Great Fairy

Great Fairies are recurring characters in the Legend of Zelda series. Great Fairies are highly powerful Fairies commonly found residing within well-hidden fountains. They can provide Link with powerful items, as well as enhanced health and magic. They are the closest thing to leaders of the race of Fairies, and are commonly depicted as being distinctly humanoid in appearance.

The Legend of Zelda
Great Fairies look identical to the fairies that randomly appear when an enemy is defeated. They fully heal Link every time he visits a Fairy Pond when his health is depleted.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
There are several Great Fairies that fully restore Link's health as well as three Great Fairies that have special effects in this game; one behind the waterfall near Zora's Lake, one on an island in the middle of Lake Hylia, and one behind a wall outside the Pyramid. They enhance certain items thrown into the pool situated in their respective rooms, or after throwing in Rupees, and are depicted as floating young women with Fairy wings and green clothing.

The waterfall Fairy grants a shield upgrade to block fireballs, a Magical Boomerang that travels further than the first Boomerang, and Green Potion refills for any empty Bottles thrown in. The island Fairy, Venus, lets Link carry more Arrows and Bombs, after throwing in Rupees. Unlike the other two Great Fairies, this fairy wears a green dress gown, and is even identified by the name Venus, Queen of the Fairies, during the game's epilogue sequence.

Finally, the Great Fairy trapped inside the Pyramid gives Link the Golden Sword for throwing in the Tempered Sword, the Silver Arrows for the regular Arrows (which are needed in order to kill Ganon), and Green Potion refills for any empty bottles thrown in. This Great Fairy is notably obese, and explains that this is a side-effect of Ganon's magic.

It should also be noted that if Link does not obtain the Tempered Sword before speaking to the Great Fairy behind the wall of the Pyramid, she will grant him the Tempered Sword, which can then be taken to the Dwarven Swordsmiths in Kakariko Village to forge the Golden Sword, provided that the trapped smith has been rescued from the Dark World and rejoined with his brother in the Light World.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Great Fairies restore Link's health when visited, similarly to the Great Fairies from The Legend of Zelda. In the DX version, the Fairy Queen resides at the end of the hidden Color Dungeon and gives Link either the magical Red or Blue Clothes, which boosts his attack or defense power, respectively. Link can return here at any time to switch the tunic he currently wears.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Six Great Fairies can be found in total. These Fairies can be put into two "categories"; three are the Great Fairies of Magic and the other three are the Great Fairies of Power, Wisdom, and Courage. The members of the first group of fairies are found near Hyrule Castle, in Zora's Fountain, and near the Desert Colossus. The second group of fairies can be located at Death Mountain Summit, inside Death Mountain Crater, and near Ganon's Castle. Interestingly, the locations of the Great Fairy of Magic near Hyrule Castle and the Great Fairy of Courage near Ganon's Castle are found at the exact same geographical location in the two periods of time visited in the game.

When Link has entered a Great Fairy Fountain, he must play "Zelda's Lullaby" when standing upon a Triforce crest to actually summon a Great Fairy. The first Great Fairy that Link visits grants him a Magic Meter. In addition, the Great Fairies of Magic provide Link with magic spells: Din's Fire from the Fairy at Hyrule Castle, Farore's Wind from the Great Fairy at Zora's Fountain, and Nayru's Love from the Great Fairy at Desert Collosus. The Great Fairies of Power, Wisdom, and Courage, found on Death Mountain Summit, inside Death Mountain Crater, and near Ganon's Castle, provide Link with the Spin Attack, a magic power upgrade that doubles the length of Link's magic meter, and Enhanced Defense, respectively. All the Great Fairies will also fully heal Link and restore his magic power upon subsequent visits to their fountains.

Unlike the Great Fairies of A Link to the Past these ethereal women have a much more garish appearance. They are barely garbed, covered only in leaves and vines, have long, colorful hair tied back into flowing sections, and thickly-applied vibrant color eyeshadow.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
There are five Great Fairies found throughout Termina; however, they have been shattered into smaller Stray Fairies by the Skull Kid. The Great Fairy of Magic resides in a fountain in North Clock Town, where, at the start of the game, Link has to return the single Stray Fairy. There, he receives magic power. If Link again returns the Stray Fairy on another time loop, he will be granted the Great Fairy's Mask.

