Dark Beast Ganon

Dark Beast Ganon is a recurring boss in The Legend of Zelda series.^[3] It is simply Ganon, but in an incomplete, mindless form in the gigantic shape of an actual boar rather than his proper, controlled humanoid appearance.

Characteristics[]

Twilight Princess[]

Dark Beast Ganon is the boar-like form taken by Ganondorf during the battle at Hyrule Castle.^[4] He attacks with overwhelming brute strength, but his recklessness leaves him vulnerable. Link uses the Master Sword to exploit the glowing wound left by the Sages, ultimately bringing the beast down before the confrontation shifts to Hyrule Field.

Breath of the Wild[]

Hyrule Compendium Entry

161 (166) Dark Beast Ganon	Description After Ganon was defeated by Link, the remaining Malice pulled itself together to form this bestial creature. Its appearance and fiendish magic earned it the name of Dark Beast. This form is considered to be Ganon's original, although in this state, his awareness has been consumed entirely by Malice, and all he knows is a desire to rampage and destroy.
	Common Locations Hyrule Field
Recoverable Materials None

Hatred and Malice Incarnate: Dark Beast Ganon is the final boss of Breath of the Wild. He is a gigantic, porcine beast covered by Malice and is the purest form of Ganon's rage. Dark Beast Ganon is fought in Hyrule Field after Link defeats Calamity Ganon in Hyrule Castle's Astral Observatory. Following his defeat, Calamity Ganon flees to Hyrule Field where he sheds his mortal form and gives up on reincarnation as the Calamity,^[5] drawing from all of his Malice to take down the hero. Princess Zelda transports Link beside his Horse to engage Dark Beast Ganon in combat, offering up the only unbreakable weapon to repel him, the Bow of Light.^[6]^[7] Despite this, it is possible to damage Ganon with the Twilight Bow, Ancient Arrows, or from Sword Beams from the Master Sword.

After the battle begins, Dark Beast Ganon will fire a beam of dark energy from his mouth towards Link, dealing 72 base damage. Zelda will warn Link that the Malice encasing Dark Beast Ganon's body renders any attacks on him useless,^[8] so she plans to use her power to hold the Malice back, opening parts of Ganon's body to attack.^[9] She does so by manifesting various sigils of light on numerous spots of Dark Beast Ganon's body, encouraging Link to attack when she does so and reporting successful hits.^[10]^[11] These sigils initially appear on Ganon's shoulder, ribs and thigh on either side of his body. If Link takes too long, Zelda will be unable to hold back the Malice and the magical circles will disappear until she regains enough strength to try again.^[12]^[13]^[14]

BotW Dark Beast Ganon Core — Dark Beast Ganon's exposed core during the final battle

After Link has successfully struck Dark Beast Ganon six times, a sigil will appear on Ganon's stomach.^[15] When this magical circle has been struck, Dark Beast Ganon will expose the core of his being: a gigantic eyeball located on his nape.^[16] During this period, the sky will turn red, akin to a Blood Moon. To reach his core, Link must use the updrafts created by Ganon's dark energy beams, or Revali's Gale to become level with it. As Link draws the Bow of Light, Zelda will urge Link to deliver the final blow.^[17]^[2]

Upon the final blow being delivered, Zelda will escape from Dark Beast Ganon's core and glow with a holy light, stripping Ganon of his corporeal form and returning him to his ethereal state. In his desperation, Ganon attempts to attack Zelda, only to be driven back and engulfed by a sphere of golden light that seemingly destroys him.^[18]

Other Appearances[]

Ambiguously Canon Information

Hyrule Warriors[]

In certain Adventure Mode Battles, Ganon is also known as Dark Beast Ganon during his introductory cutscene. Dark Beast Ganon is identical in every respect to his Legend Mode counterpart. In Battle A6 of the Adventure Map, along with every other Map that has a final battle with Ganon, the credits sequence will begin to play immediately upon Dark Beast Ganon's defeat.

Nomenclature[]

Names in other regions
Language		Name	Meaning
	Japanese	魔獣ガノン (Majū Ganon)^[19]	Demon Beast Ganon
	Chinese^SI	魔兽盖侬 (Móshòu Gàinóng)
	Chinese^TR	魔獸加儂 (Móshòu Jiānóng)
	Dutch	Demon-Ganon^[20]
	French^CA	Ganon, créature maléfique^[21]
	French^EU	Ganon, créature maléfique^[22]	Ganon, evil creature
	German	Dämonenbestie Ganon^[23]
	Italian	Ganon, bestia delle tenebre^[24]
	Korean	마수 가논 (Masu Ganon)
	Russian	Чудище Тьмы Ганон (Chudishche Tʹmy Ganon)^[25]
	Spanish^EU	Ganon, bestia de las tinieblas^[26]
	Spanish^LA	Ganon, bestia de las tinieblas^[27]
This table was generated using translation pages.

Trivia[]

Dark Beast Ganon is the second final boss in the series to be fought in Hyrule Field, the first being Ganondorf from Twilight Princess.
The act of shooting glowing patches of light all over Dark Beast Ganon's body is similar to the battle with Cragma in Spirit Tracks.
In the English version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Zelda states that Dark Beast Ganon is the form that Calamity Ganon took on because it gave up on trying to reincarnate and simply wanted to spread more chaos. This is, however, a mistranslation. In the original Japanese version, Zelda specifies that Dark Beast Ganon is the result of Ganon refusing to give up on reincarnation, and still trying to find a way to create a new body for itself even during its final fight with Link.

