- "Follow the trail along the edge of the cliff and you will reach Goron City, home of the Gorons."
- — Goron
Goron City is a recurring location in the Legend of Zelda series. First appearing in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, it is the home of many Gorons.
Appearances[]
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time[]
In Ocarina of Time, Goron City is located in a cave near the top of Death Mountain in the northeast corner of Hyrule. It can be accessed by climbing the Death Mountain Trail from Kakariko Village. Goron City is inhabited by the Gorons, and ruled by their chief, Darunia. It contains a shop and a giant spinning vase from which Link can obtain a Piece of Heart or Rupees.
In the center of Goron City is a platform suspended by ropes where the Goron's Ruby was once displayed. Goron City also contains secret entrances to the Lost Woods, the Death Mountain Crater, and Medigoron's Blade Store. When Link is a child, the Hot Rodder Goron can be found on the second floor. He will give Link a bigger Bomb Bag if stopped in his tracks by an exploding bomb.
Link first travels to Goron City at the behest of Princess Zelda, seeking to find the Spiritual Stone of Fire held by the Gorons. As he arrives in the city, however, he finds that the Spiritual Stone has been taken from the pedestal on the platform suspended above the city; furthermore, Ganondorf sealed the entrance to Dodongo's Cavern, the Gorons' primary source of food, to punish them for not giving him the stone.
Standing before the sealed entrance to the chamber of the Goron chief, Darunia, Link plays "Zelda's Lullaby" to prove that he is a messenger of the Royal Family. Darunia is insulted by the Royal Family sending a mere boy to aid them, and refuses to have anything to do with him; Link plays "Saria's Song" for him, easing his state of mind, and prompting him to present Link with the Goron's Bracelet for "no particular reason." Link inquires about the Spiritual Stone, and is told that in order to prove himself worthy of carrying the Spiritual Stone, he must defeat the evil inside Dodongo's Cavern.
Using the strength that the bracelet bestows upon him, Link is able to use a Bomb Flower in order to access Dodongo's Cavern. Once inside, Link defeats King Dodongo, making the caves safe for the Gorons to once again gather food inside. Link is teleported outside of the cavern, where Darunia praises his valor and asks him to become his "sworn brother"; as a symbol of this, Darunia grants Link the Spiritual Stone of Fire. When other Gorons appear to hug their newfound brother, Link is daunted and runs away.
Later, when Link first visits the city as an adult, most Gorons have been taken prisoner by the minions of Ganondorf, to be fed to the dragon Volvagia as an example to other races who may oppose his tyrannic rule; while he eluded capture, Darunia has gone to the Fire Temple to fight Volvagia. Only Link of the Gorons, the Goron Shop Owner, and Medigoron still remain in the city. Link of the Gorons, Darunia's son who was named after his "sworn brother", informs Link about this turn of events and presents him with the Goron Tunic that allows the wearer to withstand tremendous heat. Link braves the Fire Temple, rescues all of the Gorons, and defeats the dragon Volvagia using the legendary Megaton Hammer. Darunia is revealed to be the Sage of Fire, one of seven Sages who safeguard Hyrule.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild[]
Goron City is a location in Breath of the Wild which can be found in the Eldin Canyon region of Hyrule. In Breath of the Wild it is depicted as being east of Death Mountain and is connected to the mountain via the Bridge of Eldin which is depicted as a metal drawbridge.
Unlike Goron City in Ocarina of Time, the city is located out in the open and is more volcanically active. Gorons live in cave-like homes built from surrounding stone and reinforced with metal. The city industrial feel is similar to the Goron Mines as it has metal bridges and is full of mining equipment such as Iron Sledgehammers and hardhats. The Goron Hot Springs is located southeast of the village which can be accessed by a path that leads to Stolock Bridge that spans over the village or via a mine cart track. The Hot Springs is a popular tourist destination for visitors and Goron residents alike. The Rollin' Inn also provides tourists with a mostly pain-free massage administered by Volcon as a special service. The Goron Gusto Shop acts as the city's general store selling cooking ingredients as well as Fire and Ice Arrows. It sells the mineral Rock Salt presumably obtained as a byproduct from mining Ore Deposits as well as Goron Spice, a Goron seasoning created from a secret spice recipe that has been passed down among the Gorons for generations. Additionally the Protein Palace sells roasted meat to tourists and non-Goron travelers using the local volcanic heat which can roost ingredients just by being exposed to the open air.
