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[Common Knowledge]

BotW in general does great at fleshing out the major races, and Gerudo Town is definitely my favorite. Although there's still one thing I wish it touched upon: where the heck are the female Gorons?!


I actually was really excited when I first walked into Gerudo Town and saw a Goron in the plaza ahead of me. Knowing that only females are allowed in, I thought for sure that was a female Goron. But it ended up just being a male Goron who was wondering how the heck he was allowed in. It was funny, but also kind of disappointing that we're still left wondering how the heck do Gorons reproduce when females are seemingly nonexistant. (And it's worth noting that the game makes references to "male Gorons" several time, implying that there are indeed females.) At least Gerudos have an in-game lore reason as to why you don't see any males.


The Gorons are actually probably the weakest race in the game in regards to having their culture and lore fleshed out. After seeing Zora's Domain and how great it was, I was really excited to see how Goron City would be, but I ended up being a bit disappointed by it. It was pretty similar to all other appearances of Gorons in the series, with the exception of some interesting designs for some of them, such as darker colors for some.

I mean, the Gorons themselves are great and I love their macho, bro-culture thing they got going on, but I just wish they were expanded on a bit more like the other races were in this game.

 

[Lord of Ostia]

What I observed were people hyper-analyzing the intent of one moment of one part of the game. The fact that it had to be picked apart in an attempt to find fault seems petty to me. I'm all for fighting the good fight but it was asinine in my opinion.

No, you are mischaracterizing those articles. I had the same thoughts about that portion of the game myself, and I'm a straight white dude. Ultimately I came to the same conclusion as those writers, which is that it wasn't handled ideally but it was a step in the right direction and doesn't marr the whole experience.

 

[victreeb3l]

Bolson's assistant is dating the girl who hides in the corner in the clothing shop.

LOL Whaaaat? Seriously? This is more of a surprise than when I found out who the Cucco guys wife was in Kakariko.

 

[Fandangox]

BotW in general does great at fleshing out the major races, and Gerudo Town is definitely my favorite. Although there's still one thing I wish it touched upon: where the heck are the female Gorons?!


I actually was really excited when I first walked into Gerudo Town and saw a Goron in the plaza ahead of me. Knowing that only females are allowed in, I thought for sure that was a female Goron. But it ended up just being a male Goron who was wondering how the heck he was allowed in. It was funny, but also kind of disappointing that we're still left wondering how the heck do Gorons reproduce when females are seemingly nonexistant. (And it's worth noting that the game makes references to "male Gorons" several time, implying that there are indeed females.) At least Gerudos have an in-game lore reason as to why you don't see any males.


The Gorons are actually probably the weakest race in the game in regards to having their culture and lore fleshed out. After seeing Zora's Domain and how great it was, I was really excited to see how Goron City would be, but I ended up being a bit disappointed by it. It was pretty similar to all other appearances of Gorons in the series, with the exception of some interesting designs for some of them, such as darker colors for some.

I mean, the Gorons themselves are great and I love their macho, bro-culture thing they got going on, but I just wish they were expanded on a bit more like the other races were in this game.

Yeah the gorons are my favorite Zelda race, and I really like their slow, but weird transition they have into this almost surfer-like "bro" thing they have going on, but BOTW's Goron city is the worst city in the game, it doesn't look very interesting, there's pretty much only shops, and there's very few side-quests compared to the other cities.

 

[Xbro]

Well the Last gerudo boy we met fucked up 3 whole timelines.

Actually the last one we met just tried to revive

Spoiler

Vaati

.

 

[kitchenmotors]

Like it too, but still wonder why the "gay" characters in Zelda BOTW are still more used as a Joke or as dragqueens.

I'm gay and I don't see that at all, Bolson is the best character in the game.

 

[Jugendstil]

He isn't explicitly gay, just very very camp

And that's why I love him. As a campy gay guy in real life, I like seeing a humorous and well meaning depiction of a campy/femme guy in the game. I loathe the idea that queerness in video games can only be depicted as SERIOUS BUSINESS.

 

[kitchenmotors]

Bolson is gay!?!?

Yes.

