The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Secrets

This page lists secrets and unlockables in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Angry Guard
In the Castle Courtyard room with Princess Zelda in it, if Link shoots through the left window with the Fairy Slingshot, a guard will stick his head out and yell, "Hey you! Don't cause any trouble!" He will then throw a bomb at Link. This only occurs once--shooting the window additional times garners no reaction.

Bigger Enemies
If Link kills enough Stalchildren, Guays, or Leevers, a larger (and stronger in the Leever's case) version of the enemy will appear. Upon defeat, a bigger Stalchild or Guay will usually drop a blue Rupee, while a bigger Leever will usually leave a set of three Rupees, either blue or red. During a single night, every big Stalchild encountered will be slightly larger than the last; this can result in an extremely large Stalchild if a cheating device is used to make the night last indefinitely.

Mario Easter Egg
In the room were Link meets Zelda look at the right window and you will see a picture of Mario,Lugi,Yoshi and Bowser Link can view by the slingshot or close up view.

Big Poes
There are ten Big Poes scattered across Hyrule Field. They will only appear if Link is on Epona--a regular Poe will appear in a Big Poe's place if Link is horseless. Upon selling all ten Big Poes to the Ghost Hunter, Link will be rewarded with an empty bottle.


 * 1) At the sign pointing to Lon Lon Ranch, right outside the entrance to Hyrule Castle Town.
 * 2) In the clump of grass at the edge of the cluster of trees in southeast Hyrule Field.
 * 3) At the lone tree near the path leading to Gerudo Valley.
 * 4) At the corner of the stone wall in northeast Hyrule Field.
 * 5) At the fork in the path that leads to Gerudo Valley.
 * 6) At the tree right outside the entrance to Lon Lon Ranch.
 * 7) At the edge of the abutment overlooking Zora's River, near the entrance to Kakariko Village.
 * 8) At the hole at the edge of the cluster of trees in southeast Hyrule Field.
 * 9) In front of the stream flowing out of Hyrule Castle Town in northwest Hyrule Field.
 * 10) At the boulder near the fence in east Hyrule Field.

Catch, Ganondorf
Besides his sword, Link can also use an empty bottle or even the Megaton Hammer to knock Ganondorf's energy attacks back at him. The Megaton Hammer will also make a floor tile it hits fall away, just as Ganondorf can do when he punches the ground.

Change Pitch of Ocarina Notes
When playing the Fairy Ocarina or the Ocarina of Time, holding the Control Stick in any direction will change the sound of the ocarina notes. Up and down raise and lower the pitch, respectively, while left and right add a waiver to the note. These features can also be combined: holding the Control Stick in the southwest position (7:30 on a clock) will produce a lower, waivering note. Link cannot use this to activate any ocarina songs. If Link records his "Scarecrow's Song" using this method, it will nonetheless be rendered with normal notes whenever activated.

Cheaper Hylian Shield
After trading the Keaton Mask to the Keaton Mask Soldier, if Link has not yet acquired a Hylian Shield, the soldier will explain that he knows the proprietor of the Hyrule Castle Town Bazaar. Afterward, the Man from the Bazaar will sell Link the Hylian Shield for 50 Rupees rather than the normal 80.

Cuccos' Revenge
As in several other Zelda games, if Link damages a Cucco enough, it will crow and summon a vast number of its kin to attack Link. Due to the quantity of enemies and their relatively quick movement speed, this can actually be quite dangerous early in the game, when Link has only a few Heart Containers.

Damage Ganon with Deku Nuts
During the game's final battle, if Link manages to get behind Ganon and throw a Deku Nut at his tail, Ganon will actually take damage as if Link had used another weapon, such as the Megaton Hammer or the Biggoron's Sword. With a large enough number of Deku Nuts, it is possible to bring Ganon's health down to the point where attacking him with the Master Sword will end the fight.

Drawbridge Rupees
As a child, if Link walks all the way up the chains that pull Hyrule Castle Town's drawbridge up at night, he will receive a red Rupee. If Link stays on the top of the chain until night and the bridge has been raised, he can walk across the raised bridge and find more red Rupees. These Rupees reset every time Link reenters Hyrule Field, and so can be used to gain a large amount of Rupees fairly quickly.

