Temple Prep
Since this is your first temple, it would behoove you to do some preparation before you go in. The first and most important thing to do is to grab the Great Fairy’s Mask. The Great Fairy’s Mask, while decidedly creepy-looking, is an incredible boon that makes searching for the Stray Fairies scattered around each temple a much easier task. To get the Great Fairy’s Mask, you simply have to go talk to the Great Fairy of Magic in Clock Town after receiving the Deku Mask from the Happy Mask Salesman. Since time was reset, you will have to find the Stray Fairy in town again, but that won’t be too hard since you’ve done it already. The Great Fairy’s Mask will spring to life in dungeons if you are in a room with a Stray Fairy in it. For veterans of Majora’s Mask, the mask does not shimmer as brightly as it did in the N64 version, but just watch for the hair floating around rather than drooping when you stand still.
It would also be a wise move to grab the Adult’s Wallet before you leave, as it will keep you from wasting Rupees you may find in the temple. To get the Adult’s Wallet, store 200 Rupees at the Clock Town bank. There are several treasure chests in town that hold high amounts of Rupees as well as being able to farm the bushes for Rupees. You should have 200 in no time. The bank itself can be found behind the Clock Tower, along with a Save Point.
Be Aware Of The Ceiling
Woodfall Temple really enjoys being sneaky with its enemy placement. Since you don’t have a whole lot of options for combat, Woodfall Temple likes to throw Skulltulas at you. A lot of Skulltulas. And in classic Skulltula fashion, they like to hang up in the ceiling until you are close enough to french kiss its weird fanged skull mouth. To save yourself some frustration, keep an eye on the ceiling and the locations of Skulltulas, if any. If you can, try and take them out with the Deku Mask’s magic bubbles or the Hero’s Bow once you find it. Dragonflies are also a massive pain in the ass, though they’re not as high up as the Skulltulas. Keep an ear out for their loud buzzing and try and take them out before you move ahead in a room.
Open Your Paths First
It may be tempting to try and get all of the Stray Fairies in the dungeon without backtracking. However, it is far quicker to open up the pathway between the second floor and the first floor before actively looking for Stray Fairies. This has a couple benefits. One, if you get knocked off of the second floor accidentally, you won’t have to spend time running back through the dungeon to get back to where you were. Two, if you’re at the point where you can press the switch to materialize the ladders in the main room, you can also purify the water by lighting the torch on the middle of the wooden flower structure. This will make exploring considerably easier, as you will not have to deal with the danger of poisoned water while exploring. There is no longer a Stray Fairy underneath the water as there was in the N64 version, so this part is not as important as it once was, but it is still a wise idea to do so.
Use Deku Flowers Offensively
Up until Woodfall Temple, the game only makes you use Deku Flowers to travel along platforms or to get to higher areas. However, there are rooms in Woodfall Temple that require you to use the Deku Flower to hurt your opponents rather than just to travel. The first enemies you are able to do this with are the turtles that you first encounter in the woods looking for Koume. To defeat these creatures, dive into a Deku Flower and pop out just as the turtle crosses over top of it. This will kill the turtle instantly, saving you a lot of time. The Gekko miniboss also rides one of these turtles during your fight with them, so use them to your advantage.
Deku Flowers also offer you the opportunity to drop Deku Nuts on foes while you’re in the air, so long as you have Deku Nuts to spare. While the Deku Nuts usually only stun enemies, they can also be used to kill Deku Shrubs like the ones in the area surrounding the temple.
Boss Fight: Masked Warrior Odolwa
Odolwa may be your first boss, but he is no slouch. Odolwa has a small set of moves and plays mostly defensively. To defeat him, you have to watch for his tells and use your shiny new Hero’s Bow to knock him out. When Odolwa charges at you, hit him with three arrows very quickly to knock him on the ground. You can then hit him with your sword. Sometimes, his head will open up and reveal a glowing eyeball; as is standard for Zelda games, the eyeball is a weak point. Jump slash at it to take him out quickly.
As Odolwa takes more damage, he’ll shift from being defensive to offensive. He’ll swing his sword more often and kick at you if you get close. Odolwa will also summon a group of beetles down from the ceiling during the battle, making it difficult to keep your lock on him. Kill the beetles before turning your attention back to Odolwa. If Odolwa summons a ring of fire around you, do the smart thing and try not to go into the fire until it dissipates. Otherwise, keep on him with arrows and sword strikes.
Post-Temple Actions
After finishing off Odolwa, you will be teleported into a room where the Deku Princess is being held. After a short discussion with her, she’ll ask you to take her to her father in the Deku Palace. Thankfully, Deku Shrubs are rather small, so just use an empty bottle on her and she will be popped inside. Take her back to the Deku Palace and empty her out in front of the Deku King, and she will completely destroy him for his silly patriarchal impudence.
After a cutscene, you will be told that the Butler has something to give to you. If you want, you can go back outside of the Deku Palace and take the path to your right to get to the Deku Shrine, where you can race the Butler for a chance at the Mask of Scents. It’s optional, but the Mask of Scents will allow you to find Magic Mushrooms in the forest; you can then give these to Kotake so she can sell Blue Potions in the shop, as well as an additional 20 Rupees for each mushroom after that.
Published: Feb 16, 2015 05:01 pm