Ocarina of Time Remake Characters: Sheik, Sages and More

This is a who’s who for the Ocarina of Time remake on Nintendo Switch 2: the main characters, where you meet them as a child or an adult, and what each one gives you or teaches you. Names and titles follow the remake’s English text, including the name cards that introduce the major characters. For the full route, follow the 15-chapter walkthrough; for the plot on its own, read the story summary; for every song and who teaches it, see Ocarina songs.

Who are Link and Navi?

Link

The hero you play. Link grows up in Kokiri Forest as the Kokiri boy without a fairy, until the Great Deku Tree sends Navi to him. Drawing the Master Sword in the Temple of Time moves the story forward seven years, and from then on you switch between young Link and adult Link at the pedestal. Rauru and Sheik call him the Hero of Time. As an adult he learns from the Deku Tree Sprout that he is a Hylian, not a Kokiri: his mother left him in the Great Deku Tree’s care as a baby. His age is answered in the FAQ; he stays silent in the remake’s voiced scenes.

Navi

Navi, the Forest Fairy, wakes Link at the start with a summons from the Great Deku Tree and stays with him to the end. She explains enemies and talks in cutscenes, but in the remake she no longer keeps reminding you where to go. She also stops at spots where a fairy’s thoughts linger and offers to show you what they are about. Navi gives no items. See the beginner tips.

Who are Zelda, Sheik and Ganondorf?

Zelda, Princess of Hyrule

You meet young Zelda in the Hyrule Castle courtyard after sneaking through the gardens. She points out Ganondorf through a window, gives you Zelda’s Letter and introduces Impa, who teaches you Zelda’s Lullaby. When you return with the three Spiritual Stones, she flees the castle with Impa and throws the Ocarina of Time into the moat for you; her message then teaches the Song of Time. See the Hyrule Castle and Temple of Time chapters.

Sheik

Sheik, Survivor of the Sheikah, greets adult Link in the Temple of Time right after he wakes up seven years later. Sheik turns up across Hyrule and teaches all six warp songs: the Minuet of the Forest, Bolero of Fire, Serenade of Water, Nocturne of Shadow, Requiem of Spirit and Prelude of Light. After the five temple sages have awakened, Rauru sends you back to the Temple of Time, where Sheik is revealed to be Zelda in disguise, hiding from Ganondorf. She gives you the Light Arrows, and Ganondorf captures her straight after. The song guide lists where Sheik teaches each tune.

Ganondorf

Ganondorf is the leader of the Gerudo, the people of the western desert. As a child you see him at the castle; when Link opens the way to the Sacred Realm, he takes the Triforce of Power and rules Hyrule as the Demon King for the seven years Link is gone. You fight him at the top of Ganondorf’s Castle (Ganon’s Castle in the N64 original), where his title card reads Great Demon King, and then as the beast Ganon. Zelda and the six sages seal him away at the end. His Forest Temple double, Phantom Ganon, is a separate boss.

Who are the seven sages?

The sages are the people whose power can seal Ganondorf away. Rauru, the Sage of Light, is already awake; the other five wake up when you clear the five adult temples, and the remake’s Threads of Time calls this part of the story Awakening the Five Sages. Each sage gives you a medallion in the Chamber of Sages. Zelda is the seventh: she reveals that she is the leader of the sages and holds the Triforce of Wisdom.

Rauru, Sage of Light

Rauru, Creator of the Temple of Time, meets you in the Chamber of Sages the first time you draw the Master Sword. He explains why seven years have passed, gives you the Light Medallion and asks you to find the other sages. In the remake the Hero’s Clothes are described as given with his blessing. He speaks to you again inside Ganondorf’s Castle about the six barriers around the tower.

Saria, Sage of the Forest

Saria, Link’s Childhood Friend, is a Kokiri girl. She gives you the Fairy Ocarina just past the forest exit as you leave Kokiri Forest and teaches you Saria’s Song in the Sacred Grove at the end of the Lost Woods; play it anywhere to talk to her for a hint. As an adult she has gone into the Forest Temple, and after you beat Phantom Ganon she awakens as the Sage of the Forest and gives you the Forest Medallion.

Darunia, Sage of Fire

Darunia, Big Boss of the Gorons, sits shut in his room in Goron City. Zelda’s Lullaby opens his door and Saria’s Song cheers him up, and he gives you the Goron Bracelet; after you defeat King Dodongo in Dodongo Cavern he gives you the Goron Ruby. As an adult he has gone into the Fire Temple to face the dragon Volvagia. After the temple he is the Sage of Fire and gives you the Fire Medallion.

Ruto, Sage of Water

Ruto, Princess of the Zora, is King Zora’s daughter. As a child you find her inside Lord Jabu-Jabu’s Belly and carry her through it; after Barinade she gives you the Zora Sapphire. As an adult you meet her again in the Water Temple, and after Morpha she awakens as the Sage of Water and gives you the Water Medallion.

Impa, Sage of Shadow

Impa, Princess Zelda’s Attendant, is a Sheikah and steward of the royal family. She teaches you Zelda’s Lullaby in the castle courtyard and later escapes the castle with Zelda. Seven years later, when Kakariko Village burns, she goes after the shadow monster into the Shadow Temple. After Bongo Bongo she is the Sage of Shadow and gives you the Shadow Medallion. See Kakariko Village.

