Would you look at that, we are rapidly closing in on the release date of Ocarina of Time on Switch 2 and the end of my Dungeon Crawl replay of the N64 original. Doesn't time fly?
With the much-discussed Water Temple out of the way, it was my decision where to head next. Despite Saria telling me to head to the desert, I am dead set in my ways, so, as I do on every replay, it was back to Kakariko Village to see what was going on in the graveyard.
I'm sure you all know by now, but I'm going to be discussing temple spoilers here, so if you are still saving yourself for the Switch 2 remake, you might want to turn back now.
I can't remember why I initially chose to head to the Shadow Temple first, over its sandy companion, but I can never bring myself to break the order that I have relied on for the last ~25 years. And so, after polishing off the Bottom of the Well (still nightmare fuel in 2026), it was time to play the Nocturne of Shadow and pass through its torch-filled entrance.
I have a strange relationship with the Shadow Temple. I like its ideas, but I find it a little linear and repetitive — particularly after the exploration-encouragement of the temples that precede it. I've never really managed to put my finger on why this is, but playing through it again this time, it hit me: you get all the tools to solve every puzzle too quickly.
This is a dungeon that relies on two items: the Lens of Truth (obtained from the Bottom of the Well before you've even set foot in the Temple) and the Hover Boots (found very early on after solving the dungeon's introductory skull puzzle). With both of these in hand, you have everything you need to beat the whole damn thing. Maybe it's the multiple playthroughs in me talking, but... doesn't this mean you've already solved all the puzzles before you get to them?
I love the Lens of Truth; it blew me away when I first played it, and I still get a kick out of it today, moving the camera incrementally to see if a wall is real or not, but let's not pretend that it has all that much depth to it. It shows you things that aren't there. That's it. This means there are very few ways that the Shadow Temple can develop puzzles around it. If you walk into a room and the solution isn't immediately obvious, popping the lens on will likely reveal the answer.
We see it in the first puzzle with the one 'true' skull. In the room with the hidden 'Stone Umbrella' block to stop the spike pistons. Even in the central, guillotine-filled room with its invisible platforms. Magic vials are so common in this dungeon that you can keep it equipped for pretty much your whole run and play each room as a simple walk from A to B.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.nintendolife.com/features/countdown-zelda-ocarina-of-time-dungeon-crawl-7-grave-expectations
