The constant repetition of returning to the Temple of Time to both reverse and advance the flow of time is a reminder for how things are changing, with the juxtaposition of Hyrule experienced through youth and maturity being used as the motivation to see things through to the end. This process causes the player to cross paths with Nabooru several times during this process, seeing how actions in the past affect the future and furthermore how playing as adult Link provides the benefit of hindsight to times as child.

The main gameplay mechanic in order to conquer the trials of the Spirit Temple, is that the player needs to go back and forth through time and return as both the young and adult versions of Link, as certain sections of the location require specific skills unique to both. Taking these ideas into account, the appreciation of Link's youth and subsequent tension of being in Hyrule as an adult reach a boiling point upon arriving at the Spirit Temple. This shift causes a longing for the brighter, more hopeful Hyrule that the player experiences during the earlier moments in Ocarina of Time, when Link was a child. The people have changed, towns are left in ruins or a grim shadow of what they used to be, and the general tone of the game takes a much more somber turn. Then in a shocking plot twist for the time, halfway through the experience Link is trapped in the Temple of Time and awakens in a world that is no longer the one that he (and by extension, the player) are familiar with. Gamers may come to appreciate the serenity of Zora's Domain or cozy warmth of Lon Lon Ranch, all while finding favorites among the many colorful characters to be found in Ocarina of Time's world. For roughly the first third of the adventure, players control Link as a child, meeting the many denizens of the world and becoming familiar with the wonders and secrets of Hyrule as a whole.

Being right there in the name of the game, Ocarina of Time spends a great deal of its narrative tackling ideas of time travel and the changes that occur as days go by.

Ocarina of time temple order