Iron Knuckle

Iron Knuckles are recurring Enemies and Sub-Bosses in The Legend of Zelda series.^[1]

Characteristics

The Adventure of Link

Ironknuckle
An iron warrior chosen by the king. A strong enemy who can use a shield and sword. He exists in many forms.

Iron Knuckles are "iron warriors" chosen by the King of Hyrule.^[2] They appear throughout many Palaces in Hyrule, including Parapa Palace, Midoro Palace, the Island Palace, and the Three-Eye Rock Palace. Iron Knuckles fight with a Sword and Shield, simultaneously blocking attacks and stabbing their Sword at their opponent. They appear in orange, red, and blue varieties. Red Iron Knuckles are simply more powerful than orange ones, with more health and attack power, but blue Iron Knuckles are capable of throwing knives.^[3] Link can defeat Iron Knuckles by hitting them enough times with his Magical Sword. Link can block an Iron Knuckle's Sword with his Magical Shield. Link can perform a Down Thrust on an Iron Knuckle's head to inflict damage. Link can also jump and stab his Sword at the top Iron Knuckle's head with the correct timing to guarantee that the Iron Knuckle will not block the attack.

A blue Iron Knuckle known as Rebonack appears as the Boss of the Island Palace and as mini-bosses in the Three-Eye Rock Palace. Rebonack is also known as "The Guardian Ironknuckle."^[4] When Rebonack has taken a certain amount of damage, he will dismount the mechanical horse that he rides and fight as a regular blue Iron Knuckle.

In the original Famicom Disk System version of the game, blue Iron Knuckles' knives flash and disappear when blocked, but in the updated NES version, they do not flash and instead bounce off of Link's Shield.

Ocarina of Time

Iron Knuckle
Watch out for its axe attack! It hurts a lot! Strike when it drops its guard!

When fighting Nabooru as an Iron Knuckle

Iron Knuckle
Something's strange... This is not an ordinary enemy!

Iron Knuckles appear in the Spirit Temple and Ganon's Castle in Ocarina of Time. They are Gerudo warriors covered in armor.^[5] The first one that Link encounters is found at the end of the Spirit Temple when Link is a child. After defeating the Iron Knuckle, Link can proceed outside to receive the Silver Gauntlets from a Treasure Chest. Once Link returns to the Spirit Temple as an adult, he will again encounter an Iron Knuckle in an identical room on the opposite side of the Spirit Temple. Once defeated, Link can proceed outside to receive the Mirror Shield from a Treasure Chest. A special Iron Knuckle also appears directly before the fight against Twinrova. However, this Iron Knuckle is actually Nabooru brainwashed by Twinrova to fight Link in Iron Knuckle armor.^[6] It has the ability to instantly counterattack in the event Link hits it from behind. After defeating Nabooru as an Iron Knuckle, Link can walk directly into the boss room. Link also encounters a pair of Iron Knuckles while ascending the tower of Ganon's Castle.

An Iron Knuckle also appears in the Fire Temple and the Gerudo Training Ground in Master Quest.

Majora's Mask

Majora's Mask 3D

It's an Iron Knuckle. Stay away from its axe attack, then look for a chance to retaliate.

Majora's Mask

You know about the Iron Knuckle, right? Stay away from its ax attack, then look for a chance to retaliate.

Three Iron Knuckles appear in Majora's Mask. Two of them are found within tombs of the Ikana Graveyard, with one on the First Day and one on the Second Day. One is guarding the resting place of Flat and the other is guarding a Piece of Heart. The third Iron Knuckle can be found in the Link Dungeon inside the Moon during the hide-and-seek game played by Link while in his normal Hylian form. They are more aggressive than they are in Ocarina of Time.

In addition, a gold suit of Iron Knuckle armor can be seen on display in the Curiosity Shop. This armor is used as a peep hole from the back room where Kafei spies on the Curiosity Shop's dealings. This armor wields a sword instead of an ax.

Other Appearances

Captain N: The Game Master

Non-Canon Information

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The Legend of Zelda (Valiant Comics)

Non-Canon Information

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The Wand of Gamelon

Non-Canon Information

An Iron Knuckle appears as the second Boss. He is located in Tykogi Tower, where he had imprisoned the residents of Sakado, including Mayor Cravendish and Harbanno the baker.^[7] After freeing Harbanno, Princess Zelda confronts the Iron Knuckle atop the Tower. Upon his defeat, he breaks apart and reveals a beating Life Heart. Two Armos witness his death and quickly decide to leave. Princess Zelda then rescues Mayor Cravendish shortly after. The Iron Knuckle's sole weakness is to the Power Glove, which defeats him in a single strike.

