Lynel

A Lynel as seen in The Legend of Zelda.
Lynel
Type	Beast
Debut	The Legend of Zelda

The Lynel is a hybrid creature that has occasionally appeared as a powerful enemy in the The Legend of Zelda series.

Information

The Lynel is a bestial creature with a horse-like lower body, a human-like torso and a lion-like head. They are usually found in mountainous regions and have been described as guardian deities, although their level of sentience is unknown. Lynels usually wield blades and have been known to attack by firing either sword beams or spitting fireballs. Their projectiles can only be blocked with advanced shields. The Lynel is hardy enough that it will usually take multiple hits or special weapons to defeat them. There are usually red and blue variants, with the blue version being stronger.

Appearances

Lynels originally appear in The Legend of Zelda, where they are primarily found along Death Mountain. In A Link to the Past, only red Lynels appear on Death Mountain, and they are different from the previous depiction in that they do not have any blades. This version of the Lynel is very rare and can only be hurt by an advanced sword, Magic Hammer or Silver Arrows. The red and blue Lynels appear in several areas of Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, and in Oracle of Seasons, a Golden Lynel would appear at Tarm Ruins during the winter during the Red Ring sidequest. It was more powerful than the other Lynels.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In one episode of the The Legend of Zelda cartoon, Link and Zelda battled a pair of Lynels (one of each color) on their way to fight Ganon.
• Lynels were also featured as the primary enemy forces in an issue of the Valiant comics, where they helped to attack Saria Town. Zelda managed to rally the villagers to fight them off.

Trivia

• Its name simply seems to be a play on "lion".