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* PetTheDog: Ganondorf promises Link he won't kill him. [[SubvertedTrope Not only does he quickly break this promise, but he made it after beating the boy silly with nothing but his fists]]. Granted, this was ''before'' [[spoiler:the King of Hyrule came out of nowhere and single-handedly ruined his plans when he was seconds away from achieving his goal]]. Needless to say, Ganondorf was pissed off, so it's not surprising that he would go back on his word. Chances are, [[spoiler:had the King not interfered]], he actually would have let Link off with just the beating. [[spoiler:Not to mention that even during this fight, Ganondorf chooses to OHKO the Princess at the halfway point instead of putting an Error Code 404 on her birth certificate.]]
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* PetTheDog: Ganondorf promises Link he won't kill him. [[SubvertedTrope Not only does he quickly break this promise, but he made it after beating the boy silly with nothing but his fists]]. Granted, this was ''before'' [[spoiler:the King of Hyrule came out of nowhere and single-handedly ruined his plans when he was seconds away from achieving his goal]]. Needless to say, Ganondorf was pissed off, so it's not surprising that he would go back on his word. Chances are, [[spoiler:had the King not interfered]], he actually would have let Link off with just the beating. [[spoiler:Not to mention that even during this fight, Ganondorf chooses to OHKO the Princess at the halfway point instead of putting an a 404 Error Code 404 on her birth certificate.]]
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Changed line(s) 98 (click to see context) from:
* PetTheDog: Ganondorf promises Link he won't kill him. [[SubvertedTrope Not only does he quickly break this promise, but he made it after beating the boy silly with nothing but his fists]]. Granted, this was ''before'' [[spoiler:the King of Hyrule came out of nowhere and single-handedly ruined his plans when he was seconds away from achieving his goal]]. Needless to say, Ganondorf was pissed off, so it's not surprising that he would go back on his word. Chances are, [[spoiler:had the King not interfered]], he actually would have let Link off with just the beating.
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* PetTheDog: Ganondorf promises Link he won't kill him. [[SubvertedTrope Not only does he quickly break this promise, but he made it after beating the boy silly with nothing but his fists]]. Granted, this was ''before'' [[spoiler:the King of Hyrule came out of nowhere and single-handedly ruined his plans when he was seconds away from achieving his goal]]. Needless to say, Ganondorf was pissed off, so it's not surprising that he would go back on his word. Chances are, [[spoiler:had the King not interfered]], he actually would have let Link off with just the beating. [[spoiler:Not to mention that even during this fight, Ganondorf chooses to OHKO the Princess at the halfway point instead of putting an Error Code 404 on her birth certificate.]]
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'''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Main Index]]''' | '''[[TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker/TropesAToM A to M]]''' | '''N to Z'''
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[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:N-Q]]
* NaginatasAreFeminine: Inverted. The weapons used by the grotesquely muscular Moblins are naginatas. Link can pick them up and use them as weapons, but as they're easily three times his size, he's rather clumsy with them.
* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight: The first two times Link confronts Ganondorf, he has the Master Sword while his enemy relies on his fists. He gets beaten down both times for his trouble. [[spoiler:In fact, Ganondorf is only defeated when he actually uses weapons against Link. When Ganondorf's plan to dominate Hyrule is ruined for good, he pulls out a pair of katanas for a final attack and gets impaled through the head]].
* NewGamePlus: Beating the game once unlocks the Second Quest. Second Quest keeps Link in his Outset Island clothes that he's wearing before putting on the Hero's Tunic, translates the Ancient Hylian text (though Link is still dumbfounded by it), gives you the Deluxe Picto Box right off the bat, and keeps your Nintendo Gallery progress so you can have another go at the figurines you missed ([[PermanentlyMissableContent miss them a second time, however, and you're screwed]]). References to Link's clothes are also slightly changed to accommodate his differing outfit, and the sunken treasure you can pinpoint after collecting and opening the Treasure Charts will be slightly further away from their original position, making their locations more difficult (this also applies to the Triforce Shards).
* NewSkillAsReward: If you bring enough Knight's Crests to Orca, he'll teach you the Hurricane Spin, an enhanced version of your SpinAttack.
* NewWeaponTargetRange:
** The room where you obtain the Boomerang locks you in for the miniboss and doesn't immediately open upon defeating it. You have to use your new item to hit out-of-reach switches above the door to get out.
** Getting the Master Sword causes the time stop on Hyrule Castle to be undone, allowing the powerful enemies frozen within to roam free. This gives players a quick chance to use their new weapon.
* NonLethalBottomlessPits: Falling into a pit only makes you lose a quarter of a heart.
* NowWhereWasIGoingAgain: The King of Red Lions clues Link into the next objective whenever he is spoken to.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** Once again. Why does Link always end up accidentally helping the evil he's supposed to kill? ''Ocarina of Time'', the ''Oracle'' games, ''Four Swords''... and now THIS. This time, when getting the Master Sword, he unlocks not only the monsters from their stasis but also [[spoiler:gives Ganondorf his power back. And the Master Sword lost its power long before Link even pulled it, meaning he can't even fight Ganondorf]].
** This one isn't explicitly pointed out, but [[spoiler:by assembling the Triforce of Courage to go after Ganondorf, Link allows him to get his wish]].
* TheNightThatNeverEnds: Ganondorf places the world under a curse of a perpetual night from the time you arrive on Greatfish Isle until you find Nayru's Pearl. In this instance, it works out in your favour; the pirates are also seeking the pearl, but they've stopped at Windfall Island for the night and claim they'll set off on their adventure when morning comes.
* NoblewomansLaugh: Courtesy of the Great Fairies.
* NoGearLevel: During the game's prologue, Link arrives at the Forsaken Fortress via catapult and loses his sword in transit, requiring the use of stealth until the sword is recovered.
* NoHeroDiscount:
** Exaggerated with Bomb-Master [[MeaningfulName Cannon]], who sells his bombs for prices several orders of magnitude above what you can possibly carry. This isn't intended as a CashGate, but as a BrokenBridge, and bombs can be bought for normal prices after the pirates rob the merchant of his bombs as part of the story. Prior to that, the merchant seems [[CardCarryingVillain mighty pleased with his greedy exploitation of his monopoly]], seemingly forgetting that, monopoly or not, he's not making money: no one can buy his wares because they cost more than the combined wealth of the world.
** Tingle charges 398 Rupees to decipher each of the eight maps needed to find the pieces of the Triforce. You have to get the first wallet upgrade to even pay this.[[labelnote:However]]In the HD remake, the base wallet amount is upped to 500 Rupees, so you don't need the first upgrade to be able to decipher the charts.[[/labelnote]] Luckily, you can hold up to 5000 Rupees after finding both wallet upgrades, a big jump from previous ''Zelda'' games.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Ganondorf beats the living crap out of Link with nothing but his fists in one cutscene.
* NoHuggingNoKissing: The game mostly tries to avoid giving Link such an UnwantedHarem, with Medli instead being slightly attracted to Prince Komali, the two girls on Windfall island either having different problems or already being in love, and Aryll being, well, his sister. Only the creepy fairy-queen is seen flirting with him and she's never seen again after that.
* NoItemUseForYou: The Gohma, Kalle Demos, Jalhalla, and Molgera rematches in Ganon's Tower take away any and all items that were not present in your inventory at the time of the initial battle. Link's bottle collection is left intact, however.
* NonCombatantImmunity: When you first enter the Forsaken Fortress, you lose your sword on the way there and you have nothing else in your inventory that you can use as a weapon. The whole fortress is played in stealth mode and being spotted gets you thrown into a [[CardboardPrison flimsy jail]] instead of attacking you. Once you do get your sword back, you can effectively kill the mooks patrolling around but they will fight back as well.
* NoobCave: The Forest of Fairies in Outset Island, and sometime later the shockingly difficult navigation around the Forsaken Fortress without your weapon until the end where you fight a Bokoblin as a WarmupBoss. Your journey here when you have the Master Sword is actually much easier.
* NoodleIncident: "The Forsaken Fortress? Isn't that the place where..." This sentence is never finished.
* NoPlaceForMeThere: [[spoiler:Why King Hyrule doesn't go with Link and Tetra to the surface. He realized that Hyrule was a dead land, and he, like Ganondorf, couldn't let go of it. Instead, he tells the kids the new land would be theirs before they go]].
* NostalgiaLevel: At one point in the Forbidden Woods dungeon, Link comes across the remnants of [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Kokiri Village]].
* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: The theme of the game, more or less, is that nothing can resist the winds of change. The point is driven home by the ending, in which [[spoiler:Ganondorf, the Master Sword, and Hyrule - the three major constants of the Zelda series - are forever sealed and buried under the ocean by the power of the Triforce]].
* NoticeThis: If you let Link stand still for a short while, his eyes will eventually drift toward whatever nearby object or feature happens to be relevant.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: [[spoiler:The King says that, in a sense, he was the same as Ganondorf, being unable to let go of a dying land]].
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: Ganondorf makes a climactic speech [[FreudianExcuse explaining his motive to conquer Hyrule]], saying he came from a harsh desert country where the wind brought only death whereas Hyrule's wind was so pleasant that he coveted it. However, nowhere in this speech does Ganondorf claim he was doing this to help his people, the Gerudo, nor does [[BrutalHonesty he pretend that his wish is anything but personal and selfish in nature]]. If he had any well-intentioned motives, [[MotiveDecay they had eroded away]] long ago and he's only now recalling them in hindsight.
* NouveauRiche: There is a poor man on Windfall Island who begs and moans for you to rescue his kidnapped daughter Maggie. When she is rescued, she brings back a load of Skull Necklaces (which look like junk but are secretly worth a lot of money), which he uses to become rich overnight. This turns him into an extremely arrogant rich man. He's a direct {{Foil}} to an ImpoverishedPatrician on the same island.
* OceanOfAdventure: The game is set in the Great Sea, what remains of Hyrule after a global flood turned it into a vast ocean dotted with islands that once were mountaintops, and which in the game's present have become home to some insular communities ranging from Hylian towns to the villages of nonhuman races to forbidding fortresses of monstrous pirates. The game follows Link as he sails from island to island, plums the seas for treasure, fights off sea monsters and hostile warships and uncovers the ancient legacy of Hyrule locked deep beneath the waves.
* OceanPunk: The game's setting is the Great Sea and the islands within, which stands out from the earthly kingdoms of previous games in the series. Over the course of the game, it is revealed that the Great Sea takes place AfterTheEnd, being what remains after [[spoiler:the ancient kingdom of Hyrule, as seen in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', was flooded by the gods to protect it from Ganondorf when the Hero of Time did not reappear to save it. The islands of the sea are actually the mountaintops of the ancient kingdom]]. Whereas most inhabitants enjoy a peaceful rural life in the biggest islands, pirates and divers sail the waters of the sea to find treasure. The evil forces, powered by Ganondorf, developed warlike technology in the form of warships and installed watchtowers armed with wall cannons.
* OddNameOut: The Tingle brothers: Tingle, Ankle, Knuckle, and David Jr. The latter having a different kind of name is justified for not being actually related to Tingle.
* OffhandBackhand: If, while targeting one enemy, another sneaks up behind, Link will strike both with one wide swing if they're close enough.
* OfficialCouple: Anton and Linda. The sidequest to upgrade the Picto Box to its Deluxe version already touches upon the mutual feelings the two feel (as one of the objectives is to take a shot at them during the exact moment they're watching face-to-face). Once the Picto Box can take pictures in color, it'll be possible to start reuniting the two so they can have a date and declare their feelings to each other. [[DidNotGetTheGirl Kamo doesn't take this well]], as he's in love with Linda as well.
* OffScreenTeleportation: No matter how fast you sail between Windfall and Spectacle Island, Salvatore will be there to run his minigame. The same applies to Loot and the Boating Coarse.
* OhCrap: Link in one cutscene, when he realizes that [[spoiler:his magic sword doesn't work]] and [[spoiler:Ganondorf]] has a giant katana pointed at him. He gets another, split-second one later when [[spoiler:Molgera starts screaming]].
* OjouRinglets: Mila is a RichBitch and has parted straight bangs that curl into tight ringlets in front of her ears. She loses them after her family goes from RichesToRags.
* OlderAndWiser: Ganondorf returns this way after his defeat in ''Ocarina of Time'', now sporting a surprisingly effective BeardOfEvil, having become much more calm and calculating than he was in his youth, preferring to control events from the shadows as opposed to out in the open with his magic and hordes of evil. Fittingly, however, he reverts to his fury of the old days during the final battle.
* OldMaster: Orca, the swordmaster of Outset Island, is quite spry for his age, and trains Link with the sword.
* OminousLatinChanting: The Tower of the Gods combines this with OneWomanWail, to go along with the dungeon's regal theme. The game also employs some disturbing chanting in its remix of Ganondorf's theme song.
* OneHitKill:
** If you pour Forest Water on Kalle Demos, the boss will die instantly.
** After obtaining the Fire and Ice Arrows, Link is given the option of using the latter arrows to freeze enemies solid and then smash them to pieces by either throwing their frozen body or using the Skull Hammer, which works even on ''Darknuts'' if you're quick enough. The Fire Arrows, meanwhile, can be used to kill Mothulas (which have a MiniBoss tier) instantly.
** Though the Light/Silver arrows in previous games were already exceptionally powerful, it's more evident in this game, where they're capable of disintegrating the enemies' bodies in an explosion of light.
* OneHitPolykill: The Light Arrows are powerful enough to kill mook after mook as they go after being shot. This isn't the case for the other ''Zelda'' games where they appear.
* OneOfTheseDoorsIsNotLikeTheOther: In the second half of Ganon's Tower, a maze can be navigated only after Link kills the Phantom Ganon in each room and sees [[spoiler:which direction its sword's ''handle'' falls.]]
* OneTimeDungeon:
** Tetra's Ship is only ever visited at two points during the game. The first time is when Link joins Tetra's crew at the beginning of the game; the ship goes away after Link arrives at the Forsaken Fortress. The second time is when the ship is docked at Windfall; it will vanish after Link obtains Nayru's Pearl. The ship is seen again during the ending cutscene.
** The Ghost Ship will permanently disappear the moment Link collects the treasure that's inside.[[note]]A Triforce Chart in the [[Platform/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] version, replaced with a Triforce Shard in the Platform/WiiU version.[[/note]] Upon receiving the treasure, the screen will fade to black, and Link will reappear back on the open sea upon the King of Red Lions.
** {{Subverted|trope}} with the Forsaken Fortress, which sits completely abandoned after Link rescues Aryll and defeats the Helmaroc King, save for a few Keese, Rats, and the lone Floormaster that will put Link in the prison from when he lost his sword during the first visit. Link can still revisit the fortress, especially through the portal activated in Ganon's Tower, but the chambers for the Helmaroc King (consisting of the prison where Aryll was locked up along with Maggie and Mila and the top of the tower) and Ganon (the old pirate ship, also at the top of the tower) cannot be accessed again due to the old ship being burned up by Valoo just after Link and Tetra ([[spoiler:later revealed to be Princess Zelda]]) escape with Komali and Quill. Moreover, if Link forgets to collect the Heart Container dropped by the Helmaroc King, he can still retrieve it in the exact same place where his sword dropped after being launched in.
* OneToMillionToOne: Jalhalla, boss of the Earth Temple. Killing the smaller parts is what actually harms it, as evidenced by its life bar.
* OneTrueSequence: Although travelling can be anywhere, the game's main quest is still linear; unlike the earlier games, you ''have'' to complete dungeons in the order the game wants you to. You may, however, collect the Triforce Shards in any order and either before or after completing the Earth and Wind Temples; this is still more than what most of the later games allow.
* OneWingedAngel: [[AvertedTrope The first game in the series where you fight Ganondorf, but not in his boar form]]. Puppet Ganon, on the other hand, does this happily. ''Twice''.
* OneWomanWail: The game uses one in the "enemy encounter at sea" music. It employs VariableMix when either Link or the enemy receives the first hit.
* OnlyGoodPeopleMayPass: After ''[[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', the previous ChosenOne that wielded the Master Sword was sent back to his original time, thus breaking the cycle of reincarnation which spawns a new Chosen One. The Tower of the Gods was created to test anyone who wanted to wield the sword in the future, and it requires three pearls that embody the virtues of the goddesses themselves to unlock it.
* OnlyIdiotsMayPass: When you find the pirate ship docked at Windfall Island, the first logical step would appear to be to board the ship and see what's up. Entering the ship requires you to give the password, a horribly punny answer to a pirate riddle. It's possible (and, in some cases, quite easy) to guess the password, but you'll still be turned away unless you've visited the secret entrance to an unremarkable building in the city and overheard the password yourself. The game {{Hand Wave}}s this by implying that you need to say it "exactly right" (inflections and all, apparently).
* OnlyShopInTown:
** Beedle's shop ship is this for most of the overworld.
** The [[{{Jerkass}} owner of the Bomb Shop on Windfall]] takes pride in the fact that he's the only resident of the Great Sea in the bomb-selling business, and uses it to set ridiculously sky-high prices for his bombs; though later on, he [[spoiler:[[TookALevelInKindness takes a level in kidness]] due to the pirate influence, and his prices become much more reasonable]].
* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: The game puts a twist on this; since the Link from this game is TheUnchosenOne, he must first collect three {{MacGuffin}}s ''and'' fight his way through a massive dungeon just to reach the Master Sword, and then [[spoiler:fight his way out again once he has it in his hands]]. And then it turns out [[spoiler:that it wasn't at full power anyway, and Link must put in even ''more'' effort to restore it before it can serve its intended purpose]].
* OnlyTheWorthyMayPass: One must beat The Tower of the Gods before being given access to [[spoiler:the submerged Hyrule]]. And said Tower is only attainable if you have the pearls of the goddesses in the right places, which must be obtained from their respective guardians.
* OpeningNarration: It recounts the legend of the Hero of Time (albeit not without some FutureImperfect) and the story of the ancient kingdom's disappearance. And it's in what seems to be storybook form, complete with ink illustrations.
* OpeningTheSandbox: When you first gain the ability to sail, you can only sail from Windfall Island to Dragon Roost Island, at which point the King of Red Lions won't let you leave until you've obtained the first pearl. After that, you can only travel to the map squares connecting Windfall, Dragon Roost, and Forest Haven. After getting the second pearl, you can sail anywhere except the Forsaken Fortress ([[TakeYourTime despite the King's insistence that you head to Greatfish Isle immediately]]). Of course, it might be worth it to stay on track until you at least learn the [[WarpWhistle Ballad of Gales]] (for which you have to defeat Cyclos by shooting arrows, a weapon housed in the Tower of the Gods), to make navigation more efficient.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: Averted. Ganondorf is ''incredibly'' proactive here - he sends out the Helmaroc King to find Zelda before the game starts, nukes Greatfish Isle so Link can't get the final Pearl (even though Jabun escaped), and kills the Sages of Wind and Earth to depower the Master Sword. And when it seems like Link and the King of Red Lions are one step ahead of him by restoring the Master Sword's power and reassembling the Triforce of Courage, [[spoiler:Ganondorf returns to Hyrule before his two enemies do and kidnaps Princess Zelda]].
* OrphansPlotTrinket: Tetra's charm turns out to actually be [[spoiler:a piece of the Triforce, passed down by the royal family, meaning she's really the current Queen - er, [[PrincessRule Princess]] Zelda]].
* OurFairiesAreDifferent: Here, they're tiny, humanoid women with wings and magic wands, rather than the winged balls of light the previous two 3D ''Zelda'' games used.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Implied. Since Link and his sister Aryll have been [[RaisedByGrandparents raised by their grandmother]], it most likely means that their parents are dead, so Granny outlived whichever of their parents was her child.
* OutOfGenreExperience: This happens as early as the first dungeon when you lose your sword. The tone also feels completely different from the rest of the game, being dark and dank, and you'll find yourself moving slowly, crouching, sidling along walls and hiding inside barrels a la the cardboard box from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''. You also have to take out the searchlight operators in order to be able to move on.
* OutsideTheBoxTactic: [=ReDeads=] are particularly infamous in this game compared to the rest of the series, as it would seem ''only'' Link's sword can kill them. Arrows harmlessly poke them at best, and [[FacePlant using the Hookshot is suicide]]. However, being either an oversight on the dev team ''or'' because they couldn't figure out how to reasonably program it, [=ReDeads=] aren't immune to ''bombs''. As such, the easiest way to deal with them is to chuck bombs in their direction while keeping back to not aggro them. This tactic is especially useful in Hero Mode, where [=ReDeads=] can ''very'' quickly eat through all your health.
