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Poe

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Poe
A Poe from Twilight Princess
A Poe from Twilight Princess
First appearance A Link to the Past (1992)
Appearances A Link to the Past
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Ages
The Wind Waker
Twilight Princess
Phantom Hourglass
Weapon(s) Lantern
Scythes
Effective weapon(s) Swords
Spoils (Twilight Princess)
Poe Souls
"If you stare at it with (Z) Targeting, it will disappear..."
— Navi

Poes are recurring enemies in the Legend of Zelda series. Poes are ghost-like entities that can be found in dark places such as graveyards, empty fields, plains and caves. Poes are spirits of deceased beings who hold hatred towards the world. Poes serve a variety of roles, and often carry lanterns and they appears in different types and have changed over the course of Zelda history.

Contents

[edit] Appearances

[edit] The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A Poe from A Link to the Past

Poes can be found in the graveyard to the east of Kakariko Village. They drift around, encircling their graves. At first, Poes only appear if their graves are disturbed. Later, after Aghanim is defeated for the first time and the gate to the Dark World is open, Poes swarm around the graveyard. These Poes will pursue Link, and attack him if he comes near them. They are the Light World equivalent of Hues.

[edit] The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

A Poe from Ocarina of Time

Poes are found in Kakariko Graveyard when Link is a child and in Hyrule Field when Link is an adult. Once defeated, they drop their soul-housing lanterns, allowing Link to store the spirit of the Poe in an empty bottle and bring them to the Ghost Shop in Hyrule Castle Town where they can be sold. Link is also able to drink the spirit of a Poe, although doing so usually causes negative effects. If Link Z-targets one for too long, it will disappear and appear once more shortly thereafter.

They attack when their graves are disturbed or if Link gets too close to an idle lantern. The color of their eyes denotes how they will act. Green means they won't attempt to attack, yellow means they've been agitated and may attack, and red indicates an incoming attack. They attack by wildly spinning their lanterns. Also, some Poes wandering Hyrule Field simply circle Link and lob fireballs at him. These do not turn invisible when targeted. Poes let out a distinctive laugh when disappearing, attacking, or if their souls escape from the mortal plain after being left alone for a certain amount of time. Their spirits take the forms of purple, green, or gold fireballs with faces imbued into them that tell Link the temperament of the Poe in question.

Two Poes named Flat and Sharp, collectively the Composer Brothers, play a minor role in the game. They were the ones who wrote the "Sun's Song". There is also a quartet of Poes known as the Poe Sisters that play a part in the completion of the Forest Temple, the first dungeon of the adult portion of the game. Another Poe character named the Phantom Guide helps Link find his way to the Spirit Temple, the fifth dungeon of the adult portion of the game.

[edit] The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Poes are similar in appearance and attack method to Poes from Ocarina of Time. The Composer Brothers make another appearance, this time playing a larger role in the story and a teaching Link a different song.

[edit] The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

Poes are found in Yoll Graveyard and inside the first dungeon, Spirit's Grave. One Poe gives Link a Poe Clock in exchange for helping it into its grave, thus initiating the trading quest for the Noble Sword.

[edit] The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

Two Poes known as the Poe Twins serve as the mini bosses of the Explorer's Crypt, the seventh dungeon in the game.

[edit] The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Poes have faces that resemble skull-like masks and their bodies seem to be comprised of brightly colored pajama-like garments. Poes must be exposed to light to be made tangible. After this has been done, they can be killed with most weapons. In order to do this, Link must first obtain the Mirror Shield and then use it to reflect light upon them. Poes can also possess Link, reversing the controls of the game for a short while. When possessing Link, their distinctive masks chatter and laugh above his head. Poes mostly appear in the Earth Temple, and are ruled by Jalhalla, the boss of said temple.

[edit] The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

An Imp Poe

Poes appear in the Arbiter's Grounds. These poes wear long robes that remains after they have been defeated. Similar to the modus operandi of the Poe Sisters from Ocarina of Time, Four Poes appear and "steal" the fire burning four Torches, impeding Link's progress in the game. He has to hunt them throughout the dungeon by tracking their scent in his wolf form to restore the torches.

Another variety of Poes known as Imp Poes also play a part in one of the game's side-quests. The beta version of the Imp Poe originally had it lacking a lantern and being a solid figure, not a non-corporeal one. This was most likely due to help aid in designing it, being it would be harder to add details to a more ghostly one.

Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.

[edit] Etymology

It's possible that Poes were named after Edgar Allan Poe, a famous American poet and writer of short-stories. Many of Poe's short-stories contained instances of ghosts and other paranormal phenomena.

[edit] See also

Retrieved from "http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/Poe"