History Characters / TheLegendOfZeldaVillainsAndEnemies

* GlowingEyesOfDoom: In all incarnations, he has glowing eyes. ''Tears of the Kingdom'' give him red eyes instead of the usual orange.

* RecurringBoss: 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.

* CrystalBall: They are sometimes depicted as using one of these, mostly in the ''Oracle'' series.

* SexierAlterEgo: Koume and Kotake are {{gonk}}y MiniatureSeniorCitizen who don't look remotely like regular Gerudo women, but their fused form Twinrova is an attractive StatuesqueStunner in-line with typical Gerudo.

* {{Foil}}: To the series' BigBad 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'', where the Calamity Ganon was a wild beast; 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.

* InterfaceScrew: An effect they can have when they curse Link in ''Majora's Mask'' is making him unable to draw his sword.

* ArtificialBrilliance: 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's 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.

* BreathWeapon: In ''Ocarina of Time'', ''Majora's Mask'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]'', and ''Twilight Princess'', they breathe fire.

* DinosaursAreDragons: Dodongos resemble old depictions of ceratopsids more than anything -- except in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' they look more like geckos -- but possess some draconic traits, such as the ability to breathe fire.

* GoForTheEye: 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.

* {{Retcon}}: The reveal in ''Spirit Tracks'' that mini Freezards are actually frozen Octoroks seems to imply that Octoroks were in ''Twilight Princess'' after all!

* UndergroundMonkey: Sandfish, a variant introduced in ''Tri Force Heroes'' found in the desert.

* BallisticBone: Some variants throw them at you. These variants also have a nasty habit of jumping out of the way when you attack them with your sword.

* NocturnalMooks: 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.

* BigBulkyBomb: He 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.

* EnemyWithout: In ''Zelda II'', he is explicitly seen jumping out of Link, and in ''Hyrule Warriors'' manifests out of Link's shadow.

* FightingAShadow: In ''Four Swords Adventures'', he retreats into the DarkWorld whenever you beat him.
* FinalBoss: In ''The Adventure of Link'', he is the final boss.

** The Shadow 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.

* SequentialBoss: In ''A Link to the Past'' (Game Boy Advance version).
* TheTrickster: In ''Four Swords Adventures'', he and his clones play malicious tricks on Link.
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: He is given white hair in his ''Twilight Princess'' incarnation.

* DependingOnTheArtist: Their appearances vary between looking like {{bull|yBulldog}}dogs, looking like {{pig|Man}}s, or looking like stock goblins/orcs with features of neither animal. Notably, the UsefulNotes/GameBoy games have both bulldog and pig Moblins, and so give the latter the name "Pig Warriors"[[note]]Boarblins in the Switch remake of Link's Awakening[[/note]] to differentiate the two.

* DeathGlare: In the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 games, at least, the "skulls" their bodies form look like they're perpetually doing this.

!![[center: [-'''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTheTriforceWielders The Triforce Wielders]]''' ([[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaGanonGanondorf Ganon/Ganondorf]])-]]][[center:[-'''Recurring:''' [[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaGoddessesAndAllies Goddesses and Allies]], '''Villains and Enemies''', [[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaRaces Races]]-]]][[center: [-'''Main Series:''' ''Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', ''Characters/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle games]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords Four Swords]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTriForceHeroes Tri Force Heroes]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom]]''-]]][[center: [-'''Spin-Offs:''' ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Philips CD-i Games]]'', ''[[Characters/HyruleWarriors Hyrule Warriors]]'', ''[[Characters/CadenceOfHyrule Cadence of Hyrule]]'', ''[[Characters/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity]]''-]]]

!![[center: [-'''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTheTriforceWielders The Triforce Wielders]]''' ([[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaGanonGanondorf Ganon/Ganondorf]])-]]][[center:[-'''Recurring:''' [[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaGoddessesAndAllies Goddesses and Allies]], '''Villains and Enemies''', [[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaRaces Races]]-]]][[center: [-'''Main Series:''' ''Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', ''Characters/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle games]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords Four Swords]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' ([[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSwordGhirahim Ghirahim]]), ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTriForceHeroes Tri Force Heroes]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom]]''-]]][[center: [-'''Spin-Offs:''' ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Philips CD-i Games]]'', ''[[Characters/HyruleWarriors Hyrule Warriors]]'', ''[[Characters/CadenceOfHyrule Cadence of Hyrule]]'', ''[[Characters/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity]]''-]]]

!![[center: [-'''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTheTriforceWielders The Triforce Wielders]]''' ([[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaGanonGanondorf Ganon/Ganondorf]])-]]][[center:[-'''Recurring:''' [[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaGoddessesAndAllies Goddesses and Allies]], '''Villains and Enemies''', [[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaRaces Races]]-]]][[center: [-'''Main Series:''' ''Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', ''Characters/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle games]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords Four Swords]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaTriForceHeroes Tri Force Heroes]]'', ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom]]''-]]][[center: [-'''Spin-Offs:''' ''[[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Philips CD-i Games]]'', ''[[Characters/HyruleWarriors Hyrule Warriors]]'', ''[[Characters/CadenceOfHyrule Cadence of Hyrule]]'', ''[[Characters/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity]]''-]]]

* NonIndicativeName: They're called Phantoms, but they act like large suits of AnimatedArmor (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".

