Reach Zora's Fountain, rescue Ruto and free Jabu-Jabu from Barinade.
Open the waterfall
Enter Zora's River from Hyrule Field and bomb the rocks blocking the path. Follow the banks uphill. At the waterfall, stand on the Triforce mark, play Zelda's Lullaby and jump through the opening.
Find Ruto's letter
From King Zora's chamber, take the left passage to the diving game. Pay 20 Rupees, collect all the thrown rupees in time and return for the Silver Scale. Dive through the underwater tunnel to Lake Hylia. Retrieve the bottled letter on the lakebed near the exit, return through the tunnel and show it to King Zora.
Enter the guardian
After the king moves, the letter's bottle becomes reusable. Catch a fish in Zora's Domain's shallow water. Follow the passage behind the king to the fountain and release the fish directly in front of Jabu-Jabu's mouth.
Catch up with Princess Ruto
Shoot the fleshy ceiling switch in the first room. Cross the elevator room without dropping below, then speak to Ruto in the room with floor holes. Follow her down, speak until she agrees to be carried, and pick her up.
Carry her back upstairs
Take the side passage. Throw Ruto onto the far ledge before stepping on the floor switch that raises the water. Retrieve her, activate the ceiling switch beyond, then defeat or avoid the Octorok and ride the platform back to the upper level. Carry her across the hole room to the far doorway.
Use her weight to reach the Boomerang
In the branching corridor, head right. Stand on the yellow switch while holding Ruto. Inside, defeat every Stinger; approach to make them rise, then hit them with the Slingshot or sword. Open the chest for the Boomerang.
Remove the parasitic tentacles
At the opposite end of the branching corridor, leave Ruto on the blue switch and enter. Target the hanging red tentacle and stun its narrow middle with the Boomerang until it falls. Retrieve Ruto; the red barrier is gone. The timed bubble room gives the optional Compass. Defeat the blue tentacle in the right branch, then the green tentacle in the central branch, using the Boomerang on jellyfish too.
Recover the Spiritual Stone
Carry Ruto back into the floor-hole room. Drop through the hole previously blocked by the green tentacle, near the right side when entering from the branching corridor. Throw Ruto onto the raised stone platform. Bigocto appears: stun it with the Boomerang, get behind it, stun the exposed rear and strike with the sword. Repeat, then ride the central platform upward.
Cross the trembling platforms
Stun each red moving platform with the Boomerang before using it. Continue until a new platform lowers you into the earlier elevator room. Put a wooden crate on the blue floor switch and enter the final passage.
Curve a throw around the barrier
Clear the jellyfish, climb the vines and aim the Boomerang around the transparent barrier at the ceiling switch. Move sideways to give the throw enough curve. Enter the boss room. After Barinade, collect the heart and use the blue light; Ruto gives Zora's Sapphire.
Barinade
Keep circling while targeting the three tentacles attached to the ceiling. Boomerang hits sever them.
Stun the body when exposed, then clear the rotating jellyfish with the Boomerang. In the final phase, stun the core again and slash it while it is vulnerable; move away when the electricity resumes.
Ready for the next horizon?
Check steps as you go, or mark this entire chapter complete when you finish it in the game.
Notes from the archive.
- If Ruto disappears after a fall or leaving a room, revisit the room where you first carried her. Do not abandon the quest assuming she is permanently lost.
- A bottle holding a fish cannot also hold a fairy. Empty it first when you need a different item.
Walkthrough references
This independent route covers the original Nintendo 64 main story. Consult the credited guides for alternate paths and additional collectibles.
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