Wizzrobe

Quick Information
Appearances: LoZ, ALttP, LA, LA DX, MM, OoA, OoS, TWW, FS, TSA, TMC Order: Magician Habitat: Dungeons Attack Pattern: Materializes out of no where and shoots magic at target. Disappears and reappears in a pattern, or at will. Some can go into a semi-transparent ghostlike (and invincible) state.

Appearance: LoZ Quick Facts: Orange ones appear in random places, phasing in and out regularly. Blue ones walk around, and charge quickly in their "ghostlike" state.

Appearance: ALttP Quick Facts: Green ones stay in one place, phasing in and out regularly, and appear only in Misery Mire. Skull Wizzrobes can only be found in Ganon's Tower, and are similar in behavior to the green ones.

Appearance: LA(DX) Quick Facts: There are only green Wizzrobes (Due to the Game Boy's mono color). Vulnerable to bombs, arrows, and Magic Rod. Arrow/bomb combination an effective weapon against them.

Appearance: MM Quick Facts: Called Wizrobe instead of Wizzrobe. Keeps body uncovered. Teleports randomly to set warp pads and shoots ice or fire blasts from his staff. Can produce several "ghosts" of himself to confuse opponent.

Appearance: OoA / OoS Quick Facts: Green ones stay in one place, phasing in and out in a set pattern. Red ones phase in and out regularly, but in random locations. Blue ones move about freely, but become "ghostlike" to dodge and move through obstacles.

Appearance: FS Quick Facts: Three types of Wizzrobes appear in this game. Green ones shoot ordinary energy orbs. Red Wizzrobes use fire to ignite Link and Blue ones can freeze anything their icy projectile touches.

Appearance: TWW Quick Facts: Two types of Wizzrobes exist in this game, regular Wizzrobes who often attack in pairs. There is also a 'high' Wizzrobe can do anything a regular Wizzrobe can and on top of that he is able to summon other enemies (including regular Wizzrobes). Only 1 'High' Wizzrobe exists in TWW.

Appearance: TMC Quick Facts: The Wizzrobes' attacks are identical to their FS counterparts. The only difference is that their appearance has slightly changed.

Contents 1 Description 1.1 Overall 1.2 Legend of Zelda 1.3 A Link to the Past 1.4 Link's Awakening and Oracle of Ages / Seasons 1.5 Majora's Mask 1.6 Four Swords 1.7 The Wind Waker 1.8 The Minish Cap 2 Relevant Quotes 2.1 Legend of Zelda 2.2 A Link to the Past 2.3 Majora's Mask 2.4 The Minish Cap 3 Translations 3.1 Notes 4 Name confusion 5 See also

Description

Overall

Wizzrobes are an order of robed sorcerers. Most Wizzrobes keep their whole body covered, only letting their eyes gleam from under their cloak. To cover their head, they wear either a hood or a broad-brimmed hat. In MM, the Wizrobes most of their body uncovered, exposing a long, thin, blueish face with a skull-like nose. You can see part of the Wizzrobe's learing blue face and long nose behind the hood in the LoZ manual, which is similar to the Wizrobe in MM except for the nose.

Wizzrobes use their magical powers to move themselves in special ways, which is why they are called the Masters of Movement in the LoZ manual. Different Wizzrobes move themselves in different ways. All Wizzrobes use a method I call "phasing," which refers to the ability to slowly become invisible and disappear, and slowly reappear. Most Wizzrobes use this ability to phase in and out of visibility, confusing the opponent. Some use it to phase partially out, and move more quickly, and the Wizrobe in MM even uses it to create phantom copies of himself.

To attack from a distance, Wizzrobes use their own special spell. It seems that they cannot produce this magic by their own abilities. Rather, they need an extra tool to cast the spell, such as a Magic Wand. According to LoZ, the Magic Wand "is the wand that Wizzrobe uses." This is further confirmed by the Wizrobe in MM, which uses a wand to cast its own special spell. Following this line of logic, it would appear that the Wizzrobe in ALttP uses the pendant on its clothes to create the magic spell, since he is not carrying a wand and the spell seems to be emanating from the pendant. As mentioned above, the Wizrobe in MM uses a wand to cast his spell. But he casts a fire or ice spell, not the same kind of "beam" spell that all other Wizzrobes use.

