Daily Debate: Which Zelda Game Has the Best Rupee Economy?

Posted on April 16 2021 by Andrew Millard

Here in the US, it’s tax season. Mid-April is the traditional deadline for individual and household returns, and that has me thinking of finances. Since some part of my brain is always on Zelda, those two trains of thought naturally crossed (Spirit) tracks. Actually, my recent completion of Oracle of Ages, with fellow ZD writers Emi and Hannah, planted the seed of this question a couple of months ago: Which Zelda games do the best job balancing the contents of Link’s wallet against the price of key shop items?

Oracle of Ages in particular was frustrating on that front. It took me forever to scrounge up a triple-digit sum of rupees in that game. Each of its half dozen optional, but worthwhile shop items have price tags in the hundreds, e.g., the companion flutes, the L2 Ring Box, and the buyable Heart Piece. Buying one would send moths flying out of my wallet. And so, Oracle of Ages is the game I spent the most time grinding for rupees. I felt Breath of the Wild depended too much on grinding for rupees (and other materials) as well, but that may have more to do with how I chose to play that game.

But the Oracle games also sidestepped the graduating wallet scheme that Ocarina of Time had just established, and which persisted through Skyward Sword. As a player, I’m not sure I can choose between which is the better obstacle to earning those hot items: scarcity or carry limits.

As to the latter, whether you catch a glimpse of something expensive squirreled away in Kakariko, Clock Town, or Beedle’s outposts, you know the game is gently goading you to start saving. Then, only to realize you literally cannot carry enough Rupees back to make the purchase! Ocarina of Time memorably incorporated that challenge into the House of Skulltula side quest. However, I didn’t feel overly-rewarded after lifting enough of the family’s curse to strap the Giant’s Wallet to my belt.

So maybe my answer to this question is simply the handful of games I don’t remember struggling or grinding in order to buy that shiny new shield or crucial Piece of Heart? Perhaps The Wind Waker? While it had the graduating wallet mechanic, it also kept the Rupees flowing for players willing to drop anchor by any of the Great Sea’s plethora of glowing markers.

What’s your choice? Which Zelda game has the best Rupee economy? Or maybe a memorable shop-related quest? Make your deposit in the comments below!