For boss and miniboss strategies, see the pages for Ook and Diababa.
By doing a jump attack to pass above the loading zone leading out of the dungeon, it is possible to reach beyond the edge of the wall and void out without landing on the loading zone. As a result, we can perform Back in Time (BiT) off this void right after saving in Forest Temple; from there, performing Back in Time Equipped (BiTE) and loading a valid save can be used to set Early Boss Fights (EBF) to get to Ook early.
It can be tricky to find the correct positioning for the jump attack at first, so it is recommended to start off by learning the position setup (video below). Once you are used to the position setup, you may find it easier to recognize visual cues on the wall for a setupless jump attack into the void. Voiding out is also possible with a sidehop, but this is not used commonly.
This video goes over a position setup for the out of bounds jump attack. It also goes over the item wheel buffer method, which is slightly slower and arguably more difficult than the save prompt buffer method in the next video shown below. The save prompt buffer method is recommended for almost all cases and can still be used in conjunction with the position setup shown in this video. The only case in which the item wheel buffer is faster than the save prompt buffer is in a route that loads an existing Forest Temple save for the express purpose of performing Back in Time and thus does not need to make another save in Forest Temple.
Because BiT is a frame perfect trick, it is helpful to buffer it when possible. In most cases, performing BiT in Forest Temple is done to set EBF before reloading a Forest Temple save, so saving in Forest Temple before performing BiT is required. Thus, saving and then using the save prompt to buffer BiT as shown in the video below is optimal, as it requires no extra menuing. The positioning needed for the jump attack out of bounds is the same regardless of buffer method used, so refer to the video above for a position setup if needed.
FRAME DATA:
Unfortunately, if you pause on the incorrect frame, you cannot simply close the menu and attempt to open the item wheel to use as a backup buffer, as there's a large delay after closing the menu before you can pause again. This means backing up incorrect pause frames requires different reset timings.
FIRST CORRECT FRAME (Second possible pause frame of the jump attack, shown in the video above):
SECOND CORRECT FRAME (Third possible pause frame of the jump attack, 1 frame after the pause shown in this video, sword at a 45 degree angle from the left):
Without a slingshot, boomerang, or bombs, the best way to get through the first room is by throwing a deku nut at one or both of the walltulas.
With good RNG, it is possible to skip killing one or both of the walltulas, but the likelihood of being able to skip both is very low.
Please note there is a faster way to get the Boomerang by using Early Monkeys
Go to the area that would be your path back from Ook. Get on the edge of near the first rotating platform and cue Midna (and exit out of her text box) to switch the wind and have the bridge turn. As it is turning towards you, walk forward to clip into the bridge's railing. Cue Midna to turn the bridge again, jump forward and use a jumpslash to land on the second bridge. You should have a clear path to the area of land with the fifth monkey.
Note: Although standing at the left, right, or middle of the platform before the first rotating bridge will work for clipping, the timing for standing in the middle is the most forgiving.
For the second pair of rotating bridges, head to the edge of the first bridge, position yourself towards the right corner (GCN, or left on Wii) at a 45 degree angle and wait for the wind to turn. Just after the first railing of the bridge passes you, jump to clip into the second bridge. A well timed sidehop will also work for this.
Climb on to the ledge next to the stairs, and line yourself up with the the fencepole between you and the ledge past the fence. Roll forward, and continue holding forward. Link should roll off the pole and directly on to the ledge.
You can also LJA past the fence by targeting the vines above the platform.
Using the Gale Boomerang, LJA over to the monkey tree. Climb the left side of the tree using jump slashes, and then use another LJA to jump to the door. Please note there are various different ways to target to LJA to boss door
To skip killing the first Deku Like, jump off the ledge on the left side (GCN) angled slightly to the left. Link will be swallowed by the Deku Like if he doesn't jump from the right place.
Similar to the method above, throw the boomerang with the bombling then manually roll / jump across the gap immediately after. The Deku Like will be stunned by the boomerang, so Link will not get swallowed.
Jump attacking onto the platform is 0.67s faster than climbing.
[Video]
Comparison video of Method 1 v Method 2
In 100% after exiting the room with the first heart piece you can use the boomerang with some clever targets to bring a bombling from the ledge to your right down to the bottom where you can then kill the deku like.
