Shadow Temple

"Shadow Temple... Here is gathered Hyrule's bloody history of greed and hatred..."

- Mysterious skull in the Shadow Temple

The Shadow Temple is the seventh dungeon in Ocarina of Time. It is found in the back of the Graveyard in Kakariko Village in a little alcove only accessible using the Nocturne of Shadow. It is filled with undead creatures, deadly twisted traps, and mind-bending puzzles everywhere all designed to trap anyone who enters the crypt. It is also filled to the brim with invisible walls and passageways only visible using the Lens of Truth.

Many players think this is the scariest temple, probably due to the numerous traps and surprises, the darkening senses, as well as the overall atmosphere. The foes that can be found in the temple also consist of ReDeads, Gibdos, Stalfos, Skulltula, Keese, and Wallmasters to name a few, the latter of which are considered by many fans to be the scariest enemies in any canonical Zelda title. Some of walls and floor are stained with blood, and torture equipment is located in several rooms. Therefore the counterpart to the Shadow Temple during young Link's journey is the Kakariko Well, sharing similar rooms and the same background music.

Concept
In comparison to other temples, the Shadow Temple guides Link through a straight route, except in some parts where the young hero has to deviate in order to find keys or an item. It has four descending floors, following a similar trait to the Kakariko Well, and it looks like an enlarged catacomb. Link's goal is to go to the bottom of the temple, where Bongo Bongo is found; because of the temple's mostly linear structure, its difficulty is based on the numerous enemies, silver rupee collections, invisible obstacles and traps within. There is also a Bomb Flower puzzle similar to those seen in Dodongo's Cavern.

These are the two keys to finishing the Shadow Temple: being able to see through illusion and the adjusting of one's weight, from lighter than air to being heavy enough to walk on the ocean floor. Without being able to do either, the Shadow Temple cannot be finished. A little used strategy in the Shadow Temple is when Link comes across the active fans in a corridor, the Iron Boots can be used to resist their push. The Hover Boots, the temple's treasure item, are known by all to be used to cross large gaps otherwise uncrossable.

The Lens of Truth reduces the difficulty of the Shadow Temple drastically, particularly against Bongo Bongo. It allows its user to see through fake walls and holes, as well as invisible obstacles, platforms and even enemies.

"Make my beak face the Skull of Truth. An alternative route is a descent into the darkness."

- Bird Statue

"One who gathers the Eye of Truth will be able to see what is hidden in the darkness."

- Mysterious Voice in the Shadow Temple

The mini-boss of this dungeon is Dead Hand; it is unknown whether or not this is the same one as at the Bottom of the Well, but it's known that it's guarding the Hover Boots in the temple. The boss of the temple, as mentioned above, is Bongo Bongo; it's an undead monster consisting of a giant torso, one protruding eye, and two huge disembodied hands beating on a giant drum. It is never sufficiently explained why there is a giant drum in the basement.

Master Quest
Compared to other Master Quest dungeons, the Shadow Temple shouldn't give much trouble to experienced users. Mainly, the changes are the enemies. The number of Beamos and Keese has been increased, and there are less Skulltulas than before. The order in which the rooms are visited is still the same, and the Hover Boots are not so useful now. Instead of a Floormaster, there are now Blue Bubbles and a Like Like in the room with invisible walls. There is now a silver rupee puzzle in the invisible reaper room, and one of the reaper statues constanty changes the speed of its swirling scythes. One of the rooms with giant skulls is lacking them. Instead, Stalfos are found and give a reward of 20 rupees. The most notorious change is a room with several Bomb Flowers. Instead of an invisible Floormaster, a second Dead Hand with no hands now appears. Because of this, the Lens of Truth are a must for beating it. However, it gives no reward whatsoever.

Minor Enemies and Traps

 * Keese
 * ReDeads
 * Gibdos
 * Wallmasters
 * Skulltulas
 * Stalfos
 * Beamos
 * Blue Bubbles
 * Green Bubbles
 * Floormasters
 * Blade Traps
 * Spiked Floors, Falling Spiked Platforms, Spiked Walls moving towards each other
 * Invisible floors & walls / Fake floors & walls
 * Swirling Scythes, Guillotines
 * Tiles shooting flames
 * Poisonous gunge (in Bong Bongo's room).

Trivia

 * The Shadow Temple, the Spirit Temple, and Dodongo's Cavern are the only dungeons that can be entered by both Adult Link and Young Link. However, Young Link can make no progress upon entering the Shadow Temple, due to his lack of the Hookshot.
 * The boat in the temple resembles the Ghost Ship in Phantom Hourglass due to the head and hands holding the bells.
 * The fire symbol outside of the Shadow Temple is actually a reference to what the Fire Medallion did in beta Ocarina of Time. Hence the need to use Din's Fire (formerly the Fire Medallion) to open the entrance to the Shadow Temple.
 * The fans inside the Shadow Temple are believed to have originally belonged to OoT's removed Wind Temple. This is supported by the fact that in Ganon's Castle there are fans in the Forest Temple mini-dungeon.
 * This is the first major dungeon where Silver Rupees are collected, as they first appeared in the mini-dungeons Ice Cavern and Kakariko Well.
 * This temple can be beaten before or after the completion of the Spirit Temple.