Highlights
- Death Mountain is a recurring iconic location in the Legend of Zelda series, known for its volcanic nature and its role as the home of the Gorons.
- Throughout the series, Death Mountain has served different purposes and appeared in different forms, but its recognizable presence provides a sense of familiarity for players.
- In various games, such as Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess, Death Mountain features challenging dungeons and lava motifs, requiring players to overcome various obstacles.
The Legend of Zelda series is full of iconic recurring locations that have shaped the world of Hyrule from the original NES title all the way to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Although the setting of entries in the Zelda franchise has differed from game to game, some locations remain synonymous with the series and are a recognizable part of the core Zelda experience. One such location is Death Mountain, which is known to be an intimidating and perilous region within Hyrule, appearing as recently as in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
While Death Mountain has become the home of the Gorons in recent appearances, it has served a variety of purposes throughout the Zelda series. The mountain is often depicted as volcanic and is typically situated in the north of Hyrule, but its exact placement varies between the games it appears in. Throughout the changes the series has undergone over the years, recognizable monuments like Death Mountain help players feel a sense of familiarity when jumping into a new Zelda game for the first time.
Death Mountain's Various Incarnations Throughout the Zelda Series
Death Mountain first appeared in the original Legend of Zelda title as the northern portion of the map and contains the fifth and ninth dungeons, as well as some of the game's toughest enemies and dangerous falling boulders. It appears again in Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link albeit in a much less important role, serving as a maze of interconnected tunnels the player must traverse in order to collect the Hammer from Spectacle Rock. Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures also feature Death Mountain, but as a mandatory level players need to complete rather than an entire region.
In A Link to the Past, Death Mountain continues to be covered in falling boulders, and the player needs to navigate between the Dark World and the Light World to reach the Tower of Hera located on Death Mountain just past Spectacle Rock. The Dark World also features its own version of Death Mountain that contains Turtle Rock and Ganon's Tower. Although it appears very similarly in A Link Between Worlds, players do not need to travel between Hyrule and Lorule to reach Death Mountain despite it still containing the Tower of Hera, with its Lorule version containing the Treacherous Tower and Ice Ruins.
Ocarina of Time established the version of Death Mountain players are familiar with today, introducing the Gorons as the mountain's inhabitants and housing the Fire Temple and its boss Volvagia, the ancient spirit of the mountain. Twilight Princess expands upon this depiction of Death Mountain by further developing Goron society within the mountain and creating the Goron Mines as the mandatory dungeon of the region. Both of these versions of Death Mountain lean into its volcanic nature, featuring fire and lava motifs throughout these dungeons and requiring Link to navigate Goron culture before being allowed into the mountain's depths.
Death Mountain returns again in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom as the home of the Gorons located in the Eldin region in northeastern part of Hyrule's map. In Breath of the Wild, players need to tread carefully around the flowing lava that cover the mountain in order to reach the Divine Beast Vah Rudania at the summit, where they must wrest control of the beast away from Fireblight Ganon. By the time Tears of the Kingdom takes place, the lava that covered Death Mountain has cooled and players are free to ride mine carts to the summit and battle Moragia before taking the plunge into the Depths below the volcano to reach the Fire Temple.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for Nintendo Switch.
