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. Ganondorf'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. The A Link to the Past instruction manual gives the character's full name as Ganondorf Dragmire, though the Dragmire surname never appears in the game or any later work. 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.
Story
Ganondorf was born in Hyrule to the species known as the Gerudo. Apparently, the Gerudo only give birth to one male over a 100 year period, and through this sole male the prominently female tribe are able to give birth to the rest of the offspring. By Gerudo law the male that is born will become the new king of the species, even if he happens to be a tyrant. Ganondorf was such a tyrant, and used his species to give him access to the Sacred Realm. Some of the species did not follow through his requests. These members were severely punished.
Ganondorf's Ganon form is a reckless brute whose only intent is to obtain the Triforce of Wisdom. Being a beast his intelligence has been dramatically reduced, though his power has grown ever since. As Ganondorf, he was cunning and managed to get his way through to the Sacred Realm by gaining the trust of the Hylian king. The Sacred Realm housed the Triforce, and with it he managed to take over the world. However, a hero arose as prophesy had predicted. His name was Link, yet he was too young to wield the blade of evil's bane. So with that, he had to be sealed away for seven years under the protection of Rauru. After the seven years Hyrule was in ruins. Link with the help of the seven sages managed to seal Ganondorf away, though his return was inevitable; there would come a day when Ganondorf would return.
Years later, the Sages planned an execution to Ganondorf for his treacherous doings. Upon the time of execution, they were unable to do so. Their weapons had effect, though it would not kill Ganondorf completely. Ganondorf broke free from his chains, killed one of the Sages and was keen on escaping. The Sages, however, had different plans for Ganondorf. Knowing that they were incapable of killing him, they opened the Twilight Realm and sealed him within. Enable to escape, he deceitfully got the trust of the foolish yet powerful Zant, a member of the Twili who wished more than anything to have the throne of the Twilight Realm. Zant was insane, yet he was willing to do anything that his master told him to, as he viewed Ganondorf as a god.
Information
The Legend of Zelda
Ganon lusts for the Triforce of Wisdom so that he can go through with his wishes to conquer Hyrule. He is the owner of the Triforce of Power. The game takes place farther ahead than many of the future titles, which explains his appearance as a beast. A Link to the Past revealed that Ganon was not always a beast, but was once human (or more accurately a Gerudo). Due to his inability to get the Triforce of Wisdom, Ganon slowly but surely started to morph into his pig like state as prophesy foretold.
In The Legend of Zelda, Ganon appears as the final boss of the game in Death Mountain. The character will occasionally turn invisible and will also attack in this state. After being defeated the player will have completed the game (though there is a second quest to those willing to play more).
A Link to the Past
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.
Oracle of Ages/Seasons
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.
Four Swords Adventure
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. In Link's battle with him, he has four phases, one of which sees him possess Princess Zelda.
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.
Super Smash Bros.
Ganondorf appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a secret character. You can unlock him by completing event 29. After that, you have to vs. him and beat him to get him. He has the same moveset as Captain Falcon. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he is also a secret character. You can unlock him by either brawling 200 matches OR clearing classic with Zelda or Link on hard OR getting a Zelda and Link trophies in the Subspace Emissary.