Death Mountain



Death Mountain (デスマウンテン, Desu Maunten) is a tall, fiery mountain located in Hyrule, and featured in several Zelda games.

The Legend of Zelda
In The Legend of Zelda, this mountain is a huge, sprawling expanse of rock covering the northern border of the map. In the first quest, Ganon's hideout is at Spectacle Rock, a landmark on the mountain. Another landmark in the mountain is the Lost Hills. It is also home to the strongest overworld enemies in the game, such as Lynels, as well as falling boulders.

The Adventure of Link
Death Mountain is seen as a massive mountain riddled with a series of caves south of the water town of Saria. This network of passageways is necessary to navigate in order to get the Hammer.

A Link to the Past
Once more, Death Mountain returns as a huge mountain on the northern border of Hyrule. In this game, it is home to the Tower of Hera, Spectacle Rock, and many Deadrocks and Lynels. Its Dark World counterpart is home to Ganon's Tower. In the Japanese game, the mountain is only named Death Mountain in the Dark World. In the Light World it is known as Mt. Hebra (ヘブラ山).

Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, this mountain is home to the Gorons, a peaceful race of people who eat rocks and are exceptionally good at forging blades. Death Mountain is also home to Dodongo's Cavern, where Young Link faces the giant King Dodongo, and the Fire Temple, where Adult Link fights Volvagia, a ferocious dragon. The entrance to the mountain trail starts at a gate in Kakariko Village. Anyone wishing to travel it will need the Royal Family's permission to get past the guard that is standing there. On top of this menacing mass of red earth lives a Great Fairy who bestows Link with magical power in Ocarina of Time, and inside the mountain there is yet another fairy who grants Link a magical upgrade. Death Mountain is home to many a Tektite.

Four Swords
Death Mountain appears in the The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords as one of the four initial stages. By clearing the stage and defeating the boss, the Links received a key from a Great Fairy. The key received depends on how many Rupees were collected.

The symbol of Death Mountain is the Fire Element.

Boss
The boss of Death Mountain was a ball of fire, similar to Hot Head. The boss of Death Mountain was practically invincible when he was fully covered in flames. He attacked the heroes with balls of colored fire. If the Link of the same color hit the ball of fire, it would be reflected back at the monster. When the ball of fire made contact with him, his flames diminished. He then became vulnerable to the heroes' swords. After several attacks the monster was defeated.

Four Swords Adventures
Death Mountain is also the third level in Four Swords Adventures. It consists of three stages: Death Mountain Foothills, The Mountain Path, and Tower of Flames.

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
In Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, a mountain called Mount Desma appears. This might be just a new name for Death Mountain, as in one of the Yamatami tribe's ancient books is written that Mount Desma is "the Mountain of Death".

Twilight Princess
Death Mountain is featured once again in Twilight Princess, and is again home to the Goron tribe. This time, instead of bomb- and sword-making rock people, they are sumo-wrestling rock people who don't require oxygen to survive. The path leading up the mountain has many steam jets that will knock you over if you don't have the Iron Boots. Also, rolling Gorons will prevent entrance by hurling themselves towards Link. The entrance to the Goron Mines is located on Death Mountain, as well as a hot spring that can restore hearts by just touching the water or drinking it from a bottle before it cools, and a shop. When Link first reaches the summit, he narrowly avoids being crushed by an enormous Molten Shard of falling lava. The mountain can be seen from Hyrule Castle.

Strangely, Death Mountain appears as a giant molten sphere, closely resembling a meteor. Why this new design was chosen is unknown, but it conflicts harshly with the actual form of Death Mountain in the Goron Mines (being that they are built inside of what looks to be the classic volcano-like Death Mountain as seen in Ocarina of Time). Interestingly, when climbing the "Goron Mountain" (that which houses the Gorons) you can still see the giant "meteor" at quite a distance from your location. However, upon entering the Goron Mines, you arrive in the center of Death Mountain right after you pass the first room. The geographical distance between the entrance to the Goron Mines, the center of Death Mountain within the Goron Mines - the Death Mountain Crater, and the giant meteor-like object do not correlate and still place this molten sphere miles away. The only logical explanation to its existence is either: a) a flaw in design, b) a harbinger for something to take place in the next Zelda game, or c) to "reinvent" a well-known region of Hyrule for both veterans and newcomers to the Zelda series to question. Throughout Twilight Princess, so many classic Zelda elements have been omitted or altered so much, that the nature of the game may feel somewhat unorthodox. This is an example of such in that it seems as if the designers tried to "creatively reinvent" the beloved Death Mountain. It is also important to point out that perhaps it is symbolic for the instance of the "Death Mountain Crater", being that meteors form craters upon impact.

Trivia

 * In Majora's Mask, Woodfall Temple is housed inside an extinct volcano filled with water. Some assume this mountain to be Termina's  counterpart of Death Mountain.
 * It can also be presumed that the lake inside the volcano is the Terminan counterpart of Death Mountain Crater.
 * Also in Majora's Mask, Death Mountain can actually be seen from Termina. It also appears much larger than if viewed from Hyrule in Ocarina of Time.
 * Many fans believe that Death Mountain appears in The Wind Waker, as Dragon Roost Island.
 * The music of Death Mountain in Twilight Princess is a mix of a new drum beat and that of the original music from Goron City in Ocarina of Time.