Ganondorf

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Ganondorf
Ganondorf's artwork from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Chronological information
First game	The Legend of Zelda (1986, as Ganon) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998, as Ganondorf) Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) (Mario-media related)
Game appearances	Super Smash Bros. Melee Super Smash Bros. Brawl Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Super Mario Maker Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Personal information
Gender	Male
Homeland	Hyrule
Species	Gerudo (as Ganondorf) Demon (as Ganon)
Alterego(s)	Ganon (true state)
Connections
Enemies	Link (archnemesis), Princess Zelda
Rivals	Bowser
Character traits
Alignment	Evil
Goals	Conquer the Kingdom of Hyrule, obtain the completed Triforce
Strengths	Super strength, powerful dark magic, immortality
Weaknesses	Master Sword, Light Arrows, Silver Arrows
Behind the scenes
Current Japanese voice actor	Takashi Nagasako (Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker)

Ganondorf (full name Ganondorf Dragmire) is the human alter-ego of Ganon, the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda series. Though he technically made is first appearance in the original The Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo Entertainment System as his real monster form, Ganondorf himself made his debut in Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64. Although the villain himself has never physically appeared in any core series Mario game, he has become a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series since Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Nintendo GameCube. As Ganondorf is indeed Ganon himself, he is the Zelda equivalent of Bowser.

Biography

Artwork of Ganon in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Ganondorf is the main villain of The Legend of Zelda and is Link's arch-nemesis. His schemes usually involve kidnapping Princess Zelda, conquering the land of Hyrule, and/or obtaining the Triforce. He himself is the bearer of the Triforce of Power. Unlike Link and Zelda, who both have many descendants and successors as revealed in the series' timeline, particularly Skyward Sword, Ganondorf is the same individual in all but two of the games that he appears in, whether in his human form or his demonic porcine-like Ganon form, and even across the multiple timelines. He is a rare male Gerudo who was born many years ago from the evil of Demise, who was defeated by the descendants of the goddess Hylia and her chosen hero (Hero of the Sky); as a result, he is endlessly resurrected as long as there are individuals who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the legendary hero.

In Four Swords Adventures, Ganondorf, in this game, is a reincarnation born centuries after the previous Ganondorf's death in Twilight Princess. Calamity Ganon is another reincarnation of the villain in Breath of the Wild. In that game on the Wii U/Switch, all three timelines of the Zelda franchise supposedly unify again. The Calamity Ganon took over Hyrule Castle and brought terror to the land for 100 years, trapping the princess inside the castle. This particular Ganondorf would appear again in his proper appearance in Tears of the Kingdom.

Ganondorf's actual form and name is known as Ganon, who is a large and very powerful porcine-like creature. Ganondorf is the wielder of the Triforce of Power, which allows him to easily access his beast form and is the source of his many dark magic skills. Unlike most of Nintendo's other famous villains, such as some depictions of Bowser and King K. Rool, Ganondorf is cunning, ruthless, and boasts the strength of a god. This was most evident in Ocarina of Time, where he successfully conquered Hyrule, thus forcing Link, the legendary Hero of Time, to build up his strength so he could take Hyrule back from the Evil King and end his seven-year-long reign. Regardless of whether he appears as Ganondorf or Ganon, Hyrule knows that it will be facing an incredible evil that only Link and Princess Zelda can stop together, with the power of their Triforce of Courage and Triforce of Wisdom, respectively.

Super Smash Bros. series

Ganondorf is one of the many playable characters in Super Smash Bros..

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Ganondorf debuted in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He can be unlocked after completing Triforce Gathering or by playing 600 VS. matches. According to the official Melee website, Ganondorf wasn't originally planned to be included as a playable character. However, the convenience of him having a body build very similar to Captain Falcon's allowed him to be easily cloned from Captain Falcon, leading to his inclusion as one of the last-minute clones to pad out the roster. His design is based on his appearance from the infamous SpaceWorld 2000 GameCube Tech Demo, which is in turn based on his appearance from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in his "past self."

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Ganondorf used his Twilight Princess design. He has a new side special, Flame Choke, that involves choking the opponent, then throwing them downward. Some of his attacks have changed from his Melee set and have undergone large aesthetic changes to resemble various hand-to-hand moves he has used in the Zelda franchise, while his other attacks are similar to their Melee counterparts.

Ganon also appears as Ganondorf's Final Smash. Once the Smash Ball is retrieved and activated by the player, Ganondorf immediately transforms into the Twilight Princess rendition of Dark Beast Ganon. In beast form, he stomps his front legs on the ground, immobilizing any foes in his wake, pounding them down into the earth, making them unable to perform any actions. The beast then charges straightforward into the direction he was last facing when the Final Smash was activated.

Ganondorf is one of the two secondary antagonists (under Tabuu) alongside Bowser in the Subspace Emissary. Ganondorf first appears in a control room on the Isle of the Ancients, where Zero Suit Samus was in to find her Power Suit, giving Bowser the coordinates to find King Dedede, who had stolen Wario's trophies.

