Favorite Zelda Moments: Entering the Forest Temple

Yes another one of these. Every so often or when I don’t have another editorial to bring you, I’ll be going over my favorite moments in the series and asking your thoughts about them. This time I want to bring up a moment I loved from Ocarina of Time: the first time we entered the Forest Temple during the Adult Link portion of the game.

I’ll probably go into this dungeon as a whole in a future Dungeons editorial series like I did for Skyward Sword, and I technically have brought this up before, but to me the Forest Temple is one of the coolest dungeons of the series. Talking strictly about the presentation here, I loved the Forest Temple’s atmosphere. Of all the dungeons in Ocarina of Time, I think it’s easily the most atmospheric, and I think it might even be the most atmospheric dungeon out of the entire series.

Another thing about this dungeon is I think the Forest Temple was an epic intro. Not to the beginning of the game, but to the Adult Link portion. I never thought of the initial trek through the ruined Castle Town or visiting Kakariko Village to be the introductions to this portion of the game. I consider them like a prologue. No, to me the true intro to the game’s second half is the Forest Temple, because it’s here that the game throws you right back into the core gameplay and challenges — with new additions like the dungeon keys — and shows you what things are going to be like from now on. It’s even like this from the plot perspective, since you’re finally going to tackle rescuing the Sages and are even going to save your childhood home and friends. Maybe a better way to put it would be to call it the climax of the intro, but either way I consider it amazing in its intro status.

Combine that status with its atmosphere, and entering it was an incredible experience. You go from the fairly basic Inside the Deku Tree and Dodongo’s Cavern dungeons — plus the unusual Jabu-Jabu’s Belly — straight into the large, complex, atmospheric, and challenging Forest Temple. The dungeon opens with mysterious and eerie music, a forested entrance, and you enter into a deep inner maze of surreal rooms. I love it every time.

Did you think that entering the Forest Temple for the first time was as epic and incredible as I did, or did you feel differently? Did you like the atmosphere at all? Do you agree with my assessment that it’s the “intro” of the Adult Link portion of the game or at least how cool it was as part of the intro? Tell me in the comments!