Moblin

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The Moblin is the primary muscle of Ganon's army. Common as foot soldiers and quite unintelligent,[1] they've been around since the very first Zelda game where they started as anthropomorphic bulldogs. By Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, they were combined with Butablins, and took on a more piggish appearance. Other related species include the smaller but more intelligent Bokoblin, the tiny Miniblin, and the more militaristic Bulblin. Moblins have appeared in most games in The Legend of Zelda series, except for Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, and Phantom Hourglass.

Appearances

The Legend of Zelda

File:MoblinOrange.png

Moblins first appeared in the original The Legend of Zelda. They keep to the wooded areas, such as the Lost Woods, and throw spears. Like most enemies from this game, they come in two colors - red and blue; blue being the stronger of the two. They are vulnerable to most weapons except fire.[citation needed]

Not all Moblins are enemies, however. Some hide in secret caves across Hyrule and give Link Rupees.[2]

The Adventure of Link

File:AoL - Moblin.png

In The Adventure of Link, Moblins appear leaner and more muscular in this game, as opposed to the short, squat appearance previously. They still serve Ganon, though he is deceased in this game.[3] They still use spears, either holding or throwing, and live in wooded areas,[4] although some can be found on bridges or caves. They appear in orange, red, and blue (from easiest to hardest, respectively).

A Link to the Past

File:Moblin ALttP.png

In A Link to the Past, Moblins only appear in the Dark World.[5] They walk around quite quickly, and throw pitchforks at Link from any distance within the screen. Moblin projectiles can be easily blocked with the shield. Moblins, as well as Taurus, behave in a similar manner to soldiers. Thus, they may be the Dark World equivalent of soldiers, as Moblins and Taurus also appear where soldiers are in the Light World.[6]

Link's Awakening

'Pig' Moblin
'Pig' Moblin
File:MoblinLA.png

In Link's Awakening, Moblins appear in two forms: "Pig" Moblin and common Moblin. Common Moblin only appear in the Mysterious Woods and the Moblin Hideout. These Moblins home in on Link, like the guards in A Link to the Past, while some simply wander and fire arrows.

There is also a Boss named Great Moblin, who kidnaps Madam MeowMeow's Bow-Wow and resides in the Moblin Hideout.[7]

Link's Awakening marks the transition in appearance of Moblins, with two types of Moblins. The 'Pig' Moblins move and attack exactly like their Moblin counterparts (both with swords and shields and bows) and can be found in Tal Tal Heights, near the Wind Fish's Egg.

Ocarina of Time

Moblins only appear in the Sacred Forest Meadow when Link is an adult.[8] Normal-sized Moblins patrol the hedge maze with spears and proceed to charge if they see Link. A bigger and stronger variation of the Moblin, the Great Moblin, guards the entrance of the Forest Temple with a giant club.[9] If he sees Link, he begin to slam it on the ground, causing a shock wave which can prevent forward progress.[10] In the Master Quest version, one more club-wielding Moblin is in the Spirit Temple. They can be killed by the hookshot or arrows, but are generally best avoided by stealth. With good timing, death by sword is also a possibility. Also, it takes three bombs to kill the Great Moblin, which gives Link a random amount of Rupees.[11]

Interestingly, Moblins cannot be Z-targeted in Ocarina of Time.

Oracle series

File:MoblinOracleRed.png

In Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, Moblins are one of the most common enemies. They act exactly as they did in Link's Awakening, still coming in red and blue variants; the blue ones are usually harder to find and to defeat. In Oracle of Ages, blue Moblins often appear in the past where red ones are placed in the exact same place in the present. Similarly, blue Moblins tend to appear during winter in Oracle of Seasons. A rare, one of a kind Golden Moblin can appear in a certain region of Holodrum. There is also a character known as the Great Moblin. Link is able to transform into a green Moblin with the Moblin Ring.