Later, in the same control room, he receives orders from Master Hand to destroy the Isle of the Ancients. Appearing in their island base as a hologram, he consequently orders the R.O.B. Squad to activate all of the Subspace Bombs on the Isle. When the Ancient Minister objects, Ganondorf presses an override button that forces the R.O.B.s to ignore the Minister and continue. When he continues to intervene, Ganondorf goes further and forces the R.O.B.s to attack the Ancient Minister, setting him aflame; while sending a flock of Auroros to distract an approaching group of heroes. Suddenly, the burning Ancient Minister fires beams from his eyes, destroying the Auroros and shedding the remnants of his robes to show that he himself is a R.O.B., and proceeds to help the others fight the advancing Subspace troops.

After the Isle of the Ancients is engulfed in Subspace, Ganondorf appears on the massive Subspace Gunship as its co-commander, with Bowser, but they are forced to retreat into Subspace when the Gunship is destroyed by Kirby and his Dragoon hitting a critical point. Now at a losing position, Ganondorf then decides it is time to betray Master Hand, so he takes out the last remaining Dark Cannon and fires it at Bowser, his own co-captain and the most loyal of Master Hand's henchmen. Kicking the Bowser trophy out of the way, Ganondorf proceeds to present himself to Master Hand. However, as he prepares to betray Master Hand for complete control of the Subspace Army, he suddenly sees that Master Hand itself was literally a puppet of Tabuu, the supreme ruler of Subspace. Ganondorf tries to attack him, but is quickly defeated and turned into a Trophy. As he falls, however, he bumps into the chains of light which puppeteer Master Hand, freeing him from Tabuu's control. Master Hand then attempts to attack Tabuu, but is also defeated with ease.

Later, after the main group of heroes had all been defeated by Tabuu and eventually rescued by Luigi, Ness and King Dedede, Kirby finds Ganondorf's trophy - leading the resurrected Bowser to appear and brutally attack the trophy as an act of revenge for shooting him with a dark cannon before tossing it aside. If both Link and Princess Zelda were rescued, a cutscene will show Ganondorf being revived by them (with a headache from his trophification and Bowser's retaliation) and after the Hyrulian heroes walk away, he clenches his fist in anger and reluctantly decides to help the heroes travel through The Great Maze in order to defeat Tabuu.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

Ganondorf reappears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, being an unlockable character in the 3DS version, but a starter in the Wii U version. He reuses his Twilight Princess appearance, but with his glowing chest wound from that game clearly visible and a more tattered cape. His moveset appears to be similar to its Brawl incarnation, but has been buffed to make him a better character. In Smash 4, His moveset is similar to its Brawl incarnation, though he now has a set of special custom moves that are completely different from Captain Falcon's.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Ganondorf's design reuses the Ocarina of Time design based on his "future" self similar to Melee. He gained many notable mobility buffs across the board and capable of using a sword in his Smash attacks. His forward smash now involves him swinging his sword which covers more distance and is more powerful the longer it is charged. Like each of his previous appearances in the series (except for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U), he is an unlockable character. His Final Smash is based on his Ocarina of Time Ganon incarnation and also appears as a boss in Classic Mode and Adventure Mode: World of Light.

Ganon himself is fought in the center of the Sacred Land sub-map. He is fought in an arena resembling the ruins of Ganon's Castle in Ocarina of Time, with Ganondorf standing amid the ruins before transforming into the Demon King. Like Ocarina of Time, he can only be damaged by attacking his tail: if the tail is hit hard enough, Ganon will be stunned and allow the player to deal further damage, with his head becoming another weakness. Along with standard sword slashes and a charge attack similar to the Final Smash, Ganon uses several new attacks:

• Ganon performs a large swing upward. After the attack, he briefly faces away, allowing the player to attack him from the front.
• Ganon unleashes a spin attack.
• Ganon shoots a disc of lightning from his swords, a reference to Demise from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. At lower health, he will fire two discs.
• Ganon breathes a ball of fire that follows the player, similar to a move Calamity Ganon performs in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
• Ganon unleashes a beam of malice from his mouth, similar to an attack used by Dark Beast Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
• Ganon can leap in the air and perform a ground pound attack.

When defeated, Ganon will wildly flail his swords and roar, similar to his defeat animation in Ocarina of Time, before exploding. The Fighters that are assigned to fight Ganon in Classic Mode are Link, Young Link, Toon Link and Princess Zelda.

Trivia

• Both Ganondorf and Bowser are the first playable villains in Super Smash Bros.
• Ganondorf is the only clone to not be from the same universe as the character his moveset is based on. Ganondorf is a clone of Captain Falcon. After Melee (where there moveset was the exact same), Nintendo slowly differentiated their movesets.
• Ganondorf is first playable villain in Smash to be a clone character and an unlockable character.
• Ganondorf and Ike are the only characters in the Super Smash Bros. franchise to revert back to an earlier design used for their debut appearance in a later installment.
• According to Sakurai from a Famitsu column, as of January 2019, Ganondorf was the most used fighter in Elite Smash.
• In The Legend of Zelda series, unlike Bowser who had physically died only once as Dry Bowser in New Super Mario Bros., Ganon/Ganondorf was slain by Link multiple times during the final battle, with the games being The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, the linked Oracle game, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Tears of the Kingdom. Only the first two are the ones where his beast form was killed, via the Silver Arrows. In the later games, Ganondorf was destroyed by the Master Sword. Although Ocarina of Time had a brutal defeat of both of his forms and was on the brink of death, he managed to survive due to his Triforce of Power.

External links

• Ganondorf on the Zelda Wiki
• Ganon on the Zelda Wiki
• Ganondorf's page on Smashpedia