The Legend of Zelda series has many characters who are introduced and become staple characters. Beedle, a bug-loving traveling merchant, is just one of these characters. Introduced in The Wind Waker, he has gone on to make appearances in several other Zelda games, including last year’s Tears of the Kingdom. From sea-faring shopkeep to backpacking barterer, let’s take a look at his history across the series.
Buying and Selling on the Seas
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Beedle made his first appearance in the Zelda series with 2003’s The Wind Waker. He travels across the flooded Hyrule by boat, selling various useful items as well as buying monster loot from Link. There are multiple Shop Ships, near many of the islands. One of his Shop Ships, appearing near Rock Spire Isle, is run by the “Assistant Manager” who is just Beedle wearing a helmet and pretending not to recognize Link. His shops feature a membership program, where buying more items unlocks rewards for Link such as a compliment card or a fill-up coupon.
He also appears in Phantom Hourglass, a direct sequel to The Wind Waker. In this game, he offers discounts as additional benefits for the membership program. The “Assistant Manager” also returns, running the Masked Ship. However, this incarnation of the shopkeep doesn’t buy items from Link. There are also only two ships, rather than multiple ships across the world map – Beedle’s ship, and the Masked Ship run by the “Assistant Manager”.
A Shop in the Skies
Beedle also appears in 2011’s Skyward Sword. This time, instead of traveling across a flooded world, he owns a flying shop which he keeps aloft by constantly pedaling a bicycle. Once it appears (after Link obtains the Slingshot), it circles Skyloft until nighttime when it returns to Beedle’s Island. Unlike his appearance in The Wind Waker, Beedle only sells items to Link. At night, he can be seen holding his precious Horned Colossus Beetle. When his beetle goes missing later in the game, Link can return it to him for 5 Gratitude Crystals.
His shop in Spirit Tracks can also be found meandering in the skies. Like in Skyward Sword, his shop only appears after a certain point in the game, and it can only be accessed after another later point. Rather than requesting entry by hitting a bell with a Slingshot, Link can use the train’s whistle to get Beedle to land and allow Link into the shop. Membership rewards and discounts also return in Spirit Tracks, which allow Link to earn things like a Heart Container or a Regal Ring.
Merchant of Miniature Wares
Beedle also makes an appearance in The Minish Cap. Rather than owning his own shop, he sells items in the Hyrule Town Square. Unlike many of his other appearances in the series, he is only ever found in the town square. In the introduction of the game, he’s found selling fruit for the Picori Festival. After the introduction where Zelda is turned to stone by Vaati, Beedle instead sells Picolyte. The game doesn’t make it clear how he’s acquiring the Picolyte – in-game, Picolyte is made by Minish, which adults (like Beedle) are unable to see.
The Traveling Trader
2017’s Breath of the Wild saw Beedle return to his The Wind Waker roots, with him traveling all across Hyrule to buy and sell items. However, with Breath of the Wild‘s Hyrule not flooded like The Wind Waker‘s Hyrule was, Beedle instead treks from stable to stable with a beetle-shaped backpack. This version of him also didn’t offer discounts or a membership program, though he will offer Link a random food or elixr in exchange for a beetle. The items on sale vary from stable to stable, but he almost always sells at least one type of bug.
He also returned in 2023’s Tears of the Kingdom. Much of his wares stayed the same across the two games, with the addition of new items. This game also didn’t offer a membership program or discounts, though he still offers food or elixrs if Link is willing to give him a beetle.
Final Thoughts
It isn’t often in the Zelda series that a returning character is someone other than Zelda, Link, or Ganon/Ganondorf. Usually these returning characters have some relevance to the game’s overarching plot – Impa, the Happy Mask Salesman, and Vaati to name a few. However, Beedle has always been a wandering merchant for Link to trade with. This has led to many fan theories around Beedle – does he have more importance in the story of the Zelda series than he seems to on the surface?
Additionally, with Nintendo recently showing that Business Scrubs are going to return in Echoes of Wisdom, is it possible that the friendly bug-loving merchant will also make an appearance in the upcoming game? If so, would his membership rewards or discounts also be able to make a return? Perhaps while the Business Scrubs would sell smoothies, Beedle could offer other items in exchange for bugs that Zelda can find around Hyrule.
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