Moblin

The Moblin is the primary muscle of Ganon's army. Common as foot soldiers and quite unintelligent, they've been around since the very first Zelda game where they started as anthropomorphic bulldogs. By Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, they were combined with Butablins, and took on a more piggish appearance. Other related species include the smaller but more intelligent Bokoblin, the tiny Miniblin, the huge Big Blin and Great Moblin, and the more militaristic Bulblin. Moblins have appeared in most games in The Legend of Zelda series, except for Majora's Mask, Four Swords Adventures, Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass and ''Spirit Tracks.

The Legend of Zelda
Moblins first appeared in the original The Legend of Zelda. They keep to the wooded areas, such as the Lost Woods, and throw spears. Like most enemies from this game, they come in two colors - red and blue; blue being the stronger of the two, able to withstand three hits instead of two from the Wooden Sword. Blue Moblins drop Bombs more commonly than many other enemies.

Not all Moblins are enemies, however. Some hide in secret caves across Hyrule and give Link Rupees. This marked the first sign of a monster speaking Hylian.

The Adventure of Link
In The Adventure of Link, Moblins appear leaner and more muscular, as opposed to their short, squat appearance in the first game. In some official art, they appear particularly huge, large enough to destroy buildings, although Moblins this big are not seen during gameplay. They still serve Ganon, though he is deceased in this game. They still use spears, either holding or throwing, and live in wooded areas, although some can be found on bridges or caves. They appear in orange, red, and blue (from easiest to hardest, respectively). The orange variety actually comes in two forms, a weaker variety that will simply charge and stab at Link with their spears and will yield no experience when defeated, and one that will throw spears at him that will yield 10 experience points upon defeat.

A Link to the Past
In A Link to the Past, Moblins only appear in the Dark World. They walk around quite quickly, and throw spears at Link from any distance within the screen. These projectiles can be easily blocked with the shield, much like the original The Legend of Zelda, and Moblins behave much like their original incarnations. Although defensively weak, they can cause up to two hearts of damage if they come in direct contact with Link, so should not be underestimated. This appearance marks the first occasion that they had a pig-like face rather than that of a bulldog. Coupled with their appearance only in the Dark World, this gives them a direct relation to Ganon as his underlings. The pig-like appearance is common in later games, and particularly notable in The Wind Waker where they are the primary force of Ganon's army. They commonly appear alongside Tarosu and Hinox, both of which also seem to be mainstays of Ganon's tribe of evil.

Link's Awakening
In Link's Awakening, Moblins appear in two forms. The common forest-dwelling Moblin only appear in the Mysterious Woods and the Moblin Hideout in Tal Tal Heights. Unlike the Moblins of A Link to the Past, these Moblins share their bulldog-like appearance with the Moblins from the NES adventures. Some of these Moblins are armed with shields and blades and are known as Sword Moblins. They will home in on Link when they see him, like the Soldiers from A Link to the Past. The normal variety will simply wander and throw spears, much like their previous appearances. Their leader, known as the King Moblin lives with a small horde in the Moblin Hideout. After Link beats the Tail Cave, he will find that the Moblins have captured Madam MeowMeow's BowWow. The King Moblin and his personal guards will defend their prize to the death. Like the Moblins of the original The Legend of Zelda, these Moblins can speak.

A second variety of Moblin lives primarily in Tal Tal Heights and Ukuku Prairie, and are known as Pig Warriors, or. These Moblins behave in an identical manner to their forest-dwelling cousins, but share the pig-like appearance of the Moblins of A Link to the Past. These Pig Warriors mark their territory in Ukuku Prairie with a large rock shaped like the head of a pig blocking the road, and appear to have a small fortified area near Martha's Bay. The rock can be destroyed using Bombs. Pig Warriors, unlike normal Moblins, do not appear to have a leader, although it is possible that the King Moblin was their ruler as well. This marked the first occassion of the pig-like and dog-like Moblins appearing alongside each other, and even distinguished two different environmental preferences for each type.