Legend of Zelda

In LoZ, Wizzrobes can be found first in level 6, the Dragon labyrinth. These Wizzrobes keep a hood over their face, wear a necklace, and use a Magic Wand. Their magic spell can be deflected with the Magic Shield, but not with the smaller shield. Interestingly, Link obtains a Magic Wand in level 6, which allows him to use the same spell as the Wizzrobes. But this spell does not hurt Wizzrobes.

There are two classes of Wizzrobes: orange and blue. Orange Wizzrobes usually attack in groups, phasing in and out of physical reality. All orange Wizzrobes choose a random distance from the common enemy. Then, they all phase in at the same time, facing the direction their target was last at, in the same row or column as the target. Regardless of whether their target has moved, all Wizzrobes fire their blast of magic in the direction they are facing, and then disappear. They are vulnerable to attack (sword or bomb) while they are visible.

Blue Wizzrobes have an entirely different attack pattern. They are always visible, and walk around most of the time. When an enemy is in their line of sight, they shoot blast after blast. They may also perform a dash move, which moves them quickly in a diagonal direction. While performing this move, they are in a "ghostlike" state, and can move through blocks. But they can still injure their enemy. Thus, this "dash" move can be used to both dodge and attack.

A Link to the Past

There are two types of Wizzrobes in ALttP, both found in the Dark World. The green Wizzrobe appears only in Misery Mire. It is dressed in light green, has a red symbol of Ganon on its chest, and wears a broad-brimmed hat to cover its face. It appears to produce its "beam" attack via another pendant on its clothes. It attacks in groups of three or four, phasing in and out in a set pattern. But they all stay in the same place, making their defeat that much easier. The Ganon pendant does not appear to have any function, other than to show their allegiance to Ganon.

The other kind of Wizzrobe appears only in Ganon's Tower in the Dark World. It is dressed similarly to the other Wizzrobes, but wears blue. Its face is more uncovered, exposing a skull. In some rooms they fade in and out at fixed points, shooting their magic horizontally or vertically toward their target. At other times, four of them appear at a fixed distance from the target, so they can all shoot at once. Their lack of mobility makes them pretty easy to defeat.

These Wizzrobes can be defeated with most weapons, but not with bombs, boomerang, or hookshot. Their spell can be bounced back with the Mirror Shield.

Link's Awakening and Oracle of Ages / Seasons

There is only one kind of Wizzrobe in LA, found in level 6, Face Shrine. (In LA DX, it is revealed as a green Wizzrobe.) Its attack pattern is the same as the green Wizzrobes in ALttP and Oracle, but they are vulnerable to different weapons. These Wizzrobes can only be hurt with arrows, bombs, or the Magic Rod. (One bomb explosion kills them, which is why an arrow/bomb combination is a useful attack against them.) They can be stunned with the boomerang or hookshot while visible, and they can be moved around if hit with the sword. They continue to phase in and out at the location they have been moved to.

There are three kinds of Wizzrobes in the Oracle games, all similar in appearance to the Wizzrobe in LA. They can be found first in level 4, Dancing Dragon Dungeon, in OoS, and in level 6, Mermaid's Cave, in OoA. The green ones, like the green ones in LA, phase in and out in a fixed position. Red ones appear in random locations. Unlike the orange Wizzrobes in LoZ, they don't always appear horizontally or vertically from their target's position, but appear only in random locations. Blue Wizzrobes behave similarly to the blue Wizzrobes in LoZ. They walk around freely, shooting at their target when it appears in their line of sight. They can also go into a semi-transparent "ghostlike" state. However, this is used only to dodge and to move through solid objects. They cannot injure their target while in this mode, and they do not move any faster. They simply continue to walk around, and do not interact physically with anything. Thus, they cannot use this move to attack. The Wizzrobes' shots can be blocked, but not bounced back, with the Mirror Shield. The Wizzrobes can be injured with sword, bombs, or seeds. The boomerang does not effect them, but the Rod of Seasons or shield will push them away. You can change their position with the Switch Hook, or warp them away with a Gale Seed.

