Quick Links
There are several species present inThe Legend of Zeldafranchise, ranging from giant rocky Gorons to humanoid Hylians. One type of species that appears in several games is the Zora, but did you know that there are two versions present? This would be the River Zora and Sea Zora.
What’s the difference between these two Zora variations? Here, are going to answer just that. This will look at the differences, as well as the appearance of each Zora type within The Legend of Zelda franchise. First, let’s do a quick overview of the Zora as a whole.
What Is a Zora?
Simply put, a Zora is aspecies within The Legend of Zelda that lives in and around the water.River and Sea Zora are the two names used to denote the different versions, although they function a bit differently from each other.
We’ll dive into this a bit deeper in the following sections, but for now, just know thatSea Zora are what most of this of when we hear this term;they are (usually) friendly, and have a complex civilization structure. River Zora, on the other hand,are hostile and a bit more primitive.
The names Sea and Riverdon’t really function as strict location guidelines for each subspecies.For example, in Breath of the Wild, Zora’s Domain (where the Sea Zora live) is within lakes and rivers.
Sea Zora
Sea Zora are meant to resemblesaltwater sharks and fish.
Sea Zora arehumanoid with fish-like details,and are primarily peaceful. More often than not, this species is blue, but this isn’t always the case. If you’ve played Breath of the Wild,the Zora from this game are typical Sea Zoraalthough not all of them are blue.
Overall, Sea Zora have acomplex societal structure, complete with a King,who is typically referred to as King Zora. In addition to the king, there is a royal family that helps maintain order for the Zora.
Below, you can check out every game that the Sea Zora have appeared in.
Sea Zora made theirfirst appearance in Ocarina of Time.Before this, any mention of ‘Zora’ just referred to the River Zora.
Thanks to Eiji Aonuma, we also know that theRito evolved from Zora.This seemed to take placeafter the Great Flood from Wind Waker,as the water was uninhabitable for the Zora. The specific Zora that the Rito evolved from were the ones present in Ocarina of Time.
Why do both species exist in Breath of the Wild though? This could be becausethe Rito evolved as a new subspecies, rather than replacing Zora altogether.Looking back even further, we also know thatthe Zora evolved from Parella,which is the aquatic species from Skyward Sword.
River Zora
River Zora are meant to resemblelake and river fish.
River Zora are thehostile counterpart to Sea Zora.There is no real structure to their species, and they have primarily appeared as enemies within the franchise. Interestingly, the River Zorapredate the Sea Zora, as they appeared in the very first game from 1987.
Below, you can check out the games that River Zora have appeared in.
Both of these subspecies have only appeared together a handful of times. The first connection appeared in Oracle of Ages/Seasons,when a Sea Zora mentioned the “savage, vulgar River Zora”.With this in mind, it seems that there is sometensionbetween the two subspecies.
