Ganon

Ganon (ガノン) is the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda series. He has been present since the very first game and until Majora's Mask, he was at least refered to in each game. He has appeared to contest Link in many games, including the non-Zelda videogame Super Smash Bros. Melee. Ganon also starred in the cartoon series.

Ganon was given a (albeit meager) backstory in A Link to the Past. In that game, it was revealed that Ganon had not always been the piglike demon introduced in The Legend of Zelda. He was revealed to once have been a human by the name of Ganondorf (ガノンドロフ, Ganondorofu), and leader of a group of thieves. He was the first to enter the Sacred Realm after a long time and managed to lay his hands on the Triforce, turning the Sacred Realm into the Dark World and himself into an (even more) powerful being. However, he was defeaten by the combined efforts of the Knights of Hyrule and the Sages. This story has been expanded on in Ocarina of Time (note: it is debated these days whether these stories are the same). Ganondorf was made a Gerudo, one of the human races from the Zelda Universe. The Gerudo are a group of female warriors and thieves, and only one male is born every century. Also, the male is destined to become the next leader of the Gerudo. He used his position, power and the trust the King of Hyrule to gain entrance to the the Sacred Realm and obtain the Triforce. Unlike the story from A Link to the Past, he did not obtain the full Triforce, but was left with only the Triforce of Power. Later in The Wind Waker, a more noble side of Ganon was revealed. This time being prepared to spare Link and Zelda, he told them that originally, he had just wanted the best for his people, who had to live in the harsh environment of the Gerudo Desert, while all other races lived in gentle environments.

Name Issue
Since the release of the original game, Ganon has had many different names which were and are often used interchangeably. In the first game, Ganon's name was misspelled Gannon. Note that this was only the case in the game and that the manual did use the correct name. As of today, some people still call him Gannon, which has inspired the site/term Gannon-Banned. Later, when A Link to the Past was released, Ganon's alter-ego Ganondorf was introduced. However, because Nintendo of America decided to give their own twist to the story in the translation, "Ganondorf" ended up with a last name: Ganondorf Dragmire. This name has only been used in the Western manuals of A Link to the Past for the SNES. . Similarly, "Ganon" was given the name Mandrag Ganon, which supposedly means "Ganon of the Enchanted Thieves".

Ever since those games, the character has just been called either Ganon or Ganondorf. However, these names have always been used interchangeably. The name Ganon is most often used to identify the demon-form, but has also been used for the Gerudo-form and the name Ganondorf is most often used to identify the Gerudo-form, but has also been used for the demon-form.

Appearances
After Ganondorf broke into the Sacred Realm and captured the Triforce, his evil made it become the Dark World, where a person's form changed to fit their inner self. This revealed Ganondorf's true self, Ganon.

The Legend of Zelda
Ganon broke free of the Dark World and attacked Hyrule in an attempt into steal the Triforce of Wisdom. He made his base of operations in Death Mountain under Spectacle Rock. Princess Zelda split the Triforce of Wisdom into eight shards, and Link assembled them to fight Ganon, and killed him with the Silver Arrows.

Years later, in The Adventure of Link, Ganon's army made an attempt to revive him by spilling Link's blood onto Ganon's ashes, but failed.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Ganon used the (guise of the) wizard Agahnim to break free from the Dark World. He tried to break the seal by sending the Maidens, descendants of the Seven Sages, into the Dark World. Link traveled into the Dark World, where he destroyed Agahnim. After the battle with Agahnim, he battled Ganon in the Pyramid of Power, where he was bested by a Silver Arrow. The seal on the Dark World was strengthened.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
For the first time in the series, Ganondorf appeared. A long battle ensued between him and Link. In the end, Zelda held him down and allowed Link to impale his head, and while he was in a pained rage, the Seven Sages opened the void to the Sacred Realm, sealing him there.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
In the linked ending of the Oracle subseries of Zelda games, it is revealed that the events of the two games were started by Twinrova in an attempt to resurrect Ganon. In the end, they succeeded, though the ritual was incomplete, and Ganon became a mindless beast, although he does demonstrate limited thought just as he is defeated.

Ganon was powerful due to the fact that he attacked randomly due to no ability to think, though he was sealed away by Link once again.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
In the timeline created when Ganon was sent into the Sacred Realm, he somehow escaped imprisonment, and in Ganon form, began to take over Hyrule. Link did not appear. In response, the Gods flooded Hyrule to seal away Ganon and his army.

Over the years, Ganon managed to escape, though he was cut off of his power, therefore he was unable to keep himself in Ganon form and changed into Ganondorf. He eventually was killed by Link.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Ganondorf was captured and put up for execution by the sages of the Arbiter's Grounds. He survived execution by absorbing the evil and malice of the imprisoned Twili. He crushed a Sage, and hastily the others activated the Mirror of Twilight and flung him into the Twilight Realm, where he used Zant to access Hyrule again, though in spirit form.

Taking over Hyrule Castle, Ganondorf was given a physical body after Zant's magic was delivered to him after his assassination by Midna and a new Link. During the final battle, Ganondorf possessed Zelda by turning into Twilight, and after being purged from her body, reassembled himself into Ganon.

Ganon charged after Link through Twilight portals, appearing randomly and sudden. Link was able to fire arrows into Ganon's head, leaving his stomach susceptible to attack. Eventually, Link morphed into his wolf form and, with the help of Midna, threw him to the side, and attacked his stomach.

Eventually, Ganon's body began to degenerate. Ganon's spirit emerged from the body, and battled Midna equipped with the Fused Shadows. In the end, Ganon emerged victorious, and his spirit was manifested into Ganondorf's body, though he would wind up being defeated.

Four Swords Adventures
Ganondorf stole the Trident and then the Dark Mirror, which he used to summon Dark Link, who he sent to trick Link into releasing Vaati from the Four Sword. While Vaati distracted the Links and imprisoned the Shrine Maidens, Ganon absorbed the power of the Maidens. At the end of the game, Ganon appears as the final boss as a twist ending, fought in the Dark World underneath the Tower of Winds, where he is defeated after Link fires a light arrows into Zelda's energy bomb, which pierces him. He is then sealed away in the Four Sword.