Next Article
Article List
History page
Timeline
Agree? Disagree? Tell me using...
The form
Message Board
The opinions on this page are those of the Mariner. Do not use any of this unless you get permission from him.
9 - 22 - 01
The first question to consider is if they are sentient. Sentience, for those of you who do not know, basically means conciousness/intelligence (humans are the only sentient animals that we know of). In the AoL instruction manual, it states that Ganon's underlings were trying to revive him. This seems to imply that they are sentient. Yet, it seems strange to consider giant octopi to be sentient. Presumably, this sentience applies only to a few types of enemies. Which ones? Creating tools is a sign of sentience, so we will use that criteria. Thus, Lynels, Moblins, and Goriyas are sentient. In fact, we can be sure of Moblins, as they sometimes speak (the ones that give you rupies). Seeing as they are never seen as anything more than monsters, chances are they are not civilized at all. They do not fall in the ranks of Gorons, Gerudo, and the rest of the races we tend to think of. I would guess that they were very primitive cultures that were frightened into Ganon's rule.
Notice I forgot darknuts (ironknuckles, basically) and wizrobes. They have a human appearance, so it is not a stretch to assume they are one of the human-like races (Hylian, Gerudo, Sheikah). There are good and bad people of every race, and the evil knights and wizards must have allied themselves with Ganon. Perhaps he had an ally from a neighboring country. In any case, they are merely evil Hylians, and not worth mentioning. This is why I capitalize Moblins and the like (as they are the names of races), but not darknuts (they are mere descriptions).
And now, what about the rest of the creatures. Where do octoroks, tektikes, keese, ropes, peahats, and the like come from? For the most part, these are all dangerous animals (except for peahats and leevers, which are dangerous plants). They are running around wrecking havoc based on instinct. However, it does not make sense that all these predatory creatures roam the face of Hyrule. Once again, the AoL manual provides the answer. It states that more monsters were being called up from the underworld. Thus, it makes sense that, for the most part, these monsters come from the "underworld." Of course, that begs the question of what is the Underworld. Davogenes suggested, and I agree, that it is a series of caves underneath Hyrule and the surrounding areas. The quote above suggests that it is more than just the labyrinths in LoZ, and the existence of Subrosia seems to support the idea of large underground caverns. Apparently, evolution there has created Jawas and large evil monsters. Ganon must have learned of these beasts and unleashed them in the Overworld to keep the Hylians in check. Creatures like keese and ropes (bats and snakes) have simply always lived in the labyrinths in question, and are merely protecting their territory.
Finally, we come to the labyrinths themselves. Why are there so many darknuts and wizrobes in the labyrinths. Some site gave an explanation (I don't remember which: if you can find it tell me) which seems sound. The events in the instruction manual (Zelda splitting up the Triforce and stuff) were probably very recent (as Impa had just found Link). Ganon sent his forces to find the pieces of the Triforce. However, he probably didn't trust any of his subjects, as they might try to steal the Triforce pieces for himself. Thus, he also sent a monster of his own creation (Phantom Ganon proves he can do this), which was completely loyal yet quite strong, with them. Once the Triforce was found, the strongest monster would guard it from the Goriyas and darknuts and such until a messenger could be sent to Ganon, who would retrieve it (or send someone trustworthy to receive it). However, Link managed to get them before Ganon did. The monsters themselves couldn't bring the Triforce to Ganon for various reasons (the fact that they didn't have hands, and probably couldn't make their way through Death Mountain in any case are a few reasons). I can't think of any other objections to this, so I'll let this theory stand for now.
For the most part, that takes care of the vast majority of monsters. Of course, some of them have a special backstory. Pol's voice, for example, are the ghosts of rabbits (strange, isn't it?), and are probably just violent by nature. The same can be said for the ghosts in the graveyard, who just don't like the fact that you are mucking around in their resting space. Armos have their own ancient history, which we quite frankly don't know. Zolas, as hypothesized in an earlier article, are either the direct descendants or an offshoot of the Zoras. The traps in the labyrinths were placed a long time ago, and have no relation to Ganon's army. And I can't think of any other monster in the game.
That pretty much wraps it up for the monsters of Zelda. Goriyas, Moblins, and Lynels are sentient, but probably uncivilized and barbaric. Darknuts and wizrobes are evil knights and magicians that have allied themselves with Ganon. The overgrown animals are creatures called away from their natural habitat to wreck havoc on the Hylian land. The bosses are specially created by Ganon (except Dodongo, as they seem to precede Ganon) in order to protect the Triforce fragments until Ganon can retrieve them. And the rest have their own story. Pehaps it isn't so strange that there are so many enemies around in Zelda.