The Triforce Wielders Recurring: Goddesses and Allies, Villains and Enemies, Races Main Series: The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Oracle games, Four Swords, The Wind Waker, Four Swords Adventures, The Minish Cap, Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, Skyward Sword, A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes, Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom Spin-Offs: Philips CD-i Games, Hyrule Warriors, Cadence of Hyrule, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
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Major Villains
Dark Link
Link's Shadow/Dark Link/Shadow Link
Link's Doppelgänger who first appears as "Link's Shadow" in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, as the surprise final boss. He's something of a popular character with the fandom despite his infrequent appearances and lack of characterization. He appears most notably in Ocarina of Time as the mini-boss in the Water Temple, and in Four Swords Adventures as a Recurring Boss.
There are many different Dark Links, just as there are many different Links. The character is alternately known as Link's Shadow (in The Adventure of Link), Dark Link (in Ocarina of Time), and Shadow Link (in Four Swords Adventures); it is unknown if there are any meaningful differences between these names. In The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, you can enter Shadow Link Battles as a StreetPass feature. They represent other players you pass and are equipped with up to two of the items they have.
- Big, Bulky Bomb: Shadow Link throws humongous bombs at you several times during Four Swords Adventures. Can also use them in A Link Between Worlds should an opposing player equip them with one.
- The Blank: In many of his appearances, he has no facial features except for glowing red eyes, and sometimes not even that.
- Degraded Boss: In Oracle of Ages, Veran can create Dark Link doppelgangers as easily defeated Mooks.
- Doppelgänger: He is an evil, jet-black clone of Link.
- Evil Twin: He is identical to Link... except made of shadow.
- Enemy Without: In Zelda II, Link's Shadow is explicitly seen jumping out of Link, and in Hyrule Warriors manifests out of Link's shadow.
- Fearful Symmetry: One of his favorite combat tactics in boss battles.
- Fighting a Shadow: In Four Swords Adventures, Shadow Link retreats into the Dark World whenever you beat him.
- Final Boss: In The Adventure of Link, Link's Shadow is the final boss.
- The Heartless
- The Shadow Link seen in Four Swords Adventures is a manifestation of the original Ganondorf's hatred towards Link.
- The Dark Links that Cia creates in Hyrule Warriors are implied to be Link's pride, arrogance, and other feelings of overconfidence from wielding the Master Sword, shaped by her magic.
- Legacy Character: Each Link copy is a different character and has a different explanation for their existence. In Zelda II, Link's Shadow is the last test of worthiness for the Triforce of Courage. In Ocarina of Time, Dark Link is something of a Giant Space Flea from Nowhere; he appears in an enchanted room in the Water Temple from the real Link's reflection in the water. In Four Swords Adventures, Shadow Link is a creation of the Dark Mirror and a manifestation of the original Ganondorf's hatred for Link.
- Mirror Boss: In Ocarina of Time, Dark Link mirrors the real Link's attacks.
- Paint It Black: The versions in The Adventure of Link, Ocarina of Time, and Four Swords Adventures are jet-black.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: In Ocarina of Time, he has glowing red eyes. This was carried over to the unnamed Oracle of Ages and Twilight Princess copies/illusions.
- Sequential Boss: In A Link to the Past (exclusive to the Game Boy Advance version), Link has to fight four different Dark Links, one after another.
- The Trickster: In Four Swords Adventures, Shadow Link and his clones play malicious tricks on Link.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Dark Link is given white hair in his Twilight Princess incarnation.
Phantom Ganon
An evil wraith that has been summoned by Ganondorf several times, sharing several of his master's powers and acting in his stead.
- Artifact Name: He's called Phantom Ganon in Ocarina of Time due to looking exactly like his master except for his Skull for a Head. This name is less fitting for the Living Shadow depictions from The Wind Waker and Four Swords Adventures, who only vaguely resemble the Demon King, to the point that first-time players might not even know that they're up against Phantom Ganon. On the other hand, Tears of the Kingdom depicts him as a Gloom copy of Ganondorf's mummified body.
- BFS: In The Wind Waker and Four Swords Adventures, he carries a large black falchion with a curl at the tip.
- The Bus Came Back: Tears of the Kingdom marks his first mainline game appearance since Four Swords Adventures 19 years earlier.
- Dark Is Evil: He started off as an undead-looking monster at first, and then seemed to transition into a Living Shadow.
- Decomposite Character: The "Blight Ganon" bosses from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are called "phantoms of Ganon" in-game, making them all twisted elemental variations of the original Phantom Ganon archetype. The same DLC pack also lets Link find and wear a set of armor resembling the original Ocarina of Time Phantom Ganon. Phantom Ganon himself makes a proper appearance in the sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
- Devil's Pitchfork: He wields a trident in Ocarina of Time as a throwback to the one Ganon uses in his beast form.
- Evil Laugh: Lets one out from time to time.
- Final Boss Preview: The Phantom Ganon fights in Ocarina of Time and Tears of the Kingdom are basically easier, simpler versions of your ultimate fights against the real Ganondorf.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: In all incarnations, he has glowing eyes. Tears of the Kingdom give him red eyes instead of the usual orange.
- Living Shadow: Several of his post-Ocarina of Time incarnations look like vague shadows versions of Ganondorf brought to life.
- Me's a Crowd: In The Wind Waker, he can temporarily summon four copies of himself that can strike down Link. In Ocarina of Time, he uses a copy as a decoy. Four Swords Adventures and Tears of the Kingdom likewise features duplicates of him appearing at once.
- Recurring Boss: In Tears of the Kingdom, he is fought on two different occasions during the story related missions, but he can also be encountered and fought in multiple places through the map.
- Teleport Spam: His Wind Waker incarnation makes heavy use of his teleportation powers, and his Tears of the Kingdom incarnation even uses it to intimidate Link while disguised as Zelda.
- Tennis Boss: Except for his Tears of the Kingdom incarnation, Phantom Ganon must be damaged by deflecting his energy attacks.
Twinrova
The twin sisters Koume and Kotake, who were Ganondorf's adopted parents in Ocarina of Time. They presumably taught him his dark magical abilities and set him on his Start of Darkness. Koume uses fire magic and Kotake uses ice magic. Their Fusion Dance forms a composite being that can use both. They were later seen trying to revive Ganon in the Oracle series. Interestingly, their Alternate Universe counterparts in Majora's Mask are good guys who run a potion shop and tour boat in southern Termina.
- Big Bad: The true main villains of the Oracle games; since Ganon is dead and they're trying to resurrect him, he's more of a Greater-Scope Villain.
- Crystal Ball: They are sometimes depicted as using one of these, mostly in the Oracle games.
- Dark Action Girl: The two sisters are witches who dabble in the dark arts of magic with a particular knowledge in fire magic (Koume) and ice magic (Kotake). Their most powerful technique involves the sisters fusing into a single being with their powers amplified.
- Demoted to Extra: They appear in a non-speaking capacity in Tears of the Kingdom as Ganondorf's right and left hand, but only make their appearance in two cutscenes, before disappearing for the rest of the game. They appear to be in their younger years in this game, and they both wear golden masks, separating them from the other Gerudo.
- The Dragon: The twin sisters were Ganondorf's adopted parents. That probably explains a lot.
- Dual Boss: You fight both witches at the same time, they eventually fuse together.
- Elemental Hair Composition: Koume's Flaming Hair looks like a burning torch, while Kotake's appears to be a solid block of ice.
- Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Whenever you face them; Koume is weak to ice and Kotake is weak to fire, so the typical fighting pattern is reflecting one's elemental attacks to damage her sister with it.
- Evil Matriarch: They rule the Gerudo tribe, and whoever disobeys gets banishment or enslavement to their son.
- Evil Old Folks: They're said to be centuries old, and usually serve as Ganondorf's main enforcers.
- Fire/Ice Duo: Koume has blazing hair and uses fire magic, while Kotake has hair resembling a block of ice and uses ice magic. Their fused form has access to both elements.
- Flaming Hair: Koume's hair looks like a burning torch, reflecting her fire powers.
- Hot Witch: Their fused form Twinrova is noticeably more youthful.
- Flying Broomstick: Their mode of transportation is broomsticks, which also acts as a pair of staffs when they fuse into Twinrova.
- Fusion Dance: Their Twinrova form, which the player usually has to fight.
- Platonic Co-Parenting: They're the surrogate mothers for Ganondorf, but it's never implied that either of them were his biological mother. They're also not romantically involved with each other, being bickering sisters instead.
- Punny Name: The "rova" part of their name can be written in Japanese as 老婆 (rouba), meaning "old woman". Thus, Twinrova (Twinrouba) can mean twin old women, which is exactly what they are.
- Sexier Alter Ego: Koume and Kotake are gonky Miniature Senior Citizens who don't look remotely like regular Gerudo women, but their fused form Twinrova is an attractive Statuesque Stunner in-line with typical Gerudo.
- Sibling Fusion: They're twin witches and can merge into a single being called Twinrova, who has the two siblings' combined magical powers.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: Koume is weak to Kotake's element and vice versa, so when battling their separated forms, you need to deflect one sister's attack towards the other.
- Unexplained Recovery: In the Oracle series, provided they're not the same twins as in Ocarina of Time. That game's Link defeated them and they ascended to heaven, yet they show up just fine in the Oracle games. Although they could have simply been resurrected by Ganon at some point prior to his destruction.
- Wicked Witch: They fit the traditional archetype pretty well: evil, old, green skin, Sinister Schnoz, ride broomsticks, etc. Subverted in Majora's Mask, however, where they run a potion shop and are helpful to Link (if a bit racist towards Dekus and Gorons).
- Wizards Live Longer: Their abnormally long lifespans are a result of them using black magic to prolong their lives.
Vaati
The main villain of the Four Swords sub-series. The backstory from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords told of how a young hero imprisoned him in the titular Four Sword and how he escaped when the seal weakened. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is his Start of Darkness, explaining how he used the power of the Minish Cap to transform himself into a human sorcerer, and later a giant eyeball-cloud.
- The Archmage: Vaati displays incredible magical prowess.
- Arc Villain: Of the Four Swords trilogy, which chronicles his origins, struggles against Link and the Four Sword, and eventual downfall.
- Big Bad: He plays this role in the Four Swords sub-series, minus Four Swords Adventures.
- Blow You Away: Being a wind mage in his later games, his attacks based on wind can send Link flying.
- Breakout Villain: Vaati is the only villain to have played the Big Bad in more than one game besides Ganon, which led to a rise of popularity and many suggesting a return whenever a new game makes itself known.
- Came Back Wrong: However he came back to life between The Minish Cap and Four Swords, he didn't come back the same. Instead of wanting the Light Force to become all-powerful, he went and kidnapped any pretty maiden that caught his attention.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Vaati won the tournament decisively and then went on to humiliate the soldiers of Hyrule in the beginning of The Minish Cap.
- The Dragon: To Ganon in Four Swords Adventures. Although he was most likely manipulated.
- Dark Is Evil: Wore deep purple robes after becoming a sorcerer, and became pitch black after becoming an Eldritch Abomination.
- Eldritch Abomination: At the end of Minish Cap, in Four Swords, and in Four Swords Adventures, he appears as a one-eyed demonic entity.
- Enfant Terrible: Even though his age is never mentioned, it's pretty obvious that he wasn't an adult in his human and his original Minish form, since his human artwork makes him barely taller than Link and his Minish-sprite is even smaller than that of a regular Minish. Additionally, he's so cute in these two forms that you wouldn't know he's a villain unless someone told you... Of course the knights of Hyrule suspected nothing when a young boy signed up for the tournament...
- Evil Sorcerer: He's a skilled and powerful magician who wants to conquer Hyrule.
- Filler Villain: Fills in for Ganon in the Four Swords games where he isn't present.
- Foil: To the series' Big Bad Ganon, as Vaati is the only other villain to have filled that role more than once. Ganondorf is a lone male Gerudo with green skin no other Gerudo has, Vaati was a Minish with an odd purple skin color that no other Minish has. Ganondorf turned evil because of jealousy for Hyrule's prosperity and a lust for power that got the better of him, Vaati turned evil because he was bored with his race and was interested in the evil in man's hearts. Ganondorf wears black armor and uses magic but prefers using brute force, Vaati wears purple and red but prefers only using magic in his fights. Both want to take over the world, but Ganondorf wants the Triforce (an ancient power left behind by the goddesses) and that goal stuck until Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, where a different Ganon steals Queen Sonia's Secret Stone and becomes the Demon King, then Calamity Ganon after being sealed by Rarau and a fragment of his soul slipping through the seal; Vaati wanted the Lightforce (a power gifted from the Minish to the Royal Family) but his goal ended due to forgetting his past life. Ganon only kidnapped Zelda due to her connection with the Triforce, while Vaati originally wanted just the Lightforce that was within her but he ended up kidnapping her strictly for marriage.
- Giggling Villain: He laughs like the Happy Mask Salesman.
- Greed: One of the guards describes Vaati as greedy when the latter is impersonating the king in The Minish Cap.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: In Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures,
due to forgetting his former life, he's become obsessed with pretty girls. He kidnapped Zelda in the former because he wanted a bride. - I Just Want to Be You: This is how he felt about all humanity, according to The Minish Cap. Fascinated by the potential of humans to commit evil in pursuit of their goals, he used the Wishing Cap to take the form of a human to start his quest for the Light Force.
- Killed Off for Real: Hyrule Historia states that Vaati was killed in the final fight of Four Swords Adventures, permanently writing him off the Child Timeline. His fate in the Adult and Decline timeline is, anyhow, undisclosed.
- Kung-Fu Wizard: Despite specializing in magic, Vaati managed to win a martial arts tournament. In English it is specified to be swordsmanship, but in the Japanese context, martial arts can refer to armed or unarmed combat.
- Lust Makes You Dumb: While Vaati was portrayed as a cunning schemer in his chronological first appearance in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, his years of isolation and transformation into a demon left him obsessed with abducting young women to serve as his brides, even though every kidnapping spree of his resulted in Link chasing after and defeating him.
- Magic Knight: A powerful sorcerer and the victor of a sword contest.
- Meaningful Name: "Vaati" resembles "Venti", the Italian word for "Winds". Vaati's Japanese name, "Gufū", translated into English means "tornado".
- Morphic Resonance: A retroactive example. His one-eyed monster form was introduced with a red eye surrounded by lightly curled gold highlights. His original Minish/human form has red eyes and wears a cap with those same gold highlights.
- Motive Decay: In Minish Cap, he wants the Light Force, which is located in Princess Zelda. From then on, he desires any girl that catches his eye, with Princess Zelda for a bride. Word of God justifies this, as he has forgotten his life as a Minish and everything in it.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: The plot probably wouldn't have been kickstarted after he revealed his true colors had he deduced that Zelda was carrying the Light Force he was seeking, and thus not turned Zelda into stone.
- Oculothorax: In his demon form, he's a bat-winged black orb dominated by a single giant eye.
- One-Winged Angel: At the end of Minish Cap he drains Zelda's light force and transforms into a humungous floating eyeball-cloud.
- Older Than He Looks: At least after Minish Cap, Vaati is immortal and all of his appearances are the same character.
- Purple Is Powerful: His Minish and Hylian forms feature different shades of purple, this includes his skin.
