Tektite

Tektites are large, cyclopean four-legged spider enemies that appear in most of the The Legend of Zelda games, starting with the first game, The Legend of Zelda. Tektites mainly inhabit mountain ranges, although they sometimes appear in dungeons. Tektites have the ability to jump high, which makes it difficult for Link to attack them. There are a few color variants of Tektite, with blue being the most common.

The Legend of Zelda


In The Legend of Zelda, Tektites mainly appear in the mountain areas of the Overworld. Some appear one screen east of the main screen, making them one of the first possible enemies that Link encounters, along with Octoroks. Tektites randomly bounce around the screen and can jump on walls as easily as the ground.

There are red and blue Tektites (the red ones have an orange in-game sprite). The main difference is that red Tektites jump around more than blue ones. Link can defeat them by either striking with his sword, using the Red Candle or Blue Candle, throwing bombs, or by firing arrows. Link can also defeat Tektites by firing a beam from his sword at them, which Tektites cannot detect. Link can temporarily stun a Tektite with the Magical Boomerang.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
In Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, only the blue Tektites appear. They bob slowly up and down behind their legs (which are actually a separate layered graphic). Like the first game, the blue Tektites jump occasionally. They now have the ability to spit fire at Link. In the Disk System version, Link can defeat Tektites with his Magical Sword, but in the NES version, the Magical Sword is ineffective and they can only be damaged with either Fire or Thunder magic. When defeated, a Tektite drops either a Treasure Bag or a red Magic Jar. They appear in Maze Island and in the plains and caves of Eastern Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
In The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, there are indigo and red Tektites, which appear slightly larger than in the first two games. Tektites are encountered on the east peak of Death Mountain in Hyrule. Tektites retain most of their behavior from the first The Legend of Zelda, although Tektites react quicker when Link tries to attack them. Unlike the first game, Tektites cannot be defeated by sword beams, which they jump away from instantly.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
In The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Tektites appear primarily near the river south of Tal Tal Heights and north of the Rapids Ride. Tektites usually pause a few seconds between each time they jump. Their sprite is simplified to only show the front; therefore only their two front legs are shown. Due to the Game Boy's monochromatic graphics, Tektites do not have distinct color variants. In The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, every Tektite is colored red. In the Nintendo Switch remake, Tektites are blue and are modeled after their appearance from the Nintendo 3DS games.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Both Red and Blue Tektites reappear in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The red ones are found at Death Mountain Trail while the twice-as-durable blue ones are more common and appear at Zora's River, Lake Hylia, and the Water Temple. Tektites jump slower than in their previous appearances, and are able to jump on the surface of water, although they do not skim across the water unlike Water Tektites. Tektites do not move until they notice Link, at which point they slowly turn to face him and start to jump after him. Some of them jump at Link from higher ground. When Link moves far away from Tektites, they stop following him. If Link slams the Megaton Hammer near a Tektite, it flips over on its back. Link can temporarily stun a Tektite by using either the Hookshot or the Longshot. Tektites are invulnerable to Din's Fire.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, only blue Tektites appear, most of which are in Snowhead. In the winter, they sometimes hide under the snow, with only white puffs rising from the spot they hide being visible. When approached like this, a repetitive scratching noise can be heard, similar to the noise they make when they turn. Other ones are trapped inside snow boulders. If on is hit on an icy surface, it will stop moving its legs and slide along on it, spinning uncontrollably. If hit with the Hookshot, they will simply be brought to Link. Aside from Snowhead, two are found in the Great Bay Temple in the room with the green valve. Goron Link can flip over Tektites by ground pounding near them.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages
In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, Tektites retain their sprite from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening except they have distinctive orange and blue variants like the first The Legend of Zelda. The orange Tektites jump around randomly, and the blue Tektites jump farther than the orange ones while following Link. In Oracle of Seasons, they are found in Spool Swamp, Natzu Wasteland, Mt. Cucco, and Temple Remains, and in Oracle of Ages, they are found in the Moonlit Grotto and the southern half of Talus Peaks, where they are orange in the present and blue in the past. If a Tektite lands in water, it sinks immediately.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, Tektites are white with a red spike on top and are randomly-generated. They act like most prior 2D appearances.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Tektites resemble a more-detailed version of their A Link to the Past appearance, though the indigo ones were changed to a bright blue. They first appear on The Mountain Path and are sometimes found underneath large rocks. Red ones jump normally, but blue ones jump high enough the apex is often over the top of the screen.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
"Appears on Mount Crenel, etc. They move by jumping long distances. Their movement can be unpredictable, so attack them when they are still."

