Lakebed Temple

Lakebed Temple, also known as the Zora Temple, is the third dungeon within Twilight Princess. It is located at the bottom of Lake Hylia, and as such, is thought by many to be the very same Water Temple seen in Ocarina of Time.

The temple is based around water and seems to be a spiritual successor to the Water Temple of Ocarina of Time, but instead of level manipulation, the dungeon's functionality is actually based on the transport of water from its sources to dried rooms, and would hence be more closely linked to the Swamp Palace from A Link to the Past; notably, several rooms contain large ancient gears and waterwheels, which, albeit not to the same extent as the complex machinery in the Goron Mines, seem to show an advancement in technology since the events of Ocarina of Time.

This temple's greatest feature is its rotating central staircase, which must be manipulated to move the bodies of water in the dungeon. Using different handles and mechanisms, Link must bring the flow of water to move waterwheels and platforms to get deeper into the temple. Link's main goal is to get the water level in the rotating central staircase room high enough to reach the boss door. The item Link receives in this temple is the Clawshot, a highly upgraded version of the Hookshot. It is acquired after defeating the mini-boss, the Deku Toad.



The final boss is Morpheel, a giant eel-like creature with eight tentacles and a single eye that can travel freely between them. Upon clearing the dungeon, Link receives the third and final Fused Shadow and another Heart Container.

In terms of structure, the Lakebed Temple resembles the Fire Temple from Ocarina of Time, having multiple floors (more so than in the original Water Temple) and the highest rooms being parallel to each other, as if the two main sides of the temple (west and east) were intended to have a symmetry. A notable difference, in comparison to the aforementioned Fire Temple, is that Link has to fully explore both sides to clear the dungeon, whereas the Eastern highest-end rooms of the Fire Temple are optional. The boss also has a long shaft downwards leading to the boss, similarly to the boss room of the Great Bay Temple in Majora's Mask, although the Lakebed Temple has to be swam down to, while Link merely falls down the Great Bay Temple with a platform at the bottom.

Trivia

 * A little used strategy within the temple is to, after obtaining the Big Key, Clawshot up to the top of the main hub's chandelier and carefully drop down onto the center platform which houses the chamber to the boss. Doing this will eliminate the need to raise the water levels a second time and can reduce time spent inside the temple.
 * Midna, when Link speaks to her, initially admires the beauty of the dungeon and considers the place to be better than Goron Mines; however, after some time, she changes her mind and complains about the complexity of the temple. This may be a reference to the fact that previous water dungeons in the series were similarly complex in structure or in the need of manipulating water.
 * The background music in the Lakebed Temple is, in some ways, thematically similar to that of the Water Temple of Ocarina of Time.