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
The characters found in the Nintendo DS game The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.
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Playable heroes
Link
Link
Voiced by: Yuki Kodaira
Link returns yet again, in this incarnation as a young boy just setting out to get his train engineer's certificate from Princess Zelda.
- Badass Adorable: A cute engineer who nevertheless can take down evil monsters with his sword and Phantom partner.
- Battle Couple: Him and Zelda, with Zelda ironically being the powerful and bulkier of the two. They're implied to have romantic feelings for each other.
- Bow and Sword in Accord: He's as proficient in bows as he is in swords.
- Blow You Away: The Pinwheel tool, new to the series, allows him to project gusts of wind.
- Clothes Make the Legend: By this point, Link's iconic attire has become the standard uniform for the royal guard (probably in honor of the Link that founded their homeland; the same one from The Wind Waker). This Link ends up wearing it because he has to sneak out of the castle and dresses up as a royal guard to do it.
- Cool Train: Both in and out of universe. Better yet, you can upgrade it to many other looks, all cool.
- Deadpan Snarker: This Link can be quite blunt if you prefer, though mostly in a cutting-to-the-point way.
- The Dulcinea Effect: Despite having just met Zelda, he's willing to throw himself between her and the guy who just kicked an adult master swordsman's ass.
- The Hero: The co-protagonist of the story who is tasked to be the savior of New Hyrule and the Spirit Tracks. Not bad for a humble engineer.
- Heroic Mime: Doesn't speak any words beyond dialogue trees. Zelda does much of the talking for him.
- Identical Stranger: No connection is ever made between this Link and the Hero of Winds, but whatever the case may be, he is identical in almost every way. The character model and animations are reused from Phantom Hourglass.
- Implied Love Interest: It's heavily hinted that he and Zelda could be a couple, but they never go beyond hugging. That may have something to do with their young age.
- Infinity +1 Sword: He gets both the Bow of Light and the Lokomo Sword after the Sand Temple, both of which are superior to their vanilla counterparts.
- Instant Expert: He's a train engineer, not a warrior, who needs to be trained how to use a sword at all. He's instantly an expert at every weapon and tool he picks up from that point onward.
- Jaw Drop: Several times, beginning with seeing Princess Zelda for the first time, accompanied by Blush Stickers.
- Kid Hero: His age is unclear, but he appears to be about twelve.
- Kleptomaniac Hero: A tradition in the series. Were those Rupees stored in that pot inside your house yours?
- Knight in Shining Armor: He's never meant to be a knight, only an engineer. But he proves to be very courageous willing to help out the princess in need and he's well adapted to the ways of the sword. By the end of the game, he could actually become an official knight for Zelda.
- Legacy Character: He is a successor to the Hero of Winds, and the first known Link of New Hyrule.
- Magic Music: He’s asked to carry the Spirit Flute by Zelda in her place. Among other effects, its music is used to restore the Spirit Tracks when played in duets with the Lokomo.
- Parental Abandonment: Who and where his parents are is completely unknown, despite his apparent young age.
- Precision-Guided Boomerang: Even more precise than normal for this trope, since you can draw the path the boomerang will take with the stylus and, barring it smacking into anything solid, it will follow it exactly.
- Primary-Color Champion: His Engineer's Clothes, which he wears early in the game and can get back later on, gives him a blue uniform and a red cap to match his blonde hair.
- Snake Whip: One of his weapons is a whip designed after a snake. It can be used to toss things at enemies, rob them of their shields, and swing across gaps.
- Something Else Also Rises: When Zelda hugs him, his hat sticks upward
. - Wall of Weapons: By the end of the game, he's carrying a sword, shield, pinwheel, boomerang, whip, bow, and probably the optional bombs. And that's not counting the pan pipes, stacks of letters, potions, and treasure.
Zelda
Princess Zelda
Voiced by: Akane Omae
Click here to see her Spirit form
Click here to see her Phantom form
The princess of Hyrule, although she and her country are mainly governed by her chancellor. She seeks Link's help for a clandestine trip to the Tower of Spirits when he comes to her for his license.
- Animated Armor: When in her spirit form, she has the ability to possess Phantoms to aid Link inside the Tower of Spirits.
- Badass Adorable: She can actually make a menacing Phantom look adorable when possessing its body. And yet she can destroy enemies with ease (with the exception of mice).
- Battle Couple: With Link when she's possessing a Phantom, as well as during the final battle after she succesfully returns to her human body. In fact, Link is unable to defeat Byrne without Zelda's help.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She may not have Tetra's personality, being nice and sweet, but don't push your luck with her friendliness, especially if she possesses a Phantom. If Link attacks her enough times, she will go on rampage to smack Link across the wall.
- Character Development: She starts as a garden-variety Damsel in Distress (with a Lampshade hung on it for good measure), then gradually gets into the action as she possesses phantoms. In the final battle, she takes up a bow and fights alongside Link.
- City Mouse: She prefers the bustle of Castle Town to Aboda Village, Link’s quaint and peaceful hometown, and is always eager to leave the latter when you speak to her at the station. If you bring her Teacher there to search for her, he even comments on how bored she would be living out in the countryside.
- Cute Ghost Girl: Becoming a spirit doesn't detract from her cuteness in any way.
- Damsel in Distress: Strangely, both played straight and played with. Her body is kidnapped and needs to be rescued for most of the game, but her spirit accompanies you and grows into her Damsel out of Distress role over time.
- Demonic Possession: Malladus possesses her empty shell.
- The Disembodied: Cole forces her soul out of her body so he can use it as a vessel to resurrect Malladus without worrying about her Fighting from the Inside.
- Eek, a Mouse!!: She becomes paralyzed with fear and needs to be saved by Link if a rat is nearby, even if she’s inhabiting a hulking suit of armor and could squash it under her foot.
