On rare occasions, in a work of fiction, there are certain inconsistencies in regards of some events, design or the placement of some characters or elements in a particular place. In popular culture, these inconsistencies are known as goofs or mistakes. Though infrequently, some mistakes have been present in The Legend of Zelda series, although these details are hardly a detriment for the development of the plot or realism. Some types of mistakes may include:
Mistranslations (words or sentences with grammar inaccuracies).
The game shows numerous translation errors in the original Nintendo Entertainment System version, such as Ganon being spelled Gannon. See here for a complete list.
The Adventure of Link[]
In the Hidden Town of Kasuto, an Old Lady asks Link whether or not he has "the 7 Magic Containers". However, there are only four (including the one inside the Lady's house) in the game, as the initial four bars of magic Link has at first are default.
The game's manual states that enemies can sometimes pop out of Treasure Bags.[1]
A Link to the Past[]
On the eastern side of Death Mountain in the Light World, what appears to be the lowest cave entrance actually leads to the second floor of the cave network within, while an entrance on an apparent higher level leads to a lower section of the cave.
Prior to the final boss, Ganon leaves Agahnim's body and flies towards the Pyramid of Power. Link then successfully calls the Duck to pick him up and give chase, which shouldn't have worked, as he was currently in the Dark World, and the duck is only accessible from the Light World.
After Link escorts Marin to the Animal Village, one of the Quadruplets takes her place near the Weathercock. However, the four identical children can still be found standing in their original locations - one near the Dream Shrine, one near the Trendy Game, and the final two outside the Library.
Ocarina of Time[]
In version 1.0, the Nintendo 64 logo is improperly colored. This was fixed in version 1.1.[2]
In the original Nintendo 64 version of the game, the Carpet Merchant's dialogue contains a typo. He greets Link by saying "Well Come" instead of the proper "Welcome".[3] This error was corrected starting with the GameCube version.[4]
When Link draws his Bow, the arrow is held on the underside of the Bow. It should be held on the top.
During the battle with Ganon in Ocarina of Time, the Master Sword is knocked away from Link for the first half of the battle. However, the sword can still be seen on Link's model. It also remains on Link's model even when the Biggoron Sword is equipped and sheathed.
In Romani Ranch, the entrance wooden arch says in Japanese (and written in Hylian) "Welcome to Kakariko Village". The reason for this is that the game reuses several elements from Ocarina of Time, and the developers forgot to properly change the lead text of the arch. This was corrected in Majora's Mask 3D.
In the Nintendo 64 version of the game, when Cremia hugs Link after he defends her reserves of milk from the Gorman Brothers after the first time, the comment on the scene has a typo. It reads: "You feel all warm and fuzzy! inside!".[5]
One piece of Romani's dialogue also contains a typo: if Link visits her in her house before departing in Cremia's wagon on the Second Day, she requests that he live at the ranch as their bodyguard for next year. Speaking to her once more after this has her say: "You're our bodyguard, Grasshopper, so you all you have to do is practice hard!"
The Professor's dialogue after defeating Gyorg also contains a typo: he asks Link "Did you come here to spash around in the sea?"[6] This is corrected in the European and later versions.
When Link arrives on the Moon (which only occurs between 12:00 am and 5:59 am in the Final Day) and checks his Bombers' Notebook, he will notice the flat blue line indicating that it's supposedly 6:00am (in the same day), earlier than the time of arrival. The only possible explanation for this is that the Notebook tries to indicate that it's 6:00am in the New Day, except this day is not included in the aforementioned logbook recorder.
When the Biggoron's Sword is obtained from the Goron Elder, he will erroneously refer to Labrynna instead of Holodrum.[9]
Adlar's name is misspelled as Adler on the map subscreen.[10]
After obtaining the Echoing Howl from Moonlit Grotto, Lynna City is misspelled as "Lynnna City" when the player is told there is an essence northwest of the city.
If the current shape of Greatfish Isle originates from Ganondorf destroying it, then the Ghost Ship Chart and the Triforce Chart should not be able to pinpoint their treasures' locations with the charts portraying the island in its destroyed state.
The Island Hearts Chart shows the number of Heart Pieces correctly on each island, with the exception of Windfall Island. There are eight Heart Pieces there, not nine. The accidentally-added one is actually received on Greatfish Isle from the Goron merchant. It is true that the Island Trading Sequence starts on Windfall Island, but the ultimate prize of it is still elsewhere.
