Ganondorf/Synopsis


 * NOTE: This Synopsis ONLY includes canon events and in the main universe, for non-canon information, please go back to Ganondorf's main page. This is also organized into the latest "official Zelda timeline"; this may change completely in the future as the timeline given is merely meant as an example, and their have been official timelines before it.

The story of the demonic warlord Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda.

Unified Timeline
The Unified Timeline refers to events before the split in Ocarina of Time and thus occurs in every timeline, the split happens in the final battle with Ganon.

Skyward Sword

 * See: Demise

Ganondorf's past self, Demise appears in this game.

After Hylia's servant, Impa, escaped with Zelda into the past, and a Gate of Time was revealed in the Sealed Grounds, the seal on Demise broke and he escaped under his Imprisoned form. However, the Chosen Hero of the Goddess, Link, defeated him, driving the Seal Spike into his skull and resealing him below the Sealed Grounds.

Demise later escaped again, but was again defeated and sealed up by Link, with help from a fellow child of the sky, Groose, and his catapult. This happened a third time as well. As Demise was about to escape a fourth time, Link made a wish with the Triforce, causing the Statue of the Goddess to fall and crush Demise, obliterating him.

However, Ghirahim traveled to the past with Zelda and, by means of a ritual, gave her soul to Demise, who was able to return to power. Demise transformed Ghirahim back into a sword and remarked Link, who is facing him without fear. Favorably impressed, Demise told him that if he wished to fight him, he should enter his own dimension away from any distractions, otherwise, he could just wait for Demise to destroy the entire world.

Link entered the dimension and fought Demise. Eventually, Link defeated Demise by stabbing him with a Killing Blow using the Master Sword. Before disintegrating into black smoke, Demise praised Link's valor but cast a curse so that his hatred would be reincarnated to torment Link and Zelda's descendants forever. What remained of Demise's consciousness was absorbed into the Master Sword, to decay over time until there was nothing left

Between Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time
Several hundred years after Demise's consciousness had been absorbed into the Master Sword, he finally decayed into nonexistence, allowing him to be reborn as Ganondorf.

Ocarina of Time
"These toys are too much for you! I command you to return them to me!"

- Ganondorf

By the time of the events of Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf was striving to conquer the lands of Hyrule and obtain the Triforce. In order to access the Triforce within the Sacred Realm, Ganondorf sought the three Spiritual Stones from the Kokiri, Gorons, and Zoras. When they refused to hand them over, he cursed the Great Deku Tree and Lord Jabu-Jabu and blocked off Dodongo's Cavern. At the same time, he pledged false allegiance to the King of Hyrule.

Princess Zelda sensed the evil within Ganondorf and, along with Link, strove to prevent Ganondorf from obtaining the Triforce. Ganondorf betrayed and assaulted Hyrule Castle while Link gathered the three Spiritual Stones. He only came in time to see Zelda and Impa flee, pursued by Ganondorf. Ganondorf demanded Link to tell him where the two had fled too, but Link did not tell him. When Link shortly after opened the gate to the Sacred Realm, Ganondorf followed him and seized the opportunity to obtain the Triforce, with partial success. As he touched the Triforce, it split, leaving Ganondorf with only the Triforce of Power.

During the time that Link was asleep, Ganondorf conquered Hyrule while waiting for the moment he would find the other owners of the other two Triforce pieces. Eventually, he found them in the Temple of Time, where he kidnapped Zelda and challenged Link to come save her. The three met again in Ganon's Tower, where the final battle ensued. Link reaches the top of the Tower to discover Ganondorf playing an organ (the sound of which can be heard throughout the Tower) and engages and bests him in battle. Link had to turn back the yellow bolts of light that he casted at him to bind the Evil King. After that, he fired a Light Arrow to stun him, and Link delivered the coup de grace with his Master Sword. Whenever he recovered, Link repeated this strategy and if he tried to accumulate dark energy for a devastating attack, a Light Arrow could be shot beforehand. After a couple of times, he fell, defeated and tried to bury Link and Zelda by crumbling the tower; fortunately, they managed to get out in time. Enraged, Ganondorf managed to pull together all his strength and unleashed the essence of the Triforce of Power to transform into a bestial form, Ganon. Despite this, Link managed to defeat him by striking its tail with the aid of the Megaton Hammer and the Biggoron Sword until he was weak enough to cast down his fire barrier so Link could recover his Master Sword. Using the Master Sword and some techniques like countering its blades' slashes with slashes of his own, firing a light arrow to its face and rolling between his legs, he managed to hack away at his tail some more times to weaken the Evil Beast. Link, with the help of the Master Sword, Navi, Zelda, and the power of the other Six Sages; dealt the final blow and Ganondorf was sealed into the Sacred Realm, where he could not harm Hyrule or lay his hands on the remaining pieces of the Triforce.