There is also one Great Fairy in each of the four major areas: Woodfall, Snowhead, Great Bay, and Stone Tower. These fairies are called the Great Fairies of Power, Wisdom, Courage, and Kindness, respectively. After collecting all fifteen Stray Fairies from each of the temples, a new power or item is bestowed upon Link. They are an upgraded Magic Spin Attack, double magic power, Enhanced Defense, and the Great Fairy's Sword, respectively. All of the Great Fairies will completely restore Link's health and magic power when he visits them, even if they are still shattered into Stray Fairies.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
Great Fairies, similar in appearance and function to the Great Fairies found in Link's Awakening, appear at select locations. If Link is wounded, they will restore his health.

The Great Fairy that resides on an island west of the Labrynna library is called the Fairy Queen. The Fairy Queen was turned into an Octorok by Veran in the past, and Link needs to find Fairy Powder to cure her, so she can cleanse the poisoned sea.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Three Great Fairies exist in the game: the Great Fairy of Forest, Great Fairy of Ice, Great Fairy of Flame. They appear at the end of each level and give Link a Silver Key, Golden Key, or a Hero's Key, depending on how many rupees were collected in the level.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
There are six fairy islands located on the Great Sea. They are: Northern Fairy Island, Southern Fairy Island, Eastern Fairy Island, Western Fairy Island, Thorned Fairy Island, and the Mother & Child Isles. Great Fairies can also be found in the Forest of Fairies on Outset Island, on Two-Eye Reef, and inside mini-bosses in the ocean. The upgrades obtained from each island are, respectively: Wallet upgrade, Bomb Bag upgrade, another Bomb Bag upgrade, a Quiver upgrade, another Giant Quiver upgrade, Fire and Ice Arrows, another Wallet upgrade, and doubled magic power.

In this game, Great Fairies are large, floating, four-armed women with dark skin, no pupils, and skirts that spiral away into nothing, which may or may not be hiding legs. Interestingly, they somewhat resemble depictions of Hindu deities.

There is a Queen of Fairies in the Mother & Child Island, who has the appearance and size of a human child. However, her skin is color-shifting, and she has no irises or pupils. She is shown holding a doll that resembles the other Great Fairies found in the game. Also the Great Fairy on Outset Island, dubbed the Fortune Goddess, is stated to have been present during the time of the "legendary hero".

Figurines of the Great Fairies and Queen of Fairies can only be acquired by purchasing their pictographs from Lenzo on Windfall Island, as they only appear in cut-scenes, and thus their pictures cannot be taken otherwise. Their descriptions in the Nintendo Gallery state that they were born on the Angular Isles, the strange man-made islands in the south seas.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Great Fairies upgrade one of Link's current weaponry to Lvl. 2 items. They resemble the Great Fairies from The Wind Waker.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
There are a total of three Great Fairies, who are known as the Great Butterfly Fairy, Great Mayfly Fairy, and the Great Dragonfly Fairy. They bear striking resemblance to the Great Fairies from Four Swords.

The Great Butterfly Fairy resides within a tree in the northwestern corner of the Minish Woods, though it is only accessible from the western portion of the Eastern Hills by using the Cane of Pacci. Her fountain can be accessed only if Link has completed the correct Kinstone fusion. She will give him the Big Wallet, which allows him to carry 500 Rupees (unless he has already found a different Big Wallet by this point in the game).

The Great Mayfly Fairy lives in a cave on a ledge, on the eastern side of the Crenel Wall at Mount Crenel. She will present Link with the Big Bomb Bag, an upgrade that permits him to carry 40 Bombs.

The Great Dragonfly Fairy dwells in a cave in the Royal Valley. Her gift to Link is the Large Quiver, which allows him to carry more arrows.

The three Great Fairies all look extremely similar, and greatly resemble the Great Fairies in Four Swords. Each one is also seen in the course of the game in the form of one of the figurines which can be purchased from Carlov in exchange for Mysterious Shells.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
One Great Fairy, claiming to be Queen of all fairies, appears inside the multi-level enemy gauntlet known as the Cave of Ordeals. In this incarnation, the Great Fairy resembles a young woman with long, green hair and pointed ears. She wears no clothing save for a small cloth that is tied around her waist as a skirt; her breasts are barely covered by the lengths of her hair. She grants Link access to a mystical substance known as Great Fairy's Tears if he survives the cave and reach her at the end.

