Big Key

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Big Keys,(ALttPA Link to the Past | TWWThe Wind Waker | TMCThe Minish Cap | TPTwilight Princess | ALBWA Link Between Worlds | EoWEchoes of Wisdom)[1][name references needed] also known as Nightmare Keys,(LALink's Awakening)[2] Boss Room Keys,(SeriesThe Legend of Zelda Series)[3] and Boss Keys,(OoTOcarina of Time | MMMajora's Mask | OoSOracle of Seasons | OoAOracle of Ages | PHPhantom Hourglass | STSpirit Tracks | HWHyrule Warriors | CoHCadence of Hyrule)[1][4][5] are recurring Items in The Legend of Zelda series.

Location and Uses

Big Keys are one of the three standard dungeon items, the other two being the Compass and the Dungeon Map. They are generally harder to find than Small Keys and are used to open the big door leading to the Boss' chamber. Big Keys can sometimes be used for purposes other than entering the Boss Rooms.

A Link to the Past

In addition to opening doors, Big Keys are also used to open the Treasure Chests containing a dungeon's item in A Link to the Past. Doors unlocked by the Big Key may not necessarily lead directly to the boss.

Link's Awakening

Link's Awakening Manual Descriptionhide ▲
Link's Awakening logo
Nightmare Key and Small Keys
You will need the Nightmare Key to enter the Nightmare's lair. The Small Keys, which can be used only once, are used to open other locked doors in the dungeon.

Nightmare Keys open access to a Dungeon's Nightmare in Link's Awakening.

Ocarina of Time

Boss Keys are always found in large Treasure Chests that have yellow and blue designs in Ocarina of Time. This iteration only opens the door to that dungeons Boss.

Majora's Mask

Functionally, the Boss Keys are the exact same as its predecessor, the same chest and all. This iteration has a pattern of the key being found after every second Mini-Boss of each dungeon. The Boss Key does not remain with Link should he travel back in time. Instead, he must relocate the Treasure Chest containing the Key to retrieve it once more. However, Link can directly warp to the boss's chamber one they have collected the remains.

Oracle of Seasons

Oracle of Seasons Manual Descriptionhide ▲
Oracle of Seasons logo
Keys and Boss Keys
You'll need the Boss Key to open the door to the boss's lair. Other keys found in the dungeon can be used only once to open a locked door or block.

Boss Keys are found in Dungeons after a puzzle in Oracle of Seasons. They allow entry into Boss Rooms.

Oracle of Ages

Oracle of Ages Manual Descriptionhide ▲
Oracle of Ages logo
Keys and Boss Keys
You'll need the Boss Key to open the door to the boss's lair. Other keys found in the dungeon can be used only once to open a locked door or block.

Boss Keys are found in Dungeons after a puzzle in Oracle of Ages. They allow entry into Boss Rooms.

The Wind Waker

Big Keys function nearly identical to how they functioned in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask (the counterpart pair) and would continue for nearly all 3D Zelda games to come. The design of the key would be carried over in later installments such as Phantom Hourglass and The Minish Cap.

Four Swords Adventures

In this game, Big Keys are optional items that open Big Chests, which contain a large number of Force Gems.

The Minish Cap

Descriptionshide ▲
The Minish Cap instruction booklet
Big Key
The door that leads to the dungeon boss’s room can only be opened with the Big Key.

There are six Big Keys in The Minish Cap, all of which are found inside Dungeons (Deepwood Shrine, the Cave of Flames, the Fortress of Winds, the Temple of Droplets, the Palace of Winds, and Dark Hyrule Castle). Most of them reside in a large blue Chest, and are used to open the large Locked Doors covered by golden chains. The exception to this is the Big Key found in the Temple of Droplets; it is frozen into a Key-sicle, and must be thawed out using Light Beams.

In the Palace of Winds, there are two of these large Locked Doors; however, unlike Small Keys, Big Keys are not consumed after being used as long as Link is in the same Dungeon, and thus the second Locked Door can simply be opened with the same Big Key used to open the first. According to artwork, the Big Key's design is nearly identical to the design in the Wind Waker.

Twilight Princess

The Big Key from the Goron Mines must be put together by obtaining the three Key Shards from the Village Elders in Twilight Princess. In the Snowpeak Ruins, the Big Key is replaced by the Bedroom Key, as said dungeon is actually the mansion residence of Yeto and Yeta.

Phantom Hourglass

Link must carry the Boss Key in his hands rather than in his inventory in Phantom Hourglass, making him unable to attack and vulnerable to attacks.[6]

Spirit Tracks

Link must carry the Boss Key in his hands rather than in his inventory in Spirit Tracks, making him unable to attack and vulnerable to attacks. In some instances, Boss Keys are electrified and Link must have Princess Zelda possess a Phantom in order to carry them for him. Boss Keys are now not obtained from chests as they were in Phantom Hourglass.

Skyward Sword



A Link Between Worlds



Echoes of Wisdom



Big Keys appear inside gold and blue-colored Treasure Chests within Dungeons. They can be used to unlock Big Doors.

