Ganondorf

Great King of Evil Ganondorf, also known as Dark Lord Ganondorf, is the ultimate villain in the Legend of Zelda series. Cunning, smart, and extremely powerful, Ganondorf, like most video game villains, plans to rule the world. In some Zelda games, Ganondorf appears in the form of a gigantic boar monster, Ganon (although Ganon is also used to refer to his humanoid form in some cases). In several Zeldas, both forms of the villain appear. Ganondorf transforms into Ganon using the Triforce of Power. Unlike Ganondorf, Ganon is usually a mindless beast who knows nothing except to destroy.

Although there is only one Ganondorf in the series, his appearance, character, and boss battles can vary enormously from game to game. He is the main villain in The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the Oracle subseries, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. He did not appear in any of the other Zelda games. Ganondorf also created a mirror version of himself, Phantom Ganon, which he modified into a being of shadow.

Origins
Ganondorf was born a member of the Gerudo tribe a few decades before the beginning of the events of Ocarina of Time. Only one male is born to the Gerudo every 100 years, and according to their traditions that male shall become King of the Gerudo. Thus Ganondorf's original title was 'Gerudo King of Thieves'.

After the King of Hyrule united Hyrule shortly before the events of Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf swore fealty to him, but plotted to overthrow him and conquer the country. Despite the best efforts of Link and Zelda, Ganondorf was able to enter the Sacred Realm and obtain the Triforce of Power.

This allowed him to conquer Hyrule (and presumably murder the King, although his fate is never mentioned) and reign as the 'Evil King' for seven years.So, although he says that he needs to have Hyrule for life, he must have some evil and greed within him. When Link awoke from the Sacred Realm, Ganondorf kidnapped Zelda to use her as bait to lure Link into his castle to try and steal the other two pieces of the Triforce from the pair. Link was able to defeat Ganondorf and rescue Zelda, but as they escaped from the ruins of the castle, Ganondorf reappeared and used the Triforce of Power to transform into Ganon in an all-out attempt to destroy Link.

He was once again beaten and this time the Sages sealed him away in the Sacred Realm. However, Ganondorf still held the Triforce of Power, making it possible for him to break free in the future. Indeed, his final words in Ocarina of Time are,

"Someday... When this seal is broken.... That is when I will exterminate your descendants!! As long as the Triforce of Power is in my hand..." Ganondorf has many sorcerous powers, taught to him by great mages, wizards and Warlocks. Although Ganondorf was born with great magical powers, he needed to expand his strength.

It was revealed in the short story, The Orgin of Ganondorf, Ganondof was born in the ancient times as Mazarin, the last son of the retired Queen Sida of Hyrule. Mazarin was often called weak and foolish by the people of their tribe. At the age of 10, he was visited by the first sorcerer and the true king of evil, Alastor. Alastor promised him eternal power if he agreed to be his son. Mazarin, tired of weak and powerless, took his offer. His two older brothers, Karzin and Rauru, were outside the city and were not there when it was destroyed. They returned to city and searched for their family. All were dead except Mazarin and Alastor. Alastor told Mazarin to DIstain his brothers so they may leave in peace. Mazarin, with his newfound powers, knocked them out. As they flew off, Alastor declared that Mazarin's name is Ganondorf forever more. After the death of Alastor, Ganndorf took the Shadow Crest from the forbidden chamber and placed it upon his forehead. He then was entranced by darkness and evil fully. His skin turned green and his eyes became blood red. He then became the Ganondorf all know today.



A world split in two
Following Ganondorf's sealment in the Sacred Realm, Link was sent back in time by Princess Zelda. This action created a massive time paradox and split Hyrule's timeline into two: the pacified past, where Hyrule is still tranquile and Ganondorf never took over, and the dark future with Hyrule in ruins.

