This checklist is for The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on Nintendo Switch: it has 32 Heart Pieces and 50 Secret Seashells. The Game Boy versions have different totals—12 Heart Pieces and 26 shells—so don’t use the Switch counts for a Game Boy playthrough. Four Heart Pieces make one Heart Container.
The route below follows approximate availability, not a required order. Many locations open only after you obtain items or advance the story. For exact screen-by-screen directions, maps, and the numbered entries, use the linked guides: Nintendo Life’s Heart Piece guide and Nintendo Life’s Secret Seashell guide.
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Heart Pieces: all 32 locations by progression
Several Heart Pieces are available early, while others require specific items or late-game access. The sections below preserve the guides’ approximate route order; use the linked numbered guide for the exact entrances, puzzle solutions, and directions.
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Before Tail Cave: Heart Pieces 1–5
- Trendy Game: Win the Heart Piece prize.
- Mabe Village Tool Shop: Buy the Heart Piece.
- Mabe Village Fishing Hole: Catch the small fish for one Heart Piece.
- Mabe Village Fishing Hole: Catch the large fish for another.
- Northwest Mabe Village well: Find the Heart Piece in the well; you need the Sword to reach it.
After Tail Cave: Heart Pieces 6–7
Once you have the Roc’s Feather, jump into the circle of pits in Koholint Prairie and cross the line of pits in Tabahl Wasteland.
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After Bottle Grotto: Heart Pieces 8–12
With the Power Bracelet, explore the cave in Mysterious Forest, the cave in Ukuku Prairie, and the cave network in Tal Tal Mountain Range. The other two are at Seashell Mansion (the 5-shell reward) and behind Richard’s Villa in Pothole Field.
After Key Cavern: Heart Pieces 13–18
- Win the second Heart Piece prize at the Trendy Game.
- Complete Dampé’s tier-one “Fill Up Your Hearts” challenge.
- Explore the cemetery cave.
- Reach the cave behind the black barriers in Ukuku Prairie.
- Search behind the houses in Animal Village.
- Bomb the wall in Lanmola’s lair in Yarna Desert.
These locations require the Pegasus Boots or the corresponding access opened by story progress. Follow the Heart Piece guide for the specific route and prerequisite at each site.
After Angler’s Tunnel: Heart Pieces 19–23
After obtaining the Flippers, look in the flooded cave at Tal Tal Heights, the Kanalet Castle moat, the tunnel between Ukuku Prairie and Animal Village, the flooded tunnel in southwest Martha’s Bay, and the waters off southern Martha’s Bay.
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After Catfish’s Maw: Heart Pieces 24–31
- Complete Dampé’s Tier Two challenges.
- Find another Heart Piece in a Mysterious Forest cave.
- Search the Rapids Ride and raft shop for two separate pickups, then finish the Rapids Race in under 40 seconds for another.
- Take the cave-and-chasm route in Animal Village.
- Explore two locations in Western Tal Tal Mountain Range.
The Hookshot opens several of these routes. The Rapids Ride locations and Dampé challenges have specific paths and conditions, so use the linked guide rather than treating the landmark names as complete directions.
Late game: Heart Piece 32 and the final Heart Container
The final Heart Piece is on the peak outside Level 8, Turtle Rock. Reach it from a room inside the dungeon. After Turtle Rock, complete Dampé’s first 11 challenges and the twelfth, final Tier Three dungeon to earn the last Heart Container.
Secret Seashells: what to look for across all 50
The Switch guide numbers all 50 shells and includes a map. Its route runs through eastern and central Mabe Village, the Trendy Game, CiaoCiao’s kennel, Mysterious Forest, Tornobo Shores, Koholint Prairie, Tail Cave, Tabahl Wasteland, Goponga Swamp, Ukuku Prairie and its caves, Martha’s Bay, Seashell Mansion, Richard’s underground passage, Kanalet Castle, the Fishing Hole, Animal Village, Rapids Ride, Ancient Ruins, Face Shrine, and Western Tal Tal Mountain Range.
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Shells are hidden and awarded in different ways. As you explore, check for:
- Grass and bushes to cut, and rocks to lift.
- Ground to dig with the Shovel, cracked walls to bomb, and chests to open.
- Side paths in dungeons, underwater spots to dive for with the Flippers, and routes that need the Hookshot.
- Trading-sequence deliveries, special fish at the Fishing Hole, and time-based Rapids Ride rewards.
Examples from the numbered route include a shell in eastern Mabe Village grass; one at the Trendy Game after obtaining the Yoshi Doll and first Heart Piece; one revealed by digging in CiaoCiao’s kennel; and one behind a bombable wall in Tail Cave. Later pickups include the second Trendy Game prize, a reward from Christine after delivering the Goat’s Letter, a Cheep Cheep caught at the Fishing Hole after Catfish’s Maw, Rapids Ride exploration and race rewards, and a shell from a friendly Zora after you obtain the Magnifying Lens.
For every numbered location and its exact prerequisite, follow the complete 1–50 shell list and map. A short landmark list is not enough to pinpoint all 50.
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Seashell Mansion rewards
Bring shells to Seashell Mansion to collect rewards at these milestones:
| Shells collected | Reward |
|---|---|
| 5 | Heart Piece |
| 15 | Seashell Sensor |
| 30 | Chamber Stone |
| 40 | Koholint Sword |
| 50 | Chamber Stone |
The Seashell Sensor sounds when Link is within five or six tiles of a shell, according to Nintendo Life’s guide. The Koholint Sword replaces the ordinary sword, deals more damage, and fires a beam when Link has full health. Nintendo’s Play Nintendo tips also cover the broad Seashell Mansion and Sensor mechanics.
Finding the last missing collectible
If a Heart Piece is missing
Check the late-access locations first if you have the Hookshot and Flippers: Dampé’s Tier Two challenges, both Western Tal Tal Mountain Range locations, and the Turtle Rock peak are among the final entries in the progression route. Also verify that you completed the Rapids Race in under 40 seconds; exploring the ride alone does not cover that separate pickup.
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If a Secret Seashell is missing
At 15 shells, use the Seashell Sensor as you revisit areas and investigate suspicious grass, rocks, walls, underwater routes, and side paths. The route includes rewards tied to story progress and activities, so check the full numbered list for the Goat’s Letter delivery, the post-Catfish’s Maw Fishing Hole catch, Rapids Ride rewards, and the Magnifying Lens encounter.
Switch and Game Boy counts are different
These totals apply to the Nintendo Switch remake. The Game Boy versions have 12 Heart Pieces and 26 Secret Seashells, rather than 32 and 50. Zelda’s Palace’s cross-version count overview provides a count check; Nintendo Life’s location guides are specifically for the Switch remake.
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