Ganondorf

Ganondorf (ガノンドロフ) known as the Great King of Evil or the Dark Lord, is the primary antagonist of a majority of the games in the Legend of Zelda series. Ganondorf is the king of the Gerudo tribe of the Gerudo Desert in Hyrule. As the wielder of the Triforce of Power, he staged several coups against the Royal Family of Hyrule to take the Hyrulean Throne by force. In the game manual of A Link to the Past, his full name is stated to be Ganondorf Dragmire, and his alias before his incursion into the Sacred Realm is stated to have been Mandrag Ganon, meaning "Ganon of the Enchanted Thieves."

Ganondorf came to power in the Gerudo tribe by means of tradition, being one of the sole male children born every 100 years. Even prior to his birth, his people were tormented by deadly sandstorms during the day, and a freezing cold that pierced their homes at night. The gentle, calm breeze that blew across Hyrule Field brought things other than suffering and ruin, and thus his longing for control over the kingdom was sparked out of a desire to bring his people to peace. However, after delving into research about the Triforce, a relic that was both omniscient and omnipotent, Ganondorf's mind was warped into believing that power was the only means to this end. Some time after aiding the King of Hyrule in unifying the land under the Royal Family's banner, he arranged a meeting with the King and became an advisor, further helping him in restoring order. In secret, however, he plotted to overthrow the King and unleash his own reign upon the land. Ganondorf turned against the King, entered the Sacred Realm and took the Triforce of Power, unleashing what history would come to call the Great Cataclysm.

Following seven dark years of Ganondorf's rule, the Hero of Time appeared, wielding the Blade of Evil's Bane, and sealed the King of Evil away, banishing him into the corrupted Sacred Realm in a conflict history would come to call the Imprisoning War. From that day forth, Ganon has broken free, been killed, and resurrected several times, each with a new Hero appearing to confront him.

Ganondorf's Triforce piece had granted him near-immortality; the only weapons that can harm him are the Master Sword, Silver Arrows and Light Arrows. During a massive time paradox following the Imprisoning War, the universe was severed into two separate time streams, creating two different incarnations of Ganondorf, each having met their ends at the hand of Link, leaving uncertain futures for both. Both incarnations of Ganondorf sport a chin curtain.

Personality
Ganondorf is commonly portrayed as the incarnation of pure evil, greed and power. He is ruthless, cold and calculating seeing all others as either tools to be used or enemies to be destroyed. He is just as likely to reward a servant for a job well done as he is likely to kill them for speaking out of line. He is also shown to have a big ego, believing that only he is worthy to rule the kingdom and showing an arrogant sense of entitlement. All these traits imply that he may be suffering from an antisocial personality disorder.

Like that of Link, Ganondorf's personality undergoes subtle changes throughout the games. In Ocarina of Time he was wise-cracking and sarcastic (e.g. calling Link "kid" even when he reached adulthood, calling Link's weapons "toys", saying to him "I like you kid" before blasting him with magic etc.) but was ultimately serious when need be. In The Wind Waker ehe seems to have matured somewhat with age. He was portrayed as somewhat of a tragic villain, being altogether more solemn and less prone to wisecracks. In Twilight Princess he was similar to his persona in The Wind Waker though having regained some of his usual cockiness.

His maturity is most likely due to his time being sealed away, after having such a rough defeat in Ocarina of Time. After this humiliating defeat he most likely became more serious, less sarcastic and having more lust for the power he tries so hard to receive.

Powers and abilities
Ganondorf's power is God-like with the Triforce of power. Even without the Triforce his magical powers are still extremely potent. It was shown in Ocarina of Time that he possessed some magical abilities before obtaining the Triforce when he blasted Link with magic as mentioned above. In the game he was able to create despair all over Hyrule, create countless monsters, break the seal on Kakariko Well releasing Bongo Bongo, resurrect the feared dragon Volvagia, create a clone, open up a portal to another dimension etc. He also has the power to transform into a powerful boar demon known as Ganon as well as create a gigantic copy of it. The exact limits of his powers are unknown although they're probably great as in the climax of Twilight Princess he defeated (and almost killed) Midna despite her having the power of the Fused Shadows with her at the time and it stated by Midna that the Fused Shadows' powers are great. Ganondorf's power is also apparently strong enough that he can lend some of it to another being and still keep enough for himself (as he did to Zant). He is also very skilled with swords, as shown in The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. Interestingly, he seems to follow a code of honor; when he knocks Link down, he will wait for Link to get up before continuing.

