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Gorons are a sapient species or race of large, rock-eating humanoid indigenous to the lands of Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda series first appearing in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. They are a strong but peaceful people, usually staying away from direct conflicts, though they are able to fight with incredible force if they are angered or threatened. A Goron's back is heavily armored and by curling into a ball they can disguise themselves as boulders or even roll, traveling at speeds greater than even the finest Hylian stallion. Gorons commonly live on mountains or near active volcanoes, where they build vast mines to obtain the rocks and minerals that they require to survive. Their strong and dexterous fingers make them master craftsmen of blades and bombs and they often trade their wares with the other people of Hyrule.
Gorons are one of the most ancient races of Hyrule and existed long before the kingdom was even established. Unlike most peoples found in Hyrule, the passage of time had almost no effect on their appearance and the Gorons found during The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are almost the same as the one seen during the time where the Goddess Hylia walked the earth in person. Due to their ties with Hyrule, they are also very good friends with the Hyrulean Royal Family since the creation of Hyrule.
Biology[]
Crest of the Gorons
Gorons are large bodied humanoids with a rocky appearance and strong limbs. They subsist on a diet of rocks and minerals and different types of rocks have different nutritional values for Gorons. In order to obtain the tastiest and most nutritious rocks, Gorons build vast mines stretching miles underground. This is also the reason why they usually live near mountains or active volcanos. Gorons are strongly resistant to heat and fire and can even wade through lava with no ill effect however they seem to dislike cold.
The back, and sometimes arms and head of Gorons are covered in stony growths that forms a natural armor, and continually grows as the Goron ages. When sleeping, they curl up into a ball with their head and legs tucked in and become almost indistinguishable from boulders. Gorons can also curl up and roll to travel at high speeds.
Gorons seen in every games are always referred to as males and it is even said in Breath of the Wild that the Gerudos who strictly forbid males from entering Gerudo Town, allow Gorons in because they are unable to tell if they even have an actual gender. Despite that, Gorons are known to have blood relative like brothers but they usually they only have one parent, how they reproduce is completelly unknown. Despite being composed almost entirely of rocks, a Goron ages and eventually dies of old age if they live long enough, they also seem to have a lifespan similar to Hylians
History[]
Unified Timeline[]
The Era of the Goddess Hylia[]
Gorko, a Goron in Skyward Sword.
The Gorons are known to be one of the five primal sentient species found in Hyrule during the the time of the Goddess Hylia. It is known that the Gorons fought alongside the Goddess against the army of Demise to protect their world from the Demon tribe.
The Sky Era[]
By the time of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the Goron population is greatly reduced and only three members are seen in the game. Two of those, Gorko and Golo, are archaeologists searching for relics left behind by the inhabitants of Skyloft when they were sent into the sky by Hylia. The third one is hosting a mini-game at the Lanayru Shipyard.
The Force Era[]
Gorons are still a minority in the now established Hyrule and only eight Gorons are found in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. They are said to have been forced to leave Mount Crenel for some unknown reason and are know living in a small cave. A Goron merchant is also seen going across the kingdom to sell Kinstones. Biggoron is also seen for the first time and can upgrade Link's shieldinto the Mirror Shield.
The Era of the Hero of Time[]
A Goron in Ocarina of Time.
Gorons are seen to live in a big community for the first time and are believed to have sided with the Hyrulean Royal Family during the Hyrulean Civil War that happened a few years before the beginning of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It is there that Darunia, the chief of the Gorons, presumably became sworn brother with the king of Hyrule, a great honorific title for Gorons.
When Link arrives to Goron City, he finds out that the Gorons are starving since Ganondorf has closed Dodongo's Cavern, which is the main source of food for the Gorons. After getting Darunia's approval, Link manage to save the Gorons by opening the entrance to the Dodongo's Cavern and slaying King Dodongo. Darunia thanks Link for his help and decide to give him the title of Sworn Brother after entrusting him with the Spiritual Stones of Fire.
Adult Timeline[]
The Era of the Hero of Time[]
During his rule, Ganondorf captured almost all of the Gorons and planed to feed them to Volvagia as a warning for any other species who would dare to question his authority. When Link awakens from his 7 years sleep, he is told by Rauru that the other five Sages were killed when Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm and that he has to awaken new sages. Link enters the Fire Temple and slays Volvagia, freeing the Gorons and discovers that Darunia was one of the new sages. Darunia along with the other sages then help Link in his final battle with Ganondorf and seals him. Gorons are then seen celebrating the end of Ganondorf's rule along with the other sentient species of Hyrule.
The Era without a Hero[]
Gorons are once again almost entirely wiped out when Ganon comes back and ravage the land without an Hero to stop him since Link was sent back to his time at the end of Ocarina of Time. Part of their small numbers can be also blamed on the Great Flood that caused most of Hyrule to be covered in water, an environment not fit for Gorons.
The Era of the Great Sea[]
A Goron Merchant in The Wind Waker.
Gorons are a very rare sight during The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, they are mainly merchants and travel across the Great Sea on small raft to sell their items to other species.