Execution
In the past timeline, it appears that while Ganondorf may not have taken over, the Triforce was still split between its three holders nonetheless, thus explaining how Ganondorf retained the Triforce of Power in the past along with Zelda and Link with the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage. He was eventually subdued and sentenced to death by impalement. In the infamous Arbiter's Grounds in the heart of the Gerudo Desert, The Ancient Sages conducted the King of Evil's death, chaining him to a rock in the Mirror Chamber, and stabbed him.

The Triforce of Power wouldn't let him go.

Through the Triforce, Ganondorf survived, and broke free of his chains, murdering a sage. Desperate, the others activated the Twilight Mirror, flinging Ganondorf into the bleak Twilight Realm. His spirit lingering in the Realm, Ganondorf found his answer: a depressed ex-candidate for Twilight King, Zant. Zant believed Ganondorf to be a god, and was given extraordinary powers. Little did Zant know he was nothing but a pawn to leave Hyrule vulnerable for Ganondorf.

Invasion and death
A new Link of the Hero bloodline rose when Zant invaded Hyrule and caused a spread of Twilight. Teamed with the Twilight Princess, Midna, who was ursurped by Zant, Link infiltrated the Twilight Realm and assassinated Zant, delivering Zant's powers back to Ganondorf and reviving him, and giving him Hylian form once again.

Now with complete control over Hyrule, Ganondorf resided in the throne room of the Hyrule Castle. Link and Midna used the powers of the Fused Shadows to enter the Castle and confront Ganondorf in his throne. Ganondorf possessed Princess Zelda very briefly, but his soul was purged from her body by Midna, and amassed on the floor. However, he wasn't human anymore.

Ganondorf somehow triggered his Ganon transformation. In response, Link transformed himself into his werewolf form and scuffled with Ganondorf, in the end a clash between Ganon's soul and Midna occured, resulting in the destruction of Hyrule Castle. Ganon triumphed over Midna and reincarnated himself into his human form, pursuing Link and Zelda into Hyrule Field.

Ganondorf offered Link one final duel. Using the same blade that was used to murder him during the execution, he enclosed the battlefield with Twilight matter. In the ensuing clash, Link overpowered Ganondorf and impaled him through the torso with the Master Sword. The Triforce of Power abandoned Ganondorf and left him to die.

Other Zelda appearances
The chronological status of some of these games are unknown

The Legend of Zelda
Ganondorf is in the form of Ganon for all of the games up until Ocarina of Time. In the original Zelda he kidnapped the princess to try and steal the Triforce of Wisdom. Fortunately, Zelda was able to break it into 8 fragments before Ganon captured her, allowing Link to recover the Triforce first and beat Ganon

Battle
Ganon's chamber contained statues which fired at Link while the boss himself darted around the room, attacking with fireballs. After Link got in enough hits with his sword, he used a Silver Arrow to finish the fiend off. Ganon crumbled to ash and vanished.



Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Ganon did not appear as a boss in the second Zelda game. Link fought against his minions, who aimed to kill Link in order to sprinkle his blood on Ganon's ashes, which would revive him. Therefore, Ganon only ever appeared on the Game Over screen, laughing at Link's defeat.

A Link to the Past
Ganon used an alternate form, Agahnim, to betray the King of Hyrule and take over the country. This 'Agahnim' form then tried to break the seal on the Golden Land to allow Ganon to conquer it. Link confronted Agahnim in Hyrule castle and defeated him, but Agahnim managed to send Link into the Dark World before he was beaten. In the Dark World, Link stormed Ganon's Tower and defeated Agahnim once again, before heading to the Pyramid of Power and strengthening the seal.

Battle
(for Agahnim's battles see here)

Ganon fights with fireballs and similar attacks. As in LoZ, he is defeated by slashes from the sword and Silver Arrow, while he teleports around the room.