Ocarina of Time
In this game, Moblins only appear in the Sacred Forest Meadow when Link is an adult. They are much bigger than their previous appearance. Normal-sized Moblins patrol the hedge maze with spears and proceed to charge if they see Link. A bigger and stronger variation of the Moblin, the Club Moblin, guards the entrance of the Forest Temple with a giant club. If he sees Link, he begin to slam it on the ground, causing a shock wave which can prevent forward progress. In the Master Quest version, one more club-wielding Moblin is in the Spirit Temple. They can be killed by the hookshot or arrows, but are generally best avoided by stealth. With good timing, death by sword is also a possibility. Also, it takes three bombs to kill the Great Moblin, which gives Link a random amount of Rupees.

Unusually, neither type of Moblin in Ocarina of Time can be Z-targeted, and so it is unknown what Navi has to say about them.

Oracle series
In Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, Moblins are one of the most common enemies. They act exactly as they did in Link's Awakening, still coming in red and blue variants; the blue ones are usually harder to find and to defeat. In Oracle of Ages, blue Moblins often appear in the past where red ones are placed in the exact same place in the present. Similarly, blue Moblins tend to appear during winter in Oracle of Seasons. A rare, one of a kind Golden Moblin can appear in a certain region of Holodrum. There is also a character known as the Great Moblin. Link is able to transform into a green Moblin with the Moblin Ring.

The Wind Waker
In The Wind Waker, Moblins are again Ganon's primary soldiers. They appear to have a keen sense of smell, as they appear to be sniffing out Link when he is sneaking through Forsaken Fortress. They are often seen patrolling Ganon's territory (such as reefs or submarines) or temples. Bokoblins and Miniblins often accompany them, and one Moblin in particular serves as the mini-boss of Dragon Roost Cavern. They are sometimes carried into battle on Kargarocs.

Moblins are the least intelligent known of the goblin race. They typically carry polearms (which can be picked up and wielded by Link), and also carry lanterns that they can throw. Moblins are adept at handling a frontal assault by defending with their spears, so attacking from the sides or back is recommended. Moblins have immense reach with their spears, but their wide swings mean that two or more Moblins in proximity are likely to injure or even kill each other. If disarmed, a Moblin proceeds to unleash mighty, lightning-fast punches until it gets its spear back. Valuable Skull Necklaces can be stolen or gained from defeating them or by using the grapping hook, which can be sold to a sailor near the bomb shop, Beedle, or the man in the Auction House after the second Forsaken Fortress mission.

If Link does a thrust attack with his sword that hits a Moblin's rear-end, it starts to cry and walk on its tiptoes, due to the pain inflicted in a delicate place. If Link takes out a bomb while engaged with a Moblin, the Moblin then flees in terror, returning to the fight after the bomb explodes.

There are two kinds of Moblins in The Wind Waker: brown and blue. The brown Moblins appear in the Forsaken Fortress and the Earth Temple. This variety can take more hits and carry lanterns along with their spears that they throw at Link when he gets close to them, acting as a smokescreen of sorts as well as to hurt him with fire. The blue Moblins cannot take as many hits and do not have lanterns.

Maggie from Windfall Island maintains a long-distance relationship with a Moblin named Moe who lives in the Forsaken Fortress. They communicate through letters, and Moe indicates a disturbing "hunger" to see Maggie. Maggie takes this to mean that he wants to marry her. It is apparent through Maggie's actions that she is in love with him, much to her father's disapproval.

The Minish Cap
In The Minish Cap, the Moblins don't literally serve anybody, but aid Vaati in stopping Link from rescuing Princess Zelda in Dark Hyrule Castle. The pink ones appear in Western Wood and the black ones appear in Dark Hyrule Castle. According to the Swordsman Newsletter, defeating them is a good source of income, however, this isn't necessarily true. According to the Royal Hyrule Library's weekly top titles, the book Married to the Moblin is the top seller. However, Link cannot read the book in game. These Moblins may wield either spears (like in The Wind Waker) or bows.

