The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo 64 This game has a notes page This game has a prototype article This game has a bugs page This game has a prerelease article

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the 3D adventure game featuring Link saving Zelda from the clutches of evil Ganondorf... HEY! LISTEN!

Debug ROM

The greatest find probably has to be the Debug ROM of Ocarina of Time. It's based on Master Quest (thus features the harder dungeons), but has all debugging features the developers used built in. It's filled with debug options and test maps and certainly allows for very extensive options. The Debug ROM makes use of all four controllers and on top of that uses the Memory Pak (to store cutscene data).

Several patches are available for the Debug ROM. One patch translates the entire Debug ROM into English. Another patch allows room 120 to be accessed. They can be found circulating on the Internet, pre-patched ROMs are also occasionally found. In the Debug ROM, all files are uncompressed, which explains its large size and the easiness to alter it.

Map Select

The Map Select allows you to go to any area in the game. It automatically appears if you select the first save file, you can also use the button combination L+R+Z to access it from anywhere within the game.

In the Map Select, the following controls are used:

• D-Pad up/down is used to select the desired stage.
• The B button will switch from Child (5) to Adult (17), and vice versa.
• C-Up/Down increment or decrement the OPT value, whose purpose is unknown.
• The Z button selects the "stage" of the level. A level has different stages for cutscenes used in that level. These stages usually have objects rearranged and repositioned so they don't interfere and fit nicely. Valid options are day, night, cutscene 00, cutscene 01,... all the way to cutscene 0A. Note that the cutscenes correspond exactly to beta quest 00 through 0A.

Note that if you use Map Select to go to a grotto and try to exit, the game will not know where to return you to since you didn't really enter the grotto from anywhere. Instead, it puts you in exit 0 (Deku Tree), where you're stuck.

Levels 1 to 115 all appear in the retail game. Levels from 116 to 125, however, only appear in the debug ROM, and are mostly used for testing.

Room 116 (Strongbox Warp)

This is an empty medium-large enclosed room. What's interesting about the room is that it uses quite cool textures which are used nowhere else in the game.

Room 117 (Bamboo Grass Test)

This is a very simple test map, consisting of only a ground plane. As you can see with the camera debugger, the initials SRD (the programming team's initials) are written on the ground. The area around the initials makes many different ground sounds (water, wood, grass, lava...) so it was presumably used for testing those sounds. The other contents of the map depend on the age and time of day:

• Child, Day: There are five silver rupees, a chicken in a box and a scarecrow. On some locations a message will pop up saying "Hi! I'm a talking door!" (a test string, obviously).
• Child, Night: A golden Skultulla pops out of nowhere.
• Adult, Day: There's the scarecrow, and two evil pots. One of them is suspended in mid-air and will not engage you unless you use Moonjump.
• Adult, Night: There's a Tektite spawner which is completely unused in the final game.

Room 118 (Test Map)

This is another test map which is presumably there to test the game physics. It consists of two pools, a ramp, some pillars, an alcove, ladders and crawling holes and finally an insanely high tower. Note, however, the neither the ladders nor the crawling holes work, so they may be relics from older coding.

Room 119 (Test Room)

This level has multiple rooms filled with treasure chests and other collectibles. It was presumably used to test item pickup. The last room is completely empty with several depressions. In the first treasure chest room, a crawling hole leads to the right into an invisible room. If you can find it, there's another crawling hole in the invisible room which leads to yet another invisible room.

Room 120 (Medium Stalfos Room)

This level is normally completely inaccessible due to a corrupted header file. However, there's a patch which allows the level to be accessed. It's a room with weird floor tiles and cool light effects which was shown in some of the earliest beta screenshots for this game. Other than that, though, the room is devoid of content.

Room 121 (Boss Stalfos Room)

This level is a large room with a carpet going across it and several pillars at the side. It too was shown in some very early beta screenshots of the game, and apparently once contained a Stalfos. However, there's just a warp to the Castle Courtyard in this room.

Room 122 (Old Test)

This level is a large room with Dark Link inside. It could have been used to test Dark Link himself, without having to go all the way through the Water Temple.

Room 123 (Proving Area)

This level appears to be just a duplicate of the Shooting Gallery.

