Ganondorf

Ganondorf Dragmire is the main antagonist from the Legend of Zelda games.

Ganondorf was born a member of the Gerudo; as the only male member to be born in a hundred years, Ganondorf is made either the King of the Gerudo or the Guardian of the Desert, depending on the game. Gifted with powerful magic, Ganondorf often seeks the omnipotent Triforce to grant his wish of conquering the entire world. He frequently wields the Triforce of Power, and stages coups against the Royal Family of Hyrule to take the Hyrulean Throne by force.

The Triforce of Power that Ganondorf usually holds grants him near-immortality; the only weapons that can truly defeat him are the Triforce itself, the Master Sword, the Silver Arrows, the Four Sword, and the Light Arrows. In addition to granting him power, the Triforce of Power allows Ganondorf to transform into a beast form, Ganon, reminiscent of a pig or hog.

Appearance
Ganondorf is tall with a dark skin tone, a sharp bird-like nose, amber eyes, and red hair with a head brooch. He wears a brown body armor over a black bodysuit, he wears a black shoulder-collared armor with a red cape, white hand gauntlets with a tattered cloth, black armored knee-pads with spikes over white tattered cloths and brown armored boots.

Personality
Ganondorf is commonly portrayed as the incarnation of pure evil, greed, and power. He is ruthless, cold, unscrupulous, manipulative, and calculating. He is also shown to have an ego, believing that only he is worthy to rule the kingdom and showing an arrogant sense of entitlement. One of Ganondorf’s most defining traits is his unquenchable lust for power. It was also shown that Ganon does not possess a balanced amount of power, wisdom, and courage as evidenced when the Triforce split in three pieces when he tried to wield it.

It is heavily implied in Skyward Sword that Ganondorf's evil nature stemmed from being a reincarnation of the Demon King Demise's Hatred as well as being a product of his curse. In Four Swords Adventures, Ganondorf's arrogance is such that he even refers to the Links as "worms" and "maggots", and also refers to the then-recently defeated Vaati as a "useless cur." Aside from his arrogance, Ganondorf is shown to be a "sore loser", usually swearing revenge or refusing to admit defeat when bested in battle. However he is capable of learning from his mistakes as he relies on his sword skills and physical strength when fighting Tetra and the Hero of Winds instead of his magic and Ganon form like he did during his battle with the Hero of Time. He also eliminated the Sages of the Master Sword to remove the power to repel evil from the Master Sword and kept the Light Arrows stored inside a maze guarded by Phantom Ganon in his Tower as both weapons led to his previous defeat.

Ganondorf is also a skilled strategist, as he is implied to have manipulated Link and Zelda into opening the Door of Time for him, and he also deliberately allows Link to purify the temples he has captured knowing that this will draw Zelda out into the open. This knack for strategy was similarly demonstrated in Wind Waker, where he murdered the original Sages of Wind and Earth specifically to ensure the Master Sword lost its true power, as well as using the opportunity presented by Link trying to restore the Master Sword to abduct Zelda from Hyrule Castle. The best demonstration of his strategic skills, however, came about during his final fight against Link and Zelda in the same game, where he managed to quickly disable Zelda upon realizing the threat she posed with the Light Arrows, and when she regained consciousness, proceeded to evade her shots as well as parry Link's blows.

It has been hinted that the Ganondorf originally seen in Ocarina of Time sought to conquer Hyrule out of jealousy, as he apparently lived a life full of suffering due to living in the desert though his evil nature and dark power without the Triforce of Power may have been influenced by him being the reincarnation of the Demon King's Hatred thus may have been destined to seek out the Triforce as Demise had done in the past. In Ocarina of Time, when he manages to conquer the kingdom of Hyrule, he never attempts to aid his own people, despite them living in the same conditions as he once did. He even resorts to mind controlling certain Gerudos to ensure absolute loyalty, reinforcing the notion that his desire for Hyrule was born out of jealousy and not a desire to help his people. However, once Link initially defeats Ganondorf, Zelda briefly expresses pity and speculates that his death was caused in part due to failing to control the Triforce due to an imbalanced heart. He also seems to have some pride in his Gerudo heritage and their fighting prowess, at least in Hyrule Warriors, as evidenced by his declaring "Behold the power of a Gerudo warrior!" when slaughtering enough enemies.

