Manhandla
| Manhandla | |
|---|---|
 Artwork of a Manhandla from Hyrule Warriors. | |
| First appearance | The Legend of Zelda (1986) |
| Latest appearance | Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda (2021) |
| Variant of | Piranha Plant |
A Manhandla is a recurring boss enemy that has made multiple appearances in The Legend of Zelda series. Appearing as four-limbed, jumbo-sized variants of Piranha Plants,[1] they often impede Link's path in its numerous appearances, with the ability to spit fireballs and increasing its attack speed with each head destroyed. Their method of defeat differs in each game it appears in.
Manhandla first appears in The Legend of Zelda as a boss of Level 3, a mid-boss in Level 4, and an enemy in Level 8. Manhandlas appear as a central stem with four heads. They move around the room in an erratic pattern, spitting fireballs from each head in the direction Link is located. Manhandlas are immune to Fire or the Boomerang, and their fireballs cannot be deflected by a Magical Shield item. When Link destroys a head, its movement and attack speed will increase. It is defeated once all its heads are destroyed.
In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, Manhandla returns as the boss of the Ancient Ruins. Its attack pattern is very similar to its first appearance, but now Link can only damage a head with the Magical Boomerang when its mouth is open. When all its heads are destroyed, the stem will rapidly run around the room, and Link must expose the Manhandla's core with the Magical Boomerang, defeating it with his sword.
Manhandlas also appear in Legend of Zelda spin-off game, Hyrule Warriors, and it's multiple rereleases. It is a giant boss in multiple locations. Unlike previous games, Manhandlas are shown to exhibit a much greater repertoire of abilities, such as the ability to spit seeds and poison gas, and the ability to burrow underground. It also has a protective armor that renders it immune to most attacks. To defeat it, the player must use a boomerang to stun all of its heads while its armor is disabled. Doing so will expose its crystal core, which can be attacked to destroy the beast.
A variant of the Manhandla appears as a boss in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and The Legend Of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. In these games, the flowers are the colors of the four playable Links in the game, indicating who can damage it. In the former game, it appears as the boss of the Sea of Trees and is stuck in one place and has a variable amount of flowers which change colors, while in the latter game, Manhandla is a recurring miniboss in multiple locations, and as four flowers like the original - each in a different color - and it rotates as it moves.
Gallery
Artwork from The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (stem only)
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
References
- ^ The Legend of Zelda Japanese instruction booklet."４方向に手を持つ大型のパックンフラワー。手が減るごとに速い動きになる。ややつよい攻撃力を持つ。"(A four-limbed, jumbo-sized Piranha Plant. Speeds up with each limb lost. Posesses somewhat powerful offensive strength.)
