Tears of the Kingdom - Classic Zelda Enemies Reimagined

How might Breath of the Wild 2 handle the return of classic Zelda enemies? Darknuts, ReDeads, Skulltula and more!
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Nintendo
Sources:
Zeldawiki: zelda.fandom.com/
Backgrounds for Skulltula, ReDeads, and Darknuts edited from stock photos from pixabay.com/
Gameplay footage used:
ZeldaMaster, ZorZelda
► Discord Link: / discord
► Intro music by: bit.ly/RuvenWegner
► Outro music by Clangon: • Zeltik Outro Theme (Wi...
#Zelda #Nintendo #LegendofZelda

[@HoopsandHipHop]

Didn't know you did art like that, great work! Also love the idea for the Skulltula, they would honestly make great overworld bosses.

[@bprocrast]

Yeah, imagine coming across what looks like just a skull for it to rise out the ground as a giant spider

[@keybae23]

@@bprocrast nope nope nope nope nope

[@The_Coffee_Man]

Neat. I wasn't expecting to see a poketuber in the comments on a Zeldatuber. You guys both make fantastic content!

[@Wolffman109]

@@keybae23 You're preaching to the choir.

[@Harrymation-productions]

I think we could actually see skulltulas in botw 2 due to the team being able to reuse those giant skulls

[@JustaGr8GuyHere]

I like the Lovecraftian look of the “Lost Zora”. It would make walking by the shores more cautious. In fact, with the ocean, why don’t we have a giant, aquatic octorock?

[@meleefox3218]

You mean like the Wind Waker version of Big Octos?

[@Itosalix]

One of Zora monuments describes an encounter with a giant Octorock. It could be a thing.

[@TimedRevolver]

Would be cool to have a giant Octorok play a similar role to the King Zora from LttP.

[@bergdismyntumjolk1517]

Sidon defeated it nearby Lurelin village, as written on one of the Zora tablets :D

[@Itosalix]

@@bergdismyntumjolk1517 I went looking for it in my first play-through. Bummed.

[@MrAGame]

Amazing work! I love your content purely because you don't spin rumors as fact or anything like that, but still have such great knowledge to show ideas and theories that could legitimately be used in the future. GG well done :)

[@WeirdlyWaffle]

I know right? his ideas are well thought out!

[@Herlock_Sholmes]

I know! His videos are awesome!

[@matthewriverastudent4333]

ilove mr. agame's channel

[@sharmilakrishnakumar2499]

Hi Mr. A game I am a big of you as well as Zeltik 👍👍

[@legomaster2538]

If evil Zora return in the sequel, I would love to see interactions between their leader and Sidon.

[@bergdismyntumjolk1517]

He'd probably try to reason with them, knowing his gentle heart... Could make for a great rescue/escort mission!

[@legomaster2538]

@@bergdismyntumjolk1517, just like Sidon’s Escort from Age of Calamity ;)

[@d00mbr07]

Your idea for the ReDeads is like a perfect blend of medieval torture and technological guilt tripping, i love it. Your art slaps btw

[@mangojam4518]

It would be cool if Dark Nuts fought with Claymore's with durability like Link's weapons. It would give incentive to the player to defeat them quickly if they want the loot. And just like Link can deal double damage if he throws a weapon that's about to break so could the Dark Nuts before switching to a regular one handed sword to continue fighting

[@phantompop3192]

That would be neat. Maybe they could throw it similar to their iterations from Twilight Princess.

[@totoslay1871]

People would probably complain even more😆

[@mendeta07]

Imagine if they could also switch between weapons on the fly like the player, having a sort of changing AI

[@theoaremevano3227]

@@totoslay1871 : It think, as someone not in love with weapon breaking, that it would be worth it if the weapon was absurdly strong, but very brittle even if you got it a max durability. There could also (somehow) be a limit to how many you can carry.

[@boosiewoosie9215]

Yes they should all wield two handed weapons, but being so large they can wield them with one hand. Claymores, great axes, war hammers, etc.

