92 Fun Facts About Ocarina of Time

What is the name of the horse Link can win at Lon Lon Ranch in Ocarina of Time?

Epona only lets Link near once he plays the song he learned at the ranch as a child; as an adult he wins her from Ingo in a race, then escapes by jumping the ranch wall.

Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda game to feature what?

3D graphics were new to Zelda, and lining Link up with an enemy in 3D space proved so awkward that the team invented a lock-on system to solve it.

Who produced Ocarina of Time?

Shigeru Miyamoto produced and supervised Ocarina of Time rather than directing it himself, as he had his previous big game, handing day-to-day control to a team of directors.

Who composed the soundtrack of Ocarina of Time?

Koji Kondo wrote the score under an odd constraint: every melody Link plays had to work with just the five notes an ocarina's buttons allow, which he called a major challenge.

Which Ocarina of Time director became Zelda's long-time producer?

Eiji Aonuma designed its dungeons; he was invited onto the team after directing Marvelous, a 1996 adventure game inspired by an earlier Zelda.

Ocarina of Time's lock-on targeting system is named after which controller button?

Z-targeting began with a plain marker on the locked-on enemy; the team redrew it as a fairy, nicknamed the 'Fairy Navigation System', and that is how Navi was born.

Which ocarina song does a windmill man teach adult Link?

The Song of Storms is a time loop: the windmill man teaches it to adult Link while cursing the kid who played it years before, and that kid turns out to be Link himself, playing what he has just been taught.

Which area serves as the central hub of Ocarina of Time's world?

Hyrule Field links every region, with a ranch at its centre; cross it after dark as a child and skeletal Stalchildren claw up from the ground until sunrise.

Kakariko Village sits at the foot of which peak?

Death Mountain looms over Kakariko Village; its trail is pelted by falling rock whenever Link nears the summit, so he needs a sturdy shield to climb it.

In Ocarina of Time, which desert-dwelling race consists almost entirely of women?

The Gerudo see only one man born every hundred years, and their law makes him king, which is how Ganondorf came to rule them.

In Ocarina of Time, which temple features a fight against Dark Link?

The Water Temple pits Link against Dark Link, a shadow that rises from his own reflection in a misty, flooded room and copies his sword moves.

Why do the other forest children tease Link at the start of Ocarina of Time?

He has no fairy because he is not really one of the forest folk: his dying Hylian mother left him in the forest as a baby, a secret Link learns only as an adult.

Who instructs Navi to become Link's guide in Ocarina of Time?

The Great Deku Tree, guardian of the Kokiri, sends Navi to wake Link; cursed by Ganondorf, he gives Link the Kokiri's Emerald before he dies.

Which sleepy Lon Lon Ranch owner must young Link wake with a crowing Cucco?

Talon nods off on a milk run to the castle until Link's Cucco crows him awake; years later his hand Ingo has seized the ranch and Talon is found asleep in a village house.

Zelda's caretaker Impa belongs to which people?

Impa is one of the Sheikah, the shadow folk sworn to guard Hyrule's royal family; Kakariko was once their private village until she opened it to ordinary people.

Which tunic protects adult Link from the scorching heat inside a volcano's crater?

The red Goron Tunic keeps Link alive in the crater's heat; he gets it free from the Goron chief's young son, who was named Link in his honour, or can buy one for 200 Rupees.

Which Spiritual Stone does Link earn by clearing Dodongo's Cavern?

The Goron's Ruby is the reward: the cavern is where the Gorons quarry the rocks they eat, so clearing it ends their hunger and their chief hands over the stone.

Which childhood friend gives Link his first ocarina as he leaves the forest?

Saria gives Link the Fairy Ocarina as a keepsake when he leaves home; the treasured royal ocarina of the title only replaces it once Zelda flees the castle.

How many years pass while Link sleeps in the Sacred Realm?

Seven years pass because Link was too young to be the Hero of Time when he drew the sword, so his spirit was sealed until he grew up; Ganondorf used the gap to conquer Hyrule.

Which mysterious guide, who teaches adult Link his warp songs, turns out to be Princess Zelda in disguise?

