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
A list of characters in the first The Legend of Zelda and its Satellaview remake.
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Main Characters
Link
Voiced by in the AV Famicom ad: Yoshiko Ōta
A young boy in a tunic who serves as the hero of the game. He is tasked with reassembling the fragmented Triforce of Wisdom and thwarting Ganon.
- Abnormal Ammo: Played With in his use of Arrows. He can't shoot the Bow without the Arrows... but, unlike in A Link to the Past and onward, Zelda 1 doesn't have a dedicated counter for arrows; firing the Bow consumes Link's rupees instead. The implication is likely that Link is using the rupees as arrowheads.
- The Ace: He's a great warrior, a puzzle-solver, an explorer, and a hero who earns the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage by saving Princess Zelda and killing Ganon. He does this at the age of 10.
- Ambiguously Christian: By
Word of God. Link has a Crucifix on his shield and carries a Holy Bible in his inventory, and he's willing to selflessly and unquestioningly risk his life to rid the world of evil. - Anime Hair: He has long sideburns and his bangs point outward. All of the Links in following games have a somewhat similar hairstyle.
- Badass Adorable: A friendly ten-year-old child who destroys the Prince of Darkness and his entire army by himself.
- Badass Bookworm: He's a great swordsman and adventurer, but he's also capable of solving puzzles and worthy enough to use the Triforce of Wisdom.
- Badass Normal: Link fights using his sword, shield, wits, and the equipment he gets in the Overworld and dungeons. This is in contrast to Ganon, who is an Evil Overlord with strong magical powers and trident fighter, and Princess Zelda, who fragmented the Triforce of Wisdom into eight fragments.
- Bag of Holding: Averted, as official art reveals that Link carries all of his items on his back and clothes.
- Battle Boomerang: He gets the Boomerang early in the game and later on gets the Magical Boomerang, which travels longer.
- Blow You Away: He can summon tornadoes to teleport or to suck the water out of a lake to find a new dungeon...just by playing the Flute.
- Blue Is Heroic: The Blue Ring turns Link's hat and tunic blue.
- Bow and Sword in Accord: Link fights and damages Ganon with his sword in the final fight, but he delivers the final blow with his bow by shooting him with a Silver Arrow.
- Brainy Brunette: The only brown haired Link of the franchise. He’s also capable of finding secret rooms and passages with little to no information.
- The Call Knows Where You Live: Link's adventure started when he and Impa met on the road and she tasked him to defeat Ganon and save Princess Zelda.
- Canon Name: The players are free to name Link like they want. However, Zelda will call him by his true name in the ending.
- Cap: He can only carry 255 Rupees and 8 Bombs. However, he can increase his Bombs capacity to 12 Bombs and then 16 Bombs by paying 100 Rupees per upgrade.
- Cast from Money: As Zelda 1 lacks a separate arrow counter, firing the bow costs one rupee per shot, instead. This comes with upsides and downsides; on the one hand, it means Link can effectively carry a whopping 255 arrows, which is several times what most other Zelda games let you carry at once. The downside, of course, is that anyting that costs rupees naturally costs you the same amount of arrows.
- The Champion: For Princess Zelda as she tasked him with recovering the Triforce of Wisdom and defeating Ganon to save Hyrule.
- Child Prodigy: He's 10 years old and he's smart enough to find the eight dungeons hidden across Hyrule and other secrets and treasures. He's also worthy enough to use the Triforce of Wisdom.
- The Chosen One: Zelda tasked Impa to find him in order to repair the missing pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom. The sequel reveals that there is more to Link's status to this trope as he goes on adventuring though.
- Clothes Make the Legend: His green hat and tunic are an Iconic Item of the franchise that's been appearing on every game following the first one.
- Color Motif: He wears green, which fits him as the last hope of Hyrule, which turned into a land filled with monsters with barely any people or wildlife.
- Combat Pragmatist: Link is not afraid to fight enemies by attacking weak spots or fighting them by coming at them with lots of weapons and supplies, some of which he buys rather than getting them from dungeons. One doesn't exactly have much choice but to fight pragmatically, on a journey so fraught with tricky, dangerous foes as Link's.
- Convection, Schmonvection: He can walk around Death Mountain and even use a Ladder as a bridge over lava, whereas other Links need protection to avoid being harmed by the heat.
- Cool Sword: His Magical Sword is the strongest sword in the game, has lightning bolts as its SwordBeam in a different version of the game, and its Link's weapon in the sequel.
- Cosmic Keystone: He's the only one besides Zelda and Ganon who can use either the Triforce of Wisdom or the Triforce of Power. His role is better explained in the sequel.
- Crazy-Prepared: Not so much at the start, but, as in its numerous successors, player strength progression in Zelda 1 is largely about becoming this. Link starts the game with nothing but a measly wooden shield and the clothes on his back to keep him safe. Depending on the playthrough, though, Link can enforce this trope by buying supplies prior to entering the dungeons. He can get Bow and Arrows, Bombs, Blue Candle, Blue Ring, Magical Shield, Potions, or Water of Life prior to venturing any dungeon as long as he has the necessary Rupees to buy them. He even keeps his little wooden shield on hand after upgrading to a sturdier Magical Shield, just so he isn't left out to dry in the defense department should that Magical Shield end up becoming Like-Like lunch.
- Damage Reduction: The Blue Ring and the Red Ring do more than just change Link's colors. They reduce his damage with blue reducing Link's damage by half and red by a fourth.
- Denial of Diagonal Attack: Link can’t attack diagonally. The closest thing he has to an all-direction attack is when his Sword Beam splits on four directions upon hitting an enemy.
- Destructive Savior: Link does a lot of burning with his Candle and Magical Rod and exploding with his Bombs inside and outside of Hyrule in order to advance his noble quest.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: A ten year old kid managed to defeat Ganon, an Evil Overlord who threatened Hyrule when nobody else in the kingdom could. This miracle would repeat itself in many games.
- Elemental Powers: Link has a Blue Candle and a Red Candle for burning and the Magical Rod and Bible to incinerate his enemies, his Flute summons tornadoes to teleport him to different locations, his Silver Arrows have enough holy magic to kill a weakened Ganon, and one version of the game gave his Magical Sword Shock and Awe Sword Beam powers.
- Expy: His design is based on the Disney version of Peter Pan.
- Featureless Protagonist: Link was intended to be one at first so that the player can better focus on the game through him.
- Food as Bribe: Every so often, Link will run across grumpy Goriyas blocking his path. Rather than fighting them, however, all he need do is offer them some Bait to eat, and they'll be happy enough to let him go about his business.
- Gotta Catch Them All: The main objective of the game is for Link to collect all eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom so that Link can fight Ganon and rescue Zelda.
- Healing Potion: The potions made from the Water of Life can restore all of Link's hearts.
- Heart Container: The first Link to use this trope. He obtains them by beating bosses or by discovering them in secret sections of the map.
- Hearts Are Health: His Life Meter is represented as hearts. He’s the first Link to have this mechanic, with every other Link following the tradition. In a meta-way, he’s the first video game character with a heart Life Meter, as other characters from different franchises would go on to borrow that aesthetic.
- Hello, [Insert Name Here]: The players can name Link how they want, but Zelda will refer to him by his real name in the ending.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Three in total; the Wooden Sword, the White Sword, and the Magical Sword.
