Goron

"Just look at all those delectable rocks sprinkled on those mountains...Mighty tasty."

- Daruk

Gorons are a species of large, rock-eating humanoids that are typically found on Death Mountain. They are a recurring species in The Legend of Zelda series since their debut in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Despite their hulking appearance, Gorons are a relatively peaceful species.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Gorons are introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as the rock-eating people of Goron City in Death Mountain, who specialize in bomb-making and Bomb Flower-raising. Most are depicted with short, wide beards and conical hair. They live primarily off the easily-obtained Rock Sirloin found in Dodongo's Cavern, but due to Ganondorf placing Dodongos in it, they are unable to, causing them to risk starvation. They are led by Darunia, who guards the Goron's Ruby. He gives Link the Goron's Bracelet, which he uses to enter Dodongo's Cavern and defeat King Dodongo. For this, Link is made an honorary "sworn brother" of the Gorons.

Seven years later, Ganondorf has resurrected an ancient Goron-eating dragon called Volvagia, and most of the Gorons in Goron City are taken prisoner in the Fire Temple. Link must rescue them all and defeat Volvagia using the help of an ancient Goron weapon called the Megaton Hammer.

Aside from Darunia, important Gorons in the game include Darunia's son in the future, named after Link. Two more are the gigantic Medigoron and Biggoron, who specialize in blade-making, particularly the latter.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Gorons live in Goron Village in Snowhead, the northern region of Termina, and are led by the Goron Elder. They look like they did in Ocarina of Time, although their beards are now separately-textured from their faces. They once again specialize in bomb-making, and have a type of explosive unique to their use, the Powder Keg. They typically enjoy racing along Goron Racetrack, but the icy conditions caused by Goht in Snowhead Temple have caused an unending blizzard, which kills their hero, Darmani III. When Link uses the Song of Healing on Darmani's ghost, he can take his form as Goron Link. Most Gorons are put to sleep by the Goron's Lullaby, including Biggoron. After Link defeats Goht and restores Snowhead to normal weather, the Gorons will cheer him, thinking he is Darmani.

Additionally, in Ikana Canyon, there is a belligerent species of explosive, Goron-like creatures called Nejirons, that seemingly look the way they do in order to fool passerby into coming closer.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, Gorons live in the magma-filled Goron Mountain in Holodrum, a location permanently in winter. Due to the seasons being thrown into chaos from the sinking of the Temple of Seasons, Goron Mountain has become colder than normal, causing some Gorons to worry that they will get sick by simply stepping outside of the caves. This in fact happens to Biggoron, being too large for the caves. This game additionally features red-colored Gorons. In a linked game, another Goron will appear, claiming to be a descendent of the Goron Elder in Oracle of Ages, the Elder having traveled there long ago.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, Gorons live in Rolling Ridge in Labrynna. The ones on the western half are at first dealing with problems in both time periods, with the past ones having to break the Goron Elder out of a fallen boulder and the ones in the present having to deal with the Great Moblin stealing their Bomb Flowers. By beating the Great Moblin and using a Bomb Flower to free the Elder, Link solves both problems and introduces Bomb Flowers to the region, to which he is awarded access to the Crown Dungeon. The ones on the eastern half spend much of their time playing various games they have set up, such as the Goron Shooting Gallery, Target Carts, Goron Dance, and the Big Bang Game. Link must clear each in order to access the Mermaid's Cave in both the past and present.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Three Gorons appear throughout the The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker as Wandering Merchants, who help Link via trading decorations he buys from Zunari. One can be found near Greatfish Isle, Bomb Island, and the Mother & Child Isle. They are much more dressed than most Gorons are depicted as, notably each having large, low-hanging hats with eye holes. Additionally, a stained glass depiction of Darunia can be seen where the Master Sword lies.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Gorons can be found throughout the Mountain Path, where they are mostly dealing with damages caused by the Helmaroc King. Compared to most appearances, they are quite large, with the adults towering over most of the game's characters. Some Gorons can be found hiding underground with an item, including one cowardly Goron who is afraid of fire despite the race's general immunity to it. These Gorons can be forced out of the ground by hitting the Magic Hammer near them. Another Goron can be found in the Tower of Flames, where he planned to destroy the Dodongos at the top with bombs, but accidentally dropped them in the lava.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Gorons appear in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. According to their figurine, they were once plentiful on Mount Crenel, but now are confined mostly to caves in much smaller numbers. One can be found near Lon Lon Ranch, punching into a bombable wall to try and break through. After a Kinstone fusion with Eenie, he receives the strength to succeed. Inside, he finds an even stronger wall he needs help from another Goron to destroy, then one that requires a total of four Gorons, and then on that requires six. Other Gorons will show up with a Kinstone fusion with mysterious walls found in a tunnel near Eeenie and Menie's farm, in the tunnel leading to Mayor Hagen's cabin, inside the left peak of Mount Crenel, on the path to Knuckle in Trilby Highlands, and in a Roc's Cape-needing cave at Lake Hylia. When all the Gorons are united, the treasure at the end is revealed to be an Empty Bottle.

