Daily Debate: What Original Legend of Zelda Baddie Would You Like to See in a Modern Game?
Posted on September 25 2023 by John Furby
With the return of Gleeoks in Tears of the Kingdom, one of the oldest Legend of Zelda enemies finally got a facelift from pixels to full 3D (a two-headed, submerged Gleeok did make a short appearance as a boss in Phantom Hourglass, but you only see the heads). It was exciting to see one of the original villains make a reappearance and go from a small sprite in The Legend of Zelda and Oracle of Seasons to a two-story-tall terror of the skies.
It got me wondering about what other enemies we haven’t seen in a long while, at least since the time of fewer pixels. The first enemy that came to mind was the Aquamentus, the green dragon you encounter as the boss of the very first dungeon in the very first game of the series. The beast also made an appearance in Oracle of Seasons, but has since been absent.
The Digdogger is another original Legend of Zelda boss taking a long hiatus from action since Oracle of Seasons. The one-eyed monstrosity surrounded by wiggling feelers would be menacing in three-dimensions, very reminiscent of Dungeons & Dragons’ Beholders.
While the previous bosses made two appearances early in the series, the Patra has only made one, ever. Featured only in the final dungeon of The Legend of Zelda, the swarm of winged eyeballs that circle a larger eyeball has never resurfaced in any game since. The swarms of Keese in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom certainly harken back to this peculiar enemy, but I wonder how a true modern-day Patra would look.
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- Aquamentus
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- Digdogger
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- Patra
Are these enemies too odd to be rendered into 3D? What are some other enemies you’d like to see in future installments of the series? Let us know in the comments!
John Furby joined the Writing Team at Zelda Dungeon in mid-2023, and has been a Zelda fan since the age of four in the distant past of 1988. He graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in Film/Video with a concentration in Screenwriting. When he’s not spending his free time traveling through the newest incarnation of Hyrule, he raises a sassy and powerful daughter. Somehow he also finds time to collect video games, action figures, comics, VHS, vinyl and cassettes, LEGO, Nintendo Power magazines, and old fancy phones, all while golfing, writing screenplays, editing video, and enjoying a snifter of port at Christmas.
