Which Zelda Game’s Ganon Version Is The Most Powerful

When it comes to all-powerful video game villains, The Legend of Zelda‘s Ganon is likely one of the first people think of. Ganon’s initial appearance was as a simple final boss in a game with limited story-telling capabilities, but he’s since become one of Nintendo’s most iconic characters. Ganon’s calculated yet menacing nature has made him extremely memorable since he’s showed up in so many Zelda games with various forms and abilities. So, which Ganon is the most powerful out of all of these incarnations of the King of Evil?

Ganon is the beastly version of Ganondorf, the lone Gerudo male born into the race every 100 years. The Triforce of Power mutates him into the pig-like beast he’s depicted as throughout the series. The beginning of his existence was shown in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword right after the final battle with Demise. He tells of a curse that causes Link and Zelda to infinitely reincarnate as well as his own hatred. Ganondorf is Demise’s reincarnated hatred, and this curse is the reason he always finds a way to come back.

Ganondorf usually looks like the same man in the Zelda games he actually appears in, but most of these versions have different abilities to conquer Hyrule depending on what timeline he’s in. For example, Ocarina of Time Ganondorf is a much younger and cockier man than his Wind Waker counterpart who has tasted defeat from the Hero of Time in the past. Likewise, Breath of the Wild’s Calamity Ganon has been reincarnated so many times that he’s completely lost his sense of humanity in exchange for power. Clearly, not all of Ganon’s versions are made equal, so which one is the most dangerous?

Legend Of Zelda: Which Versions Of Ganon Have Actually Won

The Legend of Zelda is a video game series, so it only makes sense that the player ends up victorious at the end of each game. However, Ocarina of Time’s Ganon and Breath of the Wild’s Calamity Ganon are the only two versions of Ganon who were able to successfully bring the hero to his knees. The Fallen Hero Timeline begins when Link loses against Ganon in the final battle and in Breath of the Wild, Link needs to be recovered in the Shrine of Resurrection after being defeated. Since every other version of Ganon canonically loses against their respective version of Link, it’s a safe bet that these two versions show off Ganon at his most powerful.

However, Breath of the Wild’s final Ganon battle is frequently considered underwhelming and among one of the easiest battles in the series. Conversely, A Link To The Past’s Ganon, which is the same Ganon that had defeated the Hero in Ocarina of Time, is actually quite challenging. He even has the entire Triforce on his side, which makes him canonically as powerful as he could be. To top it off, Calamity Ganon only managed to severely wound Link, whereas Ocarina of Time Ganon actually killed him. As a result, Ocarina of Time’s Ganon is the most powerful version of the King of Evil in The Legend of Zelda.

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