GT25's Versus Series: Lizalfos vs. Demon Hunter
Hello, and welcome to the Versus Series. In this series, we will compare warriors from across the many universes of all forms of fiction and analyze their weapons, armor, and x-factors to see who would win in a hypothetical battle. For this installment, we have two fantasy warriors with dark natures who focus on different ranges with the Lizalfos from the lands of Hyrule and the Demon Hunters of the Dreadlands. For this installment, we will take the Lizalfos as portrayed in Skyward Sword with additional information from Breath of the Wilds and the Demon Hunters from Diablo III with additional information provided from their universes. As both of these warriors aren't as well known outside the fan bases of their video game series, I will be providing some of their backstories for those who are interested in the lore of their worlds.
History of the Warriors
In several regions of the land of Hyrule, a bipedal reptilian species known as the Lizalfos are one of the many species which live in the world. Often wearing little clothing compared to Hylian standards, these reptiles are very hostile to outsiders and are willing to attack on sight with their weapons including axes and maces placed on their tails. During the battles for Hyrule against the evil Ganon, pairs of Lizalfos often face off against the Hero of Hyrule as possible allies of Ganon.
Starting to be formed 1270 years after the forming of the Order of Zakarum, the group known as the Demon Hunters are a group of humans from the Dreadlands dedicated to hunting demons. The group, which was only had ranks in the hundreds, were often made up of those who lost their homes and loved ones to demons pawn. Having no alliances to any one king or country, these hunters instead are sworn to destroy the creatures that come from the Burning Hells.
Close Range
Iron Gauntlet (Lizalfos): The Iron Gauntlet is a piece of armor which is used by the Lizalfos as both a melee weapon and as a type of shield during a fight. Despite its rocky looking texture, it is possible that these gauntlets are composed of metal, most likely iron, which would make them much more durable. This gauntlet most likely has a length of 15 inches and possibly weighs 2.75 pounds.
Spiked Gauntlets (Demon Hunter): The Spike Gauntlets are a pair of gauntlets made of steel over a leather glove which is used by the Demon Hunters that was part of their standard armor. These types of gauntlets made use of steel spikes on top of the user's knuckles as a type of last ditch weapon in melee combat. These gauntlets most likely have a length of 16 inches with 2.5 inch steel spikes and possibly weigh 1.5 pounds.
Verdict: Neither warrior gets the edge. Aside from both being types of gauntlets, the only difference between both is the material they're made from and how they are used. In this case, the single Iron Gauntlet can be used as a shield or melee weapon whereas the Spike Gauntlets have spikes to make them weapons should the user be unable to use any other weapons. As such, it's hard to say if one even is better than the other with the fact that the Lizalfos only have one Iron Gauntlet while the Demon Hunter has two Spiked Gauntlets also playing a role in this verdict.
Medium Range
Lizal Boomerang (Lizalfos): The Lizal Boomerang is a type of sword made by the Lizalfos which can be used in melee combat along with being thrown like a boomerang hence its name. This blade has a normal handle along with a curved blade which has an angle like a normal boomerang rather than the curve found on sabers. This sword most likely has a 25.6 inch iron blade with a total length of 29.29 inches and possibly weighs 2.07 pounds.
Long Sword (Demon Hunter): The Long Sword is the primary melee weapon of the Demon Hunter that was most likely similar to the real-life Celtic Swords with it possibly having a similar blade. This sword most likely has a 28.75 inch steel blade with a total length of 34.75 inches and possibly weighs 2.3 pounds.
Verdict: The Lizal Boomerang gets the edge. The Long Sword is slightly longer by 3.15 inches and has a stronger metal in its blade as its using a steel blade rather than an iron one. However, the Lizal Boomerang is slightly lighter by 3.68 ounces and can be thrown like a boomerang which gives it more options in a fight compared to a normal sword.