Gallery[]

Dark Beast Ganon introduction from Twilight Princess
Dark Beast Ganon's introduction from Breath of the Wild
The sigils of light on Dark Beast Ganon's body from Breath of the Wild
Finalized concept art of Dark Beast Ganon from Breath of the Wild
Concept art of Dark Beast Ganon from Breath of the Wild
Render of Dark Beast Ganon from Hyrule Warriors
Dark Beast Ganon Introduction from Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
Portrait of Dark Beast Ganon from Hyrule Warriors
Portrait of Dark Beast Ganon from Hyrule Warriors
Portrait of Dark Beast Ganon from Hyrule Warriors
Portrait of Dark Beast Ganon from Hyrule Warriors
Portrait of Dark Dark Beast Ganon from Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
Dark Beast Ganon Mini Map icon from Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
Dark Dark Beast Ganon Mini Map icon from Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
Concept art of Dark Beast Ganon from Hyrule Warriors

References

↑ "Hatred and Malice Incarnate
Dark Beast Ganon" — N/A (Breath of the Wild)
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 "Finish him, Link!" — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "Dark Beast Ganon" — Hyrule Compendium (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "Ganon
Ganon is a monstrous embodiment of evil. Ganon is typicall the final boss of the final dungeon in the titles in which he appears. He frequently wields a trident and may take several forms. In some titles, a battle with Ganondorf intensifies after the Gerudo King transforms into Ganon. In Twilight Princess, he appears as Dark Beast Ganon. Ganon also appears in the Oracle series when Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons are linked. See also page 20, Phantom Ganon, Puppet Ganon." (Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 179)
↑ "... Ganon... Ganon... Ganon was born out of a dark past. He is a pure embodiment of the ancient evil that is reborn time and time again... He has given up on reincarnation and assumed his pure, enraged form. If set free upon our world, the destruction will be unlike anything ever seen before." — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "I entrust you with the Bow of Light—a powerful weapon in the face of evil. Link...you may not yet be at a point where you have fully recovered your power or all of your memories... But courage need not be remembered... For it is never forgotten." — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "Bow of Light
Princess Zelda gave you this bow and arrow for the battle with Dark Beast Ganon. When wielded by the hero, it fires arrows of pure light strong enough to oppose the Calamity." — Inventory (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "That energy covering Ganon's body is called Malice. None of your attacks will get through as he now is..." — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "I will hold the Malice back as much as I can, but my power is waning. Attack any glowing points that you see! May you be victorious!" — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "Shoot a glowing area!" — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "Ganon's power is weakening!" — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "I'm holding back the Malice!" — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "Hurry, Link!" — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "I'm sorry. I can't hold it..." — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "We're so close!" — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "Link! Look up there! That's the very core of Ganon's being! Do what you must, Link!" — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "Now, Link!" — Princess Zelda (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "Destroy Ganon
Complete" — N/A (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "164 魔獣ガノン" — Hyrule Compendium (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "164 Demon-Ganon" — Hyrule Compendium (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "164 Ganon, créature maléfique" — Hyrule Compendium (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "164 Ganon, créature maléfique" — Hyrule Compendium (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "164 Dämonenbestie Ganon" — Hyrule Compendium (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "164 Ganon, bestia delle tenebre" — Hyrule Compendium (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "164 Чудище Тьмы Ганон" — Hyrule Compendium (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "164 Ganon, bestia de las tinieblas" — Hyrule Compendium (Breath of the Wild)
↑ "164 Ganon, bestia de las tinieblas" — Hyrule Compendium (Breath of the Wild)

Bosses in The Legend of Zelda series

The Legend of Zelda

Aquamentus · Dodongo · Manhandla · Gleeok · Digdogger · Gohma · Patra · Ganon

Anthropomorphic	Blue Taros · Boarblin · Ganon · Guma · Lupay (Boss) · Omfak · Pikku · Puppet Ganon · Purple Keaton · Red Taros · Taros · Thief · Wosu · Yellow Keaton · Yook
Bovid	Blue Taros · Brother Goriyas · Guma · Red Taros · Taros
Canine	Black Wolfos · Lupay (Boss) · Moblin · Omfak · Pikku · Purple Keaton · White Wolfos · Wolfos · Wosu · Yellow Keaton
Monkeys	Monkey (Enemy) · Ook
Pig-Like	Boar · Boarblin · Bokoblin · Bullbo · Dark Beast Ganon · Ganon · Lord Bullbo · Moblin · Puppet Ganon
Rats	Blue Rat · Dark Rat · Ghoul Rat · Rat · Real Bombchu
Enemies	Acro-Bandit · Black Wolfos · Blue Rat · Blue Taros · Boar · Boarblin · Bokoblin · Bullbo · Dark Rat · Ghoul Rat · Guma · Hairy Fluffy · Lynel · Megmat · Moblin · Monkey (Enemy) · Pikku · Pols Voice · Purple Keaton · Rat · Real Bombchu · Red Taros · Snurgle · Taros · Thief · Toppo · White Wolfos · Wolfos · Wosu · Yellow Keaton · Yook
Sub-Bosses	Lynel · Moblin · Ook · Subterror · White Wolfos
Bosses	Bokoblin · Brother Goriyas · Dark Beast Ganon · Ganon · Lord Bullbo · Lupay (Boss) · Omfak · Pols Voice · Puppet Ganon · Syger · Ursore

Dark Beast Ganon

Characteristics[]

Twilight Princess[]

Breath of the Wild[]

Other Appearances[]

Hyrule Warriors[]

Nomenclature[]

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

See also[]

References