Items and Equipment

A Link to the Past is a game brimming with all sorts of items that Link can pick up, use, consume, or simply collect to build up an inventory and arm himself to the teeth! The multitude of available items in the game was actually a selling point upon its release: in the Japanese version, in addition to the manual and cartridge, the box contained a small card that presented all the items in the game!

The database below is divided into different categories: inventory, which primarily lists items Link can use with the Y button; then equipment, which are passive items that influence gameplay. Finally, we conclude with a list of unclassifiable items (which I still classified 😁).

The item card included with the Japanese version of the game

Items

Illustration Name Description Acquisition
Lamp Allows you to see ahead in the dark and light torches. Link's House / Hyrule Castle Underground / Zelda's cell (if you already picked up the Lamp, you'll find a blue Rupee instead)
Boomerang Stuns enemies for a short time and retrieves items from a distance. Hyrule Castle Underground
Bow and Arrows It hurts. Eastern Palace Treasure
Bombs Blow up damaged walls or ground. Found almost everywhere
Bug-Catching Net Allows Link to catch bugs or Fairies. Kakariko Village, at the bedside of the sick child. Don't forget it doesn't belong to Link, it's just a loan!
Book of Mudora Used to decipher ancient Hylian. In the library south of Kakariko Village. You need to dash into one of the bookshelves with Pegasus Boots to knock the book down.
Magic Mirror Allows to return to the Light World when in the Dark World. In a dungeon, it takes Link back to the entrance. The lost old man on Death Mountain gives it to Link once he brings him home.
Mushroom A yummy mushroom from Paris! You have to give it to the witch to get Magic Powder. It grows in the Lost Woods
Magic Powder Allows to transform some enemies into ridiculous creatures in exchange for a little magic. Also allows to get small fairies from certain enemies. The witch's assistant gives it to you. To do this, you must give the Mushroom to the witch, leave the map, return, and then speak to the assistant.
Bottles You can fill them with different things. There are four found in the game.
  1. A peddler sells one in Kakariko Village for 100 Rupees
  2. In the back of the Kakariko Village tavern, in a chest
  3. Given by the man under the bridge
  4. There is a chest in the Dark World, at the location of the blacksmiths' house (after having our sword forged). You must take this chest to the man at the desert entrance for him to open it
Red Potion Fully restores the health bar. In various shops
Green Potion Fully restores the magic meter. In various shops. You can also get some by throwing an empty bottle into a Fairy Fountain.
Blue Potion Fully restores both health and magic meters. In various shops
Bee Once released, it attacks all nearby enemies. To be captured with the Bug-Catching Net. If you dash into certain trees or lift certain bushes, it may appear.
Golden Bee Same effect as a normal bee, but it's more powerful, faster, and lasts longer. To be captured with the Bug-Catching Net. Obtained in two locations:
  1. In the Lake Hylia cave, you must dash with the Pegasus Boots into the statue in the second room to make the bee appear.
  2. GBA only: In a shop in the Village of Outcasts for 88 rupees
Fairy Restores 7 hearts. If Link runs out of hearts, the Fairy revives him, thus preventing game over. To be caught with the Bug-Catching Net. Found almost everywhere.
Magical Boomerang It's the evolution of the Boomerang: it goes further. There are two possible locations:
  1. At the Waterfall of Wishing, south of Zora's Domain. You must throw the boomerang into the pond.
  2. If you don't even own the basic Boomerang, you can find the Magical Boomerang directly in the house south of the Village of Outcasts instead of the 300 Rupees that are there normally.
Hammer Allows you to pound obstacles into the ground. Palace of Darkness Treasure
Hookshot Allows to grapple onto distant objects or retrieve items from afar. It also stuns enemies and kills weaker ones. Swamp Palace Treasure
Fire Rod Allows to shoot fireballs in exchange for magic, to deal damage, but also to light torches from a distance. Skull Woods Treasure
Ice Rod Allows to freeze enemies or inflict damage. In the eastern cavern in Lake Hylia
Ether Medallion In exchange for magic, unleashes a rain of lightning that decimates all enemies on screen. It also opens the entrance to the Misery Mire dungeon. After obtaining the Master Sword, you must go west of Tower of Hera on top of Death Mountain and use the Book of Mudora on the stone tablet.
Quake Medallion In exchange for magic, unleashes an earthquake that decimates all enemies on screen. It also opens the entrance to Turtle Rock. You must go to the Lake of Ill Omen, northeast of the Dark World, and throw an object (bomb, skull, flower, etc.) into the middle of the stone circle.
Bombos Medallion In exchange for magic, unleashes bursts of flames that decimate all enemies on screen. It also allows you to kill Freezors and break Kholdstare's shell. You must use the Book of Mudora on a stone tablet high up in the eastern desert, but to do so, you must pass through the Dark World.
Shovel Used to find treasures underground, including the Flute. In the SNES version, once the Flute is obtained, it replaces the Shovel in the inventory. The Flute Boy gives it to Link
Flute Used to summon the bird, allowing you to teleport to the four corners of Hyrule. You must first activate it in front of the weathercock in Kakariko Village. You must dig it up with the Shovel next to the Flute Boy in the Light World.
Cane of Somaria Used to create blocks in exchange for magic. By pressing the button again, and in exchange for a little more magic, you can make the block explode and create projectiles in the 4 cardinal directions. Misery Mire Treasure
Cane of Byrna Used to become invincible and inflict damage on approaching enemies. Found deep within a cave on Death Mountain in the Dark World, after traversing a long series of spikes.
Magic Cape Used to become invisible and invincible. Link can pass through certain objects. In the northeasternmost tomb in the Light World's graveyard.
Silver Arrows Replaces normal arrows. They are more powerful and allow you to kill Ganon, without which it is (theoretically) impossible. You must throw the bow into the Pyramid's Fairy Fountain.

