You get Light Arrows from Princess Zelda at the Temple of Time, and only after you have cleared all five adult temples and woken their sages. In the Ocarina of Time remake, go to the temple as adult Link once the last medallion is yours, and a story scene hands them over.
There is no chest to find and nothing to buy, so you cannot miss them. What you can do is arrive unprepared. Below is what has to be done first, how to trigger the scene, what the arrows do, and how the final dungeon uses them.
What You Need First
All five adult temples, in the order you choose for the last two:
| Temple | Boss | Medallion |
|---|---|---|
| Forest Temple | Phantom Ganon | Forest |
| Fire Temple | Volvagia | Fire |
| Water Temple | Morpha | Water |
| Shadow Temple | Bongo Bongo | Shadow |
| Spirit Temple | Twinrova | Spirit |
You also need the Fairy Bow to fire them, which you pick up in the Forest Temple, and the magic meter from the Great Fairy at the top of Death Mountain. Our Great Fairy guide has her.
Step by Step: How to Get Light Arrows
- Beat the last temple and take its medallion.
- Warp to the Temple of Time with the Prelude of Light. Press left on the D-pad to bring out the ocarina and play X, A, X, A, Y, X.
- Let the story scene play. There is nothing to find or pick up.
- Take what Zelda offers.
We are leaving the rest of that scene for you to watch, but the story moves straight on from there, and your next destination is Ganondorf’s Castle, the remake’s name for what the 1998 game called Ganon’s Castle.
What Light Arrows Do
Fire them from the Fairy Bow. Select the Light Arrow on the quick-select bar by holding R, aim, and fire with ZR, as with any other item. Our quick swap guide covers the bar.
- They use magic. Each arrow drains some of your magic meter, like Fire Arrows and Ice Arrows.
- They are adult-only, like the bow.
- They stun Ganondorf when they hit him.
How the Final Dungeon Uses Them
Head north out of the Temple of Time to the ruined castle grounds and walk onto the prism-colored floor. The bridge appears, and once you are across you find six barriers behind doors in the central hall, one for each sage.
Each barrier room is its own short puzzle, and each ends in the same way: shoot a Light Arrow into the dark orb at the far end. You can do them in any order. Do the Shadow barrier first, since it holds the Golden Gauntlets, which the Fire and Light barriers ask for and which also open the last Great Fairy fountain, for Double Defense.
In the 1998 game each barrier asked for a different mix of late-game tools, so arrive with everything you have: the Longshot, Hover Boots, Megaton Hammer, Lens of Truth, Mirror Shield, Golden Gauntlets once you find them, bombs, Bombchus and Blue Fire in a bottle.
Each one needs a Light Arrow at the end, so arrive with magic to spare.
Tips Before You Go In
- Fill your bottles with potions. Green or blue potions refill your magic, and you want at least one in hand for the Ganon fight, where you lean on the arrows again. Our bottle guide lists where bottles come from.
- Double your magic first. The Great Fairy in Death Mountain Crater doubles your meter, and you feel the difference here.
- Finish what you want to finish. Our what to do after the Water Temple guide is written for the 1998 game, but its list of things to tidy up still applies. The Biggoron Sword is the big one, since it helps with the last fights.
- Top up on arrows and bombs. Several barrier rooms ask for them on top of the Light Arrow, so arrive with a full quiver and some Bombchus.
Our 1998 Ganondorf guide covers the old version of the final fight. Nintendo has not detailed what changed in the final fight, so treat it as a guide to the idea rather than the exact steps. Every remake guide is on our Zelda hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you get Light Arrows in the Ocarina of Time remake? At the Temple of Time. Princess Zelda gives them to you in a story scene.
When do you get Light Arrows? After you have finished all five adult temples and hold every medallion.
Can you miss the Light Arrows? No. They are part of the story, and you cannot go on to the final dungeon without them.
Can young Link use Light Arrows? No. They fire from the Fairy Bow, which is for adult Link only.
Do Light Arrows use magic? Yes. Each one uses some of your magic meter.
What are Light Arrows for? Breaking the six barriers in Ganondorf’s Castle and stunning Ganondorf in the fight that follows.