The Legend of Zelda Secrets

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This page lists the secrets and unlockables in The Legend of Zelda.

Container Hearts

Five Container Hearts are hidden throughout the Overworld. The location of the first three change depending on whether the First or Second Quest is being played.

Container Heart	Location	Requirements	Notes
1 (First Quest)	Four screens right of the Origin	Bombs	Bomb the wall directly to the left of the north exit of this screen.
1 (Second Quest)	Northwest Graveyard	Power Bracelet	Push aside the second headstone on the left in the second row.
2 (First Quest)	Directly southeast from the Lost Hills	Bombs	Bomb the right side of the rock formation on this screen.
2 (Second Quest)	Two screens south of the Waterfall	Recorder	Play the Recorder on this screen to reveal a hidden staircase leading to the Heart Container.
3 (First Quest)	Lake Hylia, one screen south of Level 1	Blue Candle	Burn the fifth bush from the right.
3 (Second Quest)	Three screens right of Spectacle Rock	Recorder	Play the Recorder on this screen to reveal a hidden staircase leading to the Heart Container.
4	Two screens south of Hyrule's northeastern-most point	Raft	Sail from the dock one screen south of this to reach this secret area containing the Heart Container.
5	Three screens south of the above Heart Container	Stepladder	Merely walk across the water to the visible Heart Container.

Quick Boss Kill: Gohma

Before entering the Level 6 boss chamber, equip the bow. Once inside in the boss chamber, quickly shoot an arrow. The arrow will pierce into Gohma's eye, and she will die in one shot. This will only work on the red Gohma, because blue Gohmas require more than one hit to die.

Secret Save Screen

Two controllers are required to access the Secret Save Screen. On the first controller, press the START button to access the status screen. On the second controller, press UP and A. This should bring up the save screen, which allows the ability to save the game without having Link die. On the Virtual Console version of the game, only one controller is required. Just perform both steps on the same controller.

Skip to the Second Quest

To skip the First Quest and go straight to the Second Quest, enter "ZELDA" as the character's name.

Spare Key

Upon entering Level 1 on the First Quest, a locked door can be seen at the northern end of the room. If the dungeon is exited and reentered, the door will be unlocked, allowing the dungeon to be beaten with an extra key. Since the rule that the keys would only work in the dungeon they were found in had not yet been imposed on the series, this key can be used to save time in other dungeons. However, it is also possible to buy a limitless amount of keys from Merchants in the game.

Start with Full Health

While Link's Heart Containers are being restored at a Fairy Fountain, use the secret save screen code and save the game. If the game is loaded again, the file will have full health from the start, instead of the default three.

ZELDA Letters Formed by Dungeon Maps

During the Second Quest, the Dungeons contain the letters to spell "ZELDA". Level 1 forms E, Level 2 forms A, Level 3 forms L, Level 4 forms D, and Level 5 forms Z.