The Era of the Great Voyage[]
In The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass despite being almost extinct in what used to be Hyrule, in the world of the Ocean King the Gorons are seen triving on their own island fittingly named Goron Island. They are the guardians of the Crimsonine, one of the Pure Metals needed to forge the Phantom Sword and take down Bellum. Link befriend the Gorons and with the help of Gongoron, he manage to find the Crimsonine inside the Goron Temple. Biggoron then praise Link for his courage and let him leave with the pure metal.
The Era of Hyrule's Rebirth[]
100 years after The Wind Waker, Gorons are once again a big community in the recently formed New Hyrule. In The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, the Goron Village is found in the Fire Realm where it is ruled over by the Goron Elder. Link finds that the entrance to the village is blocked by fire geysers. At the altar to the north-west of the village, Link meets Kagoron, a prominent Goron in the village who acts as the spiritual connection between the Gorons and the Mountain Goddess. Kagoron grants him a freight car to add to his train. Link then uses this to transport Mega Ice from the Wellspring Station back to Goron Village, thus extinguishing the flames blocking his way. Once in the village, Link is granted access to the Fire Sanctuary by the Goron Elder.
Child Timeline[]
The Hero's Departure[]
A Goron in Majora's Mask.
In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, the Gorons live in a community found atop Snowhead inside the land of Termina. Due to the evil power of the Majora's Mask, the land of the Gorons was cursed by Skull Kid and completely frozen. Their hero, Darmani III, was killed on his way to Snowhead Temple said to be the source of the curse. Link saves them with the new Goron powers given to him by the spirit of Darmani. Gorons are also found in other places in Termina where they seems to get along pretty well with other species.
A Goron Elder and his son are primary Gorons also featured in the game. The Elder tries to teach Link the Goron lullaby song, but fails due to the severely cold temperature. When Link plays the song intro to the baby Goron, he remembers it and plays the rest of the song to him. There is also a Goron Race that Goron Link is able to compete in. Winning the race earns him Gold Dust.
The Era of Twilight[]
A Goron in Twilight Princess.
In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, the Gorons are mainly found on Death Mountain but some can be found in Hyrule Castle Town and even in the Zora's Domain. Unlike other games, they are hostile at first because the lost their Patriarch, Darbus, to the power of the Fused Shadow and the four elders deemed it too dangerous for any outsider to get near the Goron leader now turned into Fyrus, a huge aggressive monster infused with the power of the Twilight. After Link manage to prove his strength to Gor Coron, one of the elders, he is granted access to the Goron Mines where he obtain fragments of the key that lead to Fyrus' prison. Link frees the Goron Patriarch from the Fused Shadow's influence and the Gorons returns to their friendly behavior toward outsiders.
Four Swords Adventure[]
During the events of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, the Helmaroc King has moved into Death Mountain and is harassing the Gorons. They were unable to defeat the monster by themselves but figured out how to stop him from flying and later told that information to Link who managed to defeat the giant bird. Another Goron can be found in the Tower of Flames, claiming that he had tried to defeat the Dodongos in the next room but could not do it with his strength alone. He had brought a couple of Bombs and had the thought of using them against the Dodongos, but had accidentally dropped them into the lava below.
Downfall Timeline[]
The Era of Light and Dark[]
Oracle of Ages[]
In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, Gorons live in Rolling Ridge a mountain of Labrynna. In present day, the Goron Elder became trapped under some fallen rocks and could not get out of his prison. The Gorons had tried to break away the rocks, but even with their strength, they could not break them. Only a Bomb Flower would destroy the rocks, but they were believed to be extinct. In the past, the Great Moblin had built a fortress in the western peak of Rolling Ridge and had kept all of the Bomb Flowers for himself. After Link defeated the Great Moblin, the Gorons had their Bomb Flowers returned to them. As thanks, Link was rewarded a Bomb Flower which he took into present day to free the Goron Elder.
Oracle of Season[]
In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, Gorons live on a mountain between Mt. Cucco and the place where the Temple of Seasons once stood in the land of Holodrum. Their population is much smaller compared to the Gorons of Labrynna. Biggoron also lives with them, however, he must stay outside due to his huge size. While the seasons are in chaos, Mt. Cucco experiences cold winters most of the time, forcing all of the Gorons but Biggoron to stay inside the caves. The main cave in which the Gorons live can be used as a shortcut to the Temple of Seasons or as the entry to the peak where Biggoron resides.
End of the Timelines[]
100 years before Breath of the Wild[]
Gorons are once again good friends with the Hyrulean Royal Family and live in Goron City atop Death Mountain. Sensing the imminent return of Calamity Ganon after 10,000 years, King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule decide to let the Goron choose a Champion that will become the pilot of the Divine Beast Vah Rudania during the coming battle with Calamity Ganon. The one choosed to become the Goron Champion would be Daruk, a great Goron warrior with the ability known as Daruk's Protection that can deflect damage. However, Calamity Ganon manifested himself under Hyrule Castle, killed the king, took control of the Guardian and the Divine Beast. Daruk is killed by Fireblight Ganon during the battle and Vah Rudania fall under the control of the Blight.
