Darknut

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A Darknut from Legend of Zelda

A Darknut (タートナック, Taatonakku^?) is a fictional armoured knight enemy that appears in The Legend of Zelda series of video games. Typically, the thick armour and sturdy shield of a Darknut renders it nearly invulnerable from the front, forcing the player to circle around and strike it from behind.

Darknuts are very similar to another Zelda enemy, the Iron Knuckle. In the Japanese versions, Darknut is called "タートナック" (taatonakku) which is noticeably similar to the name of Iron Knuckle, "アイアンナック" (aiannakku). It is apparent these two enemies are related, especially in the first two Zelda games, in which they shared similar designs and purposes.

[edit] Appearances

[edit] The Legend of Zelda

In the original The Legend of Zelda, the Darknut's seemingly random movement and high damage capability make them a significant obstacle. The challenge is only compounded by the fact that they frequently appear in groups. The original Darknuts are monsters that attack in the traditional manner of attempting to touch Link, but are much more difficult to fight than other enemies with this attack pattern since they can only be damaged from the side or the rear. Their armour also renders them invulnerable to projectile attacks. Blue Darknuts have double the offensive and defensive capabilites and can move faster than the red ones.

[edit] Link's Awakening

They next appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, as much weaker versions of their past selves. These are called Soldiers in the English version, but their Japanese names are still Darknuts.

[edit] Oracle of Seasons/Ages

Darknuts in The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages appeared the same as in Link's Awakening.

[edit] Four Swords & Four Swords Adventures

Darknuts next appear in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures as an occasional miniboss.

[edit] The Wind Waker

A Darknut from The Wind Waker

In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Darknuts are much larger, slower, and more intimidating than before. Throughout The Wind Waker, Darknuts carry various different weaponry, armour, and uniforms. Some carry only a large sword, while others also bear their trademark shields. The Wind Waker's Darknuts are capable of holding any weapon in one hand, even an oversized greatsword. The Darknut's greatsword can be taken by Link and used as a powerful (if clumsy) weapon, which can even break pillars in certain dungeons to reveal rupees and hearts. In a similar fashion, Darknuts can also retrieve their dropped weapons, or those of other enemies, including Boko Sticks, Bokoblin knives and even Moblin spears, all of which they wield to great (if similar) effect. They will continue to attack even when disarmed, resorting to bare-handed combat; they are also apt to dodge attacks by leaping backward, if their body armour has been removed.

Some Darknuts wear special ceremonial armour and capes, which must be slashed repetitively or burned with a fire arrow before the armour can be removed. Darknuts can be stripped of their armour through properly placed attacks or special counterattacks, and also of their helmets, but only through certain counterattacks. Once its helmet is removed, the Darknut's face is shown to resemble that of a Dobermann, Bull Terrier, or possibly a stylized jackal. The Darknuts in The Wind Waker. Unlike other enemies, The Wind Waker's Darknuts easily break out when frozen by the Ice Arrows, However Link can still shatter them with quick use of the Skull Hammer. They have been also known to imitate Link's spin attack and Hurricane Spin when the player tries to do it. Attacking their armour for long periods of time can destroy it. They drop rare "Knight's Crests" as spoils (possibly as proof they're advanced enough to perform the "Hurricane Spin".

[edit] Twilight Princess

Link battles against a Darknut in the Temple of Time. Some of the Darknut's stripped armour can be seen in the background.

A Darknut first appears as a mini-boss in the Temple of Time in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and later as a high-level enemy.

Like in The Wind Waker, Darknuts are well-armoured, and lose their armour as Link lands hits on them. They are armed with either greatswords (though used with one hand) or giant maces, accompanied with a shield. This shield is very potent and can fend off any one of Link's attacks, with the sole exception of Link's Shield Attack.

Once its outer armour and shield has fallen off, the Darknut throws its weapon at Link and unsheathes a smallsword. With its restricting armour removed, the Darknut can now attack with expert speed and accuracy. They are also more adept at defending themselves against Link's attacks than they previously were. Its two methods of doing this are dodging or deflecting Link's attacks. They strafe around Link a lot more than they previously did and are also capable of short dashes. Dueling and triumphing the Darknut at this point can prove quite difficult.

The Darknut is not perfect at blocking though. Some of Link's attacks are so strong that they can break the guard of an unarmoured Darknut if it attempts to block them, which would allow Link to land a few other hits on the Darknut. These attacks include the Jump Attack, the Great Spin, and the Back Slice. On a standard enemy, successfully landing these attacks would cause them to fall down and become temporarily stunned. Unlike standard enemies, Darknuts do not fall down in the midst of combat.

Later on, a golden Darknut appears that is faster than other Darknuts, even though it also has the heaviest armour. Late in the game, in Hyrule Castle, the player can choose to fight two of these foes at once (the alternative are several puzzles), resulting great danger to the player as the two foes stay very close to each other, making it quite difficult to concentrate on just one of them and leaving the player very vulnerable after an attack. At floor 39, in the optional "Cave of Ordeals", the player must fight off two mace-wielding Darknuts at once. At floor 49, the player must fight three Darknuts at once. During each subsequent trip through the cave, these numbers increase to three and four respectively. their is also one Darknut teamed with two flying dragon like enemies on floor 48, just before fighting three darknuts. The Darknuts' attacks do not harm each other.