Select controller:A Changed Forest
Upon entering the Kokiri Forest, you should find that it is severely overrun with monsters. Because of this, the children have barricaded themselves in their homes. Head into the Lost Woods. On your way to the Sacred Forest Meadow, you should eventually find Mido blocking your path. Play Saria's Song for him. He will be convinced that you are a friend of Saria's, and he will let you pass. If you play the song to hear Saria, she will tell you she is in the Forest Temple and needs your help.
Remember the Song
If you decided to go to Lake Hylia as a child and play a song to the scarecrow Bonooru, go back to Lake Hylia and play it again. Bonooru will remember it and you will have the Scarecrow's Song to play. Now the wandering scarecrow Pierre will appear if he hears your song in some places. He will become a stationary target that can be latched onto with the Hookshot. If Navi flies to a far away spot, try playing the song. You can actually get to places faster this way. It even lets you skip the maze in the Sacred Forest Meadow if you want to.
Sacred Forest Meadow
Instead of Mad Scrubs populating the area, there are Moblin Guards, monstrous, dog-like guards patrolling the corridors. If they see you, they will ram you into the wall. This time, there is no top-down view when navigating the area. To safely traverse the meadow, wait for a guard to pass you or change direction. When it does, sneak up behind it and use the Hookshot to kill it. If you are an advanced player, use the walking sideways technique (which Navi describes to you before navigating the meadow) to check to see if it is safe to progress though a certain spot. If you play the Scarecrow's Song, you can bypass the maze by using the Hookshot on Pierre at the start. When you finish navigating the maze, you will find a much larger guard, a Club Moblin, much more menacing because it holds a club. He will ram his weapon into the ground to send a vibration that will knock you down and injure you. Run straight towards him, but dodge the tremors that he sends. When you are behind him, attack him with your sword three times to receive a lot of Rupees upon his defeat.
At the end of the meadow, there is a silence as Link walks to the tree stump where Saria sat, only to find that she isn't there. Sheik then appears out of nowhere. He teaches Link a melody that will transport the player to the Forest Temple entrance at any given time: The Minuet of Forest.
The Minuet of Forest
For now, Sheik will use a Deku Nut to disappear, but not for good, because for the rest of your quest, every time you are about to enter a new temple, Sheik will appear to teach you a song that will lead you to its entrance. The spot you will be transported to is a fairly large white platform with a marking of the Sage Medallion in the center. For instance, the large, white platform at the entrance to the Forest Temple is where you will be transported if you play the Minuet of Forest.
Take out your hookshot and aim it at the tree hanging over the broken stairs. You should see a red dot when you aim at it (if you can't, move closer). Hookshot to it and enter the temple.
Entering the Forest Temple
Immediately when you enter the temple, kill the two Wolfos and then climb the vines to the east. Climb up, run and jump across to the other tree, and open the chest to get the first small key. For all of the dungeons as an adult, you will use these keys to progress. Enter north into the next room.
Make quick work of the Big Skulltula and enter the next room. If you use the Hookshot to hit the Skulltula, you don't have to wait for it to drop and turn its underbelly towards you.
The Poe Sisters
This is the main room of the temple. You will see four poes, the Poe Sisters, who steal the fire from the torches surrounding an elevator, its power source. As a result, the elevator goes down and shuts off. You must re-light to the torches to reactivate the elevator, which leads to the Boss Room. In order to re-light the torches, you must kill the four Poe Sisters.
The Fairy Bow
Go straight into the room in front of you. Kill the Blue Bubble (the flying skull surrounded by blue flames) by using your shield to defend against it (if it runs into you, it will lose its blue flames) and then attack it with your sword. Enter the next room. Here you will fight two Stalfos, restless skeleton armored warriors. Z-target them and then use your shield (it's best to use the Master Sword for this fight). Their attacks will damage your health severely, so be careful when fighting them. When one attacks, dodge it, and then attack it (simply defending won't always work as they use an arced strike that can go behind your shield). They have shields, too, so don't let them counter your attacks. Kill both of them and retrieve the small key from the chest that appears and go back to the main room.
Head to the north west to find a Time Block with the symbol from the Door of Time on it. Play the Song of Time and it will disappear. Enter the room.