- Really 700 Years Old: At least in Four Sword Adventures, which is the last game in the timeline it appears in and has the same Vaati as the one from Minish Cap, which is one of the earliest games in the timeline.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: All his forms have red eyes.
- Robe and Wizard Hat: His first form in Minish Cap wears this.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Vaati releases all the monsters within the Bound Chest when he shatters the Picori Blade. He later becomes the sealed evil when he is imprisoned within the Four Sword.
- Staying Alive: Each appearance by Vaati is the same character who has managed to live across several generations.
- Sword of Plot Advancement: He unleashes numerous monsters by destroying the Picori Blade. Fixing and upgrading the weapon is necessary to navigate through the world and ultimately to defeat Vaati.
- Was Once a Man: Minish Cap reveals that he was once a Minish who transformed himself into a Hylian-like form. Once the Link of that game destroyed his body, he became the Eldritch Abomination that he is for all other Four Swords games.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Like Ganondorf, he had sought power beyond his control and the end result transformed him into an all-powerful demon. And like Ganon in the Downfall Timeline, his defeats at the hands of the heroes over the ages had eroded his sanity and intelligence, going from seeking the power of the Light Force to kidnapping girls to be his brides.
- The Xenophile: He grew up studying the evil potential of humans, even to the point of abandoning his Minish form. Even after losing his memories, he spends his time kidnapping human girls.
Bosses
Arrghus
Arrghus from A Link Between Worlds.
A cyclopean creature that protects itself with a cloud of smaller minions.
- Dub Name Change: From "Wart" in Japanese. Strangely, its Majora's Mask appearance keeps the name "Wart" in English versions, although other language dubs use the same name for it as for other games' versions of the boss.
- Eye Beams: Some incarnations of Arrghus can fire lasers from their central eyes.
- Flunky Boss: It protects itself with small jellyfish called Arrgi or just flying eyeballs, and uses them to attack Link as well; the Stone Arrghus in Four Swords Adventures uses rocks for the same purpose. The Four Swords add-on for A Link to the Past also has Baris.
- Oculothorax: It resembles either a jellyfish-like creature with a single huge eye dominating its body or just a giant floating eyeball.
- Recurring Boss: It's not uncommon for multiple versions of Arrghus to be fought in a single game, first as a regular boss and then as a miniboss. Majora's Mask has it fought once in the Great Bay Temple, and then again as part of a Bonus Dungeon. A Link Between Worlds sees a second one appear in Lorule Castle, while Tri Force Heroes has the Links fight a robotic duplicate of it before the first fight with Lady Maud; the Four Swords add-on for A Link to the Past also has a stronger version of the original game's Arrghus guarding one of the Four Sword shards.
- Turns Red: Once all of its protective minions are destroyed, Arrghus becomes much more aggressive and starts attacking Link more directly.
Gleeok
Gleeok from The Legend of Zelda.
A many-headed dragon fought as a boss in the early games, Gleeok makes a later appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and serves as a group of overworld bosses in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Breath Weapon: In its first two appearances, it spits fireballs. In Phantom Hourglass, Gleeok's two heads each have a different breath weapon — the left head breathes ice, while the right one breathes fire. Gleeokenspiel from Cadence of Hyrule spits lightning instead. In Tears of the Kingdom, Gleeok comes in elemental variations: Flame Gleeok, Frost Gleeok, and Thunder Gleeok. The rare King Gleeok uses all three elements, one for each head.
- The Bus Came Back: Returns in Tears of the Kingdom 16 years after its last appearance in "Phantom Hourglass" back in 2007.
- Dem Bones: The Oracle of Seasons Gleeok is reduced to this after Link slays both of its heads, though this does not deter the dragon itself, since it will stomp the ground and charge wildly at him until it is slain.
- Flying Face: In The Legend of Zelda and Oracle of Seasons, Gleeok's heads fly around on their own after being severed and continue to breathe fire at Link, though in the latter, they will reattach to the main body if not defeated quickly.
- Multiple Head Case: In the first game, different individual Gleeoks can have anywhere from two to four heads. In its later appearances in Oracle of Seasons and Phantom Hourglass, it always has two heads. Tears of the Kingdom's Gleeoks all have three heads.
- No Ontological Inertia: Typically, Gleeok's severed heads instantly pop out of existence once its central body is slain, despite being active and alive up until that point.
- Organ Autonomy: After being severed, its heads usually fly around on their own and continue to attack Link.
- Our Dragons Are Different: A many-headed, winged Western dragon found lurking within dungeons and guarding important Plot Coupons.
Gohma
Gohma from The Legend of Zelda.
Arthropod monsters with a giant vulnerable eye, Gohmas are some of the most common recurring bosses in the franchise. Gohma first appeared in the original game, and additionally features in Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Oracle of Seasons, Four Swords Adventures and The Wind Waker. The similarly-named and -fought Armogohma and Marbled Gohma appear in Twilight Princess and Tears of the Kingdom respectively.
- Cyclops: They only have a single, massive eye — which, naturally, is their only weak spot.
- Eye Beams: Some versions can shoot beams or fireballs from their eyes.
- Giant Enemy Crab: Varies between this and Giant Spider. They are usually depicted as gigantic cyclopean crabs in the 2D titles, although the Gohmas in Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker also resembles nonspecific monstrous crustaceans.
- Giant Spider: The Gohma's depictions in many games resemble monstrous, cyclopean spiders. Armogohma in Twilight Princess is a mostly realistic gigantic spider with an eye in the middle of its thorax.
- Go for the Eye: From shooting it in the original to pulling it closer to you so you can slice it up with your sword.
- Hive Queen: Almost all Gohma bosses are identified as female, and often have brood minions in the form of Young Gohma/Gohma Larva.
- Mook Maker: The Gohmas in Ocarina of Time and Oracle of Seasons and Twilight Princess' Armogohma all spawn large numbers of Gohma Larvae during their fight with Link, either firing them like bullets or loosing them to swarm and distract Link.
- Wall Crawl: In 3D games, Gohmas often climb along the walls and ceiling of the rooms that they are fought in and need to be brought back to ground level somehow in order to be attached,
Manhandla
Manhandla from The Legend of Zelda.
A ferocious plant with snapping maws, Mandhandla moves faster as each head is severed. In the Four Swords subseries, its gimmick is that its heads are each a different color and can only be harmed by the matching Link.
- Breath Weapon: It usually spits fireballs during battle.
- Bullet Seed: In some appearances, it spits seeds at high velocity rather than breathing fire, most notably in Hyrule Warriors.
- Clean Dub Name: Its name is changed from Testitart/Titart to Manhandla for the English versions, probably because the Japanese name sounds too close to testicles.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: In Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures, each of its heads is colored the same as one of the Links, signaling which one it needs to be attacked by.
- King Mook: According to the original Japanese manual for the first game and in Oracle of Seasons, it's a giant Piranha Plant. This detail was Lost in Translation for the manual, but the heads remained with the Piranha Plant design in Oracle of Seasons.
- Man-Eating Plant: Although some depictions can get fairly abstract, it's generally a giant mobile plant with four maws arranged around its core. The first game's manual describes it as a man-eating flower.
- Turns Red: It picks up speed every time Link destroys one of its mouths, becoming harder and harder to fight until it's finally destroyed.
Common Monsters
Armos and Beamos
Tropes applying to both
- Composite Character: The Decayed Guardians and Guardian Turrets from Breath of the Wild are basically Armos (statue-like enemies that stay dormant until you get close to them) crossed with Beamos (one-eyed laser turret enemies), the latter of which reappear in the game itself, though they're only encountered in the Sheikah Shrines. They're generally much more powerful, though, and the regular kind are mobile from the start and less like Armos as a result.
- Distinction Without a Difference: The Guardians of Breath of the Wild largely play their role with their stone bodies and Eye Beams, but their names make no reference to Armos and Beamos.
- Magitek: They've frequently had this design starting with The Wind Waker, complete with Tron Lines.
- Mecha-Mook: They are mechanical beings made to guard rooms and objects.
Armos
An Armos from A Link Between Worlds.
A Living Statue that chases Link. They are usually found within dungeons or around their entrances, and are particularly common around ruins. Their abilities and appearance change greatly from game to game.
- King Mook: Six Armos Knights are the boss of the first dungeon, Eastern Palace, in A Link to the Past, returning in the final dungeon, Ganon's Tower, to guard the Boss Key.
- Living Statue: Statues of armed and armored warriors that come to life when Link draws near and subside back to quiescence when he leaves. They're usually found around temples and ruins, where they act as guardians against trespassers.
- Mistaken for Granite: In their neutral state, they're entirely indistinguishable from regular statuary — until Link gets too close and they try to kill him, of course. This is especially confusing when they're found alongside other, inanimate statues that look the same.
- Taken for Granite: The original game manual states that they were actually soldiers turned into stone. All subsequent entries do away with this explanation, however, instead making them fully mechanical or magical statues that were never living beings.
- Taking You with Me: In the 3D games, after being defeated, they spin around and try to explode in Link's face.
- Underground Monkey: A Link Between Worlds introduces the Gimos, thier Lorulean counterparts and their elemental variants, the Fire, Ice, and Big Ice Gimoses.
Beamos
A Beamos from A Link Between Worlds.
A statue, like Armos, but one that acts more like a sentry, firing lasers at Link when he approaches. They're always immobile and often invulnerable, and in many games act more like traps than true enemies. They're typically only found within dungeon areas.
- Eye Beams: Beamos' only means of attack is to shoot beams or projectiles from its eye. They're really powerful, too. Don't let it find you.
- Go for the Eye: Several games let you shoot the eyes, and this occasionally disables them, or in the case of Skyward Sword, kills them.
- Invincible Minor Minion: In many games, Beamos cannot be harmed in any way.
- Living Statue: Sometimes they're made out to be this, but in other cases they're treated merely as machines or obstacles. In The Wind Waker, they're not even counted as monsters and photographing them (if you somehow manage to) doesn't let you get a figurine of them in the Nintendo Gallery.
- Stationary Enemy: Beamos are immobile, in many cases acting more like traps than true enemies, and can only rotate on their spot to keep Link in their sights.
Bari and Biri
A blue Bari from A Link Between Worlds.
Electrified jellyfish-like enemies typically found in dungeons. The larger Bari tend to split into smaller Biri when killed.
- Asteroids Monster: Some Bari split into two or three Biri when defeated.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: In the 2D games, a Bari's color determines whether it will split into Biri on defeat: red and yellow ones do so, while blue and green ones don't.
- Electric Jellyfish: Both Biri and Bari are highly electrified, requiring Link to wait for them to power down to attack them or to use ranged weapons against them.
- Flying Seafood Special: Jellyfish that float about in the air. This is averted in Twilight Princess, where they instead are found underwater in the Lakebed Temple.
- Giant Mook: The Gigabaris in A Link Between Worlds, outsized Baris that split into fifteen Biris when defeated.
- King Mook: Barinade in Ocarina of Time, an enormous parasitic polyp that attracts Bari to itself using its bioelectric field and uses them as weapons against attackers.
Blins
A Moblin with a bulldog-like appearance, from Ocarina of Time.
A Bokoblin with a piglike appearance, from Breath of the Wild.
Common goblin and orc-like monsters whose names all end in the suffix "-blin". Designs have ranged from imp-like to bulldog-like to boar-like (this motif seems to be the most popular). There are many subspecies of this race:
- The original subspecies is the Moblin, a spear-wielding savage that served as common foes in earlier installments. Later 3D installments have them as the strongest, most elite members of the Blins, but they remain as common foes in 2D games. They are often found in forest areas.
- The Bokoblins, introduced in Wind Waker, are about the size of an average Hylian, but fight with relatively more finesse than their larger counterparts. They tend to be common foes in later 3D installments, and are the first enemies encountered in Breath of the Wild.
- Miniblins, also introduced in Wind Waker, are the smallest and weakest of the Blin race, but attack in large groups to make up for this.
- Bulblins, introduced in Twilight Princess, are similar to Bokoblins, but can be skilled archers and ride boar-like Bullbos. Some of their traits were absorbed into the Bokoblins in later games.
- Big Blins, introduced as a species in Spirit Tracks, are a sub species of Moblin and the largest of the Blin race, but are lumbering, none-too-bright brutes. In Japan, the term is used for several other Moblin leaders.
- Boss Bokoblins, introduced in Tears of the Kingdom, are well, the bosses of the Bokoblins.
- Horriblins, also introduced in Tears of the Kingdom, are wild monkey-like Blins that hang upside down in underground caverns.
- Always Chaotic Evil: The one thing in common with every game they appear in is that they are always on the side of evil. Some, but not all games, hint this is because Ganondorf/Demise created them in the first place. We do occasionally have heroic/morally neutral Blins exist, but they're a relative rarity.
- Barbarian Tribe: Starting with Wind Waker, they are shown to be comparatively civilized and intelligent among the monsters, but they are still savage thieves and raiders who will assault friendly travelers without a second thought.
- Brainy Pig:
- Downplayed in most games, where Moblins are less intelligent than the Hylians, yet are still one of the only monsters to display civilization at all.
- In Wind Waker, the Moblins are capable of operating wooden submarines that Hylians don't have.
- Breakout Character: In early Zelda games, they were just another type of monster in Ganon's stable of minions, only with occasional friendly characters. Starting with Wind Waker, the introduction of Bokoblins led to all of the Blin races receiving more detailed societal and racial traits on par with friendly races such as the Gorons and Zoras. They are now treated as common footsoldiers and Mascot Mooks since then, being especially prominent in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
- Bully Bulldog: In some games, particularly earlier ones, Moblins are humanoid and aggressive bulldogs. Big Blins, being a subspecies of Moblin, have this look too in almost all appearances.
- Canon Immigrant: Not Moblins as a whole, but Spear Moblins from the CDI Zelda games became official game canon from Four Swords onwards.
- Depending on the Artist: Their appearances vary between looking like bulldogs, looking like pigs, or looking like stock goblins/orcs with features of neither animal. Notably, the Game Boy games have both bulldog and pig Moblins, and so give the latter the name "Pig Warriors"note to differentiate the two.
- Depending on the Writer:
- Games seem to vary between Blins being mindless magical beings, a sentient race that can be reasoned with, or some combination of the two.
- Their alliance also depends on the game, as in some games, such as The Legend of Zelda and Skyward Sword, they serve the Big Bad, while in other games, such as the Oracle games and Spirit Tracks, they are simple bandits that Link gets in the way of.
- How advanced Moblin technology varies by game, with several games like Link's Awakening and Breath of the Wild depicting Blins as roughly being on a stone-age level, while games like Wind Waker and Spirit Tracks show them operating steampunk submarines and Tanks.
- Dogs Are Dumb: Dog Moblins aren't portrayed as too bright, speaking with poor grammar in the TV series. In their defense, Pig Moblins aren't any smarter, and few monsters can speak at all in the video games.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Downplayed, the dog-like Moblin designs are mostly present in the early games, though the original design still appears as every once in a while. Most later games depict them as pig or Imp like creatures.
- Elite Mook: Starting with Ocarina of Time, Moblins have been portrayed as one of the bigger, tougher enemies in the 3D games. This set in after Bokoblins were introduced, which have henceforth taken their role as the Big Bad's common footsoldiers and which are often found in bands accompanying the stronger, bigger Moblins.
- The Goomba: Bokoblins and Bulblins are usually some of the very first enemies you fight, and are pretty simple to defeat.
