ReDead

ReDeads are zombie-like enemies that debut in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. They have paralyzing screams, which they use to capture people in order to bite their necks. They are generally fairly slow, but highly durable. They commonly wear masks, and have been likened to clay dolls. Their name is a play on the term "undead."

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, ReDeads appear in decayed areas such as the Royal Family's Tomb, the Bottom of the Well, and the Shadow Temple. When Link is near them, a constant groaning sound can be heard. They typically wait either crouched down or standing up, both with their heads pointed down. In this state, most projectile weapons will not affect them whatsoever. However, they can be temporarily frozen with the Sun's Song, though this only lasts a little while and is immediately broken when they are attacked. When Link gets close to one, it will look towards him and scream, temporarily paralyzing him, and slowly walk to him. If it reached him, it will grab him behind the back and start biting his neck while twitching. Link can break free of its grip by attempting to perform different actions repeatedly. If he gets behind one, he will be open to attack it, due to them being slow to turn and not being able to twist their heads that far, though they usually appear in groups of two or more. They take a large amount of hits to defeat. After they are defeated, the corpse remains on the field for a while, during which any other nearby ReDeads will slowly walk over to it before crouching around it. While walking over to a fallen ReDead, other ReDeads will completely ignore Link, even if he is right in front of one. When one is defeated, it normally will drop a Magic Jar of either size. The screaming and biting behavior is shared in this game by the stronger Gibdos.

In the future version of Hyrule Castle Town, several ReDeads can be found in the town square. However, Link is not stunned by their screeches here. Another is found in the escape from Ganon's Castle on a narrow bridge, and since the Ocarina of Time is not usable in this situation, Link is forced to be stunned in order to pass it. In their artwork, their masks are a plain tan with carved white teeth over their mouth holes, but in-game their masks uses a bark-covered wood texture and the teeth are not present, somewhat resembling the Spooky Mask. In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, both ReDeads and the Spooky Mask are remodeled to more closely resemble their respective artwork, and as such, the similarity is lessened.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, ReDeads are found in Ikana Canyon to the east, and for the most part act like the ones in Ocarina of Time. They are unable to latch onto Deku Link or Goron Link due to their respective sizes. Notably, some are found in Ikana Castle, and are said to have been royal dancers in life there. Wearing the Gibdo Mask, the Garo Mask, or Captain's Hat will cause these ReDeads to dance in various ways, such as pirouettes or Cossack dancing. They will continue even if attacked. Other ReDeads with the same behavior can be found on an optional ledge in the Stone Tower. Additionally in this game, Gibdos will become ReDeads if burnt, though due to the Gibdo Mask still needing to be used to communicate with them (and their different history in-universe), they do not dance. In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D, the same design changes as before are applied, and some alternate dances for them are additionally used.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, ReDeads are found primarily in the Earth Temple, and are also found in the Savage Labyrinth and in the tunnels under the Private Oasis. Their design has changed drastically, though their behavior is mostly the same. They are now blue-skinned and lack masks, have mummified skin going all the way around their spine and leg bones, have large earrings, and have mouths capable of widening extreme amounts. They initially appear waiting, like in Ocarina of Time, sometimes appearing from within sarcophagi which make them harder to hit with the sword or from crouched positions they need to rise from before attacking. If hit with an arrow, they will not take damage, but will briefly glance at Link with a blank, lifeless look. The Hookshot does not stun them, and will in fact bring Link right to them. If hit with a beam of light, they convulse and are temporarily stunned. When he gets close to one, it waits a few moments before screaming with a vaguely elephant-like sound while its mouth opens and its eyes glow red. Instead of biting Link's neck, it will appear to start trying to eat Link's entire head. Once defeated, they disappear quicker than previously, but still slower than most other enemies.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
In The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, ReDeads appear in the Ruins area. In this game, ReDeads appear underground, pushing up mud into a large brown blob over them as they move. After a while, half of the ReDead's body will emerge from the blob, resembling its Ocarina of Time design with a mask colored like their The Wind Waker design and a prominent chin. If attacked with a sword, it will dig back underground before it can be hit and move away. However, other weapons, such as arrows, the Gripshot, or the Gust Jar will stun them. When one gets close enough to a Link, it will scream, while a large circle appears around it, signalling who will be affected. If a Link is frozen, it will attempt to grab and bite him, allowing another Link to attack and stun it. When they are stunned, their entire bodies come out from underground, showing them to be quite tall. After a few attacks while stunned, it will come to, and the process will need repeating.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
ReDeads appear in the Underground Maze area of Adventure Mode of Super Smash Bros. Melee. They resemble their model from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, but with some minor polygon differences due to the Nintendo GameCube hardware. In the game, ReDeads wander slowly forward, but may charge when they see a fighter. If a fighter gets too close to a ReDead, it may attempt to briefly bite their neck from the front while paralyzing them for the duration, and sucking out their health slowly. ReDeads do not scream in the game, unlike the Nintendo 64 games. The player can mash the controller buttons to shake the ReDead off their fighter. If a ReDead is attacked a number of times, it collapses and lies on the ground. The ReDead eventually rises back up, and the fighter can attack it more to defeat it entirely. A ReDead sometimes leaves behind a random trophy when defeated.

In Versus Mode, a ReDead occasionally appears from containers such as Party Balls and Crates. These ReDeads are a darker brown than the ones in the Underground Maze but do not act any differently.

Their trophy asserts that the ones in Castle Town are not actually undead townsfolk, but magic animated into hideous humanoid shapes, with the townsfolk escaping safely. While this is not stated in Ocarina of Time itself, this detail is likely taken from the large amount of former Castle Town residents that can be seen in the celebration at Lon Lon Ranch in the ending. However, in other areas of Ocarina of Time, ReDeads are unambiguously stated to be "the living dead."

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
ReDeads appear in the Smash Run mode of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, now resembling their Ocarina of Time 3D design. This time, their trophy says they look like zombies but have never been human, and seem to be clay monsters fashioned in the shape of humans. The trophy also appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, though they do not appear otherwise.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, ReDeads make a minor appearance as a spirit. Their ability is to lower a fighter's jumping height.

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, ReDeads appear as somewhat uncommon enemies. They resemble their original design from the Nintendo 64 games. In this game, they remain in place for several beats and then move a space closer to the player character, and can grab the character to keep them in place. When grabbed, attempting to move will damage the ReDead. Unlike other games, they do not scream or stun. The more common Gibdos have a similar attack pattern, but do not grab the player.