ZD Top – Top 5 Nintendo Power-Ups that Should be in Zelda

Though we here at ZeldaDungeon obviously love Zelda, our passion is not confined merely within this great series. There’s always room for growth in anything, and Zelda is no exception. In this Thanksgiving Day installment of the ZD Top 5, we look at power-ups that have made appearances in other Nintendo titles that we think should be brought over to Hyrule.

Jon Lett – View Profile

5. Mega Mushroom (Super Mario)
4. Double Shot/Triple Shot (Castlevania)
3. Morph Ball (Metroid)
2. Fire Flower (Super Mario)
1. Metal Cap (Super Mario)

I always loved the idea of the Metal Cap in Super Mario 64. It made Mario seem really awesome and invincible, even if it was just temporary. Then, once I got to use the Metal box in Super Smash Bros. on different characters, including Link, I thought it was amazing. A temporary power-up in a Zelda game that just turns Link into metal would blow my mind. It would likely not be the most useful thing, unless you were doing some underwater puzzle or something, but whatever. It would be sweet.

Alexis Anderson – View Profile

5.Cloaking Device (Perfect Dark)
4.Repel (Pokémon)
3.Screw Attack (Metroid)
2.Protective Armor (Sonic Adventure 2)
1.Franklin Badge (Mother)

Some of these power ups are rather inconspicuous, and I chose them mainly to combat one issue– pesky enemies. You know, the Keese, Peahats, Bokoblins, Chu, etc. No one really wants to take the time to kill these things during the later portions of a game, so the Protective Armor could be impervious to their attacks, the screw attack is an easy way to kill Keese by simply jumping, and Repel would obviously keep the pests from bothering Link. The Franklin Badge and Cloaking Device would have a larger capacity for use, from small fights to large boss battles (the Franklin Badge could make a Ganondorf battle rather easy).

Kira Koneko – View Profile

5. Hypnosis (Pokemon)
4. Fire Flower (Super Mario)
3. Super Leaf (Super Mario)
2. Morph Ball (Metroid)
1. Invincibility Leaf (Super Mario)

I truly can’t help letting my number one spot be mainly decided on the absolute adorableness of the white Tanooki suit but in all reality invincibility is not entirely all that bad. Funny how my top five is a slight mix of some that are entirely unfair in terms of the advantages they provide and some for their sheer power. I have a tendency to desire maximum power right out of the gate or completely hinder my opponent, hence the Hypnosis. A girl can dream anyway, can’t she?

Mark Olson – View Profile

5- Spring Powers (Super Mario Galaxy)
4- Hypnosis (Various)
3- Health Absorb (Various)
2- Whip Swing (Super Castlevania IV)
1- Light/Dark Weapons (Metroid Prime 2)

Okay, despite the second-to-last choice being a bit of a joke, I feel like this is a pretty solid list. Even so, nothing could top the idea of Light and Dark weapons as they were implemented in Prime 2. Though Zelda has had light arrows before, its never been used in the context of separate worlds where it has a corresponding opposite weapon. It doesn’t even have to be light and dark; in any game with the dual world mechanic, it could simply feature energy from one world as one weapon and energy from the other world as the other weapon. It could be used in some devilish puzzles, and make combat quite exciting.