Ganon

Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time 3D
Ganon
Species	Gerudo (Ganondorf) Demon (Ganon)
Hair color	Red (Ganondorf; Ganon in OoT) Bald (Ganon)
Eye color	Yellow
Height	7'6'' / 230 cm. (Ganondorf)
Voiced by	Takashi Nagasako (1998-2002) Hironori Miyata (2005-present) Matthew Mercer (2023)
Debut	The Legend of Zelda

Ganon is the overall villain of the The Legend of Zelda game series, who acts as the main antagonist and final boss of a majority of the games in the series. He is known for his constant search for more power and domination, and because of this he is usually associated with the Triforce of Power. Ganon was originally depicted as a giant, demonic blue-skinned pig monster. As the series progressed, there was more of a focus on his past, with the introduction of his original mortal form, the Gerudo thief known as Ganondorf, in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Background

Pre-Timeline Split

Skyward Sword

Ganon's true origins were implied in the ending of Skyward Sword, during the destruction of Demise, the original Demon King. With Demise's last words, it vowed that its hatred would endure beyond its death and would be reborn anew in a neverending cycle. Demise proceeded to bind both Link and Zelda to a curse which stated that an incarnation of Demise's hatred would follow those who bore the "spirit of the hero" and the "blood of the goddess", which would doom them to "wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness" for all time. This statement clearly foreshadows Ganon's coming as the new incarnation of Demise. It also provided potential explanations as to how Ganon always returns from each defeat, and why he always appears during times when Link and Zelda are there to face him. Some confusion has still remained as to whether Ganondorf is supposed to be the reincarnation of Demise's hatred, or if this process only occurs when Ganondorf becomes the Demon King Ganon, as the Demon King title is shared by Ganon and Demise, and Ganon's personality is often portrayed differently than Ganondorf's.

Ocarina of Time

The version of Ganon in Ocarina of Time.

Once every hundred years, a Gerudo king was born to the otherwise all-female Gerudo race. Though his birth parents are unknown, Ganondorf was raised by his 'surrogate' mothers, the two witches Koume and Kotake (better known together as Twinrova). He grew strong in body and in magic. Though never explicitly stated, it is highly likely that he fought in the Great Wars prior to Ocarina of Time. His hatred for Hyrule was fueled by the suffering of his people in the desert while the Hyrulians enjoyed prosperity. Afterwards, he pledged allegiance to the King of Hyrule and made efforts to bring peace between the two peoples. His motives, however, were not for peace, but the Triforce instead. In the meantime he poisoned the Great Deku Tree, starved the Gorons, and infected Jabu-Jabu. All his efforts against them were for the purpose of acquiring their three Spiritual Stones, which were needed to open the path to the Sacred Realm in the Temple of Time. Although he failed on all counts (even his attempt to capture the Ocarina of Time from Zelda), he was not easily defeated. Rather, he allowed Link to use the stones and Ocarina to open the way to the Sacred Realm, where he claimed the Triforce. Because of his unbalanced heart, he was only able to claim the Triforce of Power. Wisdom and Courage went to Zelda and Link respectively.

Successful, he ruled over the land for seven years while Link and Zelda mysteriously vanished from his point of view. He gained many underlings and made efforts to free and revive ancient monsters such as Volvagia and Bongo Bongo. However, Link returned after those seven years and made efforts to undo his evil. With the help of Zelda, who had been operating under the guise of Sheik, Link was able to assemble the Sages. Ganondorf was still able to trick them, as he witnessed Sheik's confrontation with Link at the Temple of Time in which she revealed herself as Zelda and revealed that the two of them had Triforce pieces. Ganondorf immediately trapped Zelda within a crystal prison and brought her to his tower while daring Link to come. That way, Ganondorf could unite the Triforce after dealing with Link to complete his domination. Ganondorf battled Link on top of his tower and used his most powerful magic, but he still was defeated by the power of Link's Master Sword. The Triforce of Power allowed him to survive the collapse of his tower and, enraged, he unleashed its power to transform into the pig-like Demon King, Ganon. In the ensuing battle, Ganon took extensive damage, but was not quite defeated. However, he was weakened and distracted enough to allow Zelda and the Sages to imprison him in the Sacred Realm. Left in a void of nothingness, he returned to his Gerudo form and swore vengeance against the descendants of Link and Zelda. This future continued to the Adult Timeline. However, Link was also sent back in time in the ending which created a new timeline.

However, Link traveled back in time at the end of the game and created a new timeline where he did not enter the seven-year slumber. According to creator comments, in this timeline Link had a talk with Zelda which lead to Ganondorf's capture and the events related to Twilight Princess.

