Map

Maps play a major part in the Legend of Zelda series. They often show detailed representations of places Link can explore. There are mainly World Maps and Dungeon Maps used for exploring their respective areas, but there are certain maps that serve other purposes.

Uses
Maps are obviously used for navigation, but their uses have become increasingly elaborate as the Legend of Zelda series progressed. Maps detail the layout of the Overworld or a Dungeon and always show Link's current location. As with Dungeon Maps, World Maps are often blank until an area is explored or a full Map of an area is obtained. In many Legend of Zelda titles, maps can only be viewed on a subscreen, but in The Legend of Zelda, a very simplistic mini-map could be viewed in the HUD. The mini-map mechanic did not return until Ocarina of Time, in which it only shows the area Link is currently traveling and his position in accordance to the map, as well as where he entered from. The mini-map returned every console title until Skyward Sword. Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks displayed Maps on the top screen of the Nintendo DS with the ability to move them to the touchscreen to write notes and draw paths. Despite their similarities, World Maps and Dungeon Maps often have distinct differences.

World Map
In the Legend of Zelda series, using maps has become essential to traveling around the Overworld. The Legend of Zelda only displayed a plain gray square on screen, which represented the Overworld. A flashing red rectangle indicated Link's location. Full World Maps have been available during gameplay since A Link to the Past Often times, key locations will be marked on World Maps, such as towns and Link’s next destination. In A Link to the Past and every game since The Wind Waker, it is sometimes possible to magnify an area of the World Map to get a keener look at the layout. When warping is possible, some of the titles in the series would display the World Map to show where Link can warp to. There are diverse methods of obtaining and using World Maps throughout the series.

Sometimes, Link begins an adventure with a full World Map. In A Link to the Past, the World Maps were available in their entirety from the start. Link's Awakening's World Map starts out blank, but an atlas in the Mabe Village library, accessible early on, reveals every location on Koholint. Though only a level select screen, Four Swords' map can also be wholly viewed from the start, with a few minor additions as the game progress.

Most commonly, the areas of the World Map had to be filled in. Link’s Awakening included an World Map with a grid. Each section of the grid is obscured until explored. For the first time in the series, each location on the World Map is labeled, as with every map in future titles. Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages use the same mapping system. Similarly, the World Map of Ocarina of Time shows only places that have been visited, though a grid is not in place. Much like in this title, Four Swords Adventures, The Minish Cap, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword also mark new regions on the map when Link first enters them. New Islands and Train Stations in Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks can also be viewed through the World Map only after they are discovered.

Sometimes, parts of the World Map could only be viewed by earning them first. Maps for each region in Majora's Mask must be purchased from Tingle, even if a region has already been explored. The Sea Chart in ‘’The Wind Waker’’ can only be updated with images of islands by tossing Fishmen All-Purpose Bait. Smith gives Link a World Map early in The Minish Cap, though its regions on the Map must be uncovered as described earlier.

While useful, the World Map was necessary to move forward in most Zelda game. However, they were crucial for exploration in both Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. No region of the Overworld in Phantom Hourglass could be explored until Link had a Sea Chart for that area, each of which could be found in the Temple of the Ocean King. Together, the World Map was separated into quadrants. This is much like the Rail Map in Spirit Tracks, which had also had four parts, one for each Realm. A part of the Rail Map must be attained from the Spirit Tower to visit the Realm detailed on it. To travel across either of these Overworlds, a course must be charted on the Maps themselves.

Dungeon Map
Dungeon maps are very common, but very useful items that can be found in nearly every dungeon in the Zelda series. They are found in large chests, or lying on the ground.

Once obtained, a dungeon map will allow Link to see every room of every floor in the dungeon it was found in, with the illuminated rooms showing where he has already visited. Before it is obtained, the map of the dungeon is only completed as new rooms are entered. Most often the mapscreen will automatically fill in rooms visited even before obtaining the dungeon map. On the map screen, rooms which have already been visited are shown in a different color from rooms which have not yet been entered.

Maps prove useful in finding hidden rooms of a dungeon. But with the map alone, Treasure Chests and the Dungeon Boss location are not shown. In order to make this information apparent, Link must first find the Compass.

Trivia
In Ocarina of Time, the dungeon map artwork when it is grabbed out of a treasure chest always shows a map of Dodongo's Cavern.