The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Ganondorf / Characters

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Demon King Ganondorf

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ganondorf_totk.png

"Do not look away. You witness a king's revival... and the birth of his new world."

^{Click here to see his mummified form}

^{Click here to see his Demon King form}

^{Click here to see his final form (SPOILER)}

Voiced by: Kosuke Takaguchi (Japanese), Matthew Mercer (English)^{Foreign VAs}

"How disappointing. This world should be shrouded in darkness, not bathed in insufferable light. All these weak, peace loving cowards running rampant. It would have been more...satisfying to overcome a worthy foe. Regardless... I will reshape this world as it was meant to be. I will crush any opposition. I will rule. That is what a king must do."

The source of the Calamity, Ganondorf is an evil Gerudo king who sought to conquer Hyrule long ago. After the hand of Rauru sealing him falls off from his body in the present day of Tears of the Kingdom, the Demon King is revived and now seeks to regain his strength and finish what he started.

Calamity Ganon can be found here.

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Adaptational Attractiveness: In most games, Ganondorf is depicted as a man with a powerlifter physique and somewhat flashy combat armor. Here, he's a significantly beefier man who only wears light desert clothing that doesn't even cover up half his chest. This was intentionally invoked by the game's director to create a version of the character that both men and women would fall for.
Age Without Youth: When Rauru puts Ganondorf in stasis for over 10,000 years, his body continued to age up until it's become the skinny, heavily desiccated mummy that Link and Zelda encounter in the present day. Once he rises up back to full strength for the final battle, Ganondorf uses his magic to restore him to his middle-aged self.
Almighty Idiot: After Link defeats him the first time, he resorts to using the forbidden art of draconficiation, which involves him swallowing his stone to turn into a dragon. However, Mineru states that using this will result in the user losing their sapience, something Ganondorf acknowledges and yet is completely fine with sacrificing just to ravage Hyrule and defeat Link. And sure enough, this ends up turning Ganondorf into a nearly mindless monster just like Calamity Ganon. His first act as Demon Dragon? To drag Link back up to the surface which (once Link is able to get free from his jaws) heals any Gloom damage Link may have taken and gives the Light Dragon the opportunity to intervene.
Already Done for You: He technically did this for himself through his hatred and malice manifesting as Calamity Ganon. This offshoot of his power left Hyrule ravaged, its champions slain save their last and greatest, and its armies utterly crushed, leaving the survivors as a loose grouping of disparate villages by the time he resurrects. The utter absence of any Shiekah technology after the Time Skip, especially the Guardians and the Divine Beasts, further compounds this as there are no mighty weapons that could be turned against him, made worse by the fact that the Gloom has decayed and corroded all the weapons in Hyrule, leaving the Hyruleans powerless. This actually ends up being an advantage for the heroes in a backhanded manner however, as being the kind of person he is, Ganondorf is utterly unmotivated to push himself to face a loose rabble of unworthy opponents for a forgone and easy victory, content instead to steadily rejuvenate himself in the depths to recover his full strength gradually, rather than treating them seriously from the start. This allows Link to gain allies and strengthen himself for their rematch, allowing him to better match Ganondorf once given time to prepare by his enemy underestimating him.
Amazing Technicolor Population: Ganondorf's official art depicts him with greenish skin, as opposed to the brown skin of other Gerudo.
Ambiguously Human: Ganondorf seemed to be a normal (albeit very skilled) Gerudo prior to his rise to power. However, upon stealing a Secret Stone, he suddenly transforms into a godlike Demon King. Given that the Secret Stones are shown to be a type of Ampifier Artifact that merely expands the user's pre-existing power, Ganondorf's transformation calls into question what exactly he was to begin with.
Ambiguously Related: In the "The Gerudo Assault" and "A Show of Fealty" memories, Ganondorf can be seen alongside two masked Gerudo warriors, whose weapons identify them as Koume and Kotake. In the older games, Koume and Kotake were Ganondorf's adoptive mothers, yet these versions appear to be much younger, suggesting that isn't the case this time. However, they are also the only other Gerudo to have Ganondorf's signature green skin, indicating that there may still be some familial relation between three of them.
Ambiguous Situation: It's left unclear whether or not this Ganondorf is a reincarnation or successor of Demise. While Tears of the Kingdom features a radically different backstory for Hyrule, Ganondorf's One-Winged Angel form is a near spot-on match for the old Demon King, and he achieves it by obtaining a Secret Stone, which only amplifies his pre-existing power, implying that Demise is connected somehow.
Ambiguous Start of Darkness: He was once a celebrated hero of the Gerudo tribe, but it's never made clear if he was always using them as a means to an end, or if he became obsessed with power over time.
Ambition Is Evil: This Ganondorf may have no connection to the Triforce of Power this time, but his desire to acquire unlimited power and crush the world beneath his foot is as strong as ever.
Amplifier Artifact: Ganondorf's crown contains one of the Secret Stones of the Zonai, his specifically is Sonia's stone, which he stole from her after killing her. The stones can amplify the user's power significantly. And for Ganondorf, who was already a powerful Gerudo warrior with dark magic on his side, it amplifies his power to near godlike proportions, making him so powerful that the Sages were unable to defeat him and Rauru had to pull a Heroic Sacrifice just to seal him away so Link can finish him off in the future.
Ancient Evil: Calamity Ganon was said to have terrorized Hyrule for at least 10,000 years, and — being the source of Calamity Ganon — Ganondorf is even older, making him incredibly ancient. In fact, he dates back to the very foundation of Hyrule Kingdom, in a time that was until recently only considered to be a myth rather than actual historical fact.
Arch-Enemy: He's one to Zelda and the Royal Family of Hyrule:
- Zelda ended up traveling back into the past and helped Rauru and the Sages defeat Ganondorf in that time and later came up with the plan to help Link defeat Ganondorf in the future. Not to mention all the damage and devastation inflicted on the land by his near-mindless prior incarnation, which Zelda spent 100 years holding at bay after he'd slain both her father and most of her close friends, coming close to finishing her off for good if not for Link's intervention.
- To Rauru. Ganondorf murdered Rauru's wife, Sonia, to take her Secret Stone and mocked Rauru for it, enraging Rauru to the point that he nearly attacked the man. Rauru led the Sages in the fight to defeat him, ultimately sacrificing his life to seal Ganondorf away so Link could defeat him once and for all.
- This is actually Played With regarding Link, despite their historical animosity in prior games. Ganondorf only recognizes him through the Master Sword he wields and is utterly disappointed in him as a potential opponent, considering him far too weak to be a challenge, and repeatedly dismisses him as a true threat all the way up to their climatic fight, only taking mild interest due to how both Zelda and Rauru have faith that he will defeat him. That said when Link confronts Phantom Ganon at Hyrule Castle Ganondorf acknowledges how Link has endured through his corruption, and killed many of his minions, and after Link defeats Phantom Ganon, Ganondorf will admit there was more to Link than he initially thought and starts taking him more seriously, and during their final confrontation Ganondorf's animosity towards Link and his inability to defeat him, grows to the point he swallows his Secret Stone just to kill Link, fully aware he's sacrificing his body and mind to do so.
Arrow Catch: In his boss fight, trying to shoot him while he's idling will lead to him casually swatting the arrow out of the air with his bare hand. Arrows will only land if he's busy attacking.
Attack Its Weak Point: Much like Dark Beast Ganon in Breath of the Wild, his Demon Dragon form is immune to all forms of attack and can only be damaged by targeting the growths on his back and later the Secret Stone on his forehead, destroying it being the only means of killing him.
Ax-Crazy: This iteration of Ganondorf is considerably more bloodthirsty than his other iterations if only their human forms are taken into account. This is supported by the fact that he's always eager to pick a fight against someone and advocating the absolute annihilation of anyone who opposes him or is aligned with his opposition, which is pretty much everyone in Hyrule, if it means becoming its king. There's also him taking great joy in killing Queen Sonia. He drops the stoic act and sports a deranged smile as he watches Sonia die and Zelda panic over her death.
Barbarian Long Hair: In his undead state, Ganondorf's hair is an unkempt mane matted by millennia spent trapped underground, a stark contrast to the samurai-style topknot his living form sports. Likewise, in his Demon King form, his hair is also a flowing, flaming mane similar to Demise and his Hyrule Warriors incarnation.
Baritone of Strength: Matthew Mercer gives Ganondorf a deep and commanding voice, fitting for the King of the Gerudo tribe, and he's a powerful warrior.
Battle Aura: After killing Sonia and taking her Secret Stone, Ganondorf is wreathed in a red and black aura of gloom, letting out a battle-cry as he transforms into the Demon King.
Beard of Evil: He has a trimmed, red beard that remains unchanged even after his hair turns into a fiery, long mane after assuming his Demon King form. Strangely, it's absent on his corpse despite him still having long hair.
The Beastmaster: His first attempt to conquer Hyrule involved him unleashing a swarm of Molduga on the kingdom. When that plan was foiled by Rauru, it forced him to adopt subtler methods.
Beat Them at Their Own Game: During the final fight against him, he can perform a Perfect Dodge like Link can, complete with the same Bullet Time effect, and he can even do this if Link does his own Perfect Dodge to ready up his Flurry Rush attack. Ganondorf can also use a sword, spear, club, and bow as well as switch them on the fly just like Link. However, he notably doesn't use any shields or armor to protect himself, despite being capable of using his Gloom to create armaments out of thin air, and only uses his honed reflexes to skillfully dodge Link's attacks instead.
Big Bad: Of Tears of the Kingdom, naturally. After he's freed from his enchanted prison, Ganondorf plots to rebuild his power and demon army to finish his conquest of Hyrule and eliminate all who oppose him, especially Link.
Bishōnen Line: When Link and Zelda find him, he's a mummified corpse. After having time to recover his strength, his body bulks out into a handsome, muscular one. This trope is especially in play when comparing Ganondorf with Calamity Ganon, whose different forms were very inhuman-looking.
Black Blood: When he tears the implanted Secret Stone out of his head in preparation to swallow it and undergo the forbidden draconification rite to gain enough overwhelming power to crush Link, the wound left in his forehead is filled with bubbling black ichor, indicating his Demon King form has this.
Black Eyes of Crazy: When Ganondorf revives in an undead state, Malice eyes — which have slitted pupils, yellow irises, and black sclerae — appear in his hollow eye sockets. When restored to his prime, his eyes are normal with red irises. He also possesses black sclerae when he transforms into the Demon King.
Bling of War: Ganondorf wears several pieces of gold jewelry into battle, and even his sword has a gilded guard and pommel. Justified with the Secret Stone he wears on his forehead, since it supplies much of his power.
Blood Knight: Ganondorf relishes the chance to test his might against worthy adversaries. When Rauru tells him that Link will one day come to defeat him, Ganondorf replies that he looks forward to meeting him. And when Link puts up a good fight during the final battle, Ganondorf expresses his excitement before powering up.
Ganondorf (English): Heh heh heh... what a feeling. I had almost forgotten the thrill of battle. That feeling as blood surges in my veins... and I am not even nearing the limits of my power!
Ganondorf (Japanese): It's been a long time since I felt this. Boiling blood, dancing flesh... And every muscle of my body yearns to release even more power......
Bond Villain Stupidity: Ganondorf likely has the power and means to quickly track down Link and kill him once he finds out that Link survived their first encounter. But instead, he toys with the hero through Phantom Ganon disguised as Zelda and leaves him and the new Sages alone after showing them a vision of what he's going to do to Hyrule. By the time Link confronts Ganondorf in the final battle, it becomes clear that the Demon King only wants a worthy opponent to test his mettle, never seriously taking Link as a true threat but rather merely a slightly tougher foe to crush.
Bookends: The story of Ganon, through the perspective of Link and Zelda, begins and ends as a mindless monster; Calamity Ganon the first time and the Demon Dragon the next.
Boss-Altering Consequence: If you didn't complete the main quests before fighting him, then your allies won't show up to help you during the final battle.
Boss Subtitles: "The Menace Unleashed" for his human form, "Master of the Secret Stone" for his Demon King form, and "Draconified Demon King" for his Demon Dragon form.
Bow and Sword in Accord: In addition to his katana, Ganondorf also wields a bow during the final boss fight and one of his attacks is to surround Link with a ring of Gloom while firing shots of Gloom athim..
Breath Weapon: His only attack in his Demon Dragon form is to rain down fireballs of Gloom.
Bring It: After knocking Link's allies out of the fight, he smiles and tells Link to face him by flicking his fingers.
Broken Ace: Ganondorf was a legendary warrior and hero among the Gerudo, a master of all manner of weapons who became their chief in a time where strength and bravery — or bloodlust — were all that mattered. However, his ambition and lust for power led to him becoming the Demon King and ravaging even his own people when they refused to submit.
The Bus Came Back: It has been a whopping 17 YEARS since his last appearance in his Gerudo form, excluding spin-offs like Hyrule Warriors and Super Smash Bros..
But Not Too Challenging: Ganondorf likes a martial challenge, but has no sportsmanship in facing someone who could potentially overcome him in combat. Aside from the thrill of battle, the only reason he fights Link is because he wants to use his power and skill primarily to stroke his own ego and emphasize how he's the better challenger in comparison, barely bothering to give his opponent even the slightest sense of respect. After all, he doesn't want to risk genuine defeat. When Link does defeat him, Ganondorf goes on a temper tantrum about how he deserves to rule Hyrule and swallows Queen Sonia's Secret Stone, refusing to accept an equal challenge even if it means destroying his individuality by turning into a near-mindless dragon.
Card-Carrying Villain: He makes no pretense of what his reign over Hyrule would be to everyone; a land shrouded in darkness and filled with demons and monstrous servants killing all who may oppose him. When confronted by Link just before the final battle, he muses how much he hates the "insufferable" light and all the "weak, peace-loving cowards" that live in Hyrule.
Carry a Big Stick: One of the weapons Ganondorf uses in the final battle is a large club that somewhat resembles a traditional Japanese kanabo which he can use to send shockwaves of Gloom at Link, fitting his Samurai/Ronin theme and oni-like Demon King form.
Casting a Shadow: Ganondorf's magic comes in the form of Gloom, which is essentially a stronger, more corrosive form of Malice from Breath of the Wild.
