Legend Of Zelda: All Cucco Attacks, Ranked

We rank all the cucco attacks, because why not?

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The Legend Of Zelda series, with precious few exceptions, adheres to a strict set of story beats that every game must include. Link is the hero. Ganon is the villain. Cuccos are invincible entities whose might and wrath must never be tested, lest they scourge the land and all that lies therein.

Now, Cuccos are really just chickens with funnier, Nintendo licensed names, and while they serve no purpose in terms of plot or lore other than to flesh out the NPC villages, the power they possess is hilariously and dangerously legitimate.

Should you use Link to attack one, an onslaught of immortal feathers will be triggered that will only end if Link leaves the area… or dies. As we mentioned earlier, this mechanic appears in nearly every single Legend Of Zelda title, and because we like to spend our free time doing questionable things, we’ve ranked them just for you.

13 Tri Force Heroes

In last place, we have Tri Force Heroes, the 2015 Nintendo 3DS title that featured three iterations of Link simultaneously. The game promoted multiplayer coop and some seriously cool puzzle mechanics, both of which we have to completely ignore for the purposes of this list.

You see, Tri Force Heroes also features the most boring version of the Cucco attack. If Link attacks a Cucco long enough to trigger the event, only the specific Cucco in question fights back, and even then, only for a brief period of time. Sure, it turns gold, like a tiny Super Saiyan, but that’s just not enough to strike fear into our hearts. Honestly, it’s more cuddly that way.

12 Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks

The 2007 Nintendo DS title, Phantom Hourglass, and the 2009 Nintendo DS title, Spirit Tracks, are not the same game, but they might as well be. We’re not here to drag the developers, in fact, both of these games can be tremendously fun, but they inarguably share more in common with each other than most Legend Of Zelda entries, including how they handle the Cucco attack, so they get to share a spot in this list.

The assaulted Cucco will flash an angry red and a hoard of backup will flock to the rescue. There’s no change in the music, no dramatic cutscene, and the attacks eventually dwindle if you survive long enough, which is a bit of a letdown, as finales go.

11 Oracle Of Ages/Oracle Of Seasons

In 2001, Nintendo attempted to utilize their Pokemon model with the Zelda series and released two virtually identical games for the Game Boy Color at the same time. While these titles have their own unique charm, it’s clear that the method didn’t stick, considering it never happened again.

If Link should attack the Cuccos, a flock flies in to attack the hero. Where other entries gain points for their Cucco’s excessive speed (see below), this one loses points for their lollygagging. They just kind of… float across the screen. We’ll cut them some slack since they were Game Boy Color games, but they’re on thin ice.

10 Link’s Awakening

All three versions of Link’s Awakening (the 1993 SNES title, the 1998 Game Boy Color title, and the 2019 Nintendo Switch title) fall into the same slot because, aside from increases in graphical quality, their Cucco attacks essentially function as the exact same event. If anything, the newer iterations of the sequence are less scary, which isn’t exactly what we’d call progress.

Let’s break it down. If Link attacks the Cucco, then a swarm of Cuccos will fly in to defend their compatriot. There are no added sound effects, no color variations, just more Cuccos Cucco-ing. Arguably, though, the SNES version was the most alarming, as the chiptune sounds and black and white graphics added to the fear factor. Alfred Hitchcock would have approved. Probably.

9 Four Swords Adventure

Four Swords Adventure was 2002 Game Boy Advance title that, Like Tri Force Heroes, features multiple Links, but instead of three heroes, there are four. Unlike Tri Force Heroes, all four Links are controlled by one person. You’d think with four Links at your beck and call, Nintendo would consider the player able to handle something a bit extra when it comes to the Cucco attack.

You’d think, but you’d be wrong. It’s a relatively easy Cucco assault, but it wins points for being alarmingly fast. We’re talking close to thirty Cuccos on the screen at once, all flying like they were shot out of a cannon. And as quickly as it starts, it ends, leaving the four Links traumatized, but basically unharmed.

8 Majora’s Mask (3D)

Majora’s Mask is the 2000 Nintendo 64 sequel title to Ocarina Of Time (see below) that stirred fans into having “Strong Opinions.” In many ways, the assets and mechanics are the same as its predecessor, but there are a couple of unfortunate tweaks to the Cucco sequennce.

If Link attacks the Cucco enough, the fight is triggered. In every way, it feels kind of rushed, though. The cutscene at the beginning is reminiscent of the one in Ocarina Of Time, but it’s shorter. It’s still deadly, great fun, but the Cuccos have horrible aim and the changes are disappointing.