* TheOverworld: The Great Sea serves this role, an interesting take on the concept being that you have to traverse by boat. There are small islands that have nuances you can explore but, it's mostly just open ocean.
* OxygenMeter: The game does not have any underwater breathing, but does have a stamina bar to prevent you from swimming from island to island (which can only be done by sailing your boat).
* PalmtreePanic: A good deal of the overworld has this since the Great Sea originated from the Great Flood that sank Hyrule to prevent Ganondorf from taking over it by force.
* PanUpToTheSkyEnding: [[spoiler:The final scene of the game after the end credits is a pan up from Link and the pirates to the sky, as the "THE END" logo appears.]]
* ParentalAbandonment: Link and Aryll's parents are nowhere to be seen and never mentioned. They live with their grandmother on Outset.
* PartlyCloudyWithAChanceOfDeath: It's mostly sunny when the FinalBoss battle starts, but it soon darkens and starts raining heavily [[spoiler:(literally as heavy as the entire ocean)]]. The battle ends with the death of [[spoiler:Ganondorf (who doesn't get better this time around), the King of Hyrule, and Hyrule itself]].
* PeoplePuppets: A heroic example. Link learns the [[MagicMusic Command Melody]] which allows the player to control someone else. It's mainly used to control statues and willing partners like Medli and Makar.
* PermanentlyMissableContent:
** There are several characters and creatures that have limited appearances in the game, thus providing scant opportunities to take photos of them for the Nintendo Gallery sidequest.
*** The Helmaroc King: While most of the other dungeon bosses have rematches at the end of the game, your only opportunity for this is to take a photo during the boss fight with it.
*** Kogoli the Rito: For some unexplained reason, he ceases to exist after Medli awakens as a sage. He's the Rito standing just inside the mail centre by night and on one of the platforms outside by day.
*** Tetra and her crew: Take a photo of Tetra while leading her through [[spoiler:the submerged Hyrule]], or before being launched into the Forsaken Fortress on a NewGamePlus. This also gives you figurines for all her subordinate pirates.
*** Big Octo: There's a finite amount of them as minibosses; take a photo of one before slaying all six.
*** Cyclos: Take a photo of him during a "battle" with him, any time before nailing him with three arrows. This figurine also comes with his brother Zephos.
*** Red Wizzrobe: Fought only once, as the Wind Temple's miniboss. Snag a snapshot before bagging him.
*** Phantom Ganon: If you miss your shot during the Forsaken Fortress, you'll have many retries in his maze later, but once you shoot him with a Light Arrow he's gone for good.
*** [[spoiler:Puppet Ganon]]: Take a photo during the battle against it, and exit the area to have it sculpted.
** Due to him being a hidden character who requires a Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable to make him appear, Knuckle is considered optional for completing the Nintendo Gallery. However, if you obtain every other figurine in the Nintendo Gallery without submitting a pictograph of Knuckle in the interim, you can't get his figurine due to Carlov having left, considering the gallery to be complete without Knuckle.
** Before the Miiverse shutdown, the HD remaster made it possible to acquire any figurine you've missed by obtaining a picture for it from a Tingle Bottle, although this led to a LuckBasedMission, as there was no way to decide what messages you would have gotten. Knuckle is now also required to complete the Gallery, with his description even [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] his original non-required status.
* PerpetualMolt: The Helmaroc King in Forsaken Fortress, which constantly drops black feathers while it flies. Its appearance in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' goes the weaponizing route with FeatherFlechettes.
* PerpetualStorm: There is a moment in which Ganondorf curses the Great Sea, causing an endless stormy night in order to hinder Link. Jabun lifts the curse when he deems Link worthy to enter the Tower of the Gods.
* PersonalSpaceInvader: Morths are burr-like enemies that attach themselves to Link. While incapable of damaging Link, Morths will slow down his movement until he can shake them off. The more Morths that are attached to Link, the slower he becomes.
* PetTheDog: Ganondorf promises Link he won't kill him. [[SubvertedTrope Not only does he quickly break this promise, but he made it after beating the boy silly with nothing but his fists]]. Granted, this was ''before'' [[spoiler:the King of Hyrule came out of nowhere and single-handedly ruined his plans when he was seconds away from achieving his goal]]. Needless to say, Ganondorf was pissed off, so it's not surprising that he would go back on his word. Chances are, [[spoiler:had the King not interfered]], he actually would have let Link off with just the beating.
* PhysicalGod: Zephos and his brother Cyclos are wind gods, and they appear in the form of frogs riding clouds.
* PillarOfLight:
** Pillars that show the position of any treasure you have a chart for as long as you're not too close,
** Pillars that warp you out of the Boss Arena,
** Even a Pillar that shines briefly before stopping to reveal a stone with the instructions for the Command Melody on it.
* PimpedOutDress: Mila wears a pink one until her father gives away his fortune to save her. After Maggie's father gets his fortune, she wears a similar purple dress.
* {{Pirate}}: Tetra leads a group of them, and they're the scourge of the ocean and a band of misfits, no less. She mentions another group of pirates that were once [[TheRival rivals]] to her own, but they're never seen in-game.
* PirateGirl: Tetra, who is the captain of a pirate crew despite her young age. [[spoiler:Later, Aryll becomes one while travelling with the crew while Tetra (now Zelda) is in Hyrule Castle]].
* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Windfall Island is full of big, burly sailors... who are never seen doing any actual seafaring. One of them outright refuses to sell Link a sail by citing that he needs it to earn his living, yet Link's boat is always the only one at the docks.
* PivotalBoss: Gohma and Kalle Demos. The former is a giant Magtail monster that attacks from a pool of lava, while the latter is a plant creature rooted to the floor.
* PlatformActivatedAbility: The default function of the song Wind's Requiem is to change the direction of the wind when it's played outdoors in the overworld. Indoors, it's useless because there's no wind to control... unless you spot a round eolic emblem in the floor. If you stand on it and play the song, a gust of wind will appear to unveil a treasure chest in a nearby marked spot.
* PlayerGuidedMissile: The game introduces the ability to control seagulls after feeding them a special fruit. They can then be guided to hit switches and collect rupees and other things.
* PlotCoupon: Three Goddess Pearls to unveil the Tower of the Gods (which holds the secret to access the whereabouts of Hyrule), then the blessing of two temple Sages to empower the Master Sword, and finally the eight pieces of the Triforce of Courage to return to Hyrule.
* PlotTunnel: Your voyaging across the sea is pretty limited for the first couple dungeons. Even after obtaining your own boat to sail, the King of Red Lions will only let you travel from Windfall Island directly east to Dragon Roost. Once you reach Dragon Roost, he won't let you leave until you have what you came there for. And once that's accomplished, he'll only let you sail either directly west back to Windfall or directly south to the next island, Forest Haven. Only once you've finished with the Forest Haven does the rest of the world open up to you, since the routes between islands are a lot less lineated after that.
* APlotInDeed: One of the Triforce Charts that pinpoints the location of the sunken fragments of the Triforce of Courage is located in Miss Marie's cabana, on a Private Oasis northwest of Forest Haven. The problem is that she still owns the island legally (despite living on Windfall Island), so Link has to acquire the Cabana Deed from her in order to inherit the property. He can receive it by gifting her 20 Joy Pendants as part of her incoming birthday.
* PointyEars: Link and his family, Tetra, and some other human characters. The word [[spoiler:"Hylian"]] is never used ([[JustifiedTrope justified]] with the fact that [[spoiler:the kingdom of Hyrule is lost beneath the waves, and the people don't even remember its name]]). Quill mentions that the Helmaroc King is only kidnapping young human girls with "long ears," and it's unknown to him that it's because one of them might be [[spoiler:Princess Zelda]]. The Rito also have them, on another note.
* PostDefeatExplosionChain: After Link delivers the killing blow to Molgera, the giant SandWorm guarding the Wind Temple, it flies into the air screeching; its body segments then turn to sand and promptly explode one after the other.
* ThePrecariousLedge: There are a few of these occurrences during which you have to get past using the "sidle" command. You're fine as long as you don't let up the 'A' button.
* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang: For the first time in a 3D Zelda game, the Boomerang physically locks onto multiple targets when you aim and will hit them all when you release. And it's not even said to be magic!
* PreExplosionGlow:
** The Armos. After being exploded/receiving an arrow in the back or being fed with bombs/hit enough in the back, they start hopping around madly and eventually explode, glowing in-between.
** Once Link uses all the goddess pearls, the three statues he placed them in give off a glow and explode, revealing the inner statues. Link sees the last statue as it begins glowing and runs away to avoid the imminent blast. [[WrongGenreSavvy Nothing happens.]] He gets back up to see what's going on... and the statue explodes, [[ButtMonkey sending him flying]].
* PreFinalBoss: Ganon first uses a giant puppet (Puppet Ganon) to wear Link down before their fight.
* PrisonEpisode: The Forsaken Fortress. When Link ventures through it the first time, he's unarmed due to losing his sword at the start; if he gets caught by the patrolling Moblins, he'll be imprisoned and will need to escape. The second time he visits this dungeon, he not only has the Master Sword at hand but is also better prepared overall, so he can confront whoever sees him.
* PrizedPossessionGiveaway: Played with Aryll's telescope. This instrument is Aryll's most valued possession, so she ''lends'' it to Link during his birthday and tells him that she wants it back when the day ends. When Aryll is rescued after her kidnapping, she writes a letter to Link telling him that she'll let him use the telescope for as long as necessary (thus making the item a permanent one in the inventory gameplay-wise), though it's never shown in the ending whether Link returns it to her or she lets him keep it for real. This is referenced jokingly in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'', where a Link wannabe called Nyeve gives the real Link a kaleidoscope he "received from his sister" (he then admits he just found it during his travels).
* ProductDeliveryOrdeal: After Makar is rescued by Link in the Forbidden Woods, he and the other Koroks perform the Korok ceremony, and those fellows resolve to travel all over the Great Sea to plant seeds in other islands so new forests are born. However, when Link meets any of those Koroks, he's told that the trees will only grow in full when poured with Forest Water, so he has to return to Forest Haven and scoop some water with a bottle to travel to every island having a Korok tree and water it. Besides the long distance between the islands (and some of them having perilous obstacles, like the moving thorny branches in Cliff Plateau Isles), there's the bigger caveat that the magical effect of the Forest Water will expire after 20 minutes past the moment when Link leaves Forest Haven, so he must hurry (this also makes this quest impossible without learning the Ballad of Gales first). The game's Wii U version makes this quest easier by extending the time limit to 30 minutes and providing the option of traveling faster with the Swift Sail.
* ProlongedPrologue: The beginning of the game is quite different from the rest of it: you start on a tiny island with no weapons, hang out with a cast of pirates and are carted around on their ship, lose your equipment and have to spend about an hour doing a StealthBasedMission (the only one in the entire game), and then have to do several fetch quests for various townspeople. It's only about 3 and a half hours into the game when you finally have your equipment and your own boat that the game catches its stride.
* PromotedFanboy: Two InUniverse examples:
** The two humans who are obsessed with and dress like the Rito. The Rito sponsor their flying contest.
** The figure fan walking around the Nintendo Gallery can have a figure made of himself.
* PunnyName:
** Medli's name is a multi-lingual HurricaneOfPuns in and of itself. To clarify, the name ''Medli'', obtained during translation to English by removing the O of the original phonemic name ''Medori'', is close to and sounds like the musical term ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medley_%28music%29 Medley]]''. Now in addition to that, the French and German translations brought ''back'' the O and changed her name ''again'' to ''Médolie''. ''Médolie'' is a simple anagram of the French (and German) word ''Mélodie'', the meaning of which you can probably guess (it's not a false friend). It's anyone's guess whether Medli's name is a series of exceptionally fortunate coincidences or some [[OverlyPrePreparedGag ridiculously extensive forethought]] on the part of the developers. [[TakeAThirdOption Or, you know,]] [[OverlyLongGag a bit of both]].
** As a side note, "dori" in "Medori" is one way to read the character for "bird," another being "tori," which in Japanese is "Rito" backwards. Add that to the fact that "Rito" [[WordofGod intentionally]] sounds like "Ruto," the name of the princess whose race is ancestral to the Rito, and you have a very significant spin-off [[HurricaneOfPuns hurricane]].
** Also, Medli. Makar. Medley Maker. And if you make a medley of the songs that the two characters play, it creates the game's main theme.
* PuzzleBoss: Not unusual for ''Zelda'' games, and in this very game most bosses invoke this to varying degrees, but special mention to [[spoiler:Ganondorf, who actually learns to parry more of Link's attacks as the battle goes on. He'll also start dodging Zelda's Light Arrows, forcing you to get a bit creative]].
* PuzzleReset: Block puzzles that could otherwise end up being [[UnwinnableByDesign permanently flubbed]] can be reset by exiting the room or area and coming back. Such is the case of the block stacks in a room within Dragon Roost Cavern and an underground cave in Angular Isles.
* QuadDamage: The Elixir Soup doubles Link's attack power until the next time he is hit by an enemy or hazard.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:R-T]]
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: This turns out to be the crux of Ganondorf's plot. At the climax of the story, Ganondorf explains to Link the reality of the Great Sea for the descendants of Hyrule, calling them unfortunate souls abandoned and destroyed by their gods. His plan is to use the Triforce and force the gods to restore Hyrule back to its former glory... [[DespotismJustifiesTheMeans under his rule]].
* RagsToRiches: Maggie and her father go from homeless to uber-rich overnight after Maggie is rescued from the Forsaken Fortress and sells her stockpile of Skull Necklaces. Maggie's father ends up incredibly obnoxious and haughty as a result of his new lifestyle, even more so than his counterpart, Mila's father.
* {{Railroading}}: When you first gain access to the Great Sea, the King of Red Lions will only let you travel through a very specific part of the map until you earn Farore's Pearl after completing the second dungeon. Trying to go anywhere but the plot-mandated path before then will have him turn you around. If you warp to Mother and Child Island before the game wants you to you'll just be told to come back "when you're ready" to get the fire and ice arrows. If you head to a reef before the game decides it wants to let you conquer them said reefs will just be devoid of enemies. And if you're where the Ghost Ship appears but don't have the Ghost Ship Chart, you won't be able to enter the ship.
* RainbowSpeak: Important things like item names, controls, objectives, and hints are highlighted in [[red:red]].
* RandomDrop: There are special items dropped by certain monsters that are stored in your Spoils Bag. These are specific to each monster (i.e. Moblins only drop Skull Necklaces), and usually, drop randomly. However, the Grappling Hook can be used to [[VideoGameStealing steal their item]] with 100% success if it hits. Each type of item is useful in a different {{Sidequest}}.
* RasputinianDeath: To show Ganon is KilledOffForReal this time, the game has him stabbed through the head, TakenForGranite, the tower you fought him on collapses, and the ocean rushes in and buries him under miles of water. We don't actually know for certain which of those steps really did it, either.
* RateLimitedPerpetualResource: The Elixir Soup fully refills Link's [[HealingPotion health]] and [[ManaPotion magic]], and also [[FullHealthBonus makes him more powerful]] until he gets hit again. Two helpings fit in a bottle, but Link's grandma, on Outset Island in the corner of the map, will only give him a refill if he doesn't already have at least one helping.
* ReallyRoyaltyReveal: [[spoiler:When Tetra ends up in Hyrule with Link and the king reveals her true identity as Princess Zelda]].
* RealTimeWeaponChange: The HD remaster on Wii U allows you to change your item loadout with the [=GamePad=]'s touchscreen without interrupting the game.
* RedundantResearcher: Salvage Co., a group of brave explorers (with state-of-the-art diving suits) in search of the legendary "Triumph Forks". Apparently [[FutureImperfect the legend degraded over time]]...
* ReforgedBlade: The Master Sword isn't exactly broken, but it's lost its magical power to repel evil, which must be restored by having sages pray musically in the hearts of dangerous monster-infested ancient temples.
* RegionalRedecoration: In ''Wind Waker'''s backstory, [[spoiler:the golden goddesses flooded Hyrule to save it from Ganon]], creating the Great Sea and its many islands.
* {{Reincarnation}}: Link, the Hero of Winds, is hinted to be this to the Hero of Time, according to a few things that [[spoiler:the King of Hyrule]] and Ganondorf say.
-->'''Ganondorf:''' ''[to Link]'' Yes, surely you are the Hero of Time, reborn.
* RetaliationMode: Gohdan flies up and unleashes a salvo of energy orbs when Link shoots their first eye out; [[SubvertedTrope when he shoots out the second, they drop down and open their mouth]] [[FeedItABomb for Link to stuff a bomb into]].
* RetCanon: The idea of the titular Princess Zelda being an ActionGirl with archery skills first originated in the [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989 '80s cartoon]]. It carries over to the games from ''The Wind Waker'' onwards (and here, notably, [[spoiler:Zelda attacks Ganondorf with Light Arrows while Link uses his sword]]), and Zelda's trademark weapon (when it's not just plain magic) is usually the Bow and Arrows of Light.
* RewardingVandalism:
** A guy ''charges'' you if you break his things. (The trick is to do it when you're broke.)
** A number of underground grottoes contain pillars and Darknuts. Using the Darknuts' swords to smash the pillars tends to release large amounts of Rupees. You could also use the Skull Hammer.
* RichesToRags: Mila's father gets extorted by Tetra's pirate crew when they asked to be paid for saving Mila from the Forsaken Fortress, losing his wealth and ending up homeless. Mila is naturally upset about her new lifestyle while her father surprisingly takes it in stride, just being happy he has his daughter back.
* RingOfFire: The MiniBoss battle against the two Mighty Darknuts who challenge Link in the basement of Hyrule Castle after [[spoiler:Zelda's kidnapping due to Ganondorf]] is encased within a ring of fire that surrounds the area with the Master Sword's former pedestal. It dissipates after Link defeats his two enemies.
* RingOutBoss: Defeating Jahalla in Earth Temple requires throwing the boss into spiked columns lining the arena before finishing off the poes that makes up its body.
* RiseToTheChallenge: You have to climb a spiralling ramp around the upper interior of the Forsaken Fortress, avoiding both rising water and the Helmaroc King. You [[BossBattle fight him]] when you get to the roof.
* RiteOfPassage: Young [[BirdPeople Rito]] must journey to the peak of Dragon Roost Island's mountain to receive a scale from the dragon Valoo, the sky spirit who guards the island. It explicitly allows them to grow their wings and implicitly makes them grow taller very quickly (the latter indicated by Prince Komali being noticeably taller after getting his scale). The first major dungeon arc requires Link to find a way of calming down the suddenly rampaging Valoo in part because this means the Rito can't get those scales anymore.
* RocBirds: The Helmaroc King, a giant bird with a helm-like metal mask over its face that serves as Ganondorf's [[TheDragon Dragon]]. At the start of the game, it kidnaps Link's sister Aryll, kicking off the main plot. There are also the Kargarocs, smaller (though still man-sized) {{mook}} variants of the same species.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething:
** [[spoiler:The King of Hyrule]]. The spirits Valoo, the Deku Tree, and Jabun all seem to imply that he's taken up the mantle of saving [[spoiler:Hyrule]], and they're simply trying to help. Valoo and Jabun even tell him "We're counting on you!" Before he found Link, ''he'' was the hero, so to speak.
** [[spoiler:Tetra]] counts as well, considering her status as a princess.
* RuinsForRuinsSake: Completely averted for once. Every ruin has both a purpose and a good reason for its decay.
* RuleOfSeven: There are seven dungeons in the game: The first two to earn the Goddess Pearls (Dragon Roost Cavern and Forbidden Woods), the next two to find the Master Sword and then finally rescue Link's sister (Tower of the Gods and Forsaken Fortress), the next two to awaken the new Sages and empower the Master Sword (Earth Temple and Wind Temple), and finally one to confront Ganondorf and save Zelda (Ganon's Tower). There are also seven destinations for the Ghost Ship, one per night and also associated with a specific phase of the moon.
* RuleOfThree: Three Goddess Pearls. Placing them respectively into the three statues of the Triangle Islands unlocks the Tower of the Gods. In turn, unlocking the highest floor of that dungeon requires reuniting the three sacred statues located in the second floor's rooms in its central area.
