# Zelda franchise strategy guide/Enemies/Keese

Keese are fictional bat monsters from The Legend of Zelda series of video games, and have appeared in almost every game in the series to date. Keese are often found in caves and dungeons, and sometimes even found in the overworld. They usually have black skin, and fly towards Link.

## History
### The Legend of Zelda

Keese appear in every dungeon throughout the game, and often litter areas in those dungeons. They fly around the screen, not heading towards anything in particular, and stop for a short amount of time.
There are three colors of Keese:
* Blue, the most common.
* Red, which appear in pairs when a Vire is harmed but not killed.
* Black, which appear in the more advanced dungeons.
Unusual for the Zelda games (where color usually indicates the enemy's level of difficulty), the different colors of Keese have the same abilities, statistics, and movement patterns.

### The Adventure of Link and A Link to the Past

In both games, Keese take a similar approach in their attacks — they only move when Link gets close (in The Adventure of Link, they are instead called Aches). They aren't as common an enemy as they were in the original Legend of Zelda. They stay dormant, and fly around only when they are approached, stopping after a while. In A Link to the Past's Dark World, Keese are replaced with winged eyeballs, which behave similarly, but with a vastly different appearance.

### Link's Awakening

Keese return to their roots in this game, taking on a darker color, like in The Legend of Zelda. They are similar to their original form, being weak and moving around randomly. There are also larger Keese that only appear during the fight with the Grim Creeper, the sub-boss of the seventh dungeon, and are stronger than regular Keese. The Vire in Turtle Rock, when destroyed, turns into Big Keese that fly into Link and leave quickly.

### Ocarina of Time

In Ocarina of Time, Keese are black, yellow-eyed bats, found mostly in dungeons. Whenever one sees Link, it will swoop down at him to attack. Regular Keese can become Fire or Ice Keese if they come in contact with either of the elements.

### Majora's Mask

Keese remain exactly the same in Majora's Mask as they did in Ocarina of Time, including being mostly found in dungeons. There are larger forms of Keese that are found outside called Bad Bats, which act the same, but are stronger.

### Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons

Keese are the same as they were in Link's Awakening, on account of the fact that Flagship used the original "formula" to make Keese. However, they are a lot more erratic . One form of Keese that appears in these games is the Fire Keese, similar to the Fire Keese of past games. Any Keese that encounters fire will become one. They fly higher in the air than regular Keese, and swoop down on their enemies. Big Keese sometimes accompany the enemy Blue Stalfos.

### The Wind Waker

Keese appear more like vampire bats in this game, flying faster than before. They are usually found in dungeons, and also appear as Fire Keese. Unlike other Keese, they do not head straight into their enemy; they wait and prepare to strike.

### The Minish Cap

Keese slowly fly around dark caves and dungeons, with no real pattern of movement.

### Twilight Princess

Regular, Fire, and Ice Keese return in Twilight Princess. This time around, they have a long tail with a hook on the end, and their attack pattern is similar to that in The Wind Waker.

### Phantom Hourglass

Regular, Fire, and Ice Keese also appear in Phantom Hourglass. They commonly appear in caves and look very much like their counterparts in The Wind Waker.

## Variations
### Ache

Although Keese do not appear in The Adventure of Link, Aches, a similar species of bats, do. Though usually found in forests and caves, Aches are occasionally found in towns. They hang at the top of the screen, waiting for Link to pass, and dive down to attack. It should be noted that the official name of these enemies is actually Ache, but they behave like Keese in almost every respect, so they are often confused with them. In certain towns, some Aches disguise themselves as villagers and attack Link when he tries to talk to them, breaking their disguise. These are commonly referred to as the "Eyes of Ganon".

### Acheman

Acheman are Red Aches that fly down and turn into a red goblin-like creature. They are only able to transform into this state when on solid ground, and shoot fireballs from their mouths at their prey.

### Bad Bat

Bad Bats are larger variants of Keese found in Majora's Mask. They seem to prefer outdoor environments, as opposed to the cave or dungeon-dwelling Keese. Bad Bats can even be found during the day.

### Battle Bat

Battle Bats are Keese are found in Link's Awakening, and are stronger than normal Keese. The only six Battle Bats found in the game are fought during the fight against the seventh dungeon sub-boss, the Grim Creeper.

### Fire Keese

When Keese are exposed to an open flame, they can transform into Fire Keese. In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, Keese can be transformed by Fire Arrows or torches. They will set Link on fire, simultaneously putting themselves out. In Ocarina of Time, if Link is equipped with the Deku Shield when hit, the shield will burn (as it is made of wood).

### Ice Keese

Ice Keese are Keese exposed to cold, such as an Ice Arrow or Blue Fire. In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, they freeze Link and return to normal. In Twilight Princess, Ice Keese cannot be changed into regular Keese or vice versa.

### Shadow Keese

Shadow Keese are only found in the Twilight Realm in Twilight Princess. The have dragon-like bodies and strange, funnel shaped heads surrounded by a ring of grey plumage. Their faces are featureless save for red symbols. They appear to be identical to Shadow Kargorocs, except for the fact that they are smaller and weaker. As with many Shadow creatures, Shadow Keese have a distinctive cry; rather than the squeaking of the other Keese variations, Shadow Keese make a noise reminiscent of a hammer clashing on metal.

### Gomess

Gomess is a powerful vampire that hides in the darkest room of the Stone Tower Temple, in Majora's Mask. It is surrounded by thousands of Keese and carries a huge scythe. It appears to be modeled after the Grim Reaper.

### Vire

Vires are large humanoid/bat creatures, who fly and hop around the area, sometimes shooting fireballs. They split into two Keese after taking a certain amount of damage. In The Legend of Zelda, Vires are large, blue bat creatures that hop around aimlessly. They are only found in dungeons, and when harmed, split into two red-colored Keese, which float around the room like regular Keese. In Link's Awakening, Vires appear in only the Turtle Rock. They fly around and shoot fireballs. Then they will swoop down at Link. After being damaged, they will explode into two Big Keese. In Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, Vire appears as a unique enemy, a henchman to both Veran and Onox. Depending on which game is played first, Vire will begin as an underling of one or the other, with events surrounding him being altered in the second.