Defeated Timeline

Ocarina of Time (Hero's Defeat)

In this hypothetical version of events, Link was killed by Ganon in their final battle. This caused Ganon to receive the Triforce of Courage, and he soon retrieved the Triforce of Power from Zelda. He finally had the full Triforce at his possession and seemed unstoppable. Princess Zelda was able to lead the people of Hyrule in sealing Ganon away within the Sacred Realm with the Triforce. The Sacred Realm had become the Dark World from Ganon's influence. People who entered it became monsters, and his evil soon began to spread from the Dark World. This prompted the events of the Imprisoning War, which ended when the seven sages sealed the entrance to the Dark World. Although Ganon had absolute control over the Dark World as well as ownership of the Triforce, this seal cut him off from the actual Hyrule, for the time being.

In this timeline, Ganon had a form different than that seen in Ocarina of Time. This is the classic appearance of Ganon, which is a large blue demon with pig-like features. He wielded a trident as his main weapon. It is is uncertain how he obtained it and whether it is the same trident that he found within the other timeline.

A Link to the Past

Ganon as seen in the "Oracle" games.

In A Link to the Past, Ganon was able to act through the sorcerer Aganhim (described as an alterego of Ganon) to infiltrate Hyrule Castle. Using Agahnim, he worked to weaken the seal by sacrificing the Maidens descended from the sages and sending them into the Dark World. After sending the last one (Zelda), Ganon was on the verge of domination. However, Link challenged Agahnim with the Master Sword and defeated him. To help seal his demise, Agahnim sent Link into the Dark World, certain that he would be unable to survive the harsh conditions of that world. Instead, Link gathered the seven maidens (encased in crystals) and used their powers to break the seal on Ganon's Tower.

Following Agahnim's final defeat, Ganon abandoned his body and fled to the Pyramid of Power. There, Link fought Ganon with the Master Sword and Silver Arrows. Ganon was soundly defeated, and Link was then able to claim the Triforce.

Oracle of Seasons and Ages

In both the Oracles games (Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages), Twinrova worked hard to revive Ganon. With the help of Onox and Veran, they worked on lighting the three Flames. Veran lit the Flame of Sorrow and Onox lit the Flame of Destruction through their campaigns on Labrynna and Holodrum in their respective games. Twinrova planned to sacrifice Zelda in order to light the Flame of Despair as the last step, but Link managed to rescue her and defeat them. As a last resort, Twinrova sacrificed herself in their fused form to revive Ganon. The result was a powerful but mindless resurrection of Ganon. Link was still able to vanquish the King of Evil using nothing but his existing arsenal of weapons.

A Link Between Worlds

In the time of A Link Between Worlds, several generations after A Link to the Past, it was shown that Ganon was sealed away with the Triforce of Power in his possession by the power of the Seven Sages. Hilda and Yuga planned to free him as part of their plan to take Hyrule's Triforce for their alternate world of Lorule. Yuga captured the current incarnation of the Seven Sages and the current Princess Zelda, whom he turned into paintings and used in a ritual to summon Ganon within Lorule Castle. Yuga then fused himself with Ganon, who was not shown to have any will of his own. In this new form, Yuga Ganon betrayed Hilda and took the Triforce of Wisdom from her as part of his true plan to use the Trifoce to remake Lorule in his own image. At the end of the game, Link battled and destroyed the fused Yuga Ganon, and the Triforce of Power was returned to Hyrule as part of the united Triforce.

The Legend of Zelda

Ganon's threat still lingered in the years afterwards. The Hyrule Historia suggests that the sorcerer from Zelda II's backstory could possibly have been another altergo of Ganon or one of his minions. Regardless of that, Ganon eventually resurfaced in The Legend of Zelda. He attacked Hyrule and stole the Triforce of Power for himself. His attempt to also steal the Triforce of Wisdom failed when Princess Zelda split it into eight pieces, hidden among the labyrinths beneath Hyrule. With the assembled Triforce of Wisdom and the power of the Silver Arrows, Link slayed Ganon, reducing him to ashes. Although dead, his minions attempted to revive him by killing Link and using his blood as a sacrifice in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. They failed to accomplish this, but Ganon could be seen laughing on the Game Over screen if the player lost all their lives.

Child Timeline

Ocarina of Time (aftermath)

Ganondorf in Twilight Princess.

Link had traveled back in time to before the Sacred Realm was opened and warned Princess Zelda about Ganondorf's plans in advance. This information led to Ganondorf being captured by Hyrule's authorities, and he was prevented from carrying out his schemes. As Link had returned to this time with the Triforce of Courage, this did actually cause Ganondorf to receive the Triforce of Power. Ganondorf was only unaware of this for the time being. Several years later, Ganondorf was chained to a stone slab in the Mirror Chamber of the Arbiter's Grounds by the six sages. They attempted to execute Ganondorf by impaling him on a sword. It was at this point that the Triforce of Power activated and brought him back to life, which one sage attributed to a "divine prank", and this also brought Ganondorf to realize that there had been some sort of disturbance with the Triforce. With this power, Ganondorf shattered his bonds and removed the sword from his chest. This left a scar where he was still vulnerable. Ganondorf proceeded to kill the Water Sage when, as a last-ditch effort, the sages activated the Mirror of Twilight, opening a portal that sealed Ganondorf in the Twilight Realm. His malice and evil were said to increase at this time.

