Magic Meters,(TAoL | ALttP | OoT | MM | TWW)[1][2] also known as the Magic Gauge,(HW)[3] are recurring elements in The Legend of Zelda series.[name reference needed] It is a gameplay mechanic that measures Link's (or other playable protagonists) current amount of Magic Power remaining. Its HUD is seen beside or directly below the Life Gauge. If the meter is completely depleted, any items or Sword techniques that require such energy (Super Spin Attack, elemental Arrows, Deku Leaf, etc.) will be rendered useless until more magic is replenished. Magic Power can usually be regained by obtaining Magic Jars, drinking certain Potions, and visiting Great Fairy Fountains, though in some cases magic can be recovered by other methods such as using Chateau Romani or the Elixir Soup in Majora's Mask and The Wind Waker, respectively. Like the Life Gauge, the Magic Meter starts off small, but can be upgraded later in the quest.
The meter itself makes its first appearance in The Adventure of Link, but has not appeared in the mainline installments since The Wind Waker, likely due to modern games having different mechanics for using special items. However, it is used in Hyrule Warriors.
Overview
The Adventure of Link
In The Adventure of Link, the Magic Meter appears as a white bar on the HUD, which decreases when Magic is used. The Magic Meter can be upgraded using Experience or by finding Magic Containers.
A Link to the Past
In A Link to the Past, Link has the Magic Meter in his possession from the start of his adventure; no Item is needed to be found to acquire the Magic Meter. The Magic Meter can be replenished by picking up Magical Decanters found by cutting Grass, destroying Pots, or defeating Enemies. An upgrade for the Magic Meter can be obtained after sprinkling the Mad Batter with Magic Powder on the shrine next to the Dwarven Swordsmiths' house, cutting magic cost in half. Items that deplete the Magic Meter include the Magic Powder, the Bombos Medallion, the Quake Medallion, the Ether Medallion, the Fire Rod, the Ice Rod, the Cane of Somaria, the Cane of Byrna, and the Magic Cape. If Link is struck by a Bubble, his magic will be drained.
Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, the Magic Meter is given to Link along with the Spin Attack by the Great Fairy of Power near the entrance to the Death Mountain Crater.[4] Using the Spin Attack will drain part of the meter's energy.[5] The Magic Meter can be replenished by picking up Magic Jars found by cutting Grass, destroying Jars, or defeating enemies. The Magic Meter starts with a base of 48 Magic Power. An upgrade for the Magic Meter can be obtained from the Great Fairy of Wisdom in the Death Mountain Crater.[6][2] The upgraded Magic Meter brings the total MP from 48 to 96 (with the meter itself doubled in length) . Items that require the Magic Meter include the Lens of Truth, Farore's Wind, Nayru's Love, Din's Fire, Fire Arrows, Ice Arrows, and Light Arrows.
Majora's Mask
In Majora's Mask, the Magic Meter is given to Link as his Deku form after returning the orange Stray Fairy to the Fairy Fountain in Clock Town.[7] As in Ocarina of Time, the base Magic Power of the meter starts at 48. An upgrade for the Magic Meter can be obtained after returning all 15 Stray Fairies in the Snowhead Temple to their respective Fairy's Fountain and after returning all Stray Fairies in the Woodfall Temple to their respective fountain, which doubles the Magic Meter's maximum to 96. Items that drain the Magic Meter include the Magic Spin Attack, Fire Arrows, Ice Arrows, Light Arrows, and most special abilities of the transformation Masks. If the young Hero of Time drinks the rare Chateau Romani, alongside recovering Life Energy and Magic Power like a Blue Potion, the Magic Meter itself begins to flash blue, becoming infinite for the duration of the current three-day cycle.
