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"Bow & Silver Arrows" redirects here. See also Bow.

Silver Arrows are recurring Items in The Legend of Zelda series.[1][2][note 1]

Location and Uses

Silver Arrows are powerful Arrows used to defeat Ganon in The Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past. In the only two games they appeared in, they are the only weapon that is capable of defeating Ganon, who will recover from any Sword wounds if not pierced by a Silver Arrow.[2] In later games of the series since Ocarina of Time, the Light Arrows replaced the Silver Arrows and performed a similar role, although they actually function the complete opposite in that they merely stun Ganon, not to outright destroy him (although in some games they can instantly kill regular enemies like Silver Arrows did in A Link to the Past); The Master Sword is usually used to deal the final blow instead. Aside from one occasion in Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages where Ganon was not fully revived, the Silver Arrows are the only weapon shown in the franchise to completely destroy Ganon in his demonic beast form.

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda Manual Description
The Legend of Zelda logo
Bow, and wooden and silver arrows
Link can use them only if he has both the bow and an arrow. For each arrow Link shoots, he loses one ruby. Oh, by the way, there are some enemies that can be disposed of using only the bow and arrow. So be alert!

In The Legend of Zelda, the Silver Arrow is found in Level-9 of both the main quest and the Second Quest. After hitting Ganon 15 times with the Sword, 8 times with the White Sword or 4 times with the Magical Sword, Link must use a single Silver Arrow to finish him off.[3] These special Arrows also deal double the damage a regular Arrow does to enemies.

A Link to the Past

In A Link to the Past, Silver Arrows are given to Link by the Fat Fairy inside the Pyramid of Power, once the way has been opened with a Super Bomb.[2] They are much more powerful versions of the standard arrows Link obtains, and are the strongest weapon in the game, outclassing the Golden Master Sword in raw power. When used as weapons in the field, they can kill any enemy with a single shot, including even some bosses. Keeping in tradition with the original Zelda game, the Silver Arrows are required to kill Ganon, although it takes four shots to finally defeat him.[2]

Other Appearances

Ancient Stone Tablets

In Ancient Stone Tablets, the Silver Arrows are foretold to be buried on Death Mountain, and appear from a Hylian Monolith that also seals away Ganon's Tower from the world. They carry the same purpose and function as previous titles.

The Legend of Zelda (Valiant Comics)

Silver Arrow (VC)

The Silver Arrow, as seen in the comic

The Silver Arrow is also featured in two stories of The Legend of Zelda comics by Valiant Comics, and in both appearances, Princess Zelda is the one to wield it with her bow. In Day of the Triforce, Princess Zelda decides to go attack and defeat Ganon once and for all since he is now powerless.[4] Once she reaches Death Mountain to challenge Ganon, she finds the powerless Ganon in his throne. Just as she is about to shoot him with the Silver Arrow, she hears a cry for help in another room and cannot help but to go and aid said person instead.[5][6]

In Choices, Zelda finds the Silver Arrow on a small pedestal after defeating a Darknut inside Death Mountain.[7] She then recalls what Impa told her that if Zelda's heart is true, the Triforce of Wisdom will help her use the Silver Arrow to destroy Ganon.[8] When the princess finds Ganon, she quickly readies a Silver Arrow to shoot at him,[9] but before she has a chance to release it at the Prince of Darkness to defeat him, Link comes crashing in, giving Ganon a chance to escape.[10]

A Link to the Past (Ishinomori)

Silver Arrow 2 (comic)

The Silver Arrow in the A Link to the Past comic

In the A Link to the Past comic by Shotaro Ishinomori, Roam reveals that he is seeking the Silver Arrow spoken of in the Book of Mudora, which mentions that the one who corrupts the Golden Land will be defeated with the sacred arrow.[11] Although he reveals to Link that he has yet to find it, Roam continues to search for the Silver Arrow to defeat Ganon with it and prove himself to be the legendary hero.[12] However, when Link and Zelda arrive to Ganon's Tower, Roam suddenly appears and admits he has failed to find the Silver Arrows, and enters the tower with the young hero and the princess. Inside, after Roam dies saving Zelda, the princess uses Roam's crossbow to shoot an ordinary arrow at Ganon. As it approaches Ganon, the power of the Maidens, Zelda, Link, and Roam, turn the arrow into the Silver Arrow,[13] destroying the King of Thieves.