Child Timeline
This is the timeline where Link was sent back to the past and was able to warn the Royal Family of Ganondorf's treachery, leading to the events of Twilight Princess backstory.

Majora's Mask
Ganondorf briefly appears in a flashback in the Majora's Mask manga. The flashback showcases part of Ganondorf's battle with Link.

Twilight Princess
"Do not think this ends here... The history of light and shadow will be written in blood!"

- Ganondorf after being defeated

Prior to the events of Twilight Princess, Ganondorf was captured, put on trial, and sentenced to execution by the Sages. While they managed to severely wound him, they could not kill him. It was revealed that he possessed the Triforce of Power, and with it, he managed to free himself from his chains, and well as kill the Sage of Water. Knowing no better solution, the Sages opened the gate to the Twilight Realm and sent Ganondorf through it. There he influenced Zant, who had been denied the throne of the Twilight Realm, to seize control and access Hyrule again. Ganondorf granted Zant a fraction of his power, in return for the opportunity to escape the Twilight Realm.

Before being killed by Midna, Zant said that Ganondorf will endlessly resurrect him. Link faced Ganondorf in Hyrule Castle and possessed Zelda's body, but Link defeated him and Midna drove him out. Ganondorf transformed into Ganon. Unlike his previous transformation into Ganon, this Ganon was on four legs and his weak spot was the scar on his chest. Link transformed into a wolf, in a sacred beast vs. evil beast battle, and Link won. Ganondorf transformed into a beast of flame, and Midna transformed and fought him, but he defeated her and engaged Link in horseback battle. Link knocked him off the horse, and Link and Ganondorf had their final battle, in which Link knocked Ganondorf down and stabbed him in his execution wound. The Triforce of Power left him, thus rendering him mortal, and he has a vision of Zant snapping his neck before dying.

Four Swords Adventures
Ganondorf is again reincarnated as a member of the Gerudo tribe and begins his plan to usurp the powers of others so that he can once again cover Hyrule in Darkness.

Ganondorf begins his plan by violating the Gerudo law and heading to the Pyramid, inside he finds the Trident of Power, a demonic weapon of great power, now with the mighty Trident Ganon was the King of Darkness once again. Ganondorf then headed to the forests where the Deku began to worship him, he collected the Dark Mirror and released the Shadow Links from it.

He then began the next phase of his plan, sending the Shadow Links to trick Hyrule's Hero Link into releasing Vaati's essence from his seal. Once Vaati's essence was released, Ganondorf revived Vaati and took control of him, he used Vaati to corrupt the Royal Jewels and turn them into Dark Crystals. Once this was done, Ganondorf fought and defeated the Knights of Hyrule - transforming them into demons. Ganondorf then opened up the Dark World and unleashed an army of demons. He sent Vaati to the Palace of Winds and sealed it away, fooling the Heroes into believing that Vaati was the one behind the events, Ganondorf lurked in the Dark World below the Palace of Winds, where he absorbed the Maidens power.

The Links eventually defeated all of Ganon's minions and made their way to the top of the Palace of Winds, Vaati - under the control of Ganondorf - fought them but was defeated. The heroes descended to the bottom of the tower, where they found what was left of Vaati's darkness. Ganondorf absorbed the power, adding it to the other power he had stolen, and transformed into Ganon, engaging the heroes. Ganon was defeated and sealed inside the Four Sword.

His Shadow Link minions are manifestations of the resentment and evil thoughts of his previous incarnation and are thus a part of him.

Adult Timeline
This is the timeline where Ganondorf was sealed after ruling Hyrule and then being defeated by Link, he eventually escaped, leading to the backstory of The Wind Waker.

The Wind Waker
""Gods! Hear that which I desire! Expose this land to the rays of the sun once more! Let them burn forth! GIVE HYRULE TO ME!!!""

- Ganon

Long before the events in The Wind Waker, Ganon managed to escape and wreak havoc in Hyrule once more. No hero appeared this time and the Gods were forced to flood Hyrule in order to stop Ganon.

However, he managed to free himself and rebuilt his army. Still wanting to obtain the Triforce, he sent one of his minions, the Helmaroc King, on a search for "young girls with pointy ears", hoping to find Princess Zelda, the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom. Among the girls kidnapped is Link's sister, Aryll, and this sets Link off on his adventure to rescue her. Link finds Ganondorf's hideout, the Forsaken Fortress, where Ganondorf had Link thrown far away into the ocean after being caught by the Helmaroc King. Later, it is revealed that Ganondorf has limited magic strength, for his powers were sealed away by the gods with the aid of the Master Sword. However, without this knowledge, Link himself takes the Master Sword, and thus removed the only barrier restraining Ganondorf's power.