Ocarina of Time
Link first saw Ganondorf through a window Zelda showed him in Hyrule Castle, as only he and Zelda knew what Ganondorf was plotting. This was also the first time Zelda players saw the Ganondorf form. To gain the Spiritual Stones, Ganondorf did the following:


 * Ganondorf tried to force the Great Deku Tree to give him the Kokiri's Emerald by sending in parasites, such as the Queen Gohma.
 * Ganondorf tried to obtain another of the Spiritual Stones, the Goron's Ruby, by blocking the entrance to Dodongo's Cavern, the main source of food for Gorons, and refusing to open it until the Goron leader Darunia gave him the stone, believing that the major starvation that would ensue would grant him the stone.
 * To get the Zora's Sapphire, Ganondorf sent parasitic creatures into Lord Jabu Jabu, to steal the stone from Princess Ruto when she was inside Jabu Jabu.

Unfortunately for him, Link was able to thwart these schemes, and once he gathered the sacred stones, Ganondorf attacked the castle. He tried to chase after Zelda as she fled with Impa on a horse, but lost them just outside of Hyrule Castle Town. Seeing Link nearby, he asked him which way Zelda had gone. Link refused to tell him, protecting Zelda and ultimately altering the fate of all Hyrule. This was the first ever (chronologically) confrontation between the two, and it ended when Ganondorf knocking Link aside with an shadow-like energy attack.

When Link opened the Door of Time, Ganondorf took the opportunity to break into the Sacred Realm. He touched the Triforce but because of his evil, he received only the Triforce of Power and the other two vanished.

Despite this, the single Triforce that remained gave him enough power to take over all of Hyrule and reign unimpeded for seven years. In order to prevent anyone from being able to defeat him, he sent monsters into five of the six temples of Hyrule to keep their powers under his control. He had no need to attack one of them, the Temple of Time, as his castle was so close. Ganondorf demolished Hyrule Castle and built his own castle in its place, with six barriers to defend the keep. Hyrule Castle Town was overrun by ReDeads and abandoned by the townsfolk, who evacuated to Kakariko Village. He also continued to search for Zelda, but could not find her as she was disguised as Sheik. To keep hold of the five temples located outside of Hyrule town:
 * In the Spirit Temple, located where Ganondorf was born, the Gerudo desert, his surrogate mothers made sure that the spirit sage would not hear her "call of awakening", even though at the time there was no apparent sage.
 * Because of Ganondorf's rule, monsters overran the Kokiri Forest, and Saria was captured by the monsters inside the Forest Temple. When Link defeated Phantom Ganon, whom Ganondorf had created to guard the temple, (Ganondorf was not physically in the room, so presumably spoke either by telepathy or through the phantom) Ganondorf praised Link but told him he would not defeat the real Ganondorf so easily. He called Phantom Ganon worthless and 'banish(ed) him to the gap between dimensions'.
 * To punish the Gorons for not giving him the sacred ruby, he revived the dragon "Volvagia" and captured Gorons to feed it.
 * The monster that Ganondorf had sent to guard the Water Temple, Morpha, created a curse on the source of Hyrule's water, Zora's Domain, which froze the town to ice and sealed away most Zoras.
 * Ganondorf freed the shadow monster Bongo Bongo from his imprisonment in the Bottom of the Well. Bongo Bongo attacked and partially destroyed the village, before taking control of the Shadow Temple.

All of Ganondorf's allies were eventually defeated by Link, but he finally succeeded in capturing Princess Zelda when she let her guard down and revealed herself to Link. Having previously learned that Zelda held the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link the Triforce of Courage, he used Zelda as bait to force Link to battle him, allowing Ganondorf to control all three Triforces, should he defeat Link. He refused to acknowledge that Link was powerful enough to defeat him, saying that he had simply underestimated the power of the Triforce of Courage. And until Link arrived at his room in the Castle, he would play the Organ while Zelda would float haplessly in a crystal in the air.

