Shadow Beast

Shadow Beasts (also known as Twilit/Twilight Messengers) are enemies from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. These beings, members of the Twili race, were created from darkness by the usurper Twilight King, Zant. When Zant usurped the throne, he sealed away the Sols, mystical magical orbs emanating a sacred light that banishes evil, choking the last bit of light out of the Twili, turning them into Shadow Beasts. They serve as Zant's main attack force during the invasion of Hyrule.

They are black, tentacled beings with their bodies enveloped in a strange, Twili pattern. They possess a mask similar in appearance to a shield, concealing their face; however, the true purpose of these masks is unknown (although they could be common Twili Helmets since Midna at first uses the shield Link finds by wearing it on her face). They arrived in Hyrule through the use of Twilight Portals. The beasts normally attack in groups of three to five, during which they project unbreakable walls composed of Twilight around their opponents to prevent their prey's escape. If Link defeats all Shadow Beasts in a group but one, this remaining Shadow Beast will revive its fallen brethren with a piercing cry. In order to defeat them successfully, Link can transform into Wolf Link and use Midna's help to damage all enemies within a small radius. He can also defeat them with a carefully timed Spin Attack. Often, two Shadow Beasts attack Link in tandem while another can be found just out of Link's range. The easiest way to defeat these is to either lure all the Shadow Beasts into the vicinity of a Spin Attack or assisted Midna attack, or to defeat the lone Shadow Beast first and then defeat the other two with a Spin Attack. After a group has been successfully defeated, the Twilight Portal from whence they came can be used for Link to transport himself around Hyrule.

After Link assembles the Mirror of Twilight, opening the way into the Twilight Realm, he restores the Sols to their rightful shrine, which allows light back into the realm, returning most of the transformed Twili to their rightful form. During two cutscenes in the game, Zant is accompanied by a pair of Shadow Beasts with different masks than the typical ones, looking more metallic and bearing a double-helix design on the masks. Because they are so few in number and appear to be Zant's bodyguards, they may perhaps have more powerful abilities than other Shadow Beasts. This is not for certain though, as they are never fought in the game.

Behind the scenes

 * Shadow Beasts are also known as "Twilight Messengers", which is the name the Official Prima Strategy Guide uses. However, the official Twilight Princess website as well as their trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl confirms their name to be "Shadow Beasts".
 * According to Barnes, anyone in the twilight who gets killed by a Shadow Beast will be turned into one themselves.
 * Several characters mention the Shadow Beasts but the text isn't red in any of these cases (traditionally, red text refers to important information).