- "Many Hyrulian people saved family heirlooms and other treasures in chests handcrafted by skilled artisas. Historians found them in Hyrulian homes and mountain caves. Inside they discovered jewels, armor and arrows."
- — The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past guide
Treasure Chests are recurring objects in the Legend of Zelda series which house items and are sometimes locked. The boxes differ in color and garnishment depending on their contents and in which game they appear. They contain many things, ranging from Rupees to Pieces of Heart and so forth. In several games, they are the main or sole provider for Link's necessary equipment, such as Hookshots or Bows.
Appearances[]
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past[]
Treasure Chests are small, brown, wooden boxes with gold coiling around them. They contain Rupees, Small Keys, Compasses, or Dungeon Maps. Larger Treasure Chests, found in dungeons, contain items such as the Magic Hammer and the Moon Pearl. This is one of the few games in the series where a key is needed to open chests, since the Large Treasure Chest, holding the dungeon´s special item, requires a Big Key in order to be unlocked.
There is one purple-colored chest that Link finds in the Village of Outcasts, and cannot open no matter how hard he tries; however, if he takes it to the Lockpicker, he can have it opened to reveal a bottle.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening[]
Treasure Chests appear as brown wooden boxes with gold trimming and are about the same size as Link. They typically appear after all of the enemies in an area have been killed. Some will have enemies inside of them, rather than treasure or items.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask[]
In these games, chests take on three different sizes/designs. The first is a small chest, containing small keys and Rupees, which Link will kick open. The second is a normal sized chest, containing items, dungeons maps, or compasses. The third is a metallic chest containing Boss Keys. Most chests are plain wood with an iron or gold frame. In both games, the boss key chest is highly ornate, with a blue body and golden laces around.
In Ocarina of Time, some Treasure Chests contain traps, such as summoning a Wallmaster or freezing Link for a short period of time; these are occasionally found in dungeons during the later stages of the game, and are most prevalent in the Spirit Temple. Wooden chests can serve as attachment points for the Hookshot.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons[]
Treasure Chests in both games appear with the same design. They are made with a red material, and have a gold frame.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords[]
Treasure Chests appear identical to those found in A Link to the Past.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker[]
Treasure Chests that hold items of importance are more easily distinguished from others with various colors and shapes. Quest Items are no longer held in simple brown boxes, but instead are found in a large, red, spiked, metal version. These, sometimes, also hold Sea Charts. The design of the Boss Key chests is similar to that of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, in that they are blue with elaborate ornate gold decorations. Simple brown chests also retain most of their qualities from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. However, a few still lack the jingle and the light of importance. Interestingly, they now seem to be the same size and differ in the deepness of their colors.
Unlike most other games in the series, Treasure Chests can also be dredged from the bottom of the ocean. Most of these chests are regular sized and black in color with intricate designs. Most contain Rupees, some contain Pieces of Heart, and eight special chests contain pieces of the Triforce.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures[]
Treasure Chests appear identical to those found in A Link to the Past. There are also big Treasure Chests that require a Big Key to open.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap[]
Treasure Chests appear identical to those found in A Link to the Past, except there are no large-sized chest that require a Big Key to open.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess[]
Treasure Chests are much more detailed than in previous installments due to the game's graphical style. Chests containing a Boss Key are made with what appears to be gold and a small red gem above the keyhole. There are smaller chests that contain normal items, and are made of what appears to be wood. There are other large chests that contain dungeon items and larger Rupees. For the first time in the series, when Link finds Rupees in a chest but has no room in his wallet for them, he will put them back in the chest for later, rather than leave the chest empty while not retaining the Rupees either. The Clawshot, the game's equivalent of the Hookshot, cannot be used to transport Link to a Treasure Chest, as it primarily grabs onto grates rather than embedding itself in wood.