Dying Guard
After receiving the Ocarina of Time, but before playing the "Song of Time" in the Temple of Time, Link can encounter a dying guard in Hyrule Castle Town's Back Alley. If spoken to, the guard will tell Link about Ganondorf's attack on the castle, then die. Attempting to talk to the guard again prompts Navi to tell Link, "He's not moving anymore...."

End of Game "Scarecrow's Song"
If the game is left on after the end credits, the "Scarecrow's Song" will play periodically in various pitches.

Extra Piece of Heart
If Link manages to enter the Gerudo's Fortress as a child using a glitch, there will be a Piece of Heart in the jail cell and not in the Treasure Chest where it is normally found. (The chest instead contains the Odd Mushroom.) Obtaining this Heart Piece can be useful if Link failed to obtain the Piece of Heart from the Fishing Pond, opting instead to use a glitch to receive the Golden Scale early. Collecting this Heart Piece in addition to the game's other 36 will cause an extra Piece of Heart to be displayed in the Quest Status Subscreen. Additionally, what is known as the "Heart Medallion" will appear in the File Selection Screen.

Fix Signs
If "Zelda's Lullaby" has been learned, Link can play the song to make any rectangular sign he destroys put itself back together.

Free Hylian Shield
In Kakariko Graveyard, the fourth tombstone from the right in the back row of regular graves conceals a grotto with a chest in it. Inside this chest is a Hylian Shield, but only if Link has not yet acquired one. If he has, the chest simply contains a blue Rupee.

Free Milk
Playing Epona's Song in front of a cow will cause it to speak to Link, and fill an empty bottle with Lon Lon Milk, if he has one.

Gold Skulltulas
There are a total of 100 Gold Skulltulas scattered across Hyrule, both in the Overworld and in dungeons:

Goron Fun and Games
After lighting the torches in Goron City as young Link, the large Goron vase will spin around. If Link throws a bomb or Bomb Flower into it, Rupees, bombs, or a Piece of Heart will come out, depending on the face it stops on.

Gossip Stone Reactions
The Gossip Stones scattered across Hyrule respond amusingly to being hit by a variety of weapons. This includes: wiggling around before telling Link the in-game time if struck with Link's sword; performing a different wiggling animation if hit with a projectile weapon such as the Fairy Slingshot, Boomerang, Hookshot, or Fairy Bow; flattening for several seconds before springing back into place if hit with the Megaton Hammer; spinning around rapidly and momentarily growing in size if touched by Din's Fire or a magic arrow; and changing from blue to red while beeping until eventually blasting off like a rocket, complete with flame tail, if bombed. Hitting the stone with another weapon during its countdown to blastoff will stop the launch, with the stone remaining whatever color it was at that moment. Gossip Stones give no reaction to Deku Nuts or Deku Sticks; however, they do produce a large cloud of brown dust when struck with the latter.

Hammer Time
Hitting the ground with the Megaton Hammer will cause any nearby Tektites or Torch Slugs to flip upside-down, rendering them immobile for a short time. Hitting the ground again will flip an upside-down enemy back to its normal position. Additionally, hitting a wall with the Megaton Hammer will cause nearby Skullwalltulas to fall off the wall, killing them.

Hyrule Loach
The Hyrule Loach is an extremely rare fish, eel-like in appearance. Every time Link enters the Fishing Pond, there is a small chance that a loach will be present. Link can check before paying for a Fishing Rod by swimming to the submerged log, which is where the loach usually resides. Once Link finds a loach, he should scare it away from the log into the middle of the pond, then back away and prepare to cast at it. Approximately every 75 seconds, the loach will come up for air; this animation is the only time during which it can be hooked. For this reason, it is much easier to catch the loach with the Sinking Lure: as the standard lure floats, it can only interact with the loach for a brief moment at the surface of the water, while the Sinking Lure can encounter the loach at any point in its trajectory. Also, the direction in which the loach will swim as it surfaces appears random, making it extremely difficult to predict the exact point at which to cast using the standard lure.