[@darkknightredius9936]

at least we got "redeads" in totk

[@thatdudewiththeplant]

Im so glad they returned the gleeok, ghoma, and gibdos!

[@joshgrant8881]

The fact that he can not only come up with cool little explanations for the enemies but draw them out is just amazing to me

[@ianbutler24]

I'd love to see Gohma and Gyorgs back, even if they were just a variety of lesser enemies like the bokos. I also hope that some minibosses don't respawn like the quest related ones. Bugged me that people would give you a quest to eradicate an enemy for them to resawn after a blood moon.

[@anonymousfellow8879]

“River” Zora aren’t inheritantly evil, though. There’s often neutral or friendly NPC versions (much like many, many “monster” enemies in Zelda), but the River Zora in particular even have their own sage in LBW It’s far more likely that they’re so hostile Because the Sea Zora drove them out (probably with the assistance of hylians), so they Fire Blast Now, Ask Questions Later Think about it-OoT/MM, WW, and TP zora are portrayed closer to sea fish instead of the more catfish-looking OG River Zora. In MM they flatout DO live in the Sea, same as the Sea Zora in Oracle of Ages (where both tribes exist and make this distinction.) And once JabuJabu Dies, Zora’s Domain freezes over in OoT…and JabuJabu is a WHALE that’s being kept in a very, very small cavern that it’s long outgrown. So if the River Zora return? Leas of a “they’re Evil Ganon Worshipers!” and more flatout territorial war with lore dropped for the player to piece together the Sea and River Zoras’ complicated history (which is painfully similar to the traditional conflicts between the Hylians and Gerudo ever since the Hylians shoved the Gerudo out into the desert following a civil war…and often “finishing the job” generations later, especially if the Gerudo retaliate. Or the divide between Sheikah and Yiga after being forced to abandon their heritage and culture after being subjegated into being the Hylian Kings’ attack dogs for much of their history.) Enemies with depth. Enemies that are incredibly *complicated* (and NOT inherently “evil.” Themes of questioning morality and everything Zelda and Link thought they knew as an Ancient Conflict stirs underground-literally.)

[@TimedRevolver]

They were also probably being controlled by Ganon. The castle guards were in LttP.

[@whichcache2517]

It’s interesting to me, because Ocean Zora were extinct by Wind Waker, yet enemies similar to the River Zora appeared in Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.

[@theawesomemepreussen]

I really want to see that now. And it's giving me more of a reason to start Oracle of Ages again, I never finished it, because I didn't have enough skill as a kid. I want remakes of the Oracle series so bad. 🥺

[@bergdismyntumjolk1517]

Nintendo should hire you ASAP

[@anonymousfellow8879]

@@theawesomemepreussen I’ve played the oracles to death!! No really, I got a 3DS just to buy them from the eshop since my games and GBCs are all trying to give up the ghost from age LOL My LEAST favorite part of Ages was all the stupid mandatory minigames just to progress. So uh. Fair warning. And just save before a minigame then reload-save your rupees!! And definitely don’t be shy about using Zelda Dungeon’s guide for Jabu Jabu’s Belly when you reach it. It is easily the hardest TopDown Labyrinth ever made (only Eagles Tower in LA and Ice Palace from LBW really come close to its complexity)

[@IAmEvilTree]

Zeltik, I had no idea you were such a great artist. Amazing work on these, really adds depth to the ideas and lore you explore.

[@UnfaithfulSalmon]

Seriously

[@MrThaiTuber]

I'd love to see more "original" content like this from you, you seem to have a gift for concept artwork!

[@MortonGoldthwait]

I'm very satisfied with what Nintendo brought to the table with new creatures. I especially love the Frox. It frightened the life out of me when I saw it appear out of the darkness for the first time.

[@A-RonHubbard]

3:20 Zeltik actually kind of predicted the Ancient Underground Fortress! And 6:50 got the return of (Gibdo) spot on.

