ganon | INFORMATION

INFORMATION

REAL NAME: Ganondorf
WORK NAME: Zhu
CANON: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
HEIGHT: 7'6"
WEIGHT: 460 lbs
OCCUPATION: Guard/Bouncer

ABILITIES:
(WARRIOR SKILL); An accomplished swordsman, Ganondorf is accordingly often seen wielding one. In Twilight Princess, he wields a blade that is nearly as long as he is tall. For such a huge man (and with an equally huge blade), he moves surprisingly quickly and can launch himself into the air as if he weighed nothing at all. Without a sword, he is just as powerful. He exhibits superhuman strength on a couple occasions. What he lacks in overall speed, he makes up for in devastating strength.

(MAGIC); Extremely powerful and adept at magic, Ganondorf is capable of a great many things. This includes conjuring dark fire and energy blasts, creating barriers that require incredible power to break, summoning aggressive phantoms, enacting curses (including the dark magic that forces Link back into his wolf form), and enabling himself to float or hover. He is also in possession of the Triforce of Power, which is implied to enhance his strength and magical ability by a great deal. It is also what keeps him from dying (most of the time).

(SHAPESHIFTING); There are three different alternate forms Ganondorf can take: beast, spirit, and twilight. In his beast form, he becomes a gigantic boar-like creature. In his spirit form, he essentially becomes a huge disembodied head made of a wispy fire-looking substance. In his twilight form, he simply becomes wisps of twilight. This also allows him to teleport freely and possess vacant vessels, but he probably won't be using either of these abilities.

BACKGROUND

Ganondorf was born in Gerudo Valley as the only male in an otherwise all-female warrior race. According to Gerudo law, that man (who is said to be born once every 100 years) will be the Gerudo king and rule the race. As such, Ganondorf was born into a position of power, but also a position of responsibility. It was this position that began Ganondorf's eventual thirst for power, as well as his desire to rule another kingdom by the name of Hyrule. It is alluded to by Ganondorf himself that the living conditions of Gerudo Valley were harsh and insufferable, bringing nothing but death. In comparison, Hyrule was a paradise, with its cool breeze and lush green grass. What first began as a desire to help his people soon grew into an obsession with power and, more specifically, the Triforce, an ancient and powerful relic that is said to give whomever touches it one wish. He intended to use that wish to make Hyrule his.

After some time, Ganondorf is able to discover how to get to the mystical Triforce, and the keys rest in Hyrule. This leads him to essentially pulling the wool over the Hylian king's eyes in order to get close to him and discern how to invade the Sacred Realm. From here on out, however, it gets a bit confusing. Due to a split in timelines thanks to Link's time-traveling in Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf never actually succeeds in making it to the Sacred Realm and the events of Ocarina of Time never play out in this timeline. He is exposed as a traitor and a criminal before he can do any major damage. As a result of his malicious crimes against Hyrule and the Sacred Realm, Ganondorf is then taken to Arbiter's Grounds to be executed. The Ancient Sages take this duty upon themselves and impale Ganondorf on the Sword of the Sages. For all intents and purposes, he seems dead... until the Triforce of Power begins glowing on his right hand. The Triforce, allowing him to cheat death, also grants him immense strength and power. He then breaks free of his restraints and murders the Sage of Water with his bare hands. Seemingly mad with power, Ganondorf takes on a savage appearance as he rips the Sword of the Sages from his chest and laughs wildly. His victory is short-lived, however, as the Sages desperately open the portal to the Twilight Realm in order to have Ganondorf wrenched inside and sealed away.

It is in the Twilight Realm where Ganondorf spends the subsequent centuries, trying to build up the strength to escape. Eventually, he is able to draw enough strength from the hatred and resentment of the Twili in that realm and seize opportunity. It is here that he meets Zant, a Twili that is resentful towards the fact that his people will not accept him as their king. Coming to him as a giant spirit form and posing as a god, Ganondorf claims that he will "house his power" in Zant in return for invading Hyrule and merging light and shadow to make darkness. Zant accepts and begins his attack on the realm of light.

During this time, Ganondorf is able to regain his strength and return to Hyrule. After Zelda seemingly sacrifices herself to save Midna halfway through the game, Ganondorf usurps Hyrule Castle and takes it for himself. It is then filled with Ganondorf's minions and guarded by a nearly impenetrable barrier. It is only after Link and Midna defeat Zant that they return to Hyrule Castle to challenge Ganondorf. Midna is able to break the barrier with her ancestor's powerful magic and the duo proceed inside to fight past the gauntlet of traps and dangers Ganondorf places in their way. When they meet Ganondorf, he is sitting comfortably on the castle's throne, with Zelda's lifeless body floating in the emblem of the Triforce above him. "Welcome to my castle," he tells them. He brandishes the Triforce of Power on his hand, declaring that he who has the power of the gods would make a suitable king for Hyrule. Link and Midna, however, defiantly try to deny him. In response, Ganondorf possesses Zelda's body and uses it to attack the pair. Link defeats him by reflecting energy blasts back at him, weakening him enough to allow Midna to purge Ganondorf's spirit from Zelda's body. In doing so, Zelda's spirit returns to her own body and her life returns to her.

