Zant

"My god had only one wish… to merge shadow and light, and make darkness!"

- Zant

Zant, also known as the Usurper King, is the central antagonist of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

He calls himself the King of Twilight and Midna refers to him as the King of Shadows. He is a member of Twili who usurps the throne of the Twilight Realm from Midna before the events of Twilight Princess. He regularly appears wearing a helmet that conceals his face, but removes it before his battle with Link. He is an extremely powerful wizard and Ganondorf's subordinate in the Light World.

Appearance
Zant is a tall and slender being dressed in a black, baggy robe decorated in turquoise Twilight symbols, along with a metallic shoulder guard and brown shoes. Both sleeves on his robe have eight tassels hanging out of each opening. He dons a metallic helmet resembling a face that is capable of retracting itself into the shoulder guard of Zant's robe. The tongue of the helmet acts as the mouthpiece, which is also able to retract itself into the helmet at Zant's will.

Zant keeps his hands hidden under his sleeves, only showing them when he reanimates Stallord. They appear to be dark gray, discolored compared to the regular black and white colors of Twili.

When his helmet is removed, Zant reveals his face with pale blue skin and purple lips, glowing orange eyes, and the Twilight Emblem engraved on his forehead. He also has red hair, although it is hard to notice due to most of it being covered by the balaclava he wears around his head and neck.

History
This biography of Zant is 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.

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.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Zant is a member of the Twili race, and is the self-proclaimed ruler of the Twilight which engulfs much of Hyrule during Twilight Princess. He is portrayed as the central antagonist throughout the game and possesses powers beyond Link's comprehension. There are multiple ways of defeating Zant, the first suspected way being the use of the Fused Shadows. When Zant steals these away from Midna and returns her to the World of Light, the only option left to reach and defeat Zant is to find the Mirror of Twilight which will grant access into the Twilight Realm.

Ganon, who was cast into the Twilight Realm by the Sages, appeared to him in a fiery manifestation of his face. Posing as a god, Ganon offers to impart Zant him with his power (which is, in truth, a fraction of the power of the Goddess, Din), as a means of fulfilling his own desire to return to the World of Light. Using his newfound power, Zant overthrew Midna and turned her into an imp. He changed the rest of the Twili into Shadow Beasts soon afterwards and proclaimed himself as the "Twilight King," with the ultimate goal of spreading Twilight across Hyrule to make way for the Twili to return to the world that he believed rightfully belonged to them. Zant invaded Hyrule Castle and gave Princess Zelda the choice of surrendering or facing the annihilation of Hyrule's inhabitants, Zelda dropping her sword as a symbol of submission, yielded to Zant's demands.

Soon after, Zant engulfed most of Hyrule in Twilight, a process that was soon reversed by Link. He confronts Link and Midna after they finish collecting the Fused Shadow fragments. Zant takes the three Fused Shadow pieces from Midna, scolding her for her betrayal, and tries to convince Midna to give him the power she retained as the Twilight Princess. When Midna refuses, Zant exposes her to the full light of Lanayru, which almost kills her, and places a Shadow Crystal in wolf Link's forehead, keeping him in a permanent wolf state. The duo escaped Zant with the help of Lanayru, yet their paths crossed again at Arbiter's Grounds. He is surprised to see Link alive yet believes that it will be the last time they meet. Zant then places a Twilight Sword through Stallord's skull before departing, which reanimates the giant fossil. After defeating Stallord, Link and Midna discover that Zant had attempted to destroy the Mirror of Twilight, but lacking the true power to do so, he could only shatter it into four shards and scatter the pieces across Hyrule.

When Link and Midna meet Zant in the Palace of Twilight in the Twilight Realm, he undergoes a change in behavior that drastically contrasts the character that he displayed before. The reasons to this change are often debated by Twilight Princess fans. The predominately embraced theory is that the character change symbolizes Zant's revealed immaturity when it comes to ruling the Twili, as is displayed by his childish tantrums and fits. There is a likely possibility Zant was driven to insanity by his anger, despair, and desperation after losing the position as ruler of the Twili to Midna. This is shown by his jumping around, whirling about in a blur of motion, and his reedy shrieks of insane fury.

After Zant is defeated, he proclaims that he will be resurrected infinitely by his god, who is in reality simply Ganondorf, and that the curse placed on Midna cannot be removed while Ganon is still alive. Midna, hearing this taunting speech, destroys him with a mere fraction of the power of the Fused Shadow. However, later in the game, it is implied that Ganondorf probably would never have revived Zant because he believed the entire Twili race to be foolish, and that they had already served their purpose in restoring his power.