Long Range
Lizal Tri-Boomerang (Lizalfos): The Lizal Tri-Boomerang is a type of sword boomerang made by the Lizalfos which was made as a throwing weapon though it could be used as a melee weapon. This sword is similar to the real-life Mambele throwing knife from Africa with a main blade along with two blade extensions with one on the back and one on the bottom right above the hilt. This sword most likely has a 31.5 inch iron blade with a total length of 35.91 inches and possibly weighs 2.4 pounds.
Hand Crossbow (Demon Hunter): The Hand Crossbow is a smaller variant of the normal Crossbow that consists of a small assembly similar to a bow mounted on a wooden frame that curves to fit into the hand. Thanks to its small size, the crossbow used by the Demon Hunters can be spanned by hand rather than using special devises to span the bowstring. This type of Crossbow most likely has a length of 18 inches with the length of the arms possibly being 14 inches and possibly weighs 3 pounds.
Verdict: The Hand Crossbow gets the edge. Despite the Lizal Tri-Boomerang being lighter by 9.6 ounces and being able to be used in melee combat, it is more of a throwing weapon compared to the Hand Crossbow which is a ranged weapon and obviously has the greater range of the two. In addition, the Demon Hunters often dual wield their Hand Crossbows meaning that they can often get two shots off in a row when using them.
Special Weapons
Tail Mace (Lizalfos): The Tail Mace is a type of mace head which the Lizalfos can place onto the end of their tails as a means to deliver powerful strikes with their tails. The mace head that they place onto their tail is possibly made of iron with it being round in shape and having small spikes like a real-life Morning Star. This mace head most likely has a diameter of 8 inches and possibly weighs 8.6 ounces with the tail of the Lizalfos most likely having a length of 30 inches.
Throwing Knife (Demon Hunter): The Throwing Knife is a type of knife that was designed and weighted in a special way to be thrown effectively. This type of knife most likely has a 3.31 inch steel blade with a total length of 6.18 inches and possibly weighs 2.29 ounces.
Verdict: The Throwing Knife gets the edge, though not by much. Despite the Tail Mace being a melee weapon and being used like a flail, the Throwing Knife is lighter by about 6.31 ounces which allows for the user to carry multiple knives into a fight. In addition, the knives are throwing weapons which can be used out of the reach of the Tail Mace and the fact that the user's tail must have the mace placed on it means that they are risking injury to a part of their body.
Armor
Leather Band and Iron Gauntlet with Vambrace and Rerebrace (Lizalfos): When fighting against their foes, the Lizalfos often wear a type of leather band as their main form of body armor. This leather armor is basically a band around the user's upper chest, mostly around the breast and upper back, which was used to protect the heart and the upper section of the chest. Assuming that this armor is composed of boiled leather, this would allow the armor to protect the user from most slashing attacks and some thrusts, but more powerful thrusts could break through.
In addition to this body armor, the Lizalfos made use of a metal gauntlet on their left arm along with additional plates on their left arm. Assuming these plates are made of iron along with having a vambrace and rerebrace, this type of armor was able to protect the user's arm from slashing and thrusting attacks with the Lizalfos using it as a type of shield. However, they only wear this type of armor on their left arm which leaves their right arm in harm's way.
Leather Armor with Steel Plates and Steel Gauntlets (Demon Hunter): When going into their battles, the Demon Hunters possibly make use of a type of leather armor with some metal pieces of armor. This leather armor appears to cover most of their body with their torso, thighs, and shins protected by this type of light armor. In addition, there are metal pieces of armor most likely composed of steel on their shoulders as pauldrons, chest as a form of breastplate, waist as part of their leather armor, and as pieces of their shin guards. Assuming that this armor is composed of boiled leather, this would allow the armor to protect the user from most slashing attacks and some thrusts, but more powerful thrusts could break through. In addition, the steel plates would give the user more protection in the areas that the steel covers with it also keeping thrusts from causing harm to the user.