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks[]
There are four different types of Treasure Chests: the first type is brown and simple looking, and the second type is larger and white with yellow lining. The latter usually contains items important to Link's quest (such as Heart Containers or dungeon items), while the former usually contains treasure. The third type of Treasure Chest is a chest that only appears on the bottom of the sea floor in Phantom Hourglass. They appear to be exactly the same as the ones that Link finds at sea in The Wind Waker. The last type only appears in Spirit Tracks and is made of stone. This type of chest is hidden in the ground where, if Link stands near where the chest is buried and plays the "Song of Discovery" on the Spirit Flute, it will rise out of the ground.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword[]
There are four types of Treasure Chests. The first is a small brown chest that most often contains green, blue and Red Rupees. There are also blue chests that are a larger size than their brown counterparts. These blue chests contain random treasures, and in dungeons, they contain small keys, dungeon maps, or a main item like the Beetle or Gust Bellows. The third kind of chest is an ornate chest made of gold and precious materials, similar to that in Twilight Princess, which always holds the Boss Key, but is usually very close to the boss door. The last kind is a straight-edged one that only unlocks when the corresponding Goddess Cube is activated; its inactive state is dark purple, while active it glows light purple. These Goddess Chests often contain an item of great value, such as a Gold Rupee, Silver Rupee, Piece of Heart, or an Adventure Pouch upgrade.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds[]
Treasure Chests appear identical to those found in A Link to the Past. There are also big Treasure Chests that hold quest items or Big Keys.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild[]
- "Fortunes untold (potentially) await the lucky adventurer who finds one of these. Chests can often be found within shrines or at enemy camps, but there may be some crafty folks who think they're safer underground."
- — Hyrule Compendium
Treasure Chests appear throughout Hyrule in Breath of the Wild. They can contain armor, materials, and equipment (weapons, bows, arrows, and shields). Interestingly, this fits The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past guide description of Treasure Chests as Link can find armor, arrows, and gemstones inside Treasure Chests in Breath of the Wild.
There are different types of treasure chests in this game. Chests found in Shrines and Divine Beasts have a different design than those found in the overworld and other dungeons like the Yiga Clan Hideout, presumably due to the fact that they were likely created by the Sheikah in ancient times. Link will open chests differently depending on his approach, as he will kneel down to open them if he approach from the front. However he will kick them open if approached from the side, behind, or if the chest is on its side or upside down. Humorously, if Link is barefoot, it triggers a special animation where Link hurts his foot when he kicks it, causing him to momentarily fall to the ground in pain. Doing this does not cause any damage and is simply a realistically comical reaction from Link.
If Link is crouching and opens a chest from behind or its side, then he will punch it instead of kicking it, though even if he is wearing body armor he will comically injure his hand, though this again is just for comical effect and causes no real damage to Link. Link can take a picture of any Chest with the Camera Rune to add it to the Hyrule Compendium where it appears as entry number 382 in the Compendium's Treasure section. Once Link obtains the Sheikah Sensor+, Link can use it to search for Treasure Chests once its entry has been added to the Hyrule Compendium. This makes it easier for Link to detect hidden chests in the environment.
If a section of Link's inventory or slots is full (weapons, bows, shields, or armor) and Link opens a chest containing an item related to said place in the inventory, Link will receive a message saying his inventory is full and he will put the item back in the chest, allowing him to free up space in his inventory or comeback to obtain it later. The Sheikah Slate has a special Treasure Chest shaped stamp that he can use to mark treasures on his map allowing him to return to locate them later.
Chest Types[]
Wooden[]
The basic type of Treasure Chest which are made of wood. They tend to contain regular items such different types of arrows, materials, and occasionally weapons, bows, and shields. They are flammable so Link can destroy them with fire causing the item inside to appear on the ground. Wooden chests are buoyant and will float in water. Wooden Chests in deep water cannot be opened unless Link can stand near them. Link can move Wooden Chests in water by pushing them with a Raft or wind from a Korok Leaf until Link reaches land or a shallow area where he can stand to open it, though there is an easier method which involves lifting them up with a Cryonis Rune block by creating one under a floating wooden chest which will lift it out of the water, allowing Link to open it.
Stone[]
Stone chests are made of stone which means they cannot be destroyed with fire or moved with Magnesis Rune. Stone Chests contain the same items as wooden chests, though some such as the two found in the Shrine of Resurrection contain clothing such as the Old Shirt and Well-Worn Trousers. Some Stone Chests contain Rupees. Link can some times find them under Weak Walls. Shrines with trials have their own Stone chests, though some of these can be pushed using objects manipulated by Magnesis.