You straights need to stop trying to take Bolson's identity away. He's the top gay in Hyrule. No one else could pull off his outfit and still do manual labor.

 

[Leatherface]

No, you are mischaracterizing those articles. I had the same thoughts about that portion of the game myself, and I'm a straight white dude. Ultimately I came to the same conclusion as those writers, which is that it wasn't handled ideally but it was a step in the right direction and doesn't marr the whole experience.

As outlined by the OP, the designers obviously put a lot thought into the inhabitants in this section of the game. Because a moment happened to rub select individuals the wrong way doesn't mean there was anything actually wrong or of poor intent. Many things can be construed in a negative light when looked at under a magnifying glass. That is how I felt on this particular subject. Opinions and all..

Anyway, we are getting off track. I am just happy that so much thought was given to this part of the game. Gaming in general still has plenty of room for improvement in this regard. it's nice to see developers starting to understand and consider this in their art.

 

[Deckard Chapel]

I love Gerudo Town!

I found myself curiously aroused by the Amazons dwelling therein, even though they are videogame characters.

I am partial to fit women and also Hispanic/Asian women, so I bonded immediately with the mass-hotness you find inside the town walls.

I want to live in Gerudo Town. I really want to live there.

 

[Jugendstil]

Yes.

You straights need to stop trying to take Bolson's identity away. He's the top gay in Hyrule. No one else could pull off his outfit and still do manual labor.

The most iconic diva in Hyrule. Have a seat, Zelda.

 

[kitchenmotors]

The most iconic diva in Hyrule. Have a seat, Zelda.

Zelda is way too basic in this game.

Bolson has the best one liners as well.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

LOL Whaaaat? Seriously? This is more of a surprise than when I found out who the Cucco guys wife was in Kakariko.

He mentions that his girlfriend works in a clothing store selling clothes made by her father. Which is exactly the set up of the Hateno clothing store.

 

[Richie]

I absolutely love how one of the Gerudo guards can tell Link isn't Gerudo because (paraphrasing) "You're too short! Your skin isn't the right tone! I CAN BARELY SEE YOUR ABS! You're no Gerudo!"

 

[foxuzamaki]

He mentions that his girlfriend works in a clothing store selling clothes made by her father. Which is exactly the set up of the Hateno clothing store.

Does he know that she liked hanging out in corners?

 

[Giolon]

I absolutely love how one of the Gerudo guards can tell Link isn't Gerudo because (paraphrasing) "You're too short! Your skin isn't the right tone! I CAN BARELY SEE YOUR ABS! You're no Gerudo!"

Also "Your hair is the wrong color"!

I love the Gerardo in this game and their town too. It feels so much more richly developed than Ocarina of Time which just leaves you going "but how can that even work with 1 male born every 100 years?" if you think about it at all. Well, BotW makes it very clear they seek out mates of other races elsewhere. It also means Gerardo gene expression is something mighty fierce because they're able to maintain their 8 foot plus stature, dark skin, and red hair all while mating with Hylians and Sheikah who are like polar opposites.

Man...all those killer abs. There should've been some place where you find Gerudo doing sit ups.

 

[Makonero]

I absolutely love how one of the Gerudo guards can tell Link isn't Gerudo because (paraphrasing) "You're too short! Your skin isn't the right tone! I CAN BARELY SEE YOUR ABS! You're no Gerudo!"

I LOVED that moment. Almost as much as I loved the "teaching Gerudo women about men" class.

 

[Xbro]

Also "Your hair is the wrong color"!

I love the Gerardo in this game and their town too. It feels so much more richly developed than Ocarina of Time which just leaves you going "but how can that even work with 1 male born every 100 years?" if you think about it at all. Well, BotW makes it very clear they seek out mates of other races elsewhere. It also means Gerardo gene expression is something mighty fierce because they're able to maintain their 8 foot plus stature, dark skin, and red hair all while mating with Hylians and Sheikah who are like polar opposites.

Man...all those killer abs. There should've been some place where you find Gerudo doing sit ups.

Ocarina of Time also makes it clear that they seek out males from other races.

 

[Cloukyo]

Still don't like how Gerudo are considered almost a separate race.

Like let's have a representative of the rock people, bird people, fish people and then these brown women.