The Wind Waker
In The Wind Waker, Link obtains the Magic Meter along with the Deku Leaf after helping the Great Deku Tree.[8] The Magic Meter can be replenished by picking up Magic Jars found by cutting Grass, destroying Vases, or defeating enemies. The Magic Meter starts with a base of 16 Magic Power, but this number can be doubled to 32 by a Great Fairy after defeating a Big Octo in the Two-Eye Reef.[9][10] Items that drain the Magic Meter include the Deku Leaf while flying, the Hero's Bow while shooting Fire Arrows, Ice Arrows or Light Arrows, the Great Spin Attack, and the Magic Armor.[11][12][13] In The Wind Waker HD, the Magic Armor drains Rupees instead of the Magic Meter.[14] If Link can replenish the Magic Meter alongside health by drinking the two-helping Elixir Soup, which can also double his strength until the Hero of Winds take damage. In the Forbidden Woods and Wind Temple, if Link is caught by Dexivines, the Magic Meter gradually drains as they absorb his magic energy until it empties or he breaks from with sword swipes.
Other Appearances
Hyrule Warriors
In Hyrule Warriors, the Magic Meter can only be filled by collecting Magic Jars, or when playing as Young Link and pressing the Strong Attack button to play the "Song of Time."[15] When it is full, Warriors can use the Focus Spirit ability.[16] Focus Spirit increases the Warrior's attack power, speed, and knockback resistance.[17] Different bonuses are granted upon defeating certain number of enemies; reaching those thresholds also refills the Magic Meter slightly.[17] These bonuses last as long as the Warrior is using Focus Spirit. When the Magic Meter runs out, the Warrior automatically performs a powerful attack. Focus Spirit can also be ended prematurely by using a Focus Spirit Attack.[18] The Magic Meter can also be filled by gathering around a Giant Boss with other Warriors and activating Smash Boost Power.[19] While under the effects of Smash Boost Power, the Magic Meter can be filled by attacking nearby enemies.[20] The Magic Meter is also used to use Fairy Magic.[21] The amount of the Magic Meter depleted by Fairy Magic can be changed based on different Fairy Clothing worn by the equipped Companion Fairy.[22]
Trivia
- During development of Ocarina of Time, only Link as the Hero of Time could use Magic.[23]
- Though usually shown as a horizontal bar, A Link to the Past and Hyrule Warriors notably has the Magic Meter positioned vertically.
Screenshot showing a Magic Meter in the beta version of Twilight Princess
- Early images of Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild show the Magic Meter, suggesting that they were intended to appear in the games at some point in development.[24] This is further supported by the fact that Green Chu Jelly can be obtained in the Nintendo Wii and Twilight Princess HD versions of the game by merging a Blue Chu and a Yellow Chu.[25] It was probably intended to refill the Magic Meter. Overall, it is unknown why the mechanic was scrapped in their final releases.
- In A Link to the Past, a 1/4 upgrade exists in the game's files but is unused in-game. It, however, can be accessed by hacking.
- Oddly, despite the Triforce is well-known to contain unimaginable energy, obtaining the Triforce of Courage has no effect on the Magic Meter (or general gameplay).
- In the 3D games, when the player selects their save file to begin gameplay, the Magic Meter is initially shown empty and then refills to the amount remaining from last played (unless already completely depleted). This also occurs if they resume the adventure after receiving a Game Over.
- In The Wind Waker, whenever the player controls Medli or Makar via "Command Melody", their stamina meters shown anytime they fly resembles the Magic Meter.
Although not a Magic Meter, the health bars in SoulCalibur II have a very similar appearance
- In the Namco fighting game SoulCalibur II, the Life Gauges of the playable fighters, including Link (Nintendo GameCube version only) bare a strong resemblance to the Magic Meter, as they are depicted as green horizontal bars.