Nabooru, Sage of Spirit

Nabooru, the Gerudo Thief, was once the leader of Gerudo Fortress. You meet her as a child inside the entrance of the Spirit Temple, where she asks you to crawl through a small hole and bring back the Silver Gauntlets. The witches Koume and Kotake (Twinrova) carry her off, and as an adult you have to fight her while she is under their spell. After the temple she is the Sage of Spirit and gives you the Spirit Medallion. See Gerudo Fortress for how you get there.

Who holds the three Spiritual Stones?

You need all three Spiritual Stones, plus the Ocarina of Time and the Song of Time, to open the Door of Time. Darunia and Ruto are covered in the sages section above.

Great Deku Tree

The Great Deku Tree, the Forest Guardian, watches over Kokiri Forest. He sends Navi to wake Link and asks him to break the curse inside him. After you defeat Gohma, he tells you about the goddesses and the Triforce and gives you the Kokiri Emerald. When you come back as an adult, the Deku Tree Sprout tells Link where he really came from and sends him to break the curse on each temple.

King Zora

The ruler of Zora Domain and Ruto’s father. As a child, show him Ruto’s Letter, found in a bottle at Lake Hylia, and he opens the way to Zora Fountain and Lord Jabu-Jabu. As an adult you find him frozen; melt the ice with Blue Fire and he gives you the Zora Tunic. He also takes part in the Biggoron Sword trade.

Lord Jabu-Jabu

Lord Jabu-Jabu is the giant fish the Zora worship as their guardian deity. He floats in Zora Fountain, and Ruto has ended up inside him. Release a fish in front of him and he swallows you too, which takes you into the dungeon. See the Lord Jabu-Jabu’s Belly walkthrough.

Who else helps Link on the journey?

Kaepora Gaebora

Kaepora Gaebora, the Guiding Owl, introduces himself on a branch in Hyrule Field as you leave the forest, and turns up again along the way with advice. After you visit the Great Fairy on the Death Mountain summit as a child, he offers to fly you down to Kakariko Village. In the remake he also runs the Hall of Fallen Foes, where you rematch bosses. A Gossip Stone rumour claims he is the reincarnation of an ancient sage.

Malon

Malon is the girl from Lon Lon Ranch with a milk wagon on the road outside Hyrule Castle. She asks you to find her father and gives you the egg that hatches into a Cucco to wake him. At the ranch she teaches you Epona’s Song. As an adult you find her at the ranch again; see how to get Epona.

Talon

Talon owns Lon Lon Ranch and is Malon’s father. You find him asleep in the castle gardens and wake him with the hatched Cucco. At the ranch his Cucco-finding game wins you a bottle of Lon Lon Milk. As an adult he is asleep in a house in Kakariko Village, a stop in the Biggoron Sword trade.

Ingo

Ingo is the ranch hand. As an adult he runs the ranch and rents out horse rides for 20 rupees. Call Epona with Epona’s Song, beat him in two races and she is yours. See how to get Epona.

Mido

Mido is the self-appointed boss of the Kokiri. He blocks the path to the Great Deku Tree until you have a sword and a shield. As an adult he stops you again in the Lost Woods and only lets you through after you play Saria’s Song for him. See Lost Woods.

Dampé

Dampé is the gravekeeper in the Graveyard behind Kakariko Village. As a child, his night-time digging tour costs 10 rupees a dig and hides a Piece of Heart. As an adult you race his ghost through the tunnels under his grave for the Hookshot, and a faster second race earns another Piece of Heart. See the Hookshot guide.

Biggoron

Biggoron is the huge Goron at the top of Death Mountain Trail. In the adult trading chain he sends you for eye drops for his sore eyes; deliver them in time and he forges the Biggoron Sword. The whole chain is on the Biggoron Sword page.

Happy Mask Shopkeeper

The Happy Mask Shopkeeper (the Happy Mask Salesman of the N64 original) runs the Happy Mask Shop in Hyrule Castle Town, open by day only. He lends you one mask at a time to sell, and once you pay back the Bunny Hood he lends you the Mask of Truth. See masks.

Great Fairies

Great Fairies live in six fountains around Hyrule and each gives a gift in return for a rupee offering: the magic meter, the spells Din’s Fire, Farore’s Wind and Nayru’s Love, a stronger Spin Attack, doubled magic and halved damage. See Great Fairy Fountains.

The Kokiri

The Kokiri are the children of Kokiri Forest, each with a fairy of their own, and they never grow up, so they are still children when you return seven years later. Their shop sells shields and supplies, and Saria and Mido are the two you deal with most. See the Great Deku Tree walkthrough for the start of the game.

Which villains and bosses do you face?

Besides Ganondorf, each dungeon ends in a boss: Gohma, King Dodongo, Barinade, Phantom Ganon, Volvagia, Morpha, Bongo Bongo and Twinrova, the Sorceress Sisters Koume and Kotake who hold Nabooru. The final battles are Ganondorf and then Ganon. Strategies are on the bosses page, and you can fight them again in the Hall of Fallen Foes.

New to the game? Start with the beginner tips and the FAQ, then follow the walkthrough.