Hinox

The 'Hinox is a recurring enemy from the The Legend of Zelda series. They are usually large and strong one-eyed enemies.

Information

Hinoxes are usually portrayed as large and muscular one-eyed enemies. Their exact size differs from game to game. In most appearances, they only appear to be large compared to Link, while in other games (especially Breath of the Wild), they are more gigantic. Hinoxes are relentless enemies who often take many hits to defeat, and in some instances they are treated like mini-bosses or bosses. In some appearances, its eye is a weak point.

Appearances

Hinoxes first appeared in A Link to the Past, where they were normal enemies who appeared in different areas of the Dark World. They carried around bombs and attempted to lob them at Link. They could be defeated with many arrows or sword strikes, or by attacking them with Link's own bombs. In the GBA remake, the ending for completing the Palace of the Four Sword showed Hinoxes passing bombs between each other, as well as one Hinox playing with a Super Bomb atop the Pyramid of Power.

In Link's Awakening, they appeared as recurring minibosses. These Hinoxes were larger and stronger. In addition to throwing bombs, they would also attempt to pick up and throw Link hmself. They were once again weak against bombs, or they could be defeated with the Magic Rod. The three Hinox minibosses were orange, red and blue, and they appeared at the Bottle Grotto, Eagle's Tower and Turtle Rock, respectively. They also appeared as enemies in Four Swords Adventures at the Death Mountain Foothills, where they attacked with boulders instead of bombs. As in Link's Awakening, Hinoxes would also attempt to grab Link, and in this game they would shake the Link to make him drop some of his Force Gems if successful. They were weak against bombs again, and they could also be turned into Zols by the Quake Medallion.

A different version appeared in Phantom Hourglass, where they were blue beings who did not have any facial features beyond a singular eye, and they also had fue-like ponytails. They attacked with bombs and by trying to punch Link as well. Normal tactics did not work on these Hinoxes, as they would throw back any bombs that were thrown at them. They could only be defeated by attacking them from behind or by stunning them with an arrow to the eye.

In A Link Between Worlds and Tri Force Heroes, the Hinoxes that appeared were nearly the same as their original appearances in A Link to the Past, but their bombs were now stronger, and they were no longer weak against Link's bombs. In the former game, they appeared only in Lorule (which was very similar to the Dark World), and on Lorule's version of Death Mountain, there was a variation of the Hinox that threw freezing snowballs instead of bombs. There was also a lonesome Hinox found in one hidden cave who would pay Link in Rupees to keep his cave a secret. Link could continue to ask for more money, but if he asked too much, the Hinox would be enraged and attack Link in an unstoppable rampage. As for Tri Force Heroes, in that game, the Hinoxes appeared as infrequent foes, and a group of three Hinoxes known as the Hinox Brothers acted as the mini-bosses of Hinox Mine and Bomb Storage.

Hinoxes also appeared in Breath of the Wild, where they were giants who were treated as bosses when battled. They had several isolated appearances in forested and mountainous areas. Hinoxes were often found sleeping and would go on the rampage after being awakened. They would attack with their fists, by dropping themselves on Link and even by attacking with trees that they uproot. They could briefly by stunned by shooting arrows into their eyes, but as their health depleted, Hinoxes would start raising their hands to shield their eyes. There were three colored varieties with different levels of stength, with red ones being the weakest, blue ones being in the middle and black ones being the strongest. There was also an undead skeletal varient called the Stalnox. Several sidequests required Hinoxes to be defeated, and one sidequest called for defeating three Hinoxes that were brothers (each of a different color). In many cases, Hinox's necklaces contained items such as glowing orbs that were needed to complete sidquests.

Trivia

• They are based on mythical beings such as the cyclops and the oni.
• In The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, the miniboss of the new Color Dungeon was referred to as a Stone Hinox in the English localization. However, its Japanese name is very different, as is its appearance and behavior beyond being a large human-shaped being, so it is most likely not actually intended to be related to the Hinox.