Keese

Keese are the bat-like creatures that often flutter about in dungeons. When they spot Link, they will come flying in towards him to try and attack him, but a quick slash from Link will have the job done. Keese can become Fire Keese when they travel through a torch that is lit. They can also become Ice Keese by flying through a blue flame or being in extremely cold environments.

The Legend of Zelda
Keese appear in every dungeon throughout The Legend of Zelda and often litter areas in those dungeons. They fly around the screen, not heading towards anything in particular, and stop for a short amount of time.

There are three colors of Keese:
 * Blue Keese are the most common.
 * Two Red Keese appear when a Vire is harmed but not killed.
 * Black Keese appear in the more advanced dungeons.

Unusual for the Zelda games (wherein color usually indicates the enemy's level of difficulty), the different colors of Keese have the same abilities, stats, and movement patterns but the black Keese tend to inhabit rooms that are dark or with black floors; in this case, Link could only see their eyes, thus making them harder to hit.

A Link to the Past
In A Link to the Past, Keese take an approach similar to the Ache of The Adventure of Link, only moving when Link gets close. They aren't as common of an enemy as they used to be. They stay dormant, and fly around when they're approached, stopping after a while. In the Dark World, Keese are replaced with Eye Keese, who behave similarly, but with a vastly different appearance.

Link's Awakening
Keese return to their roots in Link's Awakening, taking on a darker color, like in The Legend of Zelda. They act similarly to the originals, too, moving around whenever they please, and like the original, they are weak. There are also larger Keese that only appear during the fight with the Grim Creeper, the mini-boss of dungeon number seven. These are stronger than a regular Keese. The Vire in Turtle Rock turns into Big Keese when destroyed that fly into Link and leave.

Ocarina of Time
Keese return in Ocarina of Time as black, yellow-eyed bats, flying high mostly in dungeons. Whenever one sees Link, it will fly down to attack. The easiest way to kill one is to hit it with arrows. Link can also shoot them with the Hookshot or Longshot and kill them in one hit without using arrows. There are also Fire Keese, who set Link on fire if they come in contact with him, in addition to burning his Deku Shield; and Ice Keese, who freeze Link if they come in contact. They can be transformed into Fire or Ice Keese by attacking them with some form of fire or ice.

Majora's Mask
Keese remain exactly the same in Majora's Mask as they did in Ocarina of Time, including being mostly found in dungeons. There are larger forms of Keese that are found outside called Bad Bats, which act the same, but pack a bigger punch. Keese are given a master of sorts in the form of a sub-boss named Gomess, which uses Keese as a cloak.

Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
Keese are the same in the Oracle series as they were in Link's Awakening. However, they are a lot more erratic than they were in Link's Awakening. Another form of Keese is the Fire Keese, similar to the Fire Keese of past games, and any Keese who encounters fire will become one. They fly higher in the air than Keese and swoop down on their enemies. Big Keese sometimes accompany the enemy Blue Stalfos.

Four Swords Series
Keese slowly fly around dark caves and dungeons in The Minish Cap with no real strategy. They are easily defeated and of little threat to Link. In and, Keese are sometimes seen in the overworld of Hyrule as well.

The Wind Waker
Keese appear more like vampire bats in The Wind Waker, flying faster than before. They are usually found in dungeons and also appear as Fire Keese. Unlike other Keese, they do not head straight into their enemy; they wait and prepare to strike. Another difference between these and other Keese is that the boomerang is the easiest weapon to use to kill them. There are also Ice Keese that are found on Ice Ring Isle. When they come into contact with Link, they temporarily freeze him. They are considered more of a threat than the other two forms.

Twilight Princess
Regular, Fire, and Ice Keese return in Twilight Princess. They now have a long tail with a hook on the end, and their attack pattern is similar to that of in The Wind Waker—they do not simply fly at Link and ram into him but stop short and attack. Like in other games, a single strike from even the weakest weapon can kill it, although the Boomerang will only stun for a moment. Using the Hidden Skill called Shield Attack will ground the Keese, making it hop around on the ground, vulnerable to attack.

Phantom Hourglass
In Phantom Hourglass, Keese return once more in their The Wind Waker form, with an identical purpose and frequency.

Variations
There are several variations on the regular Keese:

Ache
Though Keese don't appear in The Adventure of Link, Aches, a similar species of bat-like creatures, do. Aches in this game are usually found in forests. They hang at the top of the screen, waiting for someone to pass, and dive down to attack them. Blue Aches take only one hit to defeat. It should be noted that the official name of these enemies is actually Ache, but they behave like Keese in almost every respect, so they are often confused with them. In certain towns, some Aches disguise themselves as villagers and attack Link when he tries to talk to them. They are called "The Eyes of Ganon".

Acheman


Red Aches fly down and turn into red Goblin-like creatures. These Aches, called "Acheman", shoot fireballs from their mouth at their prey. They are only able to transform into this state when on solid ground.

Bad Bat


Bad Bats are larger variants of Keese found in Majora's Mask. They seem to prefer outdoor environments, as opposed to the cave or dungeon-dwelling Keese. They are more powerful than regular Keese, as well.

Fire Keese
When Keese are exposed to an open flame, they can transform into Fire Keese. In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, Keese can be transformed by fire arrows or torches (although regular arrows can kill Keese or Fire Keese easily). They will light Link on fire, simultaneously putting themselves out. In Twilight Princess, they are almost identical to Keese. The only difference between the two is Link does not take damage if he touches a regular Keese when it's not attacking, whereas he will if he touches Fire Keese. They can be put out with the Gale Boomerang, but they do not go out when attacking Link.

Ice Keese
Ice Keese are Keese exposed to cold, such as an ice arrow or blue fire (a regular arrow kills them and can kill Keese, as well). In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, they freeze Link and return to normal, similar to Fire Keese. In Twilight Princess, Ice Keese cannot be changed into regular Keese, nor can regular Keese be transformed into Ice Keese. In Spirit Tracks they act as a miniboss group before Link obtains the boomerang.

Shadow Keese
Shadow Keese are only found in the Twilight Realm in Twilight Princess. The have dragon-like bodies and strange, funnel shaped heads surrounded by a ring of gray plumage. Their faces are featureless save for red symbols. The appear to be identical to Shadow Kargaroks except for the fact that they are smaller and weaker. As with many Shadow creatures, Shadow Keese have a distinctive cry; rather than the squeaking of the other Keese variations, Shadow Keese make a noise reminiscent of a hammer clashing on metal.

Vire


Vires are large humanoid bat creatures, who fly and hop around the area, sometimes shooting fireballs. They split into two Keese when significantly injured.