Taking place mostly in the Kingdom of Hyrule, Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda franchise depicts many different eras. Throughout these, Link and the rest of the human-like Hylians have remained the series' focus. It's time to shake things up with a Zelda spinoff focusing on one of Hyrule's other intelligent races - specifically, the Gorons.
The Goron people are large, strong, and rotund. They have short legs, large bellies, and long arms. Typically dwelling in or near Death Mountain (which is usually as dangerous as it sounds), the hardy Gorons are known to eat rocks and even drink lava. Gorons first appeared in Ocarina of Time, living in a thriving community inside Death Mountain before Ganon's rise to power. They are not always so numerous, however; The Wind Waker features only three Gorons, all living as traveling merchants.
Although The Legend of Zelda has been a major contributor to the games industry for decades, it hosts surprisingly few spinoff titles when compared to other Nintendo franchises. Age of Calamity and Cadence of Hyrule are notable, recent offshoots of the main series, and there have been others before them, but Hyrule has room for many more featuring different subjects.
Ideas For A Legend Of Zelda Goron Spinoff
One potential Goron spinoff could be inspired by the Gorons' story in Ocarina of Time. When Link returns to Goron City as an adult, he finds a lone Goron child - also named Link - rolling around in a fit. His father and leader of the Gorons, Darunia, has gone into the Fire Temple to slay Volvagia, a dragon that preys on Gorons. A 2D dungeon crawler in which the player descends into Death Mountain as a Goron hero could be fun and unique. Different kinds of rocks could be found for healing or wielding as weaponry, and Sonic-like rolling mechanics could be used to traverse the lava-filled caverns.
The Zelda series has enough dungeon crawling, though, so perhaps another Goron pastime, Sumo Wrestlin', should see its glory days. When Link encounters the Gorons on Death Mountain in Twilight Princess, he is challenged to a Sumo Wrestlin' match against one of their elders to prove his worth. There are already plenty of wrestling video games, but a Goron Sumo Wrestlin' game could be the best of them all. Different arenas, many playable Gorons (plus a secret, unlockable Link), special abilities, and tag-team game modes could make it a blast.
The Gorons are often depicted as an industrious folk. A construction sim game inspired by the Goron Mines of Twilight Princess and the mining equipment all over Death Mountain in Breath of the Wild could also make for an interesting experience in the vein of Fallout Shelter. Starting from the base of Death Mountain, players could expand the population of Goron City, building increasingly elaborate caverns. Jobs could be assigned to various Gorons therein, and strong fighters could be trained to protect the mountain city from Ganon's minions. There are plenty of options for Goron spinoff titles that could honor them as one of the most recognizable races in The Legend of Zelda.