Category Traitor: The Gerudo consider Ganondorf a massive source of cultural shame, to the point that their chieftain Urbosa outright relishes the chance to punish Ganon with her Divine Beast in revenge. It's to the point that they even refer to him as a demon manifested as a Gerudo rather than one of their own kind. Tears of the Kingdom reveals that after becoming the Demon King, he turned his army of monsters on his own people during his conquest of Hyrule.
Challenge Seeker: Ganondorf doesn't simply want to rule the world, he wants to conquer it with all his might. Anything less, he expresses disappointment. More specifically, he wants to use all the power at his disposal against an opponent who can't be overcome by anything less and win - he doesn't want the risk of defeat, only the thrill of needing to bring all he's got to bear.
Classic Villain: He represents the vices of Ambition, Wrath, and most importantly, Pride. These serve as contrast to the Humble Hero Link, which is fitting as Ganondorf is essentially Link if he decided to abuse his skills and powers for his own selfish gain.
Clipped-Wing Angel: When his Demon King form proves to be no match for Link, Ganondorf decides to swallow his stolen Secret Stone to become the Demon Dragon, reasoning that its overwhelming power would be enough to destroy Link and bring Hyrule to its knees. The problem is that draconficiation robs the user's mind in the process, and thus the Demon Dragon is in gameplay actually easier for Link to destroy since its attacks are easily telegraphed for Link and the Light Dragon to dodge and it has way too many obvious weak points scattered across its body, and said-weak points also provide Link safe footing to attack them up close, despite the Demon Dragon being corrosive to the touch, and are significantly easier to damage than the prior Demon King form.
Combat Pragmatist: Prior to gaining the Secret Stone, his first attempt to conquer Hyrule was to soften it up by directing a swarm of Moldugas to attack its defenses whilst he observed to see their response and judge how easily they'd withstand a full-scale assault. Seeing Rauru easily destroy the swarm with a Wave-Motion Gun had him decide to swear fealty to him for a more indirect approach at weakening the kingdom's defenses from within rather than openly attacking in a doomed effort. When assassinating Sonia for her Secret Stone, he had his Phantom Ganon pose as Zelda to lure her alone and attempt to kill her via a dagger to the back. While it failed thanks to Zelda, the distraction it provided was just enough for Ganondorf to sneak in and strike her In the Back, killing her in one punch.
Composite Character:
- This Ganondorf takes cues from several versions. In terms of design, his outfit resembles the robe worn by his The Wind Waker incarnation mixed with a set of Gerudo Voe wear similar to that from Breath of the Wild. In his undead state, his hair is a wild, lion-like mane resembling his Hyrule Warriors incarnation. In the story, he falsely swears allegiance to the King of Hyrule before staging a coup just like his Ocarina of Time self. And him being a completely new incarnation of Ganondorf with no known connection to the prior, as well as him using a powerful magical artifact besides the Triforce to become a Demon King, brings to mind his Four Swords Adventures counterpart.
- He also seems to be a combination between his mainline counterpart and Demise, With him being imprisoned in a pit, acting mostly through a phantasmal lesser minion, and creating Calamity Ganon through his hatred, much like how Demise's curse created the mainline version of Ganondorf. His Demon King form even appears very similar to Demise, with gray skin, black scales, and firey orange hair, and his Demon Dragon form is a black-scaled, mindless, Draconic Abomination, similar to the Imprisoned.
- Like General Onox, he transforms into a giant black dragon that can only be killed by striking the gemstone in his head.
Continuity Nod:
- His Demon King form is a near-dead ringer for Demise from Skyward Sword, complete with glowing red hair and scaly skin, thus fulfilling the original Demon King's vow that he "will rise again".
- As he transforms into the Demon Dragon, Ganondorf briefly assumes a shadowy, boar-like form reminiscent of Calamity Ganon.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist:
- He contrasts Calamity Ganon in many ways:
  - Whereas Calamity Ganon in Breath of the Wild had been reduced to being a mindless beast that took on the form of a Kaiju, Ganondorf in Tears of the Kingdom returns to being an actual person capable of speech, independent thought, and taking on a humanoid form.
  - Calamity Ganon was only indirectly causing the various strife throughout Hyrule whilst sealed within the castle by Zelda, through the Divine Beasts, the Blight Ganons and the respawning army of monsters created by its presence. Ganondorf actively causes ongoing chaos throughout the region through his servant Phantom Ganon, disguised as Zelda, directing various schemes to prevent the return of the Sages from standing against him, and actively directs the Gloom generated by his presence to corrode armaments throughout the kingdom to render the inhabitants even more helpless against the monsters than they were before.
  - Calamity Ganon was trapped fighting Zelda relentlessly for 100 years and Link's quest to defeat it for good was shown as a Race Against the Clock to prevent its return at the last moment, Ganondorf is not restrained in any manner and proves capable of assuming his demon King form with effort to face Link at full strength whenever he reaches him, but doesn't do so before then because he doesn't consider his opponents in the kingdom worth forcing himself to fight early.
  - Calamity Ganon desperately tried to regain a humanoid form at any cost, and was constantly thwarted from achieving that, eventually assuming the Dark Beast Ganon form in a pure Villainous Breakdown, Ganondorf starts out returning to a humanoid form with ease to fight Link, before assuming his monstrous Demon King form to utilize his full power of his own free will and furthermore discards even that to become a similarly mindless beast in the hopes of killing Link when he bests him. Even their boss fights reflect this, as Calamity Ganon had only a single phase where it fought Link at full power with every weapon at its disposal, bereft of any dignity, and Link canonically had to weaken it to half health first with the Divine Beasts to stand a chance solo, Ganondorf has multiple phases where he gradually uses more and more strength to beat Link, who fights him alongside his Sage allies, and uses various refined weapons in combat with a dignified display of his martial prowess.
- He shares a number of traits with his various incarnations, especially the ones from Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker. He tries to manipulate the King of Hyrule in order to get closer to what he wants, in this case a Zonai Secret Stone instead of the Triforce. However, Ganondorf's cruelty is emphasized over his cunning, showcasing him murdering Queen Sonia on-screen rather than manipulating the heroes into giving him the item he desires. He also does so to feed his already massive ego rather than trying to give the Gerudo a better life outside of the harsh climates of the Gerudo Desert.
- Interestingly, he's also one to Demise from Skyward Sword. A lot of what can be said about this incarnation of Ganondorf can also be said about Demise, right down to how they're both Blood Knights that were sealed away with the power of holy light and both hold the title of Demon King (though other incarnations of Ganondorf also share that title). However, while Demise ultimately grew to respect Link and even Groose, Ganondorf sees everyone that doesn't test his full might as beneath him, and even then he'll go miles beyond the Godzilla Threshold to ensure victory even if he doesn't get to enjoy it all because he can't fathom the idea that he could lose.
Cool Horse: A Zonai wall mural depicts Ganondorf riding a horse. After becoming the Demon King, he rides a rather demonic looking horse as he leads his newfound monster army.
Crown of Power: Ganondorf's headpiece has a red magatama jewel embedded in it that glows when he unleashes his power. It's actually Sonia's Secret Stone, which he stole from her after killing her.
Curb-Stomp Battle:
- When defeating one of the temple bosses and meeting the sage, they all tell the same story: namely that Ganondorf's power was so great that they couldn't defeat him and it took Rauru sacrificing himself just to seal Ganondorf away.
- Upon being released from Rauru's seal, millennia of imprisonment has reduced Ganondorf to a withered, mummified husk of his former glory, and did significantly weaken his full power...which doesn't stop him from easily breaking the Master Sword and near-fatally corrupting Link's body with Gloom when he lashes out at Zelda and Link takes the hit instead. Seeing how easily his destined opponent fell before him even in his reduced state convinces Ganondorf that any chance of a good fight against Link is a pipe dream, and utterly disinterests him in treating his present day enemies with any seriousness.
Damage-Sponge Boss: Ganondorf has no specific weak point in his boss fight and thus the goal is to bring his health bar down before he kills you. And his HP is 2500, by the way. Should you succeed in depleting his health bar, Ganondorf will assume his Demon King form and his health bar not only replenishes but doubles in size, giving him 5000 HP. And that's not counting his final phase as the Demon Dragon, which is thankfully back to a regular health bar.
Damned by Faint Praise: The closest he comes to acknowledging Link as a capable foe is late in the game where he remarks there is indeed more to Link than the power Rauru gave him, only to condescendingly add "but not much more."
Damn You, Muscle Memory!: His entire boss fight is designed to provoke this if you've fought Phantom Ganon before you sought him out. Many of his attacks are identical to those that Phantom Ganon uses, except faster. If you recognize his ready motion and prepare to evade as per Phantom Ganon's timing, well, there goes your shield.
Dark Is Evil: A self-titled Demon King who wields powerful dark magic and seeks to take over the Kingdom of Hyrule, seeking to cast it into eternal darkness.
Dark Reprise: Upon swallowing his secret stone to undergo draconification, an ominous version of the divine dragon's mysterious Leitmotif plays during the transformation sequence and the Demon Dragon's rise out of the Depths.
Dash Attack: One of his attacks has him dashing forward with his naginata, leaving a trail of Gloom in his wake. He may dash multiple times in a row.
Death of Personality: It is said that the forbidden art of draconification irreversibly warps both a person's body and mind into a mindless beast. By swallowing his secret stone and transforming into the Demon Dragon, Ganondorf the Demon King Gerudo essentially kills himself just to get a slim chance of killing Link.
Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Blood Knight and Challenge Seeker. For Ganondorf, it's not enough to just win. He has to test his might against a worthy foe so his victory can truly feel complete. When Rauru tells him that Link will one day come to defeat him, Ganondorf replies that he looks forward to meeting him. But when he encounters Link in the present day and manages to both shatter the Master Sword and ravage his arm, Ganondorf is utterly disappointed and dismisses Link as a worthy adversary. And this ultimately becomes his downfall as by not treating Link seriously enough, it allowed Link to regain his strength, defeat his servants plaguing the temples, and awaken the new sages to bring the fight to Ganondorf personally. When Link proves powerful enough to actually defeat him, Ganondorf has a massive Villainous Breakdown and decides to swallow his Secret Stone and transform into a dragon, fully aware that this will cost him his mind, just because his massive ego cannot handle the prospect of defeat.
Defeat Equals Explosion: When Link and Zelda finally vanquish him, the Demon Dragon perishes in a mighty, atomic bomb-like explosion.
Die Laughing: After he swallows his stolen Secret Stone, he gives out a maniacal laughter as he is transformed into the mindless Demon Dragon, fully confident that he will succeed in killing Link and destroying Hyrule despite losing his mind and personality.
Demon of Human Origin: Stealing a secret stone and claiming it for himself augmented his dark magic to godlike extents, transforming the Gerudo warlord into the monstrous Demon King.
Despotism Justifies the Means: He has no problems with wiping out dissenters and replacing them with his own monsters as long as he ends up the one in charge.
Determinator: Counting his original defeat over 10,000 years in the past, this version of Ganondorf has been defeated/stalemated at least four times over by now, and has come back once again for a fifth attempt even faster than before, apparently out of sheer willpower and refusal to lose. All the devastation caused by Calamity Ganon can be attributed to Ganondorf's evil magic actively breaking through Rauru's seal, and even when faced with defeat at the hands of Link, Ganondorf intends to go down fighting to the bitter end with every last trick up his sleeves. But this determination is only fueled by his need for challenge, as it quickly dissipates the moment Ganondorf deems an opponent to be beneath his attention.
Detrimental Determination: His pride makes him very prone to proving himself the superior fighter and ruler, which really doesn't translate well if they're impeded. When he's defeated by Link, Ganondorf refuses to accept being bested by his challenger and prioritizes his pride over his pragmatism, choosing to gulp down his Secret Stone to gain more power in another attempt at killing Link. Sure he's gained a massive power boost, but his refusal to give up has cost him his sanity and rational thought, leaving Ganondorf as a mindless, demonic dragon that in gameplay proves to be less challenging to Link than he was as a man.
Devil's Pitchfork: While exploring the caverns beneath Hyrule Castle in one of the trailers, Zelda passes a torch in front of a mural depicting Ganondorf wielding a trident similar to the one he wields in A Link to the Past. In the game proper, he wields a naginata and various other weapons instead.
Doppelgänger Attack: In the second phase of the final boss fight, Ganondorf will summon four phantoms of himself as backup. However, Sidon, Yunobo, Riju, Tulin, and Mineru will arrive to provide backup for Link, mainly distracting the phantoms so Link can focus on Ganondorf. After enough damage, Ganondorf will absorb the phantoms for a powerup, unleashing a shockwave that knocks the new sages out of the fight and leaving Link to face Ganondorf alone.
Draconic Abomination: His final form, the aptly named Demon Dragon, is a massive, twisted combination of the benevolent Immortal Dragons and Calamity Ganon, fueled solely by Ganondorf's hatred of Link.
Dragons Are Demonic: He takes the form of the gargantuan, Gloom-radiating Demon Dragon during the final battle after swallowing his Secret Stone in a last ditch attempt to kill Link, combining this trope with Draconic Abomination as its power shakes the very sky and it's said to be impervious to anything short of the powered-up Master Sword.
Drone of Dread: The first phase of his battle starts with long, drawn-out droning noises combined with discordant instrumentation for a bit over a minute before gradually shifting to quicker, more melodic and drum-heavy music.
Drunk on the Dark Side: After he places the stolen Secret Stone on his forehead as his new crown, Ganondorf relishes the newfound power flowing into his veins and he goes complete megalomania with it. The more power he draws from the Secret Stone, the more bloodthirsty and insane he becomes.
Dub Name Change: His Demon Dragon form was simply called "黒龍" (kokuryuu, or "black dragon") in the Japanese version.
Dystopia Justifies the Means: Ganondorf's ideal kingdom is a world of darkness and eternal war, where all the inhabitants struggle to survive against the onslaught of the Demon King and his army. He despises Zonai technology not because it gave the Hyrule's citizens a better life compared to his people in Gerudo Desert, but because it made them into "weak, peace-loving cowards" that would make his conquest boring.