Additionally, for every ten floors completed, she releases normal fairies to each of the Spirit's Springs located across Hyrule. It should be noted that this is the first instance in a three-dimensional Zelda game in which the Great Fairy doesn't upgrade any of Link's items or attributes. The Great Fairy's most common form is a sparkling cloud of green mist and smoke, and she appears in this form at the Spirit Springs, as well as in the Cave of Ordeals when Link is not talking to her.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
A Great Fairy from The Wind Waker is featured as a sticker, as well as a trophy. The sticker gives a +21 bonus to magic attacks. Like all other stickers that grant bonuses to magic attacks, it can only be applied to Zelda and Peach.

Hyrule Warriors
The Great Fairy appears in the spinoff Hyrule Warriors. In Legend Mode, she can be found in the Fairy Fountains that appear in certain battlefields (they are not found in Eldin Caves, Twilight Field, Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, Sealed Grounds, Temple of the Sacred Sword, Temple of Souls, or Gerudo Desert). She can be summoned at certain points to aid the forces of Hyrule via the Magic Circle that appears in each the fountain. Once the magic circle is used a cutscene is triggered where the Great Fairy uses her power to assist the allied forces. In the first scenario "The Armies of Ruin" Zelda and Link (or the players character in Free Mode) use the magic circle to summon Great Fairy to help weaken Cia's Dark Forces, the Great Fairy has her fairy subordinates takes some bombs provided by Link and a Goron Captain and use their combined fairy magic to transform the Bombs into a single Giant Bomb which they then drop on Cia's Army, forcing Wizzro to summon King Dodongo. In "The Sorceress of the Woods", after Wizzro sets the Great Deku Tree on fire, Lana suggests calling upon the Great Fairy to the player. Once she is summoned the Great Fairy has her fairy subordinates create a rain cloud which puts out the fire, saving the Great Deku Tree. In "The Shadow King", after several failed attempts to restrain Argorok via Magic Circle, Midna and Lana decide to seek the Great Fairy's aid. The Great Fairy summons another Magic Circle to restrain Argorok but it to fails causing the Great Fairy to use one of the magic chains generated by her Magic Circle to pull the Moon down on Argorok which is weakened after being hit by the Moon's nose. After the Twilight dragon is weaken the Moon is revealed to be made up of the Great Fairy's subordinates indicating it wasn't the real Moon. In the Land of Sky, Link and Fi summon upon the Great Fairy to empower Levias in order to weaken an empowered Volga. The Great Fairy has her fairies dangle a giant Pumpkin from a Fishing Rod causing Levias to jump from under the clouds and eat it, empowering the deity who attacks Volga with a powerful lightning attack weakening him. In "Shining Beacon", the Great Fairy informs Princess Zelda of her plan to weaken Cia's Army via a clever trap. First she has Zelda set up a base inside her fountain, then has the allied forces of Hyrule lure Volga and two of his subordinates near the fountain. If the player manages to successfully lure the dark forces then use the Magic Circle, the Great Fairy will have her subordinates create a giant Hylian Bird Seal in the sky unleashing a cascade of light energy on the Dark Forces, killing a good portion of his underlings and injuring Volga.

Outside of the game's story, she also appears as one of Link's weapons under the Great Fairy moveset, where the player will control her while she carries Link in a Bottle, an reference to Fairy Bottles. Though powerful weapon, the Great Fairy's power is offset by her running speed despite being able to fly, Link is capable of running much faster than her. This is likely due to her size and the fact that Great Fairies hardly ever leave their fountains. This makes her a poor choice for scenario that require haste on the players part such as timed scenarios or moving around in large battlefields quickly. Despite this weakness, she a interesting variety of combo attacks, such as playing a brief game of Dead Man's Volley with Link (letting him out of the bottle) damaging nearby enemies, dropping giant bombs, summoning a fairy fountain and rain, borrowing Link's Knight's Sword to attack enemies with slash waves, or summoning Levias to unleash a deluge of lightning. During her Special Attack she even summons the Moon to crush enemies and during her Focus Spirit attack she blows a kiss which transforms into several multicolored fairies. The Great Fairy has 3 weapon levels, Level 1 is Great Fountain Fairy which is modeled on the Great Fairy's Hyrule Warriors design, Level 2 is "Great Forest Fairy" which features the Great Fairy wearing a Bee costume, and Level 3 is the "Great Sky Fairy" which features the Great Fairy dressed as a Loftwing. Her 8-bit weapon is the "8-bit Fairy".

Weapon Level

 * Level 1 - Great Fountain Fairy
 * Level 2 - Great Forest Fairy
 * Level 3 - Great Sky Fairy
 * 8-bit - 8-bit Fairy