Twilight Princess

During his imprisonment, Ganondorf found that the Twilight Realm was also inhabited by a tribe called the Twili. He saw them as a pitiful people, but he saw potential in the power-hungry Zant. This led Ganondorf to appear before Zant in the form of a giant golden head. Posing as a god to Zant, he offered to share his power with Zant so that Zant could use it to become king of the Twilight Realm like he always wanted. In exchange, Ganondorf wanted Zant to fuse the worlds of light and Twilight together so that Ganondorf could escape his imprisonment and rule the darkness created from mixing the two worlds.

Ganon in his Twilight form.

Ganondorf was successful in escaping. He occupied Hyrule Castle and used a magical barrier to prevent any intrusion. He also eventually held Princess Zelda in the throne room for unknown purposes. Link and Midna eventually arrived in his throne room to challenge him. At first, Ganondorf possessed Princess Zelda, making her into Ganon's Puppet, and used her to attack Link until Link forced him out of her body. Ganondorf then transformed into the Dark Beast Ganon, who was portrayed as four-legged and boar-like in this game. As Ganon he trampled around wildly in an unquenchable rage. But in his wolf form, Link was able to knock Ganon over and then harm him by biting into his scar. Ganon was seemingly defeated, but he then changed into his golden head form. Midna responded by turning into her own monster form and attacking Ganon.

Ganondorf emerged victorious from the battle, but he had been reverted to his Gerudo form so Midna might have been successful in at least weakening him. Ganondorf proceeded to attack Link and Zelda on horseback while aided by a squad of ghosts riding horses. During this battle, Zelda stunned Ganondorf with Light Arrows so that Link could attack him with the Master Sword. Ganondorf was eventually knocked off his horse and used a magical barrier to block off Zelda and Epona. He engaged Link in one-on-one sword combat until Link impaled Ganondorf through the chest with the Master Sword. Ganondorf assured Link that this was not over yet, that the history of light and shadow would be written with blood. After that, Ganondorf's Triforce mark vanished from his hand, and he died. This brought Ganondorf's destiny in this timeline to an end for the time being.

Four Swords Adventures

By the time of Hyrulian Adventure, Ganon has faded into obscurity, being unknown even to the most learned of scholars. In time, a new incarnation of Ganondorf was born to the Gerudo. Little is known of his background, except that the Gerudos did not treat him with respect, unlike the first Ganondorf. He sought more power throughout the game and was banished from the Gerudo Village for his ignorance of the law. Ganondorf had taken the Dark Mirror from the Forest of Light and used it to create doppelgangers of Link known as Shadow Links. According to Hyrule Historia, it was the remnants of the previous Ganondorf's hatred of Link that caused the Mirror to create Shadow Links, as the new incarnation had yet to meet Link. One Shadow Link was used to trick this era's Link into drawing the Four Sword, which freed the Wind Mage Vaati. At some point, Ganondorf also obtained the mysterious Trident from the Pyramid, a place which was sacred to the Gerudos. The Trident was connected to some ancient evil and contained the power to spread darkness. This made Ganondorf into the Demon King, Ganon. His new appearance was a larger version of his classic pig demon form.

Ganon primarily used Vaati as a pawn to establish a link with the Dark World and to draw the attention of the four Links while he gained power. He also used his Trident to kill the Knights of Hyrule and curse them into becoming monsters. After Vaati was defeated, Ganon finally fought Link himself. He sealed Zelda way and took on a gigantic form. Once freed, Zelda used her powers (and the maidens' power) to seal Ganon. He was then trapped inside the Four Sword, just as Vaati had been before.

Adult Timeline

The Wind Waker

In The Wind Waker, it was said that Ganondorf eventually escaped the seal of the gods through unknown means. Without the Hero of Time to stop him, Ganondorf was able to dominate Hyrule. When no hope came to the people, the goddesses intervened and flooded the land. The land of Hyrule was frozen in a time bubble, deep beneath the sea. Ganondorf, however, was too powerful to be stopped that way. He once more managed to create a weak link in the bubble and escaped to the surface world. Being now no more than a legend, he took over the pirate base of Forsaken Fortress and assembled a new band of followers. Still desiring the Triforce, he made efforts to find the descendant of the Royal Family, knowing that they would possess the piece of Wisdom. His kidnapping of Hylian maidens inevitably led to the capture of Link's sister. When he first met the boy, he had Helmaroc King simply fling him into the distance. When Link claimed the Master Sword from the Frozen Hyrule, he broke the seal that prevented Ganon from gaining his full power. During their second meeting, Link tried to defeat him with the Master Sword. But the sword lacked any power and Ganondorf would have killed him if not for the intervention of Tetra and Valoo. In the chaos of the moment he did, however, discover that Tetra possessed a piece of the Triforce of Wisdom.

