Forest Temple (Ocarina of Time)

The Forest Temple is the first dungeon as Adult Link in Ocarina of Time. Link journeys here to save his childhood Kokiri friend Saria only to awaken her as the Sage of Forest. Her power helps Link continue on his journey to free the other imprisoned sages. The main item obtained is the Fairy Bow, and the temple's boss is Phantom Ganon.

Entrance to the Temple
Deep within the Sacred Forest Meadow in the Lost Woods lies the Forest Temple, inhabited by many fierce foes. Since the stairway leading to the temple is now broken, the only way to gain access to the temple is by obtaining the Hookshot from the Kakariko Graveyard and grabbing onto a tree branch hanging off the top of the entrance platform.

Themes and Navigation
The Forest Temple is an eerie, complex temple filled with strange puzzles and other features designed to confuse its explorers, such as an array of switches which have the ability to twist entire hallways in an unnatural manner, rearranging the very dungeon, making walls become floors. It one of the few dungeons in the Zelda series whose structure can be altered in this manner (for other examples, see the Eagle's Tower and the Stone Tower Temple). The dungeon's interior design is reminiscent of a mansion or castle, with portraits hanging in certain rooms and quaint red carpets decorating the floor. This is also one of the few dungeons that has open-air elements, walled gardens are found on the east and west sides of the dungeon, connected by two wells. Most of its rooms and corridors are covered with moss and vines, and many hold enemies like the Skulltula and Deku Baba, but most of the threats Link will encounter in this dungeon are of the undead variety, be it spirits or skeletons.

The temple marks many returning elements from previous games in the series that had been lacking in the more unconventional earlier dungeons that Young Link goes through. As well as being based on the Palaces that appeared in The Adventure of Link and A Link to the Past, this dungeon marks the first appearance of Stalfos and Bubbles in a 3D Zelda game, staples of the series. Stalfos appear as mini-bosses in the Temple twice, one time while guarding the Fairy Bow, another primary weapon in the series making it's first appearance in 3D. It's also the first temple where Link meets the dreaded Wallmaster, a classic enemy who previously appeared in the likes of Skull Woods, another forest-themed dungeon filled with the undead.

The temple is also home to the four Poe Sisters that first appear by stealing the flames from four multicolored torches in the center of the main room of the dungeon. This becomes the primary puzzle that the dungeon is centered around: Link must hunt down and destroy them to restore the flames and complete the temple. The first two sisters can be found on the upper levels of the temple, in passageways with staircases; the third sister appears in the eastern end of the upper levels after Link solves a jigsaw puzzle, and the final sister returns to the dungeon's main chamber after the other three are defeated.

The temple's music uses a mix of haunting, eerie sounds and a slow, gentle melody driven by wind instruments. Its boss is the fierce Phantom Ganon, who would go on to become a recurring boss in the series.

Master Quest
Mostly, the locations of keys and locked doors have been changed. The two Wolfos are no longer at the entrance of the Temple, but at the room where the first Stalfos was fought, who appears instead in a small connecting room and rewards Link with the map. There are two extra blocks in the room with the block puzzle, but they serve no purpose other than causing confusion. The first twisted room is straight when it is first found, and is twisted by activating a Crystal Switch, not with arrows. Several puzzles requiring Time Blocks are found, too. There are more Skulltulas and Skullwalltulas in the dungeon. In the room where the Floormaster was originally found (which is now found in another room) is a single ReDead. The well is now emptied by shooting an eye with the bow.

Trivia

 * The elevator in the center of the main room that reveals itself after beating the four Poe Sisters is very similar in design and appears to be a reference to the elevators that appear in the temples of The Adventure of Link.
 * The dungeon also bears some similarities to Hyrule Castle in A Link to the Past, with it's courtyards and hidden sewer passageway.
 * The main puzzle of the dungeon, wherein Link must hunt four Poes to restore the torches, was later used in the Arbiter's Grounds of Twilight Princess, which also shared many of the same enemies.
 * It is believed this dungeon was originally meant to be the Wind Temple, but was changed to a forest-themed dungeon later in the development of Ocarina of Time. This belief is supported by the appearance of the Forest Medallion, which has an image somewhat similar to a wind-like vortex, and the Forest Barrier of Ganon's Tower, which is actually wind-themed. It is worth noting that the forest and wind elements are often associated with one another in The Legend of Zelda.
 * The music of the Forest Temple has a strings portion that is replicated in the City In The Sky in Twilight Princess.