The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Secrets

This page lists secrets and unlockables in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Bottles
In total, there are four bottles located throughout the game. Link can obtain these bottles by:

Banzai Bill Cameo
Fyer, the man who runs Fyer and Falbi's Watertop Land of Fantastication, has a picture of an enemy from the Mario series called a Banzai Bill on his shirt.

Cave of Ordeals Shortcut
In certain releases of the game, there is a shortcut that can be accessed if Link uses the Gale Boomerang to put out the two torches at the start of a room. If this is done, the door in the following room will be open, even though there are still enemies in the room. This is not possible when entering the first floor or any of the Great Fairy's chambers, as there are no torches for Link to extinguish.

Control Cuccos
If Link damages a Cucco ten times with any weapon, he will take control of the Cucco for a short time.

Dead Hyrulean Soldiers
If Link goes to the grave in Hyrule Castle Graveyard that says "The Cursed Swordsman... lies behind... the sacred tree." Turn to the left and go up to a tree at the point where two fences meet. As Wolf Link, use the Sense view and Link will see a few dead Hylian guards, pointing towards a dent in the earth. Link must use a bomb on this to reveal a switch which opens one of the gatehouses. Link must light the torch within using his Lantern to make the rain stop before quickly running to the other gatehouse and lighting the torches outside before the rain starts again. Lighting both torches opens the gatehouse and once Link moves the two Owl Statues he can read a clue which tells him that the spectres point where the door opens. If he returns to Wolf form and uses his senses, heading back toward where he entered the graveyard he will find three more dead Guards pointing toward two indents in the rock. Link must move the Owl Statues here to create platforms leading to a chest containing a small key. However, oddly enough, this key is not required to complete Hyrule Castle. This key can be used to access a room near the boss door. Also, rather than fighting several enemies to get a key to access the castle, this key can be used as a shortcut.

Fast Kills
Link can use the Ending Blow to kill the Deku Toad in one shot. Make Link kill all of the young, dodge the toad's falling body and go to the front of the toad. Auto-target the tongue, with Link's sword drawn, and use finish. The Deku Toad dies instantly.

Note that this technique of finishing with an Ending Blow can also be performed on most, if not all, bosses and mini-bosses which have a "stunned" period and lay flat on the ground with their weak point being revealed. However, this method is no more effective at killing the enemy than a regular hack and slash tactic.

Fishing Rod Distraction
In the battle with Ganondorf, Link should equip the Fishing Rod and shake it, which will distract Ganondorf. Link can then attack him three times before Ganondorf attempts to attack again.

Golden Bugs
Hidden throughout the game are twenty-four Golden Bugs, twelve of which are male and twelve of which are female. Link can bring them to Agitha for rewards. When Link is near one of these bugs, a distinct chime noise will continually sound. They are easier to find during nighttime due to their golden glow, which gives away their positions.

The following locations are from the GameCube release of the game. The entire game is mirrored in the Wii release, so all east/west directions should be reversed if playing on this console.

(Also- many of the bugs have wings, and move rapidly, making them somewhat difficult to catch.)

Rewards
When given a Golden Bug, Agitha rewards Link as follows.

Harvesting Pumpkins
If Link smashes an Ordon Pumpkin, a baby pumpkin grows where the original was. Baby pumpkins cannot be smashed or picked up, but if Link fills a bottle with water and pours it over, the baby pumpkin will grow instantly.

Hawkeye
The Hawkeye is used to see far away, like a telescope. It can be combined with the Hero's Bow to shoot arrows accurately at long distances. To obtain it, Link must first complete the Goron Mines. Then he can play a mini-game by talking to Talo in Kakariko Village. This entails shooting two targets, then hitting the very distant pole on the tower where Talo stands. Once completed, Link can enter the nearby Malo Mart and buy the Hawkeye for 100 Rupees. This item is not necessary in order to finish the game.

Hidden Skills
Hidden throughout the game are Hidden Skills that the Hero's Shade can teach Link. Their locations are given to Link once he has sung in front of the corresponding Howling Stone, once finished the song the location will be revealed on the Map by showing the White Wolf Icon. Go to that location and the Golden Wolf will be waiting for Link to arrive. There are seven in total.

Master Fisherman
On the wall of Hena's cabin in the Fishing Hole is a picture of the Pond Owner from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, holding a Hylian Loach. Once you look at this picture, Hena will begin to scratch herself similarly to the Pond Owner.

Pieces of Heart
In total, there are 45 pieces of heart hidden throughout the game. The best way to locate them is to talk to the fortune teller in Hyrule Castle Town. If Link ask her to tell him about the "Love" in his future, she will show him an image of an area where a Piece of Heart is hidden.

Poe Souls
After talking to Jovani in Hyrule Castle Town, Link can take the souls of Poes in his wolf form to help Jovani break free from his curse. Collecting certain amounts will allow Link to receive rewards from Jovani. In total, Link can obtain 60 Poe Souls and get an unlimited amount of Rupees.