Lost Woods

The is a maze-like area of a confusing forest that has made several appearances throughout. Its layout is usually designed to make anyone who enters to become irreversibly lost, and the only way to exit the forest is by navigating it in specific directions. In certain games, it is said that if people wander in the forest for too long, they can turn into a monster such as a Skull Kid, a Stalfos, or a Deku Scrub.

Its first appearance, in, is as a simple-looking cross-section of dead Trees. However, once Link enters it, he finds that exiting the forest in any direction (except east) will cause him to simply appear back at the same spot. The only way to clear the forest is to follow a specific pattern through it. This special pattern is revealed when Link pays an Old Woman for information. She tells him that the proper directions to escape the forest are north, then west, then south, then west again. Successfully navigating through the Lost Woods leads Link to the Graveyard.

In, the Lost Woods are more like a maze than a puzzle. Many notable things can be found here. Most importantly, it is the location of the legendary Master Sword, which is held in the Sacred Grove located in the northwestern portion of the woods filled with Animals. Several Fake Master Swords can also be found, resulting in a humorous line if Link picks one up. When Link first enters the Lost Woods, it is covered in a thick fog that makes it hard to navigate; however, once the young hero retrieves the Master Sword after acquiring the three Pendants of Virtue, the mist will disappear.

A secret hideout for a gang of Thieves is located in the eastern portion of the woods, with a Piece of Heart found in a secret entrance under a bush. Other Thieves run amok in the forest, bumping into Link in an attempt to steal his Rupees, Bombs, and Arrows. The Magic Mushroom can also be found here scattered throughout the woods. If picked up and given to Syrup the witch, Link can receive the Magic Powder.

In, the Lost Woods are laid out like a map, with each screen having something unique about it. Also, the goal in these Lost Woods is to stay inside, rather than to escape; if Link takes the wrong doorway, he will be warped back to the Kokiri Forest. By following the music of "Saria's Song", Link can navigate through the hollow trees and get to the Sacred Forest Meadow, which is located in the northernmost portion of the Lost Woods and Saria's "secret place." The Forest Temple is located here.

Alternative methods can also be used to determine if a path leads to another part of the woods or back to the Kokiri Forest. The main method is to simply analyze the holes in the trunks. If there is gradually increasing light in the center of the tree trunk (as if it were a tunnel out), it will lead back to the Kokiri Forest, but if it is a flat wall of blackness, it will continue through the woods. The Lost Woods is home to the only Moblins in, as well as many Business Scrubs, Mad Scrubs and the only collection of average Deku Scrubs in the game, the Deku Community.

Hidden within the Lost Woods is the Forest Stage, where Link can be rewarded with item upgrades by showing off specific Masks in front of Deku Scrubs. Moreover, scattered throughout the woods are two portals that lead to Goron City and the upper part of Zora's River near the Sleepless Waterfall.

It is said that those who become lost in the woods will become Stalfos. The Skull Kids that inhabit the forest are implied to be children who were lost as well.

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The OoS: are situated in northwestern Holodrum in, connecting to the Tarm Ruins. Near the Lost Woods, there is a Deku Scrub in a cave. If Link has obtained Guru-Guru's Phonograph, the Deku Scrub will say that he likes the song and tell him to go in some specific directions in the Lost Woods. If he does this he will find the Noble Sword (or, if he already has the Noble Sword in a linked game, the Master Sword) in a pedestal. This is the final part of the game's trading sequence.

In, the Lost Woods appears as the first stage in The Dark World level. It was originally known as the Forest of Light, and under the White Maiden's control, until a thick cloud of darkness covered northwestern Hyrule and corrupted it into its present state. The cursed woodland is covered in bones and skulls, giving it a look closely resembling the Skeleton Forest from. It is populated primarily by Deku Scrubs, who all swear allegiance to Ganon. The Links arrive to the forest to search for the Dark Mirror, which is believed to be hidden away in a temple in the heart of the woods. They eventually make their way through the wood, and find themselves at Kakariko Village where they continue their search.

According to the Deku Scrubs, those who wander and become lost in the forest turn into Deku Scrubs, mirroring the myth how the Lost Woods in turns people into Stalfos. They also mention that Ganon's darkness will cause the Lost Woods to spread all over Hyrule's forests, turning them into Lost Woods as well.

In, Link must navigate the Lost Woods to reach the Forest Sanctuary to open a path to the Forest Temple by performing a song with Gage using the Spirit Flute. When he first enters the woods, Link is sent back to the entrance, and must speak with the residents of the nearby Whittleton to find out how to navigate them. He learns that by following the directions that certain trees point (save the last one, which has "no sense of direction"), he will make it to the Forest Sanctuary. Once the Lost Woods are solved for the first time, they disappear.

