Key (Disambiguation)

Keys are items found in the dungeons of every Zelda game. They are necessary for advancing through locked doors. Keys can be obtained through a variety of different puzzles. For example, sometimes you may need to defeat all the enemies in a room. Other times you may need to break a hole in the wall with your bombs. In some situations you need to do what you least expect, and that way it will be easier to advance to victory. Once a key is used, it disappears.

There are roughly four different keys:

• Small Keys are the most common keys.
• Boss Keys are big keys that grant access to the dungeon's boss.
• Dungeon Keys only appeared in Link's Awakening, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages and were needed to enter their respective dungeons. They are sort of an alternative version of the Boss Keys, as the dungeons with a dungeon key do not require one to also get a boss key.
• Phantom Hourglass featured three keys needed to open doors spread across the islands of the Great Sea.

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Small Keys

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The Small Key is featured in many Zelda games. It can be found in small chests and by killing enemies, such as Rats In A Link to the Past, but could actually be bought in The Legend of Zelda. A Small Key can be used to open locked doors that have chains around them. In every Zelda game, except The Legend of Zelda, they can only be used in the dungeon where they're found.

Boss Key

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Big Key in The Minish Cap

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The Boss Key is one of the three standard dungeon items, the other two being the Compass and the Dungeon Map. Alternatively, it is also called Big Key. It is generally used to open the big door leading to the boss' chamber. In A Link to the Past, the Boss Keys also are necessary to open the treasure chests containing a dungeon's special item. In Twilight Princess, the Boss Key from the Goron Mines had to be put together by obtaining the three Key Shards from the Goron Elders. In Phantom Hourglass, Link must carry the Big Key in his hands rather than inventory.

• One of the Key Shards.

  One of the Key Shards.

• The completed Death Mountain Boss Key.

  The completed Death Mountain Boss Key.

Dungeon Key

Known as Nightmare Keys in Link's Awakening, dungeon keys allow access to a dungeon. They are technically also the dungeon's Boss Key, as no other specific key has to be found to gain access to the boss' lair.

• See Also: Nightmare Keys