Hello Smashers! Today I bring you the biography of the known Zelda series Villian, Ganondorf!

We’ll talk about his evolution through the Zelda games and his different debuts. It should be noted that Ganondorf was known as Ganon until Ocarina of Time and until then just appeared in his pig-like form.

Since the series began, Ganon has taken the role of the primary antagonist. As such, he has appeared in almost every game in the series, some of which hide his existence until late in the game. When he does not appear, the antagonist role is filled by another character, such as Majora in Majora’s Mask, Bellum in Phantom Hourglass, and Vaati in both The Minish Cap and Four Swords. In Link’s Awakening, DethI (the physical form of The Wind Fish’s Nightmares) fills the role of the antagonist. During the final battle, Dethl assumes several forms, all of which are based on villains and creatures from Link’s past. While Ganon does not fill the role of the antagonist in this game, one of Dethl’s forms is called “Ganon’s Shadow” and is constructed from Link’s memories of their battle.

Ganon made his first appearance in The Legend of Zelda. After years of imprisonment in the Dark World, Ganon, the Prince of Darkness, managed to escape. With an army of his followers, he soon invaded the land of Hyrule and stole the Triforce of Power. With the power of the Triforce, Ganon wished to plunge the world into darkness and fear under his rule. To protect the realm from this fate, the Triforce of Wisdom was shattered into eight pieces, each hidden in a different location within Hyrule. This last minute effort was pulled off by the Princess of Hyrule, Zelda. Fearing her efforts would not be enough, the princess sent her nursemaid, Impa, to search for a man with enough courage to defeat Ganon. After learning of the princess’s actions, Ganon kidnapped Zelda, locked her in his lair on Death Mountain, and sent a group of his minions after Impa. When the minions found Impa and all seemed lost, a hero named Link appeared to rescue her. Fearing for their lives, the creatures fled. The failure of the pursuing creatures sealed the fate of their master. When Link’s journey finally brought him to Death Mountain, an invisible Ganon faced the hero. Despite Ganon’s invisibility, Link managed to defeat the Prince of Darkness with the legendary Silver Arrows. Now that their master was dead, the remaining followers were filled with the desire to seek revenge.

Ganon seems quite beaten

In The Adventure of Link, Ganon’s minions attempted to kill Link in order to revive their master by sprinkling Link’s blood on Ganon. Throughout the game he was seen as a shadowy figure in the Game Over screen.

In A Link to the Past, it was revealed that centuries ago, Ganon and his army of thieves, who were all skilled in dark arts, found the entrance to the Golden Land. Upon entering the realm, Ganon killed his followers, touched the Triforce with “blood stained hands”, and made a wish. His wish to conquer the world transformed the Golden Land into the corrupt Dark World. From the Dark World, Ganon began to summon other beings to the Dark World where he used the Triforce to transform them into monsters for his army. When his army satisfied him, Ganon led them in an attack on the land of Hyrule. However, when the knights and the Seven Sages combined their powers, they managed to seal Ganon and his army in the corrupt world he had created.

Ganon was trapped in the Dark World for many centuries, but using the form/possession of Agahnim, he returned to Hyrule Castle and overthrew the King. To break the sages’ seal, he kidnapped the Seven Maidens, the descendants of the sages, and transported them to the Dark World. When it came time to transport Princess Zelda, it was discovered that she had escaped with Link. Determined to break the seal, Agahnim sent the brainwashed knights of Hyrule to search throughout the land for the princess. Much time had passed when she was finally found to be hiding in the Sanctuary. Her recapture had very little resistance because Link had gone in search of the Master Sword, so by the time he found Agahnim, it was too late. Zelda had been transported to the Dark World, and Ganon was finally free. Link began to fight Agahnim, but when the situation began to look bad, the wizard transported the boy to the Dark World. Link does not see the wizard again until Agahnim appeared before Link to battle to the death atop of Ganon’s Tower. Unlike their previous fight, Agahnim was ultimately destroyed. With his minion gone, Ganon fled to the Pyramid of Power, where Link, armed with Silver Arrows and the Master Sword, was finally able to defeat him.

That’s one mean looking pig

In Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf is known as the King of the Gerudo, by virtue of being the only male in the tribe born once every 100 years. Ganondorf learns of the legend of the Triforce and seeks to attain it with the aid of his servants, Twinrova. He makes several attempts to steal the sacred stones in order to enter the Sacred Realm, but each time he is unsuccessful. When Link obtains all three, Ganondorf uses this opportunity to seize the Triforce when Link removes the Master Sword, the final key to the Sacred Realm. His unbalanced heart only allows him to receive the Triforce of Power (with Wisdom and Courage going to Zelda and Link respectively). His Triforce piece allows him to cause numerous disasters for all of Hyrule, and in doing so, become the King of Evil.

