TOTK: 10 Classic Legend Of Zelda Items Link Should Have Been Able To Fuse

Part of The Legend of Zelda‘s classic gameplay loop was always the iconic items players would find in dungeons. Dungeon items made all the hard work worthwhile when players were finally able to get to a previously inaccessible area or defeat a monster that was once invulnerable to regular attacks. Instead of bringing over these classic items, TOTK opted to give the freedom to players to create their own items using the new Fuse mechanic — which turned out to be a gift and a curse.

Fuse lets players combine nearly any two items to create a new one, but it does have its limitations. There are some things in the game that Link just can’t Fuse to at all, and there are plenty of beloved classic Zelda items the game could have allowed players to Fuse — but didn’t. A great example of how this is possible is how TOTK lets players fuse a mirror to a shield to create the iconic Mirror Shield, but that one possibility hardly makes up for the many other missed Fuse opportunities.

10 Silver Arrows Were Once Ganon’s Greatest Weakness

First Appearance: Zelda 1

One of the simplest missed opportunities as far as Fusing classic items in TOTK goes is the Silver Arrow. The Silver Arrows were the main means to defeat Ganon going back to the original Zelda and A Link to the Past, before the Light Arrows became the standard after Ocarina of Time.

Silver Arrows would have been exceedingly easy to integrate into the game because they would only require adding a Silver Ore that players can Fuse to create a sort of overpowered arrow that could expel evil. While players can already Fuse silver monster materials to arrows to make much stronger arrows, they don’t quite hold the same level of prestige that the original Silver Arrow did.

9 Bombchus Are One Of Link’s Most Off-The-wall Items

First Appearance: Ocarina of Time

Bombchus were one of the most epic items in the early 3D Zelda games like OOT and Majora’s Mask. When used, Bombchus travel across the ground at high speeds until they hit something or their fuse runs out, causing them to explode. They can even crawl up walls and across ceilings, allowing them to hit hard-to-reach places.

Players can Fuse plenty of interesting objects to bombs to create mobile explosive devices, making Bombchus somewhat less necessary than in previous games. Nevertheless, having an object to quickly fuse to bombs that made them mobile like Bombchus would be a great addition to TOTK. Not only that, but the beloved Bombchu bowling mini-game is something a new generation of Zelda fans deserves to enjoy.

8 The Pegasus Boots Give Link An Added Boost Of Speed

First Appearance: A Link to the Past

One of TOTK‘s biggest missed opportunities is that it doesn’t let players Fuse objects to their armor sets. Doing this would potentially lead to all sorts of ridiculous and amazing possibilities, and that could include the Pegasus Boots.

The Pegasus Boots give Link the ability to do a forward dash that breaks through some items and even lets him get a running jump. It would be hard to imagine any present item in TOTK fusing with boots to create the Pegasus Boots other than monster wings like the Keese or Aerocuda, but even if the developers added something like a feather into the game it would make sense. In TOTK, the Pegasus Boots could give players a momentary boost of speed or even the ability to do a dash attack until the Fused wings broke.

7 The Gust Jar Would Be A Breeze To Fuse

First Appearance: The Minish Cap

The Gust Jar was an awesome item in Minish Cap that allowed players to suck in monsters and objects with a powerful gust of wind, and then shoot them out. This build would give players a fun new way to play with Tears‘ excellent physics system and give them an upper hand in combat.

The only way to make the Gust Jar work as it does in Minish Cap is to allow players to fuse some sort of magical fan that both blows out and in. Players can already fuse a fan to a shield, but it’s only capable of blowing away from the player, which doesn’t yield the same effect as the Gust Jar did.

6 The Spinner Would Take Shield Surfing To The Next Level

First Appearance: Twilight Princess

The Spinner remains one of the quirkiest dungeon items in Zelda history, and fans wouldn’t have it any other way. In Twilight Princess, the Spinner functioned as both a weapon and a means of traversal. It allowed Link to use a spin attack on enemies, and Link could also ride it like a skateboard on railings, and even use it to cross quicksand safely.

Since players can already shield surf in TOTK, it would be simple to add a Spinner-like Zonai device to create an impermanent version of this iconic item. Another interesting use for the Spinner that has relevance in TOTK is that, if Link were to fall from a high place, he could equip the Spinner to avoid taking damage.

5 The Iron Boots Would Let Link Explore Even More Of Hyrule

First Appearance: Ocarina of Time

One of the biggest things fans were hoping to see in TOTK was the ability to go underwater. Water traversal would have provided a whole new world to explore, and given new life to Zora’s Domain. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, with the Water Temple being in the entire opposite direction: the sky.

If there were water exploration in TOTK, a basic item that could be used to facilitate it would be iron boots. The iron boots simply weigh Link down enough to allow him to walk underwater. Due to the simplicity of the iron boots, any number of heavy things could reasonably be Fused to Link’s boots to achieve the same result.

4 The Hookshot Is A Staple Of Link’s Arsenal

First Appearance: A Link to the Past

Many fans felt that taking the hookshot out of BOTW made sense because it would have broken exploration, but that doesn’t really apply to TOTK anymore. Link’s abilities are the most broken they’ve ever been, so giving him one more useful item for traversal wouldn’t really have much effect on the game’s difficulty.

Keeping in line with the concept of encouraging creativity, the hookshot could have been an item players Fused to create, but wasn’t permanent. Even letting players fire a chain from the Bow that could connect and pull Link to far objects would have had the same effect while also giving players the limitation of needing both arrows and the chain item to make it work.

3 The Flippers Would Give Players Even More Freedom

First Appearance: A Link to the Past

Zelda has had a somewhat turbulent history with the concept of water traversal. In some games, like Oracle of Ages, it becomes a boring slog as players slowly wade through water. In other games, like Majora’s Mask, swimming was an amazing experience that felt just as freeing as being a fish in the ocean.

If TOTK were to allow players to gain more mobility while swimming by Fusing the Flippers, players could only hope it learned from Majora’s Mask how to make it as easy and exciting to use. Giving a dive function would really open up TOTK‘s world even more. Zora’s Domain had so much potential to allow players to explore a nautical world alongside Sidon, but that’s now just water under the bridge.

2 A Fishing Rod Should Have Already Been In BOTW

First Appearance: Link’s Awakening

There’s nothing ground-breaking that adding a fishing rod to TOTK would do. However, fishing has always been something that fans enjoyed in previous Zelda games, and the ability to catch fish and cook them in TOTK makes the absence of a fishing mini-game seem strange, to say the least.

Fusing a fishing rod in TOTK would be exceedingly easy, as there are already plenty of materials that could simulate one. In fact, giving players the ability to Fuse different monster materials as bait would add an interesting mechanic to the basic fishing experience, making it even more fun.

1 The Light Arrows Are Link’s Second Most Powerful Weapon After The Master Sword

First Appearance: Ocarina of Time

Considering the Triforce isn’t mentioned by name in TOTK, imbuing its divine powers into an arrow to create the Light Arrows would be a big ask. Still, the light arrows are a staple of Zelda that both Link and Princess Zelda have used multiple times to bring down Ganon.

With Princess Zelda now being the Light Dragon, it would have made sense for Link to be able to fuse the materials he farmed from the Light Dragon to an arrow to make genuine Light Arrows. This could have added an interesting dynamic to the final boss fight against Draconified Ganon. If he could only be hurt by light arrows, players would have to run along the Light Dragon’s back to find and Fuse materials to create Light Arrows that could harm him.