So many items for one man to carry. Which is gonna be the best?

The spirit of the season is starting to get to me, but even more, I’m remembering that Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks on the DS has finally arrived. In celebration of both the new release and because I just plain enjoy making lists, I figured I’d go through my favorite aspect of the Zelda games: The Items. Mario is all about the power-ups, but Link has to rely on whatever he can find throughout his travels to get him from the beginning of a dungeon to the end. So here are my choices for The 10 Best Zelda Items.

10. Fire Rod:

Also good for rump roasting.

For me, the Fire Rod was a sweet weapon dating back to my playthrough of Link’s Awakening on the Game Boy. I struggled to find this item in the 8th and final dungeon, only to realize that it was vastly superior to all my other weapons since it could kill just about anything with one blast, plus it was a projectile-based weapon. What more could I ask for? Oh, right, the chance to use it the rest of the game, too. Yeah, sadly, the Fire Rod is one of those last second items that you love but never make much use of. I was very happy to see it used so well in Four Swords Adventures where it could set a whole field on fire for quick collection of Force Gems. Very nice.

9. Megaton Hammer:

Giant Hammers = Awesome.

Link has gotten to wield a few different hammers on his various journeys, but I always preferred the Megaton Hammer to anything else used to stomp rusted switches, tricky enemies, and fire-breathing dragons. Personally I went nuts when this little wonder popped up as one of Link’s weapons in Soul Calibur 2. Who would bring a hammer to a swordfight? Apparently Link, and apparently it doesn’t make a huge difference other than the utter beating your opponent will receive.

8. Spinner:

Let's see Tony Hawk do THIS.

Twilight Princess surprised me with a few items I wasn’t really expecting. When I obtained the Spinner I just figured it’d be used for going across sand or something. I had no clue that I’d soon be grinding my way across the walls of rooms and fighting a giant skeleton dragon (Link loves fighting dragons of all sorts, apparently). When I discovered I could hurl myself back and forth from track to track at rapid succession I got hooked on searching for any indentation that’d allow me to find hidden items. It was like Tony Hawk decided to give Link one last bit of inspiration before failing so heinously with Tony Hawk’s The Ride.

7. Ball and Chain:

Kids, most of life's problems can be made easier with medieval-style weaponry.

Another new addition from Twilight Princess, the Ball and Chain is exactly what it sounds like: A massive steel ball affixed to a long chain. This is pretty much like having infinite bombs as the Ball and Chain replaces their need and then some. Enemies fear the destructive power that ...