Ruto and the Cave of Ruto

Link learns the Jump spell

While all of the towns spread across Hyrule feature a wealth of NPCs for Link to chatter with and learn more about the story or about where he should go next, towns only serve three required purposes for Link's visit (otherwise, the NPCs can be ignored...something that wasn't improved upon until the next installment in the series, where interaction with the NPCs becomes more thorough and more vital to your quest).  Either way, these three purposes are to refill your magic meter, refill your life meter and learn a new spell.  To learn the jump spell we had to bring the trophy in town, and some dame got really excited that we had found her town's sacred treasure that the goriya stole and invites us into her house.  (Wow...subtle, Nintendo).

One way or another, we reach the basement to find a short old man (disappointment) who teaches us the Jump spell.  Seems like a really silly spell, right?  All it does is strengthen an ability we already had.  I thought this on my first play-through too.  Then I realized that Jump is required to finish the game (you cannot escape certain caves without it, including the one we are approaching) and it makes fights against several of the bosses, including the second to last, incredibly more simplistic.  Usually in games where magic takes a primary role, it is the simplest spells that are your best friends while the complex ones can be ignored situationally.  This game is interesting in that it makes magic necessary to complete the game (as virtually every spell is needed in some situation to advance) while future titles that involve magic make it more of an option and frivolity.

The cave of ruto is where this game starts to take it up, even further, in difficulty.  This is the game's way of saying "grind or you're wasting my time."  You face strong monsters in close quarters that at your current level are tough (later, these guys are a joke).  The game, essentially, forces you to be prepared for what is to come and will not allow you to advance if your level of experience is not adequate.  Typical behavior for an RPG, but also a bit restrictive (and I very quickly tire of the area around the North Palace).