By the time Link had powered up the Master Sword and assembled the Triforce of Courage, Ganon had already discovered Zelda's location and taken her away. Link confronted Ganon on top of his tower. He easily overcame Link and claimed his piece of the Triforce, assembling the three pieces into its complete form. Before he could make his wish, King Daphnes placed his hand on the Triforce and made his own wish. Although his own fate was already sealed, he had no intention of allowing Link and Zelda to survive. He dueled Link on top of Ganon's tower, where the Gerudo warrior wielded his two swords. Link and Zelda worked together to defeat him. The Master Sword was planted firmly in his head, turning him into stone. The two escaped as the water came crashing down, burying the stone-bodied Ganondorf underneath the sea.

Unknown Timeline

The games Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom seemingly depict two different entities related to Ganon: Calamity Ganon in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom himself. The backstory of Tears of the Kingdom depicts Ganondorf as having first appeared during the foundation of Hyrule, long before Ocarina of Time, and being sealed away until the time of Tears of the Kingdom. This has created some confusion as to whether other incarnations of Ganondorf could appear while that one was sealed away, or if these games are set in a separate timeline/continuity. As it is unclear if the discrepancies will be resolved, all information related to those two games will be kept in this section.

Origins

Ganondorf was born to the Gerudo race during the era in which the kingdom of Hyrule was founded. As the king of the Gerudo, he coveted the power of the kingdom of Hyrule and its Zonai ruler, King Rauru. He rejected Rauru's initial offers for the Gerudo to join the kingdom of Hyrule, and instead Ganondorf plotted to take the kingdom for his own. He had the Gerudo summon a swarm of Molduga to advance upon Hyrule, but King Rauru was able to destroy them all with the power of the Zonai secret stones. Ganondorf observed this and sought that power for himself, as he felt that Rauru was squandering it. With that, Ganondorf came to Hyrule Castle and swore fealty to King Rauru. This was a ruse to get closer to Rauru and observe the secret stones. He saw that Rauru had one of those stones, as did his wife Queen Sonia and their apparent relation Zelda. Ganondorf targeted Queen Sonia and formed an apparition of Zelda to lure Sonia into a meeting. The phantom of Zelda tried to attack Sonia, only to be foiled by the queen and the real Zelda, who saw through Ganondorf's ruse. After the phantom disappeared, the real Ganondorf abruptly attacked Sonia from behind, killing her and stealing her secret stone.

Harnessing the secret stone's power, Ganondorf transformed into the Demon King and summoned an army of monsters that rampaged through Hyrule. Rauru assembled a group of sages, all armed with secret stones, and together they attacked Ganondorf in an underground chamber. However, Ganondorf had grown so powerful that even their combined might did not stand a chance against him. In a last ditch effort, Rauru used his light magic to seal Gandondorf's heart and steal his magic. This was a process that would cost Rauru his own life. Ganondorf saw this as merely delaying the inevitable, as he would be free in several thousand years. But Rauru warned him that a swordsman named Link would appear wielding the sword that seals the darkness, and Ganondorf was left looking forward to meeting him. With that, Ganondorf was imprisoned in stasis for many thousands of years, with the event being known as the Imprisoning War.

Breath of the Wild: Calamity Ganon

In Breath of the Wild, it was shown that Hyrule's history was plagued by repeated attacks from Calamity Ganon, a primal evil that took on a monstrous form with pig-like features. It was known by many names such as the Great King of Evil or the Calamity, and it was believed to be a personification of Ganondorf's hatred. During one coming of Calamity Ganon, Hyrule had prepared for him by relying on the technological advancements of the Sheikah people. They created a mechanical army known as Guardians and four giant mobile fortresses known as Divine Beasts, which were piloted by four Champions of Hyrule. The Guardians and Divine Beasts were able to weaken Calamity Ganon, at which point the hero was able to defeat him, and Zelda was able to seal him away beneath Hyrule Castle. Ten thousand years of peace followed, in which Hyrule prospered while their machines fell into obscurity and were hidden away.

Near the end of that period, a fortune-teller foretold the Great Calamity, in which Ganon would return. In preparation for his coming, the Guardians and Divine Beasts were unearthed, and new Champions were prepared to pilot the latter. A new hero named Link arose, wielding the Master Sword, and Princess Zelda attempted to prepare herself to seal away Ganon, but she initially could not awaken her sealing magic. Eventually, the seal was broken, and Calamity Ganon was freed. He was unexpectedly able to gain control over all of the Guardians and the Divine Beasts, turning the tables against Hyrule. In the latter case, he had phantoms of himself (known as the Blight Ganons) infiltrate the Divine Beasts and kill each respective Champion to gain control. Link was mortally wounded while trying to fend off the Guardians, but Zelda was able to awaken her magical power. Link was sent to the Shrine of Resurrection to recover, while Zelda faced Ganon. She was able to use her power to keep herself and Calamity Ganon trapped within Hyrule Castle, although she could not do this forever. She was only buying time until Link could return to face Calamity Ganon.

