Woodfall Temple

Woodfall Temple is the first Dungeon in Majora's Mask.^[1]

Entrance to the Temple

The Temple is found deep within the Southern Swamp in the Woodfall area, through a secret passageway within the Deku Palace.^[2]^[3] The physical face of the dungeon is hidden from view and must be revealed by playing the "Sonata of Awakening".

Themes and Navigation

The opening room of the Dungeon from Majora's Mask

Woodfall Temple, in size, is significantly smaller in comparison to the other temples of Majora's Mask, however, the intricacy of its puzzles and layout make up for its size discrepancy. The Temple, as with all others in Majora's Mask, suffers from a demonic curse placed upon it, in this case by a spirit, Odolwa. The Temple's water, along with a grand portion of the Southern Swamp's volume is toxic; if Link manages to fall into it, he will take damage.

This Temple, with its forest-like theme, takes full advantage of Link's Deku form. There are several Link-Eating Plants that can only be crossed as Deku Link, as the Plants are alive and will try to eat human Link. Deku Flowers are abundant and aid in giving Link that initial propulsion into the air from which the drifting mechanisms of his Deku form can be utilized. While Deku Link sees much action in this Temple, the abundance of water below many of the platforms is enough to stop Deku Link mid-flight.

Enemies are rather few and far in-between relative to other dungeons. While Black Boes, Skulltulas, Dragonflies, and Deku Babas exist, their presence is rare. Guarding the Dungeon Map are three Snappers, and the Compass is in a room with two Dragonflies. The dungeon's special item, the Hero's Bow, is guarded by the dungeon's lone Dinolfos.

Given that the Hero's Bow is the item of this dungeon, there are many puzzles that require its use. Torches and switches must be fired at with the Bow, and several Stray Fairies are hidden inside of beehives that must be shot down to reveal their contents. Oddly enough, the dungeon's boss, Odolwa, can be defeated entirely without using the bow at all, despite the tradition of most The Legend of Zelda series bosses requiring the use of the dungeon's item during battle. The Deku Mask is not required either; this is especially odd, given that the two following temples are both very Goron Mask- and Zora Mask-centric, and the two temples' bosses require the respective masks.

Minor Enemies

Trivia

Woodfall Temple appears to be a site of worship for the Deku.^[4] There are many decorative markings inside the Temple and a single large, empty room that may have been the main room in which they worshipped.
Woodfall Temple was designed by Shinichi Ikematsu.^[5]

Nomenclature

Names in Other Regions
Language	Names	Meanings
German	Dämmerwald Tempel ^(MM)^[6]	Duskwood Temple
Italian	Tempio di Cascabosco ^{(MM \| MM3D)}^[7]^[8]	Woodfall's temple
This table was generated using translation pages. To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference.

Gallery

The inactive platform in the center of the Temple from Majora's Mask
The central room of the Temple from Majora's Mask
A platform that raises Link to the second floor from Majora's Mask
The Woodfall Temple exterior from Majora's Mask 3D

References

↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 150
↑ "Woodfall Temple above waterfall. Take shortcut from Deku Palace." — Sign (Majora's Mask)
↑ "Woodfall Shortcut. For use by Deku Scrubs only." — Sign (Majora's Mask)
↑ "Isn't this the Deku Scrub mark? I wonder if they worshiped here..." — Tatl (Majora's Mask)
↑ Majora's Mask Staff Survey (The 64 Dream #46) (web archive), Good Blood, retrieved December 6, 2023.
↑ "Dämmerwald Tempel" — Dungeon Map (Majora's Mask, German localization)
↑ Enciclopedia di Hyrule, Magazzini Salani, pg. 150
↑ "Tempio di Cascabosco oltre palude è strano, ma non trovo entrata. Tempio è solo per cespugli Deku." — Monkey (Majora's Mask 3D, Italian localization)