Great Fairy

Great Fairy File:OoT Great Fairy.JPG
Legend of Zelda series character
First game	A Link to the Past (1992)

Great Fairies are fictional fairies found in most games of The Legend of Zelda series. It is usually assumed that there are more than one in existence. After completing a specific quest or reaching a certain area, a Great Fairy can grant Link with a reward such as extended health, magic or upgraded items.

Characteristics

In earlier games they came in two varieties — ones that provide upgrades for Link's status and ones that merely replenish Link's health. These separate concepts were combined in the Great Fairies of Ocarina of Time, wherein they would first grant Link the special ability in question and thereafter heal him on any later visits.

Great Fairies in The Legend of Zelda series have changed dramatically throughout the games. While they are portrayed as fully dressed, wearing clothes that are similar to a wedding dress in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, they've changed in appearance in others. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time makes them out to be slim, vine covered women, while Great Fairies in The Wind Waker are clothed in a gown and have 4 arms. Why they have changed isn't explained, but like many other Zelda characters, have returned again and again.

A possible explanation for why they have changed is related to the influences of various cultures on each of the games in the franchise. Asian influences are predominant in the Wind Waker, for example, and Mesoamerican influences in the Twilight Princess.

Appearances

A Link to the Past

Great Fairies first appear in A Link to the Past. There are three Great Fairy locations: behind the waterfall near Zora's Domain, on an island in the middle of Lake Hylia, and behind a wall outside the Dark Pyramid. They grant upgrades of items thrown into the water or after throwing in Rupees, and are flying girls with wings and green clothing.

The waterfall fairy grants a shield upgrade to block fireballs, the magic boomerang that goes further, and green potion for bottles thrown in. The island fairy lets Link carry more arrows and bombs after throwing in rupees. Finally the trapped fairy gives Link the Golden Sword for throwing in the Tempered Sword, the Silver Arrows from the regular ones (needed to kill Ganon with), and green potion for bottles thrown in. This Great Fairy is notably obese, and explains that it is an effect of Ganon's magic.

There are also smaller fairies hidden in caves that fully heal Link when he meets them.

During the game's ending, the island fairy is revealed to be Venus, Queen of the Fairies.

Link's Awakening

There are also seemingly minor Great Fairies appearing in Link's Awakening that when visited restore one's health. In the DX version of Link's Awakening, the queen fairy also resides at the end of the hidden Color dungeon, and gives Link either the magical Red or Blue Tunic.

Ocarina of Time

In Ocarina of Time, Great Fairies are located at six locations: just outside Hyrule Castle, two on Death Mountain (one at the summit and one inside), the Desert Colossus, Jabu-Jabu's shrine, and just outside Ganon's Castle. These provide Link with, respectively, Din's Fire, Magic Power & double magic power, Nayru's Love, Farore's Wind, and automatic double defense.

There are three great fairies named the Great Fairy of Magic, and the others are named the Great Fairies of Courage, Wisdom, and Power.

Majora's Mask

In Majora's Mask, there are five Great Fairy locations. One is in Clock Town where, at the start of the game, Link has to return one scattered fairy (called a Stray Fairy) to the fountain in Clock town. There he receives the magic power. If Link returns the Stray Fairy after being transformed back into a human, he will be granted the "Great Fairy Mask". There is also one Great Fairy in each of the four major areas, Woodfall, Snowhead, Great Bay, and Stone Tower. After collecting fifteen Stray Fairies from each of the temples there, a new power or item is bestowed to Link. They are respectively, upgraded sword magic, double magic power, a white lining around your hearts that reduces damage by half, and the Great Fairy's Sword.

These fairies are called the Great Fairies of Magic, Power, Wisdom, Courage, and Kindness.

Oracle of Ages and Seasons

In Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, the same two-dimensional sprite as the one found in Link's Awakening is used for Great Fairies, who appear at select locations if one is wounded to restore one's health. As in Link's Awakening, these Great Fairies do not provide upgrades of any sort. The great fairy that resides on an island west of the Labrynna library is called "The Fairy Queen, protector of the sea."

Four Swords

Although no official Great Fairies appear in Four Swords, when Zelda is kidnapped, Link is awakened by three Fairies. These three Fairies' colours correspond to the colours of the Great Fairies from The Minish Cap, a prequel to Four Swords.