Skull[]
In enemy camps, Link may come across these skull-shaped chest. Unlike other chests, these chests have a special lock that is powered by the life force of nearby enemies, preventing Link from sneaking in and opening it. In order to unlock the chest, Link must defeat all nearby enemies, which will cause the chest to unlock, thus allowing him to access the item within.
Metallic[]
Metallic chests can contain common items, Rupees, though generally they tend to contain rare or uncommon items. As they are metallic they can be manipulated with Magnesis and attract lightning during thunderstorms. Link can also use them as improvised weapons by lifting them with Magnesis and dropping them on enemies, however Link will take damage if he is hit by a falling metal chest so he must be careful.
Link can open these chests even if they are upside down or lying on their side. Using certain amiibo with the amiibo Rune causes metal treasure chests to spawn containing a random item based on the amiibo being used and other factors such as obtaining the Paraglider or freeing one Divine Beasts. Sometimes amiibo chests contain exclusive armor, weapons, or other unique items such as the Traveler's Bridle and Traveler's Saddle that can only be obtained by using certain amiibo with the amiibo rune.
Occasionally Link can find these chests buried in the ground, sand, or snow requiring him to use Magnesis to pull them out of the ground. However Link must be careful as Treasure Octorok sometimes disguise themselves as buried chests and will surprise attack Link if he approaches them. However there are several ways to discern if a buried chest is real or a disguised Treasure Octorok. The Camera Rune will not identify buried Treasure Octoroks as treasure chests and as the fake chests are part of the Treasure Octorok they do not glow when the Magnesis rune is used revealing they are non-metallic. Link can also shoot a buried chest with Arrow, which will cause Treasure Octoroks to reveal themselves if it is fake.
As they are made of metal, these chests will sink in water and Bottomless Bogs (which despite their name are in fact not bottomless as items can be lifted up from them with Magnesis). Link can lift up sunken metal chests out of the water using Magnesis, though Link may need to get close using a Raft or Cryonis in order to get in range to use Magnesis. Metallic chests found in shrines have their own unique design and can be used to weigh down switches or conduct electricity, thus they can play are role in solving trials, though they can still be manipulated with Magnesis.
Molduga drop these type of chest when killed which usually contain weapons, shields, and bows.
Ancient (metallic)[]
These types of chests appear only in Shrines and Divine Beasts. They share several characteristics with the normal metallic chests found in the overworld, however, their appearance is the only difference. They respond to gravity and the Magnesis and Stasis Runes can be used to move these. They carry common items and sometimes weapons.
Ancient (stationary)[]
These types of chests appear only inside Shrines and Divine Beasts, and they stick to whatever surface the base of the chest cling onto (an example would be the ones found in Vah Nabooris, as they do not fall even when the interior is rotated). They mainly common items and sometimes weapons. These cannot be affected by the Magnesis or Stasis Runes.
EX[]
EX Treasure Chests are special metallic chests that only appear as part of Breath of the Wild DLC, such as the "Expansion Pass Bonus" and "The Master Trials Pack" which can be identified by the letters "EX" on the middle of their lid. These chests contain specific DLC items depending on their location. Three Treasure Chests appear on the Great Plateau as part of the Expansion Pass Bonus, including the EX Chest atop a wall at the Eastern Abbey containing the rare Nintendo Switch Shirt.
The EX Chests in "The Master Trials" DLC appear as part of several EX Side Quests which involve Link looking for clues to their hidden location by reading Super Rumor Mill or Misko's EX Journal. The EX chests buried by Misko are buried and must be dug up with Magnesis and contain rare DLC armor. The EX chests found by reading clues in the two Super Rumor Mill volumes contain the Korok Mask and Travel Medallion.
Armor obtained from EX Chests can only be obtained from its chest once per save file and cannot be required if sold, thus Link should avoid selling armor obtained them if he wishes to keep it. If Link's armor inventory is full when he opens a EX chest containing armor, he will put it back in the chest like he does with other chests.
Red Shooting Star[]
As part of the "Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Collaboration" DLC, Side Quest "Collaboration: Xenoblade Chronicles 2", Link encounters three special Treasure Chest featuring a Star Fragment symbol on their lid and emit a red glow which produces a column of red light similar to that produced by Star Fragments after they land. These chest are spawned by red shooting stars that crash land when Link visits three specific locations at night. The chests contain the "Rex's costume" armor set which consists of the Salvager Headwear, Salvager Vest, and Salvager Trousers.