- Heroic Mime: He doesn’t say anything in the whole game, but he’s still able to save Hyrule by the end of it.
- Hidden Depths: Due to the game’s focus on adventure rather than characterization, there isn't a whole lot of explicit information to go on. One can infer some things about Link's personality and character from how he goes about his adventure, though..
- His Food as Bribe moment with a monster shows that Link is capable of diplomacy, even with his enemies.
- He shows signs of being Crazy-Prepared as he brought the Wooden Shield as his default item rather than obtaining it like he did with the sword. Even after replacing the Wooden Shield with the Magical Shield, he still keeps it in stock if he loses his new shield.
- He knows basic cartography as he can make a map of any dungeon he visits until he finds a true map that shows him the structure of the place.
- Holy Hand Grenade: His Silver Arrows contain holy magic that's powerful enough to kill Ganon as long as he's petrified. He uses this to deliver the finishing blow.
- Humble Hero: He's not above sacrificing his Rupees by turning them into arrowheads for his arrows despite needing them to buy more weapons or supplies. The second quest also shows that he's wiling to give potions or Heart Containers to the Old Man if the situation demands it, showing that he's willing to give his life for the sake of Hyrule.
- Iconic Item: The Magic Sword and the Magic Shield also count as this for him since they are his weapon in the sequel.
- Iconic Outfit: His green tunic and hat became a symbol for all of the Links in the following sequels.
- Improbable Age: Defeated monsters, found hidden dungeons, collected the missing pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom, killed Ganon, took the Triforce of Power, saved Zelda, and restored peace to Hyrule...at the age of 10.
- Infinity -1 Sword: The White Sword is more powerful than the first sword Link gets. However, it can be replaced by the Magical Sword later in the game.
- Infinity +1 Sword: The Magical Sword is the strongest sword Link can get. It also becomes an Iconic Item for this iteration and his weapon in the sequel.
- Instant Expert: He immediately masters any weapon or item he finds at dungeons or buys at the stores.
- Interchangeable Antimatter Keys: Link can open any locked door from any dungeon as long as he has keys. He can even buy them at stores. Once he gets the Magical Key, he can open any locked door.
- Kid Hero: He's only ten years old according to Hyrule Historia. Even in the sequel, he's only sixteen.
- Kill It with Fire: Some of Link’s weapons use fire to kill his enemies. He can use a Candle, Magical Rod, or Bombs.
- Knight in Shining Armor: He fights monsters to save a kingdom from an Evil Overlord and save the princess.
- Knightly Sword and Shield: His first weapons and the main ones that he uses are a sword and a shield. They later become his weapon in the sequel.
- Lady and Knight: He's the White Knight to Zelda's Bright Lady.
- Law of Chromatic Superiority: Link can buy the Blue Candle, which allows him to release one flame per area for illumination and burning, and the Blue Ring, which provides Damage Reduction by half. He replaces them with the Red Candle, which releases unlimited flames per area, and the Red Ring, which reduces damage to a fourth.
- Legacy Character: He's the first Link in the series, but has been preceded by many other Links chronologically, going back hundreds of years.
- Light Is Good: He uses the Triforce of Wisdom to get full access to the last dungeon, releasing golden light in the process.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Carries a shield even before he gets a sword. He can even get a newer shield that stops more projectiles.
- Mad Bomber: A heroic version since Link needs to find hidden caves outside of Hyrule and open holes inside dungeons that have no doors, making the Bombs the most used item in his quest.
- Magical Flutist: Link can play the Flute, which works as a Warp Whistle and can summon tornadoes.
- Magic Knight: Wields both conventional weapons and magical items in his quest.
- Magic Wand: The Magical Rod shoots magical fire projectiles. The Bible increases its power to long-range flame attacks.
- Meaningful Name: Link's name was given to him because he was supposed to be an avatar between the player and Hyrule to better immerse themselves in the game.
- Money Mauling: The Bow allows you to shoot Arrows...as long as you pay Rupees for every shot you make. It’s useless if you don’t have any money in your wallet.
- Nice Guy: Official artwork shows him helping out Impa after she escapes Ganon, after which he agrees to save Zelda from him.
- No-Nonsense Nemesis: He will rescue Zelda and defeat Ganon. He can buy weapons and keys to navigate dungeons with more freedom rather than waste time searching for keys, will aim for weak spots with all the weapons and supplies he has, and use fire and bombs to find the dungeons if he can get the Triforce of Wisdom. It pays off at the end.
- One Bullet at a Time: Link can only use one projectile at a time. He can only use them again after they left the screen. For the Blue Candle, he can’t use it more than once on the same screen, forcing him to leave the area to use it again.
- One-Man Army: Battles through nine monster-infested dungeons on his own.
- Playing with Fire: The Blue and Red Candles allow him to produce short-range fires. Obtaining both the Magical Rod and the Bible allows Link to use long-range flame attacks.
- Primary-Color Champion: He turns into this when using either the Blue Ring or the Red Ring, which changed his green tunic into a blue one or a red one respectively.
- Pyromaniac: A heroic version since Link needs to find hidden passages and a few are underneath some forests, he'll be forced to use the Candle to burn down trees in order to find the passages. He also uses the Magical Rod for a Kill It with Fire approach when fighting his enemies.
- Real Men Love Jesus: He's a Bible-reading Christian who can singlehandedly kill a Demon King and various other inhuman monsters at the early age of ten years old.
- Red Is Heroic: He can find the Red Ring in the final dungeon, which reduces damage by three quarters and turns his tunic and hat bright red.
- Ring of Power: As mentioned above, the Blue Ring and the Red Ring change Link's colors and grant him Damage Reduction upon wearing them.
- Sacred Bow and Arrows: The Silver Arrows are the only thing that can kill Ganon as they are used to deliver the finishing blow on the final fight. They appear again on A Link to the Past where their creation is shown as they kill Ganon for the first time. The Silver Arrows later started a trend of magical holy arrows capable of hurting Ganon or the Big Bad in following games.
- Secondary Color Nemesis: Inverted as he wears green but is the hero of the story.
- Shock and Awe: The Sword Beam of his Magical Sword explodes into lightning in the BS remake of the original game.
- Silver Bullet: The Silver Arrows are the most powerful weapon in the game and the only weapon that can kill Ganon. They must be used when Ganon is petrified to defeat him once and for all to finish the game.
- Skeleton Key: The Magical Key works like this, eliminating the need for buying more keys with merchants or collecting more in dungeons since this one can open any locked door.
- Stronger Than They Look: Official artwork shows him carry all of the equipment he collected over the game on his back. This makes his adventure more impressive as he’s fighting while holding such big load.
- Suddenly Blonde: Subverted. Concept art implies he was meant to be blond. Instead of Link officially being blond but having a brunette sprite, his official design was altered so that his canon color is brown. He is the only brunette Link thus far.
- Super-Strength: Link can push blocks heavier than him after obtaining the Power Bracelet.
- Sword Beam: He can launch beams from his sword when he is at full health.
- Teleportation: He can warp between dungeon entrances after obtaining the Flute.