- Exposition Fairy: If she's not possessing as a suit of armor, she'll be a spirit advising Link on where to go, or just making random commentary about Hyrule.
- Girly Bruiser: She's pretty feminine, especially when compared to her predecessor, yet she's also a very competent fighter.
- Grand Theft Me: She can take control of the Phantoms in the Tower of Spirits.
- Identical Granddaughter: She looks exactly like Tetra did when she turned back into Zelda in Wind Waker. She's also identical to her ancestor from The Minish Cap — someone who, according to Hyrule Historia, lived well over a hundred years before even The Wind Waker.
- Implied Love Interest: Her relationship with Link here is implied to be a lot more than just friendship and unlike previous Zelda games, there's a lot of Ship Tease between two thanks to Zelda being Link's Fairy Companion and fighting partner rather than the Damsel in Distress.
- Ironic Echo: After Cole betrayed Byrne, Zelda stated that when she gets her body back, she's "gonna have a couple of words" with Byrne (which her motions imply that she wants to beat him up). Byrne later reminds her of that statement when holding Malladus back so Zelda could regain control of her body (and ultimately paying the price for it).
- Legacy Character: She's unique amongst other Zeldas in that she is confirmed to be directly related to another. Specifically, she's Tetra's granddaughter.
- Like Parent, Unlike Child: Her grandmother, Tetra, is very tomboyish and hates being seen as a princess in need of rescue. Zelda, on the other hand, is very girly and the most stereotypical Damsel in Distress princess (even by Zelda standards), terrified of mice despite wearing a giant suit of armor. It's slowly subverted over the course of the game when her journey with Link allows her to develop the feisty and determined spirit the Tetra once possessed.
- Little Miss Badass: She may be young and small, but she's capable of being very dangerous, whether she's wielding a bow or possessing a Phantom. This time, she actually joins Link on his adventure.
- Maybe Ever After: Right before the game ends, Link and Zelda begin to hold each other's hands. And it's implied in two of the three endings that Zelda still keep contact with Link despite their duties keeping them apart.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Unlike most ghosts in the series, Zelda isn't limited to just using magic to get things done, but can possess enemies, even if she is limited to just Phantoms. She's also the only one who isn't actually dead.
- Parental Abandonment: Her parents are implied to be dead, leaving her to take the reins.
- Princesses Prefer Pink: Any phantom she possesses turns pink, including their glowing eyes.
- Princesses Rule: While not the first Zelda to be the reigning monarch during the events of her game (that would be the one from Twilight Princess), she is the first shown to be performing the ceremonial and administrative functions of being head of state. Presumably, her young age is the reason why she hasn't been crowned queen.
- Promoted to Playable: This is the first time in the whole series where the player gets to control her directly, and the only time in the main series (though she's also playable in Hyrule Warriors, Cadence of Hyrule, and Age of Calamity).
- Properly Paranoid: She wanted to have Link aid her in escaping the castle, as she suspected that Chancellor Cole was not trustworthy. She's right. Unfortunately, Cole doesn't allow her to live long enough to reveal his plans to anyone else.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: While possessing a Phantom, her glowing eyes will change from pink to red when she is angry.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: On top of being one of the more proactive iterations of Princess Zelda, she's one of the select few who are shown handling the political aspects of running a country — namely when she's shown filling out paperwork during the ending.
- Tsundere: A dere-dere case, unlike her grandma. While she's usually nice and good-mannered, she'll get really angry upon the smallest provocation.
- Video Game Cruelty Punishment: While possessing a Phantom, Zelda is a target for everything in Link's arsenal. Keep it up, however, and she will quickly retaliate with her utter invincibility and BFS. And you still can't change floors if she's not with you.
- Voice for the Voiceless: After becoming Link's spirit companion, Zelda talks on Link's behalf, often making commentary whenever the two travel on the train or delivering heroic speeches that would otherwise be spoken by the hero himself.
Major villains
Chancellor Cole
Chancellor Cole
AKA: Kimaroki (Japanese), Kimado/Minister Sludge (French), Von Glaiss (Gleis = railway) (German), Minister of Evil Mirona (Italian), Minister Makivelo (Spanish)
Voiced by: Koki Harasawa
The corrupt chancellor of Hyrule in Spirit Tracks who attacks Zelda and steals her body early in the game.
- Alliterative Name: A variation with his title and given name; Chancellor Cole. It's spelled alliteratively, but not pronounced so.
- Animal Motifs: Rats. He’s a small, devious creature with sharp teeth, and he summons phantom rats in the first phase of the final battle. When Malladus takes over his body, he is painfully mutated into a giant monster with a rat-like tail and claws.
- Big Bad: Despite technically being The Dragon to the Demon King, Cole is ultimately mastermind behind the destruction of the Spirit Tracks and Malladus' revival.
- Big "NO!": Lets one out in the Italian version as he is possessed by Malladus.Cole: Ma... cosa... / NOOO!!! note
- Black Eyes of Evil: He has reverse-colored eyes, with black scleras and white irises.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: While Ganondorf was a physically powerful Magic Knight and Bellum was an Eldritch Abomination, Cole is a small demon. While Ganondorf had become Affably Evil with age and Bellum was obsessed with feeding on other lifeforms, Cole is a Smug Snake that belittles Link and Zelda every chance he gets. Cole is also the only of the three to be incapable of taking on their heroes by himself, instead relying on Byrne or Malladus for defense while taking cheap shots.
- Creepy High-Pitched Voice: Cole giggles and screams with a very effeminate, high-pitched voice whenever he gets a chance to speak. It's nonetheless very unnerving.