[@micahvance8382]

Love it! I think you’re on the right track conceptually with many of these.. Nintendo and Zelda love to repurpose/reimagine enemies from within the series. I think, along with HG, that Aeralfos will make a return as well. The Lost Zora was: *chef’s kiss*.. How cool would that be to see a wayward people tow the line between monster and personage. 💯 If the devs/Nintendo really intend to embrace the darkness, ReDeads must return 👹

[@theseafaringsaxophone440]

Wow! I don’t know which is more awe-inspiring, your art or your enemy biographies!

[@silverthehero1295]

I’d love for Darknuts to be an over world boss similar to Lynels that act as commanders in Ganon’s army, on foot and on horseback. 6:35 Darken the surroundings even more and you could make a poster of that.

[@Wolffman109]

I REALLY love the idea for the ReDeads.

[@mossie104]

What a fabulous re-imagining of much needed new enemies! Super to watch a BOTW2 video where the creator (ZELTIK) has put in so much additional time with monster designs. I know content is hard to come by due to Nintendo’s lack of info and this video just shows your passion for the series. I’d love to see all your designs come to life, a super video and one that IS different yes, yet VERY welcome.

[@shapedsilver3689]

The background story you made for the redead is pretty chilling, I love it

[@LinkDaBoss]

I love these concepts, great artwork! The Lost Zora is a bit horrifying... Not sure whether it's the tentacles or those glowing eyes. Love it!

[@bradenwampler6288]

Another idea for the redeads is to have them be corpses that were reused by the sheikah as unwilling warriors. Creates an example of the dark side of the Sheikah’s technology despite it still being made for “good” reasons.

[@ogelpeace4610]

That redead mask idea was phenomenal! I felt so sorry for them at the same time.

[@jadedisaster]

I love all of these!! major kudos to the worl put into the artwork and the ideas! I'd thoroughly enjoy seeing all of these in the game!

[@Nearthesilly]

dude, the art was fire. I love the re-Dead concept you did, i hope Nintendo does something similar with that one.

[@Chaosfox04]

I loved the dynamic between river Zora and sea Zora in Oracle of Ages and would like to see that return. Your take and narration for the redead reminds me of Eternal Darkness for the Game Cube. I enjoyed it.

[@Luig117]

Woah that artwork is sick. And the concept of the skulltula is awesome. I could actually see that implemented in the game.

[@remingtonspitz5311]

These are incredible The concept art is great and I love the descriptions you give

[@AdventureRuben]

Dude you REALLY outdid yourself with this one. Wow, out of all your videos this one is probably in my top 3

[@seraphimb]

this is one of the best videos i’ve seen in a while! great work, especially with the artwork!

[@B3rT286]

This was so cool. I love how you put a picture to your theory/hope

[@medievalkite]

I like your take on Redeads and Skulltula's especially, I could totally see something like that being used in a darker vibe game. And Zora's too. Yes to all these lol

[@nefylia4037]

How do I like a video twice? But for real this art and your concepts are awesome! I hope Nintendo pulls through and adds amazing enemies like the ones you have conceptualized here!

[@SyromerB]

Wow, Great Art, great Idea and really good Video. I also liked the Storys you told about every Enemy. Very creative

[@Froggard_Fazfrog]

*See, now that the latest trailer actualy shows ReDeads, I am confident this man predicts the future.*

[@kirbyy9]

Would love to see more videos like this, especially for enemies that have very few appearances.

[@assasinfire2978]

redeads are confirmed now

[@Supasmartguy]

I much prefer this design for them than the design we're getting.

[@commenter5901]

@@Supasmartguy I prefer the design for the one we're getting, but it's all just personal preference. They can't please everyone. The ones we're getting look more like actual undead creatures that are partially mummified and the sideways mouth is all kinds of terrifying. They look like they were inspired by Stranger Things. The thing is that you can make hundreds of versions of an enemy and different people will prefer different ones. They likely did many character designs before settling on the one they did. I like the story behind the redeads in this video, but the mask itself looks kinda cartoonish and the redead itself just looks like it's anorexic (as do many of the previous versions).

[@Supasmartguy]

@@commenter5901 my main complaint with the design we're getting is the sideways mouth, if the redeads are reanimated corpses, they wouldn't have that.