Interestingly, Ganondorf seems to follow a code of honor; in Ocarina of Time, he is amused and almost impressed when a young, helpless Link drew his weapons at him. Effortlessly knocking Link away, Ganondorf let the boy live despite his defiance, acknowledging some respect for his courage. When he knocks Link down, he will wait for Link to get up before continuing a fight. In The Wind Waker, when Ganondorf realizes that Zelda keeps attacking him with the Light Arrows while he fights Link, he swiftly approaches Zelda, puts away his sword and backhands her, instead of outright killing her. He also claims at one point that he will not kill Link, and merely seeks to claim the Triforce of Courage from him.

In Ocarina of Time, he is confident, wise-cracking and sarcastic, calling Link "kid" even after seven years, calling Link's weapons "toys", and making remarks such as "I like you, kid" before blasting him with magic, but is ultimately serious when he needs to be. Ganondorf always cracks a smile, even in the most dire of circumstances, showcasing a pleasure in destruction and a confidence that never dies, even when the odds are against him.

In The Wind Waker, Ganondorf seems to have matured with age. He is portrayed somewhat as a tragic villain, being altogether more solemn and less prone to wisecracks. He also expressed some grudging respect for Link's courage after the latter managed to not only infiltrate the Forsaken Fortress again, but also dispose of the Helmaroc King. Despite this, he still longs to cover the entire world in darkness, even after his actions led to the destruction of Hyrule, and places a curse upon the Great Sea to keep it in a perpetual state of terror. It is also implied that Ganondorf is emotionally unstable throughout the events of The Wind Waker, spending the early course of the game kidnapping young girls in a desperate attempt to find the Triforce of Wisdom, lacking the overtly evil nature of his previous appearance, and laughing maniacally when Hyrule is about to be flooded.

Knowing that his plans that have taken centuries of trial and error have finally come to a dramatic end at the climax of The Wind Waker, Ganondorf shows a more tragic side that seems to contrast his attitude in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. Having dedicated his life to controlling a kingdom that was now destined to disappear alongside his body, in his final moments, Ganondorf still smiled, and even chuckles briefly when sensing the wind from Gerudo Desert blowing. This may imply that he had come to terms with his defeat, and was actually content with how things had ended.

In Twilight Princess, Ganondorf's personality is more closely linked to his Ocarina of Time persona, as Ganondorf has, in this timeline, faced less hardships and overall appears to be younger and more emotionally stable, even possessing some of his cockiness from Ocarina of Time. The Sages also mention that Ganondorf, due to being blinded by rage and his own might, ended up caught, subdued, and promptly executed, implying that he was extremely reckless in his own actions and planning, though this may have been due to the time travelling Hero of Time exposing Ganondorf's plans due to his knowledge of Ganondorf's rise to power in the Adult timeline thus Ganondorf in the Child Timeline could not rely on deception and manipulation thus resorted to more open and aggressive tactics but his arrogance once again proved to be his undoing. Ganondorf being blinded by rage may also been influenced by the idea he is the reincarnation of Demise's Hatred.

While arrogant, Ganondorf is able to recognize others when they prove themselves, and will show some respect towards such individuals. In the Wind Waker, Ganondorf showed a begrudging respect to the Hero of Time, as well as referring to Link as his reincarnation. In Twilight Princess, Ganondorf challenges Link to a duel, which indicates that he sees him as a worthy adversary.

Abilities
Ganondorf is shown to be very powerful in the series, mostly due to his frequent possession of the Triforce of Power. Even without the Triforce of Power though, Ganondorf is still a powerful Gerudo with potent magical abilities, able to use dark magic with ease. He is often shown to possess titanic strength, with few characters in the franchise able to match or surpass him. His most infamous ability, however, was his ability to transform into the boar-like demon known as Ganon, which generally required the use of the Triforce of Power.

Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf plagues the Great Deku Tree, Dodongo's Cavern, and Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly with monsters, somehow managing to tame these dangerous creatures including boss level entities such as Queen Gohma, King Dodongo, and Barinade. Even before acquiring the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf was a extremely capable warlock capable of cursing deities such as the Great Deku Tree and Lord Jabu-Jabu. Additionally his evil power allowed Deku Baba to grow along the path leading to the Deku Tree and caused Link and Zelda to have prophetic dreams warning them of the threat he posed and future events. Ganondorf was also capable of resurrecting the extinct dinosaur King Dodongo. Ganondorf also took advantage of the political climate in Hyrule following the end of the Hyrulean Civil War by feigning loyalty to the King of Hyrule whom was apparently keen on building good diplomatic relations with the Gerudo King and his people following the end of the civil war to ensure peace with only Princess Zelda seeing Ganondorf's true motivations though her warnings to her father fell on deaf ears. Ganondorf is also capable of horseback riding as he is often depicted riding his steed. Ganondorf was also capable of turning the Spirit Temple into a base for his army and apparently has no trouble navigating the Haunted Wasteland due to having lived in the desert for most of his life.

After acquiring the Triforce of Power, he was also able to break the seal on Kakariko Well and releasing Bongo Bongo, resurrect the feared dragon Volvagia, freeze several Zoras in Red Ice, fly, imprison and warp away Princess Zelda, open up a portal to another dimension, and conquer Hyrule. He can also generate waves of darkness that were potent enough to prevent fairies such as Navi from even getting close to him, let alone targethim, and he seems to have at least some degree of reality-warping powers, as evidenced by how he transformed his throne room into a battle arena when fighting Link. He also has the power to transform into a boar demon known as Ganon as well as create a copy of himself called Phantom Ganon. In addition, he has enough strength to cause an entire portion of his throne room's floor to collapse with a single punch, should it not be connected to the room below. He was also implied to have gained immortality from his possession of the Triforce of Power. He was also skilled in playing the pipe organ, as evidenced by his playing a song on it to lure Link up to the top of his castle. He also implies when being sealed away that the Triforce of Power is also capable of allowing him to break the seal in the future.

In addition to his magic and strength, Ganondorf is a cunning master thief and manipulator as shown by his manipulations of Link, Zelda, and King of Hyrule. Instead of eliminating Young Link whom Ganondorf apparently realized was conspiring with Princess Zelda to thwart his plan to seal the Triforce but allowed Link to collect the Spiritual Stones and Ocarina of Time basically having Link do everything for him. Its unknown if Ganondorf knew the Master Sword was the final barrier though if he did he may have suspected Link to be its current chosen wielder thus may have also manipulated him in removing the one barrier that Ganondorf himself was powerless to bypass. Ultimately Ganondorf's manipulation worked thus making Zelda and Link partially responsible for his rise to power. However his manipulation would not end there as he allowed the Hero of Time to wonder around Hyrule knowing Zelda would eventually reveal herself allowing him to capture her. However Ganondorf is arrogant and his desire to acquire the complete Triforce was ultimately his undoing thus while intelligent it is trumped by his overall lust for power which was why he acquired the Triforce of Power due to his imbalanced heart as his desire for power exceeded any wisdom and courage he possessed.

The Wind Waker
In The Wind Waker, even without his full power backing him when it was sealed within the Master Sword, Ganondorf was still shown as being capable of generating an Endless Night and a barrier around Hyrule Castle. His full power was such that he could survive a direct flame blast from Valoo unscathed, which had been powerful enough to set the top portion of the Forsaken Fortress on fire. Having apparently learned from his previous battles with the Hero of Time centuries earlier, Ganondorf relied more on his physical power, sword fighting skills, and minions like Helmaroc King and Puppet Ganon to deal with his enemies. In his final battle with Tetra and the Hero of Winds, Ganondorf relied entirely on his swords fighting skills, which were shown to be superior to those possessed by the Hero of Winds. It was the assistance of Tetra, who stunned Ganondorf with Light Arrows, that the Hero of Winds managed to pass Ganondorf's defenses. He also possessed at least a degree of mind-reading abilities, as he was shown to read Zelda's dreams about "oceans as far as the eye can see". He apparently has the ability to resurrect his minions, at least to a certain degree, as his tower featured revived versions of Gohma, Kalle Demos, Jalhalla, and Molgera, which acted as "keys" to his inner sanctum.

