Ganon

Ganondorf in Twilight Princess
Ganon
Species	Gerudo
Hair color	Red/None
Eye color	Yellow
Voiced by	Takashi Nagasako (1998-2002) Hironori Miyata (2005-present)
Debut	The Legend of Zelda

Ganon is the overall villain of the Legend of Zelda game series, appearing as the final boss of nearly every game. He is known for his constant search for more power and domination, and in many games carries the Triforce of Power. Traditionally he has the appearance of a giant pig monster. But most games since Ocarina of Time have instead shown him in his earlier, more humanoid form as the gerudo thief Ganondorf.

Background

Origins

As Ocarina of Time is most often considered the first chronological chapter of the Zelda series as well as Ganon's origin, and The Wind Waker chronologically follows it, these are shown as Ganon's first appearances.

Ocarina of Time

Once every hundred years, a gerudo king was born to the otherwise all-female gerudo race. Though his mother is unknown, he 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 to acquire their three Spiritual Stones. 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 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. 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 under the guise of Sheik, he was able to assemble the Sages. Ganondorf battled Link on top of his tower and used his most powerful magic, but still was defeated by the power of the Master Sword. Not quite out, he transformed into the pig-like beast, 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.

Twilight Princess

Ganon in his Twilight form.

In Twilight Princess it was shown that Ganondorf was later chained to a stone slab in the Mirror Chamber of the Arbiter's Grounds by the six sages. They attempted to execute Ganondorf there by impaling him on a sword. But Ganondorf was protected by the Triforce of Power. It allowed him to shatter his bonds and remove the sword from its chest (but it left a scar). 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.

During his imprisonment there, 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.

Ganondorf was successful in escaping. He occupied Hyrule Castle and used a magical barrier to prevent any intrustion. 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. Eventually Ganondorf was knocked off his horse and used a magical barrier to block off Zelda and Epona.

Ganondorf engaged Link in one-on-one sword combat. However, Link emerged victorious by impaling Ganondorf on 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 his body went limp.

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.

Other Games

Note: The following is ordered by release date rather than implied timeline.

Ganon as seen in the "Oracle" games.

In The Legend of Zelda, Ganon had returned wielding the Triforce of Power. His attempts to gain 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 defeated Ganon. 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. (Although they did fail, Ganon could be seen laughing on the Game Over screen if the player lost all his lives).

In A Link to the Past, Ganon assumes the persona of Agahnim (or possesses him). Ganon himself is trapped in the Dark World, which is a perverted version of the Golden Land (Sacred Realm) that was created when he used the Triforce. Using Agahnim, he worked to weaken the seal by sacrificing the Maidens (descendants of 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. Instead, Link gathered the seven maidens (encased in crystals) and used their powers to break the seal on Ganon's Tower. After defeating Agahnim, Ganon abandoned his body and fled to the Pyramid of Power. There the two of them fought and with the Master Sword and Silver Arrows, Ganon was soundly defeated.

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 have begun lighting the three Flames. Veran lit the Flame of Sorrow and Onox lit the Flame of Destruction. By sacrificing Zelda they planned to light the Flame of Despair, but Link managed to rescue her and defeat Twinrova. As a last resort, Twinrova sacrificed herself to revive Ganon. Despite all this, Link was still able to vanquish the King of Evil using nothing but his existing arsenal of weapons.

By the time of Hyrulian Adventure, Ganon has faded into obscurity, being unknown even to the most learned of scholars. But in the form of Ganondorf he is more well-known; it is mentioned that he fled the Gerudo village after breaking the law. Throughout the game he gathered more power. Using the Dark Mirror, he was able to create doppelgangers of Link known as 'Shadow Links'. Using them, he was able to trick Link into retrieving the Four Sword and freeing Vaati in the process. He then set his sights on obtaining the Magic Trident, to increase his powers. After Vaati was defeated, he 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.

Other Major Roles

Video Games

• As Ganondorf, he is unlockable in Super Smash Bros. Melee by completing Event Match 29: Triforce Gathering or by playing 600 Vs. Mode matches, and he has three unlockable trophies. Ganondorf returns in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an unlockable fighter with three trophies - one normal, one of his Final Smash and one of his appearance in The Wind Waker - and two stickers using artwork from Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker. This time 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). His moveset in both games is actually a clone of Captain Falcon's, except Ganondorf is slower, heavier and more powerful.
  • 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.

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 Legend of Zelda, Ganon had the Triforce of Power and was constantly seeking to steal the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda.

Trivia

• Ganon was introduced in The Legend of Zelda's opening with the name Gannon, though this error was fixed in later releases.
• The American translators gave him the last name 'Dragmire' in the A Link to the Past Manual. This name does not appear in the japanese text nor is it mentioned in either Ocarina of Time or The Wind Waker. In the same manual, he was also called 'Mandrag' Ganon. Again, Mandrag is not canon.
• Ganon's two primary weaknesses are the Master Sword and Silver Arrows. At certain points, only these weapons (one or the other or both) could damage him. Other times, however, neither one were neccessary to defeat him.
• 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.