Iron Knuckle

The Iron Knuckle is one of the largest, stockiest foes in The Legend of Zelda franchise, however, only appears in The Adventure of Link, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask.

Characteristics
The Iron Knuckle is an enormous armored knight, equipped with a blunt or sword-like weapon capable of dealing immense damage. Though quite similar to Darknuts, Iron Knuckles are more powerful, less agile, and less present across the Zelda series. These foes are dueling elites, incorporating much of the same swordplay technique Link does during battle, to great effect; furthermore, these creatures are known for their unmatched defensive capabilities and long vitality. In their debut, The Adventure of Link, these knights take to caverns and dungeons, and appear in three varieties of increasing strength: orange, red, and blue. Likewise, in later titles, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, Iron Knuckles also come in three, increasingly powerful colors: silver, white, and black.

The Iron Knuckle gained mainstream popularity as a miniboss in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, in the former appearing as a facet of the plot at the Spirit Temple. These foes swing huge axes, capable of taking three hearts from Link at eary swing, not to mention their grand size and armor coverage. If Link is hit by this ax, he will lose quite a large amount of life energy.

Rebonakku
In The Adventure of Link, an Iron Knuckle called  is the boss of the Island Palace. He rides a ghostly horse. Link must use the Down Thrust initially to damage him. After enough damage is done, he dismounts his horse, and can then be fought as a normal Iron Knuckle. The trick is for Link to attack while standing and ducking down so that the boss can't block every attack with his shield. The mounted knight is also fought twice as a miniboss in Three Eye Rock Palace (he guards the Cross the first time).

Plot Significance
In Ocarina of Time, Nabooru is captured and brainwashed by Koume and Kotake, a pair of Gerudo witch sisters. Koume and Kotake then force the brainwashed Nabooru to don armor and protect the entrance to the final chamber in the Spirit Temple as an Iron Knuckle. When Nabooru is defeated in her Iron Knuckle form, the armor falls away and reveals her, apparently releasing her of her hypnosis. The fact that the other two Iron Knuckles in the Spirit Temple dissolve completely when they are defeated suggests that they were animated by magic and not hypnotized people, like Nabooru.

In Majora's Mask, there are only three Iron Knuckles: two are beneath the Ikana Graveyard on the first and second day respectively: one is guarding the resting place of Flat and the other is guarding a Piece of Heart. The third is on the Moon in the hide and seek game played by Link while in his Hylian form.

Weaknesses
Because these foes are as tall as Link and are experts at defensive strategy, using a shield they constantly move up or down to block Link's attacks in The Adventure of Link, Link must jump and crouch stab at its head to inflict damage. In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, the armor of the Iron Knuckle can be removed, providing two stages to every battle. While wearing armor, they're slow and impervious all attacks save for sword swings and bombs. Once enough armor is removed, they become much quicker, but are now weak to arrows, opening up the opportunity for a successful long-range strategy.

Trivia

 * In Ocarina of Time, the armor within which Nabooru is encased looks slightly different than that of the other Iron Knuckles fought in the game.
 * There is Gold Iron Knuckle armor on display in the Curiosity Shop in Majora's Mask.
 * Onox, the main antagonist of Oracle of Seasons, highly resembles the appearance of an Iron Knuckle. The only real difference is that Onox wields a flail while Iron Knuckles tend to use axes.