Octorok

Octoroks, also spelled Octorocks or Oktoroks, are one of the most common enemies in the Legend of Zelda series, appearing in most games. They are octopus monsters that have evolved to live on land, though in some games, they remain in the water regardless. To attack, they spit out rocks, which can usually be deflected by a shield, and sometimes even a sword swing. In the 2D games, they are generally among the slowest and weakest enemies, but 3D games tend to make them more agile and accurate.

The Legend of Zelda
Octoroks first appear in The Legend of Zelda where they are among the first enemies found in the game and come in red and blue variants. They walk around in one of the four cardinal directions at a time and occasionally stop to fire a rock in the direction they are facing, which damages Link on contact unless blocked by his shield. Red Octoroks have only one hit point, while blue Octoroks have two. They normally move quite slowly, though occasionally one will move quicker.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Octoroks reappear in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, where they again come in red and blue variants. Both of them jump, spitting a rock at the apex, and in swamplands are sometimes obscured under the water. Some of them additionally constantly move forward. In the Japanese version, blue ones also appear in dungeons, though these are replaced by blue Ropes in Western releases.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
In The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Octoroks now appear in only red, but are much faster than previously. Some will also fire rapidly between cardinal directions. They appear primarily in the rocky area west of the Eastern Palace. Their Dark World counterpart is the Rock Frog, and there is additionally a unique floating version called the octoballoon, which is featured as part of a quest in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past/Four Swords.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
In The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Octoroks appear again as early-game enemies. A winged version called Flying Octorok appears as well. In the game's remakes, they are all red. In the Nintendo Switch version, they now resemble their appearance in A Link Between Worlds, but with yellow undersides to their arms.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Octoroks are now water-based enemies, acting like Zoras did previously (albeit staying in one place), with their previous role essentially going to Mad Scrub. They are purple with glum-looking glowing green eyes. If approached, they dive under the water and disappear until Link moves away again. In this game and all full-3D games following, Octoroks' rocks can not only be deflected with shields, but bounced all the way back to defeat the Octorok itself. They can also be defeated through most projectiles, though they are immune to Deku Nuts. While Link is a child, he can find Octoroks at Lake Hylia, Zora's River, and Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly. As an adult, Link can find Octoroks at a few more locations including the overrun Kokiri Forest, Forest Temple, Zora's Fountain, and Gerudo Valley, and can still find them at Lake Hylia and Zora's River. There is also a miniboss version called Bigocto. In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, a generic octopus in a tank in the lakeside laboratory is turned into an Octorok.

A prototype screenshot showed terrestrial Octoroks more like they appeared previously, in a variety of sizes, and all red.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Octoroks act exactly as they did in the previous game, though blue ones also appear in the town shooting gallery. Big Octos reappear as generic enemies, and are much weaker.

In some places, Octoroks can be used as platforms after being frozen with Ice Arrows. In the 3DS remake, only some Octoroks can be frozen, being marked with a blue tint and several sparkles. These ones also now respawn like Chuchus (including the same sound effect) if defeated. Additionally, similar to Ocarina of Time, a texture with a generic octopus was replaced with an Octorok design, these being over the door to Japas's room and on a wall in the Marine Reasearch Lab, with the latter location also gaining a tiny Octorok-like creature on the floor.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, Octoroks appear as they did in Link's Awakening, with blue ones appearing mostly in the winter. A golden one also appears as part of a sidequest.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, Octoroks appear as in Oracle of Seasons, though they often appear blue in the past. Link can also become one with a special ring. The Fairy Queen was transformed into an Octorok in the past, rendering her powerless. There is also an Octorok boss called Octogon.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, Octoroks are among the randomly-generated enemies, and among the most simple. They only appear in red.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Octoroks appear water-based again and come in two flavors. The purple type with a knob-like protrusion on its head, also known as River Octo (or River Octorok ), spits purple rocks covered in blunt white spikes and appears around the Forest Haven and Forbidden Woods, and the much larger pink type with a spiky shell, also known as Ocean Octo  (or Ocean Octorok ), spits bombs and appears in the Great Sea, often in large amounts. Despite the size difference, both only take one hit from any weapon to be defeated. Big Octos reappear, now as many-eyed squid-shaped minibosses found on the Great Sea.