Room 124 (Depth Test)

This is another test room. There are nine squares in the background, and Link just falls. It was likely used to test graphics.

Room 125 (Hylian Game 2)

This appears to be a very unfinished duplicate of the castle courtyard. The graphics are corrupted and will not show up for some emulators, and the level appears to be completely empty. The interface will not show up either.

Inventory Debug

The Inventory Debug allows you to edit your current inventory, including items, equipment and quest status items. To enable it, go to the pause menu and press the L button. In the inventory debug, use the D-Pad buttons to select the field you want to change, and use the C buttons to change the field. The various fields are as follows:

• The first field is the amount of rupees. You can set it anywhere from zero to 9999. If you have more than 999 rupees, the rupee count will be garbled but otherwise work fine.
• The second field is the life meter. The first value is the amount of total hearts you have, and the second field is the amount of hearts you have remaining. The total amount of hearts can be set from 3 to 20, the amount of remaining hearts can be set from zero (equaling death) to 20, in quarter increments.
• The third field controls the item subscreen. For items which have a quantity, you can set the quantity using the C buttons. For items which do not have a quantity, you can only set yourself to possess that item or not.
• The fourth field allows you to edit the amount of keys you have for every dungeon.
• The fifth field controls the left-side equipment. The values are, in this order: Quiver, Bomb Bag, Gauntlet, Scale, Wallet, Bullet Bag, Deku Stick capacity and Deku Nut capacity.
• The fifth field controls the right-side equipment, specifically the sword, the shield, the tunic and the boots. The values are octal digits - C-Left enables the first bit, C-Down enables the second bit and C-Right enables the third bit.
• The sixth field controls the dungeon items for every dungeon. Again the numbers are octal digits. C-Left gives you the Map, C-Down the Compass and C-Right the Big Key.
• The seventh field controls your medallions. You can use your C-Buttons to grant or take away the Forest, Fire, Water, Spirit, Shadow and Light Medallion (in this order).
• The eighth field sets the Ocarina Songs you have learned. They follow the order they appear on the Quest Status subscreen, from bottom to top.
• The ninth field controls the three spiritual stones, that is the Kokiri Emerald, the Goron's Ruby and the Zora's Sapphire.
• The tenth field sets whether you own the Stone of Agony and the Gerudo's Card.
• The eleventh field sets the amount of Gold Skultullas you have collected. You can set the number anywhere from 0 to 999.
• The twelfth and last field sets the amount of Heart Pieces you have collected. You can set it from one to five.

Free Movement

You can turn Link into free movement mode by pressing L+D-Pad Right. In this mode, Link will be frozen and won't interact with any objects. Use the D-Pad buttons to move forward, backward and sideways, B to move up and A to move down. Hold the R button to go faster. Press L+D-Pad Right again to leave free movement mode.

Cutscene Control

You can abort a cutscene anytime by pressing D-Pad Right. You'll then regain control of Link and the cutscene objects will have halted. If you abort a cutscene where Link is not present (for example the Goddess Cutscenes) you won't be able to control Link (obviously) but you can still use the other debugging tools. Pressing D-Pad Left will restart the cutscene.

Input Display

Small squares at the bottom right show you what buttons you're currently pressing. Unlike the rest of the game, they're colored after the N64 Controller's buttons.

Memory Editor

The memory editor allows you to change various variables in the memory of the game. The memory editor is controlled using the second controller. Use the D-Pad Up/Down to select the memory address, and D-Pad Right/Left to change the value.

The various memory areas are grouped in blocks that go from R through Rn (case sensitive, mind you). Each memory group is enabled using its own keyboard combination. The areas do not have all the same size, some are larger and some smaller. Some also span across multiple pages, in which case you need to press the key combination again to go to the next page.