In, the Lost Woods houses the Master Sword, much like in. To obtain the Master Sword, Link must retrieve all three Pendants of Virtue. When Link enters the northwest area of the Lost Woods, he is met with nine Poes. One Poe offers to bring him deeper into the Lost Woods if he can follow the correct one. If Link goes in the proper direction, he will be met again by the Poes. Two of them test him by attempting to mislead the hero and instruct him to go in the direction that they did not. Afterwards, three Poes will attempt to mislead Link in the same manner. After this, Link will be lead to the Sacred Grove housing the Master Sword. Once Link obtains the Master Sword, Sahasrahla will telepathically speak to Link, telling him to use the newly-obtained Sword to destroy the Barrier at Hyrule Castle. This will also cause the Poes to disappear.

The Lost Woods also houses several Maiamais and a Piece of Heart.

The Lost Woods is a fog-infested forest in. It serves as the only means of entry to the Korok Forest in the Great Hyrule Forest, connecting to the Korok Forest via an isthmus surrounded by the impassable Lake Mekar. Travelers who enter the Lost Woods may find themselves lost in the dense fog that covers the landscape, ultimately finding themselves back at the entrance of the Lost Woods. To successfully navigate the Lost Woods, Link must carry a lit Torch through the fog, following the trail of embers which come from the Torch and point to the entrance of the Korok Forest. Despite this, it is possible to navigate the Lost Woods without the assistance of a Torch.

Inside the mouth of one of the trees near the entrance to the maze portion of the Lost Woods sits a stone Treasure Chest containing a Forest Dweller's Spear. Another stone Treasure Chest holds an Opal. In The Master Trials DLC Pack, a Chest containing the Korok Mask can be found inside the mouth of a tree as part of the "EX Strange Mask Rumors" Side Quest.

(Ishinomori)
The Lost Woods are also featured in the. After obtaining all three Pendants of Virtue, Link enters the Lost Woods and, while speaking telepathically with Sahasrahla, the young hero begins to have his   doubts about whether or not the Master Sword will select him as his bearer. Link then finds the Master Sword and seizes it from its pedestal, readying himself to have his final battle with Agahnim and rescue Princess Zelda. Afterward, Link is ambushed by several Ball and Chain Troopers, although he easily defeats them with a single Spin Attack from the Master Sword.

Link decides to lie down and rest in the woods, only to be awoken by Zelda via telepathy. Although the young hero tells Zelda that he must rest, Zelda reminds him that only a single night remains until Agahnim, casts his final incantation on her and causes the entrance to the Dark World to open and overwhelm Hyrule with its evil. With this in mind, Link leaves the Lost Woods and heads to Kakariko Village to prepare himself.

(Himekawa)
Although not appearing in the main story, the Lost Woods do appear in the bonus chapters. The Lost Woods is a dangerous place where people will get lost if they lose sight of the exit. Nobody is allowed in there but Link and Saria; they enter it in an attempt to retrieve a Mask.

The Forest is dangerous and, according to Skull Kid, those that get lost will eventually lose all hope and become faceless Skull Kids. It is also home to the Baga Tree, an evil opponent of the Deku Tree that is possessed by a bug (most likely Gohma) and is eager to kill Saria and Link as an act of vengeance on the Deku Tree for "Ignoring the rules of the Forest" and allowing Link into the Kokiri.

Strangely the forest appears to be home to only Skull Kids, Wolfos, and Moblins (under complete command of the Bagu Tree) that wish to reclaim the forest for their own with no Deku Tree at all. The forest is accessible also from Hyrule Field (as seen in Skull Kid's memory).

In, the Lost Woods is an area that is in a randomly generated location in Hyrule. Upon entering the maze in the Lost Woods, the player will be sent back to the initial screen if they take the incorrect exit. In order to get to the Lost Swamp, the player must take the exit closest to the initial position of the enemy on the screen that is different from the rest. On the initial screen of the maze is a cave where Cadence gives the player the Lute, allowing them to travel to previously activated Sheika Stones. The Lost Swamp area contains a dungeon, where the player fights Gohmaracas.

Trivia

 * In volume 103 of Nintendo Power, the Lost Woods were called the "Maze Woods."
 * In the German version of, those who become lost in the Lost Woods are said to become plants. In the French version, Fado merely states that one who wanders in the forest will become a monster.
 * The Japanese name for the Lost Woods was utilized for the in , and to a lesser extent Maze Wood in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (which had Holly White calling it "The Lost Woods" once). Coincidentally, all three are maze-like forests that require a sequence of events to fully navigate.