[@tezereth]

It makes them more creepy to be frank, and redeads are known for munching on you so it fits

[@roryfriththetraveller4982]

oh man i didn't know you made art at all! i love these and all their lore too - can't wait to see what TotK has!

[@pierresaiget8304]

Brilliant concept! Loved the spooky back story for the redeads !

[@sofi7202]

dude this is amazing!! you're so creative, it's insane

[@kat_m1075]

Love these concept arts and the descriptions for each of them!!

[@xymos7807]

If they are going to break back the undead enemies like ReDead/Zombies, then they need to look more emaciated and humanoid. That design makes them look like a Dr Who villain.

[@Supasmartguy]

I very much prefer Zeltik's design to the design we're actually getting, but I don't hate the design we're getting, Either.

[@MECHAVXTTE]

Your art is amazing man! Please do more videos like this!

[@DragonFangSwordsman]

To the best of my knowledge I have watched every one of your videos and I must say you are my favorite zelda theorist (no hate to the other guys I love them too) but this video was even more amazing I'd definitely love to see more of this type in the future

[@rrallen]

Very good video! I really like the your illustrations you did for these enemies!

[@59rlmccormack]

Your idea for the BOTW Redeads sounds ominous & fun, good ideas all around.

[@felixmckinney7132]

When you start with the wind waker mini boss music you know it’s gonna be a good video.

[@skavengur9459]

i had a fat smile on my face as soon as he said the lurkers in the dark

[@_Maritime_]

I love your drawings. You can really imagine them in the game.

[@doomslayer0647]

Imagine going into a cave in botw, and then you see a skulltula and you're like "huh. I guess I'll die."

[@bob8988]

A Talos with a bokoblin base on its back is one thing, a giant skulltula which functions as a walking bokoblin base will make me "nope" quite fast

[@michaelrice7234]

More of this please this was fantastic!

[@starfallwish]

These are all really great ideas and the art is fantastic! I really love the idea of evil zora too, especially if we get more water areas to explore. The skultulla sounds like nightmare fuel though for someone like me that has an extreme fear of spiders haha Also I found your channel about a few days ago and I've just been binge watching/listening to everything while I replay botw and all of your content is super great :D Really looking forward to seeing all the theories and stuff for botw2!

[@Truffle_Pup]

Dude... Did you really just change your title as soon as TotK name drop came out?

[@adappropriateuser331]

Honestly, that Redead design and story is brutal. I love it.

[@skeletonmeatphantasylibrary]

Came for the speculation over BOTW2 enemies, stayed for the cool art. Great video!!!

[@gamermanzeake]

The Helmasaur King is my favorite boss in A Link to the Past, besides maybe the epic Ganon fight! So, seeing Helmasaur King and his minions would be awesome in BOTW2.

[@cheshiregames16]

i really liked this video, i would love to see more of your consepts/art for future zelda games

[@L337M4573RK]

The Darknuts re-animated by malice, and the terrifying (yet tragic) Re-Deads are quite interesting. Perhaps we may see Malice Lynels (like in Age of Calamity) or Skeletal Lynels in the upcoming sequel as well. Additionally, with the spirits of the King and Champions having finally moved on from Hyrule, we may start to see other Spirit-like enemies including Poes or some sort of new wraith-like enemy. Pols Voices haven't had a 3D debut yet, nor have Vires (the vampire-like enemies of LoZ)! If the sequel to BotW is supposed to be "much darker" this time around, then Vires would be the perfect enemy to prey upon the remaining citizens of the various towns/villages of Hyrule.

[@skins4thewin]

By FAR the best idea here is the giant Skulltula's wearing those stone skulls like a shell. That would be TERRIFYING to see the first time you encounter one!

[@pepsteprep]

I thought the helmasaur was holding up a burning spike ball. It was funny at first but I didn’t realize it was it’s tail.

[@ericjustice7661]

I love the imagination involved with the skulltula enemy.

[@koopatroopa7968]

That lost zora looks a lot more like Cthulhu than the evil zora I know

[@supremeoverlorde2109]

These are all great ideas, and I love the artwork! I'd love to see these Zelda enemies make a comeback.