E-L

Early-Bird Cameo: When Calamity Ganon first assumes a physical form in Breath of the Wild, it gets a head with a red beard and a Cool Crown like Ganondorf.
Evil Counterpart:
- Ganondorf shares quite a few similarities to Link:
  - Ganondorf's origins in this iteration as The Ace of his kingdom and people, prodigy ascended to a position of power and prestige through his ability, and given fealty as the once-a-century King calls to mind Link's own prodigy status from birth, the child of a line of Hylian Knights, his being the holder of the Master Sword and the following that granted him from the kingdom's soldiers. The big difference is that while Link remains a humble and caring person despite his status, Ganondorf allowed his status and his lust for power to go to his head, turning him into a monster both figuratively and literally.
  - The Final Boss fight continues the comparisons as it is demonstrated that Ganondorf effectively was the Link of the Gerudo, as he demonstrates prowess in every form of weapon, just as Link does — one-handed, two-handed, lance, and bow all. He can swap between them at will, just like you do. He can used charged variants of attacks, just like you do. And he can even Perfect Dodge your attacks, and get the Bullet Time benefit from it, just like you do. Yours is still ultimately better, since Perfect Dodging his Flurry Rush is one of the better ways to hit him during his last phase.
  - Both were also put into stasis for a long time, but both the circumstances and results differ. Link was put in stasis to keep on living, not aging physically, but losing strength due to laying dormant. On the other hand, Ganondorf was put in stasis to keep him from everyone else, and while he definitely loses his handsome looks, he's still powerful enough to destroy the Master Sword in one attack. The experience also resulted in both of them having memory loss for different reasons, but whilst Link eventually recovered his past memories and identity, Ganondorf remains completely oblivious to the actions of Calamity Ganon all the way to the end, and only a select few are even aware the Calamity originates from or was Ganondorf at all, with the narrative almost treating them as entirely unrelated threats.
- He also serves as a counterpart to Zelda, mostly due to their dragon forms. Zelda became a dragon as part of a long-term plan to help Link, while Ganondorf became one in a last-ditch effort to beat him. Both transformations reach their climax with a shot of the character's eyes transforming into the eyes of the dragon, showing the character's final expression as the transformation takes hold. For Zelda, the focus is on her pain and fear as she sacrifices herself for the future. For Ganondorf, the focus is on his glee at the prospect of becoming the dragon and destroying Link.
- He is also one to Rauru. Both of them are kings with powerful magic and both are willing to get their hands dirty when the situation calls for it.. However, Rauru wields the power of light while Ganondorf wields the power of darkness in the form of Gloom. Rauru genuinely cares for his people while Ganondorf sees the Gerudo as expendable and is more than willing to turn on them with his new army of monsters once he becomes the Demon King. The contrast is even shown visually as his Demon King form is a twisted mirror of Rauru's own appearance, having flowing hair, horns, and the Secret Stone on his forehead being a stand in for Rauru's Third Eye.
Evil Is Bigger: Ganondorf, as always, is much taller and more muscular than Link. His dragon form is also much larger than Zelda's, and even the other dragons.
Evil Is Petty: When it comes to wreaking havoc on Hyrule, Ganondorf mixes in devastation with trivial cruelty. His monstrous assaults on the peoples of Hyrule include unleashing a Zombie Apocalypse upon the Gerudo, blizzards and starvation for the Rito, poisoning the Zora's water supply, and... getting the Gorons addicted to marbled rock roast so that they become lazy. As for his guise as Zelda, he uses his puppet to murder Queen Sonia, deceive the Great Fairies to deprive Link of their blessings to his armor, lure Link into traps with monsters, and... scare Zelda's horse, just because.
Evil Laugh:
- He laughs after he kills Queen Sonia, complete with a Slasher Smile.
- During the Final Boss battle, he laughs in evil pleasure after swallowing the Secret Stone as he's transforming into the Demon Dragon, overlapping with Laughing Mad.
Evil Makes You Monstrous: A Zig-Zagged case. In the past, back when he was considered a heroic and noble Gerudo king, Ganondorf was handsome enough to be eye-candy for both men and women. But when he stole the Secret Stone after killing Queen Sonia and harnessed its power to become the Demon King, his appearance became demonic and monstrous, almost a parody of a man. In present day, he's shriveled into a mummified husk but he can use his dark magic to restore his good looks as a mortal Gerudo... it's just that he prefers his Demon King visage. When he's backed into a corner by Link, Ganondorf devours his Secret Stone to become the animalistic Demon Dragon, symbolizing how far he's willing to sacrifice everything that is human about him for more power.
Evil Overlord: Was once the supreme ruler of the Gerudo Desert, and after ascending to the title of Demon King, he seeks to subjugate all of Hyrule.
Evil Plan: Actually Downplayed compared to past iterations. Whilst Ganondorf is fairly cunning, and showcased a willingness to resort to subterfuge against Hyrule when his attempt to weaken the kingdom with a monster swarm was thwarted by Rauru's immense power, recognizing that a direct attack wouldn't guarantee his victory against somebody wielding a Secret Stone, once he successfully assassinated Sonia and stole her stone to become a Physical God, he demonstrates no plans in mind beyond using his immense might to one-sidedly crush all opposition before him. Even when he resorts to distracting and dividing the various races of Hyrule with his servants causing chaos in their regions whilst he recuperates from his long imprisonment in the depths, he leaves the overseeing of these to his main servant Phantom Ganon, and his attitude and performance in battle against Link indicates it was purely optional for him rather than something he needed to do to buy time, believing his own might was all he needed to destroy his enemies once he began his conquest.
Evil Reactionary: Before fighting Link in the Japanese version, he remarks that "people felt far more conviction long ago", and explains that his goal is to turn back the clock to when the world was ideal — that is, when he ruled over and terrorized everyone as the Demon King.
Evil Redhead: Well, this is Ganondorf after all. It's not just that he's an evil man with red hair, but he's a demon king that is reviled by all who know him, which isn't hard to dispute as Ganondorf is willing to destroy all life on Hyrule if it means establishing a domain solely for himself.
Evil Sounds Deep: Regardless of language, Ganondorf sounds like if a volcano could talk.
Evil Sounds Raspy: In his undead state, his voice has a noticeable rasp to it.
Evil Weapon: Ganondorf's weapons — which can be obtained by beating Phantom Ganon — are manifested from Gloom and can only be safely wielded by him, as using them damages Link.
Facial Horror: Downplayed. Closeups reveal that the tines of the crown he wears as the Demon King actually pierce through his skin to hold on to his head.
Fallen Hero: He was once hailed as a hero to his people and a king by birthright, but his lust for power led him to become a monster that even they feared and hated. Ever since he became the Demon King, there never was another male Gerudo born (presumably because he was still alive) and the Gerudo people fully transitioned to a complete matriarchy. The only story told of Ganondorf in the present-day Gerudo folklore is how a vile demon named Ganon took the form of a Gerudo.
Gerudo Sage: He was our chief... before he changed. His obsession with power transformed him into a monster.
Fangs Are Evil: His undead state and his Demon King form have noticeable canines to further highlight his villainous nature.
Fantastic Racism: In the original Japanese version, part of his reason for wanting to destroy Hyrule stems from his hatred of the Zonai, as he believes they're responsible for the world "losing its courage". Given his Blood Knight tendencies, this likely means he believes using Zonai tech to fight for you is cowardly.
Fashionable Asymmetry: His one sleeve, resembling his robe in The Wind Waker, is only worn on his left arm.
Fatal Flaw: His overwhelming lust for power which stems from his equally overwhelming Pride. Ganondorf is The Ace, a warrior without peer, a mighty warlock besides, a devious mind, the hero of his people, a man of status and prestige above all others, and he knows it. Subsequently, he believes he is the only one fit to rule, as none are so great as he — that just by virtue of being Ganondorf, that he deserves everything. Likewise, one such as him deserves to have a worthy foe, so that he may feel his triumph is earned, even though he quite literally stole it. Specifically, he wants to be challenged, not to actually be defeated. When faced with the brink of just that at Link's hands, he suffers a cataclysmic Villainous Breakdown as his pride consumes all his reason, refusing to believe that he could be bested and willingly becoming an Almighty Idiot just to win, even if it wouldn't even qualify for a Pyrrhic Victory at that point as he'd no longer even be able to recognize if he'd won. Notably, Rauru outright invokes Ganondorf's Fatal Flaw shortly before sealing him in their final battle, noting his pride will be his undoing. At the time it was due to him looking down on the sages (not realizing they were in fact creating an opening for Rauru), but it would prove to apply to him in general.
Rauru: That pride will be your downfall, Ganondorf!
Faux Affably Evil: Downplayed. Ganondorf can act every bit as regal as you'd expect from a man of his status, but his malevolent nature is so thinly-veiled that it's borderline transparent. When he comes to pledge fealty to Rauru and Hyrule, both Rauru and Zelda can immediately see through his BS, with Rauru only playing along as a means to keep a close eye on him. And sure enough, once he murders Sonia and takes her Secret Stone, the true monster comes out, both figuratively and literally.
Fiery Redhead: His scarlet-colored hair compliments the fact that he's a blood-hungry warmonger who is eager to test his skill and powers against a worthy foe and gets pretty excitable when things go his way. Once he goes into his Demon King form, his hair literally resembles glowing flames erupting from a volcano.
Final Boss: Much like Breath of the Wild with Calamity Ganon, the player can simply go to Ganondorf at any time they so desire. Ganondorf will be there, ready to battle Link in a match that goes from standard form, to Demon King form to Demon Dragon. And with the announcement that the next title would not be a direct sequel to Tears of the Kingdom, this makes Ganondorf the final boss of the "Era of the Wilds" of the series.
Final-Exam Boss: Unlike every other boss in the game, Ganondorf has no exploitable weaknesses to stagger him. Randomly attacking will result in him either counter-attacking or dodging your strikes. The only way to do heavy damage is to read the telegraphed attacks of his whole arsenal and dodge in the right direction at the precise moment to active Flurry Rush, and his second phase demands you to do this twice in a row. In other words, players are required to have mastered the combat system to best Ganondorf.
Final Solution: He plans to cleanse Hyrule of all opposition to his rule, saying that's what a king must do. This amounts to everyone living in Hyrule.
Ganondorf: Rise. Rise, my servants. Sweep over Hyrule with the power I have granted you. Eliminate this kingdom and her allies. Leave no survivors!
Full-Boar Action: Oddly enough, averted this time around. While his Demon Dragon form does have a porcine nose, that's the only boar-like trait he has in any of his forms, and this remains one of only two games (the other being The Wind Waker) in which he never becomes Ganon.
Game Face: Initially, the form he appears throughout the game and interacts with Link in is his Demon King form, but so desiccated and weakened by the passage of time that he's become like a mummy. Upon Link finally managing to fight his way through his forces to reach him however, he reveals that he's already gathered enough strength to regain his full power, but purposefully assumes the form of his original Gerudo self pre-transformation as a self-imposed Power Limiter, not seeing Link as worthy of his full strength even after all his efforts. It's not until Link actually manages to out-fight him in this state that he re-assumes his rejuvenated Demon King form, and it's otherwise treated as being his true form after he transformed into a monster.
Genocide from the Inside: After transforming himself into the Demon King and creating an endless legion of demons, Ganondorf turns on his own people when they start resisting his rule, as he no longer needs them to conquer the world. In present day, Ganondorf unleashes a massive sandstorm upon Gerudo Town, and then follows up with swarms of Gibdo, all in an attempt to wipe out the Gerudo people and prevent the new Sage of Lightning from awakening.
A God Am I: Ganondorf is obsessed with ruling over all of Hyrule as an almighty king, particularly in the Japanese version, where he's even more egotistical than in English. But whether in the original or in localizations, he still clearly considers himself to be something above mortal beings.
Ganondorf (JP): I am... the ruler of everything... An omnipotent king!! I refuse to accept this! Not from a mere human whelp!!
Godhood Seeker: In the distant past, back when he was a mortal Gerudo, Ganondorf eyed for the Secret Stones, seeing them as the key to amplify his dark magic to god-like power levels. He finally got one after murdering Sonia, and abused the Secret Stone to become the omnipotent Demon King.
Greater-Scope Villain: Of Breath of the Wild. Calamity Ganon was nothing more than an animalistic, nearly-mindless manifestation of Ganondorf's hatred and malice that broke free from his body. And Ganondorf makes it clear that he remembers nothing as Calamity Ganon, since he only deduces that Link is the prophesied hero rather than recognizing him as the man who ruined his comeback a few years ago.
Green-Eyed Monster: He is envious of Rauru's god-like powers, which is the only aspect of the king he respects. When he sees that the power is coming from the Secret Stones, Ganondorf immediately accepts Rauru's invitation, something that he was implicitly holding off for a long time, just so he can get close and steal one to become a god-like being himself.
Hades Shaded: In his Demon King form, Ganondorf's skin changes from brown to charcoal grey — emphasizing his corrupted nature.
Hated by All: Ganondorf was once revered as a hero to the Gerudo people and a king by birthright. But upon becoming the Demon King, he would turn his demon army on his own people during his conquest of Hyrule. By the present day, he is a source of cultural shame for the Gerudo to the point that folklore refers to him as a demon taking the form of a Gerudo. He doesn't seem to mind at all. In fact, he seems happy about it because it means more enemies for him to defeat and flaunt his superiority to.
Healing Factor: It occurs quickly and subtly, but in the opening sequence of the game, after a shard of the Master Sword cuts open the side of Ganondorf's face, the wound remains for several moments, steaming...before sealing right back up as though it were never there. This serves to demonstrate that Ganondorf's body can regenerate from harm.