Note: Don't stand too close to the wall or the bombling might blow up on the wall
You can also boomerang the bombling from the ground floor as a backup.
An alternative method which only loses 1-3s depending on how fast you aim with the boomerang is to distract the Deku Like with a pot.
The fastest way to kill the giant skulltulas varies depending on whether you have the Master Sword or not. With it, a single spin attack should suffice. Without it, simply add in a jumpslash before the spin attack. Note that if the spin attack does not hit twice, the skulltula will survive.
Roll to the side of the skulltula. You can normally grab the ledge and pull yourself up, but you can add a jumpslash at the end to save time.
(Pillar – Vid required)
(Glitchless version here, or link to the main trick?)
Knock down chest with key, light the torches [Video]
The major Deku Baba can be defeated by using jumpslashes when it is rearing up to attack. After it is defeated, jumpslash at one of the bomblings before the cutscene, as fuses do not move during cutscenes. Finally, once the bombling is in the base's mouth, push yourself up against the north side of the Deku Base, on the leaf. Once it dies, you can grab the small key without moving.
If you have the boomerang early, after it is defeated you can boomerang a bombling before the cutscene and stand in a specific spot next to the base to have the base eat the bombling during the cutscene. You can then boomerang the key after it dies and go to the door before it reaches Link.
Boomerang the propeller above the door three times, moving closer to the door each time. Targeting the propeller for the final throw will prevent the boomerang from returning to Link’s hand, thus skipping the put-away animation at the door.
If you stand near the bridge before throwing the boomerang at the cage, you will be outside the Midna text trigger. Avoiding the text here means a trigger will be present at the 6th and 7th monkeys however, so to skip the text completely those triggers must also be avoided.
Boomerang the bridges and the spiders. LJA to Bokoblin. Allow the gale to stun him upon returning to skip killing him. [Video]
Jump into the water and grab the platform the deku like is on to pull yourself up. Now when Link pulls himself up onto it, he will experience a few frames after his "climbing onto the platform" animation where he stands up completely before falling back into the water. The first visual frame that you see Link stand up, hold the control stick towards the small key chest and mash A. When done correctly, you will jump to the platform every time.
Note: The front left corner of the deku like platform (the lightest one nearest the chest) will give you the best position relative to the chest and the longest jump. Also, remember not to continue to hold forward on the control stick after you have jumped to avoid rolling past or into the chest after hitting the platform.
While a rolljump is recommended, it is also possible to skip the Deku Like with a sidehop from the small ledge, or a backflip. [Video]
After the boulder at the top of the vines is destroyed, bring the bombling over to you. Set it down, the aim at the roof of the area with the boomerang, then lock (with the same throw) just above the area containing the monkey. Release the boomerang, and the bombling should hit the wall and just barely blow up the rock.
Drop down the first set of vines, and draw your sword. Jump towards the first bridge, adding in a jumpslash to make the jump.
It is also possible, but very precise, to make this jump without a jumpslash.
Burn the right web [GCN] and drop down with a jumpspin to break the cage. After the cutscene, jump to the vines and climb back up.
[Video]
Note that if you’ve skipped Midna text up to this point, there will be a Midna textbox after the cutscene. This text can also be skipped with the methods below:
Open up the holes to your left and right (on Wii, this room is skipped on GCN), and then line yourself pretty much directly opposite with the door. Aim down the hole, and try to find something you can lock onto (yellow revolving cursor). Lock on, and the boomerang should bring up a bombling. Drop it down the other hole, it will blow up the cage. Please note that you must be very precise to find the bombling.
Burn only the right web [Wii], and align yourself much in the same way. After you lock and throw the boomerang, quickly roll over to the hole where you would normally fall down and stand on the opposite side of it. The boomerang should bring the bombling back and hit the cage on its way through, destroying it. As with Paraxade's method, precision is necessary.
On Gamecube, as you cannot roll as quickly after throwing the boomerang, target an extra time so it takes longer to return and gives you time to get to the other web.
As you enter the room, there is a tile worm just in front of you to your left. Walk onto the left side of it. It will boost you up onto the upper platform. Jump across to the other platform. Roll right next to the hanging deku baba, pull out the Boomerang, target both fans, throw, and roll away. Try to jump back to the tile worm area. The monkey will be free, and you are very close to the door.
