Every good video game needs a good villain, and Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda games is just about as evil as they come.  While some villains’ motives make them sympathetic to gamers in some way or another, Ganondorf is the pure spirit of evil, completely lacking in remorse or any possibility of redemption.

The Zelda games follow various incarnations of The Hero, Link, and The Goddess, Zelda, but their mission is almost always the same; stop Ganondorf from taking control of Hyrule and bringing a great evil to its people. While fans may know the ins and outs of these heroes’ incarnations, there could be a lot about the Demon King Ganondorf that they don’t know.

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He’s The Reincarnation Of The Demon King Demise

In Skyward Sword, Ganondorf is revealed to be the incarnation of the Demon King Demise. Demise is the spirit of all evil who wants nothing but misery and destruction. He has a never-ending hatred for the spirit of The Hero and The Goddess and will therefore always seek out their destruction, no matter what lifetime.

Since Ganondorf is possessed by this spirit, he is doomed to crave power and evil above all else. No matter how often he is resurrected or evolved, he is unable to escape the all-consuming desire to conquer.

He’s First Introduced In The Legend Of Zelda

Ganondorf was first introduced in the original Legend of Zelda, which is one of the greatest classic Nintendo games. In this title, he only takes his beast form, known as Ganon. This game gives little backstory to the villain, explaining only that he is a nefarious beast who seeks the triforce shards in order to gain power and control.

While this was the first time that gamers met Ganon, this is not his first chronological appearance. The Legend of Zelda for the NES falls into the portion of the timeline where Ganondorf permanently takes the form of Ganon, forsaking his human-like form forever.

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His First Chronological Game Is Ocarina Of Time

Ocarina of Time is the first Zelda game to give a more extensive backstory on many of the regular characters that appear in multiple The Legend of Zelda games.  In this game, it is explained that Ganondorf is the king of the Gerudo race who pretends to be loyal to the King of Hyrule in order to gain access to the Sacred Realm and therefore the Triforce.

It is revealed in the timeline within the canon book Hyrule Hystoria that Ganondorf was born during the Ocarina of Time age of Hyrule. Therefore, this game depicts Ganondorf’s very first attempt at stealing the Triforce and taking over the kingdom.

He Was Raised By Twinrova

Twinrova is the name given to the two Gerudo witch twins Kotake and Koume. They serve as the boss of the Ocarina of Time Spirit Temple, in which Phantom Ganon is one of the best minibosses of the series. It is implied that Ganondorf was not actually born to either sister, but the twins revealed in Ocarina of Time that they raised him and are therefore extremely loyal to him.

Ganondorf shows no love towards his surrogate mothers, but they seem to both love and revere him. Since they are evil in and of themselves, it is possible that they were the first to teach him dark magic and to instill in him the concept of domination.

He Is The Only Male Gerudo Ever Shown

The Gerudo tribe is completely made up of women, other than Ganondorf himself. In Ocarina of Time, it is revealed that Hylian men are brought back to their domain in order to procreate. Every century a boy will be born and he automatically becomes the heir to the throne of Gerudo Valley.

Since Ganondorf’s birth at some point before Ocarina of Time, however, there does not seem to have been another male born to the tribe. Eventually, in at least one timeline, the women of the tribe take over the throne, with Lady Riju shown as the Chief in Breath of the Wild.

He Was A Terrible King To The Gerudos

In Ocarina of Time, Link meets a Gerudo named Nabooru, who is determined to remove Ganondorf from the throne. She explains that Ganondorf has murdered innocent women and children within the Tribe. While she is loyal to the way of life of the Gerudo, she is determined to put an end to the evil that has taken power.

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However, when she is captured by Twinrova, she suddenly becomes loyal to the evil king. Link learns that she has been magically brainwashed and that her role is to brainwash other Gerudo citizens into submission. This shows that Ganondorf does not leave his citizens’ loyalty to chance and instead, forces it.

He Was Powerful Even Without The Triforce

Ganondorf will always crave more power from the Triforce, but he is extremely skilled and powerful even without it.

Gerudos are a much larger race than the more human-like Hylians. The women themselves are always depicted as almost double the size of Link and are extremely muscular and magically capable. As the only male, however, Ganondorf is even stronger. He is a giant in comparison to the other races of Hyrule, a very skilled sorcerer, and an achieved swordsman, making him a naturally powerful foe.

He Has Lived For Hundreds Of Years

Male Gerudos are meant to be born every century, but it appears that this can only happen when the previous male is gone. While Ganondorf is often defeated, sealed away, or even executed, he always manages to come back. Diehard Zelda fans know that while the Link and Zelda that appear in different games are completely different reincarnations of the Hero and Goddess from Skyward Sword, Ganondorf has lived for centuries as the one and only Demon King.

The games have never made clear why Ganondorf has been able to resurrect so many times, but it could be due to his being possessed by Demise, whose evil wrath keeps Ganondorf from ever finding the peace of death.

In One Reality, He Is Victorious Over Link

Gamers will end every game featuring Ganondorf or Ganon with a victory. However, Hyrule Historia has revealed that Ganon has been successful at defeating Link in one version of the timeline.

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At the end of Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf transforms into the beast, Ganon. He faces Link in battle, and in one version of the timeline, is victorious. This timeline leads into the titles A Link to the Past, Oracle of Ages and Seasons, Link’s Awakening, The Legend of Zelda, and The Adventure of Link. In all of these titles, Ganondorf remains in his beast form and is resurrected repeatedly until Link successfully prevents his last resurrection in The Adventure of Link.

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Angel Shaw
(88 Articles Published)

Angel is a Senior List Writer at Screen Rant. She is deeply in love with any form of storytelling, whether it be books, movies, TV Shows, or video games. In her free time, Angel can typically be found binge-watching comfort shows, playing any Zelda game, or goofing around with her family.

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