Ganondorf tried to kill Link, but was himself beaten and brought to the verge of death. With what appeared to be his final breath, Ganondorf tried to destroy his own castle to crush Zelda and Link in the ruins. They survived, but before they could leave, Ganondorf used the Triforce of Power to transform into Ganon for the first time, with the sole aim of annihilating Link. It seemed he would be victorious when he knocked away the Master Sword from Link's hand and sealed the hero inside a ring of fire. However, Link's courage beat Ganon's power and the monster was briefly stunned. Link was able to reclaim the Blade of Evil's Bane and wound Ganon. The seven sages, including Zelda, now opened the doorway to the Sacred Realm and forced Ganon through it, before sealing the gateway. Transformed back into Ganondorf, the Evil King promised to exterminate the descendants of those who had defeated him, before drifting away into the void.

As Ganondorf
Link stands on a small ledge around the wall of the highest room in Ganon's castle while Ganondorf floats above a central platform. If Link falls into the gap, he lands in a lower room where he can heal himself with a limited number of resources and avoid attacks, but is also unable to attack Ganondorf.

The Evil King used 'waves of darkness' to prevent Navi from Z-Targeting him unless he is stunned. He has three attacks: he pounds the ground to make part of Link's ledge collapse; he charges a large dark energy ball which splits into pieces before homing in on Link; and he fires a single ball of energy at Link, an identical attack to Phantom Ganon's.

As with Phantom Ganon, this attack can be parried, and the two fighters knock it back between each other until one of them falls. If Ganondorf is hit by it, he is momentarily stunned. He may also be stunned by using a spin attack to deflect all of the dark energy balls back at Ganondorf.

Once Ganondorf is stunned, Link has a mere few seconds to hit him with a Light Arrow (without targeting) to make his enemy fall to the ground, breathing heavily (although, while Ganondorf is charging the dark energy ball, he's also open to Light Arrows). Link then either uses the Longshot, the Hover Boots, or jumps, to get to Ganondorf and strike him with his sword.

Ganon
Ganon starts by knocking the Master Sword out of reach and trapping Link inside a ring of fire. Link can only harm him by hitting his blue tail with the Megaton Hammer or the Biggoron's Sword, although this time he is able to target with Navi. Ganon can be attacked straight away, but it is easier if he is stunned with an arrow (preferably Light Arrows) or the Longshot first. Some items can be found when Link tricks Ganon into destroying the ruins of the castle.

Eventually he collapses and Link regains the Master Sword. He must then down Ganon in exactly the same way, but this time using the Master Sword to strike his tail (the other weapons do still work, but are very ineffective). Then, Zelda uses her magic to hold Ganon still and Link delivers the final blow to Ganon's forehead.

The Wind Waker
Having somehow escaped from the Sacred Realm, Ganondorf tried to acquire the whole Triforce in order to wish for Hyrule to be given to him. To do this, he sent his minion, the Helmaroc King, to kidnap all young girls in the Great Sea, in the hopes of finding Princess Zelda, who held a part of the Triforce. He also released Phantom Ganon from the imprisonment he had sentenced him to in OoT, to fight for him again.

He made his base on the abandoned Forsaken Fortress, and captured girls were kept in a cell in the main tower. Ganondorf himself lived in a wrecked ship balanced on top of the tower.

When Link tried to free the girls but was captured by the Helmaroc King, he caught a brief glimpse of Ganondorf before the Gerudo ordered the Helmaroc King to throw Link into the sea.

Ganondorf sent monsters around all regions of the Great Sea. Submarines, rafts and platforms were built to attack ships, and ChuChus and Miniblins appeared on Outset Island. He sent his creatures to attack the three guardians of the Pearls of the Goddesses; Valoo, the Deku Tree, and Jabun. Valoo and the Deku Tree were saved by Link, but the hero was too late to stop Ganondorf's attack on Greatfish Isle, where Jabun lived. Although the island itself was mangled and destroyed, Jabun escaped beforehand.

Because the Master Sword was the only weapon that could defeat Ganondorf, he aimed to remove the power to repel evil from the blade. To do this, he had the sages who prayed for the power to remain in the sword murdered, sending Jalhalla to kill Laruto and Molgera to kill Fado. To prevent the temples where this took place from being accessed via Old Hyrule, he created a barrier around Hyrule Castle to prevent Link from leaving the building once he was in Old Hyrule.

