Leevers are recurring Enemies in The Legend of Zelda series.[4]
Characteristics[]
Leevers are sand-dwelling sandworm-like creatures known for their burrowing capabilities, found mostly in areas with sand such as deserts and beaches. These cone-shaped creatures burrow out of the ground, or remain at a semi-burrow as in The Adventure of Link, upon detecting movement and begin pursuing threats, generally at a fast-moving pace.[5][6] They are almost always fought in groups, with many of them targeting and honing in on Link at once.
Although the behavior of the Leever changes little between games and variations, they do possess different levels of strength, speed, and attack strategy that vary by color.
In general, red Leevers are the standard variant, with the stronger Blue Leevers behaving similarly. In some games, green Leevers are the standard variant, with a stronger and faster-moving purple variant. In games such as Link's Awakening, Oracle of Seasons, and Oracle of Ages, there is an orange variant as well.
The overall strategy to defeat any Leevers, regardless of game, is to attack it with the Sword, or any weapon used to defeat any other commonplace enemy. Generally, Leevers can be avoided entirely, although some incarnations make this harder due to their increased speed.
The Legend of Zelda[]
There are red and blue varieties of Leevers in The Legend of Zelda, the blue variant being the stronger of the two. When defeated, red Leevers may drop either a Heart, one Rupee, five Rupees, or a Clock, while blue Leevers may drop either a Heart, a Fairy or one Rupee.
The Adventure of Link[]
In The Adventure of Link, Leevers are once again found in sandy areas, more so in the northern area of Hyrule and near Darunia town.
A Link to the Past[]
Leevers come in two varieties in A Link to the Past, with the green version being the standard variant and the purple version being slightly faster. They are found in sandy areas of dungeons, most notably the desert palace.
Link's Awakening[]
Leevers come in three varieties in Link's Awakening; red, blue, and orange. Red Leevers travel in a straight line, while the blue variety tends to zigzag at random intervals. The orange variety actively pursues Link, and has notably increased speed in comparison to its red and blue counterparts.
Ocarina of Time[]
Leever
Watch its movements closely and let it go by!
Leevers appear in the Desert Colossus in Ocarina of Time, where they will chase Link across the sands, though they cannot venture onto the large stones. Larger Leevers may appear after defeating ten standard Leevers, a trait it shares with Stalchildren and Guays.
Majora's Mask[]
It's a Leever.
It actually moves pretty fast. That's not exactly good news, is it?
Leevers in Majora's Mask are nearly identical to their appearance in Ocarina of Time. If ten are defeated, a larger Leever may appear. Link can avoid Leevers entirely while riding Epona.
Oracle of Seasons / Oracle of Ages[]
Leever come in three varieties in Oracle of Seasons, red, blue, and orange, but only red and blue in Oracle of Ages. Red Leevers travel in a straight line, while the blue variety tends to zigzag at random intervals. Whenever Link goes to a section of the map with Leevers present, one or two Leevers will come out of random spots in the ground and quickly chase him. If the Leevers are defeated, they will be quickly replaced by more Leevers from the same spot on the ground. If Leevers are left alone briefly, they may burrow underground, but will reemerge from where they burrowed into shortly afterward.
In Oracle of Seasons, red and blue Leevers appear in the Woods of Winter, making this the first game where Leevers appear outside of a desert environment. Leevers also appear in Eyeglass Lake, where they can even emerge from frozen water. The blue type also appears on Goron Mountain and Natzu Wasteland. The orange variety, encountered in the Samasa Desert, actively pursues Link, and has notably increased speed than its red and blue counterparts.
In Oracle of Ages, Leevers initially appear on Crescent Island and also appear in Rolling Ridge Base in the present, despite it not being sandy. In the northern half of Talus Peaks, red ones appear in the present while blue ones appear in the past and a single section of the present. They additionally appear in Nuun Highlands if Moosh is Link's partner.
Four Swords Adventures[]
In Four Swords Adventures, Leevers have the appearance of their A Link to the Past counterparts, except they have an entirely green body. Leevers are first encountered in the sandstorm of the Desert of Doubt. Leevers have a behavior of repeatedly rising from and lowering into the sand while spinning, and continue moving downward until they hit a wall. A single stronger red Leever is encountered in the Desert of Doubt.
The Minish Cap[]
| Leever (Figurine from The Minish Cap) | |
|---|---|
 Leever | (North America): Appears in Wind Ruins, Veil Falls. These baddies move freely underground when attacking. You never know where they will pop up, so keep your shield raised and at the ready! (Europe): Appears in Castor Wilds, Mount Crenel, etc. These baddies move freely underground and pop out for a surprise attack. Keep your shield up! |
Leevers in The Minish Cap come in two varieties, the standard red and the stronger Blue Leevers, encountered in Wind Ruins and Veil Falls respectively. They burrow underground and emerge to attack Link. If Link blocks their attack with his Shield, they will return underground.
