The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time features multiple interesting locations, and the nature of the franchise means that these locations tend to reappear in other games, often with a slightly different appearance. While it's not the first game to feature the Lost Woods, Ocarina of Time is a pivotal game for this location. It not only brings back the direction puzzles in the Lost Woods from old Zelda games, it expands on the lore of these woods, which is an element that then changes from game to game moving forward.

In Ocarina of Time, the Lost Woods serve as a way to connect Kokiri Forest to the Sacred Forest Meadow, and therefore the Forest Temple. This position is important for various reasons, with the primary one being protection for the temple, and Zelda games following Ocarina of Time continue to give the Lost Woods an important purpose, even if the exact details of that purpose change. With the peaceful background music playing in this area, it's easy to miss how creepy it actually is.

Zelda's Lost Woods Are Far From Innocuous

They're Meant To Be A Trap

While it's not the case for every game, the Lost Woods act as protection for the Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time. However, having a noble cause doesn't mean that the methods the Lost Woods uses to keep people away from the temple are noble as well. Instead, the Lost Woods could be considered a bit brutal, since they misdirect visitors until they're lost and trapped within the woods, rather than continuously circling them back to the entrance of the woods. Unwelcome people who enter aren't meant to leave the Lost Woods.

What Happens To People In The Lost Woods

The Fate Of The Trapped

The Graveyard Boy in Ocarina of Time is the perfect example of what happens to kids who enter the Lost Woods and end up trapped within them. Since only Kokiri and Link - led by Navi - are able to enter the Lost Woods and return safely, non-fairy beings like the Graveyard Boy fall into its trap and turn into Skull Kids. While the Graveyard Boy's fate was confirmed in an old interview, the general origin of Skull Kids is brought up by Navi when Link comes across one, as she wonders if that's what happens to kids who get lost there.

Meanwhile, adults who get trapped in the Lost Woods turn into Stalfos, which is revealed in a line of dialogue from Fado, who says that all the people who aren't Kokiri that enter the Lost Woods become Stalfos. This has led to theories that the Lost Woods is a cursed location, and the circumstances make that seem like a possibility. At the same time, the Lost Woods acts as a way to keep the wrong people from accessing the Forest Temple in OoT, and the Master Sword in games like Twilight Princess, which is a rather sacred duty.

Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Can Be Surprisingly Dark

The Lost Woods Aren't The Only Dangerous Place

Like many Zelda games, Ocarina of Time contains a fair amount of dark content, especially when it comes to the history of various locations. There's even a missing person problem in Ocarina of Time, where several NPCs who were present in Castle Town before Link is sealed in the Sacred Realm are never seen again throughout the game after he returns to Hyrule. Even Hyrule Field is rather eerie, as creatures emerge from the ground at night and attack anybody trying to travel across the area.

Other elements that are rather dark in OoT include the Great Deku Tree's death, Jabu-Jabu vanishing, Hylians turning against their own king to help Ganondorf's coup, the Poe Collector, and how Sages essentially die in order to fulfill their roles. Then, there's the Shadow Temple, which says that it contains the bloody history of Hyrule. Although the Royal Family has a benevolent reputation, it's hard to rule a kingdom without a group behind the scenes taking care of unsavory jobs, and it seems like Hyrule is no exception in this case.

The Lost Woods can be a frustrating section of the game, especially when it feels like every path sends Link back to the entrance.

The Lost Woods can be a frustrating section of the game, especially when it feels like every path sends Link back to the entrance, but the music is fun and the scenery is rather peaceful. However, the way that the Lost Woods act as a trap to protect the Forest Temple, and turn those who are lost into monsters, is surprisingly dark. Whether it's a cursed location or secretly sacred, the Lost Woods is a truly terrifying place in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.