In the original version, their figurine proclaims it "Winner of the Perfect Attendance Award". However, due to their absence in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, this was altered to "Series: Exemplary enemy" in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. The figurine also shows them as the same size, despite the pink ones being around three times as large as the purple ones in-game.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Octoroks appear in red, blue, and purple, and only appear as enemies at Lake Hylia, the Coast, and the Swamp. They are most plentiful at the Coast, where all varieties appear. The red ones act as normal and take one hit to defeat. The blue ones are much slower, but instead of only spitting forward, they puff up and quickly shoot in all four cardinal directions. They also take much more hits and if hit with a bomb, merely puff up for a moment. Purple ones appear once as a large swarm. They hold still, rapidly moving their legs, always facing the closest cardinal direction to the Links. If the Links approach, they back away. They rapidly spit out four rocks forward each, perfectly synchronized with each other, then wait a few moments before repeating. In the Village of the Blue Maiden, red Octoroks appear in the shooting gallery, where they block the Links from shooting at Force Gems.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
In The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Octoroks appear in red and blue. They are found in many locations, such as Hyrule Field, Minish Woods, Trilby Highlands, and Lake Hylia. Their rocks can be stopped with a shield or a sword swing, although unlike the nuts of Business Scrubs, they do not bounce back as a projectile. There is also a special Golden Octorok that appears after a Kinstone fusion that drops many Rupees. A boss called Big Octorok appears as well in the Temple of Droplets, though it is actually a normal-sized Octorok with a plant on its back being encountered by a shrunk Link. When Link first meets Ezlo, he is being harassed by a group of Octoroks. At the end of the game, after Zelda makes her wish with Ezlo's magic cap, the Octoroks are shown vanishing one by one from Minish Woods.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
In The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Octoroks are red and resemble their original appearance in both design and behavior. They first appear on the Isle of Ember, specifically in a group of six in Astrid's basement acting as a miniboss. Certain ones have another behavior, sitting in place while endlessly firing rocks rapidly in one direction; this type is first seen in the Temple of Fire. There is also a large pink and yellow one called the Ocean Octorok based on their appearance in The Wind Waker. A similar species is an explosive type of creature called Octomine in the crane minigame. A tornado-using boss Octorok called Cyclok appears as well. Several wind-blowing statues on the Isle of Gust and the Temple of the Ocean King resemble Octoroks with the swirly "wind" symbol for eyes, possibly in reference to Cyclok.

According to Hyrule Historia, Bellum was dubbed 「グランデオクタ」 (Gurande Okuta, "Grande Octa") during development, as he was a big Octorok. This name is also used in game files. Additionally, the Octomine enemy was specifically designed to look like his follower. However, neither of these details are apparent in the finished product, with Bellum looking nothing like an Octorok beyond being cephalopod-like in general and no comparison being brought up in in-game dialog, while Octomine only appears in a completely unrelated capacity. In the same group of artwork, Cyclok is simply labeled "Octorok," suggesting normal Octoroks may have been initially intended to use his design before it was repurposed for a boss.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
In The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Octoroks appear as they do as the previous game, though they are also found within Mini Freezards. Ocean Octoroks are now orange, and appear alongside Octomines in an underwater segment. There are also now dungeon-based aquatic ones called Octives, along with sand-dwelling ones called Ergtoroks. Normal Octoroks can be first found behind the first door of the Take 'Em All On! game, though the first required encounter is in the Snow Temple through Mini Freezards. The first required encounter with completely generic Octoroks is in the island cave by the Trading Post. The stationary type is first seen at the Ocean Sanctuary.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, pink ones with propellers appear as enemies in the sky, while red ones appear as enemies on the surface. The surface ones all act comparable to Mad Scrubs in this game, with some hiding under plants and others under rocks. In order to bounce back the rocks, Link most perform a Shield Bash.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
In The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Octoroks appear along with Slaroks as they did in A Link to the Past. Octo, a friendly one wearing a baseball cap also shoots baseballs in a minigame in Lorule.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Water Octoroks appear in The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, visually appearing as they do in A Link Between Worlds, but acting more akin to how they do in Ocarina of Time. Due to a lack of shield, they must be defeated with projectiles or being stunned and brought up with the Water Rod. In the Den of Trials, a few land-based ones appear, though, alongside Slaroks (which can now run on water as if it was land and shoot fire) and dark Octoroks, which can also run on water and shoot item-preventing curses. The dark type occasionally also appears on dark-colored Totem Armos.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Octoroks have numerous varieties in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild, based off their various past behaviors. All Octoroks have a very long range that they can spit their rocks, which they do in a large arc. Once again, Shield Bashing is necessary to bounce the rocks back to the Octorok. They typically hide under some type of object with the aide of a sucker over their mantles, and will poke their heads out into the open if the object is destroyed or disturbed. When they spot Link, they typically make a loud, distinct squelching noise that sounds similar to a kiss. When defeated, Octoroks typically give a fish (regardless of location) along with body parts that include eyes, arms (erroneously called tentacles), or their inflatable sac, itself called an Octo Balloon. According to developmental materials, in-game files, and their order in the Hyrule Compendium, the basic form of Octorok is the Water Octorok, which is blue, solely found in bodies of water, and has a tuft of reeds on its head. They appear in the ocean and in various rivers, and as such appear in more regions than the other types. Water Octoroks cannot move through the water, and will inflate and float above the surface if it rains, resembling the octoballoon from A Link to the Past. While they are only shown with reeds on their head in the final version, concept art comically showed a rubber duck as an alternative.