- Dastardly Whiplash: His villainous nature is all too obvious with that western whiplash mustache.
- Devil in Plain Sight: So much so that how he somehow got to the highest rungs of the Hylian political ladder is a puzzle in of itself.
- Didn't See That Coming: Cole is a grand schemer and manipulator who will do anything to ensure his master's revival through Princess Zelda's body. Unfortunately, he never thought that Malladus would consider him to be an acceptable backup body in case things turned south, much to his absolute horror.
- Dirty Coward: He makes Byrne do all of his dirty work in the first half of the game and hides behind Malladus in the second. Even when you try to fight him at the end of the game, Cole will simply teleport away rather than battle Link directly. After Malladus is expelled from Zelda's body and she claims it back, Malladus decides to take over Cole's body which leads to him pleading for his life which the demon king gave no remorse ignoring.
- Dragon-in-Chief: He might be Malladus's inferior, but he's the one running his faction's plans while the demon is sealed. Even once Malladus is freed, he has to sit out the action and leave things to Cole due to his not being used to Zelda's body.
- Dub Name Change: From Minister Kimaroki to Chancellor Cole.
- Evil Chancellor: With particular disdain in regard to the latter part (he thought it would be a position of power, but it ultimately turned out to just mean "royal babysitter").
- Evil Counterpart: Both he and Link are small, green-clad figures who serve a royal authority. While Link supports Princess Zelda, Cole is trying to revive the evil Malladus.
- Fate Worse than Death: After Link and Byrne regain Zelda's body, he becomes possessed. His desperate flailing and begging for mercy show just how horrid the experience seems.
- Faux Affably Evil: He speaks eloquently and plots New Hyrule's destruction with a smile on his face.
- Giggling Villain: Keeps laughing during his battle with Link.
- The Heavy: Although Malladus is the greater threat, the plot of the game revolves around Cole's efforts in attempting to return Malladus to his former strength.
- He Knows Too Much: Subverted. He and Byrne are the only people who know about the Compass of Light that leads to the Demon Train, but despite betraying Byrne once Malladus is resurrected, he doesn't do anything to make sure he's dead. This comes back to bite him once Byrne recovers enough to tell Link and Zelda about the compass.
- Horned Humanoid: Why else would he have two hats on his head? It's the only way to hide his true nature as a demon.
- Karmic Death: Near the beginning of the game, Cole uses his powers to separate Zelda's spirit from her body, in order to use it to bring Malladus back to life. It's only fitting that his final moments have him Swallowed Whole by his master so that he can be the host for the Demon King after Zelda regains her body.
- Leitmotif: A haunting oboe melody is heard during his cutscenes.
- More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Since he's a demon and not a human, he has many more teeth than a regular human.
- The Napoleon: He's short and has a high opinion of himself.
- Obviously Evil: The guy barely tries to disguise the fact that he's a villain both in personality and in appearance. Hell his disguise merely consists of two bowler hats hiding his horns.
- Original Position Fallacy: His plan hinges on finding a suitable body for his master Malladus, but breaks down in fear once Malladus chooses him after losing Zelda.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: His disguise consists of wearing two top hats to cover his horns, and he doesn't even bother disguising his black eyes or trying to behave convincingly. It still fools everyone.
- Punny Name:
- He is Cole which sounds a lot like coal, the fuel used to run steam engines.
- In the German translation, he is named "Von Glaiss", which sounds similar to "Gleis", which means "railroad track".
- Red Right Hand: He wears two top hats to conceal his prominent horns.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: He betrays Hyrule and Princess Zelda for his master Malladus only to have his body taken over by Malladus in the end.
- Scare Chord: When he reveals his true nature as demon by taking off his hats.
- Slasher Smile: As evidence that Cole does little (if any) effort to hide his evil nature, he smiles maliciously during his first meeting with Link and (on-screen) Zelda. He does it more frequently after he publicly reveals himself to be Evil All Along.
- Smug Smiler: Always has that arrogant smile on his face.
- Sleazy Politician: He sought the position of Chancellor so he can gain massive influence and power over New Hyrule and thus have an easier time to enact his plans to free the Demon King. What he didn't realize is that being the Chancellor to Princess Zelda means nothing when Zelda is a little rebellious princess willing to recruit a lowly engineer to discover the cause of the disappearing spirit tracks.
- Smug Snake: Subverted. He is incredibly annoying and perpetually smug, but is actually an effective threat.
- The Unfought: He only aids in the first round of the final battle, he is never fought himself. That is until Malladus decides his body is better than none at all…
Byrne/Staven
Byrne (American English name)/Staven (European English name)
AKA: D5 (Japanese), Fraisil ("cinder") (Canadian French), Traucmahr (cauchemar = nightmare)(European French), D-Lok (German), Dark Ninja Tristalpin (Italian), Diego (American Spanish), Táligo (European Spanish)
Voiced by: Anri Katsu
Byrne (or Staven in the European English translation) is Chancellor Cole's right-hand man in Spirit Tracks. He is a renegade member of the Lokomo tribe who turned away from the Spirits of Good and served the Demon King.
- Affably Evil: Even at his worst, Byrne is calm and somewhat polite (if a bit smug) towards his enemies, and continues to call Anjean "Master" years after his betrayal.
- Alas, Poor Villain: After joining with the heroes and redeeming himself for a short time, Byrne pulls a Heroic Sacrifice to save Zelda, resulting in him being vaporized to death by Malladus as Link and Zelda watch in horror.
- Ambition Is Evil: He always had the drive to succeed, according to Anjean. This is what drove him to leave her and side with the Demon King when the spirits refused to grant him more power.
- Artificial Limbs: His left arm has been enhanced with a mechanical claw that he can use as a shield, striking weapon, or grappling hook.
