Darknut

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Darknuts are a recurring Zelda enemy, premiered in the first The Legend of Zelda. They resemble a large knight, equip heavy armor and a large sword. Darknuts are notoriously difficult to defeat, and are considered the hardest non-boss/non-miniboss enemy in the game. Darknut may be a mistranslation of "Dark Knight".

They are very similar to the Iron Knuckle. The only discernible difference is the name, and that the two have never appeared in a game together. Additionally, since Ocarina of Time, Iron Knuckles have wielded two-handed axes while Darknuts prefer swords or maces. Early Armos Knights also mimic the behavior of the Darknut.

The Legend of Zelda
In The Legend of Zelda, the armored Darknuts live only in dungeons and travel in groups. Their movement pattern is unpredictable, increasing their threat even further. They are protected by a shield on their front, and thus are only vulnerable on the sides and back. They are most vulnerable to a sword or a bomb. Darknuts come in red and blue, with the latter needing more hits to defeat.   

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Called "soldiers" in the English version, but "Darknuts" in the Japanese version. They retain much of their original appearance, and reside in Kanalet Castle. Their shields make a frontal assault difficult.   

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages
Darknuts reappeared in The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. They act the same as in Link's Awakening, but some carry projectiles. Like the first game, they come in red or blue.   

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Like its predecessors, the Darknut is only vulnerable on its side or back.     

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
In its first appearance in a 3-D Zelda, the Darknut's lethality increased tenfold. Wielding a long serrated blade, and wearing strong armor, they are one of the the most difficult non-boss enemies in the game. The Darknut is also resourceful. If it drops its sword, it can pick up fallen weapons, such as a moblin's polearm, or engage in hand-to-hand combat. They will also perform the great spin attack if they see you charging said attack. Their martial arts skills are formidable; unarmed Darknuts attack with either a flurry of quick karate chops or a spinning jump kick that can send Link reeling. Underneath their helmet, the resemble a humanoid jackal. Finding a Darknut normally means the presence of the enemy scenario.

Its only vulnerable spot is the back, where a seam in its armor leaves it vulnerable. The best way to deal with these powerful enemies is the Parry Attack, which avoids the sword, and allows easy removal of the helmet or armor. Depending on where the hit landed, either its body armor or helmet will fall off, leaving either their head vulnerable to a boomerang, or their body open to sword hits. Darknut armor can also be destroyed by repeated sword strikes, but this strategy is time-consuming and hazardous.

They first appear in Hyrule Castle, after the Tower of the Gods has been unsealed. Darknuts start off appearing singularly, or far apart from each other. Later they appear in groups, culminating in a pack of four in the Savage Labyrinth on Outset Island.

Darknuts in this game have varying armour, which may denote ranks. The armour colours are silver, gold, black and red. Most Darknuts use round bucklers, although there are some that don't. Highly ranked black and red armoured Darknuts sometimes wear differently shaped helmets. It will also be revealed that they have a beard if Link removes the helmet with a parry technique.

There is a variety of Darknut in this game called a Mighty Darknut. According to the Nintendo Gallery, they are Darknut captains. They wear capes that must be cut off or burned.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Dark Nuts (as the name is spelled in this game) and Red Dark Nut return from Wind Waker. Its only vulnerable spot is the cape on its back, which much be struck while it recovers from a sword swing (the Red Dark Nut also has a powerful sword thrust attack). They can also be stunned by a bomb. You cannot remove their armor, but it is not necessary to defeat them.

A Dark Nut in completely black armor, known as a Black Knight, appears as the mini-boss of the final dungeon in the game, Dark Hyrule Castle.

Quote from The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap Dark Nut figurine: "Appears in Dark Hyrule Castle. These armor-clad soldiers are tough. Use your shield and rolling skills to find an opening in their defenses!"

Quote from The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap Red Dark Nut figurine: "Appears in Dark Hyrule Castle. These Dark Nut commanders are strong but if you relax and find an opening you can still defeat them."

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Again, one of the most powerful enemy in the game, Darknuts are even harder than their Wind Waker counterparts. They still retain some of their characteristics like removable armor and high defense, but now have increased speed and more sword techniques. Its armor has become less bulky and more streamlined like a medieval knight. They still use a large sword and shield.

Darknuts come in two phases, the first being armored. The best strategy is to draw it toward you, backflip when they plunge their sword down, and then land a jump strike. The back slice, helm splitter and mortal draw are also effective. Bomb arrows can be used to remove a Darknut's armor from afar, but the Darknut's shield will soak up any arrows aimed at it directly; one must instead target the ground immediately next to or behind the Darknut. When Link lands a hit on it, some of its armor strips off, though not as quickly or in as large amounts as in Wind Waker.

Eventually, when all its armor is off, revealing its under-armor chain mail, it will jump back and throw its weapon at you. It then pulls out a smaller sword (a rapier), granting it different attacks, and becomes much more agile, having shed its bulky armor. An unarmored Darknut will attack with two cuts in succession, which give Link a split-second opening to counterattack, a thrust, or a kick which can briefly throw Link off balance. The Darknut will also become far more adept at blocking Link's attacks and will dodge explosions effortlessly. Jump attacks, jump strikes, and back slices can send a Darknut reeling just long enough to attack.

One Darknut with a different helmet, sword and shield is the mini-boss in the Temple of Time, while others commonly guard items such as keys or new areas. They appear either solo or with another in the main game, and as a trio in the final level of the Cave of Ordeals. Darknuts come in several different colors, but have no discernible differences in behavior or difficulty, although some believe that Gold Darknuts are slight stronger. The most Darknuts that you will fight at once is six.

Link's Crossbow Training
In the spin-off title Link's Crossbow Training, a Darknut appears as the boss of stage 8-3. His appearance is identical to the Temple of Time Darknut in Twilight Princess, but he attacks by unleashing a swarm of bats in addition to sword swings. His shield is invulnerable, so Link must wait until the Darknut attacks to shoot his armor off with the crossbow. The armor appears to be enchanted, as each piece turns into a larger bat that attacks Link after it has been shot off the Darknut. When all of the Darknut's armor is gone, he will attack with his shortsword, similar to his attacks in Twilight Princess, but he also gains a teleportation move, in which he turns into a swarm of bats in order to move closer to Link and attack. When Link lands several consecutive hits on him, he will use this move, only with one or more white bats that are worth 100-300 points. By shooting these white bats, Link can whittle down Darknut's health and defeat him.

Other Appearances

 * A very similar looking enemy appears in Adventure of Link, but is called an Iron Knuckle.
 * Some of the tougher Hylian Soldiers encountered in A Link to the Past retain shields and swords, but not the same level of difficulty.
 * The Zora Warriors in Phantom Hourglass are very similar to Darknuts in terms of appearance and fighting style, the biggest differences being their aquatic nature and lack of armour.
 * It is not stated nor are there any other obvious appearances, but the final stage of the boss in Phantom Hourglass, where Bellum takes control of Linebeck, has a very striking resemblance to the Darknuts in other games, mostly to those in Twilight Princess. The Phantom enemies also look similar to a Darknut.
 * The Gomess enemy from Majora's Mask shares an affinity for bats with the Darknut from Link's Crossbow Training.