Not every item in The Legend of Zelda franchise is useful, and Ocarina of Time's Giant's Knife with its short-term usefulness could be counted among those items. While the Master Sword is the most iconic weapon that Link wields, it isn't the only option that players can find in Zelda games. Nintendo sets up the Giant's Knife as something amazing, only to disappoint players with its limitations.
The Giant's Knife is a two-handed sword that can only be used when Link is an adult, making him unable to use his shield with it. Before he can obtain it, players must unlock Medigoron's shop while Link is a child, where he'll mention that he's working on a project that will take years to complete. For 200 rupees, adult Link can then purchase one of The Legend of Zelda's most useless items because the Giant's Knife will break after 4 hits to enemies or 1 hit to a wall.
Ocarina Of Time Rubs Salt In The Wound With Biggoron's Sword
The allure of the Giant's Knife is that it has double the strength of the Master Sword, which is reduced to the same damage as the Kokiri Sword when broken. However, players can get the Giant's Knife repaired for another 200 rupees, only for it to break under the same conditions. Nintendo takes its prank one step further in Ocarina of Time because the Giant's Sword is almost identical to Biggoron's Sword.
Biggoron's Sword is identical to the Giant's Knife in Ocarina of Time, but it doesn't break. However, Link has to put in a little more effort to get this sword since it can't be bought like the Giant's Knife. Instead, it requires the completion of a series of trading quests. It isn't as useful against Ganon in Ocarina of Time as the Fairy Fountain defense buff since Ganon has to be defeated with the Master Sword, but Biggoron's Sword can be the journey to reach Ganon easier with its higher damage output and increased range.
It isn't uncommon for developers to include a bit of humor in games one way or another, and Nintendo chose a prank in Ocarina of Time that tricks players into believing an item is good enough to spend 200 rupees to purchase. Yet, at the same time, there's an identical item in the form of Biggoron's Sword that can't be broken, and therefore players won't end up spending even more rupees in repair fees. If Ocarina of Time received a FF7 style remake, the developers should keep this prank in the game. Players might know to avoid the Giant's Knife during a future playthrough, but that doesn't mean they can't recommend it to friends who are first experiencing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.