Letters to the Editor

3/02/99

Greetings Hyrulian heroes and heroines! A lot has changed around here since my last column. Particularly, new strategy has been added to the Adventure section. There are now complete walk-throughs for Jabu-Jabu's Belly and the Water Temple, with all the tips you need to conquer these challenging areas. I recommend only visiting these sections if you need them, because it can really spoil the game to find out too much too soon.

And now, I pass the virtual mic to you crazy questers.

Dear Ed,
I have a tip for you. In Zora's Fountain, there is a gray rock that you can only destroy with the Golden Gauntlets. After you pick it up and throw it, there will be a hole. If you drop down that hole, you will encounter some invisible spiders that you can see if you use the Lens of Truth. After you beat them, you can climb the wall that has gray bars on it. When you get to the top, there will be a final spider. After you kill it, enjoy the new beautiful view. One question though. WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS THING (Rather than just a good view!)??? Your loyal fan,
--Insane2757

Ed: Thanks for the tip, Mr. (or is it Miss?) Insane. This is a cool section of Zora's Fountain that really got my hopes up when I first discovered it. It seemed much cooler than a normal Grotto, but when I reached the top there was nothing to do. I eventually discovered that this ledge provides more than just a Kodak moment. If you re-visit the same location during the night, a Skulltulla will appear beside the left wall. It's not the Triforce, but it's better than nothing (by the way, you can lift the rock with the Silver Gauntlets as well).

Hello Ed!
I wrote two letters to you asking for help and you didn't answer either of them. But lucky for you I figured out how to beat those parts in the game. But now I really need to know how to get Nayru's love. Please help me out! Thanks a lot.
--Pete and gang

Ed: I'm glad you were able to progress in the game, Pete, but I'm not scared of your gang. I saw an after school special once that taught me that gangs aren't cool. Anyway, to find Nayru's Love, start off at the entrance to the Desert Colossus. With your back to the Colossus, head to the left until you find two palm trees near a crack in the wall. Bomb the crack, and you'll be in luck. This item isn't necessary to complete the game, but we all need a little love, right? Note to readers: whining about not getting your letters published does not guarantee a response. Flattering praise, however, helps.

Hi Ed!
Ok I have a big problem. I shot a lot of skulltulas but when it's time to collect the tokens, I cannot reach them. This is a fustrating and evil thing for Nintendo to do. I've done every move and used every item imaginable. Do I have an evil cartridge? I need help or I might have to buy a Dreamcast or Playstation. Ok I'm not that desperate, but HELLLLLLP!!!!!!!!!!
It's very late and I'm having migraines.
--A very sleepy Mysterio.

Ed: Nintendo has given a lot of consideration to the idea of producing "evil" N64 cartridges, but for some reason our legal department thinks it's a bad idea. So even though I think it would be a cool idea, your cartridge is not out to get you. As you progress in your quest, you'll occasionally find Skulltullas that you can destroy, but the token remains out of reach. Don't worry. Later in the game you'll find special items which will allow you to reach any tokens which are out of reach. My advice is to write down the location of any Skulltulas you can't reach, so you won't forget about them later. Note to readers: threatening to buy a competitor's console does not guarantee a response.

Dear Ed,
In an earlier Letters section an individual asked how you could kill 20 spiders in different periods of Link's life, then go back in time and have the people cured. Huge run on sentence but here's the answer: killing the Gold Skulltulas has nothing to do with curing the family. Collecting the tokens however does. When Link brings the 20 tokens back, the people are cured, regardless of how many spiders he's killed. Who cares if the only way to get tokens is to kill em. :)
--Xanthmode

Ed: Good point, Xanthmode! Even though a Skulltula may have been killed in the future, when young Link walks into the House of Skulltula he nevertheless holds the token proving that he destroyed it. If it's the token that breaks the curse and not the actual act of destroying the Skulltula, then the mystery is solved. Good enough for me, anyway.

Yo Ed!

What are you supposed to do with the cows? They are everywhere, mooing. Navi keeps giving me the blue diamond 'speak' icon, yet nothing happens. Am I missing something? Please respond.
--DBunnie

Ed: Have you ever driven through Texas, DBunnie? If you ever do, take a look at the cows along the way. They just stand there. If you get out of the car, you might even hear some mooing. Sure they stampede every now and then, but Hyrulian cows are much too cute to stampede. If you have an empty bottle and aren't afraid of udders, then try playing Epona's Song while near a cow. The soothing effect of the song will put the cows in a milking mood. This leads to an interesting question. Is Link a vegetarian? He's clearly not vegan, but I've never seen him hunker down to a steak dinner. I'm sure he gets hungry on his quest, and he's often trapped in a small Grotto with a big cow. Hmmmm. It seems to me like he'd prefer a veggie burger, but this is pure speculation.