- Inconsistent Dub: The Moblin leaders, bar Great Moblin in the Oracle games, all have the same name in Japanese, Oyablin, implying they're all the same subspecies, but the English translations of the various games give them different titles.
- English versions of Link's Awakening name the Moblin leader, "King Moblin" in the original and "Chief Moblin" in the remake.
- In Ocarina of Time, English guides name the leader, "Club Moblin".
- The localization of Spirit Tracks and Hyrule Warriors gives their name as "Big Blins" as an accessory to the Miniblin's name.
- Javelin Thrower: Early versions of the Moblins threw spears, although in most later games they use them solely in melee combat instead.
- King Mook:
- Bulldog Moblins are led by King Moblin in Link's Awakening, and Boarblins note are led by Great Moblin in both Oracle games.
- Big Blins in Japan are known as Oyablins, which translates to "Blin Patriarch" or "Blin Kingpin". Several other moblin leaders in Japan are also called Oyabins, but the overseas translations give them different titles. The Spirit Tracks english name, Big Blin name also implies they're the leaders of the Miniblins.
- Starting with A Link to the Past, many Zelda games, as well as Nintendo Land, make Ganon this to them as Bokoblins and Moblins are both porcine, further evoking their ties to Ganon.
- Machete Mayhem: Bokoblins are usually depicted wielding machetes or cleaver-type swords.
- Mascot Mook: While Blins of all types were always prominent enemies, they didn't ascend to this position until around The Wind Waker. Since then, they are prominently featured in promotional art as Link's primary enemies.
- Meaningful Name:
- The word "Moblin" is a combination of the word "goblin" with "mori", the Japanese word for forest. This fits with how the Moblins in the first game were always only found in forested areas. Mori also sounds similar to harpoons and they toss javelins.
- The "Boko" prefix in universe seems to continue this trend in The Wind Waker as Bokoblins are usually seen using Boko Sticks, which are the stems of the forest-dwelling Boko Babas. Outside of this forest-connected name, "Boko" is also a Japanese term which refers to inexperience, when comparing Bokoblins to Moblins. "Bokoboko" is also a Japanese term meaning "beaten up", which can refer to what Bokoblins do to their victims or what Link will be doing to the Bokoblins.
- Mini Mook: Miniblins are miniature Bokoblins, weak individually but found in large groups.
- Mono Gender Monsters:
- The Japanese name of Chief Moblins/Big Blins, Oyablins, comes from a Japanese word for patriarchs, identifying them as male. Moblin characters like Great Moblin and Moe are also identified as male.
- Minish Cap subverts this by being the first game to have a female Moblin, who uses the same sprite as all Bow Moblins.
- Mook Carryover: They have served — in chronological order — Demise, Ghirahim, Vaati, and Ganondorf/Ganon. This implies that most Zelda antagonists, not just Ganon, have inherited Demise's curse of hatred.
- Mook Lieutenant:
- Oyablins/Big Blins lead Miniblins to battle in Spirit Tracks.
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has the Boss Bokoblin, a big rotund Bokoblin that has a necklace of skulls around its neck and leads Bokoblins and their variants into battle.
- Our Demons Are Different:
- Skyward Sword implies that they are demons who originally served Demise.
- The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia downplays this by saying they are monsters, but distinguished from demons as a race of beings that have been corrupted by evil and don't have the ability to create evil. Nevertheless, it mentions Blins usually serve demons.
- Our Goblins Are Different: The tiny, weak and numerous Miniblins are the most goblinish of the 'blin family, resembling small cartoon devils, and Bokoblins also tend to be fairly low-level, colorful-skinned, large-eared and clever but not strong servants of evil forces.
- Our Imps Are Different: Miniblins are the smallest, weakest members of the Blin family. They're tiny, devilish figures, with prominent buck teeth and a pair of curved horns, and are armed with pitchforks. They make up for their weakness by attacking Link in huge waves, aided by the fact that they constantly respawn.
- Our Orcs Are Different: Moblins tend to be the most orcish of the 'blin family, being hulking, powerful and often piggish bruiser in the service of dark lords, and the more intelligent, boar-riding Bulblins also tend to fit this standard. Especially in Twilight Princess, they tend to follow the Tolkien style of orc in terms of their characterization, though King Bulblin eventually reveals himself to be more of a Proud Warrior Race Guy in the Blizzard tradition.
- Pig Man: While they were originally doglike, Moblins start to be depicted as piglike in A Link to the Past, coexisting with the earlier canine version for a few games before becoming the only type of Moblin shown in most games; Bokoblins gain similar traits in The Wind Waker, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom. In general, this helps establish them as minions to their likewise boarlike leader Ganon.
- Savage Piercings: Both Bokoblins and Moblins have these in Skyward Sword, with Moblins having nipple piercings.
- Token Heroic Orc: A few Moblins actually help Link on his quest.
- We Have Reserves: They are fairly expendable. Averted in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, where Ganon uses his magic to periodically revive his minions.
- Zerg Rush: Weak members of the race tend to be found in large groups later in the game. This is most pronounced with Miniblins, which are exclusively found in packs.
Bubbles
A Bubble from Ocarina of Time.
Despite the name, these things are flaming disembodied skulls, often winged, that usually curse Link when he touches them.
- An Ice Person: Twilight Princess onwards introduces the Ice Bubbles, which can freeze Link on contact.
- Artifact Name: The name "Bubbles" for this monster made a lot more sense when they just looked like blue or red circles. Now that they've been modeled to look more like demonic flaming skulls, the name seems absolutely bizarre.
- Dem Bones: They appear as a flying skull (sometimes with bat-like wings) that surrounds itself in a globe of ghostly flames.
- Evil Counterpart Race: Bubbles are identified as "Anti Fairies" at least in the localizations of A Link to the Past and the Game Boy games. In addition to to also being small flying balls of light, these games also allow the player to turn Bubbles into friendly fairies. Later games drop this distinction.
- Interface Screw: An effect they can have when they curse Link, be it Red Bubbles in The Legend of Zelda or Blue Bubbles in Majora's Mask and The Wind Waker, is making him unable to draw his sword.
- Invincible Minor Minion: In several games, it's completely impossible to defeat them; they must be instead evaded.
- Our Fairies Are Different: They're referred to as Anti-Fairies in some games, and in A Link to the Past and the Switch remake of Link's Awakening they can be turned into regular Fairies by using the Magic Powder on them.
- Playing with Fire: Red Bubbles can burn Link on contact in Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and The Wind Waker, in contrast with their appearance in the first Legend of Zelda game. Fire Bubbles, a variant introduced from Twilight Princess onwards, play the same role.
Buzz Blobs and Cukemen
A Buzz Blob from A Link Between Worlds.
A Blob Monster which shocks Link when attacked with the sword. Using certain items on it turns it into the mysterious Cukeman creature who spouts weird advice and Fourth Wall Breaking lines.
They continue to make sporadic appearances in later 2D games, but their role is mainly filled in the 3D games by electric variants of the Chuchu.
- Black Bead Eyes: Their eyes are small black dots when in Buzz Blob form.
- Blob Monster: An early one in the series, until the Chuchu largely replaced them and similar enemies.
- The Goomba: The Blobs, a variant introduced in A Link Between Worlds are normal Buzz Blobs that resemble their appearance prior to said game, but don't have their protective electricity.
- King Mook: A King and Queen Buzz Blob appear as minibosses in Triforce Heroes.
- Shock and Awe: Though it manifests in a passive version; the Buzz Blob only shocks Link when attacked with a melee weapon. A Link Between Worlds and Triforce Heroes has their electricity always on until stunned by weapons or safely killed by other methods such as Sword Beams.
- Sphere Eyes: They have large, ovoid eyes when in Cukeman form.
- Talkative Loon: When in Cukeman form.
Chuchus
Multiple Chuchus from The Wind Waker.
A fairly weak blob creature available in a wide range of colors and types, with each color normally yielding a useful spoil. Weak blob creatures have featured in numerous early Zelda games (Bits and Bots, Zols, and Buzz Blobs), but the Chuchu has seemingly become a default replacement for all of them.
- An Ice Person: The Ice Chuchus from Spirit Tracks, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom trail icy mist that freezes Link solid when it touches him.
- Aquatic Mook: The Blue Chuchus in Skyward Sword can only be found in underwater areas, and they can't even electrocute Link!
- Asteroids Monster: An attribute stolen from the earlier Zols and Gels, large Chuchus split into smaller ones in Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword.
- Blob Monster: A pretty weak one, too, though they can still be dangerous.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Chuchus always come in a number of different colors, which correspond to the sorts of items they drop on dying and/or to their offensive capabilities, making it easy to tell what you're in for as soon as you see one.
- Cute Slime Mook: The more cartoony games usually give them cutesy appearances.
- Depending on the Artist: Their design can change a fair deal between their various appearances. The original Chuchus from Majora's Mask were transparent blobs with snaggle-toothed mouths and eyestalks; The Wind Waker introduced their most common, Buzz Blob-like design with a small "foot" and a large "head" with prominent eyes; Twilight Princess' Chus are simple, pancake-like amoebas with no external features of any sort; Skyward Sword's are rounded blobs with large, gooey mouths that almost bisect them and prominent yellow eyes; Breath of the Wild's are rather cartoony, but differ from the Wind Waker design by being ball-shaped and having spots and bulging eyes with no other facial features.
- Easter Egg: The chattering noise they make in The Wind Waker is actually a recording of an argument between two Japanese men, sped up and reversed.
◊ - Elemental Powers: Some possess electrical, ice, or fire powers depending on the environment they're found in.
- Giant Mook: Two giant Chuchus — one green and one blue — appear as bosses in The Minish Cap. In a twist, they're not actually giant — they're just fought when Link is in Minish form. Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, and Age of Calamity features Chuchus of different sizes, with the large ones looking positively bloated due to all of their eyes being the same size.
- The Goomba: Along with Keese, they are among the most basic and weak enemies in every game they are in.
- Heavily Armored Mook: Rock Chuchus from The Minish Cap and Phantom Hourglass and Helmet Chuchus from Spirit Tracks are Red Chuchus wearing protective gear — a rocky shell and an iron helmet, respectively — that renders them impervious to physical attacks. This needs to be removed (by destroying it with a rock or bomb in the first case or pulling it off with the whip in the second) before they can be dispatched.
- Metal Slime: Rare Chus in Twilight Princess appear very rarely alongside their regular kin and drop Rare Chu Jelly — a powerful healing item — when they die. In addition to their rarity, they will not spawn if Link already has Rare Chu Jelly in his inventory and will be lost if they merge with another Chu, forcing Link to act quickly if he spots one.
- Piñata Enemy: In Majora's Mask, Green, Red and Yellow Chuchus drop useful items when they die. Since they also respawn often and are fairly weak, this makes them rather convenient ways of stocking up on magic jars, hearts and arrows. The one Blue Chuchu in the game averts this, though, existing only to be frozen by Ice Arrows in a dungeon puzzle.
- Playing with Fire: Red Chuchus in Skyward Sword will burn Link on contact if he tries to attack them. Breath of the Wild onwards introduces the Fire Chuchus.
- Shock and Awe: Much like their Buzz Blobs predecessors, Yellow, Blue and Metal Chuchus will electrocute Link on contact. Yellow Chuchus turn off their electricity periodically, Blues are always charged, and Metals remain charged even when stunned. Breath of the Wild onwards introduces the Electric Chuchus.
- The Spiny: Some Chuchus are naturally electrical like the earlier Buzz Blobs, forcing you to use measures beyond simply swinging your sword at them. Spiny Chuchus, a variant from The Minish Cap, can cover itself with spikes when Link draws near, also requiring some creativity to defeat.
- Underground Monkey: Starting with The Wind Waker, differently colored Chuchus gain a number of different offensive and defensive abilities.
- In The Wind Waker itself, besides the basic Red Chuchu, there are forest-dwelling Green Chuchus capable of dodging Link's attacks, electrically charged Blue Chuchus and Yellow Chuchus, and Dark Chuchus found in dark areas that can only be killed with light.
- Varieties introduced in other games include Rock and Helmet Chuchus whose headgear needs to be destroyed to harm them, Spiny Chuchus whose spines defend them from melee attacks, Ice Chuchus that can freeze Link solid, and electric Metal Chuchus.
- Weakened by the Light: Dark Chuchus cannot be harmed by ordinary weapons. Instead, they can only be killed by exposing them to light to petrify them and then shattering them.
Corrupted Soldiers
A Ball-and-Chain Soldier from A Link Between Worlds.
Soldiers and guards of Hyrule who have been corrupted by evil. They attack in large numbers and can use a variety of weapons.
- Artifact Mook:
- To a degree in a A Link Between Worlds, where it's not explained why Yuga chose to create monsters based off the old uniform for the Hylian army.
- Averted in the Satellaview sequel to A Link to the Past, where all the guards are friendly NPCs due to it being post-World-Healing Wave.
- Art Initiates Life: In most games, they're soldiers of Hyrule who have been corrupted. In A Link Between Worlds, they are paintings brought to life.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: In A Link to the Past, Agahnim brainwashed them when they refused to obey him. Vaati brainwashed or replaced them in Four Swords Adventures.
- Cannon Fodder: Unlike Darknuts and Iron Knuckles, their armor isn't very protective and Link can cut them down by the dozen.
- Elite Mook: Several stronger Soldier varieties appear in various games.
- Some soldier variants have stronger armor and weapons, with the strongest usually wielding Epic Flails and serving as minibosses rather than rank-and-file enemies.
- The Lorule Soldiers and Sky Soldiers from A Link Between Worlds and Tri Force Heroes are much stronger than the regular kind, having more health and dealing more damage.
- Epic Flail: Some Soldiers, typically fought rarely and as minibosses, wield long flails that they can send spinning towards almost every corner of the rooms they're fought in.
- Faceless Goons: Friendly soldiers normally have their faces exposed, whereas corrupted soldiers do not. Notably, when freed at the end of A Link to the Past their faces are visible.
- Horns of Villainy: Stronger Soldier variants typically wear horned helmets.
- Incendiary Exponent: Some Ball and Chain Soldiers wield maces with flaming heads.
- Law of Chromatic Superiority: It's easy to tell how strong a given Soldier is by the color of its armor — green-armored Soldiers are the weakest, blue ones are stronger, red ones stronger still and gold ones strongest of all.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Some soldiers carry large shields: while they cannot attack while their shields are raised up, this will also deflect any attacks from Link, requiring him to either wait for them to go back on the offensive or to sneak around them and attack them from the back.
- Mad Bomber: Bomb Soldiers throw Bombs from above or near enemies, though they can be defeated with their own bombs.
- Mook Lieutenant: Chief Soldiers, a variant introduced in Four Swords Adventures, command armies of Soldiers to attack enemies and even charge at them.
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil: Soldiers tend to appear in a strict ascending order of threat presented. The first kinds to appear are always the weakest, green-armored varieties wielding simple weapons; stronger, blue- and red- armored types and ones wielding more exotic weapons like bombs only show up mid-quest or thereabouts, and Link only encounters the strongest, most dangerous types very late in his journey.
- Straight for the Commander: If a Chief Soldier is defeated in battle, the remaining Soldiers lose their morale and explode if not killed fast enough.
- Underground Monkey: Soldiers come in several varieties, usually distinguished by using different weapons or by being themed around different environments.
