Trading Quest

A Trading Sequence is a sidequest present in most games from The Legend of Zelda series. By trading a long list of items, the player will eventually be rewarded with a useful item such as a better sword, new tools or even numerous Heart Pieces. However, due to their status as sidequests, they are not necessary to complete the game, except in the case of Link's Awakening, where several items, including the final reward, are mandatory.

By tradition, a trading sequence may begin in an inhabited town. As Link tries to help one of the characters in there, he may receive an item that becomes useful for someone else; when Link gives the newer item to the right character, he receives in turn another item that is destined to yet another character; a trade sequence takes form when this process is repeated continuously, thus resulting into a long string of exchanges that ultimately lead to a powerful item. For natural reasons, the traded items generally have one-time uses, and therefore one-time appearances. There are some exceptions, though, as the items can be obtained again for secondary uses (see below for more details).

The trading sequence are inspired by the Japanese legend of the Straw Millionaire, a peasant who became a millionaire through a series of successive trades.