How time works
Every cycle lasts three days, from 06:00 on the first day until the moon falls at 06:00 after the final night. Play the Song of Time before then to return to the dawn of the first day. If the moon falls, you lose everything since your last save.
The clock
| Speed | One in-game hour | Full cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | about 45.5 s | about 55 min |
| Inverted Song of Time | about 136.5 s | about 2 h 44 min |
These are the Nintendo 64 figures, taken from the game's own clock. The Inverted Song of Time makes the clock run three times slower.
Time stands still on the Moon.
What you keep when you reset
- Masks, songs and key items such as the Bow, Hookshot, Lens of Truth and arrow upgrades
- Heart Containers, Pieces of Heart, magic and defense upgrades
- Wallet, quiver and bomb bag upgrades, and your Empty Bottles
- Rupees you deposited at the bank
- Activated Owl Statues, maps bought from Tingle, and the Bombers' Notebook
- The Gilded Sword
What you lose
- Rupees you are carrying (bank them first)
- Arrows, bombs, Bombchus, Deku Sticks, Deku Nuts, Magic Beans and Powder Kegs
- Whatever is inside your bottles
- Quest items you are carrying: Title Deeds, the Room Key, letters, the Pendant of Memories and similar trade items
- Small Keys, Boss Keys and any Stray Fairies you have not handed to a Great Fairy yet
- The Razor Sword turns back into the Kokiri Sword
- Every person and place resets: cleared temples are cursed again and every side quest starts from scratch
Once you have beaten a temple's boss, a warp near the temple entrance takes you straight back to the boss room in later cycles.
Slowing time and skipping ahead
Two variations of the Song of Time can be played as soon as you own the Ocarina. The Scarecrow hints at them.
- Inverted Song of Time (Song of Time notes played backwards): slows the clock. Play it at the start of every cycle that involves a temple. Playing it again restores normal speed.
- Song of Double Time (every note of the Song of Time played twice): jumps forward to the next 06:00 or 18:00.
Saving
Playing the Song of Time saves your game at the dawn of the first day. Owl Statues offer a temporary save that is deleted once you load it, so it only works as a pause.
Planning a cycle
- Bank your Rupees before playing the Song of Time.
- Hand Stray Fairies to the Great Fairy before resetting.
- Check the Bombers' Notebook to see which events happen when, and combine quests that run at different times of day.
- Use the Song of Soaring to move between regions quickly.