- Basic Soldiers, beyond the basic, dagger-wielding variety, can be armed with swords and shields (which increase their reach and allow them to hold Link at a distance), spears or bows (which turn them into ranged attackers), bombs, and balls-and-chains.
- In A Link Between Worlds, Lorule Castle is home to a stronger variety of Soldiers distinguished by dark, menacing armor fitting Lorule's darker appearance.
- The Sky Realm in Tri Force Heroes is home to its own variety of powerful, golden-armored Soldiers.
- Was Once a Man: Encyclopedia states some enemy soldiers are so corrupted by evil, they become monsters.
- Zerg Rush: One of their primary tactics is to rush Link with numbers alone.
Crows
A Crow from A Link Between Worlds
A Dacto from A Link Between Worlds
Large black birds that perch on trees and swoop down at Link when he passes by. In some games, Crows will also try to steal Link's Rupees when they attack.
Basic Crows have a number of variants and related enemies, including the Dacto, a pterosaur-like creature that behaves identically to them but is found in more remote area, and the Takkuri, a bizarre item-stealing bird from Majora's Mask that reappears in The Minish Cap as a recolor of the game's Crows.
- Airborne Mook: At their most basic, they're weak flying enemies that perch on trees and crags, taking flight when they spot Link and attacking him by swooping down at him from on high.
- Bandit Mook: In Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, they will steal Link's Rupees when they hit him.
- Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: Dactos, monstrous pterosaur-like creatures, replace Crows in the Dark World, Lorule and certain wasteland areas, but otherwise behave identically to them.
- Feathered Fiend: Large, aggressive birds that will attack Link on sight.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
- Guays largely take over their role as aggressive, patrolling outsized corvids in the 3D games.
- Skyward Sword does not feature Crows, but instead includes Hroks, green-feathered stork-like birds that likewise perch on trees and fly off to attack Link when they spot him.
- Terror-dactyl: Dactos resemble small, birdlike pseudo-pterosaurs with batlike wings, short horns and a propensity for attacking ground-bound victims.
- Thieving Magpie: They're often given this trait. They steal Link's Rupees in some games, while in Link's Awakening, a Crow in Kanalet Castle has stolen one of the Golden Leaves that Link needs to retrieve.
Darknuts and Iron Knuckles
A Darknut as seen in Twilight Princess
An Iron Knuckle as seen in Ocarina of Time
Powerful knights with protective armor. The two, while having distinct names in English versions, are implied to be related in the Japanese scripts.
- Animated Armor: Some interpretations of Iron Knuckles suggest this, though at least one case explicitly shows that a person is inside the armor. Darknuts, however, are suggested to be living beings, and when Darknuts lose armor, they are shown to be creatures wearing armor.
- Artificial Brilliance: Darknuts have a history of being more clever than typical Zelda enemies. In The Wind Waker, they try to grab new weapons, such as a Moblin Spear, if Link disarms them, and will engage in hand-to-hand combat if they can't. They also tend to counter Link's Hurricane Spin with one of their own if they seem him charging it up. In Twilight Princess, a Darknut with its armor removed will hang back behind its fully armored companions, darting in and out to attack.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Normally, the only way to damage them is to hit a vulnerable gap in the armor.
- Beast Man: Darknuts in Wind Waker are depicted as jackal-like creatures underneath their armor.
- BFS: They most commonly wield massive swords.
- Black Knight: They're skilled enemies wielding giant axes, swords, or maces and are heavily armored. Needless to say, they are among the strongest enemies in the series.
- Boss in Mook Clothing: Darknuts and Iron Knuckles are always among the most difficult enemies you will encounter, and are frequently featured as mini-bosses.
- Broken Armor Boss Battle: Darknuts often fall into this, especially in The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. Landing hits on one causes parts of their plate armor to fly off, rendering them more vulnerable to attack as the fight progresses. However, after being reduced to light armor and chain mail they cast aside their BFS and switch to a lightweight rapier or barehanded martial arts, going from a Mighty Glacier to a Lightning Bruiser.
- Brutish Character, Brutish Weapon: Iron Knuckles are armored hulks wielding large double-headed axes, swinging them in broad arcs capable of smashing through stone pillars.
- Dub Name Change:
- Darknuts, Iron Kunckles and several other similar enemies share a common naming theme in Japanese that ended up lost in the English translations — they all have names ending in "-nakku", presumably meant to represent "knight" or "knuckle", but tend to either get entirely different phonetic transliterations in English or unrelated names. Besides Darknuts (Tatonakku) and Iron Knuckles (Aian Nakku), these include the boss Rebonack (Rebonakku), the Mad Bomber from Link's Awakening (Bomu Nakku), the Dark Stalfos from Four Swords Adventures (Sutarunakku) and the miniboss Darkhammer from Twilight Princess (Hanmanakku).
- The French translations refer to Aian Nakku/Iron Knuckles as Hache-Viande, "Meat-Grinders". The Italian dub uses Guerriero d'acciaio, "Steel Warrior".
- Elite Mook: When they're not an outright Mini-Boss, they appear infrequently, but are sure to give Link a hard time due to their resilience and high strength. Sometimes, they first appear as a mini-boss, but appear later in the game as tough enemies with no loss in power.
- Heavily Armored Mook: They wear heavy, full-body plate armor, which in some games has to be blown or broken off to damage them — at the cost of upping their speed, however.
- Lightning Bruiser: Despite their appearance, Darknuts are not slow, which is part of why they're so dangerous. This goes double for when their armor is removed.
- Mighty Glacier: Iron Knuckles, however, are very slow. They make up for this with the highest damage output of any enemy in the series outside Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, often surpassing even Ganondorf, and by wielding particularly dangerous weapons, like a giant axe or an Epic Flail.
- Shed Armor, Gain Speed: A gimmick of the Iron Knuckles, although the Darknuts picked up on it too, if at least just for Twilight Princess.
- Smash Mook: The Iron Knuckles' battle strategy consists solely of slowly advancing towards Link while swinging a giant axe capable of smashing stone pillars into dust.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Despite both Darknuts and Iron Knuckles having different names in English, they aren't particularly different from one another and even have similar names in Japanese, but they have yet to appear in the same game together.
- Turns Red: In the 64 games, Iron Knuckles will lose their heavy armor after taking sufficient damage and speed up. In Twilight Princess, Darknuts get even more agile when their outer armor is stripped off and trade their massive weapons for slimmer rapiers.
Deku Babas
A Deku Baba from Skyward Sword.
Man-eating Venus flytrap-like plants. Comes in several different variations.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Cutting its stem is a One-Hit Kill. Bio Deku Babas and Baba Serpents keep moving when severed, though. In Skyward Sword, they can also be slashed across the mouth (though parrying its attacks will expose its stem for the old-fashioned way).
- Crossover Cameo: Deku Babas appear as stage hazards in a Zelda-themed DLC course in Mario Kart 8, replacing the usual Piranha Plants.
- Elite Mook: Several stronger variants on the usual Deku Baba have appeared in the games.
- Twilight Princess has Baba Serpents, which can survive having their stem severed and will chase after Link when cut in this manner.
- Skyward Sword has Quadro Babas, which have more health than the regular kind and can dodge Link's attacks.
- Expy: They're similar to Piranha Plants from another Nintendo series, to the point where the ones that appear in Mario Kart 8's Zelda-themed DLC track move and behave exactly like them.
- Giant Mook: Big Deku Babas in Ocarina of Time and Big Babas in Twilight Princess are enormous, and have much more health than typical Babas.
- The Goomba: They're among the weakest and earliest-encountered enemies when they appear, as they can't move from their roots and don't do much damage otherwise.
- Man-Eating Plant: Of the classic "carnivorous plant with a giant mouth-like bulb that lunges forward and attempts to snap you up" variety.
- Mini Mook: The Mini Babas in Majora's Mask; tiny and easily dispatched.
- Stationary Enemy: They can't move from where they're rooted, but can still lunge as far as their stem will reach. This is subverted with Baba Serpents, which can slither after Link if their stem is cut.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: In The Wind Waker, they are replaced by Boko Babas, which are otherwise identical to Deku Babas.
- Underground Monkey:
- Twilight-corrupted Shadow Babas appear in Twilight Princess.
- Spirit Tracks has fireball-spitting Fire Babas living in the game's fire dungeon.
Dodongos
A Dodongo from Ocarina of Time.
Fire-breathing dinosaur dragons that are typically found close to lava. The most well-known method of killing them is throwing bombs down their throats.
- Armless Biped: In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, Dodongos have only one set of legs that they drag themselves around with.
- Attack the Tail: Other than feeding it bombs, the tail is another recurring weak spot.
- Breath Weapon: In Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, and Twilight Princess, they breathe fire.
- Defeat Equals Explosion: In some games, Dodongos violently explode upon dying.
- Degraded Boss: Dodongo debuted as a unique boss in the first game, and still appears in this capacity in Oracle of Seasons and Four Swords Adventures, but all other Dodongos are common enemies encountered in numbers. This happens internally in the first game, as well — after the first one fought as a boss, Dodongos are found as regular enemies in later dungeons, and are fought in groups of three in the second quest.
- Dinosaurs Are Dragons: Dodongos resemble old depictions of ceratopsids more than anything — except in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess they look more like geckos — but possess some draconic traits, such as the ability to breathe fire.
- Feed It a Bomb: Varies slightly from game to game, but this is the most common way to kill them. In Twilight Princess, feeding it an arrow works wonders for a One-Hit Kill too.
- Fiery Salamander: In Twilight Princess, they forego their usual dinosaur-like appearance for looking like an armored gecko.
- Punny Name: Their name derives from "dodon", the Japanese onomatopoeia for an explosion.
- Temper-Ceratops: They're frequently portrayed as aggressive ceratopsians.
- Token Heroic Orc: In the Oracle games, Dimitri the Dodongo is an ally to Link and can serve as a steed for him.
Eyegores
A green Eyegore in A Link Between Worlds.
Cyclopean statues or statue-like beings that animate and attack when Link approaches them.
- Achilles' Heel: Besides their single weak point in their eye, they can often only be harmed by arrows.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds split them between green, red and (in the latter) blue variants, the difference being that green Eyegores can be harmed by any weapon and red ones only by arrows. The second game drops this gimmick and makes the difference mostly cosmetic.
- Cyclops: They have a single giant eye dominating their faces, often to the exclusion of all other features. This is typically central to how they fight — they often become invulnerable when their eye is closed, may only be vulnerable there at all, and may shoot Eye Beams from it.
- Eye Beams: In Majora's Mask, they attack Link by shooting beams from their eyes.
- Go for the Eye: In many cases, they can only be damaged by attacking their eye.
- Living Statue: They are often depicted as living stone statues animated by unknown means.
- Mistaken for Granite: Eygores typically stand still in one place, resembling a common statue until Link comes along and they animate.
- Oculothorax: In Majora's Mask, their eye completely dominates what torso they have, turning them into giant eyeballs with limbs and shrunken abdomens.
- Punny Name: A portmanteau of "Igor", "eye" and "gore".
Freezards
A Freezard from Twilight Princess.
Animated masses of ice that attempt to freeze Link solid with their icy breath, Freezards are almost always found inside ice dungeons.
- Asteroids Monster: In Twilight Princess, if killed with the ball-and-chain, a Freezard will shatter into a small group of Mini Freezards.
- Breath Weapon: They exhale icy wind that will freeze Link if it touches him.
- An Ice Person: Living chunks of ice with freezing breath and a weakness to fire.
- Extra Eyes: Freezards in Twilight Princess possess a large number of eyes scattered across their fronts. Notably, when broken into Mini Freezards, each of the miniature shards will retain just one of their parent's eyes.
- King Mook: Freezlord, a giant Freezard fought as a miniboss in Tri Force Heroes, which attacks using more complex versions of the Freezards' usual icy breath.
- Kill It with Fire: Since they're living masses of ice, defeating them often relies on using fire-attribute weapons, which will melt them away with one blow. In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask this is done with fire arrows, Spirit Tracks requires you to set the boomerang on fire by shooting it through a torch, and in Tri Force Heroes this effect is achieved by a fireball from the Fire Gloves.
- Mini Mook: Mini Freezards, miniature ice statues that lack their larger counterparts' icy breath and will instead try to freeze Link by touching him.
Ghinis and Poes
A Poe on the left, a Ghini on the right, from A Link Between Worlds.
Ghostly beings that usually can't be attacked by normal means, often requiring an item to make them vulnerable. The difference between the two is that Poes carry lanterns, and that Ghinis only have one eye. They usually haunt cemeteries; Ghinis are only found there, but Poes are sometimes encountered in forests and other places.
Generally, Ghinis are the older variant and have been around since the first game, while Poes debuted in A Link to the Past. Since then, Ghinis have been strictly found in handheld games, while Poes have appeared in both these and the 3D console titles.
- Bedsheet Ghost: Ghinis are one-eyed versions of this in early games — later titles tend to depict them as spherical, non-sheet specters instead.
- Cyclops: Ghinis have a single gigantic eye in the middle of their foreheads.
- Empty Piles of Clothing: The humanoid Poes in the Arbiter's Grounds in Twilight Princess leave behind their robes when defeated, allowing Wolf Link to catch their scent and track down the rest.
- Giant Mook: Giant Ghinis, which appear in Link's Awakening and Four Swords Adventures, are larger versions of Ghinis, while one appears in Oracle of Ages as a Mini Boss.
- Hitodama Light: The Poes' purple lanterns hold their restless spirits inside. If you kill them in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, you can scoop them up and keep them in a bottle.
- Interface Screw: In The Wind Waker, Poes can briefly possess Link and invert his controls.
- Invisible Streaker: Poes can turn invisible and intangible at will, but the torch or lantern they're carrying always shows you where they are.
- Malevolent Masked Men: Poes in The Wind Waker wear theatrical skull masks.
- Mini Mook: Mini-Ghinis, a miniature version of the regular Ghinis, which accompany the Giant Ghini Mini Boss in Oracle of Ages, can latch onto Link like a Gel and take some hits for it while reappearing shortly after death.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: And they're different from each other as well, too. While Ghinis are more like cute Bedsheet Ghosts, Poes tend to look creepier, and different with each game.
- Scary Stitches: Imp Poes in Twilight Princess resemble stitched-up cloth dolls.
- Shout-Out: The four Poe Sisters from Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Oracle of Seasons share their names with the four young main protagonists of the novel Little Women.
- Sinister Scythe: Wielded by Imp Poes in Twilight Princess. Because of this, they carry their lanterns by their feet.
- Weakened by the Light: Shining light on Poes makes them solid so Link can attack them in The Wind Waker.
Gibdos and ReDeads
A Gibdonote /ReDead Knightnote from Twilight Princess, on the left, and a ReDead from The Wind Waker, on the right.
Reanimated corpse-like monsters (mummies in the former case, zombies in the latter), with the former being in more games than the latter. While they're slow enemies, they can briefly paralyze Link, giving them an opportunity to rob him of several hearts.
- Ambiguously Human: Whether or not ReDeads are reanimated human corpses or artificial constructs of magic is unclear. While they most often look very organic, some Super Smash Bros. trophies say they're made of clay, and in Tri Force Heroes, this seems to be the case, as they are earth brown and can melt into puddles.
- Airborne Mooks: Tears of the Kingdom introduces the Moth Gibdos, an aerial version of the game's Gibdos.
