Welcome to Part 8 of our 100% Walkthrough of Zelda Ocarina of Time Remake. With every bomb grotto cleared out, it's time to go after the third and last Spiritual Stone. This part takes you up Zora River to Zora's Domain, the home of the Zoras, and then through an underwater shortcut to Lake Hylia.
Along the way, you buy your first Magic Beans, glide to two Heart Pieces with a Cucco, win the Silver Scale in the diving minigame and light a chain of torches for another Heart Piece. At the bottom of Lake Hylia you find your fourth Empty Bottle with a letter from Princess Ruto inside, and before leaving the lake you make up your own Scarecrow's Song and catch a big fish for one more Heart Piece.
You also pick up four more Gold Skulltulas, two of them hidden in soft soil.
Quick preparation
Before heading to Zora River, there are a few things I recommend doing in preparation. First, make sure you have a bug in two of your bottles, since there are two patches of soft soil in this part. As always, the plants next to the entrance of Kakariko Village are the best place to find them.
You will also want a few Deku Sticks for a torch puzzle in Zora's Domain and around 100 rupees for the beans and the minigames. Don't spend more than you need to, since the Great Fairy in the next part asks for another 100.
Zora River
Once you're ready, head to the entrance of Kakariko Village in Hyrule Field, but instead of going up the stairs, follow the river to the east until you reach a group of boulders blocking the way. Destroy them with a bomb and go through to reach Zora River.
As soon as you arrive, you will see the Bean Seller sitting next to a sealed gate. Talk to him and buy two Magic Beans. The first one costs 10 rupees and each one after that costs 10 more than the last, so 30 rupees for the two. He sells 10 in total, but two is all you need for now.
Right next to the Bean Seller there is a patch of soft soil with butterflies around it. Plant a bug in it to get a Gold Skulltula (27/100).
Then, in that same patch of soil, plant your first Magic Bean (1/10). It will grow into a plant that you can ride as an adult, and this one will take you to another Gold Skulltula later on.
A little further up the river, look for an alcove on the left bank with a group of frogs sitting on a log. Stand in front of them and play Zelda's Lullaby, Epona's Song, Saria's Song and the Sun's Song, one after the other. Each song makes one of the frogs grow and pays out 50 rupees. These frogs also hold two Heart Pieces, but they need songs you don't have yet, so you will come back to them later.
Next, you are going to need a Cucco, since both Heart Pieces in this area are reached by gliding. Head back to the Bean Seller and grab the Cucco from behind the sealed gate. Carry it upriver until you cross the water with the enemies, just past the frogs. Here, look right towards the middle of the river and glide to the path with some vines you can climb. Climb the vines to the top of the island.
At the top, look right and you will find a boulder sitting in some ruins. Destroy it with a bomb to reveal a grotto with a fairy fountain inside. If you have a spare bottle, catch a fairy. Just make sure you keep one bug for later.
Next, head left at the top of the vines you just climbed to find a second grotto. Inside you will find a chest with a Business Scrub Seed and another Cucco.
Pick up that Cucco and carry it over to the narrow platform with the Sheikah Stone. From there, glide left to the high platform above the frogs to find a Heart Piece (13/36).
Now grab the Cucco again and carry it almost all the way to the eastern end of the area. At the end of the upper path that goes north, glide northwest to the small platform with another Heart Piece (14/36).
From the platform where the Heart Piece was, play the Sun's Song to make it nighttime if it isn't already. Then look down towards the middle of the area to see a platform with some vines on the side. Glide down to it and go around the left side of it to find a Gold Skulltula (28/100).
Zora's Domain
Next, head east up to the plaque by the waterfall, stand in front of it and play Zelda's Lullaby. The water will part, allowing you to jump through into Zora's Domain.
Inside, follow the path up to the very top to find King Zora. He will tell you that his daughter, Princess Ruto, is missing. There isn't much more you can do with him for now, so take the left path next to his chamber that leads to the top of the waterfall inside the Domain.
At the top of the waterfall, talk to the Zora and agree to play his diving minigame. He will throw five scales into the pool below, and you have 40 seconds to dive down and collect them all (hold A to dive). After collecting them, head back up and talk to him again to get the Silver Scale, which allows you to dive deeper.
It's worth mentioning that the Silver Scale also opens a shortcut: the deep pool just outside the entrance of Zora's Domain, back in Zora River, will take you straight to the Lost Woods.
Before leaving Zora's Domain, there is a Heart Piece to grab. Head back to King Zora and use one of the lit torches next to him to light a Deku Stick. Then turn around and head down the stairs, lighting the torch on your left. At the bottom of the stairs, light the next torch and head left towards the shop. At the shop, head left and down the stairs, lighting any unlit torches along the way. At the bottom, head behind the waterfall on your right and light the final two torches to make a chest with a Heart Piece (15/36) appear.
If your stick is about to burn out, press B to put it away and then light it again at the last torch you lit.
There is also a shop here in Zora's Domain. You don't need anything from it right now, but it's worth knowing that it sells fish, since you will need one in the next part (you can also catch one for free in the shallow water).
Lake Hylia
Now for the shortcut to Lake Hylia. Jump into the main pool at the bottom of Zora's Domain where you played the minigame for the Silver Scale and dive through the small hole in the wall underwater. You will come out the other side in Lake Hylia.
As soon as you arrive, look down to see something glinting at the bottom of the lake, right next to where you came out (just follow the bubbles). Dive down and pick it up to get another Empty Bottle (4/5). This one has Ruto's Letter inside, so you won't be able to use the bottle until you show the letter to King Zora in the next part.
Next, swim to the northeastern shore and head to the Observatory. Just outside it you will find a patch of soft soil. Plant a bug in it to get a Gold Skulltula (29/100), and then plant your second Magic Bean (2/10) in the same patch.
Next, head to the scarecrow on the shore to the east. Talk to him, then take out your ocarina in front of him and make up a song by playing any 8 notes (just make sure you use at least two different notes). Write the song down or keep it as simple as possible, since you will have to play the exact same notes to him as an adult to learn the Scarecrow's Song.
From the Observatory, follow the path with the rope bridges out towards the island. Along the way you will find the owl sitting next to a gravestone. Pull the gravestone back and drop into the hole below it. Inside you will find four torches. Use Din's Fire to light them and a chest with a red rupee will appear.
Next up is a Gold Skulltula in a spot that is new to the remake. Follow the shoreline around to the southern tip of the lake and look for a low stone doorway on the smallest ledge. Go through the tunnel behind it to find a Gold Skulltula (30/100) at the end.
As a small bonus, on the larger, long landmass to the north you can find some pots with 10 rupees and a fairy in them.
Finally, head to the Fishing Pond, the building on the other side of the water from the scarecrows. Inside, pay the man 10 rupees, then head to the pond and look for a large fish. Cast close to it and give the line a few small tugs to get its attention until it bites. After that, move the left analog stick in the same direction the fish is swimming until it stops. Then hold ZR again to reel it in. Repeat this until you catch it. As a child, you need to catch any fish over 50cm. Once you do, show it to the man at the counter to get a Heart Piece (16/36).
That's pretty much everything you can do in Lake Hylia for now. There are a few more Gold Skulltulas here that only come out at night, but they all need an item you will get in the next part, so you will come back for those.
With that said, make sure you have at least 100 rupees and a few Deku Nuts, then dive back through the underwater tunnel next to the columns close to the northern shore to return to Zora's Domain. It's time to show Ruto's Letter to King Zora and agree to help. He will then (slowly) move out of the way and allow you to reach Zora's Fountain.
