Force Gem

Force Gem
Artwork of Tingle holding a Force Gem
First appearance	Four Swords Adventures (2004)
Appearances	Four Swords Adventures Phantom Hourglass Spirit Tracks Hyrule Warriors Hyrule Warriors Legends
Found	(Phantom Hourglass) Temple of the Ocean King
Use	(Four Swords Adventures) Powers up the Four Swords (Phantom Hourglass) Unlocks doors (Spirit Tracks) Restores new Spirit Tracks

Force Gems are recurring items in the Legend of Zelda series. These small, triangular gems have different purposes depending on what game is being played.

Origins and Nature

According to the Ocean King, Force Gems are physical manifestations of the Life Force (a force present in every living thing), and the Sand of Hours is made from ground-up Force Gems of the Ocean King himself. According to Carben, this life force can crystallise into the form of Force Gems when a person feels strong gratitude. Force Gems also appear from the environment in Four Swords Adventures, suggesting that they can even come from nature. Force Gems are a source of mystical energy and can be used to power the Four Sword, the Phantom Hourglass and are used to power the seal on the Tower of Spirits by maintaining the Spirit Tracks.

Appearances

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

Force Gems are the equivalent of Rupees in Four Swords Adventures. As Link collects them, they restore the Four Sword's power to repel evil. When Link acquires 2,000, the Four Sword is powered to the Ultimate Four Sword, and is capable of doing a longer version of the Spin Attack called the Hurricane Spin Attack, and firing a Sword Beam when at full health. Though this is usually done cooperatively, many players fight one another for Force Gems, due to the ranking session at the end of each stage. The ranking session tallies up each player's total kills, deaths, and Force Gems, and ranks players accordingly.

In Kakariko Village, a Fortune Teller will also take Force Gems as currency for a prediction, indicating how closely related to Rupees the gems are.

Below is a table detailing the various types of Force Gem and their worths.

Size	Green	Blue	Red	Purple
Small	1	5	20	50
Big	100	150	200	300
Giant	1000	1500	2000	3000

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

In the Temple of the Ocean King, there are two rooms where Link must find three Force Gems hidden around the rooms and place them in indentations upon a pedestal, creating the shape of the Triforce. Force Gems also appear in Battle Mode; in this mode, Link must return as many Force Gems as possible to his base while the other player controls three Phantoms trying to stop him. The largest gems yield 15 points, the medium sized gems yield 5 points, and the smallest gems yield 1 point. The roles switch when either time runs out, or Link is caught.

Interestingly, Oshus says that the Sand of Hours are the remains of ground-up Force Gems. This may explain why the Sand of Hours protects Link from the curse inside of the Temple of the Ocean King.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

A Force Gem from Spirit Tracks

When Link defeats a boss, a huge Force Gem appears, in various colors, on a large mantle. Each one is different for each region of New Hyrule. It will restore some of the Spirit Tracks in that section. The Force Gem design appears multiple times throughout the game; notably, as part of Space-time Gates and engraved on the hilt of the Lokomo Sword.

Smaller Force Gems are also given to Link by the various inhabitants of New Hyrule when he has completed a certain task for them, causing them to feel gratitude. These Gems cause new sections of the Spirit Tracks to appear, which normally provide an easier path between locations or grant access to a new location. There are twenty-one of these total; most of them are optional, but some are required to progress in the game.

In the 4-Player Battle Mode, Force Gems appear, with their original yellow design, as items that the four different Links can collect in order to win the game.

Theories

Theory warning: This section contains theoretical information based on the research of one or several other users. It has not been officially verified by Nintendo and its factual accuracy is disputed.

It is theorized that at the end of The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, the Light Force may have been fragmented into the Force Gems used to power up the Four Sword in Four Swords Adventures. According to Hyrule Historia, the Light Force contains a huge amount of the force that dwells in all living beings. This also supported by how it has the same name in Japanese as the Light Force and the Life Force.

It should also be noted however, that Zelda still has at least a portion of the Light Force, which was noted by Ezlo himself. It was also hinted by Ezlo (in the Japanese version) that the amount Zelda has was the reason (along with her kindness) for the miracle the Minish Cap created towards the end. The Light Force is also theorized as the reason for Zelda's natural mystical powers, which is heavily hinted to be hereditary in nature. The Japanese version also stated that the Light Force is a "limitless" thing of "magic" rather than a force of life.

In The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Force Gems are similarly described as a manifestation of life force. As the story in Phantom Hourglass mostly takes place in the World of the Ocean King, that could explain the Force Gem's presence there. It should be noted however, that the Force Gems also appear in Spirit Tracks, which implies it actually is a thing in Link's world (and not just the land of Hyrule) as the game itself took place in New Hyrule. Since Carben stated that a Force Gem can be created when someone feels powerful emotions, this further disproves that the Light Force and Force Gems are the same.

Force Gems also bear some resemblance to the Triforce, as both are triangles and contain the word "force" in their name. However, there is no known connection between them.

Also, if Carben is to be believed that Force Gems appear when a person feels strong gratitude, then it is possible that the Gratitude Crystals in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword might be a variation on them.

Theory warning: Theories end here.

Non-Canon Appearances

Non-canon warning: This article or section contains non-canonical information that is not considered to be an official part of the Legend of Zelda series and should not be considered part of the overall storyline.

Hyrule Warriors series

Force Gems (referred to as Force Fragments) appear as items that refill the player's SP Gauge (used to perform special attacks). They can be found by cutting grass, breaking yellow Pots, and occasionally dropped by enemies. Small Force Gems refill a 33% of the SP gauge, medium Force Gems fill a single SP Gauge, and Big Force Gems refill all SP gauge.

Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.