Avoid the Octorok and the Big Deku Baba (if you haven't seen them before, it's an enlarged Deku Baba). Go to the right side and use your Hookshot to kill the Skullwalltulas that are on the vines. You can't reach the top one. Climb up the right side of the vines and avoid the top one; it's easiest to just ignore it (if it turns purple, it will attack you!). However, there is an alternate way. Did you remember to get Bombchus? Use one and aim it at the last Skullwalltula. That takes care of the third! Climb the vines to the door at the top. Enter the next room and kill the Blue Bubble inside to get the Dungeon Map and unlock the doors.
In the next room use your Hookshot to hit the black target with a crescent moon (it looks like two concentric circles from far away) on it on the northern wall (to your left as you come into the room). You will be pulled toward the spot and fall down on the platform. Step on the red switch to drain the water from the well. Now jump or climb the vine down to the ground and into the well (you'll be in the long hallway of B1). There is a small key in a treasure chest you need near the western wall.
After you get the key, climb up the vines behind the chest (this will take you to the large room to the north west). Climb out of the well and head towards the Big Deku Baba and turn right into the door (the main room). Stay to your right, climb the little step and go up the stairs to the western door. It's locked, so you'll have to use one of the small keys you found to open it (just press in front of it like a normal door). Head through the door and kill the Big Skulltula.
In the next room a Blue Bubble will come after you. Just go around it and walk forward (west) until you reach the ladder: climb up both of them. Head around the corner through the archway into a small room. There are three yellow arrows painted on the ground (Navi will remind you). Look to the left and you'll see a big greenish-blue block behind a yellow arrow. Pull the block until it can fit through the passage to the right. Walk around to the left side of it and push it along the arrow until it hits the wall (you'll hear a sound and it will no longer move). Head through the passage that the block was first sitting in, and run around to the right to the other side of the block, then push it from there until it falls a few inches into place (the puzzle success sound will trigger). Jump on top of the block, then up into the hallway on the right. Run to the end of it and you'll see more yellow arrows and a brownish-red block on the left like before. Drag it backwards until you can no longer pull it, then go back to the lower floor. Go back to where the greenish-blue block first was (by the yellow arrows) and look for a ladder inside. Head up the ladder, turn right, then take the first right into the corridor to reach the brownish-red block. Push it all the way into the wall, then head back down and around to the other side of the brownish-red block again and push it forward into place. Climb up onto the brownish-red block and then up to the pathway above. Run around the corner to the right and climb up the ladder. Up here are two Blue Bubbles (you don't need to fight them) and a locked door; if you cam, just ignore both of them. Enter through the locked door into the next room.
Strangely enough, this corridor is twisted. Just walk straight through it and go into the twisted room at the end of the passageway. Be careful, a devious enemy called a Wallmaster lurks in this room. It will fall from above to capture you, and you'll be at the start of the dungeon afterward. Avoid it while it drops by running (you'll see a small shadow appear on the ground), then when you see it drop, kill it for a Rupee bounty. If you look around this room you'll notice an intricate chest is on the wall. Navi will comment on it if you target it. Don't try to latch onto it, though, as the Hookshot can't pull you towards chests like that and you might get snagged by a Wallmaster. Instead, jump across the three platforms to the locked door and enter it.
Go down the two flights of stairs (make note that a Poe Sister appears in one of the three paintings randomly here) and enter the mini-boss room. Kill the first Stalfos in this room without falling into the hole (you can try to use your Hookshot to stun him from a safe distance). After you kill the Stalfos a platform will come down in the middle with two more Stalfos. After you kill one of them his remains are still on the ground. After about a minute he will get back up. You need to have them both killed at the same time. This can be tricky at times. A treasure will appear in the middle of the room once the Stalfos are gone. Open the chest, and you will receive the Fairy Bow! Now you can shoot arrows, which you need to get through this strange, mysterious temple.