7 A Link To The Past/A Link Between Worlds

In 2013, Nintendo gifted the world with a 3DS remake/reimagining of A Link To The Past, a 1991 title for the SNES, called A Link Between Worlds. It’s essentially the same game, but 3D and with the ability to turn into magical graffiti.

Regardless of the game, If Link takes enough swipes at the Cucco, the Cuccos will appear and attack without warning, and only for a short while. There’s no musical shift, unless you count the anxiety-spiking heart depletion sound.

6 Minish Cap

The Minish Cap is the 2004 Game Boy Advance title that prominently featured a shrinking mechanic and a talking hat (Mario doesn’t own that idea, but we’re starting to think that Nintendo does). It’s an incredibly fun game, not in the least because of its harrowing Cuccos.

The Cuccos attack Link with frightening accuracy, each hit eliciting the exact same cry of pain from our hero. It’s one of the noisier variants of this moment, and while it can grate on the ears, it’s also pretty hilarious when Link bellows his dramatic death cry as his last heart depletes after being used for avian target practice.

5 Wind Waker (HD)

The 2002 GameCube title, Wind Waker, brought a new and more colorful life to the Zelda series with cell-shaded graphics and a more animated feel that directly opposed the main story of, “Hey, we drowned everything. Oops!”

Somber backdrop aside, Wind Waker changed up the vibe in more ways than one. For instance, the Cucco event was replaced with angry little piggies. If it were any other animal, or any less cute, we’d drop it from the list entirely, but the pigs, which can be found on Outset Island, come prepackaged with the battle theme when aggro’d. Come on, who can say no to that?

4 Breath Of The Wild

The 2017 Wii U/Switch title, Breath Of The Wild, shook up the Zelda formula in almost every way. The standard dungeons? Gone. The typical gear? Gone. Thankfully, though, it kept the Cuccos just the way they needed to be.

It’s kind of a mix between Ocarina Of Time and Four Swords. If Link attacks the Cuccos, which for once have a new design, a cutscene is triggered and the sky goes dark under the weight of a thousand shadows. That’s all very Ocarina Of Time, but it’s like Four Swords in that the Cuccos move with the speed of Quicksilver and that the onslaught, unfortunately, dwindles on its own.

3 Twilight Princess (HD)

Twilight Princess launched with the Wii in 2006 with the explicit intent of being darker and more serious than Wind Waker and, while it certainly succeeded to aesthetically estrange itself from the cartoony predecessor, it chose to follow Wind Waker’s theme of mixing up the Cucco attack.

If Link attacks the Cucco, the strangest thing happens… he becomes the Cucco. Suddenly, Link’s body freezes in time, and the player controls the Cucco. This eerie event opens the door for the most interesting questions Twilight Princess dares to propose. It’s only a shame that it refuses to answer them.

2 Ocarina Of Time (3D)

In 1998, Ocarina Of Time was released on the Nintendo 64, and it’s been topping the charts ever since. One of the numerous things that the first three-dimensional Zelda game does well is handle the Cucco attack with the gravitas that it deserves.

If you start swinging at the Cuccos, a brief cutscene is triggered. The Cucco pauses, as if solemnly accepting what is to come, then it makes the call, like Boromir with his horn. What sells the moment, when the Cuccos swarm, is that the peaceful music of Kakariko Village continues to play while Link falls prey to the barrage of beaks. It doesn’t stop unless Link leaves the area or dies, as it should be.

1 Hyrule Warriors (Legends, Definitive Edition)

The 2014 Wii U title, Hyrule Warriors, as well as the 2016 Nintendo 3DS spinoff Hyrule Warriors: Legends and 2018 Switch remake of the original game, aren’t technically Nintendo games, not in the typical sense, at least. No, all three titles were a collaboration between Nintendo and developers Omega Force and Team Ninja. The addition of “new blood” is probably what led to this golden, perfect moment existing.

Hyrule Warriors shirks the standard fair and has the player meet armies on the battlefield. One such opponent can be the dreaded Cucco. If you tank its health bar, it summons a battalion of invincible Cucco soldiers to punish your hubris. Since the game is a hack ‘n’ slash, you can blast through them like so much chaff. Sure, they’re still going to come back and obliterate you, but the key difference here is that you can legitimately fight back first. It’s kind of like therapy.

Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-all-cucco-attacks-ranked/