- Throw Down the Bomblet: The Bombs can also be used for fighting and are even necessary to kill certain enemies, like a Dodongo. By properly timing the explosions, they turn into a Disc-One Nuke since they make as much damage as the Magical Sword. A properly placed and timed bomb can even execute a One-Hit Kill on Manhandla by knocking out all four heads at once.
- Time Stands Still: The Clock is a temporary power-up, but it allows Link to freeze his opponents in time across the screen.
- Ur-Example: While different from the other Links, he sets the mold that they follow in some of the later games. He wears a green tunic, is left-handed, is a swordsman, an archer, knows how to use magic in the sequel, and he is an expert at weapons.
- This also applies to his Magic Sword and Silver Arrows, which pretty much act as the prototype for the Master Sword that was introduced in A Link to the Past and the Light Arrows that were introduced in Ocarina of Time for the newer generations.
- Victor Gains Loser's Powers: After killing Ganon, Link takes the Triforce of Power for himself. He still keeps it with him, as seen in the end of the sequel.
- Walking Armory: He carries a sword, shield, bows, arrows, bottles with potions, a book of magic, a letter, bombs, a flute, a raft, and a ladder on his person, as seen in an official piece of artwork.
- Warp Whistle: Link can teleport with tornadoes across different dungeons by playing his Flute.
- Warrior Monk: Interestingly, he's a Western variant, instead of the expected Eastern variant. He becomes this trope even more in the sequel.
- Wolverine Publicity: He had a TV show at one point, even if he and Zelda suffered from Adaptational Personality Change in the process. Downplayed, as he's been overshadowed by other Links, starting with the Hero of Time from Ocarina of Time and other games.
Princess Zelda
Voiced by in BS Legend of Zelda: Naomi Fujisawa (Japanese)
The Princess of Hyrule and the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom. She broke the Triforce of Wisdom into pieces to keep it out of Ganon's hands, but was later captured by him.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: There's no king or queen in sight, though it is unknown whether they were killed by Ganon or not. Zelda also seems to be around the same age as Link.
- Damsel in Distress: Was captured by Ganon, presumably to interrogate her about where the Triforce of Wisdom fragments are.
- Expy: Her role in the game is near-identical to that of Princess Peach in Super Mario Bros., being a princess locked away in the villain's dungeon because only her magic can undo the curse he has cast upon the land. Some of the artwork depicting this Zelda (as seen on this page) also gives her a pink, fluffy dress in contrast to the slimmer dresses worn by other incarnations.
- Gendered Outfit: A subtle one. The color of Zelda's dress is determined by the color of Link's tunic. For example, if Link enters Zelda's prison with a green tunic, she will be wearing a green dress.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Though she's a curly-haired brunette in official artwork, the Japanese Million Publishing guide book, Nintendo Power, and Newtype magazine depict her with long blonde hair.
- Identical Granddaughter: Her official design is reused for the sleeping Princess Zelda in the next game (with slight alterations), who happens to be her ancient ancestor.
- Inconsistent Coloring: She has three designs with three different hair colors: one blonde, one brunette, and one redheaded version of the brunette design. The canonical color seems to be the brunette design , though some offical books (such as the Arts & Artifacts art book) use the redheaded version instead. The BS design on stronger SNES hardware is blonde, and later incarnations would mostly follow suit.
- Legacy Character: In hindsight, she is a more straightforward case than the norm. It is revealed in Zelda II that she was named after another Princess Zelda who was enchanted to sleep forever, meaning that she is not an incarnation of Hylia.
- Princesses Rule: We don't see a king or a queen in the manual, so she's presumably Hyrule's ruler.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Prior to getting captured by Ganon, she broke the Triforce of Wisdom to keep it out of Ganon's grasp, and sent Impa to look for a champion.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: She is never seen nor mentioned in the sequel, most likely due to another Princess Zelda being in the spotlight.
Ganon
Voiced by in BS Legend of Zelda: Seizō Katō (Japanese)
The evil Prince of Darkness, who stole the Triforce of Power. He has captured Princess Zelda and is searching for the Triforce of Wisdom as well.
- Almighty Idiot: Retconned and downplayed. Ganon is introduced in the game's backstory as a cunning Evil Overlord who is sapient enough to imprison Zelda in his lair rather than just kill her on sight. But ever since the prequel installments (i.e. almost the entire franchise) gave Ganon (especially as Ganondorf) much more elaborate and near fool-proof plans, Ganon's evil plan here is a significant downgrade chronologically. Hyrule Historia explains that Ganon lost his mind after centuries of defeats and resurrections following A Link to the Past, retconning him into this trope.
- The Bad Guy Wins: The fan translation of BS The Legend of Zelda includes a special bit of dialogue if the player fails to obtain the pieces of the Triforce on Week 4 or fails to kill Ganon, with the Narrator stating this trope in all but name.Ganon: "The Triforce is mine. Hyrule is mine! Everything... heheheh... it's all mine!"
- Big Bad: The main villain of the game and the one Link is trying to defeat.
- Blinded by the Light: The light of the Triforce of Wisdom causes Ganon to shield his eyes away.
- Characterization Marches On: Ganon here is regarded as an intelligent warlord in the manual but his plan boils down to kidnapping Zelda and stealing the Triforce of Power, while later games would give him much more complex and harder-to-beat schemes up to and including successfully taking over Hyrule several times and, in this timeline at least, killing the one man who could stop him. Hyrule Historia retcons this depiction of him to actually being the least intelligent form of Ganon, thanks to him having undergone a botched resurrection centuries ago.
- Classical Movie Vampire: The source of most of Ganon's characterization in early canon, from being titled "Prince of Darkness" to being revived by Link's blood. He even hides behind his cape in BS Zelda when the lights come on, and expanded media claimed that he was significantly weaker above ground. This is to say nothing of his weakness to silver.
- Cowardly Boss: In contrast to his future portrayals, Ganon does not attempt to engage Link head on. Instead, he turns himself invisible for the entire fight and shoots fireballs at Link.
- Devil's Pitchfork: He wields a trident in some post-A Link to the Past artwork and in the BS Zelda remake, though it's only for show in the latter.
- Evil Sorcerer: He is skilled in dark magic. His attacks require the Magical Shield to be blocked.
- Expy: Ganon's name during development was Gyuumaou Hakkai, as he was conceived as an amalgamation of Chohakkai (Zhu Bajie, a.k.a. "Pigsy")
and Gyuumao (Ox King) from Journey to the West. He also bears a lot of references to Bowser (also based on the Ox King), down to the way he fights as the final boss. - Final Boss: Ganon's the leader of the dark forces inhabiting Hyrule and is the one that needs to be defeated to defeat them; Ganon's fought in the room just before Zelda's room, which is the game's final Level Goal.
- Generic Doomsday Villain: The backstory in the game's manual doesn't give much about Ganon other than he's the leader of an evil army who wants to use the Triforce of Power and Wisdom to plunge the world into darkness and fear. And thanks to the NES's limitations, Ganon doesn't do anything beyond roaring and attacking Link in his boss lair. This is probably why Hyrule Historia is able to retcon him here as a beast lacking in intelligence.
- Inconsistent Spelling: Infamously among the fanbase, his name was spelled as "Gannon" in the original release. It has been corrected in most rereleases.
- Invisibility: He uses this power in the final battle.
