Dragon Roost Cavern

Template:Dungeons

Dragon Roost Cavern is the second dungeon Link visits in The Wind Waker. When Link first comes to the island, Valoo is very angry, yet the Rito who live there do not know why. Unless they can solve the problem, Valoo will not let anyone near to receive his scales, which allow the Rito to fly.^[1]

Entrance to the Cavern

The dungeon is Located within Dragon Roost Island, beyond the home of the Ritos, and is the home to the Sky Spirit Valoo.

Link first learns of the cavern from Medli, a Rito and the Great Valoo's attendant. She wishes to visit Valoo and find out why he is upset.^[2] With Link's help, she reaches the cavern, and gives Link a bottle, which, with a little ingenuity, allows him access to the cavern as well (the entrance to the cavern is usually blocked by a moat; a rock, from the disturbance caused by Valoo, blocked the hole that caused the moat. So Link waters a bomb flower and blew up the rock).

Themes and Navigation

Dragon roost room — Link sets foot into Dragon Roost Cavern

The dungeon is reminiscent of Dodongo's Cavern from Ocarina of Time: Link has to constantly use Bomb Flowers to destroy giant boulders that block his way; because (surprisingly) Link doesn't find a Bomb Bag yet, Bomb Flowers remain as the only mean of explosive material. The Cavern features a reoccurring amount of torch scenarios, making the exploration less difficult than in other dungeons; other parts require Link to cool lava with water jars, which is very important so that the young hero can pass through fiery floors, as well as rise on lava geysers as if he was taking an elevator; after reaching the Cavern's roof, Link has to rescue Medli, who ends up captured by two Bokoblins and a Moblin. Upon her release, Link receives the Grappling Hook, which is what the Rito used to use before they had wings. From this point, Link uses the new tool as a vine to jump lava pits and holes, as well as to press switches hanging from the ceiling.

Once in possession of the Big Key, Link finds the Magtail Queen called Gohma in the room below Valoo. It was this Magtail that was causing Valoo to be upset as she was agitating his tail, which hung down into the cavern below.^[3] Using the Grappling Hook and the weight of the slab of dried magma imprisoning Valoo's tail, Link defeated Gohma and restored peace to the island. He then received the Din's Pearl from Prince Komali as a reward for scaling the cavern.

It is highly debated whether or not Dragon Roost Island is actually the tip of Death Mountain from Ocarina of Time, as the hole that Valoo sits on originally has a ring of smoke around it. The fact that Valoo is a dragon is also interesting, as the former inhabitant of Death Mountain was Volvagia, who the Hero of Time defeated.

Minor Enemies and Traps

Trivia

The background music in Dragon Roost Cavern is a remix of the Dodongo Cavern and Death Mountain Crater background music, further supporting its connection to Death Mountain.
It is also to note that at the entrance of Dragon Roost Cavern there is a mural on the wall of a green dragon that appears to be Volvagia
Dragon Roost Cavern contains many cliff areas outside of the cavern which are still considered part of the dungeon (they appear on the dungeon map.) This makes The Wind Waker the fourth Zelda game to feature exterior areas in a dungeon (in Link's Awakening the Eagle's Tower dungeon had an exterior boss room, the Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time had outdoor courtyards, and in Majora's Mask, Stone Tower Temple had an open roof in many rooms, although the dungeon still technically always took place inside the temple.)

References

↑ "We do so by the graces of the sky spirit, Valoo. When a Rito reaches adulthood, he or she journeys to the top of Dragon Roost to receive a scale from the great dragon. It is this scale that enables the Rito to grow his or her wings. Recently, however, the once-gentle Valoo has grown violent and unpredictable. Sadly, we can no longer approach him. If this continues, the fledglings who are of age will never be able to receive scales from Valoo on Dragon Roost. They will remain wingless, and in time, our very way of life will be threatened." — Rito Chieftain (Wind Waker)
↑ "I want to go to the small shrine that's near the peak of Dragon Roost, but that ledge over there is so high..." — Medli (Wind Waker)
↑ "I have to tell you what I found out! This is terrible!...Some creature is doing awful things to the great Valoo's tail! That's why he's so angry! The great Valoo's tail hangs down into the room right below here." — Medli (Wind Waker)

Names in Other Regions
Language		Name

Template:Wind Waker Dungeons

[1] "We do so by the graces of the sky spirit, Valoo. When a Rito reaches adulthood, he or she journeys to the top of Dragon Roost to receive a scale from the great dragon. It is this scale that enables the Rito to grow his or her wings. Recently, however, the once-gentle Valoo has grown violent and unpredictable. Sadly, we can no longer approach him. If this continues, the fledglings who are of age will never be able to receive scales from Valoo on Dragon Roost. They will remain wingless, and in time, our very way of life will be threatened." — Rito Chieftain (Wind Waker)

[2] "I want to go to the small shrine that's near the peak of Dragon Roost, but that ledge over there is so high..." — Medli (Wind Waker)

[3] "I have to tell you what I found out! This is terrible!...Some creature is doing awful things to the great Valoo's tail! That's why he's so angry! The great Valoo's tail hangs down into the room right below here." — Medli (Wind Waker)

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