Soon afterwards atop the Forsaken Fortress, Ganondorf reveals that the Master Sword is dull; its power to banish evil gone. Link and the pirate captain Tetra narrowly escape safely with the help of the Sky Spirit Valoo and the Rito, before Ganondorf can seize Tetra, who he finds is actually Princess Zelda and the keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom.

After this, Zelda is hidden inside the underwater castle in Hyrule and Link begins his quest to reawaken the Master Sword. Once Link achieves his goals of finding the Triforce of Courage and restoring the Master Sword, Ganondorf locates their haven and consequently captures Zelda, whom he takes to his underwater tower. Link finds Zelda unharmed, lying in a bed, sleeping, with Ganondorf watching over her and her dreams. However, before Link has any chance to approach, Ganondorf transforms into a giant puppet, which Link defeats. Ganondorf finally reappears to challenge Link, and with Zelda in his arm, he rises to the rooftop of the tower.

Soon after Link reached the rooftop, Ganondorf speaks to him about his reasons for desperately searching for the Triforce pieces, revealing a little of his origins from the harsh Gerudo Desert and his desire to take over the green landscapes of Hyrule. When he declares that he already has in his possession the Triforce of Wisdom, Ganondorf suddenly rushes against Link and delivers swift, hard blows that leave Link half-conscious and the Master Sword out of reach. Ganondorf, using his Triforce of Power, summons the two missing Triforce pieces from Link and Zelda and reforms the Triforce. Nevertheless, right before Ganondorf is able to touch the Triforce and make his wish come true, King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, the last King of Hyrule, appears to touch the Triforce first and makes the wish of washing away the ancient land of Hyrule. The Triforce disappears and water starts pouring through the protective barrier into the land of Hyrule as Ganondorf laughs scornfully. Link wakes up at that point and Zelda approaches him holding the Master Sword for Link to engage Ganondorf in a last battle. Now that he no longer has the Triforce of Power, he is no longer immortal. Ultimately with Zelda's aid, Ganondorf is defeated when Link deals the final blow by plunging the Master Sword straight into Ganondorf's forehead, turning him into stone. He remains atop the tower under the Great Sea with the Master Sword in his head, and the ocean finally drowns Hyrule under the Great Sea.

Phantom Hourglass
Ganondorf does not make an appearance in game but is mentioned in the game's prologue detailing the events of The Wind Waker.

Decline Timeline
This is the timeline where Ganondorf killed Link in his final battle with him, leading to the Imprisoning War described in the backstory to A Link to the Past.

A Link to The Past

 * See: Agahnim

Ganondorf appears in the backstory of A Link To The Past (manga only), showing how he stole the Triforce and became Ganon. He also appears in the non-canon comic, which features the first ever design of Ganondorf. Although the manga is non-canon, it should be noted that it bore a strong resemblance to Ganondorf's appearance in Ocarina of Time.

Oracle of Ages/Seasons
Ganondorf appears again as Agunima (a copy), who was left to guard the Dancing Dragon Dungeon.

He was also to appear in the Linked games as a boss before transforming into Ganon but was cut. In the final game he appears in his Ganon form after he is resurrected by Twinrova.

A Link Between Worlds

 * See: Yuga 

Ganondorf appears in his Ganon form  in Lorule where he is resurrected by Yuga. Ganondorf's Lorule counterpart, Yuga, is one of the games main antagonists alongside Ganon himself, late in the game, Ganon and Yuga fuse into Yuga Ganon.

The Legend of Zelda
Ganondorf appears as Ganon: who had stolen the Triforce of Power attacked Hyrule in an attempt to steal the Triforce of Wisdom. He made his base of operations in Death Mountain under Spectacle Rock. Princess Zelda split the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces. His humanoid form also appears in game under the aliases 'Agahnim' during the time of disasters in Hyrule, he joins the king and stops them all, only to take control of Hyrule after the king drops his guard transforming the land into the Dark World, he also manages to take control of Hyrule by stating that Link is behind these events, at the end of the game, Link defeats Agahnim, who then transforms into Ganon, ands to prevent Ganon from laying his hands on it. Link assembled them and fought and defeated Ganon, using the Silver Arrows to defeat him.

The Adventure of Link
Ganondorf does not appear in the first game's sequel, as his minions are attempting to revive him. He appears in his Ganon form in the game over screen. One of Ganondorf's alter-egos (copies), the Magician, appears in the backstory, where he casts Zelda into a deep sleep.

One of the more notable events in the comics is when Link steals the Triforce of Power from Ganondorf, causing most of his minions to abandon him, and his power to weaken to what they were at the end of the Child portion of Ocarina of Time.