- I Shall Taunt You: In the Satellaview version, he taunts the player on Weeks 3 and 4. In the former he is heard omniously laughing once the time limit is reached, while on Week 4 he harasses the player during the remaining 10 minutes, during which the player must fight him in the final battle.
- Kryptonite Factor: He can only be defeated by shooting a Silver Arrow at him when weakened.
- Nothing Is Scarier: The game's manual plays up the mystery of Ganon; hiding his actual appearance and stating that no one knows what Ganon is or if they had, they never lived to tell the tale. Considering how
cryptic and hard it is for players to get all eight pieces of the Triforce and actually find him, this creates an atmosphere of suspense and dread as they draw closer to Ganon's lair. The closest we get to Ganon appearing in the manual are a behind the back shot with focus on his strangely muscular right leg as Link stares him down, and a shot of Link destroying Ganon, showing his shadow exploding from the might of the Triforce, which is likely an artistic rendering of Link using the Triforce to light up his chamber. - Orcus on His Throne: Although he desires to reassemble the Triforce of Wisdom, Ganon remains in his lair guarding Zelda's prison while his minions are searching for the pieces and/or kill Link.
- Physical God: Is just as powerful as one thanks to holding the Triforce of Power, and he's additionally the reincarnation of Demise.
- Pig Man: His physical form is an anthropomorphic boar-like creature. According to Ganon's backstory in A Link to the Past, it was because the Triforce transformed the human thief Ganondorf into a demonic form that reflected his lust for power.
- Reduced to Dust: After being hit with a Silver Arrow, Ganon explodes into a pile of ashes, leaving behind the Triforce of Power for Link to take.
- Retcon: Originally a feared, nigh-omniscient sorcerer with a heavy dose of Dracula and the Ox Demon King, Hyrule Historia now states that this incarnation of Ganon is little more than a mindless, raging beast. Chronologically speaking, this matches up with the games that take place in the Downfall timeline as this Ganon was once articulate enough to speak and cunning enough to make schemes.
- Skeleton Motif: He wears a skull-shaped brooch.
- Stock Sound Effects: He uses a a pterodactyl roar lifted straight out of a then-contemporary cartoon, just in low quality (and low pitch).
- Took a Level in Dumbass: Hyrule Historia states that this Ganon is devoid of the intelligence that he had in his original form, and apparently little to none of Ganondorf is even left at this point.
- Villain Decay: Retroactively. When this game was released, Ganon was your average Bowser rip-off who kidnaps the princess and commands a huge army of monsters out to get Link. But when the prequel installments began to showcase the full extend of Ganon's wicked schemes, powers, titles (such as King of Evil), and ability to manipulate others (including the heroes) to help further his goals, the Prince of Darkness here ended up looking like a shadow of his former self. Hyrule Historia confirms this implication by stating Ganon has lost his intelligence by this point.
Supporting Cast
Old Men and Women
Voiced by in BS Legend of Zelda: Koji Yabe (Japanese)
Elderly men and women who supply Link with items and hints. They can be found in caves across monster-infested Hyrule. The most iconic is the Old Man found in the cave at the beginning of the game, who provides Link with a sword to help him explore the dangerous wildness ahead.
- Beam Spam: If Link attacks the Old Man, he will do this in retaliation.
- Betting Mini-Game: One of the Old Men suggests to Link "Let's play money making game." He leaves unspecified exactly who will be making the money. There are three Rupees on display and each one gives or takes a certain amount. One gives you the bonus, the other one takes a few rupees away, and the last one takes a lot of rupees away from you.
- Beware the Nice Ones: The Old Man is a helpful guide for Link for the most part, but he will attack if Link tries to harm him. Additionally, in the second quest, he can also force Link to either pay a hefty fee or one of his heart container to escape his dungeon room.
- Big Good: In the Satellaview version, the Old Man acts as the player's guide through Hyrule, offering his aid to cast spells on the monsters and the player's weapons, even convincing the Merchants to avert No Hero Discount.
- Cave Behind the Falls: There's an old man who tells you to "WALK INTO THE WATERFALL". Doing so yields an old woman who gives you a hint to finding the next dungeon.
- Distaff Counterpart: In addition to the Old Man, there is an Old Woman who also helps Link in his quest. But she will not speak to Link until he delivers a letter from the Old Man in the mountains. Once that's done, she'll offer potions for sale.
- Hub Under Attack: In the last 10 minutes of Week 4, Ganon attacks the Old Man, prompting the player to chase him into his secret hideout located behind the Old Man's cave where you get the sword at the very beginning of Week 1.
- It May Help You on Your Quest: May very well be the trope codifier.Old Man: (offers Wooden Sword) IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! TAKE THIS.
- Mugging the Monster: See those old men just passing out information? Don't hurt them, because some of them will start firing fireballs at you and kill you.
- No Name Given: They are not given any specific names. As such, it is difficult to even know if they are even the same person at times.
- Professional Gambler: The Old Man can play the "Money Making Game" with Link.
- Red Is Heroic: Wears a red robe, and is a consistent ally of Link.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: You may be forgiven to think the Old Woman is Impa. Although they share similar attributes, Impa only appears in the instruction manual and there is no indication that she is meant to be the Old Woman in the game.
Merchants
Bearded men who set up shops in various caves around Hyrule. They'll provide useful items, as long as you have enough rupees.
- Adam Smith Hates Your Guts: Averted. Different merchants have different prices on magical shields, keys, and enemy bait (the magical shield, for example, can cost between 90 and 160 Rupees depending of the store), but these prices are tied to the merchant's inventory, not the merchant's location relative to game progress. It's possible to find a more expensive merchant early on, then later discover another merchant offering a better deal.
- Buy or Get Lost: The merchants will greet Link by shouting "BUY SOMETHIN' WILL YA!" That's the only thing they're interested in.
- Cash Gate: Merchants are the only means of acquiring enemy bait and arrows, both of which are need to advance in dungeons. If Link can find the right merchant, he'll only need to pay 60 rupees for the bait and 80 rupees for arrows, necessitating a minimum of 140 rupees to complete the first quest.
- No Hero Discount: While certain items are offered at different prices, most others have fixed prices with no available discounts. In particular, one hidden merchant is selling the Blue Ring, which boosts Link's defense and would be very helpful for the hero on a quest to save Hyrule. The merchant sells the Blue Ring for a whopping 250 rupees (five less than the maximum wallet limit), making it the most expensive item in the game. The merchant even exclaims "BOY, THIS IS REALLY EXPENSIVE!" for emphasis. This can be averted in the Satellaview version, as the Old Man will send a suggestion to the Merchants to lower their prices for a short while.
Impa
The loyal nursemaid of Princess Zelda. Although she does not appear in the game itself (which instead features the similar but unnamed Old Women), the manual reveals that she was sent by Zelda to find a hero who could defeat Ganon, thus beginning Link's adventure.
- All There in the Manual: Unlike her fellow iconic series staples Link, Zelda, and Ganon, Impa does not appear in-game. Her brief but important role in the story is only covered by the instruction booklet.
- Damsel in Distress: When Link finds Impa, she's been cornered by Ganon's henchmen. He jumps in and rescues her.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Impa's original design looks rather like an ugly old hag or crone. Even when ignoring the later entries where she is reimagined as a Xenafied Ninja, the other games that have Impa in this non-action role (beginning with her next appearance in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link) tend to portray her with softer, more grandmotherly features. Additionally, since her appearance predates the Sheikah tribe's introduction in Ocarina of Time, she has none of their trademark features here.