The keyboard combinations are as follows:

R	L+C-Up	RU	L+D-Pad Right
RA	R+Left	RV	R+C-Left
RC	L+Z	RW	R+C-Right
RD	L+D-Pad Left	RX	R+B
RG	Start+L	RY	L+R
RH	Start+R	RZ	L+B
RI	L+D-Pad Up	Rb	Start+C-Right
RK	R+A	Rc	R+Z
RM	L+C-Right	Rd	Start+A
RN	L+D-Pad Down	Ri	R+C-Up
RO	L+C-Down	Rk	Start+B
RP	L+A	Rm	R+D-Pad Right
RQ	R+C-Down	Rn	R+D-Pad Up
RS	L+C-Left

Many values are completely unused and always zero. Some values however are quite interesting, the most interesting ones are listed below:

• Setting RA15 to 1 enables a collision display. If you swing the sword, hide behind your shield, shoot an arrow or do other stuff, the collision box will be colored red.
• Setting RC02 to 1 enables a time display. At the top, it shows Hiru if it's day and Yoru if it's night. The purpose of the T and E values below are unknown. ZELDATIME and VRBOXTIME below display the current in-game time.
• Setting RC11 to 1 and RC12 to 1 enables the unused Triforce fadeout in the Debug ROM.
• Setting RD00 to 1 enables some kind of slow-motion mode.
• Setting RO00 to 1 enables some camera debugging information.
• Setting RS00 to 3 enables the CPU status meter, which shows various information about CPU usage and such.

Camera Debugger

The Camera Debugger gives you full control over the camera. It allows you to watch levels, Link and cutscenes from any position you wish, and it allows you to record small introduction videos (like the ones shown when you enter an area for the first time).

The Camera Debugger is controlled using the third controller. Press Start to enable it. It has three different modes, you can switch between them using the Z button.

Debug Camera

The Debug Camera mode changes the camera behavior around. It has three submodes, you can switch between them using C-Left.

• In the first mode, the camera will simply stop at Link's position. A red ghost camera will follow Link to show where the camera would be placed. Also, an arrow hovers over Link's head to indicate which way the camera is facing.
• The second mode is essentially the same as the first, except the camera jumps to coordinates 0,0,0 (usually somewhere near the center of the map).
• In the third mode, the camera will follow Link but won't rotate.

The first two modes allow you to move the camera, using the D-Pad to move it forward, backward and sideways, B and A to raise or lower the camera, and the analog joystick to turn the camera around. Additionally, the R key will move the camera to the red ghost camera's position.

Demo Camera Tool

The Demo Camera Tool allows you to move the camera completely freely, independent of Link. It is mainly used to create the introduction videos. Again it has three submodes, which you can select with the C-Left button.

• In the first mode, you can simply move the camera around the map. The controls are the same as in the Debug Camera mode, except you can't use the R button to snap to Link. Instead, R is used to create a point for the introduction movie.
• The second mode allows for some advanced options. Use the D-Pad to navigate through the options and change the values. The first option simply moves the camera back and forth. The second option sets how many frames there should be between two points. The third option rotates the camera.
• The third mode allows you to preview your created introduction movie. Use the C-Up and C-Down buttons to go through all the created points, and hold the C-Right button to preview your introduction movie.

Demo Control

The Demo Control allows you to save your newly created movie to a memory pak (and load it later)

Select any question mark and press A to save the movie. The movie is then given a letter. The B button will delete the movie. You can use C-Right here to view the movie. Pressing C-Left during the movie aborts it. You can also use the L button to move your movie on the memory pak. Hold it and use the D-Pad to move the movie to your desired position, then release L.

Language Selector

The Debug ROM can change languages on the fly using the third controller. Press D-Pad Right to switch to French, D-Pad Up for German and D-Pad Left for English.

Audio Debug

The Audio Debugger is a very powerful debugging tool for testing audio-related stuff, like sounds and music. Currently, there's no way to access the Audio Debugger legitimately, however you can use the Gameshark code 81210B2F 1111 to access it.

All controlling is done using the fourth controller. Use L and R to switch to the previous or next page. You can also use Z to switch the text color. The pages are listed below, and numbered:

