Gohma

Overview

Nintendo's original manual describes Gohma as an enormous crab with a shell that turns aside attacks. In the 1986 labyrinth battles, an arrow aimed at its open eye defeats the creature; different colored encounters demand different numbers of successful shots. Ocarina of Time gives the name a more personal narrative role. Queen Gohma is the parasite inside the Great Deku Tree, associated with Ganondorf's curse. It climbs onto the ceiling and produces offspring. Striking its exposed eye stuns it and permits close attacks. Defeating the parasite does not reverse the tree's already fatal condition.

In The Wind Waker, Gohma occupies lava beneath Dragon Roost and torments Valoo, whose agitation endangers the Rito. Link uses the Grappling Hook on the dragon's hanging tail to bring down a rocky ceiling slab and break Gohma's armor, then attacks the exposed eye. This is a different physical puzzle from shooting an unarmored eye in the original game. The recurring name links recognizable encounter designs, but neither the crab description nor the Deku Tree parasite establishes one consistent anatomy, reproductive history or individual identity across all appearances.

First appearances & development

Gohma appears in the original 1986 game and its English manual, with selected later treatments in Ocarina of Time in 1998 and The Wind Waker in 2002. The latter year refers to the original Japanese release; its English release followed in 2003. These are compared as game incarnations.

Canon & continuity

The original manual's printed page 38 was visually inspected in Nintendo's official scan. Zelda Wiki supplies game-specific encounter accounts and reproduces identifiable in-game descriptions, including the Dragon Roost setting. The account uses those reference-mediated game witnesses and does not promote manga transformations or later incomplete sections to shared canon.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   The Legend of Zelda

   Nintendo · 1986

   Crab-like labyrinth boss; English instruction booklet, page 38.

2. 02

   The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

   Nintendo · 1998

   Queen Gohma and the Great Deku Tree's fatal curse.

3. 03

   The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

   Nintendo · 2002

   Dragon Roost lava encounter, Valoo's tail and falling ceiling armor puzzle.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. OfficialNintendo: The Legend of Zelda instruction booklet, page 38Research access: 2026-10-05
2. ReferenceZelda Wiki: GohmaResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.