ReDead

A ReDead in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

A ReDead in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

ReDeads are gruesome zombie-like beings created by the magic of the evil being Ganondorf in the Legend of Zelda series. They were first encountered by the legendary hero Link, upon entering the Royal Family tomb and later dwelled in Hyrule Market after Link awoke from his seven year slumber in the Temple of Time. Redeads have been claimed to have been evil animations, created by Ganondorf to plague the shadow lands of Hyrule. Another possible origin is that they are the reanimated corpses of villagers slain by Ganondorf. However, the ReDead trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee seems to disprove this theory.

Attacking

ReDeads employ certain supernatural methods to attack enemies/prey. If a person makes direct eye contact with a ReDead, the monster will let out a horrifying shriek, and the victim will become temporarily paralyzed with fear. If a creature struggles hard enough, he, she, or it can usually get out of this mental trap. If a victim comes too close to a ReDead, paralyzed or not, the ReDead will jump on top of the prey. They will then bite into the victim, draining its life energy. Struggling hard enough will allow the victim to throw off the ReDead.

ReDeads can be destroyed by most conventional weapons (sword, arrows, etc.), although some weapons are more effective than others. ReDeads can also be temporarily frozen by summoning light into a dark area (the most effective way being playing the Sun's Song on an ocarina).

If one walks slowly near a ReDead and makes no noise, it will not attack, as ReDeads are blind and rely on noise to lead them to their prey.

Appearance

ReDeads were featured prominently in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and its sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, and also appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee as both a trophy and an enemy, in both Adventure Mode and regular fights, by coming out of boxes, crates, and the like. Their appearances in the series (most notably in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) has cited some controversy amongst gameplayers as to whether their nature is 'too scary' for a game that is played by children.

ReDeads also appeared in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker; however, they looked unlike their Ocarina of Time counterparts. They sported a more ancient, tribal look (colored blue or green)(e.g cabana basement ReDeads were tinged with green, while Earth Temple ReDeads were tinged with blue), wearing big earrings and tribal markings, and resembled a more gaunt, skeletal figure than the originals and had a different scream, furthermore, they didn't wear masks, so the creator gave it a piercing gawp (see picture above). Also, some weapons are now ineffective. Although many believe that only Light Arrows can damage them, all arrows can harm ReDeads. However, this is typically inadvisable, as this requires a great number of arrows - after being shot, the ReDead will simply stare at Link; it will not scream or charge at the character. It will sometimes move, however, and continued attacking is neccassary to defeat it. Bombs are considered to be very effective; three bombs can kill a ReDead outright, or the player can move in with the Master Sword after stunning it with a bomb.

In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, when these monsters are encountered in groups, killing one ReDead will cause the remaining ReDeads to congregate around its "corpse" until it fades away.

In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time:, if you kill a ReDead or Gibdo, the others will walk to it and then crouch down or look down at it. Once it fades away, the ReDeads will walk to its original spot. A ReDead will not attack you when it is walking to the "corpse" but once it fades, then it will attack you. After the ReDeads returned to its original spot, it will turn arround and stare at you as long as you are in the same room as it. Then it will try to walk over to you but if you are too far from it, it will go back to its original spot.

In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time:, ReDeads and their mummy counterparts, Gibdos, make moaning sounds. These sounds can be heard by the player if the player is in the same room or area as the ReDead or Gibdo. This could be to warn the player of the enemy's presence, since ReDeads are among the most dangerous enemies.

ReDeads return in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, now called "ReDead Knights". They resemble, infact, very tall Stalfos, rather than traditional Ocarina of Time ReDeads. They still freeze Link in his tracks with a scream (albeit it is more of a howl this time around), but, instead of leaping onto his back, they lift up a large broadsword and swing it at Link.

Gibdos

A similar enemy in the Legend of Zelda series called a Gibdo (a mummy) acts and looks exactly like a ReDead, aside from mummy-ish looking wrappings, causing confusion as to the possibility that the two monsters are related. However, in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, if the player burns away a Gibdo's wrappings, (for example, with the Fire Arrow) it will become a ReDead. (in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, burning a Gibdo's wrappings yields a Stalfos instead). Gibdos date back to the first game in the series, appearing also in A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening. The ability to attach to its prey or paralyze it was also absent. In Ocarina of Time, a Mini-Dungeon exists under the well in Kakariko Village where there is a small room with many tombs also with Gibdos.

Masks

There are two masks of the zombies. In Ocarina of Time, there is a mask called the Spooky Mask, which is based on the face of a ReDead. Creepily enough, if you speak to the lakeside scientist at Lake Hylia while wearing this mask, he tells you that it was carved using wood from a coffin. If you speak to Dampé the Gravekeeper, he will ask you if you know what kind of mask it is, and if you do, why do you still wear it. In Majora's Mask, the Gibdos Mask could be obtained by saving the researcher in Ikana Canyon. The mask not only allows Link to speak to Gibdos, but also makes ReDead dance, rendering them harmless. The Captain's Hat and the Garo mask also produce this effect.

Cameos

Super Smash Bros. Melee: ReDeads make an appearance as a trophy. ReDeads can also be found as enemies in Adventure Mode. ReDeads will also randomly be found in crates, barrels, etc., albeit very rarely.