Well Hylians are elves. We don't have humans in Hyrule

 

[Thud]

I LOVED that moment. Almost as much as I loved the "teaching Gerudo women about men" class.

Risa pls.

 

[casey_contra]

Zelda is way too basic in this game.

Bolson has the best one liners as well.

"Are we the studs of studwork?"

Also, Zelda's eyebrows are great in this game. I do appreciate a good brow.

 

[Makonero]

Risa pls.

Risa, we need to talk after class.

I love that she thinks she just needs a "refresher."

 

[Schnozberry]

And that's why I love him. As a campy gay guy in real life, I like seeing a humorous and well meaning depiction of a campy/femme guy in the game. I loathe the idea that queerness in video games can only be depicted as SERIOUS BUSINESS.

He also has great one liners, has the respect of his employees, and runs a successful business. In the context of the game he isn't treated as a joke by anyone. I'm not sure why everyone is so bothered by the depiction. I'm curious how people would want to see him depicted in their ideal hypothetical game.

 

[rhandino]

One thing I really loved about the Gerudo in this game is that you can see very old ones and they still dress more or less like the young ones.

Specially loved the one that is

Spoiler

hanging around the Hylia statue and she talks about how during her youth she was an adventurer and how gorgeous she was and the fact that she never romanced anyone because she was looking for a place called Love Pond sure that the love of her life would be there but she grew old and then she tells you that she is not bitter about how things ended up because she chased her dreams

I was taken back and got a smile out of that line.

Gerudo Town is certainly awesome and a good step in the right direction after Link embraced wearing women clothes in Triforce Heroes

 

[PSqueak]

Also "Your hair is the wrong color"!

I love the Gerardo in this game and their town too. It feels so much more richly developed than Ocarina of Time which just leaves you going "but how can that even work with 1 male born every 100 years?" if you think about it at all. Well, BotW makes it very clear they seek out mates of other races elsewhere. It also means Gerardo gene expression is something mighty fierce because they're able to maintain their 8 foot plus stature, dark skin, and red hair all while mating with Hylians and Sheikah who are like polar opposites.

Man...all those killer abs. There should've been some place where you find Gerudo doing sit ups.

In OOT there is an NPC that explains that the Gerudo come from time to time to the castle town looking for mates.

 

[Jugendstil]

He also has great one liners, has the respect of his employees, and runs a successful business. In the context of the game he isn't treated as a joke by anyone. I'm not sure why everyone is so bothered by the depiction. I'm curious how people would want to see him depicted in their ideal hypothetical game.

Exactly! It was obvious to me that the writers/translators have a lot of affection for him. I'll never know for certain, but I feel like his English dialog has to have been written by a gay person. He's just too camp in a specific way not to have been, I can't imagine a straight guy writing some of his one liners.

 

[foxuzamaki]

One thing I really loved about the Gerudo in this game is that you can see very old ones and they still dress more or less like the young ones.

Specially loved the one that is

Spoiler

hanging around the Hylia statue and she talks about how during her youth she was an adventurer and how gorgeous she was and the fact that she never romanced anyone because she was looking for a place called Love Pond sure that the love of her life would be there but she grew old and then she tells you that she is not bitter about how things ended up because she chased her dreams

I was taken back and got a smile out of that line.

Gerudo Town is certainly awesome and a good step in the right direction after Link embraced wearing women clothes in Triforce Heroes

I know which one you're talking about, love her

 

[Azure J]

One thing I really loved about the Gerudo in this game is that you can see very old ones and they still dress more or less like the young ones.

Specially loved the one that is

Spoiler

hanging around the Hylia statue and she talks about how during her youth she was an adventurer and how gorgeous she was and the fact that she never romanced anyone because she was looking for a place called Love Pond sure that the love of her life would be there but she grew old and then she tells you that she is not bitter about how things ended up because she chased her dreams

I was taken back and got a smile out of that line.

This was super charming and well done to me when I encountered this NPC. It really stuck out to me that I was enjoying this game and the characterization of even its "throwaway" characters when I found myself checking this out and just really stunned by the dialogue concluding the way it did (in a really uplifting way).

