Taking a close look at The Wind Waker’s surprisingly creepy bestiary

The Wind Waker deserves every bit of praise it has ever received for its art direction. It was a wonderfully vibrant video game when it first released in the early 2000s for GameCube, and the HD Remaster for Wii U made an already beautiful adventure that much more stunning.

The world of the Great Sea is as colorful and as whimsical as any setting in video games, but one thing that rarely gets mentioned is just how darn creepy many of its inhabitants are. Even when they are rendered in bright, cel-shaded graphics, some of The Wind Waker’s enemy designs are as ghastly as they come in The Legend of Zelda.

Dark, Distorted Reflections of Us

Whether they be friend or foe, The Wind Waker’s characters eschew realism for over-the-top, if not outright unrealistic, proportions. A perfect example is the game’s Stalfos, which only barely resemble a conventional human skeleton. The Stalfos that appeared in earlier Legend of Zelda games looked no different than the skeleton prop you would find as a Halloween decoration outside somebody’s house, but in The Wind Waker, these undead warriors have an absolutely bizarre body shape.

The skull has a massive, protruding lower jaw and teeth that point in more directions than a compass. Their hips are extraordinarily wide, yet their legs are squat, and their feet barely exist. Because their lower body is so lacking, it makes the upper body, particularly the arms, seem unusually long.

There is something about long, gangly limbs that we humans often find frightening. Perhaps it is just how inhuman they appear, or the fear of a nefarious ghoul being able to reach for us even from afar. Count Orlok (Nosferatu), Slender Man, Resident Evil 4’s Regenerators, the aliens from Signs, the Conjuring 2‘s Crooked Man — these kind of horror villains with their spindly bodies have revolted audiences for years.

It’s one of many — and we mean many — reasons why ReDeads have horrified so many Legend of Zelda fans. The Wind Waker’s Redeads are easily the most terrifying incarnation of the recurring enemy, with arms that are nearly as long as their entire bodies, and enormous, bowling pin-like heads. If that wasn’t enough, there are the beady red eyes, huge teeth, gaping mouths bereft of lips, and a piercing shriek that will chill you to your bones. The ReDeads somehow manage to resemble zombies, vampires, and the iconic grey alien design all at once.

The movement of such long limbs may also be what is so unsettling. Humans tend to dislike things that they know to be fake or unnatural yet portray something very real. The Uncanny Valley effect is a mild form of this emotional reaction. A more intense form is automatonophobia — the fear of objects that falsely represent a sentient being, such as mannequins, animatronic creatures, ventriloquist dummies, and marionettes. If you loved the 1982 Jim Henson and Frank Oz film, The Dark Crystal, but were still a little creeped out by all of the practical special effects using puppets and marionettes, you might understand how this fear manifests.

You may have experienced it, again, with Puppet Ganon. Like the Stalfos and ReDeads, Puppet Ganon has very long limbs that it uses to attack Link, and its movements look anything but natural. While levitating in the air through the strings that control it, Puppet Ganon awkwardly lurches about, never moving in precise strides.

Yet, it’s always in motion, mindlessly and ceaselessly shuffling forward with the singular intent to pulverize Link. The monstrous marionette does all of this with lifeless eyes and a blank expression that never changes no matter what occurs in the battle.

Menacing Maws

The Seahats are a case where it’s the lack of limbs that gives them such a grotesque appearance. Save for their propeller-like appendages that allow them to fly, they’re basically just bulbous heads, but with mouths that stretch from one side of their body to the other. The concept of an entity that is primarily a giant or flying head has appeared in folklore from cultures all over the world, including the demon Buer (Europe), the yokai Wanyūdō (Japan), the vampiric Penanggalan (Malaysia), and the Great Head (Iroquois and Wyandot).

Spirits or creatures like this are rightfully disturbing as, given the simplicity of their forms, they in theory they can really only do one thing — ram into you and proceed to devour you whole. Should you manage to deliver a non-fatal blow to a Seahat that dislodges their propellers, they don’t slow down. Rather, they then thrash toward you in a maddened rage. Terror on the high seas, indeed.

Second only to the Seahats when it comes to ridiculously big mouths are The Wind Waker’s Moblins, which are actually one of the creepiest takes on the classic oafs. It’s all because of what the art department did with the Moblins’ ugly mugs.

Their eyes are almost reptilian, with thin pupils and gleaming, greenish-yellow irises. Their oversized lips practically dangle from their jaws while their faces are split by huge, toothy grins. The Moblins seem to be positively delighted to take part in evil deeds. The only thing worse than a monster who can do you harm is a monster who is gleeful about it.

Horrific Honorable Mentions

Other enemies in The Wind Waker were memorable for more subtle attributes. The mischievous Miniblins and their three-pronged pitchforks were likely inspired by the imps and little devils of European mythology, specifically from the Gothic art movement.

Darknuts are a little trickier to identify, but are all the more fascinating for it. While fully armored, their figures suggest a brawny human being. Upon removing their helmet though, players find a head that vaguely resembles a Doberman Pinscher. Their mouths are still very human-esque though, and they lack the pronounced snouts of most canines. The coloration on their heads also gives off the vibe of a hooded executioner’s mask from the Middle Ages.

The Dynamic Shadow

Of all the recurring enemies that The Wind Waker applied its artistic touch to, the one who benefited the most from it was arguably Phantom Ganon. He might not be eerie or hideous, but he sure got an upgrade from his debut in Ocarina of Time.

After starting out as just a Ganondorf clone with a mask, Phantom Ganon returned to the Great Sea as a towering, shadowy specter wearing a horned helm and tattered cape, while wielding a massive broadsword. Even if no creature in The Wind Waker managed to make your skin crawl, you have to give credit to the game solely for introducing the definitive look for Ganondorf’s ghostly right-hand man.