Zora

A Zora from Twilight Princess.
Zora
Type	Amphibious Humanoid
Debut	The Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Sea Zoras)

Zoras are a recurring race from the The Legend of Zelda series. They are scaly, amphibious humanoids who are most adept in the water, and they sometimes have magical abilities. The Zoras are split into separate types of creatures: the hostile monsters present since the earliest games and the more peaceful mermen introduced in later games. The two types have only ever been seen together in The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, where they are distinguished as being the River Zoras and Sea Zoras respectively. Though this choice of habitat is not accurate in other games, it is the only term that has been officially used to distinguish them within the canon of the games.

Information

Sea Zora

Sea Zoras are mostly benevolent inhabitants of the ocean. The ones most commonly seen have smooth-looking blue skin, but there have been ones with different colors and with appearances based on specific types of fish and other marine life, such as manta rays and whales. Some are built to be warriors, while others are portly and less mobile. The thinner Zoras are adept swimmers. Some can shoot out their fins as boomerang-like projectiles, and other Zoras can use magic power to surround themselves with a protective shield. According to Sidon in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, all Zoras have some sort of control over the element of water, but to different degrees. It is very rare for a Zora to be able to produce and control water as adeptly as Sidon does.

These Zoras usually keep to themselves and are ashamed of the actions of the River Zoras, with whom they do not associate. They lay eggs when they reproduce, which hatch as tadpole-like creatures. Zora eggs hatch under very specific conditions within several days of being laid, as they are very temperature-sensitive and can only hatch with all the other eggs that were laid at the same time. Zoras have also been shown to have unusual rates of physical growth in Breath of the Wild, as some Zoras do not receive their growth spurts until adulthood, which results in some Zoras resembling children while actually being adults. They seem to have long lifespans in general, with indications that they can live for hundreds of years.

These Zoras are most commonly seen inhabiting Zora's Domain, where they help to safeguard a primary source of Hyrule's water. They are usually ruled by a monarch (often known as just King Zora) and have been traditionally known as allies of the kingdom of Hyrule.

River Zora

A Zora in Zelda II

The river Zoras are known for their violent and territorial natures. They have been found in the rivers and lakes of Hyrule, Koholint Island, Labrynna and Holodrum. These Zoras simply popp out of their watery homes to spit fireballs at any passerby. In Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, they are also found on the plains and caves where they crawl around on the ground on all fours. The River Zoras are hunched over and more menacing-looking then the elegant Sea Zoras. They are usually covered in green scales and have more fish-like faces. Some of them have a greedy nature, too, but in some games there have been shown to be less hostile Zoras among their ranks.

History

Ocarina of Time

Within the official timeline, the first known appearance of Zoras in Hyrule was of Sea Zoras in Ocarina of Time. In that time, they primarily resided in Zora's Domain and were ruled by King Zora, who had a daughter named Ruto. They became allied to the King of Hyrule and were entrusted with the protection of one of the Three Spiritual Stones, known as the Zora's Sapphire. They also worshiped a large fish called Lord Jabu-Jabu, who was kept in the adjacent Zora's Fountain and whose feeding was a royal duty.

They were friendly to Link in the game and provided him with a special scale that allowed him to hold his breath longer, as well as a Blue Tunic that allowed him to go underwater without needing to breathe. However, they also faced the menace of Ganondorf, who filled Jabu-Jabu's Belly with monsters after King Zora refused to give the Zora's Sapphire to him. This resulted in Ruto being trapped in Jabu-Jabu's Belly as well. Ultimately, Link entered the stomach as well, where he saved Ruto and defeated the monsters plaguing Jabu-Jabu. Ruto gave him the Zora's Sapphire as a reward.

During two of the three timelines branching from this game (the Adult and Defeated Timelines), Ganondorf took control of Hyrule during the seven years of Link's sleep. He used his powers to freeze over most of Zora's Domain and Zora's Fountain, with all of its inhabitants seemingly frozen in ice. King Zora could still be freed by Link, and Sheik had already rescued Ruto, who sought for a way to help her people. This led her to explore the Water Temple with Link, where she was awakened as the Sage of Water. After Ganondorf's defeat, the rest of the Zoras were freed, and they attended the festivities held at Lon Lon Ranch.

Downfall Timeline

In this timeline, Sea Zoras were absent from Hyrule-based games. Instead, it was River Zoras who were found throughout Hyrule as enemies in A Link to the Past, A Link Between Worlds, The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The River Zoras also had their own monarchy in some of these games and inhabited territory similar to where the Sea Zoras lived in other games.