In addition to this body armor, the Demon Hunter made use of gauntlets made of steel plates over leather gloves which are worn on their forearms and hands. With these types of gauntlets, this type of armor was able to protect the user's forearms and hand along with having steel spikes on top of the user's knuckles to act as a last ditch weapon. However, the gauntlets only protect the user's forearms and hands with the rest of their arms left unprotected with it only being guarded by the leather armor.
Verdict: The Demon Hunter gets the edge. Starting with their arm protection, the Iron Gauntlets with the Vambrace and Rerebrace make for a good improvise shield for the user and offers more protection to the arm than the Steel Gauntlets. However, the Steel Gauntlets offer protection to both arms even if minor and do have the steel spikes on the knuckles as a type of weapon. As such, the Steel Gauntlets get a slight edge here since they offer protection to both arms rather than just one even if they offer less protection to the rest of the user's arm.
Moving onto body armor, this is a simple matter as the Leather Armor with Steel Plates is better armor than the Leather Band alone. Not only does it have steel plates as part of the armor set, but the leather armor actually protects more of the torso and body in general while the Leather Band only keeps the upper chest protected. Despite the Iron Gauntlet with Vambrace and Rerebrace being capable of usage as a shield, it really only lets a slight edge to be granted to the Steel Gauntlets while the Demon Hunter is able to take an easy edge with their Leather Armor with Steel Plates.
X-Factors
Physicality: The Lizalfos get the edge. The Lizalfos are a species of creature that resembles bipedal lizards with long tails which they make use of in combat and are incredibly agile with them often dodging attacks when fighting against an opponent. The Demon Hunters are a group of humans who come from the Dreadlands with them most likely having average strength and agility though they do have the ability to make use of magic as part of their arsenal.
Tactics: The Demon Hunter gets the edge. When they get caught in combat on their own, the Lizalfos will use their agility to avoid attacks and their iron gauntlet to block attacks while making use of taunts before using their weapons and their tail mace to take out their opponent. When going onto their hunts, the Demon Hunter is willing to make use of their arsenal at range with them relying on traps to deal with foes and apocryphal magics to sneak through the shadows to either deal with their prey or escape their enemies.
Ferocity: Despite being adept defenders in combat, the Lizalfos are more than willing to use their gauntlet for offense as well along with being willing to use their weapons and their tails to quickly take down their enemies. Much like their name suggests, the Demon Hunters are relentless in their task of killing their infernal targets using their arsenal of ranged weapons along with using magic and deadly traps even against groups of their enemies.
Killer Instinct: As one of the main enemies of the Kingdom of Hyrule, the Lizalfos are willing to attack those who attack them and kill them using their gauntlet, tail, and weapons though they most likely would prefer killing their foes quickly. As they are described as relentless vigilantes, the Demon Hunters are willing to execute the demons that they target and take them on using their ranged weapons, magic, and deadly traps to swiftly kill the creatures that haunt their world.
Match Information: This is a one on one match with nothing else being taken into account.
The Set Up: At a small stone castle close to a nearby village, a Demon Hunter is walking towards the castle looking into rumors as a Lizalfos prepares to head off to a nearby village to get more food.
BATTLE
Close to a small stone castle near a village, a woman wearing Leather Armor which has Steel Plates on it and Spiked Gauntlets on her hands while wearing a hood over her head walks towards the structure. In both of her hands are Hand Crossbows with her having several Throwing Knives on her belt which also has a scabbard that holds a Long Sword in it. This woman is a Demon Hunter whose heading towards the castle to look into reports from the village of a demon having made the abandon castle their home.
Inside the throne room of the abandon castle, a bipedal reptile wearing a loincloth around her waist held by a makeshift belt is sitting in an ornate wooden chair. As her tail and the mace head on it swing lightly, the reptile looks over a Lizal Tri-Boomerang she has in her right hand while wearing an Iron Gauntlet with a similar looking vambrace and rerebrace on her left arm. While she examines her sword, a Lizal Boomerang hangs loosely from her makeshift belt by a loop fashioned into the belt. This reptile is a Lizalfos whose been preparing to head off towards the nearby village to steal more food.
