Phantom Ganon

The Evil Spirit from Beyond, Phantom Ganon is an entity of pure evil, forged by Ganondorf to be a perfect servant and, if need be, killing machine, who asks no questions and does what his master commands. He appears prominently in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, though these may be two different Phantoms. However, Phantom Ganon was never actually killed in Ocarina of Time, so there is the possibility that it may be the same being. He may also be in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess; Ganondorf sends out ghost warriors on horseback in the final battle that resemble Phantom Ganon. In the game, there is a similar boss, Phantom Zant, which is a ghostly mirror of Zant.

Ocarina of Time
His first appearance is in OoT as the boss of the Forest Temple. He approaches Link in a small art gallery disguised as the Evil King before revealing his true nature, perhaps as a means to throw off his enemy. His fighting style consisted of the use of a staff, in conjunction with magic attacks and a replica of his master's steed. He starts off by riding from within a painting towards Link, confusing him by appearing in two paintings at once. However, one of the images will turn back from the surface of the painting at the last moment, indicating that the other is the true Phantom, and Link must shoot him with his bow as he rides out. If he is not hit, he will fire an energy blast at Link, depleting two of his hearts.

Eventually the horse will be destroyed, and Phantom Ganon will resort to hovering over the arena, using his staff to fire energy balls at Link, which Link must deflect without being hit himself. If he is hit, he loses one heart container. Once he successfully deflects the energy ball, Link can then move in and engage the Phantom in close quarters until the Phantom rises. Nearing the end, Phantom Ganon will also mount his staff and charge at Link, hoping to impale him. This particular attack is the most powerful attack until Bongo Bongo, and will instantly defeat anyone attempting to complete the game without obtaining any extra heart containers. All Link has to do is dodge this attack, wait for the Phantom to fire another energy ball, then revive his strategy.

After Link slashes him roughly a dozen times, the Phantom falls &mdash; and the real Ganondorf speaks into Link's mind (or possibly through the phantom itself), taunting him that HE will not be as easily vanquished; he will then banish the writhing Phantom to 'the gap between dimensions'. Wise players keep this duel in their minds when they confront the real King of Evil.

The Wind Waker
Phantom Ganon makes a return in TWW, although this may be a different Phantom from the OoT version. Whereas the OoT version was Ganondorf's body with a skull head, this Phantom is a pure shadow. His fighting style, however, remains almost the same. Link duels with this being twice: one in the Forsaken Fortress, a second time in Ganon's Tower.

In the first duel, Phantom Ganon is easily beaten by deflecting his energy balls at him, then attacking. In the second duel, it is revealed that, unlike is predecessor, this Phantom will regenerate everytime after being bested. In this duel, the Phantom's fighting style is very reminiscient of that of Ganondorf from OoT, even up to the multiple energy-missiles which are deflected with the spin attack. He also has the ability to replicate himself, surround Link and swing five swords at him. Link must defeat the beast many times here before, in the end, Link discovers the secret to destroying the Phantom forever with the Light Arrow, which dispels the darkness which is Phantom Ganon. Link then takes the beast's sword to and uses it to smash open the next barrier.

But as long as Ganon lives, however, there is nothing that will stop him from crafting another Phantom.

Four Sword Adventures
In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Phantom Ganon appears as the boss of Level 1, Whereabouts of the Wind at the top of Hyrule Castle.

He reapears as the boss of Level 5, The Dark World, in the Temple of Darkness. This time around, he fires differently colored energy balls, which the correspondent Link must hit.

Ganon Fantasma