Heart Containers?

[pepp]

I was playing Loz recently and I was wondering wat heart containers actualy are?
I was thinking about it and nom Ithink it are heart-shaped botles with sands of time in it. I mean, Sand of time make Link survive longer into the totok, so maybe it will let link survive longer into the outside world also?

Say me what you think about it people.

 

[DeletedUser9]

They're just silly items designed to give you more hearts. Hearts are your health meter, so they made a "Heart Container" to give you more of them. Think about it, that's how it is in all of the old video games, like how you collect little heads of your character for extra lives: there's no way that's intended to be explained. I don't think they were even called containers in the first game... although I might be wrong. Anyway, there's not much to take seriously about the item itself... at least not in a literal sense.

However, particularly in the recent games, upon defeating the bosses a Heart Container is dropped. Often it comes out of their body, or part of them turns into it, or it appears by their corpse. While I still don't believe the item itself has any major validity, I think this is supposed to symbolize Link taking the boss's life force or gaining it's power. It could be taken in a darker sense like he's eating a part of their body, but I think considering it like that would be a mistake. :xd:

 

[ironknuckle1]

i think hey are large cookies like in the legend of niel. Im kidding idk

 

[Austin]

Thinking of them as containers filled with stuff, I would say that stuff is the Red Elixir (sometimes referred to the Philosopher Stone). When you collect enough of them, they give you more life (which was the whole purpose of the red elixir).

 

[LordHershebel]

Just a physical personification of health? Maybe im not think outside of the box, eh.

 

[athenian200]

I have a theory, but it's a little far-fetched.

I think the hearts represent Link's passion, his will to fight. In other words, when he gets "hit" by monsters, he isn't actually hit until his last heart is gone. He just escapes narrowly but feels discouraged by how narrowly he got out of it. The increasing number of hearts has to do with the number of people who believe in Link, because he thinks of them every time he gets discouraged.

The reason he starts off with three hearts is fairly simple. One represents himself, and the other two represent his parents or similar paternal/maternal figures. When he defeats a boss, that represents a major accomplishment that he knows people will respect, so he gets a free heart for that. In other words, he thinks "Well, I've beaten boss X, surely I'm not going to fail now!" That's also why he gets Pieces of Heart for helping people out... it sort of implies that he becomes concerned with their fate, and they with his, so he kind of thinks, "Well, that person I helped believes in me now... I can't let them down." Maybe with the hidden ones he finds, it's just "I managed to find that well-hidden secret back there, and no one else had noticed it before... maybe I can do this, too."

Basically, the increasing number of hearts indicate the increasing number of reasons Link can tell himself to go on when he has a close call, thus increasing passion or will.

 

[Ikana]

I never gave thought about that.Heck I really don't know they are probably just filled with energy.

 

[Meego]

i guess its like gaining stamina or health or more strength i suppose!

 

[DeletedUser9]

So I'm the one of the only ones who thinks this is something that doesn't deserve much more than a "It's just a video game" answer? They're hearts-shaped objects that let you survive more attacks. There's no logical way you can explain it in the confines of the game world. One way or another, you can't find a logical way to explain it as more than just "your health and an excuse to get more health"... :?

Thinking of them as containers filled with stuff, I would say that stuff is the Red Elixir (sometimes referred to the Philosopher Stone). When you collect enough of them, they give you more life (which was the whole purpose of the red elixir).

The Elixir of Life (Red Elixir as you put it) was not always associated with the Philosopher's Stone. The Stone was just an alchemical substance, that supposedly was supposed to be able to turn base metals into gold. Sometimes it was associated with the Elixir of Life, but it was more connected to the turning metal into gold thing.

Zelda has made mention of magic and technology, but never alchemy, so I think it's a little far-fetched in my opinion to be thinking with alchemy in this circumstance...

Just a physical personification of health? Maybe im not think outside of the box, eh.

No, that's pretty much how I feel about it too. I find any other possibilities pretty unlikely and illogical.

 

[Jesper]

I guess its something that Link absorbs to give him more energy. It would kinda make sense, right?
How cool would it be IRL to jump off a cliff from like i dunno, 40 meters, and die (lose one heart) but just remember that you have 19 more! That would be awesome, no fear! The heart containers will rescue!

 

[linebyline]

I figured they were containers for the red potion. Or, since Link's clearly shown drinking red potion, then maybe they're magical items that allow his body to absorb more of it, and indicate how much he's got left...in there... um...:S

For me, that sort of explains why Link can take so much punishment without any actual, visible injuries. And yes, all this stuff could just as easily be chalked up to "It's just a video game, I should really just relax."

As for the relative size of the containers and why the health items appear as hearts (unless you fill your bottle with potion), now that I'd chalk up to "It's a video game." Same reason that the bombs and rupees and so on look bigger than Link's head, or how Link always has exact change. Or a five-arrow pickup looks like an arrow with the number 5 by it rather than a pile of five arrows.


As for heart containers in real life? Nah. Red potion is hard to come by in the real world, so if I got low I'd be hearing that annoying DING DING DING for who knows how long.

 

[Octo Rocked]

The obvious answer is that they're just a video game mechanic. A possible explanation (that kinda kills the E rating) is that he literally eats the hearts of his enemies to grow stronger...which would also explain recovery hearts to an extent. And a symbolic answer is that they're representations of his training/growth as a warrior.

I think that the bigger question is what the Pieces of Hearts are. If a Heart Container is a bottle of some sort, why can four (or in TP, five) pieces of it still hold the liquid, or whatever's inside?

 

[soulreapersheik]

a heart shaped potion holder would be cool, but its just a game mechanic