Zelda Dungeon Top 5- Easter Eggs

Easter Eggs have long been included in our favorite video games. Though they may have started as simply as a programmer displaying his initials if certain prerequisites were met, they have gotten increasingly complex over the years, with many going undiscovered long after a game’s release. The Zelda franchise is no stranger to easter eggs as well. From Chris Houlihan’s secret room to the familiar melody tucked away in “The Ballad of the Goddess”, the ZeldaDungeon staff has all of their favorite easter eggs in the series covered. As usual, share your personal lists in the comment section below.

Andrew Kiser – View Profile

5. Row of animal masks resembling the Star Fox team in Majora’s Mask
4. Yoshi doll in Link’s Awakening
3. Malon’s Bowser brooch
2.Talon and Ingo’s semblance to Mario and Luigi
1. Fisherman’s picture in Twilight Princess fishing pond.

I really enjoy the Mario/Starfox references in Zelda games because it gives them a sense of a connected universe. Sadly, the only times we’ve seen these characters actually share the same universe is with Smash Brothers or with the old Captain N cartoon. While we may never see canonical games where these characters appear in the same game world, apart from Smash, it’s fun to see these cross-overs happen with such easter eggs as the ones I’ve listed. However, my favorite easter egg is the Ocarina of Time fisherman’s photo in Twilight Princess and how he’s labeled as a legendary fisherman, tying OoT and TP even closer together.

Phillip Wybenga – View Profile

5. I am Error (Adventure of Link)
4. Anti-Kirby (Link’s Awakening)
3. It’s a Secret to Everyone as a recurring phrase(A Link Between Worlds)
2. Mario Mask on the Happy Mask salesman (Majora’s Mask)
1. Chris Houlihan’s secret room (A Link to the Past)

There are a lot more easter eggs not related to the Mario universe, but some couldn’t be avoided. Link’s Awakening was basically a love letter to several Mario-related properties, and it would be quite easy to simply point at all its references, but I selected the nod to Kirby. I enjoyed how Adventure of Link makes several programming references in NPC names. I picked the secret fan room for number one as it’s the only real acknowledgement of the fan base seen so far.

Jon Lett – View Profile

5. Several Super Mario References (Link’s Awakening)
4. Bombing Gossip Stones, & Seeing Them Shoot Sky High (Ocarina of Time)
3. Messing With Demise With the Bug Net (Skyward Sword)
2. The Ballad of The Goddess is Zelda’s Lullaby Backwards (Skyward Sword)
1. The Academy’s Flushable Toilet (Skyward Sword)

I’m all for adding in references to other series, or making a meta joke for the audience to laugh at and move on, but just plain silliness is always welcome, too. Back when I was watching development videos for Skyward Sword, I saw one outlining Skyloft’s academy. I started watching, tabbed out for a moment, and suddenly heard a flushing noise. I go back, and it turns out Nintendo decided to stick a bit of bathroom humor in this awesome new adventure. Seeing Link sit down for a moment on the toilet was priceless. I must say, that kind of thing shows you that Nintendo is still out just to have fun with us sometimes, and that’s all good with me.

Kevin O’Rourke – View Profile

5. The Chris Houlihan Room (Link to the Past)
4. Fixing Signs with Song of Healing and Zelda’s Lullaby (Majora’s Mask and Ocarina of Time)
3. The Super Mario Character Portraits (Ocarina of Time)
2. Bombing Gossip Stones/Using Megaton Hammer (Ocarina of Time)
1. The Hidden Arwing (Ocarina of Time)

Most of the hidden things I remember are from the Nintendo 64 Legend of Zelda games. Things like being able to repair signs and blasting the Gossip Stones were senseless fun that were funny little inclusions in the game. When I learned that there was Arwing in the code for Ocarina of Time that blew my mind. It’s only obtainable via GameShark but it’s still really neat that it has full AI programmed as an enemy.

Mark Olson – View Profile

5. Hidden Skyward Sword posters (Ocarina of Time 3D)
4. A Goron in Wind Waker (Wind Waker)
3. The Vengeful Shopkeeper (Link’s Awakening)
2. The Chris Houlihan Room (A Link to the Past)
1. Redeads honoring their fallen friends (Ocarina of Time)

There are a lot of great options to choose from, but for me it comes between the big hidden room in A Link to the Past and a subtle touch in Ocarina of Time. For those who don’t know, if you go into Castle Town, slay a Redead, and wait around for a while, the other Redeads will ignore Link and just walk towards their dead. It’s a small touch, but I think that it’s a nice and certainly creepy one.