Heart Container
Template:Sources Template:Item Link's health is symbolized throughout the The Legend of Zelda series as a set of Hearts, excluding The Adventure of Link wherein his health is symbolized by a life bar. Depending on the game, Link must collect either Pieces of Heart or full Heart Containers to increase his maximum health.
Heart Container
Description
As Link progresses through the games, he will require more and more health in order to survive the greater challenges. This additional health is acquired in the form of Heart Containers, with each Heart Container adding one whole heart to the amount of hearts Link has (again, excluding The Adventure of Link wherein the Heart Container adds an extra block to Link's life bar).[1] A Heart Container is awarded after every major boss in most games.[2] Most games finish with Link having gained a total of 20 hearts. Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures break from the series standard since Heart Containers are not permanent upgrades. Most stages in this title contain Heart Container upgrades, but Link begins the next stage without the benefit. It is possible to finish some games without getting the Heart Containers received from bosses.
Heart Containers can apparently form when people display deep affection for each other, as seen in Twilight Princess where Yeto and Yeta create Hearts and Heart Containers in their embrace. As a matter of fact, Twilight Princess also considers Heart Pieces to be sources of love, as seen with Madame Fanadi when she asks Link for what type of prediction he wants to see.
Heart Containers Summary
Note that in The Adventure of Link Link's health is illustrated by blocks instead of hearts, and that in Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures Heart Containers are not permanent upgrades. Template:AltTable
| Game | LoZ | AoL | ALttP | LA | OoT | MM | OoS/OoA | FS | TWW | FSA | TMC | TP | PH | ST | SS | ALBW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starts with | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3
|
6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| Obtained from Bosses | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 10 | |||
| Found in the Overworld | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
|
1 | 6 | 8 | 2 | |||||||
| Formed by Pieces of Heart | 6 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 7 | ||||||
| Total | 16 | 8 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 14
|
20 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 20 |
Piece of Heart
Description
In many games, a Heart Container can be built manually by collecting four Pieces of Heart,[3] which were introduced in A Link to the Past, and have since then have appeared in every other title following it, excluding Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, in which only full Heart Containers could be found, and Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures, in which Heart Containers are not permanent upgrades. These are scattered throughout the world, and can be found in treasure chests,[4] won in mini-games,[5] or given as thanks for helping someone. Obtaining a Piece of Heart will immediately refill all of Link's health, regardless of whether or not that Piece of Heart is completing a Heart Container. The amount of Pieces of Heart depends primarily on how many Heart Containers are in the game; the Pieces of Heart, combined with the Heart Containers, typically add up to a total of 20 Hearts by the end of a game. Interestingly, the number of Heart Pieces in a game is inversely proportional to how many dungeons (therefore, bosses with Heart Containers) are available in that adventure. Because of this, Majora's Mask holds currently the record for having the highest number in the series (52, this for featuring only four Heart Containers).
Twilight Princess breaks the tradition by requiring five Pieces of Heart in order to create a Heart Container instead of the normal four. This is likely due to the high number of Heart Containers present in the game, and so more Pieces of Heart were required to keep the number of them higher than in Ocarina of Time (which had the same number of Heart Containers, but only 36 Pieces of Heart because of the old four-piece system) and narrowly The Wind Waker (44), having therefore 45 in total. Although in Twilight Princess heart pieces are collected in fifths, Link still loses health in minimums of fourths.
In Skyward Sword, there are only 24 Pieces of Heart. This is due to the fact that Link starts off with three more hearts than usual, making it so that he begins with six, earns six from defeating bosses, and obtains six from Pieces of Heart, with the last two Heart Containers being potentially temporary items in the form of the Life Medals, which take up a spot in Link's Adventure Pouch if he wishes to use them.
It's also worth noting that The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword are the only games in the series to have in-game "guides" showing the player where the Pieces of Heart are. The Wind Waker has a Special Chart[6][7] that reveals where the Pieces are; in Twilight Princess, Madame Fanadi the fortune teller can guide Link to them; and in Skyward Sword, a fortune-telling character similar to Fanadi, Sparrot, will give Link hints on where to find Pieces of Heart.
It is unknown if any character other than Link understands the use and purpose of the Pieces of Heart, or if any character other than Link can use the Pieces of Heart, as very few characters ever have anything to say about them, even when handing them out as rewards. In Twilight Princess, if Link catches the Piece of Heart while fishing in the Upper Zora's River Fishing Hole, Hena will remark "Whose heart did you catch? You big sweetheart!" In Skyward Sword, Beedle will eventually sell Link a Piece of Heart starting at 1600 Rupees. If Link asks Beedle about the item so that he can buy it, Beedle will tell him that he does not actually know what it is, and that he found it somewhere nearby. In The Lumpy Pumpkin, one of the first Pieces of Heart available in the game is located on the chandelier hanging in the center of the place. If one speaks to Kina, she remarks that the Rupees on the chandelier may have caught Link's eye, and that he cannot get them, nor should he even think about trying. She makes no mention of the Piece of Heart on the chandelier, a glaring oversight, as it is likely the first thing that catches the attention of players upon entering the restaurant. It is also worth mentioning that the Fortune Tellers who give hints leading to the Heart Piece Locations refer to them as something having to do with love.