Ganon was trapped for one hundred years until Link returned. At this point, he was trapped within a cocoon in Hyrule Castle and attempting to fully regain his power. Once Link arrived, Zelda could hold him back no longer, and he freed himself in an imperfect form. It was giant and insectoid in nature, with some physical features of Ganondorf and the Blight Ganons as well as arms bearing weaponry similar to that of the Guardians. Link and Ganon battled under Hyrule Castle, and Calamity Ganon was also weakened by the assaults fired by whichever Divine Beasts Link was able to liberate. If he saved all of them, then half of Calamity Ganon's health would be depleted. After Calamity Ganon was defeated, he was then able to reform in Hyrule Field as Dark Beast Ganon. This was a gigantic boar-like form that was covered in the poisonous substance known as Malice. According to Zelda, this was his pure, enraged form. In the Japanese version, she said that this form was born of his obsessive desire to give up on revival, while in the English version she instead said that his form was a result of him giving up on reincarnation to fight in his pure form. Regardless, Zelda gave Link the Bow of Light to fight Ganon with and used her power to make vulnerable points appear that Link could attack. With the Light Arrows, Link was successful in defeating Calamity Ganon, and Zelda used her magic to truly seal him away.

Tears of the Kingdom: Return of the Demon King

As for Ganondorf himself, his body decayed over his lengthy imprisonment until he resembled a mummified corpse. At the same time, the magic sealing Ganondorf was weakened by the damage done to Hyrule Castle during the Calamity, and Rauru's body had faded away until all that was left was his arm which was clasping Ganondorf's chest. As the seal started to wear off several years after Breath of the Wild, a substance called gloom started to spread out from Ganondorf's body and into Hyrule. This substance had a variety of negative effects such as making people sick and decaying items throughout the land, especially weapons. This prompted Zelda and Link to investigate the caverns underneath Hyrule Castle, where the gloom seemed to be originating from. They arrived just as Rauru's arm collapsed, lifting the seal. As Ganondorf's body came back to life, he immediately summoned a torrent of gloom down upon Zelda, but Link jumped in the way. Ganondorf's gloom corrupted Link's left arm, drained his energy and broke the Master Sword, with a shard of the sword's shrapnel cutting his cheek in the process. He recognized Zelda and realized that the sword fighter was weak, but he mocked the failure of the Master Sword against him. He proceeded to unleash more waves of gloom-based energy that raised Hyrule Castle into the sky, an event that was known as The Upheaval. The ground Ganondorf was standing on sunk further into the Depths, into an area called Gloom's Lair. From there, he remotely coordinated events on the surface while gathering his power to restore the strength he once had.

Ganondorf's gloom spread across various parts of Hyrule, and he also had a phantom impersonating Zelda to sow discord throughout Hyrule. This was largely done to prevent new sages from being assembled and accessing their secret stones. He caused the Rito to be besieged by a blizzard, the Zora a downpour of sludge and the Gerudo a sandstorm which brought new Gibdo enemies. His phantom of Zelda also put a mask on Yunobo that controlled his thoughts and got the Goron people hooked on marbled rock roast, and the phantom tricked the people of Kakariko Village into thinking that they should not investigate one part of the Ring Ruins, which contained information relating to the Sage of Spirit. His gloom also spread to the Spirit Temple and corrupted Mineru's construct, which prevented her from reaching out to Link at the beginning of his journey. His phantom even caused some petty acts throughout Hyrule, such as scaring away Zelda's horse. Despite the efforts of Ganondorf and his phantom, Link fought back and undid the damage Ganondorf did to Hyrule's regions while awakening four of the sages. Ganondorf proceeded to use the phantom of Zelda to lure Link into Hyrule Castle. There, the phantom assumed its true form as Phantom Ganon and battled Link, only to be defeated. An apparition of Ganondorf himself appeared and attempted to attack Link with blasts of gloom, only for the four sages to intervene and protect him. Ganondorf warned them about his power and tried to intimidate the sages by showing them a vision of the world under his control, before his apparition disappeared.

Ultimately, Link awakened the five sages and came to confront Ganondorf at Gloom's Lair. There, Ganondorf bemoaned that Hyrule was full of lovers of peace who could not be worthy foes for him, but he remained determined to crush any opposition in order to prove himself as a true king. He used his power to undo his body's decay and restored his original physical appearance before engaging Link in battle. Link was able to best him in the initial battle, but this pleased Ganondorf, as he could not remember the last time he had a battle that exciting. He then used the power of the secret stone to transform into Demon King Ganondorf and battled him alongside several apparitions of himself. The sages came to intervene, but they were ultimately knocked out by Ganondorf's power. Regardless, Link was still able to overcome and best the Demon King in that battle. This drove Ganondorf to desperation, and he was intent to destroy Link and cover Hyrule in darkness, even if he had to sacrifice his mind and body for it. Thus, he swallowed his sacred stone to initiate the process of draconification, which transformed him into a Dark Dragon which took to the skies of Hyrule. There, Link battled him with the help of the Light Dragon (which was a draconified Zelda) and ultimately bested the Dark Dragon with the Master Sword, at which point his entire body disintegrated.

