Lizalfos

An Armos as seen in Twilight Princess.
Lizalfos
Type	Lizardman
Debut	Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

The Lizalfos are a race of upright lizardmen that are noted for their excellent combat abilities.

Traits

Known also as Lizardmen, they prefer to use a sword and sheild, mace, or spear in combat. They are very defensive creatures that are agile and quick. Their habitat varies, but in particular they seem most fond of forests or volcanic areas. In all of their appearances they require skill in combat and cannot be killed by simple sword thrusts.

Game Information

Lizardmen in Zelda II

In Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Lizalfos (called Lizardmen in game documentation) are combatants that appear on the overworld in the areas around Kasuto. They come in three colors that signify their strength and type of weapon. Yellow Lizalfos wield spears and are the weakest type, red Lizalfos use maces that tear through shields, and blue Lizalfos uses spears and is the strongest type. Their attack type was identical to Iron Knuckle's, but they never appeared in dungeons.

Lizalfos are deeply rooted in the region and the valley south of Nabooru Village is guarded by Lizalfos who live along the walls and throw rocks down on unsuspecting foes below. They also are the primary foes encountered along the volcanic Path of Fire leading to the Great Palace. One Lizalfos was responsible for kidnapping a child from Darunia Village and was hiding out south of the Maze Palace.

In Ocarina of Time, the Lizalfos were first encountered in the Dodongo Cavern. Though they were not the strongest melee-type enemies that Link encountered, they overcame their limitations by always attacking in pairs. Living in the hot volcanoes made them particularly adept at jumping from one platform to another. However their method of attacking was clumsy and allowed for openings to strike. In the Master Quest version of the game, Link encountered the Lizalfos in multiple locations - including the Water Palace, where Link could encounter the Lizalfos moving freely underwater. In Ganon's Tower, Link also encountered the Dynalfos, which were essentially stronger versions of the the Lizalfos.

They appeared again in Twilight Princess with a more dinosaur-like appearance. These Lizalfos used bucklers for protection from melee blows and some used helmets for additional defensive purposes. Their tails also had axes tied on for an additional advantage in fighting. They appear in multiple locations in Hyrule, but again are secondary to the full-armored Dynalfos, who are vastly superior in strength. A variation of their kind also appears in the City in the Sky, the winged Aerolfos.

See Also

• Dynalfos
• Aerolfos
• Daira

Trivia

• The Dynalfos was originally called Lizalfos in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
• The mini-boss Darkhammer from Twilight Princess appears to be a Lizalfos (or Dynalfos) from his reptilian appearance.