Octorok

Octoroks (オクタロック) are recurring enemies in the Legend of Zelda series. They are amphibious, octopus-like creatures that launch projectiles, usually rocks, from their mouths at passersby. While largely land dwellers, Octoroks are often depicted as residing in water as well.

The Legend of Zelda
Octoroks come in red and blue varieties and attack Link by shooting rocks at him. The rocks that they shoot, however, can be blocked by Link's shield. Blue Octoroks are more dangerous than red ones due to the fact that they take two hits from the Wooden Sword to be defeated instead of one. Octoroks can move quickly or slowly in horizontal and vertical paths, and can quickly change direction. They are common around the more desolate regions of Hyrule, while Moblins patrol the forested areas, Ghinis haunt the Graveyard, and Tektites infest Death Mountain.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Octoroks are similar to their The Legend of Zelda counterparts in almost every aspect; however, only certain Octoroks move around. Some jump in place, firing as they leap into the air. There are blue and red variants, with the blue Octoroks being significantly stronger than the red ones. Link gains 10 experience points for defeating a red Octorok, and 20 experience for defeating a blue Octorok.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Octoroks are found in the Light World, mainly in the region just east of Hyrule Castle. They only come in one color, a reddish purple, and are smaller and more dexterous than the Octoroks of previous installments. They spit rocks, and will sometimes spin in place while rapidly firing rocks in all four directions. They also deal a bit more damage to Link than other iterations of Octoroks. Octoroks have a Dark World equivalent called Slaroks.

In the Game Boy Advance re-release of the game, two Golden Octoroks appear in a room of the newly added Palace of the Four Sword along with a golden Octoballoon.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Octoroks are similar to those from A Link to the Past, appearing only in one color. Unlike earlier variations, however, they have only four limbs, as opposed to the usual eight. There is also a new type of Octorok in the game known as the Paraocto.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask
Octoroks were redesigned as aquatic monsters. They can be found almost anywhere there is water, including Lake Hylia, Zora's River, Zora's Fountain, and even in aquatic dungeons like Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly. They remain hidden under the water most of the time; upon spotting Link, they surface and spit rocks at him. If Link gets too close, they retreat back under the water, where they cannot be harmed. The rocks they spit can be deflected back at them with the Deku Shield or the Hylian Shield, and they can also be defeated by long-range weapons like the Fairy Bow and the Hookshot. It is possible to deflect the rocks with a slash of the sword, although this is harder than using a shield. Their rock projectile may also be utilized against other enemies, resolving hits at around the same strength as a strike from the Master Sword. A large Octorok known as Bigocto appears as the mini-boss of Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly.

In Majora's Mask, when an Octorok is hit with an Ice Arrow, it will freeze into a solid block of ice, allowing Link to use it as a platform. They are also used in the Town Shooting Gallery as the targets. Unlike in Ocarina of Time, two deflected rocks are required to defeat an Octorok rather than just one. The Hero's Shield is the only thing that can deflect their rocks; the Mirror Shield and the defensive postures of all of Link's alternate forms will simply block them. Thus, once Link acquires the Mirror Shield, his only means of defeating Octoroks is the use of projectiles.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
The appearance and attack pattern of Octoroks in the Oracle games are similar to those of Octoroks in Link's Awakening, likely due to Flagship's reuse of certain data from Link's Awakening when programming these games. They come in shades of red and blue, with blue Octoroks being more durable than red ones. In Oracle of Ages, blue Octoroks appear in the past and red Octoroks appear in the present. In Oracle of Seasons, the two kinds often appear together. There is also a special Golden Octorok that appears in Oracle of Seasons.

In both games, Link can acquire an Octo Ring, which allows him to take on the physical appearance of an Octorok. He cannot use any items or abilities in this form, but like with other transformation rings, he is immune to Like Likes. This is likely the result of a programing oversight.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Despite a slight visual tweak, Octoroks behave similarly to their Link's Awakening and Oracle counterparts. Only a red variety appears, which once again spits rocks at Link.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
There are two kinds of regular Octoroks that appear in The Wind Waker. River Octoroks appear in the Forest Haven and Forbidden Woods, shooting rocks at passersby and hiding whenever Link comes near. Sea Octoroks appear around Eastern Triangle Island, Northern Triangle Island, Six-Eye Reef, Shark Island, and the Boating Course, firing bombs from their mouths at passing seafarers. If necessary, they can jump quite high in order to knock Link out of the air. Usually, if Link stops sailing his boat to battle Octoroks at sea, a massive swarm of them will eventually gather. When fought at night, the tops of sea Octoroks' heads glow blue, revealing them to be bioluminescent like many real-life deep sea dwellers. There are also six Big Octos scattered across the Great Sea, which appear at spots where seagulls gather.

The designs for river Octoroks and sea Octoroks are different, as are the projectiles they fire. However, during Link's second visit to the Forsaken Fortress, there is a room host to a river Octorok that fires bombs instead of rocks.