* RushBoss: The battle between Link and Cyclos lasts only 30 seconds, but that time is ''decisive''. If you fail to quickly shoot three arrows at Cyclos, he will use his cyclone to take you away to a random part of the Great Sea, forcing you to look for him again for a rematch. And if you aim for HundredPercentCompletion, then you will also need to take a pictograph of the opponent before defeating him, [[PermanentlyMissableContent otherwise you will never have another chance]].
* SameContentDifferentRating. The original GCN version was rated E for Everyone. The Wii U remaster is rated E10+, but the content is intact. This was because the E10+ rating didn't exist when the game was first released, and this same rating revision was also applied to the remakes of ''Ocarina of Time'' and ''Majora's Mask''.
* SapientShip: The King of Red Lions. He functions as this game's ExpositionFairy and your main form of transportation through the Great Sea.
* SaveGameLimits: From this game onwards, the resumed playthrough in most ''Zelda'' games puts Link at the entrance of the latest location he was, dungeon or not, thus alleviating the limitations seen with previous entries in this regard. As usual, saving inside a dungeon usually sends you back to the dungeon's entrance after restarting the game.
* SavageSetpiece: The game replaces the previous games' Cuccos with pigs. If you return to the first island you'll find that the pig you caught at the beginning of the game is now HUGE. It can be provoked just like the other pigs. It does more damage per hit than nearly every enemy and boss in the game (three hearts, only matched by the Mighty Darknuts and Ganondorf's strongest attacks).
* SaveThePrincess: While Princess Zelda is safe during most of the game, Ganondorf manages to find her and capture her by the time Link fully empowers the Master Sword and reassembles the Triforce of Courage. Rescuing her is the final objective in the game.
* SayItWithHearts: One of the Fishmen, while neither kawaii nor genki, gives Link one when talking about [=ChuChus=]. Also, the sculptor (Carlov) speaks with hearts quite often.
* SceneryGorn: Greatfish Isle, which is a horrific contrast to the rest of the game's islands - the entire island has been ''ripped to shreds'' by Ganondorf and his forces. The contrast of approaching the island, seeing the swirl of dark clouds above it, and its horrific state, is extremely jarring when contrasted with the rest of the game, likely intentionally so.
* SceneryPorn: The cel-shaded backgrounds push the Gamecube to its limits, and nearly everything is ''gorgeous''. Some of the larger landforms and buildings, most notably the Tower of the Gods, actually use ''realistic'' shading and detailed textures to simulate the detailed background of a high-quality animated film. Taken even further with the HD remaster, where the increased render distance allows for certain locations to be viewable from halfway across the world.
* SchizoTech:
** Wooden submarines, robot turrets, and a camera, to name a few. The camera can even become a color camera, [[{{Magitek}} though that's through magic, not technology]]. However, the way the camera handles images is too similar to the way a digital camera handles pictures for the camera to be completely magical.
** If you talk to the treasure hunters near Eastern Triangle Island once more after they give you the treasure chart, their leader will mention quantum physics. In a series that's by-and-large MedievalEuropeanFantasy. Chew on that for a second.
* SecondComing: Subverted. Everyone expected the Hero of Time to return to deal with Ganondorf when he was released from his imprisonment, but he didn't. This didn't deter the surviving citizens of Hyrule from dressing up boys in the garb of the Hero of Time in the hope that they can one day instil the same level of courage in them to defeat evil. However, years later, a new hero who ended up bearing the Triforce of Courage was recognized by Ganondorf as "the Hero of Time, reborn." Even Hyrule Castle is seen to be honouring the Hero of Time as a MessianicArchetype.
* SecondHourSuperpower: The King of Red Lions gives you the titular Wind Waker when you get to Dragon Roost Island, in time to teach you the Wind's Requiem, the song that allows you to control the winds.
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: The events of ''Ocarina of Time'' are inverted in this game, where Ganondorf's attempt to work in the shadows to restore and reclaim Hyrule under his title ultimately manage to do everything required to draw he, Zelda, and Link together once more. He perceives this as so self-evident that he expounds at length during the final battle about how the circumstances of their meeting cannot be anything ''but'' fate.
* SelflessWish: During the game's climax, [[spoiler: the king of Hyrule wishes for a future for Zelda and Link instead of the restoration of Hyrule, forever burying his old kingdom under the sea with Ganon]].
* SequelHook: [[spoiler:The game ends with the King of Hyrule, remaining beneath the waves along with old Hyrule, imploring Link and Tetra to find a new land and start a kingdom anew. Link sails off into the sea with Tetra and her pirates, which would lead to the direct sequel ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass,'' and later down the line to ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks,'' in which a new kingdom ''has'' been established]].
* SequentialBoss: There are two:
** The first boss, Gohma. In the first phase, Link has to make the rocky ceiling fall over her to gradually break her exoskeleton. After three falls, the second phase begins and Link is ready to properly inflict damage on the boss.
** Puppet Ganon takes exactly three forms: The actual puppet, then a spider, and finally a Moldorm-like caterpillar.
* SeriesFauxnale: While not purporting to be a finale for the franchise as a whole, it's clearly written to be a DistantFinale to the "Hero of Time Saga" that encompassed both ''Ocarina of Time'' and ''Majora's Mask'', with the game's plot hinging on ''Ocarina of Time''[='=]s Zelda removing Link from the timeline and leaving said timeline with no hero to take up the mantle when Ganon returned. The game as a whole has an air of finality to it, with the CentralTheme of the game being to let the past go and [[spoiler:Ganondorf being permanently sealed or killed with the Master Sword at the end of the game.]] Despite this, ''Wind Waker''[='=]s direct 3D successor, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', would continue the "Hero of Time Saga" for one more game, albeit in the timeline of ''Majora's Mask'' that the Hero of Time was transported to.
* ShiftingSandLand: Due to the game's TropicalIslandAdventure setting, there are no desert areas in the overworld. However, the boss Molgera in Wind Temple is fought inside an underground chamber filled with a very large pool of sand (and is constantly supplied with sand falling from the ceiling). During the battle, the boss can not only dwell beneath the sand but also hover in the air and then land downward to create a sinkhole to expose its head again. The Lanmolas it releases every time it takes damage can swim through the sand freely as well.
* ShipLevel: Even though the game is set in an ocean-filled world, there are only two ship levels, Tetra's Ship and the GhostShip. The former is boarded twice, and in both cases, Link must complete a challenge offered by Niko to obtain a reward. The latter is accessed upon collection of the Ghost Ship Chart, and inside Link has to defeat a group of enemies in order to claim one of the Triforce Charts.
* ShipperOnDeck: If Link pays Beedle a visit after stealing the bombs from Tetra's ship, he mentions that the pirates sold him the ones they still had before asking if Link is "acquainted" with their leader and teasing him about the bashful look on his face.
* ShipTease:
** Link and Tetra have several lingering moments. Following Tetra's [[{{Tsundere}} initial dislike of him, the pair grow closer as time moves on]], particularly after it is revealed [[spoiler:Tetra is Zelda]].
** The DialogueTree always leans to ship-tease with Mila.
** In addition to a few teases with Link, Medli and the Rito prince Komali seem to have a few lines of dialogue hinting at something with each other.
** [[MayflyDecemberRomance Link even gets one with the Fairy Queen]].
* ShopFodder: The game introduces Beedle, who accepts monster-dropped shop fodder items for rewards above simple cash. However, this is never expressly stated in the dialogue with him.
* ShoutOut:
** There's a sign at the top of the lighthouse on Windfall Island written by a 'J.L. Picall'. [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Sound familiar?]]
** The three statues on the Triangle Islands also look somewhat familiar. [[VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} The red one has eyes and a nose, the yellowish-green one has eyes and ears, and the blue one has eyes and a mouth]].
** The boss fights in Tower of the Gods and the Earth Temple are fought the same way as Andross in ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' and Boolossus in ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'', respectively.
** There's also Tott's German name: [[Creator/JohnTravolta T. Ravolta]].
** In NewGamePlus, the Hero's Clothes become [[Literature/TheEmperorsNewClothes The Hero's New Clothes]], which he wisely chooses to "wear" over his blue duds.
* SignificantAnagram: Tetra's Italian name is "Dazel". Now switch around the letters and see what you get. The weird thing is that this painfully obvious anagram actually sounds a lot better as a name than her real, original Japanese name...
* {{Slapstick}}: The game allows the player to throw Medli into walls at times, resulting in her being dazed and only able to speak in gibberish for a few seconds.
* SlippySlideyIceWorld: There's a MiniDungeon, the Ice Ring Isle, that's kind of difficult to get into because of its icy layout (and the first time you arrive you must clear it under a time limit, as the warmth provided by a Fire Arrow will be temporary until them). It was planned to be a full dungeon, but couldn't be due to time constraints. It's especially telling because of the slippy-slidey mechanics (we get special vocal effects only heard when slipping and falling on the ice, and the very ability to slip and fall never appears anywhere else, either). More went into it than makes sense for a short TimedMission to get the Iron Boots.
* SniperScopeSway: There's no scope, but Link's bow sways anyway.
* SoftWater: A ''Zelda'' tradition; a fall from any height into the sea is harmless.
* SomeDexterityRequired: In the original [=GameCube=] version, projectile weapons like the bow and boomerang were aimed with the left thumbstick, and you couldn't move while aiming. The HD remaster changed this, however, allowing you to move backwards, forwards, and sideways with the left stick, and aim with the right stick, just like a FirstPersonShooter. Thing is, two of the buttons that you can equip weapons to (X and Y), are pressed with the right thumb, making it more difficult and cumbersome to aim and then shoot in quick succession (good luck if you have a moving target). Equipping this kind of item to R works just fine, but if you want to equip more than one of them at a time...
* SoNearYetSoFar: Link's sister is in the first dungeon you visit, which is easy enough to traverse. ...But the BigBad's [[TheDragon drag--er, giant bird]], prevents her rescue because Link isn't strong enough. You have to attain the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Master Sword]] before she's finally rescued.
* SongsInTheKeyOfLock: The two temples whose sages empower the Master Sword requires Link to use the eponymous baton to conduct sacred melodies onto the newly-elected sages so they can open the temples' entrances, as well as inner parts afterwards: "Earth God's Lyric" for Earth Temple and "Wind God's Aria" for Wind Temple. Notably, these two songs also make up for the game's title screen theme as well as the credits music.
* SoulJar: Jalhalla in Earth Temple [[InvertedTrope is a ghost who houses fifteen smaller ghosts within]], making him both this trope and an AsteroidsMonster.
* SpikesOfDoom: The game features spiked borders in certain boss battle arenas. In the Earth Temple, the boss is a giant, intangible ghost, and is met in a room whose walls are covered in spikes. The ghost can blow Link, our trusty hero, into the walls and kill him thusly, but if Link can render the ghost tangible, he can then ''throw'' him into the wall, ''at'' the spikes, where he breaks apart into smaller, stab-able ghosts. No such luck in the fight against Helmaroc King: It will occasionally flap its wings to push Link towards the spiky border of the battlefield, and there's no way to use it in your favour.
* SpinAttack: The game introduces a downright ridiculous variant called the Hurricane Spin, in which Link moves around while spinning like a top for several seconds (but also leaves him dizzy for several seconds).
* SpinningOutOfHere: This occurs when you're teleported out of a completed dungeon.
* SplashOfColor: Link retains his color -- such as his bright green clothes -- while he's in [[spoiler:Hyrule Castle]], which otherwise only has slightly-tinted grays. [[spoiler:The rest of the castle's color returns when Link pulls the Master Sword]].
* SprintShoes: The HD remaster adds the Swift Sail, which allows maximum sailing speed in any direction without the need to shift the wind first.
* StalactiteSpite: There are stone coffins placed upright with loose lids so unstable that walking past one will cause the lid to fall, causing half a heart of damage. The lids can be prematurely activated by shooting an arrow at one.
* StalkingMission: There's an optional one, which gets you an empty bottle. You also get to hear Link [[CatScare meow like a kitty]] [[NobodyHereButUsBirds if you're not completely hidden]] when the target checks to see if she's being tailed, which is a reward in itself.
* StarScraper: The Tower of the Gods is so tall it can be seen from almost anywhere on the map.
* StationaryBoss: Kalle Demos uses the vines it hangs from the ceiling with to do the damage.
* StealthBasedMission:
** The first visit to the Forsaken Fortress, when Link is sans sword after the catapult incident and has to hide in barrels to avoid guard detection.
** Following Mila on Windfall at night. Notably, if Link is heard by her, but not seen, he impersonates a cat to throw her off his trail.
* StealthPun: As per usual, the Spectacle Rock formation appears in this game, but as an island. For those unaware, Spectacle Rock is always shaped like eyeglasses when viewed from above. The island is no exception. However, between the two outcroppings of rock is a literal bridge, which is the technical name of the wire that connects the two eyepieces.
* SuaveSabre: While only shown in the game art, Tetra also counts as this trope as she is shown having a cutlass, a rare variation.
* SubliminalSeduction: The seemingly babbling sounds of the [=ChuChus=] are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p33g_wkgGuw voices from two Japanese men arguing, but the speeches were sped up and in reverse.]]
* SuddenlySpeaking: This is the first game in which Link explicitly uses his voice: "Come on!" and "Meow!"
* SuitUpOfDestiny: This is the first time Link began his adventure without his green tunic and hat, a tradition to be followed by ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]''.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The [[ThreateningShark Gyorgs]] around Tingle Island will follow you until you either reach land or kill them.
* SupremeChef: Link's grandmother. Her soup [[HealthPotion replenishes all your hearts]], [[ManaPotion replenishes all your magic]], and [[FullHealthBonus doubles your attack strength until you take damage]]. And you get two doses of it per bottle. It even extends to Link's drinking animation! Normally when he drinks a potion beforehand, he usually looks grossed out by it-- like he knows it's gonna taste bad-- and has a grimacing expression after he finishes. When he drinks the Elixir Soup, however, he's excited and happy, and even smiles after he's finished!
-->'''Description:''' Now ''that'' is one hearty soup!
* SurpassedTheTeacher: You can undergo a minigame involving sparring with your former instructor in the art of swordplay. If you get a score of 1000 points, he responds in this manner.
* SurprisinglyCreepyMoment: The ''Zelda'' franchise has always been good at this, but the art style makes the creepy moments stand out all the more. That's without mentioning the rather dark backstory, and [[spoiler:Ganondorf meets his end at the hands of Link]] via ''brain-kebab.'' There's also the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown mentioned above. Unsettling enough on its own merits (how often do you see Link at the ''receiving'' end of those?), the fact that the oldest Link could be 16 and possibly as young as 9 makes it all the worse.
* SwordLines: Befitting the game's art style and engine, Link's sword shows CelShaded sword lines, which look exactly like on the concept art.
* SwordPlant: Link performs a down thrust to [[spoiler:deliver the final blow to Ganondorf in the final battle]].
* SympathyForTheDevil: This incarnation of Ganondorf is largely seen as the most sympathetic, for his FreudianExcuse and his visible tiredness of being the EvilOverlord. He's still a total prick, though.
* TacticalSuicideBoss:
** Molgera from Wind Temple sticks its tongue out and then just sits there.
** Gohdan from Tower of the Gods will also gladly sneeze out bombs and arrows, should you happen to run out of either. In his case, however, it's justified as Gohdan is meant to test Link's ''skill'', not however much ammo he has.
* TakeItToTheBridge: The rope bridge on Outset Island leading to the Fairy Woods is the one that Link's sister Aryll gets snatched off of by the Helmaroc King.
* TakeMyHand: [[spoiler:Having grown very attached to Daphnes during their journey, Link desperately reaches out to the King when he forces them up to the surface after the final battle. It's made all the more heart-wrenching when the King also raises his hand toward Link, but then slowly lowers it down sadly, while Link floats away with both a very sad and confused look on his face]].
* TakeThatAudience: Link's New Clothes given to him by his grandmother in NewGamePlus are said to be only visible to those who are honest...which doesn't include you, the player.
* TakeYourTime: Upon setting off for the Forsaken Fortress in the first part of the game, you can take as long as you want on the pirate ship inside and out, as Tetra doesn't announce they've arrived until the Spoils Bag has been acquired.
* TakenForGranite:
** The Dark [=ChuChus=] are invulnerable to any kind of attack, but once light touches them, they turn to stone (for a short while anyway) in which state you can either crush them to death with the Skull Hammer or pick them up and throw them before they recover (or throw them [[GrievousHarmWithABody into one another!]]), or use them as a weight on a switch.
** At the end of the FinalBoss battle, [[spoiler:Ganondorf turns to stone after being impaled by the Master Sword. Apparently, he's now the pedestal]].
* TaughtByExperience: Ganondorf's plans after his return seem to focus on eliminating ''exactly'' the things that caused him to lose in the past. He kills the sages so that the Master Sword loses its power and attempts to hunt down any descendant of Princess Zelda so that he can steal her Triforce. Later during the final boss fight, when he realizes that you're acting as a distraction while Tetra shoots him, he simply jumps over to her and knocks her unconscious.
* TearsOfJoy: Orca drops his spear and breaks into a stream of tears when [[spoiler:he teaches the Hurricane Spin to Link]].
-->'''Orca:''' Oh, the joyful tears... They won't stop...
* TeaserEquipment: There's a shop in early in the game that sells bombs for more money than Link can actually carry. You can acquire these bombs for free later on when the pirates rob the store, and afterwards the shopkeeper begins to sell bombs at a more reasonable price.
* TeleportingKeycardSquad: Getting the Boss Key in Forbidden Woods brings in two Moblins to the room where it was guarded, courtesy of some Kargaroks that drop them right in front of Link. And getting the one in Tower of the Gods activates the previously-inanimate Armos present in the room.
* TemptingFate: When Link first tries on the Hero's Clothes and expresses discomfort at them, Grandma consoles him, stating he only has to wear them for "just one day." Link takes off to save his sister before his birthday ends, and as a result, ends up wearing the green clothes for the whole game.
* TennisBoss: Happens during the return to the Forsaken Fortress, as a fight against Phantom Ganon. The only way to stun him is by successively deflecting his energy beams with the Master Sword, as they're the only thing that can weaken him. As with Ganondorf in ''Ocarina of Time'', the use of the empty bottle for this purpose is still an option (and it's lampshaded in Phantom Ganon's figurine entry in the Nintendo Gallery).
* TentacledTerror: Sea Octoroks and Big Octos. While the River Octoroks are tame enough, Sea Octoroks are big, flail menacingly when you get close instead of hiding in the water, tend to come out of nowhere right in front of you and knock you out of your boat, have creepy yellow eyes and glowing blue spiked heads at night, and come in [[ZergRush huge swarms]]. The Big Octos are ''building-sized'', create storms and a whirlpool to pull you closer so it can suck you in and spit you out, have [[EyesDoNotBelongThere eyes all over their bodies which act as weak points and seemingly move around at random]], and their location is marked by a flock of seagulls.
* TentacleRope: There are plant tentacles (called Dexivines) in some dungeons that rise from the ground when Link draws near and latch onto him. They don't inflict damage and merely tether him to the spot, steadily sapping his MP so long as they are attached. They'll respawn indefinitely but can be killed in one shot and aren't much of a threat.
* {{Terraform}}: The Koroks are periodically sent out by the Great Deku Tree to plant trees on the islands of the Great Sea, in an attempt to create forests and reclaim land from the sea.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Link's face just before being launched from a catapult.
* ThreateningShark: Gyorgs, which appear as enemies while sailing. They'll ram your boat to knock you out and begin taking huge chomps at you. They don't seem to bother you if you just keep moving, though. And they'll ram your boat while you're trying to get back into it, knocking you back into the water ''again''. They're no longer much of an annoyance in ''Wind Waker HD'', as they've lost the ability to knock you into the water, much like almost every other naval hazard.
* ThresholdGuardians: The first encounters with both the [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything pirates]] and [[CoolBoat the King of Red Lions]] place them in this role, with the latter asking questions on how far Link will reach to rescue his sister. Later on, the Tower of the Gods in its entirety is a more literal version of this trope.
* TheThreeTrials: Link has to collect the Goddess Pearls (Din's, Farore's and Nayru's) to unveil the Tower of the Gods and prove his worth. The last pearl is collected outside a dungeon, due to the destruction of its initial whereabouts (thus making the Tower of the Gods itself the actual third dungeon before the obtainment of the Master Sword). The usual plot twist that ensues doesn't occur until after Link completes the fourth dungeon (Forsaken Fortress), but it makes up for a ''big'' WhamEpisode.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Link can do this with the oversized swords dropped by enemies, and it does damage should the blade hit an enemy.