Skyward Sword
In Skyward Sword, Moblins appear as large, overweight, red monsters that are twice the size of Link, resembling Big Blins from Spirit Tracks and King Bulblin from Twilight Princess. Moblins begin to appear after Farore's Silent Realm Trial is completed. They appear in Faron Woods, Lanayru Desert, Eldin Volcano, Skipper's Retreat, the Sky Keep, and the Horde Battle.

Wooden Shield Moblin
Known as Wooden Shield Moblins They brandish a wooden, square-shaped shield and a long wooden spear. Link can cut its shield down into small pieces with his sword, leaving the beast shieldless and open for attack. However this will enrage it and cause it to use both hands to swing its spear at Link aggressively and it will also sometimes charge at Link holding its spear like a jostling vault. Link can also jump behind the Moblin by dashing onto its shield and climbing over it, jumping over and exposing the monster's behind for an attack. After a Moblin is defeated, it will tumble forward; if Link stands to close to the Moblin when it falls, he will be knocked back by the Moblin's heavy body, but will not be damaged.

Metal Shield Moblin
Later in the game, a second variety of Moblin known as a Metal Shield Moblin appears. They wield a shield that cannot be cut down by Link's sword, so Link is required to climb over the shield in order to get in an attack at its backside. They are also more heavily armored and wear an iron helmet, and take more hits to defeat. This type of Moblin is very rare, but Link has to face two of them at once on a bridge in the Sky Keep as part of a long battle sequence.

Animated series
In the Zelda animated series, the Moblins greatly resemble their first appearance in the original The Legend of Zelda. They are loyal to their master, Ganon, and they are always willing to follow his every command. As such, Ganon mostly resorts to using these foes to carry out his plans to steal the Triforce; unfortunately, his schemes are always ruined by the ineptitude of the Moblins, as he is always berating and punishing them for their failure. In "The Moblins are Revolting", however, a Moblin convinces the other monsters to overthrow Ganon and form an alliance known as the Brotherhood of Underworld Monsters, but they realize they pose no real threat due to the disorganization within the group, and the Moblins as well as the rest of the monsters end up crawling back to Ganon.

Just like the rest of Ganon's minions, the Moblins are capable of speech, with the only difference being that the Moblins speak with poor grammar. These foes also wield a wide variety of weapons when fighting against Link:, , , , , , and. Despite their impressive arsenal, the Moblins are rather clumsy and simple-minded who are always bumping and tripping over each other, and this in turn usually causes for them to defeat themselves in the process, much to Ganon's dismay.

Captain N: The Game Master
Moblins appear in three episodes of the Captain N: The Game Master cartoon show, where they are first introduced in "Quest for the Potion of Power". Here, a group of Moblins raid the town of Rauru in hopes of trying to find out about the location of the Potion of Power and thus revive their master, Ganon. After Link, Princess Zelda and Kevin defeat all of the Moblins and save a woman's son from the grasp of the Moblin leader, the woman rewards the heroes with a map that helps them on their quest of retrieving the Potion of Power before Ganon's minions get to it. Although a Moblin also appears in the "Once Upon a Time Machine" and "The Trojan Dragon" episodes, it only plays a minor role. In both of these episodes, Simon Belmont of the Castlevania series bumps into this foe while walking through the woods in Hyrule.

These Moblins do not seem to be as clumsy as the ones portrayed in the Zelda animated series. However, just like the Zelda cartoons, they are capable of speaking.

The Legend of Zelda comic
The Moblins in the Legend of Zelda comic seem to be modeled after their artwork depiction in The Adventure of Link. Unlike the cartoons, these foes play a very minor role in all of the comic's issues, and they can only be seen speaking in "Assault". In this story, a Moblin goes to inform Ganon that Link managed to defeat a pack of his fellow fiends to get past his outpost. Ganon punishes the Moblin for failing to capture the young hero and mentions that only he is allowed to destroy Link. They are also briefly seen in "Missing in Action", "To the First Power", and "Queen of Hearts".

