One of the first hurdles of Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is getting enough cash to buy the Shovel and the absurdly expensive Bow. Well, now you can steal both and get away with it scot-free with this simple thieve method. You’ll just need a quick save file and a little dexterity to avoid getting caught by the shopkeeper.
Normally, this trick is only useful for stealing the most expensive items — like the Bow, which costs a huge amount of rupees early in the game. You’ll be able to afford the Shovel relatively early with just 200 rupee, but that Bow is really pushing things with it’s 900+ rupee price tag. If you want to avoid the hassle and unlock all the items at the store for free, here’s how to do it.
There’s a lot more Legend of Zelda coverage on Gameranx — if you’re looking for tons of guides on Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, check out our complete rundown.
More Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening guides:
- Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – How To Enter Kanalet Castle & Find All 5 Gold Leaves | Ukuku Prairie Gate Guide
- Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – How To Unlock The Optional Color Dungeon | Bonus Armor Guide
How To Steal Items From The Shop (Without Getting Punished)
Right now, it isn’t clear if this method is completely intentional or a bug. It might be intentional — in the original game, stealing from the shop permanently locked the store front down, making it impossible for Link to purchase any of the other items available. Also, any character you meet refers to you as ‘Thief‘ instead of your chosen name.
That’s the old version. The new version seemingly lets you steal as much as you want. You’ll just need to save your file. Here’s how to steal items and keep them without getting punished — step-by-step.
- Manually save your game outside the Item Shop. Just save right at the door, before going inside to steal.
- Pick up the item you want to steal and stand behind the shopkeeper in the lower-right corner of the shop. He’ll turn to face you.
- Quickly move left and exit the door. If you’re quick, he won’t turn fast enough to see you leave.
When you leave, immediately go back inside. The Shopkeeper will charge you the ultimate price — he’ll blast Link with lightening, killing him instantly! Just select ‘Retry‘ and you’ll load your previous save position.
But… you’ll still keep the item you stole. You can even go inside and talk to the Shopkeeper! No permanent death feud here. Now you can rob the old guy blind if you really want to.