Reaching the front doors of the castle, the Demon Hunter looks at the twin doors with them being ajar showing that they were recently moved. Stepping forward, the woman keeps her left foot on the ground before lifting her right leg and giving the door a solid kick. Almost instantly, the doors fly open and strike the sides of the hallway causing a loud thud.
In the throne room, the Lizalfos gets up from the wooden chair and looks to the door to her left where the noise came from. Startled by the noise, the reptile decides to go investigate just in case as she walks out of the room and down a set of stairs towards the main entrance.
Thanks to the lack of torches, the Demon Hunter is able to blend into the shadows as she continues to move through the first floor of the small castle. Reaching a hallway towards the dining room, she smells something rotting coming towards it and slowly walks forward with the Hand Crossbow in her right hand pointed ahead of her. As she reaches halfway down the hall, the Lizalfos turns to step into the hallway right as both of the warriors see each other.
Upon seeing the reptile, the woman fires the Hand Crossbow in her right hand with the Lizalfos raising her Iron Gauntlet in time to block the bolt. Stepping back, the reptile lowers her left arm as she throws her Lizal Tri-Boomerang as the Demon Hunter tries to raise her other Hand Crossbow. The throwing sword strikes the woman in the chest with the leather being cut though her breastplate taking most of the hit.
However, this causes the human to be knocked onto her back though she quickly raises her loaded Hand Crossbow and fires the bolt towards the lizard. This causes the Lizalfos to quickly backs around the corner to avoid the shot and takes several steps back away from the hallway. As the woman gets to her feet, she realizes she's facing the rumored demon and quickly begins to reload her Hand Crossbows to use them again against her newest foe.
Grabbing the hilt of her Lizal Boomerang, the reptile takes her other throwing sword off her belt as she readies herself to fight against this new threat. However, as she's about to return to the hallway, a quick flash of something catches her attention as she begins to look around the room. As she turns her head to watch the room, she only sees a small dining table with rotting meat scraps on it and broken chairs with the only light coming from a few torches placed on the wall and a few candles.
Turning her head back towards the door, the Lizalfos cries out as a bolt strikes her in the gut and she steps back while grabbing at it. However, she notices a faint figure close to one of the torches and rushes forward towards it before swinging her body around. Her tail comes around and the mace head quickly strikes against metal as the Demon Hunter is thrown out of the shadows with her right pauldron being dented.
Seeing the apparent demon stepping towards her, the woman turns her head to see both her Hand Crossbows across the floor before grabbing two Throwing Knives from her belt. As the reptile raises her sword, the Demon Hunter quickly throws the knives causing the Lizalfos to lifts her Iron Gauntlet to block them from hitting her. Grabbing two more knives, the human quickly stumbles to her feet as she throws the two knives which the lizard blocks again using her Iron Gauntlet.
Using her right hand to draw her Long Sword, the Demon Hunter takes out another Throwing Knife and throws it just as her opponent lowers their arm. This causes the knife blade to be embedded into the right eye of the Lizalfos causing her to scream in pain from the strike as she takes a step back. However, the reptile barely sees a slash coming towards her and raises her Lizal Boomerang to block the strike before sending her left arm forward.
Getting hit by the Iron Gauntlet, the human is knocked back a couple steps before seeing her foe spinning around to strike her with the Tail Mace again. Stepping back again, the Demon Hunter swings her sword at the tail which cuts into the flesh and into the bone nearly cutting halfway into it. Crying out from gaining more agony, the Lizalfos turns her body as she swings her Lizal Boomerang only for the woman to quickly move to get behind her foe's back.
