Gibdos are humanoid, mummified creatures that are often found in dungeons and other dark, hazardous, low-light locations. They seem to exist for the sole purpose of patrolling whatever crypt they wander through, attacking and throttling any and all victims they find.
The first appearance of the Gibdo was in The Legend of Zelda for the NES. Link only encountered these monsters inside of dungeons, namely Dungeons 5 and 8 (of the first quest). Gibdos were slow but powerful enemies and required multiple attacks to be taken down and were able to deal full hearts’ worth of damage Link.
The tactic for defeating these foes, as with many enemies in The Legend of Zelda, depended on Link’s preferred method. Arrows, bombs, and sword attacks could all be used to defeat the Gibdos, but any strategy required multiple attacks, even when using powerful weapons such as the Magical Sword.
The next appearance of the Gibdos came in A Link to the Past. The Gibdos were now more developed since their initial appearance in The Legend of Zelda, being given more visual details that helped reinforce their horrific nature, as well as their now-iconic weakness to fire.
Gibdos of A Link to the Past were found and fought in the Skull Woods. Though their visuals were updated, the Gibdos’s offensive and defensive abilities remained unchanged, and aside from the addition of defeating them with fire (usually by means of the Fire Rod), most of the original strategies for defeating them remained valid options.
Link’s next encounter with his undead adversaries came in his first handheld adventure, Link’s Awakening. Heavily influenced by the Gibdos from A Link to the Past, the Gibdos patrol and protect various dungeons and use their resilience to overwhelm any intruders. This version of the enemy also introduced the species’ now-recurring trait of not flinching while being attacked, which made them even more troublesome for Link. They also now transformed into Stalfos whenever their wrappings were set on fire
Like other iconic Zelda enemies, the Gibdos made the jump to 3D in the series’ next release, Ocarina of Time. They were encountered in the Shadow Temple and at the Bottom of the Well, serving as powerful protectors of both lairs.
For the first time, Gibdos were given updates to their abilities. Like the similar ReDeads, Gibdos were slow, lumbering zombies that attacked by temporarily paralyzing Link with a terrifying shriek whenever he was caught in their gaze. Link’s inability to move gave them a chance to get close, climb onto the hero, and begin biting him. Again, as with previous version of the beasts, Gibdos were powerful and resilient and forced Link to approach them with caution. Link could use the Gibdos’ own tactic against them, though, by using the “Sun’s Song” to momentarily paralyze them.
The same style of Gibdos returned in Majora’s Mask, though this time their role was actually significant to the game’s story. In the Ikana Canyon, Link faced many Gibdos in various locations, most noticeably in the caverns beneath the Empty Well. The Gibdos seemed to overrun the area and even concentrated around the Music House where a young girl named Pamela lived.
As Link discovered though, Pamela also lived there with her father, who had been cursed and partially transformed into a Gibdo. Using the “Song of Healing,” Link was able to restore the poor man while also obtaining the new Gibdo’s Mask, which allowed Link to avoid conflict with the Gibdos as well as communicate with them to learn important information about the Canyon.
Like many enemies from Link’s Awakening, the Gibdos returned as reused assets in the Oracle duology. Their patterns and abilities remained largely unaltered, as did Link’s methods for defeating them. Though, firing Ember Seeds at them with the Slingshot provided a useful way to burn away their wrappings without the need to approach them.
Gibdos made a return in both Four Swords titles, as well as the prequel game The Minish Cap. All three games use the Gibdos in a similar fashion, with the beasts behaving the same as they did in previous 2D games but with the updated and Wind Waker-inspired designs.
The possibly most frightening iteration of the Gibdos (and possibly the most disturbing enemy in the franchise) was found Twilight Princess, lurking within the haunted depths of the Arbiter’s Grounds and in daunting Cave of Ordeals.
These Gibdos borrowed heavily from the ReDead, most notably in their design and attack methods. They are wrapped in cloth, like older versions of Gibdos, but much more of their decayed bodies are exposed, such as their horrific, zombified faces. As for their attack, a Gibdo could paralyze Link with a loud and shrill scream, and once Link was frozen in place, it would swing at him with the large sword it carried.
To defeat these Gibdos, Link needed to use any strategy that would allow him to deal damage while also keeping out of their field of vision. His best option was to attack with projectiles, such as the highly effective Bomb Arrows.
In 2013’s A Link Between Worlds, the Gibdos had a return to form by mimicking the design from A Link to the Past. The only noticeable difference between these Gibdos and the ones from A Link to the Past was that, similar to in Link’s Awakening, burning away their bandages turned them into Stalfos rather them simply destroying them,
Link’s most recent run-in with the Gibdos happened in Tri Force Heroes. Nearly identical to their appearance in A Link Between Worlds, the Gibdos would lunge at the Links whenever they were in sight. Gibdos were also the final challenge for the aptly named Gibdo Mausoleum, where the Link’s needed to defeat five Gibdos on a small platform surrounded by lava.
The Gibdos are among Link’s most frightening and challenging foes, and the proof of this is found in their long history in the franchise. It has been a few years since their last appearance, but there is little chance that Link has seen the last of these stubborn ghouls.
(For more information on the Gibdos and the other fascinating races of Hyrule, visit Zelda Wiki.)
