The much beloved The Legend of Zelda series turned 35 this year, and with news of the highly anticipated sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild coming later this year (luckily, there are some great Nintendo Switch titles fans can play as they wait), 2021 is shaping up to be a big year for the series. Throughout its expansive history, the bearer of the Triforce of Courage and series hero Link has faced numerous obstacles and trials, including dozens of memorable enemies such as Octoroks, Wizzrobes and Darknuts.
While Link has faced a plethora of iconic foes from Hyrule’s vast compendium, many other interesting ones have faded into obscurity.
10 Ball And Chain Soldier
Ball and Chain Soldiers are armored soldiers that, as their name aptly suggests, wield a ball and chain for combat. They are more often than not encountered in castles or dungeons. They are generally tough, resilient enemies that can both take and deal out a lot of damage.
Despite appearing in numerous games, Ball and Chain Soldiers are easily overshadowed by Darknuts and even Iron Knuckles, the latter being better known as iconic enemies from the Nintendo 64 games.
9 Rope
Ropes are Zelda‘s snakes, and tend to be found early on in the games’ opening grassland areas. They are typically slow moving enemies that lunge at Link when he least expects it.
They have appeared in many games throughout the series, but unlike the more fantastical creatures that inhabit Hyrule (such as the terrifying Like Likes or ReDeads), they are rarely remembered because of their generic design.
8 Ghini
Ghini are one-eyed ghosts that have appeared in several games in the series. They tend to lurk in graveyards and are usually seen languidly floating towards Link, dealing contact damage but also easily telegraphing their movements.
Like Ball and Chain Soldiers, Ghini are often overshadowed by a similar enemy (namely the Poe) that has a more interesting design and motif when compared to the Ghini. This forgotten creature has remained practically unchanged throughout all of its iterations.
7 Pols Voice
Pols Voice are rabbit-like creatures with whiskers and large ears. They appear in the original The Legend of Zelda, along with Link’s Awakening, both Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, and Phantom Hourglass.
They lurk in dungeons and bounce around often, making them hard to hit. Unsurprisingly, their large ears are very sensitive to sound, so playing a musical instrument like the Ocarina or Strange Flute will defeat them easily (even when players aren’t controlling the most powerful of Link’s incarnations). Another reason to enjoy the series’ fantastic soundtracks!
6 Vire
Vire are bat-like enemies that debuted in the original The Legend of Zelda, with subsequent appearances in Link’s Awakening and both Oracle games. Vires are uncommon enemies that appear in dungeons, and their role varied from title to title.
In The Legend of Zelda and Link’s Awakening, they appear as standard enemies, while in the Oracle games, they are a mini boss. The most notable characteristic of the Vire is that it will split into two Keese once enough damage has been dealt to it. They can also swoop down and spit fireballs at Link, but these shouldn’t be a problem to avoid if he uses a mobility item like the Roc’s Feather (just one of many incredibly useful items in Link’s repertoire).
5 Arm Mimic
Arm Mimics are enemies that bear a resemblance to Japanese haniwa clay sculptures. They only appear in Link’s Awakening and both Oracle games. Their main gimmick is that they will mirror Link’s movements; if Link moves up, the Arm Mimic will move down, if he moves left, they move right and so on.
While Arm Mimics don’t attack Link directly, he still needs to be careful and not take contact damage from them, as they can deal between one to three hearts of damage depending on the game.
4 Kyandokyan
Easily one of the most obscure Zelda enemies of all time, these sentient candles appear exclusively in Oracle of Ages as a rare enemy that only appears in two late-game dungeons, Mermaid’s Cave and Ancient Tomb (which are a blast to play through even if they aren’t as intricately-designed as some of the series’ dungeons).
They are impervious to all of Link’s weapons and can only be defeated by lighting the wick on top of their head, causing the creature to run around frantically until it explodes. However, players should take caution during this phase. While clearly a gimmick enemy, the Kyandokyan can be very hard to avoid before it meets its demise, especially if Link decides to ignite two or more of them around the same time.
3 Them
Also known as Ghosts, these incredibly vaguely named entities appear exclusively in Majora’s Mask as part of a side quest involving Romani Ranch, the Terminian version of Lon Lon Ranch. They bear a strong resemblance to the Flatwoods Monster while also possessing characteristics of stereotypical aliens, such as a propensity to abduct cows using tractor beams.
They appear at Romani Ranch during the night of the First Day and slowly float towards the ranch. Link must defend the ranch until dawn, at which all of the remaining Ghosts will be destroyed by the light. If Link is not successful, They will abduct the cows and Romani, resulting in the failure of the side quest and the player being locked out of earning the Romani’s Mask until the next three day cycle.
2 Nejiron
One of the most bizarre Zelda enemies of all time, Nejirons appear exclusively in Majora’s Mask. At first glance, these creatures seem to be some sort of relative to Gorons, taking into consideration the similar appearance and name. However, the Nejirons are actually completely unrelated to the Gorons, only mimicking their appearance and behavior.
Like the Goron, they like to roll up into a ball as a means of travel. Unlike the Goron, though, Nejiron are surprisingly fragile and explode when defeated. It is best to pick them off from a distance with the Bow or wear the Stone Mask if already acquired, as this prevents them from spawning in completely.
1 Anti-Kirby
Before the two fought each other in Super Smash Bros, a dream version of Kirby made a cameo in Link’s Awakening. In a game full of Mario cameos (what a dream it was to see two of Nintendo’s most beloved franchises collide), Anti-Kirby is often forgotten, being the only Dream Land representative to appear in the game.
Appearing exclusively in Eagle’s Tower, a late-game dungeon, Anti-Kirby looks and acts like the real Kirby, using his trademark inhale in the hopes of sucking Link in. However, this can also be used to Link’s advantage, giving him an opportunity to throw a bomb in when anti-Kirby is inhaling, dealing effective damage.
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