Zora

The Zoras were aquatic, blue-skinned humanoid creatures that lived in Zora's Domain. They were incredibly skilled swimmers. Some Zora look significantly different than others, like the Zora King, who is large and round, as opposed to the normal Zora's appearance of tall with fin-like appendages coming out of their heads.

Zoras also live in Termina and Labrynna.

Government
The Zora race is under a monarchy. They are ruled by a King Zora, Queen, and sometimes princes and princesses. During the time of the Imprisoning War, they were ruled by King Zora XVI and Princess Ruto.

The Legend of Zelda
In The Legend of Zelda, Zoras were mistranslated as Zolas, and even now, people interpret Zolas as different from Zoras. Zolas are water-dwelling fish monsters that shoot fireballs at Link. The fireballs are only blockable by a Magic Shield. They dive down into the water and come back up to attack passerbys.

A Link to the Past
Zoras (called Zora's Spawn here) appear all over Hyrule. They act almost exactly as the Zoras in the original Zelda act, but look more advanced. This is the first Zelda to feature a unique Zora (the only creature in the game to actually go by the name 'Zora'), who lives beneath a waterfall. He offers to sell you Flippers for 500 Rupees. In BS Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban, he's actually called King Zora, and at certain times in a certain week, he will offer them to you for 300 Rupees. He also gives Link the ability to use the warping Whirlpools in both the Light World and Dark World. This is the first and only game to have the enemy Zoras able to jump high in the air and walk on land and shallow water. Often give Bombs. In the Dark World, Zoras take the shape of a strange, one-eyed fish. In the Dark World, a ring of stones sits in the water where (in the Light World) you can access the waterfall. Throwing an object into the ring will summon a Dark World Zora that will give you one of the three "spell" Medallions.

Link's Awakening
Zoras only appear as enemies, with the exception of an invisible Zora, who is only viewable with a Magnifying Lens in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX. Talking to him gets the Photographer Mouse to take a picture of Link and the Zora, which is printable with the Game Boy Printer.

Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
In both Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, Zoras appear as enemies, acting exactly as past Zoras. However, there are also Zoras that are similar to the ones in Ocarina of Time in Oracles of Ages. In that game, the more gentle Zoras make a distinction between them and the monstrous Zoras, claiming that they are river Zoras as opposed to noble sea Zoras.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Zoras in Ocarina of Time take a drastic turn from the ones in the earlier games (in which they were called 'Zola' or 'Zora's Spawn', depending upon the game). In those games, they were more monstrous, and breathed fire, while in the 3D games, they were blue and scaley, with a more gentle look, and a decidedly more amiable disposition. Zoras primarily reside in the Zora's Domain, while some may appear in Lake Hylia. They can exist both in and out of water, but they work best in water. There are two Zora scales obtainable in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; the Silver Scale, from the Zora in Zora's Domain as a reward for winning the diving minigame, and the Golden Scale, a reward for catching a giant fish.

Majora's Mask
The Zoras remain, for the most part, exactly the same as the Zoras in Ocarina of Time. The only unique Zoras are the members of the Indigo-Gos. Most Zoras are found in the Zora Hall, located in the Great Bay. Link is also able to transform into a Zora via the Zora Mask.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
In Oracle of Ages, Zoras live in an underwater city, which Link can access after he has acquired the Mermaid Suit. In Present time, King Zora has perished, and Jabu-Jabu is a large fish, but without King Zora's consent, Link cannot enter Jabu-Jabu. In the Past, the king is gravely ill, and requires a Potion in order to survive. Link can get one from Syrup, Maple or a Gasha Nut, and once the king is given it, he gets better. Link asks King Zora to allow him entrance into Jabu-Jabu to get an Essence of Time, but Jabu-Jabu is too small. But Link can go into the future, and gain access to the mature Jabu-Jabu. Zoras only appear in Oracle of Seasons through a linked game, and will give you an item. There is also an old Zora far away from the Zora City, who will give you the Broken Sword in exchange for a Sea Ukelele. The Oracle games are the only two games to feature both friendly and hostile Zoras.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Zoras are supposedly extinct in The Wind Waker, but the accepted theory is that the Ritos are evolutions of Zoras. This theory came to light on account of the fact that Medli is the descendant of an ancient Sage, Laruto, who is a Zora. Ritos are bird people, who gain their wings through acquiring a scale from Valoo.