If Link feeds the All-Purpose Bait to the Fishman near Windfall Island, Outset Island, or the Forsaken Fortress, all three of which come marked on Link's Sea Chart when he first obtains it, the Fishman speaks as though Link had already fed him bait for that island once before. This was corrected in The Wind Waker HD, in which the Fishman simply remaps these islands as though he hadn't done so before.
When learning the Hurricane Spin from Orca, the old man drops his spear and begins to cry once Link successfully performs it for the first time. In the very next shot, however, the spear is back in Orca's hand, before he even wipes away his tears.
While using the Tingle Tuner's Seagull Pen tool, Tingle will tell Link to change the direction of the wind by "playing" the Wind's Requiem, as though he were using a musical instrument. The Wind Waker is a conductor's baton; thus, the proper terminology would be for Link to conduct the song.
When Link collapses after defeating Ganondorf, Zelda comes in from his right and catches him, and remains there when the King of Hyrule appears. The camera then cuts to the king, and in the next shot of Link and Zelda, the two have switched sides with each other, with Zelda standing on Link's left. Also, Link's shield disappears entirely during this scene with no explanation, only reappearing after the credits roll.
Although they appear in other instances during the Second Quest, such as when wearing the Magic Armor and during the ending of the game, the Hero's New Clothes are erroneously absent from Link's model when he freezes solid due to approaching Ice Ring Isle before thawing it.
Whenever Doc Bandam goes to make a new potion using Green or Blue Chu Jelly, he is never shown inserting the jelly Link gives him into the concoction.
When the door leading from the Big Key room in the Forbidden Woods unseals itself after Link defeats two Moblins, the sound clip that plays is incorrect, being that of metal bars sliding away as opposed to the wooden bars that are found inside the Forbidden Woods.
In The Wind Waker HD, examining Link's shadow through the Telescope or Picto Box shows him holding either item at his side per his idle stance, rather than holding them up to his eye in order to look through them.
The Swordsman Newsletter also claims that Moblins appear in Minish Woods, and that they can be defeated for quick cash, although they do not actually drop any more Rupees than other enemies.[13]
In the European version of the game, the Ice Wizzrobe Figurine advises Link to hit them with his Fire Rod.[16] As the Fire Rod was removed from the game in development, the Ice Wizzrobe's actual weakness is the Flame Lantern. The North American version corrected this.[17]
It is said that Ilia takes refuge within the Hidden Village, where Impaz takes cares of her and eventually helps her escape the village.[18] However, according to Gor Coron, the village has been blocked by the boulder at the entrance for an indefinite time,[19] which not only renders Impaz's telling of the events inconsistent, but also contradicts the possibility that Ilia could have been in the village in the first place.
Link will always appear wearing the Hero's Clothes while drawing the Master Sword from its pedestal in the Sacred Grove; this is despite the fact that he is typically wearing the Zora Armor due to clearing the Lakebed Temple prior to being cursed by Zant. This is the only time in the game that this occurs; all future transformations from beast to human form will have Link dressed in the last tunic he wore as a human.
Wearing the Hawkeye in front of the incomplete Mirror of Twilight or the mirror in the basement of Link's House shows that Link is not actually wearing it on his face, as its design would imply.
The Hylian writing found throughout Hyrule contains a number of typos, including "Farone", "Hospithl", "Kakarico", "Lanalu", "Maros", "Terma" and "Zora's Rever".
Several more typos were added to Twilight Princess HD, including "Ejtinct", "Hyjule", "Jiuce", "Mater" and "Raxka".
Phantom Hourglass[]
On the Collection screen and in Beedle's dialog, the names of the Compliment Card and Complimentary Card are swapped.
If Link examines the obelisk inside Bremeur's temple on the Isle of Ruins, Ciela will mention the King's Key before she and Link have been told about it.[21]
Leaf and Neri do not recognize Ciela as the Spirit of Courage when they first meet her, despite her still retaining the same name, voice, and personality as she had before Bellum's attack.
In the Battle Mode, the game states that the "Master" Big Play requires the player to do the "No Miss" and the "Guardian" Big Plays although the player must actually do the "No Miss" and the "Guardian King" Big Plays.
Spirit Tracks[]
When the Goron Elder's son is transported by Link towards Hyrule Castle Town, he (like any other character who travels on board with the Spirit Train) keeps an eye on how well Link drives the train. When they arrive at the aforementioned destination, however, the Goron child tells Link that he was asleep all along during the travel and would have liked to watch the fields' scenery while awaiting the end of the ordeal.[22]
After Link manages to defeat the Demon Train in the Dark Realm, he and the characters traveling with him (Princess Zelda, Anjean, and Byrne) plan on hopping on the top of the aforementioned train in order to confront Chancellor Cole and Malladus. During this cutscene, a very clear light is seen in the windows of the Spirit Train, identical to the sunlight, even though the characters are in a darker world than Hyrule.
