Yuga

"I will put you on a pedestal. Or rather, upon a wall-perfect forever."

- Yuga before turning Seres into a painting

Yuga is an evil sorcerer and one of the two primary antagonists of. At the beginning of the game, Yuga hunts the descendants of the Seven Sages from /, as well as Princess Zelda, in an attempt to resurrect Ganon and use his power to rule the worlds of Hyrule and Lorule, and ultimately take his place among the gods.

Yuga's trademark attribute is that he can transform himself and others into two-dimensional art. With his magic wand, he can trap people within picture frames, turning them into paintings that he can simply pick up and run off with.

Background
Long before the events of A Link Between Worlds, Lorule was a beautiful kingdom similar to Hyrule; however, the kingdom had lost its Triforce in a fierce civil war and slowly began to decay. Generations later, Yuga was serving Princess Hilda when he discovered a crack in Lorule's sacred realm that led to Hyrule; upon learning of the existence of another, relatively intact triforce in this realm, Hilda and Yuga formed a plan to obtain the sacred relic and use it to restore Lorule, despite knowing that doing so would doom Hyrule to Lorule's fate. As Hilda was not capable of merging so as to fit in the crack, she sent Yuga to Hyrule so as to start the first phase of their plan - namely, to abduct the sage's descendants and Zelda.

Yuga's Hunt for Sages
Yuga is first seen within the Sanctuary by Link, who has traveled to the church-like building to deliver a sword to the Captain. Shortly after a nun named Seres enters the Sanctuary to fetch the Captain, screaming is heard and the doors leading inside are shut, however, Dampé informs the young hero of a hidden passageway leading into the sanctuary within the graveyard. Upon arriving into the Santuary's interior, Link finds the Captain has been turned into a lifeless painting on the wall and the Priest knocked onto the floor, confronting a mysterious man who reveals that his name is Yuga and that he has come to the Sanctuary seeking perfection. Yuga informs Seres that she is perfection, and turns the young girl into a painting and kidnaps her, claiming that "Her Grace" will be pleased, as Link can only watch helplessly. Yuga notices Link's presence within the church-like building and despite the Priest's warnings about Yuga's power, the sorcerer taunts Link into attacking him and swiftly turns into a drawing himself and hides in the wall, causing Link to crash into it and faint. Yuga exclaims that he is the portrait of perfection and that he'll be leaving this ugly world soon enough. The sorcerer then proceeds to leave the sanctuary, kicking Link out of his way and explains that the Captain couldn't even oppose his might, and that the painting of the captain upon the wall was a waste of his magic.

Under Princess Zelda's orders, Link heads to Kakariko Village to consult Sahasrahla for help due to his vast knowledge of the past. Upon entering the elder's dwelling, the young hero proceeds to inform Sahasrahla of the events that took place within the Sanctuary. After being told of what has occurred, the old man asks Link if he has heard of the legends of the Seven Sages and of the hero who saved Hyrule. The elder proceeds to tell the young hero about the legends of old, and after finishing, informs Link that Seres is a descendant of the Seven Sages who sealed Ganon in darkness and that Yuga must be after the Seven Sages of their day, with the intention of freeing Ganon from his prison. Additionally, Sahasrahla asks Link to travel to the Eastern Palace to warn his pupil Osfala, a descendant of the Seven Sages, about Yuga.

Link travels to the Eastern Palace, but once again arrives too late to save Osfala from being turned into a painting by Yuga who informs Osfala that he is the lastest work of art to be added to his collection of Sages. Yuga takes notice of Link and attacks him, but the young hero soon overpowers him. Upon being defeated, the sorcerer casts a spell on Link and turns him into a wall painting, then leaves, implying to the young hero that he is heading to Hyrule Castle to turn Zelda into a painting next. However, unbeknownst to Yuga, a bracelet given to Link by Ravio for allowing him to live in his house allows Link to escape from his imprisonment as a painting. Subsequently, it also allows the young hero to merge with walls at will.

