Three-of-a-Kind

Three-of-a-Kind, also formatted Three of a Kind is an enemy which appears in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. They appear in groups of three. Three-of-a-kinds have a round body with a white circle in the middle containing a symbol which switches between a heart, a diamond, a spade, and a club. In later versions, the symbols are associated with red, orange, green, and blue, respectively.

They walk around and then stop for several seconds. In the Nintendo Switch remake they hop to move instead of walking, and laugh while moving. Hitting a Three-of-a-Kind causes it to stop moving and its symbol to stop changing until the other Three-of-a-Kinds are hit. When all of the Three-of-a-Kinds are hit, if they all display the same symbol they are defeated and an event is triggered. If not all of the Three-of-a-Kinds display the same symbol when they are all hit a beeping noise is played and the Three-of-a-Kinds move again. If all of the Three-of-a-Kinds are defeated while displaying the heart symbol, each Three-of-a-Kind drops a heart, and if all of the Three-of-a-Kinds are defeated while displaying the diamond symbol, each Three-of-a-Kind drops a Rupee. In the Nintendo Switch remake, Three-of-a-Kinds retract their feet when hit.

Three-of-a-Kinds appear in the Tail Cave and the Eagle's Tower.

Zelda Universe

 * "Link encountered Three of a Kind while exploring the Tail Cave and Eagle's Tower on Koholint Island. The Three of a Kind was made up of three individual monsters, each with flashing symbols on its chest. The only way to defeat this unusual team of attackers was to strike each one when the same symbol was displayed on their chests."

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

 * Player's Guide: "Hit each of these card creatures to stop the display on a suit: hearts, Clubs, Diamonds or Spades. Match all three to defeat the trio."

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX

 * Prima's Official Strategy Guide: "When you strike one, it freezes with a card suit (hearts, diamonds, spades, clubs) on its chest. Match three to defeat them. Match three hearts or three diamonds to receive three Recovery hearts or three Rupees respectively."