Myths of The Legend of Zelda Series

This page details various popular and long-running fan-generated myths within The Legend of Zelda series. These are out-of-universe concepts that deal with various elements of gameplay. For myths within the story of the games themselves, see: Mythology in The Legend of Zelda Series.

Swordless Completion
Although this myth isn't as commonly accepted as it once was, it is still believed by some that you can complete The Legend of Zelda without ever acquiring a sword. This belief is likely furthered by the existence of "swordless run" videos which can be found on YouTube and other sites. These runs do not actually complete the game, however, as it is impossible to do so without a sword. You can make it as far as the final battle with Ganon, but you'll need a sword to defeat him. A swordless run is considered "complete" once the player has reached the Ganon battle in Level 9 without a sword.

Magnifying Lens is Required
It is commonly believed that the Magnifying Lens is required to get through the Wind Fish's Egg. While it does make it significantly easier, one still could simply use trial and error to determine the path as well.

Obtaining the Ballad of the Wind Fish
Some people believed that Link needed to have Marin following him in order to get the Ballad of the Wind Fish. On the contrary, it can be obtained as soon as obtaining the Ocarina by merely attempting to use it in front of Marin.

Defeating the Running Man
There have been many proposed tricks and actions purported to be able to beat the Running Man in the race to the bridge in the Lost Woods, including: warping, leaving the game on for a certain amount of time, lifting the cartridge a small amount, etc. All have been false. It has been confirmed through the use of cheat device that no matter what Link does, the Running Man will always beat him by one second; additionally, 's text dump shows that the game contains no dialogue to deal with Link beating the Running Man.

The most famous "Defeat the Running Man" video was put up on YouTube in January 2009 by the user "RustySporks." The video had been viewed nearly 66,000 times as of June 2010 and still causes much confusion over the myth, both on YouTube and on GameFAQS, where the user goes by the name of Faramir77. The "evidence" in the video was debunked in another video uploaded by user "spinout182" in October 2009.

Hole in Zora's Domain
There is a hole that can be found under the frozen ice in Zora's Domain which many believe was originally a passage to the Unicorn Fountain. It could have been, but if it was, the coding to transport Link to it has been removed.

Obtaining the Triforce
The Triforce plays a major role in Ocarina of Time, and because of its elusive nature, many methods for obtaining the Triforce have been proposed. Some of these include throwing a bomb in the center of the lava under Ganon's Castle and using the "Overture of Sages," a fake ocarina song. However, there is no real way to obtain the Triforce. The official Zelda website explains, "The Triforce is an important element of the game's plot, but it is not an item that Link can earn. On the Quest Status screen, there is a picture of the Triforce in the middle of the Spiritual Medallions. This picture is for decoration only, and cannot be filled in with the Triforce."

No Discount for the Shield
It has been widely believed that a programming error prevented people from getting the discount for a Hylian Shield that the guard in Kakariko Village promises Link. This belief comes from a misunderstanding about how the discount is applied. People believed that the discount would be shown immediately in the displayed price of the shield. However, the discount is not applied until after Link attempts to buy the shield, which is what led to the confusion.

Hyrule Loach
In the early days of, when word of the Hyrule Loach first started to spread, many people believed it to be purely a myth. Eventually, though, as more people came across it, it became clear that it was a real feature of the game. It was not believed to be real due to how infrequently it appears, that it largely stayed in the middle of the pond far under the water, and that it looked similar to background fish that cannot be caught.

Finding the Sky Temple
It was believed by some players that it was possible to get to a place called the Sky Temple by placing a bomb exactly in the middle of the lava pit under Ganon's Castle.

Missing the Ice Arrows
Many gamers think that the Ice Arrows in Ocarina of Time are missable because of the well-hidden key in the Gerudo's Training Ground. For this reason, many think that they have lost the Ice Arrows for good if they take the wrong path. A total of 9 Small Keys can be found hidden in the training ground, but only 7 are required to reach the Ice Arrow if the correct path is chosen from the beginning. Many assume that if Link chooses the wrong path to get to where the Ice Arrow is, there will not be enough Small Keys to correct the mistake, rendering the Ice Arrow impossible to reach. In reality, there are other well-hidden keys inside the Gerudo's Training Ground that can help him correct the error.

