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For a first playthrough of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, complete the dungeons in this order: Great Deku Tree, Dodongo’s Cavern, Jabu-Jabu’s Belly, Temple of Time transition, Forest Temple, Fire Temple, Ice Cavern, Water Temple, Bottom of the Well, Shadow Temple, Spirit Temple, and Ganon’s Castle. Ice Cavern and Bottom of the Well are technically mini-dungeons, but their items are important to the main route. The Spirit Temple must be visited twice: first as child Link, then as adult Link.
The standard dungeon order at a glance
The route below follows the story gates and item requirements used by a normal first playthrough. It avoids sequence-breaking assumptions and identifies whether each location is a full dungeon or a required mini-dungeon.
| # | Location | Link’s age | What opens it | Main reward or objective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inside the Great Deku Tree | Child | Kokiri Sword, Deku Shield, access from Kokiri Forest | Fairy Slingshot and Kokiri’s Emerald |
| 2 | Dodongo’s Cavern | Child | Goron’s Bracelet and Bomb Flowers | Bomb Bag and Goron’s Ruby |
| 3 | Inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly | Child | Silver Scale, Ruto’s Letter and a fish for Lord Jabu-Jabu | Boomerang and Zora’s Sapphire |
| 4 | Temple of Time transition | Child to adult | Ocarina of Time and the three Spiritual Stones | Master Sword and adult Link |
| 5 | Forest Temple | Adult | Hookshot and Saria’s Song | Fairy Bow and Forest Medallion |
| 6 | Fire Temple | Adult | Goron Tunic and access to Death Mountain Crater | Megaton Hammer and Fire Medallion |
| 7 | Ice Cavern | Adult | Access to Zora’s Fountain and Blue Fire | Iron Boots and Serenade of Water |
| 8 | Water Temple | Adult | Iron Boots and the submerged Lake Hylia entrance | Longshot and Water Medallion |
| 9 | Bottom of the Well | Child | Song of Storms learned as adult Link | Lens of Truth |
| 10 | Shadow Temple | Adult | Kakariko fire event, Nocturne of Shadow, Din’s Fire and Lens of Truth | Hover Boots and Shadow Medallion |
| 11 | Spirit Temple | Both | Desert Colossus and Requiem of Spirit | Silver Gauntlets as child, Mirror Shield as adult, Spirit Medallion |
| 12 | Ganon’s Castle | Adult | All six medallions and Light Arrows | Golden Gauntlets, Ganondorf and Ganon |
Child Link: collect the three Spiritual Stones
1. Inside the Great Deku Tree
This is the first dungeon and the game’s tutorial for dungeon movement, switches, locked doors and boss fights. Before entering, obtain the Kokiri Sword from the forest training area and buy or collect a Deku Shield. Inside, find the Fairy Slingshot, use Deku Sticks and Deku Nuts to solve the early fire and eye-switch puzzles, and descend to Queen Gohma.
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2. Dodongo’s Cavern
After the Great Deku Tree, travel to Goron City and speak with Darunia. The Goron’s Bracelet lets child Link pick up Bomb Flowers, which open the blocked entrance to Dodongo’s Cavern. Use the flowers to destroy the entrance obstruction and to solve the cavern’s explosive floor, staircase and eye-switch puzzles.
The Bomb Bag is the dungeon’s critical item. It lets you carry and use bombs away from Bomb Flower patches, including during the King Dodongo fight. Defeat King Dodongo to receive Goron’s Ruby, the second Spiritual Stone.
3. Inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly
Visit Zora’s Domain and obtain the Silver Scale by completing the diving challenge. Dive near the domain’s entrance to retrieve Ruto’s Letter, show it to King Zora, and then place a fish in front of Lord Jabu-Jabu. The fish can be bought in a bottle or collected from a shallow pool.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesInside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly, the dungeon changes layout as you carry Princess Ruto through its rooms. The Boomerang is the key item, allowing you to hit distant switches and stun enemies. After solving the electrical and tentacle puzzles, defeat Barinade to obtain Zora’s Sapphire, the third Spiritual Stone.
Becoming adult Link at the Temple of Time
With all three Spiritual Stones, return to Hyrule Castle and follow the story sequence that awards the Ocarina of Time. Go to the Temple of Time in Hyrule Castle Town, play the required song at the altar, and draw the Master Sword from its pedestal. This removes child Link from the world for the adult portion of the story and unlocks the first five adult-route objectives.