- Barely-Changed Dub Name: His American Spanish name is Diego, which is close to his Japanese name, Digo.
- Beyond Redemption: He once served Anjean as her apprentice, but eventually betrayed her for Malladus, seeking the power the Spirits of God refused to grant him. When he gives his Motive Rant, Anjean declares outright that he's an "unworthy apprentice" and is too far gone to be saved. However, this is ultimately subverted midway through the game, after Malladus indicates that he has no intention of granting Byrne the power he desires, and that Cole was only using him as a means to an end. This causes him to perform a Heel–Face Turn that ends with a Heroic Sacrifice.Anjean: Your thoughts are twisted. It's obvious that the time for saving you is past. My words would only be lost on you.
- Despotism Justifies the Means: In his pursuit of power, he doesn't seem to care who gets hurt through his methods to attain it. He's willing to help unleash a demon king upon the world and even takes up arms against two children who try and stop the resurrection, all without a shred of empathy or guilt.
- Didn't Think This Through: At no point after his Face–Heel Turn did Byrne consider that a Demon King might not want to grant power to a person who used to serve the Lokomo spirits. This is something that Cole gleefully throws in his face, calling him a "blind fool".
- The Dragon: To the Chancellor and Malladus.
- Dub Name Change: From Digo to Byrne. And from there the name changes accordingly to each language (including English once again for the European audience). The Latin American Spanish version of the name calls him Diego, which is both a common Spanish name and a subtle nod to his Japanese name.
- Face–Heel Turn: He once served under Anjean in the Tower of Spirits, but defected to the Demon King in search of power the spirits had declined him.
- Go Out with a Smile: It's hard to tell because of the scarf, but right before Malladus zaps him to death, Byrne, who had been screaming in pain, stops and gives a brief chuckle indicating contentment, as he sees Zelda's spirit has been successfully restored to her body.
- Grappling-Hook Pistol: He wears what amounts to a really big Hookshot as an Artificial Limb over his left arm.
- Handicapped Badass: He's crippled by Link's sword strikes and a powerful blow from Malladus, but he still keeps his composure and manages to hold off Malladus long enough at the end for Zelda to get her body back.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: He prides himself for his ambition, but it only helps him get stuck in a Heel–Face Revolving Door, where he fights Anjean to a stalemate, loses to Link and Zelda, and then gets incapacitated by the Demon King for good measure.
- Heel–Face Turn: Owing to Cole's betrayal of him and the heroes sparing his life, he defects back to their side and aids them in defeating Malladus.
- Motive Rant: He lets one out when he finally meets Anjean again and she calls him out on his betrayal.Byrne: Why would I want to serve the spirits...when I can become as powerful as they are? That was the reason why I came to study with you. But the spirits never answered me. No matter how hard I worked, or how long, they never granted me any more powers. Tell me, Master...when you realize that your wish will never be granted, what do you then? The answer was clear...become even more powerful than the spirits themselves! And the only being more powerful is Malladus!
- Musical Trigger: He can be brought to a standstill in the heat of battle by playing a song on the Spirit Flute, which once belonged to his former master, Anjean.
- Raise Him Right This Time: After his death at the hands of his former master, Malladus, Anjean collects his spirit with the hope that he can be reborn as someone better.
- Redemption Equals Death: He manages to repent for his earlier crimes by advising Zelda on how to reclaim her body while he holds off Malladus, who ultimately kills him for his interference.
- Reincarnation: After his death, Anjean manages to piece his spirit back together, and reveals that he will be reborn in a new form someday, as is the norm for their people.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: He apparently never considered how Malladus might react to a former servant of the spirits asking him for power. Thankfully, it's subverted regarding his Heel–Face Turn, after which Anjean welcomes him back as her old friend.
- Samurai Ponytail: A long topknot protrudes from his otherwise short hair.
- Seeking Ultimate Strength: Byrne has always been a formidable Magic Knight, but he betrayed the Lokomo tribe so that he could free Malladus in exchange for the power he craved. He ends up losing to Link and Zelda despite his best efforts and realizes too late that Malladus was never going to honor his end of the bargain.
- Shadow Archetype: He's this to the rest of the Lokomo, being fiercely ambitious and independent, and using his prosthetic to enhance his own strength rather than having to rely on it like the others do their wheelchairs.
- Villain Respect: He continues to address Anjean as his "Master" despite no longer being under her apprenticeship, and it's implied she only survived the battle between them because he chose to let her live. He also acknowledges that Alfonzo has great skill with the sword for a human, though this doesn't stop him from completely brutalizing him and then dismissing it as "hardly a fair fight."
- We Used to Be Friends: It takes Anjean a while to admit it, as she claims that Byrne was an unworthy apprentice who never listened to her guidance, but at the end of the game, she refers to him as her "old friend" as the two of them depart for the heavens.
- Wolverine Claws: His mechanical hand has several sharp claws.
- World's Best Warrior: He is the most powerful Lokomo, being a strong, agile Magic Knight even without his metal arm, and shows his prowess by casually one-shotting Alfonzo. It takes the combined power of Zelda, Link, and Malladus to put him out of commission.
- Would Hurt a Child: He stands by and watches while Cole strips Zelda's spirit from her body, essentially murdering her, and had no qualms about fighting Link and her later on.
Malladus
Malladus
AKA: Mallard (Japanese, European French, European Spanish), Malabuth (Canadian French), Demon King Marardo (German), Mallard The Demon (Italian), Malhadus The Malicious (American Spanish)
Final Form
The main villain of Spirit Tracks is an evil Demon King that was sealed in the earth long ago, bound by the Tower of Spirits and the Spirit Tracks themselves. He makes his return when Chancellor Cole steals Zelda's body and intends to use it as a vessel for his spirit.
