Lynel

The Lynel is a centaur-like race found in many of the 2-D games in The Legend of Zelda. They come in a blue and red variety and are extremely difficult to kill in close combat (apparently their hide and armor is designed to withstand a lot of punishment from all forms of weaponry). The Lynel has never been seen thus far in a 3-D The Legend of Zelda game.

In The Legend of Zelda, they are the most powerful enemies that roam the overworld, firing sword beams at Link in a similar fashion as he fires sword beams when he is at full health. Be wary, as their beams do one or two hearts of damage, depending which color they are. The red color causes one, and the blue inflicts two hearts of damage.

In A Link to the Past, they are quite powerful enemies too, roaming the Death Mountain area in the Dark World. They fire fireballs at you, and can be quite evasive. It is recommended to use Spin Attacks against these foes, as it's easier to hit them with this attack.

In Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages they are given a slightly different design than The Legend of Zelda, but have the exact same attack pattern and heart damage as their earlier counterparts. A one-of-a-kind Golden Lynel can appear in Seasons if certain conditions are met.

Trivia

 * In the Oracle of Seasons book, Lynel are incorrectly identified as "Fire Cats".