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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe standard Fire Temple route contains eight small keys. Collect them in this order: the first freed Goron, the bombable wall in the bridge-and-lava room, the opposite Goron cell in that room, two cells around the rolling-boulder room, two cells reached from its upper level, and the final cell opened after obtaining the Megaton Hammer. The Big Key is a separate item behind a rusted switch after the second Flare Dancer; it opens Volvagia’s boss door back in the entrance room.
Fire Temple key route at a glance
Small keys are the ordinary keys used on locked dungeon doors. Nintendo’s manual states the rule plainly: “Use small keys to open locked doors.” The Big Key is different: “You need this key to open the door to the boss’s room.” In the standard Fire Temple, you need all eight small keys to follow the normal progression, then the Big Key for the boss door.
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| Key | Where to find it | What it opens next |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Goron cell, immediately after meeting Darunia | Locked door straight ahead in the entrance room |
| 2 | Bombable wall in the large bridge-and-lava room | Progression through that room’s locked route |
| 3 | Opposite Goron cell in the same bridge room | Next locked door beyond the moving-platform section |
| 4 | Goron cell near the outer switch in the rolling-boulder room | One of the two locks before the narrow bridge/map section |
| 5 | Second Goron cell in the opposite niche of the rolling-boulder room | The other lock before the narrow bridge/map section |
| 6 | Goron below the cracked floor in the upper boulder-room area | Later lava/fire-section progression |
| 7 | Goron cell across the upper boulder-room area after a switch | Another locked route toward the fire maze |
| 8 | Goron cell reached after the Megaton Hammer sequence | Locked door behind the hammered totem near the entrance-side lower room |
This numbering follows the practical standard-route order. A map may label rooms differently, but the landmarks above let you identify the correct door without relying on a particular map’s naming scheme.
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Key 1: free the first Goron and open the entrance door
Reach the first cell
- Enter the Fire Temple and climb the entrance stairs.
- Turn left and speak with Darunia.
- Jump across the platforms to reach the floor switch.
- Step on the switch to open the Goron cell.
- Speak to the Goron and take the chest’s small key.
Use the key
Return to the entrance room. The first locked door is straight ahead, opposite the approach from the stairs. Use Key 1 there. If you have wandered into side rooms before opening this door, come back to the entrance rather than spending the key elsewhere: this is the intended first lock.
Keys 2 and 3: the bridge-and-lava room
Key 2 at the bombable wall
Beyond the first locked door is the large room built around a bridge, lava, and moving platforms. Cross partway over the bridge, then jump to the platforms on the right. Look for the suspicious section of wall and place a bomb beside it. The blast reveals a passage and a switch. Activate the switch and open the chest for Key 2.
The wall is easy to miss because the main bridge draws your attention forward. Deliberately check the right-hand platforms before committing to the far side; the bombable wall is the route’s first optional-looking detail that is actually required for the key count.
Key 3 in the opposite Goron cell
Continue across the bridge-and-moving-platform room to the far side. Locate the Goron cell there, release the Goron, and take the small key from the chest. This is Key 3. Use it on the next locked door encountered on the forward route. The two early keys are in the same broad room, but they are not interchangeable checkpoints: collect the wall key first, then the far-side cell key.
Keys 4 and 5: circle the rolling-boulder room
Enter and read the room’s layout
After the fire-column and fence section, you reach a room filled with continuously rolling boulders. Do not search only the center. Walk around the perimeter, watching for Goron cells set into the edges and niches.
Key 4 near the outer switch
One cell is near the room’s outer switch. Free that Goron and open the chest for Key 4. The switch and the moving boulders can make this area feel like a timing challenge, but the key itself is obtained by reaching the cell and releasing its occupant.
Key 5 in the opposite niche
Continue around the perimeter to the opposite niche. A second Goron cell contains Key 5. Because both cells are in one room, it is common to leave with only one key and assume the other belongs to a later area. Check the entire circumference before moving on.
Which door opens next?
Once you have both keys, use them on the two locked doors that lead toward the narrow bridge and map section. If a lock remains in this part of the dungeon, you have probably opened only one of the boulder-room cells. Keys 4 and 5 are the pair required to clear this checkpoint.
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The map checkpoint is not another key
In the narrow bridge room, look above the door and shoot the eye switch. The chest that becomes accessible contains the Dungeon Map. It is a navigation aid, not a small key, so do not count it when checking your progress. The map is useful for confirming which corridors you have already traversed, but the next required keys come from returning to the upper paths of the boulder-room area.