The Ressurection of the Hero[]
When Link is awakened inside the Shrine of Resurrection, He realise that Calamity Ganon has started to awaken as well after being put in a stasis by Zelda and the Divine Beasts have started moving once again. When he arrives in Goron City, Link founds out that the town is terrorised by Vah Rudania, who still under the control of Fireblight Ganon is causing the volcano to erupt. Link stops the beast with the help of Yunobo, a Goron descendant of Daruk and free the spirit of his ancestor by destroying Fireblight Ganon. During the final battle against Calamity Ganon, Daruk is seen firing Vah Rudania's laser on the Demon King from Goron City.
Society and Culture[]
Political informations[]
Gorons' politics are heavily based on the notion of trust and experience. They usually gather around Elders that they respect for their long lives and knowledge of the world. These Elders can either acts as leaders or as counselors for the true leader that is not necessarily an Elder but someone the other Gorons trust for his abilities to rule. Gorons are known to be pacifists unless they are directly targeted by a menace or said menace is a threat to the entirety of Hyrule. They always had friendly relationships with the Hyrulean Royal Family even before the unification of the Kingdom of Hyrule at the begining of the Era of the Hero of Time. Even as a part of the larger Kingdom of Hyrule, the retain their own leadership but still obey to the Hyrulean Royal Family when it comes to political matters that affects the entire Kingdom.
Religous information[]
Gorons are never shown to be particularly pious but they are known to have at least being around during the time when the Gods were walking the land. They sided with Hylia during the war against Demon King Demise, they don't seem to remember these events by the time of Skyward Sword outside of ancient legends. They are also shown to worship a deity they refer to as the "Mountain Goddess" in Spirit Track.
Customs[]
The Goron society is heavily based on mutual trust and they believe that all Gorons can trust each other since they were raised to respect other members of their species. Gorons are generally friendly toward other species but they don't trust them like they would trust other Gorons. This is why the invented the term of "Sworn Brother", which is a title given to members of other species that proved themselves worth of the Goron's trust. A Sworn Brother will be considered as a Goron and as a Goron, his intentions will never be questioned by other Gorons. Gorons are also known to often tattoo their skin with paint, Elders usually have tattoos of different colors to show their status.
Super Smash Bros. series[]
Super Smash Bros. Melee[]
The Gorons are featured as a collectable Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Trophy Description[]
- "Most Gorons inhabit the stony slopes of Death Mountain. They can achieve incredible land speeds by curling up into balls and rolling: they also curl up into small balls to sleep. They're a gentle and calm people, but their leader, Darunia, is impassioned and brave. Gorons use strong and dexterous fingers to make blades and bombs."
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Gorons, using their Twilight Princess design, appear as both a Trophy and as a sticker that gives a +21 bonus to any attack done using arms.
Trophy Description[]
- "A proud guardian of Death Mountain. Entering without gaining the trust of the Gorons will earn you a rolling-rock attack. They like sumo wrestling, as seen in Twilight Princess, when you need to wrestle Gor Coron. The complete shift to a friendly attitude by the tribal chief after being rescued suggests a prudent side to the Gorons."
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U[]
Gorons appears as a Trophy exclusive to the 3DS version of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U. As such, its design is taken from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.
Trophy Description[]
- NA: "Led by Darunia, the Gorons are a race of rocklike people who live a peaceful life in Goron City, inside Death Mountain. They often enjoy a good roll around, and their diet consists mainly of the gourmet rocks that they mine from Dodongo's Cavern. They also enjoy the music of a certain Kokiri girl."
- EU: "Led by Darunia, the Gorons are a race of rock-like people who live a peaceful life in Goron City, inside Death Mountain. They often enjoy a good roll around, and their diet consists mainly of the gourmet rocks that they mine from Dodongo's Cavern. Yes, you could say the Goron lifestyle is very much rock and roll."
Hyrule Warriors series[]
Gorons are an army type in Hyrule Warriors, Hyrule Warriors Legends and Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition. They have their own base soldiers and a single type of captains that both drop their own types of materials that must be used to unlock the skills of some of the playable characters. Darunia is also a playable character in the three games of this series.
Drops[]
Goron Captains[]
- Bronze: Goron Armor Breastplate
- Silver: Thick Goron Helmet
Goron Soldiers[]
- Bronze: Rock
Other appearances[]
Sonic Lost World[]
Giant Gorons are featured as enemies in the DLC themed Zelda zone featured as free DLC in Sonic Lost World They are in the secret dungeon area of the level and try to crush Sonic with their giant fists.
Scribblenauts Unlimited[]
The Gorons make a cameo appearance in Scribblenauts Unlimited. They can be summoned by typing their name but cannot be edited like most other Nintendo original characters.
Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer feat. The Legend of Zelda[]
A single Goron merchant appears in Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer feat. The Legend of Zelda where he is seen selling various items to the player. Most of them are regular items found in most shops but he also sells the Goron Locket for 200 Rupees, the locket grants protection against lava and lit cinders. The Goron also mention that he sells some ice cream cones made out of bombs to other Gorons as it is apparently a popular treat for them.