Great Fairy

Great Fairies are recurring characters in the Legend of Zelda series. Great Fairies are highly powerful fairies that can enhance Link's items, health, and magic. They appear in many games, and their appearance varies slightly from game to game.

The Legend of Zelda
In the original game, Great Fairies were nothing more than larger versions of the fairies that appeared at random. They fully heal Link every time he visits a fairy spring with depleted health.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
There are three Great Fairies in the game; one behind the waterfall near Zora's Domain, one on an island in the middle of Lake Hylia, and one behind a wall outside the Pyramid of Power. 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 Magic Boomerang that travels further than the first Boomerang, and Green Potion refills for any empty Bottles thrown in.

The island fairy lets Link carry more Arrows and Bombs, after throwing in rupees. During the game's ending sequence, the island fairy's name is revealed to be Venus, Queen of the Fairies. Unlike the others, this fairy wears a green dress gown.

Finally, the Great Fairy trapped inside Ganon's Dark 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 of Power, she will grant him the Tempered Sword, which can then be taken to the twin smiths 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
When visited, Great Fairies restore Link's health, similarly to the Great Fairies from The Legend of Zelda. In the DX version of Link's Awakening, a fairy queen resides the end of the hidden Color Dungeon and gives Link either the magical Red or Blue Tunic, 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 Power, Wisdom and Courage and the other three are Great Fairies of Magic. The locations of the fairies are; in a cave just outside Hyrule Castle, two within Death Mountain (one at the Summit, near Biggoron and one inside the Crater, near the Fire Temple), at the Desert Colossus, one in Zora's Domain and the last just outside Ganon's Castle (by the ruins of what was once Hyrule Castle, in the very same location that the previous fairy in the past could be found).

These provide Link with, respectively, Din's Fire, Magic Power, a Magic Power upgrade that doubles the length of Link's Magic Bar, Nayru's Love, Farore's Wind, and increased defense (indicated by a heavier outline around the heart icons in your Health Bar).

Unlike the Great Fairies of A Link to the Past these ethereal women are much wilder in 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. One is in Clock Town, where, at the start of the game, Link has to return the single Stray Fairy to the fountain. There, he receives magic power. If Link again returns the Stray Fairy, after being transformed back into a human, he will be granted the Great Fairy Mask. There is also one Great Fairy in each of the four major areas: Souther Swamp, Snowhead, Great Bay, and Stone Tower.

These fairies are called the Great Fairies of Magic, Power, Wisdom, Courage, and Kindness. After collecting all fifteen Stray Fairies from each of the temples, a new power or item is bestowed upon Link. They are, respectively: upgraded sword magic, double magic power, increased defense, and the Great Fairy's Sword.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: 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 clean the poisoned sea.

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 and Child Isles. Great Fairies can also be found on Outset Island, 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 & 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.

There is a Queen of Fairies in the Mother & Child Isle, 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.

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.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Although Great Fairies do not officially appear in Four Swords, when Zelda is kidnapped, Link is awakened by three fairies. These three Fairies' colors correspond to the colors of the Great Fairies from The Minish Cap, which is a prequel to Four Swords.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
There are a total of three Great Fairies, known as the Great Butterfly Fairy, Great Mayfly Fairy and the Great Dragonfly Fairy.

The Great Butterfly Fairy resides in the Eastern Hills, where she can be found in a cavern near the ranch, east of the Minish Woods. She can only be found 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. 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: Four Swords Adventures
In Four Swords Adventures, the Great Fairies upgrade one's current weaponry to Level Two items. They look like the Great Fairies from The Wind Waker. In Hyrule Castle, the Links also meet a river Zora who begs them to find "his/her other part" (another river Zora). It turns out that the two river Zoras are actually a cursed Great Fairy that looks a lot like the Queen of Fairies from The Wind Waker

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
One Great Fairy 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 saved for a small cloth that is tied around her waist as a skirt, her breasts are covered by the lengths of her hair. She grants the player access to a mystical substance known as Great Fairy's Tears if they survive the cave and reach her at the end. It should also be noted 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. Additionally, she releases normal fairies to each of the Spirit Springs located across Hyrule. 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.

Another Great Fairy may also aid Link, albeit much less obviously, because Link never sees her: she inhabits the Gale Boomerang, and is called the "Fairy of Winds." She mentions her presence when Link acquires the boomerang, and claims to be the source of its power. She never speaks nor is referred to again.