Discontent to remain defeated, Ganondorf begins materializing in the middle of the throne room. Instead of taking human form, however, he turns into a massive boar-like beast and begins rampaging through the throne room, leaving wreckage in his wake. With brute strength and the use of portals, he attempts to crush Midna and Link, only to be defeated once more. Yet, Ganondorf still refused to stay down. Shedding his beast form, he took to his spirit form again. Midna, deciding to try and take matters into her own hands, teleports Link and Zelda to safety while she dons her ancestor's powerful magic once more and attacks the dark lord. From the Hyrule fields, Link and Zelda then see a massive explosion erupt from Hyrule Castle. From over the hill, Ganondorf emerges on horseback with Midna's helmet held above his head, crushed in his grip. Again, he attacks, and with a group of aggressive phantoms behind him. With the help of light spirits, Link and Zelda teleport to safety and are granted Light Arrows to combat Ganondorf with. In a fierce horseback battle, the three fight until Ganondorf is knocked from his horse.

Rising to his feet, Ganondorf laughs darkly and mocks Link. He tells the pair how he desires to take the Sword of the Sages and use it to "blot out the light forever". A barrier materializes around Ganondorf and Link, blocking Zelda from intervening, and the two engage in single combat. After a fierce battle, Link eventually finds an opening in Ganondorf's defenses and impales him with the Master Sword. With a scream of agony, Ganondorf manages to rise to his feet one more time to utter some chilling words for the duo before dying.

PERSONALITY

To the vast majority of those he crosses paths with, Ganondorf is the personification of evil, greed, and hatred. He is corrupted by an insatiable hunger for power and a potent hatred for Hyrule and its gods. Driven purely by his quest for power and dominance, Ganondorf is undoubtedly selfish and ruthless in his endeavors. He has no qualms with killing or by solving issues with brute force in order to achieve his ends. In fact, his ruthlessness is so renowned that he is labeled a "demon thief", among other things. Even with the Triforce of Power in his hand, he is not satisfied and seeks to subjugate Hyrule and the entire Triforce. He feels particularly entitled to these things, being a "chosen one" of the gods.

❝ He who wields such power would make a suitable king for this world, don't you think? ❞

In a parallel timeline, Ganondorf reflects on the harsh conditions of his peoples' homeland and how - by comparison - Hyrule was paradise. He harbored jealousy and hatred towards Hyrule for their easy lives and beautiful land, coveting that land for himself. In Four Swords Adventure, the Gerudo speak of how the FSA incarnation of Ganondorf was meant to be a guardian of his people and of the desert, yet his heart grew more and more twisted with each passing year. I believe something similar happened to Ganondorf in this timeline. Whatever altruistic intentions he may have originally had for coveting Hyrule, they were eventually overwhelmed by his hatred for it instead. His all-consuming hatred is referenced many times throughout Twilight Princess, making it a core motivator and component of Ganondorf's character. It is what continually brings him back to trying to dominate Hyrule and the Triforce. He goes so far as to wield the blade that was used to execute him out of pure spite, telling Link and Zelda that he wishes to blot out the light with it.

This Ganondorf contrasts with other incarnations by being, more or less, an even mix between them. While not as wise-cracking and sarcastic as his Ocarina of Time self, the Twilight Princess incarnation retains his tendency to be boastful and outwardly proud. And while he is not nearly as solemn as the Wind Waker version, he does retain his calm and calculating demeanor.

Contrary to what one might think, Ganondorf is not all brute strength and force. He is exceptionally cunning and manipulative, fabricating careful lies to accomplish his goals. It is heavily implied that he was in the process of gaining access to the Sacred Realm in his original era, which - taking from the events of Ocarina of Time - was achieved through manipulating the King of Hyrule, as well as Zelda and Link. If he had not been exposed, it is probable that the events of Ocarina of Time would have simply repeated themselves due to his cunning and manipulation. In addition, he came to Zant as a "god" and manipulated him (with vague promises of power) into waging war on the world of light, which in turn acted to free Ganondorf from his prison in the Twilight Realm. When it suits him, he obviously has no issue with playing nice, telling people what they want to hear, or filling someone's head with ideas. It all depends on what he's going to get out of it.

To his very core, Ganondorf is a warrior. He is warmongering and finds satisfaction in great battles. As such, he is surprisingly fair during combat (except for when he decides to try and crush you under his big butt in beast form by teleporting above you). He is certainly not lacking in magical ability, yet he opts to rely solely on his swordsmanship during the final boss fight. The only magic in use is that used to create a barrier, blocking Zelda from intervening with his duel with Link. His dialogue (particularly that which refers to Link as impressive and Midna's people as being skillful) suggests he affords respect towards those who have impressed him in some manner, even while he looks down on them. Some of his actions seem to show this as well. For example: he never strikes when Link is knocked down, even going so far as to wait for the boy to get back on his horse and catch up to him during their horseback battle. It seems as if he has a warrior code of sorts, refusing to cheat himself out of a proper challenge. It is also likely arrogance in some part, with him believing that he is too powerful to be struck down even if he grants his enemies breathing room.

It is this that leads us into our next major trait of Ganondorf's: his arrogance. It is probably his largest weakness and his primary downfall in nearly every installation he has appeared in. Believing himself to be superior and untouchable, he often neglects to see or acknowledge any real threat to his plans.

❝ But he was blind… In all his fury and might, he was blind to any danger, and thus was he exposed, subdued, and brought to justice. ❞

His arrogance blinds him to such an extent that he boasts of his strength even in the face of certain defeat. For all the respect he affords those who impress him, he still views them as lesser and tends to underestimate their ability to defeat him. He can grow too comfortable with his own plans that he does little to interfere when Link is conquering them.