He's Back!: After being reduced to a seething, mindless abomination as Calamity Ganon, Ganondorf has returned as the scheming Evil Overlord he once was and is once again an active threat to Hyrule.
Hellish Horse: Just like in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess Ganondorf rides his Steed while commanding his minions to destroy Hyrule to make his new kingdom, though it only appears in one cutscene before abruptly vanishing.
He Was Right There All Along: Tears of the Kingdom reveals that Ganondorf, the source of the Great Calamity, has been underneath Hyrule Castle for thousands upon thousands of years without anyone outside the Royal Family being aware of his presence. This means that during Link's battle with Calamity Ganon at the end of Breath of the Wild, an even greater threat was lurking beneath his feet the entire time.
History Repeats:
- The Once-In-A-Century King of the Gerudo people curries favor with the King of Hyrule in an effort to infiltrate his court, but Princess Zelda suspects his treachery and enact a plan to undermine his ambitions. Her efforts only serve to backfire, as a last-moment's deception enables him to seize an opening granted to him by one of his destined foes to attain the very power he sought, usurping an artifact of the gods to attain unimaginable power and become the Demon King, ravaging Hyrule for years to come. Back on the Nintendo 64 once again, are we?
- Ganondorf is the mighty Demon King, who once raised an army of monsters in an attempt to wipe out his opponents and subjugate the surface world, only to be defeated by Hyrule's founder and sealed away. After the seal is weakened, he underestimates Link's strength, sends a powerful minion to wreak havoc across Hyrule and restore his power, and upon being defeated, transforms himself into a monstrosity to lay waste to Hyrule in a spiteful attempt to get the last laugh. While Tears of the Kingdom's place in the series' timeline is left ambiguous, the parallels between this Ganondorf and the Demon King Demise are downright uncanny.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Twice over:
- Ganondorf's Gloom successfully ruins all but a tiny handful of Hyrule's weapons, making it virtually impossible to mount an effective attack against him. However, he also strengthens the monsters of Hyrule, resulting in their horns growing to enormous sizes that make them excellent as replacement blades. While Link does it the most effectively of anyone thanks to his portable Fuse ability, by the time he reaches Gerudo Town they've also figured out how to replace their weapon blades with Lizalfos Horns. The Gloom also cracks open portals to the Depths, where the ghosts of Hyrule's fallen knights are waiting to grant Link restored weapons, and the end result of combining these two traits is that Link is actually made far more powerful by the Gloom's presence than he was without it.
- Ganondorf's last ditch attempt to kill Link and achieve ultimate power backfires spectacularly. By swallowing the Secret Stone and becoming an all-powerful, immortal dragon, Ganondorf has essentially erased his own mind, the very thing that makes him a greater threat than Calamity Ganon, and made his final phase much easier than his last two phases. Additionally, Ganondorf's soul is now bound to the Secret Stone and thus when Link destroys the stone, Ganondorf dies for good as the supposed immortal Demon Dragon explodes into oblivion.
Homing Projectile: When using his naginata, one of his attacks has him send out three blasts of Gloom that home in on Link. These can either be dodged or reflected back at him for damage.
Humanoid Abomination: He was once a mortal male Gerudo during the reign of the first King and Queen of Hyrule, but after he used Sonia's stolen Secret Stone to increase his powers to god-like levels, he became an immortal, monstrous Demon King. His demon form can be best described as a monster pretending to be human, with two devilish horns, sharp teeth, reptilian black eyes, a flowing flame-like mane, and a samurai outfit made of scales. The fact that he gained this form by using an Amplifier Artifact implies that he may not have been entirely human to begin with.
Hypocrite:
- Mocks Rauru for underestimating him and not using the full power of the Secret Stone. Ganondorf himself ends up meeting his end because he constantly underestimates Link and holds off on using his Secret Stone's full power for most of their fight.
- Ganondorf is a Social Darwinist who believes being the strongest entitles him to rule the world. This is the same man who resorted to underhanded methods, up to including killing Queen Sonia from behind to literally steal her power, when King Rauru's forces proved too much for him to overcome directly. He also has a massive Villainous Breakdown after Link beats him in the final battle, and resorts to destroying his own mind for the sake of raw power simply because someone upstaged him.
I Am Not Left-Handed: Occurs in several forms during his face-offs with Link:
- When they initially come across his sealed body underneath Hyrule Castle, he appears to be dead, mummified from the eons held in place by Rauru's seal. Then the seal finally falls off and he immediately starts moving again, lashing out with a tentacle of concentrated Gloom at Zelda that ravages Link's body and shatters the Master Sword before he even realizes what the weapon was. Seeing how poorly his destined opponent fares against him even in such a reduced state colors Ganondorf's opinion of Link thereafter, as he believes Link will be utterly incapable of facing him once his true strength returns if he falls so easily before him now.
- When they do finally fight in the Depths, he reveals that enough time has passed regardless of how quickly Link reached him for him to forcibly rejuvenate himself back to full strength, meaning he could have started his conquest of Hyrule at any point during Link's quest, but was utterly unmotivated to push himself against such lesser opponents for an easy victory. Furthermore, he initially fights Link in the form of his original Gerudo self rather than with his full Demon King power, still seeing him as not worth using that much strength to beat.
- When he finally assumes his Demon King form, he attacks Link alongside four Gloom clones of himself, each capable of wielding his weapons to fight Link beside his original body, and which require the aid of the sages to distract before be absorbs the clones for a final power boost and knocks the sages out for the last round solo against Link. Notably, this attitude is a massive handicap upon him (at least in gameplay), because by the time he does fight Link with everything he's got, he's lost a fair amount of health from their prior bouts, giving Link a better chance than if he'd faced him seriously from the start.
In Their Own Image: Ganondorf despises the Kingdom of Hyrule, believing that its era of peace and prosperity has made people weak in spirit. He intends to reshape the world as it once was before Hyrule's founding, a Social Darwinist's utopia where the strongest rule.
Irony:
- When first hearing his name back in the time of Hyrule's founding, Zelda is understandably wary of him because of how similar it is to Calamity Ganon's. For their own reasons, both she and Ganondorf are completely unaware that he is the calamity that plagued her life for so long.
- Ganondorf complains about how weak and unworthy Hyrule is. He only has himself to thank for it, given Calamity Ganon completely ravaged the place.
- Calamity Ganon, despite being almost mindless, proved to have enough intelligence in it to learn from its past defeats, allowing it to effectively destroy Hyrule upon its second resurrection by targeting and infecting the Divine Beasts and Guardians before they could be used against it. Ganondorf, despite being smarter than it, lacks the memories of his time as the Calamity, and thus winds up repeating the same mistake that cost it the Final Battle against Link: sacrificing everything for sheer raw power as a massive Kaiju monster, which is less effective to fight Link because how how agile he is, and how both forms lack intelligence to properly direct their immense might against him. Wheres Calamity Ganon did so as a last resort since Link had beaten it so badly it was barely able to hold its body together, it's made clear that Ganondorf had several options to deal with Link matching him in a fight, but his immense Pride and narcissism prevented him thinking about how to best respond to Link's challenge in favor of an immediate and overwhelming victory.
It's All About Me: Ganondorf plans to become Hyrule's new king and doesn't care about the inhabitants living in the land already. In fact, he's more than happy to wipe them all out and replace them with his demon servants created from his evil magic. Not even his own people, the Gerudo, are safe from his warmongering.
It's Personal:
- Despite their historical animosity over the course of the franchise, he actually averts this attitude towards Link throughout the game, dismissing him as unworthy of his time after he easily bests him even whilst greatly diminished and viewing his various successes against his monstrous servants as utterly futile attempts at stopping him, as his full restored powers make his victory all but certain. He only expresses any inkling of who Link is because Rauru and a time-displaced Zelda placed their faith in him to stop him, and makes it clear that he considers the sentiment misplaced in every interaction he has with him — in fact, the fact he's "destined" to fight Link at all visibly irritates him more than anything the Swordsman does.
- However, when Link succeeds in actually besting him at the height of his powers, this sentiment comes rushing back in full force. Ganondorf happily sacrifices his mind and body to become the unstoppably powerful Demon Dragon to personally obliterate Link several times over and then destroy Hyrule just to spite at his role as the land's protector. Despite losing most of his personality, enough remains of Ganondorf that the Dragon singles Link out amongst the allies united against him and drags him to the surface. Even when the similarly-sized draconified Zelda joins the fight and rescues Link, Ganondorf makes a single attempt to bite her before aiming all his subsequent attacks towards him rather than attacking the Light Dragon herself or lashing out at the kingdom below, directing all his power and rage against an insignificantly tiny opponent out of pure hatred for Link.
Jerkass: In contrast to the original Ganondorf, who was more than willing to throw out compliments when he felt it was warranted and could even be Affably Evil in some games, this version of him is a condescending Narcissist who can barely contain his contempt for everyone around him, insults Link during every encounter (even when Link proves to be a worthy opponent), and not only murders Queen Sonia, but also laughs and mocks her husband over it.
Katanas Are Just Better: Fitting his new Samurai motif, his main weapon is a katana.
Kick the Dog: Murdering Queen Sonia and stealing her Secret Stone was bad enough, but Ganondorf goes the extra mile by mocking King Rauru that her death was his fault because he never used his Secret Stone at its full potential. It's enough for Rauru to (understandably) lose his cool and nearly attack the Demon King head-on.
The Kingslayer: He murdered Queen Sonia to take her Secret Stone. He's also indirectly responsible for King Rauru's death, as the latter sacrificed himself to seal Ganondorf away.
Knight of Cerebus: This Ganondorf does not mess around. Of his many incarnations, it's not a stretch by any means that this Ganondorf is the most powerful both from a story and gameplay perspective. His very introduction at the start of of the game has him breaking the Master Sword in two. AKA the very weapon designed specifically to kill him. He manages to obtain a Demise-like form, with all the power that entails. To even get to him, the player has to go through a literal army of monsters and, if the player hasn't beaten the dungeons, the four dungeon bosses back to back as well. And once you do manage to get to him, he is no slouch in combat either, with the first two phases of his fight being regarded as one of the most difficult Ganondorf fights in the series so far. Despite Tears of the Kingdom generally being Lighter and Softer than Breath of the Wild, whenever Ganondorf is on screen, the threat he presents is always played deadly serious.
Know When to Fold 'Em: When confronted with the fact that Rauru's power was so extraordinary that a direct attack would wipe Ganondorf's Gerudo forces off the face of Hyrule should it come to that, Ganondorf buckled down and swore fealty to the Kingdom. Of course it was just a ruse to trick and manipulate them internally so he could murder Queen Sonia for the Secret Stone, something both Zelda and Rauru had tried to plan for yet still got caught off-guard on, but it says a lot that a man so utterly sociopathic and egotistical realized even he had met his match and had to give Rauru the roundabout.
Large and in Charge: The Gerudo are over 7 feet tall at their adult heights, but Ganondorf still visibly dwarfs them all, on top of also being much bulkier.
Laughing Mad: As he transforms into the Demon Dragon and loses his mind for good, Ganondorf lets out one last, utterly unhinged laugh.
Leaking Can of Evil: His decomposing body has been sealed at the bottom of a deep cave by a strange disembodied arm. Nevertheless, it turns out that Calamity Ganon was leaking out of his can, and at the start of this one, tendrils of evil substance called Gloom — a concentrated form of Malice — are oozing out of his abdomen, and when the arm finally falls off his body, a huge geyser of Gloom bursts out of Ganondorf's body and after briefly being repelled it destroys the Master Sword and ravages Link's arm.
Legacy Character: This is a new incarnation of Ganondorf, not either of the previous ones.
Legend Fades to Myth: Ganondorf's life and actions seem to have been completely forgotten by the people of Hyrule, who only know him as his Calamity Ganon incarnation. Not counting item descriptions, the only remnants of his human identity that are confirmed to survive are an old legend that the Calamity once incarnated as a Gerudo, and stories of an evil man who was once opposed by the Hero of Time (and there are too few extant records of the latter for anyone to realize that the evil man of that time was a previous incarnation of the Demon King currently threatening Hyrule).
Lightning Bruiser: As the final battle demonstrates, despite being a hulking mountain of a man, Ganondorf can move with frightening speed to the point that he can even dodge Link in the middle of a Flurry Rush. And his attacks are powered by Gloom, which can take off some of Link's max health.
Lost in Translation: While not completely "lost", the English dub of Tears of the Kingdom significantly downplays the finer details of his motivations compared to the original Japanese script. As explained in further detail here, he considers Rauru to look down upon him as a god-like king, sees the demon-ruled warlike past as having given the world more courage and fighting spirit, and yearns to return the world to such a state, believing that the chaotic "world of demons" was the world's rightful state.
Lunacy: Ganondorf, and by extension Calamity Ganon, are closely associated with the Blood Moon, which has the power to resurrect all the monsters slain by Link. Tears of the Kingdom reveals that Blood Moon first came into being when Ganondorf became the Demon King and summoned his army, implying that his sheer power brought the moon into being. When the Secret Stone is forced out from the Demon dragon's forehead after enough damage is dealt to it, the Blood Moon again rises in the background of the aerial duel, and noticeably backlights Link as he strikes the final blow on the stone. With Ganondorf's destruction, the moon too evaporates and restores the land to daylight.

