Bow

The Bow is a ranged weapon with great power in the Zelda series. It's a recurring weapon appearing in most Zelda games, the exceptions being, The Adventure of Link, Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons. It can often be upgraded with new types of arrows and larger quivers.

Appearances

The Legend of Zelda

The Bow allows you to fire arrows. Before you are able to use it though, you must first purchase the arrows from one of the shops. Also, as opposed to possessing a limited number of arrows, firing an arrow drains your wallet by one rupee. In the final dungeon you receive the Silver Arrows, which do more damage and are required to defeat Ganon.

You receive the bow in the Level One dungeon. If you are doing the second quest, you instead receive it in the Level Five dungeon.

A Link to the Past

You obtain the Bow as the treasure of the Eastern Palace. You start out with the ability to hold 30 arrows, but this amount can be increased by five if you donate 100 rupees to the Great Fairy in Lake Hylia. This is repeatable until you reach the maximum amount of 70. You obtain the Silver Arrows inside the Great Pyramid, which do incredible amounts of damage and are needed to defeat Ganon.

Link's Awakening

The bow functions like it does in other 2D Zelda titles, but if you drop a Bomb and fire an arrow at the same time, you can shoot a bomb arrow. It must be bought from the Mabe Village's Item Shop for a whopping 980 rupees. If you don't want to use up that much money, you can steal it instead. Pick it up and run around the shopkeeper until he faces up, even when you leave the store down at the bottom. Before you steal it though, be warned that stealing anything from the shop will cause Link to be called a thief for the rest of the game, and to receive some painful consequences upon re-entering the shop (first time reentry only).

Ocarina of Time

The Fairy Bow is found in the Forest Temple. You can receive Fire Arrows by shooting at the sun above Lake Hylia and Ice Arrows by completing the Gerudo Training Ground. Also, you receive Light Arrows from Princess Zelda once you have awakened all of the sages. Using the bow will put the user in a first person perspective, and the arrows arc upwards somewhat. Your original quiver can hold 30 arrows and can be upgraded to 40 and 50 at the Kakariko Village shooting gallery and the Gerudo horseback archery mini-game.

Majora's Mask

The Hero's Bow is obtained in Woodfall Temple, and functions in exactly the same way as Ocarina of Time's Fairy Bow, with the only difference being in its appearance. You will also get new types of arrows in every dungeon. You get Fire Arrows in Snowhead Temple, Ice Arrows in Great Bay Temple, and Light Arrows in Stone Tower Temple. There are two shooting galleries, one in East Clock Town, and another in the Southern Swamp. Beating either will upgrade your quiver once.

The Wind Waker

The Hero's Bow is obtained in the Tower of the Gods. It functions the same way as it does in previous 3D Zelda titles, except that the arrows travel entirely straight, instead of arcing upwards. Quiver upgrades are obtained from various Great Fairies, allowing you to eventually hold 99 arrows. You receive the Fire Arrows and Ice Arrows from the Fairy Queen, and the Light Arrows in the catacombs.

Four Swords

The Bow can be randomly found on the Item Podiums that exist in the game. You can charge it to make it shoot faster.

Four Swords Adventures

The Bow can be randomly found on the Item Podiums that exist in the game. Charged shots can pierce multiple targets, and break objects as well as pin large objects (like force crystals) to the wall. If you meet the Great Fairy, she will upgrade it to the Level 2 bow, which can have 3 arrows on the screen at once.

The Minish Cap

This game's bow is found in Castor Wilds. It's firing rate can be increased by catching the Joy Butterfly found in the Wind Ruins, which appears after you successfully perform a Kinstone Fusion with Din. The bow can eventually fire Light Arrows if you perform an optional sidequest.

Twilight Princess

Main article: Hero's Bow

You obtain the bow in the Goron Mines, and you can equip bomb arrows by first equipping your bow, then moving the cursor over a bomb sack, and pressing the appropriate button. Depending on whether you are playing on the Gamecube or Wii version the controls will vary. In the Gamecube version, the aiming system is the same as in previous 3D Zelda titles. On the Wii, you must aim the remote at the point where you want to shoot, and you can rotate or run with the joystick, allowing for simultaneous movement and aiming. The quiver upgrades can be obtained by completing the Castle Town Star Game with the Clawshot, or, to make it easier, the Double Clawshot. These upgrades allow you to hold 60 and 100 arrows respectively.

Phantom Hourglass

You find it in the Temple of Courage. Since this game features touch screen controls, here you touch the screen where you want to shoot and stop touching to fire. You start out with a quiver that can hold 20. After beating the Temple of Courage you get a letter from Romanos. Play his mini-game and score between 1700 and 1990 points to hold 30 arrows. Purchasing the final upgrade for 1000 rupees from the Molida or Mercay island item shops, allows you to hold 50 arrows.

Spirit Tracks

The Bow is fired in the same way as it was in Phantom Hourglass. You find the bow in the Fire Temple. In the Sand Temple, you will obtain the Bow of Light, which you must use to activate certain switches and defeat Malladus. After beating the Fire Temple, you can buy the first quiver upgrade at the shop in Goron Village for 2,000 rupees, allowing you to hold 30 arrows. For an upgrade to 50 arrows, score between 3500 and 4000 points in the Pirate Hideout mini-game.

Skyward Sword

Link with wooden bow in Skyward Sword. The bow will return in Skyward Sword, though it has not been confirmed when Link receives it. It is used with the Wii remote in the right hand and the Nunchuck in the left. After holding C to nock an arrow, you pull back the Nunchuck just like you are pulling back the string on a bow, and release the C button to shoot an arrow. This is the same control scheme that can be found in Wii Sports Resort for archery. Unlike in previous games, the bow will not make the slingshot useless. Since it takes a relatively long amount of time to aim and fire arrows, it will mostly be used for more precise shots. As usual you can shoot enemies with the bow, and items can be knocked off trees and other objects. Additionally, items dropped by enemies (such as hearts) can also be shot with the bow and pinned to walls. By doing this, Link can reclaim his dropped heart as well as his arrow.

After getting the Wooden Bow in The Sandship you have the ability to upgrade it to The Iron Bow then The Sacred Bow at The Scrap Shop in The Bazzar in Skyloft.

Trivia

• In Ocarina of Time the bow is known as the Fairy Bow. In Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess the bow is known as the Hero's Bow.