* TideLevel: The first floor of the Tower of the Gods is partially flooded since the place is sticking out of the ocean, and the water level raises and lowers periodically. Adapting to the changing tide is key to solving the first set of puzzles.
* TigerVersusDragon: One of Link's first quests is to ride the King of the Red Lions to confront the angry, raging dragon Valoo. It's subverted in that it turns out that Valoo is actually being tormented by the monster Gohma, and he becomes friends with Link when the hero gets rid of Gohma.
* TimedMission: After shooting the volcano's mouth at the top of Fire Mountain with an Ice Arrow, Link has five minutes to get inside and find the Power Bracelet before the island's heat rises again; luckily, once he gets the item, the exterior of the island remains warm for the rest of the game. This is repeated with the Ice Ring Isle: He shoots at the mouth of the dragon-shaped cave entrance with a Fire Arrow and has five minutes to enter and get the Iron Boots before the whole island freezes over again; when said item is collected, the island remains safe for good.
* TimeStandsStill: For [[spoiler:ancient Hyrule underneath the waves, and especially in Hyrule Castle itself, where several Darknuts are frozen and the scenery is DeliberatelyMonochrome. Link pulling the (de-powered) Master Sword from its pedestal restores the flow of time, at least in Hyrule Castle]].
* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:Tetra is just as surprised as Link to learn that her true identity is that of Princess Zelda.]]
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Tetra, who is a tomboyish, roughhousing pirate leader; and Link's sister, Aryll, who is very sweet and girlish with her pigtails and dress.
* TomboyPrincess: Being a princess with ActionGirl moments already makes Princess Zelda a potential candidate for this trope, but this instalment's version of her is regarded as an especially clear example.
* TopHeavyGuy: Many character designs, especially the sailors on Windfall Island.
* TooAwesomeToUse: Get 30 points at Beedle's Ship Shop and he'll give you a Complimentary ID, which does... ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin [[note]] In addition to completely restoring your health[[/note]]. Get ''60'' points, though, and you'll get the Fill-Up Coupon, an item that lets you immediately refill every ammo-dependent item in your inventory, along with health and magic, completely free of charge. The problem? You only get one. You'll never be low enough on ammo (''and'' be near a Ship Shop) that you'll feel justified in using it.
* TookALevelInBadass:
** Tetra. Not only is she a badass pirate leader with no qualms about showing it, [[spoiler:she doesn't hesitate to get in on the action in the final boss battle with Ganondorf, despite being revealed to be the usually-unhelpful Princess Zelda]].
** Link himself easily counts. While this is nothing new in the series for him, his level-taking is especially noticeable. He goes from a goofy kid setting off on a half-baked mission to rescue his kidnapped sister and overall ButtMonkey to [[TheUnchosenOne earning the right to bear the Triforce of Courage]], clearing out temples to [[spoiler:restore a depowered Master Sword and reinstate the Gods' chosen sages]], and ultimately defeating Ganondorf in one of the best final boss battles in the series.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Maggie's father. When you first meet him, he's a pitiable pauper who is distraught over his daughter being kidnapped. But when Maggie comes back with a massive fortune in Skull Necklaces, he turns into a selfishly greedy bastard who won't even let Maggie get letters from her (sort of) love interest.
* TookALevelInKindness: Mila's father. During the first half of the game, he's an arrogant rich man who demands the rescue of his daughter from captivity in Forsaken Fortress. Tetra's pirates rescue Mila, but ask the father for a lot of money, leaving him and his daughter poor. This changes his viewpoint on life, and he becomes much more modest as a result.
* TragicKeepsake: Aryll's telescope. She initially let Link have it for his birthday. After her kidnapping, Link holds onto it throughout the entire game.
* TriumphantReprise: has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5fBOlVP3_k Journey]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrcoHbGeMF0 Epilogue]] -- original and reprisal, respectively. These also qualify as BookEnds, playing when the adventure starts and ends.
* TronLines: The Tower of the Gods has these on nearly everything.
* TropicalIslandAdventure: ''Wind Waker'' abandons the series' typical MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting in favour of an ocean dotted with sporadic tropical islands (although it isn't the ''only'' game with a tropical island setting--see ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' and this game's sequel, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]''). [[spoiler:These islands are actually the mountaintops of Hyrule, which was flooded by the Goddesses in a desperate attempt to thwart Ganondorf after a reincarnation of ''Ocarina of Time''[='s=] Link failed to appear]].
* {{Tsundere}}: Tetra falls into that territory, thanks to being a pirate [[spoiler:as well as a princess]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:U-Z]]
* TheUnchosenOne: The actual Hero of Time failed to appear, so this Link is his replacement. Link has to earn the right to the Triforce by sailing around the sea to find it, instead of just getting it BecauseDestinySaysSo. At first, he's so weak that even ordinary [[{{Mook}} Moblins]] give him serious trouble until he gets the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Master Sword]]. Eventually, however, he is given his own title as the "Hero of Winds."
* UncommonTime:
** [[https://youtu.be/M6rmY9XtvA8?t=1m21s the music]] that plays during the scene in which Linder reports that Makar fell into the Forbidden Woods alternates between 7/8 and 5/8. The game's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o78T9-I4OGA title theme]] is entirely in 9/8.
** There's a section of Ganondorf's battle theme where the time signature is 7/4 for a few bars before switching back to 4/4.
* UndergroundLevel: The aptly named Earth Temple. Since the number of light sources is finite, Link and Medli have to reflect the available light to the dark areas where it's required.
* UnderTheSea: A surprising aversion, considering the game's main setting. There are no true underwater dungeons, the water is opaque and cannot be dived into or even swam in for more than a short period. The closest example of a water level in ''Wind Waker'' is the Tower of the Gods, which only features water rising and lowering at timed intervals on the first floor.
* UnexpectedlyRealisticGameplay:
** When they finally face off for their climactic showdown, Ganondorf smacks the Master Sword out of Link's hand and then beats the boy silly with his bare hands - what would happen if a 10-year-old tried to fight a fully grown adult, let alone a bandit king and wielder of the Triforce of Power. Link only stands a chance after Ganon loses the Triforce, and then only with Tetra's assistance.
** A more literal version happens when you break the vases inside Mila's father's house and you have to pay for the cost of the damage you caused. In the real world, if you break someone's stuff, especially in a store, you usually have to cover the cost of the damage, also known as "you break it, you bought it."
* UniqueEnemy: The lone bomb-spitting River Octorok in one room on the second visit to the Forsaken Fortress, the golden Warship near Needle Rock Isle which you destroy to get a Triforce Chart, and the Red Wizzrobe miniboss in the Wind Temple.
* UnsafeHaven: Eventually, [[spoiler:Hyrule Castle]]. After [[spoiler:the truth of Tetra being the successor to the Hyrulean Royal Family's bloodline is revealed]], Zelda is kept in the same chamber that the Master Sword was kept. But considering that Link cleansed the place of Ganon's forces only a few hours or so before, it was no surprise that Ganon found her.
* UnusableEnemyEquipment:
** Some enemies ''do'' in fact drop weapons that you can pick up and use, ranging from simple clubs to a BFS that's more than ''twice the length'' of Link's body. However, you can't store them in your inventory and drop them off if you leave the area.
** Phantom Ganon's sword, which is only dropped in rooms where there are no other enemies anyway. Which is secondary to the fact that you don't ''want'' to pick it up anyway, since watching how it falls is a puzzle hint.
* UnwinnableJokeGame: If Link asks Mila's father for funds before going to the Forsaken Fortress for the second time, he will toss three red Rupees into the vases below. Even if the player correctly guesses where the vases are and break them open, Mila's father will still demand payment for the broken vases. The only way to "win" is to save and quit the game after getting the Rupees so they can't be docked.
* UnwittingPawn: Congratulations! You've obtained the Master Sword, the legendary blade of evil's bane! [[spoiler:Except that pulling it from its pedestal has unlocked the seal on Ganon's magic, not to mention that its own powers have weakened, and until you restore them the blade can't even touch him]].
* UselessItem: The items Tingle gives you upon freeing him from jail, depending on the version.
** In the original, he gives you the Tingle Tuner. If you don't have a Platform/GameBoyAdvance and a Link Cable to hook it up to the [=GameCube=] with, you'll get absolutely no utility from it. If you ''do'', though, then this item is actually ''very'' useful, boasting services such as ranged bombs, walking on air, temporary shields, and potions on the go.
** In ''HD'', he gives you the Tingle Bottle. This item allowed you to send and receive [[MessageInABottle messages in bottles]] via Website/{{Miiverse}} while out on the Great Sea. Once Miiverse shut down on November 8th of 2017, the bottle was rendered completely pointless - and unlike the Tingle Tuner, it doesn't have a silver lining.
* UseTheirOwnWeaponAgainstThem: Link can knock swords and spears out of the hands of enemies such as Moblins and Darknuts, allowing him to pick them up and attack them with them.
* VariableMix: The battle music has a lot of depth to it, playing different channels depending on what's going on in the fight. One obvious example is that fewer instruments play in general if you're in combat without your sword equipped; a more subtle one is the high-pitched flute of the regular battle theme, which kicks in whenever you do a SpinAttack.
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: The game follows the footsteps of ''A Link to the Past'' and ''Ocarina of Time'' by giving this role to Ganon's Tower. This time, it's located next to Hyrule Castle in what used to be the land of Hyrule before its flood. Per tradition, a barrier prevents you from accessing it early and you'll need to empower the Master Sword with the help of two temple Sages to break it (as well as the Triforce of Courage in its repaired form to return to Hyrule, to begin with), but this time it's not in the Tower itself but in ''Hyrule Castle''. The dungeon is divided into three sections: One in which you have to dispel a gate's seal by tackling rooms based on several previous dungeons, one which features an illusory puzzle and a sequence of rematches against a familiar MiniBoss, and finally a long staircase leading to Ganon and the story's climax.
* VictoryFakeout: [[spoiler:Puppet Ganon]] pulls this after you beat their first form, complete with a version of the regular boss-defeat theme that transitions into a more menacing reprise. Their second form doesn't bother with it.
* VictoryPose: After Link defeats a boss, he [[HappyDance jumps up and down in happiness]].
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential:
** Unexpected in a ''Zelda'' game, but it does exist in spades in this one. You can do some ''really'' nasty things to [[spoiler:Medli]] and [[spoiler:Makar]] when they accompany you in the temple dungeons, as they are NighInvulnerable.
** You can hit the King of Red Lions on the head with a weapon, or even spam the Boomerang or Hookshot at him with an L-Target.
** Attacking the big pig will get you seriously hurt, except when he's in the pig pen and you attack from outside with a projectile weapon. He'll charge at you, but won't be able to get you. Also, if you're skilled enough, you can attack with your sword, and quickly backflip over the fence to avoid injury.
* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment:
** Harming the pigs too many times in a row will anger them; as long as they're angry, they will chase Link ceaselessly. Small pigs' attacks deplete one heart of damage, but attacks from the adult pig will deplete ''three'', making them the deadliest in the game along with Mighty Darknut jump slashes (three hearts) and being swallowed by Molgera (two hearts).
** You can break the jar Sue-Belle is carrying. Doing so will make her upset and cost you 10 Rupees to replace it.
* VideoGameStealing: The Grappling Hook will steal items from enemies if you use it on them. The items you steal will actually be removed from their inventory, preventing them from dropping or being contained in a Treasure Sphere. If that particular item happens to be visible, such as the Moblins' Skull Necklaces, it also disappears from their model, and Darknuts and Moblins react to having their Knight Crest/Skull Necklace stolen.
* VillainForgotToLevelGrind: The rematches with Gohma and Kalle Demos are significantly easier, as while you're stripped of any items you didn't have when you fought them, you do get to keep the fully-powered Master Sword, plus any and all life upgrades you've collected along the way.
* VillainHasAPoint: Ganondorf is not incorrect in his accusation that it was [[spoiler:the gods who destroyed the world by flooding it and killing off most of the population just to stop him]].
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Ganondorf after Daphnes completely derails his plan]]. He stands perfectly still for several minutes, then suddenly [[LaughingMad starts laughing]].
* VillainsNeverLie: Only the honest can see the Hero's New Clothes. Turns out Ganondorf can see them just fine.
* VineTentacles: Kalle Demos, the second boss, is a giant plant that attacks Link by lashing at him with its long, barbed vines.
* VisualPun: [[DiscoDan Tott]] spends all day and all night dancing in front of a gravestone. Disco is dead.
* WaitingPuzzle: When you're acting as Lenzo's research assistant, he'll ask you to take some pictographs of some Windfall Island residents in specific scenarios. While the pictograph you need of Gossack in the second request can be done at your leisure, the other two require waiting around until the people in question decide to do what you need, which can take a few minutes.
* TheWallAroundTheWorld: The Great Sea has no physical barrier to keep you from leaving the map. However, your boat tells you that it's dangerous to leave and turns you around.
* WarpWhistle: The titular Wind Waker can be used to conduct various songs. There aren't so many as for the Ocarina in the previous two 3D ''Zelda'' games, but the one called the Ballad of Gales, after Link learns it from the god of storms, allows him to summon a whirlwind that will deposit him and his boat in one of eight areas of the player's choosing. This is different from many other examples, as the exact landing point within the area is somewhat randomized. One of the destinations puts Link down inside an otherwise inaccessible grotto on a sheer-walled island, where he can receive a valued quest-relevant gift from the Queen of the Faeries (which also renders this warp point useless for any other purpose). As far as the dungeons go, there are pots that must be bombed to open up. If you can open up at least two pots, you can jump into one and spring out the other. This is not only good for leaving the game and returning easily to where you were but there is usually one outside the boss' door.
* TheWarSequence:
** Partway through the game, you run through the entrance hall of a large castle, where many of Ganon's minions are frozen in time, like statues. When you leave, however, they all have come back to life and you have to kill them all before you can proceed. There are only about twenty of them, but they are the strongest enemy in the game.
** The lower levels of the Savage Labyrinth contain large groups of generic enemies.
** The secret grotto on Shark Island has a particularly long battle sequence against a horde of various enemies.
* WaterfrontBossBattle: All six Big Octo minibosses found in the Great Sea are fought this way. In each case, Link (who is riding the King of Red Lions) gets slowly dragged into the Big Octo due to an aquatic swirl, and the objective is to destroy its eyes before Big Octo ends up sinking him.
* WeakenedByTheLight: [=ReDeads=], Dark Chuchus, and Poes can be stunned with light. With the latter two, it's the only way to make them vulnerable to conventional attacks.
* WeaponizedOffspring: The Mothula enemies counter-attack by launching a blast of Morths at you which cling to Link to slow him down.
* WhamEpisode: Link defeats the Helmaroc King and rescues his sister. but [[spoiler:he is then told by Ganondorf that the Master Sword cannot kill him without its lost power... and its removal from the pedestal in the first place is what allows Ganondorf to return to Hyrule]].
* WhamLine:
** Courtesy of Ganondorf in his first meeting with Tetra:
-->'''Ganondorf:''' Ha! At long last, I have found you... [[spoiler:Princess Zelda]]!
** Ganondorf's first line in the game: "It's been a while, boy..." In those five words, players are immediately told that this Ganondorf isn't a reincarnation--he's the same Great King of Evil who battled Link centuries ago in ''Ocarina of Time'', a fact which would later be confirmed for most of his others appearances in the series. But what's worse, ''he remembers Link.'' It's also a sign that he's become more philosophical and pensive during his long imprisonment, as the words have a reminiscent, almost bittersweet tone as opposed to the EvilGloating of the Ganondorf of the past.
* WhatTheHellPlayer:
** There's a house that has big, fancy pots. Break one and Sturgeon will chew you out on breaking his fine pots and that next time he'll require compensation. If you do it again then he'll do good on his word and will fine you for each one you broke before you leave the house.
** If you attack your Orca, he gets annoyed and eventually knocks you across the room.
** And then there's the woman on Outset Island, who's constantly carrying around a pot on her head. If you smash it with your hookshot, or arrows (light arrows are especially fun to use when doing this), and then go and speak to her, she'll take 10 rupees from you... and say you're terrible.
* WheresTheKaboom: This is played for laughs, when Link sets the third pearl into its slot, the statue starts to glow. Link runs for cover, but nothing happens. Confused, he goes back to the statue to check... only for it to blow up in his face, causing him to fly hundreds of yards away, flying right into the wall of the tower that is rising from the ocean, only to fall back into the water hundreds of feet below, and have his boat collect him.
* WideOpenSandbox: The second largest overworld of any ''Zelda'' game after ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. It's just that most of it is water.
* WindIsGreen: The game features a Link who embodies BlowYouAway once he acquires the titular item-- he is, of course, clothed in green, but ''The Wind Waker'' usually averts this trope being itself white, same as the lines of wind that travel through the game's atmosphere. The Deku Leaf, which can be used to blow gusts of wind and glide on wind currents, ''is'' green, and the GustyGlade dungeon Wind Temple has lots of grassy terrains (with the plant-based character Makar serving as its new sage).
* WindmillScenery: A big windmill-slash-lighthouse is the main landscape feature from Windfall Island. A rather smart choice for a power source if the name of the island is to be believed.
* WingedHumanoid: The Rito are a unique variation. Their arms are their wings. As soon as they take off, the feather "sleeves" fold out to form fully functional wings.
%%* WiseTree: The Deku Tree.
* WolfpackBoss: The final floor in the Savage Labyrinth is a fight against four Darknuts, accompanied by fire-breathing statues that hinder Link.
* WorldHealingWave: [[spoiler:Hyrule has been sealed away, and when you find it]] [[DeliberatelyMonochrome everything is colorless]]. When you [[spoiler:draw the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Master Sword]] from its pedestal]], color sweeps slowly across the area, also reviving a bunch of tough enemies to [[spoiler: test the Master Sword on]]. Interestingly, this is later revealed not to necessarily be a good thing. [[spoiler:Ganondorf explains that the Master Sword was serving as a seal on his power, and by removing it, Link not only restored that magic, but [[NiceJobBreakingItHero inadvertently advanced the Gerudo King's plot to control the Triforce.]] Granted, there really wasn't anything else Link ''could'' do in this situation--he needs the Master Sword to defeat Ganondorf, as there's no other way for that to happen, so pulling it was the only option]].
* WorldTree: The Koroks are trying to spread the seeds of a new Deku Tree to create more Great Trees and make islands in the Great Sea for settlement.
* WorthyOpponent: Ganon seems to regard Link as such.
-->'''Ganon:''' Do not betray my expectations.\\
''[a series of boss battles commence. Afterwards...]''\\
'''Ganon:''' Yes, surely you are the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Hero of Time]], reborn. Your time has come... Come now... Stand before me.
* WorldLimitedToThePlot: For most of the population, this is what living on the island is like: their world ends at the edge of the sea. It's when the plot starts intruding in (most obviously on Link's home island, but when monsters start popping up when the sun is down and the forces of evil cause a never-ending night at one point in the plot) that things start freaking out.
* WouldntHitAGirl: Although he does give her a heavy backhand, Ganondorf goes out of his way (even sheathing his swords) to avoid seriously harming Tetra, even while she's actively trying to kill him.
* YellowPurpleContrast: The in-game maps depict Link as a yellow arrow. Whenever he has a companion follow him in a dungeon, like Medli or Maker, they are represented by a purple dot. The order is switched whenever the player uses the Command Melody to take control of a companion.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Link's attempt to rescue his sister ends in failure due to his inability to confront the Helmaroc King, forcing him to embark on a long quest with the help of the King of Red Lions. When Link does a second attempt, [[spoiler:he manages to rescue her with the help of Tetra and her crew ''and'' defeats the Helmaroc King for good, but is unable to confront Ganondorf as to the Master Sword has lost its power (which means his new plan was ultimately doomed to fail as well)]].
* YouCanTurnBack: When Link is sailing off with the pirates at the beginning of the game, Tetra takes note of how emotional he is in his goodbyes and tells him that they still have time to turn the ship around and drop him back off at Outset. Naturally, you're not given the choice.
* YoungAndInCharge: Tetra is the leader of her band of {{Pirate}}s, despite being the youngest member. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when Nudge jokes that Tetra is OlderThanSheLooks.
* YourFavorite: Link's grandma plans on making her soup, which she knows both he and Aryll love, for Link's birthday. This ends up not coming to pass when both of them end up leaving the island before dinnertime, but when you return to Outset midway through the game and heal Grandma with a fairy, she'll happily prepare Link a full bottle of that same soup any time he requests it. This is even reflected in Link always equipping and drinking his soup with a smile, compared to the grimace he prepares for normal potions.