The age change is reversible later: placing the Master Sword back in its pedestal returns Link to childhood, while drawing it again restores adult Link. That mechanic is essential for the Bottom of the Well and Spirit Temple.
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Adult Link’s main route
4. Forest Temple
The Forest Temple is the first full adult dungeon. Before entering, retrieve the Hookshot by completing Dampé’s race in the Kakariko Graveyard and learn Saria’s Song so Mido will let you pass into the Sacred Forest Meadow. In the meadow, learn Minuet of Forest, which provides a quick return point for the temple area.
The temple’s central challenge is recovering the four Poe flames. Explore the four branches, defeat the Poe Sisters, and return their flames to the central area to open the route forward. The Fairy Bow handles colored eye switches and several Poe encounters. Phantom Ganon is the boss; defeating him awards the Forest Medallion and advances the sage storyline.
5. Fire Temple
Use the Goron Tunic to survive the intense heat in Death Mountain Crater and enter the Fire Temple. The opening objective is to rescue imprisoned Gorons. Their cells are distributed throughout the temple, so expect to revisit the central rooms after acquiring new keys and tools.
The Megaton Hammer is the dungeon’s major reward. It breaks heavy obstacles, activates floor switches that ordinary weapons cannot, and is required for the route to Volvagia. Defeat Volvagia to receive the Fire Medallion.
6. Ice Cavern: the short optional-sized dungeon
Ice Cavern is normally completed before the Water Temple. It is smaller than the six major temples and does not award a Heart Container, but skipping it leaves Link without the equipment needed for the next dungeon.
Explore the frozen passages, collect Blue Fire, and use it to melt red ice around Zora’s Domain. The Iron Boots are the important reward. You also learn Serenade of Water, a warp song that points to the Water Temple area. Bottle Blue Fire when possible; it is useful for both the cavern’s ice and later red-ice obstacles.
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7. Water Temple
With the Iron Boots, enter the submerged structure at the bottom of Lake Hylia. The Water Temple revolves around raising and lowering the water level at its central tower. Place the equipment you need on convenient item buttons because the boots and tunic are repeatedly swapped during exploration.
Mark the water-level locations mentally or on a map: changing the level alters which corridors, blocks and rooms are reachable. Dark Link guards the dungeon’s central progression fight. After defeating him, obtain the Longshot, an extended Hookshot that reaches distant targets and is required for the temple’s upper sections.
Morpha is the final boss. Defeating it grants the Water Medallion and completes the water sage sequence.
Preparing the Shadow Temple
8. Bottom of the Well
The Bottom of the Well is completed as child Link, but its trigger is obtained while you are adult. In Kakariko Village, learn Song of Storms from the windmill musician. Return to the past by placing the Master Sword in the Temple of Time, then play Song of Storms at the windmill to drain the well.
Enter the dry well as child Link and follow the invisible-wall and dead-end clues through the dungeon. The Lens of Truth is the essential reward: it reveals hidden rooms, false walls and invisible enemies. It is particularly important in the Shadow Temple and makes several Spirit Temple rooms much easier to navigate.
9. Shadow Temple
The Shadow Temple becomes available after the Kakariko Village fire event. The story teaches Link Nocturne of Shadow, which warps him to the temple entrance. Light the entrance sequence with Din’s Fire, then use the Lens of Truth to distinguish real paths from illusions.
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The temple contains moving platforms, guillotine rooms, invisible hazards and mummy enemies. The Hover Boots are the major item reward and allow Link to cross gaps and special surfaces. Bongo Bongo is the boss; defeating it awards the Shadow Medallion.
Spirit Temple: why you must use both ages
Reach the Desert Colossus
After the adult dungeons and the required desert travel, reach the Desert Colossus and learn Requiem of Spirit. The Spirit Temple is deliberately designed around the Master Sword: one portion is completed as child Link, and the rest is completed as adult Link.
Child section: Silver Gauntlets
Return to child Link and enter the Spirit Temple. The child portion includes passages too small for adult Link and awards the Silver Gauntlets. These gauntlets let Link lift heavy silver objects and are the progression key for returning to the temple as an adult.