The Wind Waker

File:Great Fairies-Main.jpg

The Fairy Queen

In the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, there are six fairy islands on the Great Sea. They are Northern Fairy Island, Southern Fairy Island, Eastern Fairy Island, Western Fairy Island, Thorn Fairy Island, Outset Island, Mother and Child Isles, and Two Eye Reef. The upgrades from each island are, respectively; rupee upgrade, bomb upgrade, bomb upgrade, arrow upgrade, arrow upgrade, rupee upgrade, fire & ice arrows, and double magic power. In this game, Great Fairies are large, floating four-armed women with dark skin, no pupils, and no legs, but rather skirts that spiral away into nothing.

The Fairy Queen who resides Mother and Child Isles looks like a small, blue, glowing child, but she is one of the most powerful beings on the Great Sea. She has a stuffed doll depicting a Great Fairy. The Fairy Queen grants Link with Fire and Ice arrows, which are necessary for finishing the game. When she grants Link the magical arrows, she releases two magically aligned fairies into his chest. She then says that she likes mortals like him and disappears. As Mother and Child Isles can only be entered from the air, she is only accessible after shooting Cyclos with an arrow and learning Ballad of the Gales. However, she only appears to help Link after freeing Aryll from the Forsaken Fortress.

The figurines of the Great Fairies and Fairy Queen can only be acquired by purchasing their pictographs from Lenzo on Windfall Island, as they only appear in cutscenes and their pictures can not be taken otherwise.

Four Swords Adventures

In Four Swords Adventures, the Great Fairies one encounters upgrade one's current weaponry to level two items. They look like the Great Fairies from The Wind Waker. In Hyrule castle, the Links also meet a river Zora who begs them to find "his/her other part" (another river Zora). It turns out that the two river Zoras are actually a cursed Great Fairy that looks a lot like the Queen of the Fairies from The Wind Waker.

The Minish Cap

There are a total of three Great Fairies in The Minish Cap, namely Great Butterfly Fairy, Great Mayfly Fairy and Great Dragonfly Fairy. Great Fairies in this game are tall glowing women in beautiful dresses.

Great Butterfly Fairy resides in a cave in Minish Woods east of the farmers in Eastern Hills. She grants Link the Big Wallet, a wallet upgrade. Great Mayfly Fairy lives in a cave on a ledge somewhere on the eastern side on Crenel Wall at Mount Crenel. She will give Link the Big Bomb Bag, a bomb amount upgrade. Great Dragonfly Fairy is in a cave in the Royal Valley, and will present Link with the Large Quiver quiver, an arrow amount upgrade Although the figurine's notes of all three fairies say they are from Mount Crenel, they are actually found in the above mentioned locations (in PAL version only; verification needed for NTSC).

Aside from A Link to the Past (where the queen of all fairies is called Venus, as shown in the credits), this is one of the only Zelda game where the Great Fairies each have their own name.

Twilight Princess

In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess the Great Fairy (or Queen of the Fairies) appears inside the multi-level enemy gauntlet known as the Cave of Ordeals. In this incarnation, the Great Fairy resembles a young woman with long, green hair and pointed ears. She wears no clothing save for a small cloth that is tied around her waist as a skirt, her breasts are covered by the lengths of her hair (creating possibly the strongest allusion to nudity in a Zelda game thus far). She grants the player access to a mystical substance known as Great Fairy Tears, if they survive the cave and reach her at the end. It should also be noted this is the first instance in a three-dimensional Zelda game in which the Great Fairy doesn't upgrade any of Link's items or attributes. However, she does give Link Fairy's Tears, which allows him to recover all health and raises his attack and speed for a short time. Additionally, she releases restoration fairies to each of the Spirit Springs across Hyrule. The Great Fairy's most common form is a sparkling cloud of green mist and smoke, and she appears in this form at the Spirit Springs, as well as in the Cave of Ordeals when Link is not talking to her.

Another possible Great Fairy also aids Link, albeit much less explicit, because Link never sees her. She inhabits the Gale Boomerang and is called Fairy of Winds. She mentions her presence when Link acquires the boomerang and claims to be the source of its power. She never speaks again nor is referred to.