Game Over

, or, is the recurring message shown when the hero's quest fails in.

Overview
A Series: message is displayed when the hero's energy becomes depleted. Certain situations, such as the following, will also display it:
 * The Moon crashes into Termina.
 * Vaati claims the Light Force from Zelda.
 * Telma's Wagon is burnt while escorting Ralis.
 * Carben is captured from the Spirit Train.
 * SS undefined: The Imprisoned reaches the Sealed Temple.

Whenever Link's Heart Containers are fully depleted, Link begins to spin around in circles before fading away completely. The Game Over screen then appears, giving the player the choice to continue playing (starting from the Origin if Link died in the Overworld or at the beginning of a dungeon if he was defeated inside one) or to save the game and return to the file select screen. The game counts the number of Game Overs that have occurred, but this has no real significance.

Whenever Link loses a life, the screen begins flashing colors (in the GameCube and Wii Virtual Console re-releases, the screen simply turns red) and Link blinks like a silhouette before fading away. Afterward, if Link runs out of lives, a screen announcing the return of Ganon appears, as sprinkling Link's blood on his ashes causes his resurrection. Interestingly, the screens differ between the original Japanese Disk System release and the International cartridge builds - in the former it is a dark screen that carries the ominous text "The End" as a roar is heard, whereas the latter changes it to "Game Over" and has an imposing silhouette of Ganon himself against a blood-red background with a modified sound clip from Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (also repositioning the text and correcting "Gannon"). Link can continue his quest over again from the North Castle or save and return to the title screen. If Link dies inside the Great Palace selecting continue will allow him to continue from the entrance to the Great Palace instead of the North Castle. Dying will reset Link's Experience to zero, and in the Famicom version, it will also lower all his stats to the number of his lowest stat.

When all of Link's Heart Containers are depleted, he begins spinning in circles before collapsing face-first. If Link has a Fairy handy, it will appear and restore seven of his Heart Containers. If there are no Fairies handy, a menu will appear asking the player if they wish to save and continue, save and quit, or continue without saving. The file selection screen and fairy fountain music will play in this menu. If they choose to continue with or without saving, where they begin depends on where Link was when his hearts were depleted. If Link died in a dungeon, he will start from that dungeon's entrance. If he died in the Light World, he will be given the option to start in Link's House, the Sanctuary, or the Mountain Cave, though the latter two options only appear if Link has visited these areas before. If Link died in the Dark World, he will begin from atop the Pyramid. In the Game Boy Advance port, Link no longer has the option to start in the Mountain Cave, but instead can choose to begin at the door he last exited. In the GBA remake, Link is also heard to gasp as he falls down. The game counts the number of Game Overs that have occurred and displays them next to the file after completing the game, but this has no real significance. During the credits, a breakdown of how many times Link died at various locations in Hyrule is shown.

When all of Link's Heart Containers are depleted, he begins spinning in circles before collapsing. The player is then given the choice to save and continue, continue without saving or saving and returning to the title screen. An instant Game Over will occur if Link stole from the Mabe Village Shop and then returns, where the shopkeeper will launch a lightning bolt attack that will instantly and completely deplete Link's health, and the Secret Medicine cannot save him if this happens. If Link makes it to the end of the game without receiving a Game Over, Marin will fly across the screen with wings, symbolizing that her lifelong wish to become a Seagull was granted. In the DX version, this changes if the game is played on a Game Boy Color (or later system); a portrait of Marin will appear in the sky accompanied by her characteristic melody as it fades into seagull form, possibly directing Link to shore. There is then a message from Nintendo thanking the player.

When all of Link's Heart Containers are depleted, he drops to one knee, before collapsing face-first to the ground and the camera slowly revolves around to his front. If Link does not have at least one Fairy on his person, disappointing dirge music plays, then the words "Game Over" appear cloaked in flames. The player is then given the choice to save and continue, continue without saving or save and return to the title screen. If he does have a Fairy however, no music will play as he collapses- afterwards, the Fairy will automatically resurrect Link and fully restore his Heart Containers.

If Link drowns, which may occur if Link has spent too much time underwater without wearing the Zora Tunic or if his Heart Containers are emptied completely through an enemy attack, he instead begins to choke, toss and turn, and then goes limp, floating in the water. There is also a Game Over that occurs if Link stays too long in the searing heat of the Fire Temple or Death Mountain Crater without wearing the Goron Tunic. In this cutscene, Link will die of hyperthermia, causing him to collapse normally while bursting into flames. This also happens if he dies atop a lava tile. In addition, there is a unique death animation if Link is directly killed by Ganondorf's signature attack - it is again similar to his standard death, except he becomes paralyzed with electricity very loudly and he is unable to emit a sound in defeat.

Like Link's Awakening, there is a bonus after the credits finish on a 000 file - variations of the Scarecrow's Song will play after a short while, but this was removed in the GameCube and 3DS versions for unknown reasons.

During the final boss fight against Ganondorf, should the player fail and acquire a game over, they have technically acquired one of the game's endings, which leads into the "Downfall Timeline". This makes Ocarina of Time's game over screen the only one in the series to be considered canon.

TMC: can get a TMC: in when his TMC: is entirely depleted. A TMC: can also occur near the end of the game; if TMC: takes too long fighting against the NaN Dark Nuts in TMC: and the third bell chimes, TMC: will succeed in his ceremony to drain the TMC: from TMC:.

Similar to previous games, the Game Over screen will appear in when Link has run out of hearts, along with options to continue the game from the last save, or quit and return to the title screen. Having NaN Fairies in the inventory or enabling Mipha's Grace can prevent an instant death, however Game Over will still occur if these are not options (or have already been used).

Usually, 'Game Over' will appear in red text, however the color of the text can vary depending on the manner of Link's death:
 * Red: Default
 * Blue: Death caused by Cold temperature or Ice enemy
 * Yellow: Death caused by Electricity

If DLC is installed, the Hero's Path will record a red cross at the site of a death and display "R.I.P." if hovered over.