Goht

Masked Mechanical Monster: Goht (仮面機械獣ゴート, Masked Machine Beast: Gōto) is the second boss in Majora's Mask, located in the Snowhead Temple. It is a giant mechanical creature that bears resemblence to a goat or bull. At the beginning of the boss battle, it is frozen in a giant block of ice. It is Goht's influence and curse that is causing the abnormally long and cold winter at Snowhead, which in turn threatens the lives of the native Gorons living there. Goht must be defeated in order for Spring to come to Snowhead and the general mountain area.

Strategy
Link faces Goht in a ring-shaped course/stage. To begin the fight, a Fire Arrow must be used to melt the ice block imprisoning Goht. The monster thaws, comes to life, breaks out of the rocks surrounding it, and starts charging around the course in an attempt to trample Link.

The first and foremost method to defeat Goht is to use the Goron Mask and chase the beast down by rolling after it. There are many Magic Jars around the course to replentish Magic Power lost by rolling. Simply touching Goht with Goron Link's spikes harms it, but causes Goht to launch a homing lightning bolt. This attack streaks forward and then doubles back to strike Link. It is possible to dodge this attack by moving to the side quickly as it approaches. Only one will ever be launched at a time, meaning Link can attack Goht this way in rapid succession and not be bombarded. If Link hits Goht with the spikes in midair(from launching off one of the ramps in the course), Goht will be knocked down for about five seconds. Goht does not attack while knocked down, and becomes vulnerable to other types of attacks such as the Kokiri Sword.

As Goht takes damage, following it becomes more difficult. Goht will always kick up rocks occassionally, which will damage Link and stop him from rolling. This makes following right behind Goht undesirable. After taking damage however, stalactites will begin to fall from the ceiling. These only damage Link if they fall directly on him, which is unlikely, but Link will stop dead if he hits them while rolling. Near the end of the fight, Goht will begin dropping bombs as well. These both damage Link, and stop him. It is also possible to approximate Goht's damage level by looking at how much black smoke is coming out of it.

It is also possible to defeat Goht with arrows. While this is a safe method, because you can stand in the entrance where Goht cannot get to, it can take a long time. Goht also takes damage from Bombs, Bombchus, and the Blast Mask but the timing required makes this method impratical. However, Goht is always knocked down when hit by an explosion and does not counter attack. Like all bosses, Goht is vulnerable to Fierce Diety's Energy Beam, though successfully using it against him can be tricky since Goht is always on the move.

Goht has a few other attacks at his disposal. If Link falls too far behind (unless he is standing in the entrance) Goht will stop and wait. When Link enters Goht's field of view, the boss will loose a lightning bolt at Link. This can be easily dodged by swerving side to side. Goht will continue the assault until Link reaches it, at which point it will resume running. If Link falls behind for too long, the boss will run back toward Link. If Goht reaches Link, it will throw Link over itself with its horns and continue onward.

When Goht receives enough hits from Link, it's defeated and crashes headlong into a wall, causing a large number of rocks to fall on top of it. This allows Link to claim the second Heart Container of the game along with what is left of Goht, the Goht's Remains mask.

Trivia

 * "Goht" is a homophone with "goat". Goht's appearance is similar to that of a goat.
 * It is possible to change into another form immediately after shooting a fire arrow to unfreeze Goht. The player must simply press the button to which the mask is equipped quickly after firing. The cutscene then plays out with Link in the other form, and he even makes the correct sound for the form. This is really only useful for cosmetic effect, but it can allow the player an extra second that would have been spent transforming, a fact that may be useful in speed runs.