Lizalfos

Lizalfos are lizard-like creatures that are found in several Zelda games.

Characteristics
Lizalfos are lizard-like enemies with large tails, and usually wield large swords as weapons. In their SS undefined appearance, they wield large rocky gauntlets. It is common for Lizalfos to confront Link in pairs, but he will usually only have to actually fight with them one at a time. When one gets injured, it steps back and the less-injured one takes charge. They are very agile in combat and tend to swing their weapon at Link whenever they get a chance, but there are always opportunities to attack when they drop their guard. They tend to circle Link first and then approach on the counter attack. They sometimes move longer distances by hopping swiftly.

Ocarina of Time
In, Lizalfos bear swords as weapons and have little armor, but are very agile, as they are able to jump far away from Link's attack range, and are even able to leap over Link's head to deliver a sudden strike from behind. First appearing in the Dodongo's Cavern in pairs as a mini-boss, the attack one by one, switching to the next in a tag-team style after one sustains enough damage, while the other stays far out of Link's range. They appear once again in Dodongo's Cavern in a later room, however there is no difference between the previous fight and this one. Lizalfos are relatively scarce within this game, only appearing as regular enemies later in the Spirit Temple and in certain other dungeons in. A similar enemy, Dinolfos, appears later in this game, as well as in.

Twilight Princess
In, Lizalfos have a more dinosaur-like appearance and have ax blades roped to their tails as a secondary weapon. They come in two varieties, the normal "Axe-tail" variety and the "Skull-face" variation, wearing skull armor. They are fairly easy to kill with Bomb Arrows or swordplay such as the Back Slice, and Wolf Link is able to leap and bite at their throats. A single Mortal Draw is also able to quickly dispose Lizalfos. Lizalfos are much more common here than in Ocarina of Time and often appear in parts of Hyrule Field, as well as numerous dungeons, including the Lakebed Temple, Temple of Time, the City in the Sky, Hyrule Castle and the Cave of Ordeals.

Much like in Ocarina of Time similar but much larger and heavily armored enemies known as Dinolfos (also known as Dynalfos in this game) first appear in the Temple of Time. They are considerably more dangerous opponents capable of frequently dodging the Ending Blow and blocking other hidden skills and attacks.

The mini-boss Darkhammer is possibly a large Lizalfos covered with armor found in the Snowpeak Ruins. It wields the Ball and Chain, a weapon Link needs to progress through the game. Darkhammer wears very heavy armor covering its entire body save for its tail, which is its only vulnerable point. It attacks by swinging the Ball and Chain wildly in circles, knocking Link backwards if he is hit. However, its main attack flaw is that as long as it was swinging its weapon it had little in the way of a close range attack.

Skyward Sword
In SS undefined, Lizalfos first appear as regular enemies and a pair as mini-bosses in the Earth Temple guarding the Bomb Bag, similar to their first appearance in Ocarina of Time. They later appear as enemies at Eldin Volcano Summit. Like many of the enemies in Skyward Sword, this is one of their stronger appearances. Lizalfos in Skyward Sword have one large, iron guantlet that they can defend and attack with. They also have morning stars on their tails, similar to the axes on their Twilight Princess incarnations, and are able to breath fire like the Dinolfos from. Lizalfos appear at the Lanayru Shipyard, Pirate Stronghold, the Earth Temple, and the Volcano Summit.

Dark Lizalfos
Dark Lizalfos are dark blue/black Lizalfos that appear as mini-bosses in the Fire Sanctuary, though they also appear in the Sky Keep. They are stronger than normal Lizalfos, as they are also able to curse Link with their dark fire breath, immobilizing the hero. Dark Lizalfos also appear to have large bright orange crests that sit upon the tops of their heads.

Defeating either of the two varieties of Lizalfos will make it drop its tail, which can be collected as treasure.

Trivia

 * Interestingly, in Twilight Princess, arrows will stick to Lizalfos indefinitely and can be retrieved.
 * Dark Lizalfos have crests on their heads similar to those of Dairas from.
 * While Lizalfos do not appear in games prior to Ocarina of Time, similar enemies known as Geru appear in The Adventure of Link. These enemies may have provided inspiration for Lizalfos.