One and Done: A Tribute to Items Only Appearing Once (3D Edition)

Items are among the biggest things that makes Zelda what it is. Everyone has a favorite: the hookshot, the bow, the boomerang, there are so many to choose from. However, what about the items that have only appeared once? Items that, for whatever reason, were never put into another Zelda game after their initial appearance. Whether the item wouldn’t fit in a different style of Zelda, or the item wasn’t exactly as useful as it was intended to be, these items only had one chance in the sunlight. Today, we’re looking at some of our favorite one off items and theorizing why these items maybe weren’t put into other games.

A few rules we’re setting on this list. Firstly, as long as the item has appeared in only one main series Zelda, it is eligible for the list. This means that even if the item reappeared in Hyrule Warriors or Super Smash Bros, the item can still appear on the list as long as they were only in one main Zelda; although, this works the other way as well. As much as we would like to include the Crossbow from Link’s Crossbow Training, it never appeared in a main Zelda, so it doesn’t count. Another rule for this tribute is no story related items. This takes items such as The Wind Waker off the table. Also, no swords and shields will be on this list. The last restriction placed on this list is no masks. While technically items, there are so many masks that talking about them all would devalue the point of the article: to shed some light on the lesser used items of the Zelda franchise. I really would like to do an entire editorial on masks sometime, but that time isn’t now.

Oh, and if you’re disappointed in the fact that I am not including the Top Down Zelda games in this list, don’t worry, I’ll be making a follow up editorial at a later date with those. I’m not quite as familiar with them as I am with the 3D Zelda Games, so I want to do that list justice by playing those games first. However, with that said, one off items are only in one Zelda game, so despite not including the top downs in this list, if an item does appear in a 2D one as well as a 3D one, it’s automatically disqualified for the list. With these housekeeping items out of the way, let’s jump into the list!

The Gale Boomerang

The Gale Boomerang is really one of the most distinct examples of the one off item. It’s only in one game: Twilight Princess, and it’s one of the more remembered items in the game: after appearing in Twilight Princess, it even made an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and every Smash since as Link’s boomerang!

The Gale Boomerang was your basic boomerang with a new spin (pun intended). When locked onto a target, the boomerang would go for it right away, but also created a small whirlwind around itself. This whirlwind could carry enemies back to Link, or even stun them for a short time. It also worked on faraway items as well; Link could throw it to get items he may not have. It was a nice twist (pun also intended) on the standard boomerang. One drawback to it, however, was that it caused very little to no damage when thrown, to account for the whirlwind. This was a major departure from the other boomerangs, which could normally defeat many enemies.

What about the Gale Boomerang made it only good for Twilight Princess? Honestly, at the end of the day, it’s just a variation of the boomerang. In my opinion, it was a cool gimmick for one game, but it may get old after multiple games of it. Besides, the Clawshot and…the next item on our list have some similar functions to the Gale Boomerang. It’s a cool item; just maybe not cool enough for multiple games to be built around it.

The Beetle

The Beetle was rather unique, while also providing some of the functions the Gale Boomerang provided. You obtained the Beetle in Skyward Sword, and it appeared in the newest Super Smash Bros. games as an item.

You controlled the Beetle by pointing the Wii Remote at the TV, then twisting and turning it to pick up items. Later in the game, you received upgrades to it to increase speed, fly further, and even add a grabbing mechanism that allowed you to drop bombs and other items on enemies! It’s a very cool item, and I personally prefer it to the Gale Boomerang, as you feel you have more control over it.

Why did this item only appear in Skyward Sword? Actually…it may not be a one off item for long. Although it’s only appeared in one main Zelda thus far, Skyward Sword is the latest console Zelda, and as we know very little about Zelda Wii U at the moment, there is a chance it could make a reappearance in that game as well. As someone who adored the Beetle, I’d certainly welcome its return.