In Other Zelda Games

Hyrule Warriors

Ganondorf appeared in Hyrule Warriors as both an antagonist and an unlockable playable character. He was even featured in several chapters of Legend Mode which were told from his point of view. In battle, he fought with a pair of Great Swords or with his Trident and wielded dark magical power in many of his attacks. His design resembled his Twilight Princess appearance, but with longer hair that was evocative of Demise. His Ganon form also appeared as a boss in the game, and he was also playable in a special mode called Ganon's Fury, which was only available as DLC for the original Wii U game and as part of the Definitive Edition for the Switch.

Legend Mode

Within this storyline, Ganondorf had been defeated at some point in the past, and he showed familiarity with the idea of facing off against a hero and a princess. Ganondorf's spirit had been sealed in four pieces - three of which were in each in a different Gate of Souls concealed in different time periods, while the fourth piece was sealed within a casket in the Temple of The Sacred Sword, a seal that was kept in place by the Master Sword. Ganondorf's consciousness still lived on regardless of the seals and corrupted a young sorceress named Cia who was the caretaker of the Triforce, in order to influence her towards reviving him and giving him the Triforce. As she was swayed by darkness, Cia was only able to keep the Triforce of Power. However, Cia's efforts and campaign against Hyrule eventually led to her stealing the other pieces of the Triforce from Link and Zelda. With it, she opened the three Gates of Souls, which started the resurrection of Ganon. Ganondorf appeared to her afterwards, ready to usurp the Triforce from her and dismissing her as just his puppet. Cia disrupted his plan by scattering the Triforce again and then using the Triforce of Power to lock Ganondorf away for the time being. In "The Sealed Sword", the Master Sword was drawn from its pedestal by Link, but the seal on Ganondorf's soul remained intact for the time being. Ganondorf still appeared as the boss of the mission "A War of Spirit", where he commanded his forces in an attempted attack on Zelda while the Hyrulean forces were weakened from an arduous battle with multiple Dark Link, but Link was able to successfully defeat Ganondorf, and he was forced to retreat.

In the mission "Shining Beacon", Cia was defeated and perished, and peace seemed to return to Hyrule. That peace was short-lived, as it was at this point that the seal on the casket in the Temple of the Sealed Sword finally broke. All the four fragments were then able to unite and truly revive Ganondorf. He then became the protagonist in his own campaign of power over the course of the next three chapters. In "Ganondorf's Return", he summoned both Zant and Ghirahim to act as his lieutenants. Together they took on the monsters in the Gerudo Desert and conquered it in order to begin building up his forces. Ganondorf soon set his eyes on the Triforce and proceeded to lead an invasion of the Valley of Seers in "March of the Demon King". They targeted Lana, who had received the Triforce of Power after Cia's death. They were ultimately able to defeat her, and Ganondorf once more claimed the Triforce of Power. Their next step was Hyrule Castle in "Battle of the Triforce", where he managed to defeat both Link and Zelda to claim the Triforces of Courage and Wisdom. With the full Triforce, he took control of Hyrule Castle and turned it into his Ganon's Tower, while the surrounding grounds started to become a wasteland. When the Hyrulean forces arrived, he was in the process of a ritual that would awaken greater power within him and sent out Argoroks to buy him some time. He entered the battlefield once his power awakened, and it also empowered his forces, although his Dark Power would wane if Hyrule Castle was retaken by the Hyrulean forces. Darunia stepped up to hold him off while the castle was being retaken. Link was able to defeat Ganondorf, who proceeded to use the Triforce to transform into Ganon. Despite Ganon's overwhelming power, Link was able to destroy his armor, at which point Zelda granted him Light Arrows that would weaken Ganon and allow Link to deliver the finishing blow. Ganon fell, with the Triforce leaving its body and its individual pieces going to Link, Zelda and Lana. They proceeded to use the Triforce's power to seal Ganon away.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Calamity Ganon was featured as the antagonist and an unlockable playable character. Calamity Ganon had a different appearance in this game, as he was shown as a giant three-eyed humanoid covered in flames. This game was based on an alternate version of the events of Breath of the Wild.

In this version of events, after Calamity Ganon awakened, a diminutive Guardian named Terrako awakened and traveled back in time to shortly before the Calamity in an attempt to prevent it from unfolding. However, a blast of Malice followed Terrako through the time portal and possessed the past timeline's version of Terrako. Now known as Harbinger Ganon, it communicated with a fortune teller named Astor to manipulate events so that his reawakening would not be undone, with help from the Yiga Clan. Despite their counter-efforts, it was ultimately Hyrule's forces that were succeeding in changing Hyrule's past for the better. Zelda's powers awakened early, the Champions were saved from their fates, the Divine Beasts were kept from Calamity Ganon's control, and neither Link nor King Rhoam were mortally wounded. In desperation, Astor sacrificed members of the Yiga Clan to fuel the Harbinger's power. After Harbinger Ganon and Astor were defeated in battle, Harbinger Ganon consumed Astor in order to become a version of Calamity Ganon. It was also able to possess Terrako and turn it against Hyrule's forces, but Terrako was defeated and sacrificed itself to weaken Calamity Ganon after regaining its will. Ultimately, Calamity Ganon was defeated and sealed away by Zelda.