Doggy Racetrack
It is very commonly believed that in order to win the Piece of Heart at the Doggy Racetrack, Link had to win 150 Rupees in one bet. This is just a misunderstanding as Mamamu Yan isn't clear that she means a collective win of 150 Rupees. Link only has to win 150 Rupees in all of his bets in one session, without losing a bet in between. So three bets winning 60 Rupees, first place three times with a 20 Rupee bet each, will win him the Piece of Heart.

Maple's Items
A commonly held belief is that hitting Maple a certain way will affect what items she drops. It actually does not affect what she drops at all. She'll drop the same things no matter how Link hits her. What it does affect, however, is where the items go on the screen. With places that have areas on the screen Link can't get to, that could mean missed items. The source of the myth is likely that fact, and the fact that what she releases is random.

Bosses Don't Have Names
This is a widely common myth because the names of the bosses do not show up in the battles. Instead they are discovered by taking a Pictograph of the bosses and then getting them made into figurines at the Nintendo Gallery. This is due to the fact that many players choose not to undertake the Nintendo Gallery sidequest, so they then never see the names of the bosses.

Nintendo Gallery complete only in the Second Quest
There is a common belief that the Nintendo Gallery can only be completed in the Second Quest. The source of the belief is the following: Some of the figurines are obtained from characters and enemies that make a limited number of appearances. Supposedly, Link inevitably misses some of them by the moment the Deluxe Picto Box is available. In the Nintendo Player's Guide by Nintendo Power, players are instructed to "take each [Legendary Pictograph] to Carlov during the second quest if you want a figurine," though they can be used in the original quest.

When the Second Quest begins, the Deluxe Picto Box is already in Link's possession and he can take a pictographs of anything he missed previously. However, the Nintendo Gallery can actually be completed in the First Quest if Link stays vigilant on the following aspects:


 * The figurines of Tetra and Helmaroc King must be obtained before the reveals about the Great Flood.
 * The figurine of the first boss, Gohma, can be obtained later in Ganon's Tower. (In, it can be obtained during the original battle. Link can acquire the Deluxe Picto Box on his first visit to Windfall Island, before the first dungeon, as the Forest Firefly is not needed to make it.)
 * The figurine of Puppet Ganon requires a detour from the game's final. A pictograph must be taken during battle, and then the game must be saved and the system restarted so that Link can go to the Gallery to show the pictograph to Carlov.
 * The figurines of Jabun, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, Great Fairy, Queen of Fairies, Laruto, Fado, and Ganondorf may all be collected, contrary to what the strategy guides claim, by purchasing the respective Legendary Pictograph from Lenzo after meeting each character for the first time in a cutscene — the first brief glimpse of Ganondorf does not count for this and neither does speaking to the Queen of Fairies before rescuing Aryll.

In, players can send pictographs to one another via Tingle Bottle. These pictographs can be saved to the Picto Box and used for the Nintendo Gallery. Thus, in the remake, it is always possible to complete the gallery - even after missing limited opportunities - with outside help.

Horseshoe Island's Blue ChuChu only appears at night
For some reason, this erroneous piece of information has appeared in several FAQs, walkthroughs and guides for the game. It is not true at all; the enemy is there at all times of the day and night. A possible explanation is that it is easily missed; the part of the island where it appears is quite wide, and it is easy to walk past its spawn point without it appearing.

Biggoron's Sword
A wildly popular myth that has been circulating ever since 's release is that a sword hanging in a side hallway on the second floor of Hyrule Castle is the Biggoron's Sword. This is false. The guards on this sword are longer and wider than the guards on the Biggoron's Sword. The sword's hilt is much thicker and a different color than the Biggoron's Sword's hilt. The pommel on the sword is far blunter than the pommel on the Biggoron's Sword. The design in the center is totally different. The only thing that is really at all similar is that they appear to have the same ratio of blade length to the width of the guard and and length of the hilt. That does not, however, make them the same sword. More likely is that it's just a generic European longsword, which would explain the coincidence in size ratios, as the Biggoron's Sword itself is based on a generic European longsword.

Entering Fado's House
In Ordon Village, there is a house near Mayor Bo's, which belongs to Fado. There was a rumor regarding the possibility of entering said house, but it was proven untrue, and the only way to enter there is through either glitches or highly skilled techniques (as in the video shown here). One possible explanation for the house being inaccessible is that, during day, there's no one inside and thus it's locked for safety reasons; and during night, it's locked because Fado is sleeping and doesn't want visitors. A similar case happens with one of the houses found in Kakariko Village, in Ocarina of Time.