Ganondorf

Ganondorf (ガノンドロフ, Ganondorofu) is a playable character and the true main antagonist in Hyrule Warriors and the main antagonist of the Legend of Zelda series.

His final form as Ganon (ガノン) is playable in one of the two exclusive modes of the game's Boss Pack.

Role in Game
As explained in The Legend of Zelda series, Ganondorf was born an incarnation of the hatred that the Demon King Demise bore towards Link and Zelda with Ganondorf serving as the embodiment of his curse on them and their descendants. Born to the all female Gerudo tribe when they originally where led by a male king, motivated by his harsh upbringing in the desert, Ganondorf used them in his plot to conquer Hyrule and acquire the Triforce to become all powerful. Though defeated by the Link of that time, discarding his humanity in the process, Ganondorf had repeatedly defied his death and reincarnated before being defeated by the various Links.

Hyrule Warriors
In the Hyrule Warriors continuity, Ganondorf was originally sealed by a previous incarnation of the legendary hero of Hyrule managed to half Ganondorf’s continuous reincarnation by splitting his soul into four fragments with three scattered across time and space while the fourth was sealed away by the Master Sword. However, Ganondorf was still able to sense events around him, and thus came to influence Cia, the watcher of the dimensions. Using her unrequited love for the legendary hero's incarnations and her jealousy towards the woman whose destiny was linked to his, Ganondorf corrupted Cia, expelling all goodness from her heart. The Demon King promptly manipulated his new puppet into assembling the Triforce and opening the Gate of Souls, freeing three fragments of his spirit from their prisons in three different timelines.

With three-fourths of his soul reunited, Ganondorf was able to regain physical form. He promptly betrayed Cia and attempted to take the Triforce from her, intending to use it to free the final spirit fragment and restore his full power. However, Cia managed to fight back, drawing upon the Triforce of Power to seal Ganondorf away between the dimensions. Doing so, however, forced the Dark Sorceress to return the other pieces of the Triforce to their rightful bearers, weakening her even as the Hyrulean Army closed in on her base.

Due to being sealed between dimensions, Ganondorf was able to attack both of his enemies when the Hyrulean Army attacked the Temple of Souls. Despite bringing a substantial army to attack the battling forces after they had weakened each other, the Demon King was unable to overcome his enemies due to not being at full strength. However, he remained confident that his wrath would soon fall upon Hyrule, especially since Link had been forced to weaken the final seal on his soul by drawing the Master Sword to use against Cia's army.

Ganondorf's confidence was soon justified - shortly after Cia's final defeat, the final fragment of his soul was released from the weakening seal. With his full strength restored, Ganondorf recruits Zant and Ghirahim as his followers before launching an assault on Gerudo Desert, raising an army of monsters by defeating their commanders in battle. With his newfound might, the Demon King travelled to the Valley of Souls, where he reclaimed the Triforce of Power from Lana. He then attacked Hyrule Castle, drawing out and defeating Link and Zelda to take their pieces of the Triforce.

With the mystical artifact's complete power at his disposal, Ganondorf summoned unending hordes of monsters to subjugate Hyrule before retiring to Hyrule Castle itself. His dark power corrupted the surroundings into a terrifying stronghold as he readied a ritual to empower himself even further. This would prove to be his downfall, however - with the Demon King occupied, Zelda led her remaining forces to Gerudo Desert, defeating Ganondorf's lieutenants and cutting off the flow of reinforcements to his new base.

With Ganondorf's position weakened, the Hyrulean Army and its allies from across time and space attacked the former Hyrule Castle to stop the Demon King once and for all. Ganondorf initially left the battle to his minions as he continued the ritual of empowerment, unleashing his full power just as his enemies breached his tower. With his enhanced might, he began attacking the Hyrulean Army directly, but they recaptured Hyrule Castle to cut off his power boost before defeating him. In a final attempt to turn the tide, Ganondorf used the Triforce to become the monstrous Ganon, but Zelda granted the Light Arrows to her allies, who used their life force to power up the legendary weapons and defeat the Demon Beast.

Age of Calamity
In the Breath of the Wild timeline, Ganondorf ceased as a person ten millennia prior and became a monstrous creature known as Calamity Ganon, whose body is composed of a corruptive substance known as Malice. Ganon was only resealed by the Hero and a descendant of the first Zelda when the Shiekah created the Guardians and the four Divine Beasts to support them. When Ganon’s return was foretold by a prophet, King Rhoam decided to re-enact their ancestors' plan and excavate the Guardians and Divine Beasts. But in the original timeline, with the Yiga Clan supporting him, Ganon was prepared and created the Blight Ganons to take control of the Divine Beasts while personally using his Malice to take control of the Guardians. In the aftermath of the attack, a mortally wounded Link was placed in the Shrine of Resurrection to recover, while Zelda used her awakened power to partially seal Ganon in Hyrule Castle. Though this gave Hyrule a century to recover, the seal gradually breaks down with Ganon eventually defeated when Link is revived.