Like most other enemies, Leevers have their own figurine. European versions mistakenly list Leevers as appearing in Mount Crenel and Castor Wilds, two areas where Peahats are found instead.
Twilight Princess[]
Leevers appear differently in Twilight Princess than in previous games, with a stronger plant-like appearance compared to the simpler conical shape. They appear in the sands of Gerudo Desert, as well as in the Cave of Ordeals. They appear in groups and encircle Link before attacking.
A Link Between Worlds[]
In A Link Between Worlds, purple Leevers appear in the Desert Palace, just like in A Link to the Past, and Leevers also appear in Treacherous Tower.
Tri Force Heroes[]
In Tri Force Heroes, Leevers appear in both the Infinity Dunes stage of The Dunes and the desert zone of the Den of Trials. They appear exactly the same as in A Link Between Worlds.
In other media[]
A Link to the Past (Caviga)[]
Spinoff appearances[]
Zelda's Adventure[]
In Zelda's Adventure, Leevers appear near the Vision Henge. Leevers have a noticeably different behavior of bending their stalks to the side as they move repeatedly. Leevers neither spin around nor burrow.
BS The Legend of Zelda[]
Ancient Stone Tablets[]
Crossover appearances[]
Cadence of Hyrule[]
Leevers appear as enemies in Cadence of Hyrule where they can be found in dungeons and sandy areas like the Beach and Desert. Like other enemies, they can only move to the beat of the music, but differ in that they can move on every single music beat and can bury themselves underground. When Cadence, Link, Yves, or Zelda passes by, they will bury themselves underground for a few beats and then try to surface near them, with their fangs poking up through the sand for two music beats to signal where they plan to resurface. Upon emerging from the sand, they will knock back anyone or anything that is standing above them a few tiles back. Once emerged, they will chase their target for four beats before burying themselves underground and repeating the pattern. A stronger variant known as the Blue Leever also appears.
Trivia[]
- While targeting normal Leevers in Ocarina of Time, the target turns green instead of yellow. Also, the music that normally plays when close to enemies cannot be heard. These two effects appear to be related, and may even be intentional, as the constant appearance and movement of Leevers would disrupt the world and enemy music. Larger Leevers, however, do have the yellow targeting and enemy music.
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time — Official Nintendo Player's Guide by Nintendo Power suggests that Leevers are a type of cactus.[7]
- The Japanese Shogakukan guide for Four Swords Adventures refers to Leevers as Peahats.[citation needed]
Nomenclature[]
 Names in other regions  | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | Meaning | |
 | Japanese | リーバー (Rībā) (TLoZ | ALttP)[8][9] リーバ(赤) (Rība (Aka)) (ALttP)[10] リーバ(緑) (Rība (Midori)) (ALttP)[11] リーバ (Rība) (OoT)[12] | Same as English. Leever (Red) Leever (Green) Same as English. |
 | Dutch | Zandkruiper (TLoZ)[13] | |
 | FrenchEU | Leever (TLoZ | TAoL)[14][15] | |
| This table was generated using translation pages. To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference. | |||
Gallery[]
Artwork of a Leever from The Adventure of Link
An Orange Leever, from Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
A Leever, as seen in BS Legend of Zelda
A Blue Leever, as seen in BS Legend of Zelda
A Leever, as seen in Cadence of Hyrule
Notes
References
- ↑ "Octoroks, Tektites, Leevers too" — Zelda Universe, The Zelda Rap: US Commercial (1986), YouTube (Video), published May 17, 2011, retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ↑ "Leevers!" — Zelda Universe, Legend of Zelda Ad: What Is This I Don't Even, YouTube (Video), published May 9, 2011, retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ↑ "The Oracle series features three kinds of Leevers: red, orange, and blue." (Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 189)
- ↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 189 (TAoL | OoT | MM | FSA | TMC | TP | ALBW | TFH)
- ↑ "Leever. Watch its movements closely and let it go by!" — Navi (Ocarina of Time)
- ↑ "You know about the Leever, right? It actually moves pretty fast. That's not exactly good news, is it?" — Tatl (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time — Official Nintendo Player's Guide, Nintendo of America, pg. 95
- ↑ Hyrule Encyclopedia, Ambit Ltd., pg. 211
- ↑ Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords, Shogakukan, pg. 23
- ↑ Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Vol. 1, Shogakukan, pg. 130
- ↑ Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Vol. 1, Shogakukan, pg. 129
- ↑ Nintendo Official Guidebook—The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Shogakukan) pg. 146
- ↑ The Legend of Zelda manual, pg. 29
- ↑ The Legend of Zelda manual, pg. 29
- ↑ Encyclopedia, Les Éditions Soleil, pg. 189
