Inside Jabu - Jabu's Belly

To go inside Jabu Jabu’s Belly is indeed to face the adventure of a lifetime, and Link is one lucky guy because that’s exactly what he has to do next in his ongoing journey within The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time, the popular 1998 video game from Nintendo. Lord Jabu Jabu, a hailed creature among the Zora tribe that Link encounters, is apparently sick...much like the Deku Tree was. And it seems the only way to rid him of his sickness is to once again break the curse that lies inside of him.

This is what Link must muster his strength and will to do, in order to collect that last stone of 3 stones that was required of him. Once he has the third stone, he can then further proceed in finding out what --- or who --- has been plaguing his beloved land of Hyrule, not to mention the beautiful princess of it, called Princess Zelda. So into the belly we go! But a little back - story information first…..

After having earned his first two stones, and taken down two curses, Link is set on making his way to the third. And while roaming Hyrule on his journey, he makes his way into the land of the Zoras, a beautiful and rare, but apparently more secretive and growingly extinct, tribe of people. These are not like the Kokiri or the Goron, as he met before in his last two dungeons.

The Zora are a people all unique on their own, ones who dwell in water and only survive when surrounded by it; think of them as full - bodied mermaids, perhaps, the only human element in them being that they can talk just as people do. Link talks to them and finds Ruto, a beautiful young Zora princess his age...who apparently believes that it’s her destiny to marry him in the future --- no awkwardness intended. Ooh, Link’s got a girlfriend now…..

Eventually, Link runs into King Zora, the king of the Zoras...and from him, he finds out that Lord Jabu - Jabu, apparently their main deity, is gravely sick and not acting as he usually does. So Link figures the next adventure is underway, and rightly so. He goes inside the giant fish’s belly as it opens its mouth and makes his way through, fighting off whom he must. 

But his job, this time, in addition to defeating the curse inside Lord Jabu - Jabu, is to also rescue Princess Ruto, who somehow appears to have been trapped inside. So at least, the good part is Link’s not alone, this time around. Electric, parasitic water creatures abound this time, and Link is not invulnerable to any of them, so he must protect and defend his health and life all while fending them off, one by one. 

This is also the dungeon in which Link meets with his good old buddy for the first time, a faithful weapon we Zelda fans all know as the boomerang, and it becomes a handier partner than ever. Link learns to throw it around with stunning accuracy as he fights off more foes and even unlocks rooms, puzzles and other treasures lying within both. Thankfully, he finds good news along the way….which is that Princess Ruto is, in fact, still alive and well; after he runs into her, he then teams up with her, and they both work together to get through the insides of the belly. 

At many points, Link picks her up, drops her, throws her to safety, and much more in order to ensure they both make it through. But many new tentacle creatures arise along the way, and the boomerang goes into action, slashing right through each and every single one of them like it’s judgment day, and Link could not be more proud, at this point, of all his progress, confidence and new skills gained as well. More Lizalfos await here as well; how they managed to get inside the belly of a large fish remains a mystery, but let it be what it is….

In addition to these, a whole host of Octoroks are inside, as well, and they certainly let Link know of their intentions to shoot him down. They shoot rock bullets out of their mouth, every time, and Link either deflects them with his shield, steps out of the way of them, or cuts them open with his sword. When he deflects them back, at greater speeds, they eventually fall….to rise no more. 

But there’s also Baris and Biris that Link needs to take care of, and these foes are a little harder. They look like jellyfish with armor on, on very tough exteriors, if you can imagine that. And to add to the mayhem, there’s also a trained group of stingers and tailpasarans that Links runs into, carefully timing his attacks and counter - strikes. Link’s precision, and the player’s skill, of course, are put to the test and further enhanced; you’ll notice yourself getting better at this game once you play through this dungeon, too. At least, that’s the goal Nintendo had in mind, I believe, that of ‘upping your skills’. 

Finally, both he and Ruto manage to make it into a new room of the belly, in which Big Octo (a giant Octorok, and the sub - boss guarding the main boss) tries to take Link down. But after he’s defeated, both Ruto and Link make it to Barinade, the final boss. It’s a giant, disgusting - looking, parasitic creature that looks like an anemone and drains Lord Jabu Jabu’s energy reserves as a means to keep itself alive...and getting bigger and stronger by the minute. 

This life - sucking parasite creature has to go. Link’s boomerang, carefully aimed, first severes all of its tentacles. Then, he attacks with his sword, just as he did twice before….with Gohma and King Dodongo. Finally, Barinade is taken down, having met his perfect match, and Link collects that third stone…..