- Ambiguous Gender: Malladus is perfectly at ease whether in Zelda's body or Cole's.
- Bad Boss: He attacks Byrne the second he is free from his seal for being formerly affiliated with the spirits that imprisoned him, and pulls a Grand Theft Me on Cole when he loses Zelda's body.
- Death Glare: It's effectively his default expression, whether as a spirit or in Zelda's body, such as when he's about to blast Bryne for daring to ask him for power. Once he possesses Cole, however, he's effectively trapped in a snarl of rage for his Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum.
- Demonic Possession: He succeeds in possessing Zelda's body, although the heroes manage to eject him at the end of the game.
- Devour the Dragon: After Zelda regains her body, he forces a Fusion Dance between himself and Cole.
- Dub Name Change: From Mallard to Malladus.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: Cole and Byrne learn this the hard way with Byrne getting a blast of dark energy and Cole getting possessed by Malladus himself.
- Evil Redhead: While possessing Cole.
- Final Boss: Not only is he the final boss of the game, but he's also the very last opponent fought, since the final battle also involves the Demon Train and Chancellor Cole. By extension, he is the final boss of the Adult Timeline.
- Generic Doomsday Villain: Malladus doesn't have much characterization beyond being an evil demon king that the villains want to free and take over the world. He doesn't even speak until the end when he is forced out of Zelda's body and has to occupy Cole's body instead.
- Greater-Scope Villain: The keys to Chancellor Cole's plans, while mostly remaining beneath a giant tower.
- Large Ham: While having three lines total in the whole game, none of which have voice acting behind them outside of the trademark Zelda "Hyyaaaahhh!", each of them still manages to be incredibly hammy.
- Maou the Demon King: His title is Demon King and is perhaps the first character to bear that title in the English localization. While Ganon was known as the Demon King in Japan, it didn't became internationally used until after Skyward Sword.note
- Omnicidal Maniac: According to Niko's story, Malladus came to New Hyrule and destroyed everything in his path, forcing the Spirits of Good to battle him. At the end of the game, he is forced to occupy Cole's unstable body, Malladus vows to destroy the world with the remaining time he has.
- Resurrection Sickness: Coming back to the world in Zelda's body leaves him with seizures until the very end of the game. Luckily for the heroes, by the time he's acclimated to her body they're about to force him back out.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: The only reason there are train tracks in the first place is to keep Malladus imprisoned underground.
- Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum: Outraged by the fact that he can no longer possess Zelda's body, which is the only suitable vessel for him, and has to use Cole's, which is unstable, Malladus declares he will destroy the world starting with Link and Zelda.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: His final form shares many similarities with Ganon: blue skin, large tusks, and fiery red hair. He even shares Ganondorf's title as the "Demon King". The form he takes when possessing Cole is a giant quadrupedal demon, and he possesses Zelda at one point, just like Ganon did in Twilight Princess.
- Taking You with Me: After possessing Cole. He realizes that Cole's body is rejecting his spirit and he won't be able to maintain his hold on it for long... but he vows to destroy the world in what time he has left.
- Villainous Breakdown: He becomes a raging beast of hatred once he realizes that Cole's body is breaking down, and decides to vent his rage by destroying the world rather than conquering it.Malladus: This vessel isn't right… My spirit… is slipping from it… I can't hold on for long… But the world will crumble in the time I have left!
The Lokomos
Anjean
Anjean
Anjean AKA: Sharin ("wheel") (Japanese), Axelle (Canadian French), Lady Bicelle (French), Shiene (Schiene = traintrack) (German), Doruotea (Italian), Radiel (Spanish)
Voiced by: Rie Takahashinote
A woman of the Lokomo tribe, who is in charge of protecting the Tower of Spirits. She has powers similar to a Sage's, and is often referred to as one by Zelda (along with the other Lokomo Guardians), but she doesn't seem to agree with this term. Anjean apparently used to be Tetra's (the Princess Zelda of The Wind Waker) best female friend after they met in New Hyrule, which explains them wearing their hair in a similar fashion.
- A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: It’s revealed that Anjean once trained Byrne but his ambition for power caused him to turn on her.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Her ultimate fate, along with Byrne and the rest of the Lokomos, who depart to the heavens after Malladus's final defeat, confident that New Hyrule is safe in Link and Zelda's hands.
- Cool Old Lady: She seems to have picked up one or two habits from Tetra, which makes her an interesting character, especially standing next to Zelda, who is descended from Tetra but a little different in personality.
- Dub Name Change: From Sharin to Anjean.
- His Quirk Lives On: She picked up Tetra's habit of keeping one eye closed when she talks.
- Magic Music: The Spirit Flute used to belong to her, until she gave it to Tetra.
- Ms. Exposition: Since she's the most in-the-know of New Hyrule's history, she often goes into great detail on the land's backstory.
- Never Mess with Granny: It's easy to forget, given that it happened offscreen, but she managed to fight Byrne to a standstill.Now then... shall we begin?
- Punny Name: Engine.
The Bystanders
Niko
Niko
Link's roommate, who is prone to rambling on about history (and a young man that Link reminds him of).
- And Your Reward Is Clothes: He gives Link his old Engineer outfit if you find 15 stamps.
- Continuity Nod: He's the same Niko from The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass.
- Hairstyle Inertia: Has the exact same hairstyle that he did back in The Wind Waker, though now he appears to be balding.
- Intergenerational Friendship: He's an old man, while Link is still a child.
- Long-Lived: Is more than 100 years old at the start of the game, and is implied to be the last of Wind Waker's generation still living.
- Sidequest: He dispenses the stamp sidequest.
