Hinox

Hinox are cyclopean beasts that appear in A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening.

A Link to the Past
Hinox are commonly found in the Dark World of Hyrule in A Link to the Past. They are a brutal and strong race, and over the years have been able to construct explosives such as bombs to use against prey and potential danger. Their skin is an orange color, their single eye is perched in the middle of their head, and they tower over a normal Hylian by several feet. Being a tribal creature, the most a Hinox has ever been seen wearing is a loin-cloth made out of some sort of beast-hide. Link encountered this evil race in his quest to save Princess Zelda and managed to kill the beasts with his sword after several hits, as the Hinox were naturally superior in strength and endurance. But they have a weakness to a certain projectile.

Link's Awakening
A few Hinox found their way onto Koholint Island in Link's Awakening as mini-bosses. Their appearance and method of throwing bombs at enemies remained about the same, but they had a little more strength than their earlier incarnations. A stone version of the Hinox, called Stone Hinox, is a mini-boss in the bonus Color Dungeon exclusive to Link's Awakening DX. It has the same abilities as the Hinox mini-boss, but it can also cause boulders to rain from the ceiling.

Four Swords Adventures
In Four Swords Adventures, the Hinox found in Death Mountain Foothills attack either by throwing boulders or grabbing the Links. Once a Hinox grabs one of the Links, he shakes him, causing the Link to loose his Force Gems.

Phantom Hourglass
In Phantom Hourglass, blue Hinox are found either on Dee Ess Island or in the Goron Temple. They attack by throwing punches and bombs; if Link throws a bomb at them, they will throw it back. Because these creatures cannot be attacked from the front with the sword, it is better to use the Boomerang from behind or to shoot them in the eye with the Bow to stun them for a short time opening them up for attack.

A Link to the Past comic
Hinox appear several times throughout the A Link to the Past comic. Link is first confronted by a Hinox after just arriving to the Dark World; upon leaving a shrine, Link is confronted by three knights and a Hinox, who ask him about a fairy they are pursuing for her magic powers. When Link tells them he does not have the fairy, the Hinox begins to attack the young hero by throwing bombs at him. However, Link manages to catch one of them and throws them back at the foe's mouth, causing the Hinox to explode.

Another Hinox appears when Link visits the Palace of Darkness. After Link is discovered wandering around the palace by a Rocklops, the foe warns Link of what could happen if he set off the firecorns in the palace, but the young hero disregards his warning and takes a nearby Hinox's bomb belt that was wrapped around it. Link then stumbles into the imprisoned crystal, but is attacked by a Gleeock  that was called upon by the Rocklops. Although he defeats it easily  with the Master Sword, soon more Hinoxs riding Gleeocks begin to head   towards him. Link gives Epheremelda ones of the bombs from the Hinox's belt, which  eventually denotes the firecorn stockpile and destroys the entire   palace.

A Hinox is last seen inside Swamp Palace, where the foe, along with a Taurus, shuts the entrance to the rest of the palace and impedes Link from rescuing the Maiden inside. As Sahasrahla's friend watches the battle between Link and the Taurus from a fountain in the Light World, he accidentally activates the statues that cause water to pour into the  fountain. This leads to the Swamp Palace in the Dark World to get flooded, washing away both the Taurus and the Hinox, who eventually end up sinking as they struggle with each other.

Trivia

 * In the secret ending in the Game Boy Advance remake of A Link to the Past, obtained after completing the Palace of the Four Sword, a Hinox appears at the top of the Pyramid of Power playing with a Super Bomb.
 * A master of the Hinox appears in the Link's Awakening manga. He goes by the name of Master Drona, and his title is well-earned.
 * The Stone Hinox is called Dekudon in the Prima strategy guide for Link's Awakening DX, and Hinox is refered to as Eye Brute in the Prima strategy guide for Phantom Hourglass.
 * The boss Cragma from Spirit Tracks shares similarities in its appearance with Hinox.