Number of Pieces of Heart per game
| ALttP | LA | OoT | MM | OoS | OoA | TWW | TMC | TP | SS | ALBW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 12 | 36 | 48 | 12 | 12 | 44 | 44 | 45 | 24 | 28 |
Non-Canon Appearances
Super Smash Bros. Series
- See SmashWiki's article on Heart Container for more information.
In every game within the Super Smash Bros. series, the Heart Container appears as a healing item. In Super Smash Bros., it reduces all damage to 0%. In every subsequent game, however, it reduces only 100% of damage. In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, the player that grabbed the Heart Container cannot receive any damage from opponents while the item is restoring health. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, any damage that is taken will be subtracted from the 100%.
Heart Containers and Pieces of Heart also appear as Trophies and Stickers.
Trophy Information
| Name | Image | Description | How to Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heart Container | File:Heart Container Trophy.png | Heart Containers drift toward the ground slowly and replenish 100 percentage points of health. In The Legend of Zelda, these items beefed up Link's life meter; in most cases, Link found them in the possession of bosses or hidden in secret areas. Heart Containers are often scattered across the land in several fragments. | Play 100 VS Matches |
| Heart Container | File:Heart Container Trophy (SSBB).png | The best recovery item! Grab this and heal 100 percentage points of damage. It falls slowly, so it's best to grab it in midair. Damage recovery won't happen instantly, though, so try not to get launched while your damage is counting down. In the Legend of Zelda series, Heart Containers raise the player's maximum health. Bosses always have one in their possession. | Random |
Sticker Information
| Name | Image | Artwork from | Effect in The Subspace Emissary | Usable by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piece of Heart | File:Piece of Heart Sticker.png | Twilight Princess | Heart Container Effect +50 | This sticker is usable by Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, and Toon Link |
Sonic Lost World
Heart Containers appear in The Legend of Zelda Zone for Sonic Lost World. They can be obtained by opening Treasure Chests. Heart Containers increase Sonic's life by one.
Guides
The Legend of Zelda
The Adventure of Link
A Link to the Past
Piece of Heart Location Guide guide at StrategyWiki
Link's Awakening
Ocarina of Time
Piece of Heart Location Guide guide at StrategyWiki
Majora's Mask
Piece of Heart Location Guide guide at StrategyWiki
Oracle of Ages
Oracle of Seasons
The Wind Waker
The Minish Cap
Twilight Princess
Piece of Heart Location Guide guide at StrategyWiki
Phantom Hourglass
Piece of Heart Location Guide guide at StrategyWiki
Spirit Tracks
Skyward Sword
Galleries
Heart Container
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Heart Container artwork from the original The Legend of Zelda
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Heart Container artwork from the original The Legend of Zelda
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Heart Container in The Adventure of Link
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Link finds a Heart Container in The Adventure of Link
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Heart Container artwork from A Link to the Past
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Heart Container in A Link to the Past
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Heart Container in A Link to the Past
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Heart Container as seen in Ocarina of Time
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Link obtains a Heart Container in Ocarina of Time
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Heart Container as seen in the Oracle series
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Heart Container as seen in The Minish Cap
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Heart Container as seen in The Minish Cap
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Heart Container as seen in The Minish Cap
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Heart Container as seen in The Minish Cap
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Heart Container in Four Swords
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Heart Container in The Wind Waker
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Heart Container in The Wind Waker
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Heart Container in Four Swords Adventures
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Heart Container in Twilight Princess
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Heart Container in Twilight Princess
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Heart Container in Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks
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Heart container in Skyward Sword
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Heart Container in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
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Piece of Heart
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Piece of Heart in A Link to the Past
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Piece of Heart in Link's Awakening
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Piece of Heart in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask
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Piece of Heart in the Oracle series
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Piece of Heart in The Wind Waker
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Piece of Heart in The Minish Cap
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Artwork of a Piece of Heart in The Wind Waker
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Piece of Heart in Twilight Princess
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Piece of Heart in Twilight Princess
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Piece of Heart in Skyward Sword
References
 Names in Other Regions 
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | ||
| Heart Container | Piece of Heart | ||
 |
Japanese | Template:Japanese Template:Japanese |
Template:Japanese |
 |
French | Réceptacle de Cœur | Quart de Cœur / Fragment de Cœur
|
 |
German | Herzcontainer | Herzteil |
 |
Italian | Portacuore | Frammento di Cuore |
 |
SpanishEU | Cont. de Corazones | Pieza de Corazón |
 |
SpanishLA | Contenedor de Corazón | Pieza de corazón |