The Boomerang is inside Lord Jabu-Jabu’s Belly, the third dungeon in the Ocarina of Time remake, in a side room off the long corridor past the place you first meet Princess Ruto. Step on the floor switch to open the side door, with Ruto in your arms in case it needs her weight to stay down, then defeat the flying fish inside with your Slingshot and the Boomerang is yours.
You cannot miss it, because the rest of the dungeon is locked behind it. Below is how to get into the great fish, the route to the corridor, the fight, and what to do with the Boomerang once you have it.
Before You Go In
- Get swallowed. Lord Jabu-Jabu waits at Zora’s Fountain, and he only opens up after you feed him a fish from a bottle. Our Princess Ruto guide covers the whole errand, and our Zora’s Domain guide gets you there.
- Bring the Slingshot. You need it for the door at the very start and for the fish that guard the Boomerang. Our Slingshot guide covers where it comes from, and the bigger seed bag guide gets you more shots.
- Consider the Spin Attack. Purple flying creatures and electric jellyfish hurt you if you hit them with a plain sword. The Great Fairy at Hyrule Castle gives a stronger Spin Attack that handles them, and our Great Fairy Fountain guide shows where she is. You can also ignore them until you have the Boomerang.
The Route to the Boomerang
- Open the door. Hit the “tonsil” hanging from the ceiling with your Slingshot to open the flesh door ahead.
- Find Ruto. Go straight through the room with the jellyfish. Princess Ruto is on the far side, and she drops down a hole during the cutscene. Follow her.
- Pick her up. Talk to her until she agrees to be carried. Ignore the electric jellyfish in this room.
- Go south. Carry her through the door and the short passage to a room with a switch in the middle of a large recess.
- Raise the water. Stand on one of the purple lumps in the recess, throw Ruto up onto the ledge on the far side, and hit the switch to raise the water level. An alcove to the side has a chest with the Dungeon Map.
- Keep going south. Climb the bank where you put Ruto, pick her up, and hit the tonsil switch on the ceiling with your Slingshot to open the next door.
- Ride back up. Defeat the Octorok and wait for the floating platform to come down, then jump on with Ruto to return to the first floor.
- Head north. Jump off the other side and go back through the room where you first met her. Avoid the holes and jellyfish, and take the door at the far end.
- Enter the long corridor. Head north again into a corridor with five branching paths. Some are sealed until you cut down coloured tentacles, which is why you need the Boomerang first.
The Fight for the Boomerang
The side doors in this corridor open with floor switches. Walk onto a switch with Ruto in your arms, and if it needs to stay held down, leave her standing on it and go through the door. If the room behind it holds a hanging red tentacle, you are in the wrong one: you cannot hurt it yet, so go back and try the other side.
The room you want is full of flying fish that burst out as you get close. Move forward slowly so they come one at a time, and shoot each one with the Slingshot. Clear them all, and the Boomerang is yours.
Remember to go back for Ruto if you left her on a switch. You still need to carry her to the end of the dungeon.
How to Use the Boomerang
Hold R to open the quick-select bar, pick the Boomerang, and let go. It now sits on ZR. Hold ZL to lock on to a target first whenever you can. If you would rather not aim by tilting the controller, our motion aiming guide shows the setting, and the quick swap guide explains the bar in full.
| Target | What the Boomerang does |
|---|---|
| Red, blue and green tentacles | Lock on and cut them down to open the branching paths |
| Electric jellyfish and purple flyers | Hurts them safely from a distance, with no shock to you |
| The jiggly electric platforms | Stuns them so they are safe to step on |
| Ceiling tonsil switch near the boss | Hits it where you have no straight shot |
| Bigocto, the mini-boss | Stuns it so you can attack it from behind |
| Barinade, the boss | Cuts its tentacles, then stuns its core so you can use your sword |
| Gold Skulltulas and their tokens | Defeats the spider and drags the token back to you |
One catch on that last row: you cannot lock on to a Gold Skulltula, so aim those throws by hand.
What to Do Next
With the Boomerang in hand, go back to the corridor and clear the coloured tentacles: red, then blue, then green. A floor switch opens the red tentacle’s door, so park Ruto on it if it will not stay down. The bubbles in the north-east room hide the Compass. Once all three tentacles are gone, the tentacle in the room south of the corridor disappears and you can drop down its north-west hole. Throw Ruto onto the platform ahead, then deal with Bigocto and head for Barinade. Our boss list, written for the 1998 game, has the bosses in order.
Beat Barinade for a Heart Container and the Zora’s Sapphire, your third Spiritual Stone.
The Boomerang also opens up young Link’s Gold Skulltula hunt outside the dungeon. It reaches the one at the end of Zora’s River at night, and the one behind Dampé’s hut in Kakariko Graveyard. Our Gold Skulltula guide lists the rest, and every remake guide is on our Zelda hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Boomerang in the Ocarina of Time remake? Inside Lord Jabu-Jabu’s Belly, in a side room off the corridor with five branching paths.
Can you miss the Boomerang? No. The tentacles that block the rest of the dungeon can only be cut with it, so you have to pick it up to finish.
Do you need Princess Ruto to get the Boomerang? You carry her through the first half of the dungeon, and her weight holds a floor switch down when you need it. You also need her to reach the end, so keep her with you.
What enemies guard the Boomerang? Flying fish that come out as you approach. Draw them out one at a time and shoot them with the Slingshot.
How do you kill the electric jellyfish in Jabu-Jabu’s Belly? Hit them with the Boomerang. A plain sword hit shocks you instead.
Can the Boomerang collect Gold Skulltula tokens? Yes. Throw it at the token and it drags the token back. You cannot lock on to a Gold Skulltula, so aim by hand.