ocarina of time ice cavern: a love letter

The Ice Cavern.

small, twinkly, isolated, tucked away in a small
alcove in zora's fountain.





zora's fountain has completely frozen over, a curse
cast upon it by MORPHA of the Water Temple.
the only way to reach the Ice Cavern is by leaping
across giant, slippery ice caps that shift with your
weight, making it difficult to get across.



inside the cave is pure magic. you're immediately
greeted by shiny icicles that out to get you. they
block the way, they fall from the ceiling.. but
they're smashable and make the most SATISFYING shattering sounds!

the next thing you'll notice is all the beautiful
sounds, textures, and colours. snow softly crunching
beneath your feet, twinkling chimes, blue hues that
glow and sparkle.


these surfaces are icey, so you slip and slide on them!

a lot of people say this place makes them feel lonely,
but i always found it really comforting. probably
because as a kid all i cared about was shimmery stuff,
lol




the ice cavern is considered a mini dungeon so it's
short n sweet, but still has a couple lil enemies &
puzzles. freezards and ice keese, both of which will
freeze your ass if you get hit by them,
a spinning ice scythe that will cut your ass, and a
blade spinner that will also cut your ass.
just accept that your ass is
grass in here.



some of the doors & treasures are blocked by RED ICE, so one of the challenges is finding BLUE FIRE to collect and melt the ice with!

   

the last room is the most beautiful, and my favourite
in all of Oot!
crystals and starry walls line the whole area. it feels
otherwordly, and what i imagine another dimension feels like.
as a child, i would just stare at this room for
hours. there's nothing else like it.

the final mini-boss fight is a little white
wolfos.


sorry lil guy..



once you defeat the wolfos, you unlock the IRON BOOTS.
that's not all, though.. an old friend is here.
sheik warns us about the evil lurking in the water
temple, teaches us the SERENADE OF WATER, and imparts wisdom on us, just before she disappears again..



Time passes, people move.... Like a river's flow, it never ends... A childish mind will turn to noble ambition... Young love will become deep affection... The clear water's surface reflects growth...