ChuChu

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Chuchu.jpg
The five ChuChu colors seen in The Wind Waker.
ChuChu
Type Blob
Debut The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

The ChuChu is a recurring blob-like enemy from the Zelda series that comes in a variety of colors with varying abilities. They were revamped for their second appearance in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and many games since have followed that design.

Information[edit]

ChuChus are simplistic creatures that resemble blobs with faces and usually bounce around to overwhelm enemies. According to Fi, they are genderless and seem to reproduce by dividing themselves into smaller ChuChus. The four main color varieties are green, red, yellow and blue. When they originally appeared in Majora's Mask, the different colored ChuChus were all the same except that blue ChuChus were made of pure water, which meant that they could be frozen using Ice Arrows. Yellow and blue ChuChus were distinguished in later appearances by being electrified (making them similar to Buzz Blobs), and the only way to stop them was with projectiles or by stunning one before a direct attack. Most ChuChus have also been shown to have medicinal properties in their bodies in later games, and extracts of Chu Jelly could be brewed into potions by certain characters.

More ChuChu variants have been introduced in later games. The dark Purple ChuChu was a seemingly invulnerable ChuChu that was found only in darkness, but exposing one to light would petrify it in stone, at which point a hammer could shatter it for good. The Spiny ChuChu is a gray ChuChu that can solidify its body and protrude spikes as a defense mechanism, although they could still be taken care of through bombs or by attacking one immediately after it retracts its spikes. Rock and Helmet ChuChus are normal (usually red) ChuChus that wear thick protective helmets which protect them from most attacks, although bombs are usually still effective. There is also the Ice ChuChu, which can freeze enemies by touching them and so must be defeated using a projectile weapon.

The ChuChus have had several different designs over the course of their appearances:

  • For their original appearance in Majora's Mask, they were round blobs, with a toothy smile at the bottom of their bodies, and a pair of eye stalks atop their heads. These ChuChus were transparent.
  • In The Wind Waker and most following games, they have longer bodies that are larger on the top and become smaller towards the bottom. The top of its body has a face, with a pair of large eyes and a mouth directly beneath that usually seems to be smiling. There's also a set of four flat protrusions at the bottom of its body that seem to function as feet.
  • Their bodies are more compact and round in Skyward Sword. They sport bulging eyes and large mouths, with its jelly dripping between the parts of its mouth.
  • In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, they simply resemble a ball of liquid with a pair of protruding eyes.

Appearances[edit]

In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, ChuChus were introduced as enemies that primarily appeared in Termina Field. These versions all had transparent bodies through which one could see the items they were carrying (and would drop when defeated). Red ChuChus had hearts, while green ones had magic jars, and yellow ones had bundles of arrows. Blue ChuChus had no items and uniquely appeared at the Great Bay Temple, where they were used for puzzles after being frozen. Their bodies seemed to be composed of more liquid than their later appearances, as ChuChus would pop like bubbles after being beaten, and they also had some slug-like features. These ChuChus did not stay dead, however, and would reform after a given period of time.

In The Wind Waker, ChuChus appeared commonly in various areas of the Great Sea and were most numerous at Pawprint Island. Red, Green and Blue ChuChus also contained Chu Jelly which could be mixed into potions by brewers such as Doc Bandam after being taken from the ChuChus with an empty bottle. Purple ChuChus also appeared in this game solely within the Earth Temple. The four basic ChuChus appeared again in Four Swords Adventures. Red, Green and Blue ChuChus also appeared in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap as semi-common enemies with Rock and Spiny Chuchus. A Giant Green ChuChu also appeared as the boss of the Deepwood Shrine, while a Giant Blue ChuChu was a miniboss of the Temple of Droplets. Both of these ChuChus were actually normal-sized and only were giant in comparison to the shrunken-down Link. Each battle with a Giant ChuChu consisted of wearing away at its base until it fell on its head and then attacking its head with the sword. Phantom Hourglass featured appearances by all four of the traditional ChuChus as well as the Rock ChuChu. In Spirit Tracks, only the Green, Blue, Yellow ChuChus appeared, while Helmet and Ice ChuChus were introduced, with the Ice ChuChus only appearing in the game's snowy areas.

The ChuChu's design was altered for Skyward Sword such that they bore a stronger resemblance to the Gels/Zols from previous games. These more blob-like ChuChus came in various sizes, and cutting one would usually cause it to split into two ChuChus of the next-smallest size. The smallest form of the ChuChu could be destroyed with one hit, but the ChuChus could recombine into the larger form if they were not destroyed quickly. Some ChuChus were exceptionally giant and would stick to ceilings in search of prey. This game reprised the four basic ChuChu colors, with the green and yellow varieties being similar to previous versions. The other two were altered, as Red ChuChus were found in volcanic areas and had high body temperatures which would set Link aflame upon contact. The Blue ChuChus were the aquatic version which would try to drown Link by clogging up his breathing underwater, but they could be dispersed using the underwater spin. ChuChus also had a different spoil in this game, which was the Jelly Blob, and it could actually be produced by other creatures as well.

Chuchus also appeared throughout Hyrule in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom with varying sizes that determined their strength. In this game, the standard ChuChu was blue in color. There were three elementally-charged variations called Fire ChuChus, Ice ChuChus and Electric ChuChus, which were respectively red, white and yellow. Those ChuChus would try to expel their respective element to attack Link when he was near, and when this happened they would temporarily be deprived of that elemental charge, at which point they were vulnerable to normal attacks. The elementally-charged ChuChus could also be hit from a distance to make them explode, which would attack all nearby enemies with that element. In this game, normal ChuChus left behind Chu Jelly while the elementally charged versions left behind Chu Jellies matching their respective colors. Normal ChuChus could still leave behind differently-colored jellies if defeated with an elemental weapon, or Chu Jellies could be changed by exposing them to elements after the fact (such as leaving a Chu Jelly by a fire, changing it into a Red Chu Jelly). In Tears of the Kingdom, Chu Jellies could be used to infuse weapons and shields with the jelly's corresponding element through the Fuse mechanic.

In Other Zelda Games[edit]

In Hyrule Warriors Legends, ChuChus appeared as enemies in red, green and yellow variations, based on their appearance from The Wind Waker. The ChuChus from Breath of the Wild were used instead in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

Other Appearances[edit]

Video Games[edit]

  • Within Nintendo Land, red and green ChuChus appeared as enemies in The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest based on their Wind Waker design.

Trivia[edit]

  • Their name is derived from a Japanese onomatopoeia for kissing, possibly due to the lips that they originally had in Majora's Mask.
  • The ChuChus seem to be based on preceding blob enemies from previous Zelda games. The original ChuChu design from Majora's Mask (as well as the type from Skyward Sword) seems to be based on the Gels from The Legend of Zelda, while the redesigned appearance from The Wind Waker onwards (including some of them being electrified) bears more of a resemblance to the Buzz Blob from A Link to the Past.
  • The Chu was later introduced in Twilight Princess is a similar species that is known to also produce Chu Jelly.
  • In The Wind Waker, their chattering is derived from clips of two Japanese men arguing that have been sped up and reversed.