The Wind Waker

A Moblin patrolling the Foresaken Fortress

In The Wind Waker, Moblins are again Ganon's primary soldiers. They appear to have a keen sense of smell, as they appear to be sniffing out Link when he is sneaking through Forsaken Fortress. They are often seen patrolling Ganon's territory (such as reefs or submarines) or temples. Bokoblins and Miniblins often accompany them, and one Moblin in particular serves as the mini-boss of Dragon Roost Cavern. They are sometimes carried into battle on Kargarocs.[12]

Moblins are the least intelligent known of the goblin race.[13][citation needed] They typically carry polearms (which can be picked up and wielded by Link), and also carry lanterns that they can throw.[14] Moblins are adept at handling a frontal assault by defending with their spears, so attacking from the sides or back is recommended. Moblins have immense reach with their spears, but their wide swings mean that two or more Moblins in proximity are likely to injure or even kill each other. If disarmed, a Moblin proceeds to unleash mighty, lightning-fast punches until it gets its spear back. Valuable Skull Necklaces can be stolen or gained from defeating them or by using the grapping hook, which can be sold to a sailor near the bomb shop, Beedle, or the man in the Auction House after the second Forsaken Fortress mission.[15][16]

If Link does a thrust attack with his sword that hits a Moblin's rear-end, it starts to cry and walk on its tiptoes, due to the pain inflicted in a delicate place. If Link takes out a bomb while engaged with a Moblin, the Moblin then flees in terror, returning to the fight after the bomb explodes.

There are two kinds of Moblins in The Wind Waker: brown and blue. The brown Moblins can take more hits and carry lanterns along with their spears that they throw at Link when he gets close to them, acting as a smokescreen of sorts as well as to hurt him with fire. The blue Moblins can't take as many hits and do not have lanterns.

Maggie from Windfall Island maintains a long-distance relationship with a Moblin named Moe who lives in the Forsaken Fortress.[17] They communicate through letters, and Moe indicates a disturbing "hunger" to see Maggie.[18] Maggie takes this to mean that he wants to marry her.[19] It is apparent through Maggie's actions that she is in love with him, much to her father's disapproval.[20]

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The Minish Cap

In The Minish Cap, the Moblins don't literally serve anybody, but aid Vaati in stopping Link from rescuing Princess Zelda in Dark Hyrule Castle. The pink ones appear in Western Wood and the black ones appear in Dark Hyrule Castle. According to the Swordsman Newsletter, defeating them is a good source of income, however, this isn't necessarily true.[21] According to the Royal Hyrule Library's weekly top titles, the book Married to the Moblin is the top seller. However, Link cannot read the book in game.[22] These Moblins may wield either spears (like in The Wind Waker) or bows.

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Skyward Sword

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File:Moblin SS.jpg
A Moblin in Skyward Sword

In Skyward Sword, Moblins appear as fat, red monsters that are twice the size of Link. They brandish a wooden, square-shaped shield and a long spear. Link can cut its shield down into small pieces, leaving the Moblin shieldless and open for attack. Link can also jump behind the Moblin by dashing into its shield and climbing over it, exposing the monster's backside for an attack.

Later in the game, Moblins seem to acquire an iron shield that possibly cannot be cut by Link's Sword.

Non-canon Appearances

Animated series

The Moblins as seen in the animated series

In the Zelda animated series, the Moblins greatly resemble their first appearance in the original The Legend of Zelda. They are loyal to their master, Ganon, and they are always willing to follow his every command. As such, Ganon mostly resorts to using these foes to carry out his plans to steal the Triforce; unfortunately, his schemes are always ruined by the ineptitude of the Moblins, as he is always berating and punishing them for their failure.[23][24] In "The Moblins are Revolting", however, a Moblin convinces the other monsters to overthrow Ganon and form an alliance known as the Brotherhood of Underworld Monsters,[25] but they realize they pose no real threat due to the disorganization within the group, and the Moblins as well as the rest of the monsters end up crawling back to Ganon.[26]

