Ganondorf's is King

Ganondorf is a cool villain. Sometimes painted as a ruthless tyrant and others as a sympathetic villain in pursuit of understandable motivations, Ganondorf never fails to deliver menace and intrigue to a story in the Zelda universe he appears in. I wanted to take a minute of your time to go through his history and highlight some of what makes him engaging and special to me. To do this in orderly fashion we will examine the character in an order based on the Hyrule timeline, except for Breath of the Wild which I will discuss last. With the premise established let’s do a deep dive into the truly terrifying King of Thieves, Ganondorf.

Every villain has a beginning, an origin story to tell about how and why they do what they do. Ganondorf’s story begins with another character named Demise. Specifically, the Hyrule Hystoria says that he is the source of all evil in the world and seeks to destroy everything. That he appears in each era and looks different to each person who sees him? He wants the triforce and to rule the world. In typical Zelda fashion he is hidden behind some servant of his and a beastly form until the big reveal at the end. In all honesty he is enormously overshadowed by Ghirahim, his supposed lackey who feels like more of the real threat all the way up till the very end of the game. When he does show up he is an imposing and difficult boss, but only really serves as a plot point for later games. Like, oh so that is why there is always a Zelda, Link and Ganondorf. You know except when there isn't. While significant to the story he is the most generic and underwhelming of the series. This is a shame as the rest of the story of Skyward Sword is excellent and generally well done. In the end Demise is just a little too generic a villain to be as memorable as most of his descendants.

A few Links later and Demise finally made good on that promise to return, and boy did he return in a big way. Ganondorf, the first reincarnation of Demise, outshines his predecessor in just about every way. The chief of the Gerudo tribe who rose from the desert to successfully conquer all Hyrule. Young, powerful, cunning, and ambitious, Ganondorf is not afraid to get his own hands dirty and is a threat right from the start. Literally introduced in the opening cutscene bathed in rain and menace he is a force to be reckoned with. Whereas Demise is described as a threat. Ganondorf kills the Deku tree within the first thirty minutes of the game. He haunts Link and Zelda's dreams, tries to starve the Gorons and in general just is good at being bad. His relative youth gives him in this game an energy that can match Ghirahim or Zant. While he does a lot of evil himself, he also has many minions and even manipulates Link and Zelda to reach his goals. So important is his defeat that three branches of history come from the decisive battle being won or lost. I know I will never forget three specific scenes in Ocarina, the dream opening, Ganondorf riding his horse in flame and the walking into the final room in his castle with him playing that organ. In the final confrontation before his transformation, he is so confident and in control. He does not fear Link or anything for that matter and he is probably my second favorite iteration of the character.

So, in the first branch of the timeline Ganondorf transforms and then kills Link. That's right he won. Obtaining the full triforce and the ultimate power, Zelda and the sages as a last resort sealed him into the sacred realm. He would not return until an offshoot of him escaped to the land of Hyrule and sought out the sage's descendants to sacrifice them to bring about his full return. Agahnim killed the king of Hyrule and one by one managed to capture the sages, until finally Zelda was also imprisoned. A new Link walks in to see Zelda disappear before his eyes and then face Agahnim. For the SNES this was some epic storytelling and set the tone for characters like Ghirahim and Zant. After beating Agahnim, Link is pulled to the former sacred realm, now corrupted by Ganondorf’s malice. The Dark realm itself is as effective at portraying Ganondorf’s character as anything and like Ocarina makes him feel like a genuine threat. If he escapes, will he not turn all the world into this perverted mess? The world grows more distorted as you explore it building the tension till the final battle. This Ganondorf feels especially threatening if you know the lore, this Ganondorf has killed the Hero of Time, can this new link defeat him? Still deformed from the final battle in all those years ago you face him straight away at his most powerful and on his own turf. The battle is one of the hardest in the game but finally Link wins the day! The best 2D Ganondorf especially in context. The lore makes him feel more threatening and fleshed out and after you enter the dark world you can feel the threat of his return everywhere you go. A great game and a great version of the character. Resurrected and defeated again at the end of the Oracle games the iteration of Ganondorf from those games was not much more than a mindless beast and it seems his subsequent resurrections throughout this section of the timeline would continue to dull his mind and make him more and more of a monster. Resurrected and killed again in the Original Legend of Zelda it seems that for now anyway that Ganondorf's return has been delayed as at the end of the Return of Link our hero prevents, in this timeline, a third resurrection.

In the second timeline after defeating Ganondorf in the future Zelda uses the Ocarina of time to send Link back to his childhood. This once again youthful Link and young Zelda convince the King of Hyrule of the threat Ganondorf poses and change history, preventing Ganondorf from ever rising to power in the first place. Arrested and held in prison for many years, according to The Hyrule Hystoria, eventually this Ganondorf robbed of his destiny was to be executed. Upon the arbiter's grounds chained to giant stone a sword was driven through his chest and he was dead. Or so one would think, being his destiny to wield the Triforce of Power. Ganondorf broke free of his bonds and lashed out at his executioners, killing their leader instantly. Shocked the others sealed him away quickly into the twilight realm using the stone and the Mirror of Twilight. This Ganondorf is pure rage, and the anger of his stolen destiny burns into madness, personified as his Malice. Using Zant as his puppet and giving him power, Ganondorf finally returned to Hyrule and sat on its throne. This time though his victory was short. Link the Hero of Twilight and direct descendant of the Hero of Time, stood with a new Zelda to bring him down. This Ganondorf honestly feels a bit like Demise, although better in that the lore gives him more context. This is Ganondorf enraged by the loss of his destiny. This rage is only tempered on that throne, but when it is threatened it breaks free, overcoming the ancient power of Midna's people. Best illustrated by how he eventually dies, defiant, still on his feet, this was a Ganondorf who raged against the world even to his last breath.

