Water Temple

A submerged labyrinth where rising tides and shifting floors test the hero's patience.

The Water Temple is an area from the 1998 Nintendo 64 video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It is the sixth dungeon encountered in the game. It was created by Ocarina of Time director Eiji Aonuma, who was inspired by his love of diving. It has players raising and lowering water levels to access different areas while utilizing a pair of Iron Boots to sink to the bottom. The difficulty of navigation combined with the cumbersome nature of using the Iron Boots led to several changes to the dungeon to assist players in the 2011 remake of Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. The difficulty players faced also caused Aonuma to apologize for the issues, while noting that the dungeon was not difficult so much as it was frustrating. Despite the criticism, some critics have been more forgiving, praising the Water Temple for its complexities.

Quick Facts

Series: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
First: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
Creator: Eiji Aonuma
Located in: Lake Hylia

Lore & Background

The Water Temple originally appeared in the 1998 Nintendo 64 video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It is one of the levels that the protagonist Link explores as an adult. The temple was constructed to worship water spirits and was guarded by Zoras. It is found in Lake Hylia, which is at the time cursed by antagonist Ganondorf and an entity in the Water Temple.

The dungeon is located underneath Lake Hylia and is a large, multi-leveled dungeon. Players raise and lower the water level in wings of the dungeon to access new areas. Link utilizes equipment to navigate the dungeon, including Iron Boots, a tunic that allows him to breathe underwater, and a Hookshot to hook onto distant objects. Link battles his alter-ego Dark Link in the Room of Illusion, which features shallow water and a lone tree on a patch of land.

At the end, Link faces the dungeon's master, Morpha, a large water amoeba creature. Upon its defeat, Link warps to the Chamber of Sages, where the Sage of Water, Princess Ruto, bestows onto him the Water Medallion. Afterwards, Lake Hylia returns to normal. Another version of Ocarina of Time was released called The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest, which features harder versions of each dungeon, including the Water Temple.

Game director Eiji Aonuma cited his love for deep-sea diving as his inspiration for the Water Temple, utilizing diving-based puzzles to reflect this.

Reader's Guide

What makes this location unique is its dynamic water system; players must frequently raise or lower the water level using a central lever mechanism to access different tiers of the temple. Traversal relies heavily on the Iron Boots, to sink to the bottom, and the Hookshot, to reach distant objects.