Just like the rest of Ganon's minions, the Moblins are capable of speech, with the only difference being that the Moblins speak with poor grammar.[27] These foes also wield a wide variety of weapons when fighting against Link: spears, swords, boomerangs, clubs, catching nets, bows, and crossbows. Despite their impressive arsenal, the Moblins are rather clumsy and simple-minded who are always bumping and tripping over each other, and this in turn usually causes for them to defeat themselves in the process, much to Ganon's dismay.[28]

Captain N: The Game Master

The Moblins in Captain N: The Game Master

Moblins appear in three episodes of the Captain N: The Game Master cartoon show, where they are first introduced in "Quest for the Potion of Power". Here, a group of Moblins raid the town of Rauru in hopes of trying to find out about the location of the Potion of Power and thus revive their master, Ganon.[29] After Link, Princess Zelda and Kevin defeat all of the Moblins and save a woman's son from the grasp of the Moblin leader, the woman rewards the heroes with a map that helps them on their quest of retrieving the Potion of Power before Ganon's minions get to it.[30] Although a Moblin also appears in the "Once Upon a Time Machine" and "The Trojan Dragon" episodes, it only plays a minor role. In both of these episodes, Simon Belmont of the Castlevania series bumps into this foe while walking through the woods in Hyrule.[31][32]

These Moblins do not seem to be as clumsy as the ones portrayed in the Zelda animated series. However, just like the Zelda cartoons, they are capable of speaking.

The Legend of Zelda comic

A Moblin in the Legend of Zelda comic

The Moblins in the Legend of Zelda comic seem to be modeled after their artwork depiction in The Adventure of Link. Unlike the cartoons, these foes play a very minor role in all of the comic's issues, and they can only be seen speaking in "Assault". In this story, a Moblin goes to inform Ganon that Link managed to defeat a pack of his fellow fiends to get past his outpost.[33] Ganon punishes the Moblin for failing to capture the young hero and mentions that only he is allowed to destroy Link.[34] They are also briefly seen in "Missing in Action", "To the First Power", and "Queen of Hearts".

The Crystal Trap

In The Crystal Trap, Moblins continue to serve under Ganon's orders and try to eliminate Princess Zelda on her quest to obtain the three items necessary to free Link from the Crystal. They always appear in groups, right behind Ganon, willing to attack as soon as the evil wizard commands them.[35] At one point in the book, if Zelda enters Madame Grusha's fortune-telling hut, she will discover that the fortune-teller is actually a Wizzrobe in disguise who commands the Moblins to attack and kill the princess. However, Zelda easily defeats both the Moblin and the Wizzrobe with the use of her bow.

Once Link and Zelda find the Spear stuck in one of the trees of the forest, Ganon and his gang of Moblin begin to quickly approach the heroes, but with the help of Zelda's friend Greenbeard, they are able to obtain the Spear and stop the Moblin right on their path.[36] With the defeat of Ganon at the hands of Link, the Moblin disappear as well.

The Shadow Prince

A Moblin in The Shadow Prince
See also: Moblin Boss and Nilbom the Tailor

The Moblins in The Shadow Prince not only serve Ganon, but also a Moblin Boss who commands them to destroy Link in order to satisfy their master. These creatures play a much bigger role in this book, being capable of disguising themselves as humans and thus trick Link into thinking that they are there to help him. Both Princess Zelda and Link are first attacked by a gang of Moblins as they are walking through the woods. Although they defeat the first few monsters quite easily, Zelda runs out of arrows for her bow and ultimately gets knocked out by a rock thrown at her by one of the Moblins. Link goes after her but trips and tumbles to the ground, and just as he is about to be killed by a Moblin, a tall, dark man known as Charles saves him by commanding the Moblin to leave.

