Ocarina of Time Walkthrough: Dungeon Order, Bosses and Collectibles

This hub lays out the whole adventure in order and links to a full walkthrough for each dungeon. Release details for the remake are on the release date page, and the version comparison covers what Nintendo has announced.

What is the dungeon order in Ocarina of Time?

The story splits into a child era and an adult era seven years later. You cross between them at the Temple of Time.

#	Dungeon	Age	Boss	Item found inside	Reward
1	Inside the Deku Tree	Child	Gohma	Fairy Slingshot	Kokiri’s Emerald
2	Dodongo’s Cavern	Child	King Dodongo	Bomb Bag	Goron’s Ruby
3	Inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly	Child	Barinade	Boomerang	Zora’s Sapphire
4	Forest Temple	Adult	Phantom Ganon	Fairy Bow	Forest Medallion
5	Fire Temple	Adult	Volvagia	Megaton Hammer	Fire Medallion
—	Ice Cavern (mini-dungeon)	Adult	—	Iron Boots	Serenade of Water
6	Water Temple	Adult	Morpha	Longshot	Water Medallion
—	Bottom of the Well (mini-dungeon)	Child	—	Lens of Truth	—
7	Shadow Temple	Adult	Bongo Bongo	Hover Boots	Shadow Medallion
8	Spirit Temple	Child and adult	Twinrova	Silver Gauntlets, Mirror Shield	Spirit Medallion
—	Gerudo Training Ground (optional)	Adult	—	Ice Arrows	—
9	Inside Ganon’s Castle	Adult	Ganondorf, then Ganon	Golden Gauntlets	The ending

Every boss dungeon except Ganon’s Castle also drops a Heart Container, so eight in total.

How does the story move from dungeon to dungeon?

The table shows where each dungeon sits. These steps show what links them, so you know where to go after each boss.

1. Clear the Deku Tree for the first Spiritual Stone. Kokiri’s Emerald is the first of the three stones you need to open the Door of Time.
2. Climb Death Mountain for Dodongo’s Cavern. The Gorons can no longer enter the cavern where they quarry their food. The Bomb Bag is found inside, and Goron’s Ruby is the reward.
3. Enter Jabu-Jabu’s Belly at Zora’s Fountain. Drop a fish from a bottle in front of Lord Jabu-Jabu to get swallowed, then carry Princess Ruto through the rooms until she finds Zora’s Sapphire.
4. Open the Door of Time. With all three stones, play the Song of Time in the Temple of Time and draw the Master Sword. Link wakes up as an adult seven years later.
5. Enter the Forest Temple from the Sacred Forest Meadow. Sheik teaches the Minuet of Forest the first time you reach the meadow as an adult.
6. Head into Death Mountain Crater for the Fire Temple. Sheik teaches the Bolero of Fire after you get the Goron Tunic and step into the crater.
7. Clear the Ice Cavern at Zora’s Fountain. The Iron Boots inside are required for the Water Temple, and Sheik teaches the Serenade of Water once you have them.
8. Dive to the Water Temple in Lake Hylia. The Serenade of Water warps you to the lake, and the Longshot is the item found inside.
9. Return to Kakariko Village for the Nocturne of Shadow. After the Forest, Fire and Water Temples, Sheik teaches the song that warps you to the Shadow Temple entrance above the graveyard.
10. Drain the well and clear the Bottom of the Well as a child. Learn the Song of Storms from the man in the Kakariko windmill as an adult, then return as a child and play it there to drain the well. The Lens of Truth is inside.
11. Clear the Shadow Temple as an adult. Din’s Fire opens the entrance, and the Lens of Truth reveals the fake walls and hidden floors inside.
12. Free the carpenters, then cross the Haunted Wasteland. Rescuing all four carpenters in Gerudo’s Fortress earns Gerudo’s Membership Card, which opens the way to the Desert Colossus. Adult Link cannot get into the Spirit Temple yet, so Sheik teaches the Requiem of Spirit for the trip back as a child.
13. Clear the Spirit Temple in both ages. The child half gives the Silver Gauntlets and the adult half gives the Mirror Shield.
14. Take the Light Arrows in the Temple of Time. Once every Sage is awake, Zelda gives you the Light Arrows you need for Ganondorf and the castle’s upper barrier.
15. Storm Inside Ganon’s Castle. Break the barrier trials, climb the tower, and beat Ganondorf and then Ganon.

The optional Gerudo Training Ground is inside Gerudo’s Fortress. Show the Membership Card and pay 10 rupees to enter, and the Ice Arrows are the prize at the end.

Which dungeon should you do first as an adult?

Start with the Forest Temple. It is the first place Sheik sends you, and the Fairy Bow inside is used constantly afterwards. The Fire Temple, the Ice Cavern and the Water Temple follow, in the order both of our reference walkthroughs use. The Water Temple is the one most players get stuck in, so read the Water Temple walkthrough before you go in.

What collectibles are in Ocarina of Time?

Collectible	Total	Notes
Pieces of Heart	36	Four make one Heart Container, nine containers in all. With the eight boss containers and your starting three, the maximum is 20 hearts
Gold Skulltulas	100	Most outdoor ones only appear at night; ones in crates or drawn out of soft soil with bugs do not need night
Great Fairy Fountains	6	Magic meter and Magic Spin Attack, Din’s Fire, Farore’s Wind, Nayru’s Love, double magic and double defense

Both big collectibles have their own checklist pages: all 36 Pieces of Heart and all 100 Gold Skulltulas.

What does the House of Skulltula give you?

The cursed family in Kakariko Village rewards you as your token count rises.

Tokens	Reward
10	Adult’s Wallet (holds 200 rupees)
20	Stone of Agony (Shard of Agony on 3DS)
30	Giant’s Wallet (holds 500 rupees)
40	Bombchus ×10
50	Piece of Heart
100	A Huge Rupee worth 200 rupees on every visit

Where are the Great Fairy Fountains?

Location	Reward
Death Mountain Trail summit	Magic meter and Magic Spin Attack
Hyrule Castle	Din’s Fire
Zora’s Fountain	Farore’s Wind
Desert Colossus	Nayru’s Love
Death Mountain Crater	Double magic
Outside Ganon’s Castle	Double defense

Din’s Fire is not optional: it is what opens the door of the Shadow Temple.

What is Master Quest?

Master Quest is a second version of the game with every dungeon redesigned: new puzzle layouts, tougher enemies earlier, and some Gold Skulltulas moved. It grew out of Ura Zelda, an unreleased 64DD expansion. It first shipped on the GameCube bonus disc given with The Wind Waker pre-orders, then returned in the 3DS version, where it unlocks after you finish the normal game, is mirrored left to right, and doubles the damage enemies and bosses deal. The original N64 release does not include it, and our dungeon pages cover the original layouts only.

Where should you go next?

If you are new to the series, which Zelda to play first compares the entry points. Otherwise, start at the top of the table with the Deku Tree walkthrough.