Woodfall Temple

Woodfall Temple is name of the first temple in Majora's Mask. It is found deep in the Southern Swamp in an area called Woodfall, past a waterfall in front of the Deku Palace. The temple has been placed into a sleep, hidden from view, possibly due to its guardian spirit being lost; as such, it must be awakened by playing the Sonata of Awakening. Woodfall Temple is a small temple compared to others, but has its fair share of troubles. The temple and its surrounding areas have all been corrupted by the crazed evil spirit residing inside the temple, Odolwa. The water in the temple and about half of the Southern Swamp has been made poisonous, and Link will slowly lose hearts if he falls into it.

Temple Description
Located in the Southern Swamp, a very Deku-centric area, the temple has many elements which take advantage of Link's Deku form. Several platforms which must be hopped across as Deku Link exist (and, as the platforms are alive, will try to eat human Link, much like a Venus Fly Trap), as well as many Deku Flowers. There is also a lot of water, that being a Deku's primary weakness.

Enemies are rather few and far in-between relative to other dungeons. While there are Black Boes, Skulltulas, Dragonflies, and Deku Babas, there are few rooms in which they're in, and even when they are present there aren't many of them. Guarding the Dungeon Map are three Snappers, located in a room with three Deku Flowers. The Compass is in a room with two Dragonflies. The dungeon's special item, the Hero's Bow, is guarded by the dungeon's lone Dinolfos.

Given that the Hero's Bow is the item of this dungeon, there are many puzzles that require its use. Torches and switches must be fired at with the bow, and several Stray Fairies are hidden inside of beehives that must be shot down to reveal their contents. Oddly enough, however, the dungeon's boss can be defeated entirely without using the bow at all, despite the tradition of most The Legend of Zelda bosses requiring the use of the dungeon's item to defeat them. The Deku Mask need not be used, either; this is especially odd, given that the two following temples are both very Goron Mask- and Zora Mask-centric, and the two temples' bosses require the respective masks.

Minor Enemies and Traps
Black Boes Skulltulas Deku Babas Dragonflies Snappers Poison water Man-eating platforms Fire traps

Use as a Site of Worship
It is possible that the Woodfall Temple was a site of worship by the Deku, probably to worship the Four Giants. There are many decorative markings inside the temple, and a single large, empty room that may have been the main room in which they worshiped.