Lanmola

Lanmolas are recurring enemies and Sub-Bosses in The Legend of Zelda series.^{(ALttP | LA | LADX | ALttP (Ishinomori) | CoH)}^[2]^[3]^[4]^{[name references needed]} They are fast and powerful centipedes.^[5] While they were originally normal enemies, they began to serve larger roles in subsequent games in the series, acting as boss or mini-boss. Their first appearance shows them as having an elongated segmented body, with two appendages per segment and a single eye complete with iris; later games show them as clearly having two compound eyes and no appendages, giving them a more worm-like appearance.

Characteristics

The Legend of Zelda

Lanmola
A gigantic centipede. Attacking his head won't work. Boy! Does he move fast!

In The Legend of Zelda, Lanmolas are only found in Level-9 in both Quests and are powerful foes. They come in red and blue varieties, with the latter ones being faster. Like the Moldorms in the game, the Lanmolas grow shorter by one segment with each blow, but only the tail part of their body is weak at first; the head can only be harmed once the remaining segments have been destroyed. Their fast movement, multiple legs and their weakness in the tail actually makes them more akin to Moldorms of later games. When defeated, red Lanmolas may drop either a Heart, a Fairy or one Rupee, while blue Lanmolas may drop either a Heart, one Rupee, five Rupees, or a Clock.^{[note 1]}

A Link to the Past

A group of three Lanmolas are the bosses of the Desert Palace in A Link to the Past. In this game, they hide underground and occasionally surface to attack, then return to the underground. When they burrow out of the ground, they send bits of rock flying in several directions. The sword is the most common method of dealing with them; however, arrows and the Ice Rod are both effective as well. After two are defeated, the last one will begin to move faster, and creates more bits of rock upon surfacing. Once the final one has been taken care of, Link gets the Pendant of Power and a Heart Container.

Another group of three Lanmolas later return in Ganon's Tower as a mini-boss, where they are fought the same way as before. This time, however, there is a Stone Statue in the room that will occasionally fire beams at Link.

Link's Awakening

In Link's Awakening, a Lanmola appears as a mini-boss guarding the Angler Key in the Yarna Desert. It attacks in the same fashion as those encountered in A Link to the Past, but this time it fights in a patch of quicksand. If Link sinks into the center of the pit, Link will fall into a cave and, after returning, all damage dealt to the Lanmola will be reversed.

One of the final Nightmare's forms is known as Lanmola, but it is fought very differently. It behaves more akin to the Lanmolas of the original The Legend of Zelda, and must be defeated with a powerful attack to the head, like the Magic Rod.

Other Appearances

Ancient Stone Tablets

Non-Canon Information

Three Lanmolas also appear as the boss of Level 5 in Week 3 of Ancient Stone Tablets. Unlike A Link to the Past, the it is possible to obtain the Level 3 Sword in the dungeon before fighting them.

A Link to the Past (Ishinomori)

Non-Canon Information

In the A Link to the Past comic by Shotaro Ishinomori, a Lanmola appears after Link, using the Book of Mudora in the Desert of Mystery, reveals a scorpion statue that has the Pendant of Power hanging on it. Before Link can approach it, he sinks into the quicksand and resurfaces on top of a Lanmola. Link tries to attack it with his sword, but its skin is too hard to cause any damage to it.^[7] However, after the Lanmola launches him into the air, he lands on top of the scorpion statue and retrieves the Pendant of Power.^[8] With the pendant's energy in his hand, Link successfully defeats the Lanmola by striking the foe's underbelly with the sword.

Link's Awakening (Cagiva)

Non-Canon Information

In the Link's Awakening manga by Ataru Cagiva, a Lanmola attacks Link while exploring Yarna Desert. Due to the quicksand, Link cannot move swiftly, so he tries attacking the Lanmola with Bombs to no avail. He then decides to remove his Shield and use it as a foot hold, asking Felicia to warn him when it appears. When the Lanmola emerges from the sand, Link evades its attack and counters it with a Spin Attack. As the Lanmola dissolves, the Angler Key appears from within.

