Darknut Legion
Perhaps the most ancient civilization still standing in Hyrule, the Darknut people nearly exterminated themselves in a massive civil war nearly four thousand years past. Banning all practice of magic and dishonorable forms of combat and warfare, a strict code of honor and ethics was mandated and their society was brutally restructured in order to avoid such a fate. General
- Canon Foreigner: While Darknuts have appeared in several games, the Legion itself is an invention of Hyrule Conquest, as Darknuts typically just serve Ganon or Vaati.
- Elite Army: Darknut soldiers have less overall troops in their battalions, but a single one of them can typically take on much more than soldiers from other factions.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: They take after a few real-life cultures.
- Their faction name, as well as the names of several units (Legionary, Legatus, Dux) and their imperialism make them a match for the Roman Empire.
- The aesthetics of their buildings as well as some civilian clothing are based on Ancient Egypt, specifically the Ptolemaic dynasty. This is also reflected in many of their units (Gymnatai, Hoplite, Peltast, Hypaspist, Hippikon) and building names (Agora, Basilica, Gymnasia, Holosideros).
- Physical Religion: The Darknuts worship notable individuals, typically military leaders.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Many Darknut units can level up with experience, gaining a cool new color scheme and a buff to their stats.
- The Magocracy: Their top leaders happen to be supernaturally gifted, which is somewhat hypocritical given that magic is banned within the Legion.
Gymnasia units
Gymnatai, Hoplite, Peltast, Aries
Clockwise from top left: Gymnatai, Hoplite, Aries, Peltast.
- Battering Ram: The Aries.
- Canon Foreigner: All of them are mostly original to Hyrule Conquest.
- Javelin Thrower: The Peltast, as the name implies.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: The Hoplites and Peltasts carry shields to give them a bit of protection, since they otherwise lack heavy armor.
- Meaningful Name: Aries is Latin for "ram".
- Mythology Gag: The armor of Hoplites and Peltasts is vaguely based on artwork of Darknuts from The Legend of Zelda.
Holosideros units
Legionary, Doomknocker, Jermafenser, Rebonack
Clockwise from top left: Legionary, Doomknocker, Rebonack, Jermafenser.
- Adaptational Mundanity: In The Adventure of Link, artwork showed Rebonack flying on top of a mechanical horse. In Hyrule Conquest, they simply ride horses bred for size.
- Adaptational Species Change: The Jermafenser/Helmethead was apparently some reanimated Hylian soldier in The Adventure of Link, though in Hyrule Conquest, they are Darknuts.
- Anti-Cavalry: The Rebonack's lance deals extra damage to cavalry and creatures.
- Carry a Big Stick: The Doomknocker's mace is pretty huge, even compared to his size.
- Composite Character: The Doomknockers are originally from The Adventure of Link, but take the design of the Red/Green Darknuts from Twilight Princess.
- Decomposite Character: The Legionary takes the design of the The Wind Waker's Silver Darknuts, though other versions of the enemy appear as different units.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: As if their heavy armor wasn't enough, the Doomknockers and Jermafensers carry massive shields.
- Mighty Glacier: The Rebonack is this compared to other cavalry, being relatively slow but still outpacing infantry.
Foreign Quarter units
Fokka Hypaspist, Mazura Hippikon, Lynel Pride, Fokkalista
Clockwise from top left: Fokka Hypaspist, Mazura Hippikon, Fokkalista, Lynel Pride.
- Canon Foreigner: The Fokkalista doesn't appear in any of the canon games, simply existing out of necessity for a siege unit.
- Carry a Big Stick: The Mazura carry maces.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: The Fokka and Lynels carry them.
- Meaningful Name: On several accounts.
- Hypaspist is ancient Greek for "shield carrier"
- Hippikos means horseman.
- Our Centaurs Are Different: Again, on both accounts.
- The Mazura is a reverse centaur with the head of a horse and human body plan. They serve as sort of a midway point between infantry and cavalry.
- The Lynel is a lion-headed centaur with a sword and shield, essentially combining several different roles into one.
Apotheon units
Dux, Idol Throne
From left: Dux, Idol Throne.
- Note: For the Legatus, see his section in Senturon's entry below.
- Support Party Member: Both the Dux and Idol Throne boost units in their aura. The Dux increase their experience gain, while the Idol Throne increases their survivability.
Summonere units
Molgera Grub, Immortal
From left: Molgera Grub, Immortal.
- Note: For the Glass Witch, see her section in Yaraxonal's entry below. For the Patra, see its section in Zalunbar's entry, and for the Reaver, see his section in Alros'.
- Mythology Gag: The Immortals are a living version of the Anubis enemy.
