Zora (Enemy)


 * This article is about the hostile Zoras encountered in various games. For the friendly variety, see Zora.

The River Zora, also known as Zola, (ゾーラ Zōra, 川ゾーラ Kawa Zōra lit. River Zōra) are an evil and mischievous aquatic race first introduced in The Legend of Zelda.

Characteristics
River Zora mainly serve as overworld enemies throughout the The Legend of Zelda series. River Zoras hide under the water's surface (typically within rivers) in order to surprise attack passers-by. While still within deeper waters, they occasionally will stick their heads beyond the surface and shoot fireballs at people, while in more shallow waters they are known to emerge fully and give chase on foot after their foes. Their skin is usually scaly and green, while their maw has developed sharp fangs and whiskers akin to a catfish. They have yet to appear in a 3D game, with Zora Warrior in Phantom Hourglass being the closest they have come.

Not much is known about the origins of the River Zora or why they attack people for seemingly no reason. Zelda.com describes the River Zora (under the name Zola) as female Zora who turned against the Hylians and chose a life of violence. This would mean that the River Zoras are merely a mutated group of evil Sea Zoras and as such, are not a race on their own. A few issues arise with this description though. First of all, Zelda.com uses the terms Zora and Zola interchangeably, as is evidenced by the lists concerning in which games the two "species" appeared. This makes it unclear what a Zora is and what a Zola is, or what Zelda.com considers them to be. Secondly, at least the statement of them being only female seems incorrect. There was a King Zora (not Queen) in A Link to the Past who was a River Zora. During their appearance in Phantom Hourglass, the River Zoras' body appears male and not female. Most likely, the description is based on the manual of The Legend of Zelda", which is also the cause that some even today call the Moblins "Molblins". Unlike the Moblin issue, Nintendo never mentioned anything about the status of the River Zora again, making the canonicity of this statement, due to the earlier mentioned arguments, questionable.

Common River Zora
River Zora were introduced in The Legend of Zelda, where they were the only aquatic enemies around at that time. River Zoras are common enemies that can be found in just about any body of water. Their most common attack patterns is shooting a small red fireball in Link's direction.

Interestingly, the official artwork of A Link to the Past depicts the River Zoras with a caudal fin instead of legs. In all other instances, both in the games (this includes A Link to the Past itself) and in other official artwork, they are shown as having two legs. River Zoras' counterparts in the Dark World are the Cyclops Fishes. In Four Swords Adventures, a less friendly kind of River Zoras is also encountered at Lake Hylia and the The Coast. They resemble both their The Legend of Zelda counterpart, more by being blue in color, and Cyclops Fish, having a single eye.

While they were no more than regular overworld enemies like they have always been, the River Zoras' appearance in Oracle of Ages is special because it was the first and as of yet, only time both Zora species appeared in the same game. As such, this was the first game in which there was a need to distinguish the two species and give them each their own name. The friendly Zoras were dubbed Sea Zoras and the hostile kind River Zoras. It was also made clear that the two Zora species were not exactly fond of each other.

The only friendly Zora in A Link to the Past is the Great Zora, leader of the Zoras. He sold Link the Zora's Flippers for five hundred rupees. Like in A Link to the Past, one friendly River Zora appears. Since Link's Awakening was merely a dream, the meaning of his/her presence to the whole of the River Zora race is unclear. If Link acquires the Magnifying Lens and talks to the friendly River Zora, the photographer will come to make a photo of the two together. Link also met a friendly River Zora in the castle of Hyrule in Four Swords Adventures, who begged him to bring her to her counterpart who was locked up in another part of the castle. When Link reunited the two, they fused, revealing to be in fact the Fairy Queen who had been split and both her parts changed into River Zoras.

Quadrupedal Zora
In The Adventure of Link, Zoras behave differently than in any other game. They are both quadrupedal and bipedal. When on their hind legs, they still fire the traditional fireballs. However, River Zoras can occasionally be found in deserts (far from their natural habitat) and can only be damaged through the use of the Fire Spell.

Zora Warrior
River Zoras return as Zora warriors called Geozards in Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. This time around they always come out of the water and are armed with swords and shields. They still have their well-known spitting attack, but attack with a sword as well and block Link's attacks with a shield, similar to the Darknuts in earlier games. Unlike other Zoras earlier games, they are not average enemies. They are mainly found guarding something and in order for Link to continue his quest, they have to be defeated. Otherwise, they can also be found attacking ships. In Spirit Tracks, there is also a red variety known as Geozard Chief which breathes fireballs, much like the River Zora's older appearances. In this variation, Link is now required to use the aid of his Phantom partner to distract the Zora while he attacks from behind.

Zola or Zora?
There is some confusion about what the name of this aquatic race is. When they first appeared in The Legend of Zelda, the manual called them "Zola". The term "Zora" first appeared in A Link to the Past, and the creatures that name belonged to were identical to the Zola from The Legend of Zelda. The name Zora has been used since to describe these creatures and when The Legend of Zelda was re-released on the Game Boy Advance, the manual referred to them as Zora as well. Considering even the Japanese manual of The Legend of Zelda called them Zola at first, it is likely a translation mistake made by the people responsible for the Japanese manual, since the "L" and the "R" are the same letter in Japanese. Regardless, the name Zola has officially been abandoned, but the gamer community still uses the name Zola to refer to the hostile aquatic race as opposed to the peaceful aquatic race.

Because both Zora races did not appear in the same games for a very long time, there was no need to distinguish the two races by giving them more specific names until Oracle of Ages. It was in that game that the two races were dubbed River Zora and Sea Zora respectively.

Trivia

 * What could be another "friendly Zora" in A Link to The Past dwells in Lake of Ill Omen in the Dark World. If a rock is thrown into the circle of stones at the river head, he will give Link the Quake Medallion. After that though, disturbing him will result in bombs being thrown at Link.
 * While River Zoras do not appear in Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, there is a reference to their existence. The fountain in Port Town is in the shape of a River Zora head.