10 Zelda Challenges That Only HARDCORE Fans Have Beaten

The Three Heart Challenge

One of the most famous challenges fans can impose on themselves in a Zelda game is the Three Heart Challenge, which is exactly what it sounds like. This requires going through an entire game without increasing Links health by collecting Pieces of Heart or Heart Containers. In most regular playthroughs, taking damage is no big deal, because youll gain a pretty sizable health pool. But when that pool is so small, every combat encounter has the potential to be devastating. There are games where this cant be done, like A Link to the Past, where youre forced to collect a Heart Container after defeating a boss in order to gain the Pendant or Crystal. You can still die as many times as it takes to complete the challenge, which is nice because that will probably happen a lot.

Zero Deaths

None of the games in The Legend of Zelda have a permadeath mode, but that hasnt stopped players from acting like they do. Another challenge thats pretty self-explanatory, the Zero Deaths Challenge requires you to beat a game without dying once. This is particularly difficult in the older games, like the NES entries. But with some of the newer entries, its much more manageable, especially if youve played them several times before. Plus, theres no rule against extending Links health, unless you try to combine this with the Three Heart Challenge, which sounds like a nightmare. Still, not having that safety net understandably adds more stress. Though it actually does get you a reward in one game, Links Awakening, which comes with a bonus ending scene for beating it without dying.

The Uber Challenge

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

Designed by GameFaqs user Manocheese, the Uber Challenge of Ocarina of Time took on a life of its own. And it remains one of the most difficult fan-made challenges in the series. Some of the restrictions are simple, at least in concept if not execution, like never extending Links health and never dying. There are certain item restrictions to also make things harder. Youre only allowed one bottle, the one with Princess Rutos letter, which is the only way youre allowed to use it. You cant get the Fire Arrows or Lens of Truth, nor any maps or compasses in the dungeons. The list is A LOT longer than that though, and some of the rules require exploiting certain tricks and glitches. You basically need Manocheeses guide if you want to pull it off.

No Surface

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

Not long after the release of Tears of the Kingdom, players figured out that you can beat the game without ever going into Hyrule proper. While you can still increase your health this way, since there are Shrines in the sky and a Hylia statue on the Great Sky Island, this obviously comes with some big challenges. Namely, that youll never get the Paraglider and must rely on Zonai devices for travel. You can still earn the Master Sword, but the little amount of health makes everything much harder. Some other players have even gone a step beyond this, by either only sticking with the Sky, or only sticking with the Depths. These playthroughs can cut out dungeons, and therefore Sage abilities. That adds another layer of difficulty, while ensuring youll have extra bosses to fight right before Ganondorf.

Double Hero Mode

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (2016)

Several games come with the option for a harder playthrough called Hero Mode. Typically, this means Link takes double damage while hearts no longer appear. Naturally, pretty tough. However, with Twilight Princess HD, fans realized theres a way to make it even harder with the Super Smash Bros. Ganondorf Amiibo. While most compatible Amiibo will give you a certain benefit or reward, Ganondorf hilariously makes it so you take double damage, which can stack with Hero Mode. Common enemies that once only dealt a quarter hearts worth of damage will now take off a full heart. Naturally, quadruple damage, with hearts completely absent from the game, makes this the hardest Hero Mode in the series.

Swordless Run

The Legend of Zelda (1987)

The original game starts with Link going into a cave and getting his first sword from a kindly old man. Except it doesnt have to. To make a hard game much harder, you can never go into that cave, and progress through the majority of it with the other items. To start, you can either find enough rupees to purchase something else to deal damage, like bombs, and progress through the first dungeon to get the bow. Still, every other form of dealing damage will have a capacity restriction. That is, until you get the Magical Rod in the sixth dungeon, which will be your best friend. You cant actually beat Ganon without a sword, so all you have to do is reach him to complete the challenge. That will be a giant pain, of course.

The Reverse Order Challenge

If youd prefer your Zelda game to start bonkers hard, and gradually get easier as you go along, then the Reverse Order Challenge is for you. This means completing every dungeon in reverse order, from hardest to easiest, usually with the exception of the final dungeon, since you cant normally enter it without having beaten all the others first. In most cases, this requires using a glitch, but you can actually manage this without them in the NES original. Of course, thats one of the games where doing this will probably be the hardest, since youre meant to have gained a lot more health before entering the eighth dungeon. Regardless of the game, though, this will be a mighty challenge.

Low Stats Challenge

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1988)

Why anyone would want to make Zelda II harder when its already the hardest game in the series is beyond me, but there is a way to do so called the Low or Minimum Stats Challenge. This is the only Zelda game where Link earns experience, used to increase three stats: Life, Magic, and Attack. For this challenge, players must keep these stats as low as possible, which is 1 for two of them and 4 for one of them. The 4 must go to Magic, since you need it for certain spells, with the two 1s going to Attack and Life. This wont make much of a difference during the earlier sections. But you have to avoid defeating a significant amount of enemies that give you XP, while becoming so weak in comparison to bosses, that it will eventually feel like youre endlessly chipping away at their health bar while being easily put down by them.

A Single Loop

The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask (2000)

Majoras Mask takes place over three days that Link can continuously restart by traveling back in time. Naturally, players became curious if you could actually beat it in a single loop. Long story short, you can, but it takes a significant amount of planning. You have to get through the original three days first, so that Link can transform back into his Hylian form by learning the Song of Healing. After that, the clock starts. You have to use the Inverted Song of Time to slow down the passage of time, which still only leaves you with little time to spare. Youre on a time crunch, certain things happen at specific times, and in order to be as productive as possible, its best to do certain parts of the story out of traditional order. Understandably, its pretty stressful watching the clock wind down on this type of playthrough.

Straight to Ganon

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)

The most popular fan challenge when it comes to Breath of the Wild, and certainly the hardest for most players, is going straight to Hyrule Castle after completing the tutorial of the Great Plateau. This means heading into the hardest area of the game, without any of the Champion abilities and only with the weakest gear in the game and minimal health. The silver lining is that you can find some of the best weapons in the game within the castle walls. Of course, theyre guarded by the most durable, hardest hitting enemies the game has to offer. During the finale, you then have to fight all Divine Beast bosses you skipped out on before Ganon, who has full health since you didnt do the dungeons and is going to hit you really hard through your crummy armor. Many have done it by now, since Breath of the Wild is such a popular entry. But its still extremely difficult.

Have you completed any of these challenges? Props to you if you have, but share your experiences in the comments!