In the rewritten timeline, during his attack on Hyrule, a fragment of Ganon’s Malice followed the small Guardian Terrako back to days prior to the event and possesses another version of Terrako. As Habringer Ganon, he eventually finds the dark prophet Astor while providing him and the Yiga Clan with information from their immediate future. However, Terrako’s interference in the timeline causes changes that include the prevention of the deaths of King Rhoam and the Champions who pilot the Divine Beasts, Zelda’s power being awakened early, and Yiga Clan siding with the Hyrulians when Astor sacrificed some of them to revive the defeated Blight Ganons. Eventually, Ganon’s Malice consumes Astor and he creates a new body for himself as Calamity Ganon in a final attempt to defeat his enemies before being defeated and sealed again.

Personality
Ganondorf is best characterized by his greed, lust for power, and sadism. Cold and manipulative, he has no qualms in using others to fulfill his own desires.

Quotes

 * See also: Ganondorf/Quotes

Gameplay
Great Sword=
 * X: Ganondorf rises off the ground and then pounds down hard into the ground with incredible force, which deals heavy damage to everything around him. This attack's damage and area of effect greatly increase as Ganondorf's meter fills up; if his meter is full, Ganondorf also gains full invincibility during the attack's animation. Using this attack completely empties Ganondorf's meter.
 * Y, X (rapid): Ganondorf forcefully plants his swords in the ground, which knocks enemies into the air. He then performs a series of repeated diagonal slashes that send out shockwaves at the airborne enemies, then finishes by swinging both his blades, creating an x-shaped slash and knocking his targets away. Rapidly tapping X causes Ganondorf to perform more slashes and further charge his meter.
 * Y, Y, X: Ganondorf points his blade skyward while a large ball of dark energy forms at the tip of the blade. He then slings it forward, with the orb detonating after traveling a set distance forward or hitting an enemy.
 * Y, Y, Y, X: Ganondorf rapidly swings both swords in a flurry around him, enclosing him in a sphere of slashes. He then explodes it outward, knocking back enemies.
 * Y, Y, Y, Y, X: Ganondorf raises both hands up to create a large orb of dark energy. He then slams it into the ground in front of him before punching it, causing the orb to explode and send out a spread of smaller orbs forward in an arc.
 * Y, Y, Y, Y, Y, X: Ganondorf punches the ground to summon a dark manifestation of his demon form, Ganon, to perform a horizontal swipe that blows away surrounding foes.
 * Y, Y, Y, Y, Y, Y, Y: Ganondorf swings his swords horizontally left and right, then slams them both down into the ground. He then releases a spherical pulse of dark energy from him, and then swings his sword in front of him. He swings his swords three times in front of him before delivering a final blow infused with dark energy.


 * A: Ganondorf raises his sword into the air, which simultaneously infuses his blade with electricity and causes thunderbolts to crash down in 2 parallel lines in front of him. He then swings his sword, sending a wicked burst of lightning towards his foes.


 * Focus Spirit + A: Ganondorf summons a black shadow in the shape of his demon form, Ganon, to attack nearby enemies.
 * Focus Spirit Finisher: Ganondorf hovers into the air and gathers dark energy around his fists, before slamming his fists down hard onto the ground, knocking back enemies.


 * Weak Point Smash: Ganondorf envelops his right arm in darkness, forming a large claw of shadow, before using it to swipe at his enemies.

Ganondorf's attacks consist of a mix of powerful sword slashes and magic attacks. He is rather slow, but his attacks have a large range. All of his strong attack combos excluding X and Y, X can be charged up by holding down the strong attack button, and doing so fills up a special gauge. Said gauge is then consumed to deliver a devastating strike when the player presses the strong attack button.
 * Fighting Style
 * Use of two swords as he does in Wind Waker.
 * C5 references the Warlock Punch from the Smash Bros series.

Added in Legends, can only be used in the Wii U version if registered.
 * -|Trident=
 * X: Ganondorf throws his trident forward, then dashes to catch it.
 * Y, X: Ganondorf jumps into the air swinging his trident.
 * Y, Y, X: Ganondorf quickly coats his arm in shadow, then delivers a darkness-infused tackle to whatever is in front of him.
 * Y, Y, Y, X: Ganondorf throws his trident, causing it to orbit around him like a boomerang. His trident returns to his hand after completing one wide orbit.
 * Y, Y, Y, Y, X: Ganondorf rapidly infuses his arm with darkness, then performs a powerful uppercut that sends himself and his enemies into the air.
 * Y, Y, Y, Y, Y, X: Ganondorf throws his trident forward like a javelin, then dives after it while punching the ground, creating an eruption of dark energy upon impact. The direction that Ganondorf throws his trident in can be adjusted with the control stick, but the dive afterwards cannot be dash-cancelled; however, enemies struck by the dive before Ganondorf punches the ground will still take rather high damage.
 * Y, Y, Y, Y, Y, Y, Y: Ganondorf swings his trident diagonally upwards to the left, then repeats the same swing again to the right. He then charges forward and quickly stabs at anything in front of him. Afterwards, Ganondorf performs a vertical slash with his trident, then slams the ground in front of him with an electricity-infused strike. Ganondorf then performs a lightning-infused horizontal swipe and ends his string by throwing his trident forward at his foes, after which his trident returns to his hand. The trident travels a surprisingly long distance when it is thrown.
 * Y (aerial): Ganondorf rapidly stabs at his foes while in the air.
 * X (aerial): Ganondorf crashes towards the ground, knocking his foes out of the air and creating a large burst of energy on impact.