By the time seven years had passed, he had placed monsters in the Sages’ temples to prevent them from hearing their “awakening call”. When Link awakened from the Sacred Realm as a young adult, Ganondorf watched him, waiting for when Zelda would reveal herself. Ganondorf is eventually able to capture the final sage—Princess Zelda—forcing Link into a direct confrontation. Although bested by Link in the ensuing battle atop his tower, he uses the remains of his power to destroy his tower, in hope of finishing Link and Zelda. Though they escape, thinking him defeated, Ganondorf emerges from the rubble and transforms into the monstrous sword-wielding boar-like demon, Ganon. After an epic battle, the Seven Sages imprison Ganon in the Sacred Realm where he vows to return and exterminate the descendants of Link and Zelda as long as the Triforce of Power remains in his hand.

Huh? What’s this?

Oh-uh, this isn’t right..

In Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, the Twinrova sisters attempt to revive Ganon by causing sorrow in Labrynna, destruction in Holodrum and despair by sacrificing Princess Zelda. However, when Link saves Zelda, the ritual is incomplete, and, left with no other options, the Twinrova sisters use themselves as the sacrifice. While the King of Evil is brought back to life, Ganon becomes nothing more than a mindless beast bent on destruction, failing to retain his mind due to the wrong sacrifice in the ritual.

We’re glad that Ganon is not from the “Oracle of” games, but the horrible CD-i ones

In The Wind Waker, it is revealed that before the events of the game, Ganon, who had been sealed away at the end of Ocarina of Time, managed to free himself. He spread darkness across the land once again, but unlike his previous attempt to rule over the land, he was faced with no opposition by the Hero of Time. When Ganon’s goals finally seemed within his reach, the gods intervened, flooding the kingdom and hiding the remains underneath an ocean. While his conquest had been delayed, not all was lost. If Ganon could find the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage, then he could wish for the kingdom to return. Thus began his search for the descendant of Zelda., and he sent his followers to bring him young blonde-haired girls with pointy ears.

One of the girls kidnapped by the Helmaroc King was Link’s younger sister, so he set out to find her. When Link finally finds his sister, Ganon meets face to face with one of his two targets. However, Link manages to escape and begins to search for the Master Sword. This is what Ganon had hoped for, however, because the removal of the sword would return his power. Manipulating the course of events, Ganon not only manages to lead Link to the resting place of the Master Sword, where it is soon removed, but he also lures Link back to him in order to steal both Link and Zelda’s respective Triforce pieces which he then uses to put the Triforce back together again in order to bring Hyrule to the surface, becoming its complete ruler. As Ganon is about to combine the pieces of the Triforce, he reveals the reason for his lust for power and control over Hyrule. He reveals that his country was filled with death and despair which would rain down even from the winds. Hyrule was a rich land filled with life, which Ganon coveted and desired to rule. Ganon then attacks Link and weakens him enough to take his and Zelda’s Triforce pieces, and forms the Triforce. However, before Ganon can activate the Triforce, it is activated by the King of Hyrule, who wishes for Hyrule to remain flooded until further notice and the children saved. Ganon’s composure finally snaps and he begins laughing maniacally, then attacks Link and Princess Zelda in a psychopathic rage. They retaliate and eventually defeat the dark king by impaling his head with the Master Sword. Ganon utters one last insane laugh and says, “The wind… it is blowing”. He then turns into stone, and his body stays as Hyrule is flooded with water.

Ouch, right in the head…

In Twilight Princess, Ganon initially appears in a plot twist midway through the game, though he is really the one behind all of the events that have transpired throughout the story. Before the start of the game, he was banished to the Twilight Realm after a failed execution by the ancient sages, which left him with a glowing wound on his chest. Then, presenting himself as a god, he encounters Zant (who was built up to be the primary antagonist), giving him his power and convincing him to attempt conquest of the light world. He also serves as the final boss of the game in numerous phases, including one appearance as Ganon (in a more feral style than in previous appearances, mirroring Link’s wolf form). In the final battle with Ganondorf, he used no magic attacks and only uses his sword, the same sword that the sages used to try and execute him, to try and defeat Link. At the end of the game Link defeats Ganondorf, impaling him through the wound in his chest with the Master Sword. After getting up and muttering a few words, Zant is shown snapping his own neck in a vision. Ganondorf gasps, his eyes glaze over, and the Triforce symbol on his hand disappears.

The epic last battle

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