Later on in the book, if Link chooses to go through the Midoro Swamp on his way to the Town of Ruto, he will once again get ambushed by a group of Moblins; however, with the help of the Golden Whistle, he is able to weaken them with its high-piercing sound. One of the Moblin then offers Link a Magic Potion in exchange that the young hero stops whistling.[37]

Once Charles of Moria runs away to the Midoro Swamp with the Triforce of Wisdom in hand, Link will follow him there only to find that Charles, who is actually Ganon in disguise, has an army of Moblin that quickly surround Link. Just as the Moblin are drawing in to attack the young hero, Link uses his sword to slash Charles's necklace in two, thus defeating the false Morian knight. The Moblins, now with their leader gone, all suddenly scatter away into the clearing.[38]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Moblins appear as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Name Image Artwork from Effect in The Subspace Emissary Usable by
Moblin File:Moblin Sticker.png The Wind Waker [Slash] - Attack +15 This sticker is usable by Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, and Toon Link

Other Appearances

A Moblin from an early trailer of Twilight Princess

Trivia

  • In Japan, Moblins are called Moriburin, which is a combination of "Mori" (meaning forest) and "goblin". This explains why they were called "Molblins" in the first game. In Japanese, a vowel isn't always pronounced and the "L" and the "R" are the same letter, thus "Molblin" is a possible romanization of "Moriburin".

Gallery

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Names in Other Regions
Language Name

Template:Blin Template:EnemiesMoblin

  1. "Those pig-faced Moblins... You see them around the Minish Woods, right? They're big and dumb?" — Swiftblade (The Minish Cap)
  2. "IT'S A SECRET TO EVERYBODY." — Moblin (The Legend of Zelda)
  3. "Hyrule was on the road to ruin. The power that the vile heart of Ganon had left behind was causing chaos and disorder in Hyrule. What's more, even after the fall of Ganon, some of his underlings remained, waiting for Ganon's return." (The Adventure of Link manual, pg. 3)
  4. "A little devil that lives mainly in the forest. He attacks Link by throwing spears, but he moves slowly." (The Adventure of Link manual, pg. 28)
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  7. "Hey buddy! It'sserious! Yeah, really serious!! Yeah, it is! The Moblins came to the village! Yeah, that's right! A whole gang of Moblins! Then... It's for real! They all went to the house... Yeah, that house, and then they did something at Bow Wow's house!! It was a really bad scene, with the M-m-moblins! So, I mean, ahh! ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... It might be faster to find out for yourself what happened!" — Quadruplets (Link's Awakening)
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  12. "These fierce and dangerous opponents often carry Bokoblins and Moblins into battle." — N/A (The Wind Waker)
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  15. "I hear there's a fellow on Windfall Island who's collecting Skull Necklaces! You know who it is, fry? I don't. Sorry. What I CAN tell you is that those piggish monsters you see here in the Forsaken Fortress seem to carry those Skull Necklaces around all the time. Not that I think it's easy work stealing anything from the likes of those guys." — Fishman (Wind Waker)
  16. "Moblin Habitat: Forsaken Fortress Spoils: Skull Necklaces These mighty enemies swing their long spears with the greatest of ease. They've knocked Link around with that attack countless times." — Moblin figurine description (The Wind Waker)
  17. "Oh, Moe... My dear, sweet, burly Moe...When, oh when, will you respond to me? Troo di loo la la!" — Maggie (The Wind Waker)
  18. ""I...like... you...Ma...ggie...so...much...that...I...want...to...eat you...for dinner."" — Moe (The Wind Waker)
  19. "Did you hear that? Those words? This means... I mean, it must mean...Can it be...?!? Is this his marriage proposal?" — Maggie (The Wind Waker)
  20. "My father has been so strict with me lately. He won't let me out of the house!" — Maggie (The Wind Waker)
  21. "Those pig-faced Moblins... You see them around the Minish Woods, right? They're big and dumb? Well, they're also rich! Beat one up for some quick cash!" — Swordsman Newsletter #5 (The Minish Cap)
  22. "This week's top titles: 3 Learn to Like Your Like Like: A Good Guide to A Bad Pet 2 Gorman's Guide to Good Grub 1 Married to the Moblin" — N/A (The Minish Cap)
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