Equipment

Illustration Name Description Acquisition
Sword Lv.1 The basic sword. At the very beginning of the game, when Link's uncle dies.
Sword Lv.2 Master Sword. Deep within the Lost Woods, armed with the three Pendants and the Book of Mudora.
Sword Lv.3 Tempered Master Sword. Given to the blacksmiths after reuniting them.
Sword Lv.4 Golden Master Sword. You must throw the Lv.3 sword into the Pyramid's Fairy Fountain.
Shield Lv.1 The basic shield. At the very beginning of the game, when Link's uncle dies.
Shield Lv.2 The upgraded shield. You must throw the Lv.1 shield into the Waterfall of Wishing. It can also be bought in the shop west of the Pyramid.
Shield Lv.3 The Mirror Shield. Turtle Rock Treasure. GBA only: It can also be bought in the shop west of the Pyramid.
Green Mail Do I really need to specify anything? 😛 From the very beginning of the game, otherwise Link would be naked.
Blue Mail Reduces damage taken. Not by half, as one might think, it's more complicated. Ice Palace Treasure
Red Mail Further reduces damage taken. And here too, it's not by a quarter, it's more complicated. Ganon's Tower Treasure
Pegasus Boots Allows you to move faster and perform a dash attack. Given by Sahasrahla after completing the Eastern Palace.
Zora's Flippers Allows you to swim in deep water and dive for a short time. Sold by King Zora for 500 Rupees.
Power Gloves Allows you to lift light-colored stones. Fun fact: it is a reference to the "Power Glove" accessory for the NES. Desert Palace Treasure
Titan's Mitt Allows you to lift dark-colored stones. In Japanese, they are called "Powerful Glove". Thieves' Town Treasure
Moon Pearl Allows you to be unaffected by the effects of the Dark World. Tower of Hera Treasure

Pick-ups and Droppables

Life and Magic

Illustration Name Description
Small Heart Restores one heart of health.
Piece of Heart Collect 4 of these to increase your max health by one heart. The list of Pieces of Heart is on their dedicated page.
Heart Container Increases your max health by one heart. Useless anecdote: the one in the Sanctuary is the only one that heals all hearts when collected.
Small Magic Jar Restores a small amount of Link's magic (16 MP).
Large Magic Jar Restores the equivalent of Link's entire magic meter (128 MP).

Rupees

Illustration Name Description
Green Rupee The basic currency of the game. A green rupee corresponds to the game's unit of money.
Blue Rupee It is worth five green rupees.
Red Rupee It is worth twenty green rupees.
50 Rupees The name is quite explicit. They are only found in chests. They will be replaced by purple rupees in later games.
100 Rupees Again, these are only found in chests. They will later be replaced by orange rupees.
300 Rupees The rarest, and especially the most frustrating to obtain, because usually you get them when your wallet is already full. In the DS installments as well as in Skyward Sword, they will be replaced by golden rupees.

Ammunition

Illustration Name Description
Single Arrow Found in only one place in the game. Do you know where?
5 Arrows As their name suggests. Can be dropped by enemies or found in chests.
10 Arrows As their name suggests. Can be dropped by enemies or found in chests.
Single Bomb A bomb.
3 Bombs As their name suggests. Cannot be dropped by enemies.
4 Bombs As their name suggests. Are dropped by enemies.
8 Bombs As their name suggests. Are dropped by enemies.

Unclassifiable Items

Dungeon Items

Illustration Name Description
Small Key There are various ways to obtain them: you can find them in chests, by killing enemies, etc. They open small locked doors.
Dungeon Map It shows the dungeon's architecture, especially the unvisited rooms. Visited rooms are light blue, unvisited rooms are dark blue, and a multicolored dot indicates your current location.
Compass It reveals the location of the Boss room.
Big Key New compared to the previous two Zelda games, it opens the dungeon's large chest containing the dungeon item, and large locked doors, often those protecting access to the Boss room.

Artifacts

Illustration Name Description
Pendant of Courage The Pendant of the Eastern Palace.
Pendant of Power The Pendant of the Desert Palace. The fact that it's blue and is the Pendant of Power is not a translation mistake; its Japanese name is 力の紋章 (chikara no monshou, "emblem of power").
Pendant of Wisdom The Pendant of Hera's Tower. Similar to above, one might think it's a translation mistake, but in Japanese, it's also 知恵の紋章 (chie no monshou, "emblem of wisdom").
Crystal There are seven of them, obtained at the end of each Dark World dungeon. Collecting them opens Ganon's Tower.

Others

Illustration Name Description
Super Bomb It can only be purchased in one unique location, the bomb shop in the Dark World (whose location is equivalent to Link's house) for 100 rupees, once the following two conditions are met:
  1. The crystals from Dark World Dungeons 5 and 6 have been obtained.
  2. The two blacksmiths are reunited.
Link cannot carry it in his inventory, so he must drag it. If the player presses the A button or is hit by an enemy, the Super Bomb will be dropped, and a three-second countdown will activate shortly after, at the end of which the Super Bomb will explode.
Apple A simple fruit. If Link dashes into a tree with his Pegasus Boots, he is likely to knock down one or more (depending on the tree). The apple restores one heart of health. It's a real blessing if 4 or 5 apples fall from a tree!