Zelda's Adventure

Non-Canon Information

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Ocarina of Time (Himekawa)

Non-Canon Information

An Iron Knuckle appears as one of Ganondorf's minions after Stalllord the Stalfos reports to the King of Evil that Link has the Master Sword. Later, it tries to execute Ingo for failing to give Epona, but he is brainwashed by the Twinrova witches instead.

Cadence of Hyrule

Ambiguously Canon Information

Iron Knuckles make appearances as enemies in Cadence of Hyrule where they move to the beat of the music. They move on every fourth beat, crouching on the third beat before jumping onto an adjacent tile, harming any who might be standing in the way. If Cadence, Link, Yves, or Zelda is unfortunate enough to stand directly in front of them, they will attack by punching them with what seems to be brass knuckles on their hands. Their thick armor protects them from most attacks, forcing the heroes to either attack them from behind where they are exposed, or use items that can pierce their armor such as Bombs, Bombchus, arrows fired from the Great Bow, the legendary Fragarach sword, or use any Weapon while the Ring of Piercing is equipped.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Regions
Language	Names	Meanings
Japanese	アイアンナック (Aiannakku) ^{(TAoL \| OoT)}^[11]^[12]	Ironnuc. Portmanteau of アイアン (iron) and タートナック (Tartnuc).
French^EU	Hache-Viande Orange ^(TAoL)^[13]	Orange Meat-Grinder
Italian	Guardiano d'acciaio ^(TAoL)^[10] Guerriero d'Acciaio ^(OoT)^[8] Guerriero d'acciaio ^(OoT3D)^[9]	Iron guardian Iron Warrior Iron warrior
This table was generated using translation pages. To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference.

Other Names

Name	Ironknuckle^[14]
Applies to	The Adventure of Link
Source	The Adventure of Link manual
Superseded by	Encyclopedia
Name	Ironack^[15]
Applies to	The Adventure of Link
Source	The Official Nintendo Player's Guide by Nintendo of America
Superseded by	Encyclopedia

Name	Applies to	Source	Superseded by
Ironknuckle^[14]	The Adventure of Link	The Adventure of Link manual	Encyclopedia
Ironack^[15]	The Adventure of Link	The Official Nintendo Player's Guide by Nintendo of America	Encyclopedia

Gallery

Artwork of an orange Iron Knuckle from The Adventure of Link
Artwork of Nabooru as an Iron Knuckle from Ocarina of Time
Nabooru as an Iron Knuckle from Ocarina of Time
An early design of an Iron Knuckle from Ocarina of Time
The Iron Knuckle from the Link Dungeon after losing its first layer of armor from Majora's Mask 3D
The armor of an Iron Knuckle in the Curiosity Shop from Majora's Mask
An Iron Knuckle from Zelda's Adventure
An Iron Knuckle about to execute Ingo for his failure to give Epona to Ganondorf in the Ocarina of Time (Himekawa)
An Iron Knuckle from Cadence of Hyrule

References

↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 186 ^{(TAoL | OoT | MM)}
↑ "An iron warrior chosen by the king. A strong enemy who can use a shield and sword. He exists in many forms." (The Adventure of Link manual, ^{[which page?]})
↑ "The knives Ironknuckle throws are deadly, and the huge horse he rides makes him invincible to Link's attack. Link can make him dismount by jumping and using Down-thrust. Once afoot, Ironknuckle is vulnerable." (NES Game Atlas Nintendo Player's Guide, Nintendo of America, pg. 69)
↑ "THE GUARDIAN IRONKNUCKLE" (NES Game Atlas Nintendo Player's Guide, Nintendo of America, pg. 68)
↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 214
↑ "By the way... I really messed up... I was brainwashed by those old witches and used by Ganondorf to do his evil will..." — Nabooru (Ocarina of Time)
↑ "Oh dear! It looks like everyone has been taken to Tykogi Tower!" — Impa (The Wand of Gamelon)
↑ Enciclopedia di Hyrule, Magazzini Salani, pg. 186
↑ "Guerriero d'acciaio" — N/A (Ocarina of Time 3D, Italian localization)
↑ "Sconfiggi il Guardiano d'acciaio!" (Defeat the Iron Knuckle!) — Level 4 (Zelda II: The Adventure of Link) (NES Remix 2, Italian localization)
↑ The Adventure of Link manual, pg. 39
↑ Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Shogakukan, pg. 142
↑ Encyclopedia, Les Éditions Soleil, pg. 184
↑ "Ironknuckle: An iron warrior chosen by the king. A strong enemy who can use a shield and sword. He exists in many forms." (The Adventure of Link manual, pg. 38)
↑ "In the First Temple, you will meet your strongest enemy, Ironnack." (The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, Nintendo of America, pg. 47 ^(TAoL))