Patra

Patra
Artwork of a group of Patra from The Legend of Zelda
First appearance	The Legend of Zelda
Latest appearance	The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition
Comparable Airokku Arrghus Chasupa Eyeball Monster

Patra are large-eyed flying monsters that attack in synchronized groups. While illustrations depict them as simply eyeballs with wings, their sprites depict them as having a large eye on the front of a beetle-like body. In the games, a large blue Patra controls a ring of small orange Patra circling around it as it follows Link.

History

The Legend of Zelda series

The Legend of Zelda

In The Legend of Zelda, Patra appear solely in Death Mountain, the final labyrinth, and are grouped with eight small ones orbiting the large one. Patra have two behaviors, with some extending the ring outwards to attack Link from farther away and others altering their rotation angle in a gyroscopic fashion. Attacking the central one is ineffective until all the smaller Patra are defeated first. However, Patra are among the most durable enemies in the game, with each small one having six hit points and the large one having eleven. Additionally, Patra can only be hurt by being slashed with a sword or clubbed with the Magical Rod; the spells themselves do not affect them.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, a single group of Patra, called Eyesoar, appears as the boss of the Skull Dungeon, notably being the only boss originating in the first game to appear in this game instead of Oracle of Seasons, though unlike the others it only appears as an enemy in its debut. In this game, Eyesoar only has four smaller Patra, which expand and contract their ring's radius. However, if Link defeats one of them, it will be almost instantly replaced. Instead, to hit the large Patra, Link needs to successfully hit it with the Switch Hook, causing them to switch places and breaking the smaller ones' orbit. The blue Patra will spin around in a daze with an x-shaped pupil while the orange ones ricochet around the room, allowing Link to repeatedly attack it. After a while, Eyesoar will return to their group, though hitting the main one with the Switch Hook again can prevent this. Once the blue one takes enough damage, all of Eyesoar is defeated, and Link gains access to the Burning Flame.

BS Zelda no Densetsu

In BS Zelda no Densetsu, Patra first appear as the boss of LEVEL-5. Here, they are all brown and red, only distinguished by size. Additionally, only six smaller Patra circle the larger one, though the Patra in general are larger than before and capable of using both behaviors at once. However, rather than following the hero, the group simply moves north and south back and forth across the middle of the room. Later, in LEVEL-7, a pair of large Patra appear as generic enemies, moving symmetrically around a room from each other, varying between slowly moving in a straight line and quickly arcing across the room. Finally, another group of Patra acting like the first appears as an enemy in LEVEL-8.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	パタラ Patara	Patra, likely from パタパタ (Patapata), an onomatopoeia for flapping