The heat of Goron City requires Hylians and Gerudo to use Fireproof Elixirs to endure the scorching heat which is so hot that it maxes out the Sheikah Slate's temperature gauge causing the local temperature to read "error" in red letters on the Sheikah Slate's map. The young Goron Offrak sells Fireproof Elixirs to tourists for 60 Rupees a piece and has an unlimited stock. In addition to Fireproof Elixirs, the local armor shop Ripped and Shredded sells the "Flamebreaker" armor which can protect non-Gorons from the local volcanic heat and once the entire set is upgraded by Great Fairies to Level 2 or higher it grants the "Fireproof" set bonus which makes Link immune to fire damage allowing him to touch scorching hot ground or walls and enemies such as Igneo Talus and Igneo Pebblits without cooling them down with ice.
The Shae Mo'sah Shrine can be found overlooking the city which Link can open to activate its Travel Gate which due, to its location, acts as a fast travel point for Goron City. The elderly Goron Blacksmith Rohan lives in his smithy located on an island surrounded by lava, which is connected to the rest of Goron City by metal bridges. Rohan forges mining tools and weapons for his fellow Gorons and his skill is so great that he can even reforge the legendary Boulder Breaker, a hammer-like sword once wielded by Goron Champion Daruk which is viewed as a sacred treasure and heirloom of the Goron people. Other metal bridges span over lava pools located in Goron City which have railings on the sides to prevent accidental falls into the lava below. Overlooking Goron City is a monumental statues carved out of rock, two of which resembles Darmani and the Goron Elder's Son. The only statue officially identified is the statue of Goron Champion Daruk who perished during the Great Calamity one hundred years prior to Breath of the Wild and was presumably erected in remembrance of Daruk's heroic legacy.
In addition to tourism, mining continues to be an important part of their economy. The Gorons have discovered that other races will pay a lot for Gemstones which to Gorons are nothing more than gross tasting snacks, thus they mine gemstones to sell to Hylians, Gerudo, and other races and as a result, the gem trade is an important part of their economy. The Goron's originally mined at the north mine close to Goron City, but it became too dangerous, forcing them to abandon it in favor of the Southern Mine located along the path that leads to Goron City. Though peaceful and friendly, Goron City is protected by guards wielding Cobble Crushers, large Goron Hammer Swords which Goron easily wield single-handedly though Link must wield them as a two-handed weapon. These Goron Guards defend the town from local monsters and presumably, keep the peace within Goron City.
Background & History[]
Prior to the events of the game, it was a prospering community that enjoyed much tourism and was seemingly unaffected by the Great Calamity. That was until the Divine Beast, Vah Rudania awakened after a long period of dormancy and began causing an unnatural level of heat in the area that would set non-Gorons on fire, resulting in much tourism being lost for the Gorons of the area. As a result, Boldon Goron City's ambassador of tourism travels between the Foothill Stable and Woodland Stable to promote Goron City to travelers.