Adult section: Mirror Shield and Twinrova
Draw the Master Sword to become adult Link, return to the Spirit Temple, and use the Silver Gauntlets to open the adult route. The Mirror Shield reflects light into sun switches and protects against particular magical attacks. Continue through the temple to Twinrova, the combined boss of Koume and Kotake.
Defeating Twinrova awards the Spirit Medallion. Therefore, “Can I enter the Spirit Temple as a child?” has a precise answer: yes, and you must do so for the Silver Gauntlets, but child Link cannot finish the temple alone.
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Once the six sage medallions are collected, return to the Temple of Time and receive the Light Arrows. The entrance to Ganon’s Castle then becomes the final dungeon route. Its central chamber contains six elemental seal barriers: Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit and Light.
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Enter each branch and solve its seal puzzle using the items earned throughout the game. The Golden Gauntlets are found inside the castle and let Link lift the heaviest objects, opening the final central route. After the seals are broken, confront Ganondorf.
Ganondorf’s defeat begins the timed escape from the collapsing tower. Recover the Master Sword if it is knocked away, descend before the timer expires, and fight Ganon in the arena outside. The tower escape and the final Ganon fight are part of the same endgame sequence, not separate optional dungeons.
Progression gates that explain the order
| Gate | Item, song or event | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Child dungeon access | Goron’s Bracelet and Bomb Bag | Dodongo’s Cavern and its boss route |
| Jabu-Jabu access | Silver Scale, Ruto’s Letter and a fish | Jabu-Jabu’s Belly |
| Adult transition | Three Spiritual Stones, Ocarina of Time and Master Sword | Adult Link and the Forest Temple |
| Fire Temple survival | Goron Tunic | Safe movement through Death Mountain Crater and the Fire Temple |
| Water Temple entry | Iron Boots from Ice Cavern | Submerged entrance in Lake Hylia |
| Hidden-path navigation | Lens of Truth from Bottom of the Well | Reliable Shadow Temple progression and easier Spirit Temple navigation |
| Shadow Temple entrance | Kakariko fire event, Nocturne of Shadow and Din’s Fire | Shadow Temple entrance sequence |
| Spirit Temple completion | Silver Gauntlets, then Mirror Shield | Child and adult sections of the Spirit Temple |
| Ganon’s Castle | Six medallions and Light Arrows | Six seal branches and the final boss sequence |
What can vary in an alternate route?
Experienced players may change the order by using sequence breaks, glitches or partial dungeon clears. Such routes are not governed by one universal sequence because the answer depends on the game version, the glitch rules and whether the goal is a full completion or only a required item.
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When evaluating an alternate route, check four things for every proposed change:
- Age state: determine whether the room or item requires child or adult Link.
- Item gate: verify that the route does not assume Hookshot, Iron Boots, Lens of Truth, Silver Gauntlets or another item earlier than intended.
- Story trigger: check whether a medallion, sage event, village event or song must be activated first.
- Completion goal: distinguish collecting one progression item from defeating the dungeon boss and collecting its medallion.
For a first playthrough, the standard order is safer because every dungeon is entered with its intended tools and the story events occur in a predictable sequence.
Quick Recap
A practical first-playthrough checklist
- Finish the Great Deku Tree and obtain the Kokiri’s Emerald.
- Open Dodongo’s Cavern with the Goron’s Bracelet, then defeat King Dodongo for Goron’s Ruby.
- Use the Silver Scale, Ruto’s Letter and a fish to enter Jabu-Jabu’s Belly; defeat Barinade for Zora’s Sapphire.
- Obtain the Ocarina of Time, open the Temple of Time and draw the Master Sword.
- Complete the Forest Temple for the Forest Medallion.
- Complete the Fire Temple for the Fire Medallion.
- Clear Ice Cavern, collect Blue Fire and take the Iron Boots.
- Complete the Water Temple and take the Longshot.
- As adult Link, learn Song of Storms; as child Link, drain the well and collect the Lens of Truth.
- Complete the Shadow Temple for the Shadow Medallion.
- Visit the Spirit Temple as child Link for the Silver Gauntlets, then as adult Link for the Mirror Shield and Spirit Medallion.
- Collect Light Arrows, break the six Ganon’s Castle seals, defeat Ganondorf and complete the escape and Ganon fight.
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