 * A: Ganondorf throws his trident into the ground in front of him, then floats into the air and flings a ball of electricity at it, which causes a column of lightning to erupt around his weapon and blow his foes away.


 * Focus Spirit + A: Ganondorf punches the ground with his darkness-infused arm before throwing a ball of dark energy at his foes.
 * Focus Spirit Finisher: Ganondorf raises his left arm, with the Triforce of Power glowing brightly on the back of his hand. He then roars and raises his trident skyward, causing a large explosion of energy to erupt around him.


 * Weak Point Smash: Ganondorf slashes his opponent with his trident twice before lunging at his foe and performing a lightning-infused thrust that creates a burst of energy around him.

Ganondorf's attacks when using his Trident consist of a large mixture of darkness-infused arm attacks, lightning-infused stabs and a lot of energy bursts. His combos like C4 can easily deal with large hordes of enemies, but he can also take on enemy captains and Giant Bosses with his semi-fast light string and his powerful C5, the latter of which he can follow up on with his quick and powerful aerial attacks that get boosted by his weapon's Lightning element. While Trident Ganondorf lacks the sheer burst damage provided by the Great Swords and retains his semi-slow movement speed, he makes up for it with his much faster attacks and versatility.
 * Fighting Style

DLC only.
 * -|Ganon=
 * Y, Y, Y: Ganon uses his claws to perform a upwards diagonal claw swipe to the left, then repeats the same claw swipe to the right. Afterwards, he smashes both of his fists into the ground, creating a shockwave that blows his surroundings away.


 * X, X: Ganon punches the ground, creating 4 wide lines of red lightning that arc along the ground in a fan-like pattern. Pressing X again will make Ganon punch the ground again, creating 5 more lines of red electricity that zap the areas where the first 4 arcs of lightning did not hit.


 * Up on the D-Pad: Ganon charges forward, ramming his entire body into his foes and knocking them backwards.


 * LZ: Ganon winds up and performs a spinning punch that knocks back any enemies around him.


 * A: Ganon charges his fist with a huge amount of dark energy and punches the ground, blowing away his surroundings and creating a large crater.


 * Focus Spirit + A: Pulls out his Trident, and flings it forward causing it to spin around and damaging all enemies directly in front of him self.
 * Focus Spirit Finisher: Ganon gathers dark energy around his fists and rises into the air before slamming the ground.


 * Weak Point Smash: Creates a massive orb of dark energy, slams it onto his opponent, then performs a powerful right hook punch into the orb of energy causing it to explode.
 * Weak Point Smash (vs Boss): Jumps up into the air, slashing the enemies with his trident while ascending, then throws it down ward to have the teeth of the trident pierce the boss monsters body.

Unlike most characters who can use battle items like the Boomerang or Bow, Ganon is capable of using a Giant Boss's signature abilities in battle like his enemy version can; these are stocked in his inventory instead of battle items. In order to use them, Ganon must first find a Giant Boss and defeat it, after which the Giant Boss will drop an item that grants Ganon their signature move. Each Boss Attack is strong against another Giant Boss and will expose their Weak Point Gauge when used against them.
 * Boss Attacks

Ganon is a hulking beast, capable of damaging boss monsters without needing the nessissary items to make their Weak Point Gauge's appear. but, due to his large size, it makes him an easy target for mobs to gang up on.
 * Fighting Style

Weapons
Great Sword=

Added in Legends, can only be used in the Wii U version if registered.
 * -|Trident=

DLC only.
 * -|Ganon=

Badge Materials

 * See also: Hyrule Warriors/Badges

Attack Badges=
 * -|Defense Badges=
 * -|Assist Badges=

Gallery
Images=

Trivia

 * When fans saw Ganondorf's design upon his initial reveal, they started a meme associating him with various hair care products such as Dove. In response, Nintendo joins in on the fun by claiming he uses a special hair spray.


 * Ganondorf's 4th Charge attack when using his Great Swords is none other than his Warlock Punch from the Super Smash Bros series, but instead of infusing the punch with dark power he uses it to detonate said power.