In A Link to the Past, the king of the River Zoras was found at a waterfall near the source of Zora's River. He sold flippers to Link and allowed him to use his waterways for 500 Rupees. He did nothing to dissuade any conflicts between Link and his subjects, who remained hostile towards the hero. River Zoras were also found at Koholint Island in Link's Awakening, and a non-hostile one was hidden in a house in the Animal Village. That Zora could only be seen by using the Magnifying Lens. After the meeting, a picture was taken of the two to commemorate the event.

Within the Oracle games, River Zoras were shown to inhabit the waterways of both Holodrum and Labyrnna. In Oracle of Ages, Sea Zoras were shown to live in the Labrynna Sea, where they also watched over (a) Jabu-Jabu as well as the key to the Eyeglass Library. King Zora was initially dead during the present time, so Link had to go back in time and save him when he was ill in order to get permission to enter Jabu-Jabu's belly. Before that, Link had to take care of the dirty seawater that was making them ill by researching at the Eyeglass Library. King Zora also gave Link a Zora Scale as a symbol of his heroism after he accomplished all these feats. These Zoras would later seek a new domain in a linked version of Oracle of Seasons, in which Link encountered a Sea Zora who was scouting Holodrum for a potential new domain with little success.

In The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, River Zoras still inhabited Hyrule, but some of them were shown in a more benevolent light. Their monarchy was shown to be based in a version of Zora's Domain, with a location similar to that of the Sea Zoras' domain. Queen Oren and her servants did not try to harm Link, especially as she helped him to recover her smooth gem. Oren claimed that she discouraged her subjects from attacking humans, but many of them still did so anyway. She also turned out to be one of the new seven sages. This game introduced an unusual effect for the River Zoras, as Queen Oren needed her Smooth Gem to contain her power; without it, her magical energy made her body bloat and expand, trapping her in her own pool. She was restored to her original size when the gem was returned to her.

Adult Timeline

Both variations of Zoras have mostly been absent from games set in this timeline. That is because it was shown in The Wind Waker that after the Great Flood, the Zoras evolved into a birdlike species known as the Rito. It was shown that there had been a past Zora sage named Laruto. She hailed from Zora's Domain and became the Earth Sage, one of two sages whose prayers empowered the Master Sword. Although she was killed by Ganondorf, Laruto's ghost appeared at the Earth Temple seeking her successor, who turned out to be her Rito descendant Medli.

Child Timeline

In the alternate world visited in Majora's Mask, Sea Zoras lived at he Zora Hall in Great Bay. There was a famous Zora band called the Indigo-Gos based there. Link could assume the form of an Sea Zora whenever he put on the Zora Mask which was left after Link put the spirit of the Zora fighter Mikau to rest. Although there was no royalty, the Zoras of Termina had a rich heritage, as Mikau was descended from Zora heroes while Lulu's bloodline was linked to the protection of the Great Bay Temple. These Zoras were endangered by rising sea temperatures that seemed to be caused by the Skull Kid, but the danger mostly seemed to apply to Lulu's Zora eggs which Link had to rescue in order to ensure that they hatched. This game also featured a wider variety of Zoras than in other games. Tijo who resembles a manta ray, while Evan has dark brown skin compared to the normal light blue skin.

Hyrule's Zora tribe was present at Zora's Domain in Twilight Princess, where they were ruled by Queen Rutela following the death of her husband. They were invaded by shadow beasts from the Twilight Realm, and Rutela protected Prince Ralis by sending him away. Rutela wound up being killed by the monsters, and Zora's Domain was once more frozen. Link and Midna were able to unfreeze the area by dropping a flaming boulder from Death Mountain into the ice. The Zoras were then free and focused on trying to find Prince Ralis and regroup. Ralis was also in danger, as Hyrule was becoming too arid for Zoras to survive in. Rutela's spirit appeared before Link, and after he ensured Ralis's safety, she guided him to the Zora Armor at her husband's grave. King Zora had been buried in Kakariko Village, because the Zoras considered it to be a sacred place, and apparently they all were buried in that graveyard. The Lakebed Temple was also shown to be their place of worship before it was overrun by evil, and they called it the Zora Temple. Link eventually liberated the temple, and Ralis returned to the Zoras to eventually be crowned king.

In Four Swords Adventures, River Zoras appeared throughout Hyrule. In addition to the typical version, there was also a variation exclusive to this game that was blue and one-eyed. The Links could also find a hungry Zora near Kakariko Village who would pay them 100 gems and a Heart Container if they fed him. Additionally, in this game the Fairy Queen took on the form of two River Zoras when she was cursed. This game is notable as being the only appearance of the River Zoras in a game set outside of the Defeated Timeline.