With the Sinking Lure equipped, Link should stand with the water up to his ears so that he can view the loach from underneath the water using C-Up. Since the loach can only be Z-targeted briefly during its surfacing animation, using C-Up is the best way for Link to line up his cast beforehand. If more than 75 seconds pass and the loach has not surfaced, scaring it into a different location usually corrects this behavior. Once at rest, if the loach is floating above the bottom of the pond, Link should cast his lure and reel it in past the loach repeatedly, hopefully crossing its path during its ascent. If the loach is resting on the pond floor, Link's job is slightly easier: he can cast, let his lure sink to the bottom, and reel it directly on top of the loach before stopping. With this accomplished, the loach will hopefully become interested in the lure immediately upon starting its journey to the surface, and bite. Even with all of these conditions met, catching the loach is still extremely tedious: lining the cast up perfectly is a challenge; other fish will interfere by biting at the lure; and the loach will often show no interest, even at a lure placed inches from its face.

The Hyrule Loach typically weighs between 30 and 35 pounds. After finally catching one, Link can present it to the Pond Owner for a purple Rupee. The owner then releases the fish due to a recent decline in its population, so it is not kept in the display tank and its size is not recorded. Link will have to exit and reenter the Fishing Pond if he wishes to catch another loach. Interestingly, the Pond Owner makes no mention of Link's use of the Sinking Lure when presented with a loach.

IT'S A SECRET TO EVERYBODY
When Link goes to see Princess Zelda for the first time, if he is spotted by the guards while in the Castle Grounds, they will toss him out in front of the gate. Talking to the gate guard after being thrown out results in the guard soliciting a bribe of ten Rupees to open the gate. If Link speaks to him after paying the bribe, the guard will say, "KEEP IT A SECRET FROM EVERYBODY." This is a reference to one of the only occurrences of dialogue in The Legend of Zelda for the NES, spoken by the Secret Moblin.

Jaws
On the bottom of the pool inside the Lakeside Laboratory, a still image of a large shark can be seen pressing its face against the left set of iron bars.

Kill Skull Kids
While difficult, Link can defeat the hostile Skull Kids he encounters as an adult--most notably with the added range and damage the Biggoron's Sword provides. Upon death, these enemies drop a huge Rupee, worth 200 Rupees. These Rupees appear orange when dropped by an enemy as in this case, while they are depicted as gold when Link finds them in treasure chests.

Magic Arrow Properties
Ice Arrows seem to generally be the strongest of the three varieties of magic arrows. Besides immobilizing enemies in ice for a short time, Ice Arrows kill common enemies such as blue Tektites in one hit, Lizalfos in two hits, and Stalfos in three hits. Fire Arrows and Light Arrows--which, interestingly, seem to possess the same attack power as one another--kill blue Tektites in two hits, Lizalfos in three hits, and Stalfos in five hits (Light Arrows also stun Stalfos on contact). Defeating a wide variety of enemies with Light Arrows, including Keese, Bubbles, and Stalfos, will cause them to drop a purple Rupee. This is one of few cases where Link sees a purple Rupee on the ground, as opposed to finding it in a chest; its size is dramatically greater than that of lesser Rupees, similar to the appearance of the huge Rupees Skull Kids drop.

Mirror Shield Defect
Despite its light-reflecting properties, the Mirror Shield cannot reflect the projectiles Octoroks or Deku Scrubs spit at Link. It simply breaks them.

Mischievous Hero
When in the Fishing Pond as an adult, if Link casts his Fishing Rod at the Pond Owner's head, it is possible to hook the Pond Owner's hat. Link can then reel it in and either return it to its owner, or cast it into the pond; the latter results in the hat sinking, and the Pond Owner fining link 50 Rupees. If the hat sinks, the Pond Owner remains without it for the rest of the game, even during the end credits. Hooking the Pond Owner's hat prompts him to add another rule to the sign in front of the pond: "Don't cast at anyone."

