Great Fairy Fountain

A Great Fairy Fountain is, as the name would imply, a fountain in which a Great Fairy resides. Upon accessing the fountain, Link is often rewarded with important items or power ups which are helpful or necessary to finish the game. The Great Fairy's Fountains are often (but not always) hidden in places that are not accessible without special abilities or items, such as behind a giant rock or a wall that can be bombed. They are usually located in holes, caves, and inside of houses shaped like seashells (in The Wind Waker). Link receives special inventory increases for items like bomb bags at certain of these fountains. However, in some games such as A Link to the Past, the Great Fairies residing within the fountains only heal Link without granting him any special abilities.

They are only properly known as Great Fairy's Fountain in Ocarina of Time. In Majora's Mask and in The Wind Waker, they are referred to as Fairy's Fountain, or just Fairy Fountain, despite that they all house a Great Fairy within.

The Legend of Zelda
In The Legend of Zelda, there are two Great Fairy Fountains scattered throughout the land of Hyrule, and although they are not specifically referred to as such, they can be inferred to be Great Fairy Fountains since they serve the same purpose as in other Zelda games. They also set the overall image of the Great Fairy Fountains for many Zelda games to come, with the Great Fairy floating over a pond of water. The Great Fairy that appears does not grant any power-ups; instead, when Link approaches her, she will completely heal his status.

A Link to the Past
Even though the Great Fairy Fountains were missing in The Adventure of Link, they returned in A Link to the Past. They are scattered all over Hyrule, either inside caves or holes, with some of them being more well-hidden than others. Keeping with the overall appearance of the fountains in the original The Legend of Zelda, the Great Fairy Fountain contains a large pond in the middle with two statues resembling fairies at the side. The Great Fairy within will only heal Link's wounds completely after he approaches her.

Wishing Well
There is a Great Fairy Fountain of sorts known as the Wishing Well located inside a cave on an island in the middle of Lake Hylia, which is home to none other than the Queen of Fairies, Venus. Once inside, Link would find a long hallway leading up to a small pond with two statues on each side. The pond asks Link how many Rupees he would like to throw in, which would then tell him whether he would have "good" or "bad" luck. Every time the young hero deposits 100 Rupees in the pond, the Queen of Fairies appears and grants the young hero the ability to either carry five more bombs or arrows, with the maximum being 50 and 70, respectively.

Waterfall of Wishing
There is also a Mysterious Pond, otherwise known as the Waterfall of Wishing, that houses a Great Fairy within and is located right before reaching the Zora River. Just like the rest of the Great Fairy Fountains, it has a pond in the middle with two torches at the side. Here, Link can throw specific items into the pond to make a Great Fairy appear and receive better items in return, such as the Red Shield or the Magic Boomerang.

Located in the Dark World is another Mysterious Pond similar to the one in the Light World that contains a cursed Great Fairy. If the young hero throws in his bow in the middle of the pond, the cursed Great Fairy will appear and bestow upon him the Silver Arrows.

Link's Awakening DX
While not referred to as a Great Fairy as such, a similar fairy does make an appearance in the Game Boy Color remake of Link's Awakening, Link's Awakening DX, who refers to herself as the Fairy Queen. The Fairy Queen resides in a small fountain in the final room of the Color Dungeon, an optional dungeon exclusive to Link's Awakening DX. As thanks for visiting her, she bestows Link the 'power of color', which is either the red tunic or the blue tunic of choice. These tunics increase the power of Link's weapons or his defense when worn, respectively. Link can then revisit the Fairy Queen anytime to swap between the two tunics, but he can never regain his green tunic.

Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, there are a total of six Great Fairy's Fountains located all over Hyrule. All of the Great Fairies within grant Link special power-ups such as enhanced defense or special spells like Din's Fire, among other useful abilities. After Link has received the power-up in its respective Great Fairy's Fountain, he can go back and get his wounds healed by the Great Fairy.

The locations of each of the Great Fairy's Fountains as well as the power-ups received are as follows:


 * The summit of Death Mountain – Spin Attack and Magic Meter
 * Death Mountain Crater – Enhanced magic meter
 * The path to Hyrule Castle – Din's Fire
 * Zora's Fountain – Farore's Wind
 * Desert Colossus – Nayru's Love
 * The path to Ganon's Castle – Enhanced Defense

Unlike Majora's Mask and The Wind Waker, the Great Fairy's Fountains are all well-hidden in Ocarina of Time, and as such, they can be easily missed. All of the fountains in the game have the same appearance: two torches on each side of the fountain, a rather large pond in the middle from which the Great Fairies come out of, and a Triforce symbol in front of said pond. In order to get the Great Fairy to appear from the fountain, Zelda's Lullaby must be played with either Ocarina while standing on top of the Triforce symbol.

Majora's Mask
In Majora's Mask, the fountains are known as Fairy's Fountain instead of Great Fairy's Fountain, despite that Great Fairies live in them and that they serve the same purpose as the ones in Ocarina of Time. The Fairy's Fountains are all located on the four cardinal directions of Termina: Woodfall, Snowhead, Great Bay, and Ikana Canyon. They are not as well-hidden in comparison to its predecessor, for they are easily found inside a cave in plain sight.