M-S

Manipulative Bastard: As always. This time around, Ganondorf manages to play Rauru and Sonia like a fiddle by swearing allegiance to them, thus allowing him to get closer, and taking advantage of their blatant distrust to lure Sonia into a trap, catch her off-guard, and kill her in order to obtain her Secret Stone. Even in the present day, Ganondorf continues to manipulate Link (largely For the Evulz because he doesn't view him as a genuine threat) by spreading chaos across Hyrule through Phantom Ganon as he slowly regenerates his power.
Manly Man: Ganondorf sports a hulking, muscular physique that surpasses practically every other character in the franchise, along with a threateningly deep voice, courtesy of Matthew Mercer.
Maou the Demon King: Ancient legends depicting the Imprisoning War only refer Ganondorf as the Demon King and murals depict him commanding legions of monsters and demons to slaughter Hyrule's forces. It's revealed in flashbacks that Ganondorf was originally a mortal Gerudo who became an immortal and all-powerful Demon King after he corrupted Sonia's Secret Stone as his own, with his appearance now sporting horns, flowing fire-like hair, sharp teeth, demonic eyes, and scaly skin.
Master of Illusion: One of Ganondorf's magical abilities is the power to create realistic illusions of others. He uses an illusion of Zelda in an attempt to assassinate Sonia for her Secret Stone and in the present day, uses illusions of Zelda to spread chaos throughout Hyrule and distract Link while he regains his strength.
Maximum HP Reduction: All of Ganondorf's attacks are powered by Gloom, which will take off some of Link's max health. Unlike the Gloom effect in the main game, which is reversible with the right treatment, being the source of the stuff means that Ganondorf's attacks remove the hearts from Link's health entirely, just like when he corrupted him with Gloom in the game's beginning, meaning a battle of attrition is a difficult prospect unless you're really good at dodging. In his Demon Dragon form, on top of his fireballs deleting hearts as well, Ganondorf's body radiates so much Gloom that it will steadily drain Link's health the longer he stays on him.
Meaningful Rename: His final form doesn't have "Ganondorf" or "Ganon" anywhere in the name, instead being known as the Demon Dragon. Anyone who undergoes draconification is said to suffer a Death of Personality; the name "Demon Dragon" reflects how Ganondorf himself is effectively already dead, and what remains is merely the last vestige of his power.
Might Makes Right: Power is everything to him, and thus the most powerful being should be the rightful ruler of Hyrule. He considers Rauru to be a weak king because he had god-like powers to subjugate the entire world through brute force yet chose the path of peace and diplomacy instead, allowing the world, in Ganondorf's mind, to become soft and weak.
Milking the Giant Cow: He extends his arms outward in an open embrace, laughing maniacally as he transforms into the Demon Dragon.
Mirror Boss: Not only can he swap between weapons just like Link can, but he will evade a Flurry Rush with the same Bullet Time effect as Link used to initiate it. However the one strategy of Link's that he never mimics, despite apparently having the ability to create matter from concentrated Gloom, is using shields or armour to defend himself against his adversary's blows, only using skilful reflexes to dodge and counterattack or his skin's innate toughness in his Demon King form. This is presumably another aspect of his massive ego, disregarding any attempts to block or negate his adversary's "weak" blows as a show of his superior might, which just allows Link to slowly wear him down instead.
Misanthrope Supreme: Ganondorf doesn't think very highly of Hyrule's current population, human or otherwise, outright calling them "weak, peace-loving cowards".
Monster Progenitor: Calamity Ganon's true origins are an offshoot of Ganondorf's power given life, making him this to both the Calamity and the Blight Ganons. It's later revealed that all of the monsters that roam Hyrule in the present day - the Bokoblins, Moblins, Hinoxes, Lizalfoses, and Lynels - were not just corrupted but outright created by him with the influence of the Blood Moon, explaining why they resurrect whenever the Blood Moon rises.
Morphic Resonance: His Demon Dragon form retains his mane of red hair as well as his red and black eyes in his Demon King form, as well as having a porcine snout that resembles various iterations of Ganon; among the numerous horns the dragon sports are some whose shape and placement reflect both the Demon King's horns and Dark Beast Ganon's tusks. It's also much larger than the Light Dragon, perhaps reflecting the size difference in their original bodies.
Mr. Fanservice: In this game, Ganondorf wears garb similar to Link's Desert Voe outfit from Breath of the Wild, which bares most of his chest and shows off his muscular physique for all to see, not to mention with Tears of the Kingdom giving Ganondorf dialogue allows Matthew Mercer to portray him with a spine-chilling baritone that's bound to have earned a few fangirls and fanboys. Game director Hidemaro Fujibayashi even noted that Ganondorf's new design was very much intentional, as he wanted to depict Ganondorf in a way that made him Obviously Evil, yet would still give him enough sex appeal to attract men and women alike.
Multi-Melee Master: Throughout the final battle, Ganondorf will cycle through his Gloom Sword, Gloom Club, Gloom Spear, and the Demon King's Bow for his attacks.
Mummy: Though he lacks the bandages typical for the trope (a trait shared with the Sheikah Monks of the previous game), Ganondorf has decayed into a desiccated husk of his former self after being sealed beneath Hyrule Castle for thousands of years. The introductory portion of the game, where Link and Zelda explore this area for the first time, is even visually similar to a mummy's tomb.
Mythology Gag:
- His robe and sword resemble the ones his incarnation in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker sported. And like his Wind Waker incarnation, he ultimately dies when Link runs the Master Sword through his head and destroys the stone embedded in it.
- His kneeling before King Rauru and offering a false pledge of loyalty is very close to the scene where Zelda spies on him in Ocarina of Time.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: In-Universe, Ganondorf's name gives Zelda pause because it reminds her of Calamity Ganon, unaware that they are one and the same.
Narcissist: Ganondorf sees himself as an all-powerful king and warrior and is unafraid of showing off his authority and power toward others. He honestly and openly sees himself as better than everybody else in Hyrule and the main reason he doesn't fight Link is that he sees the hero as being beneath him and an unworthy challenger. The only time Link even gets the Demon King's attention is when he's grown strong enough, only because Ganondorf starts to see him as a threat to his power and ambitions.
Naginatas Are Feminine: Inverted. Ganondorf is a tall, muscular man, and he can summon and perform a powerful Dash Attack with a naginata.
No Challenge Equals No Satisfaction: Ganondorf hates the present-day denizens of Hyrule because he perceives them to be too weak and peaceful to last as long as their ancestors during the Imprisoning War. He mentions how it would be more satisfying to overcome a more worthy foe.
Obviously Evil: The game doesn't even bother trying to hide that Ganondorf is the main villain. This is even commented on In-Universe. When Ganondorf arrives to pledge fealty to Hyrule, both Zelda and Rauru immediately can tell he's lying through his teeth, with Rauru only playing along as a means to keep an eye on him. And those suspicions are proven correct as Ganondorf assassinates Sonia and takes her Secret Stone.
Zelda: (after Ganondorf leaves after swearing fealty) King Rauru... I believe that man's heart holds many dark ambitions. Just his name... Even that... It gives me pause.
Rauru: I am well aware of his evil nature. For that reason, and others, I want him close. It will be easier to keep an eye on him. There is nothing to worry about.
Omnicidal Maniac: Once he became the Demon King through the stolen Secret Stone, his plan to rule the world immediately morphed into a campaign of death and destruction, with clear instructions to his army to leave no survivors including his own people. In the Japanese version, just before swallowing the Secret Stone, he vows to "let eternal darkness bring the world to its end" out of spite at being defeated by Link and the Sages.
The One Guy: While others are stated to have existed, he is the only known male Gerudo encountered in the setting. In Ocarina of Time it was claimed that a single male is born among the Gerudo every 100 years, but Creating a Champion claims there have been no male Gerudo born since Ganondorf, whose birth goes back over ten thousand years before the events of Breath of the Wild. Tears of the Kingdom states the "every 100 years" rule applied to these Gerudo as well, implying that no men being born after him was due to Ganondorf not being dead but sealed away under Hyrule.
One-Man Army: Ganondorf is able to take on and nearly kill all of the Sages at once, and it takes nothing short of Rauru pulling a Heroic Sacrifice to seal him away... and even then, due to Ganondorf's immense power, said seal is only temporary. After getting sick of the new Sages interfering with his battle during the Final Boss, Ganondorf uses his power to incapacitate all of them in one fell swoop, further cementing him as this trope.
One-Winged Angel: When he transforms himself into the Demon King, his Gerudo form mutates into a horned humanoid demon cloaked in darkness and flaming hair. As the Demon King, he's far more powerful than anything Link has faced before, with devastating Gloom-infused attacks and an absurdly large health bar. And after being bested by Link, he swallows his Secret Stone in a desperate bid to win, performing the forbidden act of Draconification and becoming the Demon Dragon.
Oni: While his human form resembles a classic Samurai or Ronin, His Demon King form resembles a classical description of an Oni, having two devilish horns on his head, wielding a kanabō, and being a violent bloodthirsty warmonger.
Only the Worthy May Pass: He self-invokes this against his enemies, befitting his standards of "worthy". Whilst steadily rejuvenating himself down in the Depths, he seals off his resting spot with a massive door that only opens after Link successfully traverses the Gloom-saturated caverns, fights off a small army of monsters guarding the gateway and faces off against any surviving boss monsters from the main Quest, before allowing entry. This ensures that whomever actually manages to reach him has to be at least a One-Man Army who can give him a decent fight before he inevitably defeats them and lays waste to Hyrule — and even when Link successfully does all of that, he makes it clear that his success has only marginally improved his opinion of his opponent in any way.
Orcus on His Throne: He could have hunted down Link himself, but being revived as a mummy and not at his prime means he has to spend the majority of the game within the Hyrule Castle depths restoring his former power, while his phantom does all the dirty work at the surface disguised as Zelda and keeping Link busy. Over 10,000 years of being in an out-of-body state can give you such a crick in the neck, y'know?. Even when he's recovered enough to finish Link off personally, he just doesn't see the need to make said effort until Link stands before him because he considers his foes unworthy of pushing himself to fight early, believing the outcome won't change regardless of how formidable they become.
Our Liches Are Different: Ganondorf's depiction in this game definitely fits the definition of a lich. He's introduced as a Not Quite Dead mummy entombed under Hyrule Castle, who unleashes potent magic once he is unsealed. He also fits the "destructively ambitious" archetype of a lich, since he is ruthless in his pursuit of unlimited power which he wants to use to not just conquer Hyrule, but destroy it entirely. Moreover, in his most powerful form his soul is bound to the artifact enhancing his power, and the only way to kill him is to destroy said artifact.
Phlebotinum Muncher: Unable to handle the blow to his ego after being defeated, Ganondorf swallows his Secret Stone and uses it to transform into the mindless Demon Dragon.
Physical God: Afer taking Sonia's Secret Stone and becoming the Demon King, Ganondorf's power increases to virtually godlike levels. His very presence casts Hyrule in a state of perpetual darkness and generates Gloom, a concentrated, more corrosive form of Malice that corrupts all life it comes into contact with as well as summons countless monsters to do his bidding. His power is so great that Rauru and the Sages were unable to defeat him and Rauru had to sacrifice himself just to seal Ganondorf away so Link can finish him off in the future.
Painting the Medium: Ganondorf's powers affect the game itself:
- In the prologue, his Gloom corrupting Link is shown as his heart containers, the game's equivalent of a health bar, being deleted until only three remain; during the later stages of his boss battle, Ganondorf's projectile attacks can once again permanently delete Link's heart containers.
- While the health bars of other boss enemies are roughly about the length of the Boss Subtitles, upon assuming his Demon King form, Ganondorf's health refills to full and then extends all the way to the far right of the screen, as if to warn players that this enemy is far stronger than any foe Link has faced so far.