Sheik drops the disguise only once every Sage is awake, and it costs her at once: the moment she appears as Zelda, Ganondorf captures her and whisks her to his castle.

Which of these characters is one of the Sages Link awakens as an adult?

Darunia, the Goron chief, marches off alone to face the dragon Volvagia; once Link finishes the fight for him, he awakens as one of the Sages.

When the Triforce splits in Ocarina of Time, which of its pieces does Ganondorf keep?

Power is all Ganondorf gets: his unbalanced heart makes the Triforce split, and Wisdom and Courage pass to Zelda and Link, so he must capture them both to complete it.

How does Ocarina of Time end for Link?

Zelda sends him back to his childhood to relive the years he lost; Nintendo's official timeline later treated the two eras this leaves behind as separate branches of the series.

Which boss does Link face in the first dungeon of Ocarina of Time?

Queen Gohma, a one-eyed armoured spider planted as a curse on the forest's guardian, is the first boss; Link stuns her through the eye, then finishes her with his sword.

Ocarina of Time originally ran on the engine of which game?

Super Mario 64 lent Ocarina of Time its engine at first, but the team rebuilt it so heavily that the game's producer came to regard the two as different engines.

From which point of view was Ocarina of Time originally meant to be played?

First-person was the early plan, and the whole adventure was first pictured inside the rooms of a single castle; the roaming third-person view came later.

Ocarina of Time's sword combat was modelled on which genre of screen action?

Samurai dramas were the model: the staff watched a live sword-fight show at Toei Kyoto Studio Park, where a hero circled by ninja gave them the idea of locking on to one enemy at a time.

Later revisions of Ocarina of Time recoloured Ganondorf's blood from crimson to what?

Green replaced crimson as the colour of Ganondorf's blood in later cartridge runs, a change made alongside glitch fixes; the GameCube re-release was built from that revised version.

The music in which dungeon was altered to remove a sample of an Islamic prayer chant?

The Fire Temple's chant broke Nintendo's own rule against real religious material, so it was swapped out, as was a crescent-and-star emblem; it was not, as often told, a response to complaints.

Which shooter was one of only three N64 games to outsell Ocarina of Time?

GoldenEye 007, a film tie-in, sold just over eight million copies to Ocarina of Time's 7.6 million, leaving Zelda only fourth on the console behind it and two Mario games.

As of 2025, Ocarina of Time holds which Metacritic record?

Top critic score: its 99 stood unmatched on Metacritic as of 2025, and not even the game's own 3DS remake, which polished the same adventure in 2011, scored more than 94.

Which magazine gave Ocarina of Time its first-ever 40/40 score?

Famitsu adds up four critics' marks out of 10, so a 40 needs every one of them to give a 10; a lone 9 had stopped earlier favourites at 39 until this game swept all four in 1998.

Which Zelda sequel reused Ocarina of Time's engine and character models?

Majora's Mask got the go-ahead on one condition, that it be made in a year, so the team borrowed what it could and kept the new world compact by replaying the same three days.

The harder remix of Ocarina of Time built for the 64DD add-on was known in Japan as what?

Ura Zelda ('Another Zelda') was a remixed Ocarina of Time planned for the 64DD disk drive; the add-on's failure in Japan meant it never shipped there in that form.

Ocarina of Time's remixed 64DD version reached the West in 2003 on GameCube under what subtitle?

Master Quest kept the story but rebuilt every dungeon's puzzles to be harder and stranger: in Jabu-Jabu's Belly, cows wedged into the walls serve as switches.

Nintendo re-released Ocarina of Time on GameCube via a bonus disc for people who pre-ordered which game?

The Wind Waker's pre-order disc proved so popular that some buyers ordered and cancelled just to keep it, so in Europe Nintendo packed the disc inside the game's own case.

The 2011 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time added which mode alongside gyroscope aiming?

Boss Challenge lets Link refight beaten bosses by lying down on the bed in his childhood home; beat them all again and a gauntlet of all eight in a row unlocks.

How many Gold Skulltulas are hidden across Hyrule for Link to collect?

