River Zora

River Zora

Artwork from The Legend of Zelda Instruction Booklet

Games	The Legend of Zelda The Adventure of Link A Link to the Past Link's Awakening Oracle of Seasons Oracle of Ages Four Swords Adventures A Link Between Worlds Echoes of Wisdom
Location	The Legend of Zelda Overworld The Adventure of Link Eastern Hyrule Maze Island A Link to the Past Lake Hylia Waterfall of Wishing Zora's Waterfall Link's Awakening Overworld Oracle of Seasons Oracle of Ages Four Swords Adventures The Coast The Swamp Kakariko Village A Link Between Worlds The Faces of Evil Hermit Flat Ganon's Lair The Wand of Gamelon Gohiyan Ship Shutoy Lake Dodomai Palace
Threat
Attacks	Link's Awakening Contact Fireball Oracle of Seasons Contact Fireball Oracle of Ages Contact Fireball
Effective Weapons	The Adventure of Link Fire Spell A Link to the Past Ice Rod Bombos Medallion Fire Rod Link's Awakening All weapons - 1 hit Oracle of Seasons Sword - 2 hits Oracle of Ages Sword - 2 hits A Link Between Worlds Bow Hammer Tornado Rod Bombs

River Zora, or Zola for the females, are one of the two types of Zora, being the wild and less civilized of the two. While some River Zora are characters who can be interacted with, River Zora typically serve as an enemy type in multiple titles.

The Legend of Zelda

Zola, as they are known in the The Legend of Zelda translation, can be found mostly on the eastern side of the Overworld. Found only in the lakes and oceans of Hyrule, they are almost impossible to defeat early in the game, and are better off avoided. If a Zola does happen to come near the edge of the land they can be defeated by two hits with the original Sword. Their health will reset every time they go under water, so the two hits must be consecutive. They will shoot a laser beam from the water that will cause half a heart of damage. Unlike most enemies in the game there is only one variation of Zola.

The Adventure of Link

Zora are only found in Eastern Hyrule. Their primary attack is to fire beams at Link, which he can block with his shield.

Zora are immune to Sword attacks and can only be eliminated with the Fire Spell. Because of their heavy armor and hard-hitting attacks, it is usually best to avoid Zora or fight with caution.

Enemy Data

Zora

	Experience Points	50
	Item Drop	Blue Magic Jar or 50 exp Point Bag
	Enemy Habitat	Caves and Deserts of Eastern Hyrule Maze Island
Combat Data	Hide	•Must use Fire, Spell, or Thunder to damage
Defensive Stats Offensive Stats Attack Level Hits to Kill Life Level Contact Container Damage Projectile Container Damage 1 24 1 3 3 2 16 2 2.25 2.25 3 12 3 1.75 1.75 4 8 4 1.5 1.5 5 6 5 1.25 1.25 6 4 6 1 1 7 3 7 .875 .875 8 2 8 .75 .75

A Link to the Past

River Zora appear in Lake Hylia, Zora's Waterfall, and the long River that connects these two bodies of water. Much like their appearance in The Legend of Zelda, River Zora will pop up from underwater and shoot fireballs towards Link. Link's Fighter's Shield won't be able to sustain these fire attacks, but either the Red Shield or the Mirror Shield can block them.

While in Zora's Lake, some of the River Zora will pop up on shallow water. These Zora will then try walking towards Link instead of spitting fireballs. This shows that the Zora actually have feet that they can walk on, unlike the tails that are shown in the official artwork for A Link to the Past. Link can stun these walking Zora with one sword slash and continue then finish them off with additional strikes.

The River Zora are found all over Zora's Lake and Link will need to navigate this area to reach King Zora. It is here that Link will purchase the Flippers for 500 Rupees. Despite the Zora King helping out Link, the River Zora will continue to attack Link.

While most times it is best to just avoid River Zora, they can be defeated with a wide range of items. They take four slashes to defeat with Link's Fighter's Sword, but can be killed instantly with one shot from the Ice Rod. The Bombos Medallion also works well as it will instantly kill all River Zora that are on the screen at a given point in time.

Link's Awakening

River Zora appear in many places in the waters of Koholint Island, particularly in Martha's Bay. They pop out from under the water and shoot fireballs at enemies.

There is also a Secret Zora who is friendly towards Link. He lives in Animal Village. In the 2019 remake, the Zora will give him a Secret Seashell.

