Game Over

A Game Over is an event which occurs whenever Link is killed; this can occur if his Heart Containers are fully depleted, if he is exposed to extreme heat, or if he stays underwater for too long, along with some other, rarer cases of death. Typically, a cut scene that presents Link gasping and collapsing to the ground precedes the Game Over text itself. Typically, the player will get the option to continue, save, or continue from a certain location such as the origin. Some of the Zelda games in the franchise, such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, keep track of the number of times the player has encountered a Game Over. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening places a special emphasis on maintaining a minimal number: a secret ending sequence is shown if the player has not encountered a Game Over screen.

The Legend of Zelda
Whenever Link's Heart Containers are fully depleted, Link begins to spin around in circles before fading away completely. The Game Over screen then appears, giving the player the choice to continue playing (starting from the Origin if Link was killed in the Overworld or at the beginning of a dungeon if he was killed inside one) or to save the game and return to the title screen. The game counts the number of Game Overs that have occurred, but this has no real significance.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Whenever Link runs out of lives, the screen begins flashing colors and Link blinks before fading away. Afterward, a screen depicting the silhouette of Ganon appears; since Link failed in his quest to stop the resurrection of Ganon, the evil monster sees his chance to conquer the land. Link can continue his quest over again from the North Castle or save and return to the title screen. If Link dies inside the Great Palace selecting continue will allow him to continue from the entrance to the great palace instead of the North Palace.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
When all his Heart Containers are depleted, Link begins spinning in circles before collapsing face-first. If Link has a Fairy handy, it will appear and restore some of his Heart Containers. If there are no Fairies handy, a menu will appear asking players to either continue their quest from Link's House, the last saved place, or saving and returning to the title screen. If Link dies in the Dark World (A Link to the Past) he will get a choice to start at his saved place or on top of the Pyramid (A Link to the Past).

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
When all his Heart Containers are depleted, Link begins spinning in circles before collapsing. The player is then given the choice to save and continue, continue without saving or saving and returning to the title screen. If Link makes it to the end of the game without receiving a Game Over, Marin will fly across the screen with wings, symbolizing that her lifelong wish to become a seagull was granted.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
When all his Heart Containers are depleted, Link drops to one knee, before collapsing face-first to the ground while the camera slowly revolves around him. The player is then given the choice to save and continue, continue without saving or save and return to the title screen. If Link drowns, which may occur if Link has spent too much time underwater without wearing the Zora Tunic or if his heart containers are emptied completely through an enemy attack, he instead begins to choke, and then goes limp, floating in the water. There is also a Game Over that occurs should Link stay too long in the Fire Temple or Death Mountain Crater without wearing the Goron Tunic. In this cutscene, Link will (presumably) die of hyperthermia, causing him to collapse and suddenly combust.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
There are two Game Over scenarios: one is of the normal one, which is very similar to that of Ocarina of Time, where when Link loses all of his health and has no fairies to revive him or when he stays under water for too long without wearing the Zora Mask. A second Game Over occurs should Link fail to turn back time before the Moon crashes into Termina. A scene depicting the Destruction of Termina then occurs, in which the entire land, as well as Link himself, are engulfed in flames, while someone, most likely Majora or the Happy Mask Salesman, tells Link about the "terrible fate" he has met. Apparently, Link is saved by the Happy Mask Salesman, who resets the three-day cycle as well, although he will not save Link's progress.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages & Oracle of Seasons
The Game Over screen is virtually identical to that of Link's Awakening, featuring the same animation, although a small graphic change is made to the save menu.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
When Link's hearts are depleted, he will stumble slightly, then collapse. The screen is blackened, and the words "Game Over" appear, followed by the option to quit, save and quit, or continue. If Link dies in water, he will end up on his boat and stumble and collapse on his boat.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
When one Link runs out of hearts and the group lacks the necessary amount of Rupees to revive him, the game resets, forcing them to restart the level.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
If Link runs out of hearts, he spins in a circle, screams and collapses. Also, in the final dungeon, Dark Hyrule Castle, if Link fails to defeat the three Darknuts defending the door leading to Vaati in time, the third bell of Vaati's ritual will toll, meaning that he has successfully extracted all of the Light Force from Princess Zelda, obtaining god-like power. Before the Game Over screen appears, a brief scene showing Vaati standing on the roof of Dark Hyrule Castle is shown while Ezlo exclaims that the third bell has tolled.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Should Link lose all of his hearts without having a Force Fairy in his possession, the screen will turn black, and he will stumble for a second and collapse on the ground. The words "Game Over" will appear on the screen.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
When all of his Heart Containers are depleted, Link will stumble and collapse; if he dies while swimming, his body will float limply in the water. If his Heart Containers are depleted as a result of sinking into lava or quicksand, or from falling into a pit, the Game Over screen will appear after the usual animation. If Link dies in wolf form with Midna on his back, she will hover over him while he collapses, sighing in disappointment. The Game Over screen is also seen if Link fails to extinguish the wagon's fire while escorting Prince Ralis, Ilia, and Telma to Kakariko Village, jump off the Great Bridge of Hylia in time after it catches fire, escape Barnes's burning bomb storehouse, or is hit by his own cannon.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
When Link dies, he will gasp and fall onto his back. If he has anything in his hands at the time of his death (a pot, a force gem, a crystal), it stays in the exact same spot it was before his death, seemingly leaving it hanging in the air. If the Heart Containers of the S.S. Linebeck are depleted, the boat will sink into the sea, and the Game Over screen will appear.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
In Spirit Tracks, the game over scene is almost identical to Phantom Hourglasses' game over scene, except the words "Game Over" slowly fall in between two small wisps of smoke. If a Game Over occurs on the Spirit Train, either by loss of hearts or ramming into an enemy train, the train bursts into flames, Zelda screams Link's name, and the Game Over screen appears. The same happens when transporting someone except Zelda won't say anything and the passenger says something.