You’re staring at three-quarters of a heart container and it is driving you absolutely nuts. We’ve all been there. You’ve scoured the map of Hyrule, flipped over to Lorule, and you're still one tiny piece of Zelda lore short of that perfect double row of hearts. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is a masterpiece of 3DS game design, mostly because it lets you go almost anywhere right from the jump, but that freedom makes hunting for heart pieces Link Between Worlds a chaotic nightmare if you don't have a plan. Honestly, some of these are tucked away in spots that feel borderline unfair if you aren't thinking in 2D and 3D simultaneously.
The thing about this game is that it rewards curiosity more than any other Zelda title since the original NES gold cartridge. It doesn’t hold your hand. If you see a weird crack in a wall or a ledge that looks just out of reach, there is probably a heart piece waiting for you. But because the game is non-linear, you can’t just follow a "Level 1 to Level 10" guide. You need to understand the mechanics of the Merge ability and how the item rental system fundamentally changes the hunt.
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Why the Merge Mechanic changes the Heart Piece hunt
Most people approach heart pieces in Zelda games by looking for hidden caves or finishing side quests. In A Link Between Worlds, the developers at Nintendo got sneaky. They used the 2D painting mechanic to hide things in plain sight. You’ll be walking along a cliffside in Hyrule, looking at a piece of heart on a high pillar, and you’ll think, "I need the Hookshot for that." Nope. Usually, you just need to find a wall halfway across the map, merge into it, and slide along the geometry like a piece of sentient graffiti.
Take the piece near Sanctuary. It’s sitting there, mocking you. You can see it from the graveyard, but you can't reach it. Most players waste twenty minutes trying to bomb a wall that isn't breakable. The reality is much simpler but requires a perspective shift. You have to enter the Sanctuary, head to the second floor, and literally walk out a window. It’s these "out of the box" moments that define the 28 total pieces scattered across the dual worlds. If you aren't constantly checking if a wall can be walked on, you're going to miss half the upgrades in the game.
The frustration of the Lorule mini-games
Let’s talk about the Octoball Derby. It is, without a doubt, the most polarizing part of the heart pieces Link Between Worlds grind. You’re in Lorule, standing in a desolate version of Link's backyard, hitting pots with a bat. It sounds easy. It isn't. To get that heart piece, you need a score of 65 or higher. The trick isn't just hitting the pots; it's hitting the birds that fly across the screen to reset the pots. If you miss a bird, your scoring potential drops through the floor. It’s about timing and a little bit of luck with the RNG of the wind. Kinda sucks, right? But that’s Zelda for you.
Then there’s the Rupee Rush. This one is pure psychological warfare. You have to pay 50 Rupees to play, and you have to stop the timer as close to 30 seconds as possible without seeing the clock. If you’re at 29.98 seconds, you’re a god. If you hit 30.01, you lose everything. To get the piece of heart here, you need to be precise. Most pros recommend counting in your head or using a physical stopwatch, though some purists think that’s cheating. Whatever works. You need that heart.
The Treacherous Tower challenge
If you want to talk about a literal gatekeeper, it’s the Treacherous Tower in Lorule. This is where the combat mechanics of A Link Between Worlds really shine—or where they break you. You can’t just stroll in and grab a prize. To get the piece of heart, you have to clear the "Intermediate" floor. It sounds manageable until you realize you’re fighting waves of enemies with limited health recovery.
Honestly, don't even attempt this until you’ve upgraded your Master Sword at least once. Use the Blue Mail if you’ve found it in the Swamp Palace. The damage reduction is a lifesaver. Most players die on the floors with the icy tiles because the physics in this game are just slippery enough to send you sliding into a void. Use the Fire Rod. It’s the "easy mode" button for the Tower because of its area-of-effect damage.
Hidden gems in the overworld
Some heart pieces are just... weirdly placed. Like the one behind the Zora's flippers quest. You’d think the reward for getting the flippers is just the ability to swim, but if you follow the river down from Zora's Domain, there’s a piece of heart tucked under a bridge. It’s a classic Zelda trope, but in the 3D depth of the 3DS, it’s easy to swim right past it because the camera angle obscures the landmass.
- The Blacksmith's House (Hyrule): Merge behind the house. Simple, but everyone forgets it.
- The Cucco Ranch: The "Rooster" level of the Cucco dodging game is a nightmare. You have to survive for 30 seconds while giant Cuccos fly at your face. Pro tip: stay in the corners and move only when necessary. Panic is what kills you here.
- Misery Mire: You need the Sand Wand for this. Since you likely did the Desert Palace last, this piece of heart is often one of the final ones players collect. You have to build sand bridges to reach the far western wall.
The Link between worlds and its inventory system
Because you rent items from Ravio, the order in which you find heart pieces Link Between Worlds depends entirely on your wallet. If you’re stingy with Rupees, you’re going to miss out on the pieces locked behind the Tornado Rod or the Bombs. My advice? Buy the items as soon as possible. Death in this game is a minor setback, but losing all your rented gear right before you reach a heart piece in a dungeon is a massive pain in the neck.
The piece in the Graveyard (Lorule side) is a great example of item dependency. You need the Titan's Mitt to lift those massive stones. You can't even get into the back area where the piece is hidden without them. This means you have to clear a significant portion of the Desert Palace first. It’s a bit of a sequence break compared to older Zelda titles, where items were found inside the dungeons they were needed for. Here, the overworld is the real dungeon.
Practical steps for completionists
Stop wandering aimlessly. If you're serious about finishing your health bar, you need to be methodical. The map in A Link Between Worlds allows you to place pins. Use them. If you see a heart piece but don't have the item (like the Great Ice Mine's surrounding areas), pin it in blue. When you get the item, go back immediately.
Check the "Hint Ghosts" if you’re really stuck. You need the Nintendo 3DS Play Coins for this (remember those?), but they provide a literal image of where the nearby secrets are. It’s a bit of a lost art in modern gaming, but it works perfectly for this title’s specific brand of "hidden in plain sight" secrets.
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Don't forget the pieces hidden inside the dungeons themselves. While most heart pieces are overworld rewards, a few, like the ones in the Thieves' Hideout or the Dark Palace, require you to solve light-based puzzles or use the Merge mechanic to find hidden rooms behind "fake" walls. If a room on your map looks suspiciously empty, try merging with the wall and walking around the perimeter. You'd be surprised how many times the wall just... keeps going into a secret hallway.
To finish your collection, head to the Kakariko Village shop. They sell one. It’s the easiest one to get, yet people often overlook it because they expect every piece to be a grand adventure. Sometimes, you just need 200 Rupees and a willingness to support local business. Once you have that final piece, your survivability in the final fight against Yuga-Ganon increases exponentially. You aren't just hunting for a golden icon; you're building a buffer for the hardest hits in the game. Go get 'em.