Goron

A Goron from Twilight Princess.
Goron
Type	Mountain creature
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Gorons are a race of rocky creatures that inhabit Death Mountain and mountainous areas from other lands. They were introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and have made frequent appearances since.

Information

As a race of rocky brown creatures, Gorons are known for their strength and durability. They can punch through most surfaces, walk through lava, and they can also curl their bodies up to roll around at high speeds. If they have magic power, Gorons can sprout spikes as they roll as well. Gorons are also great at their own version of sumo wrestling. Their primary weaknesses are their incredible weights, which makes them sinkers in water, and their intolerance for the cold. Despite their abilities, Gorons are more of a laidback people and usually use their powers for tunneling. A Goron's primary diet consists of rocks. In Majora's Mask, Link acquires a mask that allows him to transform into a Goron.

The Gorons are unusual in that they seem to be all males. They have children (but it is not specified how) that grow up normally. Another unusual trait is that some Gorons can grow to giant sizes. Biggoron and Medigoron are examples of these. Biggoron has been depicted with sizes rivaling that of actual mountains. Due to their size, the giant Gorons often make longswords, though they are simple knives from their perspective. One other unexpected skill of the Gorons is their farming skills. Gorons have grown their own special crop, the explosive Bomb Flower, the fruit of which Bombs are made from.

The Gorons are known for selling their wares as merchants. This is especially true in The Wind Waker where the Gorons were all but gone, save for three Gorons dressed in heavy merchant clothing who sailed around on rafts. They traded with Link and provided him with special flowers that were used in a trading sequence. Another Goron similar to these appeared in The Minish Cap at Hyrule Village.

Gorons are most commonly found in mountains areas, and there traditional home is Death Mountain. That is where the Gorons lived during Ocarina of Time and Four Swords Adventures. In Ocarina of Time they operated out of Goron City and searched for sirloin rocks in Dodongo's Cavern. They also have a proud history, as the ancestor of their leader Darunia had vanquished the evil dragon Volvagia. The Gorons were still living in Death Mountain in Twilight Princess. They were led by Darbus as well as by a council of four very old Goron Elders. They were very stubborn and preferred to solve their own problems. However, Link earned their trust by besting several of them in sumo matches and saved Darbus after he was transformed into the shadow monster Fyrus by a Fused Shadow, so the Gorons came to respect Link and went out of their way to help him later on. They also enjoyed basking in the nearby hot springs. True to their heritage, several of the Gorons traveled to Hyrule Castle Town to sell their wares.

Gorons have been seen outside Hyrule as well. They are seen in both Oracles of Ages and Seasons living in Rolling Ridge in Labrynna and Goron Mountain in Holodrum. They are also seen in the parallel universe, Termina. Majora's Mask showed what life was life for Terminan Gorons. They lived high up in the northern Snowhead mountain and even had their own racetrack. The Skull Kid tormented them by bringing deadly winters in the middle of spring and nearly froze the Gorons to death until Link saved them. Additional Gorons were also present in The Minish Cap. One is found trying to bust away a cave, but has little luck on his own. By engaging in the appropriate Kinstone fusion, the Goron is joined by more and more Gorons until there is enough to clear the cave. They once hailed from Mt. Crenel, but there numbers have since diminished.

Although the home of the Gorons was unknown in the time of The Wind Waker, its follow-up game Phantom Hourglass showed a tribe of Gorons living on Goron Island, There they protected the sacred metal crimsonine, which was kept within the Goron Temple. Due to not being part of the tribe, Link was only allowed to go after the crimsonine after answering a series of questions based on trivia around the island and then paying an expensive fee of Rupees (which is exactly the equal to the amount of Rupees that Link is given as a reward for solving the quiz). This Goron tribe was lead by a new version of Biggoron, who senthis son Gongoron to escort Link through the temple. Gorons were also seen running a minigame on Dee Es Island within the game.

A tribe of Gorons was also shown to have settled in the new Hyrule in Spirit Tracks, where they lived in a Goron Village within the Fire Realm, in the shadow of a volcanic mountain. They are shown to worship an unspecified goddess of the volcano.

Trivia

• "Goron" is Japanese onomatopoeia for something heavy rolling.
• A Goron Mask is available in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. The one in Ocarina is a normal mask, but is capable of fooling the dim-witted Gorons. The one in Majora's Mask contains Darmani's soul and transforms Link into a Goron.
• Gorons have been playable twice in the series: in Majora's Mask when Link transforms using a Goron Mask and in Phantom Hourglass when the player can control Gongoron during the Goron Temple.
• The existence of the Gorons is vaguely hinted at in the The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past's instruction manual, which mentions an ancient race of mountain people.
• The Gorons have their own trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as well as a sticker in Brawl.