The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Facts and Trivia

Today we are getting out the ocarina and hitting the old fishing hole because it’s The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time…time. So sit back, relax and Hey Listen as we explore facts, trivia and Easter eggs from the game that has sold over 9 million copies and received constant 10 out 10 reviews.

Number 14

There is a theory going around that the Forest and Water Temples in Ocarina of Time were originally planned as the wind and ice temples. There are a few pieces of evidence to support this theory such as the Water Medallion from the Water temple looking like a snowflake and the Forest Medallion resembles a moving fan suggesting wind.

The interior of Ganon’s Tower also supports this theory as it is based on the different temples. Inside this tower however the Forest Temple portion features a wind puzzle around fans and the Water temple section is based around Ice.

The battle against the Sorceress Sisters also backs up this theory as the Fire attack symbol matches the fire medallion’s design and Koume’s Ice attack symbol matches the design of the water medallion. so were these temples originally going to be wind and Ice related? No one knows for sure but it is a neat theory.

Number 13

Since there are a ton of these facts I thought I’d knock off a bunch of little Easter eggs and trivia here at number 13, so tighten your Tunic and Letsa go! First up, If you take out your Deku Stick near a group of butterflies and gently lead one away from the group, that butterfly will turn into a fairy! As this footage shows this neat little trick also carried over to the 3D remake of the game.

No doubt if you spent enough time in Hyrule Marketplace you will have seen the Character Sakon running around. When you chat to him he will say “Huff huff! I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date!”, which is a quote from the White Rabbit in the Novel Alice in Wonderland. You might remember the Rabbit MIPS from Super Mario 64 making reference to this quote too.

Next time you are in the Hyrule Castle Courtyard chatting with Zelda, take a look in the window on the left as you enter. It’s empty apart from a plant but if you fire your slingshot at this seemingly mundane piece of flora a guard will throw a bomb at you and warn you not to cause trouble!

And finally at number 13 we visit the German version of the Ocarina of time. If you chat to Princess Zelda whilst you have the Keaton Mask on she will make a Pokemon reference. Roughly translated Zelda says “What are you? Oh, you’re one of those golden little pocket monsters, right?” referencing the similarities between Pikachu and the Mask.

Number 12

Next time you are inside the Lakeside Laboratory next to Lake Hylia, jump in the pool and sink to the bottom. Hiding in there is this odd motionless shark behind some bars. He doesn’t actually do anything but it has had us wondering since the game’s release and it’s also present in the 3D remake.

Number 11

Ocarina of time suffered through a little bit of controversy resulting in some changes being made to the game. For example the music for the Fire Temple once contained some stock sound effects of chanting. Despite being used in other games this chanting sound was deemed to sound too close to Islamic prayer and as a result Nintendo decided to change it. The chanting sounds were replaced with the moans and wails from the Shadow Temple’s music instead.

Those of you that played the original game will also be familiar with this crescent moon and star symbol that appears on blocks, switches and even the mirror shield. This symbol also caused controversy however as the moon and stars also resemble Islamic symbols. Because of this re-releases of the game have changed the symbol to something that hopefully no one can complain about.

Number 10

A good old fashioned time paradox is present in the Ocarina of Time. When you learn the song of Storms from Guru Guru he tells you that he learned it from some Ocarina Kid 7 years ago implying it was Link as a child yet he just learnt the song as an Adult. So who composed the Song of Storms? It’s a mystery.

Number 9

A little bit of a cheeky one here at number 9. Next time you are in the Spirit Temple in the room with the giant statue, try aiming the hookshot in the er, bust area. Unlike the surrounding walls your hookshot will be able to grapple on the highlighted areas. It’s speculated that this was a joke added in by Nintendo but it could have just been a one off level designer perv too. (refer to video below)

Number 8

If you still own the Nintendo 64 release of Ocarina of time then the debugging tool is still present in the discs data. In fact if the game crashes and you quickly enter the correct button sequence you can still see the debug data that includes info on why the game crashed and the situation of the environment when it did crash. This is all a bit nerdy but pretty cool really and Nintendo manages to soften the geek blow on the Version info screen of this debug tool too. Hiding amongst the stats and numbers is this heart-warming message that reads “I LOVE YOU”, supposedly in appreciation of bug reporters.

