Armos

Armos
Artwork of an Armos in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
First appearance	The Legend of Zelda (1986)
Latest appearance	The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD (2021)
Variant(s) Armos Knight Death Armos Mounted Miniblin Totem Armos
Relative(s) Beamos Gimos
Comparable Eagle Knight Eyegore Eyegore Statue Freezor Iron Knuckle Stal Tinsuit

Armos (alternately pluralized Armoses) are statue enemies that can come to life and move. They are commonly found among identical lifeless statues, which can often be pushed. In most fixed-camera games, they will often either run randomly or go after Link incessantly after being activated, while in most free-camera games, they will return to their point of origin and go dormant again after a while.

History

The Legend of Zelda series

The Legend of Zelda

In The Legend of Zelda, Armos are stout knights that disguise among similar-looking statues. If Link touches a statue that is really an Armos, it will come to life, vibrate, and then start running around the screen. They are orange while awoke, carry spears and shields, and appear to have a single large eye. If Link attempts to push one from the north, he will automatically be damaged.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

In The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Armos (also referred to as Armos Knights) are found around the outside of the Eastern Palace. They initially appear gray, but when awoken, they turn golden. They now have large horns and two eye holes in their armor. Even while moving, their bodies themselves make no movements; instead, they simply hop after Link, always facing the screen. A group of giant Armos Knights can be found as a boss. Both regular Armos and the Armos Knights are weak against arrows.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

In The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Armos (referred to as Armos Statues) are found around the southern Face Shrine, where they look and act like they do in the first game. However, the sword merely bats them away, with them being vulnerable to arrows. Link can also push dormant ones away using his shield. An Armos Knight is inside the shrine. Armos Statues also appear on the file select of all two-dimensional versions. In Link's Awakening DX and the Nintendo Switch remake, most are a dark gray, while the ones around the Ancient Ruins are a dull beige.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Armos are first found in Dodongo's Cavern. They appear as horned pedestal-like statues with the Goron symbol on the front while lifeless. When they come to life, they will roar and slowly hop after Link, while they gain detailed, somewhat gorilla-like faces. Eventually, they will attempt to return to their initial spot and go dormant again; while doing so, they are immune to being stunned. They are immune to attacks with the Kokiri Sword unless stunned with a Deku Nut or the Boomerang. When they are defeated, they will flash red and start spinning and hopping randomly before exploding. In large groups, this explosion can trigger or destroy other nearby Armos, which can most noticeably be seen in the Master Quest version. One puzzle in the Spirit Temple involves luring an Armos onto a blue switch in order to briefly open a door.

Non-living statues of the same design are found in the same locations, and can be pushed around onto blue switches. In some cases when intermixed with normal Armos, leaving the room and returning after the Armos are defeated will cause the normal statues to also have disappeared.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Armos look and act the same as in Ocarina of Time, though they are noticeably larger, likely to be more on the scale of Goron Link, who can defeat them by punching them. Six of them are in the game, all found in and around a lava pit in the Stone Tower Temple. The inverted version of the temple has a floating type called Death Armos in a nearby room.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages

In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, Armos (also referred to as Armos Statues) look and act like they do in Link's Awakening. In the former game, they come in blue and red, with the latter being immune to sword attacks; in the latter game, only the red ones appear. Some perpetually-dormant ones can be pushed in certain places to solve puzzles. In Unicorn's Cave, one must be pushed so another, which follows its movements in reverse in an inaccessible portion of the room, lands on a switch. In Tarm Ruins, some must specifically be pushed into water. In the Ancient Ruins and Sword & Shield Maze, they sometimes come to life in groups after Link opens certain Treasure Chests, and in the Explorer's Crypt, eight inactive ones must be moved in lines using switches to get them into aa square formation. Also in the Sword & Shield Maze, one blocks a path and does not move unless Link is silent around it long enough, and in another room, a ghostly apparition of an Armos appears to show Link the path to take across an open room. A similar boss called the Armos Warrior appears in the latter game.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords

In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, Armos appear as more detailed versions of their design from the first game. They are now a clay brown color, and are capable of moving their heads all the way around. They move very slow, but are quite large and take a lot of damage.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Armos are introduced midway through the Tower of the Gods, though their inanimate counterparts appear much earlier in the stage. They no longer look humanoid beyond having arms, which are positioned in ways resembling those of typical depictions of haniwa figures. They have a ring of spikes around their undersides while active, and their weak spot is a gem on their backs. To reach it easily, Link can shoot an arrow into the prominent eye on their fronts to immobilize them, and if an Armos is close enough behind another, a single arrow can stun them both. Like previous 3D games, defeating them causes them to hop and spin before exploding, though they now do so in a straight line to where Link is standing when they begin. Nonliving Armos in this game can be held instead of pushed.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Armos resemble their A Link to the Past appearance, but are red, more square, and have a single yellow eye. When they are defeated, they let out an evil laugh.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

