Kargaroc

Kargaroc
Artwork of a Kargaroc in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
First appearance	The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002)
Latest appearance	Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring The Legend of Zelda (2019)
Notable member(s) Helmaroc King
Variant(s) Twilit Kargarok
Comparable Furnix Vulture

Kargarocs, also spelled as Kargaroks and Kargoroks, are a species of giant, aggressive avian creatures that appear in a few games as enemies. They tend to fly out of Link's reach before swooping down and attacking with their beaks. They are very similar in appearance and function to the Vultures that appear in fixed-camera games, though sometimes carry other creatures.

History

The Legend of Zelda series

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Kargarocs debut in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, appearing across various locations around the Great Sea. They resemble condors, having dark slate gray-feathered bodies with red and white markings, white head crests resembling eyebrows, and long, gold and green-feathered tails. Some of them seem to simply be wild, but others are shown to specifically work for Ganondorf by transporting monsters like Bokoblins and Moblins. An enormous Kargaroc called the Helmaroc King even acts as his primary minion during the first half of the game. While first seen as transportation at Outset Island, they are not fought until the outside portion of Dragon Roost Cavern. One at that location also has a Small Key in its nest. Wild Kargarocs tend to appear around tall rocky crags, particularly archipelagos such as the Five-Star Isles. Kargarocs can also be occasionally found on and around lookout platforms and other structures, such as the Islet of Steel.

While not attacking, they can be found either slowly flying around or perched in place. Every so often, they make a distinct goat-like bleating noise. Once they see Link, they snap to attention and fly over to his vicinity. They flap out of direct reach of his sword, occasionally darting forward to peck at him. If Link uses his shield to block the attack, the bird will fall back in a daze, giving Link opportunity to attack it. Once he gains long-range items, attacking them becomes simpler. Sometimes, if a Kargaroc is returning to a perch, it will ignore Link even if he is actively attacking it. When defeated, they may drop a Golden Feather, which they will also revoke if Link uses the Grappling Hook on them.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, the Kargaroks are given a cockatrice-like design, having turkey vulture-like heads with solid yellow eyes and a wattle, grey, seemingly featherless and somewhat-reptilian bodies with a pink structure running down their backs, long tails that ends in a pink fork and leathery, draconic wings. Upon sighting Link, they will swoop towards him and attack by striking him with their beaks. If Link is riding Epona when they spot him, they will attempt to knock him off of her with their talons. They appear across Hyrule Field, along with the City in the Sky and Hyrule Castle's exterior. A giant, but friendly Kargarok can be summoned at Lake Hylia to ride and play Plumm's game.

In the areas affected by twilight, corrupted versions called Twilit Kargaroks appear and act essentially the same despite their mutated appearance. Early footage showed normal Kargaroks in twilight-covered areas, though since the general aesthetic for Twilit enemies was already in use at that stage of development, it is most likely they were simply being used as a placeholder. Additionally, the giant wyvern boss Argorok has a similar English name and is also faced at the City in the Sky, but seemingly has no other connection.

Link's Crossbow Training

In Link's Crossbow Training, Kargaroks appear in a stage called The Great Bridge: Defender.

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Nintendo Land

Crafted representations of Kargaroks appear in the Battle Quest game in Nintendo Land. They tend to fly in groups of three, usually found near fenced-off cliffs, and are first found at the beginning of the third quest, Grassland Temple. When one sees a player, it flies in place for a moment before swooping down at them. As before, blocking them causes them to be knocked backwards.

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, Kargarocs appear again as enemies, resembling their appearance in The Wind Waker but with an extra head-crest and less-detailed plumage. They appear in the desert, where they stand in place, tapping one of their feet until the player character approaches. When they see them, they begin hopping after them, notably able to travel multiple spaces per movement, as well as go diagonally and up ledges. However, they always land on a space next to the character before attacking directly. This behavior is taken from the Harpy enemy in the original Crypt of the NecroDancer.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	カーゴロック Kāgorokku	Cargo Roc, likely referring to their carrying of other enemies