100 Gold Skulltulas lurk across Hyrule; every batch of tokens Link brings back loosens the curse that turned a greedy rich family in Kakariko into spiders, freeing them one by one.

Which sword, the strongest in Ocarina of Time, is earned by completing the adult trading sequence?

The Biggoron Sword hits twice as hard as Link's usual blade and, unlike the brittle Giant's Knife it resembles, never breaks; the catch is that it takes both hands, so no shield.

Where in Ocarina of Time can Link pay 20 Rupees to go fishing?

Lake Hylia's Fishing Pond rents Link a rod; beat the record catch and the owner hands over a Piece of Heart to a child, or the Golden Scale for deeper dives to an adult.

Which Ocarina of Time item does nothing on the Wii Virtual Console because it relied on controller rumble?

The Stone of Agony rumbles the controller near hidden grottoes, so it was useless on the rumble-less Wii Virtual Console; the 2015 Wii U release restored the effect.

Which independent studio co-developed the 2011 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time with Nintendo?

Grezzo, the Tokyo studio founded by Mana creator Koichi Ishii, handled Ocarina of Time 3D, streamlining its most confusing dungeon and adding hint videos for stuck players.

In Ocarina of Time, what does Malon put in Link's house if he beats her record around the ranch track?

A cow is the prize for lapping the ranch track faster than Malon's record of 50 seconds, and it turns up inside Link's own home in Kokiri Forest.

Ocarina of Time's producer said which surreal American TV series partly inspired its odd characters?

Twin Peaks, the eerie murder mystery, was one acknowledged influence on a cast of more than 60, each of which took the team two or three days to create.

What happens in Ocarina of Time if Link keeps attacking one of the Cuccos that wander its villages?

A flock attacks him, swarming in from every side to peck at Link until he flees, which makes the harmless-looking birds one of the most feared sights in Hyrule.

In Ocarina of Time, what does Princess Ruto declare that giving Link the Zora's Sapphire makes the two of them?

Engaged to marry is how the Zora princess sees it once Link has rescued her, and as an adult she only reluctantly puts the wedding on hold to serve as a Sage.

Which hobby of its designer inspired the Ocarina of Time dungeon where Link raises and lowers the water level?

Diving was the passion behind the dungeon's sinking and surfacing puzzles, though its designer later apologised for how frustrating the heavy Iron Boots made them.

Which crime game did Rockstar's Sam Houser describe as Zelda meets Goodfellas, a nod to Ocarina of Time's influence?

Grand Theft Auto III got that label from the Rockstar co-founder, whose brother Dan Houser said anyone making 3D games who denies borrowing from Nintendo's N64 classics is lying.

What has become of Zora's Domain by the time Link returns there as an adult in Ocarina of Time?

It is frozen in ice under a curse spreading from a nearby temple, and the Zora princess escapes only because a stranger pulls her out from beneath it.

In Ocarina of Time, ranch girl Malon wears a brooch depicting which villain from another Nintendo series?

Bowser appears on the brooches worn by both Malon and her father, a small cameo for the Koopa King a long way from his own series.

Which giant guardian deity of the Zora swallows the young Princess Ruto in Ocarina of Time?

Jabu-Jabu is so fond of fish that young Link has to offer him one and be gulped down as well, the only way inside to find the princess.

In Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf imprisons the Gorons and plans to feed them to which dragon?

Volvagia is the lava-dwelling dragon the Goron chief rushes off to face alone, leaving Link to free his captive people and slay the beast himself.

Ganondorf's surrogate mothers, the witches Koume and Kotake, merge into which boss in Ocarina of Time?

Twinrova throws one sister's flame and the other's frost, and Link wins by catching three blasts of one kind on his shield and firing them back.

Adult Link earns the Hookshot in Ocarina of Time by racing the ghost of which gravekeeper?

Dampé is alive in Link's childhood, digging up treasure on tours of the Kakariko graveyard, but by the adult era he has died and haunts his own grave.

In Ocarina of Time, adult Link must win his future horse from which ranch hand who has seized her?

Ingo, the ranch's resentful stable hand, is handed ownership after appealing to Ganondorf, and Link has to beat him in two horse races before riding off.