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: So you've got the Master Sword, stormed the Forsaken Fortress, saved your sister, and are now about to go kill the BigBad - sweet! [[spoiler:...Wait, the Master Sword ''lost its power?'']]
* YourSizeMayVary: Din's orb is about the size of a soccer ball when it first appears. When Link finally gets it it's about the size of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handball handball]], and finally about the size of a tennis ball when [[spoiler:he places it in the hands of the statue]].
* YouShouldntKnowThisAlready:
** You have to learn the Wind Waker songs before you can use them, which is typical of the ''Zelda'' series.
** Niko won't let you into the ship when it's docked on Windfall Island until you've overheard the password from Gonzo and Mako in the Bomb Shop, even though all the possible passwords are answers to his riddles, which are pretty easy to figure out. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the pirates mentioning that you have to say the password in a certain way for Niko to let them in.
** You can't enter the Ghost Ship until you obtain the Ghost Ship Chart, which tells you what island the ship shows up at each phase of the moon.
* {{Zonk}}: One of the auction prizes is a treasure chart... that leads to a single Rupee. This was changed in the HD remake to offer the chart-standard 50 Rupees.
[[/folder]]
----
[[folder:N-Q]]
* NaginatasAreFeminine: Inverted. The weapons used by the grotesquely muscular Moblins are naginatas. Link can pick them up and use them as weapons, but as they're easily three times his size, he's rather clumsy with them.
* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight: The first two times Link confronts Ganondorf, he has the Master Sword while his enemy relies on his fists. He gets beaten down both times for his trouble. [[spoiler:In fact, Ganondorf is only defeated when he actually uses weapons against Link. When Ganondorf's plan to dominate Hyrule is ruined for good, he pulls out a pair of katanas for a final attack and gets impaled through the head]].
* NewGamePlus: Beating the game once unlocks the Second Quest. Second Quest keeps Link in his Outset Island clothes that he's wearing before putting on the Hero's Tunic, translates the Ancient Hylian text (though Link is still dumbfounded by it), gives you the Deluxe Picto Box right off the bat, and keeps your Nintendo Gallery progress so you can have another go at the figurines you missed ([[PermanentlyMissableContent miss them a second time, however, and you're screwed]]). References to Link's clothes are also slightly changed to accommodate his differing outfit, and the sunken treasure you can pinpoint after collecting and opening the Treasure Charts will be slightly further away from their original position, making their locations more difficult (this also applies to the Triforce Shards).
* NewSkillAsReward: If you bring enough Knight's Crests to Orca, he'll teach you the Hurricane Spin, an enhanced version of your SpinAttack.
* NewWeaponTargetRange:
** The room where you obtain the Boomerang locks you in for the miniboss and doesn't immediately open upon defeating it. You have to use your new item to hit out-of-reach switches above the door to get out.
** Getting the Master Sword causes the time stop on Hyrule Castle to be undone, allowing the powerful enemies frozen within to roam free. This gives players a quick chance to use their new weapon.
* NonLethalBottomlessPits: Falling into a pit only makes you lose a quarter of a heart.
* NowWhereWasIGoingAgain: The King of Red Lions clues Link into the next objective whenever he is spoken to.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** Once again. Why does Link always end up accidentally helping the evil he's supposed to kill? ''Ocarina of Time'', the ''Oracle'' games, ''Four Swords''... and now THIS. This time, when getting the Master Sword, he unlocks not only the monsters from their stasis but also [[spoiler:gives Ganondorf his power back. And the Master Sword lost its power long before Link even pulled it, meaning he can't even fight Ganondorf]].
** This one isn't explicitly pointed out, but [[spoiler:by assembling the Triforce of Courage to go after Ganondorf, Link allows him to get his wish]].
* TheNightThatNeverEnds: Ganondorf places the world under a curse of a perpetual night from the time you arrive on Greatfish Isle until you find Nayru's Pearl. In this instance, it works out in your favour; the pirates are also seeking the pearl, but they've stopped at Windfall Island for the night and claim they'll set off on their adventure when morning comes.
* NoblewomansLaugh: Courtesy of the Great Fairies.
* NoGearLevel: During the game's prologue, Link arrives at the Forsaken Fortress via catapult and loses his sword in transit, requiring the use of stealth until the sword is recovered.
* NoHeroDiscount:
** Exaggerated with Bomb-Master [[MeaningfulName Cannon]], who sells his bombs for prices several orders of magnitude above what you can possibly carry. This isn't intended as a CashGate, but as a BrokenBridge, and bombs can be bought for normal prices after the pirates rob the merchant of his bombs as part of the story. Prior to that, the merchant seems [[CardCarryingVillain mighty pleased with his greedy exploitation of his monopoly]], seemingly forgetting that, monopoly or not, he's not making money: no one can buy his wares because they cost more than the combined wealth of the world.
** Tingle charges 398 Rupees to decipher each of the eight maps needed to find the pieces of the Triforce. You have to get the first wallet upgrade to even pay this.[[labelnote:However]]In the HD remake, the base wallet amount is upped to 500 Rupees, so you don't need the first upgrade to be able to decipher the charts.[[/labelnote]] Luckily, you can hold up to 5000 Rupees after finding both wallet upgrades, a big jump from previous ''Zelda'' games.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Ganondorf beats the living crap out of Link with nothing but his fists in one cutscene.
* NoHuggingNoKissing: The game mostly tries to avoid giving Link such an UnwantedHarem, with Medli instead being slightly attracted to Prince Komali, the two girls on Windfall island either having different problems or already being in love, and Aryll being, well, his sister. Only the creepy fairy-queen is seen flirting with him and she's never seen again after that.
* NoItemUseForYou: The Gohma, Kalle Demos, Jalhalla, and Molgera rematches in Ganon's Tower take away any and all items that were not present in your inventory at the time of the initial battle. Link's bottle collection is left intact, however.
* NonCombatantImmunity: When you first enter the Forsaken Fortress, you lose your sword on the way there and you have nothing else in your inventory that you can use as a weapon. The whole fortress is played in stealth mode and being spotted gets you thrown into a [[CardboardPrison flimsy jail]] instead of attacking you. Once you do get your sword back, you can effectively kill the mooks patrolling around but they will fight back as well.
* NoobCave: The Forest of Fairies in Outset Island, and sometime later the shockingly difficult navigation around the Forsaken Fortress without your weapon until the end where you fight a Bokoblin as a WarmupBoss. Your journey here when you have the Master Sword is actually much easier.
* NoodleIncident: "The Forsaken Fortress? Isn't that the place where..." This sentence is never finished.
* NoPlaceForMeThere: [[spoiler:Why King Hyrule doesn't go with Link and Tetra to the surface. He realized that Hyrule was a dead land, and he, like Ganondorf, couldn't let go of it. Instead, he tells the kids the new land would be theirs before they go]].
* NostalgiaLevel: At one point in the Forbidden Woods dungeon, Link comes across the remnants of [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Kokiri Village]].
* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: The theme of the game, more or less, is that nothing can resist the winds of change. The point is driven home by the ending, in which [[spoiler:Ganondorf, the Master Sword, and Hyrule - the three major constants of the Zelda series - are forever sealed and buried under the ocean by the power of the Triforce]].
* NoticeThis: If you let Link stand still for a short while, his eyes will eventually drift toward whatever nearby object or feature happens to be relevant.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: [[spoiler:The King says that, in a sense, he was the same as Ganondorf, being unable to let go of a dying land]].
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: Ganondorf makes a climactic speech [[FreudianExcuse explaining his motive to conquer Hyrule]], saying he came from a harsh desert country where the wind brought only death whereas Hyrule's wind was so pleasant that he coveted it. However, nowhere in this speech does Ganondorf claim he was doing this to help his people, the Gerudo, nor does [[BrutalHonesty he pretend that his wish is anything but personal and selfish in nature]]. If he had any well-intentioned motives, [[MotiveDecay they had eroded away]] long ago and he's only now recalling them in hindsight.
* NouveauRiche: There is a poor man on Windfall Island who begs and moans for you to rescue his kidnapped daughter Maggie. When she is rescued, she brings back a load of Skull Necklaces (which look like junk but are secretly worth a lot of money), which he uses to become rich overnight. This turns him into an extremely arrogant rich man. He's a direct {{Foil}} to an ImpoverishedPatrician on the same island.
* OceanOfAdventure: The game is set in the Great Sea, what remains of Hyrule after a global flood turned it into a vast ocean dotted with islands that once were mountaintops, and which in the game's present have become home to some insular communities ranging from Hylian towns to the villages of nonhuman races to forbidding fortresses of monstrous pirates. The game follows Link as he sails from island to island, plums the seas for treasure, fights off sea monsters and hostile warships and uncovers the ancient legacy of Hyrule locked deep beneath the waves.
* OceanPunk: The game's setting is the Great Sea and the islands within, which stands out from the earthly kingdoms of previous games in the series. Over the course of the game, it is revealed that the Great Sea takes place AfterTheEnd, being what remains after [[spoiler:the ancient kingdom of Hyrule, as seen in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', was flooded by the gods to protect it from Ganondorf when the Hero of Time did not reappear to save it. The islands of the sea are actually the mountaintops of the ancient kingdom]]. Whereas most inhabitants enjoy a peaceful rural life in the biggest islands, pirates and divers sail the waters of the sea to find treasure. The evil forces, powered by Ganondorf, developed warlike technology in the form of warships and installed watchtowers armed with wall cannons.
* OddNameOut: The Tingle brothers: Tingle, Ankle, Knuckle, and David Jr. The latter having a different kind of name is justified for not being actually related to Tingle.
* OffhandBackhand: If, while targeting one enemy, another sneaks up behind, Link will strike both with one wide swing if they're close enough.
* OfficialCouple: Anton and Linda. The sidequest to upgrade the Picto Box to its Deluxe version already touches upon the mutual feelings the two feel (as one of the objectives is to take a shot at them during the exact moment they're watching face-to-face). Once the Picto Box can take pictures in color, it'll be possible to start reuniting the two so they can have a date and declare their feelings to each other. [[DidNotGetTheGirl Kamo doesn't take this well]], as he's in love with Linda as well.
* OffScreenTeleportation: No matter how fast you sail between Windfall and Spectacle Island, Salvatore will be there to run his minigame. The same applies to Loot and the Boating Coarse.
* OhCrap: Link in one cutscene, when he realizes that [[spoiler:his magic sword doesn't work]] and [[spoiler:Ganondorf]] has a giant katana pointed at him. He gets another, split-second one later when [[spoiler:Molgera starts screaming]].
* OjouRinglets: Mila is a RichBitch and has parted straight bangs that curl into tight ringlets in front of her ears. She loses them after her family goes from RichesToRags.
* OlderAndWiser: Ganondorf returns this way after his defeat in ''Ocarina of Time'', now sporting a surprisingly effective BeardOfEvil, having become much more calm and calculating than he was in his youth, preferring to control events from the shadows as opposed to out in the open with his magic and hordes of evil. Fittingly, however, he reverts to his fury of the old days during the final battle.
* OldMaster: Orca, the swordmaster of Outset Island, is quite spry for his age, and trains Link with the sword.
* OminousLatinChanting: The Tower of the Gods combines this with OneWomanWail, to go along with the dungeon's regal theme. The game also employs some disturbing chanting in its remix of Ganondorf's theme song.
* OneHitKill:
** If you pour Forest Water on Kalle Demos, the boss will die instantly.
** After obtaining the Fire and Ice Arrows, Link is given the option of using the latter arrows to freeze enemies solid and then smash them to pieces by either throwing their frozen body or using the Skull Hammer, which works even on ''Darknuts'' if you're quick enough. The Fire Arrows, meanwhile, can be used to kill Mothulas (which have a MiniBoss tier) instantly.
** Though the Light/Silver arrows in previous games were already exceptionally powerful, it's more evident in this game, where they're capable of disintegrating the enemies' bodies in an explosion of light.
* OneHitPolykill: The Light Arrows are powerful enough to kill mook after mook as they go after being shot. This isn't the case for the other ''Zelda'' games where they appear.
* OneOfTheseDoorsIsNotLikeTheOther: In the second half of Ganon's Tower, a maze can be navigated only after Link kills the Phantom Ganon in each room and sees [[spoiler:which direction its sword's ''handle'' falls.]]
* OneTimeDungeon:
** Tetra's Ship is only ever visited at two points during the game. The first time is when Link joins Tetra's crew at the beginning of the game; the ship goes away after Link arrives at the Forsaken Fortress. The second time is when the ship is docked at Windfall; it will vanish after Link obtains Nayru's Pearl. The ship is seen again during the ending cutscene.
** The Ghost Ship will permanently disappear the moment Link collects the treasure that's inside.[[note]]A Triforce Chart in the [[Platform/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] version, replaced with a Triforce Shard in the Platform/WiiU version.[[/note]] Upon receiving the treasure, the screen will fade to black, and Link will reappear back on the open sea upon the King of Red Lions.
** {{Subverted|trope}} with the Forsaken Fortress, which sits completely abandoned after Link rescues Aryll and defeats the Helmaroc King, save for a few Keese, Rats, and the lone Floormaster that will put Link in the prison from when he lost his sword during the first visit. Link can still revisit the fortress, especially through the portal activated in Ganon's Tower, but the chambers for the Helmaroc King (consisting of the prison where Aryll was locked up along with Maggie and Mila and the top of the tower) and Ganon (the old pirate ship, also at the top of the tower) cannot be accessed again due to the old ship being burned up by Valoo just after Link and Tetra ([[spoiler:later revealed to be Princess Zelda]]) escape with Komali and Quill. Moreover, if Link forgets to collect the Heart Container dropped by the Helmaroc King, he can still retrieve it in the exact same place where his sword dropped after being launched in.
* OneToMillionToOne: Jalhalla, boss of the Earth Temple. Killing the smaller parts is what actually harms it, as evidenced by its life bar.
* OneTrueSequence: Although travelling can be anywhere, the game's main quest is still linear; unlike the earlier games, you ''have'' to complete dungeons in the order the game wants you to. You may, however, collect the Triforce Shards in any order and either before or after completing the Earth and Wind Temples; this is still more than what most of the later games allow.
* OneWingedAngel: [[AvertedTrope The first game in the series where you fight Ganondorf, but not in his boar form]]. Puppet Ganon, on the other hand, does this happily. ''Twice''.
* OneWomanWail: The game uses one in the "enemy encounter at sea" music. It employs VariableMix when either Link or the enemy receives the first hit.
* OnlyGoodPeopleMayPass: After ''[[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', the previous ChosenOne that wielded the Master Sword was sent back to his original time, thus breaking the cycle of reincarnation which spawns a new Chosen One. The Tower of the Gods was created to test anyone who wanted to wield the sword in the future, and it requires three pearls that embody the virtues of the goddesses themselves to unlock it.
* OnlyIdiotsMayPass: When you find the pirate ship docked at Windfall Island, the first logical step would appear to be to board the ship and see what's up. Entering the ship requires you to give the password, a horribly punny answer to a pirate riddle. It's possible (and, in some cases, quite easy) to guess the password, but you'll still be turned away unless you've visited the secret entrance to an unremarkable building in the city and overheard the password yourself. The game {{Hand Wave}}s this by implying that you need to say it "exactly right" (inflections and all, apparently).
* OnlyShopInTown:
** Beedle's shop ship is this for most of the overworld.
** The [[{{Jerkass}} owner of the Bomb Shop on Windfall]] takes pride in the fact that he's the only resident of the Great Sea in the bomb-selling business, and uses it to set ridiculously sky-high prices for his bombs; though later on, he [[spoiler:[[TookALevelInKindness takes a level in kidness]] due to the pirate influence, and his prices become much more reasonable]].
* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: The game puts a twist on this; since the Link from this game is TheUnchosenOne, he must first collect three {{MacGuffin}}s ''and'' fight his way through a massive dungeon just to reach the Master Sword, and then [[spoiler:fight his way out again once he has it in his hands]]. And then it turns out [[spoiler:that it wasn't at full power anyway, and Link must put in even ''more'' effort to restore it before it can serve its intended purpose]].
* OnlyTheWorthyMayPass: One must beat The Tower of the Gods before being given access to [[spoiler:the submerged Hyrule]]. And said Tower is only attainable if you have the pearls of the goddesses in the right places, which must be obtained from their respective guardians.
* OpeningNarration: It recounts the legend of the Hero of Time (albeit not without some FutureImperfect) and the story of the ancient kingdom's disappearance. And it's in what seems to be storybook form, complete with ink illustrations.
* OpeningTheSandbox: When you first gain the ability to sail, you can only sail from Windfall Island to Dragon Roost Island, at which point the King of Red Lions won't let you leave until you've obtained the first pearl. After that, you can only travel to the map squares connecting Windfall, Dragon Roost, and Forest Haven. After getting the second pearl, you can sail anywhere except the Forsaken Fortress ([[TakeYourTime despite the King's insistence that you head to Greatfish Isle immediately]]). Of course, it might be worth it to stay on track until you at least learn the [[WarpWhistle Ballad of Gales]] (for which you have to defeat Cyclos by shooting arrows, a weapon housed in the Tower of the Gods), to make navigation more efficient.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: Averted. Ganondorf is ''incredibly'' proactive here - he sends out the Helmaroc King to find Zelda before the game starts, nukes Greatfish Isle so Link can't get the final Pearl (even though Jabun escaped), and kills the Sages of Wind and Earth to depower the Master Sword. And when it seems like Link and the King of Red Lions are one step ahead of him by restoring the Master Sword's power and reassembling the Triforce of Courage, [[spoiler:Ganondorf returns to Hyrule before his two enemies do and kidnaps Princess Zelda]].
* OrphansPlotTrinket: Tetra's charm turns out to actually be [[spoiler:a piece of the Triforce, passed down by the royal family, meaning she's really the current Queen - er, [[PrincessRule Princess]] Zelda]].
* OurFairiesAreDifferent: Here, they're tiny, humanoid women with wings and magic wands, rather than the winged balls of light the previous two 3D ''Zelda'' games used.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Implied. Since Link and his sister Aryll have been [[RaisedByGrandparents raised by their grandmother]], it most likely means that their parents are dead, so Granny outlived whichever of their parents was her child.
* OutOfGenreExperience: This happens as early as the first dungeon when you lose your sword. The tone also feels completely different from the rest of the game, being dark and dank, and you'll find yourself moving slowly, crouching, sidling along walls and hiding inside barrels a la the cardboard box from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''. You also have to take out the searchlight operators in order to be able to move on.
* OutsideTheBoxTactic: [=ReDeads=] are particularly infamous in this game compared to the rest of the series, as it would seem ''only'' Link's sword can kill them. Arrows harmlessly poke them at best, and [[FacePlant using the Hookshot is suicide]]. However, being either an oversight on the dev team ''or'' because they couldn't figure out how to reasonably program it, [=ReDeads=] aren't immune to ''bombs''. As such, the easiest way to deal with them is to chuck bombs in their direction while keeping back to not aggro them. This tactic is especially useful in Hero Mode, where [=ReDeads=] can ''very'' quickly eat through all your health.
* TheOverworld: The Great Sea serves this role, an interesting take on the concept being that you have to traverse by boat. There are small islands that have nuances you can explore but, it's mostly just open ocean.
* OxygenMeter: The game does not have any underwater breathing, but does have a stamina bar to prevent you from swimming from island to island (which can only be done by sailing your boat).
* PalmtreePanic: A good deal of the overworld has this since the Great Sea originated from the Great Flood that sank Hyrule to prevent Ganondorf from taking over it by force.
* PanUpToTheSkyEnding: [[spoiler:The final scene of the game after the end credits is a pan up from Link and the pirates to the sky, as the "THE END" logo appears.]]
* ParentalAbandonment: Link and Aryll's parents are nowhere to be seen and never mentioned. They live with their grandmother on Outset.
* PartlyCloudyWithAChanceOfDeath: It's mostly sunny when the FinalBoss battle starts, but it soon darkens and starts raining heavily [[spoiler:(literally as heavy as the entire ocean)]]. The battle ends with the death of [[spoiler:Ganondorf (who doesn't get better this time around), the King of Hyrule, and Hyrule itself]].
* PeoplePuppets: A heroic example. Link learns the [[MagicMusic Command Melody]] which allows the player to control someone else. It's mainly used to control statues and willing partners like Medli and Makar.
