Rupee
Rupees are the unit of currency within most of the Zelda universe, within circulation in the lands of Hyrule, Koholint Island, Termina, Labrynna, Holodrum and The Great Sea. Rupees are acquired primarily by defeating enemies, by cutting tall grasses or bushes, or by opening treasure chests, and used primarily to purchase items in shops.
Values
With the exception of The Adventure of Link and Four Swords Adventures, Rupees are included in all The Legend of Zelda titles. The value of a Rupee is denoted by its color. In Four Swords and The Minish Cap, both size and color denote value. Link's Awakening, Oracle of Ages, and Oracle of Seasons specify the Rupee value through text rather than color, because the Game Boy palette was limited; however, in the Oracle games, Link could find a larger rupee by digging with his shovel. The following lists the values of each Rupee color. Because the value of each color is inconsistent throughout the games, they are not listed in order of value. The list begins with the colors that appeared in the most Zelda titles.
Green Rupee
The Rupee that is worth the least when normally sized, the Green Rupee is undoubtedly the most common Rupee in its small state, and it has two larger companions that appeared in later games.
- 1, small. (A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Four Swords, The Wind Waker, The Minish Cap, Twilight Princess, and "Phantom Hourglass")
Blue Rupee
Typically the next step up from a Green Rupee, the Blue Rupee is found in many The Legend of Zelda games from the first one onward.
- 1, small (Link's Awakening)
- 5, small. (The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Four Swords, The Wind Waker, The Minish Cap, Twilight Princess)
- 20, small (Link's Awakening)
- 100, large. (Four Swords, The Minish Cap)
Red Rupee
Premiering in A Link to the Past, the Red Rupee is much rarer than its less valuable counterparts, but still not entirely uncommon.
- 20, small. (A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Four Swords, The Wind Waker, The Minish Cap, Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass)
- 200, large. (Four Swords, The Minish Cap)
- 200, big. (Phantom Hourglass)
Purple Rupee
The Purple Rupee exists in all four 3D Zelda games.
- 50 (Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess)
Silver Rupee
Debuting in Ocarina of Time, where collecting all five Silver Rupees solved a puzzle in a particular room of the Ice Cavern, the Silver Rupee exists in all four 3D Zelda titles.
- 5 (Ocarina of Time; Its low value in Ocarina of Time is due to the fact that the Silver Rupee's only purpose in the game was as a puzzle element, and not an actual spending Rupee.)
- 100 (Majora's Mask)
- 200 (The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess) In Wind Waker, Silver Rupees were found quite commonly, despite their high value, from treasure charts.
Yellow Rupee
Debuting in the original title, the Yellow Rupee has appeared in three games.
- 1 (The Legend of Zelda)
- 10 (The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess)
- 300 (Phantom Hourglass, under the name "Big Gold Rupee")
Orange Rupee
The orange Rupee exists in the three of the four 3D Zelda titles.
- 100 (The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess)
- 200 (Ocarina of Time, Large Orange Rupee appears if Link killed Skull Kid in the Lost Woods as adult Link.)
- From 1000 down, depending on how long the Rupee is on-screen (Link's Crossbow Training)
Huge Rupee
Appearing either gold or dark orange, this Rupee's color is not specified textually and is simply called "huge". It exists in five games, although in Twilight Princess it can be found just once, at a very well hidden place. In the Oracle games, it can only be found by digging and is colored silver. In Majora's Mask, there appear to be two differently-colored Huge Rupees: one given to Link by a Deku Scrub, and one earned by killing the Takkuri, although this one is not accompanied by text, so its title as a "Huge Rupee" could be debated.
- 100 (Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons)
- 200 (Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess)
Other Rupee Types
Big Gold Rupee
These Rupees appear in Phantom Hourglass and have a value of 300 Rupees.
Black Rupee
In Four Swords, the black Rupee removes a random amount of Rupees from the team wallet. In Twilight Princess there is a harmful glitch that will replace Link's Bow with an image of a Black Rupee.
These black rupees return in Phantom Hourglass under the name of Rupoor. The mockeries of rupees come in five values: 5 rupoor, 10 rupoor, 30 rupoor, 50 rupoor, and 100 rupoor, each one takes away the specified number of rupees of the number in its name.
Rupee Shard
In Four Swords, Rupee shards are individually worthless but collecting eight creates a gem worth 500 Rupees.
Related Information
- Rupee values double when equipped with the Red Joy Ring or Gold Joy Ring in Labrynna and Holodrum.
- Wallet capacity ultimately determines how many rupees one may receive even when finding Huge Rupees.
- In The Legend of Zelda, firing the bow cost 1 rupee.
- Known Rupee thieves:
Trivia
- In The Legend of Zelda, Rupee was spelt "Rupy". In the manual, it was "Ruby".
- The Rupee is the real-world currency of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Maldives. It used to be currency in Bhutan as well.
- In Majora's Mask, the probability of finding a Red Rupee in grass is high if Link has less than twenty rupees in his wallet.
- When using the Salvage Arm in Phantom Hourglass, there may be a few valuable rupees in bubbles. If the back arrow is pressed before reaching the treasure chest and you choose to salvage again, all the rupee bubbles will be back. This is an effective way to get infinite rupees.