• (1) Non is the page you start on. You can press A here to disable the background music, and B to disable sound effects. This page also lists some data when Link makes sounds.
• (2) Free area displays various audio related data. Its purpose is currently unknown.
• (3) Scroll Print controls the debug code log that appears at the right side of the screen. The various options allow you to turn it on or off, set which actions are logged, and set the log length. You can also use the C buttons to move the log around the screen.
• (4) SE Parameter Change allows you to play any sound effect in the game. The first option selects the sound effect type, the second option the sound effect number. Press the A button to play the sound, press the B button to cancel.
• (5) Ocarina Test records some Ocarina data. PLAY INFO displays what note you're playing, and how many notes you've already played.
• (6) Natural Sound Control is a blank page.
• (7) Block Change BGM allows you to play any music in the game. The first option selects the music, the second option the part for soundtracks with multiple parts (like Hyrule Field).
• (8) SE Flag Swap's purpose is unknown. You can edit the various fields using the A button and the D-Pad, but it appears to have no effect.
• (9) Interface Info displays various information about the sound effects currently being played. Be aware that this page will make the console lag quite a lot.
• (10) Channel Info is another blank page.
• (11) Sub Track Info displays various information about the current background music.
• (12) Grp Track Info is another blank page.
• (13) Heap Info displays unknown information.
• (14) Spec Info is another blank page.
• (15) Sound Control allows for some advanced audio options. The first two options both allow you to play any soundtrack in the game (you can use both simultaneously if you wish, it will actually work). The next two options allow you to play any sound effect in the game. The third option selects the sound effect type, the fourth one the sound effect number. S-Out sets the sound type (Stereo, Headphones, 3D, Mono). Na Snd allows you to play various nature sounds (like the sandstorm sound FX, etc.).

Actor Debugger

The Actor Debugger is a tool used for debugging actors (any objects that are not part of the map itself). It can only be enabled using the Gameshark code 80211CE4 0001. It has the following features:

• Whenever a message pops up, its internal number is printed at the bottom.
• When a cutscene starts, a frame counter at the bottom right records the duration of the cutscene.
• Arrows are added at various spots of interest. What arrow marks what spot is not yet certain.

N64DD Save File

One relic of the planned Nintendo 64DD extension of Ocarina of Time is the existence of N64DD Save Files. You can create them either by Crooked Cartridge or using a Gameshark code. The file created this way has a "Disk" tag attached to it and cannot be opened, as it's grayed out. Trying to copy or delete the file crashes the game.

Triforce Fadeout

File:OoTTriforceFadeout.png

There's a very cool Triforce fadeout in the game, however, it is not used anywhere. You can force the Triforce fadeout to appear with the GameShark code 8011B9ED 0001 (U v1.0).

Unused Objects

Arwing

The Arwing from Star Fox exists as an enemy in the game. It's very likely just an easter egg though, and not meant as an actual foe you would encounter in a dungeon. As soon as you enter a level which contains an arwing, an animation shows it flying and barrel rolling. It will then engage you with its laser beams. You can kill it with three slingshot shots, or with the boomerang, it will then crash to the ground and explode in a huge mass of flaming debris.

Beta Grass

File:OoTBetaGrass.png

This grass is not used anywhere in the game. It has a somewhat oversized collision box, and looks somewhat like the flora used in the Castle Courtyard, so it may have been intended for that.

Beta Heart Container

File:OoTBetaHeartContainer.png

This object is most likely an early version of the current heart container. It's almost completely opaque and does not animate, unlike the final heart container, however you can collect it and it will work like a heart container. This beta heart container actually appears in the Debug ROM in Room 119, but you need a Gameshark code to find it in the retail game.

Beta Pot

File:OoTBetaPot.png

This pot is pretty much just an alternate design of the pot that made it in the final game. It looks slightly out of place though. It's unfinished (note the missing transparency at the top) and does not have any collision or behavior.

Brown Bird

This brown bird was very likely supposed to be a small gimmick to add some atmosphere to the game, much like the butterflies. However, it was never finished, since it is missing transparency and remains stationary, even though it does flap its wings. Interestingly, in the successor game Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask the brown bird is fully functional and used in the test map, but even there it appears nowhere in the final game.

Explosive Rupees

File:OoTExplosiveRupee.png

There are rupees in the game which explode on proximity, however they do not appear anywhere. One variant is a huge purple rupee which explodes in a huge explosion, the other variant is a small red rupee. These objects were most likely supposed to be traps of some sort.

Large Rectangle

This is just a simple rectangle with a simple texture. It has no behavior or collision whatsoever. It was most likely used as a placeholder for objects that were not programmed in the game yet, or could for other reasons not be used.

Larger Rectangle

This object is slightly larger than the large rectangle, but has a way oversized collision box. This suggests it was used to test collision in general. The object also exists in a somewhat larger version.

