The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s Water Temple has long been considered the epitome of an agonizing, obnoxious dungeon. It’s winding and confusing, with tons of doors spread out across three different water levels, a clunky required-item mechanic, and this one key that’s annoyingly hard to find.
But Ocarina of Time is getting remade. Which means it’s time for everyone to think about the Water Temple again and, (with thanks to Jon Cartwright), finally appreciate that the Water Temple is secretly one of the coolest dungeons in all of Ocarina.
Because Nintendo is definitely going to fix the, like, two minor, fiddly things that make it bad. How do I know Nintendo is going to fix them? It already did. In the Nintendo 3DS remake!
The two problems I am referring to are the Iron Boots, and this one Small Key that’s impossible to find in the original if you don’t already know where it is. The Iron Boots issue is such an easy fix, it shouldn’t be worth talking about, but it’s easily the worst part of the Water Temple in the original. Ocarina of Time allows you to map items like the boomerang, bow and arrow, and basically anything you use regularly in combat to buttons on the N64 controller for quick and easy use. But it doesn’t allow you to map either of the games’ two sets of boots. This usually isn’t an issue, except in the Water Temple, where you’re taking off and/or putting on the Iron Boots every few seconds as you adjust yourself based on whether you want to be floating or sinking or some mode in between. Having to open and navigate menus every single time was a major factor in making everyone hate the Water Temple on their first go, which is why the 3DS remake simply…lets you map the boots to a button. Hit button to put on. Hit again to take off. Solved.
The second problem is a single Small Key hidden under a platform in the central tower that’s only accessible once the water level rises, lifting the platform out of the way. In the original, it was extremely hard to see the opening that led to the key, which meant a lot of folks wandered around in circles for hours trying to find the key they were missing. The 3DS version lingers the camera on it for longer when the water levels change, and has better camera controls generally to allow you to see what’s going on down there, making it far more obvious what’s going on. Solved.
And that’s it! Nintendo has already solved the Water Temple! These two simple changes in the 3DS version, which surely must be replicated in the remake because why would they not be, allow the Water Temple to shine as the incredible Zelda dungeon that it is. I adore its open-ended, three-dimensional structure which features multiple branching paths off a central hub rather than a bunch of straight-line hallways. I think the water spiders in the main room that repeatedly knock you off platforms are Dark Souls-funny. The water level levers can be confusing, yes, but when you’re not opening and closing your menu every five seconds to equip boots it’s a lot easier to focus on solving the puzzle of navigation in that space, keeping close track of which doors you’ve visited on which levels, and what rooms connect where. It’s also got legitimately the coolest encounter in the entire game: the battle with Shadow Link, a fight that’s perfectly paced from the moment you walk into that sick reflecting pool room.
I cannot wait for the Ocarina of Time remake to finally put some respect back on the name of the Water Temple, one of the all-time best Zelda dungeons. That way, everyone can focus their energy on hating the real worst dungeon ever created: Jabu-Jabu.
