Ganon/Strategy

This page lists the strategy to defeat Ganon in each of his appearances.

The Legend of Zelda
During the battle, Ganon will transport around the room while invisible. Link must avoid the fireballs emitting from the King of Thieves and swing the Magical Sword at where Ganon appears to be. While his movement pattern appears to be random, close observation of his fireball's starting positions will reveal roughly circular clockwise and counter-clockwise patterns, which switch when a circuit is completed, or Ganon is hit. Link must use this to his advantage when predicting where Ganon will next be positioned. After he is hit a few times, he will turn red and be paralyzed. Link must shoot him with a Silver Arrow to finish him off.

Ganon begins by throwing around his Trident while teleporting around the room. Link must evade the flying Trident and, when Link has a chance, must hit him with his sword. However, in order to hurt Ganon with the Master Sword or Tempered Sword, Link must hit him with a Spin Attack. Eventually, Ganon will begin to emit fireballs from himself which will expand and then turn into Blazing Bats after they contract, which will come charging towards the young hero.

After receiving enough damage, Ganon will create quakes that will cause the borders of the floor to disappear, and if Link falls, he will have to start the fight again. During this attack phase, Ganon will send out a Blazing Bat in a spiral motion which leaves a trail of fire behind. When the lights go out and Ganon begins his Technique of Darkness, Link must light the torches with the Fire Rod or Lantern to reveal his location, and strike Ganon with the sword. Ganon will become stunned and turn blue, at which point Link must shoot him with a Silver Arrow. After four arrows, Ganon will succumb.

Great King of Evil: Ganondorf


After beckoning Link into battle, the Evil King's throne room metamorphoses into a spacious, open room. Ganondorf drives Navi away with strong, dark waves and then creates a shock wave that will damage Link if he is too close. This wave knocks much of the floor blocks away, creating an open square cavity around the main pillar. If Link falls into this pit, he can climb back up or use the Longshot to reach the top again.

Ganondorf will cause shock waves if Link gets close and will unleash two types of ranged magic attacks if he is at a distance. Link can reflect the first type by slashing at it with the Master Sword (or an Empty Bottle), engaging in a battle of Dead Man's Volley against the Evil King. The second type of ranged magic consists of many different orbs, so only a well-timed Great Spin Attack will reflect it. However, while Ganondorf is charging this attack, he is highly vulnerable to the Light Arrow.

Once Link reflects Ganondorf's magic upon him, he will be stunned. Link must shoot him with a Light Arrow, and Ganondorf will fall to the ground where the young hero can attack with the sword.

Ganon
After Link defeats Ganondorf, the castle will start falling apart and he will have to escape with Princess Zelda. When he reaches the bottom, the tower will completely collapse. The young hero will then approach the pile of rubble, and Ganondorf will erupt from it and use the Triforce of Power to become Ganon, knocking the Master Sword away from Link's hands. The Megaton Hammer or Biggoron's Sword must be used to damage Ganon. In this battle, Ganon's only vulnerable spot is his tail, but he guards it well, so the only way to get to it is for Link to stun him with a Light Arrow to the face, or have the young hero roll between his legs while Ganon raises his swords to attack. If Link gets low on health, magic, or arrows, he can lure Ganon into destroying a nearby pile of rubble to reveal a few refills.

After Link causes enough damage to him, Ganon will kneel down, stunned, and the wall of flames separating Link from the Master Sword will temporarily disappear. Link must use this opportunity to grab it and then repeat the earlier attack pattern to get Zelda to pin Ganon down so Link can finish him off. Only the Master Sword can deliver the final blow to Ganon; the Biggoron's Sword or Megaton Hammer can deplete Ganon's health, but even when his health is gone Ganon will keep fighting until his tail is struck with the Master Sword.

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As Ganon teleports around the room, he will use various attacks against Link. These include:


 * slashing Link with his Trident
 * shooting three big fireballs from his mouth
 * emitting fireballs from his weapon which split into three more fireballs
 * stomping on the ground (which will paralyze Link unless he jumps at the right time), then firing an energy ball towards Link
 * distorting the room, which reverses Link's movement while Ganon shoots energy balls at the young hero

To inflict damage, Link must charge the Wooden or Noble Sword and perform a Spin Attack on Ganon. Alternatively, if Link has the Master Sword or Biggoron's Sword, he can damage the King of Darkness with normal strikes.



Just when the battle begins, Princess Zelda will talk to Link, telling him she will use the bow and Light Arrows to cover him. Immediately, Ganondorf will approach Link with his two blades. The young hero must target him, dodge or shield his blows and wait for the Parry attack to numb Ganon so Link can slash him. Link can also get away from him at a safe distance, making Ganon follow him until Zelda shoots an arrow to numb Ganon, allowing Link to freely strike Ganondorf with the Master Sword.

