gargoyle statue (you probably saw its head buried in the dirt earlier) with two Recovery Hearts. Use the Song of Time to reveal a time block and get them. Need more? Play the Scarecrow's Song here to get Pierre's assistance. Hook onto him and get the hearts here as well. Now, you are ready to open the locked door. Go inside and your journey through the shadows will near its end.

Find Your Way Through the Dark

This next room is the last one before the Boss room, and you can even see the door right ahead of you! The only problem is, it's the only thing you can see in this room, besides the door behind you. To fix this problem, use the Lens of Truth. Several small platforms will appear. Cross onto them with the Hover Boots to make it to the Boss door. Open this door and you'll be in a dark room littered with bones. There is also a hole in this room. Drop down to face the nightmarish Boss.

Boss: Bongo Bongo

Artwork of the evil Bongo Bongo.

You will find yourself on a platform in the dark and see a hand come down and hit it, bouncing you up. Then another hand will appear and hit the platform. The hands will pound on the platform and then you'll find out that it is actually a giant bongo drum you are standing on. Then the giant dark monster from before will appear and will form into the body that the hands come from. This monster is the boss of the Shadow Temple, Phantom Shadow Beast: BONGO BONGO.

Showdown in the Shadows

This is a boss that can be dangerous. If you have a Fairy or Red Potion with you, they'll come in handy. If you have the Biggoron's Sword, things will be much easier. You fight Bongo Bongo on his giant bongo drum, which is a challenge. Wear the Hover Boots to avoid being bounced around too much by the beat of the drum. Be sure to be aware at the start of the battle and after you attack his eye, because he will turn his hands around then when he stays still he will attack you. First you will see his two hands, which will be beating on the drum constantly while the rest of him vanishes. His hands try to swat, punch, and grab you; so make sure you keep an eye on both hands so that one doesn't get you by surprise.

Try your best to not get knocked off the bongo, since there's a pool of sinister poison down below. If you get thrown off, climb up the side of the drum to get back up. You have to shoot both of the hands with arrows or the Longshot. This can be difficult because you're thrown up and down by the beating of the drum, so the best time to get them is when they try to hit you. Once you have shot both hands, activate the Lens of Truth and you will see Bongo Bongo's face. Z-target and hit his eye with an arrow or the Longshot. Be sure to do this fast, or else he'll try to ram you off the side. Then run up to him and hit him with your sword as many times as possible.

An alternate tactic is to get the Ice Arrows before facing Bongo Bongo and use them on one of his hands. The monster will be forced to smash his frozen hand free with the other one and its eye will be open while he does this, leaving it open to attack as well. Another method is to do a spin attack when he charges at you, this will hit the eye and stun him. Once you've given Bongo Bongo the boot, he will pound his drum one last time and melt into poison. Don't worry, the poison evaporates. Get the Heart Container and you can finally leave this scary temple of nightmares.

Impa's Message

You will be transported to the Chamber of the Sages after stepping into the blue light. There you will be re-acquainted with Impa, who has become the Sage of Shadow. After a few compliments, she tells you that you will meet the princess again soon, and she will explain everything. She grants you the Shadow Medallion, which contains her power.

Sidequests

Three Quarters of a Heart to Receive

You can get almost a full heart:

Market: If you haven't already, go to the Treasure Box Shop in Hyrule (It is only open at night.) The game costs ten rupees. You go through each room guessing which of two chests has the key required to get you into the next room (You have a 1 out of 32 chance of winning.). Now, you can use the Lens of Truth to see through the chests and get to the piece of heart at the end with ease. A secret trick is to open all the chests on the right when you first play. They might all contain keys.
Zora's River: Play the Song of Storms to the frogs on the log near the Water Tektites, and they'll give you a Heart Piece.
Zora's River: Complete the bug-catching game with the musical frogs to earn a Heart Piece. See the minigame section for further details.

Even More Gold Skulltula!

You can find a many more skulltulla now:

Hyrule Castle (child): Enter the main Hyrule Castle area and make your way to the small moat. In the nearby corner is a lone tree. Stand beneath it and play the Song of Storms to reveal a grotto. Use Bombs to destroy the walls until you find a Skulltula. Note: This Gold Skulltula location can be abused to get an infinite number of Gold Skulltula Tokens. See Glitches for more details.
Kakariko Village (adult): This Skulltula is on the roof of Impa's house. To get there, stand in front of the door of that house and Hookshot over to the roof of the House of Skulltula. Then, Hookshot onto the roof of Impa's house. This is easier with the Longshot, but it can be done without. (nighttime only)
Shadow Temple: In the room with the scythe-trap, destroy all the enimies to open the area with the key in the chest. Above it, there is a Gold Skultulla.
Shadow Temple: Amongst the cages in the giant spike trap room, one has a Gold Skulltula inside.
Shadow Temple:In the ship room, before doing anything with the block, look up the cage platform. A Gold Skulltula and a couple of hearts are here. The Longshot will allow you access to them.

Another Hylian Shield!

If you do not have the Hylian Shield yet, you have an opportunity to get one. Inside the well is a room with a Fire Keese and Beamos. Go into the door behind them and there will be a Like-Like inside. Kill it to get Rupees, and open the chest to get a Hylian Shield.