Origins
Ganondorf Dragmire 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 in this tribe every 100 years, this male becoming king of the tribe. This may have caused him to feel a sense of duty to his people. More than likely, is also caused him to become quite arrogant.

Whether or not he is the biological child of either Kotake or Koume, it appears he was raised by them, or at the very least, that they had a powerful hand in his magical education, and thereby shaped a large part of his worldview.

Ganondorf's lands were, in his esteem horrible: dry and desolate, the life of his people one of hardship. Then that he saw the land of Hyrule for the first time. The lands were beautiful and green, the people cheerful and happy. Having never seen anything like this, his jealousy drove him to insanity. He was overcome with a desire to take control of Hyrule and make the people's lives there as horrible as what his own people endured.

Hyrulean Civil War
Convinced that power was the only thing that would free his people, he began to spend days in his study, looking for an omnipotent power that would aid him in this. Ganondorf eventually came upon the Triforce, a power created by the Goddesses that is both omnipotent and omniscient. This is when he began to seek this power in order to save his people.

During the Hyrulean Civil War, he put his schemes in action. He joined sides with the King of Hyrule and aided him in the war, his negotiations helping to put the chaos to an end. With this, the king trusted him to the extent of making him an advisor.

For Ganondorf, everything was going as planned. However, the king's daughter, Princess Zelda, suspected that the Gerudo king had treacherous thoughts and sought out a hero to aid the future of Hyrule.

A World Split In Two

 * See also: Split Timeline Theory

Following Ganondorf's sealing in the Sacred Realm, Link was sent back in time by Princess Zelda to regain his lost childhood. It is widely agreed amongst fans that this action created a massive time paradox and split Hyrule's history into two branches: the pacified past, where Hyrule is still tranquil and Ganondorf never took over (the Child Timeline), and the dark future with Hyrule in ruins (the Adult Timeline). The former ultimately led to Zant's Invasion of Hyrule, while the latter led to the Great Flood. Thus, as with everything, two incarnations of Ganondorf resulted out of this paradox, both now bound to the Triforce of Power.

The Dark World
In the Child Timeline, it appears that while Ganondorf may not have taken over Hyrule, he still attempted to take the Triforce from the Sacred Realm. It can be assumed that the Hero of Time warned Hyrule of Ganondorf's treachery after being sent back to the past by Zelda, thus allowing the Seven Sages to seal him in the Sacred Realm before he could conquer Hyrule.

According to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Ganon proceeded to conquer the Sacred Realm and turn it into the Dark World and looked for a way to return to Hyrule. Eventually, he was able to send part of his spirit there in the form of the wizard Agahnim, who captured the Seven Maidens and sent them to the Dark World so Ganon could use their power to completely break the seal. However, the Legendary Hero entered the Dark World, defeated Ganon and claimed the Triforce, wishing for all of Ganon's evil to be undone.

It is possible that a side effect of that wish was Ganon's resurrection and escape from the Dark World, causing the Triforce to shatter and Ganon to gain possession of the Triforce of Power, much like the Ganon from the Adult timeline did. This could very well have led to the Royal Family's motivation to hide the Triforce of Courage in the Great Palace to keep Ganon from assembling the complete Triforce.

Execution
After returning from the Sacred Land, Ganondorf was 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 impaling him with a shining blade. Since he possessed the power of the goddesses, the Triforce of Power would not allow him to die. Through the Triforce, Ganondorf survived, and broke free of his chains, murdering the sage bearing the symbol of the Water Medallion. In desperation, the others sages activated the Mirror of Twilight, sending Ganondorf into the bleak darkness of the Twilight Realm.

His spirit lingered on in the Twilight Realm for an unspecified length of time (in one interview with Eiji Aonuma, he states that the events of TP happen roughly 150 years after Ocarina of Time), until the day came when he found the answer to his situation: he encountered a depressed adviser to the Royal Family of the Twilight Realm, named Zant. The maddened Twili believed Ganondorf to be a god, and pledged his loyalty to the King of Evil. Gifting him with extraordinary powers, Ganondorf used his ambition to devastate both the Twilight Realm and Hyrule. The pair struck a bargain: Ganondorf would give Zant sorcerer's powers and kingship in exchange for release from the Twilight Realm, once Zant had usurped the Throne.

