Pegasus Boots
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| The Pegasus Boots as seen in A Link to the Past. | |
| Pegasus Boots | |
| Type | Boots |
| Debut | The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past |
The Pegasus Boots (originally referred to as Pegasus Shoes) are a speedy pair of boots that has appeared in several The Legend of Zelda games.
Information
The Pegasus Boots are usually depicted as a special pair of boots with small wings attached to them. Wearing these boots will allow Link to perform a special dash, partially due to the boots being very light. The speed boost helps Link to get through certain obstacles and clear small gaps as well as some terrain that Link cannot normally walk on. He can slam into trees or other surfaces such as bookcases to shake objects from them. There are also blocks that can only be destroyed by dashing through them in Link's Awakening. The boots can also be used in conjunction with the Roc's Feather or Roc's Cape item to increase Link's jumping distance.
Link can also perform a dash attack by drawing his sword as he runs, which makes for an quick and effective attack on enemies. The specifics of the attack differ between games, as in most cases Link automatically has his sword out while dashing in most games (although the sword has to be equipped in Link's Awakening), but in The Minish Cap he must learn this skill from Swiftblade first. In Four Swords Adventures, it was possible to temporarily upgrade the Pegasus Boots into Level 2 Pegasus Boots, which let the Links move even faster and allowed them to run on air longer in order to cross larger chasms.
Appearances
In A Link to the Past, the Pegasus Boots are given to Link by Sahasrahla after Link has cleared the Eastern Palace. They are immediately useful in retrieving the Book of Mudora from the library. In Link's Awakening, the boots were found in the Key Cavern. The Pegasus Boots were available as common items in various different areas of Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures, and in the latter game they could be upgraded to Level 2 Pegasus Boots through the work of a Great Fairy.
Within The Minish Cap, the Pegasus Boots became available when Link needed them to cross the marshlands of the Castor Wilds. They were found at the Shoe Maker's Shop and were actually made by a pair of Minish. They then needed Link to wake up the shoe maker, Rem, so that he could put the finishing touches on the shoes. Once Link woke him up with a Wake-Up Mushroom from Syrup's hut, Rem was able to finish the boots and gave them to Link. Link could learn the dash attack from Swiftblade immediately after getting the boots. The Pegasus Boots were also available as a power-up in the multiplayer mode of Phantom Hourglass and gave temporary speed boosts to Link or a Phantom.
Trivia
- The boots are named after the pegasus of Greek mythology, which was a winged horse. The wings often depicted on the boots could be a reference to the pegasus's wings, but it is much more likely a separate Greek mythological reference to Hermes. Hermes, the messenger of the gods, was depicted as having winged sandals called talaria which granted him great speed, which has been mirrored in various forms of popular culture.
- They are the first type of "boot" item to be introduced into the series. Later games would include the Iron Boots and Hover Boots, the latter of which is somewhat similar due to them being lighter and allowing one to cross some gaps. They also have similar designs.
- In the Oracle games, they were replaced by Pegasus Seeds which served the same function.