Ganondorf

Ganon (also known as Ganondorf) is the final boss of several games in Nintendo's Legend of Zelda series. Although he made numerous appearances in the series, his complete backstory was not revealed until The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998.

Character background
According to Ocarina of Time, Ganon was once 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 one hundred years. Koume and Kotake are described as his surrogate mothers. Ganondorf coveted the Triforce, the sacred artifact left behind by the three Goddesses Nayru, Din, and Farore after they created the land of Hyrule. The hero Link had been used by Ganon to this end, unwittingly helping Ganondorf gain access to the Triforce when he 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. 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. Once Link had done this, he attacked Ganondorf's stronghold for a final showdown, during which the power of Ganon's piece of the Triforce combined with his hatred and power-lust to transform him into an immensely powerful, porcine creature of terrifying evil. After his transformation, and throughout the rest of the series, Ganondorf was to be known as Ganon. After an intense battle, Link and Zelda (whom Ganon had captured and used as bait to lure Link to his lair) were able to subdue the creature long enough for the Seven Sages to combine their powers and seal him away.

Ganon found himself imprisoned in the Sacred Realm, a dimension parallel to Hyrule itself, where the Triforce had once resided. Although able to break the Sages' seal once, he soon met defeat at the hands of another Zelda, a descendant of the one from Ocarina of Time, and another Link, who was not descended from Ocarina of Time's Link, but was similar to him in many ways. (These events are chronicled in the GameCube game The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.)

It is unknown where in the timeline the events in other Zelda games fall. However, what is certain is that at some point, Ganon had been able to subvert the entire Sacred Realm to his wicked rule, turning the formerly lush and verdant world into a dark and decaying ruin. A curse was placed upon the land, dooming all who stumbled into it to take on a new form, one that represented whatever was in their hearts when they crossed over. Those who did cross over were never heard from again. It did not take long for the Sacred Realm to take on its new identity of the Evil Realm/Dark World.

A Hylian child, also named Link, was able to prevent Agahnim, the corrupt advisor to the King of Hyrule, from summoning Ganon back to Hyrule itself, but not before Princess Zelda was imprisoned in the Dark World, along with six other young women who were all descended from the Seven Sages. Link was himself trapped in the Dark World by Agahnim, shortly after the youth bested him in combat. Once there, Link found himself face-to-face with the legendary foe of ages past.

Throughout the history of Hyrule, as documented in the Legend of Zelda games, Ganon has returned numerous times to terrorize the land, but there is always a courageous boy named Link and a wise princess named Zelda ready to answer his challenge.

The Legend of Zelda
Ganon first appeared in the original The Legend of Zelda game for the Famicom in 1986; the following year, the game was brought over to the American NES. In that game, Ganon first appeared sort of like a monstrous blue pig. During Link's actual fight with him, however, he turns invisible and randomly warps around the room throwing fireballs at the hero. Only a sword can cause him damage, and after being struck by it enough times he will turn red (and visible) and stop warping. At that point, Link must use a Silver Arrow to finish him off once and for all. This technique for defeating him also works in the remake, BS Zelda.

The Adventure of Link
Ganon only makes a brief cameo in The Adventure of Link, as a shadowy figure in the Game Over screen, although the plot of the game partially involves an attempt by Ganon's followers to revive him using Link's blood.

A Link to the Past and Kodai no Sekiban
In A Link to the Past, Link once again had to use the combination of Master Sword and Silver Arrows to defeat him. Ganon's abilities in this fight included teleportation, fireballs, and powerful jumps that could break away the floor beneath Link. His tactics in Kodai no Sekiban were similar.

Oracle of Ages and Seasons
Ganon was the hidden final boss of Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons. He appears in either game only after both games have been completed via the password system. It is irrelevant what order the games are played in, but he always appears as the final boss of the second. He was revived by Twinrova, but as the sorceresses were unable to sacrifice Zelda or Link, the ritual was incomplete, so Ganon does not speak and is a dumb beast in these games. At certain points in the battle the player's directional controls are reversed.

The Wind Waker
In The Wind Waker, Ganon has somehow appeared above the waves of a now sunken Hyrule, which the goddesses sunk many centuries ago in an effort to keep Ganon silenced. It is unknown how he escapes as it is suspected a magical lock system related to the Master Sword keeps time frozen in undersea Hyrule. Ganon is depicted as a somewhat more introspective character, almost melancholy at times, but still hungry for the ancient kingdom. At first, only Phantom Ganon is sent after Link. The final battle is actually two-fold: First, a towering puppet version of Ganon's pig-beast form fights against Link, morphing into various forms; afterwards, Ganon himself fights Link (and Zelda, who takes an active role in the battle, taking Link's bow) in an epic, high-tension sword battle atop his slowly submerging tower.