Majora's Mask

The Wizrobe in MM takes a drastic departure from all other known Wizzrobes. This might be because the Wizrobe is not a true Wizzrobe, or because he is in a parallel world, not Hyrule. In any case, the Wizrobe is similar enough to traditonal Wizzrobes to make comparisons useful.

The main difference is in the Wizrobe's appearance. While all other Wizzrobes cover their entire body with a robe (thus earning the second half of their name), the Wizrobes in MM wear few clothes. They do not cover their legs, arms, or head. Second, they use similar, but modified, techniques.

Second, the Wizrobe uses its mastery of motion differently. A Wizrobe's chamber has a number of set warp pads placed around the room. The Wizrobe warps to a random warp pad, dances around, and then fires a shot. If its target is close enough to be a danger when he first warps in, the Wizrobe "cancels" the warp and goes to a different pad. If its been injured enough, the Wizrobe will produce a "phantom" copy of itself on each warp pad, which will run around the room, confusing the opponent.

Third, the Wizrobe's magic attack is different. While all other Wizzrobes use a "beam" attack, which travels across the room until it hits something, the Wizrobe holds a staff and uses it to perform a standard ice or fire attack. This attack is similar to the attacks used by Koume and Kotake. The Wizrobe lets out a sharp cackle when its attack has injured his opponent.

It is unknown whether all Wizzrobes look the same underneath their robes. But we can see, by comparing the Wizrobe in MM to the Wizzrobe depicted in the LoZ manual, that at least these two don't look exactly the same. Both have skeletal features and pale blue skin. But the Wizzrobe in LoZ has a long nose, while the Wizrobe in MM has two slits for a nose, as well as a beard and high-capped hair.

The Wizrobe can be injured with nearly every weapon. He is vulnerable after he warps in and before he launches his attack. It is probably best to shoot arrows at him from afar, to avoid not reaching him in time and getting blasted with his spell.

Four Swords

Insert description here

The Wind Waker

Wizzrobes are bird-like sorcerers that can appear and vanish again into thin air. Usually they cast a spell that creates a projectile that will target you. Wizzrobes very often attack in groups; they rarely come all alone. Finally these flying magicians create a very distinctive noise when they are present, if you heard it once you'll immediately recognize it when you encounter them for a second time. There are three types of Wizzrobes in this game:

• Red Wizzrobe, these guys are regular ones that can only cast a fireball with their magic wand to attack you.
• Yellow Wizzobe, similar to the red Wizzrobe, but they are cloaked with a Yellow cap. These guys can also summon weak enemies like Miniblin.
• 'High' Wizzrobe, this is the biggest adversary of the three. Only one exists in the Wind Dungeon as a Mini-Boss. They wear an orange cloak and have a large golden helmet attached to their head. It is somewhat stronger than the normal version and this guy can summon other (regular) Wizzrobes and the powerful Darknut. Because this guy can create an endless supply of other Wizzrobes you really need to take out this higher level wizard ASAP.

The Minish Cap

These Wizzrobes are quite similar to the ones you can find in Four Swords. The biggest difference is that these guys have a different appearance. Again there are three types:

• Wizzrobe, the regular default Wizzrobe we know by now, this one is dressed up in a green robe and can teleport all over the place. He create energy waves as a projectile that causes some damage.
• Fire Wizzrobe, the red version of this enemy. This one has a fiery hat and creates fireballs to set Link on fire. If this happens Link will start running around, until the fire is extinguished.
• Ice Wizzrobe, the third varation wears a blue robe and his hat is completely frozen. He creates icy orbs that freeze Link for a moment and cause damage proportional to the time Link stays frozen.

Relevant Quotes

Legend of Zelda

LoZ Manual:

Magic wand - This is the wand that
Wizzrobe uses.

LoZ Manual:

Wizzrobe - The Master of Movement.
He appears here and there letting
out magic spells that Link's little
shield can't hold back. He's pretty
strong. Watch out!