Unknown Timeline

The Sea Zoras inhabited Zora's Domain in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. They were among Hyrule's races who were given one of the four Divine Beasts, to be piloted by their own chosen Champion. The Zoras received the elephant-like Vah Ruta. During the game's timeframe, the Zoras were ruled by King Dorephan, who had two children: Mipha and Sidon. Mipha was chosen to be the Zora Champion and piloted Vah Ruta, but she was killed after Ganon took control of Vah Ruta.

During the present timeframe of Breath of the Wild, most of the Zoras still mourned Mipha, and some of them blamed Link for her death. They faced trouble from the heavy rainfall caused by the corrupted Vah Ruta, which was based in the reservoir lake. However, Link was ultimately able to liberate Vah Ruta from Ganon's infection, and Mipha's spirit was able to regain control of it. In doing so, Link proved himself to the Zoras at the same time. This was reflected in Tears of the Kingdom, when a new statue had been erected of Sidon with Link. The existence of other domains was also acknowledged, as Yona and other Zoras came from another domain (where Yona was royalty) to help the Zoras recover from sludge falling from the sky. After Link helped Sidon to destroy the source of the sludge, Sidon became the new Sage of Water and also was crowned as the new king, with Yona as his queen. It was also revealed that there was an ancient Sage of Water during the time of Hyrule's founding.

Ritos also notably appeared in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. However, they lived in a different part of Hyrule, and no indication was given as to there being any relation between the Zoras and the Ritos in these games.

In Other Zelda Games

In Hyrule Warriors, Ruto appears as a playable fighter. This marks the one time a Zora has been playable outside of Link's Zora transformation. In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, both Mipha and Sidon appeared as playable characters, and Zoras also appeared as NPCs during battles who usually acted as allies.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In the Super Smash Bros. series, Zoras (specifically the sea versions) have been represented by a trophy and sticker (from Ocarina of Time) in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and a Novice-rank Support Spirit (using Ocarina of Time art) in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. As a Spirit, the Zora's Support effect is for the player fighter to start a battle with a boomerang equipped. When fought in a Spirit battle, the Zora's Spirit would possess Greninja and focused on using its Water Shuriken attack. As for the River Zoras, they have only been alluded to in the 3DS game's trophy, which refers to them as "some rather hostile Zora in Link's past".
• In Cadence of Hyrule, River Zora appear as enemies, and several River Zora NPCs also appear around Lake Hylia. This includes a Zora Prince who has to be awakened by defeating a group of Zora ghosts. A Sea Zora (one with a head resembling a manta) also runs a shop on the beach that sells items related to swimming.

Trivia

• Notably, the River Zoras' appearances have been restricted to the 2-D games of the Zelda series, while the Sea Zoras have mostly appeared in the 3-D games, with the Oracle games being their only 2-D appearance.
• In the English instruction manual for The Legend of Zelda manual, they were described as being 'half woman and half fish'.
• In the official artwork for River Zoras in the A Link to the Past Player's Guide, they are depicted as having a fish tail in place of legs. This is contradicted by various later games, which show them with legs. Some materials for A Link to the Past also referred to King Zora as a character named Zora, and the rest of the Zoras in that game as Zora's Spawn. This was likely a confusion caused by the lack of pluralization in Japanese.
• A Zora Mask appears as an item in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. The one in Ocarina is a normal mask that can be borrowed from the Happy Mask Shop, while the one in Majora's Mask contains the spirit of Mikau and transforms Link into a Zora. This is the only time that a Zora has been playable.
• Interestingly enough, the Zora soldiers in Twilight Princess used masks that resembled the monster River Zoras of early games.
• Following Wind Waker's example, Zoras were also absent from Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. These games do have Ruto Crowns and (in the former game) Zora Scales as treasures, in addition to an enemy called the Geozard which resembles a muscular version of the River Zora and is (most likely erroneously) referred to as a Zora Warrior by one of unofficial player's guides.
• While they do not appear in Tri Force Heroes, one of the available outfits is a Zora Costume which is based on the physical appearance of the River Zora. According to the Japanese website, the costume even contains the soul of a Zora. The Zora Scale also appears as a collectible material in the game.
• Zoras are referenced in Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, in which one is depicted on a scratchcard given by Madam Scratchcard, and there are several statues resembling the heads of Zoras.

See Also

• Geozard
• Rito