In The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Armos are found around the Wind Ruins. They were created by the Minish to act as guards to the Wind Tribe. They resemble their Four Swords design, but have a small staircase on the front of their shields. They are commonly found blocking roads while lifeless, so Link must become Minish-sized to climb the staircase and enter them, allowing him to switch them on, thus causing them to move. A specific one is found on, and as soon as Link draws near, it dashes forwards to block another road before staying still there. For this one, Link must instead switch it off.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Armos are found in the Temple of Time. They are a dark grayish brown, and gain cyan lines while awake. They somewhat resemble moai statues, but have large teeth and axes they can chop with. They act mostly like the ones in Ocarina of Time, aside from the ax-chopping, though they activate from Link standing close enough in front of them. They have a jewel on their backs, again acting as a weak point, but only when active; for each hit, they hop slightly faster. When it is destroyed, they will bounce and spin crazily while chopping, before eventually exploding.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

In The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Armos have a combination of attributes of both Armos and Armos Knights' designs in The Wind Waker. They first appear in the Goron Temple and can be defeated with a bomb. Nonliving Armos can be pushed like blocks to press switches. They are quite large, move fairly fast, and have a wide range, but once they reach the edge of their range they will simply hop in place. In some cases, they will light up and extend their spikes when Link approaches, but not start moving until he gets even closer. Unlike most games, defeating them does not lead them to explode, but turn into an inanimate Armos for use in puzzles. They cannot push buttons while moving.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

In The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Armos are found in the Tower of Spirits, where they are commonly ridden by Miniblins as Mounted Miniblins and cannot be defeated with bombs. They are defeated through defeating the Miniblin controlling them, but can also be destroyed if Zelda uses a Wrecker Phantom. Large clumps of nonliving Armos statues can also be found, and can also be destroyed with the Wrecker Phantom.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Armos are found in the Lanayru Mining Facility and Pirate Stronghold. In the current time, they are simply broken machinery, but when a nearby Timeshift Stone is activated, they are restored. They appear as two-faced statues resembling both moais and totem poles. They have a fan on top, which can be used with the Gust Bellows to slowly open their mouths, showing the crystal in each side. One side has a crystal that can be destroyed by any sword technique, though the other requires a thrust. When both crystals on an Armos are destroyed, it hops around crazily before exploding.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

In The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Armos appear as they do in A Link to the Past, but are somewhat slower at hopping and lack their former weakness to arrows. They still always face the screen. Aside from outside the Eastern Palace, they also appear within it and in Hyrule Castle, with a group also being the main mid-boss of the former. They are among the only enemies that can be encountered before Yuga invades the Sanctuary. Lorule's equivalent to them is the gargoyle-like Gimos, which has several variations of its own.

CD-i games

Link: The Faces of Evil

In Link: The Faces of Evil, Armos are created by Militron when he "hardens [Koridians] with fire." They act the same as most other enemies, simply charging in endless amounts.

Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon

In Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, Armos work for Iron Knuckle. Two of them watch Zelda destroy him, and quickly decide to flee upon realizing he is dead. Their spears are noticeably longer than their Koridian versions' polearms, though they behave the same.

Satellaview games

BS Zelda no Densetsu

In BS Zelda no Densetsu, Armos appear lifeless in the same generaal locations as they do in the original game. Eventually, they start coming to life on the fourth day, with the main old man claiming to have accidentally awoken them with one of his spells.

BS Zelda no Densetsu Inishie no Sekiban

In BS Zelda no Densetsu Inishie no Sekiban, Armos appear as they do in A Link to the Past, appearing outside the Eastern Palace.

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, Armos appear as enemies and are shaped like one-eyed stag beetles. Dormant Armos are beige, and active ones are gold. Armos have multiple behaviors in this game, with some peeking their eye open as the player character approaches and beginning to move when they get close, and others waiting to be attacked before awakening. Their array of behaviors are inspired by the Gargoyle enemies in the original Crypt of the NecroDancer. A specific puzzle involves leading an Armos that mirror's the player character's movement through a maze. Music-themed versions of Armos Knights, called Bass Guitarmos Knights, appear as a boss.

Gallery

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  The Legend of Zelda

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  The Legend of Zelda

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  The Legend of Zelda

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  The Legend of Zelda

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  The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

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  BS Zelda no Densetsu

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  BS Zelda no Densetsu

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  BS Zelda no Densetsu

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  BS Zelda no Densetsu

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  BS Zelda no Densetsu

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  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

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  The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX

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  The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX

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  The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX

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  The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages

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  The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords

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  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

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

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

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	アモス Amosu	Armos / Amos
Spanish	armos	-
French	Armos	-
Dutch	Armos	-
German	Armos Armos-Ritter (Ocarina of Time)	- Armos Knight
Italian	armos	-
Russian	армос armos	armos
Korean	아모스 Amoseu	Armos
Chinese (Simplified)	阿莫斯雕像 (Ocarina of Time) Āmòsī Diāoxiàng 阿默斯 (Link's Awakening) Āmòsī	Armos Statue Armos
Chinese (Traditional)	阿莫斯雕像 (Ocarina of Time) Āmòsī Diāoxiàng 阿默斯 (Link's Awakening) Āmòsī	Armos Statue Armos