* BonusBoss: Of the Palace of the Four Sword in the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance version of ''A Link to the Past'' and in the final floor of Take 'Em All On! Level 3 in ''Spirit Tracks''.

** Daira haven't been seen in the main series ''Adventure of Link'', though the spinoff, ''Cadence of Hyrule'', brought them back as minibosses.

** 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 Japanense 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.

* NightOfTheLivingMooks: In ''Breath of the Wild'', rather than Stalfos, skeletal Stal-enemies emerge at night to harass Link. These include Stalkoblins, Stalmoblins, Stalizalfos, and Stalnox.
* NocturnalMooks: In ''Ocarina of Time'', ''Twilight Princess'' and ''Breath of the Wild'', Stalchildren, Stalhounds and Stal-enemies emerge from the ground at night.

* RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain: Stalfos in ''The Wind Waker'' and Stal-monsters in ''Breath of the Wild'' can re-assemble themselves as long as their skulls survive. Destroying the skull is the only way to defeat them.

** In Japanese, they are called Hiploops. Their ''Majora's Mask'' appearance retains this name, likely because the "-saur" in their name doesn't make sense for them being insectoid monsters in said appearance.

** In Japanese, they are called Hiploops.

** Big Blins in Japan are known as Oyablins, which translates to "Blin Patriarch" or "Blin Kingpin". Several other moblin leaders in Japan as are also called Oyabins, but the overseas translations give them [[InconsistentDub different titles]]. The ''Spirit Tracks'' english name, ''Big'' Blin name also implies they're the leaders of the ''Mini''blins.

* ArtifactName: He's called Phantom Ganon in ''Ocarina of Time'' due to looking exactly like his master except for his SkullForAHead. This name is less fitting for the LivingShadow depictions that 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.

* ArcherArchetype: Bow Moblins, Bulblin Archers, and Bokoblin Archers fight using their bows and arrows at enemies. In ''Breath of the Wild'' and ''Tears of the Kingdom'', Bokoblins, Blue Bokoblins, Black Bokoblins, Silver Bokoblins, and Golden Bokoblins use the Boko Bow and its stronger variants, Spiked Boko Bow and Dragon Bone Boko Bow when fighting Link.

* ArcherArchetype: Bow Soldiers wield Bows to fire arrows at Link or other nearby enemies, some of them even hiding in the grass to ambush unsuspecting enemies.

* IncendiaryExponent: Some ball-and-chain soldiers wield maces with flaming heads.

* WasOnceMan: ''Encyclopedia'' states some enemy soldiers are so corrupted by evil, they become monsters.

* ArcherArchetype: Bow Moblins, Bulblin Archers, and Bokoblin Archers fight using their bows and arrows at enemies. In ''Breath of the Wild'' and ''Tears of the Kingdom'', Bokoblins, Blue Bokoblins, Black Bokoblins, Silver Bokoblins, and Golden Bokoblins use the Boko Bows and its stronger variants, Spiked Boko Bow and Dragon Bone Boko Bow when fighting Link.

** 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.

** 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.

** 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.

** 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 jaevelins.

** ''Minish Cap'' subverts this by being the first game to have a female Moblin, who uses the same sprite as all bow wielding <oblins.

* HeavilyArmoredMook: Rock Chuchus from ''The Minish Cap'' and ''Phantom Hourlgass'' 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.

* ThievingMagpie: 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.

* MightyGlacier: 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'', often surpassing even ''Ganondorf'', and by wielding particularly dangerous weapons, like a giant axe or an EpicFlail.

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: ''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.

* PinataEnemy: 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.

** The Dinolfos are simialr to the Zazak enemies as both are humanoid saurian enemies with a BreathWeapon, but only Dinolfos use melee weaopns.

* DecompositeCharacter: It initially seemed that these Zora underwent a HeelRaceTurn in ''Ocarina of Time'' (or that they went through a FaceHeelTurn 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 monsterous 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.

* JumpScare: Their tendency to drop from nowhere, be invisible, or [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard above the ceiling]] can make them their appearances this.

* NightmareFace: Their skull in the [=N64=] games and ''Twilight Princess'' look fairly terrifying. In ''Skyward Sword'' they look much more goofy however.

* TacticalSuicideBoss: 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.

* MoneySpider: For whatever reason, they tend to carry plenty of rupees, playing this trope literally. Blue ones, in particular, are likely to carry cash.

* WalkOnWater: Blue Tektites are found near water, where they can stand on the surface and even leap from there.

* ShockAndAwe: 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 Keese[[note]]Making their reappearance from ''Skyward Sword''[[/note]]. Thunder Wizzrobes, a stronger variant introduced in the same game, fight the same.