If a Kinstone fusion is done with a Goron, a Goron Merchant will travel to Castle Town and start selling Kinstone fragments. Biggoron can be found asleep behind Veil Falls, and will be awoken if a Kinstone fusion is done with the last Goron united. After the game is completed once and Biggoron is spoken to, he will reveal that steel is considered a delicacy among Gorons, then ask if he can nibble on Link's shield. After he does so for a while, it will eventually become the Mirror Shield.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Gorons are primarily found in Eldin province. They have heavily tattooed bodies and typically have hair resembling cornrows. They are also much taller and less fat than most depictions. They enjoy sumo wrestling and relaxing in the hot springs around the mountain. After their patriarch, Darbus comes in contact with one of the Fused Shadows and becomes an insane monster known as Fyrus, the Gorons close off their borders so they can attempt to figure out how to solve this problem, rolling back anyone who attempts to enter. Link must use the Iron Boots to get past the Gorons, using them to stand his ground and grabbing the rolling Gorons when they get close. In Goron City, standing Gorons will atttempt to punch him, but can be knocked into their rolled-up stance with a Shield Attack or successful sword strike. Once he gets to the top of Goron City, he must use the boots to defeat their interim leader Gor Coron in a sumo match. After this, they allow him into Goron Mines, where he must find the other Goron leaders to assemble the key to Fyrus's room. Once Fyrus is restored into Darbus, the Gorons reopen Goron City to outsiders.

At this point, Gorons start appearing in Kakariko Village to sell their bombs, and some offer to catapult Link to higher areas by having him stand on their backs while rolled up, then rapidly uncurling. In Hyrule Castle Town, a Goron and his son sell Hot Spring Water to townsfolk, but recent events have caused a shortage, which Link can help out with for a Piece of Heart. Another is trapped inside a giant volcanic rock that shoots out of Death Mountain when Link arrives. The rock is later warped to Zora's Domain to undo its freezing, and then can be exploded with a Water Bomb, freeing the Goron. Despite now being trapped at the bottom of a watery pit, the Goron enjoys the change of scenery and climate. Two of the Goron leaders, Gor Ebizo and Gor Liggs, help Malo with starting and funding his Malo Mart business and chain, and Gor Coron and Darbus help Link with recovering Ilia's memory.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
In The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, fourteen Gorons are found on Goron Island in the Southeastern Sea. When Link first arrives, they all call him "outsider" and generally treat him with some level of suspicion due to their small amount of experience with off-islanders. They are led by Biggoron, who makes Link a sworn brother to them after Link meets every Goron on the island and takes his quiz. After he passes the quiz, the Gorons will henceforth append "Goro-" to the front of his name. The Goron society in this game is far less advanced than most depictions, as the opening of a shop on the island is treated as a remarkable innovation for them. Also on Goron Island is the outsider-restricted Goron Temple, where Biggoron's son, Gongoron, goes missing in while leading Link to it, and needs to be found by Link. One young Goron also states that they eat Wood Hearts to grow big and strong. However, the game's sole Wood Heart is given not to a Goron, but to the Old Wayfarer.

