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Zelda franchise strategy guide/Items/Rupee

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Rupees are the unit of currency in the fictional lands of Hyrule, Koholint Island, Termina, Labrynna, and Holodrum in The Legend of Zelda series of video games by Nintendo, acquired primarily by defeating enemies, by cutting tall grasses or bushes, or from treasure chests, and used primarily to purchase items in shops.

File:Zelda rupees.png
Rupees from the first and third Legend of Zelda installments

Values

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With the exception of The Adventure of Link and Four Swords Adventures, Rupees were included in all Zelda titles. The value of a Rupee is denoted by its color. In Four Swords and The Minish Cap, both size and color denote value. Link's Awakening, Oracle of Seasons, and Oracle of Ages specify the Rupee value through text rather than color, because the Game Boy pallette was limited. The following lists the values of each Rupee color. Because the value of each color is inconsistent throughout the games, they are not listed in order of value. The list begins with the colors that appeared in the most Zelda titles.

Green Rupee
Small green Rupees are worth one, and large green Rupees are worth fifty. The green Rupee appears in seven games.

Blue Rupee
Small blue Rupees are worth five, and large blue Rupees are worth one hundred. The blue Rupee appears in eight games.

Red Rupee
Small red Rupees are worth twenty, and large red Rupees are worth two hundred. The red Rupee appears in seven games.

Purple Rupee
The purple Rupee exists in all four 3D Zelda games.

Silver Rupee
Debuting in Ocarina of Time, where collecting all five silver Rupees solved a puzzle in a particular room, the silver Rupee exists in all four 3D Zelda titles.

Yellow Rupee
Debuting in the original title, the yellow Rupee has appeared in three games.

Orange Rupee
The orange Rupee exists in the three of the four 3D Zelda titles.

Huge Rupee
Appearing either gold or dark orange, this Rupee's color is not specified textually and is simply called "huge." It exists in three games, although in Twilight Princess it can be found just once, at a very well hidden place.

Other Rupee Types

  • Black: In Four Swords, the black Rupee removes a random, negative amount of Rupees from the team wallet.
  • Rupee Shard: In Four Swords, Rupee shards are individually worthless but collecting eight creates a gem worth 500 Rupees.

Wallet Size

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Link can carry a maximum amount of Rupees which varies among titles. In The Legend of Zelda, players are limited to carrying 255 Rupees (the maximum value an unsigned 8-bit integer can hold). In A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Oracle of Seasons, and Oracle of Ages, the Rupee limit is 999. Four Swords allows a maximum of 9999 Rupees shared among all players.

In five Zelda titles, the wallet size can be expanded, which increases the maximum amount of Rupees the player can carry. Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask first implemented this feature, where the initial maximum is 99 Rupees. Upgrading to the adult's wallet or to the giant's wallet increases the limit to 200 or 500 Rupees, respectively. In Majora's Mask, Rupees are one of the items that cannot be taken back in time with Link. However, there is a bank which retains deposited Rupees despite Link's time travel. The bank will not accept deposits if the balance meets or exceeds 5000 Rupees. Therefore, the maximum balance of 5499 Rupees occurs when the balance begins at 4999 and the player deposits an additional 500 Rupees.

The Wind Waker starts the capacity at 200, with wallet upgrades to 1000 and 5000. In The Minish Cap, capacity begins at 100, and increases to 300, 500, and finally 999. Twilight Princess begins Rupee capacity at 300, which can be upgraded to 600 and finally 1000.

BS The Legend of Zelda: Stone Tablets of Antiquity featured a maximum of 99,999 Rupees, more than any other Zelda game, but strict time limits reduced the chances of reaching this maximum.

Spelling

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Although later games have been more consistent, the manual for the original Legend of Zelda referred to the gems as rubies, while the scrolling screen in the game itself called them rupies (singular rupy). Thus, the origin of this word is likely a misinterpretation of the word ruby rather than an intentional reference to the real-life Indian currency, the rupee. This is supported by the similarity between the ビ (bi) and ピ (pi) characters in Japanese. Also note that the name of the currency in the French and German translation of the Zelda no Densetsu games is rubies. The spellings rupees and rupies are often used interchangeably.

Use

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Although Rupees are used most often to buy items in shops, occasionally they have other uses. In the original Legend of Zelda, one rupee is used up every time Link shoots an arrow. In A Link to the Past, if a set amount (100) of Rupees were thrown into a certain fairy fountain, a fairy would appear and increase Link's carrying capacity for bombs or arrows, at the player's choice. In Ocarina of Time, collecting all the Silver Rupees in a particular dungeon room unlocks the locked doors. Rupees are also central to the gameplay in the multiplayer Four Swords. As such, this game adds Black Rupees, which causes rupees to scatter across the ground; and Rupee Shards, which when collected eight of can add up to a Rupee of great value. In Twilight Princess, the optional Magic Armor is powered by Rupees, and when Link is hit, he loses Rupees instead of hearts. If Link runs out of Rupees while wearing the armor, his mobility is greatly reduced.

The only titles to feature monetary systems other than Rupees are Oracle of Seasons, where the Subrosians would only accept Ore Chunks as currency, and Four Swords Adventures, where the player(s) collects Force Gems rather than Rupees and although not an official currency in Hyrule, they are sometimes spent in exchange for something (such as a divination in Kakariko). Rupees were also absent in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, which had no currency system.

Appearances in other games

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  • Ingots, from Clu Clu Land, highly resemble Rupees from the original game. However, Clu Clu Land came first, meaning it is most likely intended as a cameo, much like the Book of Magic originating from Devil World.
  • Sometimes when looking through drawers in Animal Crossing, a message will say "You found 100 rupees! Too bad you can't use them here."
  • In Donkey Kong Country 3, after the refusal to buy a shell from Bazaar Bear, he claims that some guy named Link didn't have enough Bear Coins but wanted to pay in Rupees instead. After that he left, muttering about his shell being the wrong shape or something, which also references the shells Link collects in Link's Awakening.
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