Link returned to Forsaken Fortress with the Master Sword, and this time destroyed the Helmaroc King, allowing him to reach Ganondorf's chamber. Before Link could do battle with him, Ganondorf revealed the truth: when Link had pulled out the Master Sword, the seal on Ganondorf's power completely broke and he became even stronger (very similar to OoT, when Link drawing the Master Sword allowed Ganondorf to steal the Triforce of Power). He also explained that the Master Sword had lost its power (but he did not mention how)

Link attacked Ganondorf anyway, but before Ganondorf could kill him, Tetra reappeared and distracted Ganondorf. Ganondorf turned on her, but just as he was about to kill her, the Triforce of Power in his hand began to resonate. He realised Tetra had a piece of the Triforce of Wisdom, and that she must be Princess Zelda. Before he could act on this, Link and Zelda were then rescued by the Rito, and Valoo destroyed the ship with his fire breath. However, Ganondorf could survive anything except the restored Master Sword, and lived on.

He searched everywhere for Princess Zelda, but could not find her. Once Link had defeated Jalhalla and Molgera and restored the Master Sword, Ganondorf retreated to Old Hyrule beneath the sea, through a portal he opened between the Forsaken Fortress and his castle in Hyrule (Link and the King of Red Lions were able to unlock this portal from inside Ganon's Tower and use it for themselves). This news was conveyed to the heroes by a spying Fishman.

In Old Hyrule, Ganondorf discovered Zelda's whereabouts, and kidnapped her. When Link arrived to check on Zelda, Ganondorf tricked him into thinking she was still in the cellar and trapped Link inside a ring of fire with two Darknuts. Link escaped and destroyed Ganondorf's barrier with the Master Sword, allowing him to enter Ganon's Tower.

As Link worked his way through the tower, Ganondorf's remaining minions were slain one by one; the shadows of Gohma, Kalle Demos, Jalhalla and Molgera, and finally Phantom Ganon. Because of this, Link acquired the Light Arrows (the modern Zelda equivalent of the Silver Arrows, which had been used to defeat Ganon in previous games).

When Link finally reached Ganondorf, he claimed that the gods were responsible for destroying Hyrule by sealing the land away. He transformed into Puppet Ganon, but Link defeated him. Ganondorf mentioned that Link must be the Hero of Time reborn, before disappearing onto the roof of the tower with Zelda.

When Link confronted him again on the roof, Ganondorf finally explained why he attacked Hyrule: his homeland, the Gerudo Desert, had been a harsh, barren place, but he coveted the friendlier winds that blew across Hyrule. This was a first in the series, as had previously been assumed that Ganon's motives consisted of nothing but greed and hatred.

Ganondorf attacked Link and knocked him down, stealing the Triforce of Courage from him. He took the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda (still unconscious) and united them with his own Triforce of Power, finally obtaining the full Triforce he had touched in OoT.

Ganondorf, his ultimate goal realised, made his wish to the Gods:

"Gods! Hear that which I desire! Expose this land to the rays of the sun once more! Let them burn forth!

Give Hyrule to me!!!"

He moves to touch the Triforce, to make his wish come true, only for the King of Hyrule to reappear and make his own wish first, asking that Hyrule be washed away completely, so that Zelda and Link could have a future in a new world, telling Ganondorf to 'drown with Hyrule'. Ganondorf stood perfectly still, with his arm extended to touch the Triforce, and watched as the Triforce floated up and vanished. He laughed, claiming that there was no future for the two, before drawing two swords and attacking.

Zelda tried to help Link by shooting Ganondorf with the bow, but this only served to enrage Ganondorf, so he knocked her out and continued to attack Link. He was held off until Zelda awoke, and the pair defeated him. Link lodged the Master Sword in Ganondorf's forehead. The Evil King chuckled, and commented,

"The wind... It is blowing..."

before being turned to stone. He was then buried beneath along with all of the rest of Hyrule.