Cadence of Hyrule

Ambiguously Canon Information

Lanmola appear in Cadence of Hyrule as minibosses, appearing in either the Desert or inside caves and dungeons like the Gerudo Ruins. They move to the beat of the music, and emerge from underground in order to attack Cadence, Link, Yves, and Zelda. Their heads move on every single beat towards the heroes, with their bodies slowly dragging along behind them. After several beats or if they've sustained enough damage, they will bury themselves underground for a few beats before re-emerging to attack. Once they've been slain, they will drop a random item and if they were in a dungeon, unlock a set of stairs that will lead the heroes into the next dungeon room or floor.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Regions
Language	Names
Japanese	ラネモーラ (Ranemōra) ^{(TLoZ \| ALttP \| LA)}^[12]^[13]^[14]
Chinese^TR	拉內莫拉 (Lānèimòlā) ^(CoH)^[21]
Chinese^SI	拉内莫拉 (Lā nèi mò lā) ^(TLoZ)^[17] 拉内莫拉 (Lānèimòlā) ^(CoH)^[18]
Dutch	Ringslang ^(TLoZ)^[15]
French^CA	Lanmola ^(CoH)^[22]
French^EU	Lanmola ^{(TLoZ \| CoH)}^[15]^[16]
German	Lanmola ^(CoH)^[20]
Italian	Lanmola ^{(TLoZ \| ALttP \| LA \| LADX \| CoH)}^[9]^[10]^[11]
Spanish^LA	Lanmora ^(CoH)^[19]
Spanish^EU	Lanmora ^(CoH)^[23]
This table was generated using translation pages. To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference.

Other Names

Name	Desert Lanmola^[24]
Applies to	Link's Awakening
Source	The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening—Nintendo Player's Guide by Nintendo of America
Superseded by	Encyclopedia

Name	Applies to	Source	Superseded by
Desert Lanmola^[24]	Link's Awakening	The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening—Nintendo Player's Guide by Nintendo of America	Encyclopedia

Gallery

Artwork of Link fighting a Lanmola in The Legend of Zelda
A Lanmola, Blue Darknut, two Gibdos and several Keese surrounding Link and Zelda
Link fighting Lanmolas from A Link to the Past
The Lanmola form of the Nightmare from Link's Awakening
A Lanmola from the A Link to the Past comic
A Lanmola about to attack Link from the Link's Awakening manga by Ataru Cagiva
A Lanmola from Ancient Stone Tablets

Notes

↑ If Link defeats 10 enemies without getting hit or teleporting with the Flute, then the 10th enemy defeated will drop five Rupees. However, if the 10th enemy is defeated with a Bomb, then it will drop four Bombs. If Link defeats 16 enemies without getting hit or teleporting, then the 16th enemy will drop a Fairy. After the 16th enemy, Link must get hit and reset the counter to zero in order to achieve this effect again. Defeating Armos, Like Likes, Keese, or Gels will not be counted.^[6]

References

↑ "Using the Power Glove found here, Link moves boulders to reach three burrowing Lanmolas that guard the Pendant of Power." (Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 147)
↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 188 ^{(TLoZ | ALttP | LA)}
↑ "A Lanmola!!" — Link (A Link to the Past manga, VIZ Media, pg. 13)
↑ "Defeated By: Lanmola" — Game Over (Cadence of Hyrule)
↑ "A gigantic centipede. Attacking his head won't work. Boy! Does he move fast!" (The Legend of Zelda manual, pg. 36)
↑ n.a., Forced Drops , redcandle.us, published n.d., retrieved August 17, 2017.
↑ "This is hopeless! Its skin is like armor!" (A Link to the Past manga, VIZ Media, pg. 15)
↑ "Nice move, ugly! But now you're playing with the Pendant of Power!" (A Link to the Past manga, VIZ Media, pg. 16)
↑ L'arte di una leggenda, Magazzini Salani, pg. 120
↑ Enciclopedia di Hyrule, Magazzini Salani, pg. 188
↑ "Causa della sconfitta: Lanmola" — Game Over (Cadence of Hyrule, Italian localization)
↑ Hyrule Encyclopedia, Ambit Ltd., pg. 211
↑ Nintendo Official Guidebook: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Vol. 1, Shogakukan, pg. 132Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords, Shogakukan, pg. 23
↑ The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Certain Victory Strategy Guide (1993), Futabasha, pg. 29
↑ ^15.0 ^15.1 The Legend of Zelda manual, pg. 36
↑ "Défaite causée par: Lanmola" — Game Over (Cadence of Hyrule, European French localization)
↑ zhSR= 塞尔达传说：百科全书, New Star Press, pg. 191
↑ "败因: 拉内莫拉" — Game Over (Cadence of Hyrule, Simplified Chinese localization)
↑ "¡Fin de la partida! Causa: Lanmora" — Game Over (Cadence of Hyrule, Latin American Spanish localization)
↑ "Besiegt von: Lanmola" — Game Over (Cadence of Hyrule, German localization)
↑ "敗因: 拉內莫拉" — Game Over (Cadence of Hyrule, Traditional Chinese localization)
↑ "Défaite causée par: Lanmola" — Game Over (Cadence of Hyrule, Canadian French localization)
↑ "¡Fin de la partida! Causa: Lanmora" — Game Over (Cadence of Hyrule, European Spanish localization)
↑ The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening—Nintendo Player's Guide, Nintendo of America, pg. 188