After Ganondorf takes enough damage, a cinema display will be shown where Ganondorf will knock down Zelda, leaving her unconscious for some time. Meanwhile, Link will have to attack Ganondorf with the Parry strategy. The more damage Link does to Ganon, the more difficult it will be to Parry, until it will be just impossible to do so. When that happens, Zelda will wake up. While using the Mirror Shield, Link must target Ganondorf and keep a distance from him, staying aligned with Zelda until she fires an arrow. Ganondorf will dodge it, but if Link was using the shield, the magic will be reflected unto Ganondorf. Otherwise, Zelda will hit Link, taking away life from him. If Link is not aligned with Zelda, the arrow will be lost. Once Ganondorf is hit, Link must quickly get near him until he can Parry him for the last blow. Thus, the battle will come to an end.

Throughout the battle, Ganon will constantly teleport around the room while spinning his Trident. As he is teleporting, he will be invulnerable to the Links' attacks, and only when he reappears will the young heroes be able to inflict damage on Ganon.

During the first phase of the battle, Ganon will raise his Trident and shoot lightning in various directions. Should the Links get hit, they will be sent to the Dark World, where they will only be able to escape by defeating four Stalfos and a Big Dark Stalfos. After receiving enough damage, Ganon will use a new attack: he will switch places with the Links and proceed by throwing his Trident around the room, which will leave a trail of blue fire behind.

Eventually, Zelda is freed and upgrades the Links' bow. She will then begin to charge a ball of light as the young heroes try to keep Ganon at bay. At this point, the King of Darkness will shoot green fireballs that can be deflected with the use of the sword to deal damage. Should Princess Zelda get hit by Ganon's attacks, she will have to start charging the energy ball again. Once the Links have inflicted enough damage to Ganon and the ball of light is ready, the princess will fire it at the King of Darkness and, as it is circling around him, the Links must shoot it with an arrow to strike Ganon and thus finish the battle.

Ganon's Puppet: Zelda
Because Ganondorf takes over Zelda's body, Link must fight Ganon as Puppet Zelda first. Puppet Zelda attacks similarly to Phantom Ganon in Ocarina of Time. Her first attack will likely be the electricity ball. When she throws it at Link with his sword, the young hero must hit it back using his sword, taking both Link and Zelda into a match of Dead Man's Volley. Link is also capable of using an empty bottle instead of his sword in this sequence. As soon Zelda gets hit by the energy ball, Puppet Zelda will try a new attack. She'll try to charge Link with her sword, forcing Link out of the way or she will make a glowing Triforce under Link's feet, which Link must step out of to avoid damage. Following this, Puppet Zelda will eventually revert to tossing her signature energy ball at Link.

Dark Beast: Ganon
Once Puppet Zelda is defeated, Ganon transforms into his beast form. One of his first attacks is that he will try to ram into Link. As soon as Ganon warps away, he will either fall down onto Link from above (given away by the beast's shadow that forms around the young hero) or come through one of the Twilight portals that appear and reappear around the room. With the latter, Ganon will surface via the portal that stays blue after it appears, and when he does, Link must immediately shoot him with an arrow. He'll slide on the floor, and Link will get a chance to attack his weak spot, which is the glowing spot on his chest. After taking enough hits this way, when Link tries to hit him with an arrow as Ganon appears from a portal, the beast will disappear. Link now has to turn into a wolf and stop him with Midna's hand as Ganon approaches, tripping him over. When the Dark Beast is tipped over, Link must attack as quickly as he can, repeating this until Ganon is defeated.



Horseback Battle
After the cut-scene, Link and Princess Zelda will be fighting Ganondorf on horseback. The young hero must chase after the Dark Lord and get close enough so that Princess Zelda can strike him with a Light Arrow. When Ganondorf is hit, Link must catch up and attack him with the Master Sword. If Link is too slow, Ganondorf will knock Link off of Epona with his sword, Ganondorf will also summon ghostly henchmen to charge Link.

Dark Lord: Ganondorf


Now Link is face to face with the Dark Lord himself. Although his attacks are not as strong as Ganon's, it is much harder to avoid them. His most often used attack is a stab, which can be avoided with a back flip. His second most used attack is a slash, and although this attack has the same amount of strength as the previous one, it has a larger range. His strongest attack is one that is taken from Link: he'll bash the young hero and then perform a spin attack. If Link gets hit by the bash, the spin attack is almost impossible to avoid, but he will delay the spin attack if he hits Link into the electricity wall with the bash.

Most of Link's attacks will have no effect on Ganondorf, either because he will avoid them with his sword, or his armor will protect him. Link will have a chance to hit him when Ganondorf finishes an attack and the young hero is behind him, or by using a well-timed Back Slice. Should Ganondorf miss Link with one of his attacks, he will jump behind Link and try to land another blow on the young hero.

The easiest, and more preferable, way to defeat the Dark Lord is to back away, and when Ganondorf charges at Link, the "chance" icon will appear at the bottom of the screen. Pressing A will cause Link to lock swords with him, and by rapidly tapping A, Ganondorf will be thrown off balance. When stunned, Ganondorf can be attacked with the Master Sword until he falls back. After taking enough hits, Ganondorf will collapse to the ground, where Link must perform the Ending Blow to finally put an end to the Dark Lord.

