How Many Pieces in a Heart Container?

[Terminus]

The title really says it all. How many pieces of heart (In your opinion) should it take to make a heart container? Most games have had 4, TP had 5, and some games have had none.

Below is a breakdown of pieces of heart in all 16 Canonical Zelda Titles

Spoiler

LoZ: None, just Heart Containers
Aol: None, just Heart Containers
aLttP: 4 pieces per Container
LA: 4 pieces per Container
OoT: 4 pieces per container
MM:4 pieces per container
OoS:4 pieces per container
OoA:4 pieces per container
tWW:4 pieces per container
FS: Not sure, I think 4 pieces per container
FSA: Not sure, I think 4 pieces per container
MC:4 pieces per container
TP:5 pieces per container
PH:None, just Heart Containers
ST:None, just Heart Containers
SS:4 pieces per container

Clearly 4 is the magic number, but what do you think?

 

[Ventus]

No heart pieces in FSA or FS, just heart containers.

I say there should be five heart containers in Future Zeldas. It calls for more exploration that way, and much more fun!

 

[Sydney]

I honestly think there should always be 4 heart pieces to a heart containers. This represents the 4 chambers of the heart. When all 4 pieces of heart come together, it becomes complete to make 1 single heart container, just like 4 chambers make one human heart. <3

 

[Spirit]

I liked the 5 pieces =] made me look harder =] and looking around a world like TP's was just a bonus

 

[Terminus]

No heart pieces in FSA or FS, just heart containers.

I say there should be five heart containers in Future Zeldas. It calls for more exploration that way, and much more fun!

Thanks, it didn't say on ZD.

Also, this IS a poll

 

[Fraxinus]

I've always liked the concept of pieces of heart, and I think four is the best number for it. It's not too big, and not too small... it's just right [haha, Goldilocks moment]. I'm typically an OCD person, and whenever I turn off my Zelda games, if I don't have the maximum amount of rupees, I have to make sure my rupee count is divisible by five, so you'd think I'd like five heart pieces, but... no. Since the human heart has four valves, I always thought it was anatomically correct to make there be four pieces or heart to a container. So, yeah... four is the best.

 

[Pen]

I voted for 5 pieces per container simply because it adds more exploration to the game, which I like a lot! I's a pity that Twilight Princess is the only Zelda game so far that's done it that way. I certainly hope for future Zelda titles to also use five Pieces of Heart to form a complete Heart Container.

 

[Terminus]

Whenever I see people arguing that the 4 pieces could mimic the 4 valves/chambers of a human heart, I see this image in my head...


IMO, the number depends on the game, TP had the largest overworld with lots more to explore.

 

[Hero of Time]

I've always liked 4: not too many, not too easy. It allows for you to get the next Heart Container more easily compared to 5, and psychologically it makes you want to get Pieces of Heart, because you know the next Heart Container is within reach, as opposed to 5. However, I do like how 5 allows for more Pieces of Heart to be found, because searching for them can be very fun. In my opinion, Skyward Sword should have made it 5, because the Life Medals and starting with 6 Heart Containers made it too easy to have 15 or 16 hearts by the end of the game without truly looking for any Pieces of Heart; either that, or the Life Medals should have been removed, allowing for more Pieces of Heart to be found instead of being able to essentially buy Heart Containers.

 

[Terminus]

either that, or the Life Medals should have been removed, allowing for more Pieces of Heart to be found instead of being able to essentially buy Heart Containers.

Or they could have been priced absurdly high... But getting rid of 3 hearts to allow for a "Traditional" start and the medals gives you another 20 pieces of heart.

 

[MW7]

Five allows for more heart piece collection which as long as it remains fun is better than having four IMO. Heart piece collection is something Twilight Princess absolutely knocked out of the park. Twilight Princess managed to have a ton of dungeons granting extra health as well as nearly as many heart pieces as Majora's Mask since it broke them into fifths. Plus it gave some heart pieces their own areas for example the lantern caverns and the ice block cave.

 

[wedge47]

I would rather stick with 4. I mean... there was a reason SS went back to just 4 after TP came out. 5 was just too many.

 

[Rafa1996]

I think 5 is better. There are more things to get. In TP, we had 45 Pieces of Heart to collect. If it had been 4 pieces of heart per Heart container, we would have had only 36. I know, the difference isn't big, but it's always nice to have more things to do.

 

[skybird11]

it really depends on the overworld size and the number of dungeons. if there are more dungeons then that means more heart containers and less exploration for pieces, so 5 would be a logical choice. as for overworld size, it's debatable on how easy or hard it should be to find them.

I prefer to search for 4, but i guess it's just a nostalgia thing or i'm just used to it

 

[AnimeHat]

I like four. Four's an even number, plus that's the way it's been for most of the time. Something about five didn't delight me...