It is unclear whether these events happen before or after the events outlined in A Link to the Past. It is possible there this is yet another point at which the timeline splits. Nintendo has never released the official timeline that they claim exists, so this is merely speculation.

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 usurped by Zant, Link infiltrated the Twilight Realm and assassinated Zant, delivering Zant's powers back to Ganondorf and reviving him, giving him Gerudian 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 on 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 sacred wolf form and battled Ganondorf, in the end a clash between Ganon's soul and Midna occurred, resulting in the teleportation of all those present in the throne chamber to the middle of Hyrule Field. 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, the Sword of the Sages, he enclosed the battlefield with Twilight matter to ensure that his victim would not escape. In the ensuing clash, Link outmaneuvered Ganondorf and impaled him through the torso with the Master Sword. The Triforce of Power supposedly abandoned Ganondorf, leaving him to seemingly die in the field. However, Ganondorf has been known to escape death more than once, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his supposed "death" are questionable, leaving his true fate unknown. Another reason why Ganondorf may not be dead is that after the battle, even when the Triforce of Power has left him, he remains standing without any noticeable movement rather than collapsing to the ground as he had done on the roof of his tower in Ocarina of Time.

Great Flood
Meanwhile, in the Adult Timeline, many years after the Hero of Time and the Seven Sages banished Ganondorf to the corrupted Sacred Realm at the end of Ocarina of Time, the seal on the Evil Realm began to weaken and the Dark Lord saw his chance to escape his imprisonment. Using the Triforce of Power, he was able to fully break the seal between the two worlds and returned to Hyrule in a red wrath.

Sending two of his minions (Jalhalla and Molgera) to murder the Sages that now safeguarded the Master Sword's power to repel evil, the Dark Lord deactivated the Blade of Evil's Bane, rendering it useless against him. As the Hero of Time had been sent back to his childhood long before these events, there was now no hero to rise up against him, and with the Master Sword now powerless, the Dark Lord assumed his bestial form of the Dark Beast Ganon and attacked the kingdom of Hyrule head on.

As his victory seemed near at hand and the land of Hyrule was overwhelmed by his evil forces, the Golden Goddesses answered the frantic cries of Hyrule's people and ordered them to take refuge on Hyrule's mountaintops while they brought down a torrential downpour that buried the land of Hyrule and all still in it beneath a vast ocean, while a protective seal was cast over the land to preserve it, freezing it in time along with Ganondorf's powers, a seal that was held in stasis by the Master Sword and the Pedestal of Time. Thus Ganondorf was left forgotten at the bottom of the ocean along with his army of monsters and the land of Hyrule, which passed into legend as people forgot about the kingdom beneath the waves of what came to be known as the Great Sea.

Escape and Death
Hundreds of years after the Great Flood, the Dark Lord Ganondorf was able to weaken the seal cast over him enough to create a portal in his tower to the world now above the waves. Although his power was now far more limited due to the seal of the Master Sword, he was able to unfreeze part of his army and transported it to the surface of the Great Sea, taking over the Forsaken Fortress as his base of operations on the surface of the Great Sea. He then sent his pet and servant, the Helmaroc King, to search the Great Sea for the descendant of Princess Zelda, who would be the keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom. It was now his goal to reconstruct the one complete Triforce and wish for the Great Sea to be drained, leaving him the ruler of Hyrule forevermore.

The Helmaroc King ended up bringing a young girl named Aryll to the Forsaken Fortress since she matched the description of Princess Zelda given to it by Ganondorf, but she was one more in a long line of girls that ended up not being the one he sought. The Dark Lord ordered her locked up in the cells of his fortress, which resulted in her brother, Link, the Hero of Winds (the Hero of Time reincarnated), coming after her to save her from doom. This set up a natural enmity between the young Hero of Winds and the Dark Lord, which would draw the Hero of Winds into a quest not only to save his sister but to also defeat the Dark Lord and restore peace to the world of the Great Sea. The Hero gathered the Pearls of the Goddesses and conquered the trials of the Tower of the Gods, finding his way to the ancient land of Hyrule beneath the Great Sea, where he took the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time, both breaking the seal cast over Hyrule that kept it frozen in time as well as fully releasing Ganondorf's powers. Unaware that the sword had long since lost its power by Ganondorf's doing, the Hero of Winds confronted the Dark Lord and attempted to slay him with the blade, only to be beaten back. After the Dark Lord realized that Tetra, an associate of the hero and captain of a band of pirates, was in fact Princess Zelda, he made it his goal to find her and the Triforce of Wisdom she possessed.