One hundred years after the Great Calamity, the Goron Elder Bludo leads Goron City as Goron Patriarch though due to his old age he is aided by Yunobo a direct descendant of the Goron Champion Daruk. While the timid Yunobo lacks the fighting spirit of his ancestor, he still cares greatly for his home and fellow Gorons and assists Bludo in driving off Vah Rudania after Bludo raised the drawbridge to keep it contained on Death Mountain. However to keep Vah Rudania contained their, Bludo and Yunobo where forced to continuously drive it off using a Cannon. As normal cannonballs proved in effective, the two took advantage of Yunobo's ability to use Daruk's Protection and natural Goron ability to curl up to use Yunobo as a makeshift cannonball with Daruk's Protection protecting him from incurring any damage. This along with his status as a descendant of Daruk proved to be capable of harming Vah Rudania and they where safely capable of driving off the Divine Beast. However the activity caused Bludo's chronic back pain to flare up, incapacitating him. This forced Yunobo to go to an old store room in the Abandoned North Mine to find painkillers to ease Bludo's back pain. However he became trapped in the storeroom by rubble. When Link arrives in Goron City and speaks to Bludo to learn more about Vah Rudania as part of the "Free the Divine Beasts" quest he receives from Impa, Bludo asks him to find out what is taking Yunobo so long. Using cannons in the abandoned mine, Link manages to reach the storeroom and discovers Yunobo trapped by rubble, which he removes using a nearby cannon. Yunobo thanks Link for freeing him and returns to Goron City. Link returns to Bludo who reveals that Yunobo just dropped off the painkillers and left to go prepare at the Cannon near the Bridge of Eldin. As thanks for Link's assistance, Bludo gives him three Fireproof Elixirs which can protect Hylians from Goron City's scorching temperatures. Bludo also mentions Yunobo being Daruk's descendant and is shocked when Link asks about him (due to his amnesia). Bludo points to a stone monument to Daruk that overlooks Goron City, the sight of which jogs Link's memory causing him to recall the time he was overseeing Daruk test piloting Vah Rudania before the Great Calamity back when Death Mountain was peaceful and only slightly volcanically active. Daruk reveals he is finally getting the hang of controlling Vah Rudania and tells Link to tell the other Champions they better "eat their gravel" if they hope to keep up with him. Daruk also notes the spectacular view of the mountains and the delicious rocks sprinkled all over it. He says that while he may not understand the whole Calamity Ganon thing, but vows to protect the land to the death before giving Link a friendly pat on the back which almost knocks Link over due to Daruk's strength. He also congratulates Link on becoming Princess Zelda's appointed Knight, though he notes that Princess Zelda has a strong personality, "so strong that the can't quite see the range for the peaks" as Daruk puts it. Suddenly a quake causes several large Boulders to fall from a nearby peak, hurtling towards where the two are standing on Vah Rudania, though Daruk uses Daruk's Protection to destroy the boulders saving both himself and Link. Daruk notes this is strange cause as far as he knew Death Mountain has been quiet for decades and farther notes that for Death Mountain to be shivering enough to knock down boulders of take size Daruk suspects it may not be natural but stops before speculating any further, though his reaction indicates that Daruk considered it to be a bad omen and may have suspected Calamity Ganon's imminent return as the likely cause. Back in the present, Bludo tells Link he is going to meet up with Yunobo to drive away Rudania, but suddenly his back pain returns despite taking the painkillers and he tells Link to go tell Yunobo he will have to cancel. Link finds Yunobo at the cannon being attacked by Moblins with Yunobo using Daruk's Protection to defend himself. Link rescues Yunobo once more who is depressed to learn the painkillers he had worked so hard to get didn't work and is about to head for home when Link tells him to wait and asks Yunobo to help him reach Vah Rudania. Though Yunobo is reluctant, he ultimately agrees to help Link. Link uses the Cannon to fire Yunobo at the Bridge of Eldin to lower it. Link must then guide Yunobo as they journey up Death Mountain avoid Vah Rudania's Sentries which will alert Vah Rudania causing it to fire Magma Bombs which rain down from the sky. Link communicates with Yunobo via Whistling. Using Cannons found along the way, Link and Yunobo manage to weaken Vah Rudania enough for Link to enter the Divine Beast, where he confronts Daruk's killer, Fireblight Ganon one of the Scourges of the Divine Beasts create by Ganon to corrupt the Divine Beasts kill their pilots. Link manages to avenge his fallen comrade by defeating Fireblight Ganon which frees both Daruk's spirit and Vah Rudania from Fireblight Ganon's control. Daruk thanks Link for defeating Fireblight Ganon and rewards him with the ability to use Daruk's Protection which Link can use to protect himself from harm much like Yunobo and Daruk. Daruk's Spirit takes control of Vah Rudania and peace returns to Death Mountain and Goron City. As thanks, Bludo decides to entrust Link with Daruk's Boulder Breaker sword which Link can have Rohan reforge when breaks. Later on, when Daruk and the other Champions fire lasers from their Divine Beasts at Hyrule Castle to weaken Calamity Ganon, Daruk is happy to see that Goron City still thriving a century after his death. Presumably after Calamity Ganon's defeat, the city's residents would help Princess Zelda, Link, and their other allies in rebuilding the kingdom of Hyrule in the wake of Ganon's defeat.
Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.
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 & Hyrule Warriors Legends[]
A scaled down version of Goron City (featuring the Chief's Room keep, Goron Vase, and two other keeps) appears as part of the Death Mountain stage.
Subseries warning: Subseries information ends here.
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