Ganon

Ganon
Series	The Legend of Zelda
First Appearance	The Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (as Ganondorf's alternate form)
Created by	Shigeru Miyamoto
Voiced by (English)	Len Carlson (The Legend of Zelda cartoon, Moblin's Magic Spear read-along, and Captain N: The Game Master) Matthew Mercer (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom)
Voiced by (Japanese)	Takashi Nagasako (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) Hironori Miyata (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U) Taiten Kusunoki (Hyrule Warriors)

Ganon ^{(JPJapanese: ガノン)} (commonly known as Ganondorf in humanoid form <sup>(JPJapanese: ガノンドロフ

Romaji: Ganondorofu)</sup>), is the demon form of Ganondorf, who is the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda series. He first appeared in The Legend of Zelda, then appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as his alter ego.

Ganon's backstory was first brought up in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, though his first appearance in a human form was in 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. In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, it was established that both Ganon and Ganondorf are incarnations of Demise's undying rage that will follow Link and Zelda across time to bring desolation to their kingdom.

So far, Ganon and/or his counterpart Ganondorf have made an appearance in every Zelda game to date, excluding The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Minish Cap, Spirit Tracks, Skyward Sword, and The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes.

History

Unified Timeline

The Era of the Goddess Hylia

Long before the events of the Zelda series, the world was created by three Golden Goddesses named Din, Farore and Nayru. Once their creation was complete they left the world and left behind a relic that was an embodiment of their power, the Triforce, an artefact who could realize any wish but one that couldn't be used by Gods with it, they left one of their own kind, the Goddess Hylia to Watch over it.

After eras of peace a race of Demons came from another world and tried to obtain the Triforce for their Master, Demise. Demise was the incarnation of pure evil and a being that could rival even Gods but wasn't considered as a god and as such could be able to claim the power of the triforce. After a violent battle between the races under Hylia's protection and the Demon forces, Hylia gathered most humans and send them beyond the clouds on what would later be known as Skyloft and created the Master Sword for the hero of the humans who would later destroy the king of evil. Demise would finally be sealed but the Goddess loosed her immortality and was forced to reincarnate.

The Sky Era

In Skyward Sword, Link the choosen hero of the Goddess claim the Master Sword and the whole Triforce to defeat a reborn Demise with the help of Zelda who was exposed as Hylia reincarnated. Before his own destruction, the Demon King cast a curse on the soul of the Hero, the Goddess, and his own. The three would be endlessly reincarnated and forced to fight each other across history. Demise's hatred would later become the entity known as Ganon.

The Era of the Hero of Time

Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

According to Ocarina of Time, Demise's reincarnation 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 were described as his surrogate mothers, raising him in an environment where death is an almost-daily event. Like Demise, Ganondorf coveted the Triforce and the lush green lands where Hyrule, the kingdom founded by the descendants of Hylia, stood.

Adult Timeline

The Awakening of the Hero of Time

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.

The Era without a Hero

Link was send back in time before he even met Zelda and as such he could not save the people of Hyrule when Ganon came back and despite their prayers for his return. The Demon King ravaged the land without any opposition.

The people of Hyrule realized that the hero was not going to save them again and began to pray desperately to the gods. The gods responded by flooding Hyrule with endless rains and Ganon was sealed with the kingdom at the bottom of the Great Sea.

The Era of the Great Sea

Link fighting Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Ganon finally reached the surface of the Great Sea but since cities and towns lay on islands separated by thousands of miles of sea, he was not able to control the Great Sea very easily. He wanted to find the descendant of Hylia to retrieve the Triforce of Wisdom which was bound to the royal family so he sent the Helmaroc King to kidnap Young girl with pointy ears since it was the mark of the descendant of the Goddess. He killed Laruto and Fado two sages tasked with praying to grant power to the Master Sword.

A new child who possessed the soul of the Hero was born on Outset Island, after the kidnaping of his sister Aryll by the monstrous bird he allied himself with the The King of Red Lions, a boat possessed by the spirit of Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule the last king of Hyrule. After obtaining the Mster Sword, awakening the successor of the dead sages and retrieving the pieces of the broken Triforce of Courage, Link faced the Demon King in his own tower but was incapacitated and Ganondorf who captured Tetra, the descendant of Hylia and holder of Triforce of Wisdom, used them to summon the whole Triforce and as he was about to wish for the rebirth of Hyrule, the king touche dit and wished for the destruction of the remains of the kingdom and the sealing of Ganondorf. Furious, Ganondorf challenged the two other holder of the Triforce to a fight. Link sealed the King of Evil by stabing him in the head with the master sword turning him in stone and since the shield protecting the Kingdom from the Great Sea was destroyed by the Triforce, Ganon was now at the bottom of the sea.

