Manhandla

Manhandla is a recurring boss in The Legend of Zelda series. Although not mentioned in the international release, the Japanese manual describes it as a "four-limbed, jumbo-sized" Piranha Plant, making it the first reference to the Mario series to appear in The Legend of Zelda.

Characteristics
The defining characteristic of the Mandhandla is its four symmetrical "hands", which are, in fact, its weak points. Though different weapons are effective against this fiend between different games, the trusty sword always comes through as a pertinent damage inflicter. As with all incarnations of Manhandlas, as each "hand" is dispelled, the entire form picks up speed, reaching its maximum velocity upon destruction of the third "hand"; after defeating all four "hands", the Manhandla will submit to defeat.

The Legend of Zelda
Manhandla is the third boss of The Legend of Zelda. It is a large, spinning, man-eating flower with the ability to spit fireballs. The flower will try to devour Link with its four "hands" as Link tries to dispose of it. The "hands" weigh the boss down, causing it to move slowly and allowing Link to either slash at them with his sword or explode them with Bombs. As each hand is destroyed, the beast gains more speed. A cleverly placed bomb at the center of the flower will rid the boss of all four hands in a single blow. Killing Manhandla will earn Link the third piece of the Triforce of Wisdom.

Manhandla appears again as a mini-boss in the Snake and the Lion.

BS The Legend of Zelda
Manhandla also makes an appearance in the BS The Legend of Zelda title. The first time it shows up is in the third dungeon, as the boss, and it also returns in the seventh dungeon as a mini-boss. The battles play out in a similar manner to that in The Legend of Zelda, minus the fact that Manhandla is much faster, and requires fewer blows to defeat.

Oracle of Seasons
In Oracle of Seasons, Manhandla is the boss of the Ancient Ruins, the sixth dungeon. Manhandla starts out by spitting four fireballs at Link. The flowers can only be damaged by the Magical Boomerang when they are open. When Manhandla loses all four flowers, it runs around the room very fast in a "figure 8" motion. Link has to continually hit Manhandla with the Magical Boomerang to expose its core. At that point, Link has a small amount of time to use his Sword to destroy Manhandla's core and defeat it. Link receives a Heart Container and the Blowing Wind, the sixth Essence of Nature, for destroying Manhandla.

Note that the body is now a large Buzz Blob, very similar to the Giant Buzz Blob mini-boss from Link's Awakening's Color Dungeon and to the Big Green ChuChu boss of the Deepwood Shrine in The Minish Cap. Also note that the four plant heads now look and act very similar to the Mario series's Piranha Plant, reflecting it's origins as a relative.

Four Swords
A Big Manhandla is appears in Four Swords. It is a large multi-headed plant that serves as the boss of the Sea of Trees. At the start of the battle, the Big Manhandla will have two to four heads that will change colors depending on the number of players. As the blossomed heads circle around the battlefield, the corresponding Links must attack the flowers that matches their tunic while dodging the small green stones that Manhandla begins to shoot. Once all of the flowers have been defeated, two Pull Levers will appear on the sides of Manhandla. The Links must pull these simultaneously to reveal the blossom, at which point two different-colored flowers will appear. The same-colored Links must then strike the corresponding flower at the same time to damage it. If Manhandla is not defeated the first time the blossom is revealed, it will become more aggressive and will start to shoot seeds at the Links, trying to impede them from pulling the levers.

Once Manhandla has been defeated, it will yield Rupees and open the portal to the Great Fairy of Forest, where each of the Links receives one of the Great Keys as a reward.

Four Swords Adventures
In Four Swords Adventures, Manhandla appears in The Coast, Frozen Hyrule and Realm of the Heavens, as either a Boss or Mini-Boss. The strategy is the same as in The Legend of Zelda, but the claws are different colors, and the Link of the corresponding color must strike the claw to destroy it. Thankfully it only takes one hit to weaken each claw, but if one of the Links get struck by it or hits the wrong head, Manhandla will spit fire from all four heads and they will grow to full size again. The four Links will have to repeat the process in that case, but once all the claws have become smaller it will be destroyed.

Trivia

 * Manhandla's name is similar to man-handler; this similarity could be attributed to his brutal attack methods.