A Link to the Past (Himekawa)

In the A Link to the Past manga by Akira Himekawa, the heads of the Silver Arrows are an heirloom of the Knights of Hyrule.[14] Their only known living descendant, the young thief Ghanti, wore them as earrings, unaware of their true purpose. This fact is revealed to her by Princess Zelda shortly after she recovered from the wounds she sustained as Trinexx,[14] causing the young thief to change her views on the Knights. She later uses the Arrows to aid Link in his battle against Ganon, and with them, deals the finishing blow.

Hyrule Warriors

Main article: Goddess Blade

In Hyrule Warriors' Master Quest DLC pack, the 8-Bit Silver Arrow from The Legend of Zelda appears as a weapon for Fi. It is statistically identical to and part of the Goddess Blade weapon type.

Trivia

  • The Silver Arrows' function as Ganon's only weakness is similar to more modern werewolf legends, in which a silver bullet is the only weapon that can kill a werewolf. This may be because silver was considered a holy element in many cultures.

Nomenclature

TMC Forest Minish Artwork Names in other regions TMC Jabber Nut Sprite
LanguageNameMeaning
JapanJapanese銀の矢 (Gin no Ya) (TLoZ | ALttP)[15][16]
ギンノヤ (Gin no Ya) (TLoZ)
銀の弓矢 (Gin no Yumiya) (ALttP)[17]
Same as English.
Same as English.
Silver Bow and Arrow
NetherlandsDutchZilver pijl (TLoZ)[18]Silver arrow
FranceFrenchEUFlèche en argent (TLoZ)[19]Silver arrow
This table was generated using translation pages.
To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference.

Gallery

Notes

  1. In A Link to the Past, the item appears on the Sub Screen as Bow & Silver Arrows.

References

  1. Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 138 (TLoZ)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "You are an honest person. I like you. I will give you something important... These are the Silver Arrows. To give Ganon his last moment, you definitely need them! I know I don't quite have the figure of a faerie. Ganon's cruel power is to blame! You must defeat Ganon!" — Cursed Fairy (A Link to the Past)
  3. "Link's no match for Ganon and his might. Whatever attack Link uses, Ganon just repels him. But if Link could only use the magical sword and some other object, he'll manage to topple the mighty Ganon. Other object? What's that?" (The Legend of Zelda manual, pg. 39)
  4. "Relax, Impa... It's not as bad as all that. If ALL three Triforces are gone, then the evil wizard Gannon is bereft of the Triforce of Power. He will not attack us without it. Look upon today as a rare day of...PEACE." (The Legend of Zelda comic, Valiant Comics, pg. 1)
  5. "What's that? A cry for help! Surely you cannot ignore some innocent in danger!" (The Legend of Zelda comic, Valiant Comics, pg. 7)
  6. "Curse you, Ganon! This isn't over yet!" (The Legend of Zelda comic, Valiant Comics, pg. 7)
  7. "A Silver Arrow...of course! I remember!" (The Legend of Zelda comic, Valiant Comics, pg. 4)
  8. "Find a Silver Arrow. If your heart is true, the Triforce will help you use it to destroy Ganon." (The Legend of Zelda comic, Valiant Comics, pg. 4)
  9. "Ganon, the only thing you're going to get is Justice!" (The Legend of Zelda comic, Valiant Comics, pg. 9)
  10. "Bah! I will choose my OWN time to deal with you! The game is not yet over!" (The Legend of Zelda comic, Valiant Comics, pg. 10)
  11. "It is written in the Book of Mudora: 'He who corrupts the land of gold shall fall to the shaft of the enchanted arrow of silver...' My family has always excelled in archery, and it is my destiny to destroy Ganon! I have not yet obtained the enchanted arrow, but..." (A Link to the Past manga, VIZ Media, pg. 4)
  12. "Admit it, Link. It seems to support the Book of Mudora's prophecy that only the enchanted arrow can defeat the one who corrupted this world. You are stubborn and foolish... I will defeat Ganon!" (A Link to the Past manga, VIZ Media, pg. 6)
  13. "It was the enchanted arrow..." (A Link to the Past manga, VIZ Media, pg. 6)
  14. 14.0 14.1 "Yes. Ghanti is a Hylian too. And this is the Silver Arrow passed from the Knights of Hyrule. It can pierce any evil." (A Link to the Past manga, VIZ Media, pg. 153)
  15. The Legend of Zelda manual, pg. 23
  16. Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords (Shogakukan) pg. 13
  17. Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Vol. 1 (Shogakukan 1) pg. 23
  18. The Legend of Zelda manual, pg. 24
  19. The Legend of Zelda manual, pg. 24
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