Octorok

Octoroks 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 port, there is a room with three golden Octoroks inside.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Octoroks are similar to the ones from A Link to the Past. However, due to the limitations of color in Game Boy games, Octoroks come in only one color. There is also a new type of Octorok in the game known as the Paraocto.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
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. 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. A large Octorok known as Bigocto appears as the mini-boss of Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Octoroks are identical to their Ocarina of Time counterparts. When hit with an Ice Arrow, an Octorok 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, though, 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 defensive postures of all of Link's alternate forms will simply block them.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages & 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. Also, in both games, Link can acquire an Octo Ring that transforms him into an Octorok. He cannot use any attacks while in this form, but he is ignored by other Octoroks, and also cannot be eaten by Like Likes.

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. Some lurk in shallow rivers and pools, shooting rocks at passersby and hiding whenever Link comes near. Others dwell in the Great Sea, 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 blue being stronger than red. They fire rocks at Link, and through Kinstone fusion, sometimes appear as Golden Octoroks, which leave behind great wealth. 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 in Minish form.

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 are set to appear. Link must deflect their rocks back at them with his shield. Interestingly, they bear a striking resemblance to Deku Scrubs from past games, as they hide in the grass and camouflage themselves in leaves.

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, in their Ocarina of Time depiction, appear as random enemies in Super Smash Bros. Melee, usually found in boxes and barrels. They fire rocks at the player, but the rocks cannot be deflected back at them. The are also found in Adventure Mode, in the Underground Maze. Ocarina of Time model Octoroks appear as a collectible trophy as well, although their tentacles are replaced with four legs like in The Legend of Zelda.

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.

WarioWare: Twisted!
Octoroks appear in 9-Volt's chapter in their The Legend of Zelda form. Depending on the difficulty level, Link is surrounded by two, three, or sixteen Octoroks. The rocks must be deflected with the shield, which is automatically equipped. The GBA console must be turned to have Link turn into the proper position.

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.