Head over to Hyrule Castle. As Link nears it, the player may notice that something seems off - the sky is getting darker and cloudier, and if it's daytime the drawbridge is closed. I smell a plot-wrenching cutscene.
- Cue Plot-Wrenching Cutscene –
The drawbridge lowers and Link's nightmare from the very start of the game basically unfolds itself again, sort of like déjà vu. Except this time, Princess Zelda throws something into the castle moat as she flees. After a minor confrontation with Ganondorf where the man hits Link with a magical purple bolt of magic and says things like "I will rule the world" etcetera, he leaves and the player is free to venture to the moat.
Jump into the moat from the right of the drawbridge to see something blue under the water. Press A to dive and pick it up; congratulations, you got the Ocarina of Time! Another cutscene ensues in which Zelda speaks to Link through it, teaching him the Song of Time to open the Door of Time (fairly original names) in front of the altar: Right, A, Down, Right, A, Down.
Once the cutscene ends, enter Hyrule Castle at last. From the market, go up the stairs behind the woman in the striped blue dress. There are four Gossip Stones just waiting to be used here, so play Epona's Song and have an empty bottle in handy if short on fairies.
Enter the castle: welcome to the Temple of Time! Stand on the red carpet and play the Song of Time (naturally) to make the Spiritual Stones dance over Link's head and fit into the altar. Go through the door that opens and grab the Master Sword with A. Oh, oops...this was all part of Ganondorf's plans?
Link ends up in the Chamber of Sages with a very long cutscene with Rauru the Sage explaining how seven years had passed, Ganondorf was the King of Evil (more original names) and a few other things not worthy for the chosen one to listen to. Something about the world being taken over or something. Link, now an adult, receives the Light Medallion with Rauru's power added to it in addition to his own.
Back in the Temple of Time the player discovers the heart-breaking truth that weapons from childhood can no longer be used. Sheik appears and tells Link stuff, basically that he has to find the five temples and sages in as much words as possible. Saria appears to be one of the sages, so Link must venture to the Forest Temple. However, before doing this he must go to Kakariko Village, so go back to Hyrule Field (run past the scary dead stuff called ReDeads in the Market, otherwise they may attack Link). We're supposed to go to Kakariko Graveyard now, but before doing *that*, we might as well get something else out of the way first. This is optional so it can be skipped and/or gone back to at a later time, but I'm sure no one enjoys rolling all around Hyrule Field. The guide below shows the player how to get Epona the Horse so they don't have to run/roll everywhere.
Optional: Epona the Horse
Make sure Link has learnt Epona's Song before doing this: you can see how to do this here.
Go to the Lon Lon Ranch and to the paddock-like place with the horses. Talk to Ingo, who is standing outside the fenced-in area and is now evidently the new owner of the ranch. Accept a ride for ten rupees and practice manoeuvring; try to jump the two fences here to get some Rupees at the end. Once the ride is finished, ride again: this time, however, play Epona's Song to get Epona (who is also consequentially the fastest horse in the paddock/corral) galloping to you. Get on her by standing to her side and pressing A, then ride over to Ingo at the entrance. L-target him to speak, and he'll challenge you to a race for fifty rupees. Go ahead and accept.
- The Race -
The first thing the player should know is that racing around the corral against Ingo isn't as daunting as it seems. Ingo will always start racing earlier than you (because he's a big fat cheater) but he doesn't seem to have magical carrots that make Epona gallop really fast either. Use these carrots with A either sparingly and just to pass Ingo before using them all at the end (the white line on the ground) by repeatedly pressing A, or constantly use the carrots whenever they reappear. A warning, though: if you use up all of the carrots, it takes a really long time for them to all charge back up. Take advantage of the corners: Ingo likes to ride too far away from the fence at corners, so you can slip between him and the fence to victory every single time.
Once you beat Ingo (because you rock), he'll be a sore loser and challenge Link again, this time offering the horse. Clearly he's going to play dirty this time: he blocks the way a lot, so the race can get pretty frustrating. The best advice I can give is to use some of the carrots right from the start, putting Link (hopefully) in the lead where Ingo (obviously) can't block him.
Once you beat Ingo again (because you rock), the man will give Link the horse strangely willingly...before locking both Link and Epona into the paddock-place. This is the ultimate sore loser move. Simply ride Epona over to the fences to the right (when facing Ingo) and, using the carrots, jump over them. Freedom!
Link will end up back in Hyrule Field, except this time with a horse. Travelling has just become a million times more bearable, and if the player needs Epona, playing Epona's Song will bring the horse galloping. Epona can't go into villages, dungeons, and pretty much anywhere else that isn't Hyrule Field, but that's besides the point.
Time to continue the story. Head over to Kakariko Village (which hasn't changed much in terms of dead guys) and its graveyard. There's a new enemy here, called Poes, but they're fairly harmless. Go to the grave with green plants/flowers to the far left of the graveyard, and pull it to reveal a hole. Fall in to meet an old friend, the gravekeeper.
Who is now a ghost.
The ghost-Dampe wants to race, so race Link will. Basically, the good things to follow are just the sounds Dampe makes and the flames he drops (except, you know, don't touch them). Those flames make a whooshing sound when they're dropped as well. The only things to really look out for are the Rupees - they take you off the path.
Once the player successfully finishes the race, Dampe sort of congratulates Link and disappears. A chest materialises out of nowhere, and inside it contains...
The Hookshot! Now Link can reach things and go to places he couldn't reach before to reach things.
Go through the opening behind the chest. There's a huge block in the way, but by playing the Song of Time it mysteriously vanishes. Head up the stairs to end up in the windmill of Kakariko Village. There's a Piece of Heart to Link's right - jump on one of the two moving platform things and then jump onto the ledge with the heart to collect it.
The player may notice that there is a guy in the room. Let Link take out his Ocarina in front of him to learn the Song of Storms, which is presently useless but still might as well learn: A, Down, Up, A Down, Up. It starts to rain, which is pretty cool.
Now that Link has the hookshot, Kokiri Village awaits.
Part 7: Jabu Jabu's Belly Part 9: Sacred Forest Meadow
