Items: The Good, The Bad, The Zelda

If you've ever played a Zelda game, you probably get excited when you enter a new dungeon. Why? New dungeon = new item! Generally, the series is very good about giving the player cool new items. Unfortunately, sometimes it can be...less than amazing. These are examples of my favorite, and least liked items from the Zelda series!

Bad Items

Lantern

As seen in: Minish Cap

Games are usually pretty good about getting the less cool items out of the way first. This way, you only feel more and more powerful as the adventure progresses. On rare occasion, they give you something really, really lame. Enter: the lantern.

Pictured: Not badass

This is not what you expect mid-game. At all. Awkward Zombie pretty much sums my feelings up in this comic. 

Farore's Wind

As seen in:  Ocarina of Time (OoT)

Ocarina of Time is a fantastic game. Almost everything about it is awesome. Almost.

For those who are unfamiliar with the item, OoT had three special spells that the player could gain. Each was based on one of the Goddesses. Two of the three spells are cool. The third, is...occasionally useful. Farore's Wind allows the player to teleport from a location, and then back to it. Sounds awesome right? Sadly, it can only be used within a dungeon. Granted, this can be useful. Just, not too often. It would've been a lot more useful if it was usable outside of dungeons as well. Of all the times I've played through OoT, I think I've used it twice.

Sorry Farore.

Tingle Tuner
As seen in: Wind Waker

I love when developers get innovative. It's the spirit of creation, and has (naturally) led to some of the greatest things in gaming. Unfortunately, it also led to the creation of the Tingle Tuner.

 In theory, the Tingle Tuner was a cool idea. It allowed players to, through use of a cable (sold separately), connect their Game Boy Advance system to their Gamecube. By doing this, it would allow the player on the Game Boy to control Tingle, thereby giving help, and allowing for unique items. Sadly for us, they decided to make it revolve around Tingle, one of the most hated characters ever created. He's a creepy little man who runs around in skintight clothing telling people that he's a fairy. Also, he's 35, and may actually stalk Link.

Creep

Good Items
 
Clawshot/Double Clawshot
As seen in: Twilight Princess 

The Hookshot made it's debut on A Link to the Past. A recurring item, the Hookshot allowed players to hook onto certain objects, pulling themselves across gaps. However, Twilight Princess took this a step further. By turning the hook into a claw, players were able to cling onto a target after being pulled to it. By itself, this was cool, but not incredibly useful. However, later on in the game, you can get a SECOND Clawshot, thereby completing the transformation to SpiderLink,

Floors are now obsolete

 With both Clawshots in his possession, Link is able to hang from one target, and take aim at another. No need to touch a floor, or even have one for that matter. Also, if the target was on a ceiling, Link could lower himself downwards. This served almost no purpose, but people did it anyways, because it looked cool.

Roc's Feather/Cape

As seen in: Minish Cap

First off, this item has been in several games, but I'm most familiar with the incarnation from the Minish Cap, so I'm writing about that one. The item grants Link the ability to jump, and glide short distances. Being a huge fan of mobility based upgrades, I was ecstatic! Thankfully, this item did not let me down. It was very useful in the Palace of Winds, as you spend most of that dungeon jumping over holes and other obstacles. You could also gain the skill to jump up, and stab enemies below you, which is just awesome. 

Nintendo sure seems to think that capes are the secret to flight

   

Transformation Masks

As seen in: Majora's Mask  

Masks played a big part in Majora's Mask. Most masks gave the player little perks, like being able to lead a marching band of animals, or making your face explode. However, there were four special masks that allowed Link to change his form to that of the various intelligent races of the land. Additionally, at the end of the game, if the player collected all the masks, they could be exchanged for the Fierce Deity Mask. This mask turned Link into an all-powerful adult version of himself. Sadly, this mask can only be used in boss fights, and as it's the end of the game, all the bosses have been beaten already. On the bright side, it allowed for some ruthless vengeance. Overall, the masks were an amazing addition, allowing for new puzzles, and more varied gameplay. The masks were actually fairly creepy too. Each mask was created by using the Song of Healing to, more or less, trap a person's soul into a mask. Beyond that, check out what it looks like when you equip a mask.

Yep, that's Link screaming in pain and terror as his body is twisted and reshaped by evil soul stealing magic. It's pretty dark, but it fits in well with the theme of the game.