The Hero of Winds then embarked on a quest to restore the Master Sword's power by replacing the Sages of the Master Sword in Hyrule's temples. After accomplishing this, the hero returned with his boat, the King of Red Lions (revealed to be Hyrule's last king, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule), to Hyrule Castle beneath the Great Sea, where Princess Zelda was hidden from Ganondorf. However, the Dark Lord had realized where she was hiding and kidnapped her, taking her to his tower, also beneath the Great Sea and not far from Hyrule Castle. The hero journeyed there and conquered the many trials of the tower, causing Ganondorf to acknowledge the hero's strength and declare him the Hero of Time reincarnated. The two enemies met again on the roof of the tower, where Ganondorf explained his origins and his reasoning for wishing to take over Hyrule, having stemmed from the harsh life he and his people had been subjected to in the Gerudo Desert. The Dark Lord then knocked the hero out and used his Triforce of Power to call the two other Triforce pieces, the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage, from Zelda and Link and for the three to recombine there at the top of the tower. Just as Ganondorf was about to use the reunited relic to drain the Great Sea and take control of Hyrule forever, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule appeared and touched the relic before he could, wishing instead for Hyrule to be drowned beneath the Great Sea along with Ganondorf and himself, having realized that Ganondorf and himself were both bound to Hyrule, and that as long as Hyrule existed, the world above would never be free of Ganondorf's threat. As the protective shield cast over the land collapsed, the Great Sea began to pour into the land. The Dark Lord engaged in one final sword duel with the hero and Princess Zelda, resulting in the Master Sword being driven into his skull, turning him to stone and killing him. As the kingdom was drowned beneath the sea, Link and Zelda were returned to the surface of the Great Sea by the Triforce's magic while Ganondorf's stone body was left at the bottom of the sea, with the Master Sword still stuck in his head.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Ganondorf is the primary antagonist; an evil Gerudo mystic seeking the omnipotent Triforce, Ganondorf attempts to obtain the Spiritual Stones of Forest, Fire and Water, which serve as keys to the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce rests. Using his unspoken magical powers and hordes of evil minions, Ganondorf attempts to wrest control over the Spiritual Stones from the leaders of the Kokiri, Goron and Zora races. After the Great Deku Tree, leader of the Kokiri, refuses to give Ganondorf the stone, the evil Gerudo places a death curse on the wise tree. To blackmail Darunia, leader of the Gorons into giving up the Goron's Ruby, he fills the Dodongo's Cavern with evil creatures and seals the entrance with a boulder, his plan being that the Gorons will eventually give him the stone in order to prevent death from starvation. Finally, to obtain the Zora's Sapphire, Ganondorf sends parasites that infect Lord Jabu-Jabu, the Zora's guardian deity, in hopes of stealing the stone from Princess Ruto, who frequently enters Jabu-Jabu.

The youth Link, of the Kokiri race, has increasingly troubled dreams as Ganondorf comes closer to achieving his goal. One day, a fairy by the name of Navi awakens Link and brings a request from the Great Deku Tree that he go see him. The Great Deku Tree explains to Link about the curse placed on him, as well as the evil Ganondorf. He asks Link to venture inside him and defeat the originator of the wicked curse, Queen Gohma. Link successfully does so, but the tree reveals that he had been doomed to die before Link had even begun his quest. After explaining the creation of Hyrule and the Triforce, the wise tree then asks Link to meet Zelda, princess of Hyrule in Hyrule Castle. Link is also given the Spiritual Stone of Forest, not fully understanding its true purpose yet, and the Great Deku Tree withers. Link travels to Hyrule Castle and meets with the prophetic Princess Zelda, who had foreseen their meeting in her dreams. She explains to Link that along with the Spiritual Stones, the Ocarina of Time as well as the "Song of Time" are needed in order to enter the Sacred Realm. Zelda is convinced that together, they can manage to get to the Triforce before Ganondorf and stop his evil plans.