In addition to the Water Octorok, some have similar behavior to the ground-based ones in Skyward Sword, with plant-hiding ones called Forest Octoroks being green and rock-hiding ones called Rock Octoroks being gray, with the latter type being able to use their mouths as a powerful vacuum. This vacuuming sucks up rocks for them to spit in a fiery blast, but can also suck up equipment, which can actually be used to replace rusty weapons with better ones or blow the Octorok up with a bomb. A type closely resembling the Water Octorok called the Snow Octorok lives in snow and is able to tunnel through it to approach Link. There is also a rare golden type called a Treasure Octorok that disguises itself as a buried treasure chest, and dashes around erratically if approached. They can be told apart from real buried treasure chests in that theirs do not react to Magnesis. Treasure Octoroks give varying amounts of Rupees, being among the few enemies in the game to do so.

In the first DLC pack, The Master Trials, mauve Sky Octoroks are added, resembling a cross between the octoballoon and the sky-based Octoroks in Skyward Sword. They do not carry anything on their heads, although they still have a sucker. They cannot attack nor do they give recoverable materials, but instead have platforms tied to the arms of groups of around three or four Sky Octoroks. These platforms can contain enemies and treasure chests. They typically float around Sheikah Towers, and can respawn without the aide of the blood moon.

The Legend of Zelda animated series
They are large and resemble realistic octopuses, aside from their cartoonish faces and rock-like mantles.

Link: The Faces of Evil
In Link: The Faces of Evil, Octoroks are somewhat large with short arms, resembling their Zelda II: The Adventure of Link artwork. The rocks they spit fall at a slight arc. When they spit them, their mantles contract.

Zelda: Wand of Gamelon
In Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, Octoroks look and act exactly the same as in Link: The Faces of Evil. Link also uses the idea of eating one to express his hunger in the intro.

Zelda's Adventure
In Zelda's Adventure Octoroks have proportions like a typical realistic octopus, but with only six arms. They are among the largest generic enemies due to the length of their splayed arms. They always face downwards and occasionally make small squawking noises, but never shoot rocks. One can first be found near two Deelers on the east side of Great Wimbich. Giant Squid act similar to them, but are smaller and faster. Both are found in the Shrine of Water.

BS Zelda no Densetsu Inishie no Sekiban
In BS Zelda no Densetsu Inishie no Sekiban, Octoroks appear as they do in A Link to the Past, first appearing early on in the area outside the Eastern Palace. The Golden Bee can defeat them in one hit.

Super Smash Bros. series
In Super Smash Bros. Melee they appear using their Majora's Mask design despite being land-based, and appear in the Underground Maze stage, or rarely from containers. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, they appear in their Skyward Sword design in Smash Run mode.

Hyrule Warriors
In the original Hyrule Warriors, Octoroks only appear in the loading screens, using their original sprite while fighting Link. Big Octos also appear as map features in Hyrule Warriors Legends.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Octoroks appear in their varieties from Breath of the Wild, with Rock Octoroks appearing first. All Octoroks other than Sky Octoroks act the same in this game, simply hiding in small groups until the player approaches, at which one will jump up to spit a rock. They can be defeated even while underground, and leave behind the same materials as before, but without fish. Additionally, in Divine Beast battles, enormous groups of Octoroks occasionally hover high in the air and spit rocks. Sky Octoroks also appear in these battles with the same role as before.

One of the services of the Hylian Blacksmith Guild, "Octo Polish," is based on how Rock Octoroks behave in Breath of the Wild, restoring rusty weapons to stronger ones.

Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring The Legend of Zelda
In Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring The Legend of Zelda, Octoroks appear in red, yellow, and black. They remain hidden in one spot marked by a small green sprout atop their heads, popping up from underground or underwater when the player character in within range and spitting a rock that travels a space with each beat. The rock can be deflected via shielding, which can hit the Octorok if it is above ground. The player can also defeat it by approaching it before it hides underground, though they do not pop up if the character is too close. This is the same attack pattern used by Deku Scrubs, except the player can occupy the same space if it is underground.