King Dodongo


 * Not to be confused with the Big Dodongo, a boss in .

Infernal Dinosaur: King Dodongo made its gaming debut in Ocarina of Time. He is the second boss Link must face and defeat in order to obtain the Spiritual Stone, Goron's Ruby, from the Goron leader known as Darunia.

Appearances and Strategy
In the boss arena from Ocarina of Time, Link must fight King Dodongo in a room with a lava pit in the middle, which should be avoided at all costs. King Dodongo will attack in one of two ways. He either sucks in a massive amount of air to blow out fire, or rolls into a ball and attempt to run Link over.

While he is sucking in air, Link can take out one of his own bombs, or one from a bomb flower nearby, and throw it into the king's mouth. It then explodes inside him, causing him to momentarily faint. During this moment, the dinosaur is vulnerable to a sword attack, particularly a Jump Attack, as he can only be hit once before he gets up. He then rears up, rolls into a ball, and tries to run over Link. In order to avoid this, Link can either stand on the small slope between the lava and the arena, stand in one of the corners (preferably behind the Bomb Flower), or simply hide beneath the Hylian Shield, wherever he is. None of Dodongo's attacks hurt him in those parts. When he hits the wall at the other end of the arena, he unfolds and repeats the process three more times. When he is defeated, he curls into a ball for the last time and rolls into the lava pit, frying himself to a crisp. Link is rewarded with a Heart Container and the Spiritual Stone from a very pleased Darunia.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
King Dodongo appears as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Trivia

 * There is a simpler way to avoid King Dodongo's rolling attack for those feeling daring: It's about equipping the Hylian Shield (if it's already earned) and, standing right in the monster's path, raising the defenses. This renders Link safe, and the Infernal Dinosaur surprisingly bounces harmlessly off the shield in a shower of sparks while continuing his circuit around the room.
 * As previously stated, all of King Dodongo's attacks can also be avoided by standing on the 45 degree slope between the main arena to the lava pit. But if Link is incorrectly positioned, he can either touch the lava or suffer damage from the boss's attacks.
 * While Dodongos and Baby Dodongos explodes when killed, King Dodongo doesn't.
 * Along with Volvagia (with whom King Dodongo shares his battle music), King Dodongo is one of the two regular bosses in Ocarina of Time to not have the same battle theme as the other bosses. Interestingly, both are associated with Death Mountain and plaguing the Gorons that live there.
 * King Dodongo is theorized by some fans to be Stallord in Twilight Princess. Despite several theories, there is no concrete evidence to this claim. On a related note, the second part of Stallord's battle (from that game) features a remix of King Dodongo and Volvagia's unique theme.