- Figurine

In The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, there are both red and blue Tektites. They resemble their appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, but can have a blue spike as well. Tektites are found at Mount Crenel and in the Wind Ruins. Link only encounters one blue Tektite throughout his adventure, and it is on the west peak of Mount Crenel. A Golden Tektite can appear after certain Kinstone fusions. It acts like normal Tektites, but it bounces around a lot faster.

At the end of the game, after Zelda makes her wish, a scene at Mount Crenel's west peak shows two red Tektites and two blue Tektites vanishing one by one.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Tektites appear in both red and blue and resemble more detailed versions of their designs in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. There is no difference between the strengths of the colors. Red ones initially appear in a water-filled room in Goron Mines, and later appear in northern Hyrule Field, while blue ones debut in the Lakebed Temple. When they are defeated, clear liquid can be shown gushing out from their severed legs, potentially their blood.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Tektites in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass are entirely blue or red with a large yellow eye and appear solely on the Isle of Ember, with the stronger red ones only appearing near the crater on the summit. Unlike previous bird's-eye-perspective games, they actively jump at Link. Their design has a spike on top, resembling the Four Swords design.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
In The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Tektites are large and gray and inhabit caves. They can only be encountered when in the Spirit Train. They can appear in the caves alone, or assisting an enormous Rocktite as it pursues the train. Instead of leaping constantly, they scuttle along the sides of the caves' circular walls, leaping at the train when close enough. At certain forks, they may spawn behind the train and actually harmlessly pass through it while getting in position.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
In The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Tektites appear in blue and red and resemble their A Link to the Past design. They now move their eyes towards Link when they see him, and can skitter around without jumping if they are close to him.. They also appear outside the Eastern Palace. Blue ones appear in Hyrule, while red ones live in Lorule on the snowy Death Mountain. Five of each color are found on the 8th floor of the advanced challenge of the Treacherous Tower.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
In The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, Tektites appear as they do in A Link Between Worlds, but only in blue. They now sometimes hop along raised platforms, necessitating a totem position to defeat them. They can also leap along the surface of water. Tektite Shells appear as treasures.

The Legend of Zelda television series
In the animated The Legend of Zelda television series, Tektites appear as four-eyed blue spiders that can spit webs.

Link: The Faces of Evil
In Link: The Faces of Evil, Tektites appear in Militron and simply wander back and forth along the ground to attack. They are blue and have six legs.

Zelda's Adventure
In Zelda's Adventure, Tektites appear in various areas, scuttling about. They have four legs, like in most games, and come in red and blue. Red ones initially appear in the Shrine of Rock, while blue ones first appear in the Meadow of Skotness. Deelers act essentially as burlier versions of them.

Nintendo Land
In Nintendo Land, hand-crafted Tektites are relatively common enemies in the "Battle Quest" mode, always appearing in groups. They come in three colors, all of which can hop around and can only be defeated by slashing along a rotating divot along the body. Blue ones are the simplest, and their divots will rotate a small amount in either direction before pausing for a bit. They first appear in the third quest, Grassland Temple. Yellow ones are more advanced, constantly spinning theirs and thus necessitating more accurate timing to be defeated. They first appear in the sixth quest, Death Mountain Climb. Red ones are the most advanced, and have their divots closed and constantly rotating in either direction before opening for a small window of time. They first appear in the third Extra quest, Death Mountain Path.

Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring The Legend of Zelda
In Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring The Legend of Zelda, Tektites of several colors make an appearance as an enemy. They move to spaces in a diagonal direction, and higher level ones can do so multiple times consecutively. In the future Hyrule, a type called Skulltula Tektite appears, wearing a Skulltula-like mask and able to trap the player character in webbing.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

 * Navi's comment
 * Red Tektite: Lock on to it as it jumps with Z Targeting!
 * Blue Tektite: It's hard to beat on the water. Lure it onto the land!