Ocarina of Time

The Ocarina of Time is a dark blue that appears in both The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. It is a sacred instrument with magical powers, which has been passed down for generations within the Royal Family of Hyrule. Link can perform various songs on the instrument, which provides unique effects such as transporting between areas, traveling through time, or shifting between day or night.

Being the main item of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the Ocarina of Time is featured in the game's title. The Ocarina of Time is responsible for causing a resurgence of interest in real world ocarinas, increasing its sales dramatically. However, the interest was mostly focused on the ceramic models (from which the Ocarina of Time is based on) rather than other styles.

Usage
The Ocarina of Time functions identically between The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

From the Inventory, the Ocarina of Time can be assigned to either, , or. Whenever the player presses the assigned button, the camera zooms into Link, who then takes out the Ocarina of Time. From a, the player can press any of the C-buttons and the A button, each of which correspond to the note of an actual ocarina. When the player presses a button, Link plays the note of that button, and an icon corresponding to the button appears on the chart, with its placement corresponding to its notation. Each song requires the player to enter a specific combination of buttons. The player can press B to exit from the menu. The buttons were reassigned in the Nintendo 3DS remakes.

In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, when Link is under a different transformation, the Ocarina of Time also changes into a different instrument to suit the transformation. As a Deku Scrub, the instrument transforms into the Deku Pipes, as a Goron it turns into the Goron Drums, and as a Zora, it turns into the Zora Guitar.

There are a few optional features with the Ocarina of Time that can help produce a full scale. These were likely implemented to replicate the entire functionality of a real world ocarina. The Z and R buttons respectively change the pitch of a note between sharp and flat. Moving the Control Stick up or down respectively raises or lowers the tone of a note. Moving the Control stick left or right adds vibrato. In the Nintendo 3DS remakes, the buttons for adjusting the pitch and tone can be done from either the Circle Pad or the D-Pad.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
In its debut appearance, the Ocarina of Time is first mentioned by Princess Zelda to Link when they first meet in the Castle Courtyard. She trusts Link and tells him a story about the Sacred Realm and the Door of Time, which requires the three Spiritual Stones and the Royal Family's sacred instrument, the Ocarina of Time, to open. Zelda further explains that Ganondorf is trying to steal the Triforce from the Sacred Realm and that she is using all her power to prevent Ganondorf from obtaining the Ocarina of Time.

Later, after Link obtains the other two Spiritual Stones, he returns outside of Hyrule Castle, where he witnesses Zelda and Impa fleeing from Ganondorf. Zelda notices Link and throws the Ocarina of Time to him. However, Link did not catch the Ocarina, which fell into a moat beneath the drawbridge. After his first encounter with Ganondorf, Link must jump into the moat, swim above the Ocarina of Time, and then dive below to obtain it. The Ocarina of Time replaces the Fairy Ocarina for the rest of the game. Just after obtaining it, Link receives a telepathic message from Princess Zelda, who teaches him the Song of Time.

With the Ocarina of Time and newly-learned song, Link returns into the Temple of Time and opens the Door of Time. However, by doing this, Link discovers that Ganondorf snuck behind him into the Secret Realm, where he stole the Triforce of Power. Seven years later, Link awakens as an adult, where he uses the Ocarina of Time more frequently, mostly to solve some puzzles. In the Temple of Time, Link meets Sheik, who teaches the Prelude of Light to him, enabling him to warp back to the location. Throughout Link's adventure, Sheik teached various melodies to him, each enabling Link to warp close to a nearby temple that he has already visited.

In the ending, when Princess Zelda and Link are in the sky, she asks for him to return the Ocarina of Time. Being a sage, Zelda uses her power to send Link to his original timeline, by playing Zelda's Lullaby.

Songs
In both The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Link can learn and perform 13 songs on the Ocarina of Time. Only a few of the songs appear in both games.

In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, some of the songs have a different effect while Link is under a specific transformation. For example, in most instances, the Sonata of Awakening can only be played by Deku Link.