There's also another one that got me but for totally different reasoning:

Spoiler

There's a Gerudo girl hanging out a bit on the trail outside of the town who when approached has a convo about her place in the world and asking Link why he's talking to her. You get two dialogue choices which were something like "You're my dream girl!" and something that she interprets as disinterest. Picking the first has her get really skeeved (Mom told me there's nothing worst than a guy talking about "dream girls" or something to that effect) and immediately disengage the conversation. For whatever reason, I thought I was missing something like a side quest given how odd this exchange was so i tried talking to her again two more times before I was immediately hit with the creepiest idea -- was Link technically catcalling here? :lol

 

[Makonero]

This was super charming and well done to me when I encountered this NPC. It really stuck out to me that I was enjoying this game and the characterization of even its "throwaway" characters when I found myself checking this out and just really stunned by the dialogue concluding the way it did (in a really uplifting way).

There's also another one that got me but for totally different reasoning:

Spoiler

There's a Gerudo girl hanging out a bit on the trail outside of the town who when approached has a convo about her place in the world and asking Link why he's talking to her. You get two dialogue choices which were something like "You're my dream girl!" and something that she interprets as disinterest. Picking the first has her get really skeeved (Mom told me there's nothing worst than a guy talking about "dream girls" or something to that effect) and immediately disengage the conversation. For whatever reason, I thought I was missing something like a side quest given how odd this exchange was so i tried talking to her again two more times before I was immediately hit with the creepiest idea -- was Link technically catcalling here? :lol

She was taught that by the teacher in the Gerudo school. Great stuff.

 

[Astral Dog]

Still don't like how Gerudo are considered almost a separate race.

Like let's have a representative of the rock people, bird people, fish people and then these brown women.

Gerudo is considered a "separate" country if Ganondorf is to be believed, he was gaining political favoritism with the king of Hyrule.

 

[whyamihere]

I really, really loved Gerudo Town.

A lot of effort went into making if feel culturally distinct from the rest of Hyrule. You have the 7 Heroines (and the 8th?!), a different language (SAV'AAQ!), and a different set of rules. The city feels like a city, unlike Zora Domain, Rito Village, or Goron City, which feel a bit more like small RPG towns that are stationary.

Either way, Nintendo took what could've been a very problematic race and gave them an amazing amount of character. I've never pined for more Gerudo in Zelda games, but after BOTW, I really hope we see Gerudo as much as we see Goron and Zora.

Also, Urbosa is the best and at the end of the dungeon when

Spoiler

she talks about how Ganon took the image of a Gerudo was wonderful. You get the sense for how personal this is for her, and how Ganondorf has left a scar on the Gerudo people. It's really well done-characterization. Also, Urbosa rules.

BotW in general does great at fleshing out the major races, and Gerudo Town is definitely my favorite. Although there's still one thing I wish it touched upon: where the heck are the female Gorons?!


I actually was really excited when I first walked into Gerudo Town and saw a Goron in the plaza ahead of me. Knowing that only females are allowed in, I thought for sure that was a female Goron. But it ended up just being a male Goron who was wondering how the heck he was allowed in.

Those were women. You can tell by the hair.

 

[Lord_Byron28]

Gerudo is considered a "separate" country if Ganondorf is to be believed, he was gaining political favoritism with the king of Hyrule.

I think Gerudo Desert was part of Hyrule. The Gorons and Zoras were similarly broken away and distant from outsiders, the Hylians and Zelda in addition to having their own leaders and royalty.

Unsure why the user is upset that the Gerudo are considered a different race. The Sheikah are also considered their own race and they have much less distinguishing features than the Gerudo do.

Anyway, I loved the Gerudo in OoT so I'm glad to finally have them return. There are nods to the Gerudo in TP and WW but this is the first time since OoT that they have really returned in full fashion. Really BotW included all of my favorite races from the Zelda games. Although I was hoping to find some Yeti that originated from TP.

 

[Berordn]

Those were women. You can tell by the hair.

The Goron in Gerudo Town refer to themselves as male.

 

[whyamihere]

The Goron in Gerudo Town refer to themselves as male.

Never mind!

 

[Easy_D]

The Goron in Gerudo Town refer to themselves as male.