Pointy Ears: He doesn't have them, which is significant because by the time of Breath of the Wild, all the other Gerudo do. Depending on the telling, this is either the result of generations of interbreeding with pointy-eared Hylians, or because their cultural shame over giving rise to Ganondorf led to them opening themselves up to the Goddess Hylia.
Power Echoes: As the Demon King, Ganondorf's voice gains a noticeable echo effect to show off his sheer power.
The Power of Hate: Ganondorf is shown radiating an evil substance called Gloom (a more potent, corrosive form of Malice), even as a sealed, mummified corpse. Moreover, despite his mind being sealed away for over ten thousand years his hatred was so powerful it broke out of his body in the form of Calamity Ganon.
Pragmatic Villainy: When his attempt to attack the Kingdom of Hyrule with a swarm of Molduga fails miserably due the power of Rauru's Secret Stone, Ganondorf immediately gives up on trying to invade Hyrule the normal way. As indicated by his actions later on in the game, this isn't because he actually cares about his fellow Gerudo being defeated and/or killed in a full-scale invasion, but because he knows that trying to do so would only extinguish the forces at his disposal and thus end his conquest for power immediately. Once he gains Sonia's Secret Stone however, Ganondorf gleefully sheds this trope, no longer needing to plan ahead or use the Gerudo for his goals.
Prefers Going Barefoot: He, along with almost everyone else from the past, goes almost barefoot, wearing only foot wraps and toe rings. His footsteps sound surprisingly heavy in spite of this.
Pretender Diss: When Ganondorf reawakens from his more than ten-thousand year slumber, the first thing he does is lash out at Zelda upon recognizing her, with Link getting in the way. As Link's arm is mutilated and the Master Sword is shattered against Ganondorf's torrential power, Ganondorf comes to realize that must have been "The Sword that Seals the Darkness", and thus this must be the Link he had heard so much about. His sheer disappointment in what he's beheld makes this trope plain:
Ganondorf: Rauru placed his faith in you... (Disgusted sneer) ...and that was all you could do?
Pyrrhic Victory: Ganondorf's determination to win cost him everything in the long run. His success of stealing the Secret Stone and becoming the Demon King drove his people away, leaving him with only mindless monsters to command. His near victory over Rauru ended with him being sealed away for thousands of years, with his legend being nearly forgotten in modern day. His attempts to escape and destroy Hyrule Kingdom through Calamity Ganon succeeded all too well, leaving him nothing but remnants of resistance too weak to give him the thrill of challenge. And had his final attempt to kill Link succeeded, he would have been stuck forever as a mindless Demon Dragon, unable to savor the victory over his hated enemy he so craved for.
Rage Quit: In the end, after losing two bouts in a row to Link, Ganondorf simply turns himself into a dragon to raze everything to the ground.
Readings Are Off the Scale: In the prior game and Tears, the various boss-type enemies has Boss Subtitles displayed at the top of the screen alongside their health bars, roughly about the length of said subtitles. Upon assuming his Demon King form during the second round of his Final Boss fight, Ganondorf's health refills to full and then extends all the way to the far right of the screen, demonstrating just how much power and vitality he has in this state.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: The Gloom that Ganondorf is shown radiating is red and black, contrasting the purple and magenta color of Malice of Breath of the Wild.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Ganondorf is shown to have glowing red pupils as he lets out a battle-cry, wreathed in a Battle Aura of Gloom.
Repeated Cue, Tardy Response: Apparently Rauru had sent multiple invites to Ganondorf requesting him to form an alliance between the Gerudo and Hyrule. During the meeting, Ganondorf apologizes to Rauru and Sonia for taking so long on responding to the invites... But Ganon being Ganon, one can't help but wonder if he ignored the invitation on purpose because he was busy planning to conquer the kingdom, or if he just found the repeated invites annoying.
Ret-Canon: Ganondorf in this game incorporates his Blood Knight tendencies first seen in his incarnation in the spin-off Hyrule Warriors, though they are far more pronounced in this appearance.
Revenant Zombie: Ganondorf's mummified corpse is discovered by Link and Zelda sealed in an underground chamber deep below Hyrule Castle. However, Ganondorf reanimates and unleashes an earthquake, causing Hyrule Castle to rise into the sky atop a geyser of Gloom.
Rōnin: Ganondorf only wearing one sleeve of his kimono is meant to evoke stereotypical depictions of rōnin, emphasizing his nature as a ruthless warlord.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: A rare villainous version, since he states that crushing any opposition and ruling is what a King must do for his subjects, ie, his monsters.
Sadist: As shown when he murders Queen Sonia with a vicious grin plastered all over his face, it's clear Ganondorf enjoys causing suffering for its own sake. It heavily overlaps with his Blood Knight tendencies.
Samurai: His design and mindset evoke a particularly villainous one. His outfit resembles a very pared-down take on a kimono, complete with a Samurai Ponytail. His Demon King form looks like an Oni. His weapons are based on traditional Japanese weapons (the Gloom Sword is a katana, the Gloom Club is a kanabo, the Gloom Spear is a naginata, and the Demon King's Bow is a Yumi). His battle themes feature traditional Japanese instruments like shamisens and tomba drums. And his Blood Knight, Challenge Seeker personality and Social Darwinist ideology, where he desires for Hyrule to be in a constant state of battle so that it will someday produce an opponent to give him a satisfying fight, seems like a more wicked and violence-glorifying interpretation of bushido.
Samurai Ponytail: Befitting the new katana/Gloom Sword he wields, he ties his long hair up in a topknot and ponytail this time.
Sanity Has Advantages: Zigzagged. This Ganondorf, unlike Calamity Ganon, is a rational being who can use cunning to achieve his objectives... but this also came with a major Fatal Flaw that Calamity Ganon didn't possess: Pride. Calamity Ganon was a No-Nonsense Nemesis and only left itself vulnerable as Dark Beast Ganon in desperation after Link had countered everything else it tried, while Ganondorf invited his own defeat by letting Link level up and then throwing a tantrum and turning himself into the Demon Dragon when Link beat him in a fight. This is played straight with his Demon Dragon transformation, on the other hand; the Demon Dragon is something of a Clipped-Wing Angel because it is mindless and thus leaves openings for Link that his normal self wouldn't.
Sanity Slippage: As is traditional for the character, the more power Ganondorf obtains, the less intelligent and devious he becomes. Notably, he goes from accepting the fact that he can't best Rauru in a head-on fight and falsely swearing fealty to find another way to get what he wants, to sacrificing any semblance of self in a petty, vindictive rage when he's beaten by Link just once.
Sanity Strengthening: After the hand of Rauru falls off from his chest, Ganondorf's corpse comes to life and, unlike Calamity Ganon, is sentient enough to speak directly to Link and Zelda. With his cunning mind restored, the Demon King becomes an even greater threat than Calamity Ganon as he still intends to destroy Hyrule and remake it as a land of darkness.
Satanic Archetype: As the only male Gerudo of his time, Ganondorf was made a king by birthright and was hailed as a hero among his people. However, Ganondorf's pride and lust for power led him to attempt to take over the Kingdom of Hyrule by falsely swearing allegiance to the king and murdering Queen Sonia for her Secret Stone, using its power to transform into the monstrous Demon King. With his newfound power, Ganondorf led his monster army in a great war for conquest before being defeated and sealed deep beneath the earth. His final form is the Demon Dragon, and dragons are commonly associated with the Devil. For bonus points, in the Japanese version, he even vows to drag Link and his friends to Hell before swallowing the Secret Stone.
Scaled Up: When even his all-powerful Demon King form is decisively defeated by Link in battle, he undergoes a Villainous Breakdown and in a last desperate act swallows his Sage Stone, turning him into a gargantuan Demon Dragon. However, it is, at best, a Clipped Winged Angel as far as gameplay is concerned and is thus actually easier for Link to defeat, because despite gaining immense power (and only even being able to be fought at all because of the Light Dragon's assistance), he loses all semblance of his intelligence and attacks rather mindlessly.
Sealed Evil in a Can: Ganondorf's mummified corpse is sealed in a subterranean chamber with Rauru's Zonai arm embedded in his chest. Despite this, Gloom oozes from his body — implied to be the source of Malice and the Calamity Ganon manifestation from Breath of the Wild.
Seeking Ultimate Strength: Ganondorf cares about gaining power and nothing else. His ultimate dream is to be the most powerful being in existence, and is more than willing to make others suffer for it. Ganondorf will always try to seek out opponents and enjoys the thrill of victory, often sapping them away from their strength to make his own. When he is done, Ganondorf wants to plunge the world into darkness simply so that everyone knows who the strongest in all of Hyrule really is. Ganondorf is so powerful, in fact, that a lot of it had to be expelled from his body. This is what ultimately created Malice, Gloom, and even Calamity Ganon.
Slasher Smile: Sports this upon killing Queen Sonia, complete with an Evil Laugh.
Smug Super: He's arrogant and narcissistic, but he has the overwhelming power to back up his smug personality. His entire boss fight consists of him gradually using more and more of his Demon King powers just to taunt Link. It's literally after you bring down his massive HP bar to zero that Ganondorf's smugness disappears and he's faced with the real possibility of defeat.
The Social Darwinist: Ganondorf believes that an ideal Hyrule is a world where everyone have to fiercely fight to live another day, weeding out the weak and leaving the strongest to rule. He despises peace because he believes it makes people weak, which is explicit in the Japanese version where he laments how the people "lost their courage" in present-day. Because of this mindset, it's not enough for Ganondorf to simply rule Hyrule. He has to conquer the land by force and make his enemies fight him at their fullest potential just to prove himself to be the only being worthy of ruling the world.
The Sociopath: He is a cruel, evil tyrant defined by his lust for power, his charismatic persona, his indulgence in violence for the sake of it, his lack of remorse or empathy to anyone, and a self-centered view of himself.
Sore Loser: Ganondorf would rather forgo his pragmatism and sanity than ever admit being defeated. He's so shaken at Link besting him that he decides to swallow Queen Sonia's Secret Stone just to prolong his fight and get enough strength to kill Link and the Sages, not caring that the draconification would result in him losing his sense of self.
Spin Attack: One of his attacks with his katana has him perform a Gloom-empowered spin attack.
Spiteful Suicide: One interpretation of his choosing to knowingly sacrifice his mind and body to become the Demon Dragon as a last-ditch effort to kill Link. Despite having other options, such as fleeing the battlefield, his pride will not allow him to admit defeat against a "mere mortal", and through consuming the stone to become a mindless beast that will destroy everything, especially his hated foe, Ganondorf also no longer has to live with the knowledge that he genuinely lost to Link despite all his advantages, implying he'd rather kill himself metaphorically than accept defeat.
Storyboarding the Apocalypse: At Hyrule Castle, Ganondorf gives Link and his allies a vision of the past where he created an army of monsters under the Blood Moon and then led them across Hyrule to conquer and destroy everything in sight. He promises them that this is the inevitable future for Hyrule once he's fully recovered, and that they should prepare themselves for imminent deaths.
Strong and Skilled: He's not only got the raw might that made Calamity Ganon such a threat even whilst lacking most of its mind, he can control that strength much more efficiently with his own mind restored to him, fighting Link in an elegant display of martial skill with his varied weapons, each of which hit like a truck. The ultimate display of how skilled he is shown with his ability to dodge a Flurry Rush and counter-attack Link, whereas against any other enemy before it was a guaranteed hit.
Suddenly Voiced: Tears of the Kingdom is the first game in the series to give Ganondorf fully voice acted dialogue.
Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum: Outraged that he could be bested by a mere mortal and unwilling to accept defeat, even temporarily, Ganondorf swallows his stolen Secret Stone to transform himself into the Demon Dragon, a mindless monster bent on destroying Link and Hyrule. This form offers him no actual benefits as he would neither know if he actually succeeds in killing Link nor be able to rule over anything due to his mindless state. The only real benefit it gives him is not being aware of his imminent defeat by Link and Zelda.
Sword Beam: Ganondorf can fire projectiles made of Gloom from his kanabo and his naginata.