Keys 6 and 7: upper boulder-room routes
Key 6 below the cracked floor
Follow the locked-door route into the lava and fire section, then work your way to the upper level of the boulder room. Look for a cracked floor. Bomb it to open a passage down to a Goron cell. Free the Goron and take Key 6 from the chest.
The cracked floor is a vertical shortcut to the cell below, not a decorative break. If the upper area appears to contain no key, inspect its floor for the cracked section rather than returning to the lower perimeter.
Key 7 across the upper area
Return to the upper level after collecting Key 6. Hit the switch there, then cross the platforms exposed by the switch. The route reaches the opposite Goron cell. Release the Goron and take Key 7.
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The fire maze, Compass, and the route to the Megaton Hammer
Spend a key on the lava/fire-section door
Use one of the keys from the upper boulder-room paths on the locked door leading into the lava and fire section. Cross the fire maze. A side door leads to the Compass if you want the dungeon’s item-location aid; the Compass is not a key and is not required for the key count.
Suppress the flame wall and identify the real door
Step on the floor switch to suppress the flame wall. Then bomb the fake door and continue through the real door. The visual trick matters: the apparent door is a decoy, while the bombable section reveals the continuation. If the flame wall returns before you cross, reactivate the floor switch and make the crossing again.
Obtain the Megaton Hammer
Defeat the first Flare Dancer, climb the fences, and activate the crystal switch. Sprint up the timed stairs to reach the chest containing the Megaton Hammer. This item changes the route: it lets you break the heavy obstacles and activate rusted switches needed for the final key and the Big Key.
Key 8: the post-Hammer Goron cell
Open the Hammer route
After taking the Megaton Hammer, follow the face-block or totem route. Hammer the obstruction, and move the Song of Time block when it is in the way. Continue until you can activate the rusted switch.
Free the last Goron
The rusted switch opens the Goron cell reached after the Hammer sequence. Release the Goron and take Key 8. This is the final small key on the standard route, so a locked door after this point should not be mistaken for another key location.
Use Key 8 near the entrance-side lower room
Take the key to the locked door behind the hammered totem near the entrance-side lower room. This is the door that becomes usable only after the Hammer sequence. If you are carrying seven keys and cannot find the last lock, return toward the entrance-side lower route and look for the totem you can now destroy.
Big Key: location and boss-door route
Get the Big Key
From the entrance-side lower route, defeat the second Flare Dancer. Hammer the rusted switch it guards, then open the chest for the Big Key, also called the Boss Key. It is a separate item from all eight small keys.
Reach Volvagia’s room
- Return to the entrance room.
- Go up the stairs and turn left.
- Cross the central platform.
- Use the Big Key on the boss door.
The door opens into Volvagia’s room. If the boss door will not open, confirm that you collected the Big Key chest behind the rusted switch; an eighth small key cannot substitute for it.
Door-finding checklist when you are stuck
- Only one key after meeting Darunia: you have Key 1; return to the entrance and open the door straight ahead.
- Two keys missing in the bridge room: bomb the suspicious right-side wall for Key 2, then check the opposite Goron cell for Key 3.
- One key missing around the boulders: circle the entire rolling-boulder room. The cells are near the outer switch and in the opposite niche.
- Map chest counted as a key: it is only the Dungeon Map. Shoot the eye switch above the door, then continue toward the upper boulder-room paths.
- Upper area appears empty: bomb the cracked floor for Key 6, then hit the upper switch and cross the platforms for Key 7.
- Seven keys but no final lock: finish the Megaton Hammer sequence, activate the rusted switch, and free the Goron for Key 8.
- Boss door remains locked: find the Big Key behind the rusted switch after the second Flare Dancer and bring it back to the entrance room.
Small keys versus the Big Key
Keep the two categories separate while checking your inventory. The eight small keys are consumed by ordinary locked doors throughout the dungeon. The Big Key is used once, on the boss door. The Dungeon Map and Compass help with navigation, while the Megaton Hammer is a progression item; none of those three should be included in the small-key total.
This guide describes the standard Fire Temple route and keeps its landmarks separate from Master Quest layouts. Room names can vary between maps and editions, so identify each destination by its bridge, rolling boulders, cracked floor, Goron cell, rusted switch, or Hammered totem. That landmark-based approach prevents opening a similarly placed door in the wrong route.
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