Twilight Princess
In Twilight Princess, Ganondorf is implied to wield the Triforce of Power, and may gain some abilities from his connection to Zant. Like Link's wolf form, he transforms into a different form when exposed to the magic of the Twilight Realm, though in his case he takes the form of a burning head made of golden fire (possibly due to the protection of the Triforce of Power, as the Golden Goddess of Power, Din is commonly associated with fire) referred to in Hyrule Historia as "Ganondorf's Malice". His "Ganondorf's Malice" form can also be accessed in the Light World, as evidenced by his transforming into this state shortly after his Ganon form was felled, and was also capable in this state of withstanding even a direct blow from Midna's Fused Shadow form's trident, which was potent enough to completely obliterate Hyrule Castle.

The powers he displays are never definitively attributed to any source, though he has many abilities seemingly Twilight-based in nature. These include the use of Twilight Portals and turning into Twilight in order to possess another person. He is also capable of generating a barrier powerful enough to require the Fused Shadows to fully dissipate, and was also capable of transfiguring various entities, evident with his turning Midna into an imp-like creature via Zant. In addition, he can also bestow entities with immortality as well as guaranteed revival from death so long as he himself does not perish beforehand, as evidenced with Zant.

Ganondorf can also create Phantom Riders as well, and was fully capable of horseback combat, as evidenced by his fight with Link. He was also capable of destroying one of the Ancient Sages, who were implied to be disembodied spirits, with his bare hands, shortly after surviving his execution and shattering the chains binding him to a pillar. He is also demonstrated to shatter chains binding him with minimum effort, as evidenced by his first actions shortly after surviving his execution. His overall strength seems to rival Link, as evident in their duel where they pitted their strength against each other in a sword lock. His physical strength was also such that he could crush the Fused Shadows with his bare hands, as evidenced by his actions to Midna's helmet prior to his horseback duel with Link and Zelda. Ganondorf also gifted Zant with many of his abilities (though Ganondorf is never shown using them) - including altering his size or changing the terrain he fights in.

Ganondorf can survive attacks that would kill another being, such as his 'execution' at the hands of the Sages before the events of Twilight Princess, and his defeat at the end of some games in which he is not actually slain. The exact limits of his powers are unknown. He is also very skilled with swords, as shown in The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. Both Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess strongly imply that his surviving lethal attacks was attributed to the Triforce of Power.

According to its description in Breath of the Wild, the Sword of the Six Sages is stated to be a holy blade intended to seal a Demon King implying the sword was meant to execute and seal Ganondorf whom was apparently considered the Demon King (Ganondorf is referred to as a Demon Thief in Twilight Princess and was the Gerudo King of Thieves before his capture). Unfortunately the Sages where unaware of the power of the gods (implied to be the Triforce of Power) he had somehow acquired which apparently revived him. The sword apparently lacked the same level holy power as the Master Sword which was a weapon created by divinity and forged into a mighty weapon by a hero through a quest designed by Hylia and blessed by her mortal incarnation, though the holy power of the Sword of the Six Sages did inflict a glowing wound that never healed and only ceased to glow after Ganondorf was slain with the superior Master Sword. Additionally the Sword of the Six Sages despite being a holy weapon it could be wielded by someone as evil as Ganondorf unlike the Master Sword. However the unexplained power of the gods he possessed may have allowed Ganondorf to wield the inferior holy blade as the power he possessed was apparently divine in nature though it could not heal the wound the sword inflicted upon Ganondorf whom was still vulnerable to holy weaponry such as the Bow of Light and Master Sword which are known to surpass any divine protection from such weaponry given by the Triforce of Power and/or Triforce of Wisdom as demonstrated the boss battle with Yuga Ganon in A Link Between Worlds. However Ganondorf refers to the weapon as a foul blade presumably due to the wound it inflicted upon him and its holy nature being repulsive to someone as evil as Ganondorf. However he apparently wielded it as an effective counter to the Master Sword as both are holy weapons thus the Master Sword's power to repel evil doesn't work on it as the Sword of the Six Sages itself is not evil only its wielder is. Additionally it serves as a symbol of the Ancient Sages failure and Ganondorf's might as he turned a holy weapon designed to stop his evil reign of terror into little more than a weapon of murder and bloodshed. This resembles Calamity Ganon's corruption of the ancient Sheikah technology that had defeated him in the past in Breath of the Wild fitting with Ganondorf's tendency to use his enemies strengths against them.

Trivia

 * Ganondorf's last name was confirmed to be Dragmire in April 2017 via the official site. Previously, this name was only seen in the Western manual for A Link to the Past.