Bongo Bongo

Phantom Shadow Beast: Bongo Bongo (暗黒幻影獣ボンゴボンゴ) is the boss of the Shadow Temple, the seventh dungeon in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Story
Bongo Bongo is a gargantuan, invisible and evil spirit, appearing as a one-eyed monster with disembodied hands. Prior to the game's events, he was sealed away in the bottom of the Well of Three Features in Kakariko Village by Impa. However, when Ganondorf assumed power, Bongo Bongo eventually broke the seal placed on him and set Kakariko Village on fire. Link arrives just as Bongo Bongo escapes, but fails to stop it from traveling to the Shadow Temple.

Battle
thumb|300px|left|Battle with Bongo Bongo The battle takes place on a large bongo drum. Bongo Bongo beats the drum, setting up a fast, softer tempo with one hand but tapping much harder at a slower tempo with the other one. The heavier drum beat bounces Link up into the air, which makes aiming and dodging harder. Bongo Bongo always stays on the opposite side of the drum, as far away from Link as possible. When Bongo Bongo stops drumming, he is preparing for an attack.

Link must first stun both of Bongo Bongo's hands with arrows. Once Link starts attacking one of his hands, the other hand retaliates with one of a half-dozen attacks: a horizontal swipe across the drum, a horizontal slap, a vertical smacking, grabbing Link with a fist, and just trying to punch him directly. All of these do significant damage to Link. If both hands are unhindered, Bongo Bongo will try to smash Link in a devastating clap.

After Link has stunned both his hands, Bongo Bongo does one more attack, involving his entire body and both fists charging across the drum towards Link. This attack is unavoidable and causes massive damage to Link. While Bongo Bongo is executing this attack, this is the only time the creature is vulnerable, allowing Link to fire an arrow at his eye (which, for the only time during the battle, is open), disabling it, allowing Link to damage the boss by slashing his eye. Because the shield is not required in this battle, it is preferable to use the Biggoron's Sword in order to maximize damage. It is also possible, though much harder, for Link to attack Bongo Bongo's eye at the last second with his sword, attacking normally or with a Spin Attack. Though not required, the Lens of Truth allows Link to see Bongo Bongo's eye, making the battle much easier. Another option is use the Ice Arrows. When Link freezes one of the hands, the other hand starts attacking the frozen one trying to break the ice. While attacking his own hand, Bongo Bongo opens his eye and Link must fire an arrow in the eye (using the Lens of Truth), then attack the eye with his sword.

After delivering the coup de grace on Bongo Bongo, it will go into convulsions, body thrashing and hands flailing around. It inadvertantly creates a frenzied beat on the drum, which gradually slows as its life drains away. It then turns black and melts into powder that burns away into nothingness.

Interestingly, Bongo Bongo has the largest amount of health out of all the bosses in Ocarina of Time. This is a record that is achieved either if the player counts just sword slashes or sword slashes and extra weapons hit, ending up with a total of twenty-six and sixty-three hits, respectively. Also, Bongo Bongo is the only boss who does not require the use of his temple's treasure, the Hover Boots, in order to be defeated.

Possible Origins
The boss in the Shadow Temple is theorized to be (or have been) a Sheikah. This is because when Adult Link talks to Shikashi near the House of Skulltula, the elderly man states:

The shapeshifting monster could be the Man Who Could See the Truth due to the fact that Bongo Bongo has one eye and was living in the well. His house could have been sent to the bottom of the well, along with certain artifacts (the Lens of Truth, a Sheikah's item). His description says Phantom Shadow Beast, as "phantom" as a "deceased person" and "shadow" as "Shadow folk", another name for the Sheikah. However, the "eye" he references could have been a metaphor, and a direct reference to the Lens itself.

Also, it is possible that Bongo Bongo betrayed the Royal Family of Hyrule in the Hyrulean Civil War and was executed, being sent (along with his house) to the bottom of the Kakariko Well. To add to this theory, The Bottom of the Well has various torturing devices, which means this could have been the place that Bongo Bongo was executed in. Another theory proposed is that he was an Interloper, but he was not imprisoned in the Twilight Realm. Instead he was sealed away in the Bottom of the Well by Impa. It is also possible that before they knew about the Mirror of Twilight they bound certain interlopers in distinct places. The name 'Shadow Beast' is also used for some Interlopers, which infers that Bongo Bongo is a phantom version of an Interloper or is connected to them in some way.

Etymology
Bongo Bongo's name is a reference to the bongo drum on which the battle takes place.

Bongo Bongo