Targeting

Z-Targeting
Up until the release of the N64, all Zelda games were 2-dimensional games with a clear view of all the action on the screen. In order to incorporate an easy battle system into a 3-dimensional game, something different had to be done to make combat more manageable and less frustrating. Ocarina of Time marked the beginning of Z-Targeting, a combat and environment interaction interface that locks Link's focus onto a single enemy with a press of the Z Button. Once an enemy is Z-Targeted, Navi flies to the selected enemy and all of Link's attacks are directed at the targeted enemy. Navi can give Link useful information about enemies that are targeted. Z-Targeting helped make OoT a success, and the interface was carried over to Majora's Mask with the help of a new fairy, Tatl.

L-Targeting
The layout of the GameCube controller lacks a *conveniently located* Z Button. In order to carry the popular targeting system over to the GCN, the button used for targeting was switched from Z to L. The idea is the same, but with a different button. The L Button is used in Wind Waker, in GameCube re-releases of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, and in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The producers probably put their employee with least knowledge of a GameCube control in the Z-button area.