Number 7

Next time you are fighting Phantom Ganon or if Ganondorf’s magic blasts are too much, equip a bottle and send his magic back at him. Similar to the Bug-catching net reflecting Agahnim’s magic in A Link to the Past, your bottle will reflect the oncoming spell and end up damaging Ganon. You can also end up having a quick game of Tennis with him if he is in the mood too. 15 love.

Number 6

If you enjoy glitching games then you should definitely look into the “wrong warp” glitch. Taking advantage of this bug one can teleport from the Deku Tree basement right to Ganon’s Tower by tricking the game into loading a different cut scene! Using this glitch people have been able to complete the game in crazy fast times.

Number 5

Interestingly Link’s Horse, Epona, was actually discussed as an idea during the development of Super Mario 64. Some ideas were floating around to include a horse for Mario to ride around in the game. Obviously this didn’t occur in the Mario classic but this did leave the Dev’s of Ocarina of Time knowing from the start that they would include a horse and as such Epona was somewhat planned from the beginning.

Epona’s name has a bit of intrigue behind it too. When translated from the ancient Celtic language Gaulish it means “Great Mare”. Epona in the Gallo-Roman religion is also the protector of Horses, Donkeys and Mules so it’s not too hard to speculate where the name for Link’s horse came from.

One last bit of trivia about Epona, in a number of pre-release trailers for later beta-builds of Ocarina of time, Link can be seen Riding Epona into Hyrule Castle town. Why this functionality was removed, no one knows!

Number 4

Now seems like as good a time as any to take a look at some of the Super Mario crossovers that appear in Ocarina of time. For a start the characters Talon and Ingo are loosely based on both Mario and Luigi, which isn’t too much of a surprise given their designs!

There are a number of other crossovers too however, ranging from minor such as the plaque that appears in Dodongos cavern is the same on the fountain in Super Mario 64 to more pronounced sneakier ones like Malon wearing a brooch that looks an awful lot like Bowser’s head! The warp Whistle sound from Super Mario Bros. 3 also makes reappearance in the title screen. Most of you will already know about the Mario pictures you can see when you are in the castle courtyard too, however In the 3D version of the game these pictures are replaced with a Mario level background, complete with warp pipes and blocks!

As mentioned in our Mario Galaxy video too, the idea behind scaling the boss Megaleg was originally intended for Ocarina of time. The original plan was to have Link scaling a massive Ganon as the boss battle however it was scrapped because the Nintendo 64 struggled to render the colossal body at a steady framerate and players could apparently easily get confused as Ganon’s entire body would never be visible.

Number 3

A little bit of a dark one here at number 3. After you have collected all 3 Spiritual Stones and received the Ocarina of Time from Zelda, if you head to the back Alley of Hyrule Castle town you will find a huddled up Soldier. If you chat to him he will go into a story of Ganondorf betraying the King and how he himself was injured fighting Ganondorf’s men so Zelda and Impa could get away. The solider manages to tell you to head to the Temple of time but then dies shortly after. If you try to talk to him again to message “He’s not moving anymore…” appears.

Number 2

When development started on Ocarina of time, Nintendo were still unsure how large a game could be and still function given the memory restrictions of the Nintendo 64. The team considered a similar layout to Mario 64 where Ganon’s castle would be the hub and you would take off on adventures from there. Obviously this was changed but Ganon’s doppelganger in the Forest Temple is still a tribute to this early development with the villain jumping in and out of paintings.

The game was almost made completely in the first person perspective too! This would have been an interesting change to the game but Miyamoto wanted everyone to see the change from Young Link to Adult link. He also laughed and added in an interview that players should see Link because “He is so cool looking!”

Number 1

And finally here at number one we have this awesome hidden Arwing from Starfox! During development and testing of Ocarina of time the developers added in this Arwing in order to test Z-Targeting and the enemy AI. Obviously you can’t access it during normal game play however with the use of a GameShark or an Action Replay addon this Arwing can still be unlocked and battled! (refer to video below)

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