Phantom

Phantoms are recurring enemies in the Legend of Zelda series. These heavily armored, massive enemies have near-impenetrable armor that cannot be overcome by traditional weapons. Until Link obtains the items required to defeat them outright, he must sneak around them, making sure to stay out of their field of view. Link can hide from them by standing in Safe Zones, special areas that shield whatever is inside them from the eyes of Phantoms. They may also be temporarily stunned with certain weapons, distracted by causing noise, crushed by rolling boulders, or disposed of by making them fall down trap doors.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Phantoms are described by Oshus as servants of Bellum, who were created by Bellum to guard the temple and to make any visitors life a misery.

Phantoms appear within the Temple of the Ocean King. If Link is hit by a Phantom, 30 seconds worth of Sand of Hours will be drained from his Phantom Hourglass and he will be returned to the entrance to the room he was in when attacked. Near the end of the game, Link obtains the Phantom Sword, the only known weapon powerful enough to defeat them. Large boulders and pits are also effective against them. They can be stunned for a short period of time if Link uses the Bow to fire at the eyes on their backs, if he strikes at their weak points with a sword infused with the Spirit of Power, or if he strikes them with a charged Hammer.

There are a total of four types of Phantoms in the game, but only three types of Phantoms are found in Adventure Mode: the most common variety are blue Phantoms, the slowest and most basic type. They are typically found in the earlier floors, or, in the later floors, standing in one spot guarding a switch or path. The red Swift Phantoms are more agile than blue Phantoms, and are therefore much more dangerous. Gold Phantoms are as slow as the blue Phantoms, but if one spots Link, all Gold Phantoms on the current floor instantly teleport to Link's current location. These Phantoms carry axes instead of swords. The last type of Phantom in the game, Silver Phantoms, are found only in the game's Battle Mode. They are similar in appearance to blue Phantoms, but have the agility of Swift Phantoms.

Interestingly, in the trailer for Phantom Hourglass, one can see a beta Phantom that is much skinnier than in the final release of the game. It is also a light yellow color, so these could possibly have been replaced by Gold Phantoms. They are also located where Blue Phantoms are found in the final release.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Phantoms appear within the Tower of Spirits. According to Anjean, they protect the tower from evil intruders and do not harm anyone with a 'good heart', as opposed to the Phantoms of the World of the Ocean King, who are created by Bellum, and thus evil by nature. However, a Phantom of the tower tried to attack Link, and when told this, Anjean deems that with the Spirit Tracks gone, the sentries have been possessed by evil spirits. The Phantoms appear sentient and unaware of their possession, as, when Princess Zelda talks to them in Phantom form, they often make casual comments regarding work: some seem bored, others view their employers with disdain, while others simply tell Zelda to get back to work.

There are three different varieties of Phantom in addition to the regular Phantoms; Torch Phantoms, Warp Phantoms and Wrecker Phantoms. The normal variety of Phantom also appears in the 4-Player Battle Mode as a hindrance to other players. The spirit of Princess Zelda can possess the bodies of Phantoms, allowing her to help Link while in the Tower of Spirits. When Link has gathered three Tears of Light, his sword is empowered, allowing him to hit a Phantom in the back, stunning it and allowing Zelda's spirit to control it. Once Link has obtained the Lokomo Sword, however, he does not need to gather the Tears of Light to stun the Phantoms; Light Arrows have the same effect. Phantoms under the possession of Zelda feature pink eyes and pink colored armor (possibly due to her dress). While in Phantom form, Zelda can aid Link in a multitude of ways; she can attack certain enemies, distracting them and allowing Link to slip by them and attack their weak points. While in Phantom form, Zelda is invulnerable to fire and can pass by flame traps without taking damage. Phantom bodies can also cross Spike traps unharmed. Additionally, Phantoms traverse lava pits, allowing Link to ride on their shields to safely cross the deadly lava, but only if he jumps onto Zelda from a platform. Phantom bodies are also invulnerable to electricity &mdash; at some points within the tower, Zelda must grab an electrified Boss Key and bring it to its lock while Link keeps Key Masters, that seek to return the key to its pedestal, at bay. Zelda can also possess the bodies of Warp Phantoms, Torch Phantoms, and Wrecker Phantoms, lending use of their powers along with the abilities of regular Phantoms. Despite these formidable abilities, Zelda is paralyzed with fear whenever she comes close to rats, reflecting her fear of rats and other small creatures. Once they are defeated, she settles down and can be controlled again. Her second main weakness is that like other Phantoms, she cannot traverse sand pits. She can also talk to and distract other Phantoms, allowing Link to slip by unnoticed. Other Phantoms may also reveal hints when talked to by Princess Zelda that aid Link with certain puzzles in the Tower of Spirits.

Before Link and Princess Zelda embark on their final fight with Malladus, Anjean produces a Phantom Suit for Zelda so that she can be unaffected by the laser attacks from the possessed Zelda.

In the manga
The Phantoms make a brief appearance in the manga as guardians of the Temple of the Ocean King. One initially frightens Link and Ciela in its quest for intruders, but they quickly realize that it can't see them on the Safe Zone. Right around the corner, another one chases them while they try to make off with a treasure chest, proclaiming "Intruders are not allowed!"