The appearance of the Great Fairy's Fountain in Majora's Mask is more similar to that of Fairy's Fountains in Ocarina of Time. There is still a large pond in the middle, but there are no torches or Triforce symbols; instead, the fountain is surrounded by several columns and arcs. Since the Great Fairy living within was shattered into Stray Fairies by the Skull Kid wearing Majora's Mask, it is up to Link to gather the missing Stray Fairies from each of the area's dungeons in order to receive the respective power-up from said Great Fairy. Once the Great Fairy is restored and regains its true power, it will appear as soon as Link approaches the fountain.

Unlike Ocarina of Time, the power-ups received in each of the Fairy's Fountains are not necessary to proceed through the game.

The Wind Waker
The Great Fairy's Fountains, or Fairy Fountain, in The Wind Waker are all located in different islands of the Great Sea. The Fairy Fountains are easily spotted since the ones that are out in the sea look like houses shaped like seashells. Their entrances are all blocked by certain obstacles such as giant rocks, fires, vines (among other things) that must be removed using bombs or the Skull Hammer. The inside of the fountains still retain the same large pond from which the Great Fairies come out of, and the inside walls have the same appearance as well. There are also several seashells aligned the walls, keeping to the outside characteristics of the fountain.

The names of the islands in which the Fairy Fountains are located are as follows, along with the upgrades received:

Quiver Upgrades
 * Western Fairy Island – The Skull Hammer must be used to hit the nearby stake and remove the thorns blocking the entrance.
 * Thorned Fairy Island – The Skull Hammer must be used to hit the three nearby stakes and remove the fire blocking the entrance.

Bomb Upgrades
 * Eastern Fairy Island – A bomb must be used to blow up the rock blocking the entrance.
 * Southern Fairy Island – A bomb must be used to blow up the wooden wall blocking the entrance.

Wallet Upgrades
 * Northern Fairy Island – A bomb must be used to blow up the boulder blocking the entrance.
 * Outset Island in the Fairy Forest – A bomb must be used to blow up the rock blocking the entrance.

A special Fairy Fountain, which houses the Fairy Queen, is located in the Mother & Child Isles. The only way to reach it is by warping to that island using the Ballad of Gales. Upon landing inside the Fairy Fountain, the Fairy Queen grants the young hero the Fire and Ice Arrow.

After Link has received the upgrades or power-ups from its respective Fairy Fountain, the Great Fairy will no longer be at the fountain. Instead, fairies will be floating over the pond, ready to heal the young hero or be put in an empty bottle.

Four Swords Adventures
In Four Swords Adventures, Link can encounter various Great Fairy's Fountains while inside certain dungeons or caves. The Great Fairy's Fountains are rather small compared to its predecessors, and are usually very easy to find. They bear a slight resemblance to the Waterfall of Wishing from A Link to the Past, and it also plays the same role: if Link throws in a certain item into the pond, the Great Fairy will upgrade it to a Level 2 item. For example, throwing in the slingshot will allow Link to shoot seeds from three different directions at the same time. It is crucial to the game to use these Great Fairy's Fountains, for if Link does not upgrade his items, he will not be able to proceed through the game.

The Great Fairies that appear above the pond have the same appearance as the ones from The Wind Waker.

The Minish Cap
There are three Great Fairy Fountains in The Minish Cap that are home to one Great Fairy in each: the Great Mayfly Fairy, Great Butterfly Fairy, and the Great Dragonfly Fairy. The inside appearance of the fountains still retain the same overall look as in previous Zelda games: a large pond in the middle where the Great Fairy resides. The locations of the Great Fairy Fountains as well as the upgrades received are as follows:


 * Mount Crenel – While scaling the Crenel Wall, to the far right side is a piece of land where Link must use a bomb to open up an entrance. Once inside, the young hero can throw yet another bomb into the pond. The Great Mayfly Fairy will appear and ask him if he threw a golden bomb, a silver bomb, or neither. By answering honestly and responding "neither," the Great Mayfly Fairy will reward him with a larger Bomb Bag.
 * Minish Woods – With the Cane of Pacci in hand, to the far northeast corner of Eastern Hill is a small hole. Link must use the Cane to get to the higher platform and head east into the Minish Woods. The lone tree here holds a Great Fairy Fountain inside. By throwing in all of Link's Rupees into the pond, the Great Butterfly Fairy will appear and reward him with a bigger wallet for being so generous.
 * Royal Valley – Upon entering the Royal Valley, Link must head down the stairs and immediately to the right will be a cave that can be bombed. Inside is another Great Fairy Fountain with a large pond. Once the young hero approaches it, the Great Dragonfly Fairy will appear and ask several questions. If Link can answer the questions correctly, she will reward Link's knowledge by giving him a larger quiver.

Twilight Princess
Unlike previous Zelda games, the Great Fairy Fountains in Twilight Princess are not scattered all over Hyrule. Instead, they can all be found inside different floors of the Cave of Ordeals. Once Link reaches the 10th, 20th, 30th, and 40th floors, he can approach the pond in the middle of the room to make a Great Fairy appear. Each of them will reward him by releasing fairies at the springs of the four Spirits of Light. On the 50th floor of the Cave of Ordeals, the Great Fairy will fill one of the young hero's empty bottles with Great Fairy's Tears. She will also tell him that he can get more Tears by going to any of the Light Spirit's Springs, although Link will only be able to have one bottle filled with Great Fairy Tears at any given time.