Yuga's Continuing Pursuit
After turning Link into a painting, Yuga leaves the Eastern Place and heads to Hyrule Castle, taking it over it. He sets up a magical barrier around it to prevent Impa, one of the Seven Sages, and Princess Zelda from escaping, as well as prevent anyone else from entering the castle. Additionally, the sorcerer releases hordes of cursed soldiers across Hyrule from the paintings depicting the cursed soldiers that were painted all over the walls surrounding the castle during an outbreak of vandalism. Yuga then proceeds to leave and wanders throughout Hyrule in search of the remaining four descendants of the Seven Sages: Irene, Gulley, Rosso and Oren. Upon arriving outside the castle, Sahasrahla attempts to break the magical barrier, but fails to. The wise elder tells Link that they must turn to the legends of old in order to find a solution, explaining to him that similar events occured many years ago when Hyrule Castle was besieged by Agahnim. He states that the young hero had to find the Master Sword and prove himself worthy of wielding the blade by claiming the three Pendants of Virtue, however, he states that one of the three pendants is inside the castle with Princess Zelda. Fortunately, Link was given the Pendant of Courage by Princess Zelda while meeting with her earlier. Sahasrahla then tasks Link with obtaining the other two pendants from the Tower of Hera and the House of Gales, so that the young hero can be deemed worthy of wielding the Master Sword. However, as Link is traveling throughout the land to collect the Pendants of Virtue to obtain the legendary Master Sword, Yuga transforms the four remaining sages into paintings one by one.

After transforming the four remaining sages into paintings, Yuga travels back to Hyrule Castle to capture Impa, a sage, and Princess Zelda. However, Link obtains the Master Sword from deep within the Lost Woods. The young hero, wielding the legendary blade, heads to the castle and manages to successfully break the magical barrier surrounding the structure and heads inside. While scaling the castle's central tower, Link encounters Princess Zelda asking Yuga to stop his evil rampage. Yuga informs her that his plan is almost complete as he has possession of all seven Sages and proceeds to turn her into a painting despite her protesting and questioning of what he intends to do with the sages. After praising his painting, Yuga notices Link and is puzzled at first as he left the young hero to rot as a painting in the Eastern Palace, then the sorcerer summons four soldiers to buy him time and proceeds to the top of the castle. At the top of Hyrule Castle, Yuga informs Link that he refuses to let him delay his departure from Hyrule any further and attacks him, however, the young hero once again manages to best the sorcerer. Unfortunately, Yuga manages to escape to peform his ritual in another world's counterpart of Hyule Castle, stating that once he releases Ganon, creatures like Link will not be worth his time.

Ganon's Resurrection
In Lorule, Yuga uses the descendants of the Seven Sages along with Zelda to resurrect the Demon King and holder of the Triforce of Power, Ganon, who Yuga claims will help him attain true beauty. After releasing Ganondorf's soul from his seal, Yuga proceeds to merge with Ganon's form and the Triforce of Power, transforming into a monster-like being that takes on the attributes and personalities of both Yuga and Ganon. Possessing the Triforce of Power, Yuga Ganon attempts to finish Link only to be restrained with magic by a mysterious princess named Hilda, who informs Link that she can only hold Yuga Ganon at bay for so long and welcomes the young hero to her kingdom, Lorule. She informs the young hero that she knew of Yuga's plot to abduct Hyrule's Sages and Zelda, however, she failed to stop him, allowing Yuga to use them to siphon Ganon's power in order to gain enough power to destroy both Hyrule and Lorule. Hilda asks Link to awaken his full potential in order to defeat Yuga by stealing back the paintings of the Seven Sages, which have been sent to different locations throughout Lorule.

After rescuing the Seven Sages and attaining the Triforce of Courage, Impa reveals to Link that Ganon is returning and that he must travel to Lorule Castle to stop the Demon King. Link travels to the top of Lorule Castle, where Hilda tells him the legend of how Lorule fell into its current state. Upon finishing the tale, Hilda attains the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda and summons Yuga Ganon, ordering the beast to steal the Triforce of Courage from Link, but Yuga Ganon is defeated and Hilda - believing him to be loyal - orders him to give his Triforce of Power to her. However, Yuga Ganon reveals his betrayal, states that Lorule is no better than Hyrule and that when the Triforce is his, he plans to remake Lorule in his own image. He proceeds to turn Hilda into a painting and absorbs her along with the Triforce of Wisdom, transforming into an even stronger beast. Stating that he will soon take his rightful place among the gods, Yuga Ganon engages Link for the Triforce of Courage, but he is defeated and finally destroyed.

In battle
Yuga is fought three times over the course of the game. He is first encountered as the first boss of the game in the Eastern Palace, then later as the boss of Hyrule Castle, and one last time in the two-part final battle of the game, at the end of Lorule Castle.

Eastern Palace Encounter
"I don't have time to coddle would-be heroes. But since you insist...I will oblige."