A Link to the Past

ALttP Manual:

Wizzrobe - This wizard appears and
disappears using his magic. You can
only damage him while he is visible.
The Wizzrobe attacks using magical
beams of energy.

Majora's Mask

Tatl's advice:

It's a Wizrobe. You'll get your
chance right when it starts to
attack. Be on the lookout for it!

The Minish Cap

Figurine Description of the Wizzrobe:

Wizzrobe

Appears in the Palace of Winds & Dark
Hyrule Castle. They fire magic bolts
from afar. Hit them when they appear
so they don't cast another spell!

Figurine Description of the Fire Wizzrobe:

Fire Wizzrobe

Appears in the Palace of Winds & Dark
Hyrule Castle. They wield fire magic.
Hit them when they appear
so they don't cast another spell!

Figurine Description of the Ice Wizzrobe:

Ice Wizzrobe

Appears in the Palace of Winds & Dark
Hyrule Castle. They wield ice
magic. They're weak against fire, so
hit them with your Fire Rod!

Translations

Country	Name (MM)	Name (TWW)	Name (TMC)
Japanese	ウィズロープ(WIZURŌBU)	ウィズロープ(WIZURŌBU)	ウィズロープ(WIZURŌBU)
English	Wizrobe	Wizzrobe	Wizzrobe
French	Sorce-Robe	Sorcier	Sorcier
German	Zaurob	Pyromagus	Pyromagus
Spanish	Wizrobe	Invocantis	Invocantis
Italian	-	Sciamanix	Tunica

Notes

The Japanese name for the Wizzrobe (from the "Zelda no Densetsu" manual) is WIZURŌBU. This seems to be a transliteration of "Wizzrobe" into Japanese katakana.

The Wizrobes in MM are presumably the same, or similar to, the Wizzrobes in the other Zelda games, just with an alternate spelling. The Spanish version of MM uses the same name, Wizrobe (as it usually does with all names). The German version of MM calls the Wizrobe "Zaurob." The German word "Zauberer" can connotate a wizard, sorcerer, magician, warlock, enchantor, conjurer, etc. "Robe" is the same word in German and English. The French version of MM uses the name "Sorce-Robe." The French word for sorcerer is "sorcier," and the French word for wizardry is "sorcelerie". So it seems that the translation is using the root for "wizardry," not for "sorcerer." "Robe" is the same word in French and English.

The later Zelda games (TWW & TMC) have new names for some languages. The French now call it just a Sorcerer. The German call it a Pyromagus; a magus is sometimes referred as a magic user and the German prefix "pyro" is indeed connected to fire just as with English.The Spanish comes from the verb invocar, "cast" because they can summon other criatures. I don't know however what the Italian versions are supposed to mean.

Name confusion

It is possible that the Wizards in AoL are actually Wizzrobes. The two enemies look and behave very similarly. Their Japanese names are also very similar: compare ウィズザール (WIZ'ZĀRU) with ウィズロープ (WIZ'RŌBU). The NES Atlas, on page 68, says "To defeat the sly and quick Wizzrobe, Carock, Link must use Reflect." Carock is the boss of the Maze Palace, which is infested with other Wizards like himself, who warp around, shoot a beam spell, and can only be defeated if their magic is reflected back at them. The Wizards and Carock both look very much like the traditional Wizzrobe in LoZ.

The similar Magicians appear in the Island Palace. They warp here and there, throwing fire, and can be defeated with normal sword blows. They also look similar to the Wizzrobe, but less so because of their uncovered skull face.

So are Wizzrobes the same as Wizards or Magicians? In spite of their similarities, they do have different Japanese names. In nearly all cases we know of, different Japanese names indicate different things. AoL is sort of the exception, since some familiar Zelda things were made vastly different, or were renamed. (For example, AoL has Ache instead of Keese, and Zora has the same name but is vastly different in AoL).

In addition to a possible naming inconsistency in Japan, there is also name confusion in America. NOA never assigned these enemies official names. To fill the void, fans created their own names and these names stuck. So, one will see Wizards sometimes called Magicians. One will see Magicians sometimes called Sorcerers or Wizards.

See also

• Agahnim
• Magic Wand
• Magician
• Sorcerer