The Zelda series has a lot of hand-based enemies and bosses. However, none have unsettled players quite like the Dead Hand miniboss from Ocarina of Time. With Echoes of Wisdom bringing back Deku Scrubs, could Dead Hand make another appearance? Let’s take a look back at this iconic Zelda enemy, and speculate about its future in the series.
Dead Hand’s Creepy Origins
Bottom of the Well
The first time the player encounters Dead Hand in Ocarina of Time is in the Bottom of the Well mini-dungeon in Kakariko Village. This mini-dungeon is only accessible as Child Link, which adds to the unease – the monster towers over Child Link, even with its hunched-over posture. At this point, Link doesn’t have the Lens of Truth either – he doesn’t get that until he defeats the miniboss – which makes the fight that much more stressful. Link’s only way of fighting Dead Hand is by allowing himself to be caught by one of its hands and attacking before the monster can eat him.
Shadow Temple
A Dead Hand also appears in the Shadow Temple. This one is easier to defeat, thanks to the player already having the Lens of Truth from the Bottom of the Well. It is also less unsettling, owing to the Shadow Temple only being accessible as Adult Link. No longer does the monster tower over Link, and no longer can it hideout of his sight.
Master Quest
In the Master Quest version of Ocarina of Time, not only are there multiple Dead Hands in the Shadow Temple, but a lone hand will spawn inside Ganon’s Castle. Adding more monsters to the Shadow Temple serves as increasing the challenge, which is to be expected with the central conceit of Master Quest. Having a Dead Hand’s hand in Ganon’s Castle is an interesting change, however. In the regular version of Ocarina of Time, Dead Hands were only seen near Kakariko Village. Why, then, would a solitary arm of one appear in the conquered and transformed castle of the royal family?
On the Other Hand
Dead Hand isn’t the only creepy hand enemy in the Zelda series. Tears of the Kingdom introduced the Gloom Hands, Gloom-covered hands with Malice-like eyes on their palms that ambush Link by appearing from a patch of Gloom and chasing him. Many Zelda games have Wallmasters and Floormasters, large hand-like enemies that grab Link and drag him back to previous rooms or areas of a dungeon. Twilight Princess has Zant’s Hands, Wallmaster-like enemies in the penultimate dungeon that try to steal the Sols from Link. Spirit Tracks has Key Masters, who try to steal the Boss Key. Majora’s Mask has Dexihands, enemies that are similar to the arms of a Dead Hand.
While not strictly speaking enemies, Zelda games also sometimes feature a mysterious hand sticking out from a toilet and asking for paper. According to a 2012 Entertainment Weekly interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, these characters derive from a common Japanese ghost story. Thankfully, these hands aren’t hostile – providing them with paper will earn Link some kind of reward, from Heart Containers to the next piece in an extensive trading quest.
Final Thoughts
Nintendo recently shared a preview of the Hyrule that would be featured in Echoes of Wisdom, including talking about some of the enemies that will appear in the game. One of the enemies shown was the Deku Scrub, which was introduced in Ocarina of Time just like Dead Hand. Deku Scrubs haven’t been seen since 2015’s Tri Force Heroes. Is there perhaps a chance that Dead Hand could be seen again? With Echoes of Wisdom reimagining some traditions of the series – namely having Zelda as the playable protagonist rather than Link – and bringing back Deku Scrubs, it’s certainly possible.
Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom already saw great success in bringing back classic enemies. Breath of the Wild brought back Lynels, which before then hadn’t been seen since 2014’s A Link Between Worlds but was introduced in The Legend of Zelda. Likewise, Tears of the Kingdom reimagined Gleeoks, which was also introduced in the first game of the series but had last been seen in 2007’s Phantom Hourglass. So while Dead Hand hasn’t been in any games since Ocarina of Time so far, it’s not out of the question for him to make another appearance. If not in Echoes of Wisdom, then perhaps in a future Zelda title.
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