- Yuga before fighting Link in the Eastern Palace

As the first boss battle of the game, Yuga is at his weakest. He attacks by shooting energy balls at Link, and hiding in the wall as a painting when the young hero gets too close. He is too fast to run towards him directly, so the only way to hit him to use the Bow to shoot an arrow at him. This will stun him, making him vulnerable to sword slashes or more arrows. After taking enough damage, he will get angered and become faster, and start moving along the wall in a more unpredictable way, but the strategy to defeat him remains the same. Eventually the battle will end, and Link will obtain the ability to become a drawing himself.

Hyrule Castle Encounter
"I have what I've come to Hyrule for, so I refuse to let you delay my departure any further."

- Yuga before attacking Link in Hyrule Castle

As the boss of Hyrule Castle, Yuga is much more formidable. He attacks by creating two copies of himself and launching powerful spells at Link, which the young hero can avoid by standing between the pillars in the arena. Link must hit the real Yuga to stun him, making him vulnerable to more damage. If Link hits a fake Yuga, the copy will turn into a Soldier and the real Yuga will launch a powerful spell. The real Yuga can easily be recognized by his glowing staff. When Yuga takes enough damage, he will once again become much faster and move more erratically, and his spells will have a wider range.

Lorule Castle's Throne Room Encounter
Yuga is fought in a joint form with Ganon as the final boss of the game, there are two stages to the fight.

Theory

 * Yuga shares some similarities with both Ganondorf and Ghirahim. Physically, his hair, nose and eastern clothing reflect both Ganondorf and the Gerudo race in general, while his pointed ears, eyeliner, complexion and earrings reflect Ghirahim. His role as a trusted man who ends up betraying royalty in an attempt to take the Triforce, starting with the Triforce of Power, is very similar to Ganondorf's plan in while his flamboyant personality and his plan to revive, and combine powers with, the Demon King is reminiscent of the events of SS undefined. Interestingly, this also applies to Chancellor Cole. He's a demon who has Ganondorf's red hair and Ghirahim's pale skin, he was a trusted adviser of the Royal Family but betrayed them and he sought to revive the Demon King.


 * Yuga seems to fit into a line of villains who share characteristics, perhaps as a result of the curse of Demise. Worth noting is that the Lorulean Triforce is depicted on Demise's Sword, which is the true form of Ghirahim.


 * Yuga also shares similarities with Phantom Ganon as he appears in - both of them have a connection to Ganondorf, with Phantom Ganon being his duplicate and Yuga his (implied) Lorulean counterpart, both have power over paintings, can create illusive copies of themselves, and use electric attacks against Link. It is also interesting to note that in the manga for Ocarina of Time, Phantom Ganon trapped Saria, one of the Seven Sages, inside a painting before Link defeated him, which, although non-canon, is similar to how Yuga captures each of the sages in A Link Between Worlds.

Trivia

 * Yuga's name is derived from the Kanji 油画/Yuga, which is Japanese for oil paintings, a reference to his magical abilities.


 * The term Yuga in hindusim is the name of a age/epoch within a four age cycle, like the seasons. According to the belief, one complete Yuga encompasses the life cycle of one universe (and one full day for the hindo creator deity Brahma). At the beginning of the Yuga, the Satya Yuga, the universe is created and its inhabitants are enlightened and prosperous, but degenerates mentally and physically during the 4 epochs. In the last epoch, the demonic epoch, the Kali Yuga the universe is about to end and its inhabitants have almost lost all their virtues and are spiritually detached from themselves and from the gods. With the end of the Kali Yuga the universe is destroyed, but reborns in a new yuga cycle. Here we see parallels with the Kali Yuga with Lorule, as their inhabitants also have lost their virtues and are detached from the gods, while demon rule over them. As for Lorule itself, is about to be destroyed by falling apart into the void.


 * Without his magical staff, Yuga is completely powerless. He is also one of few villains in the Zelda series who wields magic but cannot teleport. Only during the final battle is Yuga able to teleport, but this is after he has fused with Ganon and therefore this power is most likely one of many that Yuga acquires from him.


 * A journal, presumably belonging to Ravio, can be found in the Vacant House in Lorule in Hero Mode that illustrates Ravio's internal conflict about Yuga.


 * As he is leaving the Sanctuary, Yuga can be heard humming his own theme tune. This is similar to a scene early on in, when Midna can be heard humming a little of her own theme tune. In SS undefined, Ghirahim also hums his own theme tune during the ritual to revive Demise.