10 Unlockables In Zelda Games That Are NOT Worth It

10 Unlockables in Zelda Games That Are NOT Worth It

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at items and equipment from “The Legend of Zelda” that are more trouble to acquire than they’re worth.

Obstacle Course Horse Armor

“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (2017)

At the Mounted Archery Camp in Faron Grasslands, Link can take on a challenge to pop balloons while on horseback. 20 gets him the Knight’s Bridle while 23 gets him the Knight’s Saddle. That’s easier said than done, however, as hitting the targets while in motion takes more than a little skill, and not everyone has that kind of coordination. Worse is the Mounted Obstacle Course near Highland Stable, which has Link jumping over gates within a time limit to get the Extravagant Bridle and Saddle. The stiff horse controls obviously don’t help, nor does the fact that each of these challenges costs 20 rupees per attempt. But at least you get some sweet armor pieces for your horse…which are completely cosmetic.

Frog Lure

“The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” (2006)

Fishing minigames are already divisive in this franchise, but for those who are really into them, the “lure” of getting the Frog Lure may be too much to resist. To get it, you must complete the first 8 levels of Rollgoal, a ball balancing minigame at the Fishing Hole. Whether you use motion controls or a control stick, maneuvering the ball over the small paths is extremely frustrating. And it costs 5 Rupees per try. While the Frog Lure will let you catch a rare fish, it’s also hard to control. And if you catch that fish…you get your picture on the wall. Who wouldn’t want to play a difficult minigame to make another minigame harder for a bad reward?

Mirror Shield

“The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap” (2005)

To be fair, like in most “Zelda” games where you can get one, the Mirror Shield is the best shield in the game. It turns projectiles into beams when you guard with it. But timing, as they say, is everything. In “The Minish Cap,” you can only obtain the Mirror Shield after you defeat the final boss and beat the game. At the top of Veil Falls, if you feed your Small Shield to Biggoron, the giant will repay you by giving you the Mirror Shield if you return to him later. And he also only appears after you’ve completed a separate lengthy side quest that involves fusing multiple Kinstones. It’s a good item, but it would’ve been a lot more useful earlier.

Bomber’s Ring

“The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages” (2001)

This explosive item allows you to set 2 bombs at once. However, the merry little dance you have to go through to get it isn’t worth it. And we’re not being poetic - it’s a literal dance minigame. The Goron Dance is among the most infamous minigames in “Zelda” history. The timing is absurdly precise and to get the Bomber’s Ring, you have to do it perfectly on Platinum Difficulty! What’s worse, is that receiving the Bomber’s Ring isn’t even a guaranteed prize, since the reward can also be the Protection Ring instead. By the time you get it, you may just explode yourself.

Circus Leader’s Mask

“The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” (2000)

There are many masks in this game, but not every one’s a winner. To get it, you must complete the Romani Ranch sidequest, which ends with Link protecting Cremia from the Gormon brothers. Once she gives you Romani’s Mask, you can go to Clock Town’s Milk Bar. Inside, you need to follow Toto’s directions to play each of your transformations’ musical instruments. The resulting song will move Gormon, who gives you the Circus Leader’s Mask. The mask can be used to stave off his brother’s attacks while protecting Cremia…in a sidequest you already did to get the mask in the first place! While the 3DS remake made it essential in getting an extra bottle, in the original, it’s basically useless outside of trading towards the Fierce Deity Mask at the end of the game.

Addison’s Fabric

“The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” (2023)

Advertising can be tough in Hyrule, as Addison finds out. The hapless Hudson Construction employee can be found all over the map trying to put up signs for the business. Using Ultrahand, you can help create various supports to keep them upright. Finding just the right combination to do so can be tricky, plus the game doesn’t give you a way to keep track of which signs you’ve been to already, or where they are. The reward for fixing all 81 of them is a new paraglider skin. It glows in the dark. Yay.

Carlov Medal

“The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap” (2005)

Figurines in this game can be obtained from the Figurine Gallery through gacha mechanics. And it’s infamous among fans for its completely broken RNG mechanics. If, for some reason, you decide to pull for all 130 figurines, you can speak to Herb, a figurine fan. Herb will act as though you have the Carlov Medal and give you access to his house, which has money, a Piece of Heart, and a music player. However, to actually get the Carlov Medal, you need to beat the game and pull for the 6 new figurines that have been unlocked. With it, you gain access to…looking at the medal in your menu. Oooo!

Giant’s Knife

“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” (1998)

Perhaps one of the biggest scams in “Zelda” history, the Giant’s Knife seems like a good deal on the surface. It’s a huge, 2-handed sword that’s twice as powerful as the Master Sword. Sure, it costs 200 Rupees and takes years to complete, but that kind of quality is worth it right? Well, not when it breaks after 8 hits! Sure, you can still use it, technically. But when its power is only a quarter of what it was, what’s the point? And people complained about the breakable weapons in “Breath of the Wild!”

Miiverse Stamps

“The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD” (2016)

The remaster of “Twilight Princess” for the Wii U brought with it some changes, including some new items. The most prevalent of these are the Miiverse Stamps, which were used for the Miiverse social network across Nintendo platforms. If you didn’t care about the Miiverse, these were pretty disappointing to pull out of a chest. As pointless as they were when the game was released, they have since become even more worthless than before. You see, the Miiverse service wasn’t carried over to the Switch, and ended in November 2017. For as bad as most of these items are, at least their only use didn’t have an expiration date.

Hestu’s Gift

“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (2017) & “ Tears of the Kingdom” (2023)

Infamous among completionists, this “reward” is no gift at all! Throughout both of these open world “Zelda” titles, you need to collect Korok seeds to bring to Hestu. It’s required to upgrade your inventory slots. However, there’s no need to collect them all. There are 900 seeds in “Breath of the Wild” and 1000 in “Tears of the Kingdom.” Scouring every corner of Hyrule for all of them will yield the same “prize” from Hestu - a big golden turd. It doesn’t do anything. It just sits there, stinking up the menu and making you wish you could get those hours, those days of your life back.

Is there a “Zelda” item that didn’t merit questing for that we forgot? It’s definitely worth telling us about it in the comments!