- "Enough. I follow the strongest side! ...That is all I have ever known."
- — King Bulblin
King Bulblin is a character from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. He serves as a tertiary antagonist. As his name suggests, King Bulblin is the leader of the Bulblins and one of Ganondorf's trusted minions. He is frequently seen atop his mount, Lord Bullbo, an oversized Bullbo. He carries a special horn that can be used both to summon his loyal Bulblin minions as well as Shadow Beasts. He is the only miniboss besides Ook and Dangoro to survive being beaten by Link. He is also the only miniboss to be refought more than once in the game.
Biography[]
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
King Bulblin is first encountered in Ordon Spring, when his Bulblins knock Link out and kidnap Ilia and Colin, after which King Bulblin summons a Twilight Portal by blowing his horn. Later in Kakariko Village, King Bulblin and his minions kidnap Colin again to lure Link into a trap. Link pursues them on Epona. Link battles King Bulblin and some of his Bullbo-riding Bulblin minions on Hyrule Field. Link manages to strip King Bulblin of most of his armor, eventually causing him to drop his horn. On the Bridge of Eldin, the two engage in a jousting match. Link is victorious, and King Bulblin is knocked off his mount and apparently falls off the bridge into the Zora River, breaking a horn.
Later, King Bulblin is revealed to have survived despite his fall. On the Great Bridge of Hylia, King Bulblin attacks Link again while he serves as an escort to Ilia, Telma, and the ill Zora, Prince Ralis. This time, he has equipped himself with shields to defend himself against Link's sword. This proves to make little difference, however, as Link instead uses the Hero's Bow, defeating him and knocking him off the bridge, making him break a second horn. When Link infiltrates the Bulblin Camp, he encounters King Bulblin in a small, empty square surrounded by constructions, this time in close combat, with the gargantuan Bulblin equipped with a giant axe. After King Bulblin is defeated once more, he limps away, only to set fire to the camp moments before departure. Fortunately, Link manages to escape by ramming a Bullbo through a flimsy wooden wall blocking his exit.
In the courtyards of Hyrule Castle, Link encounters the Bulblin King for the final time. Before the fight, King Bulblin says, "I have come to play!" The king is defeated once more, but this time, realizing that it is hopeless to attempt to kill Link, he surrenders the Small Key he has with him. Before leaving, he tells Link and Midna that all he had ever known was to serve the strongest side, acknowledging Link as superior to Ganondorf. This surprises Link and Midna, as Bulblins were thought to lack vocal abilities, aside from grunting. He appears one final time riding around Hyrule Field with his troop of Bulblins in the end credits, possibly indicating that they are now more peaceful towards the people of Hyrule. Both of his horns have been regrown.
Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.
Other appearances[]
Subseries warning: This article or section contains information on a subseries within the Legend of Zelda series and should be considered part of its own separate canon.
Hyrule Warriors[]
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Promotional Render depicting a Bulblin Captain with other Bulblin types from Hyrule Warriors
While King Bulblin does not appear himself in the base game, his model from Twilight Princess is used to represent Bulblin Captains in the Bulblin army units. These officer/captains are much weaker then the real King Bulblin, and are encountered in large groups. The Bulblin Captains are sometimes referred to simply "Bulblins", which lead Bulblin units, that retreat when their captain is defeated. Bulblin Captains drop Metal Plates as their bronze level material.
King Bulblin himself appears as a speaking character and mini-boss in the Twilight Princess Pack DLC, using a modified model of the Bulblin Captains and his Twilight Princess appearance. King Bulblin is basically a larger and stronger version of the Bulblin Captains. Like Captain Keeta, King Bulblin will sometimes join the player's faction if they manage to lower his health to a certain point (he will even say his "I follow the strongest side" line that he said to Link in Twilight Princess).
Hyrule Warriors Legends[]
Bulblin Captains and King Bulblin return in Hyrule Warriors Legends. King Bulblin appears on the Twilight Princess Adventure map and the Master Wind Waker DLC map.
Subseries warning: Subseries information ends here.
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.
Beta[]
King Bulblin was featured in the beta version of Twilight Princess, functionally the same as in the final product, with some minor changes. Firstly, the music played during the battle is different from the final version, having a more frenetic, urgent pace as well as parts of the Overworld theme from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Also, Link's voice clips are taken directly from Ocarina of Time's adult Link. While the music changes to another track when battling King Bulblin on the bridge or when he comes within range of Link's sword, this music remains constant throughout the entire battle in the beta. Additionally, there are some changes to the environment in which the battle occurs. While Twilight can be seen visibly covering Hyrule on the horizon in the final version, it is not present in the beta. This is possibly because the Twilight itself was completely redone for the final version. Death Mountain and Hyrule Castle are also absent from the background.
Super Smash Bros. series[]
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King Bulblin in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
King Bulblin makes a cameo appearance in the Bridge of Eldin stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. He appears occasionally, riding Lord Bullbo. He will try using Bombs resembling Powder Kegs to blow up the center of the bridge. After some time, a Twilight Portal replaces the destroyed area. However, by hitting King Bulblin repeatedly, he will be stopped in his tracks and be unable to use the Bombs, although, in some cases, he will manage to throw a bomb anyway. When hit, he sprawls on his mount in a similar pose to the one he makes when he is momentarily stunned after he loses a large amount of his armor to Link while battling him on Hyrule Field, just before he heads onto the Bridge of Eldin.
King Bulblin also appears as both a sticker and a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. On both, he is mounted atop Lord Bullbo. His sticker grants a +19 bonus to leg attacks.
Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.
See Also[]
- Lord Bullbo
- Blin
- Big Blin
- Bulblin
- Bulblin Captain
- Bulblin Summoner
- Club Moblin
- Great Moblin
- King Moblin
- Moblin
- Secret Moblin
- Stone Blin