Dodongo's Cavern

Dodongo's Cavern is a dungeon found in Ocarina of Time. It is the second of three dungeons that young Link must visit in order to acquire the three Spiritual Stones. It also has a great amount of rocks in it that the Gorons that live nearby eat, and it is used for mining food for them.

Entrance to the Cavern
The cave is located not too far from the way to Kakariko Village. Prior to the events of the game, Ganondorf came to Death Mountain to get the Goron's Ruby from Darunia, the chief of the Gorons, who refused. Because of that, Ganondorf infested the cavern with Dodongos and sealed the entrance with a boulder.

Link, who comes to Death Mountain to get the Spiritual Stone as well, is, unlike Ganondorf, able to gain the trust and respect of the Gorons. By using a Bomb Flower (usable only after collection of the Power Bracelet) to destroy the boulder blocking the entrance, he is able to enter the cavern and navigate his way through it, defeating the creatures all the way through up to King Dodongo, the boss of the dungeon. In return for this, he is able to receive the Spiritual Stone from the Gorons and proceed with his quest.

Themes and Navigation
Ironically, the Cavern is smaller in size than the first dungeon, the inside of the Great Deku Tree, as it only has two floors in comparison to the Deku Tree's five. The inside of Dodongo's Cavern is mostly dark, though several rooms of it show signs of being used, having bridges and statues around them; others are smaller and darker, much like normal caverns. Link regularly has to move blocks to press slacked switches, use flower bombs to explode walls (and even a giant staircase), and occasionally shut off bodies of fire by shooting at eye switches with the seeds of the Slingshot. It is home to lizard-like creatures like the several varieties of Dodongos, as well as various stronger Lizalfos (which are the first mini-bosses found in the game). Inside the cavern, many Bomb Flowers grow as well, and they are often involved in solving a numerous puzzles before Link obtains the Bomb Bag.

Master Quest
In the Master Quest version, the dungeon is largely played in a backwards fashion. Instead of going first to the right, Link must go to the left and to the upper floor. The Lizalfos are first fought in the second floor and then in the first. Bombs are obtained much later, where the compass was originally found. There are more Business Scrubs, and Lizalfos appear in several rooms. The rooms where Gold Skulltulas were originally found have now a lot of enemies, like Skulltulas and Mad Scrubs, and give a reward of only five Rupees. Poes now appear in the Dodongo room. Baby Dodongos are plentiful, and the Dodongos are found in a different room. There are almost no Keese and there is a room with several Armos. Most puzzles feature a sequence of Bomb Flowers on the walls.

Minor Enemies and Traps
Skullwalltulas Gold Skulltulas Beamos Business Scrubs Baby Dodongos Dodongos Armos Keese Fire Keese Blade Traps Lava

Trivia

 * The map items in the Nintendo 64 Zelda games, when taken from a chest, show a map of Dodongo's Cavern on them.
 * The name "Dodongo's Cavern" is mentioned in Majora's Mask by the Goron that gives Link the Don Gero's Mask . It is not known if that means that the Gorons of Termina have their own Dodongo's Cavern or if they are aware of Hyrule's.
 * Dodongo's Cavern is one of three dungeons in the game that can be entered as both Child Link or Adult Link, the other two being the Shadow Temple and the Spirit Temple.
 * In the video game Conker's Bad Fur Day, the room with the huge T-rex skull in the game's Uga Buga Chapter resembles the main room of the Dodongo's Cavern.
 * If Link returns to the boss room anytime after completing the dungeon for the first time, King Dodongo will have sunk into the lava completely.
 * There are several rooms which must be entered by bombing the walls. However, one of these has an alternate method of entry. If Link kills a baby dodongo close enough to the wall, it will be destroyed when the creature explodes, granting access without the need for bombs.
 * This is the only non-living dungeon explored by Child Link in the game, although a portion of it is the remains of a giant skeletal Dodongo. The first dungeon is actually the protector of Kokiri Forest until his death, and the third dungeon is the guardian deity of the Zora race.