Alfonzo
Alfonzo
AKA: C62/Shiro Kuni (shiro kuni = castle of the nation) (Japanese), Gasto (European French), Ferro (German), Vittorino (Italian), Bigboy (European Spanish)
Voiced by: Go Shinomiya
Link's mentor and a famous train engineer. He is a descendant of Tetra's first mate Gonzo. Prior to becoming an engineer, he was a master swordsman and a member of the royal guard.
- BFS: He wields a two-handed saber in his fight with Bryne.
- Broken Pedestal: Played for Laughs. Link can escort a fan named Ferrus, who gets pretty let down when he finds out that his hero Alfonzo only took up engineering after his martial career ended and that he takes more pride in the latter.
- Dub Name Change: From Shirokuni to Alfonzo.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He’s able to whip up a cannon for the Spirit Train on remarkably short notice. Afterward, you can go to him whenever you want to swap in new parts for the train.
- Identical Grandson: Of Gonzo, though he has a more dignified personality.
- Legacy of Service: His family has been serving the royal family since even before The Great Flood.
- Master Swordsman: He's officially considered to be the best swordsman in New Hyrule after striking 900 blows in the sword training minigame.
- Relegated Mentor: Link's older mentor who gets sidelined by injury early in the game.
- Retired Badass: Although it's more of an Informed Ability, since the one and only time he's seen with a sword he gets his ass handed to him. That said, Byrne does give him props for not having the stance of an amateur, but also notes it doesn't matter since he's only human.
- Weak, but Skilled: Although he's an experienced swordsman able to go toe to toe with Bryne for a while, the Lokomo is able to overpower and disable him.
- The Worf Effect: He's the best swordsman in New Hyrule, but gets easily defeated by Byrne, establishing the antagonists as a massive threat early on.
The Bosses
Stagnox
Stagnox
AKA: Gargantuan Shellspecies Large Dusknest/Degu Kuresu (Japanese), Coléoptor ("beetle") (Canadian French), Giant Beetle Nestydas (European French), Armed Colossus Kornules (Italian), Armored Colussus Escaronte (American Spanish), Armoured Giant Escaronte (European Spanish)
The first boss of the game, it's a giant stag beetle creature that appears to be able to cover itself in a toxic gas as a defense mechanism.
- Achilles' Heel: Its giant, exposed abdomen. That's covered in a toxic gas.
- Attack Its Weak Point: The player has to attack its giant abdomen.
- Background Boss: During the second and third phases, during certain portions.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: It's a giant stag beetle.
- Boss Subtitles: It's known as the "Armored Colossus," or "Armoured Beetle" in the UK version.
- Cowardly Boss: During the second and third phases, the boss spends a lot of time in the air in the background.
- Deadly Gas: Its main defense for its abdomen is its toxic gas, especially during the first stage of the fight.
- Flunky Boss: It
births enemies during its second form. - Four-Legged Insect: A rare non-anthropomorphic example.
- Made of Iron: The only area the player can attack is its exposed torso.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: It would be mostly invincible after the first phase if it didn't spawn enemies during its second phase.
Fraaz
Fraaz
AKA: Ice and Fire Illusionist Freeblaze (Japanese), Elements King Cryobraz (Canadian French), Elemental Sorcerer Cryobraz (European French), Iceflame Mage (German), Freezeburning Master of the Icy Fire Fraaz (Italian), Ficy (fiery-icy, fuélido) Mage Alentor (Spanish)
The second boss of the game, it's a keese-like creature that's capable of shooting regular fire or icy fire.
- A.I. Roulette: How Fraaz selects what attacks to use. Fraaz only has two choices when it comes to attacks, though, so it isn't as bad as other examples.
- An Ice Person: One of its attacks involves shooting ice.
- Balloon Belly: The boss's only (damaging) attack involves inflating itself.
- Boss-Arena Idiocy: Zig-zagged. After Link uses the torches in the room to defeat its first two forms fairly easily, Fraaz destroys said torches so he can no longer use them. ... And then continues alternating between attacks, allowing Link to use the remnants of said attacks to do what the torches did.
- Boss Subtitles: It's known as the Master of Icy Fire, for a good reason.
- Cartoon Creature: Most fans assume it's meant to be a Keese, but nobody's really sure what it is.
- Dual Boss: Its second and fourth phases involve Fraaz splitting into two mini-Fraazes.
- Early-Bird Boss: Fraaz is pretty difficult compared to the rest of the bosses, having a 4/5 on the threat meter in the official Prima guide when the boss that follows it, Phytops, only has a 3/5. Its projectiles are much faster and it can track the player better than Phytops, its arena can feel claustrophobic when Fraaz gets bigger, and it has five forms.
- Early-Bird Cameo: It's the only boss shown in the official US commercial, and it's also one of the first bosses mentioned on the official website.
- Evil Laugh: Gives one before the fight against it, as well as if the player hits Fraaz with a Boomerang that isn't carrying fire or ice on it.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Judging from how its laugh sounds, one could infer that it had a deep voice normally (if it ever talked on-screen).
- Expy: Of Twinrova, due to their uses of weaponizing both fire and ice. His name, design and battle are also heavily based off of Blaaz, only with ice added to the mix.
- Fire/Ice Duo: When he splits into two smaller versions of himself, one shoots ice and the other shoots fire.
- Kill It with Fire: One of its attacks involves shooting fire. Unfortunately, that's also how the player stuns it.
- Kill It with Ice: One of its attacks involves shooting ice. Unfortunately, that's also how the player stuns it.
- King Mook: Assuming that it's a Keese, of course.
- Long-Range Fighter: The only other attack aside from its inflation powers is a wimpy slap that doesn't deal any damage to Link.