But of course, Ganondorf would return, though this time he was reborn as opposed to resurrected. In Four Swords Adventures, instead of seeking the power of the Triforce, he discovers and awakens the Wind Sorcerer Vatti and uses his power to attempt to take over the world. With the dark mirror and a magical trident as his weapons his dark power grew until he forsook his human form and became a beast once again. With the combined might of Link split into four and the sealing power of the sages, Ganondorf was sealed in the same four-sword he freed Vatti from and since then this Ganondorf’s fate is unknown. A smaller part of a smaller game, this Ganondorf harks back to the SNES iteration. One of the easier forms of Ganon it is interesting to see attain power through means other than the triforce. Especially as in his previous form in this timeline the triforce left him. Perhaps, this reborn Ganondorf was unaware of the Triforce or he was aware and considered its power unreliable. His motivations are more subtext than set in stone, but this was a weaker and less experienced form of Ganondorf.

Finally, we come to the last branch of the timeline, to the period that resulted from Zelda sending Link back in time after sealing Ganondorf. With Link returned no hero was alive in this timeline and when Ganondorf eventually broke free from the seal, no Link was there to intervene. All hope seemed lost until the King of Hyrule asked for divine intervention. He was told to send the remaining Hylians to hyground and entrusted a piece of the triforce of wisdom to Zelda and a deluge covered the land burying Hyrule and Ganondorf with it. But Ganondorf would not be denied, killing the sages, and weakening the Master Sword Ganondorf returned this time above the waves in search of the triforce to restore hyrule. This Ganondorf is (relatively) much older than any other iteration (other than Demise) and it shows in his character. He seems more royal, regal and more restrained. This makes sense as for starters this is the only form of Ganondorf that was king of hyrule. For seven years he ruled it and then it was taken from him. Rightfully so, no doubt but still, this makes him different from the enraged version we see in Twilight Princess.

Standing on top of the tower in the final scene he speaks of the wind and how he coveted the wind of Hyrule which unlike his own did not bring death. This is a powerful and sad moment, and he looks lost like that was the reason this all started many years ago, but now? It is not till his wish is stolen and his life's work crumbles around him that the enraged Ganondorf returns and lashes out at the children. Before then he has patiently planned and searched for a way to revive Hyrule but in that moment when it is all gone, he returns to madness. But in the quiet moment leading up to the final confrontation on that tower he almost seems to regret his path though now he cannot escape it. This is my favorite version of Ganondorf. He feels like more than a man of pure evil. Instead, he is a man who coveted what was not his to the point of being blinded by the cost of his war. But standing on the brink, looking out on the consequences of his actions he seems a tragic figure. The King of Hyrule says it best, “like Ganon, I too was bound to Hyrule.” In a way this Ganondorf tells an extremely sad story for this part of the timeline. He, Zelda, and Link were all bound by the curse of his ancestor Demise, destined to do this forever. The only way any of them could be free from this destiny is for Hyrule to die. A lot of people criticize the game for being too much for the kids, but in the end the themes of this game go much deeper than its visuals, and much deeper than any other Zelda game. It is the most adult story of the series and it contains my favorite version of Ganondorf.

That brings us neatly to Breath of the Wild. I have said before it is my favorite game in the franchise and even know I stand by that statement. However, the Ganon from this game is, from a story standpoint, more of a natural disaster than an actual character. Do not misunderstand me, from a design viewpoint he is extremely effective. Many people complain about the second form and how it is spectacle with little substance, but so is Mother Brain from Super Metroid if you think about it. She is hard at first but after you get that rainbow beam, she is incredibly easy. No one complains though because defeating her is satisfying and a spectacle. I feel the same way about Ganon here. He is easy, but boy what a spectacle. No, my issue with this Ganon is none of those things, in fact I am not sure it is even an issue per say, more of an observation. All the other Ganon's and Ganondorfs were characters but in Breath of the Wild he might as well be some hurricane or again a natural disaster. He is just as threatening, as a storm can be, but he just is not really a character. That's not to say he is bad and there is a lot to like about the different take. But as this is a character retrospective, I just do not have a lot to say about him other than he looks cool.

Well, there you have it after all these years Ganon has gone through many forms and iterations. He has set a standard for the industry and has in many ways been one of the best parts of the Zelda series. Is there a place for him going forward and if there is what would I like to see? Well not to make too fine a point on it but my favorite Ganons are the more human ones Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess are all Ganondorf at his finest and most fascinating. The best villains are always very human ones, and it has been said that every villain is the hero in his own mind and Ganondorf is no exception. I am excited to see where they take the character in Breath of the Wild 2.