Targeting System

From Zelda Wiki.org

The Targeting System is a combat and environment interaction interface that locks Link's focus onto a single enemy with a press of the either the Z or L Button in 3-dimensional Zelda games. Up until the release of the Nintendo 64, all Zelda games were 2-dimensional games with a clear view of all the action on the screen. In order to incorporate an easy battle system into a 3-dimensional game, something different had to be done to make combat more manageable and less frustrating.

Z-Targeting

Ocarina of Time marked the beginning of Z-Targeting. Once an enemy is Z-Targeted, Navi flies to the selected enemy and all of Link's attacks are directed at the targeted enemy. Navi can give Link useful information about enemies that are targeted. Z-Targeting helped make Ocarina of Time a success, and the interface was carried over to Majora's Mask (with the help of a new Fairy, Tatl) and the Wii version of Twilight Princess

L-Targeting

The layout of the Nintendo GameCube controller lacks a (conveniently located) Z Button. In order to carry the popular targeting system over to the Gamecube, the button used for targeting was switched from Z to L. The idea is the same, but with a different button. The L Button is used in The Wind Waker, in GameCube re-releases of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, and in the version of Twilight Princess for the same system.