Rotating Rectangle

File:OoTRotatingRectangle.png

This object lays horizontally on the ground and does nothing until Link stands on it, when it will commence rotating to a vertical position and then switching back to its initial position. It was most likely used to test objects moving underneath Link's feet. Like the larger rectangle, this object also exists in a large version.

Gigantic Rectangle

This rectangle is really gigantic, and on top of that, it produces a really weird sound. It could have been used to test sounds, especially the intensity and direction of sounds relative to Link's position. The rectangle also exists in some more sane sizes.

Small Rock

File:OoTSmallRock.png

This is a small rock which has neither behavior nor collision. On top of that, it looks quite unusual. It could have been used as another placeholder for some smaller objects.

Stone Cube

This is nothing more than a simple stone cube. It has collision data and the side that is struck with the sword will flash blue. It's most likely just a test object used to test interaction with the sword.

Unused scene setups

In some scenes, objects are arranged differently from the final game because they were created earlier in development. Some scenes may also be wholly unused. These scenes can be reached either with the Debug ROM (select the desired scene and press D-Pad Right to cancel the cutscene), or, in the retail game, using the Beta Quest.

Zora's Fountain, scene 01

This is a very weird scene which is not used at all in the game. For one, Jabu-Jabu is moved way back, something which never occurs in the final version. Second, there are Tektites and Octoroks beside him, which normally don't appear together with Jabu-Jabu either. And then there's the so-called Ocarina Pedestal, which is a pedestal with an image of an Ocarina on it. There are various theories what it might have been used for, there are quite many possibilities.

Note that this scene is very, very unstable in the final game, and will crash if you step on the Ocarina Pedestal, or go anywhere beyond the initial area. The Specific Things Lean code does improve the situation somewhat, but the scene still is liable to crash. The patched Debug ROM fixes that area fully. The reason the scene is unstable is mostly attributed to an object which is positioned on the Ocarina Pedestal. It might have triggered a special cutscene.

Goron City, scene 00

In the normal game, this is the cutscene that plays when you play Saria's Song to Darunia. However if you run out to the main area of Goron City, you'll notice that it looks different from the final version. The Gorons are all located in different places, and there's a Magic Bean spot on the lowermost floor, which does not normally appear in Goron City. The treasure area on the topmost floor contains large chests with bombs in them (in the final version, they contain rupees). Also, the lighting is different, which makes the area look very dark.

Kakariko Village, scene 03

In the normal game, this is the cutscene of Death Mountain erupting that plays after you beat Volvagia. However, the objects are arranged quite differently. It has the townspeople from the Town Market all there, yet also has the guard at the gate and the cuccos. There's also a grass field next to the guard which does not appear normally. In front of Impa's House, there's a tall blue lady standing there. She does normally appear in the market as a kid (near the Bombchu Bowling Alley), but is never seen in Kakariko Village in the normal game.

Gerudo's Fortress, child

Normally, you're not supposed to be able to enter Gerudo's Fortress as a child. From Hyrule Field, the metal fence prevents you from progressing any further, and from the Desert Colossus, Nintendo was actually smart enough to close the gate so that even if you were somehow able to cross the Haunted Wasteland, you would not be able to get in. However, using a trick to jump over the fence, you can actually enter Gerudo's Fortress as a child. There are no Gerudos, except for one in front of the closed gate. However, there are actually two surprises here. For one, the treasure box at the top of the fortress is still there, and opens to reveal the Odd Mushroom, which is an adult trade item (unsurprisingly, the timer does not start). The second surprise can be found on top of the cell - there's actually an extra heart piece here, which is useless as all the other heart pieces already allow you to obtain 20 hearts.

Kokiri Forest, scene 04

This is a scene that never occurs in the final game. If you play it (using the Debug ROM or the Cutscene Activator), it shows the Deku Tree, then various places in Kokiri Forest, then switches back to the Deku Tree, and stays there. This suggests another Deku Tree cutscene was planned. When you exit the Deku Tree's Grove, a Heart Piece appears over your head for some reason. There are no Kokiris present in the level, but there are several signs in rather different positions. Some of the signs do not belong to the Kokiri Forest, like the Zora's Fountain sign or the sign of the carpet shop in the desert. Near the exit to Hyrule Field, there's a sign saying "Forest Temple". This sign is beta and never used in the normal game. There are also several Deku Shields scattered all across the level. You can pick them up but they have no effect.