- Lady-In-Waiting: Impa is the nursemaid to the princess.
- Ms. Exposition: Impa's role is primarily to explain the backstory to Link and tell him about the nine labyrinths. In fact, her name is derived from the word "impart" because she imparts the legend of Zelda.
- Red Is Heroic: Impa has red hair and wears a red robe, and is Zelda's loyal nursemaid who sends the courageous Link on his journey.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Impa only appears with a small role in the manual, and yet she is the one responsible for sending Link on this adventure.
Enemy Bosses
Aquamentus
A type of dragon that some call a unicorn. As well as having lots of attacking power, it's a fearful opponent. It emits mean beams.
A unicorn-like dragon, Aquamentus attacks by spitting fireballs at Link and guards the Triforce pieces in Level One and Level Seven.
- Breath Weapon: It spits fireballs at Link.
- Immune to Fire: It's unique among the game's enemies for being impossible to harm with fire.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Largely of the Western type, although with a unicorn horn, capable of spitting fireballs and found guarding Plot Coupons in a dungeon.
- Recurring Boss: It's fought twice, first in Level One and then in Level Seven.
- Stock Sound Effects: It uses a a pterodactyl roar lifted straight out of a then-contemporary cartoon, just in low quality (and low pitch).
- Unicorn: The manual states that some call Aquamentus a unicorn, and it does indeed bear a unicorn-like horn on its brow.
- Villain Forgot to Level Grind: It's encountered again in Level 7. It has not gotten any stronger or picked up any new tricks by that point — two hits is all it takes to kill it and the Magical Shield can block its beams.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: If you have the White Sword and Magical Shield, or if you brought an Arrow to go with the dungeon's Bow, he's easy as pie. If you go after it with just the Wooden Sword and Shield, you're going to be frantically dodging his beams and trying to stab it in between his shots. It also takes six hits from the Wooden Sword to kill it, whereas you can sustain three hits from it if you're at full life. Basically, Aquamentus is there to prove that you can't just stab your way through the game.
Dodongo
A giant rhinoceros. It hasn't got so much attacking power, but it bounces off attacks with its thick hide.
A Triceratops-like monster found as the boss of Level Two and, in the second quest, of Level Three and Level Eight. Its hide is completely invulnerable, and cannot be harmed by any of Link's weapons — its insides, however, are a different story.
- Degraded Boss: After the first one fought as a boss, Dodongos are found as regular enemies in later dungeons — and, in fact, appear in trios where a single one served as the final boss of the second dungeon.
- Feed It a Bomb: Famously so — Dodongo is invulnerable on the outside, but mindlessly eats whatever is in front of it. If Link leaves a bomb in its path, the beast will eat it and be harmed when it explodes in its gut.
- Informed Species: Although described as a "rhinoceros" in the manual, it much more closely resembles a Triceratops in its artwork and sprite.
- One-Hit Kill: If you can time a bomb so it explodes in his face, Dodongo will be stunned and a single sword hit will finish it off. Otherwise it require feeding it two bombs to kill. In later levels where multiple Dodongos appear together it's entirely possible to take out more than one at a time with the proper positioning.
- Prehistoric Animal Analogue: The Dodongo is a fictional fantasy monster that resembles a Triceratops.
- Punny Name: Its name derives from "dodon", the Japanese onomatopoeia for an explosion.
- Trope Codifier: While it did not invent the trope, the Dodongo may be the first example of the Feed It a Bomb trope in video games. Nowadays, it's well recognized that video game bosses (especially in the Zelda series) that open their mouths for an attack are likely to be defeated by throwing a bomb inside.
Manhandla
A large man-eating flower with hands sticking out in all four directions. It moves faster as it loses its hands. It's pretty mean. So, watch out!
A ferocious plant with snapping maws, Mandhandla moves faster as each head is severed. It serves as the boss of Level Three, and is also found in Level Four and Level Eight.
- Beef Gate: The Manhandla that is the boss of Level Three is incredibly hard to kill with any weapon weaker than the White Sword; it has four different heads to kill, each one takes four strikes with the Wooden Sword to destroy, and it gets progressively faster and harder to dodge as it loses its heads. It's very difficult to pass it before getting the White Sword (or before learning about Manhandla's bomb weakness).
- Breath Weapon: It spits fireballs.
- Clean Dub Name: Its name is changed from Testitart to Manhandla for the English version, probably because the Japanese name sounded too close to testicles.
- Crossover Cameo: According to the Japanese instruction booklet, it's a King Mook for the Piranha Plant from Super Mario Bros.. This is removed from localized manuals.
- Degraded Boss: After being fought as a boss, it appears as normal albeit powerful enemy in Levels Four and Eight, with three distinct instances appearing in the latter.
- Dub Name Change: Testitart in Japanese, Manhandla in English.
- Man-Eating Plant: It roughly resembles a mobile plant with four maws arranged around its core, and the manual describes it as a man-eating flower.
- One-Hit KO: It's difficult to do, but if you can time a bomb to explode on its middle section it's entirely possible to knock out all four heads at once. Seen in action here.
- 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.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: It's incredibly hard to kill with just the Wooden Sword and basically exists to make sure you're being careful to get better weapons.
Gleeok
A huge dragon that has two to four heads and spits out beams at Link. Heads that Link cuts off from its body fly around in the air.
A dragon with many heads, which remain animated after being cut and continue to fly around and breathe fire at Link until the whole monster is killed. A two-headed Gleeok is the boss of Level Four, a three-headed one is a miniboss in Level Six, and a four-headed one is the boss of Level Eight.
- Adapted Out: Does not appear in the Satellaview remake.
- Breath Weapon: It spits fireballs.
- Degraded Boss: Inverted. Like Gohma, the mid-boss versions you encounter later on have more heads and are therefore more dangerous than the one you face at the end of Level 4.
- Multiple Head Case: Depending on the specific one fought, Gleeok can have anywhere from two to four heads.
- No Ontological Inertia: 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, Gleeok's heads fly around on their own and continue to breathe fire at Link.
- Our Dragons Are Different: A many-headed, winged Western dragon, although its hairy mane and mustache-like nose tendrils show influences from Eastern dragons.
- Recurring Boss: It's fought twice as a full boss, first in Level Four and then in Level Eight.
- Stationary Boss: It remains stationary at the far side of its arena, never budging from its spot, and attacks Link at range by spitting fireballs at him.
- Stock Sound Effects: It uses a a pterodactyl roar lifted straight out of a then-contemporary cartoon, just in low quality (and low pitch).
- Turns Red: As the Gleeok takes more damage, its heads become severed and start flying erratically around the room while shooting fireballs at Link from all angles. Therefore, the battle becomes more difficult with each severed head.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: The first one in the second quest. With no way to get the White Sword, he's going to take a total of sixteen hits, and he'll be able to kill you in only two. This is where it becomes crystal-clear that the second quest is designed to grind you up.
Digdogger
Big sea urchins. In spite of their big bodies, they shrivel up when attacked. But watch out! They come on pretty strong.
A bizarre sea urchin-like thing found at bottom of Level Five, while another is encountered in Level Seven. It needs to be weakened by playing the recorder before it can be beaten.