[@jacobsims8307]

I just got over my childhood redead nightmares, thanks pal.

[@steve_urchin8536]

I like to think that instead of being banished to the sea, the evil zora went northwest until they reached the rito lake tower thing, where they volved into rito due to the frigid cold and high cliffs.

[@TheMcas123]

i like to think of the darknuts as a fight between link, and another swordsman, kinda like the yiga fights. personally i think if they were to return, they should be more human sized as opposed to giant, more like the ones in TP

[@michaelbosscha4483]

That was all some seriously impressive artwork man, I hope you'll be doing more of it!

[@drinksandfights]

Your Redead lore is fantastic and would be a great addition to the game!

[@rosebrigade]

I was skeptical about the Zora entry for a bit, but yea sure adding a lost tribe would be interesting. Thing is, it would fit. The evolution of the Zora goes through each line differently, and with BOTW being at the end of the line converging the time split, it actually would make sense to include all Zora types. - In the Fallen timeline, the Zora were touched by Ganon's influence and became evil, taking on a more dragon-like fiendish form. Their queen however was still benevolent to the hero of time since he saved her from certain death by restoring her gem to the domain, and despite the influence of Ganon, the Zora still had a Sage descendant in Queen Oren. But even the Queen can't control all of the Zora in her domain, and many of them still run their own accord regardless of her relationship to Link or the Royal family. - The Adult Timeline, or the Absent hero line with Windwaker, the Zora evolved into Rito to escape the evils of the ocean, touched by Ganondorf's influence, taking on wings instead of fins to take to the bits of land and mountain left above sea level. The only Zora to appear in this timeline was the deceased sage Laruto, only appearing to aid the Hero to defeat Ganondorf. - Then in the Child timeline, the Zora keep their fish-like appearance, but after the events of Ocarina of Time, start taking their militaristic training more seriously. No longer just keeping to themselves and hope nothing happens, they have warriors that the royal family rely on for the protection of Hyrules waters.

[@justamicrowave5297]

I would want to see golden skulltulas as mini bosses with actual attacks as opposed to the ones in oot that would be spread around the world but would drop golden skulls that could be used as some kind of currency in a special shop. I would also pike to see dark link in botw2 with as much health as you have at the time. He would also switch to whatever armor or weapon you have equipped, even if you switch mid fight. And maybe his own stamina bar equal to yours of course. Basically like the one from oot where he also progressively gets more aggressive as the fight continues.

[@shuckleiscool7330]

You know, i wouldnt mind just random one of bosses in the overworld that also gives you a one time only heart piece, but can fight again after the red moon. Helmasaur king might work like that. Darknut can just be like lynels and drop strong weapons, along with iron knuckles (in the gerudo desert region) or the ball and chain enemies. And even dark link in random spawns

[@fluffyou9276]

The forgotten prisoners gave me chills. Holy mess. I want this stuff in the game!!!

[@Kanjiimufu]

That is some great looking art, you did an awesome job. Yeah, all of these, please, and more. The sequel is in dire need of more enemy variety, and I would like to see old enemies with a new spin. The Helmasaur King, but millenia of fierce territorial fighting caused natural selection of an armored plate that envelops it almost completely, but blinds it, forcing it to rely on other senses. The slender, agile Darknut fighting side by side with a hulking Iron Knuckle, forcing Link to divide his attention between an onslaught of quick strikes and the devastating blows of an warhammer the size of his body... okay, that one is just Ornstein and Smough, I'm sorry...

[@HybridAngel]

I wanna point out that the Helmasaur semi appeared as the Gemesaur in link between worlds! Edit: I also forgot! The more hostile Zora also appeared in Link Between Worlds!

[@Ceezmemefn08]

Zeltiks videos are always so great. He sounds very professional

[@thenbarapper2907]

Hell yeah. I hope all these classic enemies return. Especially Darknuts.

