Forest Temple

In Ocarina of Time
Deep within the Sacred Forest Meadow in the Lost Woods lies a temple inhabited by many fierce foes. It's an eerie, complex temple filled with strange puzzles and bewilderments that may come to shock you; such as an array of switches which invert hallways. Most of it's rooms and cooridors are covered with moss and vines and hold enemies like the Skulltula and Deku Baba. The temple has also recently been home to the Four Poe Sisters that lurk deep inside the temple and guard the way to it's master. The temple's music will also become a monster of its very own with its eerie, but beautiful tune and unnatural sounds. It's also the first temple where you meet the dreaded Wallmaster in OoT, and its boss is the fierce Phantom Ganon. Link journeyed here to save his childhood Kokiri friend Saria, only to awaken her as the Sage of Forest. Her power helped Link continue on his journey to free the other imprisoned sages.

Minor Enemies and Traps
Skulltula, Wallskulltula, Deku Baba, Big Deku Baba, Gold Skulltula, Blue Bubble, Green Bubble, Wallmaster, Wolfos, dropping ceilings

Main Puzzle Scenario: Block/Arrow

Trivia
The Forest Temple is known as the topsy-turviest level in Zelda history, followed by the Stone Tower Temple in Majora's Mask.

A Possible History-Part I: Lost Origins
The Forest Temple is most likely the ancient ruins of a great castle. The remains of a once thriving "forest kingdom." A kingdom that probably existed even before the Great Deku Tree. In fact, this kingdom's people were probably the original planters of the Deku Tree. They were probably the founders of the land that would later become known as Kokiri Village and The Lost Woods as well. Once the Deku Tree was old enough to sprout seedlings, these seeds grew into the first Kokiri people. The Kokiri most likely began to settle the lands found by the "forest kingdom's" people. Since the Forest Temple was located deep within the Lost Woods and wasn't able to be reached by the Kokiri, the King of the forest probably didn't care for the settlement of his land and allowed it. Any Kokiri who dared to enter the Lost Woods and try to find the Forest Temple was most likely lost within the twists and turns that were shrouded in mist. Those who were lost became known as Skull Kids. Once enchanted and ensnared by the Lost Wood's magic (a magic that even the "forest people" had no control over), Skull Kids were free to wonder the forest and cause mischief for unfortunate souls who happened to wonder into the woods. This was probably the beginning of the "forest kingdom's" downfall.

A Possible History-Part II: A Kingdom Falls
As time passed, many Kokiri probably began to question the boudries of their village. They most likely began to navigate the Lost Woods in order to find more land to settle. As the Kokiri began to make their way through the Lost Woods, the population of Skull Kids began to rise greatly. Soon the Kokiri had ventured deep into the woods, finding areas not even known to the King of the forest. The King probably heard news of this movement and most likely became angry. Soon the Kokiri found the entrance to the Forest Temple. However, the Kokiri who became Skull Kids most likely followed those who made it safely to the entrance in order to map out the woods for themselves. This discovery opened up the route to the temple. This route let in Skull Kids, Kokiri, and the quickly growing Deku race. These races began to taint the "pure" environment of the "forest people." Although the route to the temple was found, each race had different reactions to the newly opened paths. The Kokiri were the ones with the least impact. Although they were the ones that began the settlement of the forest, they probably became aware and greatly fearful of the forest's "dark enchantment" that had consumed so many of their people when navigating the woods. Their business in the woods was limited only to find rare mushrooms to make food and potions. The Deku race began to enter the forest in great numbers. Since they were part of the forest, they were able to sustain life under the veil of enchantment. They also made the forest very dangerous for the Kokiri to enter. As for the Skull Kids, their movement was the most radical of the three. They used the new route to the temple in order to taint the "purity" of the "forest kingdom" using their "dark enchanment." Springs became poisoned, the trees began to decay and die, a dark race of monsters known as moblins migrated from the northern mountain ranges to the forest and began to dwell within a great forest maze, and the "forest people" became sick and cursed by the Skull Kid's "dark enchantment." As the Skull Kids began to dwell in all the corners of the woods, their curse grew darker and greater. Not long after, the "forest people" became enchanted themselves. However, they did not turn into Skull Kids. Their transformation was much darker. They became consumed by the dark light and twisted into beings known as Stalfos. Only the strongest of the "forest people" survived this transformation. The rest died painful deaths by the sickness caused by the enchantment's curse. After the Stalfos emerged, the Lost Woods became a dark and dangerous place for all races and beings. The Forest Temple was left abandoned, inhabited only by the few remaining Stalfos and guared by wolves, skulltulas, and moblins. The Forest Temple became ancient, lost within time. It was consumed by the plants and trees of the forest, decayed by sunlight, and eroded by rain. The Forest Temple was now a forgotten piece of history. The remains of a once great kingdom. A kingdom consumed by a dark curse and corrupted.

In Twilight Princess
The Forest Temple is the first dungeon in Twilight Princess. It is housed in a massive tree in Faron Woods. It houses the Gale Boomerang, which is used to defeat its boss, the Twilit Parasite Diababa. The temple is different from the Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time in that it is one floor. It's also similar to the Woodfall Temple in Majora's Mask in that a lot of the rooms seem to be very swamp-like. The Gale Boomerang is also used to manipulate wind powered switches and bridges, allowing Link to access rooms deeper in the temple. monkeys have been trapped in various places in this temple and you must free them all to gain access to the boss. The first room of this temple is notably similar to its Ocarina counterpart. It is possible that it is the dead Great Deku Tree because it is in a tree.