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"You got a Piece of Heart! Collect four pieces total to get another Heart Container. More containers mean more life energy!"
— In-game description

Pieces of Heart are recurring items in the Legend of Zelda series. They are fractions of a full Heart Container. By collecting four (or more rarely, five) Pieces of Heart, Link gains another Heart Container, thus increasing his health meter. Obtaining a Piece also completely refills his health meter.

There are a number of ways to obtain Pieces of Heart. Pieces of Heart are typically found throughout a game's Overworld and Hidden Holes; however, they have also appeared in other areas such as dungeons. Pieces of Heart may also be the reward for completing a puzzle, side quest or mini-game. Pieces of Heart may also be sold in shops for a price. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is unique in that it provides a hint function for finding Pieces of Heart.

Physically, Pieces of Heart are very similar to Heart Containers — both of these items often resemble heart-shaped glass containers with a heart inside. In most games, Pieces of Heart encase smaller hearts than those in Heart Containers. In some recent installments of the series, such as The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, there are no Pieces of Heart, only Heart Containers.

Appearances[]

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past[]

Twenty-four Pieces of Heart appear throughout the Overworld, in the Light World, the Dark World and Dungeons. The Pieces of Heart may be found in Treasure Chests, given by other characters as rewards for completing side-quests, or found lying on the ground. When Link has found four Pieces of Heart, an additional Heart Container will be added to Link's life meter.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening[]

Pieces of Heart are found scattered throughout the overworld and in certain caves. Along with Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, it has the fewest number of obtainable Pieces of Hearts, having only 12.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask[]

Pieces of Heart can be found in each game's Overworld and may be acquired in much the same ways as in A Link to the Past. As before, four pieces are needed to construct a full Heart Container. Majora's Mask has the largest amount of Pieces of Heart in any game in the series (52), due to the fact that it only has four Dungeons. If a fourth Heart Piece is collected, the "Heart Container" jingle will play instead of the usual jingle when obtaining any item during the Quest Status.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons[]

A Piece of Heart from Oracle of Ages and Seasons

Pieces of Heart are found in various areas of the Overworld. Four pieces total are needed to create a new Heart Container. Along with Link's Awakening, they have the fewest amount of pieces obtainable, with only 12. These heart pieces are identical in appearance to the ones found in Link's Awakening.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker[]

Link often must search for Pieces of Heart with the aid of Treasure Charts in addition to using previous methods. While sailing on the Great Sea, Link can locate a spot marked on a Treasure Chart and use his Grappling Hook to draw a Treasure Chest from the water. The chests contain a variety of prizes, some of which are Pieces of Heart. Pieces of Heart may be found on land as well, and once again, four pieces will yield a Heart Container.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap[]

A Piece of Heart from The Minish Cap

Pieces of Heart are usually found in the Overworld, but some are also found in dungeons, such as the Deepwood Shrine, making it the second game to feature Pieces of Heart in dungeons. At least one Piece of Heart is present in every dungeon, the exceptions being the Temple of Droplets and Dark Hyrule Castle. Kinstone fusions typically yield a Piece of Heart as a prize.The Minish Cap is also the first game where the Pieces of Heart are displayed on pedestals, instead of being in chests or on the ground.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess[]

For the first and only time in the series, five Pieces of Heart, not four, are needed to complete a Heart Container. There are 45 Pieces of Heart to be found, totaling nine extra Heart Containers. They may be found anywhere in the game world, including the Overworld and most dungeons. A fortune teller named Fanadi, who can be found in her shop in Hyrule Castle Town, will show Link the general location of a Piece of Heart if he asks her for advice about love.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword[]

Pieces of Heart are found primarily in chests unlocked by Goddess Cubes and by attaining high scores in several mini-games; only five may be found elsewhere, three in the overworld, and two in dungeons. Unlike in past games, Link cannot attain the maximum amount of Heart Containers by collecting all Pieces of Heart alone; in order to achieve a maximum of 20, Link has to get the two Life Medals and carry them in his Adventure Pouch.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds[]

Pieces of Heart are found throughout the Overworld in both Hyrule and in Lorule. They are also given as a prize in some mini-games.

Non-canonical 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.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]

A Piece of Heart from Twilight Princess is featured as a sticker. Its sticker gives a +50 bonus to the effects of Heart Containers and can only be applied to Link, Toon Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf.

Hyrule Warriors[]

A Piece of Heart in Hyrule Warriors acts the same way it would in any other canon Zelda game. Once obtained your character gains 1/4th of a Heart Container and must find 3 other pieces to create a full heart. In the game they are primarily found by capturing keeps, after the keep is captured a chest will appear with the Piece of Heart inside. You must be certain characters to obtain some Pieces of Heart. You can obtain Pieces of Heart from either Legend Mode or Free Mode, and also Adventure Mode.

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

Gallery[]

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