Daira

"An alligator soldier that attacks with an ax. Link's shield can't fend off the ax."

— Zelda II: The Adventure of Link manual

Dairas are recurring enemies in the Legend of Zelda series. These enemies are anthropomorphic alligators clad in simple tunics and sporting crests somewhat similar to Mohawks.

Appearances[]

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link[]

In their first appearance, Dairas come in two colors; orange and red. Orange swing their axes to damage Link while red Dairas are able to throw in front of their face direction. Their axe blows are powerful enough to go through Link's shield, however, their attacks can be blocked with the Reflect Spell. This makes them the most powerful overworld enemy to be found in Western Hyrule. Dairas appear mainly in caves, although Red Dairas can be found in the graveyard. An error in the instruction manual lists Dairas as being swamp dwellers, but at no point in the game are they found there.

Interestingly, Dairas are the only enemies to have an orange variant of themselves while not having a blue variant.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past[]

Dairas are very different from their incarnation in The Adventure of Link. They are covered in fine armor and flowing capes, and come in blue and red varieties. Strangely, they do not wield weapons at all, and simply move around at random, damaging Link if they touch him. Red Dairas also spit fireballs at Link if he is in one of the four cardinal directions, and take twice as much damage to defeat as the blue variety. Dairas are found in Thieves' Town, Ganon's Tower and the Palace of the Four Sword.

They were initially unnamed in English. Though the Japanese name of these monsters is "Zazakku," different from the Japanese name for the Daira, they are labeled as Dairas in the 30th-anniversary Arts and Artifacts artbook.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds[]

Dairas appear similar to their A Link to the Past incarnations. The blue varieties appear in the Thieves' Hideout, as well as the 35th floor in the Treacherous Tower where they will damage Link upon contact. They will also attempt to capture the Thief Girl if she is currently with Link. Upon making contact with her, they will grab her, laugh in triumph, the screen will black out. Link and the Thief Girl will then end up back at her cell. The red varieties also appear, but only on the 46th floor in the Treacherous Tower. These varieties are still slightly more durable than the blue variety, but do not shoot fireballs at the hero.

Non-canonical appearances[]

Non-canon warning: This article or section contains non-canonical information that is not considered to be an official part of the Legend of Zelda series and should not be considered part of the overall storyline.

Valiant Comics[]

Dairas appear as prominent enemies in the Legend of Zelda comics.

CD-i Games[]

Gameplay (The Faces of Evil) — Link battling a Daira in *Link: The Faces of Evil*

Dairas are one of very few traditional Legend of Zelda enemies to appear in the CD-i games.

Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.