* PermanentlyMissableContent:
** There are several characters and creatures that have limited appearances in the game, thus providing scant opportunities to take photos of them for the Nintendo Gallery sidequest.
*** The Helmaroc King: While most of the other dungeon bosses have rematches at the end of the game, your only opportunity for this is to take a photo during the boss fight with it.
*** Kogoli the Rito: For some unexplained reason, he ceases to exist after Medli awakens as a sage. He's the Rito standing just inside the mail centre by night and on one of the platforms outside by day.
*** Tetra and her crew: Take a photo of Tetra while leading her through [[spoiler:the submerged Hyrule]], or before being launched into the Forsaken Fortress on a NewGamePlus. This also gives you figurines for all her subordinate pirates.
*** Big Octo: There's a finite amount of them as minibosses; take a photo of one before slaying all six.
*** Cyclos: Take a photo of him during a "battle" with him, any time before nailing him with three arrows. This figurine also comes with his brother Zephos.
*** Red Wizzrobe: Fought only once, as the Wind Temple's miniboss. Snag a snapshot before bagging him.
*** Phantom Ganon: If you miss your shot during the Forsaken Fortress, you'll have many retries in his maze later, but once you shoot him with a Light Arrow he's gone for good.
*** [[spoiler:Puppet Ganon]]: Take a photo during the battle against it, and exit the area to have it sculpted.
** Due to him being a hidden character who requires a Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable to make him appear, Knuckle is considered optional for completing the Nintendo Gallery. However, if you obtain every other figurine in the Nintendo Gallery without submitting a pictograph of Knuckle in the interim, you can't get his figurine due to Carlov having left, considering the gallery to be complete without Knuckle.
** Before the Miiverse shutdown, the HD remaster made it possible to acquire any figurine you've missed by obtaining a picture for it from a Tingle Bottle, although this led to a LuckBasedMission, as there was no way to decide what messages you would have gotten. Knuckle is now also required to complete the Gallery, with his description even [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] his original non-required status.
* PerpetualMolt: The Helmaroc King in Forsaken Fortress, which constantly drops black feathers while it flies. Its appearance in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' goes the weaponizing route with FeatherFlechettes.
* PerpetualStorm: There is a moment in which Ganondorf curses the Great Sea, causing an endless stormy night in order to hinder Link. Jabun lifts the curse when he deems Link worthy to enter the Tower of the Gods.
* PersonalSpaceInvader: Morths are burr-like enemies that attach themselves to Link. While incapable of damaging Link, Morths will slow down his movement until he can shake them off. The more Morths that are attached to Link, the slower he becomes.
* PetTheDog: Ganondorf promises Link he won't kill him. [[SubvertedTrope Not only does he quickly break this promise, but he made it after beating the boy silly with nothing but his fists]]. Granted, this was ''before'' [[spoiler:the King of Hyrule came out of nowhere and single-handedly ruined his plans when he was seconds away from achieving his goal]]. Needless to say, Ganondorf was pissed off, so it's not surprising that he would go back on his word. Chances are, [[spoiler:had the King not interfered]], he actually would have let Link off with just the beating.
* PhysicalGod: Zephos and his brother Cyclos are wind gods, and they appear in the form of frogs riding clouds.
* PillarOfLight:
** Pillars that show the position of any treasure you have a chart for as long as you're not too close,
** Pillars that warp you out of the Boss Arena,
** Even a Pillar that shines briefly before stopping to reveal a stone with the instructions for the Command Melody on it.
* PimpedOutDress: Mila wears a pink one until her father gives away his fortune to save her. After Maggie's father gets his fortune, she wears a similar purple dress.
* {{Pirate}}: Tetra leads a group of them, and they're the scourge of the ocean and a band of misfits, no less. She mentions another group of pirates that were once [[TheRival rivals]] to her own, but they're never seen in-game.
* PirateGirl: Tetra, who is the captain of a pirate crew despite her young age. [[spoiler:Later, Aryll becomes one while travelling with the crew while Tetra (now Zelda) is in Hyrule Castle]].
* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Windfall Island is full of big, burly sailors... who are never seen doing any actual seafaring. One of them outright refuses to sell Link a sail by citing that he needs it to earn his living, yet Link's boat is always the only one at the docks.
* PivotalBoss: Gohma and Kalle Demos. The former is a giant Magtail monster that attacks from a pool of lava, while the latter is a plant creature rooted to the floor.
* PlatformActivatedAbility: The default function of the song Wind's Requiem is to change the direction of the wind when it's played outdoors in the overworld. Indoors, it's useless because there's no wind to control... unless you spot a round eolic emblem in the floor. If you stand on it and play the song, a gust of wind will appear to unveil a treasure chest in a nearby marked spot.
* PlayerGuidedMissile: The game introduces the ability to control seagulls after feeding them a special fruit. They can then be guided to hit switches and collect rupees and other things.
* PlotCoupon: Three Goddess Pearls to unveil the Tower of the Gods (which holds the secret to access the whereabouts of Hyrule), then the blessing of two temple Sages to empower the Master Sword, and finally the eight pieces of the Triforce of Courage to return to Hyrule.
* PlotTunnel: Your voyaging across the sea is pretty limited for the first couple dungeons. Even after obtaining your own boat to sail, the King of Red Lions will only let you travel from Windfall Island directly east to Dragon Roost. Once you reach Dragon Roost, he won't let you leave until you have what you came there for. And once that's accomplished, he'll only let you sail either directly west back to Windfall or directly south to the next island, Forest Haven. Only once you've finished with the Forest Haven does the rest of the world open up to you, since the routes between islands are a lot less lineated after that.
* APlotInDeed: One of the Triforce Charts that pinpoints the location of the sunken fragments of the Triforce of Courage is located in Miss Marie's cabana, on a Private Oasis northwest of Forest Haven. The problem is that she still owns the island legally (despite living on Windfall Island), so Link has to acquire the Cabana Deed from her in order to inherit the property. He can receive it by gifting her 20 Joy Pendants as part of her incoming birthday.
* PointyEars: Link and his family, Tetra, and some other human characters. The word [[spoiler:"Hylian"]] is never used ([[JustifiedTrope justified]] with the fact that [[spoiler:the kingdom of Hyrule is lost beneath the waves, and the people don't even remember its name]]). Quill mentions that the Helmaroc King is only kidnapping young human girls with "long ears," and it's unknown to him that it's because one of them might be [[spoiler:Princess Zelda]]. The Rito also have them, on another note.
* PostDefeatExplosionChain: After Link delivers the killing blow to Molgera, the giant SandWorm guarding the Wind Temple, it flies into the air screeching; its body segments then turn to sand and promptly explode one after the other.
* ThePrecariousLedge: There are a few of these occurrences during which you have to get past using the "sidle" command. You're fine as long as you don't let up the 'A' button.
* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang: For the first time in a 3D Zelda game, the Boomerang physically locks onto multiple targets when you aim and will hit them all when you release. And it's not even said to be magic!
* PreExplosionGlow:
** The Armos. After being exploded/receiving an arrow in the back or being fed with bombs/hit enough in the back, they start hopping around madly and eventually explode, glowing in-between.
** Once Link uses all the goddess pearls, the three statues he placed them in give off a glow and explode, revealing the inner statues. Link sees the last statue as it begins glowing and runs away to avoid the imminent blast. [[WrongGenreSavvy Nothing happens.]] He gets back up to see what's going on... and the statue explodes, [[ButtMonkey sending him flying]].
* PreFinalBoss: Ganon first uses a giant puppet (Puppet Ganon) to wear Link down before their fight.
* PrisonEpisode: The Forsaken Fortress. When Link ventures through it the first time, he's unarmed due to losing his sword at the start; if he gets caught by the patrolling Moblins, he'll be imprisoned and will need to escape. The second time he visits this dungeon, he not only has the Master Sword at hand but is also better prepared overall, so he can confront whoever sees him.
* PrizedPossessionGiveaway: Played with Aryll's telescope. This instrument is Aryll's most valued possession, so she ''lends'' it to Link during his birthday and tells him that she wants it back when the day ends. When Aryll is rescued after her kidnapping, she writes a letter to Link telling him that she'll let him use the telescope for as long as necessary (thus making the item a permanent one in the inventory gameplay-wise), though it's never shown in the ending whether Link returns it to her or she lets him keep it for real. This is referenced jokingly in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'', where a Link wannabe called Nyeve gives the real Link a kaleidoscope he "received from his sister" (he then admits he just found it during his travels).
* ProductDeliveryOrdeal: After Makar is rescued by Link in the Forbidden Woods, he and the other Koroks perform the Korok ceremony, and those fellows resolve to travel all over the Great Sea to plant seeds in other islands so new forests are born. However, when Link meets any of those Koroks, he's told that the trees will only grow in full when poured with Forest Water, so he has to return to Forest Haven and scoop some water with a bottle to travel to every island having a Korok tree and water it. Besides the long distance between the islands (and some of them having perilous obstacles, like the moving thorny branches in Cliff Plateau Isles), there's the bigger caveat that the magical effect of the Forest Water will expire after 20 minutes past the moment when Link leaves Forest Haven, so he must hurry (this also makes this quest impossible without learning the Ballad of Gales first). The game's Wii U version makes this quest easier by extending the time limit to 30 minutes and providing the option of traveling faster with the Swift Sail.
* ProlongedPrologue: The beginning of the game is quite different from the rest of it: you start on a tiny island with no weapons, hang out with a cast of pirates and are carted around on their ship, lose your equipment and have to spend about an hour doing a StealthBasedMission (the only one in the entire game), and then have to do several fetch quests for various townspeople. It's only about 3 and a half hours into the game when you finally have your equipment and your own boat that the game catches its stride.
* PromotedFanboy: Two InUniverse examples:
** The two humans who are obsessed with and dress like the Rito. The Rito sponsor their flying contest.
** The figure fan walking around the Nintendo Gallery can have a figure made of himself.
* PunnyName:
** Medli's name is a multi-lingual HurricaneOfPuns in and of itself. To clarify, the name ''Medli'', obtained during translation to English by removing the O of the original phonemic name ''Medori'', is close to and sounds like the musical term ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medley_%28music%29 Medley]]''. Now in addition to that, the French and German translations brought ''back'' the O and changed her name ''again'' to ''Médolie''. ''Médolie'' is a simple anagram of the French (and German) word ''Mélodie'', the meaning of which you can probably guess (it's not a false friend). It's anyone's guess whether Medli's name is a series of exceptionally fortunate coincidences or some [[OverlyPrePreparedGag ridiculously extensive forethought]] on the part of the developers. [[TakeAThirdOption Or, you know,]] [[OverlyLongGag a bit of both]].
** As a side note, "dori" in "Medori" is one way to read the character for "bird," another being "tori," which in Japanese is "Rito" backwards. Add that to the fact that "Rito" [[WordofGod intentionally]] sounds like "Ruto," the name of the princess whose race is ancestral to the Rito, and you have a very significant spin-off [[HurricaneOfPuns hurricane]].
** Also, Medli. Makar. Medley Maker. And if you make a medley of the songs that the two characters play, it creates the game's main theme.
* PuzzleBoss: Not unusual for ''Zelda'' games, and in this very game most bosses invoke this to varying degrees, but special mention to [[spoiler:Ganondorf, who actually learns to parry more of Link's attacks as the battle goes on. He'll also start dodging Zelda's Light Arrows, forcing you to get a bit creative]].
* PuzzleReset: Block puzzles that could otherwise end up being [[UnwinnableByDesign permanently flubbed]] can be reset by exiting the room or area and coming back. Such is the case of the block stacks in a room within Dragon Roost Cavern and an underground cave in Angular Isles.
* QuadDamage: The Elixir Soup doubles Link's attack power until the next time he is hit by an enemy or hazard.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:R-T]]
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: This turns out to be the crux of Ganondorf's plot. At the climax of the story, Ganondorf explains to Link the reality of the Great Sea for the descendants of Hyrule, calling them unfortunate souls abandoned and destroyed by their gods. His plan is to use the Triforce and force the gods to restore Hyrule back to its former glory... [[DespotismJustifiesTheMeans under his rule]].
* RagsToRiches: Maggie and her father go from homeless to uber-rich overnight after Maggie is rescued from the Forsaken Fortress and sells her stockpile of Skull Necklaces. Maggie's father ends up incredibly obnoxious and haughty as a result of his new lifestyle, even more so than his counterpart, Mila's father.
* {{Railroading}}: When you first gain access to the Great Sea, the King of Red Lions will only let you travel through a very specific part of the map until you earn Farore's Pearl after completing the second dungeon. Trying to go anywhere but the plot-mandated path before then will have him turn you around. If you warp to Mother and Child Island before the game wants you to you'll just be told to come back "when you're ready" to get the fire and ice arrows. If you head to a reef before the game decides it wants to let you conquer them said reefs will just be devoid of enemies. And if you're where the Ghost Ship appears but don't have the Ghost Ship Chart, you won't be able to enter the ship.
* RainbowSpeak: Important things like item names, controls, objectives, and hints are highlighted in [[red:red]].
* RandomDrop: There are special items dropped by certain monsters that are stored in your Spoils Bag. These are specific to each monster (i.e. Moblins only drop Skull Necklaces), and usually, drop randomly. However, the Grappling Hook can be used to [[VideoGameStealing steal their item]] with 100% success if it hits. Each type of item is useful in a different {{Sidequest}}.
* RasputinianDeath: To show Ganon is KilledOffForReal this time, the game has him stabbed through the head, TakenForGranite, the tower you fought him on collapses, and the ocean rushes in and buries him under miles of water. We don't actually know for certain which of those steps really did it, either.
* RateLimitedPerpetualResource: The Elixir Soup fully refills Link's [[HealingPotion health]] and [[ManaPotion magic]], and also [[FullHealthBonus makes him more powerful]] until he gets hit again. Two helpings fit in a bottle, but Link's grandma, on Outset Island in the corner of the map, will only give him a refill if he doesn't already have at least one helping.
* ReallyRoyaltyReveal: [[spoiler:When Tetra ends up in Hyrule with Link and the king reveals her true identity as Princess Zelda]].
* RealTimeWeaponChange: The HD remaster on Wii U allows you to change your item loadout with the [=GamePad=]'s touchscreen without interrupting the game.
* RedundantResearcher: Salvage Co., a group of brave explorers (with state-of-the-art diving suits) in search of the legendary "Triumph Forks". Apparently [[FutureImperfect the legend degraded over time]]...
* ReforgedBlade: The Master Sword isn't exactly broken, but it's lost its magical power to repel evil, which must be restored by having sages pray musically in the hearts of dangerous monster-infested ancient temples.
* RegionalRedecoration: In ''Wind Waker'''s backstory, [[spoiler:the golden goddesses flooded Hyrule to save it from Ganon]], creating the Great Sea and its many islands.
* {{Reincarnation}}: Link, the Hero of Winds, is hinted to be this to the Hero of Time, according to a few things that [[spoiler:the King of Hyrule]] and Ganondorf say.
-->'''Ganondorf:''' ''[to Link]'' Yes, surely you are the Hero of Time, reborn.
* RetaliationMode: Gohdan flies up and unleashes a salvo of energy orbs when Link shoots their first eye out; [[SubvertedTrope when he shoots out the second, they drop down and open their mouth]] [[FeedItABomb for Link to stuff a bomb into]].
* RetCanon: The idea of the titular Princess Zelda being an ActionGirl with archery skills first originated in the [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989 '80s cartoon]]. It carries over to the games from ''The Wind Waker'' onwards (and here, notably, [[spoiler:Zelda attacks Ganondorf with Light Arrows while Link uses his sword]]), and Zelda's trademark weapon (when it's not just plain magic) is usually the Bow and Arrows of Light.
* RewardingVandalism:
** A guy ''charges'' you if you break his things. (The trick is to do it when you're broke.)
** A number of underground grottoes contain pillars and Darknuts. Using the Darknuts' swords to smash the pillars tends to release large amounts of Rupees. You could also use the Skull Hammer.
* RichesToRags: Mila's father gets extorted by Tetra's pirate crew when they asked to be paid for saving Mila from the Forsaken Fortress, losing his wealth and ending up homeless. Mila is naturally upset about her new lifestyle while her father surprisingly takes it in stride, just being happy he has his daughter back.
* RingOfFire: The MiniBoss battle against the two Mighty Darknuts who challenge Link in the basement of Hyrule Castle after [[spoiler:Zelda's kidnapping due to Ganondorf]] is encased within a ring of fire that surrounds the area with the Master Sword's former pedestal. It dissipates after Link defeats his two enemies.
* RingOutBoss: Defeating Jahalla in Earth Temple requires throwing the boss into spiked columns lining the arena before finishing off the poes that makes up its body.
* RiseToTheChallenge: You have to climb a spiralling ramp around the upper interior of the Forsaken Fortress, avoiding both rising water and the Helmaroc King. You [[BossBattle fight him]] when you get to the roof.
* RiteOfPassage: Young [[BirdPeople Rito]] must journey to the peak of Dragon Roost Island's mountain to receive a scale from the dragon Valoo, the sky spirit who guards the island. It explicitly allows them to grow their wings and implicitly makes them grow taller very quickly (the latter indicated by Prince Komali being noticeably taller after getting his scale). The first major dungeon arc requires Link to find a way of calming down the suddenly rampaging Valoo in part because this means the Rito can't get those scales anymore.
* RocBirds: The Helmaroc King, a giant bird with a helm-like metal mask over its face that serves as Ganondorf's [[TheDragon Dragon]]. At the start of the game, it kidnaps Link's sister Aryll, kicking off the main plot. There are also the Kargarocs, smaller (though still man-sized) {{mook}} variants of the same species.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething:
** [[spoiler:The King of Hyrule]]. The spirits Valoo, the Deku Tree, and Jabun all seem to imply that he's taken up the mantle of saving [[spoiler:Hyrule]], and they're simply trying to help. Valoo and Jabun even tell him "We're counting on you!" Before he found Link, ''he'' was the hero, so to speak.
** [[spoiler:Tetra]] counts as well, considering her status as a princess.
* RuinsForRuinsSake: Completely averted for once. Every ruin has both a purpose and a good reason for its decay.
* RuleOfSeven: There are seven dungeons in the game: The first two to earn the Goddess Pearls (Dragon Roost Cavern and Forbidden Woods), the next two to find the Master Sword and then finally rescue Link's sister (Tower of the Gods and Forsaken Fortress), the next two to awaken the new Sages and empower the Master Sword (Earth Temple and Wind Temple), and finally one to confront Ganondorf and save Zelda (Ganon's Tower). There are also seven destinations for the Ghost Ship, one per night and also associated with a specific phase of the moon.
* RuleOfThree: Three Goddess Pearls. Placing them respectively into the three statues of the Triangle Islands unlocks the Tower of the Gods. In turn, unlocking the highest floor of that dungeon requires reuniting the three sacred statues located in the second floor's rooms in its central area.
* RushBoss: The battle between Link and Cyclos lasts only 30 seconds, but that time is ''decisive''. If you fail to quickly shoot three arrows at Cyclos, he will use his cyclone to take you away to a random part of the Great Sea, forcing you to look for him again for a rematch. And if you aim for HundredPercentCompletion, then you will also need to take a pictograph of the opponent before defeating him, [[PermanentlyMissableContent otherwise you will never have another chance]].
* SameContentDifferentRating. The original GCN version was rated E for Everyone. The Wii U remaster is rated E10+, but the content is intact. This was because the E10+ rating didn't exist when the game was first released, and this same rating revision was also applied to the remakes of ''Ocarina of Time'' and ''Majora's Mask''.
* SapientShip: The King of Red Lions. He functions as this game's ExpositionFairy and your main form of transportation through the Great Sea.
* SaveGameLimits: From this game onwards, the resumed playthrough in most ''Zelda'' games puts Link at the entrance of the latest location he was, dungeon or not, thus alleviating the limitations seen with previous entries in this regard. As usual, saving inside a dungeon usually sends you back to the dungeon's entrance after restarting the game.
* SavageSetpiece: The game replaces the previous games' Cuccos with pigs. If you return to the first island you'll find that the pig you caught at the beginning of the game is now HUGE. It can be provoked just like the other pigs. It does more damage per hit than nearly every enemy and boss in the game (three hearts, only matched by the Mighty Darknuts and Ganondorf's strongest attacks).