Rolling before the cutscene where the monkeys form your swing across allows you to get close enough to get across the very first time they come back to your side. If you miss the roll, you must wait for them to do an additional swing. The window for this is two frames.
[Video]
Using a very precise Jumpstrike moonboots bomb boost it is possible to get onto the propellor towers, and in an individual level speedrun context obtain the Big Key without needing the boomerang.
Stand in the corner of the raised plank, at approximately a 45 degree angle, and place a bomb.
Move onto the raised plank, put on iron boots, and charge jumpstrike
After the sixth bomb flash, release jumpstrike. (There is a three frame window for releasing jumpstrike. This video demonstrates the middle frame, where the bomb is black after the sixth flash. The frames on either side of this also work, where the bomb is a pale pink. Note however that this video buffers the release of jumpstrike with the item wheel to see the correct frame, so unbuffered you would have to release the A button slightly earlier to account for input delay).
Force unequip iron boots for moonboots on the frame shown. This moonboots is frame perfect, as you need the maximum jumpstrike height.
Once on the post, navigate along the wooden towers and down to the big key. Pulling a bomb makes it easier to run smoothly to the chest without bonking from an autoroll, but can also assist in escaping the area with a death warp.
Originally found with backslice moonboots: here
pokemongenius' jumpstrike video: here
Using extremely precise bomb boosts, one with moonboots and one with a jumpslash, it's possible to skip turning the bridge, and progress without the use of the gale boomerang, thus skipping its requirement for the Any% IL.
Killing either Bokoblin at the start removes the cutscene trigger when first landing on the bridge, and a single arrow shot on the left [GCN] Bokoblin is enough to lure it off the bridge.
First, get onto the bridge.
The fence on the right side is lower than the left, so a jumpstrike alone is enough to get on top. Mash B for a jumpslash as you land, as if you slip off after landing a jumpslash will put you right back onto the fence. The simply roll along the very wide fence collision and jump onto the bridge
Second, the jumpslash bomb boost
Pull a bomb as soon as you land on the bridge
Run to the left side at the very edge of the bridge, and aim at the corner of the plank (the surviving Bokoblin won't chase you)
After the 5th bomb flash, run off from the very corner, and while holding target press B to both drop the bomb behind you and jumpslash
There are multiple working jump and jumpslash frames for this boost, but the frame you need to drop the bomb and jumpslash to successfully boost depends on when you jump. The range for jumping, and jumpslash frames, gets smaller the worse the angle of your jump is towards the plank where you aim to land. With a good angle:
Jump frames outside of this range may be possible with perfect angle/position and a frame perfect jumpslash.
The boosts shown in the demonstration video below are a 22f jump with an 8th frame jumpslash in full sequence, then short clips of a 24f jump with a 10th frame jumpslash, and a 19f jump with a 7th frame jumpslash, to demonstrate the outer ranges of the trick.
Original discovery video by chrisisawesome: here
The bomb boost is also possible on the right side of the bridge, however it's more awkward due to Link holding the bomb on his left: video
First, jumpstrike moonboots onto the fence.
This has two working moonboots frames. The first frame (shown in the first clip below) is extremely lenient on position and angle due to the extreme height you get from this moonboots frame. Second frame can also work (shown in the second clip) however requires much more precision in position and angle, as the height gain isn't as significant. Mash B for a jumpslash as you land, as if you slip off after landing a jumpslash will put you right back onto the fence.
Second, the jumpstrike moonboots bomb boost.
The jumpstrike release is frame perfect, and unfortunately the exact bomb frame to release is very difficult to distinguish from neighbouring frames, as it's around the brightest part of the bomb flash. Note that in both clips I buffer the release with the item wheel, so unbuffered would require releasing jumpstrike a few frames earlier than the bomb frame shown when paused, to account for the input delay. The moonboots is also frame perfect, on the first moonboots jumpstrike frame, as this is the only frame that gives height to completely clear the sides of the bridge.
If all is done correctly, you'll be boosted forward and barely land on the wooden beam. A frame too early or late and you'll get a bomb boost forward but not land on the beam. Earlier or later and you can avoid being hit by the bomb completely.
With early Clawshot, you can clawshot to the vines before the boss door to skip the monkeys