Armos

In the Legend of Zelda series an Armos typically poses as a statue or suit of armor, but attacks when touched or approached.

Appearances
Armos have had appeared in several games, with many different appearances.

The Legend of Zelda
The original Armos resembled a suit of armor. They mainly appeared near Death Mountain, where they were orange, or the Lost Woods, where they were green. Some Armos moved fast, others moved slow. Armos occasionally covered a hidden staircase that could be revealed by touching the Armos, causing it to move.

A Link to the Past
Armos only appear in the Eastern Palace area, standing dormant until bumped into, which causes it to bounce towards Link. Inactiavted Armos are grey, oval-shaped statues, but change to light brown when awakened. Armos Knights are the boss of the Eastern Palace, bouncing around in formations. They are similar other Armos, but are bigger and blue. They can each be defeated by three arrows; the final Armos Knight will turn red, and angrily stomp around the room, trying to crush Link.

Link's Awakening
Armos and one single Armos Knight appear in the Face Shrine and in the shrine to the south. The Armos are similar to those from The Legend of Zelda, except these do not move as fast. They often hide among similar looking statues. Many statues resembling Armos form a maze near the shrine to the south of the Face Shrine, but one a few are true Armos. Each wall has one Armos that must be found to reach the Shrine. Inside the Shrine, an Armos Knight guards the Face Key. His main attack is slamming the ground to paralyze his foes.

Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask
Armos Knights mostly appear in dungeons, and are giant, grey, aged statues. Some look the same as regular inamimate statues, making them more dangerous. Actual statues can be pushed around, but Armos Knights attack when approached. A bomb will destroy one. In Majora's Mask, Armos Knights only appear in the Stone Temple.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
Armos Knights are exactly as those from Link's Awakening, as Flagship built upon data from that game. They are in no specific area, and can only be destroyed with bombs or the Magical Boomerang. There is a Mini-Boss in the fourth dungeon of Oracle of Ages named "Armos Warrior". He throws his sword, which locks onto Link before returning. The only way to damage him is to strike him from behind. Eventually his shield breaks and he begins charging at Link. Link must dodge the charge, letting the Armos Warrior hit the wall and become stunned, making him vulnerable to attack.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Armos and Armos Knights come in small and large forms. When Link enters a room, the small Armos activate and bounce quickly towards Link. They can be paralyzed by an arrow in the eye and striking the crystal on their back will cause them to spin around wildly and self-destruct. The Armos Knights are gigantic statues that will slowly bounce towards Link when he approaches. To defeat one, Link must throw a bomb into its mouth, which opens occasionally, or can be made to open by shooting its eye. After the bomb has been thrown, the Armos Knight spins around and self-destructs.

The Minish Cap
These Armos Knights are very different from previous Armos. In this game, they are red statues powered by a flame inside their head; only a Minish can turn the flame off. When Link approaches, the Armos activates and quickly runs towards him, occasionally pausing. Sometimes Link must activate an Armos to clear a path and other times he must deactive one to prevent it from blocking a path. To do this he has to change into a Minish through the Tree Stump and climb up the ladder on it shield.

Twilight Princess
Armos once again appear in Twilight Princess, this time as skull-like statues with large hammers. Fighting them is similar to Wind Waker, where they must be stunned and hit from behind. Once struck on the crystal on their backs, they spin around, screaming and swinging their hammers violently before bursting into a cloud of dark smoke. Unlike Ocarina of Time, they do not harm you when they explode. They are found primarily in the Temple of Time and the Cave of Ordeals.

Trivia
It is significant that in Soul Calibur 2 for the Gamecube, one of the weapons Link can purchase (for 900 gold) is called "Armos Series," and it resembles the ovular shield of stone and short sword of the Armos. If Link uses these, his offense is at 100%, his defense at 70%, making it the second worst weapon Link has (the first being the Bug-Catching Net with Hylian Shield). As a side effect, offense increases with soul charge, but soul charge effect slowly decreases. It should be noted that the shield has the worst defense of Link's weapons, which isn't surprising when one considers how easy it is for Link to hurt an Armos, sometimes with only his sword.