At the end of the game, a vision of Zant is shown abruptly breaking his own neck, and this directly proceeds to Ganondorf's apparent death. There has been no evidence to what actually happened given that it is not known how or if Zant will appear in future games. Based on what is shown, it is believed that either Zant's spirit killed Ganondorf or the vision was symbolic of Ganondorf losing the power he gained from the Twilight Realm, which would have been the last known source that could have kept him alive.

Hyrule Warriors
Zant appears as a minor antagonist in the first half and a major antagonist in the second half of Hyrule Warriors. He joins forces with the Black Witch Cia after she summons him from from the Twilight Princess era via the Gate of Souls. Zant is put in charge of the Twilight Realm and tasked with protecting the Gate of Souls from Link, Midna and their many allies. Zant summons hordes of enemies, including the ferocious dragon Argorok, to kill the heroes but this ultimately fails, which forces Zant to battle the heroes personally. He is also defeated, but following Cia's death at the Valley of Seers, Zant is revived by Ganondorf and employed to serve him in his quest to reclaim the Triforce (along with Ghirahim). Zant and Ghirahim command Ganondorf's forces in the Gerudo Desert, but they are both defeated once again and finally destroyed.

Zant is also a playable character, unlockable in Adventure Mode.

Boss Strategy
Zant is one of the most diverse bosses in the game, with the ability to emulate previous battles and change assault tactics.

Forest Zant will first recreate the Forest Temple boss arena and float above the poisonous water while firing an array of dark energy balls. Block these with Link's shield and use his Gale Boomerang to knock him down before he warps away. When struck with the Gale Boomerang, Zant will skip across the venomous pool and land on the ground to regain his composure. Use this brief moment as an opportunity to attack him with Link's sword before he recovers. Repeat this a few times and he will change the arena.

Zant changes the enviorment to that of the mini-boss arena seen in the Goron Mines, and will jump up and down repeatedly along the borders of the magnetic platform in an attempt to make Link slide off the edge, laughing maniacally as he does so. Avoid falling into the lava by using the Iron Boots when necessary (although, with good handling, the boots may not be needed at all). Eventually, he will stop and attempt to attack Link again with a flurry of energy blasts. The attack will leave him exhausted, so remove the Iron Boots and quickly attack him before he catches his breath. Repeat this a few times and he will change the arena again.

Next, Zant recreates the Lakebed Temple boss arena. Be sure to equip Link with the Zora Armor so that he can breathe underwater, and his Iron Boots to sink to the lakebed below. At first, a giant helmet in likeness to Zant's will emerge from the sand, open up, and he will attack Link with energy balls from within; a familiar tactic. Use Link's Clawshot to draw him close and then, after equipping the Iron Boots, attack him with Link's sword. The helmet will disappear, and then another four will rise around Link. Only one, upon opening, will reveal Zant inside, and he will attack Link with more blasts. After he is done, he will wait a few seconds before he closes the helmet. At this point quickly use the Clawshot to pull him out and attack him. He will teleport back into the helmet and Link will have to figure out which one he is in and then repeat the process until he changes the arena again.

Next Zant emulates the mini-boss arena in the Forest Temple. He will leap from totem pole to totem pole, occasionally stopping to attack Link with his common method of firing energy balls. Avoid the blasts and roll into the pole he is standing on twice to knock him down (and, rather humorously, get his helmet stuck in the ground), and then attack him. Repeat this a few times and the arena will, once again, change.

Zant will change the field to that of the Snowpeak Ruins and grow to a gargantuan size. In this giant state, Zant will hover above the arena and Link will need to avoid him when he drops down to avoid being crushed; by using the reflection off the ice on the floor, Link can determine when he will fall. With the Ball and Chain, Link must strike him on one of his feet as he stomps around to make him shrink down into a size that Link can attack, but he will need to chase Zant around (which is quite tricky on the ice) because he will attempt to evade Link while hopping across the arena gripping his foot. Repeat this a few times to go to the last arena.

The final arena lies just outside of Hyrule Castle, and Zant will wield two swords from underneath his sleeves. With his two swords, he will simply start attacking Link in a maniacal fashion, that of which Link can either evade, attack him with a Back Slice, or attack him directly. Occasionally, Zant will appear with his own version of the Hurricane Spin and will be left dazed for a few seconds when he wears himself out. This is the best opportunity to attack. Also, if Link hits Zant with a spin attack while he is performing this move, it will cause him to stop and catch his breath. After many sword strikes, Zant will be finally defeated.

Unlike other bosses, he is not killed directly by Link. He is weakened by him and, panting, angers Midna by saying that she cannot be restored to her original self. She stabs him with her "hair", of which he inflates and explodes.

Trivia

 * Zant is the first major Zelda villain to yield a Heart Container, the second being Ghirahim, and the third being Yuga.