Boulder

Boulder
Artwork of a Boulder from The Legend of Zelda
First appearance	The Legend of Zelda (1987)
Appearances	The Legend of Zelda The Adventure of Link A Link to the Past Link's Awakening Ocarina of Time Majora's Mask Oracle of Ages Four Swords Adventures The Minish Cap Phantom Hourglass Spirit Tracks Skyward Sword Breath of the Wild
Location(s)	(The Legend of Zelda) Death Mountain (A Link to the Past) Death Mountain (Link's Awakening) Turtle Rock (Ocarina of Time) Death Mountain Trail (Oracle of Ages) Restoration Wall (The Minish Cap) Mount Crenel (Phantom Hourglass) Isle of Ember Temple of Fire (Spirit Tracks) Mountain of Fire Fire Realm Fire Sanctuary Fire Temple Sand Temple
Attack method	Falling into Link Obstacle
Effective weapon(s)	Bombs Bomb Arrows Bombchus Blast Mask Powder Keg Megaton Hammer Silver Gauntlets Golden Gauntlets Power Bracelets Moon Magnesis Rune Stasis Rune
Spoils	Rupees Hearts

"These huge boulders come crashing down from cliff walls. They fall in a random pattern, so watch your step!"

— Figurine

Boulders are recurring obstacles in The Legend of Zelda series. They are simply large rocks that fall from a higher point and follow a random movement pattern. While they, as non-sentient beings, cannot attack as such, they can damage Link by landing on top of him or rolling into him. There is no way to defeat Boulders, and they must simply be averted. In some games, Link and/or certain enemies can use boulders as makeshift weapons.

Appearances

The Legend of Zelda

Boulders are found on Death Mountain, falling in random patterns to damage Link. They are an orange color, and fall continuously until Link leaves the area. These rocks are usually accompanied by other enemies such as Octoroks or River Zoras, making them harder to avoid being that Link is distracted by other creatures.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Boulders appear in The Adventure of Link not as enemies, but as obstacles in the game that need to be destroyed with the Hammer.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Boulders are found on Death Mountain in the Light World. They are larger than the ones from The Legend of Zelda and have a green sheen to them. Boulders fall on the lower elevations of the first half of Death Mountain which Link visits; the area to the west of the mountain's two bridges. The uppermost portion of the mountain near the Tower of Hera, and the long staircase leading to it, do not contain falling boulders.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Boulders are found in the western area of the Tal Tal Mountain Range, near Turtle Rock.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Boulders are found in the area of the Death Mountain Trail that leads to the volcanic peak of Death Mountain. When Link approaches the peak, the volcano sporadically erupts, causing a downpour of volcanic rocks. These can either be dodged by rolling and careful moving or by equipping a Deku Shield, a Hylian Shield, or the Mirror Shield and defending when the eruptions take place.

Boulders also appear in the battle with Volvagia. They fall from the ceiling of the chamber.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Boulders can be found in the Stone Tower, although a gray variant can be found in the Deku Shrine.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

Boulders appear when Link is climbing Restoration Wall.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

Boulders are located in Death Mountain similar from A Link to the Past, but also show up in caves where they can be pushed, they roll around like from Ocarina of Time. They also can be dropped into pits to make people safe to cross.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Boulders appear when Link is climbing the large rock wall on Mount Crenel. Some bosses, like Gleerok and Big Octorok, can make Boulders fall from the ceiling. In the latter's case, said rocks are more like pebbles, only being dangerous since Link is the size of a Minish.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Several boulders fly into the air the first time Link approaches the Temple of Fire. They stop appearing once Link defeats Blaaz.

During the battle with Blaaz, boulders start to fall from the sky once Blaaz has been damaged.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Boulders fly onto or near the Spirit Tracks in the Fire Realm when traveling by train. Boulders also appear on the paths to the Altar of the Mountain Goddess and the Fire Sanctuary.

During the fight with Cragma, Boulders fall from the sky. Occasionally, a larger boulder will fall that is needed to defeat Cragma.

Additionally, boulders make an appearance in the Sand Temple, and are a prominent feature of the boss fight with Skeldritch, where they must be stopped and maneuvered with the Sand Wand.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Boulders appear in the Earth Temple, where they fall down slopes that Link tries to run up as part of a trap mechanism. When Link obtains the Dragon Sculpture, a giant boulder comes rolling down at him, causing an instant Game Over if it hits him. Ghirahim later transforms this boulder into Scaldera. Also, Bokoblins throw boulders down at Link while he is trying to climb up certain slopes in Eldin Volcano; Link must shoot them down with the Bow or Slingshot or use the Beetle while they have the boulder over their heads, causing them to loose their grip and be crushed by the rock's weight. Link can also pick up these boulders himself to attack enemies by throwing them down sandy slopes. Two of them can also be found atop a sandy slope in Faron Woods and can be used as an effective way to kill the Deku Baba that appears in the middle of said slope.

The large boulder trap activated when Link obtains the Dragon Sculpture may be inspired by the famous scene in the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Stone boulders of varying sizes and even shapes can be found all over Hyrule. Some are stationary which Link can push to attack enemies or even trigger Bomb Barrels to explode. Some can be used to reveal Koroks by dropping them in holes in the ground. Link can also launch them by locking them with the Stasis Rune then hitting them to store kinetic energy which will launch them when the stasis effect ends. Some conceal Treasure Chests forcing Link to move them to access the chest. Boulders differ from rocks and Weak Walls as Link and enemies can easily pickup rocks while Link can destroy Weak Walls depicted as stationary rubble using mining tools, Remote Bombs, Bomb Arrows, or Bomb Barrels.

Other appearances

Subseries warning: This article or section contains information on a subseries within the Legend of Zelda series and should be considered part of its own separate canon.

Hyrule Warriors & Legends

Boulders appear in the Land of Myth story scenario, launched by the hostile Goron Forces from two Boulder Keeps to attack the Hyrulean Forces base. Capturing the keeps is the only way to stop the Boulder attack. Later in the scenario, the Hyrulean Forces use one of the Boulder keeps to fire a boulder at the Chief's Room to destroy its door and the stash of Rock Sirloin that Darunia had been using to heal himself. Link can also lift and use bombable boulders as weapons with the Gauntlets strong attack.

Subseries warning: Subseries information ends here.