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TAoL Defeated Link Artwork
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This article is about the recovery items that are picked up. For the health meter, see Life Gauge. For the items that increase Link's health, see Heart Container and Piece of Heart.

Hearts(TLoZ | ALttP | LA | OoT | MM | OoS | OoA | FS | TWW | FSA | TMC | TP | PH | ST | SS | ALBW | TFH)[1] also known as Recovery Hearts,(OoT)[1] are recurring Objects in The Legend of Zelda series.

Location and Uses[]

Four Swords Manual Description
Four Swords logo
Heart
Gathering a heart refills a single heart on your Life Gauge.
Four Swords Adventures Manual Description
Four Swords Adventures logo
Heart
Refill your Heart Meter a little.
Zelda (Game & Watch) Manual Description
Zelda (Game & Watch) logo
Heart
Revives Link's life by one heart.
Recover heart

Hearts aid Link by replenishing his life energy by one Heart at a time. They can be found anywhere in Hyrule, Koholint Island, Termina, Labrynna, Holodrum, the Great Sea, the World of the Ocean King, New Hyrule, and Skyloft. Hearts are uncovered in Pots, Jars, tall Grass, defeated enemies, under rocks and, in many instances, they can even be purchased from shops. They appear as small, floating, red Hearts. In Breath of the Wild, Hearts cannot be found in the world; life energy can only be replenished by consuming Food, using Fairies or Mipha's Grace, or standing in hot springs.

Life Meter[]

Main article: Life Gauge

The Life Meter is a gauge indicating how much life Link has. Whenever Link takes damage from an enemy attack or hazard, he loses health in increments of full Hearts, half Hearts, or in Ocarina of Time and all games from then on, quarter Hearts. Losing all Hearts in the Life Meter causes Link to collapse, resulting in a Game Over. In various The Legend of Zelda games, Link can extend his life energy from three to twenty hearts. In others, the maximum is either 14 or 16. The only game where Link does not have his health represented by Hearts is The Adventure of Link, where it is instead represented by rectangular segments (the game still features Heart Containers to increase the Life Meter, however).

Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks introduces Green Hearts. These replenish the endurance of SS Linebeck's Hull in Phantom Hourglass, and the Spirit Train in Spirit Tracks. These Hearts can only be found while traveling on the overworld of their respective games. Initially the vehicle start out with four Hearts, and can obtain more by assembling matching parts of the vehicle. When the vehicle runs out of Green Hearts, it becomes destroyed, resulting in a Game Over.

In A Link Between Worlds, Link can store Hearts in a Bottle by using his Bug Net.[2]

BotW Extra Heart Icon

Breath of the Wild introduces Temporary Hearts, which are yellow in color and temporarily increase Link's total life energy. Temporary Hearts can be gained by consuming cooked Food or Elixirs that have this effect. Once depleted, Temporary Hearts are lost and cannot be recovered, however more can be gained by consuming another item with the effect.

Oxygen[]

Main article: Oxygen Gauge

In both Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, oxygen is measured according to Link's life meter. When he is exposed for too long underwater, or enters a very hot environment, a timer appears. Before it runs out, the young hero must either rise to surface or exit from the hot area, depending on the area; otherwise, he will die. How long the time will be depends on the current life meter (not only the maximum capacity, but also the current amount of Hearts). For every quarter of a Heart Link has in current life, he will have two additional second's added to the timer. (or eight seconds per Heart) The amount of time is calculated upon entry in said inhospitable environments without the proper Tunic or Mask. For example, if he enters Death Mountain Crater with a three-Heart meter unharmed, then he will have 24 seconds to exit from there. The timer remains unaffected by the Defensive Power upgrade.

As a Gesture of Gratitude or Love[]

One humorous moment in Twilight Princess occurs when Link defeats the boss of the Snowpeak Ruins, Blizzeta, who is actually Yeta, the wife of Yeto. After she is restored, Yeto rushes to Yeta's side and the pair share a romantic moment. At this point, forty Hearts burst from the pair, as well as a Heart Container. Similarly in Twilight Princess, after Link beats the STAR Game in Castle Town East, he can gain three Hearts by approaching Kili, Hannah and Misha. More Hearts also appear near Honey and Darling in Majora's Mask, although Link is unable to collect these Hearts.

Another moment occurs in Ocarina of Time: as Link and Zelda reach specific floors in Ganon's Castle, Zelda becomes trapped in a ring of fire and two Stalfos appear. The only way to free Zelda is to defeat both foes; once this occurs, she thanks Link and drops a few Hearts.

A lady inside Kakariko Village in A Link Between Worlds will romantically give Link a Piece of Heart, and normal Hearts after every time she is visited.

Nomenclature[]

TMC Forest Minish Artwork Names in other regions TMC Jabber Nut Sprite
LanguageNameMeaning
JapanJapaneseハート (Hāto) (TLoZ | ALttP | ALBW)[3][4][5]
回復のハート (Kaifuku no Hāto) (ALttP | OoT)[6][7]
回復のハート (Kaifuku no Hāto) (ALttP | OoT)[8][9]
Same as English.
Recovery Heart
Recovery Heart
NetherlandsDutchHart (TLoZ)[10]Heart
CanadaFrenchCACœur (ALBW)[11]
FranceFrenchEUCoeur (TLoZ)[12]
Cœur (ALBW)[13]
Heart
GermanyGermanHerz (LA | ALBW)[14][15]Same as English.
ItalyItalianCuore (ALBW)[16]
SpainSpanishEUCorazón (ALBW)[17]
Latin AmericaSpanishLACorazón (ALBW)[18]
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. 127(TLoZ | ALttP | LA | OoT | MM | OoS | OoA | FS | TWW | FSA | TMC | TP | PH | ST | SS | ALBW | TFH)
  2. "He's selling hearts. Can you believe that? Hearts! I mean, you can just scoop them off the ground with a net." — Item Seller (A Link Between Worlds)
  3. The Legend of Zelda manual, pg. 21
  4. A Link to the Past manual, pg. 32 Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Vol. 1 (Shogakukan 1) pg. 30
  5. "ハート
    ハートが1つ回復する
    本当に困った時には
    役に立つはずだ
    " — Inventory (A Link Between Worlds)
  6. Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords (Shogakukan) pg. 17
  7. Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Shogakukan) pg. 147
  8. Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords (Shogakukan) pg. 17
  9. Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Shogakukan) pg. 147
  10. The Legend of Zelda manual, pg. 22
  11. "Cœur
    Restaure un cœurs. Toujours utile en cas d'urgence.
    " — Inventory (A Link Between Worlds)
  12. The Legend of Zelda manual, pg. 22
  13. "Cœur
    Restaure un cœurs. Toujours utile en cas d'urgence.
    " — Inventory (A Link Between Worlds)
  14. "3 Herzen
    10 Rubine
    " — Town Tool Shopkeeper (Link's Awakening, German version)
  15. "Herz
    Füllt ein einziges Herz auf. In Notlagen sicher praktisch.
    " — Inventory (A Link Between Worlds)
  16. "Cuore
    Restituisce solo 1 cuore, ma è molto utile se ti trovi alle strette.
    " — Inventory (A Link Between Worlds)
  17. "Corazón
    Restablece un corazón. Útil para salir del paso.
    " — Inventory (A Link Between Worlds)
  18. "Corazón
    Restablece un corazón. Útil para salir del paso.
    " — Inventory (A Link Between Worlds)
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