Which Sage of Light is the first face Link sees when he awakens as an adult in Ocarina of Time?

Rauru, a high priest and the last of the ancient Sages, watches over Link during his long sleep and then sends him to find the others.

When the owl finishes a speech in Ocarina of Time, why do players so often sit through it twice?

The cursor starts on repeat whenever Kaepora Gaebora asks whether Link took in his advice, so players hammering the button through his long speeches hear the whole thing again.

Which desert thief defies Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time, is brainwashed by witches and later awakens as a Sage?

Nabooru is second-in-command of Ganondorf's own tribe, yet she objects to his cruelty toward innocents and sets out to sabotage his plans.

In the creation story told in Ocarina of Time, which golden goddess shaped the land of Hyrule itself?

Din formed the land, after which Nayru gave the world its laws and Farore created the living things that would uphold them.

After Navi flies away at the end of Ocarina of Time, Link's search for her leads him into which land?

Termina is the strange world Link stumbles into while combing the Lost Woods for his old guide, a search that ends without him ever finding her.

Ocarina of Time Sages such as Ruto and Saria share their names with what from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link?

Towns in the series' second game carry the names of five of the Sages, and in the story's own timeline it is the towns that were named after them.

The programmer who secretly built Ocarina of Time's fishing pond had earlier added fishing to which Zelda game?

Link's Awakening got its fishing game from Kazuaki Morita too, because angling was his favourite hobby, and he first made the 3D pond without telling anyone.

A cut storytelling shopkeeper nicknamed Hobbit was reworked into which creatures in Ocarina of Time?

Deku Scrubs, the nut-spitting shrubs that trade with Link once beaten, grew out of that abandoned character, whose nickname was borrowed from Tolkien.

In Ocarina of Time, a forest child tells adult Link that anyone lost in the Lost Woods turns into what?

Stalfos, the sword-swinging skeletons Link fights in several dungeons, are the fate of lost travellers, a warning adult Link hears on returning to the woods with a potion.

Ocarina of Time's Link returns as the Hero's Shade, a ghost who trains his descendant, in which later game?

Twilight Princess brings him back as a skeletal spectre, full of regret at never passing on his skills, who first appears to his heir as a wolf.

Reviewers judged Ocarina of Time's frame rate and textures weaker than those of which Nintendo 64 platformer?

Banjo-Kazooie had reached the same console earlier that year, and the wish to compete with it was one reason Nintendo gave its Zelda extra time in development.

Hajime Tabata named Ocarina of Time as the inspiration for the seamless open world of which role-playing game?

Final Fantasy XV took its unbroken open world from Hyrule's example, one of many debts later designers have admitted, from Dark Souls to The Witcher.

Which part of the Nintendo 64 controller lets Ocarina of Time players bend the pitch of an ocarina note?

The analog stick slides each of the five basic notes up or down, so players can perform tunes far beyond the melodies Link is taught.

Ocarina of Time's fan-made PC port, Ship of Harkinian, is named after a king from Zelda games on which console?

Philips CD-i was home to licensed Zelda spin-offs whose King Harkinian became an internet meme, and the port's name also plays on the Ship of Theseus.

Editors at GameTrailers called Ocarina of Time a walking example of what, for the features it pioneered?

Patent office was their image for a game whose lock-on combat and context-sensitive buttons were copied so widely that they became industry standard.

Link grows up among the Kokiri in Ocarina of Time, but to which race does he belong by birth?

Hylian by birth, Link was entrusted as an infant to the forest's ancient guardian by his mother and was then raised as one of the Kokiri.

Which bossy Kokiri refuses to let Link pass in Ocarina of Time until he carries a sword and shield?

Mido styles himself boss of the Kokiri, as the sign outside his house announces, and spends the opening of the game ordering the other children about.

In Ocarina of Time, why does the Kakariko woman who keeps Cuccos need Link to round them up for her?

She is allergic to her own birds and gets goose bumps at a touch, so she later breeds a pocket-sized kind that causes her no reaction.

In Ocarina of Time, greed has cursed a rich Kakariko family to take the shape of which creatures?

