Heart Container

Heart Containers are used to store Link's "health" in the Legend of Zelda series. The more heart containers the player collects, the more health Link can have and the more 'hit points' he has. The number of heart containers Link has is the maximum amount of health he could have at that time, not the amount he actually does have.

Heart Containers are traditionally displayed in the upper-left corner of the screen in Zelda games. When Link has full health, they are all filled in red. As Link loses hit points, they lose their color or disappear. In some games, Link can lose quarter hearts or half hearts.

Link usually starts his adventure with three heart containers, and, depending on the game, can obtain up to a maximum of 20. Whole heart containers are usually found when a boss is defeated. Quarter-heart containers can be found scattered throughout the game worlds and are known as Pieces of Heart or Heart Pieces. When 4 of these are collected, Link receives an additional Heart Container. The exception to this in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess where 5 must be collected.

Exceptions

 * In The Legend of Zelda, heart containers are always found as whole pieces. Link begins with 3, obtains 8 from defeating dungeon bosses, and can find 5 additional ones in the overworld, for a maximum of 16 hearts.


 * In Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, heart containers extend the health meter for Link. Instead of losing whole, half, or quarter hearts, damage simply decreases a continuous bar. The health meter begins with 4 bars, up to a maximum of 8. Each heart container increases it by one bar, thus, there are 4 heart containers to be found.