Nintendo Character References
In the Castle Courtyard room with Princess Zelda in it, pictures of Yoshi, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser can be seen if Link looks into the castle through the windows. Additionally, the broaches worn by Malon and Talon of Lon Lon Ranch are in the shape of Bowser's head. It is also likely that Talon and Ingo are references to Mario and Luigi, respectively.

Paralyze ReDeads
Playing the "Sun's Song" near a ReDead will cause it to turn white and become paralyzed. It will not move or attack while in this state, which lasts until its white tint fades away, with a sound effect marking the ReDead's return to normal. Attacking it will immediately return the ReDead to its normal state as well.

Pieces of Heart
There are a total of 36 Pieces of Heart hidden throughout the Overworld:

Poe Juice
If Link catches a regular Poe in a Bottle, he can drink it. Doing so will usually refill one Heart Container. Occasionally this will empty one heart instead, and very rarely, it will empty all of Link's Heart Containers but one.

Secret Fairies

 * Numerous hidden holes containing Fairy Fountains exist in the game. These holes sometimes sit amidst circles of rocks or beneath boulders, although several have no feature marking their locations, such as the one behind the Carpenters' tent and the one to the left upon entering the frozen Zora's Domain. Requisites for making these holes appear include bombing or hitting the ground with the Megaton Hammer, or playing the "Song of Storms" or the "Sun's Song" on the Ocarina.
 * A dried-up oasis can be found at the Desert Colossus. Playing the "Song of Storms" here will cause water to fill the oasis and make a dozen or so Fairies appear, effectively turning this into a Fairy Fountain. The oasis dries up each time Link leaves the area.
 * As a child, playing the "Song of Storms" in front of a Magic Bean plant will cause the plant to grow several feet in the air, release three healing Fairies, then retract back into the ground.
 * If Link can get a butterfly to follow a Deku Stick he is holding as he slowly walks away, the butterfly will eventually turn into a Fairy.
 * Playing "Zelda's Lullaby", "Epona's Song", the "Sun's Song", or the "Song of Time" in front of a Gossip Stone will summon a Fairy. Playing the "Song of Storms", meanwhile, will summon a wingless Big Fairy that refills eight Heart Containers and Link's entire Magic Meter. Big Fairies cannot be caught in bottles.
 * In some places, Navi will fly over to a spot and turn green without allowing Link to Z-target. Playing the "Song of Storms" or the "Sun's Song" at such a location will cause a Big Fairy to appear.

Sinking Lure
The Sinking Lure, which is irresistible to fish and sinks to the bottom of the pond where the biggest ones lurk, can only be acquired after obtaining the Golden Scale. This lure can be found by simply walking in a number of places. These areas include: the sunken log toward the middle of the pond, right where the branch sticks out of the water; the stream that flows into the pond, as well as the wall and rocks around it; the various lily pads and rocks at the water's edge; and the grass along the walls of the pond. Once Link has this lure it becomes much easier to catch the largest fish in the pond, although anything he catches with it will be marked as "illegal" by the Pond Owner. However, if Link speaks to him after finding the Sinking Lure and selects "Let's talk about something", the Pond Owner will render this lure legal for use.

Soup Rupees
Inside the Gerudo's Fortress are a few cauldrons with a bubbling substance inside. Jumping or climbing inside these will usually result in Link receiving a red Rupee.

Target Practice
Scattered copiously throughout the Gerudo's Fortress are wall ornaments, often consisting of several colorful feathers and what appears to be a cow skull. When shot with the Fairy Bow, some of these will reward Link with Rupees or even the occasional Fairy. This also works with some of the wooden signs hanging from ropes in the outside areas of the fortress.

Torture the Rich
If Link hits a member of Kakariko Village's Fabulously Rich Family with his sword (before lifting the curse on the individual), the creature will swing back and forth for a few seconds. Link can use this opportunity to move behind it and slash its vulnerable back. This results in a scream sound effect and the creature turning blue, stunned, for a short while. After this, if Link approaches the creature without first exiting and reentering the house, it will spin around once in retaliation, damaging Link and knocking him back. If Link goes to the same member that he slashed, he will get damaged by the member.