When the tracks connecting the Fire Temple to the Tower of Spirits are restored, the gear-shaped decoration near the top of the tower is shown on the side of the tower facing north, in the direction of the gate to the Fire Realm. At all other points in the game, however, the gear is built into the tower's south side.
The Shield of Antiquity that Niko gives Link is implied to be the one used by Link in Phantom Hourglass, even though the ending of that game implied that the Phantom Hourglass itself was the only thing that remained with Link after his journey through the world of the Ocean King, meaning it would have been impossible for the Hero of Winds to have passed the shield on to Niko.
The Ancient Robots are named with model numbers, starting with the LD- abbreviation. LD stands for Lanayru Desert, and the different language versions of the game change the abbreviation in accordance to the translated words, including Japanese (RS for Ranēru Sabaku), Spanish (DL for Desierto de Lanayru), etc. The problem is that the robots existed (or were created) before Lanayru Province became a desert, when it was still a grove with a sea. This means there is a mistake between the abbreviation and the place it's named after.
In the reveal trailer for Skyward Sword, when Link draws his Bow, the arrow is nocked incorrectly with the cock vane facing inward.
A Link Between Worlds[]
The Thieves' Hideout sits below a statue in northern Thieves' Town. Immediately behind the statue is a chasm separating the town from other parts of Lorule, yet the dungeon is still able to stretch several rooms beyond and beneath the statue, where the pit would logically be.
Tri Force Heroes[]
In the North American release's French translation, two of the stages—Lone Labyrinth and Grim Temple—have their translated names spelled entirely lowercase.
In one scene of "Fairies in the Spring," when Link and Zelda are speaking to the King, the animation cel is off-center and the edge of the film strip is visible.
In one scene of "The Missing Link," when Ganon and the Stalfos are talking in the Evil Jar, Ganon's mouth is moving when a Stalfos is speaking.
In one scene of "Doppelganger," when Link and Zelda's evil clone are carrying the Triforce of Wisdom inside Ganon's castle, after the evil clone kisses Link, his mouth moves when she is speaking.
In another scene of "Doppelganger," Zelda's outfit is miscolored and she appears to be the evil clone.
Captain N: The Game Master[]
In one scene, Princess Zelda is shown drawing her Bow at chest height, when it should be closer to her face.
References
↑"A bonus which increases Link's experience points. Watch out! Enemies sometimes pop out of them too!" (The Adventure of Link manual, pg. 45)
↑"Link! Are you all right? Actually, I am the nurse of Hyrule's Princess Zelda. And Din's no dancer either. She is actually the Oracle of Seasons who wields control over the forces of nature. Zelda has mystical powers that told of a curtain of shadow drawing around Din. I was instructed to take her to Hyrule in secret. You can get to the keyhole from that puddle outside. Did you open the floodgates? The vines there get so overgrown in summer!" — Floodgate Keeper (Oracle of Seasons)
↑"Those pig-faced Moblins... You see them around the Minish Woods, right? They're big and dumb? Well, they're also rich! Beat one up for some quick cash!" — Swordsman Newsletter (The Minish Cap)
↑"The one in the blue cap is Spookter, and the one in the red cap is Spekter." — Figurine (The Minish Cap)
↑"They're weak against fire, so hit them with your Fire Rod!" — Figurine (The Minish Cap, PAL version)
↑"They're weak against fire, so attack with fire for a quick battle!" — Figurine (The Minish Cap, NTSC version)
↑"That sweet girl... She worried about this old woman even as I helped her to escape from here..." — Impaz (Twilight Princess)
↑"But...a rockslide blocked the way to the village long ago, so you can't get there anymore." — Gor Coron (Twilight Princess)
↑"Bombs (30)90 Rupees will do! Why did I invest in stock that the Ooccaa can't use?!" — Oocca (Twilight Princess)
↑"Let's get the King's Key so we can wake up this land from its long sleep..." — Ciela (Phantom Hourglass)
↑"What is this? Have we arrived while I slept? Excellent! But I missed all the scenery while I was snoozing... At least I am finally here now. I have always wanted to see the big city!" — Goron Child (Spirit Tracks)