The First Two Poe Sisters, Joelle and Beth
Go back to the previous room. In this room, there are three paintings of a Poe Sister on the wall. Two are blank. Use an arrow to shoot the painting with the Poe. If you get too close to it the Poe Sister will disappear and go to a different painting. Shoot the three paintings and then fight the real Poe Sister. This is Joelle, the Poe Sister who stole the red torch. When fighting her, she will often disappear and swing her torch towards you. Simply use your Hylian Shield to protect yourself until she reappears. You can use the Fairy Bow (your most powerful option), the Hookshot, or the Master Sword to defeat her. Once she's defeated she will lose the red flame, so the red torch will light in this room and by the elevator in the main room of the dungeon. Upon Joelle's defeat you will see a chest appear that has a small key inside. Don't forget to grab it! Now go back through the mini-boss room where you got the Fairy Bow and into the room on the other side. Here you have to go through the same sort of fight again, but with the second Poe Sister. She is Beth, the Poe Sister who took the blue torch. Kill her and the blue torch will light like the red one did and a chest will appear which has the Compass. Don't go through the locked door at the top of the staircase in this room yet. You need another key first.
The Third Poe Sister, Amy
Go all the way back out to the room you reached at the end of the block puzzle right before the twisted corridor with the two Blue Bubbles. Turn back around and look right above the door as you go out it and shoot the eye with your Fairy Bow. The corridor will untwist. Walk back down the now non-twisted hall and jump down to the floor to find the beautifully decorated blue and yellow chest that you saw on the wall. Inside it is the Boss Key. This key allows you to open the door to the Boss Room. For the remainder of the game, all the Boss Keys will be in this type of chest. Now you need to get another key as well. Watch out for the Wallmaster, because it still lurks in the room. Jump down a hole in the floor to find a small room. Kill the two Blue Bubbles to open the door in the room and then go through it. You will be in a familiar room but on a ledge. Be careful, because what ever you do, DON'T FALL FROM THE LEDGE. Kill the Big Deku Baba and go in the door that is the furthest on the right side. There will be another strange hand called a Floormaster in this room. Attack it with your sword but when it turns green it is invincible and will swoop after you, so hold up your shield. When you think you've killed it, it will split into three smaller Floormasters. Kill all the little Floormasters with Din's Fire and get the key from the chest that appears in the room. Do this quickly, because the mini-Floormasters will attempt to latch onto you and drain your magic power to regenerate themselves.
Leave the room and go through the door on the end of the ledge. You'll once again be in the room with the block puzzles but at a different ledge. Jump down and go all the way up to the top of the corridors again and then shoot the eye above the door that leads through the corridor again to re-twist the hallway. Go through the twisted room, avoid the Wallmaster, jump across the platforms into the next room, go down the stairs where Joelle was, through the Mini-boss room, and through up the stairs where Beth was and unlock the door. You will be in the second twisted room. It also has a Wallmaster inside. Avoid it and cross over to the nearby platform with the ladder. This will lead you to the second corridor. However, it is not twisted. Walk through the corridor carefully, because there is another enemy introduced here: the Green Bubble. It spins in a circle and tries to hit you if you get near it. Stun the two Green Bubbles with your Hookshot to eliminate their flames, and then kill them with an arrow and unlock the next door. In this room there are four spinning platforms. Look for a frozen eye switch. You can melt the ice on it two ways. You can simply jump onto the platform with the eye switch and use Din's Fire to melt it, or you can go on the spinning platforms and use an arrow to shoot through the fire on the lit torch in the middle and melt the eye switch by timing it right. The eye switch will twist the corridor if it is shot with an arrow when it is thawed.
Go through the door and back into the twisted corridor to reach the twisted room. Drop down the hole in the floor to land in another weird room. In this room the ceiling falls on the floor, but there are empty spots in it, so you can make it across, but be careful because there are Big skulltulas around, and your shooting accuracy with the Hookshot and Fairy Bow is thrown off in this room. There is a chest with arrows if you want to restock on the floor. Reach the switch on the floor and hit it to enter the next room. Here, there is a big painting of a Poe Sister. Pay close attention to its details. Then, shoot it with an arrow and five blocks will fall on the floor. Push and pull them so they fit together and match the picture of the Poe Sister above. One of them is a fake image and darker than the rest. Ignore it, because you have only one minute before they return to where they were. If you arrange the picture correctly then the third Poe Sister will emerge from it. This Poe Sister is Amy, the Poe Sister who snatched the green torch. Kill her just like you killed the other two Poe Sisters. The green torch will light both here and in the main room. Leave the room and kill the Big Skulltula in the next room.