- Made of Iron: It's able to take multiple sword slashes while inflated without popping, and in order to stun the boss, it's required to be hit multiple times with the opposite element.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Fraaz is the only boss to shoot fire or "icy fire," and it's never mentioned if its powers come from a special kind of magic or if it's just naturally got that ability.
- Magic Realism: Fraaz is implied to have been the one to create the blizzard outside of the Snow Temple, since the blizzard disappears upon its death, but how exactly it did that is never spoken of.
- "Pop!" Goes the Human: What its death scene implies, given that it inflates until it reaches its maximum size before it explodes into the snow temple's gem.
- Puzzle Boss: A downplayed example initially, the player must use either fire or icy fire on Fraaz while it's charging up an attack. Gets played straight when Fraaz destroys the torches in its boss room.
- Situational Sword: Unlike other bosses, who have one specific weakness, Frazz's entire body is exposed but unable to be damaged without stunning it first.
- Stomach of Holding: Its stomach is able to hold its attacks, even to the point where its stomach is larger than the rest of its body while deflated and regardless of what attack it's using. It also appears that the snow temple's force gem was inside of Fraaz's stomach, based on the cutscene during its defeat.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: The boss would be unable to be stunned if it didn't use its magic, or at least used only one type of magic throughout the battle.
- Too Dumb to Live: While it destroys the torches in its room, it also regularly alternates between elemental attacks.
- Trailers Always Spoil: Fraaz is probably THE most promoted boss of the game. It is one of the few bosses to appear in the launch trailer, it appears in most screencap collections, and the official website spoils so much of the fight against it the player could use it for a walkthrough if they're stuck.
- Trampoline Tummy: While not actually used like a trampoline, if the player throws the Boomerang at Fraaz while it's inflated (especially when it's almost about to fire its attack), Fraaz noticeably wobbles from the impact of the Boomerang hitting him.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: Stagnox is very easy compared to Fraaz, to the point the Prima guide tells the player to prepare before fighting Fraaz.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Whether it's charging normal fire or icy fire, the respective opposite (icy fire to normal fire and normal fire to icy fire) will stun the boss if it's hit with the element.
Phytops/Cactops
Phytops (American English)/Cactops (European English)
AKA: Poison-thorned Parasite Stranglewhipthorn/Ibarakebara (Japanse), Poisonous Bramble Rubidaïa (French), Poison-thorned Parasite Toxibara (German), Toothy Menace Rovospino/Bramblethorn (Italian), Toxic Parasite Toxirosa (Spanish)
The third boss of the game, it's a giant octopus-like creature that has giant growths on top of its head, protecting its eyeball, and hides atop a giant island.
- Achilles' Heel: Its gigantic eyeball.
- Attack Its Weak Point: The player has to attack its giant eyeball to damage it.
- Body Horror: Its entire head is covered in pink tumors.
- Boss Subtitles: It's known as the "Barbed Menace."
- Combat Tentacles: One of its main methods of attack.
- Cowardly Boss: During a good portion of the fight, it stays underwater, attacking with its tentacles instead.
- Eye on a Stalk: Phytops has eyes in its lower tentacle-like branches. When Link is climbing atop the Ocean Temple to confront it, he first has to use the Whip to grab some thorns and shoot them at the branches' eyes in order to remove them and keep climbing
- Eye Scream: The player has to attack its giant eyeball to damage it.
- Fat Bastard: Appears to be overweight, judging from its facial features.
- Giant Squid: Actually an octopus.
- Go for the Eye: The player first has to attack the eye from a distance with one of its barbs to stun the boss, then attack it with the sword to damage it.
- Hard Levels, Easy Bosses: Phytops is much easier during the actual fight than it is during the run to the arena.
- Level in Boss Clothing: The entire first portion of the fight is just climbing to where Phytops rests.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: As expected from an octopus boss.
- Multi-Stage Battle: Although it doesn't count since the player never actually faces the boss directly during the long climb up its island.
- Poisonous Person: One of this boss's attacks is shooting poison all over the ground.
- Stationary Boss: It cannot move from the watery pit where it lives, and attacks by lashing out with its long tentacles and by spitting globs of poison. Since Link cannot swim across its pit, he also cannot attack it directly and must go through a complex routine to stun Phytops and make it slump onto the side of the pit in order to reach it.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: It could either hide its tentacles so Link couldn't throw its barbs at it, or it could hide its face so Link couldn't attack its eye. It does neither.
- Tentacled Terror: It's a gigantic octopus, on top of being a major enemy. It even has barbed tentacles to boot.
- Waterfront Boss Battle: Phytops spends its battle lurking inside a large flooded pit. As Link can only stand on the edge of this pit and thus can't reach the creature, while Phytops has free reign to strike with its tentacles and spit globs of poison across the gap, he must wait for Phytops to attack, grab a thorn from its tentacles, and throw it at its eye. Doing this often enough will stun the beast and cause it slump on the edge of the pit, allowing Link to attack it directly before Phytops recovers and retreats.
Cragma/Vulcano
Cragma (American English)/Vulcano (European English)
AKA: Molten Flame Giant Rockstomp/Iwantosu (Japanese), Lava Colossus Lithyonos (French), Lava Demon Iwantoss (German), Lava Master Rocciantos (Italian), Igneous Demon Colosus (Spanish)
The fourth boss of the game, it's a huge golem that hides in a pool of lava before attacking Link. Its weak spot is very easy to find, considering it takes up half of its face.
- Achilles' Heel: Its gigantic eye, as well as the glowing portions scattered around its body.
- Attack Its Weak Point: As well as its eye, the player also has to shoot the glowing portions of its body.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Besides its brightly-colored pupil, its eye is completely black.
- Boss-Arena Idiocy: The minecart and rails in the arena allow Link to easily shoot at all of the boss's weak spots.
