Ocarina of Time
Ocarina Items
Ocarina Items, often called OI, is a glitch that allows Link to play a fake ocarina that is fully functional by using certain other items. This trick is useful for situations where the ocarina cannot be used, or is skipped to save time.
Bottle OI and bomb OI are the two most commonly useful methods. Bomb OI is the faster of the two when done unbuffered, saving around 7s over bottle OI if dumping and catching are both needed or 1s if only catching is needed. But because bomb OI is frame perfect, some runners choose bottle OI for ease, and pause buffering bomb OI eats into the time it saves.
Bottle Methods
In mid-air
When Link has a full Bottle in his hand, you can delay the Bottle dumping animation by jumping and then pressing the button for the Bottle in mid-air. If you then quickly put away the Bottle before you hit the ground by switching to a new item, the game will not be able to play the Bottle dumping animation, so it will default to the Ocarina animation instead.
Setup:
- Catch something in a bottle. Most of the time Bugs/Fish are used because they can be dumped and recaught anywhere, but catching a Fairy or Blue Fire also works.
- Backflip, sidehop, or jump into the air, with the filled Bottle still in your hand.
- i.e. the bottle should be dark blue in Link's hand to indicate it has just been filled
- Before you touch the ground, press the button the bottled item is on and then another item that Link can pull out in mid-air. (Sword, Hookshot, Boomerang, Deku Stick, Hammer, Bombs, Bombchus, etc.)
- If done correctly, when you land you should be holding the item as if it were the Ocarina and be able to play songs.
Notes:
- Trying to switch to the Ocarina, show items, or spells in mid-air will cancel the Bottle dumping animation altogether, and no animation will play when you hit the ground.
- Trying to switch to an item that cannot be pulled in mid-air, such as the Lens of Truth or Deku Nuts, will Bottle Dupe over the item when you hit the ground. This is also true if you try to use an item with 0 ammo left, or an explosive when there are already three explosives present.
- Switching to a Bottle in mid-air will play the drinking animation when you hit the ground. On v1.2 this acts like Milk and can be used to refill Link's hearts. On versions 1.0 and 1.1 the drinking animation plays but there are no other effects.
- Because both the Bottle dumping animation and the Ocarina animation are delayed until Link hits the ground, landing on a switch will make the animation delay the switch cutscene. This can be used to activate a blue switch that normally requires constant pressure for a few seconds, even after stepping off of it.
ESS shuffle method
Ocarina Items can be done on all versions during Link's extended superslide animation, whether targeting during the shuffle or turning freely without target. Press the full bottle while it is in Link's hand, then 1 or 2 frames after, press the corresponding button of the item that Link can pull out in order for this to work.
Putaway Method(s)
If you empty a Bottle one frame after putting the Bottle away while standing in place, Link will play a fake Ocarina while his hands are empty. This is 1.0 only.
With very specific conditions of shallow water of a certain depth and iron boots, you can trigger Link to put away bottle just after you've triggered his bottle action. This allows for put away OI to be performed on all versions of the game.
This can also be done by entering a crawlspace to put away the bottle.
This can also be done by mounting Epona to put away the bottle.
Bomb Method
On v1.1 and v1.2 (including MQ) , you can play a fake ocarina using a bomb and a show item, spell, or bottled item. If you hold a bomb over Link's head and let it explode, Link will keep holding his arms over his head for several frames during the explosion. You must be moving around when the bomb explodes so that the damage from the explosion does not cause him to drop his arms too soon. On the same frame that Link lowers his arms, use an item that would normally cause a cutscene such as a magic bean, bugs, or Din's Fire. Instead of using the item, Link will play a fake ocarina.
Setup:
- Pull out a bomb
- Begin backwalking or walking around before it explodes
- On the 11th explosion frame, pause the game (frame where Link still has his hands up, but the bomb's shadow disappears; 2nd frame that the explosion dims)
- Buffer the button for the item as you unpause
- If done correctly, Link should be holding an invisible ocarina
Notes:
- This does not work with chus
- This does not work on v1.0
- This may be slightly faster than the bottle method in many cases, but it is frame-precise so it is generally not preferred
- It's possible to avoid damage from the explosion by beginning to walk at just the right time before the explosion