Other Chests[]
As noted before, some Treasure Chests contain traps. A few are nearly invisible and need to be materialized with light. Others might be covered by plant enemies that must be defeated, and some Treasure Chests even hang from ceilings from spider webs that need to be cut.
Goddess Chests in Skyward Sword remain dormant until their corresponding Goddess Cube is hit with a Skyward Strike.
Apart from treasure Chests, there are other things that may hold treasure. Even though these are never key items, they still may contain things of great value, such as large sums of Rupees. These objects may be pots, knight armors, or sometimes even hidden in flora and underground.
Other appearances[]
Subseries warning: This article or section contains information on a subseries within the Legend of Zelda series and should be considered part of its own separate canon.
Hyrule Warriors[]
Treasure Chests appear in Hyrule Warriors. Some found in Legends Mode contain traditional items like Bombs, Bow, Boomerang, and Hookshot. Some contain Heart Containers or Piece of Heart. Others contain Sealed Weapons that unlock new or higher level versions of weapons. Once a Sealed Weapon is obtained from one of these chests, a Weapon Bag can be found on subsequent playthroughs of that scenario which rewards the player with a random weapon on the results screen after the scenario is completed. Sometimes chests appear after a achieving victory in certain scenarios in Adventure Mode. These can contain Sealed Weapons, Heart Containers, Piece of Heart, or rare Gold Materials used to create Apothecary Mixtures and Badges at the Bazaar.
Subseries warning: Subseries information ends here.
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. for Nintendo Wii U[]
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A Treasure Chest in the background of the Pirate Ship's Omega stage from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
A single Treasure Chest from The Wind Waker can be seen in the background of the Lookout Platform on the Pirate Ship's Omega stage.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim[]
A Treasure Chest containing The Legend of Zelda themed items from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, scanning an Amiibo of a character from The Legend of Zelda series will cause a Treasure Chest to float down and land on the ground. This chest has a twenty percent chance of containing one of three The Legend of Zelda inspired items: the Champion's Tunic, the Hylian Shield, or the Master Sword.
Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.
Gallery[]
.png "Metal Treasure Chest (The Wind Waker).png (58 KB)")
.png "Spiked Treasure Chest (The Wind Waker).png (73 KB)")
.png "Big Treasure Chest (The Wind Waker).png (93 KB)")
.png "Small Treasure Chest (Skyward Sword).png (209 KB)")
.png "Big Treasure Chest (Skyward Sword).png (346 KB)")
.png "Skyward Sword Goddess Treasure Chest (Activated).png (24 KB)")
See also[]
| Characters |
| Link (x4) · Princess Zelda · Vaati —Full list of characters |
| Bosses |
| Deguchitato · Derazoru · Gouen · Vaati |
| Stages |
| Chambers of Insight · Sea of Trees · Talus Cave · Death Mountain · Vaati's Palace · Hero's Trial · Realm of Memories —Full list of locations |
| Equipment |
| Weapons |
| Bomb · Boomerang · Bow · Bow-Wow · Four Sword · Shield |
| Items |
| Armor Seed · Fairy · Gnat Hat · Heart · Heart Container · Magnetic Glove · Pegasus Boots · Razor Seed · Roc's Cape · Rupee · Pegasus Seed · Small Key |
| Quest Items |
| Golden Key · Hero's Key · Medal of Courage · Silver Key |
| Characters |
| Main Characters |
