A Disappointing Maze – Why The Gerudo Training Grounds is Ocarina of Time’s Most Underwhelming Optional Dungeon
Posted on May 24 2019 by Charles Xavier
The Zelda series is rich with memorable side quests that bring us joy; Anju’s Anguish from Majora’s Mask, From the Ground Up from Breath of The Wild, and The Biggoron Sword Trading Sequence from Ocarina of Time are only a few that come to mind. We remember these side quests fondly because they had a worthwhile payoff, whether it was a cool item by the time we completed them, or by virtue of remarkable narrative depth and character interaction. But then there is the Gerudo Training Grounds, which is a distinct side quest for all the wrong reasons.
My earliest memory of taking control of Link in Ocarina of Time was on a save file that my father was playing; he already completed the main quest and was tackling all the game’s side quests. During that pursuit, one evening he saved the game inside the Gerudo Training Grounds, so the next day when he went to work, I finally got enough courage to play the game by myself. So, my first solo experience with Ocarina of Time was spent running around the Gerudo Training Grounds without a clue about what I was doing, but that didn’t make it any less fun!
“If you desire to acquire our hidden treasure, you must strive to obtain the keys hidden in each chamber!”
Having the right amount of keys is the goal of the Gerudo Training Grounds; I obtained some keys in my playthrough but ended up with too few. I backtracked to the rooms I completed and searched them for any keys I may have missed with no luck. So I gave up, left the mini-dungeon, mounted Epona, and rode her around Hyrule Field instead. (I’m sure my Dad was puzzled when he restarted the game in the Temple of Time, rather than in the Gerudo Training Grounds)
A few years later, when my video game skills improved, I completed the main quest of Ocarina of Time on my own, leaving me with only a few remaining side quests. One of those was the Gerudo Training Grounds. I was quite excited to finally complete the mini-dungeon that had stumped me years before! The introductory message to the training ground drew me in, with its promise of offering a reward for my completion of this mini-dungeon.
“If you can overcome the trials in the chambers ahead, then and only then will you be qualified to hold our secret treasure!”
Each room thereafter similarly has a message when Link first enters it, usually offering hints on what must be done to get its key and to unlock the door to progress deeper into the area. Most of the rooms are straightforward enough – kill enemies within a time limit, collect all the Silver Rupees, hit each of the eyes of a statue, etc… – but I found that once all the easy challenges were complete and the keys in those rooms were found, Link was still missing keys! It was like after the years of clawing my way through other games, feeling like I had improved as a gamer, were for naught, because I was still having issues with the mini-dungeon from one of my first experiences of playing a game by myself – it was so frustrating!
“Without the necessary items, one will be confounded by impossible mysteries.”
This message from one room of the Gerudo Training Grounds is a prevalent aspect of the mini-dungeon. To obtain the minimum amount of keys to reach the areas prize, Link must have the Megaton Hammer, Longshot, Lens of Truth, Iron Boots, and the Silver Gauntlets, out of necessity; otherwise, he will always be short of keys. To avoid headaches, it’s best to complete all the primary dungeons and mini-dungeons of the game first, saving the Gerudo Training Grounds as a late-game challenge.
However, even with all the necessary items, finding some keys was still difficult. Particularly, the keys involving the Lens of Truth, because they are hidden in places with no clear hints indicating Link should investigate those obscure areas. It was out of pure desperation that led me to check every room with the Lens of Truth on – there was no longer that methodical approach I was going by either. This was one of the only times in a Zelda game where I did a lot of pointless stuff, like running alongside the walls and hitting them with the Master Sword (what that would accomplish is lost on me too, but it was something I did). Having a Map and Compass could have helped with making those keys easier to find, but the mini-dungeon offers you no such assistance. All it would have taken to fix the chests involving the Lens of Truth would have been better clues to help find them, maybe by placing one of those face paintings from the Shadow Temple near the areas where the false walls leading to the chests are? I’ll grant that in one room there was a fake door beneath a false wall, the fake door might be considered the cue there, although it wasn’t very effective. The fact is, I thought those puzzles involving the Lens of Truth were poorly designed.
Aside from that, the mini-dungeon is decent, but nothing too memorable. Each room feels disjointed, despite 10 out of the 11 rooms being connected in a loop. The best way to explain it is that the rooms feel like a mash-up of different environmental challenges, but there is no overall direction that was trying to be adhered to besides maintaining an aesthetic (giving the Training Grounds a theme would be the simplest solution to that issue). It is an underbaked mini-dungeon, and honestly, it feels inexcusable, regardless of it only being optional. Maybe if it was available to complete sooner in the game, its mediocre design could have gotten a pass. There is only one thing the Gerudo Training Grounds completely nailed, and that’s its implementation of ways to use all the items Link earns in the latter half of the game; yet, that isn’t enough to redeem the area, with even its grand prize falling short of making it worthwhile.
“Sometimes patience is the key to victory. Sometimes, it leads to very little. It seems like it’s not worth it, and you wonder, why you waited so long for something so disappointing.” – Captain America
Disappointment, unfortunately, is all the Gerudo Training Grounds have to offer. The prize of the mini-dungeon itself, the Ice Arrow, is the embodiment of disappointment – it is a nearly useless item! After all the trouble this maze caused me, I thought the prize would be something really cool. When I got the Ice Arrow, at first it seemed like it would be a cool item; however, after freezing a few enemies, it became clear that the Ice Arrow was pointless to have so late in the game – especially considering by then Link has more than enough hearts to never worry about enemy attacks. My imagination definitely got the better of me in this case; the payoff here was not worth the hassle in the end.
Anticipation failing to meet expectations is the root of the problem with the Gerudo Training Grounds, and I think nothing could have been done to change that. Because the mini-dungeon comes along so late in the game, even if it offered a worthwhile item, there would barely be enough of the game left to get enjoyment out of using it. As a late-game challenge, the Gerudo Training Grounds should have been more complex, with each room’s difficulty building upon the previous room, adding a mini-boss as the climax of the mini-dungeon. In retrospect, I wish I could say those things would have made a difference. Realistically, it may have only given a false sense of hope that the prize would be worth it, making the mini-dungeon even worse, leaving behind a bittersweet taste likely fueling stronger resentments toward it.
Ocarina of Time had such good content all around, that it was probably hard for most players to enter the Gerudo Training Grounds without high expectations. With that in mind, I consider it a win being able to walk away from the mini-dungeon feeling like it had decent aspects. While the area could largely be improved, its mediocrity is a blessing because not much should be expected from the Gerudo Training Grounds to begin with. I guess Ocarina of Time had to drop the ball somewhere, I’m glad it did it with only a mini-dungeon and didn’t force the Gerudo Training Grounds onto the players.
Charles is an Editor at Zelda Dungeon. He enjoys Skittles immensely. He loves playing video games, reading books, and creating art. He is a massive Lord of The Rings, Star Wars, and Marvel fan.
Charles is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. He is a Visual Development artist focused on enviroments and pitch paintings. Check out his Instagram and Twitter to see his latest artworks, a lot of which is Zelda fan art! His favorite candy is Skittles – he feels the world should know this.