- BFS: In Twilight Princess, Gibdos, aka ReDead Knights, freeze you like always, but unlike previous incarnations, they don't sap your health slowly by latching on and gnawing at you while you're frozen... instead, they hurt you in one go with a swing of a heavy cleaver-like blade.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: Tears of the Kingdom gives Gibdos notably insectoid characteristics.
- Breakout Character: ReDeads were initially just another enemy in Ocarina of Time, but were featured alongside the mainstay Like-Likes and Octoroks as random enemies in Super Smash Bros., becoming more regular enemies in the Zelda games afterward. In Twilight Princess, they were even called Gibdos in the Japanese version, but seemingly translated as ReDeads because their behavior was more recognizable in the latter enemy.
- Composite Character:
- The ReDead Knights in Twilight Princess have a Gibdo-esque design, being mummy-like creatures in the desert-themed dungeon, but they act more like the ReDeads, as they paralyze Link with a scream and shamble over to attack him. In Japan, they actually ARE Gibdos, but were translated as ReDeads in English, though Hyrule Warriors gives them their proper names.
- ReDeads in Tri Force Heroes have the death masks and brown bodies of the N64 games' design, but their mask's blue color, their pointy ears, and their earrings call the Wind Waker version to mind.
- In the same composite of Twilight Princess, but flipped, the Gibdos in Tears of the Kingdom more closely resemble ReDeads, particularly their Ocarina of Time depiction. They don't resemble Egyptian mummies at all, and their name seems to come primarily from their desert habitat. Gameplay-wise, they have more in common with the Gibdos of the 2D games (which were immune to knockback) by being invincible until hit with elemental attacks.
- Everything's Deader with Zombies: ReDeads are walking corpses with death masks that slowly lumber to their prey and strangle them. They resemble both the voodoo and Romero zombies. If you wear the right mask, they're also pretty good dancers!
- Glowing Eyelights of Undeath: ReDeads get this in The Wind Waker when they scream, while Gibdos/ReDead Knights have these all the time in Twilight Princess.
- Golem: The ReDead trophies in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U state that they are artificial constructs seemingly made of magic and clay. It's debatable if this was always the case (especially in Majora's Mask, where the ones in Ikana are gossiped to have once been members of the castle's dancing troupe), but they definitely have an incomplete-looking, clay-like appearance in Tri Force Heroes.
- Hell Is That Noise: Their screams are just about the most startling thing in a Zelda game. This is especially true in-universe, where their screams are chilling enough to render Link, bearer of the Triforce of Courage, paralyzed in fear.
- Immune to Flinching: In their 2D-style appearances, Gibdos will not suffer knockback when taking damage. The ones in Tears of the Kingdom not only do not react to getting hit with conventional weapons, but are completely invulnerable until hit with elemental magic.
- Kill It with Fire: Zigzagged with Gibdos in 2D games; hitting them with a fire attack doesn't kill them, but it does turn them into the far weaker (and more agile) Stalfos instead. In Tears of the Kingdom, hitting them with fire-infused weapons and/or arrows causes them to lose their protective skin, as does an attack from any of the other three elements, or beams of light in the area.
- Lean and Mean: ReDeads are designed like this in The Wind Waker, while Gibdos appear as gaunt-zombie-like creatures in Tears of the Kingdom.
- Made of Iron: In Tears of the Kingdom, most physical attacks don't do crap to them thanks to their tough skin. Attacks of any of the four available elements (fire, water, ice, or lighting) will make them temporarily vulnerable to physical strikes. This seems to reference their appearances in 2D-style games, where their defining threat was their immunity to knockback.
- Mayincatec: ReDeads in The Wind Waker have a distinctly Mesoamerican look to them, resembling artistic depictions of Mictlantecuhtli, a god of the dead in Aztec mythology.
- Mummy: Gibdos typically look like Egyptian mummies. Hitting them with fire in Majora's Mask reveals that they are bandaged ReDeads, or Stalfos in Four Swords Adventures and The Minish Cap. While translated as ReDead Knights in the English version of Twilight Princess, the enemies are originally called Gibdos in the Japanese version, and are bandaged and located in a haunted desert tomb dungeon to further the mummy theme.
- Night of the Living Mooks: ReDead are — or at least resemble — zombies. Likewise, Gibdos are ReDeads or Stalfos wrapped in cloth.
- Not Using the "Z" Word: Despite clearly being the Hyrulean equivalent to zombies, ReDeads are called... well, ReDeads, and the word "zombie" never enters any canonical descriptions of the things in the Zelda series.
- Personal Space Invader: Both of them, but ReDeads to a
memetic extent. The Wind Waker enforces this with its ReDeads by making you get close to them, since nothing but a sword will do to kill them. - Retcon: The Enemy Scan in the N64 games implied it was their piercing gazes that paralyzed Link, with the scream just being a sound effect for flavor, letting the player know the instant they've been frozen, which is kept in the figurine description for Wind Waker's ReDeads. In Twilight Princess and Super Smash Bros for 3DS, however, it's clear they're actually screaming and that it's the scream that paralyzes Link, as visible soundwaves emit from them and they distinctly scream up at the air rather than looking toward the player.
- Savage Piercings: The Wind Waker ReDeads are decked out with this and tribal paint to give them a morbid appearance.
- The Undead: Walking, animated corpses of various types and states of decay.
- Underground Monkey: Gibdos are identical in behavior to ReDeads in the N64 games, but are weaker to fire and do more damage. Seemingly lampshaded in Majora's Mask, where you can burn off a Gibdo's bandages to see that they're just wrapped-up ReDeads.
- Voodoo Zombie: In Ocarina of Time, ReDeads will always drop magic bottles when defeated, suggesting they are animated by sorcery, and in The Wind Waker, their distinctly tribal appearance calls the vodoun myths of zombies to mind.
- Weakened by the Light: Light reflected off the Mirror Shield will hurt the ReDeads in Majora's Mask and stun them in Wind Waker. This is also an alternative to elemental attacks that renders Gibdos vulnerable in Tears of the Kingdom.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: There are some hints that the ReDeads are not just mindless zombies but are just human enough to evoke sympathy. They are often seen in a Troubled Fetal Position. When one ReDead is killed, others will gather around it as if mourning.
Goriyas
A Goriya from The Legend of Zelda.
Demons that resemble anthropomorphic Scottish terriers. They are known for using boomerangs. To date, they have only appeared in the 2D top-down games. A different creature with a ratlike appearance and the ability to shoot fireballs, called Copi, was renamed Goriya overseas, but in Japan is separate from Goriya.
- Animal Facial Hair: Particularly noticeable in Adventure of Link, Goriyas have long and well-done mustaches much like a Scottish terrier.
- Battle Boomerang: Their weapons in all games.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Despite being quite prominent among Ganon's minions in the first two games and receiving dialogue, they pretty much just disappeared afterwards aside from a few minor cameos.
- Composite Character: Overseas material attempts to claim that Copis are actually Goriyas.
- Dub Name Change: The rat-like mimics, Copis, were called Goriyas in the US.
- Fearful Symmetry: Copis in A Link to the Past; they copy Link's movements, moving in the opposite direction to him. Red Copis also shoot fireballs when Link faces them.
- Food as Bribe: A Goriya NPC has to be given bait to access certain areas in the first game.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: An interesting case here. Goriyas were quite common in the series' years on the NES, but they haven't appeared in a main console game since The Adventure of Link. Their last appearance in a game was Oracle Of Seasons and Oracle of Ages in 2001, where in the former, two boomerang-throwing minibosses, the Brothers Goriya, while the Goriyas themselves appeared in the Gnarled Root Dungeon and the Spirit's Grave in both games. Only the bosses were visually distinct from normal Goriyas (looking more like minotaurs), whereas the Goriya enemies were simply Moblins with boomerangs. The overseas version of a A Link to the Past tries to claim Copis are them, but the two are obviously distinct.
Guays
Large black birds that circle above Link's reach and home in on him when he comes close.
- Creepy Crows: More violently aggressive than creepy per se, but they have a distinctly corvid look to them and in many translations they're specifically named after crows.
- Dung Fu: In Skyward Sword, they attack by crapping on Link's head.
- Feathered Fiend: Large and aggressive birds that will attack Link on sight.
- Piñata Enemy: They tend to drop unusually large amounts of Rupees upon death, sometimes of greater value than enemies normally yield. Rupee Guays, a variant introduced in Skyward Sword, fit the bill moreso.
Gyorgs
A Gyorg from The Wind Waker.
Aggressive purple fishes with armored heads found in marine areas. Gyorg first appears as a unique boss in Majora's Mask, while common enemies by the same name are found in The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.
- Adaptation Species Change: The first Gyorg from Majora's Mask resembled a bony fish like a piranha. The Gyorgs from The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks are instead sharks. And the Gyorgs from The Minish Cap are rays.
- The Artifact: The original Gyorg was one of the Four Masked Beasts that Link must fight in a game that heavily focuses on masks as both collectible items and a general story motif, so it's understandable that it would have a bony mask on its face. The shark Gyorgs from the Toon Link games still have bony mask-like protrusions despite those games not having the same focus on masks.
- Degraded Boss: In Majora's Mask and The Minish Cap, Gyorg is a unique boss. In the Toon Link games, Gyorgs are commonplace enemies of limited scope.
- Fiendish Fish: In all incarnations, Gyorgs are large, very aggressive fishes provided with armored heads and very large teeth.
- Sand Is Water: The Malgyorgs of Spirit Tracks swim through desert sand like their previous incarnations swam through the waters of the sea.
- Use Your Head: In The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, the Gyorgs' main means of attack is to ram headfirst into Link's boat to knock him into the water.
- Threatening Shark: In the Toon Link games, Gyorgs are shark-like creatures that roam the seas and attack whatever falls into the water.
- Weaponized Offspring: Gyorg in Majora's Mask and the female of the Gyorg Pair in The Minish Cap will both spawn hordes of offspring to attack Link.
Helmasaurs
A Helmasaur from Twilight Princess.
Aggressive beasts that wear metal masks. The mask can be removed or destroyed to make them vulnerable.
- Attack Its Weak Point: If you can't remove the mask, target its unprotected back.
- Cool Mask: It can be removed or destroyed to make them more vulnerable. In some games, their face underneath is surprisingly cute.
- Dash Attack: Their primary move is to charge at Link head-on.
- Depending on the Artist: While their design as quadrupedal, vaguely dinosaur-like reptiles remains more or less stable in most of their appearances, some games depict them in fairly unusual ways — the Helmasaurs are beetle-like and referred to as Hiploops in Majora's Mask, while those from Link's Awakening, the Oracle games, Four Swords, and The Minish Cap are birdlike creatures with pointed, beaklike masks.
- Dub Name Change:
- In Japanese, they are called Hiploops. Their Majora's Mask appearance retains this name in English, likely because the "-saur" in their name doesn't make sense for them being insectoid monsters in said appearance.
- In Link's Awakening and the Oracle games, they are called Iron Masks.
- Elite Mook: In Twilight Princess, you can encounter the Helmasaurus, a bulkier variant whose armor can't be removed.
- King Mook: The Helmasaur King, the boss of the Palace of Darkness where the Helmasaurs are found in A Link to the Past. A Link Between Worlds has the Gemesaur King as the Lorulean counterpart of the former, depicted as a gigantic Helmasaur with full-body armor studded with crystals.
Hinox
A Hinox from Breath of the Wild.
Giant, powerful one-eyed ogres that debuted in a A Link to the Past. They typically attack Link with bombs.
- Attack Its Weak Point: In Phantom Hourglass, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom, you Go for the Eye, and in the latter games they'll try to cover it up after taking enough damage that way.
- Big Eater: In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, they'll drop lots of food items upon being killed; red ones drop fruit, blue ones roasted seafood, and black ones roasted meat. Whilst fighting Link, they also clearly intend to eat him.
- Classical Cyclops: Hulking, aggressive giants with a single eye in the middle of their faces.
- Giant Mook: In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, they're slightly redesigned to resemble giant one-eyed Bokoblins.
- Go for the Eye: In Phantom Hourglass, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom, attacking their eye with arrows is a good strategy. Due to a mistranslation, the English manual of A Link to the Past implies they need to be attacked in the eye despite this not being possible in that game.
- Mad Bomber: Bombs are their weapons in most games, except in Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, and Age of Calamity — and even there, they will dig up explosive Bomb Barrels to throw at Link if he's out of their reach. In a A Link to the Past, they can even be found very close to the bomb shop in the Dark World, implying that they obtain their bombs from there.
- Sleepyhead: You'll find them sleeping most of the time in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. You can quietly sneak up on them and steal their equipment without waking them up. Unfortunately not the case for skeletal Stalnoxes, who are always awake.
- Took a Level in Badass: Most of the time, Hinoxes are just low-level monsters that are just slightly stronger than other monsters. Link's Awakening instead makes them recurring mini-bosses in the dungeons, while Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom make them very durable field bosses.
- Underground Monkey: A Link Between Worlds introduces Snowball Hinoxes, found in Lorule's snowy mountain area, throw snowballs that freeze Link solid instead of bombs.
- Was Once a Man: It was implied in A Link to the Past that Hinoxes were Hylian thieves under the Dark World's Karmic Transformation and this is explicit in the manga adaptation by Ataru Cagiva.
Keese
A Keese from Skyward Sword.
Bat-like enemies that have appeared in every game since the original. They reside in dungeons or dark places and tend to swoop down upon Link, but they're usually not much of a threat, even in large numbers. They can come in fire or ice variations; they're still not much more of a threat, but they're bigger nuisances, as they can respectively burn your shield or freeze you solid.
- Asteroids Monster: Vires, large humanoid bats from the early games, split into two Keese after being killed.
- Bat Out of Hell: Outsized, hostile bats that attack Link on sight.
- Bat People: Vires are enemies resembling humanoid bats with separate arms and wings. They're a stronger variant of the common, entirely batlike Keese, and split into multiple Keese when killed. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link has Achemen, one-game enemies that resemble Vires in almost all respects save that they hang from ceilings to ambush Link.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": There's hardly any difference between Keese and bats. In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, they're slightly redesigned to look more monstrous.
- Crossover Cameo: Keese appear as stage hazards in a Zelda-themed DLC course in Mario Kart 8, replacing the usual Swoops.
- Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: Chasupas, giant bat-winged eyeballs, replace Keese in the Dark World, Lorule and certain other "dark" areas, but otherwise behave identically to them.
- The Goomba: They're pretty weak, and can be defeated with a single arrow or sword strike.
- Infernal Retaliation: They turn into Fire Keese when struck with a fire-based attack, after which they continue to attack Link... while on fire. In an inversion, Keese hit by a cold- or ice-based weapon turn into Ice Keese, after which they do the same thing as Fire Keese do but, as it were, in reverse.
- Made of Iron: Despite being one of the weakest enemy types in the series, they can be engulfed in flames (or ice/icy fire) for several minutes and not be killed.
- Oculothorax: In Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Age of Calamity, and Cadence of Hyrule, they are essentially gigantic orange eyes with eyelids, ears and wings, taking a page from the Chasupa's book.
- The Swarm: Keese can appear in large swarms in Four Swords Adventures, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom, roaming in groups and attacking Link all at once.
