Ranking Every Ganondorf in Zelda History

Comments · 31

• AD

  @adamgray1857 · 8 months ago

  What ive realized as I grow up is that most real life villains dont have a reason for hating who they hate, or doing what they do other than being powerful and not respecting other people. Sure its thin, but its also real.

  6

• EO

  @eonamiella2124 · 8 months ago

  Very good list. I haven&apos;t played many Zelda games, really just BOTW and TOTK with some of Wind Waker but man, TOTK&apos;s opening is genuinely incredible then the rest of the game just doesn&apos;t live up to that tone and atmosphere it sets. Ganondorf has no real character, just presence and yeah his fight is awesome but I wish the game did more with the idea that calamity Ganon was essentially the leftover malice leaking from Ganondorf&apos;s corpse under the castle. Like that&apos;s so cool and you can do so much with that, the foundation for an interesting character was definitely there. <br><br>Also I like TOTK &quot;rehydrated&quot; Ganondorf but ngl I wish he stayed as corpsendorf. That design was so intimidating and visually striking, and I loved that even his voice sounded different. <br><br>I don&apos;t think TOTK is an awful game, but compared to BOTW it just has so many instances of missed potential and mishandled concepts. BOTW was no story masterpiece but the idea of Ganon reincarnating and regenerating so much that he gave up the cycle of reincarnation and just became the embodiment of malice went so hard. Darkbeast Ganon is a terrible fight but man the game does a great job of building up calamity Ganon imo.

  6

• WA

  @wadesonecent2331 · 5 months ago

  You&apos;ve illustrated your points beautifully

• ME

  @metakhightscool · 8 months ago

  great do king dedede next

• TH

  @TheMandalore65 · 8 months ago

  Solid list! Personally, I would order them OoT, WW, TP, TotK but agree that it’s close!<br><br>I love WW Ganondorf, but his motivation isn’t actually rooted in the events, themes, and overall world of his own game. For all WW has to say about “abandoning the past”, it can’t get itself out of OoT’s shadow. WW Gdorf’s monologue comes out of nowhere / is forced and is still rooted in OoT’s motivations &amp; world.<br><br>To me, OoT Gdorf does a better job at being consistent and integrated into the world, events of the story, themes of the game, and to the character of Link.<br><br>But great list &amp; analysis, subbing to the channel!

  4

• WI

  @WindMageMaster · 8 months ago (edited)

  One thing I find funny is this whole &quot;Ganondorf&apos;s motivations&quot; thing the fandom is on about lately. The <b>only</b> time we get a glimpse at something of the sort is the finale of TWW. Nowhere else. So logically, you either hold that against every other game except TWW or you don&apos;t at all. Doesn&apos;t matter if it&apos;s the same incarnation, OoT doesn&apos;t get credit because of what TWW did- which I did appreciate from this video. It treated each game separately. My list:<br><br>#4 Twilight Princess Ganondorf. The only Ganondorf that develops no rivalry with Link prior to the final battle. Doesn&apos;t even know who Link is when he shows up with Midna. Is injected into the plot halfway through the game and ends up making Zant less intimidating than what he was hyped up to be. He may be calculating and dark... there&apos;s nothing out of place with his character or actions, but he&apos;s utilized poorly. It&apos;s the only time I&apos;ve felt like Ganondorf negatively affected the story, despite having a cool battle and maintaining his usual aura.<br><br>#3 Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf. Best introduction, but is otherwise a slightly less compelling version of OoT Ganondorf (plot-wise). Instead of sitting at the top of a world he&apos;s conquered, he&apos;s sitting at the bottom of the world in preparation to conquer- hence the stakes aren&apos;t as intimidating. Flashbacks reflect similar plot points to OoT&apos;s uprising, but since you aren&apos;t within that time period, it&apos;s not as compelling. He causes trouble as Puppet Zelda and has an interesting meet up with Link and the Sages that adds some weight to the rivalry, which I didn&apos;t really see credited in this video. The fact that he&apos;s such an ancient and powerful evil in this version- as well as being the reason Hyrule Castle was built, is great lore, but still doesn&apos;t quite reach the highs of OoT Ganondorf.<br><br>#2 Ocarina of Time Ganondorf. It being partially the player&apos;s fault for Ganondorf&apos;s rise to power, is a very captivating angle the series has rarely tried since. The hardships Link faces, including the loss of the Deku Tree at the start are tied directly to Ganondorf. In other games, he causes damage less directly (Zant, bosses he sends, whatever else). But in OoT, while he does have servants, he&apos;s more involved in the atrocities himself and more keenly aware of Link&apos;s movements. <br><br>#1 Wind Waker Ganondorf. Link&apos;s own family being affected by Ganondorf in the first half is a really good motivator... we need more of that in the future. The most perceptive Ganondorf and somehow manages to make his evil tragic. I could go on, but I think it&apos;s obvious why this is #1.

• VO

  @vopop30 · 8 months ago

  No LttP? The game that shows you a whole realm reshaped by him?

• KA

  @kailynnbloodmoon1264 · 8 months ago

  Tbh, I was a little confused why WW Ganondorf was #1, but the more I listened to your reasons why, the more it made sense. For the first time and only time in the series, we were given a reason why Ganondorf did what he did. Honestly? His reasoning for trying to conquer Hyrule are honestly reasons why I consider Transformers Prime Megatron one of the best versions of the villain. Both believed their actions were correcting an imbalance, yet ended up corrupted in their pursuit of power. While other versions of Ganondorf were power hungry, WW Ganondorf had noble intentions at first, but eventually lost his path and became power hungry like his other counterparts. While he eventually was taken down, he accepted his fate rather gracefully, which I can respect.

  2

• DA

  @DanteBrian · 8 months ago

  WW Ganon is NOT a sympathetic character! &nbsp;<br>“He was just envious of the prosperous winds of Hyrule and wanted better for his people….”<br>Bullshit! &nbsp;This is the same Ganondorf from OoT. &nbsp;The one who ruled Hyrule for seven years. &nbsp;And in all of that time what did he do for the Gerudo? &nbsp;Nothing!<br>Did he move them to the lush field of Hyrule or even to his new castle? &nbsp;No.<br>Did he fix the broken bridge in Gerudo Valley? &nbsp;No.<br>Did he do anything for them at the Fortress to improve their lives? &nbsp;No.<br>He was and is an evil, selfish bastard that tries to lie to himself about his motivations.

  2

• CZ

  @CZsWorld · 8 months ago

  Technically OoT, TP and WW Ganondorf are the same guy, so you&apos;re only ranking 2 Ganondorfs.

  1

• NA

  @nasifbhuiyan186 · 8 months ago

  i feel totk ganondorf can beat up the rest 3 ganondorfs easily. he was fighting bare chested.

  1

• TH

  @themastersword1621 · 8 months ago

  Best character: Wind Waker<br>Best look, boss fight, most threatening: Tears of the Kingdom

  4