- Asteroids Monster: The Digdogger in Level Seven splits into three smaller versions of itself when the recorder is played.
- Crossover Cameo: According to the Japanese instruction booklet, it's a King Mook of an Unira from Clu Clu Land. This is removed from localized manuals.
- Degraded Boss: After being fought as a boss, it appears as normal albeit one-off enemy in Level 7. Also inverted in the that "degraded" version splits into three smaller units while the one in Level 5 merely shrank down into a single one.
- Oculothorax: It resembles a large eye surrounded by tentacles.
Gohma
The super-huge crab that lives in the labyrinths. Its hard shell will repulse any attack. Attack its weak point with a special weapon.
A cyclopean arthropod that serves as the boss of Level Six, and as a miniboss in Level Eight. Gohma's shell is too tough for Link's weapons to crack, leaving its eye as its only weak spot.
- Armored But Frail: Its shell is impervious to any of Link's weapons, but can still be felled in one to three shots to the eye with the arrow.
- Cyclops: It only has a single, massive eye from which it fires its Eye Beams — and which, naturally, is its only weak spot.
- Degraded Boss: After being fought as a boss, it appears as normal albeit one-off enemy in Level Eight. Curiously inverted in that the "degraded" versions are substantially tougher to kill than the boss Gohma, which is felled with only a single arrow.
- Eye Beams: It attacks Link by shooting beams from its eye that even Link's magic shield can't repel. This is the only time when its eye is open, and Link consequently needs to bait it into attacking to defeat it.
- Giant Enemy Crab: It's described as a giant crab, and is much larger than Link.
- Go for the Eye: The only way to defeat it is to stab it in its giant eye.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: Because the Gohma must open its eye to fire its Eye Beams, it leaves itself vulnerable with this attack. If the Gohma just kept its eye shut and relied on ramming into Link, it would be impossible to defeat.
- Trope Codifier: While the Go for the Eye trope dates back to Greek mythology (if not earlier), Gohma firmly established the trope's common use in video games, even outside the Zelda series. Whenever the player sees a cyclops, the eye is sure to be the weakpoint.
Enemies
Minibosses
Monsters that, like true bosses, are fought in special chambers without any weaker enemies present, and who present a greater challenge than regular foes. However, unlike full bosses, defeating them doesn't end a dungeon or yield a Triforce shard.
Lanmola
A gigantic centipede. Attacking his head won't work. Boy! Does he move fast!
A huge, swift one-eyed centipede. Lanmolas are only encountered in Level 9, where they're fought in groups of two.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: It's essentially a centipede much larger than Link or most other foes.
- Cyclops: It's got a single huge eye in the middle of its face.
- Dual Boss: Lanmolas are always fought in pairs, requiring Link to keep track of both speedy menaces while trying to take each one out.
- Segmented Serpent: A Lanmola's sprite is composed of four round segments and a head. Link must destroy them individually, beginning with the hindmost and ending with the head.
Moldorm
The huge worm living in the labyrinths. It grows smaller as Link attacks. Not so strong.
A huge earthworm creature, Moldorms is composed of distinct segments that are destroyed individually as Link attacks them. Moldorms are found in Level 2 and level 7.
- Segmented Serpent: Moldorm is represented as a string of five red-and-orange circles. Unlike later games, they can be damaged anywhere on their bodies.
Patra
The Patra attack in groups, in two types of formations. Both formation groups are strong. So be on your toes!
A swarm of flying eyeballs. Patra swarms are encountered only in Level 9.
- Ascended Extra: Becomes a dungeon boss in the Satellaview remake.
- Faceless Eye: Patras are swarms of flying eyeballs, with no other body parts besides wings.
- Flunky Boss: The large central Patra uses its swarm of smaller minions both to defend itself and to attack Link, the former by using them as shields and the latter by sending them flying across the room.
- Reverse Shrapnel: Two of the Patras make their smaller eyes enlarge their orbit periodically, while the third one makes them spin in gyroscope form.
- Shielded Core Boss: The large central eyeball is surrounded by a ring of smaller ones. All of the small eyes need to be defeated before the large one can be taken out.
Overworld
Armos
A soldier who has been turned into a stone statue. He moves and attacks if touched by Link. He has a fair amount of attacking power.
Statues that, unlike most statues in the game, start moving about if Link approaches. Some of them hide staircases or items that are revealed when they come to life.
- Cyclops: The ingame sprite shows them as having a single eye in the middle of their head, which the artwork interpreted as being a spike on their helmets, as an example of Early Installment Character-Design Difference.
- Living Statue: They're statues that can move about, normally lying inert but awakening with Link's presence.
- Mistaken for Granite: In their neutral state, they're entirely indistinguishable from the regular statuary that they're often found alongside — until Link gets too close and they try to kill him, of course.
- Taken for Granite: The game manual states that they're actually soldiers turned into stone.
Ghini
The ghost who lives in the graveyard. There are two types. There are Ghinis who are there from the beginning of the game, and those who appear when Link touches the gravestones. Ghinis have about the same attacking force as Armos.
One-eyed ghosts found in the graveyards in the west of the map. These spirits are found floating around headstones, and additional ones will spawn when Link touches the graces.
- Bedsheet Ghost: Their artwork depicts them as animated bedsheets with leering — and, notably, two-eyed — faces.
- Cyclops: They have a single gigantic eye in the middle of their foreheads. Their artwork, however, depicts them with two eyes.
- Invincible Minor Minion: The ones spawned by disturbing graves cannot be harmed — Link's attacks pass right through them.
- Night of the Living Mooks: Ghinis are cyclopean ghosts with large tongues that appear in the graveyards. They will increase in number if Link starts moving the tombstones. You have to defeat their leader so all of them disappear.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: One-eyed ghosts who appear when graves are disturbed.
Leever
They live in the ground and eat up the energy of creatures that approach them. Blue Leevers are a little stronger, but the red ones don't have much attacking power.
Strange creatures that pop in and out of the ground.
- Energy Absorption: The game manual states that Leevers attack by draining energy from their victims.
- Mole Monster: They burrow around randomly, remaining invulnerable to attack as long as they're beneath the surface.
- Piñata Enemy: A mild example — Red Leevers are somewhat more likely to drop Blue Rupees than other enemies. The best way to grind for money is a circuit starting with the Tektites and Leevers on the southern shore, up to a certain screen just south of the desert with blue Tektites, then south along the lake shore neer Level 1 for more Red Leevers, and repeat.
Lynel
The guardian who attacks all those who come near Death Mountain. Watch out! He's pretty strong, and Link's little shield can't stop his sword.
Powerful lion-headed centaurs who wander the slopes of Death Mountain.
- Beef Gate: The Lynels that populate the Death Mountain area in the northwest of the map. They're by far the nastiest enemies you'll find in the overworld, with the orange Lynels taking four hits from the Wooden Sword to kill and the blue ones taking about seven, and both varieties shoot a sword projectile that requires the Magical Shield to deflect, while dealing a hefty two hearts of damage when they hit. A single one can easily slaughter a beginning player, and you will find swarms of them in the northwest, effectively keeping the player out of that region until they acquire some more hearts, the White Sword, the Magical Shield, and preferably the Blue Ring.