The Crystal Trap
In The Crystal Trap, Moblins continue to serve under Ganon's orders and try to eliminate Princess Zelda on her quest to obtain the three items necessary to free Link from the Crystal. They always appear in groups, right behind Ganon, willing to attack as soon as the evil wizard commands them. At one point in the book, if Zelda enters Madame Grusha's fortune-telling hut, she will discover that the fortune-teller is actually a Wizzrobe in disguise who commands the Moblins to attack and kill the princess. However, Zelda easily defeats both the Moblin and the Wizzrobe with the use of her bow.

Once Link and Zelda find the Spear stuck in one of the trees of the forest, Ganon and his gang of Moblin begin to quickly approach the heroes, but with the help of Zelda's friend Greenbeard, they are able to obtain the Spear and stop the Moblin right on their path. With the defeat of Ganon at the hands of Link, the Moblin disappear as well.

The Shadow Prince

 * See also: Moblin Boss and Nilbom the Tailor

The Moblins in The Shadow Prince not only serve Ganon, but also a Moblin Boss who commands them to destroy Link in order to satisfy their master. These creatures play a much bigger role in this book, being capable of disguising themselves as humans and thus trick Link into thinking that they are there to help him. Both Princess Zelda and Link are first attacked by a gang of Moblins as they are walking through the woods. Although they defeat the first few monsters quite easily, Zelda runs out of arrows for her bow and ultimately gets knocked out by a rock thrown at her by one of the Moblins. Link goes after her but trips and tumbles to the ground, and just as he is about to be killed by a Moblin, a tall, dark man known as Charles saves him by commanding the Moblin to leave.

Later on in the book, if Link chooses to go through the Midoro Swamp on his way to the Town of Ruto, he will once again get ambushed by a group of Moblins; however, with the help of the Golden Whistle, he is able to weaken them with its high-piercing sound. One of the Moblin then offers Link a Magic Potion in exchange that the young hero stops whistling.

Once Charles of Moria runs away to the Midoro Swamp with the Triforce of Wisdom in hand, Link will follow him there only to find that Charles, who is actually Ganon in disguise, has an army of Moblin that quickly surround Link. Just as the Moblin are drawing in to attack the young hero, Link uses his sword to slash Charles's necklace in two, thus defeating the false Morian knight. The Moblins, now with their leader gone, all suddenly scatter away into the clearing.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Moblins appear as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Other Appearances

 * In A Link to the Past, the related Butablins replace the Hylian soldiers in the Dark World. In its Satellaview direct sequel, BS The Legend of Zelda: The Ancient Stone Tablets, there are no Moblins, on account of the fact that the Dark World is not present.
 * In Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons, Link can acquire a magical ring that transforms him into a Moblin. He cannot use any attacks in this form, but he is ignored by any Moblins (except the Great Moblin), and cannot be eaten by Like Likes. It can only be found in the possession of Maple or inside of a Gasha Nut.
 * Moblins do not appear in Twilight Princess, but in their place are Bulblins. A Moblin can be briefly seen in an early trailer for the game. It is unknown why Nintendo decided to not include them.
 * Moblins also do not appear in Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, but in their place are Oinkers.

Trivia

 * In Japan, Moblins are called モリブリン Moriburin, which is a combination of 森 Mori (meaning forest) and ゴブリン Goburin (i.e. goblin). This explains why they were called "Molblins" in the first game. In Japanese, a vowel isn't always pronounced and the "L" and the "R" are the same letter, thus "Molblin" is a possible romanization of "Moriburin".
 * In The Minish Cap, Moblins appear with two palettes, which in this series normally implies that one is stronger in some way than the other (most often by having more health), but in this case the two palettes are functionally identical, having the same amount of health, doing the same amount of damage to Link, and exhibiting the same behaviors. One palette appears solely in Dark Hyrule Castle while the other appears everywhere else. Keatons have a similar cosmetic difference, with a normal palette and a Dark Hyrule Castle palette that are also functionally identical.