Piece of Heart
Pieces of Heart can be found in most Legend of Zelda games. The amount that Link needs to collect in order to get a complete Heart Container is usually four, but in Twilight Princess it was five. In every other game it is four, so this was probably just a way to allow them to add more sidequests and such in Twilight Princess. Each game has a different amount of Heart Pieces that can be found. Some have 20, and some have 52. They are not rare, though some of them take a long time to acquire, such as the 50 Gold Skulltula tokens required to get one of the heart pieces in Ocarina of Time.
Games
Heart Pieces are featured in 10 Legend of Zelda games. They look different in most of the games, and below is a picture of how the Pieces of Heart look like in each game.
A Link to the Past
- Main article: A Link to the Past Heart Pieces
Pieces of Heart make their first appearance in A Link to the Past. A total of 24 pieces can be found in the game providing Link with 6 additional Heart Containers.
Link's Awakening
- Main article: Link's Awakening Heart Pieces
Link's Awakening features 12 pieces giving Link an additional 3 Heart Containers.
Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask
- Main article: Ocarina of Time Heart Pieces
Ocarina of Time has 36 Pieces of Heart which will give Link an additional 9 Heart Containers.
- Main article: Majora's Mask Heart Pieces
Majora's Mask features 52 Pieces of Heart, the most seen in any game providing Link with an additional 13 Heart Containers.
Oracle of Ages & Oracle of Seasons
- Main article: Oracle of Ages Heart Pieces
- Main article: Oracle of Seasons Heart Pieces
Oracles of Ages and Oracle of Seasons feature 12 pieces each providing Link with 3 additional Heart Containers in each game.
The Wind Waker
- Main article: The Wind Waker Heart Pieces
The Wind Waker contains 44 heart pieces giving Link an additional 11 Heart Containers.
The Minish Cap
- Main article: The Minish Cap Heart Pieces
The Minish Cap contains 44 heart pieces giving Link an additional 11 Heart Containers.
Twilight Princess
- Main article: Twilight Princess Heart Pieces
Unlike previous games, Twilight Princess requires 5 Pieces of Heart rather than 4 to complete a new Heart Container. The game features 45 heart pieces giving Link an additional 9 Heart Containers.
Skyward Sword
- Main article: Skyward Sword Heart Pieces
Skyward Sword returns to the previous format, requiring 4 Pieces of Heart to complete a new Heart Container. The game features 24 heart pieces giving Link an additional 6 Heart Containers.