T-Y

Take Over the World: Since his days as a Gerudo King in the earliest records of history, Ganondorf has always sought to conquer the land of Hyrule, viewing the subjugation of the sacred land as the ultimate display of his assumed right to rule. When he obtained the power to do by killing Queen Sonia and stealing her Secret Stone, he created a huge army of demons to invade Hyrule and wipe out anyone who opposed him. After being revived in the present-day of Tears of the Kingdom, Ganondorf intends to finish that goal, complete with the bloodshed of all his enemies.
Taking You with Me: Ganondorf knows he's essentially killing himself by transforming into a dragon, but he doesn't care as long as it means taking Link and Hyrule to complete destruction. This trope is made more explicit in the Japanese version, where he uses the word michidzure (道連れ, or "taking someone [e.g. in death] against their will") to describe his actions.
Technically-Living Zombie: His body appears to be mummified from being sealed in place by Rauru's Heroic Sacrifice for over 10,000 years, long enough that his opponent's body has long decayed to dust save for his right arm still maintaining the seal on his chest and heart. When that arm falls off however, he starts moving again within seconds, showing that he was actually preserved and kept alive even as a desiccated husk within his mortal body, bound unmoving as the years stripped away his vitality.
Tennis Boss: His projectiles can once again be reflected back at him during his boss fight with a well-timed sword swing. It's a bit downplayed here since it's not necessary to beat him, and he won't send them back to you, but it does let you get a bit of damage in on him at safe distance. This incarnation of Ganondorf also has a unique variation of the traditional gimmick where he and Link can back-and-forth each other's Perfect Dodges until one of them misses the dodge timing, allowing the other to land a Flurry Rush.
Terminal Transformation: The draconification process erases Ganondorf's mind and identity and while it is possible to reverse the transformation (as seen with Zelda), Ganondorf never gets the chance as the Demon Dragon's Secret Stone gets destroyed by Link, dooming Ganondorf to die as a mindless beast.
There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Ganondorf's final attempt to kill Link is transform himself into an all-powerful, immortal Demon Dragon. It dwarfs every other dragon in the game and has the power to destroy Hyrule with ease, yet this Draconified Demon King exclusively targets Link.
They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: For centuries, the people of Hyrule had forgotten his origins and only knew him as a monstrous, indescribable terror. He reveals himself in Tears of the Kingdom to be a tall, seemingly middle-aged man, one who just happened to stumble on a bit too much power in the past.
Throw the Sheath Away: As he prepares to fight Link for the last time, he drops his saya.
Time Abyss: He's the longest living incarnation of Ganondorf period. While the original Ganondorf/Ganon has been an Ancient Evil in many games, he's only a few centuries years old at best when he finally breaks his seal. This Ganondorf has been sealed away by the first King of Hyrule, and Tears of the Kingdom takes place more than 10,000 years after the Kingdom of Hyrule's foundation.
Took a Level in Badass: He was a mortal Gerudo gifted in dark magic but he became an all-powerful, nigh immortal Demon King after stealing and corrupting Sonia's Secret Stone for himself. And unlike his previous counterparts, this Ganondorf is powerful enough to shatter the Master Sword with his corroding Gloom alone.
Un-person: Ganondorf's name and identity have undergone this over the course of history. At the time of the Imprisoning War, the Gerudo knew and admitted that Ganondorf was one of their own before he changed, but by the present time, the knowledge they passed down about him omitted that he had been their chief, changed his identity to the being Calamity Ganon (who first emerged perhaps generations later), and came to claim he was never a real Gerudo but merely a demon had taken the form of one. That the Gerudo still consider even this less direct connection to their people a great cultural shame suggests that removing the name and identity "Ganondorf" was not done selfishly, but the game never clarifies the reason.
Underestimating Badassery: Utterly crushing Link and destroying the Master Sword in the Downer Beginning causes Ganondorf, who loosely knows who Link is thanks to the Stable Time Loop nature of Zelda's trip into the past, to disregard him as anything more than a fool and a waste of everyone's hopes. The entire rest of the game has him continue this attitude, even as Link manages to overcome all the odds and either fight at a severe handicap, or potentially be even more capable than he was before, as Ganondorf simply refuses to budge on his opinion. Then, in pure hypocrisy of his Might Makes Right philosophy, Ganondorf totally loses his shit at the mere idea that this failed hero is capable of fighting him to the brink of defeat, causing him to devour his Secret Stone to become the Demon Dragon as a desperate Taking You with Me attempt.
The Usurper: Stolen though his position may be, this incarnation of Ganondorf is technically the Sage of Darkness (or Shadow if you're being traditional) since he bears a Secret Stone. He keeps the position until the end of the game due to a combination of Hyrule in general being ignorant of his status as a Sage (not helped by him never being referred to as such in-game, or the fact that they're only recently rediscovering that the Sages even existed), and the other Sages being incapable of defeating him to reclaim the position.
Victory by Endurance: His boss fight is designed to achieve this for him. Before even reaching him, Link has to traverse a cramped and Gloom-saturated dungeon underneath Hyrule Castle, populated by high-level enemies, and his ability to summon the spirits of the sages to aid him stops working after descending far enough. Upon reaching the entrance to Ganondrof's lair, he them has to face a small army of Gloom-enfused enemies, along with all the story bosses who are yet undefeated.^note Ganondorf himself has multiple stages with increasing numbers of attacks and tactics between them, an absurdly long health bar in his Demon King form, increased defences in said state and his Gloom-infused attacks have the unique advantage of permanently removing Link's heart containers should they connect, ensuring that the longer the fighting goes on, the lower Link's health goes regardless of how many healing items he has. Link's efforts throughout the game amount to building himself up long enough to outlast Ganondorf in a protracted duel, with the aid of the Sages ensuring that Ganondorf doesn't overwhelm him and decreasing the burden on Link.
Victory Is Boring: Ganondorf expresses disappointment that he easily defeated Link and destroyed the Master Sword upon their first encounter, as he expected the legendary hero prophesied by Rauru to be the most powerful foe he has ever faced. He finds the ruined state of Hyrule to be also disappointing since it means his new conquest of the land would be too easy for him to enjoy. As such, Ganondorf mostly ignores Link and mocks him for being weak, letting his prophesied foe grow more powerful so he would have a longer lasting fight.
Viler New Villain:
- The original Ganondorf was certainly no saint, but he at least possessed a degree of honor, seemed to care about his people, and had a genuine Freudian Excuse. This incarnation ditches all of those redeeming qualities, and in their place ramps up Ganondorf's sadism and cruelty to Omnicidal Maniac levels, making him more similar to Demise than his predecessor ever was. Eiji Aonuma even expressed in an interview that the scene where he brutally kills the defenseless Queen Sonia was meant to set him apart as much more of a villain than his predecessors, who were "softly depicted as evil" by comparison.
- Also serves as this to Calamity Ganon, who despite being just as destructive, was also simply Made of Evil and more akin to a force of nature than an actual person. Ganondorf, on the other hand, is fully sapient, yet nevertheless a sociopathic monster of his own free will.
Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Tears of the Kingdom is a much Lighter and Softer game than Breath of the Wild, having more uplifting themes and a sense of compadre and teamwork... with an utterly irredeemable, monstrous villain as the Big Bad. This incarnation of Ganondorf is the most vile he's ever been and lacks any of his previous incarnation’s more noble and tragic traits, being an unhinged, maniacally genocidal beast of a man willing to kill even his own people if they stand in his way of obtaining sheer power. For the crux of his qualifying for this trope, he straight out murders the Queen of Hyrule in cold blood by punching her In the Back to steal an Amplifier Artifact from her after swearing fealty to the King in bad faith, and then uses the artifact to become a Demon King.
Villainous Breakdown: Upon being defeated by Link at the height of his power as the Demon King, Ganondorf expresses shock and disbelief that he could be beaten by a mere mortal. Enraged by Link's persistence and still determined to rule Hyrule, Ganondorf swallows his stolen Secret Stone to transform himself into the Demon Dragon in a last ditch attempt to kill Link and cast Hyrule under eternal night. This draconfication process robs the user's mind, but Ganondorf deems his body and mind to be acceptable sacrifices if it means achieving some form of victory.
Ganondorf: I will yet rule this land... You will not stop me! A mere mortal... will not stand in my way! [tears his stolen secret stone from his forehead] My body... my mind... everything! I'll sacrifice it all to destroy you and cast this world into eternal night!
Villain Respect:
- During the meeting where he makes his vow of fealty to King Rauru, Ganondorf mentions when the Zonai first came to Hyrule and how they were viewed like gods, and he also voices how impressed he is at how far Rauru himself had gotten as king. While he's certainly lying through his teeth about the fealty, it's unclear if he was also being dishonest of admiring how great and powerful the Zonai people were and still are, or if he was being genuine in his admiration.
