Volvagia
| |
| Volvagia in Ocarina of Time | |
| Volvagia | |
| Species | Dragon |
| Relatives | Valoo (possible descendant) |
| Debut | Zelda II: The Adventure of Link |
Volvagia is a dragon who has served as a boss in two of the The Legend of Zelda games.
Background
Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, Volvagia is described as an ancient enemy of the Gorons. Volvagia apparently terrorized the Gorons and ate many of them. But this all ended when he was destroyed by a legendary Goron hero, who wielded the Megaton Hammer.
Ages later, Ganondorf revived Volvagia and captured nearly all of Death Mountain's Gorons to feed to Volvagia, as a warning to Hyrule's other races. Afterwards, it was predicted that Volvagia would leave Death Mountain and turn all of Hyrule into a fiery wasteland. In the meantime, Volvagia remained within the Fire Temple at the heart of Death Mountain to await its food. Darunia, the descendant of the ancient Goron hero, made his way into Volvagia's lair in an attempt to slay him. But Darunia did not have the Megaton Hammer, and he failed without it.
Eventually Link made his way into Volvagia's lair and battled the dragon. There was one important difference in this battle, as Link had found the Megaton Hammer. With it, Link was able to defeat Volvagia by repeatedly pounding it on the head with the hammer and slashing it with his Master Sword. Afterwards, Volvagia's body burned up, leaving behind only its skeleton and skull, the latter of which disintegrated.
Adventure of Link
Volvagia originally appeared in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link as the boss of the Three Eyed Rock Palace. Like the rest of the bosses of the six palaces, his duty was to protect the statue inside the Palace. As with the other dungeon bosses, his defeat was necessary to place the crystal in the statue. Volvagia's weakness was his head, that was made most accessible by using the Jump Spell. After Link defeated him, he was able to place another crystal inside the palace's statue.
Gameplay
In Ocarina of Time, Volvagia attacks Link on a small island covered in lava pits. Volvagia had two main attacks. The first of the creatures attacks was performed by erupting from one of the pits of lava and flying around it's foes head while breathing short breaths of flame and swiping at it's foe with it's sharp claws. Volvagia's second attack was to again erupt from the ground, fly into the air, and rain down giant boulders from the sky over the entire arena.
Other Appearances
Other Media
- Volvagia was featured in a chapter of Akira Himegawa's Ocarina of Time manga, where he was given an alternate history. This version of Volvagia had been found by Link as a baby when Link was a child, and Link took care of it. However, during the seven years of Link's slumber, Ganondorf turned Volvagia into the evil monster seen in the game. Link is hesitant to attack Volvagia due to his past and tries to remind him in vain. Ultimately, Link is able to kill Volvagia by decapitating him, but tears are then seen flowing from Volvagia's eyes. Later on, a mirage of Volvagia's head crying sand and claiming to be in pain is seen by Link in the desert.
Trivia
- Volvagia was called "Barba" in the first English release of The Adventure of Link. Later ports fixed this to Volvagia.
- Valoo is often noted for his resemblance to Volvagia, as both are red dragons living near volcanoes. However, Valoo's appearance is based on the European interpretation of the dragon, while Volvagia is based on the more serpentine Chinese dragon. Also, Valoo is sentient and kind, as opposed to the evil Volvagia. Despite these differences in alignment, appearance and sentience, the Hyrule Historia mentioned the possibility that Valoo is a descendant of Volvagia.