- Boss in Mook Clothing: A lone blue Lynel blocks the path to the White Sword. While not as dangerous as the packs of Lynels that appear on Death Mountain, it is still the hardest-hitting enemy on the overworld with Sword Beams that can only be deflected by the Magical Shield. This powerful enemy is positioned in such a way that it acts as a Threshold Guardian to overcome before obtaining the White Sword, despite not being a true boss.
- Our Centaurs Are Different: They resemble centaurs with the heads of lions.
- Sword Beam: They attack by firing sword beams similar to Link's, represented in-game by sword shapes fired in straight lines.
Molblin (Moblin)
A bulldog-like goblin who lives in the forest. He attacks by throwing spears. A little bit meaner than Octorok.
Dog-headed warriors who inhabit wooded areas around Hyrule. A few non-hostile ones can be found in hidden caves, bribing Link to leave them alone.
- "Begone" Bribe: "IT'S A SECRET TO EVERYBODY." The Molblin is bribing Link to leave him alone and not tell anyone where he is.
- Bully Bulldog: The Molblin resembles a humanoid bulldog, and it is an aggressive enemy with a perpetual scowl.
- Inconsistent Spelling: In this first game and its sequel, this enemy is called "Molblin" in the manual, a direct transliteration of "Moriburin", their Japanese name (a portmanteau meaning "Forest Goblin"). Later games shorten the translation to "Moblin".
- Javelin Thrower: The Molblin carries spears, which it throws in a straight line in front as an attack.
- Punny Name: Its name derives from "Moriburin", a portmanteau between "Goblin" and the Japanese word for "Forest" ("Mori"). Since Molblins are commonly found in forests (especially the Lost Woods), it's a fitting name.
- Spikes of Villainy: In its artwork, the evil Molblin wears armor covered with spikes.
- Token Heroic Orc: A handful of Molblins do not fight Link and instead reward him with rupees.
Octorok
A type of octopus that lives above ground. There are two types, red and blue. Watch out for the blue ones. They're mean. They spit out rocks at Link.
Funnel-mouthed octopi that wander Hyrule's overworld, spitting rocks at Link.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: The manual artwork is the only time that the Octorok is depicted with a toothy maw instead of a toothless Funnel Mouth.
- Funnel-Mouthed Cephalopod: Their sprite shows them with a projecting funnel mouth from which they spit their rocks. Their artwork, however, goes for a toothy maw instead.
- The Goomba: They're one of the earliest and weakest enemies fought in the game, only providing a meaningful obstacle early on and largely serving to teach the player how the sword and shield work.
Peahat
Has little attacking power. This is the ghost of a flower that bounces and flutters around the place. Link can eliminate it only when it's standing still.
Flower-like flying enemies.
- Airborne Mook: They hover in the air with the flower-like petals above their heads and tend to move from one spot to another in a straight line, and become invulnerable when airborne.
- Heli-Critter: They fly by whirling their leaves like helicopter blades.
- Non-Human Undead: According to the game's manual, peahats are the ghosts of flowers.
Tektite
These spidery things jump about all over the place. Red ones move about a lot and blue ones move only a little. Tektites have little fighting power.
One-eyed hopping arthropods, found on the slopes of mountain areas.
- Four-Legged Insect: Arachnid, in this case. Tektites have just four legs despite being loosely based on spiders.
- Oculothorax: Tektites are essentially armor-plated eyeballs with jointed legs.
- Piñata Enemy: A mild example — Blue Tektites are somewhat more likely to drop Blue Rupees than other enemies. The best way to grind for money is a circuit starting with the Tektites and Leevers on the southern shore, up to a certain screen just south of the desert with blue Tektites, then south along the lake shore neer Level 1 for more Red Leevers, and repeat.
Zola (River Zora)
Half-fish, half-woman who lives in the water. When she sticks her head out of the water she lets out a ball that Link's little shield can't hold back.
Fish people who live in Hyrule's waterways and spit fireballs at Link.
- Ear Fins: They have large rayed fins where a human would have ears, as part of their fish person appearance.
- Evil Counterpart Race: Retroactively, the River Zora are the feral and predatory counterpart to the friendly and benevolent Sea Zora later introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
- Fish People: They're monstrous, humanoid fishes with scaly skin and webbed fins instead of hair.
- Fireballs: Their method of attack is to spit balls of fire at Link.
- Inconsistent Spelling: Their Japanese name uses a phoneme intermediate between the English "r" and "l". This game's English dub uses the "Zola" translation, while all future ones would use "Zora".
- She's a Man in Japan: In the original Japanese version, they have no specified gender. But in the English translation of the manual, the Zola is described as "half-fish, half-woman" and referred to with feminine pronouns.
Underworld
Bubble
The spirit of the dead. When it clings onto Link, he won't be able to unsheath his sword for a while.
Floating, glowing spheres, Bubbles temporarily remove Link's ability to use his sword if they touch him.
- Flying Face: They're disembodied flying skulls.
- Hard Mode Mooks: Red Bubbles (which take away your sword permanently if they hit you) only appear in the Second Quest, the game's version of a Hard difficulty.
- Helpful Mook: Blue Bubbles (which only appear in the second quest) do not damage Link at all. Their only function is to remove the "no sword use" curse that Red Bubbles can inflict on Link. This marks a contrast with the enemy's eventual appearances in Majora's Mask and The Wind Waker, where the Blue Bubble inflicts the curse on Link (though it wears off after a while).
- Invincible Minor Minion: There's absolutely no way to kill them or remove them from the map; the only thing to do when they appear is avoid them as best as possible.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: The manual describes them as the spirits of the dead.
- Wreathed in Flames: While it's not immediately obvious from their sprite, their artwork shows them wreathed in ghostly flames.
Darknut
The knight who lives in the labyrinths. He has lots of attacking power. He repels Link's attacks from the front with his shield.
Armored knights, Darknuts are among the toughest common foes found in dungeons.
- Clean Dub Name: Their name was likely changed in English due to the name "Tartnuc" forming the words "cunt rat" when spelled backwards.
- Dub Name Change: Tartnuc in Japanese, Darknut in English.
- Shield-Bearing Mook: The Darknuts have shields that protect their fronts from attack.
Gibdo
The mummy man. He's got some strange powers, and some pretty powerful attacking force.
A mummy with simple attacks but a lot of health.
- Mummy: Bandage-shrouded undead found wandering in mazelike catacombs.
- Night of the Living Mooks: Gibdos are large mummies that roam erratically in the later dungeons of the game, and require several attacks with the sword to be defeated.
Goriya
A little devil that lives underground. He uses boomerangs. There are two of his type, blue ones and red ones. Watch out for the blue ones! They are strong.
Dog-people who throw boomerangs.
- Battle Boomerang: They fight using their own version of the Boomerang item, which they send spinning around their rooms to damage Link if they hit him. Defeating groups of them is necessary for obtaining the Boomerang and Magical Boomerang.
- Food as Bribe: In Level 7 in the first quest (and multiple dungeons in the second quest), you have to give a bait to a hungry Goriya to get it to stop blocking a passageway. The game lets you know he's hungry by his saying of "GRUMBLE GRUMBLE."
- Token Heroic Orc: "Heroic" may be too generous, but there are certain Goriyas that do not attack Link and will let him pass freely when given food.