The Era of the Great Voyage

During The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Ganondorf is only mentioned by Niko in the prologue.

Child Timeline

Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Ganondorf’s execution

After his fight Link was sent back before his initial encounter with Zelda and denounce Ganondorf before he could take over Hyrule and the Gerudo is condemned to death. During his execution by the Ancient Sages, the Triforce of Power manifest itself on the back of his hand and he kill the Sage of Water. He is banished in the Twilight Realm by the remaining Sages

The Era of Twilight

In the Twilight Realm Ganondorf took the form of a spirit and convinced Zant that he was a god and gave him some of his powers. Zant take over the Twilight Realm and launch an attack on the light realm and spread the influence of the twilight across it. Ganondorf use Zant’s actions to be able to have a physical body once again . Link will then fight and defeat the King of Evil, he is unable to use the Triforce of Power to cheat death one more time and he is forced to reincarnate.

The Era of Shadow

Hundreds of years later a new Ganondorf was born in the Gerudo tribe and violated the ancient taboo of the tribe and stole the trident in the Pyramid, he then stole the Dark Mirror from Temple of Darkness. After that he wanted to free Vaati from the Four Sword and creates a Dark Link. After their journey across Hyrule, the four Links born from the Four Sword finally destroy Vaati and seal Ganon.

Fallen Timeline

The Imprisoning War

Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

During the fight between Ganon and Link in Ocarina of Time, link is defeated and the Demon King obtain the whole Triforce, the sages are forced to seal him in the sacred realm. However the nearly unlimited powers of the Demon King corrupt the Sacred Realm which turns into the Dark Worlds a place that turn those who dare to go in it into a reflection of what lies in their heart. Since most of those who get inside the Dark World are greed-ridden Hyrulean, they turned into monsters under Ganon’s order. The Demon King launch an attack on Hyrule, the war wages in the whole kingdom and the King of Hyrule as well as the Seven Sages are forced to seal Ganon and his soldiers in the Dark World.

The Era of Light and Dark

Years after the Imprisoning War, Ganon used Agahnim to disposes of the six maiden, descendant of the sages who were the only one able to seal him in the past by sending them in the Dark World. Link free them and defeat Agahnim who is revealed to be Ganon’s alter ego. Ganon then fled to the Pyramid of Power and Link go after him, the two engage in a fight and the Demon King is once again destroyed. Link use the full Triforce to restore Hyrule to a state of peace.

The Return of Ganon

After the defeat of Ganon at the hands of the Hero, Koume and Katoke plot to revive him for this ritual, they required three flames to be lit: The Flame of Destruction, the Flame of Sorrow, and the Flame of Despair, and follow these with a human sacrifice. In order to lit those flames, the witches sent Onox to Holodrum and Veran to Labrynna. Link kills both of the witches’ minions but they were successful in lighting the Flame of Destruction and the Flame of Sorrow. In order to light the third flame, Twinrova kidnapped Princess Zelda. This would light the Flame of Despair, to complete their ritual, the witches wanted to use the princess as the human sacrifice. Link defeat them and they sacrifice themselves to revive the Demon King but since the ritual was not completed naturally, Ganon was revived without his sanity and became nothing more than a mindless creature with the power of the Triforce. After his defeat, he was sealed and the Triforce was split apart.

A Link Between Worlds

After centuries of peace, Yuga a wizard from Lorule invade Hyrule and turn the descendants of the sages into painting and collect them in order to bring back Ganon and fuse with him. Now holding the Triforce of Power, Yuga plot to obtain the two other part of the Triforce and betray Princess Hilda who wanted to use Hyrule’s Triforce to save her kingdom from decay. He obtains the Triforce of Wisdom which was stolen from Zelda by Hilda and confronts Link. The Hero defeats him and Ganon is once again sealed away, the Triforce is reunited.

The Era of Decline and Ganon’s return

Years after Yuga’s defeat, the kingdom was weakened by the acts of the king who was unable to find a successor since he deemed his son unfit to rule, so he once again split the Triforce in three. The prince was told by a wizard his sister; Zelda knew were the Triforce was hidden, she refuses and the wizard put her in an eternal sleep, Zelda was the only one who knew where the Triforce of Courage was, the royal family was unable to use the whole Triforce and the kingdom entered a state of decay.

Many years later, Ganon came back with his army, took over the Kingdom and claimed the Triforce of Power. Fearing that the King of Evil could get the Triforce of Wisdom, she broke it in eight fragments and hid them through the realm. Impa was sent to find someone with the courage to face Ganon, she found Link, the hero retrieved the fragments of the Triforce and triumphed of the Evil King. After the Ganon’s defeat, his henchmen vowed to sacrifice the Hero to resurrect the King of Evil but their attempt failed and Link reunited the three pieces of the Triforce.