Another form of Ganon was also featured as a boss in a DLC scenario. That scenario was set early in the game's storyline, in which Harbinger Ganon hunted down Terrako and attempted to destroy him. By absorbing several powerful monsters, it was able to assume a form known as Mutated Ganon, which resembled Calamity Ganon as seen in Breath of the Wild. Terrako was defeated in the first battle, but after being modified by Purah and Robbie, it was able to defeat Mutated Ganon, which caused it to revert back into the Harbinger Ganon form.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Ganon was featured as a recurring villain in all three of the Zelda games that were made for the Phillips CD-i. The last of the games erroneously spelled his name as "Gannon".
• In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Ganon is one of the characters who can appear in the game after the Welcome amiibo update, where he can be invited to live at the player's town through Wisp by scanning an amiibo of Ganondorf, Bokoblin or 8-bit Link. Ganon is shown as a pig based on his classic appearance and has a cranky temperament. His given birthdate in this game is the date of the release of the original The Legend of Zelda.
• In Yoshi's Woolly World, a Yoshi design based on Ganondorf's appearance could be unlocked by scanning his amiibo.
• In Super Mario Maker, an 8-bit version of Ganondorf appeared as one of the Mystery Mushroom costumes that Mario could transform into. It could be unlocked as a random prize for completing a 100 Mario Challenge or by scanning an amiibo of Ganondorf.
• Appearing as both Ganondorf and Ganon, he appears as the final villain of Cadence of Hyrule. As Ganondorf, he was shown to be prince of the Gerudo, but he was immature and unpopular. He could be visited at the Gerudo Village, but he could only be seen from behind while playing the organ and was dismissive of visitors. He learned about the power of music and later stolen the Golden Lute from Octavo, which contained the Triforce of Power. With its power, he became Ganon. At the end of the game, the playable characters traveled to a future where Ganon ruled over Hyrule, and Ganon then had to be defeated in a final battle.

Super Smash Bros.

Ganondorf has made recurring appearances as a playable fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series, appearing in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, being an unlockable character in most cases. His appearance in Melee and Ultimate is based on his Ocarina of Time design, while his appearance in the middle games is based on his Twilight Princess design. His moveset in these games is based on Captain Falcon's, except that he is slower, heavier and more powerful. He has been tweaked over time; in the fourth installment, he was made faster, and it was possible to give him a custom move in which he used a sword. In Ultimate, he uses his sword for his smash moves.

His Ganon form has also been present in the games as his Final Smash (originally using the boar-like form from Twilight Princess before switching to the Ocarina of Time version of Ganon in Ultimate), and Ganon has also been featured separately as a boss character in Ultimate. As a boss, Ganon unleashed a variety of attacks involving his swords, magical blasts and leaping around. He could only be hurt by attacking his tail. Ganon was featured as the final boss of several Classic Mode routes (specifically, the routes of the three incarnations of Link and Zelda, in some cases being fought as Ganondorf first) and as a boss in Adventure Mode.

In Ultimate, his Classic Mode route is called "Encroaching Darkness". It is themed around fighting the protagonists of different series. The final boss of his route is Master Hand (who is joined by Crazy Hand on higher difficulties).

Unlockability

In Melee, he was unlocked by completing Event Match 29: Triforce Gathering or by playing 600 Vs. Mode matches. In Brawl, he can be unlocked by playing 200 brawls, beating Classic Mode on Hard with Link or Zelda, or by getting him to join the party in The Subspace Emissary (which can only be done by letting Link and Zelda live in the Subspace level). For the fourth installment, he is immediately playable in the Wii U version, but in the 3DS version he must be unlocked by playing 80 Vs. Matches or by completing Classic Mode with Link or Zelda on a difficulty level of 5.0 or higher. In Ultimate, he can be unlocked through the game's variable-based system of unlocking characters or by defeating and awakening Ganondorf in Adventure Mode.

Trophies/Stickers/Spirits

He has three unlockable trophies in Melee. In Brawl, he has one normal trophy, one of his Final Smash (Ganon) and one of his appearance from The Wind Waker. He also has two stickers using artwork from Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker. In the Wii U/3DS game, Ganondorf has two standard trophies which appear in both versions of the game. The 3DS version also has a trophy for his Ocarina of Time appearance, while the Wii U version has trophies for his Final Smash and for his Wind Waker appearance. In Ultimate, Ganondorf has his own Fighter Spirit that is unlocked upon completion of Classic Mode and a Ace-rank Primary Spirit of Ganon that is unlocked by defeating the boss in Adventure Mode. There are also Primary Spirits for several other incarnations of Ganondorf/Ganon, including ones of his Twilight Princess self (which can be enhanced into a Spirit of Beast Ganon from the same game) and Calamity Ganon.