* SaveThePrincess: While Princess Zelda is safe during most of the game, Ganondorf manages to find her and capture her by the time Link fully empowers the Master Sword and reassembles the Triforce of Courage. Rescuing her is the final objective in the game.
* SayItWithHearts: One of the Fishmen, while neither kawaii nor genki, gives Link one when talking about [=ChuChus=]. Also, the sculptor (Carlov) speaks with hearts quite often.
* SceneryGorn: Greatfish Isle, which is a horrific contrast to the rest of the game's islands - the entire island has been ''ripped to shreds'' by Ganondorf and his forces. The contrast of approaching the island, seeing the swirl of dark clouds above it, and its horrific state, is extremely jarring when contrasted with the rest of the game, likely intentionally so.
* SceneryPorn: The cel-shaded backgrounds push the Gamecube to its limits, and nearly everything is ''gorgeous''. Some of the larger landforms and buildings, most notably the Tower of the Gods, actually use ''realistic'' shading and detailed textures to simulate the detailed background of a high-quality animated film. Taken even further with the HD remaster, where the increased render distance allows for certain locations to be viewable from halfway across the world.
* SchizoTech:
** Wooden submarines, robot turrets, and a camera, to name a few. The camera can even become a color camera, [[{{Magitek}} though that's through magic, not technology]]. However, the way the camera handles images is too similar to the way a digital camera handles pictures for the camera to be completely magical.
** If you talk to the treasure hunters near Eastern Triangle Island once more after they give you the treasure chart, their leader will mention quantum physics. In a series that's by-and-large MedievalEuropeanFantasy. Chew on that for a second.
* SecondComing: Subverted. Everyone expected the Hero of Time to return to deal with Ganondorf when he was released from his imprisonment, but he didn't. This didn't deter the surviving citizens of Hyrule from dressing up boys in the garb of the Hero of Time in the hope that they can one day instil the same level of courage in them to defeat evil. However, years later, a new hero who ended up bearing the Triforce of Courage was recognized by Ganondorf as "the Hero of Time, reborn." Even Hyrule Castle is seen to be honouring the Hero of Time as a MessianicArchetype.
* SecondHourSuperpower: The King of Red Lions gives you the titular Wind Waker when you get to Dragon Roost Island, in time to teach you the Wind's Requiem, the song that allows you to control the winds.
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: The events of ''Ocarina of Time'' are inverted in this game, where Ganondorf's attempt to work in the shadows to restore and reclaim Hyrule under his title ultimately manage to do everything required to draw he, Zelda, and Link together once more. He perceives this as so self-evident that he expounds at length during the final battle about how the circumstances of their meeting cannot be anything ''but'' fate.
* SelflessWish: During the game's climax, [[spoiler: the king of Hyrule wishes for a future for Zelda and Link instead of the restoration of Hyrule, forever burying his old kingdom under the sea with Ganon]].
* SequelHook: [[spoiler:The game ends with the King of Hyrule, remaining beneath the waves along with old Hyrule, imploring Link and Tetra to find a new land and start a kingdom anew. Link sails off into the sea with Tetra and her pirates, which would lead to the direct sequel ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass,'' and later down the line to ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks,'' in which a new kingdom ''has'' been established]].
* SequentialBoss: There are two:
** The first boss, Gohma. In the first phase, Link has to make the rocky ceiling fall over her to gradually break her exoskeleton. After three falls, the second phase begins and Link is ready to properly inflict damage on the boss.
** Puppet Ganon takes exactly three forms: The actual puppet, then a spider, and finally a Moldorm-like caterpillar.
* SeriesFauxnale: While not purporting to be a finale for the franchise as a whole, it's clearly written to be a DistantFinale to the "Hero of Time Saga" that encompassed both ''Ocarina of Time'' and ''Majora's Mask'', with the game's plot hinging on ''Ocarina of Time''[='=]s Zelda removing Link from the timeline and leaving said timeline with no hero to take up the mantle when Ganon returned. The game as a whole has an air of finality to it, with the CentralTheme of the game being to let the past go and [[spoiler:Ganondorf being permanently sealed or killed with the Master Sword at the end of the game.]] Despite this, ''Wind Waker''[='=]s direct 3D successor, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', would continue the "Hero of Time Saga" for one more game, albeit in the timeline of ''Majora's Mask'' that the Hero of Time was transported to.
* ShiftingSandLand: Due to the game's TropicalIslandAdventure setting, there are no desert areas in the overworld. However, the boss Molgera in Wind Temple is fought inside an underground chamber filled with a very large pool of sand (and is constantly supplied with sand falling from the ceiling). During the battle, the boss can not only dwell beneath the sand but also hover in the air and then land downward to create a sinkhole to expose its head again. The Lanmolas it releases every time it takes damage can swim through the sand freely as well.
* ShipLevel: Even though the game is set in an ocean-filled world, there are only two ship levels, Tetra's Ship and the GhostShip. The former is boarded twice, and in both cases, Link must complete a challenge offered by Niko to obtain a reward. The latter is accessed upon collection of the Ghost Ship Chart, and inside Link has to defeat a group of enemies in order to claim one of the Triforce Charts.
* ShipperOnDeck: If Link pays Beedle a visit after stealing the bombs from Tetra's ship, he mentions that the pirates sold him the ones they still had before asking if Link is "acquainted" with their leader and teasing him about the bashful look on his face.
* ShipTease:
** Link and Tetra have several lingering moments. Following Tetra's [[{{Tsundere}} initial dislike of him, the pair grow closer as time moves on]], particularly after it is revealed [[spoiler:Tetra is Zelda]].
** The DialogueTree always leans to ship-tease with Mila.
** In addition to a few teases with Link, Medli and the Rito prince Komali seem to have a few lines of dialogue hinting at something with each other.
** [[MayflyDecemberRomance Link even gets one with the Fairy Queen]].
* ShopFodder: The game introduces Beedle, who accepts monster-dropped shop fodder items for rewards above simple cash. However, this is never expressly stated in the dialogue with him.
* ShoutOut:
** There's a sign at the top of the lighthouse on Windfall Island written by a 'J.L. Picall'. [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Sound familiar?]]
** The three statues on the Triangle Islands also look somewhat familiar. [[VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} The red one has eyes and a nose, the yellowish-green one has eyes and ears, and the blue one has eyes and a mouth]].
** The boss fights in Tower of the Gods and the Earth Temple are fought the same way as Andross in ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' and Boolossus in ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'', respectively.
** There's also Tott's German name: [[Creator/JohnTravolta T. Ravolta]].
** In NewGamePlus, the Hero's Clothes become [[Literature/TheEmperorsNewClothes The Hero's New Clothes]], which he wisely chooses to "wear" over his blue duds.
* SignificantAnagram: Tetra's Italian name is "Dazel". Now switch around the letters and see what you get. The weird thing is that this painfully obvious anagram actually sounds a lot better as a name than her real, original Japanese name...
* {{Slapstick}}: The game allows the player to throw Medli into walls at times, resulting in her being dazed and only able to speak in gibberish for a few seconds.
* SlippySlideyIceWorld: There's a MiniDungeon, the Ice Ring Isle, that's kind of difficult to get into because of its icy layout (and the first time you arrive you must clear it under a time limit, as the warmth provided by a Fire Arrow will be temporary until them). It was planned to be a full dungeon, but couldn't be due to time constraints. It's especially telling because of the slippy-slidey mechanics (we get special vocal effects only heard when slipping and falling on the ice, and the very ability to slip and fall never appears anywhere else, either). More went into it than makes sense for a short TimedMission to get the Iron Boots.
* SniperScopeSway: There's no scope, but Link's bow sways anyway.
* SoftWater: A ''Zelda'' tradition; a fall from any height into the sea is harmless.
* SomeDexterityRequired: In the original [=GameCube=] version, projectile weapons like the bow and boomerang were aimed with the left thumbstick, and you couldn't move while aiming. The HD remaster changed this, however, allowing you to move backwards, forwards, and sideways with the left stick, and aim with the right stick, just like a FirstPersonShooter. Thing is, two of the buttons that you can equip weapons to (X and Y), are pressed with the right thumb, making it more difficult and cumbersome to aim and then shoot in quick succession (good luck if you have a moving target). Equipping this kind of item to R works just fine, but if you want to equip more than one of them at a time...
* SoNearYetSoFar: Link's sister is in the first dungeon you visit, which is easy enough to traverse. ...But the BigBad's [[TheDragon drag--er, giant bird]], prevents her rescue because Link isn't strong enough. You have to attain the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Master Sword]] before she's finally rescued.
* SongsInTheKeyOfLock: The two temples whose sages empower the Master Sword requires Link to use the eponymous baton to conduct sacred melodies onto the newly-elected sages so they can open the temples' entrances, as well as inner parts afterwards: "Earth God's Lyric" for Earth Temple and "Wind God's Aria" for Wind Temple. Notably, these two songs also make up for the game's title screen theme as well as the credits music.
* SoulJar: Jalhalla in Earth Temple [[InvertedTrope is a ghost who houses fifteen smaller ghosts within]], making him both this trope and an AsteroidsMonster.
* SpikesOfDoom: The game features spiked borders in certain boss battle arenas. In the Earth Temple, the boss is a giant, intangible ghost, and is met in a room whose walls are covered in spikes. The ghost can blow Link, our trusty hero, into the walls and kill him thusly, but if Link can render the ghost tangible, he can then ''throw'' him into the wall, ''at'' the spikes, where he breaks apart into smaller, stab-able ghosts. No such luck in the fight against Helmaroc King: It will occasionally flap its wings to push Link towards the spiky border of the battlefield, and there's no way to use it in your favour.
* SpinAttack: The game introduces a downright ridiculous variant called the Hurricane Spin, in which Link moves around while spinning like a top for several seconds (but also leaves him dizzy for several seconds).
* SpinningOutOfHere: This occurs when you're teleported out of a completed dungeon.
* SplashOfColor: Link retains his color -- such as his bright green clothes -- while he's in [[spoiler:Hyrule Castle]], which otherwise only has slightly-tinted grays. [[spoiler:The rest of the castle's color returns when Link pulls the Master Sword]].
* SprintShoes: The HD remaster adds the Swift Sail, which allows maximum sailing speed in any direction without the need to shift the wind first.
* StalactiteSpite: There are stone coffins placed upright with loose lids so unstable that walking past one will cause the lid to fall, causing half a heart of damage. The lids can be prematurely activated by shooting an arrow at one.
* StalkingMission: There's an optional one, which gets you an empty bottle. You also get to hear Link [[CatScare meow like a kitty]] [[NobodyHereButUsBirds if you're not completely hidden]] when the target checks to see if she's being tailed, which is a reward in itself.
* StarScraper: The Tower of the Gods is so tall it can be seen from almost anywhere on the map.
* StationaryBoss: Kalle Demos uses the vines it hangs from the ceiling with to do the damage.
* StealthBasedMission:
** The first visit to the Forsaken Fortress, when Link is sans sword after the catapult incident and has to hide in barrels to avoid guard detection.
** Following Mila on Windfall at night. Notably, if Link is heard by her, but not seen, he impersonates a cat to throw her off his trail.
* StealthPun: As per usual, the Spectacle Rock formation appears in this game, but as an island. For those unaware, Spectacle Rock is always shaped like eyeglasses when viewed from above. The island is no exception. However, between the two outcroppings of rock is a literal bridge, which is the technical name of the wire that connects the two eyepieces.
* SuaveSabre: While only shown in the game art, Tetra also counts as this trope as she is shown having a cutlass, a rare variation.
* SubliminalSeduction: The seemingly babbling sounds of the [=ChuChus=] are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p33g_wkgGuw voices from two Japanese men arguing, but the speeches were sped up and in reverse.]]
* SuddenlySpeaking: This is the first game in which Link explicitly uses his voice: "Come on!" and "Meow!"
* SuitUpOfDestiny: This is the first time Link began his adventure without his green tunic and hat, a tradition to be followed by ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]''.
* SuperPersistentPredator: The [[ThreateningShark Gyorgs]] around Tingle Island will follow you until you either reach land or kill them.
* SupremeChef: Link's grandmother. Her soup [[HealthPotion replenishes all your hearts]], [[ManaPotion replenishes all your magic]], and [[FullHealthBonus doubles your attack strength until you take damage]]. And you get two doses of it per bottle. It even extends to Link's drinking animation! Normally when he drinks a potion beforehand, he usually looks grossed out by it-- like he knows it's gonna taste bad-- and has a grimacing expression after he finishes. When he drinks the Elixir Soup, however, he's excited and happy, and even smiles after he's finished!
-->'''Description:''' Now ''that'' is one hearty soup!
* SurpassedTheTeacher: You can undergo a minigame involving sparring with your former instructor in the art of swordplay. If you get a score of 1000 points, he responds in this manner.
* SurprisinglyCreepyMoment: The ''Zelda'' franchise has always been good at this, but the art style makes the creepy moments stand out all the more. That's without mentioning the rather dark backstory, and [[spoiler:Ganondorf meets his end at the hands of Link]] via ''brain-kebab.'' There's also the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown mentioned above. Unsettling enough on its own merits (how often do you see Link at the ''receiving'' end of those?), the fact that the oldest Link could be 16 and possibly as young as 9 makes it all the worse.
* SwordLines: Befitting the game's art style and engine, Link's sword shows CelShaded sword lines, which look exactly like on the concept art.
* SwordPlant: Link performs a down thrust to [[spoiler:deliver the final blow to Ganondorf in the final battle]].
* SympathyForTheDevil: This incarnation of Ganondorf is largely seen as the most sympathetic, for his FreudianExcuse and his visible tiredness of being the EvilOverlord. He's still a total prick, though.
* TacticalSuicideBoss:
** Molgera from Wind Temple sticks its tongue out and then just sits there.
** Gohdan from Tower of the Gods will also gladly sneeze out bombs and arrows, should you happen to run out of either. In his case, however, it's justified as Gohdan is meant to test Link's ''skill'', not however much ammo he has.
* TakeItToTheBridge: The rope bridge on Outset Island leading to the Fairy Woods is the one that Link's sister Aryll gets snatched off of by the Helmaroc King.
* TakeMyHand: [[spoiler:Having grown very attached to Daphnes during their journey, Link desperately reaches out to the King when he forces them up to the surface after the final battle. It's made all the more heart-wrenching when the King also raises his hand toward Link, but then slowly lowers it down sadly, while Link floats away with both a very sad and confused look on his face]].
* TakeThatAudience: Link's New Clothes given to him by his grandmother in NewGamePlus are said to be only visible to those who are honest...which doesn't include you, the player.
* TakeYourTime: Upon setting off for the Forsaken Fortress in the first part of the game, you can take as long as you want on the pirate ship inside and out, as Tetra doesn't announce they've arrived until the Spoils Bag has been acquired.
* TakenForGranite:
** The Dark [=ChuChus=] are invulnerable to any kind of attack, but once light touches them, they turn to stone (for a short while anyway) in which state you can either crush them to death with the Skull Hammer or pick them up and throw them before they recover (or throw them [[GrievousHarmWithABody into one another!]]), or use them as a weight on a switch.
** At the end of the FinalBoss battle, [[spoiler:Ganondorf turns to stone after being impaled by the Master Sword. Apparently, he's now the pedestal]].
* TaughtByExperience: Ganondorf's plans after his return seem to focus on eliminating ''exactly'' the things that caused him to lose in the past. He kills the sages so that the Master Sword loses its power and attempts to hunt down any descendant of Princess Zelda so that he can steal her Triforce. Later during the final boss fight, when he realizes that you're acting as a distraction while Tetra shoots him, he simply jumps over to her and knocks her unconscious.
* TearsOfJoy: Orca drops his spear and breaks into a stream of tears when [[spoiler:he teaches the Hurricane Spin to Link]].
-->'''Orca:''' Oh, the joyful tears... They won't stop...
* TeaserEquipment: There's a shop in early in the game that sells bombs for more money than Link can actually carry. You can acquire these bombs for free later on when the pirates rob the store, and afterwards the shopkeeper begins to sell bombs at a more reasonable price.
* TeleportingKeycardSquad: Getting the Boss Key in Forbidden Woods brings in two Moblins to the room where it was guarded, courtesy of some Kargaroks that drop them right in front of Link. And getting the one in Tower of the Gods activates the previously-inanimate Armos present in the room.
* TemptingFate: When Link first tries on the Hero's Clothes and expresses discomfort at them, Grandma consoles him, stating he only has to wear them for "just one day." Link takes off to save his sister before his birthday ends, and as a result, ends up wearing the green clothes for the whole game.
* TennisBoss: Happens during the return to the Forsaken Fortress, as a fight against Phantom Ganon. The only way to stun him is by successively deflecting his energy beams with the Master Sword, as they're the only thing that can weaken him. As with Ganondorf in ''Ocarina of Time'', the use of the empty bottle for this purpose is still an option (and it's lampshaded in Phantom Ganon's figurine entry in the Nintendo Gallery).
* TentacledTerror: Sea Octoroks and Big Octos. While the River Octoroks are tame enough, Sea Octoroks are big, flail menacingly when you get close instead of hiding in the water, tend to come out of nowhere right in front of you and knock you out of your boat, have creepy yellow eyes and glowing blue spiked heads at night, and come in [[ZergRush huge swarms]]. The Big Octos are ''building-sized'', create storms and a whirlpool to pull you closer so it can suck you in and spit you out, have [[EyesDoNotBelongThere eyes all over their bodies which act as weak points and seemingly move around at random]], and their location is marked by a flock of seagulls.
* TentacleRope: There are plant tentacles (called Dexivines) in some dungeons that rise from the ground when Link draws near and latch onto him. They don't inflict damage and merely tether him to the spot, steadily sapping his MP so long as they are attached. They'll respawn indefinitely but can be killed in one shot and aren't much of a threat.
* {{Terraform}}: The Koroks are periodically sent out by the Great Deku Tree to plant trees on the islands of the Great Sea, in an attempt to create forests and reclaim land from the sea.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Link's face just before being launched from a catapult.
* ThreateningShark: Gyorgs, which appear as enemies while sailing. They'll ram your boat to knock you out and begin taking huge chomps at you. They don't seem to bother you if you just keep moving, though. And they'll ram your boat while you're trying to get back into it, knocking you back into the water ''again''. They're no longer much of an annoyance in ''Wind Waker HD'', as they've lost the ability to knock you into the water, much like almost every other naval hazard.
* ThresholdGuardians: The first encounters with both the [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything pirates]] and [[CoolBoat the King of Red Lions]] place them in this role, with the latter asking questions on how far Link will reach to rescue his sister. Later on, the Tower of the Gods in its entirety is a more literal version of this trope.
* TheThreeTrials: Link has to collect the Goddess Pearls (Din's, Farore's and Nayru's) to unveil the Tower of the Gods and prove his worth. The last pearl is collected outside a dungeon, due to the destruction of its initial whereabouts (thus making the Tower of the Gods itself the actual third dungeon before the obtainment of the Master Sword). The usual plot twist that ensues doesn't occur until after Link completes the fourth dungeon (Forsaken Fortress), but it makes up for a ''big'' WhamEpisode.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Link can do this with the oversized swords dropped by enemies, and it does damage should the blade hit an enemy.
* TideLevel: The first floor of the Tower of the Gods is partially flooded since the place is sticking out of the ocean, and the water level raises and lowers periodically. Adapting to the changing tide is key to solving the first set of puzzles.
* TigerVersusDragon: One of Link's first quests is to ride the King of the Red Lions to confront the angry, raging dragon Valoo. It's subverted in that it turns out that Valoo is actually being tormented by the monster Gohma, and he becomes friends with Link when the hero gets rid of Gohma.
* TimedMission: After shooting the volcano's mouth at the top of Fire Mountain with an Ice Arrow, Link has five minutes to get inside and find the Power Bracelet before the island's heat rises again; luckily, once he gets the item, the exterior of the island remains warm for the rest of the game. This is repeated with the Ice Ring Isle: He shoots at the mouth of the dragon-shaped cave entrance with a Fire Arrow and has five minutes to enter and get the Iron Boots before the whole island freezes over again; when said item is collected, the island remains safe for good.
* TimeStandsStill: For [[spoiler:ancient Hyrule underneath the waves, and especially in Hyrule Castle itself, where several Darknuts are frozen and the scenery is DeliberatelyMonochrome. Link pulling the (de-powered) Master Sword from its pedestal restores the flow of time, at least in Hyrule Castle]].
* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:Tetra is just as surprised as Link to learn that her true identity is that of Princess Zelda.]]
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Tetra, who is a tomboyish, roughhousing pirate leader; and Link's sister, Aryll, who is very sweet and girlish with her pigtails and dress.
* TomboyPrincess: Being a princess with ActionGirl moments already makes Princess Zelda a potential candidate for this trope, but this instalment's version of her is regarded as an especially clear example.
* TopHeavyGuy: Many character designs, especially the sailors on Windfall Island.
* TooAwesomeToUse: Get 30 points at Beedle's Ship Shop and he'll give you a Complimentary ID, which does... ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin [[note]] In addition to completely restoring your health[[/note]]. Get ''60'' points, though, and you'll get the Fill-Up Coupon, an item that lets you immediately refill every ammo-dependent item in your inventory, along with health and magic, completely free of charge. The problem? You only get one. You'll never be low enough on ammo (''and'' be near a Ship Shop) that you'll feel justified in using it.
* TookALevelInBadass:
** Tetra. Not only is she a badass pirate leader with no qualms about showing it, [[spoiler:she doesn't hesitate to get in on the action in the final boss battle with Ganondorf, despite being revealed to be the usually-unhelpful Princess Zelda]].
** Link himself easily counts. While this is nothing new in the series for him, his level-taking is especially noticeable. He goes from a goofy kid setting off on a half-baked mission to rescue his kidnapped sister and overall ButtMonkey to [[TheUnchosenOne earning the right to bear the Triforce of Courage]], clearing out temples to [[spoiler:restore a depowered Master Sword and reinstate the Gods' chosen sages]], and ultimately defeating Ganondorf in one of the best final boss battles in the series.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Maggie's father. When you first meet him, he's a pitiable pauper who is distraught over his daughter being kidnapped. But when Maggie comes back with a massive fortune in Skull Necklaces, he turns into a selfishly greedy bastard who won't even let Maggie get letters from her (sort of) love interest.
* TookALevelInKindness: Mila's father. During the first half of the game, he's an arrogant rich man who demands the rescue of his daughter from captivity in Forsaken Fortress. Tetra's pirates rescue Mila, but ask the father for a lot of money, leaving him and his daughter poor. This changes his viewpoint on life, and he becomes much more modest as a result.
* TragicKeepsake: Aryll's telescope. She initially let Link have it for his birthday. After her kidnapping, Link holds onto it throughout the entire game.
* TriumphantReprise: has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5fBOlVP3_k Journey]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrcoHbGeMF0 Epilogue]] -- original and reprisal, respectively. These also qualify as BookEnds, playing when the adventure starts and ends.
* TronLines: The Tower of the Gods has these on nearly everything.
* TropicalIslandAdventure: ''Wind Waker'' abandons the series' typical MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting in favour of an ocean dotted with sporadic tropical islands (although it isn't the ''only'' game with a tropical island setting--see ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' and this game's sequel, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]''). [[spoiler:These islands are actually the mountaintops of Hyrule, which was flooded by the Goddesses in a desperate attempt to thwart Ganondorf after a reincarnation of ''Ocarina of Time''[='s=] Link failed to appear]].
* {{Tsundere}}: Tetra falls into that territory, thanks to being a pirate [[spoiler:as well as a princess]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:U-Z]]
* TheUnchosenOne: The actual Hero of Time failed to appear, so this Link is his replacement. Link has to earn the right to the Triforce by sailing around the sea to find it, instead of just getting it BecauseDestinySaysSo. At first, he's so weak that even ordinary [[{{Mook}} Moblins]] give him serious trouble until he gets the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Master Sword]]. Eventually, however, he is given his own title as the "Hero of Winds."
* UncommonTime:
** [[https://youtu.be/M6rmY9XtvA8?t=1m21s the music]] that plays during the scene in which Linder reports that Makar fell into the Forbidden Woods alternates between 7/8 and 5/8. The game's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o78T9-I4OGA title theme]] is entirely in 9/8.
** There's a section of Ganondorf's battle theme where the time signature is 7/4 for a few bars before switching back to 4/4.
* UndergroundLevel: The aptly named Earth Temple. Since the number of light sources is finite, Link and Medli have to reflect the available light to the dark areas where it's required.
* UnderTheSea: A surprising aversion, considering the game's main setting. There are no true underwater dungeons, the water is opaque and cannot be dived into or even swam in for more than a short period. The closest example of a water level in ''Wind Waker'' is the Tower of the Gods, which only features water rising and lowering at timed intervals on the first floor.
* UnexpectedlyRealisticGameplay:
** When they finally face off for their climactic showdown, Ganondorf smacks the Master Sword out of Link's hand and then beats the boy silly with his bare hands - what would happen if a 10-year-old tried to fight a fully grown adult, let alone a bandit king and wielder of the Triforce of Power. Link only stands a chance after Ganon loses the Triforce, and then only with Tetra's assistance.
** A more literal version happens when you break the vases inside Mila's father's house and you have to pay for the cost of the damage you caused. In the real world, if you break someone's stuff, especially in a store, you usually have to cover the cost of the damage, also known as "you break it, you bought it."
* UniqueEnemy: The lone bomb-spitting River Octorok in one room on the second visit to the Forsaken Fortress, the golden Warship near Needle Rock Isle which you destroy to get a Triforce Chart, and the Red Wizzrobe miniboss in the Wind Temple.
* UnsafeHaven: Eventually, [[spoiler:Hyrule Castle]]. After [[spoiler:the truth of Tetra being the successor to the Hyrulean Royal Family's bloodline is revealed]], Zelda is kept in the same chamber that the Master Sword was kept. But considering that Link cleansed the place of Ganon's forces only a few hours or so before, it was no surprise that Ganon found her.
* UnusableEnemyEquipment:
** Some enemies ''do'' in fact drop weapons that you can pick up and use, ranging from simple clubs to a BFS that's more than ''twice the length'' of Link's body. However, you can't store them in your inventory and drop them off if you leave the area.
** Phantom Ganon's sword, which is only dropped in rooms where there are no other enemies anyway. Which is secondary to the fact that you don't ''want'' to pick it up anyway, since watching how it falls is a puzzle hint.
* UnwinnableJokeGame: If Link asks Mila's father for funds before going to the Forsaken Fortress for the second time, he will toss three red Rupees into the vases below. Even if the player correctly guesses where the vases are and break them open, Mila's father will still demand payment for the broken vases. The only way to "win" is to save and quit the game after getting the Rupees so they can't be docked.
* UnwittingPawn: Congratulations! You've obtained the Master Sword, the legendary blade of evil's bane! [[spoiler:Except that pulling it from its pedestal has unlocked the seal on Ganon's magic, not to mention that its own powers have weakened, and until you restore them the blade can't even touch him]].
* UselessItem: The items Tingle gives you upon freeing him from jail, depending on the version.
** In the original, he gives you the Tingle Tuner. If you don't have a Platform/GameBoyAdvance and a Link Cable to hook it up to the [=GameCube=] with, you'll get absolutely no utility from it. If you ''do'', though, then this item is actually ''very'' useful, boasting services such as ranged bombs, walking on air, temporary shields, and potions on the go.
** In ''HD'', he gives you the Tingle Bottle. This item allowed you to send and receive [[MessageInABottle messages in bottles]] via Website/{{Miiverse}} while out on the Great Sea. Once Miiverse shut down on November 8th of 2017, the bottle was rendered completely pointless - and unlike the Tingle Tuner, it doesn't have a silver lining.
* UseTheirOwnWeaponAgainstThem: Link can knock swords and spears out of the hands of enemies such as Moblins and Darknuts, allowing him to pick them up and attack them with them.
* VariableMix: The battle music has a lot of depth to it, playing different channels depending on what's going on in the fight. One obvious example is that fewer instruments play in general if you're in combat without your sword equipped; a more subtle one is the high-pitched flute of the regular battle theme, which kicks in whenever you do a SpinAttack.
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: The game follows the footsteps of ''A Link to the Past'' and ''Ocarina of Time'' by giving this role to Ganon's Tower. This time, it's located next to Hyrule Castle in what used to be the land of Hyrule before its flood. Per tradition, a barrier prevents you from accessing it early and you'll need to empower the Master Sword with the help of two temple Sages to break it (as well as the Triforce of Courage in its repaired form to return to Hyrule, to begin with), but this time it's not in the Tower itself but in ''Hyrule Castle''. The dungeon is divided into three sections: One in which you have to dispel a gate's seal by tackling rooms based on several previous dungeons, one which features an illusory puzzle and a sequence of rematches against a familiar MiniBoss, and finally a long staircase leading to Ganon and the story's climax.
* VictoryFakeout: [[spoiler:Puppet Ganon]] pulls this after you beat their first form, complete with a version of the regular boss-defeat theme that transitions into a more menacing reprise. Their second form doesn't bother with it.
* VictoryPose: After Link defeats a boss, he [[HappyDance jumps up and down in happiness]].
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential:
** Unexpected in a ''Zelda'' game, but it does exist in spades in this one. You can do some ''really'' nasty things to [[spoiler:Medli]] and [[spoiler:Makar]] when they accompany you in the temple dungeons, as they are NighInvulnerable.
** You can hit the King of Red Lions on the head with a weapon, or even spam the Boomerang or Hookshot at him with an L-Target.
** Attacking the big pig will get you seriously hurt, except when he's in the pig pen and you attack from outside with a projectile weapon. He'll charge at you, but won't be able to get you. Also, if you're skilled enough, you can attack with your sword, and quickly backflip over the fence to avoid injury.
* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment:
** Harming the pigs too many times in a row will anger them; as long as they're angry, they will chase Link ceaselessly. Small pigs' attacks deplete one heart of damage, but attacks from the adult pig will deplete ''three'', making them the deadliest in the game along with Mighty Darknut jump slashes (three hearts) and being swallowed by Molgera (two hearts).
** You can break the jar Sue-Belle is carrying. Doing so will make her upset and cost you 10 Rupees to replace it.
* VideoGameStealing: The Grappling Hook will steal items from enemies if you use it on them. The items you steal will actually be removed from their inventory, preventing them from dropping or being contained in a Treasure Sphere. If that particular item happens to be visible, such as the Moblins' Skull Necklaces, it also disappears from their model, and Darknuts and Moblins react to having their Knight Crest/Skull Necklace stolen.
* VillainForgotToLevelGrind: The rematches with Gohma and Kalle Demos are significantly easier, as while you're stripped of any items you didn't have when you fought them, you do get to keep the fully-powered Master Sword, plus any and all life upgrades you've collected along the way.
* VillainHasAPoint: Ganondorf is not incorrect in his accusation that it was [[spoiler:the gods who destroyed the world by flooding it and killing off most of the population just to stop him]].
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Ganondorf after Daphnes completely derails his plan]]. He stands perfectly still for several minutes, then suddenly [[LaughingMad starts laughing]].
* VillainsNeverLie: Only the honest can see the Hero's New Clothes. Turns out Ganondorf can see them just fine.
* VineTentacles: Kalle Demos, the second boss, is a giant plant that attacks Link by lashing at him with its long, barbed vines.
* VisualPun: [[DiscoDan Tott]] spends all day and all night dancing in front of a gravestone. Disco is dead.
* WaitingPuzzle: When you're acting as Lenzo's research assistant, he'll ask you to take some pictographs of some Windfall Island residents in specific scenarios. While the pictograph you need of Gossack in the second request can be done at your leisure, the other two require waiting around until the people in question decide to do what you need, which can take a few minutes.
* TheWallAroundTheWorld: The Great Sea has no physical barrier to keep you from leaving the map. However, your boat tells you that it's dangerous to leave and turns you around.
* WarpWhistle: The titular Wind Waker can be used to conduct various songs. There aren't so many as for the Ocarina in the previous two 3D ''Zelda'' games, but the one called the Ballad of Gales, after Link learns it from the god of storms, allows him to summon a whirlwind that will deposit him and his boat in one of eight areas of the player's choosing. This is different from many other examples, as the exact landing point within the area is somewhat randomized. One of the destinations puts Link down inside an otherwise inaccessible grotto on a sheer-walled island, where he can receive a valued quest-relevant gift from the Queen of the Faeries (which also renders this warp point useless for any other purpose). As far as the dungeons go, there are pots that must be bombed to open up. If you can open up at least two pots, you can jump into one and spring out the other. This is not only good for leaving the game and returning easily to where you were but there is usually one outside the boss' door.
* TheWarSequence:
** Partway through the game, you run through the entrance hall of a large castle, where many of Ganon's minions are frozen in time, like statues. When you leave, however, they all have come back to life and you have to kill them all before you can proceed. There are only about twenty of them, but they are the strongest enemy in the game.
** The lower levels of the Savage Labyrinth contain large groups of generic enemies.
** The secret grotto on Shark Island has a particularly long battle sequence against a horde of various enemies.
* WaterfrontBossBattle: All six Big Octo minibosses found in the Great Sea are fought this way. In each case, Link (who is riding the King of Red Lions) gets slowly dragged into the Big Octo due to an aquatic swirl, and the objective is to destroy its eyes before Big Octo ends up sinking him.
* WeakenedByTheLight: [=ReDeads=], Dark Chuchus, and Poes can be stunned with light. With the latter two, it's the only way to make them vulnerable to conventional attacks.
* WeaponizedOffspring: The Mothula enemies counter-attack by launching a blast of Morths at you which cling to Link to slow him down.
* WhamEpisode: Link defeats the Helmaroc King and rescues his sister. but [[spoiler:he is then told by Ganondorf that the Master Sword cannot kill him without its lost power... and its removal from the pedestal in the first place is what allows Ganondorf to return to Hyrule]].
* WhamLine:
** Courtesy of Ganondorf in his first meeting with Tetra:
-->'''Ganondorf:''' Ha! At long last, I have found you... [[spoiler:Princess Zelda]]!
** Ganondorf's first line in the game: "It's been a while, boy..." In those five words, players are immediately told that this Ganondorf isn't a reincarnation--he's the same Great King of Evil who battled Link centuries ago in ''Ocarina of Time'', a fact which would later be confirmed for most of his others appearances in the series. But what's worse, ''he remembers Link.'' It's also a sign that he's become more philosophical and pensive during his long imprisonment, as the words have a reminiscent, almost bittersweet tone as opposed to the EvilGloating of the Ganondorf of the past.
* WhatTheHellPlayer:
** There's a house that has big, fancy pots. Break one and Sturgeon will chew you out on breaking his fine pots and that next time he'll require compensation. If you do it again then he'll do good on his word and will fine you for each one you broke before you leave the house.
** If you attack your Orca, he gets annoyed and eventually knocks you across the room.
** And then there's the woman on Outset Island, who's constantly carrying around a pot on her head. If you smash it with your hookshot, or arrows (light arrows are especially fun to use when doing this), and then go and speak to her, she'll take 10 rupees from you... and say you're terrible.
* WheresTheKaboom: This is played for laughs, when Link sets the third pearl into its slot, the statue starts to glow. Link runs for cover, but nothing happens. Confused, he goes back to the statue to check... only for it to blow up in his face, causing him to fly hundreds of yards away, flying right into the wall of the tower that is rising from the ocean, only to fall back into the water hundreds of feet below, and have his boat collect him.
* WideOpenSandbox: The second largest overworld of any ''Zelda'' game after ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. It's just that most of it is water.
* WindIsGreen: The game features a Link who embodies BlowYouAway once he acquires the titular item-- he is, of course, clothed in green, but ''The Wind Waker'' usually averts this trope being itself white, same as the lines of wind that travel through the game's atmosphere. The Deku Leaf, which can be used to blow gusts of wind and glide on wind currents, ''is'' green, and the GustyGlade dungeon Wind Temple has lots of grassy terrains (with the plant-based character Makar serving as its new sage).
* WindmillScenery: A big windmill-slash-lighthouse is the main landscape feature from Windfall Island. A rather smart choice for a power source if the name of the island is to be believed.
* WingedHumanoid: The Rito are a unique variation. Their arms are their wings. As soon as they take off, the feather "sleeves" fold out to form fully functional wings.
%%* WiseTree: The Deku Tree.
* WolfpackBoss: The final floor in the Savage Labyrinth is a fight against four Darknuts, accompanied by fire-breathing statues that hinder Link.
* WorldHealingWave: [[spoiler:Hyrule has been sealed away, and when you find it]] [[DeliberatelyMonochrome everything is colorless]]. When you [[spoiler:draw the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Master Sword]] from its pedestal]], color sweeps slowly across the area, also reviving a bunch of tough enemies to [[spoiler: test the Master Sword on]]. Interestingly, this is later revealed not to necessarily be a good thing. [[spoiler:Ganondorf explains that the Master Sword was serving as a seal on his power, and by removing it, Link not only restored that magic, but [[NiceJobBreakingItHero inadvertently advanced the Gerudo King's plot to control the Triforce.]] Granted, there really wasn't anything else Link ''could'' do in this situation--he needs the Master Sword to defeat Ganondorf, as there's no other way for that to happen, so pulling it was the only option]].
* WorldTree: The Koroks are trying to spread the seeds of a new Deku Tree to create more Great Trees and make islands in the Great Sea for settlement.
* WorthyOpponent: Ganon seems to regard Link as such.
-->'''Ganon:''' Do not betray my expectations.\\
''[a series of boss battles commence. Afterwards...]''\\
'''Ganon:''' Yes, surely you are the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Hero of Time]], reborn. Your time has come... Come now... Stand before me.
* WorldLimitedToThePlot: For most of the population, this is what living on the island is like: their world ends at the edge of the sea. It's when the plot starts intruding in (most obviously on Link's home island, but when monsters start popping up when the sun is down and the forces of evil cause a never-ending night at one point in the plot) that things start freaking out.
* WouldntHitAGirl: Although he does give her a heavy backhand, Ganondorf goes out of his way (even sheathing his swords) to avoid seriously harming Tetra, even while she's actively trying to kill him.
* YellowPurpleContrast: The in-game maps depict Link as a yellow arrow. Whenever he has a companion follow him in a dungeon, like Medli or Maker, they are represented by a purple dot. The order is switched whenever the player uses the Command Melody to take control of a companion.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Link's attempt to rescue his sister ends in failure due to his inability to confront the Helmaroc King, forcing him to embark on a long quest with the help of the King of Red Lions. When Link does a second attempt, [[spoiler:he manages to rescue her with the help of Tetra and her crew ''and'' defeats the Helmaroc King for good, but is unable to confront Ganondorf as to the Master Sword has lost its power (which means his new plan was ultimately doomed to fail as well)]].
* YouCanTurnBack: When Link is sailing off with the pirates at the beginning of the game, Tetra takes note of how emotional he is in his goodbyes and tells him that they still have time to turn the ship around and drop him back off at Outset. Naturally, you're not given the choice.
* YoungAndInCharge: Tetra is the leader of her band of {{Pirate}}s, despite being the youngest member. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when Nudge jokes that Tetra is OlderThanSheLooks.
* YourFavorite: Link's grandma plans on making her soup, which she knows both he and Aryll love, for Link's birthday. This ends up not coming to pass when both of them end up leaving the island before dinnertime, but when you return to Outset midway through the game and heal Grandma with a fairy, she'll happily prepare Link a full bottle of that same soup any time he requests it. This is even reflected in Link always equipping and drinking his soup with a smile, compared to the grimace he prepares for normal potions.
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: So you've got the Master Sword, stormed the Forsaken Fortress, saved your sister, and are now about to go kill the BigBad - sweet! [[spoiler:...Wait, the Master Sword ''lost its power?'']]
* YourSizeMayVary: Din's orb is about the size of a soccer ball when it first appears. When Link finally gets it it's about the size of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handball handball]], and finally about the size of a tennis ball when [[spoiler:he places it in the hands of the statue]].
* YouShouldntKnowThisAlready:
** You have to learn the Wind Waker songs before you can use them, which is typical of the ''Zelda'' series.
** Niko won't let you into the ship when it's docked on Windfall Island until you've overheard the password from Gonzo and Mako in the Bomb Shop, even though all the possible passwords are answers to his riddles, which are pretty easy to figure out. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the pirates mentioning that you have to say the password in a certain way for Niko to let them in.
** You can't enter the Ghost Ship until you obtain the Ghost Ship Chart, which tells you what island the ship shows up at each phase of the moon.
* {{Zonk}}: One of the auction prizes is a treasure chart... that leads to a single Rupee. This was changed in the HD remake to offer the chart-standard 50 Rupees.
[[/folder]]
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