History Videogame / TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOftime

* ChekhovsGun:
** The Deku Nuts that are useless through the whole game will stun Ganon more effectively than any other item.
** Ganodorf's magic can be deflected by the common bottle.

* VirtueIsWeakness: Completely inverted at one point: when Ganondorf's human form is defeated, Zelda calls him a "pitiful man" and remarks that without a kind and righteous heart he [[EvilCannotComprehendGood could not hope to control the Triforce]]. She'd have gone on, but then the castle started coming down.

* UnderTheSea: The game has its incarnation of Lake Hylia, since Link will eventually be able to dive to the bottom with the Zora Tunic (for SuperNotDrowningSkills) and the Iron Boots (to safely sink to the bottom). Beneath it is the famously difficult Water Temple, which teems with lots of water and the many ways Link has to take advantage of it: Raising or lowering its level at certain designated spots, cyclic water currents, aquatic whirlpools that act as bottomless pits, a large waterfall he has to climb through with Hookshot-based platforms, and aquatic enemies. Time after time you have to go in circles, Hookshotting every which way to collect keys, adjust water levels, and avoid enemies with indestructible shells. All of this is made more taxing by the need to pause the game constantly to switch between the Iron Boots (to sink) and the Kokiri Boots (to resurface). Then the battle with Dark Link will take a large amount of HP out of you, though [[GuideDangIt it can be replaced by MP loss if you have Din's Fire, and both can be lowered by doing the trading sidequest for the Biggoron's Sword]] (or the Megaton Hammer, which most players will have by that point in the game). Finally, you have to get the Big Key to fight Morpha, who is relatively easy but has a chance to do 5 Hearts of damage by simply using his standard attack if you're unlucky.

* TemptingFate: The guard that's in the room with the pots complains about being bored, and actually ''hopes'' trouble could happen. If only he knew...

* The guard that's in the room with the pots complains about being bored, and actually ''hopes'' trouble could happen. If only he knew...

* TragicTimeTraveler: Link. The game ''starts'' with the Temple of Time being unsealed and Link being whisked away seven years into the future, leaving Ganon to take the Triforce from him and goes on to wreck havoc across Hyrule, and it doesn't get much better from there.

* AttackTheTail: In order to defeat Ganon, Link must strike at its tail in order to weaken it enough to reach its head for the finishing blow. Ganon can turn quickly to hide its tail, so Link must stun it using various means, or just roll under its legs.

** The MiniBoss room of the third dungeon, Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly, has a large platform in the center of the room that is inaccessible to you, but to Princess Ruto when you toss her onto it. You have to do so so she can get the third Spiritual Stone, the Zora's Sapphire, which she had been looking for after Jabu-Jabu swallowed her, and eventually becomes yours so you can open the Door of Time in the Temple of Time after the boss of that particular dungeon has been defeated [[spoiler:(though not before [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe she holds you to the promise of marrying her]])]]. After Ruto takes the Sapphire, the platform rises up to the top of the room, taking her with it. As a result, when the platform comes back down, Ruto vanishes and you're left to deal with a Bigocto. Moreover, that platform has spikes on its sides, which spin in the opposite direction Bigocto is running in during the fight, but it eventually becomes a one-way elevator to the corridor up above where Ruto was taken to after you win.

** The MiniBoss room of the third dungeon, Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly, has a large platform that is inaccessible to you, but to Princess Ruto when you toss her onto it. You have to do so so she can get the third Spiritual Stone, the Zora's Sapphire, which she had been looking for after Jabu-Jabu swallowed her, and eventually becomes yours so you can open the Door of Time in the Temple of Time after the boss of that particular dungeon has been defeated [[spoiler:(though not before [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe she holds you to the promise of marrying her]])]]. After Ruto takes the Sapphire, the platform rises up to the top of the room, taking her with it. Ruto vanishes, as a result, and you're left to deal with a Bigocto. Moreover, that platform has spikes on its sides, which spin in the opposite direction Bigocto is running in during the fight, but it eventually becomes a one-way elevator to the corridor up above where Ruto was taken to after you win.