On Dee Ess Island, an adult Goron and his two sons run the Goron Game. It is not operational until they hire Gongoron as a part-timer, however, which happens a period of time after both the Goron Temple and the Temple of Ice are cleared.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
In The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Gorons live in the Fire Realm, where they are mostly found in Goron Village. In this game, they worship the Mountain Goddess, and are led by the Goron Elder and Kagoron, the goddess's messenger. Recently, they have had the problem that the volcano has been continuously erupting, worrying them that the goddess may be angry. Some spurts of lava have began blocking the entrance of the village. Link goes to speak with Kagoron, who gives him access to a Freight Car. The lava flows can be halted with deliveries of Mega Ice, allowing the Gorons back to their homes and Link to enter the Fire Sanctuary and then the Fire Temple to calm the mountain. Once the mountain is calmed, the Gorons return outside.

A few Gorons require favors of Link. One Goron's house is blocked by further lava flows and needs more Mega Ice to get back to it. Once he gets inside, he stays there for the rest of the game. Another Goron asks Link if he can take him somewhere snowy. Link can take him to Anouki Village, where he meets Kofu pretending to be Honcho, who then rents "his" house to him, to the real Honcho's dismay. The Goron decides that the low temperatures are not really fitting for a Goron. The Goron Elder's grandson also asks Link to take him to Castle Town, where he hopes to meet Princess Zelda. However, he instead meets a random woman and accidentally insults her, though he realizes that she is not actually the princess.

A Goron at the start of Kagoron's trail sells Link iron for 100 Rupees. Gorons also run the Dark Ore Mine, and sell Dark Ore for 200 Rupees. A young Goron runs the Goron Target Range, which Link can play to earn Rupees and treasures. Some young Gorons went to the Pirate Hideout to take treasure and play hero, but end up requiring Link to save them. No matter how many times this is done, speaking to the Goron outside will always prompt him to say his friend needs rescued, even if said Goron was the one just needing rescued; this is done so the shooting gallery-like minigame inside can be repeated indefinitely.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, three Gorons can be met on the surface, two of whom are archaeologists. The most recurring one is Gorko, who is typically found behind the Sealed Temple, puzzling and speculating over relics of the goddess Hylia. The other two are found in Lanayru. They are Golo, who is trying to excavate a tunnel, and Gortram, who operates a cart-riding minigame in Lanayu Shipyard called Rickety Coaster.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Gorons as a species are not immediately present in The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. However, the Goron Costume, physically based off Darunia, can be made and worn. It protects against damage from fire and lava.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Gorons once again live near Death Mountain in Eldin, where they make their living by mining. They are led by the notoriously fierce Bludo, although in his old age he has begun suffering from chronic back pain. Bludo is assisted by the timid Yunobo, a descendent of the champion Daruk. Due to Vah Rudania climbing around Death Mountain and causing it to erupt constantly, they have been unable to mine there, while certain other areas have become too hot to stay within safely. Despite Bludo and Yunobo's best efforts, Vah Rudania continues to menace them, leading Bludo to close up the Bridge of Eldin to prevent it from crossing. Once Link boards Vah Rudania with Yunobo's help and defeats Fireblight Ganon, the Gorons' lives go back to normal.

Outside of Goron City, a few Gorons can be found scattered across Hyrule. Two Gorons move from Eldin to Tarrey Town in Akkala, joining the Bolson Construction Company, and three more Gorons take part in tests of strength in the Gerudo region and later Eldin. A few can be found wandering different roads in different places, one is in Zora's Domain, and two more are in Gerudo Desert. They are shown to be allowed into Gerudo Town, despite males not being allowed; in the English localization this is puzzled over in-game, but ultimately never answered, while in the original Japanese script, Traysi states the Gerudo consider Gorons female. It is also shown here while attempting Gerudo language that some Gorons have trouble differentiating between the "B" and "V" sounds, likely in reference to how some real languages (like Japanese) transliterate them to the same sound.

Hyrule Warriors
In Hyrule Warrors, Gorons led by Goron Captains initially appear as allies to the Hylian armies in early campaigns. When traveling back to the age of Ocarina of Time in the campaign Land of Myth, it is discovered that due to Cia's mind control, the Gorons led by Darunia have kidnapped Ruto, princess of Zoras. The Gorons bombard the Hylian keeps with boulders while Darunia repeatedly restores his energy with a stockpile of Rock Sirloin. By capturing the boulder keeps, the boulders can be turned around, destroying the supply, and allowing Darunia to be defeated and freed of brainwashing. For the rest of the game, Gorons are allies, except for when playing as Ganondorf in March of the Demon King. They also appear as enemies in the downloadable Cia's Tale, which is included in the base version of all later reissues.

