Bow Guard

Bow Guard
A Bow Guard from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
First appearance	The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Latest appearance	Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring The Legend of Zelda
Variant of	Guard
Relative(s) Spear Soldier
Comparable Archer Bulblin Moblin

Bow Guards, also known as Bow Soldiers, are a type of Guard that uses a bow and arrows to attack. Due to the ranged nature of their weaponry and low defensive capabilities, Bow Guards prefer to keep a distance from Link while attacking.

History

The Legend of Zelda series

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

In The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Bow Soldiers come in two colors, green and indigo. Green ones are found in the Great Swamp for the first half of the game, and hide in the tall grass there, occasionally popping out to fire an arrow in whichever cardinal direction closest matches Link's position. They can only be attacked when out of the grass. They can be knocked onto non-grassy areas with some weapons, though they will still act exactly the same. Once Agahnim has been defeated the first time, they will disappear.

The indigo ones are far more common, appearing primarily in areas around narrow bridges over rivers in the eastern half of Hyrule. When they see Link, they will quickly back away while preparing an arrow to fire. The arrows can be blocked by his shield. If backed against a wall, they will attempt to move to a different side of Link. Due to their speed, it is best to defeat them with Link's own projectiles or the Pegasus Boots.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Bow Soldiers appear in green and gray, with the latter being stronger. Aside from walking around, they can again appear in grass, although this time cutting the grass they hide in will prevent them from hiding anymore, making them act like a normal one.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

In The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Bow Soldiers only appear in blue. There are no grass-based ones, which may be because that behavior is more difficult to render believably in 3D. Unlike in previous games, friendly fire exists among enemies, so Bow Soldiers can be tricked into defeating each other or other enemies, most noticeably when pairs are placed on platforms across from each other beside bridges in Hyrule Castle.

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, Bow Guards appear in green, blue, black, and yellow.

Gallery

• 

  Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring The Legend of Zelda

• 

  Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring The Legend of Zelda

• 

  Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring The Legend of Zelda

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	弓兵士 Yumi Heishi 弓兵士 (草むら) Yumi Heishi (Kusamura)	Bow Trooper Bow Trooper (grass)