Welcome to The Arsenal, where we look at the best weapons
and items in media. In this entry, we’re looking at the best equipment used by
The Legend of Zelda’s main hero, Link. We will be looking at the best weapons and
items across the series to determine the best ones that he has. There are a lot
of them, so there will be several different slots that apply. What different
niches can be filled with Link’s best equipment?
Best Sword – Master Sword
By far the most well-known of Link’s equipment and one of
the most famous swords in all of gaming, the Master Sword is the best sword
Link can use. It is a powerful blade that can slice through obstacles and take
down enemies with a few strong strikes and it is best known within the realm of
Hyrule of having the ability to vanquish evil. It was this sword that Link used
to defeat Ganon time after time throughout the Zelda timeline.
Best Shield – Hylian Shield
A shield is always a good accompaniment to a sword and while
it may not have any special abilities, the Hylian Shield is a good secondary to
the Master Sword. The Hylian Shield is a very durable item, able to protect
Link from several kinds of attacks. He just needs to hold it up and brace for
impact and the attack gets blocked. However, it is only a small shield, so it
blocks attacks coming from the front, but not the sides or the back, so Link
still needs to be aware of what is going on around him.
Best Arrow Type – Light Arrows
Alongside his sword, the bow and arrows are also commonly
used items in Link’s adventures. When Link needs to strike an enemy or activate
a special switch in a dungeon from far away, the bow can accomplish this task.
Link has used several different arrows across the series, from normal ones to
fiery ones to freezing ones to explosive ones, but the strongest ones are the
Light Arrows. Like the Master Sword, the Light Arrows are given to Link with
the purpose of banishing evil and, unlike the Master Sword, are often given as
an end-of-game item to use against the final boss. When these powerful arrows
are received, they deal large amounts of damage to the monster, allowing Link
to defeat him and save the kingdom.
Best Non-Archery Long Range Weapon – Gale Boomerang
Other than the bow and arrows, Link does have other long
range weapons he can use, that actually double as weapons and tools, and the
most effective of these is the Gale Boomerang from the Legend of Zelda:
Twilight Princess. Normal boomerangs can be used to attack and stun enemies
from afar and can even grab items and bring them back, but the Gale Boomerang
also has an added whirlwind effect that allows it to put out small fires, cut
ropes, or carry items from far distances.
Best Explosive – Bombchu
Link has needed to use bombs throughout his adventures,
whether he needed some extra force when fighting an enemy or he needed to blast
his way through a large obstacle. While there are larger bombs that he can use
than the standard ones, this slot goes not to the most powerful explosive but
the most versatile, and that item is the Bombchu. This mouse-shaped mechanical
bomb zooms forward in a straight line, even moving up or down walls until it
reaches an enemy or an obstacle and explodes on impact.
Best Movement Item – Hookshot
Link has several items that can help him move around a dungeon
from the Roc’s Feather to the Pegasus Boots. His most prominent of these
however is the hookshot, but the most useful of these is the Clawshot from
Twilight Princess.When used, Link can shoot the claw forward to grab onto far
away grates and vines to bring Link towards them so he can start climbing. He
can also use it to bring far away objects towards him and damage weaker
enemies. It can be used on wood like the standard hookshot, so it can’t grab
treasure chests, but it can be used underwater and it can lower or raise Link
along the length of its chain while it’s in use.
Best Wearable Item – Fierce Deity Mask
With different kinds of gloves, boots, and even hats, Link
gets a lot of wearable items that can grant him power, but the most effective
of these kinds of items have been masks. They only played a major part in one
game (Majora’s Mask), but in that one game, they were an immense source of
power, giving Link several different abilities. The best of these masks is the
Fierce Deity Mask, turning him into Fierce Deity Link and granting him great
strength in battle, including the ability to use Sword Beams. He doesn’t need
to have this mask to progress through the game or defeat Majora, but it makes
that final boss fight much easier.
Best Magical Item – Ocarina of Time
Link has used several different magical items to both attack
enemies and solve puzzles, from magic rods to musical instruments. The most
powerful of these mystical artifacts is not actually used for either of those
purposes. Not directly at least. The Ocarina of Time, as seen in the Zelda game
with the same name and Majoras’s Mask, is actually used to affect the world
itself. This musical instrument can affect time with effects like warping the
user to different time periods or changing the time of day from daylight to
night time. With the right song, time can be turned forwards or backwards, and
in Majora’s Mask, it becomes instrumental to Link’s success in saving the land
of Termina.
Best Healing Item – Bottled Fairy
With the bottles that Link can find across Hyrule, he can
use them to store different items, particularly healing items like potions or
Moo Moo Milk. As effective as those can be, a bottled fairy is the much more
effective. Using a butterfly net and an empty bottle, Link can catch a fairy in
a
bottle and carry it around until he needs it. When used normally, Link can
use the fairy to restore his health, but when Link runs out of health and falls
to the ground with the fairy still in his inventory, the fairy can release
itself and revive Link. It essentially gives him an extra life.
Best Wallet – Giant’s Wallet
Throughout his travels in Hyrule, Link can collect Rupees,
those multicolored jewels that are the currency of the kingdom. He obviously
needs a place to store them all and that’s where the wallets come in. The Giant’s
Wallet, which appears in several Zelda games, is often the largest wallet in
the game, able to hold the largest amount of Rupees possible in their games,
from 500 in Ocarina of Time to 5,000 in Skyward Sword. With this wallet, Link
can always have an abundance of Rupees when he needs to make a purchase.
What did you think of this list? What items do you think are
the best in Link’s arsenal? Which characters do you think have an arsenal worth
looking at? Let me know in the comment section and thanks for coming.
