Tennis

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Many boss enemies in The Legend of Zelda series are difficult or impossible to harm with ordinary attacks. Sometimes this is because they're just too tough, other times because they have magical protection or can block attacks, and occasionally because they're flying out of reach. To hit these enemies, it's often necessary to reflect their attacks back at them with the sword, much like a tennis player would return a serve.

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The first game in the series that included this tactic was A Link to the Past, which required Link to use the Master Sword, or, strangely, the Bug Catching Net, to reflect Agahnim's magical bolts back at him to hurt him. No other attacks would do damage. As an in-game hint, Link is told that he must find a way to reflect Agahnim's evil magic back on him.

What makes this tactic different from simple reflection (usually using the Mirror Shield and sometimes the regular shield) is that it requires precision timing. Blocking with the shield is usually a simple matter of hiding behind it and waiting for the enemy to fire, such as when battling Octoroks or Twinrova in Ocarina of Time. Although Twilight Princess requires good timing with a Shield Attack to reflect shots, it's still safer than tennis because a miss results in the shot harmlessly impacting the shield rather than hitting Link.

Since A Link to the Past, playing tennis has become a standard tactic for battling powerful enemies, but with a new twist. The enemy will often be able to answer Link's reflection by batting it back himself. This results in a dangerous game of skill as the two enemies bounce the shot back and forth between them, waiting for the other to make a mistake and get hit. In Ocarina of Time, for example, Link reflects the shots of both Phantom Ganon and also Ganondorf himself by batting them back with his sword (again, as an easter egg in the game, an empty bottle could also be used). Both these enemies will return the shot until someone misses and gets hit. Frequently, Link can increase his chances of hitting the enemy with the reflected shot by standing very close — the enemy will not be able to react fast enough to answer.

When the enemy finally misses a return, he will be stunned momentarily. If he is flying, he will fall to the ground. Link will have a brief window of opportunity to strike his unguarded foe a few times with his sword to inflict damage. As an exception, Ganondorf's Puppet Zelda merely requires the reflected shots to hit her, as Link obviously doesn't want to strike Zelda's body, even while possessed, with the Sword of Evil's Bane.