Ice Cavern dungeon walkthrough in Ocarina of Time

The Ice Cavern is a shorter dungeon in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, but it's a necessary one. The Zora Domain and its surrounding areas have been covered in ice, but you need to reach the end of this icy cave to retrieve the Iron Boots. To get through the Ice Cavern, you'll need to defeat freezing enemies, collect ice crystals, push ice blocks, and defeat a furry foe all while looking out for falling stalactites. Here's how to complete the Ice Cavern dungeon in Ocarina of Time remake. Part 1: Finding the dungeon map Before you start sliding into the icy dungeon, we recommend putting on headphones or increasing your volume, as there are a lot of deadly ice stalactites that might fall on you. One of the easiest ways to avoid them is to listen for the crunchy noises that they make just before they fall. Additionally, you'll need an empty bottle. The more you have, the better, but for the sake of this guide, we'll imagine you only have one empty bottle available. Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon Shuffle into the Ice Cavern, watch out for stalactites, and slash your way through the stalagmites. Toward the end of the path, you'll encounter a few Freezards. They have an icy breath that will freeze you if you get hit, so wait for them to finish breathing before you start attacking them. You can also use your Hookshot on them to quickly get into close range. For the Blade Traps, try to get the Freezards to breathe on them, which will stop them in place. After you've dealt with all the Freezards, the way ahead will be unlocked. Graphic: Johnny Yu/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon In the next room, you'll need to collect five ice crystals in order to proceed. Break the stalagmites on your left and collect the first crystal. Then, turn to the southern wall and look up to find a Gold Skulltula. Use your Hookshot to retrieve its token. Collect the three ice crystals in the middle of the room, but don't try to jump over the spinning fan. Instead, walk with the blades and jump when you're under the crystals. Then, climb up the stairs, wait for the ice blade to pass, and jump for the floating ice crystal. Now, you should have all five crystals, and the gate will unlock. Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon Head into the next room, and you'll see a bunch of frozen platforms. There is a Freezard on one of the platforms, and they're just waiting for you to climb up. Climb up to their platform, and quickly run behind the Freezard before it freezes you. Then, take it out with a few swings. There are also a few Ice Keese flying around. Either wait for them to swoop down at you or use your bow to take them out. Lastly, Freezards will spawn on the ground, so be careful if you fall, as there are quite a few down there. Graphic: Johnny Yu/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon Jump up to the last platform, where you'll find an ice stalagmite in front of red ice blocks. Break the stalagmite, and blue fire will melt the red ice away. Take out an empty bottle, and collect some of the blue fire. We recommend using as many empty bottles as you can. Continue along the path, and you'll find a Freezard and a chest encased in red ice. Take out the Freezard, and then use the blue fire to melt the red ice. Open the chest to get the dungeon map, and make sure to refill your bottle with blue fire before you go. Part 2: Finding the compass Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon Head back to the previous room with the rotating blade. There are two chunks of red ice: one to your left and one to your right. First, head to the ice on your left, but be careful of the pots, as they're actually Flying Pots that will charge straight at you. Block them with your shield, and then melt the red ice. Follow the path ahead, and make the Freezard freeze the Blade Trap. From here, you can either bait the Freezard to freeze the second Blade Trap, or you can defeat them and try to quickly roll past the trap. Once you get past, you'll enter a room with red ice, a chest, and another source of blue fire, but be careful of the Ice Keese hiding behind the stalagmites. Break the stalagmites in front of the blue fire, defeat the Ice Keese, and bottle some fire. Use the fire to melt the red ice, and you'll find two pots with blue rupees and fairy thoughts scribbled onto the wall. The fairy will wish to feel the sun, so play the Sun's Song by the markings, and your health and magic will be fully restored. Don't forget to refill your bottle with blue fire! Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon Break the stalagmites in front of the chest, defeat the Ice Keese, and open it to find the compass. Turn around, and you'll see a Gold Skulltula on the wall. Use your Hookshot to get its token. Part 3: Getting the Iron Boots Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon Return to the room with the rotating ice blade, and melt the red ice on the lower level. Follow the path through the stalagmites, but be careful of the falling stalactites. Take out the Ice Keese, and step onto the large frozen platform. Turn around and look at the wall to find a Gold Skulltula. Waddle up to the edge, and use your Hookshot to retrieve it. Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon In this room, you'll need to collect five ice crystals again to unlock the door. Four of the crystals are on top of the pillars in the center of the room. The last crystal is encased in red ice on the north side of the room. Collect the crystal on the lowest pillar. For the remaining crystals, you'll need to push the square ice block around the room, and use it as a stepping stone to reach the others. To collect the rest of the crystals, push the ice block in these directions: south, west, north, and then east. Don't forget to climb onto the pillars and collect the crystals before you push the block again. Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon Now, push the ice block to the west, south, and west again. The ice block should end up just below the blue fire. Before you climb up, shuffle a bit to the north, and you'll see a familiar symbol on the wall. This symbol can be found at the Temple of Time and on the time cubes in the other dungeons. Play the Song of Time (A - L - R - A - L - R) and a bridge will appear. Climb up the ice block, collect some blue fire in a bottle, and cross the bridge to the chest. Open it to get a red rupee. Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon Drop down and just push the ice block off the edge. It'll respawn in its original position. Now, push the ice block west and then north. The ice block should be just below the red ice. Climb up, melt the ice, and collect the crystal, which should open the door to the south. Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon Drop down and shove the ice block off the edge again. You'll need to repeat the original four directions (south, west, north, and east), but then you'll need to finish it off with one shove to the south. This will put the ice block just below the open doorway. Climb up and head inside. Go up the steps to the left, but be careful of the stalactites at the top. Bottle up some blue fire, and then defeat the Freezard to the south. Climb up, and there will be another Freezard waiting for you. Wait out its icy breath, and then defeat it. Use your blue fire to melt the red ice, and then head through the door. Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon In this room, you'll face off against a White Wolfos, which are like their regular Wolfos counterparts, but if you get hit by their attacks, you'll freeze. Backflip just before they swing so that they miss both their attacks, and they'll spin around, leaving their back open to attacks. After you defeat them, open the chest to get Iron Boots. A cutscene with Sheik will start immediately after, and Sheik will tell you that Princess Ruto has fled to the Water Temple. Sheik will also teach you the Serenade of Water (L - R - A - A - Y), which can be used to teleport to the Water Temple's grounds in Lake Hylia. Follow the path to the south, and bottle some blue fire, which you'll need to melt King Zora. Then, open the Equipment menu, and put on the Iron Boots. After you equip them, you can quickly take them off or put them back on by pressing Down on the D-pad. Walk into the water and you'll sink to the bottom. Walk out and you'll end up back at Zora Fountain, but don't forget to take off the boots to get back to the surface.