Darknut

Darknuts are reappearing enemies in the Legend of Zelda series. Darknuts are slow moving yet powerful knights. Typically the thick armor and sturdy shield of a Darknut renders it nearly invulnerable from the front, forcing adventurers to circle around and strike from behind. Their erratic movement patterns also tends to be quite a challenge, one that is only compounded when they appear in groups. They are very similar to two other enemies in the Legend of Zelda series, Iron Knuckles and Phantoms.

The Legend of Zelda
In the Legend of Zelda, they are knights with a cape. They come in red and blue varieties, with blue being the stronger of the two. They move slowly and are only a danger when Link comes in direct contact with them. They are considered one of the most difficult enemies in the game, especially when in groups. They must be attacked from the side or from behind; touching them causes significant damage.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
While they first appeared armed with a short sword and a shield, in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker they come in many variations. Some are armed only with large swords, and others bearing their trademark shields, and some even wearing protective capes that must be burnt or cut off. These versions can be stripped of their armor through properly placed attacks. Once their helmets are removed, the Darknut's faces are revealed for the first time to resemble the face of a Doberman or possibly a stylized jackal. The Darknuts would continue to attack even when disarmed, resorting to hand-to-hand combat. The Darknut's large sword could be taken by Link and used as a powerful (if clumsy) weapon in The Wind Waker. When killed, they drop Knight's Crests (which they appear to wear as a belt). The crest can also be stolen with the Grappling Hook, but only after their helmet has been removed.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
In Minish Cap, the name is spelled "Dark Nut." They are heavily armored, and the red variety have a powerful sword thrust attack. They can be stunned with bombs or with a sword hit to their only vulnerable spot, their caped backs. A special classification of Darknuts/Dark Nuts appears only in this game -- the Royal Dark Nut, which is seen only in Hyrule Castle. The strongest of all is the Black Knight, who is also found only in Hyrule Castle. He appears twice, first as a mini-boss and then again in the company of some of the Royal Dark Nuts, trying to prevent Link from interrupting Vaati's ritual.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
In Twilight Princess, Darknuts return, and you must slice off their armor piece by piece. They are armed with large swords or maces. They are capable of blocking any attack or weapon that Link uses, and can only be hit when they are about to attack. A trick to deal with when they have their armor is to place bombs near them, which the Darknuts won't block. After slicing off their armor, they throw their swords at the player and take out thin rapier swords (which do the same damage as their larger weapons), and are much more agile, they're even faster than Link. They can still block Links attacks, but they aren't as good at it without their shields. These Darknuts seem larger than their past models from the original Legend of Zelda and Wind Waker. They also seem to be human, as they don't hiss or roar when they are injured, and they also have a humanoid appearance before and after their armor is removed (They look nothing like the version in Wind Waker, as the latter looked like a jackal while in Twilight Princess they looked like large humans, appearing twice as tall as their past versions).

Link's Crossbow Training
One darknut appears, as a boss, in Link's Crossbow Training. The same model is used from Twilight Princess but has several different attacks. He does indeed lose his armor piece by piece, but he also splits into hundreds of bat-like pieces; some of which seem to be luminous, and give Link more points if he shoots them. Additionally, when in human form, he has the ability to send bats flying at Link when he slashes his sword; There are also a smaller number of larger flying creatures which are worth 100 points each that he sends at Link. Darknut is the boss of stage 7.

Types
Darknuts come in many colours and types. In the original Legend of Zelda, there were red ones and blue ones, blue ones being the stronger of the two.

In The Wind Waker, they come in Silver, Gold, Black and Red colours. There are also Mighty Darknuts, who wear either red or black armour and capes and have unique helmets. They are considered Darknut captains.

In The Minish Cap most Darknuts wear white armour with green or red trims. There are also Red Darknuts. Black Darknuts are the strongest type of the Darknut and are called "Black Knight". There is also a special Gold one.

In Twilight Princess, they come in many colours, such as Black, Red, Blue, Green and Gold. Most Darknuts use greatswords, but some use large maces (they do the same damage). The first Darknut you meet in the Temple of Time is a Black Darknut with a different helmet, indicating that it may be a captain or Mighty Darknut. Ones you meet in the Cave of Ordeals and Hyrule Castle wear a standard spiked helmet. Gold Darknuts appear to be the most high ranking as they guard Floor 48 in the Cave of Ordeals (along with two Aeralfoses) and also guard the final room before meeting the Great Fairy.