I think the joke is that no one can tell male and female gorons apart. One of them is even named Lyndae or something similar, which explains the mix-up

 

[balladofwindfishes]

There are no female Gorons.

My theory is Gorons have no gender at all. They probably had no concept of gender at all until they met Hylians and them calling each other "brother" likely lead the Hylians to refer to them as male and it just stuck.

 

[Order]

Gerudo town is one of the best villages in the game.

 

[atbigelow]

Really love Gerudo Town. Absolutely noticed the variety of bodies in it.

Wish they could assume more about their dress than exposed bellies. But having said that, the armor set you get there is absolutely badass.

 

[God Dayumm]

There are no female Gorons.

My theory is Gorons have no gender at all. They probably had no concept of gender at all until they met Hylians and them calling each other "brother" likely lead the Hylians to refer to them as male and it just stuck.

I think the same. They play male but have no gender. And I read somewhere that babies grow from the rocks on their back, although I don't know if that is official.

 

[Jaraghan]

Definitely my favorite town of the main 4 races. Although the music that plays in the Rito village is amazing. If they did something similar to Gerudo I would have been over the moon.

 

[Xbro]

Definitely my favorite town of the main 4 races. Although the music that plays in the Rito village is amazing. If they did something similar to Gerudo I would have been over the moon.

Now I'm just imagining a Rito Village-esque Gerudo Valley remix.

 

[MoonFrog]

Yeah the gorons are my favorite Zelda race, and I really like their slow, but weird transition they have into this almost surfer-like "bro" thing they have going on, but BOTW's Goron city is the worst city in the game, it doesn't look very interesting, there's pretty much only shops, and there's very few side-quests compared to the other cities.

Eldin province as a whole is pretty weak imo.

On topic, but yeah I think Gerudo town was a large step away from Amazon male fantasy town towards a believable all-women city.

 

[exfatal]

Where all the Voe at?! wheres my all Voe town?!

Spoiler

Really enjoyed exploring that town and doing the quest line their very well done

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Now I'm just imagining a Rito Village-esque Gerudo Valley remix.

I think the Twilight Princess version would have suited the town a bit more than the Ocarina song.

But the Ocarina version should have been in there somewhere. Even if just during the Seal surfing minigame.

 

[Astral Dog]

Gerudo Town pretty much reinforces my opinion that a Zelda game set completely in and around the Gerudo Desert could be great. Expand Gerudo Town into a Clockwork Town-like area and flesh out some cool surrounding areas. Would make for a nice change from the usual topography of water/forest/woodland/fire areas.

The desert is a pretty boring area tbh,im not sure this is a good idea Ganondorf disagrees

 

[Common Knowledge]

Those were women. You can tell by the hair.

....Except they explicitly tell you they're males.

Edit: Nevermind, I see someone else already brought that up.

 

[Astral Dog]

It's a shame how much the other towns (with Divine Beasts) suck in comparison. Zora's Domain looks cool but it isn't nearly as lively. I didn't like Goron Town at all

Zora town is cool as hell. Different designs of Zoras kids and the king And the best story part you even get Zoras around town and stones telling you the story of their adventures.

Goron have a hot looking city as well. But their citizens are the most boring ones.

And Rito at least have a very unique village design wich i like, honestly there isn't a bad town in this game!

Spoiler

except lureli village

 

[Astral Dog]

....Except they explicitly tell you they're males.

Its a joke. The Gerudo can't tell if a Goron is girl or guy so they let them pass,Gorons are confused by this 😅

 

[Astral Dog]

I love Gerudo Town!

I found myself curiously aroused by the Amazons dwelling therein, even though they are videogame characters.

I am partial to fit women and also Hispanic/Asian women, so I bonded immediately with the mass-hotness you find inside the town walls.

I want to live in Gerudo Town. I really want to live there.

This is precisely why they don't allow voes

 

[Common Knowledge]

Its a joke. The Gerudo can't tell if a Goron is girl or guy so they let them pass,Gorons are confused by this 😅

Oh no, I get that. I thought it was funny too. I just was lamenting over the fact, in the end, we still have no idea if female Gorons actually exist.