Greetings Ed,
So you say there are no good uses to Deku Nuts, huh? Well, they actually do have a couple of good uses, but I myself rarely use them. Instead, get an empty bottle and go to a normal fairy fountain with the bottle equipped on a C Button. Press the corresponding C Button when you are near a fairy and press start while the bottle is in mid-air but before it actually catches the fairy. The space in your item menu previously occupied by the Deku Nuts will now be another bottle! You can use this bottle just like any other bottle. This trick can be used with any item in the screen, like say the Magic Beans after you plant all ten and don't need them anymore. But if you do it with say, the hookshot, or another very important item, in short, you're out of luck. When I first did this trick with the Nuts, I wondered what would happen if I bought or found more Nuts. All you do is lose the bottle and get the item back. After I had found this out (after many many hours of playing it with a friend and stumbling upon it and testing it out again and then realizing I made a mistake when I did it with the ocarina and had to start over) I got on the net to see if I could find anything and I've it elsewhere, so I know I am not the first to find this. I didn't see it anywhere in your letter section so I thought it might be useful. Always good to have 6 bottles with fairies, huh? Thanx for your time!
--Crash

Ed: You're darn right, Crash. Thanks for the detailed explanation of the Bottle trick. It saves me a lot of finger energy. Yes, this is one trick that actually works, and it's really helpful. You can perform the trick while trapping anything in a bottle -- not just fairies. Be careful, though. As you stated, if you replace an important item like the Hookshot or the Ocarina you could be forced to start your game over from scratch. So have fun trying this trick, but don't get too greedy.

Hey Ed!
How are you? Hopefully everything is ok. I have a few very important questions for you. I have searched long and hard for the answers to these questions, and I came up with numerous answers. I am counting on you to give me the information I need, since I have not found the correct answers yet. First, WHAT IS THE LARGEST FISH THAT CAN BE CAUGHT ON THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME????? Second, HOW DO YOU CATCH THE LARGEST FISH ON THE GAME????? And finally, WHAT IS UP WITH THAT FISH THAT FLOATS ALONG THE BOTTOM OF THE POND, SURFACES FOR A SECOND, AND DIVES BACK DOWN???? CAN YOU CATCH IT? PLEASE HELP ME!!!! I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING ELSE, EVEN WHAT YOU SAID TO DO IN YOUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR COLUMN ON 1-22-99!!! YES, I HAVE BEAT THE ENTIRE GAME 4 TIMES NOW!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!
--Ryan Ashby, OR

Ed: Settle down, Ryan. Fishing is supposed to relax you, not burst your blood vessels. I think all of your problems can be solved with one simple solution: find the Sinking Lure. That mysterious eel you see floating around is called a Loach, and the only thing that interests it is the Sinking Lure. Once you've earned the Golden Scale, all you have to do is rent a rod from the pond owner and walk around the shoreline until you find it. The Lure is hidden in a random location, so unfortunately I can't tell you exactly where to look. Once you catch the Loach, you can consider yourself a master fisherman. Note to readers: yelling at the top of your lungs certainly does not guarantee a response.

Dear Ed,
How do you pronounce Ocarina? Is it Orakeena or Okareena?
--Tedzoid

Ed: The "O" is pronounced the same way as the letter "o" in "cot." The rest of the word should be pronounced like "kuhreenuh". The accent falls on the "ri." If this explanation has made you even more confused than before, look it up in the dictionary.

Dear ED,
I have a very simple question, why did the Zelda designers put the beeping when your life is low in to the game? You know, that incredibly annoying beeping. It was in past Zelda games and it sucked, so why did they put it in Ocarina of time? I HATE THAT BEEPING!!!!!
--Bond1O8O

Ed: You're supposed to hate that beeping! Link suffers when he's low on energy, and you have to suffer right along with him by listening to those annoying beeps. It also adds a sense of urgency to the gameplay, kind of like when the music in Super Mario Bros. would speed up when you're almost out of time. The music is too awesome to turn down the sound, so my only advice is to keep a bottled fairy on hand in case you find yourself low on energy.

Hey Ed-
How could you try to trick people into ERASING their game? You are so mean. How could you do such a thing? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about: Your so called "cheat" to get the second quest. Well, guess what, Eddie, WE ARE NOT AS STUPID AS YOU THINK! I hope you put my letter in your column so everyone else knows that you are a piece of slime!
Sincerely,

LINK1710, of the Nintendo BBS

Ed: Note to readers: I hope you're smart enough to realize that calling me "a piece of slime" greatly reduces your chances of getting a response. I also hope you're smart enough not to erase your game just because some Editor suggests it.

Since some of the gameplay advice in this column may not come in handy for you until you progress deeper in the game, I've decided to archive the old articles. Check the editions below to see if your question has already been addressed. --Ed

Send your theories, questions, concerns and complaints to: editor@zelda64.com