Lantern

A Flame Lantern from The Minish Cap.
Lantern
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

The Lantern (also known as the Lamp and the Flame Lantern) is a simple item that has appeared in several The Legend of Zelda games.

Information

The lantern is a basic weapon which is usually found early in an adventure. Lanterns primarily provide light in dark places. Most lanterns can also release flames to a limited extent. In this way, the lantern can burn enemies and also light torches. In most cases, releasing flames from a lantern consumes magic energy. In Twilight Princess, lanterns were instead fueled by lantern oil.

Appearances

In A Link to the Past, the lantern is found in a treasure chest at Link's house at the very start of the game. It is the first item Link gets in the game, even before the sword and shield. The Lantern was also one of the items that the Links could gain in various areas of Four Swords Adventures (usually near dark areas which would require the light), and it was the only extra weapon that could not be upgraded by a Great Fairy. In The Minish Cap, it was found at the Temple of Droplets and could be used to melt ice.

In Twilight Princess, Coro gaves Link a lantern in Faron Woods early in the game, as he was giving them away for free in an attempt to promote his lantern oil business. The lantern was stolen by a monkey during Link's journey to the Forest Temple. He retrieves it soon afterwards, although it was drained of lantern oil. The HD remake later added the Ghost Lantern, which lit up to signal if there were any Poes in the area. In A Link Between Worlds, the Lantern was found in the underground passage below the Sanctuary at the beginning of the game. Once equipped, it would light his surroundings and could be swung around to spread its flames. It could be upgraded into a Super Lantern by completing the Treacherous Tower challenge in Lorule for the first time. The Super Lantern was brighter and more powerful than the original.

Trivia

• The Lantern is made obsolete by items such as the Fire Rod and Fire Arrow (and itself replaced the Candle), which is likely the reason for its lack of appearances in later games.
• There are technically lanterns in The Wind Waker, but they are parts of rooms rather than usable items. They still do provide the basic function of lighting the room. In other games, lanterns are commonly wielded by Poes.
• In Hyrule Warriors, there was an Item Card of the Lantern that could be used on the Twilight Map of Adventure Mode to light torches and reveal enemies on individual squares.
• A sticker of the lantern from Twilight Princess appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.