The Legend of Zelda, now over 30 years old, is one of the greatest series in video game history, and definitely one of the most famous and respected series to come from Nintendo, following only Mario in renown. Basically every game in the series—from the original Legend of Zelda on the NES, to Link’s Awakening on the Game Boy and Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64, all the way to the open world Breath of the Wild on the Switch—are classics in their own right. Multiple generations of gamers have donned Link’s iconic green hat and tunic, wielded the legendary Master Sword and lost themselves in the huge, detailed and imaginative world of Hyrule and beyond, both on their TV and on handhelds. But despite the familiarity of these beloved games to its dedicated fans and to pop culture as a whole, there are many secrets and easter eggs hidden by the makers of the games that many people might have missed. These go from references to older games in the series or the pop culture of the real world, to hidden areas and even simple graphical choices which show the level of care and love that Nintendo puts in this flagship series.
These hidden messages remind us that small touches are part of what makes a series great as much as the more grandiose effects, and remind us of why the Zelda series has endured for so long, and why it will probably remain a fixture of the gaming world for decades to come.
15 A Plumber In Hyrule
14 I Wanna Be Hyrule’s Very Best
13 A Link To Link’s Past
12 Divine Beast Origins
11 Musical Memories
10 Marine Rock Stars
The Legend of Zelda is not only aware of its own musical history, but also of the history of music in popular music in the wider world. In the Nintendo 64’s Majora’s Mask, Link interacts with a Zora band called The Indigo-gos. The band members and their music are inspired by popular music and musicians of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, from their instruments down to their demeanor and hairstyles. They are specifically inspired on the stereotype of the rock star—or, in the case of the singer Lula, the pop diva. The name of the band references the popular 1960s go-go dance, and the song Link learns from the subplot they are part of, “New Wave Bossa Nova,” combines the name of the 60s Jazz genre Bossa Nova and the 1980s rock genre of New Wave.
9 A Man Of Many Masks
While the Happy Mask Salesman makes his first appearance in Ocarina of Time, he plays a much more prominent role in the next game, Majora’s Mask. The plot of that game revolves around him in fact, as the Link’s main quest is to return the title mask to him after its theft at the hands of the Skull Kid. The Salesman is a mysterious figure who is apparently able to travel between worlds. He is possible inspired by Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto—who, also response for series such as Mario, Donkey Kong and Star Fox, is arguably the most prolific and influential game creator of all time. Masks of characters from other Nintendo series can be seen attached to the Mask Salesman’s backpack—these include Mario, Kirby’s foe King Dedede, and a mask resembling Star Fox’s Falco.
8 An Honoured Sage Lives On
Another influential member of the Nintendo family, President and CEO Satoru Iwata, died during the production of the latest game in the series, Breath of the Wild. Iwata was a key player in Nintendo’s surprise comeback with the success of the Wii, and his legacy was not forgotten by the game’s designers. A large area in the game, Satori Mountain, is named after him. Not only that, but if you travel to the area at night, you may encounter a giant blue deer known as the Lord of the Mountain This creature is described in the game’s Hyrule Compendium as “a reincarnation of a sage that died.” It is probable that this sage is Satoru Iwata and this being is a symbolic reincarnation of the deceased CEO.
7 An Otherworldly Feeling
Nintendo knows how to influence its players in subtle ways that they won’t even really notice. For example: in Wind Waker, the Tower of the Gods is the portal from the Great Sea, in which the bulk of the game takes place, to the sunken world of Hyrule below. The tower is graphically distinct from the surrounding ocean world: it is shaded in a more realistic style compared to the rest of this cartoony, cel-shaded Zelda game. This subconsciously lets the player know that it is an artifact from a world that is very different from the world they have been playing in. Although most people would never consciously pick up on details such as this, their brains brain will register it all the same and this adds an added layer of awe and splendour to the already imposing Tower of the Gods.