Brawl: The Subspace Emissary

In "The Subspace Emissary" mode of Brawl, Ganondorf works with Bowser as one of the leaders of the Subspace Army under Master Hand. However, he planned to betray Master Hand and usurp his power. Ganondorf was first seen only in a computer room watching the various characters and Bowser, and communicating with Master Hand. Ganondorf later set the R.O.B.s to set off all the Subspace Bombs in the Subspace Bomb Factory in order to open a portal large enough to fit the Subspace Gunship through. The Ancient Minister protested against this, but Ganondorf had taken control of the R.O.B.s and turned them against the Ancient Minister.

He and Bowser then took control of the Subspace Gunship and brought it through the portal to finish off the heroes, but the ship was destroyed after Kirby flew through it on the Dragoon. After returning to Subspace, Ganondorf betrayed Bowser and turned him into a trophy. He then reported to Master Hand and met his true master, Tabuu, whom he then attempted to overthrow, only to be easily defeated and turned into a trophy. If Link and Zelda were saved from their trophy states, they then chose to restore Ganondorf (but not until after Bowser had angrily tossed the trophy around), at which point he joined them for the last battles with the Subspace Army and Tabuu.

Ultimate: World of Light

In the Adventure Mode of Ultimate, "The World of Light", Ganondorf was among the fighters who were captured through Galeem's beams of light and made into his puppet fighters. Ganondorf was found in the Sacred Land, an area accessed through the game's Dark Realm that was based on Hyrule. He was found in the northwestern area, as part of a desert-like area that was similar to the Gerudo Desert. After being defeated and awakened, it would cause the Triforce of Power to appear by the other two Triforce pieces that the player had gathered.

The Triforce's completion would cause the Demon King's Castle to rise from the center of the Sacred Land's map. There, the boss battle with Ganon would be staged. Defeating Ganon was necessary for reaching Dharkon.

Other Media

• Ganon appeared as a recurring villain in all thirteen episodes of the 1989 Legend of Zelda cartoon. As this incarnation was based on the original NES game, Ganon had the Triforce of Power and was constantly seeking to steal the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda.
• In the manga version of The Legend of Zelda, Ganon moreso resembled a giant, beastly demon, with little more than his head visible at most times. In the backstory, he killed the previous Princess Zelda to take the Triforce of Power, but he was immediately afterwards repelled by her daughter, the young next Princess Zelda with her Triforce of Wisdom. Ganon later rallied his demonic forces to attack Hyrule, although the grown Zelda and Link came to face him. Zelda battled him, but lost and then scattered the Triforce. Ganon was able to massacre the king's knights, but as Link collected the Triforce of Wisdom, Ganon wound up threatening him to come to Death Mountain alone or he would kill the princess. In the final battle, Link was able to slay Ganon using the White Sword.
• Ganon has appeared in all three comic/manga adaptations of A Link to the Past, which mostly followed the game storyline except for minor variations. In the 1992 version, Ganon's castle was housed on a planetoid, and he was killed by a Silver Arrow fired by Zelda once Link had stunned him with the Master Sword. In the 2005 manga, Ganon was shown as furrier and boar-like, and once more Link's Master Sword only stunned him, with Ganty's Silver Arrow this time finishing off Ganon.
• He appears as both Ganondorf and Ganon in the Ocarina of Time manga adaptation, which primarily follows his game storyline.
• Ganon appears at the end of the Oracle of Ages manga, similar to his appear at the end of the linked Oracles games, although he appears atop the Black Tower and is revived through only two of the flames. Otherwise Link was able to destroy him as in the game.
• In the manga adaptation of Four Swords Adventures, Ganon appears at the end as the final foe as in the game (although like the game, this is foreshadowed through mentions of Ganondorf, and Ganondorf's shadow is seen at one point). He fights the four Links and Zelda atop the Tower of the Winds and is defeated by their combined powers as in the game, and he is ultimately sealed within the Four Sword.

Trivia

• Ganon was introduced in The Legend of Zelda's opening with the name Gannon, though this error was fixed in later releases.
• In the instruction manual for A Link to the Past, The American translators gave Ganondorf the last name 'Dragmire' and referred to Ganon as 'Mandrag' Ganon. None of these extra names have been used outside of that instruction manual, and they are considered to be non-canon.
• Ganon's primary weaknesses are the Master Sword and Silver Arrows or Light Arrows. At certain points, only these weapons (one or the other or both) could damage him. Other times, however, neither one were necessary to defeat him.
• It should be noted that the "classic" depiction of Ganon has yet to appear in a 3-D Zelda game. The Ganon form in Ocarina of Time more closely resembles a monstrous version of Ganondorf with some pig-like features, while the form in Twilight Princess is really Ganondorf's bestial form which follows Ganondorf's color scheme and is a quadrupedal boar rather than a bipedal pig demon. The classic Ganon appearance was loosely referenced in The Wind Waker through Puppet Ganon's pig form.
• Ganon makes a quasi-appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. One of the forms that DethI takes is that of Ganon.
• In Twilight Princess, it is possible to distract Ganon during the final battle by using the fishing rod.