Lost Woods

The Lost Woods is a recurring location in the Legend of Zelda series. This mysterious, forested region of Hyrule is typically a maze-like forest that requires one to navigate one's way through it by a variety of means. It is believed that the many different areas by this name are not one and the same.

"Correct Path" technique
Some Zelda games (The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) use the clever ability to get hopelessly lost without the knowledge of a secret; a certain pattern of directions (north, east, south, etc.) is required in order for Link to pass through the Lost Woods. Taking the wrong path will either take him out of the main entry point of the maze (Ocarina of Time), or just make him return to the screen he was on a moment before (The Legend of Zelda, Oracle of Seasons). In Ocarina of Time, the owl states that Link must to follow the music, Saria's Song. If Link is facing a path where the music is louder, then that is the correct path to follow. In Ocarina of Time, another easy method can be used. When the path hinders Link's progress, there is a small pentagonal white ring inside, when this is absent in the correct paths.

This "correct path" technique was also used in some dungeons (Oracle of Seasons, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening), where Link couldn't reach a certain room unless he knew the pattern to get there. In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, it is shown that there is a portal to Termina deep in the Woods. In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, the pattern is observing the different tunnels in the current clearing: if there are occasional flashes of light coming from one of them, then that is the correct path to follow to find and defeat the Skull Kid, whose lantern is the source of the light.

The Legend of Zelda
In the original game, the Lost Woods is one of two places in the game (the other being the Lost Hills) where a specific pattern must be walked in order to avoid being trapped. Moving in any direction will result in the exact same screen loading over and over; however, if Link moves east, he will escape the Lost Woods. Moving north, west, south, then west again will bring him to the graveyard.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Lost Woods is located in the northwestern section of Hyrule, directly north of Kakariko Village. The forest is mist-drenched and broken up by ridges of impassable ground. Fallen hollow tree trunks litter the forest, providing the only way through the terrain. In the northern reaches of the forest, a glade filled with animals holds the Master Sword. There are several fake swords scattered throughout the forest. Removing the Master Sword from its pedestal causes the mist to flee, but even then, the forest is thick enough that it remains full of shadows.

Thieves have a significant presence in the Lost Woods. Link may be accosted by thieves while wandering the Woods who will try to steal his rupees, bombs, and arrows. The thieves also run a high stakes rupee gambling game and have a hideout that holds a Piece of Heart.

The dark shadows of the trees are also good growing conditions for mushrooms, including the Sleepy Toadstool.



The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Lost Woods lies directly to the north of Kokiri Forest and is inhabited by Skull Kids. It is a maze of trees that can be navigated by following the sound of Saria's Song. Taking a wrong path leads back to the entrance in Kokiri Forest. Portals to Goron City and Zora's Domain are hidden within the Lost Woods. Also in the woods is a shooting challenge where players can win a Deku Seeds Bullet Bag upgrade. The area is also home to a few Business Scrubs. There are also a few locations where Link can play songs with the Skull Kids to win Heart Pieces. Located in the northern portion of the Woods is the Sacred Forest Meadow. This is the favorite haunt of Saria, Link's friend and the Forest Sage. It is also where the Forest Temple is hidden.

According to local folklore, anyone who isn't in possession of a Fairy who enters the forest will turn into a Stalfos (if a Hylian) or a Skull Kid (if a Kokiri). In the Ocarina of Time manga, it tells of how the forest tricks human hearts into wandering the same paths over and over, and if the poor soul loses the sight of the exit, he or she will never return again. There is also talk of a Bagu tree, the rival to the Great Deku Tree, for whom the Skull Kid works, but this is unofficial.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The game begins in the Lost Woods. Here Link meets the Skull Kid before traveling to Termina.

The equivalent of the Lost Woods in the alternate universe Termina is the Woods of Mystery, found in the Southern Swamp region of Termina.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
The Lost Woods are the location of the penultimate step in the Quest for the Noble Sword. Beneath a tree in the southeastern region of the woods is a singing Deku Scrub. After Link plays the Phonograph for it, it tells Link how to find the Noble Sword by teaching him the correct path to navigate the Lost Woods. Similar to the Lost Woods in The Legend of Zelda, the Lost Woods include a repeating screen in which Link must travel in each direction in the correct order while also using the Rod of Seasons to manipulate nature in order to pass. After successfully navigating it, Link can either travel west to the Noble Sword or north, further into the Tarm Ruins.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
The Lost Woods is the first stage of the Dark World, the game's fifth level. Much of the Woods are overrun with Deku Scrubs and Buzzblobs. Floormasters will occasionally try to pull Link into the Dark World. Although there is no specific path that Link is required to take, many of the screens appear very similar to each other.

By talking to various Deku Scrubs, Link learns that they have hidden a Shovel. By helping one of the Scrubs in the southwestern Lost Woods, Link earns a key, which can be used to open their storage shed. After picking up their shovel, Link can continue through the woods through a hole in the ground just east of the circle of Deku Scrubs.

Unlike most stages, the Lost Woods does not have a final boss; however, Shadow Link appears, dropping Giant Bombs. Link must avoid them while searching for the underground passage leading north. After Link escapes Shadow Link, he can continue on to Kakariko Village.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Sacred Grove in this game is believed by many to be part of the Lost Woods. Though this has never been officially stated, they carry identical music themes, and both woods are roamed by the Skullkid. One of the biggest similarities between the Lost Woods in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and the Lost Woods in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is that the area which holds the Master Sword in the Sacred Grove is exactly the same as the area where Saria sits in the Lost Woods in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Both areas in both games are both high circular chambers deep in the forest and in the Sacred Grove when Link looks up, he can actually see the Forest Temple from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which appears as an immense archway, the actual temple itself having been rebuilt as the Forest Temple in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It is not seen until approximately halfway through the game. Like in Majora's Mask, Link meets the Skull Kid, who summons wooden puppets to hinder him. It is here that the Master Sword is located as well as the ruins of the Temple of Time.

Additionally, it is easy to become lost in the Sacred Grove. Unlike other Zelda games, this area doesn't use the "correct path technique," but instead, Link's map of the area is disabled, and the forest is large and complex. Something similar to the correct path technique is used during the sequence where Link pursues the Skull Kid, but if he takes the wrong path he isn't returned to the beginning; instead, he simply loses track of the Skull Kid.

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
In the First Continent of Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, there is a land known as the Deku Forest. This Forest may be composed of both the Lost Woods and Kokiri Forest; it has elements of both. However, it is said that it's easy to get lost in the Forest, and indeed the Correct Path Technique (see above section) is used in the section of the woods known as the Forest Maze. However, in this game, the Great Deku Tree is the protector of all the Forest, including the areas that most resemble the Lost Woods.

Additionally, the Forest's greatest hero is known as Junglo, although by the time Tingle enters the Forest, Junglo is an old man who's capable of very little.

Theory
It is theorized that the Lost Woods became the Forbidden Woods from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Evidence supporting this theory is that the Lost Woods from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time are near Kokiri Forest, and that the Forbidden Woods from The Wind Waker are near the Forest Haven. The Kokiri Forest and the Forest Haven are theorized to be the same place, since they have similar climates and both contain the Great Deku Tree. Also, there are stump-shaped houses inside the Forbidden Woods which look very similar to the houses of the Kokiri in the Kokiri Forest from Ocarina of Time.