Kokiri Forest, scene 05

This is another beta Kokiri Forest scene. If you play the cutscene, it shows the nothingness and scrolls to the left for a while, until it stops. Sometime later, you gain control of Link. The setup is exactly the same as the previous scene's setup.

Ice Cavern, scene 00

In the normal game, this is the cutscene where you learn the Serenade of Water. However, in the room where the chest containing the Iron Boots is located there is a very strange red ice platform. You can melt it with Blue Fire as usual, it could have covered the Iron Boots chest originally. Also, all the doors in the dungeon are the wooden doors, which were likely a temporary fill until the ice doors were programmed.

Jabu Jabu's Belly, scene 00

In the normal game, this is the cutscene that occurs when Princess Ruto finds the Zora's Sapphire. However, the dungeon is very different and contains lots of surprises.

For one, the slimy things that are in the dungeon have corrupted textures in this version and look somewhat funky. In the room where you pick up Princess Ruto, there's a door which is out of place - it just stands there in the middle of the room, which suggests the dungeon itself underwent a redesign at some point. If you try to go through this door, you'll simply end up in the darkness. In the next area where you would normally raise the water level using the switch, there is no switch and no water at first but if you decide to return to this room at some point, there's invisible water in the middle which extends all the way to the ceiling. In the main room with the elevator, there's a duplicate water surface at the very top. Since the water never goes that high normally, you may have needed to raise the water level at some point. In the room before the boss room, there are two electric sponges submerged in the terrain. Also, there is no switch and the door to the boss room is moved way behind, preventing you from going up to it. The room likely looked much different at some point.

Death Mountain Crater, scene 00

In the normal game, this is the scene where you learn the Bolero of Fire. One strange thing about this level setup is the position of the warp pad. It's situated on a small platform, away from the main area. The other strange thing is the seemingly useless Megaton Hammer blocks which just stand there and have no real purpose.

Graveyard, scene 00

In the normal game, this is the scene that plays when you play Zelda's Lullaby on the Triforce mark. However, the area here is slightly different. For one, there is only one Poe in the Graveyard. In the final game, there are either none (as a kid) or three (as an adult). Then, there's a gravestone right at the wall to the left of Dampe's gravestone. It's unknown why it's there, it seems to serve no purpose. The last change is the heart piece, which is in a treasure chest here whereas it's contained inside a wooden box in the final version. The treasure chest is very hard to see and latch onto with the Longshot, which is likely why they changed it to the box.

Sacred Forest Meadow, scene 00

In the normal game, this is the scene where you learn the Minuet of Forest. There's only one thing of interest here, and that is the sky. The clouds used here are not like any of the other clouds in the game, and are very likely remains from the beta. These clouds even fly through the ground if you look far enough.

Unused animations

Certain Link animations coded into the game are never actually used, and are likely remnants from the beta. Using the Gameshark code 813F4442 ???? (Debug ROM), you can modify the jumpslash attack to any animation you wish.

• ID 2A60 is an unused alternate jumpslash attack. In this attack, Link does a forward flip and then slashes with his sword. It looks quite cool, but was likely cut because it looks weird on sloped terrain when Link lands on his head.

Unused Text

At offset 913001 (U v1.0) there's the following string, which is not said by Navi anywhere in the game:

WHAAAT!? Look at all those flags! Can you figure out which ones are real?

Starting from offset 914F9D are these two strings:

Those who wish to open the path sleeping at the bottom of the lake must play the song passed down by the Royal Family
Those who wish to open the gate on the far heights, play the song passed down by the Royal Family

Right after the Royal Family strings comes this text:

Those who find a Small Key can advance to the next room. Those who don't can go home!

At offset 915401 there's this message:

This door is currently being refurbished.

At offset 935983 you can find the following strings, which don't really fit in the present game and are likely very old:

The Entrance to the Past
The Entrance to the Present
The Entrance to the Future

Using a Gameshark code, you can make the following Japanese text appear on the Item subscreen:

風のメダル
氷のメダル

These two read "Wind Medallion" and "Ice Medallion", respectively. This of course suggests that there were two temples corresponding to these medallions, however no traces of these temples are left anymore.