6 Some Mood-Setting Music
While music is important across the Zelda series, it takes the most central place in the related Nintendo 64 games Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. In these games, the songs Link plays on his Ocarina are a central game mechanic, allowing the Hylian to do everything from create rain to travel in time. The names of warp songs from OoT frequently reference the characteristics areas that they warp Link to. For example, the Bolero of the “Bolero of Fire” is Latin and “hot” like the hot Death Mountain Crater that it warps Link to upon playing—and the genre rhapsody, of the “Rhapsody of Spirit” is a free-flowing, improvisational genre, with “spirit,” much like the Spirit Temple that Link is taken too by playing it. These references will go over the heads of most players, but are understood and appreciated by the game’s more musically-educated fans and show the level of loving detail that is put into every Zelda game.
5 Let Me Tell You A Secret
There are some very subtle touches in the games that only the most astute super fan of Zelda will be able to pick up on. For example, the phrase “It’s a secret to everybody,” and variations of it, are repeated somewhere in almost every game of the series released since the first time it was uttered by a Moblin found in a cave in the original Legend of Zelda on the NES. It is stated, for example, by a soldier in A Link to the Past, by Princess Zelda in Ocarina of Time, by Kafei in Majora’s Mask, by a Goron in Twilight Princess and even by Link himself—in the form of a dialogue option—in Breath of the Wild. This really shows the dedication to continuity and the sense of fun that the creators of the series have.
4 A Room For A Chosen One
Not every secret message included in Zelda games was actually intended for public viewing. In A Link to the Past, a room was programmed into the game in honour of a Nintendo Power contest winner— Chris Houlihan—but was not made accessible to players through regular gameplay. It serves the role of a program failsafe: it is a location where Link will be sent if the game does not, for whatever reason, understand where to put him. It can, however, be accessed by exploiting glitches, most of which involve dashing quickly out of areas using the Pegasus boots. The room contains forty-five blue rupees, and a Telepathy Tile which tells Link: “My name is Chris Houlihan. This is my top secret room. Keep it between us, OK?" Despite the room’s status as outside of regular game play, a similar room was included in the Game Boy Advance remake, although without any remaining reference to Chris Houlihan.
3 The Stones Have Ears
Among the most iconic elements of Ocarina of Time’s Hyrule are the mysterious gossips stones which are scattered across the mythical kingdom. These are semi-oval stones bearing stylized image of a face, which bounce as if made of rubber when struck by a weapon such as Link’s sword, then tell him the in-game time. These weird stones are not explained within the game, and are possibly of alien origin: if bombed, they will flash and beep three times and then launch into space like a rocket. They are also apparently sentient. If Link speaks to them while wearing the Mask of Truth—available at the Happy Mask Shop—he will discover that the stones have secret messages for him, ranging from hints about the game to literal “gossip” about the game’s characters.
2 Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
One of the features of the latest installment in the Zelda series, Breath of the Wild, is a vast wardrobe of different armour sets, which is still being expanded by downloadable content. Link is also able to take off his armour and walk around in only his underwear—a new element to this game. Nintendo does not miss this opportunity to display the weird sense of humour that frequently crops up in the series. If Link goes to the Korok Forest area of the game, unclothes, and speaks to the maraca-wielding Korok Hestu, he will witness an exuberant celebration of their mutual nakedness in the form of Hestu’s “Nakey Dance.” Hestu’s taste for immature humour also comes out—in maybe one of the more frustrating moments in gaming history—when Link brings him all 900 Korok seeds. Upon completing this extremely difficult quest, players receive a prize that is, literally, crappy.
1 A Good Job Is Never Truly Finished
The makers of the Zelda series are, of course, not content with the hidden messages they left in the games the first time around—they added even more hidden goodies to the recent HD remakes! For example, a poster depicting a scene from 2011’s Skyward Sword has been added to the Lon Lon Ranch of the 3DS’s Ocarina of Time HD. More recently, a picture looking forward to Breath of the Wild was added to Twilight Princess HD on the Wii U. This game was released before BotW, so this was in fact a teaser looking forward to the release of the latest Zelda on the Switch. This predated even the revelation of the game’s name, and was one of the first clues towards the nature of the new Zelda game and its place in the wider mythology.