End of the Timelines

Calamity Ganon

10000 Years before Breath of the Wild

10000 Years before the events of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Ganon was known as “Calamity Ganon” an entity composed of pure evil, the Sheikah created the Guardians and the Divine Beasts to oppose him. Calamity Ganon was defeated by the reincarnation of the Hero, The descendant of Hylia and the pilots of the Divine Beasts.

100 Years before Breath of the Wild

100 Years before the events of ‘’Breath of the Wild’’, The Royal Family of Hyrule noticed signs of the return of Calamity Ganon so they began to search for the ancient machines created by the Sheikah to oppose the Calamity. Without any warning Ganon came back and took over Hyrule Castle, killed everyone inside and corrupted the Guardians. He sent the Blights to kill the chosen pilots and take over the Divine Beasts. Eventually, the hero was defeated by the Guardians and placed in the Shrine of Resurrection, the Princess used her power to confront Ganon and trap him in the castle for the next 100 years.

Breath of the Wild

After his awakening, the hero destroyed the Blights and freed the Divine Beasts and the souls of the fallen champions. He then confronted the Calamity who tried to restore his Gerudo body but was held back by Zelda and as a result took the form of a half formed Gerudo attached to a mechanical spider body. His physical form was destroyed by Link and the hero was then forced to face the Dark Beast Ganon himself. Zelda helped him by giving him the Bow of Light. After their battle, the Calamity was defeated by the Princess.

Tears of the Kingdom

Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Ganondorf appears in Tears of the Kingdom, voiced by Matthew Mercer. The game's cutscenes reveal that he is present thousands of years in the past when the first King Rauru founded Hyrule. Rauru sacrifices himself to seal Ganondorf beneath Hyrule Castle where his corpse rots for thousands of years. He is re-awakened in the present when Link and Zelda investigate the depths of Hyrule Castle. In the following confrontation Ganondorf's power breaks the Master Sword. At the end of the game, Ganondorf appears in the final boss fight deep in the chasm beneath Hyrule Castle as his regenerated Demon King form. After Link defeats him, he uses his Secret Stone to transform into a dragon, pulling Link into the sky but is destroyed with the help of the Light Dragon.

Hyrule Warriors series

Hyrule Warriors

Ganon in Hyrule Warriors

In Hyrule Warriors, Ganon serves as the final Boss of the story mode, a playable character in the Ganon's Fury mode and a boss on multiple missions of Adventure mode.

Hyrule Warriors Legends/Definitive edition

In Hyrule Warriors Legends and Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, Ganon is no longer the final Boss as Phantom Ganon takes his place, the Ganon's Fury mode is also abscent from the game.

Materials

Like other enemies in the games, Ganon can drop either a weapon or one of two type of material. Those materials are the same in all versions of the game.

• Silver Material - Ganon's Mane
• Gold Material - Ganon's Fang

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

Ganon appears in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. His Malice pass through the portal opened by Terrako to stop it from changing history, and tries to prematurely recruit a Guardian Stalker to assassinate Zelda before she can awaken her power. Ganon later possesses the Terrako of this timeline, turning it into Harbinger Ganon, and watches Link, Zelda, and Impa travel to the Ancient Tech Lab to analyze Terrako. Ganon later has his army attack Rito Village, thus making Revali paranoid, while he shows Astor, Master Kohga, and Sooga his eventual victory and what they must do to ensure it is left unchanged. Despite the Divine Beasts and the Sheikah Towers being ready much earlier than in Breath of the Wild's timeline, Ganon still awakens on Zelda's 17th birthday and sends the Blight Ganons to kill the Champions while he recruits the Guardians to his army once more and shuts down the Sheikah Towers. When the Blight Ganons are killed too early, Astor sacrifices Yiga Clan members to revive them, thus alienating the rival Sheikah clan from his forces. Ganon is later fought at Hyrule Castle in his Harbinger form and retreats after half of his health is depleted. When Astor commands the Demon King to eliminate Link and Zelda, Ganon consumes his body for failing him one too many and driving the Yiga Clan away from him, assuming this body as his final form. Despite the new body, Ganon is sealed again by Zelda's power, thus restoring peace to Hyrule.

Animal Crossing series

Ganon in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

Welcome Amiibo

Ganon was introduced as a special villager in the Welcome Amiibo update of Animal Crossing: New Leaf. He is a cranky villager that will appear in the Campground if a Ganondorf or a 8 bit Link Amiibo is scanned. Like any other special villagers, he can be invited to live in the town. Ganon is made to look like his bipedal design with a "blue pig" aestethic he has in most 2D Zelda games.