Din’s Fire, Farore’s Wind, and Nayru’s Love

These are the spells that made their appearance in Ocarina of Time, and then later got integrated into Zelda’s Super Smash Bros. series moveset. They all act a bit differently in Ocarina of Time than they do in Smash, however.

Din’s Fire was the offensive spell: it caused a huge orb of fire to surround Link, and it allowed for anything flammable to burn, and most enemies around him to be engulfed in the flame. It was very useful for when you were surrounded by enemies.

Farore’s Wind was more of a convenience spell. While inside of a dungeon, it allowed you to place a warp point in that section of the dungeon, and then warp there by using the spell a second time. You even use it to warp between dungeons, should you so choose to.

Nayru’s Love was the defensive spell of the game. When using it, it would manifest a huge blue diamond around Link, preventing damage from occurring onto him. He could even use the sword while under its spell!

These three spells were very useful in Ocarina of Time, so why were they left out in later installments? I’ll go through each spell and my thoughts on why they were no longer in the games. Starting with Farore’s Wind, each of the Zelda games following Ocarina of Time had a new, more convenient way of warping in dungeons, at least in comparison to Ocarina of Time. Majora’s Mask, for example, had the Song of Soaring, which allowed you to warp to any Owl Statue you had marked with your sword. The Wind Waker, using another example, had Warp Jars to open up throughout the dungeon, which allowed for easy travel to main hubs found within the dungeon. These additions kind of made Farore’s Wind obsolete.

Din’s Fire, however, is definitely a cool looking spell, and I feel if it were added into a newer Zelda game, it would look beautiful. If any of the spells were to come back, I’d want it to be this one.

Finishing with Nayru’s Love, they actually did bring this spell back in the form of Magic Armor, something that appears in The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. While not the same name, the functionality of it is very similar. I tried to avoid adding items like this in my list (it’s the reason why you won’t see Mole Mitts on the 2D list, or the Digging Mitts and Mogma Mitts on this list, despite Mole Mitts being one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen ever), but as I wrote entries for two spells, I thought I might as well include this as well.

There is also one more reason the other spells may not have appeared in later games: after the release of The Wind Waker, there has not been a magic meter! Right, when using these spells, a portion of your magic meter would go down. Granted, there was the Stamina meter in Skyward Sword, and the Energy meter in Link Between Worlds, but these behaved very differently than the magic meter did in other Zelda games. This may have been a reason why these spells never made a reappearance. As for Magic Armor, in Twilight Princess, it would drain rupees instead of magic due to the lack of the Magic meter.

The Swift Sail

Maybe I’m cheating with this one; I don’t care, it’s my list. The Swift Sail is a great addition to The Wind Waker HD and deserves to be mentioned among these other items.

When you obtain the Swift Sail, you’re able to use it for easier sailing across the Great Sea. While using it, you move incredibly fast across the ocean, and you don’t need to stop to change the direction of the wind using the Wind Waker! The wind automatically changes to the direction you’re facing, making for fast and convenient sailing. This item was not in the original game, which led to complaints concerning the length of time it took to get everywhere. That’s why, when Nintendo made this remake, they added this item in.

It should be obvious as to why the Swift Sail never made a second appearance. It was an enhancement made to a remake of a Zelda game to address a complaint. With that said, however, should sailing ever return to the Zelda world, the Swift Sail would be a very welcome return.

The Spinner

There are a lot of one off items in Twilight Princess: Water Bombs, the Ball and Chain, Hawkeye, and more. However, if I list EVERY one off item from EVERY game, there will just be too much writing. As such, I’m cutting off the Twilight Princess one offs with this item: the Spinner.

The Spinner is an item Link can use to ride different railings on walls in dungeons. This allows Link to go to new places he was not able to go before. He also has a spin attack with it, which you can use to attack enemies. However, you only are on it for a limited time before you are kicked off due to physics.

