Before Link can move on from Kokiri Forest and answer the call to visit the Deku Tree, he needs two essential pieces of equipment: the Kokiri Sword and the Deku Shield. The game places both within the village, but they ask for different kinds of problem-solving. The sword is a small navigation challenge built around a moving hazard; the shield is a shop purchase that requires 40 Rupees and rewards players who inspect the village rather than simply following the most direct path.
This guide lays out a clean order for collecting both items, explains what to look for in Kokiri Forest, and highlights the important limitation of the starting shield: it is made of wood and can be permanently lost to fire.
Quick route: what you need to do
- Go to the southwest portion of Kokiri Forest Village.
- Find the training area beside the training dummies and crawl through its tunnel.
- Use the alcoves around the rolling boulder to reach the ladder, then open the chest for the Kokiri Sword.
- Search the village until you have 40 Rupees.
- Visit the shop in the middle of the village, opposite Link’s Treehouse, and buy the Deku Shield.
The two-item structure is useful tutorial design. The sword teaches careful movement around an environmental hazard, while the shield teaches the value of searching buildings, scenery, and water for resources. If you are returning to the adventure and want a broader look at current Ocarina-related Switch 2 hardware coverage, see this guide to the Hori Ocarina of Time accessory for Nintendo Switch 2.
How to get the Kokiri Sword
The Kokiri Sword is Link’s first weapon. It is stored in a chest beyond a crawlspace in the southwest corner of Kokiri Forest Village. Start by locating the training ground near the training dummies. The route onward is a low tunnel, so the key visual cue is the crawlspace rather than a standard doorway.
On the other side is a compact hazard area: a raised central platform with the chest on top and a boulder continuously circling it. The boulder is not an enemy to defeat. Treat it as a timing obstacle. Trying to race straight around the platform risks a hit; the safer approach is to move between the recessed alcoves around the perimeter and let the boulder pass before advancing.
Safe path through the boulder area
- Crawl through the tunnel beside the training dummies.
- Observe the rolling boulder’s route around the elevated platform.
- Move along the outer edge and pause in alcoves whenever the boulder approaches.
- Continue around until you reach the ladder on the far side of the area.
- Climb the ladder to the upper platform.
- Jump from there onto the central platform and open the chest.
The chest contains the Kokiri Sword. The important practical point is that the ladder is the intended way up. The surrounding route is not merely a detour; it is how the game turns the chest into a short lesson about watching a hazard’s cycle, using safe spaces, and committing to movement during a clear opening.
What the alcoves are for
An alcove is a recessed space in the path that gives Link somewhere to wait while the boulder rolls by. In this section, they function as shelters rather than destinations. If the timing feels awkward, do not try to force a full lap in one run. Advance from one protected recess to the next. That controlled approach is simpler and avoids turning a very early obstacle into an unnecessary loss of health.
There is also a 5-Rupee gem in the sword area. Pick it up when convenient, especially if you intend to head straight to the shop after opening the chest. It does not replace a wider village search, but every Rupee helps toward the shield’s fixed price.
Related coverage includes How to Get the Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield in Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
How to get the Deku Shield
The Deku Shield is not hidden in a chest. It is sold at the village shop for 40 Rupees. The shop is located in the middle of Kokiri Forest Village, across from Link’s Treehouse. Once you have enough currency, speak to the shop owner and buy the wooden shield.
That makes the shield portion straightforward in objective terms, but potentially slower if you have ignored the village’s small interactions. The required total is 40 Rupees, and Kokiri Forest provides multiple ways to build that amount. The fastest general advice is to make one deliberate circuit of the village, checking homes, objects, trees, and the pond rather than repeatedly hunting in only one place.
Rupee locations and actions to check
- Mido’s House: Go to the northwest of the village, near the boy attempting to lift rocks. Inside Mido’s House are four chests containing Rupees.
- Plants and rocks: Pick up and throw interactive plants or rocks. Rupees can be underneath them.
- Small trees: Roll into them to shake Rupees from their leaves.
- The village pond: Swim down into the water to collect Rupees there.
- The sword obstacle area: Collect the 5-Rupee gem in the boulder arena.
These activities also communicate a useful early-game habit: objects that look decorative may still be interactive. Rolling into trees, moving rocks, and diving beneath the surface of a pond are all examples of actions worth testing when the game asks for a relatively modest sum of money. The 40-Rupee cost is therefore less a demand for grinding than a prompt to explore the village thoroughly.
Suggested Rupee-gathering order
For a low-friction route, collect the Kokiri Sword first, taking the 5-Rupee gem in the process. Then visit Mido’s House for its four chests. From there, make a loop through the village: lift movable plants and rocks, roll into the smaller trees, and check the pond by swimming down. This order combines the fixed, clearly identified rewards with the more scattered environmental Rupees.
If you reach the shop without 40 Rupees, there is no need to assume you missed a special one-time event. Return to the village loop and check the categories above methodically. The key locations cover indoors, ground-level objects, foliage, water, and the sword arena, so together they are designed to comfortably reach the purchase requirement.
Why the Deku Shield needs care
The Deku Shield is wooden, which matters because wood is flammable. Fire damage can destroy it permanently. If that happens, Link can return to the Kokiri Forest shop and buy a replacement, but each replacement costs another 40 Rupees.
“Permanently” here means the individual shield is gone rather than temporarily disabled. It is a resource-management concern: losing it creates another 40-Rupee errand before Link is again equipped with this type of protection. The practical lesson is simply to keep the shield’s material in mind whenever fire is involved. It is a capable starting item, but it is not an all-purpose answer to every threat.
The adventure later provides access to non-flammable metal shields, so the Deku Shield’s vulnerability is not a permanent condition for the entire game. In the opening stretch, though, it is the shield required to progress from the village, and protecting it can spare you a return shopping trip.
Common early mistakes to avoid
Searching for the sword in a house or shop
The sword is not bought and is not in the central village buildings. Head southwest to the training ground and use the tunnel beside the training dummies.
Trying to outrun the boulder without using cover
The alcoves are the reliable solution. Let the boulder pass, then progress in short sections until you reach the ladder on the opposite side.
Leaving the sword arena without the 5-Rupee gem
It is easy to focus on the chest and immediately depart. Remembering the gem reduces the remaining amount needed for the shield.
Buying nothing after reaching the shop
The relevant item is the Deku Shield, and it costs exactly 40 Rupees. Check your total before entering so you know whether you should buy it immediately or resume the village sweep.
Treating the wooden shield as fireproof
The Deku Shield can burn and be lost. It can be replaced at the village shop for 40 Rupees, but avoiding fire damage is cheaper than replacing it.
Checklist before leaving Kokiri Forest
- Kokiri Sword collected from the chest beyond the southwest training-ground tunnel.
- Deku Shield purchased from the village shop for 40 Rupees.
- Optional 5-Rupee gem collected in the sword’s boulder arena.
- Wooden shield’s fire vulnerability noted before encountering hazards that can burn it.
With the sword equipped and the shield purchased, Link has met the early equipment requirement holding him in Kokiri Forest. The route is compact, but it establishes the essentials neatly: observe hazards, use the environment, search beyond obvious paths, and keep track of the material limits of your gear.