Four Swords Adventures
Ganon was also the final boss of Four Swords Adventures.

He is many times larger than any of his other appearances, and towers several stories above Link. He keeps his teleporting ability from previous games, as well as the ability to throw balls of magic.

More significant is his trident; many of his attacks utilize this weapon - he can set it alight and throw it in a similar fashion to this move in A Link to the Past, the only distinct difference being that the flames are blue.

This is coupled with another ability - he is able to cast lightning from the trident. Any of the four Links who are hit by this lightning are banished into the Dark World, where they must fight some enemies before they can return to battle.

After a while, Princess Zelda appears and he will try to kill her. Link must attack Ganon, while at the same time protecting Zelda.

After many stages, and many different types of attacks, he can eventually be defeated.

Ganon's Tower has more detail about this boss fight.

The CD-i Zeldas
Ganon appears in his "pig" form in all three of the CD-i Zelda titles, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, Link: The Faces of Evil, and Zelda's Adventure. However, these titles, as well as the animated series, are not considered to be canon.

Missing in action
In other Zelda games, Ganon is hardly touched upon, if at all. He does not appear in Majora's Mask or The Minish Cap. A nightmare shadow of him called Ganon's Shadow is his only presence in Link's Awakening. Currently, his role in Twilight Princess, if any, is unclear, though the various game trailers show a large, pig-type monster, who is on fire, attacking Link. Whether this is Ganon or simply a souped-up moblin(like the guardian of the path to the Forest Temple in OoT) is unknown.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Ganondorf is also an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and is similar in appearance as in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (thus consistent with Link/Young Link and Zelda/Sheik appearances). In Melee, he is referred to by his full name, Ganondorf and is a slower, more powerful clone of Captain Falcon, performing mostly the same attacks and moves (his regular A attack and others are different). Different artwork is used, however: the flame trails Falcon produces when he executes certain movements are orange or red, while Ganondorf's are purple, purple being a color that is often associated with Ganon in the Zelda series (see The Wind Waker and Ocarina of Time).

Legend of Zelda Series
Ganon was also the main villain of 1989's Legend of Zelda cartoon, which was shown as part of Super Mario Bros. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show in syndication that year. In the cartoon, Ganon was peach-skinned, a pig and apparent wizard.

Captain N: The Game Master
Ganon (just like Link and Zelda) also appeared in the DiC Entertainment DiC cartoon "Captain N: The Game Master", as a secondary villain in the episode "Quest For the Potion of Power". This was something of a continuum of Ganon's appearance in the Zelda Cartoon. The episode seems to take place after the happenings of the original Zelda game (and maybe even in Zelda II), during which Ganon is weakened. Through the course of the episode he becomes revived and double-crosses Mother Brain (Metroid).

Name confusion
A number of conflicting sources have led to confusion regarding Ganon's correct name. The popular misspelling Gannon was originally a mistranslation in the manual and in-game intro of the original game from the game's native Japanese language, and is thus erroneous. Similarly, the names "Ganondorf Dragmire" and "Mandrag Ganon" are apparently mistranslations as well; it appears only in the English The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past manual, not in the in-game text itself, and so is not widely held to be a canonical "surname" for Ganon.

Ganon and Ganondorf, on the other hand, are commonly believed to be interchangable names for the same being; according to Japanese texts, Ganon is a nickname for Ganondorf. This is backed up by the English game text of A Link to the Past where one of the maidens (the one that Blind impersonated and trapped in his hideout) tells Link "You are the only one who can destroy Ganondorf, the thief &mdash; no, Ganon, the evil King Of Darkness!". In the retranslated Game Boy Advance port, this line is delivered by the second Maiden in the Swamp Palace.

On the other hand, this statement has also been interpreted as describing Ganondorf's metamorphosis from Ganondorf, the King of Thieves, to Ganon, the King of Evil. This is supported by the on-screen boss names in Ocarina of Time, although this is likely added for dramatic effect as well as a reference to the older games, as Ocarina of Time takes place long before those games and serves as a backstory for Ganon.