* CosmeticallyAdvancedPrequel: According to ''[[AllThereInTheManual Hyrule Historia]]'', the events of ''Ocarina of Time'' diverge into three timelines. One of these leads into the first four games of the franchise (as well as the ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'' released three years after, and the two UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS games ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTriForceHeroes Tri Force Heroes]]''). The book calls this the "era of decline", and all those games show a visible technological regression due to Hyrule and the other associated kingdoms being ravaged by the war against the forces of evil, especially during the first two NES games. This contrasts the SchizoTech seen in ''Ocarina of Time'', which features ventilation devices in a temple, a jukebox in a bowling gallery (and, reñatedly, wall-crawling bombs), and a greater-length Hookshot.

* VillainousBadlandHeroicArcadia: Ganondorf hails from the harsh Gerudo Desert, while Link spent his whole life in the idyllic - albeit somewhat muted -- Kokiri forest. Sure enough, when Ganondorf takes over Hyrule, it turns into a wasteland of death. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'': Ganondorf admits that his initial reason for wanting to conquer Hyrule was the the land was green and fertile with winds that brought life while in the desert the wind brought nothing but death.

* BrokenBridge: The bridge to Gerudo Valley is out, requiring either Epona or the the Longshot to cross.

*** Two examples in the Water Temple. Halfway through the temple, you come into an infinite, foggy wasteland filled with ankle deep water and a small island with a dead tree in the center. There's nothing particularly interesting about the room, and when you reach the other side, you find that the exit door is barred shut, and your reflection is gone. Only then will you find that one of the most fun/confusing fights of the game has been waiting, watching you from that tree. It's interesting to note that if you walk backwards to the door, Dark Link will not appear. He will only appear if you turn the camera around so he can't be seen when he appears. When you turn around again, Dark Link will be standing by the tree, just waiting. Even moreso than that, he only appears if you walk over the island in the center, at which point your reflection disappears from beneath you when you step upon the water again. Later, when you enter the Boss chamber, Navi warns you that the water in it is not ordinary water, and when you jump on one of the four platforms, Morpha appears, beginning the battle.

** Halfway through the Water Temple, you come into an infinite, foggy wasteland filled with ankle deep water and a small island with a dead tree in the center. There's nothing particularly interesting about the room, and when you reach the other side, you find that the exit door is barred shut, and your reflection is gone. Only then will you find that one of the most fun/confusing fights of the game has been waiting, watching you from that tree. It's interesting to note that if you walk backwards to the door, Dark Link will not appear. He will only appear if you turn the camera around so he can't be seen when he appears. When you turn around again, Dark Link will be standing by the tree, just waiting. Even more so than that, he only appears if you walk over the island in the center, at which point your reflection disappears from beneath you when you step upon the water again.

** In the Forest Temple, the boss room is empty. Realizing this, you leave. This triggers the boss battle.

** The MiniBoss room of the third dungeon, Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly, has a large platform that is inaccessible to you, but to Princess Ruto when you toss her onto it. You have to do so so she can get the third Spiritual Stone, the Zora's Sapphire, which she had been looking for after Jabu-Jabu swallowed her, and eventually becomes yours so you can open the Door of Time in the Temple of Time after the boss of that particular dungeon has been defeated [[(though not before [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe she holds you to the promise of marrying her]])]]. After Ruto takes the Sapphire, the platform rises up to the top of the room, taking her with it. Ruto vanishes, as a result, and you're left to deal with a Bigocto. Moreover, that platform has spikes on its sides, which spin in the opposite direction Bigocto is running in during the fight, but it eventually becomes a one-way elevator to the corridor up above where Ruto was taken to after you win.

** In the first dungeon, you have to look up and find the boss on the ceiling.

* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: While most of the Gerudo guards take their job seriously and capture you if you walk within their sight, the swordfighters who guard the imprisoned carpenters will flat-out forget Link's existance if he leaves the room they're in.