Like Like
A tube-like monster that has a soft spot for magic shields — he eats them up.
Bizarre creatures that try to consume Link's Magical Shield, transforming it into a simple shield.
- Mooks Ate My Equipment: If you let one touch you, it envelops you and you can kiss your Magical Shield (if you have one) goodbye. Your only chance to escape without losing your Magical Shield is to have the Magical Sword and give it the required three stabs as quickly as possible. If you have anything less than the Magical Sword, you'd better hope you were caught by one that has already taken damage!
Pols Voice
A ghost with big ears and a weak point — he hates loud noise.
Whiskered, large-eared creatures. They're defeated by blowing in the game system's microphone... or, at least, by doing so in game systems that have one.
- Boss in Mook's Clothing: In the second quest, the Pols Voice act as an enemy equivalent to the Early-Bird Boss, as they first appear well before the weapon necessary to One-Hit KO them, the bow and arrow. With the sword, they take many hits to kill, and are difficult to strike with their erratic "jump" movements. This only applies to the English version: in the Japanese version, they can be killed just as easily as in the first quest by shouting into the Famicom controller's microphone.
- Difficulty by Region: Pols Voices are much harder to deal with outside Japan. This becomes most apparent in the second quest, where they appear before the bow. As mentioned elsewhere, its vulnerability to sound refers to the microphone the Famicom has but the NES doesn't, and they take a lot of sword hits and are clustered together. Since you're supposed to talk into your controller and watch them die, not fight them, they become terrible enemies where that doesn't work (for instance, the 2021 Game & Watch release has no microphone, so the Pols Voice has neither weakness in the Famicom version). Later games do make them vulnerable to musical items (ironically, without hinting at it, meaning that you're supposed to remember this game and try something that didn't work!)
- Dub-Induced Plot Hole: The manual includes the hint that the Pols Voice "hates loud noises". At no point in the localized version of the game does this come into play. It's referencing a trick on the Japanese (Famicom Disk System) version, in which Pols Voices could be killed by shouting into the microphone built into the controller. However, when the Famicom was released in the West as the Nintendo Entertainment System, it didn't have the microphone, but the description in the manual was unchanged. American gamers wasted a lot of time trying to kill them by playing the recorder, not helped by the presence of a boss who is injured by the recorder. And when the enemy reappeared on the Nintendo DS it was back to using the microphone.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: According to the game's manual, these bizarre large-eared things are in fact ghosts.
- Paradiegetic Gameplay: In the Famicom Disk System version, the Pols Voice enemy is killed by yelling in the microphone in the Famicom's second controller. Each Japanese rerelease changes it so Pols Voices 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.
Rope
A poisonous snake that has made the labyrinths its home. It senses other creatures quickly and suddenly comes after them (and Link, for that matter!) once it has found them out. This one hasn't got a lot of attacking power.'
A regular if aggressive snake, Rope is one of the simpler foes that Link faces in the labyrinths.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": Name aside, they're perfectly ordinary snakes.
- Took a Level in Badass: Ropes in the second quest go from being a free kill to a significant obstacle, as they now take several hits to kill instead of one.
Stalfos
A skeleton that's got a sword in each hand. Little attacking power.
A skeleton with two swords, Stalfos wander around randomly and don't take much effort to defeat.
- Dem Bones: The game marks the debut of the Stalfos, the skeletons who wander around in dungeons. They get upgraded to firing sword beams in the second quest.
- Dual Wielding: Stalfos fight with a sword in each hand.
- Night of the Living Mooks: They're skeletal soldiers that can be found in the dungeons. They're not too difficult to defeat, but it's important to land Link's attacks onto them accurately, as they tend to jump backwards to dodge them.
- Sword Beam: In the second quest, Stalfos can fire swords like Link and Lynels do.
- Took a Level in Badass: Stalfos in the second quest go from being a free kill to being quite a threat, as they now know how to throw swords at Link, dealing two hearts of damage if he comes into the path of them.
Vire and Keese
Vire is a devil that controls the Keeses. When Link cuts it with his sword, it turns into two Keeses. Keeses have little attacking power, but Vire is a little stronger.
Keese are large bats found fluttering around in many dungeons. Vire are batlike demons that split into Keese when struck. A Vire's component Keese may be killed, but the demon will simply resurrect afterwards; killing it permanently requires striking it down with a weapon strong enough to exhaust all of its health in one hit.
- Asteroids Monster: Vires split into two Keese on death, but only if struck with a weapon under a certain power level. In order to kill them in one go, they require Magic Sword or Bomb (Silver Arrows also work, although you're only likely to use this strategy in ROM hacks of the game since the Silver Arrows can't be collected before level 9 and there aren't any Vires in level 9 of either quest).
- Bat Out of Hell: Keese are a kind of large aggressive bat, while Vires are demonic bat-like imps that split into two Keese when killed.
- Bat People: Vires resemble 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.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": Keese are essentially just bats by another name.
- Extra Eyes: Vires have four eyes, one pair above the other.
- The Goomba: Keese are pretty weak, and can be defeated with a single arrow or sword strike.
Wallmaster
A monster hand that appears out of the labyrinth wall. If it catches Link, it takes him back to the entrance to the labyrinth.
Disembodied hands that try to drag Link back to the labyrinths' entrances.
- Ambushing Enemy: The Wallmasters are disembodied hands that creep out of the wall and, if they hit Link, drag him back to the entrance of the dungeon. They're also quite generous with dropping blue Rupees and life hearts though, and they aren't that durable, so players who aren't creeped out by them may be happy to encounter them.
- Animate Body Parts: They're living, disembodied hands that attack by grabbing Link and trying to carry him away.
- Harmless Enemy: Wallmasters 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.
- Mook Bouncer: They reside in the dungeons and take Link back to the first room if they catch him.
Wizzrobe
The Master of Movement. He appears here and there letting out magic spells that Link's little shield can't hold back. He's pretty strong. Watch out!
Robed wizards that teleport around while firing magic.
- Glass Cannon: Red Wizzrobes' spells deal twice as much damage as those of Blue Wizzrobes — tied with Ganon himself for the most damage of any enemy in the game, in fact — but take less hits to kill at exactly one Magical Sword attack, do less damage on bumping into them than the Blue ones, and have movement patterns that leave them more vulnerable.
- In the Hood: Their faces are completely covered by a hood.
- Shadowed Face, Glowing Eyes: Their sprites and are depict them with faces entirely cast in shadow by their hats or hoods, with only a pair of eyes visible within.
- Teleport Spam: Red Wizzrobes' attack strategy is to fire off a bolt of magic, teleport to a random spot of the room, fire again, teleport again, and repeat ad nauseam.
Zol and Gel
Jelly-like monsters that walk about bouncing around in the labyrinths. When Link cuts Zol, it splits into two Gels. Gel has little attacking power, but Zol has twice the power of Gel.
Jelly-like monsters. A Zol will split into smaller Gels if struck.
- Asteroids Monster: Zols split into two Gels on death, but only if struck with a weapon under a certain power level. In order to kill them in one go, they require the White Sword, Arrow or Magic Rod.
- Blob Monster: They're small, rounded, hopping balls of slime that split into smaller copies of themselves when killed. The game's manual shows them as slimy, dripping, messy things.