Ganon is joined with Yuga in the final battle. In the first phase of the fight, Yuga Ganon attacks in a similar way Ganon does in. He is vulnerable immediately to any attacks, but his own attacks are very powerful, and surprisingly fast. He also frequently warps around the arena, and does so more often as he takes damage. In the first stages of the fight, he attacks by thrusting his trident at Link, or slashing the young hero with it, much like a sword. Both attacks can be avoided by running out of the way fast enough, but extra caution should be taken when attempting to attack Yuga Ganon with the sword, as it will make Link more vulnerable to Yuga Ganon's slash attack. Eventually Yuga Ganon will start throwing his trident at Link, and occasionally warp out of the arena to launch energy balls from the sky. These energy balls appear immediately above Link, so the young hero must keep running to avoid them all. Eventually, the fight will end, and the second phase will begin.

In the second phase of the fight, Yuga Ganon has transformed Hilda into a painting to absorb her power and the Triforce of Wisdom, and is at his most powerful. He will initiate the fight by throwing a blue ball of energy at Link, which the young hero must reflect back at him in a game of Dead Man's Volley. Yuga Ganon will be stunned, and retreat into the wall as a painting. Zelda will then give Link the Bow of Light, so he can continue to fight. Link must merge into the wall and shoot Yuga Ganon directly with the Bow of Light. The evil beast will block the arrow and try to stop it in its track, but this exposes his back. Link must take this chance to merge out of the wall, get behind Yuga and shoot him in the back, forcing him out of the wall and rendering him vulnerable to the young hero's sword slashes. Yuga will then warp out of the arena, and cause numerous fireballs to shoot out of the walls. These fireballs will turn into bats, which Link must avoid. This strategy must be repeated twice more during the fight, but with key differences: Yuga Ganon will respond to the second arrow fired at him by charging violently and rapidly at him. Link must quickly merge out of the wall and back in to shoot him before he ends the charge. The third time around, Yuga Ganon will instantly block any arrows fired at him, and turns around too fast for Link to quickly merge behind his back. Link must in fact shoot behind him: the arrow will fly all the way across the wall and hit Yuga Ganon, forcing him out of the wall one last time and rendering him vulnerable to the finishing move.

Scourge of Hyrule Castle: Calamity Ganon


Calamity Ganon takes the appearance of ancient technology covered in Malice. Its face bears a minor resemblance to Ganondorf. If any Divine Beasts are freed before the starting the battle, the spirits of the four Champions use their Divine Beasts to fire their beams into Hyrule Castle, which damages Calamity Ganon for up to half of its health. Calamity Ganon will often use its multiple weapons to attack Link. Ganon will also use its tracking beam to shoot at Link, which will create fire upon impact and allow Link to use the fire's gusts to glide upwards. Using Urbosa's Fury will knock Calamity Ganon over and stun it temporarily, allowing Link to attack Ganon unopposed.

After Calamity Ganon's health reaches down to three quarters left, Calamity Ganon will activate its shielding and become invulnerable to all regular attacks. Link can use a Perfect Dodge, parry or Urbosa's Fury to break the shielding. The shielding will also fluctuate at random during the course of the battle.

Hatred and Malice Incarnate: Dark Beast Ganon
The fight against Dark Beast Ganon involves using a Horse, as long as any Horses were caught, registered before the battle and still live. Right at the beginning, Zelda sends out the Bow of Light for Link to pick up and use. Zelda shows various weak spots that appear across Dark Beast Ganon's body in the form of yellow light shaped as a circle with a triangle in it. Link must shoot these weak spots using the Light Arrows equipped in the Bow of Light. Dark Beast Ganon attacks by shooting purple laser beams in front of him using its eyes. This causes grass to catch fire, severely damages Link if hit and knocks him off his Horse while riding.

At the end of the fight, Zelda will show one last weak spot on Dark Beast Ganon's chest. If Link manages to hit the last weak spot with the Bow of Light, Dark Beast Ganon will expose its eye on its back and close the eye repeatedly. Link must glide up the nearby drafts of wind with the Paraglider to reach the eye. When Link shoots the eye with the Bow of Light, Ganon will be defeated.

CD-i Games
In Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, Ganon's attacks are limited to moving forwards and backwards and firing flaming skulls at Link or Zelda. In The Faces of Evil Link must merely move down the staircase and then move towards Ganon, blocking the skulls with his shield, before hitting him with the Book of Koridai. In The Wand of Gamelon Zelda must climb the ladder upon entering the room and then hit Ganon with the Wand of Gamelon.

In Zelda's Adventure Ganon attacks by teleporting around the room and firing energy balls in the area in front of him, Zelda must avoid the energy balls and attack Ganon with her weapon, after enough hits Ganon will be defeated.

Ganon
Ganon is encountered as both a mini-boss and a regular boss, being the final boss of the regular quest. Ganon will attack by creating spiked balls which must be slashed in the line that appears on them, he will also teleport close to the player and attack with one of his Trident, when he does this and is not defensively spinning his other Trident, he can be attacked to cause damage.

Armored Ganon
Armored Ganon is the final boss of Ganon's Last Stand, the final advanced quest. His attacks are exactly the same as in the regular quest but are faster and Ganon has more health and armor.