Spiders are the form the father and his five sons are trapped in, and Link lifts the curse by hunting down tokens scattered across the kingdom.

Unusually for a Zelda character, Navi in Ocarina of Time calls out short voiced words in which real language?

English words make up her voiced calls for attention, which GamesRadar later listed among the 40 most repeated quotes in gaming.

The Gorons of Ocarina of Time are a mountain-dwelling people best known for eating what?

Rocks are the staple of the Goron diet, which is why monsters overrunning the cavern they quarry for food leaves the whole tribe going hungry.

Which mischievous imps play a memory game with young Link in the Lost Woods of Ocarina of Time?

Skull Kids lurk in the woods as a trio: two test Link's memory while the third rewards him for playing a tune, and one of their kind turns villain in the sequel.

In Ocarina of Time, whom does the grateful Goron chief later name after Link for saving his people's food supply?

His son carries the name Link, a tribute to the boy the chief had declared his sworn brother for making the cavern safe again.

Which paralysing undead fill Hyrule Castle Town's ruined market when adult Link returns in Ocarina of Time?

ReDeads freeze Link with a gaze before clinging to his back, though playing the Sun's Song stops them in their tracks for a few moments.

Which captured workers must adult Link free from cells inside the desert fortress in Ocarina of Time?

Carpenters, four in all, are locked in separate cells around the stronghold, and each rescue is interrupted by a guard appearing behind Link.

Ocarina of Time's Poe sisters Joelle, Beth, Amy and Meg take their names from the sisters in which 1868 novel?

Little Women lends the March sisters' names to four ghosts who haunt the Forest Temple, each giving up a coloured flame for its torches when Link beats her.

In Nintendo's official timeline, which outcome of Ocarina of Time's final battle leads on to A Link to the Past?

The hero falls in one of three branches the official chronology draws from the game, while the other two follow his victory into separate eras.

The desert tribe's emblem in Ocarina of Time's N64 original was later redrawn because it resembled which symbol?

Star and crescent shapes marked switches, blocks and the Mirror Shield until Nintendo's rule against religious imagery prompted a new crest in later releases.

Which Ocarina of Time boss, once sealed in Kakariko's well, attacks with a pair of disembodied hands?

Bongo Bongo pounds a giant drum with those hands and stays invisible for the whole fight unless Link looks through the Lens of Truth.

How do the makers of Ocarina of Time's unofficial PC port avoid distributing any of Nintendo's own material?

Players supply the ROM themselves and the port pulls its art and sound from that copy, so the download itself contains nothing that belongs to Nintendo.

Ocarina of Time was one of five launch games for which Nintendo console sold only in China?

iQue Player arrived in November 2003, five years after the N64 original, with the Hyrule adventure among the handful of titles available on day one.

Ocarina of Time was delayed partly because Nintendo prioritised which N64 game that had missed its own date?

Yoshi's Story had missed its own planned release window, so Nintendo's effort went there first and the Hyrule epic lost its 1997 holiday date.

IGN's review compared some of Ocarina of Time's music to the work of which American minimalist composer?

Philip Glass was the reviewer's point of comparison for a soundtrack that Pitchfork went on to rate 9 out of 10 when it was judged as an album.

Which Ocarina of Time director redesigned the plain lock-on marker as a ball of light with wings?

Yoshiaki Koizumi thought a bare marker looked too robotic, and his winged light, which staff nicknamed the Fairy Navigation System, grew into the character Navi.

Which amoeba-like boss must adult Link destroy in Ocarina of Time to end the curse that drained a great lake?

Morpha is really the red nucleus hidden inside the water it controls, and Link has to hook that core out of a tentacle before he can strike it.

Which Ocarina of Time dungeon does Link have to explore both as a child and as an adult?

Spirit Temple has a west wing reached through a hole too small for an adult and an east wing sealed by a huge block, so Link clears part as a child and returns grown up.

Which professionals were hired during Ocarina of Time's development to capture Link's sword fighting and movement?

Stunt performers acted out the swordplay for motion capture, one part of a production that grew to involve more than 120 people.