The Golden Bee,(ALttP | ALBW)[1] also known as the Good Bee,(ALttP | ALBW)[1] is a recurring animal and item in The Legend of Zelda series.
Characteristics
A Link to the Past
The Golden Bee appears only in one area in A Link to the Past. Like a normal Bee, it can be caught and used to defeat enemies, and every boss except Mothula is immune to it. However, compared to regular Bees, it will remain by Link's side for a much longer period of time. To get it, Link must go to east side of Lake Hylia and enter the Ice Cave found there then use a Bomb inside to find a Fairy Fountain. There, Link has to Dash into the Fairy statue with the Pegasus Boots and the Golden Bee will appear. Link then must put it into a Bottle using the Bug Catching Net; unlike normal Bees, this rare kind leaves a sparkling trail as it flies and it will not fly away from Link's side until it has attacked many more enemies than the normal variety. Link can usually catch it again to reuse it, making it a valuable ally. If it does leave, Link can return to the Ice Cave to catch another.
A Link Between Worlds
The Golden Bee is found the same places as normal Bees (in grass and bushes), but it is much more rare. Golden Bees are marked by their golden aura when they fly.[2][3] A Golden Bee can also be purchased from a man in the forest surrounding Lost Woods for 888 Rupees.
When Link gives a Golden Bee to the Bee Guy, he receives the Bee Badge in return. Additional Golden Bees can be sold to the Bee Guy for 300 Rupees each.
Trivia
- In A Link to the Past, the only boss that Bees and Golden Bees can harm is Mothula. A single Golden Bee is not quite strong enough to defeat the monster on its own, however.
- In both the GBA and SNES versions of A Link to the Past, if Link goes to Kakariko Village and lets a Golden Bee loose near the Street Merchant, he will buy it for 100 Rupees.
- In the Game Boy Advance version of A Link to the Past, there is a shop that has a Golden Bee on display in the Village of Outcasts. However, Link cannot purchase it until he brings one of his own from the Ice Cave to the shopkeeper. The Fairy and normal Bee in the same shop are purchasable by default.
- The purchasing price of a Golden Bee in A Link Between Worlds, 888 Rupees, is based on a pun in Japanese which has no English equivalent; the Japanese words for "bee", 蜂 (Hachi), and "eight", 八 (Hachi), are homophones.
Nomenclature
In the version of A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Golden Bee was mistranslated from Japanese as "Good Bee". The name was corrected in A Link to the Past & Four Swords.[1]
 Names in other regions  | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | Meaning | |
 | Japanese | 黄金のハチ (Ōgon no Hachi)[4] | Same as English. |
| This table was generated using translation pages. | |||
Gallery
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The icon for a bottled Golden Bee from A Link to the Past -
Link catching the Golden Bee in the Ice Cave from A Link to the Past -
The icon for a bottled Golden Bee from A Link Between Worlds
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 125 (ALttP | ALBW)
- ↑ "You caught a golden bee! It's so bright and buzzy!" — N/A (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "You got a golden bee! It shines so bright and beautiful. Still..."bee" careful!" — N/A (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Vol. 1, Shogakukan, pg. 28 Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords, Shogakukan, pg. 14
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