One of the most recognizable parts of the Zelda series is the enemies Link must defeat on his journey, training him to take down whatever supervillain is threatening Hyrule that day. Agahnim, Majora, or Yuga might be the big boss of the day, but they often get left behind by more recurring villains of the series.
While recently some enemies have had the spotlight shone on them, such as the Lynels and Guardians from Breath of the Wild, many of the enemies from the most recent title have been around for much longer than fans realize, with some being in nearly every game that has been released so far.
11 Bonus: Ganon
The demonic pig and wielder of the Triforce of Power may be the overarching villain of the entire series, but that doesn't mean he has been in many Zelda titles. First appearing in the original The Legend of Zelda, he has taken many variations of the bestial form Link must defeat, with Ganon's most recent incarnation in Breath of the Wild being his largest and most imposing transformation yet.
As Link and Zelda have managed to defeat Ganon so often over all of the timelines, it's not surprising that he doesn't appear as an enemy as often as other lesser creatures.
10 Darknut
Like Ganon, the Darknuts haven't appeared in many titles, but they are a force to be reckoned with and some of the hardest enemies to defeat in the games they do feature in. They are often dressed in full armor, shield, and sword, but have also appeared wielding a mace, rapier, or a larger sword and no shield.
For most of their incarnations, Link must either maneuver around them skillfully to find an opening in their defense or, more recently, knock their armor off to strike at their weak points.
9 Wizzrobe
The Wizzrobe are masters of magic and can be a thorn in Link's side if players aren't careful in how they are dealt with. Initially, they only appeared inside dungeons in The Legend of Zelda, but as time went on and they featured in more titles, they ventured outdoors and took on more difficult roles for the player to deal with.
In Majora's Mask, in particular, the ice variation features as a mini-boss in the Snowhead Temple, while the fire versions appear in many locations around Ikana Canyon and the Stone Temple.
8 Like Like
These strange, worm-like creatures have appeared in both the 2D and 3DÂ Zelda titles, one of the few enemies that can claim as such, and are equally annoying in both dimensions.
They have a habit of sucking Link into their body, where they will deal damage over time if the player doesn't act to escape their grasp. When they do manage to break free, the player will often find they have lost some Rupees or consumable items that they must replace once the creature is dealt with.
7 Gibdo
Although these undead creatures may have debuted much earlier on, many players will know this enemy from Ocarina of Time, often seeing them for the first time under the Graveyard area in Hyrule Castle.
Like the ReDeads, they freeze Link in place when spotted and slowly shuffle towards him, although unlike the Redead, Gibdo do not emit the high pitched scream, and make a low moaning noise instead.
6 Armos
The Armos are animated statues that will chase after Link if he gets too close to one, jumping around and trying to land on the young Hylian. In most of their appearances, they are simple but monstrous-looking statues holding a sword and shield, although their look in Twilight Princess is significantly different.
Wielding a hammer instead of a sword, the Armos that attack the Hero of Twilight look more like tiki statues than their older counterparts and also don't appear around Death Mountain as they normally do.
5 Tektite
These one-eyed, four-legged, hoping spiders have been a part of Zelda since the very beginning, and are one of the most recognizable enemies in the series. In most of their appearances, they are fairly simple to defeat in a few strikes of even the most basic sword, but in Adventure of Link, they are made harder to take down.
Heavily armored, immune to many normal attacks and capable of launching fireballs from their eyes, the tektites in Zelda II are much harder to defeat than their other counterparts, and can only be defeated by using the Fire spell, although they are immune to Din's Fire in Ocarina of Time.
4 Stalfos
The skeletal Stal enemies have appeared in many games over the course of Zelda's run, but the most frequently occurring are the terrifying Stalfos. They are oftentimes reanimated Hyrulean soldiers who died during the Hyrule Civil War, although the ones present around the Lost Woods of Ocarina of Time are thought to be adults who were lost in the woods and transformed.
Although they don't invoke the same level of terror as the Gibdo or ReDead, their menacing faces and devastating attacks make them oftentimes difficult to defeat for newer players.
3 Keese
Also simply known as bats, the Keese have appeared in nearly every mainline Zelda game since the series began, often appearing in caves as low-level enemies that are more of an annoyance than a challenge, similar to Zubat from Pokemon.
Keese, like the Wizzrobe, comes in different elemental variations that change the type of damage they do to Link, between Fire, Ice, and Electric. The standard form, with no elemental affiliation, are the most common ones seen in the series
2 Blin
Moblin, Bokoblin, Miniblin, Bulblin and Big Blin are all variations of the same creature that appear over many of the Zelda titles, and often times have wildly different appearances between games. For the most part, their design seems to be based on Ganon's pig form, with many of them taking on a boar or pig-like appearance while acting more like traditional goblins in fantasy, hence their name.
While the Moblin from Ocarina of Time are menacing soldiers that Link encounters around the Sacred Forest Meadow, and cannot be defeated head-on, their counterparts in Wind Waker and Breath of the Wild are equally imposing but easier for the player to deal with.
1 Octorok
The most frequently recurring enemy in all of Zelda is probably the most recognizable in the series, aside from Ganon. They are one of the most common enemies in the 2D Zelda titles, often shooting rocks from their mouths at Link that can be deflected back with his shield, and their 3D counterparts are almost always found near water, where they jump out and try to catch the player off guard.
Although the Octorok's overall style has changed over the years, they always appear to be some sort of octopus creature with a puckered mouth that looks like a cannon to shoot rocks out of.