Ganon

Ganon, also known as Ganondorf, is a character in The Legend of Zelda series who first appeared in The Legend of Zelda, though chronologically speaking he first appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. He is generally considered the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda series, though his contemplated plans are invariably always thwarted by the series hero - Link.

So far, Ganon or his counterpart Ganondorf have appeared in every Zelda game to date, excluding The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Minish Cap, and Phantom Hourglass.

Ocarina of Time
According to Ocarina of Time, Ganon was a member of the Gerudo tribe and was their king, at which time he was named Ganondorf - the sole male of his kind, as only one male is born to the Gerudo every century. Koume and Kotake are described as his surrogate mothers, raising him in an environment where death is an almost-daily event. Ganondorf coveted the Triforce and the lush green lands where Hyrule stood. The hero Link had been used by Ganondorf and unwittingly helped him gain access to the Triforce when Link acquired the Master Sword, unlocking the entrance to the Sacred Realm where the Triforce resided. However, once Ganondorf touched the Triforce itself, it split into its three components that embedded themselves in the three people destined to receive them - Ganondorf received the Triforce of Power, Link the Triforce of Courage, and Princess Zelda the Triforce of Wisdom.

With the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf was able to conquer the land of Hyrule and rule unopposed for seven years, obtaining the title of King of Evil/King of Darkness (Dark Lord or Devil King in the Japanese version). At that point, Link, who had been held in stasis for those seven years, was awakened by Rauru, the Sage of Light. Rauru encouraged him to awaken the other six Sages (whose power had been dormant in the leaders of Hyrule) to oppose and defeat Ganondorf's rule. Now a young adult, Link had succeeded in awakening the Sages and attacked Ganondorf's stronghold for a final showdown. After his initial defeat, Ganondorf's piece of the Triforce, combined with his evil and lust for power, could not contain the evil within his heart. Ganondorf was transformed into an immensely powerful, porcine monster of terrifying evil. After his transformation Ganondorf was to be known as Ganon. After an intense battle, Link and Zelda (whom Ganon needed for the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage) were able to fight and finally subdued the demonic Ganon long enough for the Seven Sages to combine their powers and seal him away. As Ganon screamed that he would return and destroy Link and Zelda's descendants.

Twilight Princess
In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Ganondorf was held on trial for his barbarity, and was evidently chained up, where he was planted by the blade of light. Still, the Triforce of Power managed to keep the murderer alive, where he then ripped right through the chains and killed one of the sages that implanted the sword in him. The rest of the living sages had to resort to opening the Twilight Realm, which sucked him in.

While in the Twilight Realm, Ganondorf claims to be a god and offers Zant excessive power if he'd manage to set him free from this seemingly dark and gloomy prison that he had been cast into. The power desirous Zant agreed to do this, and with this new gained power - he turned into the king of the Twilight Realm. Some fans believe that Twilight Princess followed an alternate timeline, as Zelda sent Link back to the past in Ocarina of Time, and it is presumed that Ganondorf was captured before he even reached the Sacred Realm, thus explaining why he was set to be executed by the sages.

The Wind Waker
True to his words, Ganondorf broke free from his prison before The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and once again ruled Hyrule with his brutal violence. The people prayed for the Hero of Legend, but the Hero never appeared. There is no clear reason why he did not appear, though one theory states that because he was adventuring in the forsaken land of Termina, he could not defend Hyrule against Ganon. Another states that because the Hero was sent back in time, he did not exist in any form in the timeline of Hyrule's doom. One possible reason for the sages seal to break is that since Link was returned to his child form, time went ahead, to the point where Ganondorf ruled Hyrule before he was defeated by the heroic Link. But this time, Link wasn't there to defeat the Devil King. The people of Hyrule realized that the hero was not going to save them again and began to pray desperately to the gods, Din, Farore, and Nayru. The gods responded by flooding Hyrule with endless rains. Few long-eared Hylians existed. Since cities and towns lay on islands separated by thousands of miles of sea, Ganondorf was not able to control Hyrule very easily. What the King of Evil didn't notice was that on the fishing isle of Outset another hero was being born.