Nomenclature
 Names in other regions  | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | Meaning | |
 | Japanese | 魔法メーター (Mahō Mētā)[26] | Same as English. |
 | FrenchEU | Compteur magique | Same as English. |
| This table was generated using translation pages. | |||
See Also
Gallery
-
The upgraded Magic Meter from A Link to the Past -
The Magic Gauge from Hyrule Warriors
References
- ↑ "Magic Meter" (A Link to the Past & Four Swords manual, pg. 16)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Your Magic Meter is enhanced!" — N/A (Ocarina of Time 3D)
- ↑ "Pick up Magic Jars to refill your Magic gauge." — Tutorial (Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition)
- ↑ "Welcome, Link! I am the Great Fairy of Power! I'm going to grant you a sword technique. Receive it now!" — Great Fairy of Power (Ocarina of Time 3D)
- ↑ "When you charge power for a Spin Attack, magic power will be consumed. Pay attention to your green Magic Meter!" — Great Fairy of Power (Ocarina of Time 3D)
- ↑ "Welcome, Link! I am the Great Fairy of Wisdom! I will grant you an enhancement to your magic power. Receive it now!" — Great Fairy of Wisdom (Ocarina of Time 3D)
- ↑ "Tatl, and you, young one of the altered shape... Thank you for returning my broken and shattered body to normal. I am the Great Fairy of Magic. I thought that masked child was helping me, and I grew careless. All I can offer you is this: I shall grant you magic power as a sign of my gratitude. Please accept it!" — Great Fairy of Magic (Majora's Mask 3D)
- ↑ "You must use the item I shall bestow upon you and fly through the sky!" — Great Deku Tree (The Wind Waker HD)
- ↑ "Oh, waker of the winds... Thanks to you, I have been freed from that beast's foul grasp... As thanks, I shall give you just a little of my power..." — Great Fairy (The Wind Waker HD)
- ↑ "Your magic power has increased! You now have twice as much as what you had before!" — N/A (The Wind Waker HD)
- ↑ "You can also jump in the air and use your magic power to drift on the currents of the wind!" — N/A (The Wind Waker HD)
- ↑ "You learned the Hurricane Spin!
Hold
to build up your power, and then release it to perform a whirling attack with your blade. Remember, it consumes magic power." — N/A (The Wind Waker HD)
- ↑ "You got the Magic Armor!
Use your magic power to create a barrier around you that protects you from enemy attacks!" — N/A (The Wind Waker) - ↑ "You got the Magic Armor!
Use your Rupees to create a barrier around you that protects you from enemy attacks!" — N/A (The Wind Waker HD) - ↑ "Pick up Magic Jars to refill your Magic gauge." — Tutorial (Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition)
- ↑ "When your Magic gauge is full, you can use a technique called Focus Spirit." — Tutorial (Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition)
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "While Focus Spirit is active, attack power and speed increase, incoming knock-back damage is reduced, and defeating certain number of enemies will yield various special bonuses." — Tutorial (Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition)
- ↑ "Press
while under the effects of Focus Spirit to completely consume your Magic gauge, allowing you to use a Focus Spirit Attack that topples opponents, exposing Weak Points." — Tutorial (Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition)
- ↑ "If two playable warriors get together, 50% of their Magic gauges will instantly fill!" — Tutorial (Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition)
- ↑ "Plus, you will be able to refill the Magic gauge just by attacking enemies!" — Tutorial (Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition)
- ↑ "Press
when the icon below the Magic gauge is glowing to deplete the gauge and trigger powerful Fairy Magic!" — Tutorial (Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition)
- ↑ "Each fairy clothing item has one effect that will change either the amount of damage inflicted by Fairy Magic or the amount of Magic Power used." — Tutorial (Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition)
- ↑ "But what's the MAIN difference? Perhaps magic, since you can only use it when Link is an adult." —Shigeru Miyamoto (The Z-Files)
- ↑ Nintendo, Wii U - The Legend of Zelda - Gameplay First Look from The Game Awards, YouTube, published December 5, 2014, retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ↑ TheStrawhatNO, Green Chu Jelly (LoZ: Twilight Princess), YouTube, published September 27, 2012.
- ↑ A Link to the Past manual, pg. 14