The description for the Octorok figurine in the Nintendo Gallery mentions that Octoroks have a "perfect attendance record", reflecting their appearances in all Zelda games up to The Wind Waker. This record is no longer accurate, as no Octoroks appear in Twilight Princess&mdash;although Twilight Princess does feature a similar enemy, the Water Toadpoli.

Interestingly, the Octorok sprite from The Legend of Zelda appears on Manny's backpack.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Octoroks are found on land in this game, and attack Link by shooting rocks at him. Red Octoroks are the most common, and can be defeated with a single sword slash. Blue Octoroks take a great number of hits to dispatch and shoot rocks in all four directions in succession, although they sometimes shoot a small red Force Gem instead. Pink Octoroks can be felled with a single sword strike, and shoot volleys of four rocks in one direction. They also sometimes shoot a small red Force Gem instead of a rock, and stand still unless approached, at which point they will back away. The latter two varieties are only found at The Coast, the first stage of Eastern Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Octoroks are again depicted as land dwellers and look virtually identical to those from Four Swords. They appear in red and blue varieties, with the blue ones being more resilient. The red variants are found on dry land, and the blue variants are found near aquatic areas, such as Lake Hylia. Both fire rocks at Link. Golden Octoroks, which leave behind many Rupees when defeated, will sometimes appear due to a Kinstone fusion. The boss of the Temple of Droplets, the game's fourth dungeon, is known as Big Octorok. However, this Octorok's size is actually no bigger than normal; it is Link who is smaller, as he confronts Big Octorok while he is Minish-sized.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Octoroks appear on both land and sea. The earth-dwelling Octoroks vary, with some alternating their direction of fire, and others remaining fixed in place. The marine Octoroks are almost identical to those of The Wind Waker. Interestingly, the marine Octoroks charge at the S.S. Linebeck instead of spitting rocks. There is also an Octorok boss, known as Cyclok.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Octoroks appear in both land-dwelling and sea-dwelling forms. They act similar to past incarnations, shooting rocks at Link. When the Spirit Train is riding the undersea tracks in the Ocean Realm, water Octoroks try to squirt ink at it, blinding Link and temporarily hiding the map. Fast rubbing in any direction is required to remove the ink. Freezards also appear as Octoroks encased in ice. When Link throws his Boomerang through fire and into a Freezard, the ice melts, revealing the Octorok inside. Earth Octoroks are also fought as part of the Take 'Em All On mini-game.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword


Octoroks come in several different varieties, the most common being Red Octoroks. These have reddish brown bodies and camouflage specific to their region on their heads; the camouflage is leafy in the Faron region, rocky in the Layranu region, and have no camouflage when appearing in The Sky. Octoroks remain burrowed underground until Link comes near them. If Link comes too close to an Octorok, however, it will retreat into the ground again, where it is invulnerable. Link can deflect their rocks back at them by using a Shield Bash attack when a rock nears his shield; incorrect timing will result in damage being dealt to Link's current shield. It is also possible to deflect the rock with Link's sword with a vertical or horizontal slice, although Spin Attacks are significantly easier. He can also attack from a distance with arrows or a Skyward Strike. Octoroks are also vulnereable to bombs, but as bombs are limited, most people avoid this method. Octoroks encountered in The Sky can be defeated by flying into them with a simple boost or Spiral Charge. The Spiral Charge may also be utilised to break Octorok projectiles, making flight far safer in infested areas.

Interestingly, they bear a striking resemblance to Deku Scrubs from past games, as they hide using camouflage. In fact, when the game was still unreleased, a number of websites misreported Octoroks as being Deku Scrubs. If Link tries to pick up a Octorok, it will launch up and damage Link, briefly revealing four tentacles. If the Whip is used, the Octorok will be pulled up from the ground and angrily chatter, but will return underground before Link can attack.

Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon
Octoroks are encountered as enemies, and are much larger than their canonical counterparts. Octoroks are also made reference to in the opening cinematic, in which King Harkinian asks "I wonder what's for dinner," to which Link replies, "Oh boy. I'm so hungry, I could eat an Octorok!"

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Octoroks occasionally appear as random enemies released from boxes and barrels. They are also found in Adventure Mode, in the Underground Maze. They fire rocks, which cannot be deflected back at them. While their model is nearly identical to the one from Ocarina of Time, they stand on dry land on their tentacles like in earlier Zelda titles. Octoroks appear as a collectible trophy as well.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
An Octorok is featured as a sticker. Its sticker gives +4 bonus to leg attacks, and can only be applied to Link, Toon Link, Princess Zelda, and Ganondorf.

The Legend of Zelda animated series
Octoroks are frequently employed by Ganon. They are depicted as huge red octopi, dwarfing humans such as Link and Princess Zelda in size. They attack by spewing balls of energy at their targets. In the episode "The White Knight", an Octorok appears, trying to kidnap Zelda. Link deflects one of its energy balls at a Tinsuit to defeat it. Link fails to defeat the Octorok, but it is eventually defeated by Prince Facade.

Etymology
"Octorok" is a portmanteau of octopus, aquatic invertebrates with which Octoroks share some physical similarities, and rok (as in rock), referring to the rocks that Octoroks fire as projectiles.