Crash Debugger

The Crash Debugger, also known by the word salad title VideoGamerX Debug Code, is the tool that was used by developers to figure out exactly what went wrong whenever the game would crash. Present in all versions of the game, it can be triggered by using various glitches and inputting the following button code by holding down all of the buttons on a line at once, letting go, and moving to the next line:

1. L + R + Z
2. Control pad UP + C-DOWN
3. C-UP + Control pad DOWN
4. Control pad LEFT + C-LEFT
5. C-RIGHT + Control pad RIGHT
6. A + B + Start

Due to the differences between the N64 and the GCN the crash debugger does not work on the GCN version of OoT or Master Quest.

Both OoT and MM use the same first screen. This is the most important one, as it provides the most basic information concerning the status of the system at the time of the crash. Most (if not all) of the information shown comes from a register, either on the System Control Processor (top), the main CPU, or the Floating-Point Unit (bottom).

Zelda OoT's debugger has several additional screens beyond the standard screen listed above. Most of them, however, aren't very helpful.

Image:OcarinaOfTimeDebugCode3.jpg‎

Segment Information - I really don't know what this screen's about. It may have to do with the ROM itself, or it may have to do with how pieces of code are divided.

Image:OcarinaOfTimeDebugCode4.jpg‎

ROM Debug - This screen is not exciting in the final versions of OoT, since all values are set to zero. During testing, however, the developers may have set these values to reflect the contents of certain variables during gameplay. This way, if the program crashed, they may be able to figure out what went wrong from these variable settings.

Image:OcarinaOfTimeDebugCode5.jpg‎ Image:OcarinaOfTimeDebugCode6.jpg‎

Stack Dump - This screen shows the contents of the Stack, a section of memory used to hold temporary data. The left column shows the address in memory, and the other columns show what's actually there. The farther down you go, the older the information.

Image:OcarinaOfTimeDebugCode8.jpg‎ Image:OcarinaOfTimeDebugCode9.jpg‎

PC Dump - This screen shows the code being executed at the time of the crash. Somewhere on the screen is the instruction that failed (pointed to by the Exception Program Counter). This screen is displayed the same way as the previous one.

Image:OcarinaOfTimeDebugCode10.jpg‎

Actor List - This appears to be a list of the "actors" currently in memory.

Image:OcarinaOfTimeDebugCode11.jpg‎

Version Info - Finally, the most famous screen from OOT's debugger. The "I LOVE YOU" message is on here, as well as a bunch of zeroes. The date of compilation is also on this screen, helpful in determining the version of the ROM you have.

TODO: Add in images with text telling what the screens are all about. ALSO THIS SLOPPYNESS WILL BE FIXED ASAP BY ME DONT REVERT

Program revision differences

Ocarina of Time has multiple versions: the Japanese one, US v1.0, US v1.1, US v1.2, and the Gamecube (Collector's Edition) version.

• Japanese:
  • This is the original version.
• US v1.0:
  • The "enemy near" music will no longer play inside Ganon's Tower and during the escape.
• US v1.1:
  • The "Swordless Link" bug was fixed. This bug allowed you to lose your Master Sword (and, in turn, causing many other glitches) by saving and quitting after Ganon has knocked the sword out of your hands.
  • The "Steal the Rod" bug was fixed. This bug allowed you to take the fishing rod out of the fishing pond by casting it while hovering with the Hover Boots.
  • The "Ice Mound" bug was fixed. This bug allowed you to create a semi-permanent block of ice by killing a large (purple) leever with Ice Arrows.
  • Ganondorf no longer spews out red blood after the fight - it was changed to green.
  • When you talk to the blue guy in Kakariko Village before having beaten the Water Temple, the dialog had an erroneous extra line break in it which was removed in this version.
• US v1.2:
  • The Fire Temple music was replaced with a remixed version of the Shadow Temple music. This was done because Muslim communities complained about the Islamic chanting used in the original Fire Temple music.
• Gamecube:
  • All crescent and star symbols in the game were replaced with a new symbol.

To do: some more stuff is missing. ideally, we'd want images too.