Stealth

Some situations require a hero not boldly crash in through the front gates. Hyrule, Labrynna, Holodrum, and the Great Sea are no exceptions, even for the most courageous young men.

Stealth Missions are any mission, large or small, testing the ability to sneak past guards.

A Link to the Past
A Link to the Past begins with a telepathic message from Princess Zelda. The message beckons Link and/or his uncle to sneak into Hyrule Castle from the Garden.

Ocarina of Time
In  Ocarina of Time, Young Link must sneak past the patrolling soldiers in order to meet Princess Zelda in the courtyard of Hyrule Castle. Attacking the soldiers is not recommended. Upon seeing Link, they will quickly apprehend him and toss him in the dirt road to town.

Before obtaining Gerudo membership at the Gerudo's Fortress, Link must jump, run, hide, or knock down Gerudo patrols by any means necessary or land in a jail.

Majora's Mask
Deku Link, at the suggestion of a monkey, must sneak through the Gardens of the Deku Palace to find the Magic Bean salesman. Majora's Mask improved on the Stealth Mission format by adding representation of line-of-sight with several dots in front of patrolling Deku; however, this only occurs at night, and so during the daytime the player cannot rely on these visual representations. Another expansion is that Link is required to sneak overhead to progress in addition to the usual run and cover technique.

Link must infiltrate the Pirate's Fortress in Great Bay to retrieve four Zora Eggs, which the Gerudo Pirates have stolen. First, Zora Link must find a secret underwater passage hidden behind a wooden barricade. After gaining entrance to the Fortress, Link must avoid the patrols circling the cove on motorboats (if Link has already obtained the Stone Mask from Shiro, wearing it will make him invisible to the pirates, making this task much easier), while making his way over to a switch, which he must activate with a Goron Pound while in Goron Link form. The switch opens up an underwater grate, which Link must then navigate through, avoiding traps and solving puzzles. Once Link emerges from the passage, he must again avoid Gerudo Pirate patrols, although this time, he can knock the women unconscious with his weapons (the Stone Mask can once again come in handy while avoiding the guards). After getting past the guards, Link overhears a conversation between Aveil and one of her subordinates, after which, Link shoots an arrow at a bee hive, releasing the angry insects and scaring away Aveil and her guards. Link then retrieves the Hookshot from Aveil's quarters and scoops his first Zora Egg into an empty bottle. Link then uses the Hookshot to explore the rest of the Fortress, while avoiding guards and gathering the rest of the stolen Zora Eggs. If the Gerudo spot Link at any time, he will be forcibly removed from the Pirate's Fortress and will have start over.

Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
In Oracle of Ages, Link gets a window of opportunity to sneak into Ambi's Palace. Her guards have patterned patrols, which are easily manipulated.

Rosa complains of a temple falling into Subrosia in Oracle of Seasons. Link can follow her, hiding along the way to the secret entrance. Also, Subrosian pickpockets steal the Roc's Feather from Link. Getting it back requires stealthily following the pair of Strange Brothers in Subrosia.

The Windwaker
Without a sword, Link resorts to hiding from Moblins under barrels inside the Forsaken Fortress. Even casting a shadow in a searchlight means 'go directly to jail'.

Spry little Link finds routes and niches to spy on Lenzo, on Windfall Island and manages to witness Tetra's pirates holding Cannon captive in separate sidequests. To catch the theif, Mila at night, Link must follow and hide carefully. It's a match of wits and she's good.

To catch a pig on any of the islands of the Great Sea, Link resorts to crawling behind them. With the right timing, hop up and nab one.

Four Swords Adventures
Infiltrating Hyrule Castle is the name of a Stage in Four Swords Adventures. As the Links traverse the terrain, they must be careful to avoid being caught in the guards spotlights.

The Minish Cap
In  The Minish Cap, after Hyrule Castle is locked down for security, Link's only way back in is through stealth. Ezlo's power to shrink Link to Minish sized is a huge help.

Twilight Princess
In Twilight Princess, Link, in wolf form, must sneak across ropes strung across high shelves in Telma's Bar to bring a wounded Midna to Princess Zelda. Discovery, by breaking clay jars or being seen, means being kicked out.

Phantom Hourglass
The Temple of the Ocean King, located on Mercay Island in Phantom Hourglass, is all about stealth. Link must avoid the Phantoms at all costs. Being spotted and struck by a Phantom costs time for the Phantom Hourglass.

Also in Phantom Hourglass, Link must sneak past the Reaplings on the Ghost Ship to reunite the four Cubus Sisters.

Spirit Tracks
The traditional Hyrule Castle escape returns in the latest DS Zelda title, Spirit Tracks. Link must distract the guards positioned strategically around the courtyard, with his charming wit and his recruit's disguise so that Zelda can safely and stealthily jump town. The change here is that Link and Zelda must be monitored at all times, since the movements of both are controlled by the player. If Zelda is caught by one of the guards, she and Link return to the castle balcony where they began.

The Lost at Sea Station also involves entirely stealth to get past Phantoms due to the fact that Link is not allowed to use his sword or arrows.