Patra

Patra, also known as Eyesoar, is a recurring boss in The Legend of Zelda games. It is named "Patra" in The Legend of Zelda, and "Eyesoar" in Oracle of Ages.

The Legend of Zelda
In The Legend of Zelda, Patra is mini-boss of sorts, although not typically considered in that status due to the fight's high level of difficulty. It appears in Level 9 (Death Mountain Labyrinth), composed of a single flying eye surrounded by several smaller flying eyes, this foe can easily impede Link's progress. Patra comes in two varieties, denoted by the pattern in which the outer ring of eyes behaves. While both types spin their smaller Patra around the center eye, one variety has the outer circle expand and contract, while the other variety's smaller Patra rotate like a gyroscope. Both are equally menacing and in many cases Link is required to defeat Patra before moving on. Before Link can kill the main eye, he has to attack the smaller Patra first. Then he can kill the main Patra. Patra is only vulnerable to the sword and to the Magical Rod. Bizarrely, it is only affected by direct contact with the rod itself; neither the beams nor the Book of Magic flames harm it, so the sword is a better option unless the player is doing a swordless run of the game.

Patra has also made an appearance in BS The Legend of Zelda as a boss of one of the dungeons, and as a mini-boss in several other dungeons. It used the same attack patterns as in the original game, but it featured updated graphics.

Oracle of Ages
In Oracle of Ages, Eyesoar (simply known as Patra in Japan) is the boss of Skull Dungeon. To rid Skull Dungeon of this monster, Link had to destroy the smaller eyes that orbit around Eyesoar, then use the Switch Hook to switch places with the main eye. This temporarily stunned the monster, allowing Link to run over and hit it with his sword. As he did this, the smaller eyes became far more aggressive. Despite its best efforts, Link emerged victorious in the battle between them, and moved to take the Burning Flame.

The Eyesoar is capable of dealing damage very fast simply in the way its smaller eyes spin around it, each causing a quarter heart of damage upon contact. However, if Link attacks the smaller eyes, the Eyesoar will very quickly regenerate new ones. The way to defeat it is for Link to grab the Eyesoar with the Switch Hook, then to attack it while it is vulnerable. To penetrate the smaller eyes, Link may either perform a spin attack to get rid of some of the smaller eyes temporarily, then press his advantage and use the Switch Hook while the eyes are regenerating, or he may try simply try to grab the Eyesoar itself, ignoring the smaller eyes. This method is more suicidal, keep in mind, because of the damage the eyes inflict.

Animated series
A Patra briefly appears in the "Stinging a Stinger" episode of the animated series. When Link hears Princess Zelda's screams, he rushes over to where she is and sees that she's being attacked by Patra. The young hero, confident about his new sword, faces an incoming Patra, but one lightbeam from the foe breaks the sword in half and causes Link to collapse from the attack. Zelda then rushes towards Link and swiftly scares the Patras off.

The Legend of Zelda comic
Patra appear in the "To the First Power" story of the Legend of Zelda comic. While Princess Zelda is busy fighting a Gohma in the Eagle Labyrinth, Patra fly in and begin to attack Zelda. Although the princess is successful in defeating one of the eyes, she admits that the fight has gotten too tough for her and manages to escape the room.

Trivia

 * The Chasupa, a common enemy found mostly in the Dark World in A Link to the Past, resembles Patra, as does the Eyeball Monster, a common enemy on the sea in Phantom Hourglass.
 * Patra's name appears to be based on the Japanese onomatopoeia for flapping noises,.