- For a brief moment during the Final Boss, Ganondorf, after having his health bar halved and knocking out all of the Sages, wordlessly smiles, does away with his Phantoms, and gives Link a Bring It gesture, finally acknowledging that the hero is at least putting up a good fight.
Vocal Evolution: Ganondorf's voice sounds drastically different depending on what stage of life he's in:
- When Link and Zelda first meet his mummified self, Ganondorf's voice is harsh and raspy, representing how old and decayed his body currently is.
- In his natural form (shown in flashbacks and during the first phase of his boss fight), Ganondorf has a deep Baritone of Strength that demonstrates his warlord-like personality.
- And finally, when using his Secret Stone to become the Demon King, Ganondorf gains a deep Voice of the Legion reverberation when he talks, emphasizing his incredible power and insanity.
Walking Armory: His skill with multiple weapons rivals even Link in this field! He's got a katana, a naginata, a bow and arrow, and a massive kanabō in his arsenal, and he'll constantly switch between them in his battle, playing nicely with his new warlord aesthetic this time around. That said, he also limits himself to just those four, albeit powerful, weapons, whereas Link will be carrying far more of each type on his person during the showdown and is capable of using his Fuse ability to make Mix And Match Weapons on demand to fight with. This shows Link's willingness to fight dirty with every available advantage he can get, whereas Ganondorf is his equal in skillful weapon handling, but intentionally limits himself to dignified weaponry befitting of his status.
Walking Shirtless Scene: He wears a tunic that leaves the right portion of his chest and the right arm uncovered. Justified in that he's a Blood Knight who doesn't bother to wear armor or even clothes with effect benefits, like Link does.
Walking Wasteland: Ganondorf in proper form has something a lot more potent than the Malice his incarnation of Calamity Ganon exuded: a dense plague of his essence dubbed Gloom. What makes this so much more dangerous is that, while Malice was a horrifically corrosive substance gradually swallowing Hyrule, one was perfectly safe even being close, so long as they didn't touch it. Gloom, however, is not just of the same properties, but travels as an airborne contagion, seeping throughout the land as a dense mist — and it is not just highly-infectious, but guided, as well. It seeks out not just the people, but also any means of the kingdom's defense and corrodes them to rust. In this way, Ganondorf effectively chokes the life out of Hyrule through the act of simply existing, and anyone without supernatural boons who pursue him will wither and perish well before they get anywhere near him.
The Warlord: A king without a kingdom — as the Gerudo have long since repudiated him — Ganondorf still seeks to conquer Hyrule using his hordes of monsters created from his evil magic. Even before he became the Demon King, Ganondorf sought to conquer Hyrule by having his Gerudo tribe control a swarm of Molduga to invade the land. It's only when he saw the power of the Secret Stone that Ganondorf began thinking of other means to conquer Hyrule.
We Have Become Complacent: Seems to have this view on the people of Hyrule. Ganondorf expresses his disgust by calling the Hyruleans "peace-loving cowards" and, in the Japanese version, he notes that they used to have more "resolve" before Rauru united the kingdom and established peace. Overall, Ganondorf seems to believe that peace makes people weak, meaning that war and battle are the only proper ways to prove one's strength.
Wicked Cultured: While more barbaric than his original counterpart, this Ganondorf still dresses in the finest of Gerudo fashion, is deeply knowledgeable about the history of both Hyrule and the Zonai, and speaks as eloquently as ever.
With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: The power of the Secret Stone he stole not only amplified his magic by tenfolds, but also made him Drunk on the Dark Side. Gone is the cunning, manipulative deceiver who came before Rauru's throne. In his place is a mad warlord bent on conquest through brute force and carnage, seeking more powerful foes to test his newfound powers no matter how detrimental they are to his ultimate goals. Eventually, Ganondorf's obsession with power reaches its logical conclusion when, upon being defeated by Link, the Demon King swallows his Secret Stone to become an all-powerful but mindless dragon. He flat out states that sacrificing everything, including his mind, is worth one last attempt to destroy Link and Hyrule despite the fact he will never know if he had succeeded or not.
Worf Had the Flu: Powerful as he was during Breath of the Wild, Calamity Ganon was notably lacking Ganondorf's trademark cunning and manipulations despite his immense power, and was constantly being suppressed by Zelda's powers throughout the fight, hampering his performance. This version has no such handicap and regains his mind along with his physical body, and demonstrates how much more dangerous he is because of that by badly damaging Link's right arm upon awakening — the same Link who recently defeated him after an entire game of regaining enough strength to do so.
World's Best Warrior: Zig-zagged. In the era of Hyrule's past, Ganondorf was noted to be an unparalleled warrior of superhuman physical prowess and combat abilities, who mastered all manner of weapons — something he shows off in his boss fight's first stage by being able to bullet-time dodge Link's attacks. When unleashed at the beginning of the game, Ganondorf shows off his raw power by casually shattering the full-power Master Sword and fatally wounding Link with a single attack aimed at Zelda — all while at a fraction of his own full power. The game's story mode makes it clear that Link's chances of defeating Ganondorf are close to zero without 1) the Sages backing him up, and 2) the repaired Master Sword being greatly-augmented by spending untold millennia marinating in Zelda's draconification-boosted holy power. However, in the present day it turns out that Link's own superhuman combat prowess rivals — if not surpasses — Ganondorf's own, something that ultimately costs Ganondorf the fight when he refuses to take Link seriously based on their first encounter.
Worthy Opponent: He seeks worthy foes to test his mettle because he finds no joy in winning without effort.
- He actually had this attitude towards Rauru in the past. He was impressed by his display of power in firing a Wave-Motion Gun to wipe out a swarm of Molduga he directed to attack the Kingdom, and decided to go for a more subtle approach to seize the chance to claim his own stone before fighting him. Once he does so, he mocks the King for not using his full strength with the stone, calling it a 'waste'. During the Imprisoning War, he's subtly impressed by Rauru's determination to seal them both together for eons despite the fact it will lead to his death and will only delay Ganondorf's ambitions. When Rauru tells him that in the future, a Swordsman named Link will face him and defeat him for good, Ganondorf is interested by this mysterious figure his enemy trusted to finish the job he couldn't, and looks forwards to facing him.
- Subverted with Link. While he did look forward to facing Link after Rauru proclaimed that the swordsman will be there in the far future to defeat the Demon King for good, in the present day, he sneers contempt towards him after easily ravaging Link's arm and shattering the Master Sword. Throughout the game, Ganondorf mocks Link for being given Rauru's powers and is often surprised whenever Link overcomes one of his powerful minions. When Link finally grows powerful enough to give Ganondorf a worthy fight in the final battle, Ganondorf still refuses to treat Link with respect by going to the polar opposite reaction. Instead of seeing him as a weak mortal unworthy of attention, Ganondorf now sees Link as a threat to his narcissistic belief as the invincible Demon King since he didn't want a genuine challenge, just one that would flatter his ego and allow him to display his full power.
Would Hurt a Child: With three of five sages being young, especially with Tulin being a preadolescent child and Yunobo and Riju being teenagers, he has no qualms with bringing tremendous harm to them.
You Could Have Used Your Powers for Evil: After murdering Sonia and taking her Secret Stone, he expresses this view towards Rauru, mocking him for not using the Stone's power to its full potential.
You Don't Look Like You: In-Universe. In addition to his desiccated looks from being sealed for 10,000 years making him look practically zombified once released, his Demon King form looks markedly different to his original Gerudo self, the combination of which prevented the time-displaced Zelda from realising Ganondorf was the mummified corpse that attacked her underneath the castle when she chronologically first met him. She only realises this after seeing him transformed into the Demon King for the first time, by which point, she brokenly notes that the knowledge only makes the showdown with him an inevitable Foregone Conclusion for herself and her past allies.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Downplayed with the Gerudo. Ganondorf didn't immediately attempt to kill his own people after he became the Demon King. But he certainly doesn't mind when they turned against him and sided with King Rauru since he has already his army of demons as their replacement regardless.
You Will Not Evade Me: When using his Gloom Bow, Ganondorf will surround Link with a ring of Gloom to make it harder to dodge his shots.

Characters / The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Ganondorf

Demon King Ganondorf

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Ganondorf and his Army

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Characters / The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Ganondorf

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Demon King Ganondorf

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Ganondorf and his Army

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