Three swords and some useful items from A Link to the Past.
Magic Mirror: This magic mirror can show you your true self. Unfortunately, it does that by teleporting you to a dark reflection of reality where everyone is a caricature of their true self. The only way to avoid being transformed into an impotent reflection is to carry a powerful protective ward.
This mirror does not have to be a link to another dimension. This mirror could be the hand mirror of fey royalty. Allowing any who gaze at their reflection to change their appearance by shrouding their true self in a glamour. To ensure any would be thief is punished, the item carries a curse. Any user other than the true owner runs the risk of becoming so enamored with their own reflection that they are unable to look away. Adventurers finding a mirror locked in the decaying fist of a skeletal corpse should be wary of looking into the mirror lest they fall prey to the mirror's enchantments.
This could also be a device that allows access to Spyke™, the fantasy video calling service that connects you to the entire world, and many others, for secure and reliable communication over the high speed ley line connections. Terms and conditions apply. Void where prohibited.
Hookshot: This is not my favorite drawing. The thick striped tube doesn't really scream cool, and the gauntlet doesn't look like it could really accommodate the extending and contracting required of the hookshot mechanism. That being said, I like to think the rope sort of just extends and contracts like something in Beetlejuice or other Tim Burton productions.
With that in mind, this rope spike could be a prosthetic that replaces a hand with a dangerous metal spike. When fully retracted, the spike is an adequate melee weapon. It can also be used as a flail or a grappling hook when the rope is extended.
If a somewhat magical elastic rope is not up your alley, this could simply be a gladiator flail. The weapon is tied onto the competitor's hand before the match so that it would be extremely difficult to drop or have disarmed. The design also facilities flashy disarming maneuvers that allows the wielder to take a shield or weapon from a competitor causing a sudden reversal of fortunes. Blood thirsty crowds cheer when the reigning champion is toppled by a rookie because they couldn't hold onto their blade at the last moment.
As I look at this, I see that it could also be a tail replacement. This is secured to the stump where the tail was to make a creature more dangerous. Or at least it may appear that way.
Master Sword: This was very much inspired by Ichigo's Zangetsu from the Bleach anime series. That sword is a bit too gonzo for my taste, so I tried to make a similar sword but have it be slightly more grounded. In retrospect, I should have given it an anime fabric tassel, but hindsight is 20/20.
This is a blade that isn't given to or purchased by the protagonist. This blade should be obtained through some personal trial. Whether they are pulling the sword from a rune stone in a forgotten grove, forming the blade from their own soul stuff in a time of need, or claiming the blade from a defeated competitor in a grand tournament, the blade should be a symbol of their triumph over adversity.
Tempered Sword: This sword was inspired by Sasuke's sword from Naruto Shippuden. The tempered sword is an upgrade from the Master Sword in A Link to the Past. Link must guide a lost dwarven smith back to their brother. When the dwarven brothers are reunited, they offer to improve Link's sword as a token of their gratitude. Having just watched a play through of God of War 4, I really liked the separated dwarven smith siblings’ story.
Having successfully completed a trial and earned a magnificent weapon, our hero is bold enough to venture into other realms. In their travels, the adventurer encounters a sad looking creature in an obsidian cage. The creature claims to be a famous dwarven smith that was trapped in this terrible form by powerful magics. The dwarven smith offers to improve the hero's blade if they could only free them and return them to their brother in the mundane realm. If the hero is able to somehow open the obsidian cage and lead the defense smith through the treacherous realm, the smith honors their promise. Working in perfect harmony, the two dwarven smiths reforge the weapon into a work of art.
If the reunification of a dwarven craft family isn't of interest to you, this sword could belong to the richest noble in the province. Anyone thief that could obtain this blade without getting caught would become a household name overnight. They would also earn the ire of a person with vast resources including contacts within the yakuza and a clandestine guild of spies and poisoners. There may not be enough years of laying low for this attack on the noble house's honor to be forgotten.
Golden Sword: The final upgrade to the Master Sword in A Link to the Past is obtained by having the Tempered Sword blessed by the Cursed Faerie trapped in the Dark World's Pyramid of Power. This is very similar to how the Red Shield is obtained.
With the refined blade in hand, the hero was able to overcome many trials and can eventually make their way to a towering pyramid visible from all places in the dark realm. Behind a sealed passage, the hero finds a gaunt fey creature bound in cold iron chains at the bottom of a still pool of water. The edge of the pool is inscribed with words of caution against freeing the dreadful beast from their bondage. If the hero enters the frigid waters and breaks the chains the true form of the faerie is revealed in a blinding flash of light. The hero finds themself face-to-face with a voluptuous faerie that is ecstatic to have been allowed to retake a form it finds more suitable. As a token of their gratitude, the faerie snatches the hero's weapon and shatters it against the edge of the pool. From the shards, the faerie crafts a set of three blades. The blades are sharp enough to cut through flesh and bone with ease and they are ensorcelled to break through even the strongest of wards and abjurations. The faerie is still trapped within the pool as long as the being at the top of the pyramid remains undefeated. With the help of the faerie's blades, the hero might actually pose a threat to the powerful mage ruling this realm from atop the impossibly tall pyramid.
These could be the lost swords of the renowned samurai Ashitake Eboshi. The Eboshi clan has had to endure the dishonor of losing the swords for two generations. The swords were last seen in the possession of Jigo Eboshi, who foolishly rushed into gaping maw of a leviathan that had attacked a ship they were on. The clan would handsomely reward any who could return these magnificent swords, as it would restore much of their lost status within the Shogunates. Many have come to the clan claiming to have found the swords but each claim has proven to be a fraud. Perhaps the swords are truly lost forever in the belly of the beast.
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I tried to show a narrative for the items that was mostly lifted from A Link to the Past. I tried to put a little bit of my own spin on Link's adventures, but the core of the story being told is the upgrade path for the master sword in this game. I really do believe in lifting and borrowing things from media for my personal RPG games and hopefully you see this work as something you could use directly or something that inspires you to repurpose and remix stories that have been told again and again.
As always, please do not profit off my work without my consent. You can use anything you see here personally as you see fit.
Don't forget, be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph
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