Phantom

The Phantom is a recurring character in The Legend of Zelda series, first appearing in Phantom Hourglass, and returning in its sequel, Spirit Tracks.

Phantom Hourglass
In Phantom Hourglass, the Phantom is an enemy that patrols the Temple of the Ocean King. Although similar in shape to a Darknut, it is an extremely powerful enemy, able to defeat Link with only one swipe of its sword, forcing him to return to the beginning of the floor on which he was attacked. Moreover, it steals 30 seconds worth of Sand of Hours.

It is invincible to all weapons barring the Phantom Sword, although it can be stunned by attacking its exposed back side or hitting it with a charged Hammer. There are only two ways to defeat a Phantom without using the Phantom Sword - the first is to push a rolling boulder into the path of a Phantom and crush it, and the second is to continuously stun it in order to push it into a pit. Phantoms follow preset paths, although if they detect Link they will relentlessly track him down. The Phantom is able to track Link by sound or sight, although it cannot enter or see into "Safe Zones". As such, if Link escapes into one, the Phantom will forget he is even there, and will leave. Because they follow sound, they can also be tricked into following Bombs or Bombchu. Certain Phantoms are also able to pick up Small Keys and Force Gems, thus requiring Link to stun or slay them to obtain the treasure.

The Phantoms are also playable within Phantom Hourglass's multiplayer Battle Mode. Here, players will take turn playing offense (Link) and defense (Phantoms), in a game of trying to collect Force Gems. After the Ghost Ship is cleared, it is revealed that Phantoms are emanations of Bellum created to protect itself as well as obtain more Force.

Types of Phantoms
Throughout the temple, Link will encounter three types of Phantom, two of which have their own special abilities.


 * Phantom: The least dangerous Phantom, which wears blue armor.
 * Swift Phantom: A red-armored Phantom which can run faster than Link, as well as pick up dropped items. It also wears a slightly different helmet. It first appears after the Ghost Ship dungeon is complete, and replaces several normal Phantoms.
 * Gold Phantom: A gold-armored Phantom which initially moves slowly, but can teleport to follow Link if he is spotted by a Phantom or Phantom Eye. It wields an axe, unlike other Phantoms.
 * Phantom Trio: Three Phantoms that only appear in the multiplayer Battle Mode. They are basically a normal Phantom in gray armor, though they can pick up power-ups to activate obstacles on the field or empower themselves. However, they cannot pick up Force Gems. They can always see Link (with the exception of when he is in a safe zone).

Spirit Tracks
In Spirit Tracks, Phantoms return as guardians of the Tower of Spirits, corrupted by evil spirits due to the power of Malladus at the peak of the tower. Because of this, they attack Link, thinking he is an intruder. They behave and attack much like the Phantoms in Phantom Hourglass, although this time around they cannot be completely defeated. When Princess Zelda possesses a Phantom and speaks to one of them, Link can obtain an insight into a Phantom's every-day life. Evidently, they treat their job like a normal person would treat any other, mentioning things from their day-to-day life like how "Bob quit last week," or how the "break room is a broom closet." They speak in robotic voices, using capital letters for words and only periods for punctuation, denoting a lack of emotion.

In order for Princess Zelda to take control of a Phantom, three Tears of Light in the area must be collected beforehand. Link is then required to strike the back of the Phantom with his sword, which stuns the Phantom and allows the princess to take control of it. After she does so, the eyes of the Phantom glow and its armor turns pink. Once the Lokomo Sword is acquired, the Tears of Light are not necessary to power the sword, as it already contains the power necessary to stun the Phantoms. Alternatively, Link can strike the back of a Phantom with an arrow from the Bow of Light to stun it enough to possess it.

Phantom Zelda
Princess Zelda is murdered by Chancellor Cole, who plans to use Zelda's body to release the Demon King. Zelda's spirit is unable to return to her physical state, and thus helps Link on his quest by taking control of a Phantom. This allows offensive and defensive backup for Link, as well as helping him solve many puzzles throughout the game.

As a Phantom, Princess Zelda automatically follows behind Link. To independently control Phantom Zelda, the lower left Phantom icon must be tapped. This will switch the camera to her, where, by pressing the pink circle below here, the player will be able to draw the path that Zelda should follow. Once done so, Zelda will not automatically follow Link until he taps the "Call" icon.

Zelda has a wide variety of functions as a Phantom, depending on Link's actions. For instance, she is able to carry him upon her shield if he leaps onto her from a height. She can also easily cross through fire, spiked floors, walk through lava, or warp to the locations of Phantom Eyes if she is possessing a Warp Phantom. Moreover, Princess Zelda can carry electrified Boss Keys to their door key as Link looks out for the Key Masters that will try to take back the key. If a Phantom spots Link, Zelda will block the Phantom's attack at the young hero, and she will urge Link to run away quickly as she tries to keep blocking the Phantom's attacks. Zelda is also capable of distracting Phantoms by speaking with them, allowing Link to sneak past them unnoticed.

Due to her great strength as a Phantom, Zelda is also vital to some of Link's battles, such as helping him in the fights against Geozard Chiefs, Byrne, and Malladus. Despite Zelda donning a Phantom suit, she is deathly afraid of rats. As such, if a rat crosses her path, she will scream and be paralyzed with fear and will not be able to settle down or be controlled by Link until the young hero defeats it for her.

If Link attacks Zelda too many times while she is possessing a Phantom, Zelda will, in an act similar to a Cucco, attack Link back. Her attacks, however, do not cause Link to return to the beginning of the room, unlike the regular Phantoms. The difference between Phantom Zelda and a normal Phantom is that Zelda can enter safe zones, and Link cannot leave the floor without Zelda accompanying him.

Types of Phantoms
There are four types of Phantoms in Spirit Tracks, some of them returning from Phantom Hourglass. When Zelda possesses a Phantom, she will also inherit all of the abilities that the specific Phantom has.
 * Phantom: The standard Phantom, this green-armored enemy can walk across spiked floors and across lava.
 * Torch Phantom: The standard Phantom equipped with red armor and a flame engulfed sword. Its sword is great for illuminating dark rooms. This Phantom can light up torches, as well as stun ghosts that haunt the corridors in the upper dark rooms in the tower.
 * Warp Phantom: A blue-armored Phantom with a slight helmet redesign and the same abilities as the original Phantom. It has the added ability to warp anywhere across the room. Under Zelda's control, the Warp Phantom is limited to only warping to the locations of Phantom Eyes.
 * Wrecker Phantom: A black-armored Phantom with a helmet redesign and a grin on its face, it has the power to transform into a boulder at will, stun other Phantoms by rolling into them, and push giant black blocks. Because of the Phantom's new abilities it cannot distract other Phantoms by speaking with them. Under Zelda's control, the Wrecker Phantom is able to go through lava, but cannot carry Link. Link may stand on the shield, so long as Zelda does not move, as upon movement, she takes on the boulder form and Link will drop.

Trivia

 * Phantoms bear striking resemblance to Darknuts from both The Wind Waker and The Minish Cap.
 * In Spirit Tracks, Phantoms no longer have eyes on their backs, but skulls instead.
 * The way the Phantoms can be avoided and how they patrol is similar to the Moblins patrolling the Sacred Forest Meadow in Ocarina of Time.