Wallmaster (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past)

Wallmaster
A Wallmaster as it appears in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
First appearance	The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991)
Latest appearance	The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019)
Notable member(s) Knucklemaster
Variant of	Wallmaster (The Legend of Zelda)
Variant(s) Zant's Hand
Relative(s) Floormaster
Comparable Dexihand

“Watch for the shadows of monsters hanging from the ceiling.”

– Navi, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Wallmasters, alternatively Wall Masters, are giant hand-like enemies that fall from the ceiling. If they grab Link, he will be transported back to the entrance of the dungeon. While another enemy called "Wallmaster" or "Wall Master" appeared in the original The Legend of Zelda, they are regarded as a different, but closely-related enemy.

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, Wall Masters (originally known as Clutch) are found in Skull Woods, appearing as large brown hands. They cast large shadows as they fall from the top of the screen. Sometimes, if Link enters a North-facing door, a rising Wallmaster will continue to rise through the next room. If a Wall Master is defeated, it is fairly quickly replaced.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Wallmasters are dark brown and clawed, a design shared with Floormaster. They are first found in the rotatable rooms of the Forest Temple, and later appear in the Bottom of the Well, the Spirit Temple, the Shadow Temple, and Ganon's Castle. When Link enters a room with one, Navi will warn him about "the shadows of monsters hanging from the ceiling." A falling Wallmaster makes a loud but low whooshing sound, while a growing shadow appears where it is going to fall, which is capable of moving. In the originals, the shadow is a simple circle, but in Ocarina of Time 3D, it is hand-shaped. In some dungeons, a Wallmaster is spawned as a trap if an incorrect Sun switch is activated, with no warning from Navi. A defeated Wallmaster always gives a very large amount of Rupees in combinations of red and blue, often going between 15 and 80. They usually respawn if Link exits and re-enters a room, but will not if it is a switch-summoned one.

In the Master Quest mode of later re-releases, it can be seen that if a Wallmaster grabs Link while he is being latched onto by a ReDead, the ReDead will be pulled up with him, but have vanished by the time Link is deposited at the dungeon's entrance. In Ocarina of Time 3D, their texture details are given more contrast and thus are more visible, while their wrists are made light blue.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Wallmasters appear as they do in Ocarina of Time, but much less commonly. They appear Beneath the Graveyard and Beneath the Well. They give 15 or 20 Rupees upon defeat.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages

Wallmasters appear in both The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, where they are red and act like they do in A Link to the Past. However, they are now Link's size. Unlike Floormasters in the same games, they are almost always infinite when they appear. In the former game, they are unique to the Sword & Shield Maze, but in the latter, they appear as early as the Spirit's Grave. In Oracle of Ages, one also appears in a scene near the end where Veran uses one to bring Link back to her for a final battle; this one uses a Floormaster's sprites colored red.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Wallmasters resemble their design from Ocarina of Time, but with a color and pose similar to the ones in A Link to the Past. They appear solely in the Palace of Winds, where they fall onto small platforms that can only be reached by the level 2 Pegasus Boots while avoiding Traps. They quickly fade in and fall, so the Links must keep moving. Each only falls once, however.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

In The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Wall Masters are huge and black with a glowing orange outline. Aside from their coloration, their graphics are shared with Floormasters. Their design is based off the aesthetic of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, having two large swirls drawn on their backs. They first appear in Fortress of Winds, and later appear in Dark Hyrule Castle. Defeating one causes it to stop falling until the room is reloaded.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

In The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Wallmasters are yellow and clawed. Like in A Link to the Past, they appear primarily in Skull Woods, but also appear in one area of Lorule Castle. Unlike previous appearances, they hover in the air over Link, following him around, until eventually slamming their palm down. Before they slam, they will wiggle their fingers an increasing amount. Aside from grabbing Link, their slams can be used to defeat other enemies, destroy some bombable blocks, and even press switches, thus making them potentially helpful. As they float, a repetitive wavering noise can be heard. Once again, a defeated Wallmaster is quickly replaced. The boss of Skull Woods in this game is a giant palm-eyed Wallmaster known as Knucklemaster.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

In The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, Wallmasters appear in a type of Drablands Challenge called Evade the Wallmaster. Unlike most enemies in the game that appeared in A Link Between Worlds, this Wallmaster has a wholly different model, being black with gold plates on the ends, and several glowing cyan rings and a similar glowing Sheikah emblem on the back. However, they act exactly the same, though getting hit causes the challenge to immediately be failed. They can also appear in the Coliseum.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Nintendo Switch)

In The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for Nintendo Switch, the +Wallmasters Effect can be unlocked for the Chamber Dungeon by completing the Ticking Clock challenge. Entering the chamber they are placed in will activate them for the remainder of the dungeon, and if Link is caught, he will be sent back to the entrance.

Zelda's Adventure

In Zelda's Adventure, Wallmasters appear in a single room near the end of the Shrine of Illusion, where they randomly fall from the ceiling.

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland

In Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, Wallmasters appear, but not as enemies. By using a Hand Potion on a Hand Statue, Tingle can call on a Wallmaster to take him from the dungeon through the player's own choice. They appear as black with a purple outline and surrounded by similar-colored smoke, similar to the Floormasters in The Wind Waker. However, they have claws.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	フォールマスター Fōru Masutā	Fall Master
French	Clapoir
German	Deckengrapscher	Ceiling Grabber
Chinese (Simplified)	墙壁妖怪 Qiángbì Yāoguài	Wall Monster
Chinese (Traditional)	牆壁妖怪 Qiángbì Yāoguài	Wall Monster