Darknut Heroes
Onon
Onon, the Darknut Prime
- First Appearance: The Legend of Zelda (Valiant Comics)
- Adaptational Heroism: The Darknut Prime in the Valiant Comics actually served Ganon. His incarnation her seems more of a respectable person responsible for defense against Gerudo incursions.
- Adaptational Name Change: He was called Onan in The Gerudo Wars and Hyrule Total War. His name likely shifted one syllable to avoid the other implications of the name.
- Adaptational Weapon Swap: Was a swordsman in the comics, but a peltast in Hyrule Conquest.
- Composite Character: Of the Darknut Prime from the Valiant Comics and Canon Foreigner Onan from the Gerudo Wars.
- Named by the Adaptation: Simply went by Darknut Prime in the comics.
Militron
Militron, Darknut Warlord
- First Appearance: Link: The Faces of Evil
- Adaptational Badass: Militron in his original appearance was (along with most of the other bosses) notoriously easy to deal with, though he is much tougher in Hyrule Conquest.
- Adaptational Species Change: In the original game, he was a wrinkly old Hylian man. Unless he's secretly a 10-foot tall Hylian, he's likely a jackal-headed Darknut.
- Age Lift: The in-game description calls him young, whereas he was quite old in The Faces of Evil.
- Baby Of The Bunch: Apparently considered young, going by his in-game description. Of course, since Darknuts are Long-Lived, this may make him any number of decades old.
- General Ripper: Described as going outside Legion code to accomplish his goals.
- Meaningful Name: Militron is a militaristic member of the Legion.
- The Faceless: It's unclear what he really looks like, though he presumably just looks like a normal Darknut.
- You Don't Look Like You: Downplayed. He doesn't look much like he did in his original game's cutscenes, but he matches his in-game sprite quite well.
Senturon
Senturon, the Black Knight
No, guys— he's the Black Knight because he wears black armor, okay?
- First Appearance: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
- Black Knight: His in-game title and the name he's generally known by.
- Meaningful Name: Senturon sounds a lot like centurion, fitting with his former high rank.
- Mysterious Past: Not much is known of him, except that he was Vaati's enforcer and drove the Wind Tribe out of Hyrule.
- Named by the Adaptation: Simply went by the Black Knight in The Minish Cap
- Really 700 Years Old: It's said he's still around after 3000 years.
- The Dragon: Was once one to Vaati.
Unique Unit: Legatus
Some shoddy armor you got there.
- First Appearance: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- Broken Armor Boss Battle: The Legati lose armor as they fight, making them more squishy but raising their attack speed.
- Decomposite Character: Simply called Darknuts in Twilight Princess. Other versions of the design feature on the roster.
Alros
Alros, Prince of Mercenaries
Being out in the sun all day really brings out your tan.
- First Appearance: Hyrule Conquest
- Canon Foreigner: Has not appeared in any of the games.
- Stereotype Flip: He's a honorless Darknut that doesn't wear much armor.
Unique Unit: Reaver
Nevermind, guess it's overcoat season.
- First Appearance: Hyrule Conquest
- Canon Foreigner: Has not appeared in any of the games.
- Fragile Speedster: The Reaver doesn't have close to any armor, but they are fast, can traverse over steep cliffs, and have a good attack rate.
Zalunbar
Zalunbar, the God of Flesh
- First Appearance: Hyrule Total War
- Canon Foreigner: Has not appeared in any of the games.
- God Guise: He is worshipped by the Legion as a genuine deity thanks to his longetivity. Of course, he is in truth just a Darknut.
- Top God: Of the Darknut Legion.
Unique Unit: Patra
Patrician taste.
- First Appearance: The Legend of Zelda
- Cephalothorax: It's a big purple ball with wings and one eye.
- Composite Character: The design is actually based on the Keese enemies from some modern Zelda games rather than the classic design.
Yaraxonal
Yaraxonal, the Glass Sage
No, she's not Mineru.
- First Appearance: Hyrule Total War
- Canon Foreigner: Has not appeared in any of the games.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's the only female Darknut hero, though not the only unit.
- Top God: Formerly one of the Darknut Legion.
Unique Unit: Glass Witch
The Darknuts have no regard for OSHA standards.
- First Appearance: Hyrule Conquest
- Canon Foreigner: Has not appeared in any of the games.
Vaati
Vaati, the Wind Demon
Eyes on the prize.
Click here to see his human disguise
- First Appearance: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
- Adaptational Abomination: Canon Vaati was merely a very powerful sorcerer, whereas Conquest Vaati seems to be some sort of genuine demon.
- Cephalothorax: He's a big purple ball with wings and one eye.
- Decomposite Character: Officially, there's two Vaatis; the mortal Vaati, and the demon who possessed him, whereas in canon he was strictly one individual.