| Link (x4) · Princess Zelda · Six Maidens · Vaati —Full list of characters |
| Bosses |
| Phantom Ganon · Helmaroc King · Stone Arrghus · Jalhalla · Dagtail · Frostare · Big Dodongo · Vaati · Ganon |
| Levels |
| Whereabouts of the Wind · Eastern Hyrule · Death Mountain · Near the Fields · The Dark World · The Desert of Doubt · Frozen Hyrule · Realm of the Heavens —Full list of locations |
| Equipment |
| Weapons |
| Bomb · Bombos Medallion · Boomerang · Bow · Fire Rod · Four Sword · Lantern · Magic Hammer · Quake Medallion · Shield · Slingshot |
| Items |
| Blue Bracelet · Carrot · Force Gem · Force Fairy · Heart · Heart Container · Moon Pearl · Pegasus Boots · Power Bracelet · Roc's Feather · Shovel · Small Key |
| Quest Items |
| Knight Mark · Letter · Magic Book · Royal Jewels · Vaati Barrier |
| Races |
| Gerudo · Goron · Hylian · Zuna |
| Characters | ||
| Ezlo · King Daltus · Link · Princess Zelda · Smith · Vaati —Full list of characters | ||
| Bosses | ||
| Big Green ChuChu · Gleerok · Mazaal · Big Octorok · Gyorg Pair · Vaati Reborn · Vaati Transfigured · Vaati's Wrath | ||
| Locations | ||
| Castor Wilds · Cloud Tops · Eastern Hills · Hyrule Town · Lake Hylia · Lon Lon Ranch · Minish Woods · Mount Crenel · Mt. Crenel's Base · North Hyrule Field · Royal Valley · South Hyrule Field · Trilby Highlands · Veil Falls · Western Wood · Wind Ruins | ||
| Dungeons | ||
| Deepwood Shrine · Cave of Flames · Fortress of Winds · Temple of Droplets · Royal Crypt · Palace of Winds · Dark Hyrule Castle | ||
| Equipment | ||
| Weapons | ||
| Smith's Sword · White Sword · Four Sword · Small Shield · Mirror Shield · Bombs · Boomerang · Bow · Cane of Pacci · Gust Jar | ||
| Items | ||
| Bottle · Flame Lantern · Flippers · Grip Ring · Mole Mitts · Ocarina of Wind · Power Bracelets · Roc's Cape | ||
| Quest Items | ||
| Elements · Kinstones · Tiger Scrolls | ||
| Races | ||
| Deku · Fairy · Goron · Human · Hylian · Minish · Wind Tribe | ||
| Characters | ||
| Bellum · Ciela · Linebeck · Link · Ocean King · Oshus · Tetra —Full list of characters | ||
| Bosses | ||
| Blaaz · Cyclok · Crayk · Diabolical Cubus Sisters · Dongorongo · Gleeok · Eox · Bellum · Ghost Ship · Bellumbeck | ||
| Locations | ||
| Bannan Island · Cannon Island · Goron Island · Harrow Island · Isle of Ember · Isle of Frost · Isle of Gust · Isle of Ruins · Isle of the Dead · Mercay Island · Molida Island · Zauz's Island —Full list of locations | ||
| Dungeons | ||
| Temple of Fire · Temple of Wind · Temple of Courage · Ghost Ship · Goron Temple · Temple of Ice · Mutoh's Temple · Temple of the Ocean King | ||
| Equipment | ||
| Weapons | ||
| Oshus's Sword · Wooden Shield · Boomerang · Bombs · Bow · Bombchus · Grappling Hook · Hammer · Phantom Sword · Shovel · Fishing Rod | ||
| Quest Items | ||
| Leaf · Neri · Ciela · Pure Metals · Phantom Hourglass · Spirit Gem | ||
| Races | ||
| Anouki · Deity · Fairy · Gerudo · Goron · Human · Hylian · Yook | ||
| Characters |
| Anjean · Byrne · Chancellor Cole · Link · Malladus · Princess Zelda —Full list of characters |
| Bosses |
| Stagnox · Fraaz · Phytops · Cragma · Byrne · Skeldritch · Demon Train · Chancellor Cole · Malladus |
| New Hyrule |
| Locations |
| Fire Realm · Forest Realm · Ocean Realm · Sand Realm · Snow Realm —Full list of locations |
| Dungeons |
| Forest Temple · Snow Temple · Ocean Temple · Fire Temple · Sand Temple · Tower of Spirits |
| Equipment |
| Lokomo Sword · Rail Map · Recruit's Sword · Recruit Uniform · Spirit Flute · Spirit Tracks · Spirit Train · Stamp Book · Tears of Light |
| Weapons |
| Boomerang · Whip · Whirlwind · Bow · Sand Wand · Bow of Light |
| Races |
| Anouki · Demon · Goron · Hylian · Lokomo |