Link collects the two remaining Spiritual Stones, but as he returns to the castle, he sees Zelda riding away from the castle together with her nursemaid Impa. Before the disappear out of sight, Zelda throws the Ocarina of Time into Hyrule Castle Town's moat. Suddenly, Ganondorf appears before Link, their encounter being a fulfillment of Link's nightmares. Ganondorf does not recognize Link as a threat and chases after Zelda. Link dives into the moat to recover the Ocarina of Time, and as he touches it, Princess Zelda appears before him in a vision and teaches him the "Song of Time". With all the required keys to the Sacred Realm, Link ventures within the Temple of Time and finds the chamber where the legendary Master Sword rests. As he touches the sword, he fulfills an ancient prophecy regarding the Hero of Time, destined to battle great evil. However, since he is too young to be the hero, he is taken away and sealed within the Temple of Light for seven years. The path to the Triforce is left open, and Ganondorf sees his chance to take the Triforce; however, as he touches it, the Triforce shatters into three pieces; Power, Wisdom and Courage. As Ganondorf's inner balance of power, wisdom and courage is not fully balanced, the Triforce he values most is left in his hand. The pieces of Wisdom and Courage are secretly given to Zelda and Link, respectively. While not being able to obtain the full power of the Triforce, Ganondorf usurps the throne of Hyrule and transforms the once peaceful land into a wasteland of fear and horror.

Seven years later, Link awakens within the Chamber of the Sages, the events that occurred explained to him by Rauru, the Sage of Light. To defeat Ganondorf, Link must awaken the Six Sages who hold the power to seal Ganondorf away. Link completes the dungeon of the ruined future Hyrule and awakens all the sages, many of whom he already knew. After the awakening of the final sage, Link is summoned to the Temple of Time. Here Sheik, a mysterious Sheikah who had aided him throughout his quest to awaken the sages, reveals her true identity to be that of Princess Zelda. Zelda presents Link with Ganondorf's weakness, the Light Arrow. However, the two are discovered by Ganondorf, who takes Zelda away to his castle. Link breaks the seal on Ganon's Tower and confronts Ganondorf at the top of the tower. Ganondorf commands Link to give him the Triforce of Courage. After a fierce battle, Ganondorf appears to have been defeated, but with his last ounce of strength, attempts to bring down his castle onto Zelda and Link, who narrowly escape before the castle collapses. As they believe to have won, however, a noise is heard from the rubble, revealing itself to be Ganondorf, who uses the power of the Triforce of Power to transform into Ganon. Link weakens Ganon with the Master Sword until Zelda manages to use her power to hold him, allowing Link to deal the killing blow. The Seven Sages then work together to seal Ganondorf away. However, Ganondorf claims that he will return, as long as the Triforce of Power is in his hand.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Ganondorf is the primary antagonist of the game. A long time prior to the events of the game, Ganondorf somehow managed to break the seal placed on him and once more, attempted to establish dominion over the land of Hyrule. To this end, he seeks to recover the two other Triforce pieces and make a wish to the Triforce that Hyrule be given to him. To find the descendant of Princess Zelda, who held the Triforce of Wisdom, he sends his loyal minion, the Helmaroc King, to kidnap all young, pointy-eared girls living on the islands of the Great Sea. After being captured, young girls are imprisoned within Ganondorf's new lair, the Forsaken Fortress. In addition to this, Ganondorf sends monsters to islands all around the Great Sea to prevent the descendant of the hero who had sealed him away from ever foiling his plans. To further secure himself against the coming of the hero's descendant, he orders two of his minions, Jalhalla and Molgera to kill the sages of the Wind and Earth Temples, whose prayers give the power to repel evil to the Master Sword.

Eventually, the Helmaroc King comes to Outset Island, where lives the young boy Link, who has come of the age when young boys are given green garments. The Helmaroc King has kidnapped the young pirate leader Tetra, and Link travels into the forest to save her, and successfully does so. However, as they leave the forest, Link's sister Aryll is taken by the Helmaroc King in Tetra's place. Link travels with Tetra and her pirates to the Forsaken Fortress. Link manages to sneak his way into the dungeon cells, but is discovered. He catches a brief glimpse of Ganondorf, just before he is thrown far away from the island by the Helmaroc King. Floating unconsciously, Link is discovered by the King of Red Lions, a talking ship who becomes his ally.