- Underground Monkey: Elemental variants are common in appropriately-themed environments — volcanic dungeons have flaming Fire Keese that can burn away wooden shields, while icy ones have frost-shrouded Ice Keese that can freeze Link solid. Less common strains include Shadow Keese in Twilight Princess' Twilight Realm, electrically charged Thunder Keese and undead Dark Keese.
Lanmolas and Moldorms
Lanmola from The Legend of Zelda.
Moldorm from Link's Awakening.
Two worm (or centipede) monsters. Lanmola usually has a vulnerable point on its head and it's often fought in a desert arena where it pops out of the sand, while Moldorm's weak spot is usually in the rear segment and it's often fought on high platforms, where it's easy to fall off to a lower room.
- Airborne Mook: Skytails — "tail" is the Japanese name for most versions of Moldorm — are winged, wormlike enemies with vulnerable tails that can be found flying around Thunderhead in Skyward Sword.
- Attack Its Weak Point: The giant versions have weaknesses at one end (head for Lanmola, tail for Moldorm).
- Cyclops: The Lanmolas in the original game had a single gigantic eye dominating its forehead.
- Degraded Boss: Moldorms have a tendency to zigzag between being weak, common enemies and unique bosses.
- Dub Name Change: The Moldorms are the center of a somewhat confusing one, as the original Japanese nomenclature draws a distinction between the burrowing enemies found in sand or mud and the big multi-segmented creatures with vulnerable tails that the English versions don't.
- Only the Moldorm enemies in the original The Legend of Zelda are referred to by their original name, "Moldarm", in Japanese — the later games' version are named "Tail", for the common enemies, and "Big Tail", for the bosses, but these are all changed to "Moldorm" in overseas translations.
- A close derivative of the original name, "Moldworm", is used in Japanese for the versions from Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, burrowing enemies that resemble Lanmolas more than they do typical Moldorms. It's also used for gigantic, burrowing earthworms from The Minish Cap, the only ones also called Moldworms in English, and for desert-dwelling enemies from Phantom Hourglass that the English version calls Sandworms.
- "Moldarm" is also used for centipede-like creatures from A Link to the Past and A Link between Worlds that lurk and swim in swamp mud, which are referred to in English as "Swamolas".
- Mini Mook: Mini-Moldorms, tiny versions of the larger Moldorm bosses that occasionally appear alongside them.
- Recurring Boss: In both A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening, they're fought twice, once in the first half of the game (both are bosses of Light World dungeons in the former game, while Moldorm is the boss of the first dungeon and Lanmola is an overworld boss guarding the key to the fourth dungeon in the latter) and once in the final dungeon.
- Sand Worm: Lanmolas, Moldorms and similar creatures often burrow through sand and soil out of Link's reach, bursting out to attack when he gets close.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
- Many games that lack these enemies nonetheless have similar enemies that have "mol" or "mold" in their names and similarly burrow through sand. These include Twinmold from Majora's Mask, Molgera from The Wind Waker, Moldarach from Skyward Sword, and Molduga from Breath of the Wild. Colgera from Tears of the Kingdom is a bit further removed namewise, combining Molgera's name with "cold", but it still fits the same niche of a segmented worm monster.
- They also seem to be this for each other. In the very first game, Moldorm was fought in a sandy arena and moved rather slowly, while Lanmola was the quickest-moving enemy in the game. In later games, Moldorm is usually the speedy annoyance and Lanmola is almost always fought in sand.
- Underground Monkey: A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds have Swamolas, swamp-dwelling, green Lanmola/Moldorm derivatives that burrow through swamp mud, and Flamolas, a red-and-black variety found in lava pools.
Leevers
A Leever from Ocarina of Time.
Bizarre, whirling creatures found in beaches and deserts, Leevers emerge from the sand when Link comes close in order to attack him.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: In the early 2D titles, the Leevers aren't anything recognizable — they're simply gumdrop-shaped masses of flesh with four blade-like growths projecting from their tops, which somehow drain energy from those they touch. In later games, they become more visually complex but still very alien beings, with areas on their bodies that suggest the presence of organs or sensory areas but which don't match up with real-life biology in any real way.
- Energy Absorption: The game manuals of the early games state that Leevers attack by draining energy from their victims.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: They have a habit of making themselves impossible to harm, making Link wait for them to make themselves vulnerable, typically by diving beneath the sand between attacks.
- Money Spider: In several games, Leevers are excellent sources of Rupees.
Like Likes
A Like-Like from A Link Between Worlds.
Stomach-like blob monsters that swallow Link and devour certain items of his (usually shields).
- An Ice Person: Tears of the Kingdom introduces the Ice Like, a new variant that appears in icy areas.
- Decomposite Character: The "Pikit" enemy from A Link to the Past was called a Like-Like in Japanese, but "normal" Like-Likes are added to the the GBA version.
- Elemental Powers: In Tears of the Kingdom, there are Likes Likes with elemental powers like the Ice Like, the Shock Like, and the Fire Like. Each spit projectiles of their respective element.
- Evil Lawyer Joke: Although not referring to lawyers, the English Super Smash Bros. Melee says that Like Likes get their name from an old Hylian proverb: "Shield-eaters and world leaders have many likes alike". Whatever that means.
- Feed It a Bomb: The Deku Like enemies in Twilight Princess serve as obstructions that cannot be destroyed unless they swallow a bomb. This is also a method to defeat Like Likes in Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, and Tears of the Kingdom.
- Money Spider: In Tears of the Kingdom, they always drop a treasure chest upon defeat.
- Mooks Ate My Equipment: They don't do any damage when they attack, but they steal your shield when they do. There is a variant known as a Rupee Like who, you guessed it, steal your Rupees. In Ocarina of Time, they can also steal your clothes, too, as when Link is wearing either the Goron or Zora Tunics, he will be wearing his starting tunic, the Kokiri Tunic, underneath the whole time, while Tears of the Kingdom has them eat the weapon Link is currently wielding.
- Poison Mushroom: Their Rupee Like brethren disguise themselves as Rupees, and suck up Link's own Rupees if you fall for them, in addition to Force Likes in Four Swords Adventures. There's also Life Likes, which just damage Link but hide as helpful hearts. There's usually an easy way to distinguish them from the real things, though.
- Pun: The name "Like Like" comes from a pun on a Japanese proverb, "Even bugs that eat water peppernote have their personal like-likes."
- Underground Monkey: Tears of the Kingdom introduces several Like Like variants, such as ones that spit sludge and elemental versions.
- You Don't Look Like You: Instead of the traditional Blob Monster, the Tears of the Kingdom version is reimagined as a giant grub.
Lizalfos and Dinolfos
A Lizalfos as seen in Breath of the Wild
A Dinolfos as seen in Twilight Princess
An Aeralfos as seen in Twilight Princess
Lizard warriors that normally attack in pairs. Dinolfos are stronger and faster than the standard Lizalfos. Similar enemies in very early games are the Geru, Daira and Zazak.
- Airborne Mook: Aeralfos, Lizalfos-like enemies with wings, fly around too high for Link's attacks to reach, even with arrows. In Twilight Princess, the player can deal with this by waiting for them to dive and using the Clawshot to grab their shield and drag them to the ground, while in Tri Force Heroes their backs can be attacked after a dive.
- Beware My Stinger Tail: It's not unheard of for Lizalfos to tie weapons to their tails, which they use to swipe at Link during combat. The ones in Twilight Princess use axe blades in this manner, while the ones in Skyward Sword tip theirs with spiked maces.
- Breath Weapon: They sometimes have the ability to breathe fire. The ability was originally exclusive to Dinolfos in Majora's Mask, but has been given to Lizalfos from Skyward Sword onward; there, Dark Lizalfos instead breathe a cloud of gas that incapacitates Link. Some Lizalfos in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom can also breathe ice or fire.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome:
- Daira haven't been seen in the main series Adventure of Link, though Cadence of Hyrule brought them back as minibosses.
- Geru entirely disappear after Adventure of Link without even spinoff appearances, no doubt because Lizalfos are basically the same thing.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the elemental Lizalfos are told apart by their color — red ones breathe fire, yellow ones shoot lightning and grey ones breathe frost.
- Dinosaurs Are Dragons: Dinolfos can breathe fire from Majora's Mask onward.
- Draconic Humanoid: Dinolfos are sometimes depicted as humanoid dragons. Aeralfos go further in this direction, as they also possess draconic wings.
- Dual Boss: They usually attack in pairs, whether attacking simultaneously or as a Tag Team. Occasionally, you can encounter trios.
- Elite Mook:
- Dark Lizalfos — from Skyward Sword and Hyrule Warriors — and Silver and Gold Lizalfos — from Breath of the Wild — are much stronger than their common kin.
- The Dinolfos are this to Lizalfos as a whole. Twilight Princess gives us the Aeralfos, a variant that can fly; in turn, Tri Force Heroes introduces Super Aeralfos, a stronger variety thereof.
- Hollywood Chameleon: In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, they're modeled after chameleons, even being able to change color to blend in with the terrain.
- Law of Chromatic Superiority: The Lizalfos varieties in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, much like other enemies, come in different colors depending on their toughness — the common green ones are the weakest, followed by the blue, black, silver and gold kinds. The red, yellow and grey ones fall somewhat outside this pattern, as their color informs their Elemental Powers more than their toughness.
- Lizard Folk: A race of lizard monsters that serve the Big Bad. Early games featured similar reptilian men such as the Zazaks, Dairas, and Gerus, but the Lizalfos has seemingly replaced all of them.
- Power Fist: In Skyward Sword, they fight using giant rocky gauntlets.
- Spell My Name With An S: Dinolfos is misspelled "Dinolfols" in Majora's Mask (this was corrected in the 3DS remake) and "Dynalfos" in Twilight Princess.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
- Lizalfos are basically identical to Geru, both being lizard people that work for Ganon and Gere even look nearly identical to the Ocarina of Time incarnation of the Lizalfos. Many non Japanese official guides for Adventure of Link, produced after Ocarina of Time, even call the Geru, "Lizalfos". That said, they aren't confirmed as the same enemy.
- Dinolfos are similar to the Daira in that they're ferocious reptilian warriors that often use Axes, but the Daira are akin to Alligators and are the weakest reptilian humanoid in their game, whilst Dinolfos are dinosaurs and are the most powerful reptilian enemies in all their appearances.
- The Dinolfos are similar to the Zazak enemies as both are humanoid saurian enemies with a Breath Weapon, but only Dinolfos use melee weaopns.
- Three-Strike Combo: In Tri Force Heroes, the Aeralfos' primary physical attack consists of diving down at the Links to deliver three quick sword strikes, turning the third into a spinning slash, before rising back into the air.
- Underground Monkey: Areas in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom dominated by one element or another tend to be home to Lizalfos associated with that element — Fire-Breath Lizalfos live in volcanic areas, Ice-Breath Lizalfos are found in high, snowy mountains, and Electric Lizalfos are encountered in the Gerudo Desert.
- Wind from Beneath My Wings: In Tri Force Heroes, Aeralfos can beat their wings to blow strong gusts of wind at the Links, while in Hyrule Warriors, they use their wings to blow a blaze of fire towards their enemies.
- Winged Humanoid: Aeralfos, which resemble regular Lizalfos with a pair of pterodactyl- or dragon-like wings.
Lynels
A Lynel from Breath of the Wild.
A group of well-armed and powerful centaurs with leonine features, comprising some of the toughest enemies Link can find.
- Breath Weapon: Some can breathe fire.
- Depending on the Artist: Not as extreme as many other Zelda monsters like Moblins, but sometimes the lower body of a Lynel is based off a lion complete with paws rather than a horse as in the Game Boy games.
- Elite Mooks: High health, high strength, and very tenacious; the Lynels are some of the strongest non-boss enemies in the games they appear in.
- Expy: As lion-headed centaur creatures, they are very similar to the wemics from Dungeons & Dragons.
- Fiery Lion: Leonine centaurs who can breathe fire.
- King of Beasts: These lion-like beasts are among the most proud and fearsome of all monsters.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: Lynels in several games are a mix of a lion, a hylian/human and a horse. However, some games remove the horse part.
- Our Centaurs Are Different: Horse or lion from the waist down, leonine humanoids from the waist up.
- Sword Beam: They can use this technique in the first game and the Game Boy titles.
- Took a Level in Badass: While they've always been among the more dangerous foes in the series, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, as well as Tears of the Kingdom, made Lynels considerably more fierce, skilled, and powerful than any previous incarnation, bumping them up from Elite Mooks into an imposing and deadly Boss in Mook Clothing.
Mothulas
A Mothula from The Wind Waker.
Moth-like enemies that often attack by spawning weaker foes.
- Airborne Mook: Mothulas come in winged and wingless variants in The Wind Waker, making the winged kind fit this trope. Link can clip off their wings with ranged weapons, turning them into the flightless variety.
- Asteroids Monster: The Mothula boss in the Game Boy Advance remake of A Link to the Past can create copies of itself that, when destroyed, split into four bees that chase after Link.
- Cyclops: Mothulas have had a single eye in the middle of their foreheads since Oracle of Seasons, much like other arthropod enemies like Gohmas and Tektites.
- Degraded Boss: Mothula was originally a unique boss enemy in A Link to the Past and Oracle of Seasons. In The Wind Waker and Spirit Tracks, however, Mothulas appear as common and not especially powerful enemies.
- Mook Maker: Mothulas often spawn smaller enemies to fight Link. The boss Mothula in Oracle of Seasons spawns groups of smaller Moths to push Link around, while the ones in The Wind Waker produce spiky, caltrop-like enemies called Morths to latch onto Link to slow him down and the ones in Spirit Tracks summon Bubbles.
- Moth Menace: They're gigantic, hostile moths as large as or larger than Link.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: The Moth Gibdos in Tears of the Kingdom are similar to the non-boss versions of Mothulas.
Octoroks
An Octorok from Link's Awakening for Nintendo Switch.
An octopus (or squid in some cases) monster that shoots rocks from its snout. Notable for appearing in every single Zelda game, with the exception of Twilight Princess, in which they're replaced by a Suspiciously Similar Substitute, Toadpoli.
- Airborne Mook: Flying variants appear from time to time.
- Sky Octoroks appear in Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild. The ones in the former fly through leaves attached to their tops, which they spin like propellers. The ones in the latter game are instead Living Gasbags that fly thanks to inflated mantles.
- Link's Awakening features Winged Octoroks that dodge Link's attacks by fluttering out of the way.
- Ambushing Enemy: In Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom, Octoroks disguise themselves as part of the scenery — exactly what they pretend to be (grass, shrubs, rocks, etc.) varies between environments — and pop out of the ground to attack when Link passes by.
- Aquatic Mook: They take up this role in the 3D games, completely replacing the River Zora, though Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom features an Octorok for each kind of geographic environment, and only one type lives in the water.
- Depending on the Writer: Octoroks are either aggressive fauna that naturally reside in Hyrule or unnatural monsters made of magic.
- Dishing Out Dirt: They tend to spit rocks.
- Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: The more alien-looking Slaroks replace Octoroks in the Dark World and Lorule, but otherwise behave identically to them.
- Funnel-Mouthed Cephalopod: Though their design has varied throughout the games over the years, they always featured this design with which they shoot rocks from their mouth. They are additionally (in most games) colored red like a steamed octopus.
- Giant Mook: A gigantic Octorok appears as a boss in The Minish Cap. It's technically a perfectly normal member of the species, but appears titanic to the then-miniscule Link.