Normal Goron soldiers look like typical Gorons from Ocarina of Time. Goron archers, unlike most archers, throw boulders instead of shooting arrows. Both major and minor Goron Captains wear prominent helmets, with the major ones being larger. Goron summoners wear a laurel wreath. Of note is only one of these is fought in the original base game, being in March of the Demon King. Probably for this reason, the base original contains no map icon for Goron summoners, instead just using the Bokoblin summoner icon. When they appear in DLC modes and reissues, they have their own icon, however. When Gorons are defeated, they make a loud "Hoo!" cry.

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, a Goron merchant makes an appearance. The top of his head resembles a volcano, revealing a layer of lava and constantly emitting smoke.

Physical appearance
Gorons are large humanoids with long muscular arms, stout legs, hulking shoulders and necks, and rotund bellies. Their skin is generally beige in color and their hair is typically white. Gorons lack external hearing organs; Goron ears are instead holes on the sides of their heads. Most are as tall as a human, although some, such as Biggoron, can grow as large as a mountain.

By adulthood, most Gorons gain rock-like protrusions on their backs and sometimes on their arms and head as well. These stony growths act as a natural armor and continue growing as the Goron gets older.

Culture
Goron culture revolves around brotherhood and strength. They show high regard for individuals who display great strength and bravery, and enjoy matching their strength with others in competition such as sumo wrestling and racing. Gorons refer to each other as male, usually as "brother". They are often shown mining or tending Bomb Flowers for a living. For leisure, Gorons enjoy music and dance, rolling and racing, games, sumo wrestling, and bathing in hot springs.

While not all The Legend of Zelda games featuring Gorons include full tribes, the games that do have Goron tribes are led by a patriarch who is aided by one or more elders, who assume leadership of the tribe in the event that the patriarch cannot.

Gorons are often shown being suspicious towards people outside their tribe. In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Darunia dismisses Link offering to help them by saying it is a Goron problem, the Gorons in Twilight Princess actively repel visitors until their problem is solved, and the ones in Phantom Hourglass refer to Link as "outsider" at first. In all of these cases, however, the Gorons become welcoming and hospitable towards Link once he proves himself to them. Other appearances have them readily accepting outside help, such as in Four Swords Adventures and Spirit Tracks.

There are no known female Gorons in the main The Legend of Zelda series, although Gorons are capable of having children, such as in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, in which Darunia has a son. Additionally, there are two Gorons, Lyndae and Strade, who got into the female-only Gerudo Town, however they then question why they were allowed in.

Despite their somewhat simple appearance and demeanor, Gorons are fairly technologically advanced compared to most other Hyrulean species, creating many types of explosives, mining equipment, and strong weaponry.

Symbol
The symbol of the Gorons is a downwards-pointing diamond shape with three small triangles arrayed above, resembling the Goron's Ruby. It is commonly seen on clothing and tattoos worn by Gorons, as well as on various structures in their settlements. It is also seen on the front of dormant Armos in the Nintendo 64 games. The Goron-like Rosso from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds has the symbol on his belt buckle, likely to indicate that he is descended from Darunia, despite himself being a Hylian.

Diet
Goron's diet consists mostly of rocks and minerals, which they mine from the earth. Gorons also enjoy ores and metal objects such as shields. Gorons do not like the taste of gems, so they sell the abundance they mine, amused by how much the Hyruleans will pay for them. The Goron's Ruby, however, is said to look tasty to them in Ocarina of Time. Gorons have their own delicacies, such as Rock Sirloins and Rock Roasts, which other races are actually able to eat with some difficulty.

Traits and abilities
Gorons are very durable; they are resistant to intense heat and can withstand contact with lava and fire, though the fiery breath of a Dodongo is hot enough to hurt them. Due to their great density, Gorons sink to the bottom of bodies of water or lava, and are thus helpless in such an environment. However, Gorons have the ability to breathe underwater. Gorons have been shown frozen or trapped under rocks and later coming out unscathed.

Gorons enter the fetal position when resting, and can also assume this position for self-defense or to travel at high speed by rolling. Gorons endowed with magic power can sprout metal spikes from their body while rolling.

In Japanese, Gorons have a verbal tic causing them to end most of their sentences with "-goro," which is seldom used in the English localization. It is still occasionally used as an exclamation of surprise.