The King of Red Lions and Link work together to obtain the three Pearls of the Goddesses, which when gathered raise the fabled Tower of the Gods from the depths of the sea. After Link collects the pearls of Din and Farore, Ganondorf uses his evil magic to destroy Greatfish Isle, where the spirit Jabun, holder of Nayru's Pearl, resides. Jabun escapes to a cave on Outset Island, which is eventually discovered by Link and the King of Red Lions. After obtaining the final pearl, Link proves himself to truly be of the legendary hero's lineage by braving the many perils within the Tower of the Gods. After the defeat of Gohdan, a portal appears before the tower. Using the portal to safely travel to the very bottom of the Great Sea, Link finds himself in a grand castle where time has stopped. Beneath the castle, he finds the chamber in which the legendary Master Sword rests. Taking the sword, Link travels once more to the Forsaken Fortress; however, Ganondorf's safeguards prove useful when it is revealed that the sword holds no power over Ganondorf without the power to repel evil. Tetra appears to distract Ganondorf, but is herself taken. As Ganondorf prepares to squeeze the life out of her, his Triforce of Power resonates, revealing her true identity to be that of Zelda's descendant and holder of the Triforce of Wisdom. Before Ganondorf has the chance to take the Triforce, Link, Zelda and the kidnapped girls are rescued by Valoo, a great dragon whom Link befriended earlier. Valoo sets Ganondorf's lair on fire, but Ganondorf seemingly escapes, retreating into his tower in the sunken land of Hyrule.

Link leaves Zelda safe in the chamber beneath Hyrule Castle, and awakens the descendants of the sages, restoring the Master Sword. To make his way back into sunken Hyrule, Link gathers the shards of the Triforce of Courage. However, Zelda is taken away by Ganondorf to his domain. Link destroys the barrier Ganondorf had placed around the entrance to Hyrule Castle to prevent Link from reaching the temples by way of Hyrule. Inside Ganon's Tower, Link battles Ganondorf's minions once more. Inside the tower, Ganondorf reveals part of his motives for conquering Hyrule. Ganondorf's conquest of Hyrule would have succeeded, as the legendary hero who had defeated him did not appear. Praying for the aid from the gods, the gods answered the people's prayers by flooding the land, creating the Great Sea. After the destruction of Ganondorf's puppet form, he retreats to the top of the tower. When Link confronts him again on the roof, Ganondorf finally explains his ambition to conquer Hyrule: his homeland, the Gerudo Desert, had been a harsh, barren place, but he coveted the friendlier winds that blew across Hyrule.

Ganondorf forcibly reassembles the Triforce, however, as he is about to make his wish, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, the former King of Hyrule who had taken residence within the King of Red Lions, touches the Triforce before him, wishing that Hyrule be flooded, preventing Ganondorf from ever attaining his true wish as well as bringing a future to Zelda and Link instead of clinging onto the past. After a fit of laughter at his failure, Ganondorf attacks Link and Zelda as water begins to cover Hyrule. Zelda attempts to use the Light Arrow to attack Ganondorf, but is knocked out. Link defends himself against Ganondorf's attack until Zelda reawakens; working as a team, they use the Master Sword and Light Arrow to weaken the Dark Lord. At his weakest, Link plunges the Master Sword deep into the forehead of Ganondorf, who turns to stone and kills him. Link and Zelda escape to the surface while Ganondorf and Hyrule is flooded once and for all.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Ganondorf is eventually revealed to be the primary antagonist. When Link arrives at the Forest of Darkness, the Deku there are under his control. More is revealed about him in the next area, the Desert of Doubt. The Gerudo there know him, but dislike him because he entered the Pyramid, which is sacred to them. He took the Trident of Power and transformed into Ganon (perhaps indicating that the Trident held the Triforce of Power, though the Triforce is never mentioned in the game).

After Link defeats Vaati in his palace, the Tower of Winds starts to crumble, and Link and Zelda travel down the tower back to Hyrule. However they are stopped by Ganondorf, who uses the Trident to transform into Ganon and faces Link in battle. After he is defeated he is locked within the Four Sword.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Ganondorf is eventually revealed to be the primary antagonist. As punishment for his crimes, he was to be executed by the Ancient Sages of the Twilight Mirror at Arbiter's Grounds. The Water Sage attempts to carry the execution out, stabbing Ganondorf with the Sword of the Sages, leaving a glowing white scar on his chest. However, Ganondorf remained alive through the Triforce of Power, which he used to escape, and he killed the Water Sage with his bare hands. He was then sealed away in the Twilight Realm as a result, taking the Execution Sword of the Sages with him. Inside the Twilight Realm, he eventually gained a servant through Zant, a member of the Twili race who had been refused the throne of the Twilight Realm. Posing as a god, Ganondorf pretended to offer his powers to Zant, without specifically mentioning any requests. Zant takes him up on his offer and through him, Ganondorf is able to escape to Hyrule when Zant launches a military campaign to cover all the land in Twilight.

