You’re staring at a Game Over screen in the Cave of Ordeals because you ran out of Great Fairy Tears. It happens. We’ve all been there. In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, bottles aren't just inventory slots; they are literally your lifeline. Honestly, if you’re trying to tackle the later stages of the game or just want to survive a particularly nasty Darknut encounter without sweating, you need all four.
Four. That’s it.
Back in the day, Ocarina of Time gave us four, and Majora’s Mask bumped it to six. But in the HD remaster on the Wii U—and for those still playing via emulation or the original hardware—Link is capped at a quartet of glass containers. It feels stingy, right? Especially when you consider how much junk there is to carry. You’ve got Red Potion, Blue Potion, Milk, Fairy Tears, Fairies, Bee Larvae, and even weirdly specific things like Chu Jelly or Water. Finding every Twilight Princess HD bottle is basically the first thing any seasoned player does once the map opens up.
The game doesn't just hand these to you. Well, the first one is a freebie, but the rest require you to actually pay attention to the world around you. If you miss them, you’re basically playing the game on hard mode for no reason.
The First Bottle: Sera’s Shop and the Greedy Cat
You get this one almost immediately. It’s part of the tutorial in Ordon Village. You remember the cat? The one hanging out by the docks looking depressed? Sera, the shopkeeper, lost her cat, and she’s too stressed to sell you anything.
Basically, you have to go catch a fish. Use the rod you got from Uli, snag a fish near the cat, and the little guy will swipe it and run back to the shop. Once Sera is happy again, she gives you a bottle filled with half-servings of milk. It’s a simple start, but it sets the tone for the rest of the game: help people, get glass. It’s a weird economy, but it works for Link.
Most players get this without trying because the game forces you into it to progress the story. If you somehow managed to skip this—which is technically possible with some high-level speedrunning glitches—you’d be in for a very rough time in the Forest Temple.
Buying Your Way to Victory in Faron Woods
The second of the Twilight Princess HD bottle locations is found in Faron Woods. You’ll meet a guy named Coro. He’s the one who looks like he hasn't slept in three days and sells you the Lantern.
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Coro is a businessman. After you help him out or talk to him near the entrance to the Forest Temple area, he’ll sell you a bottle for 100 Rupees. It comes filled with oil for your lantern. Honestly, 100 Rupees is a steal. By the time you reach this point, your wallet is probably already getting full because the HD version of the game increased the wallet sizes significantly compared to the original GameCube and Wii versions.
In the original, you’d constantly hear that annoying "Your wallet is full" sound effect. In Twilight Princess HD, the developers at Tantalus Media wisely bumped those limits up. So, buy the bottle. Don’t think twice. You need the oil anyway because the Forest Temple is dark and full of spiders.
Great Hylia, That’s a Lot of Fishing
This is the one that usually trips people up. It’s the third bottle, and it’s located at Hena’s Fishing Hole in the upper reaches of the Zora’s River area. You don't buy this one. You don't get it for a quest. You literally have to fish it out of the water like a piece of trash.
Go to the west side of the fishing pond, near the sign that says "Don't Litter." It’s poetic, really. Cast your line into the water right there. You don't even need bait. You’ll feel a tug, and instead of a record-breaking Greengill, you’ll pull up an empty bottle.
I’ve seen people spend twenty minutes trying to hook this thing because the physics in the fishing mini-game can be a bit finicky. Just keep your line near the bridge area or the underwater debris. It’s there. It’s always there. And once you have it, you can finally carry enough soup to satisfy Yeto’s cravings later in the game.
The Final Bottle: Jovani’s Soul Debt
The fourth and final Twilight Princess HD bottle is the hardest to get. It’s tied to the Poe Soul sidequest. You remember Jovani? The guy in Castle Town who got greedy and turned into a gold statue? He’s surrounded by his own treasure but can’t move. It’s very King Midas, very tragic.
To free him, you have to find and kill 20 Poe Souls. This means wandering around Hyrule at night as Wolf Link, using your senses to track down those floating lanterns, and ripping their hearts out. It’s time-consuming.
Once you hit 20 souls, return to Jovani. He’ll be partially restored—enough to move, at least—and he’ll give you a bottle as a reward. This bottle is unique because it usually comes filled with Great Fairy Tears, which is the best healing item in the game. It restores all your hearts and gives you a temporary attack boost.
If you’re a completionist, you’ll eventually go for all 60 Poes to get the 200 Rupee reward every time you enter his house, but for the sake of the bottle, 20 is the magic number. Don't stop at 19. It won't help you.
Why Bottle Management Actually Matters in the HD Version
In the original Wii version, you could get by with two bottles. In Twilight Princess HD, the "Hero Mode" changes the math. You take double damage. There are no heart drops in the wild. If you don't have a bottle filled with Blue Potion or a Fairy, you are one bad movement away from a loading screen.
The HD version also introduced the Ghost Lantern, which helps you find those Poes for the fourth bottle. It glows when a Poe is nearby in the overworld. If you’re struggling with the Jovani quest, get the Ghost Lantern from the Cave of Ordeals early on. It makes the hunt way less of a headache.
What to Put in Your Bottles
Honestly, skip the Red Potion once you hit the mid-game. Go for the Blue Potion (available at the Magic Shop in Hyrule Castle Town after you finish certain segments) because it refills everything.
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- Rare Chu Jelly: If you see a glowing gold Chu, kill it and scoop that stuff up immediately. It’s basically Great Fairy Tears but free.
- Simple Soup: If you’re near Snowpeak, Yeto’s soup is a decent, free alternative, though it doesn't heal much until you add the pumpkin and goat cheese.
- Fairies: Standard Zelda protocol. If you die, they bring you back. Always keep at least one.
Surprising Nuances of the Bottle System
A lot of players don't realize that you can actually use the bottles to catch things other than liquid. You can scoop up Bee Larvae from beehives. It heals a tiny bit of health, but more importantly, you can use it as fish bait.
Also, the "Water" item is technically a thing. You can scoop up plain water and pour it on thirsty pumpkins or certain NPCs, though it’s mostly a novelty compared to the utility of a potion. There’s a specific moment in the hot spring water quest involving the Goron in Castle Town where bottle management becomes a literal race against time. If the water cools down, you fail. Having more bottles means more attempts or more strategy.
Common Misconceptions
People often think there’s a secret fifth bottle in the HD version, maybe tied to the Miiverse stamps (which were a thing when the game launched) or the Wolf Link Amiibo. There isn't. The developers stayed true to the original count. You get four. Use them wisely.
Another misconception is that you can lose bottles. You can’t. Once it’s in your inventory, it stays there. You can empty a bottle at any time by just "using" it when it contains something you don't want, or by replacing the contents with something else from a chest or a shop.
Your Next Steps in Hyrule
If you’re currently sitting on two bottles and wondering why the Temple of Time is kicking your butt, stop what you’re doing.
- Check your map: Head to Hena’s Fishing Hole first. It’s the easiest one to grab if you’ve reached the Zora region.
- Wait for nightfall: Transform into Wolf Link and start hunting Poes around Hyrule Field. You likely already have 5 or 10 souls just from playing naturally; getting to 20 isn't as daunting as it sounds.
- Farm Rupees: If you’re short on cash for Coro’s bottle, go to the field outside Castle Town and cut some grass or dig as a wolf. The HD wallet is huge; use it.
The Twilight Princess HD bottle hunt is a rite of passage. Once you have all four, the game shifts from a struggle for survival into a victory lap. You’ll have the resources to survive the Cave of Ordeals, the stamina to outlast Ganon, and the peace of mind to actually enjoy the scenery of a remastered Hyrule. Go get that glass.