[@chuckieariola7406]

oh I like the idea of the lost zora and the part with a civil war between the zoras

[@bluecat3338]

I really want the Lost Zora idea to become a thing. Not because I think it’d be a great enemy or anything (although I do, they sound really interesting) but because of all the ‘time to go punch Cthulhu’ memes that would come out of it.

[@quizbizzle4093]

I thought it would be cool to see a yiga soldier wielding Sheikah technology. Imagine a yiga blade master with the Sheikah blade saw, or a yiga scout with ancient arrows!

[@mikeysrose]

I'm not sure about the Skulltula theory. The gaping orbital and nasal openings (sorry, I don't remember my terms from anatomy) would be easy to hit with projectile weapons, especially by anything facing them down with a bow, leaving the bits they're trying to protect rather open for attack. Unless they wore the skulls backward, leaving their rear vulnerable, which I suppose would be keeping in line with former Skulltulas as well as some other enemies we've seen.

[@TCT2023]

Yeeeeeeeeeeees, giant stone Skulltula!!! Imagine walking up to a Bokoblin camp and suddenly feel the ground shake... WHY DO I HEAR BOSS MUSIC!?!?

[@megametexe5129]

Would love to see a part 2 to this

[@lordpistonia]

Your idea of the redead is so great

[@runilareads15]

This is such a cool video, and the art is incredible!

[@bluezaton]

I think this was great, the new Zelda will no doubt recreate and reimagine previous enemies partly to help give nostalgia and partly because they own the rights to some iconic characters already

[@hyliasknight]

honestly I'll be downright *mad* if we don't see anything like any of these in the game. They're all such perfect concepts.

[@a-a-ron7243]

That would be so fucking cool to see the darknuts come back and as a miniboss there would be a corrupted knight with a mace made of malice

[@tjeerdtrekkie1030]

I adore the ideas of the Lost Zora and the redeads. Those 2 theories sound amazing

[@DarkMirria1]

Zelda enemies I want to make a reappearance: Poes, OoT type Redeads, humanoid stalfos, Dogondo, Darknut, Gleeok, Bombchu, Wallmasters, Skulltula, Iron Knuckles, Dragons you can actually fight and defeat.

[@cbertstien]

Super cool. I would love to see more of these

[@ianlarsen3920]

I didn't know you were an artist! Those depictions are awesome!

[@keewii4183]

I think the enemy I want to see most is Dead Hand. I want to see a remastered version of this thing so terrifying that I literally have a fear so unbearable that I crap myself.

[@toonman5099]

I would honestly wanna keep the more Freshwater Fish like design of the top down Zelda games for the enemy Zora, but Ive relatively recently had thought of them as being akin to the Yiga clan, Zora who worship Ganon and were physically transformed due to the growing malice in their bodies/souls. The latter being my main explanation as to why the Yiga clan soldiers are so physically different to regular Hylians. Sort of be like a "Moblin" version of the BotW Lizalfos.

[@woollveez4366]

Because we can't go under water, I'd love to see a lost Zora capturing us in their under water fortress that is in fact one of the temples. Could be a super good entrance to a temple I think-

[@enderborn6860]

5:32 you really went lovecraftian here huh an ancient sea beast would be a fun challange though give the water more life

[@spicysquire3521]

3:00 I just had a thought, bear with me for a sec. I've heard that the hylian script found in twilight princess is farther removed from ocarina of time's hylian script than the hylian script found in sunken hyrule in wind waker, which potentially implies that twilight princess could take place farther in the future from ocarina of time in the child timeline than the great flood did in the adult timeline. I also saw a theory, unsure if it was by this channel or another one, that darknuts are super soldiers bred by the royal family (most of the evidence coming from the snow dungeon in twilight princess). If I'm remembering that correctly. What if the ones from wind waker are an earlier, less developed variety, and the ones from twlight princess are more humanoid because the royal family had longer to perfect them?

[@willpoweramv]

The Skulltula idea is beyond genius! I'd be really disappointed is the Zelda team didn't use that concept!

[@nottrustworthy6361]

You drew these?? They're amazing!! Aaa it only makes me even more stoked for botw 2!!