The Last Poe Sister, Meg
Now in the main room again (but at a previously unreachable spot) you'll notice the fourth Poe Sister crying over the deaths of her sisters just below you. Drop down and approach her to begin combat.
Unlike the other Poes, you're in for a surprise; her name is Meg, the Poe Sister who snagged the purple torch. Because you killed her sisters, she wants revenge! She will make three copies of herself, so this can be tricky at times. The moment she and her clones appear, look for the one that briefly spins: that's the real one you need to destroy. After a few hits, she will be defeated; all the torches will light up, and the elevator will be reactivated.
Boss: Phantom Ganon
The elevator will come back up. Get on the elevator and go down. In this room, there are two holes on the two sides. Look through them. Parts of the walls in the center part of this room are standing out and have handles on them. Go next to them and push once. Then let go and look and see if new holes are revealed. Three switches are down here, hidden behind the walls. Hit the first you find to raise the cage blocking the second, then from there hit it to raise the cage blocking the third, and hit it and you will open up the path to the Boss room. On the Boss Door is a gold lock with horns. The Boss Key will open it.
Enter the room and climb up the stairs. You will find that there is nothing in this room. If you try to leave, the boss will make his entrance. The exit gets blocked off by iron bars, trapping you inside the room. You will see who appears to be Ganondorf. It is not the real deal, but it is the boss of the Forest Temple - "Evil Spirit from Beyond: PHANTOM GANON".
Paintings
For the first half of the battle, you will watch Phantom Ganon and his horse enter one of the paintings on the wall. After Ganon reaches the end of the painting, he will turn around and two of him will be coming towards you. Identify the positions of the two and then look for the more colorful Phantom Ganon. A small, purple portal will form in front of the real Phantom Ganon when he reaches the front of the painting to allow him to emerge from it. He is your target. With your Fairy Bow ready, shoot him when he comes out of the painting. If you aim for the decoy, it will turn around at the last second. If you miss your chance to hit Phantom Ganon and he emerges, he will shoot a ball of magic onto the floor with his scepter. Stay clear of it. After you hit Phantom Ganon with three arrows, he will stop entering paintings and let his horse ride off. This is now the second part of the boss battle.
Magic Attacks
Phantom Ganon will throw a magic, bright yellow ball at you with his scepter and you have to swing it back at him. Z-Target him to accurately watch him, and when the ball of magic gets close to you swing your sword and it will turn blue and go back at him. It may miss him or he may hit it back to you. If he does, then hit it back at him until he gets hit. As you do that, the magic ball will speed up and you will need to react faster. It may miss Phantom Ganon when you swing it at him. When you finally hit him he will fall to the ground. Then run up to him and strike him as many times as you can using your sword. If he has the chance when he's almost defeated, Phantom Ganon may launch a sparkling white ball of magic at you. Use the Spin Attack to counter it. Keep this up until Phantom Ganon has been defeated. As he dies, he will crumble apart.
When you defeat him, you will find out that the real Ganondorf was watching. He becomes frustrated with his creation and banishes it to the gap between dimensions. Enter the blue light that appears to leave the Forest Temple.
Aftermath
Saria and the Forest Medallion
After stepping into the blue light, you will be transported to the Chamber of the Sages again, the place where you met Rauru. Saria will emerge from a green platform in front of you like the yellow one Rauru was standing on. She reveals that she is the Sage of the Forest and her duty is to protect the Forest Temple, so she and Link cannot live in the same world. After speaking with her, she will give you the Forest Medallion , which contains her power. As you leave the Chamber of Sages, she will tell you she will always be your friend.
Even though Saria is now a sage, you may still talk to Saria with "Saria's Song" at any point in the game. Right now, she will tell you she didn't want to become a sage at first, but that she is glad to be helping you on your quest.
