Phantom Ganon (ファントムガノン, Fantomu Ganon) is Ganondorf's mysterious puppet, and appears in four games: Ocarina of Time, Four Swords Adventures, The Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess.
Ocarina of Time
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Phantom Ganon (異次元悪霊ファントムガノン, Evil Spirit of Another Dimension: Phantom Ganon) guards the Forest Temple. In the room where you fight him, there are many identical paintings on the wall of a road leading to a dark castle; Phantom Ganon will jump into one of them with his horse. Quickly pull out your newly acquired Fairy Bow and check the paintings; it will appear he is galloping towards you in two of them. The painting with the purple ripple is the one he will jump out of. When he's coming out of the painting (when he turns white), shoot at him with your bow; he will return and the whole routine starts again, until he takes sufficient damage to be knocked off his horse. However, if you pick the wrong painting, get out of your aiming mode and rush to the edge of the room (or just stay in the edge to begin with); Phantom Ganon will throw down a ball of electricity, which shouldn't hurt you if you're on the edge.
When he's off his horse, he will attack by shooting a burst of energy at you. Hit it back with the Master Sword or a Bottle. He might hit it back several times, but eventually he will be hit, causing him to drop to the floor. Rush at him and attack with all your might (jump attacks or rapid Spin Attacks will do fine). Repeat this until he's dead. If you've depleted about half of his health, it will sometimes do another attack: He will twirl his staff a few times, letting off small magic sparks to show he's about to attack. Then he will charge at you, doing three hearts of damage. If you defeat him, you will gain a Heart Container and the Forest Medallion.
The Wind Waker
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You will encounter him twice in the game: once in the Forsaken Fortress, and once in Ganon's Tower. In Ganon's Tower, he will appear in every room of the maze leading to the Light Arrows, and once more in the room you appear in after collecting the Light Arrows. He has three major attacks:
- He generates a blue orb, which he fires at you.
- He generates a large dark red energy ball, which splits into a group of small bursts of energy flying towards you.
- He appears on the ground and swings his sword at you. Note that on his second appearance, he will be accompanied by three illusions of himself.
His blue orbs can be reflected back at him by hitting them with your sword or swinging an empty bottle. He will then try to hit the orbs back at you, but after a while, he will get hit. He will fall to the ground and be vulnerable to attacks with your sword. Likewise, his small bursts of energy can be sent back at him with a Spin Attack, with the same results. You can also hurt him by intercepting his sword attack. This can be difficult to accomplish, though, as he will generally appear behind Link during the first encounter, and he has decoys during the second.
During the first encounter, he will take several hits with the sword before he vanishes. After beating him, you will gain the Skull Hammer. On the second encounter, he will vanish after just one hit when he appears in the maze, and the handle of his sword will point at the door you must take to advance. When you reach the room where you obtain the Light Arrows, he will put up more resistance, and take several hits before he vanishes. On your final confrontation, the only thing that can kill it is a Light Arrow, which will immediately kill it.
Four Swords Adventures
Four Swords Adventures appearance
First Time
One of Ganon's most feared minions is back, and he is as strong as ever, though he hasn't got any new tricks up his sleeve this time.
The only "secret" to beating him is to patiently wait for him to fire his energy-balls at you, and then play a little ball with him, knocking it back and forward between you, with you using your sword. Once he is stunned, run up to him and slash away all you can before he gets his act together again. Repeat until he's down.
Second Time
Phantom Ganon returns, bringing with him many clones. Defeating him isn't much of a trick this time around either, as you will only need to use the same tactic as you did on your first encounter with him. Focus your main attention on the green orbs, as the balls from his clones will simply break once they hit your sword. Using the Horizontal Line-Up might be a good idea, as it will help improve your aim drastically. This phantom is identical to the The Wind Waker version, except he doesn't have a cape.
Twilight Princess
During the horseback fight against Ganondorf in Hyrule Field, Ganondorf will summon henchmen that will try to knock you off your horse. If observed closely, it can be noted that the henchmen he summons seem to be riding phantom versions of Ganondorf's black horse. It can also be noted that these henchmen each have a pair of horns and a trident or spear, traits that Phantom Ganon shares in Ocarina of Time. This seems to indicate that each of them are Phantom Ganon.
Phantom Ganon's sword
This sword is used in both The Wind Waker and Four Swords Adventures. In The Wind Waker, it can only be used when Link is in Ganon's Tower. It is carried by Phantom Ganon and is dropped by him when Link kills him. Also in the maze within Ganon's Tower, if you look closely, the sword falls onto the ground. When it falls, the hilt falls into the direction which Link needs to go to complete the maze.
Trivia
- In The Wind Waker, Phantom Ganon's theme is very similar to Ganon's theme from A Link to the Past.
- The theme also sounds much like the StarFox 64 and StarFox Adventures planet map selection theme.[citation needed]
- In The Wind Waker, the Hylian script on Phantom Ganon's sword reads "Zubora Gabora". Those are the names of the Snowhead Blacksmiths from Majora's Mask.
- In Phantom Hourglass, Phantoms bear resemblance to Phantom Ganon from Four Swords Adventures.