- The Goomba: Octoroks are often the earliest encountered enemies in many of the 2D games, and some of the most fragile. They're typically little more than ways for Link to learn how his sword and shield work.
- Harmless Enemy: Sky Octoroks in Breath of the Wild are completely unable to harm Link, and only serve as killable supports for floating platforms.
- King Mook: Big Octos, usually found blocking paths creating whirlpools.
- Piñata Enemy: Treasure Octoroks in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, which disguise themselves as treasure chests, drop Rupees when they die.
- Retcon: The reveal in Spirit Tracks that Mini Freezards are actually frozen Octoroks seems to imply that Octoroks were in Twilight Princess after all!
- Stealthy Cephalopod: They are portrayed this way in the 3D games. Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and The Wind Waker have them hide in bodies of water and only pop up to spit rocks at Link. Skyward Sword introduces a terrestrial variant that hides under bushes and boulders, while Breath of the Wild and its sequel has variants that hide under snow and fake treasure chests alongside the previous types.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
- The Toadpoli enemies in Twilight Princess fulfill the exact same role as the Octoroks from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. They even have similar eyes.
- Octoroks themselves fight like Deku Scrubs in Skyward Sword.
- The Guardian Stalkers in Breath of the Wild were designed to reference the Octoroks from the 2D games. The Zelda team noticed that the graphical limitations of the first game made the Octoroks look as big as or even bigger than Link, and they decided to create a new tentacled enemy that really was that big in the new graphical style. Thus, the Guardian Stalkers are ground-walking tentacled enemies that go after Link with ranged attacks, while the actual Octoroks in Breath of the Wild go with more of a Stealthy Cephalopod approach.
- Tentacled Terror: They're cephalopodic monsters that spit rocks at their prey.
- Underground Monkey: In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, unlike the strength and elemental systems of variation, Octoroks uniquely come in a number of geographically-themed variants — Water Octoroks in bodies of water, Forest Octoroks disguised as shrubbery in wooded areas, Rock Octoroks in the mountains, Snow Octoroks in cold places, Treasure Octoroks disguised as loot, and Sky Octoroks floating in the air.
Peahats
A Peahat from Skyward Sword.
Flying plant roots that attack with sharp leaves.
- The Bus Came Back: They reappear in A Link Between Worlds after being absent since Skyward Sword.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: They have a habit of making themselves impossible to harm, making Link wait for them to make themselves vulnerable. Peahats are notable in that they tend to flip from game to game whether they're vulnerable in their stationary state or their mobile state.
- Giant Mook: In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, Peahats are big and can kill Link in Hyrule Field should he make the mistake of attacking one.
- Harmless Enemy: In Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, Peahats cannot harm Link in any way — in essence, they serve entirely as floating supports for grappling onto with the Clawshot.
- Heli-Critter: They fly by whirling their leaves like helicopter blades.
- Non-Human Undead: According to the first game's manual, Peahats are the ghosts of flowers.
- Piñata Enemy: They're likely to drop health restoration items, so hunting them down can be a matter of life and death at times.
- Sleepy Enemy: At night, Peahats in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask rest in the ground, but can send out Peahat Larvae to attack Link in their stead.
- Underground Monkey: In addition to regular vegetal Peahats in the Forbidden Woods, The Wind Waker has fishlike, marine Seahats found flying over the Great Sea.
Phantoms
A Phantom from Phantom Hourglass.
Appearing in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Phantoms are large, armor-clad monsters will an array of supernatural powers.
- BFS: They're usually seen wielding gigantic swords one-handed. Gold Phantoms wield axes just as effortlessly.
- Breakout Mook Character: They've become this to a degree. Back in Phantom Hourglass, they're just really powerful enemies from a single dungeon that you have to run away from. In Spirit Tracks, Zelda can possess them and you can switch between playing as Link and her via the Phantoms. Then they were added to Zelda's Super Smash Bros. moveset in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Then they were possessed by Toon Zelda again for their playable appearance in Hyrule Warriors. By this point, they've become synonymous with Zelda in terms of gameplay, even though she never directly encountered them in their debut game!
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: In Phantom Hourglass, Standard Phantoms wear blue, Swift Phantoms wear red, and Golden Phantoms wear gold. In Spirit Tracks, Standard Phantoms wear green, Torch Phantoms wear red, Warp Phantoms wear cyan, and Wrecker Phantoms wear black. Whenever Zelda takes over a Phantom, it's armor turns tan and purple.
- Hive Mind: In Phantom Hourglass, each Phantom is controlled by Bellum.
- Non-Indicative Name: They're called Phantoms, but they act like large suits of Animated Armor (and thus are more reminiscent of Darknuts than actual ghostly enemies like Ghinis or Poes). The English localization of Phantom Hourglass implies that this name is a reference to their being resistant to almost all weapons, and therefore "untouchable."
- Sudden Sequel Heel Syndrome: Inverted. Spirit Tracks portrays them as the natural guardians of the Tower of Spirits who ensure Malladus is sealed and under normal circumstances should not attack anyone who is good; the only reason they do attack Link been because they are Brainwashed and Crazy. This is a far cry from the evil minions of Bellum they were in Phantom Hourglass.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To the Darknuts. Both types of enemies are heavily armored Elite Mooks whose weak points are their backs.
- Villain Teleportation: Both the Gold and Warp Phantoms can teleport around a room.
Pols Voice
A Pols Voice from Link's Awakening for Nintendo Switch.
Bizarre, vaguely rabbit-like creatures weak to sound and impervious to most other things, Pols Voices appear in dungeons in the original The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and the Oracle games. They disappear in later installments, but make a comeback in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.
- Achilles' Heel: Even when immune to anything else, they're extremely sensitive to sound, and loud noises can stun them or kill them outright.
- Lamprey Mouth: In Phantom Hourglass, the bottom of their bodies consist entirely of giant, round, fang-lined mouths.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: According to the first game's manual, these bizarre large-eared hopping things are in fact ghosts.
- Paradiegetic Gameplay: In the Famicom Disk System version of the first game, they were killed by yelling in the microphone in the Famicom's second controller. Each Japanese rerelease changes it so pols voice can be killed with a different method, such as pressing Select 4 times in the GBA version, or pressing L and R to virtually "switch" to the second controller and yell into the 3DS's microphone in the 3DS version. In all English releases, including the NES version, the enemy is instead weak to arrows, as the NES does not have a microphone. In Phantom Hourglass, they go back to being dealt with by blowing in the DS' microphone, although it only stuns them.
Rat
A Rat from A Link Between Worlds
Mouse-like enemies that inhabit dungeons and dirty places.
- An Ice Person: The Legend Of Zelda Triforce Heroes introduces the Blue Rats, which hide inside Snowballs until the Links destroy them, but otherwise act the same.
- Bandit Mook: In The Wind Waker, they'll steal Link's Rupees if he drops them.
- Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds introduces the Dark Rats, their stronger Lorulean counterparts.
- The Goomba: One of the weakest enemies in the game, they can easily be dispatched with a simple sword swing or any weapon.
- Invisible Monsters: The Ghoul Rats in Twilight Princess are imperceptible to humans, and can only be detected and dispatched by the keener senses of Link's wolf form.
- Mad Bomber: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask onwards introduces the Real Bombchus, Rats that wield Bombs to throw at Link or are Bombs to hurt Link at the cost of their own lives.
- Punch-Clock Villain: In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, using All-Purpose Bait when fighting them causes them to stop, set up shop, and sell stuff to Link.
- Underground Monkey: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess features the Shadow Vermin, the Twilight Realm version of these enemies.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: The Zelda from The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is afraid of these guys, even when possessing a Phantom or any of its variants, forcing Link to slay it so she can stop cowering. In fact, Chancellor Cole exploits this fear during the final battle with Malladus.
- You Dirty Rat!: Antagonistic rodent enemies.
River Zora
A Zora from A Link Between Worlds.
Water-dwelling merfolk known to spit fireballs at anyone who trespasses their territories, not to be confused with their sleeker Sea Zora cousins.
- Breath Weapon: Fireballs; they're basically fire-breathing fish-men.
- Decomposite Character: It initially seemed that these Zora underwent a Heel–Race Turn in Ocarina of Time (or that they went through a Face–Heel Turn after Ocarina of Time, given that their enemy roles were in games that took place after it), but Oracle of Ages established that the ugly enemy Zora are actually a separate race from the friendly humanoid Zora. However, the Encyclopedia (re)inverts this by stating that the River Zora are monstrous descendants of the Sea Zoras (with the cause being Hyrule's decline in the "Downfall" timeline); Oracle of Ages presumably takes place in the middle of this transition, when some Sea Zoras had not yet fallen to the degeneration affecting the rest of their race.
- Evil Counterpart Race: Oracle of Ages establish the River Zoras as enemies to both the Hylians and friendly "Sea Zora".
- Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: The cyclopean Ku, who otherwise behave identically to Zoras, take their place in the Dark World and Lorule.
- Fish People: Though they look a lot uglier than their sea counterparts.
- Heel–Race Turn: According to the Encyclopedia, the enemy Zoras of the Downfall Timeline games are descended from the friendly Zoras of the earlier games, who became increasingly hostile and territorial towards outsiders. Queen Oren tried to reverse this decline, but her faction eventually lost out to the hostile ones and the Zoras became true monsters.
- Spell My Name With An S: Thanks to a mistranslation, the original game and the official website referred to the hostile River Zoras as "Zolas".
- Token Heroic Orc: A few River Zoras are helpful to Link, most notably Queen Oren in A Link Between Worlds.
- What Measure Is a Non-Cute?: They are considerably uglier and more monstrous looking than the friendly Zoras introduced in Ocarina of Time.
- You Don't Look Like You: In the Japanese Zelda II, those Ankylosaurid looking things that are only vulnerable to fire? Those are supposed to be Zoras.
Ropes
A Rope from The Legend of Zelda.
Aggressive snakes found in dungeons throughout the series.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": Name aside, they're perfectly ordinary snakes.
- Elite Mook: Two kinds.
- Flashing Ropes appear in the second quest in The Legend of Zelda 1. They become a lot more durable, although their attack stays the same.
- Golden Ropes in The Minish Cap, a gold-colored variant that moves faster, deals more damage and has higher health.
- The Goomba: They're typically among the earliest dungeon-dwelling enemies encountered in the games, have very simple attack patterns, and are defeated by a single blow from Link's weapons.
- Skull for a Head: Skull Ropes, a variant found in some games, have skulls covering or instead of the regular kind's heads.
Skullfish
A Skullfish from Majora's Mask 3D.
Skeletal fishes found in certain aquatic areas.
- Aquatic Mook: They're only found in watery areas, where they patrol waterways and attack Link when he wades or swims in.
- Dem Bones: They're for the most part entirely skeletal. Twilight Princess downplays this; its version is still chiefly skeletal, but retains a cluster of red organs in its ribcage.
- Fiendish Fish: Monstrous, fanged undead husks of fish that attack Link on sight.
- Raising the Steaks: Undead fish.
- Sand Is Water: Tri Force Heroes includes a variant that swims through desert sand like the regular ones swim through the water.
- Underground Monkey: Sandfish, a variant introduced in Tri Force Heroes are found in the desert.
Skull Kids
A Skull Kid from Ocarina of Time.
Mischievous scarecrow-like imps who inhabit the Lost Woods, said to be what happens when kids get lost in the forest. They're distinguished by having a flute-like instrument that can double as a blow dart shooter. One particular Skull Kid became a major antagonist in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
- The Ageless: Much like the Kokiri, they look and act like children, but are implied to be much, much older than they appear, with the Majora's Mask Skull Kid in particular having been friends with the Four Giants before they created Termina.
- Blackface-Style Caricature: All versions of the original Nintendo 64 release of Ocarina of Time and the Japanese release of Majora's Mask made them resemble this, with dark faces and yellow lips. The international versions of Majora's Mask and the 3DS re-releases of both games instead gave them wooden, scarecrow-like faces with some shadow effects and beaks instead of lips, while Twilight Princess went with more of a pale ghoulish design.
- Dub Name Change: They're called Stalkids in Japanese, explicitly tying them into the larger Stalfos family of monsters. Additionally, the German dubs rename them to Horrorkinder ("Horror Children") and the Italian ones to Bambini Perduti ("Lost Children").
- Evil Counterpart Race: Not entirely evil, but they're definitely a much less friendly counterpart to the Kokiri/Koroks. Both races consist of childlike beings who live in the Lost Woods and don't get along that well with adults.
- Was Once a Man: In Ocarina of Time, it's stated that they were once human children who became stranded in the Lost Woods.
Skulltulas
A Skulltulla from Skyward Sword.
Armored spider monsters with a skull motif on the back. A smaller variant called Walltulas clings to vines that Link must climb, and must be snuck past or defeated from a distance if Link is to pass.
- All Webbed Up: While they have always had the ability to drop down from silk threads, their appearance in Skyward Sword has them prepare whole webs to trap Link. Rarely, they can also shoot silk at Link to immobilize him.
- Ambushing Enemy: In most games, they hang from the ceiling and try to ambush Link by dropping on him when he passes beneath them.
- Attack Its Weak Point: In the N64 games and Skyward Sword, they can only be damaged by hitting their soft undersides.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In Ocarina of Time, "Surprise Skulltulas" are capable of hiding above the ceiling and aren't exposed by the Lens of Truth.
- Death Glare: In the Nintendo 64 games, at least, the "skulls" their bodies form look like they're perpetually doing this.
- Giant Spider: Definitely bigger than normal, and can be bigger than Link. Big Skulltulas can be twice Link's size.
- The Goomba: Skulltulas only have the element of surprise in the N64 games and are some of the weakest enemies since they do nothing but sit there and expose their weak points after they drop down. They're also some of the first enemies you face in both games.
- Jump Scare: Their tendency to drop from nowhere, be invisible, or above the ceiling can make them their appearances this.
- Mini Mook: Walltulas (originally named Skullwalltulas) are smaller versions of Skulltulas that guard climbable walls.
- Nightmare Face: Their skull in the N64 games and Twilight Princess look fairly terrifying. In Skyward Sword, they look much more goofy, but are still capable of putting up a decent fight.
- No Sense of Personal Space: In Skyward Sword, they take a page from the Re Dead's book by latching onto Link when off their webs.
- Skeleton Motif: A Skulltula's armored carapace closely resembles a human skull. The actual head of the Skulltula is located in the "skull's"' mouth.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: Or enemy in this case. They flip around to expose their weakpoint for no reason in the N64 games. They’re far from invincible from the front, but they would be immune to the sword if they didn’t do this. Twilight Princess subverts this by always having them get down and fight Link to the death.
Spiny Beetles
Hermit crab-like creatures that hide beneath rocks and bushes and flee when Link approaches them. They appear exclusively in early 2D titles; The Minish Cap marks their last appearance outside of remakes.
- Ambushing Enemy: They hide under pieces of the scenery, looking for all the world like perfectly normal rocks or bushes until they start moving.
- Cowardly Mooks: When Link comes too close to them or removes their cover, they will run around in a panic and only settle down after a while if Link isn't close by — if they do bump into and damage him, it's only through sheer chance as they flee randomly around the area.
- Harmless Enemy: In A Link to the Past, they can't cause damage — they will only scurry in panic if approached, and if they bump into Link they will only knock him back. This is averted in later games, where they damage him on contact like other enemies.
