Moldorm
| Moldorm | |
|---|---|
| Type | Sand worm |
| Debut | The Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Tail Moldorm) |
Moldorm is the name that has been used to refer to two different worm-like creatures that have appeared in the The Legend of Zelda series. The original Moldorm primarily appeared in The Legend of Zelda. The more commonly-appearing Moldorm from A Link to the Past is known as the Tail in Japanese. These varieties shall be known as the original Moldorm and Tail Moldorm for sake of convenience.
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Original Moldorm
The original version of the Moldorm is a creature made up of a chain of five segments that resemble fireballs. The official art depicts it as resembling an earthworm. They make rare appearances in several dungeons, where each segment must be destroyed individually to destroy the creature.
The Japanese name for this creature is also used for an enemy in A Link to the Past. It is a minor worm-like enemy that is found in the swamp and is called Swamola in the English release.
Phantom Hourglass and Skyward Sword have featured a more centipede-like version of the Moldorm which has a differently-colored tail as its weakpoint. In Skyward Sword, the Moldorms appear only in underground areas where they will rove around and try to attack Link if spotting him. Link must attack the Moldorm's vulnerable tail with swipes from the Mogma Mitts. Each hit will destroy a portion of the Moldorm's many-segmented body, and the rearmost segment will be the tail's new host. It also becomes faster as it becomes shorter. The entire body is usually destroyed in three hits.
Tail Moldorm
The Tail Moldorm is a creature with a body that is usually composed of three segments that go smaller until ending at its tail. They also have a pair of large eyes. It is known for quickly sliding around in various, often unpredictable directions, which makes them hard to attack. The Tail Moldorm's only weakness is its tail. They appear in A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, the Oracle games, Four Swords, Four Swords Adventures The Minish Cap. In most cases, a giant Moldorm with a four-sectioned body appears as a boss. It usually starts off slow but becomes quicker as the tail is attacked. Their boss rooms have holes which Link can fall through, and if he does, he will have to make his way back to the boss room and restart the boss fight. A Moldorm appears as the boss of the Tower of Hera and has a repeat fight at Ganon's Tower in A Link to the Past. In Link's Awakening, it is the first boss faced at Tail Cave, and the final Nightmare also takes on a form resembling one. In Four Swords Adventures, a bizarre version of this Moldorm is the boss of the Pyramid area. It has a darker and more leathery-looking skin as well as a glowing tail that can only be hurt by the Link of the matching tunic. It splits into two identical Moldorms after being hit enough, and each one must be destroyed individually.
Other
In Twilight Princess, one enemy is identified as a Moldorm in English promotional materials, but the original Japanese name is unknown. This version of the Moldorm is different in that it is small and does not have any type of segmented body. It only has three jaws that it tries to bite onto enemies with. These Moldorms live in quicksand and will leap out in an attempt to latch onto Link with their jaws. They could easily be destroyed, and the Clawshot could be used to reel them out of hiding in the sand. There is also a chance of a larger and stronger version appearing. The Moldorm appears in the Gerudo Desert and Arbiter's Grounds.
Trivia
- Moldorm's name is reflected in the names of several sand worm bosses that may or may not be related to the Moldorm; see Twinmold and Molgera.
- With the Tail version of the Moldorm, there is an inconsistency about which version is the normal size. In some games, the giant boss version is referred to as the Moldorm while the normal enemies are called Mini-Moldorms, which implies that the boss version is the fully mature one. Other games instead refer to normal Moldorms as just Moldorms while the boss versions are Big Moldorms, which would imply that their size is actually uncommon.
- In The Wind Waker, Puppet Ganon's one form (which is commonly associated with a snake) follows an attack pattern similar to that of the Moldorm.