As the human is about to slash her back, the reptile turns around and performs a punch with her left hand that strikes her foe in the chest. Knocked backwards onto the ground a few feet away, the woman gets to her feet with her Long Sword now being about two feet behind her. Seeing the Lizalfos moving her arm back, the Demon Hunter waits for them to throw the sword and ducks under it before rushing forward. In a few seconds, the woman grabs the reptile around the waist and tackles them to the ground before getting onto her foe.
Grabbing the left arm of the human, the Lizalfos brings her left arm back to strike her foe with her Iron Gauntlet only for them to knock it away using the side of their Spiked Gauntlet. Before her foe can attack again, the woman brings the Spiked Gauntlet down onto her foe's head and performs the same move using her left gauntlet. As the reptile lets out cries of pain, each one is cut off as the Spiked Gauntlets of her foe smash into her face and break some of her teeth.
After several more strikes, the Demon Hunter stops to see the apparent demon bleeding from their jaws and scratches caused by the spikes before grabbing her Throwing Knife from the right eye. Upon the knife being ripped out of her eye, the Lizalfos lets out a cry as her opponent gets off of her and she slowly rolls onto her hands and knees. Hearing the breathing of her opponent, the human puts the knife away before walking over to where her Hand Crossbows are.
Picking up her ranged weapons, the woman holsters the unloaded one before turning around to see the reptile turning their head. Seeing this, the Demon Hunter raises her loaded Hand Crossbow and fires the bolt which strikes the lizard in the forehead and buries itself into her head causing the Lizalfos to collapse to the ground. Carefully walking over while taking out another Throwing Knife, she reaches the body and gently kicks it which gets no reaction causing her to let out a sigh.
After a few minutes, the Demon Hunter leaves the castle with both Hand Crossbows holstered and having her Long Sword in her right hand. As she walks away from the stone structure, she carries the Lizalfos' head using her left hand to present as proof of having killed the demon haunting the village.
Final Verdict: In this battle of two warriors who focus on different ranges in combat, the two were more than capable of taking each other on but it was the Demon Hunter who claimed victory with a possible outcome of 5.5 out of 10 battles. Starting with their weapons, both had a solid edge in one category with the Lizalfos getting medium range while the Demon Hunter got long range. However, neither got the edge in close range while the Demon Hunter just barely gained the edge in special weapons. Moving onto armor, both were even with their gauntlets having their benefits but the Demon Hunter took the edge thanks to their armor covering more of their body and having steel plates. However, this battle was decided by x-factors with the Lizalfos getting physicality only for the Demon Hunter to get the edge in the other x-factors which tipped the scales in their favor. Ultimately, the Lizalfos with their better physicality and sword were taken out by the more ferocious Demon Hunter with their greater ranged weapons, tactics, and killer instinct.
Got a battle you want to see? Tell me and I'll see if I can get it into the series! Next time, the Cimmerian of the Hyborian Age goes head to head with the Akkadian who lead the Army of Anubis.
Ray Tanaka: Hey, everyone! I apologize for the long absence, I've been working on a project that I want to get started soon but right now onto the matter at hand. This has been a long time coming and...honestly, this was my first time using either of these two warriors. Also, this will probably be the last time I use the Lizalfos for any match up. The reason isn't that they have a small selection of weapons and armor, they do have plenty of those. The problem comes with the lack of actual lore as most of the things I found regarding them come from wikis of the Zelda games which often just spoke about how they acted in the games.
That's why the bios are so short this time, both warriors I had really didn't have much that I could write out in my usual format. Even with that limitation, much of what I wrote for the Lizalfos' bio is really just based off what you can learn by looking at them and their x-factors are based off the same information. The Demon Hunters didn't have as much history to their lore based on the Diablo wiki, but at least their x-factors are based more on the lore you can find for them and isn't as reused like with the Lizalfos. So, over half a year to get you guys a fight that...really wasn't worth the wait for how little info I got. Sorry for that one. As for next time, well hopefully whose coming for next time is obvious based off where their from and the little bit of info on them. Hope you all enjoy!