Seeking to defeat Zant, Link and Midna eventually make their way to the top of the Arbiter's Grounds, where the Ancient Sages explain what happened to Ganondorf. They reassemble the Mirror of Twilight and travel into the Twilight Realm, wherein they manage to defeat Zant. Zant reveals the truth about how he came to meet his "god" before Midna slays him. Link and Midna travel to Hyrule Castle, where Midna uses the restored Fused Shadow to remove the Twilight barrier placed around the castle. Inside the castle's throne room, Link and Ganondorf meet. He possesses Princess Zelda's lifeless body and attacks Link, but Midna manages to purge Ganondorf's soul from Zelda's body, restoring her to life as well. Ganondorf then transforms into Ganon, but is defeated by Link in his wolf form. As Ganon is wounded, Midna attempts to battle him herself, while teleporting Link and Zelda to Hyrule Field.

A short while later, a huge bang is heard in direction of the castle, and Ganondorf reappears, holding Midna's Fused Shadow helmet and crushing it in his hand. Ganondorf summons his mount and sends ghost riders after Link to stop him. He is eventually defeated by Zelda's Light Arrows and Link's sword. His steed defeated, Ganondorf confronts Link in a one-on-one duel, wielding the very sword meant for his execution. Seeing an opening in Ganondorf's defence, Link impales him with the Master Sword; as Ganondorf bellows a blood-curdling moan, the Triforce symbol on his hand fades away. As this happens, a small scene occurs in which Zant snaps his own neck, fading back to Ganondorf with his eyes rolling back into his head. Ganondorf's ultimate fate is not disclosed.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Ganondorf is a playable character for the first time in Super Smash Bros. Melee. To unlock him, the player must beat Event Match #29 or play 600 VS. Mode matches. His moves are almost exactly the same as Captain Falcon's, but he is slower and more powerful. His physical appearance is based on the design used in the Space World 2000 Demo, and wields the same sword used in the demo as part one of his victory poses, even though he doesn't use it in battle.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl


Ganondorf is based off of his appearance in Twilight Princess. His moves remained largely the same, though visually different. His Smash-B move, rather than a dashing uppercut, is a magically enhanced chokeslam. His final smash is a running charge at a player as Ganon.

In the storyline, Ganondorf uses the Ancient Minister to drop Subspace bombs on the world, "erasing" it and transporting it into Subspace. He serves under Master Hand, and Bowser is Ganondorf's right hand man. The Ancient Minister (revealed to be a ROB unit) turns on Ganondorf, refusing to fight the heroes. Ganondorf then takes control of the R.O.B.s, forcing them to attack the Ancient Minister and then proceeding to have them detonate the bombs, which tear a hole so large that it destroys the Island of the Ancients. Ganondorf uses this hole to bring the subspace gunship to the real world, using it against the alliance of heroes sent to take him down. The gunship is destroyed when Kirby flies the Dragoon through the hull. Ganondorf then betrays Bowser, turning him into a trophy. Ganondorf soon learns that Master Hand, who he was apparently going to betray for more power (though this is difficult to determine since the only line of dialogue in the entire story is spoken by Solid Snake), is only a puppet being controlled by a higher being, Tabuu. Ganondorf attempts to attack Tabuu alone, but is easily subdued with a single strike and turned into a trophy (though his attack does succeed in inadvertantly freeing Master Hand from Tabuu's control). Later on, the trophy of Ganondorf is attacked by a revived Bowser in retaliation for his earlier betrayal before being revived himself by Link and Zelda, who convince him to help them and the rest of the playable fighters in the final battle against Tabuu.

A fact about Ganondorf in Brawl is his lack of using the sword he had in Twilight Princess even though his appearance is based off of his Twilight Princess design. However, the sword is seen in one of Ganondorf's taunts, where he takes his sword out of its sheath just to inspect it, and possibly show it off, then immediately returning it.

The Hero of Time
Ganondorf is the antagonist of this fan film. He usurps control of Hyrule and morphs the land into a desolate wasteland. Ganondorf desires the Triforce and will stop at nothing to obtain all three pieces. Because of this, Link sets out to stop him and save Hyrule.

Gallery
Ganondorf