- Colossus Climb: Unusually, it's actually a Rail Shooter section when the player can actually damage the boss.
- Creepy Blue Eyes: The outer iris is light blue.
- Cyclops: It's a cyclops Rock Monster, to boot.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Even though its battle takes place in an active volcano, the main attack is to rain rocks down on the player and Cragma itself is a Rock Monster.
- Dub Name Change: From Iwantosu to Cragma, or Vulcano in the UK version.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Cragma is one of the few bosses to get official artwork of itself and it's featured prominently on Nintendo's official website (to the point where one can download a wallpaper of it).
- Exotic Eye Designs: Its eyelids are gold-plated, its sclera is completely black (if not gone), its outer iris is a light blue, and its inner iris is a light red.
- Eye Scream: Considering just how much detail goes into its eye, as well as how much of a target it looks like, guess what the player has to damage?
- Giant Eye of Doom: Guess what its weak spot is. The glowing portions of its body.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Its inner iris is red.
- Technicolor Eyes: Its sclera is black (if not gone), its outer iris is light blue, and its inner iris is red.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: It would be very hard to damage if it didn't flatten the boulders that rain from the sky trying to crush Link. Of course, the battle wouldn't require that tactic if Link tried to shoot higher.
Skeldritch/Capbone
Skeldritch (American English)/Capbone (European English)
AKA: Demon Tribe Muddledbones/Dosuboon (Japanese), Sandmaster Sahrros (Canadian French), Ancient Demon Draugnir (European French), Eternal Spirit Dosubon (German), Ancient Demon Scafoidos (Italian), Cálaver (calaber = skull, cádaver = corpse) (Spanish)'''
The sixth boss of the game, it's a giant skeleton with an unusually large spinal column that it uses to shoot boulders.
- Achilles' Heel: The giant gemstone hidden under its helmet.
- Attack Its Weak Point: At first, it's to shoot the exposed parts of its body the armor doesn't cover with the boulders. Once it's down to just a head, it becomes the giant gemstone that was hidden under its helmet now exposed.
- Ballistic Bone: Surprisingly averted; it fires rock boulders instead. Not that those are any more helpful.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Once its eyes stop glowing after its gemstone is exposed.
- Boss-Arena Idiocy: Its entire arena is covered in sand, and the item the player acquires in the dungeon can create sand blocks to stop the boulders it fires as well as trap Skeldritch's skull so the player can damage it.
- Crystal Skull: Its weakpoint is a gigantic gemstone hidden under its helmet.
- Desert Skull: Even though it's a human skull, its dungeon is in the middle of the desert and its arena is covered in sand.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Is the last boss to be faced to restore all of the railroad before the fight against Chancellor Cole and Malladus.
- Dub Name Change: Probably the most of any boss in Spirit Tracks.
- Eldritch Abomination: Implied, especially with its name.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: After its gemstone has been exposed, Skeldritch hops around its sand-filled arena to escape Link until it can rebuild itself.
- Glowing Eyelights of Undeath: Although they stop glowing once its gemstone is exposed.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: Although they stop glowing once its gemstone is exposed.
- Horny Vikings: Its helmet is the standard viking helmet with horns.
- Meaningful Name: Its name is a combination of "skeleton" and "eldritch."
- Our Liches Are Different: Skeldritch is an enormous and ancient skeleton that can only die if his gemstone is broken.
- Puzzle Boss: The first part of the battle involves raising blocks of sand to stop the launched boulders, then guiding those boulders to the appropriate cannon to then trigger and fire back at Skeldritch. As Skeldritch loses more parts, it starts firing more boulders at faster speeds while the available gap in its armor becomes narrower, requiring more focus to both stop the boulders in time with more raised sand without letting them get destroyed by the next boulders, as well as positioning Link so Skeldritch exposes his armor chink to the readied cannon for Link can take a shot.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Its eyes glow red.
- Segmented Serpent: It's an odd example in that, rather than the usual snake or worm, it's a human skull on top of a series of vertebrae.
The Demon Train
The Demon Train
A colossal demonic train used by Cole and Byrne as their mode of transportation. It is fought as the first part of the Final Boss gauntlet, preceding the fight against Chancellor Cole and the Malladus-possessed Zelda at its top.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Several areas on the Demon Train can be blown up.
- Death by Cameo: Appears during the final fight against Malladus-possessed Cole as a prop.
- Evil Is Bigger: This thing absolutely towers over Link's train and is a demonic entity in service to Malladus.
- Faceship: Or rather, Facetrain. The Demon Train has an ominous, angry face that eerily resembles that of Ganondorf's.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: Although even after the boss fight, it still continues chugging along.
- High-Speed Battle: Both the fight against the Demon Train and later the fight against both Chancellor Cole and the Malladus-possessed Zelda count.
- Just Train Wrong: It performs several feats that should be impossible for normal trains to do, including having a face that emotes like any normal person would and actually making pained cries.
- King Mook: Is just a larger version of the Dark Trains and Armored Trains.
- Racing the Train: What its battle comes down to.
- Railroad Tracks of Doom: The entire battle, as well as the entire battle against Chancellor Cole and the Malladus-possessed Zelda take place on it.
- Ram by Braking: During the battle, if the player is right behind the Demon Train, it can attempt to brake in order to hit and damage the player. It can be avoided by braking as soon as possible.
- Time-Limit Boss: The player has to beat the Demon Train within a certain amount of time before their track is significantly shorter than the Demon Train's, and there isn't any guard at the end of the player's track.
- Trainstopping: The goal of the battle with it isn't actually to destroy it, but to make it stop so that Link and Zelda can climb onto it.
- Vehicular Assault: The player is fighting a train.
