Poe
| |
| A Poe from Ocarina of Time. | |
| Poe | |
| Type | Ghost |
| Debut | A Link to the Past |
The Poes are malevolent ghosts of deceased people, described as "spirits of concentrated hatred" and said to "hate the world". They appear as recurring enemies in the The Legend of Zelda series.
Information
Poes are most commonly found in graveyards, as well as some of the more haunted dungeons. They traditionally appear as floating cloaked creatures and wield lanterns. A Poe's face is usually hidden beneath either a hood or a mask. Poes often use their lanterns as weapons, and some of them also display the ability to turn invisible or transparent.
Appearances
A Link to the Past
Poes are a minor enemy, found only in the graveyard.
Ocarina of Time
Poes appear in various locations around Hyrule, especially after the seven years of Ganondorf's rule. If Link attempts to target them, they become invisible and intangible. Big Poes, larger and deadlier incarnations of the Poes, were introduced. They usually appeared in the Kakariko Village graveyard or Hyrule Field. After being defeated, Poes could be caught in bottles and then sold to a Ghost Shop located outside the remains of Hyrule Castle Town. Normal Poes sold for 10 Rupees apiece, but the rarer Big Poes could be sold for 50 Rupees.
This game also introduces a pair of Poes named Flat and Sharp, the Composer Brothers, whom Link can battle in the Kakariko gravyard. The four Poe Sisters appear as minibosses of the Forest Temple. The eldest, Meg, can conjure illusions of herself to confuse Link.
Majora's Mask
Poes are found at Ikana Canyon and in the Stone Tower Temple. Big Poes are additionally found in Ikana's graveyard and beneath the Ikana well. Bottled Poes could be sold at the Curiosity Shop. In addition, if Link drank a bottled Poe he could randomly gain or lose hearts. Both the Composer Brothers and Poe Sisters reappeared. The Composer Brothers could not be engaged in combat, but the Poe Sisters could be battled at the Ikana Ghost Hut.
The Wind Waker
Poes appear in the Earth Temple and the Savage Labyrinth. This time they are completely intangible and can possess Link to mess up his movement. To defeat a Poe, Link must first shine a light on one. This would temporarily turn the Poe solid, at which point it would run around in a panic. In solid form the Poe could be defeated with ease.
The boss of the Earth Temple is Jalhalla, who is composed of many Poes combined together.
Four Swords Adventures
Two Big Poes appeared as bosses, in two levels in a row. The first Big Poe seemed to be Jalhalla, while the second looked more like a large version of a normal Poe.
Twilight Princess
Two different types of Poes appear, the normal kind and a new kind referred to as Imp Poes. Both are invisible, and can only be seen and attacked by Link when he is in wolf form. Both also leave behind Poe Souls after being defeated. Link needs to gather sixty Poe Souls, from the four normal Poes and fifty-six Imp Poes, to restore a cursed man named Jovani.
Only four normal Poes appear in the Arbiter's Grounds, although these Poes look much taller then the ones in previous games and have visible faces. In a manner similar to the Poe Sisters from Ocarina of Time, they steal light from the torches that is needed to open the doorway leading further into the dungeon. So Link had to hunt down and defeat all four of them in order to re-light the torches. The last of the Poes used Meg's illusion-conjuring technique, and it is possible that these four Poes actually were the Poe Sisters.
The Imp Poes are found basically everywhere. Outdoors they are only found at night. They are also found in dungeons and caves. They resemble glowing imps, hence their name. The Imp Poes wield scythes which they use to attack, and they also carry lanterns.
A Link Between Worlds
In A Link Between Worlds, Poes as minor enemies similar to their appearance in A Link to the Past. A group of Poes also appeared at the Lost Woods to act as guides to the grove containing the Master Sword. However, they did act as tricksters in this role, as Link had to keep track of which Poes to follow (or not to follow) in order to reach the correct path moving forward.
Tri Force Heroes
There were several different variations of Poes appearing in Tri Force Heroes. The standard versions of the Poes were found at the Ruins and came in four different color variations, but the only difference between them was which Links could damage them. White Poes could be attacked by any Link, while the other three variations could only be hurt by Links with matching tunics. Poes sometimes floated high in the air and could only be beaten by the Links forming a totem. A Lantern Poe also appeared in one area of Palace Noir. It roamed around with a lantern and could only be defeated by lighting all the room's lanterns.
This game also featured Prankster Poes, which were ghosts that took on forms resembling ghostly versions of Link and were known for their quick movements. They attempt to sneak up on Link and throw them. There was also another variation of this version called the Key Bandit Poes. They protected keys and would chase after any Link who took one of the keys. The Prankster Poes appeared at the Illusory Mansion, Grim Temple and Den of Trials, while Key Bandit Poes were found in the Palace Noir.
A Poe boss known as the Grim Reapoe also appeared as the boss of Palace Noir.
Other Appearances
Video Games
- In Hyrule Warriors, Big Poes appear as enemy captains. In the Legend Mode scenario "The Sheikah Tribeswoman", a specific Big Poe that had to be defeated was known as the Spirit of the Caves. Additionally, some fallen Hylian Captains could become Poe-like Hylian Ghosts and put curses on their former allies.
Trivia
- The Poe's name is derived from the surname of horror writer Edgar Allen Poe. It may also refer to "po", the Chinese word for "spirit".