Battle
(for the battle with Puppet Ganon see here)

The Wind Waker's battle, unlike Ocarina of Time's battle, Ganondorf does not have the ability to transform into Ganon. He doesn't use magic or lightning and does not have the ability to levitate. Here, Ganondorf fights only with swords. These swords, along with his amazing fighting skills and agility, make him a very deadly enemy. Each sword swipe that connects with Link will deplete one heart. However, the Triforce of Courage will heal him if all of them are depleted.

When the battle starts, Zelda shoots Light Arrows at Ganondorf from Link's bow and Link uses the Master Sword. Ganondorf ignores Zelda and attacks Link, using two long swords as weapons.

Ganondorf must be stunned in one of two ways: by Link using the parry attack when Ganondorf jumps, or by Zelda hitting him with a Light Arrow. Once the boss is stunned, Link gets in hits with the Master Sword.

Eventually, Ganondorf knocks out Zelda, leaving Link to fight on alone without the arrows. He continues to use the parry attack, but Ganondorf becomes harder to hit, and eventually Link aims simply to survive rather than win.

When Zelda wakes up, Link is still without the help of the Light Arrows, because Ganondorf just flips over them. After a few tries, Zelda tells Link that she will shoot the arrows at Link, who must use the Mirror Shield to deflect them at Ganondorf.

When this succeeds, Link rushes towards the stunned Ganondorf. However, just as reaches him, Ganondorf recovers and slices his swords down at Link. Link rolls behind Ganondorf and cuts him in the back, before jumping high into the air. Ganondorf stumbles forward under Link's blow, and Link flips over in mid-air before plunging the Master Sword straight down. Ganondorf looks up and makes to block Link with his swords, but is not quick enough and the Master Sword sinks into his head almost up to the hilt.

Twilight Princess
In essence, Ganondorf is the one behind all the events of Twilight Princess. He was to be executed by the Sages of the Twilight Mirror at Arbiter's Grounds, but he escaped and killed a sage. He was then sealed away in the Twilight Realm as a result. He poses as a god to Zant, who was passed over as the Twilight King. Ganondorf pretends to offer his powers to Zant, without specifically mentioning any requests. Zant agrees, and through Zant, Ganondorf escapes to Hyrule and captures the castle. He serves as the final boss of the game at Hyrule Castle. First, he possesses Princess Zelda. His soul is exorcised from her body by Midna, but he then morphs into his Ganon form. After his Ganon form is defeated by Midna and Wolf Link, Midna warps Link and Zelda to Hyrule Field. She fights him with the power of the Fused Shadows, but loses.

Ganon is then fought on horseback, where he sends ghost riders to attack the player. Zelda fires light arrows at him, stunning him for long enough for Link to attack. The final battle is a one-on-one sword duel, with Ganondorf using the glowing sword originally intended for his execution, before the fight he draws the sword saying "Would you hear my desire? To take this foul blade and blot out the light forever!", ending with Link impaling Ganondorf with the Master Sword. As this is the last we see of him in this game, it is unknown if he died, though the obvious abandonment he suffers from the Triforce symbol on his hand, and the cracking of Zant's spiritual neck to signify his final death, implies this heavily.

That he is alive in Wind Waker, can only be further explained by the splitting of timelines between the eras of past and future Link, which occurs when Link is sent back to his childhood at the end of the events of Ocarina of Time.

Battle
In battle, Ganondorf has erected a barrier around himself and Link to prevent Zelda from intervening. As soon as he gets into stance, sandstorms and lightning blow hard. His attacks include simple stabs, what appears to be Link's spin attack, and a charge that Link may attack to initiate a sword lock. To defeat him, Link must either win a sword lock, or attack him from behind. Humourously, if you use the fishing rod, Ganondorf will stop and turn his head to look at it, giving you an opening.

Ganondorf