Oracle of Seasons

River Zora are found in the rivers throughout the game and peek their heads above the surface and shoot fireballs at Link. If they are close enough to the surface, Link can slash them with his sword, otherwise he can shoot a seed or use the Boomerang to defeat them. Most of the time it is better to avoid trying to defeat a River Zora as it can be tedious to do so.

Oracle of Ages

River Zora are found in the rivers throughout the game and peek their heads above the surface and shoot fireballs at Link. If they are close enough to the surface, Link can slash them with his sword, otherwise he can shoot a seed or use the Boomerang to defeat them. Most of the time it is better to avoid trying to defeat a River Zora as it can be tedious to do so.

Four Swords Adventures

River Zora in Four Swords Adventures have a slightly different appearance. They have a single eye, like their Ku relatives, and blue skin like in The Legend of Zelda. Their first appearance is on The Coast. They swim within water and often must be attacked with ranged weapons like the Slingshot.

There exists a friendly Zora at Kakariko Village who asks the Links to collect fish for him to eat. The Queen of Fairies also appears to be a River Zora at Hyrule Castle while cursed.

Phantom Hourglass

Main article: Zora Warrior

Zora Warriors are large, muscular River Zora who serve as enemies in the game.

A Link Between Worlds

The River Zora make another appearance in the same locations (except the Zora's Lake area which was mostly removed) as those in A Link to the Past. Their attacks are the same as in prior games, shooting fireballs at Link. These attacks are blockable by both the Shield and the Hylian Shield. Many of Link's items are now effective on the River Zora, including the Bow and Fire Rod, though it can be difficult for some of these items to hit.

The Zora King has been succeeded by Queen Oren, who plays a larger role in the game. Link needs to purchase the Smooth Gem from the Item Shop for 200 Rupees after the Shady Guy steals it and return it to the queen to receive the Flippers and access the House of Gales. Despite their gratitude for helping Queen Oren, she exclaims how they are to remain obedient toward Link, but have a hard time following orders.

Echoes of Wisdom

The River Zora primarily live in River Zora Village, under Dradd, their chief.

Non-Canon Appearances

The Faces of Evil

River Zora are creatures that are found exclusively in the water of Hermit Flat and Ganon's Lair. They move around in the water, but when Link draws near, they will turn their attention towards him. They face Link and spit out rocks out of their mouth towards Link. These rocks can be deflected with Link's shield, but they are best just avoided by moving from side to side. Since River Zora appear in water, there is an additional hazard of falling into the water. Thus, River Zora are best defeated from a distance whenever possible. Bombs work well, but a sword beam attack will defeat River Zora in one hit.

The Wand of Gamelon

River Zora can be found in the water near Gohiyan Ship, Shutoy Lake, and Dodomai Palace. They look like and act the same as in The Faces of Evil.

Gallery

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  Zola [sic] artwork from Million Publications The Legend of Zelda Strategy Guide

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  Zola sprite from The Legend of Zelda

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  Zora artwork from The Adventure of Link

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  Artwork from Futabasha The Adventure of Link Strategy Guide

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  Zora quadrupedal sprite from The Adventure of Link

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  Zora bipedal sprite from The Adventure of Link

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  Sprite from A Link to the Past

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  Sprite from A Link to the Past

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  Sprite from A Link to the Past

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  Sprite from A Link to the Past

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  Sprite from A Link to the Past

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  Ending of A Link to the Past

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  Sprite from Link's Awakening

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  Sprite from Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages

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  Sprite from Four Swords Adventures

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  Zora Warrior from Phantom Hourglass

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  River Zora enemy emerging from a whirlpool in A Link Between Worlds

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  Sprite from The Faces of Evil and The Wand of Gamelon

References

1. ↑ "Zola is the name given to any female Zora who turns against Hylians and chooses to live a life of violence. They normally hide underwater, then spit fireballs at anyone who walks by.", The Great Hyrule Encyclopedia
2. ↑ "Like Poseidon in his day, Zora ruled the waterways of Hyrule, controlling storm and calm, current and waterfall. Zora's Spawn answered only to him, and he determined who would use the Whirlpools that carried swimmers from place to place. Zora's special Flippers let swimmers tread in even the deepest waters, but they cost deeply.", A Link to the Past Nintendo Player's Guide