Twilight Princess
The Zoras once again reside in Zora's Domain. The Domain was raided by Twilit Messengers under Zant, and Queen Rutela was killed to show their power. The Domain then became frozen. Once Link and Midna arrive, they must warp a flaming boulder from Death Mountain into the center of the Domain to get the water to flow again and unfreeze the area.

The prince of the Zoras Prince Ralis, fled to Hyrule Castle Town in order to escape capture by the Messengers, and as a result of staying away from water too long, became ill. Ilia and Telma nurse him, and with the help of Link, bring him to Renado in Kakariko Village. The spirit of the Rutela in response grants Link the Zora Armor so he can swim and breathe underwater.

The race now has warriors that carry spears and have fish masks on.

Evolution
It is possible that the Zoras have evolved into a bird-like race in The Wind Waker. This half-bird, half-human race known as Ritos make multiple references to the Zoras. The most convincing is the fact that Medli shares the bloodline of the Zora Earth Sage Laruto. Also, we see the symbol of the Zora Sapphire (which is used as the Zora's royal family symbol) in multiple places on the Ritos' home of Dragon Roost Isle. It is even on the clothes worn by the Rito. It is unknown why this change would have occurred since the Zoras in Oracle of Ages have been shown to be able to live in the sea off the coast of the island of Labrynna; however, unlike the Great Sea, the Zoras seemed to be living in a controlled environment without interruption from other sea dwellers. Regardless, the name similarity between "Rito" and "Princess Ruto" indicates strong evidence for this possibility. Also, in their general physiology Zoras and Ritos have many similarities, like the fact that the Rito have wings that hang down at their elbows, and the Zoras have fins at the same place. The most convincing piece of evidence is that almost every other race is accounted for from OoT. The Kokiri became the Koroks, the Gorons the Traveling Merchants, and the Hylians the inhabitants of the variouse isles. Many things would have changed over the hundreds of years between OoT and WW.

On the other hand, it is also possible that the Great Sea, once sunken, reverted Ritos to an aquatic state once again. It is also implied that the home of the Zoras in The Wind Waker is actually at Great Fish Island which was the home of the Great Jabun (who speaks ancient Hylian and whose name is an obvious reference to Jabu Jabu) and was home to some race before the island was destroyed by Ganon. The dragon that lives atop Dragon Roost Isle, the volcano, bomb rocks, and the red stone that the player acquires is a bigger reference to the Goron area of Ocarina of Time than the Zora area. One possible way of accounting for this discrepancy is that Dragon Roost Island may have been uninhabited until Great Fish Isle was distroyed by Ganon. If the Rito had been living there, they may have fled to Dragon roost, which would then account for the many boxes(some of which is obviously not mail) scattered around, and the fact that their only forms of decoration so far has been cloths draped over the walls.

It must be taken into account however that Zoras still exist in The Legend of Zelda as enemies, although the game seems to take place after Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker; the manual, however, lists these enemies as Zolas, and it is unknown whether these two names truly denote two separate races or species or they are the same and the spelling is a result of confusion in the Japanese language of the l and r sounds in the Japanese phonology. An evolutionary offshoot or a hybrid is more likely than the prospect of an entire population taking this evolutionary course, especially considering that the Zoras in Oracle of Ages denote a difference between the "noble sea Zoras" and the "savage, vulgar river Zoras."

One major question remains. In A Link To The Past, the descendants of the seven sages are all human. Ruto's descedants are human, so how could they be? In previous paragraphs they explain that the Zora evolved into the Ritos. Bird-People. Because Ruto is a princess it is her descedant who is the chief of the Ritos once they evolve, therefore through the prince the sage is descendant. If you understand how the Ritos get there wings, you know they need a scale from Valoo. No Valoo, no wings. They would look like people basically and could intermarry with them thus producing Ruto's human heritage.