Personality

As a cranky villager, Ganon is harder to befriend than other villagers. He might also become angry with the player if they disagree with him or refuse to do a favor for him. He will usualy get along jock, snooty and cranky villagers and get easily upset with peppy villagers. Ganon will also spread rumors about other villagers.

Super Smash Bros. series

Playable appearance

Ganondorf in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Ganon's Gerudo form, Ganondorf is playable in the Super Smash Bros. since Super Smash Bros. Melee. Ganon is mentioned in Link's profile in Super Smash Bros.

In an official poll held on Smabura-Ken (the game's official Japanese website) regarding characters for a potential sequel, Ganondorf placed fifth with 36 votes.

Final Smash

Ganon in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Ganon appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a Final Smash of Ganondorf's called Beast Ganon, based on his Twilight Princess appearance. This transformation stuns and buries anybody near him and charges at them dealing damage and then reverting to normal. It returned in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the design was changed to his Ocarina of Time incarnation to match his new design. As such, it features Beast Ganon standing upright with two swords.

As a Boss

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Ganon also makes an appearance as a Spirit and a boss. As a boss, Ganon is fought in the ruins of Hyrule Castle and is inspired by his Ocarina of Time incarnation and as such, his weak point is on his tail. Ganon will use various sword attacks to defend himself, he can create discs of lightning from his swords like Demise is able to in Skyward Sword, he can also breathes fireballs and shoot a laser from his mouth, both of which are attacks Calamity Ganon does in Breath of the Wild, and lastly, he can jump in the air to do a ground pound attack. Ganon serves as a boss in the Classic Mode routes of Link, Zelda, Young Link, Toon Link and Sephiroth.

Unlike in prior appearances, it is implied that Ganon in the World of Light storyline was a separate entity from Ganondorf, as not only is defeating and recruiting Ganondorf necessary to accessing Ganon's castle ruins and fighting Ganon, but the player can optionally fight Ganon as Ganondorf.

Trophy Descriptions

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

His Trophy in Brawl.

Ganondorf's Final Smash. When he grabs a Smash Ball, he transforms into a repulsive, evil beast. He'll vanish momentarily from the screen, then rampage from one side to the other in a straight, headlong rush. When he begins the move, any character before his eyes will flinch, so try to start the move near other characters.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U

His Trophy in the Wii U version.

NA: For Ganondorf's Final Smash, he morphs into a beast and attacks. As soon as he's transformed, he buries nearby fighters in the ground and then stuns them with his roar. Finally, he charges forward, dealing heavy damage and launching anyone in his way. Any foes buried by the first strike are doomed to be hit by the rest.

EU: For Ganondorf's Final Smash, he morphs into a beast and attacks. As soon as he's transformed, he buries fighters nearby in the ground, then stuns them with his roar. Finally, he charges forward, dealing heavy damage and launching anyone in his way. Any foes who are buried by the first strike are guaranteed to be hit by the rest.

Other appearances

Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer feat. The Legend of Zelda

Ganon in Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer feat. The Legend of Zelda.

Ganon serves as the main antagonist and final boss of Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer feat. The Legend of Zelda. In this game, Ocatavio, a musical wizard was predicted to meet his end at the hands of Ganon in the future by the Fate. To avert his demise, Octavio cast a musical curse over all of Hyrule to find heroes who would be powerful enough to defeat the demon king. In the present, a young Gerudo named Ganondorf is impressed by Octavio's curse and start searching new ways to use musical magic to obtains what he wants. After proving themselves worthy, Link, Zelda, Cadence and Yves challenge Octavio and pass his last trial. Octavio open a path to the future where he intends to team up with the heroes to defeat the fully matured Ganondorf now transformed into Ganon, having mastered his organ and having taken over the entire kingdom. Octavio is defeated at the hands of Ganon before the party even reach the demon king thus fulfilling the Fate's prophecy. Ganon is eventually defeated and peace finally returns to the future Hyrule.

Non-game appearances

The Legend of Zelda Cartoon

Ganon was also featured as the main antagonist in The Legend of Zelda TV series, voiced by Len Carlson.

There Will Be Brawl

Ganon, as Ganondorf appeared in There Will Be Brawl, portrayed by Matthew Mercer. Mercer would later voice him in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Trivia

• Ganon is very similar to Hades from Kid Icarus, as he is very similar to a deity. However, Hades is more cataclysmic on his part, while Ganon is just hegemonic.
  • However, the Calamity Ganon is cataclysmic as well.
• In his Calamity Ganon form, Ganon is often erroneously referred to using neutral pronouns.