The Deku Tree's Sprout
You will find yourself in front of the Deku Tree. Link notices a root. It suddenly sprouts from the ground, revealing a large sprout with a smiling face, the Deku Tree Sprout. He reveals to him that Link is not a Kokiri, but a Hylian. This makes sense because Link became older and was able to leave the forest, something the Kokiri cannot do. The Deku Tree Sprout reveals that Link was brought to the Deku Tree by his Hylian mother during a time of war before Hyrule was unified. The Deku Tree could sense that Link was the child of destiny, so he took him in and raised him as a child of the forest. As for his mother, she passed away from the injuries she took from the war. Her fate upon her death is unknown. The Deku Tree Sprout tells you that you were always destined to leave the forest and to break the curses on the other temples. As for the Koriki Forest, it has returned to normal and the Koriki are back outside.
The Prelude of Light
Return to the Temple of Time. Sheik reveals that there will be a time where Link will need to return to the temple as quickly as possible, and so she teaches you the melody for when that time comes: The Prelude of Light.
The Prelude of Light
Sheik will also tell you that you can return to the past by putting the Master Sword back in the Pedestal of Time. Sheik will disappear again, and the temple will suddenly be illuminated in light.
Sidequests
- Kokiri Forest: On the back of the House of Twins, use the Hookshot to kill a Skulltula and claim its token.
- Lost Woods: As a child, plant a Magic Bean at the soil patch in the section of the Lost Woods where the Forest Stage is. As an adult, ride the plant to the nearby ledge at night and kill the Skulltula.
- Sacred Forest Meadow: Climb the lone ladder at the end of the maze, turn around, and look on the left wall for a Skulltula.
- Forest Temple: In the first room, a Skulltula will be found on the upper part of the vines.
- Forest Temple: At the end of the torch room that lead to the Stalfos battle, there is a Skulltula on the wall.
- Forest Temple: In the East Courtyard, stand on the right side of the dirt path where it dead-ends at the pool. Use your Hookshot to latch onto the chest above. A Gold Skulltula is found clinging to the wall.
- Forest Temple: Untwist the first corridor. Drop through the pit at the end. Kill the Blue Bubbles to open the door. You should now be on a ledge in the West Courtyard. You should notice a broken column that makes a makeshift platform. (It should be lined with recovery hearts) Walk to the far edge and look up to find a Gold Skulltula. Kill it and retrieve the token with the hookshot.
- Forest Temple: Ride the elevator to the bottom floor. As soon as you enter the room, go to the left and and grab the north side of the handle. Push it towards the south. Go for the northwest corner of the room. There is a small room with a switch inside it. Once you exit the room, go to the handle on the right. Stand on the north side of the handle, and push it to the south. Go to the east side of the room, and enter the small alcove where another switch lies. Another gate will open elsewhere in the room. Turn around and go back out into the room. Go to the right and to the eastern side of the handle, and push it to the west. Go to the southwest and into the small room. A Gold Skulltula lies on the wall to left.
Quest for the Biggoron's Sword
If you have received Cojiro from Anju the Cuckoo lady in Kakariko Village, you can continue the item trading sequence in the forest.
- Odd Mushroom: Upon entering the Lost Woods, head to the left. You should find a strange looking man asleep. He is Grog. Awaken him using Cojiro. Apparently, he is the original owner of the bird. He will give you the mushroom to take the the potion lady in Kakariko.
- Odd Medicine: You have only three minutes to deliver the mushroom to the potion lady. If you have Epona, this task will be a whole lot easier. To get to the potion lady's abode, find the potion shop that relocated from the market. There is a back door on the left. Now enter the barn on your right. Give the mushroom to the lady.
NOTE: You cannot use warping melodies to help you. If you do, the time will automatically drop to 0 seconds.
- Poacher's Saw: Take the medicine back to the person who gave you the mushroom. He is gone. You will find Fado, a blonde Kokiri in his place. She claims that he is gone and that the medicine you carry belongs to the forest. After she demands it back, she will give the saw he left behind.
Quiver Upgrade
The Shooting Gallery relocated from the market to Kakariko Village. The building lies between the Windmill and the House of Skulltula. The game still cost 20 rupees and you still have 15 shots. They are in the same positions as last time, but their appearances have been scrambled. If you win, you will receive a quiver upgrade and be able to carry a maximum of 40 arrows.