- Money Spider: In A Link to the Past, all they do is scurry around when Link comes close and drop Rupees as they go.
Stalfos
A Stalfos from Twilight Princess.
Reanimated skeleton soldiers. If you count the Stalchildren and Ikana Guards in Majora's Mask and the Stal-enemies in Breath of the Wild, these enemies have appeared in pretty much all the games in the series.
- All There in the Manual: The official Nintendo guide for Majora's Mask confirms the knights of Ikana are Stalfos. Hyrule Encyclopedia also states that the Hero's Spirit (the Hero of Time, who teaches his techniques to his descendant in Twilight Princess) is one.
- Ambiguously Human: The early Zelda games implied that they were reanimated human/Hylian skeletons, with Ocarina of Time explicitly saying they're the result of adult Hylians getting lost in The Lost Woods. Starting with The Wind Waker's depiction of them with equine skulls, though, they have often been portrayed with unusual features like hornlike protrusions, Third Eyes, and extra arms, implying that they were always monsters even before losing their flesh. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom go further by featuring explicit Stal-versions of the common monsters rather than unique Stal-enemies.
- Ballistic Bone: Some variants such as Blue Stalfos and Red Stalfos throw them at you. These variants also have a nasty habit of jumping out of the way when you attack them with your sword.
- Dem Bones: They're the Zelda equivalent of the common "animated skeleton" you tend to see in fantasy settings.
- Dual Wielding: In some games, such as the original The Legend of Zelda and Skyward Sword, Stalfos fight with a sword in each hand.
- Elite Mooks: Certain varieties of Stalfos are given this treatment and often serve as minibosses, such as the large, powerful Stalfos Knights in A Link to the Past, the Master Stalfos in Link's Awakening, the Blue Stalfos in Oracle of Ages, the Big Dark Stalfos in Four Swords Adventures, and an otherwise unnamed Stalfos miniboss in Ocarina of Time.
- Giant Mook: The Stalfos Knights in A Link to the Past and the Big Dark Stalfos in Four Swords Adventures, which are much larger than common Stalfos.
- Glowing Eyelights of Undeath: Several games depicted them with glowing lights, usually red and sometimes green, in their otherwise dark eye sockets.
- Night of the Living Mooks: In Breath of the Wild, rather than Stalfos, skeletal Stal-enemies emerge at night to harass Link. These include Stalkoblins, Stalmoblins, Stalizalfos, and Stalnoxes.
- Nocturnal Mooks: In Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom, Stalchildren, Stalhounds, and Stal-enemies emerge from the ground at night.
- Our Hydras Are Different: The Staldras from Skyward Sword resemble three-headed snake skeletons. Link needs to lop off all three heads in one swing to defeat them — if even one is left, the Staldra will instantly regenerate the others.
- Pulling Themselves Together: In some games, they'll do this until further action is taken, like blowing them up with a bomb or destroying their skulls.
- Raising the Steaks: The broader Stal- family includes a couple of undead animals and monsters, such as Skyward Sword's three-headed, reptilian Staldras and Twilight Princess's Stalhounds.
- Removing the Head or Destroying the Brain: Stalfos in The Wind Waker and Stal-monsters in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom can re-assemble themselves as long as their skulls survive. Destroying the skull is the only way to defeat them.
- Sword Beam: In the Second Quest of The Legend of Zelda, they gain a sword beam like that of the Lynels, and they hurt just as hard. For those used to their nonthreatening wandering in the First Quest, this can come as a nasty surprise.
- Token Heroic Orc: Some Stalfos, such as Captain Keeta, Igos du Ikana, and the Hero of Time, retain their consciousness and personalities, and aid Link in his quest.
- Underground Monkey: They come in a variety of different forms across the different games.
- Was Once a Man: Ocarina of Time has a Kokiri character who says that adults that get trapped in The Lost Woods turn into Stalfos. The Hyrule Historia reveals that the Hero's Shade from Twilight Princess is none other than the Hero of Time subjected to this fate.
Tektites
A Tektite from Ocarina of Time.
Four-legged arthropods that get around by hopping.
- Cyclops: They have a single eye, a trait shared with Gohmas and later, Mothulas.
- Four-Legged Insect: Arachnid, in this case. Tektites stand out as there are several other spider-like monsters which do have eight legs, such as some variants of Gohma and Skulltulas.
- Giant Spider: In the 3D games, they tend to resemble four-legged spiders around Link's size.
- In a Single Bound: They move by jumping very high.
- Money Spider: For whatever reason, they tend to carry plenty of Rupees, playing this trope literally. Blue ones, in particular, are likely to carry cash.
- Oculothorax: In the 2D games, especially the original two, they don't resemble any real arthropod so much as giant armored eyeballs with four jointed legs.
- Walk on Water: Blue Tektites in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess are found near water, where they can stand on the surface and even leap from there. Water Tektites, a variant introduced from Link to the Past onwards, also fit the bill.
Wallmasters and Floormasters
A Wallmaster from Ocarina of Time 3D and a Floormaster from The Wind Waker.
Disembodied giant hands that like to send Link back to the dungeon's entrance (or a cell, in some cases). Wallmasters emerge from walls or drop down from the ceiling, while Floormasters emerge from the ground.
- Ambushing Enemy: In some games, Wallmasters hide on ceilings, visible only by their shadow, and snatch you if you pass beneath them. Floormasters sometimes hide within floors (as in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker) or become invisible (a few do this in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) to ambush Link. However, in several other games, both enemies are often merely Mook Bouncers that move around normally and quite visibly.
- Animate Body Parts: Living, disembodied hands that attack by grabbing at Link.
- Artifact Name: The original The Legend of Zelda is the only game in which Wallmasters actually come from the walls; in later games, they fall from the ceiling. This is averted in Japanese, where they're called Fallmasters from A Link to the Past onward.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: In the portable games, Wallmasters are red while Floormasters are blue.
- Dub Name Change: In Japanese, there are three named kinds of these enemies — Wallmasters, Floormasters, and Fallmasters. In English, the Fallmasters are conflated with and referred to as Wallmasters.
- Harmless Enemy: With some exceptions, Wallmasters and Floormasters cannot actually damage Link — they simply reset his physical position in the dungeon, which while annoying doesn't actually harm him — and can in fact prove very helpful if the player wants to to head back out or to escape a fight that's going poorly.
- Helping Hands: The helping part comes in if you're actually trying to get back to the dungeon entrance, in which case they provide rather convenient shortcuts.
- Improbable Weapon User: Floormasters in The Wind Waker will grab nearby pots and/or bombs to toss them at Link.
- King Mook: A Link Between Worlds has Knucklemaster, an armored, supersized version of the Wallmasters found in its dungeon. It doesn't grab at Link, however, and instead punches and swats him.
- Mook Bouncer: Easily the most infamous one in gaming history. While usually associated with Wallmasters, later installments starting with the Oracle games give this ability to Floormasters.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
- The Zant's Hand enemies that appear in Twilight Princess are similar disembodied hands that impede the player's progress. Later versions of the actual Wallmasters would often incorporate attributes of the Zant's Hand.
- The Gloom Spawn in Tears of the Kingdom look like a conglomeration of Wind Waker style Floormasters, disembodied arms that travel on the ground and try to grab Link.
Wizzrobes
A Wizzrobe from A Link to the Past.
Wizard-like, often avian enemies that attack with spells.
- An Ice Person: Four Swords, The Minish Cap, A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Cadence of Hyrule, and Age of Calamity has the Ice Wizzrobes, which freeze Link with their magic and can also change the weather, while summoning Ice Chuchus and Ice Keese to back them up in battle. Blizzrobes, a variant introduced in the aforementioned Breath of the Wild onwards fight the same, but are more elite than them.
- Bird People: Their original art had a hooked nose that looked suspiciously like a beak when brightened, and several later games interpret them as straight-up humanoid birds. The Wizzrobes from The Wind Waker are outright giant toucans with winged arms.
- Boss in Mook Clothing: Easily the most dangerous regular enemies in the series besides Darknuts. They're minibosses in Majora's Mask and their figurine in Wind Waker is in the Nintendo Gallery's boss/strong-monster room.
- By the Lights of Their Eyes: In the earlier games, Wizzrobes were depicted with darkness where their faces should be, with only two glowing eyes visible. This design is subtly referenced by Breath of the Wild's, who, even though they have visible faces, are a rather dark grey color so their eyes shine through from a distance.
- Color-Coded Wizardry: Typically from Four Swords onwards, green-robed ones shoot basic energy projectiles, red-robed ones shoot fireballs and blue-robed ones shoot ice. Breath of the Wild drops the green kind and adds yellow-robed ones that shoot lightning. Prior to that, there were just Blue and Red Wizzrobes, which reappear in the Oracle games as stronger variants to the usual green-robed kind.
- Enemy Summoner: The Wind Waker onwards allows the regular Wizzrobes to summon hordes of enemies such as Keese and Morths to overwhelm their enemies. Breath of the Wild, as well as Tears of the Kingdom, also lets the Fire, Ice, and Electric Wizzrobes to do this as well as their stronger Blizzrobe, Meteo Wizzrobe, and Thunder Wizzrobe variants.
- Expy: Their attack patterns are very similar to the Magicians from The Tower of Druaga.
- Fragile Speedster: Not too durable, but good luck catching up to their Teleport Spam.
- Feathered Fiend: The Wind Waker variant is a toucan of some sort, and they're some of the most fearsome enemies in the game.
- In the Hood: In several appearances, their faces are completely covered by a hood. Even then, the little anatomy of theirs that is visible suggests they're not entirely human/Hylian.
- Laughing Mad: Most incarnations of them are this from Majora's Mask onward.
- Magic Wand: Wizzrobes often wield magical scepters, and you can take their elemental rods for yourself in Breath of the Wild. In Tears of the Kingdom, however, the Electric, Fire, and Ice Wizzrobes can have Topaz, Ruby, and Sapphire Swords as well as Rods.
- Playing with Fire: Four Swords, The Wind Waker, The Minish Cap, A Link Between Worlds, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Cadence of Hyrule, and Age of Calamity have the Fire Wizzrobes, who fight Link with fire magic and can change the weather, while summoning Fire Chuchus and Fire Keese to help them out. Meteo Wizzrobes, a stronger variant introduced in the same game also fit the bill.
- Purple Is Powerful: A Link to the Past introduces the Purple Wizzrobes, skull-faced variants which only appear in this game.
- Robe and Wizard Hat: While they're usually depicted as wearing simple cloaks, their artwork occasionally has them wearing more typical wizardly attire. Their robes in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, with stiff hoods that rise in a tall point above their heads, are also reminiscent of this motif.
- Shadowed Face, Glowing Eyes: Wizzrobes are often depicted with faces entirely cast in shadow by their hats or hoods, with only a pair of glowing eyes visible.
- Shock and Awe: Electric Wizzrobes, a variant introduced from Breath of the Wild onwards, fight Link with electric magic while changing the weather and summon Electric Chuchus and Electric Keesenote . Thunder Wizzrobes, a stronger variant introduced in the same game, fight the same.
- Sinister Scythe: Their appearance in Phantom Hourglass has them wield it as their main weapon to reap Sands of Hours from Link, should they get the drop on him in the Temple of the Ocean King.
- Squishy Wizard: Squishy, but backed up by magical mojo.
- Teleport Spam: Fights with Wizzrobes often involve chasing them all over the room. Subverted by the Wizzrobes in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, who merely turn invisible, but not intangible, between attacks.
Wolfos
A Wolfos, as they appear in Ocarina of Time 3D and Majora's Mask 3D
A White Wolfos in Twilight Princess
"AOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Wolf-like creatures that, much like real wolves, often attack in groups.- Anthropomorphic Shift: Inverted after Majora's Mask. In their first two appearances, they're somewhat anthropomorphic wolf men, but their appearance in Twilight Princess, Spirit Tracks and Cadence of Hyrule have them look and act more like real wolves.
- Artifact Name:
- Their name has the "-fos" suffix that generally denotes the more humanoid monsters. This made sense in the N64 games where they were more anthropomorphic, but less so where their later appearance has changed to look like natural wolves.
- White Wolfos were originally named that to distinguish them from their basic grey kin. They retain their full name in Twilight Princess and Spirit Tracks, despite being the only kind of Wolfos encountered there.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Attacking one's tail will do more damage to it. If you're lucky enough to land a jump attack on it, this will One-Hit Kill the beast.
- Elite Mook: White Wolfos are a variant living in snowy areas that are bigger and stronger than their normal, forest-dwelling brethren. This is averted in Twilight Princess and Spirit Tracks, though, in the sense that White Wolfos are the only Wolfos that are seen.
- Mirror Boss: While they aren't bosses, the White Wolfos in Twilight Princess fight similarly to Wolf Link. Because they attack in areas of deep snow, which impedes Link's movement in human form, you're encouraged to fight them as Wolf Link.
- Savage Wolves: They're predatory creatures that circle their prey and attack like real wolves. This is more pronounced by their appearances after Twilight Princess, which look and act like natural wolves.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Breath of the Wild onwards introduces actual wolves to the series, which themselves have standard grey-furred counterparts inhabiting forested areas and stronger white-furred versions inhabiting snowy regions. While they are every bit as hostile as Wolfos, these wolves are classified as wildlife and not monsters.
- Underground Monkey: White Wolfos are, as their name implies, white Wolfos; they only appear in snowy areas. Unusually, they actually have appeared in more games than the regular version.
- Wolf Man: Their appearance in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, though there is no indication that they're some sort of Werebeast. Their appearance in later games loses the "man" part.
- Wolverine Claws: Their method of attack in the N64 games was slashing with giant claws.
- Wolves Always Howl at the Moon: Nighttime is marked by the sound of a howl in the N64-era titles, games which introduced and prominently feature Wolfos — it's never directly credited to them in-game, but they would seem to be the likeliest source in the absence of regular old wolves, given the loud howling sounds they're known for. It makes for a memorable little atmosphere setter in both games, and is arguably significantly more ominous in Majora's Mask thanks to the nature of Termina's situation.
Zols and Gels
A Zol and Gel from The Legend of Zelda.
Hopping, slime-like creatures found in dungeons. Zols are larger, and split into smaller Gels when killed.
Zols and Gels are common enemies in the early games, but as the series went on they were eventually replaced by the Chuchus, though it didn't stop the Gels from being in the same game with them during Phantom Hourglass.
- Asteroids Monster: Zols split into two Gels when defeated, although a powerful enough attack (such as a bomb or a whirling attack) will kill them outright and bypass the Gel stage.
- Blob Monster: They're small, rounded, hopping balls of slime that split into smaller copies of themselves when killed. The first game's manual leans into this trope more heavily than later depictions, showing Zols and Gels as much more slimy, dripping, messy things.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Zols tend to come in distinct colored versions in games they appear in, although the precise meaning of each color varies from game to game.
- In A Link to the Past, Red Zols are the weakest, while Green and Yellow Zols are stronger and take more damage to defat.
- In Link's Awakening and the Oracle games, Green Zols will not split into Gels when they die, while red ones will.
- Harmless Enemy: In later games, Gels cannot harm Link directly. Instead, they attach themselves to him, slowing him down and preventing him from using his weapons until they drop off.
- King Mook: Dera Zol, a massive armored Zol fought as a boss in Four Swords.