The Spinner is my favorite concept of an item from Twilight Princess. I think it was executed better in Hyrule Warriors, where Link can use it to wipe out multiple enemies at a time, all while riding on top of it. However, since Twilight Princess is the main series game, I shouldn’t allow functionality from Hyrule Warriors influence this.

I personally don’t know if the Spinner should return. On the one hand, as I said, it was a cool concept. However, I’m not too big of a fan of the functionality in Twilight Princess, so I say maybe it’s a good thing this item was a one off.

The Tingle Tuner/The Tingle Bottle

Unfortunately for The Wind Waker (or fortunately for contexts outside this list), the majority of its items actually do appear in other games. There are some other items, like bait and the delivery bag, but those were very specific The Wind Waker items, and not entirely interesting to talk about.

Fortunately, there are two items that are very interesting to talk about that haven’t appeared since The Wind Waker, despite also being very specific to that game. The Tingle Tuner and the Tingle Bottle were in The Wind Waker and The Wind Waker HD specifically. The Tingle Tuner made use of the Game Boy Advance-GameCube Link Cable that no one besides me and very few others had. Using it would display a map of the area as well as other features, such as healing Link, or have Tingle target a specific enemy to throw a bomb at. If you’re in a dungeon, Tingle will help you out along the way by giving you advice.

As Nintendo had not been making Game Boy Advances for years, when it came time to remake The Wind Waker for Wii U, obviously they couldn’t reuse the Tingle Tuner. Instead, they used the Tingle Bottle. This allowed you to send posts to Miiverse. You are also able to collect other players’ bottles in the Great Sea as you sail. This was a nice little addition, as it incorporates Miiverse as well as replaces an outdated feature.

As with the Swift Sail, it’s incredibly obvious as to why these two items haven’t made reappearances. The Tingle Tuner hasn’t made its glorious return because it was hinging on a failed accessory, and the Tingle Bottle, while I can see its functionality reappearing in Zelda Wii U, making an appearance as the Tingle Bottle is extremely unlikely. However, while I’ve made a few jokes at the Tingle Tuner’s expense, it actually had some pretty cool ideas. I like the idea of Tingle helping out in dungeons, and they even did incorporate the map on the second screen feature in the Wii U version. However, as I said, its fate hinged on a failure of an accessory, so it never went anywhere.

Powder Keg

Majora’s Mask’s masks are the items that make it unique from the other Zelda games.By making masks not eligible, I removed every unique item Majora’s Mask had. The one item I can still talk about is just a powered up bomb, and that’ll have to be the representation Majora’s Mask gets on this list.

As stated, the Powder Keg is just a stronger version of the bomb. Link can only use them while wearing the Goron mask, and because of how powerful they are, Link is only allowed to hold one in his inventory at all times.

The Powder Keg could appear again if they need an upgraded bomb, but as I mentioned, Link can only carry them as Goron Link, so unless you play as a Goron in a future Zelda, or they make a Majora’s Mask sequel, I don’t see this item coming back.

Hover Boots

As the final one off item, I chose a rather unique piece of equipment Link puts on: the Hover Boots. These boots are pretty cool, and I’m actually surprised they haven’t made a reappearance since their debut in Ocarina of Time; I found out while creating this list they hadn’t, but thinking about it, yeah, they actually haven’t.

The Hover Boots grant Link the power to hover in the air for literally about a second, and then he falls. These boots also provide very little traction, so much like the Iron Boots, it’s not advisable to wear them outside of where you need to use them. The 3DS version of Ocarina of Time makes switching from both these boots much less of a chore, and that game made me appreciate both sets of boots more.

I feel the Hover Boots should make their return. It’s surprising that the Iron Boots have made several reappearances in different Zelda games, but not the Hover Boots. The next time the Iron Boots are included in a new game, Nintendo show throw a bone to the Hover Boots.

And there you have our tribute to the many one off Zelda series items. To be honest, I’m surprised there are as many non returning items in the entire series, and I’m sure I didn’t mention quite a few. Do you have a favorite one off Zelda item? List it in the comments below!