Other Appearances

Hyrule Warriors

The following section is not part of the Zelda canon and should not be taken as such.


Cadence of Hyrule

The following section has content which has neither been confirmed nor denied as canonical by Nintendo.


Nomenclature

Names in Other Regions
LanguageNamesMeanings
Japan
Japanese
  • 大きなカギ (Ōkina Kagi) (ALttPA Link to the Past)[16]
  • ボス部屋のカギ (Bosu Beya no Kagi) (OoTOcarina of Time)[17]
  • (おお)きなカギ (Ōki na kagi) (EoWEchoes of Wisdom)
  • Same as English.
  • Boss Room Key
  • Big Key
The Republic of ChinaThe Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of ChinaThe Macao Special Administrative Region of China
ChineseTRTraditional
大鑰匙 (EoWEchoes of Wisdom) 
The People's Republic of China
ChineseSISimplified
  • 头目钥匙 (Tóumù yàoshi) (OoTOcarina of Time)[18]
  • 大钥匙 (EoWEchoes of Wisdom)
  •  
  •  
The Kingdom of the Netherlands
Dutch
Grote sleutel (EoWEchoes of Wisdom) 
The French Republic
FrenchEUEuropean
Grande clé (EoWEchoes of Wisdom) 
Canada
FrenchCACanadian
Grande clé (EoWEchoes of Wisdom) 
The Federal Republic of Germany
German
  • Großen Schlüssel (LALink's Awakening)[19]
  • Großer Schlüssel (EoWEchoes of Wisdom)
  • Big Key
  •  
The Italian Republic
Italian
  • Grande Chiave (ALttPA Link to the Past | FSAFour Swords Adventures)[8][9]
  • Chiave dell'Incubo (LALink's Awakening | LADXLink's Awakening DX)[7]
  • Chiave del Boss (OoTOcarina of Time)[15]
  • Grande chiave (OoT3DOcarina of Time 3D | MM3DMajora's Mask 3D | EoWEchoes of Wisdom)[10][11]
  • Chiave Boss (OoAOracle of Ages | OoSOracle of Seasons)[13][14]
  • Chiave grande (CoHCadence of Hyrule)[12]
  • Same as English.
  • Nightmare Key
  • Boss' Key
  • Big key
  • Same as English.
  • Big key
The Republic of Korea
Korean
커다란 열쇠 (EoWEchoes of Wisdom) 
The Federative Republic of Brazil
PortugueseBRBrazilian
Grande chave (EoWEchoes of Wisdom) 
The Russian Federation
Russian
Большой ключ (EoWEchoes of Wisdom) 
Latin America
SpanishLALatin American
Gran llave (EoWEchoes of Wisdom) 
The Kingdom of Spain
SpanishEUEuropean
Gran llave (EoWEchoes of Wisdom) 
This table was generated using translation pages.
To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference.

Gallery

See Also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 118 (ALttPA Link to the Past | LALink's Awakening | OoTOcarina of Time | MMMajora's Mask | OoSOracle of Seasons | OoAOracle of Ages | TWWThe Wind Waker | TMCThe Minish Cap | TPTwilight Princess | PHPhantom Hourglass | STSpirit Tracks | ALBWA Link Between Worlds)
  2. You got the Nightmare Key! Now you can open the door to the Nightmare's lair! — N/A (Link's Awakening for Nintendo Switch)
  3. Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 118 (SeriesThe Legend of Zelda Series)
  4. You got a Boss Key! Get ready for the final battle! — N/A (Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition)
  5. Boss Key — N/A (Cadence of Hyrule)
  6. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass—Prima Official Game Guide, Prima Games, pg. 14
  7. Enciclopedia di Hyrule, Magazzini Salani, pg. 133
  8. Hai ottenuto la Grande Chiave! — N/A (A Link to the Past, Italian version)
  9. Hai preso la Grande Chiave! — N/A (Four Swords Adventures, Italian version)
  10. Hai ottenuto la grande chiave! — N/A (Ocarina of Time 3D, Italian version)
  11. Hai ottenuto una grande chiave! — N/A (Majora's Mask 3D, Italian version)
  12. Chiave grande — Inventory (Cadence of Hyrule, Italian version)
  13. Hai trovato la Chiave Boss! — N/A (Oracle of Ages, Italian version)
  14. Hai trovato la Chiave Boss! — N/A (Oracle of Seasons, Italian version)
  15. Enciclopedia di Hyrule, Magazzini Salani, pg. 118
  16. A Link to the Past manual, pg. 37 Nintendo Official Guidebook: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Vol. 1, Shogakukan, pg. 29 Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords, Shogakukan, pg. 13
  17. Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Shogakukan, pg. 152
  18. Ocarina of Time manual, iQue version, pg. 32
  19. Endlich! Mit dem Großen Schlüssel lassen sich die Verstecke der Endbosse öffnen! — N/A (Link's Awakening, German version)