The Golden Fan is a unique item in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, obtained by completing the second round of the Mango Rush mini-game. Its description tells you what it looks and feels like but not what it does. So, what is the purpose of the Golden Fan?
If you check the Golden Fan in the items tab of your inventory, you’ll see the following description:
A glimmering fan made with golden feathers. Just holding it makes you feel glamorous!
But you can’t use it, equip it, or even sell it, so it might seem pretty useless at first. But the Golden Fan does have a purpose, it’s just that it doesn’t come into play until much later in the Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom campaign.
What does the Golden Fan do in Zelda Echoes of Wisdom?
If you’re wondering what the Golden Fan is for, then I’m assuming you’ve already won it by completing the second round of the Mango Rush mini-game. Mango Rush can be played at the Tough Mango Plant Lab next to the oasis in the Gerudo Desert (just behind the Smoothie stand and the Flying Tile quest giver). I thought the Golden Fan must be some kind of powerful item that would power me up in some way, but no. It doesn’t have any effect at all. But don’t worry, the Golden Fan isn’t a complete waste of effort, far from it.
Careful: spoilers ahead.
The Golden Fan is actually a quest item, but it’s for a side quest that you can’t unlock until the second half of the game. After you’ve rescued the King and saved Hyrule Castle Town from the giant rift, then you’ll be able to meet Dampé near Lon Lon Ranch. Defeat a Crow for him and he marks his house on your map in Eastern Hyrule Field.
At Dampé’s house, you can start a series of side quests, each of which unlocks an Automaton. One of these quests is called Get Rich Quick!, and it requires you to acquire a Crow Echo and “something shiny from a Gerudo at the oasis in Gerudo Desert.” That “something shiny” is the Golden Fan. So, if you bring the Golden Fan and the Crow Echo to Dampé, he creates the Goldfinch Automaton. This Automaton spawns rupees when it hits enemies, so it’s basically a super-duper version of the Crow.
So, if you’ve got the Golden Fan and don’t know what to do with it, just hang onto it until you reach the second half of the game, then seek out Dampé and his Automaton quests. You’ll find that your patience, and your Mango Rush skills, will (eventually) be generously rewarded.
