Even though OOT was the one I liked more I just can’t help but feel sympathy for WW Ganondorf. He is pretty chill until the end of the game when the king ruins his plan. Then he goes insane and tries to kill link but I feel bad for him.
What I learned was that ganondarf matured. I never really thought about it when I played it before. But it makes him more relatable. We can all sympathize with him in a sense. Always having something he longed for near enough for him to experience it, but far out of his reach that he should not have it as his own. It kinda makes me mad at the king and his wish. Who knows, maybe this mature version of ganondarf, after receiving hyrule as his own kingdom, would’ve have been a good king. Something to think about. (Edit) thanks for all the likes, and I get it. Ganon was still evil. Lol
When asked to leave with them, the King replied: “ah, but child… that land, will not be Hyrule.” Then chose to die with his country. In the end, Ganondorf and the King were one and the same. Relics of the past
I think Ganondorf was deliberately characterized as someone who failed to truly mature. He's older, more self-aware, and speaks with wistful nostalgia, but he's just as driven by selfishness and greed as ever. Even seeing that Hyrule is dead and forgotten, he can't bring himself to move on because it would require him to accept that all his evil schemes really were pointless in the end. He's ready to destroy everything on the surface just so he can force the world back into his comfort zone rather than take the risk to grow. When that's finally stripped from him, he breaks down and lashes out at Link and Zelda. Killing them wouldn't benefit him in any way and nothing was stopping him from trying to save himself: he just wanted to throw a tantrum because it was now impossible for him to get his way. He was made the best possible villain for a coming-of-age story like the Wind Waker: a man who brings misery and death to others because he failed to learn some of the most important lessons of growing up in accepting loss and learning to accept change.
To add to what you said, remember that Ganondorf states that the Gods betrayed the people of Hyrule. By which he means that in their hour of need, when the Hero of Time wasn't there to save them and the people prayed to the Gods for salvation, they responded by destroying the entire world with the great flood. Such senseless destruction with unimaginable casualties, to stop a single man. The once great cultures and civilizations of Hyrule were now reduced to shadows of their former glory, consisting of small scattered populations living on small islands, with their rich history forgotten. Even as a kid, a part of me wanted Ganondorf to revive Hyrule back to what it was in Ocarina of Time.
I always took Ganondorf saying the 'wind is blowing' as the winds of his home, bringing nothing but death to him and his people. He came so close to his goal, only to have it snatched away and brought to his end once again by those uncaring winds. That was the moment that cemented my love for Ganondorf as a character, not just a villain- even if he had good intentions, in the end he is destined to fail time and again due to no fault of his own. He is cursed by Demise more so than Link and Zelda in my opinion.
He wins sometimes, that's the entire reason Hyrule was washed away before Wind Waker. The same goes for Link, he loses sometimes (think of the fallen hero timeline, or BoTW Hyrule's) and dies. He won against the sages in Twilight Princesss and so on. It is just that we play as link during the Zelda games, meaning we rarely get to see Ganondorf taking Ws. They took heavy inspiration from the Ying/Yang power struggle, that's why Ganon always gets a piece of the triforce. The 3 main godesses might be more neutral than people think.
this ganon is by far my favorite, he just feels so human and in the end he technically got what he wanted. to feel the wind of hyrule. he wanted the best for his people but by the time he has the triforce, they're gone. there was nothing left for him other than the wind he so desired. so in the end, i think he was honestly happy with his defeat. because the last thing he felt, was the thing he wanted all along. the winds of hyrule.
I hope we get some depth like this for Ganondorf in Tears of the Kingdom. It would serve as an excellent contrast to the seemingly mindless mass of malice that was Calamity Ganon.
I think it would be interesting to have this Ganon interact with the Gerudo as they are now. Urbosa basically laid it out, she hates Ganondorf because he is a stain on the history of the Gerudo. A future in which Nabooru’s faction won out and Ganondorf’s influence is no longer there. It might be interesting if he still had those feelings but now for a race that wants nothing to do with him. Perhaps an older Riju could throw that goal back at him saying, “my people do not wish for Hylian winds, you do.”
I sincerely hope so too. Breath of the wild was a masterpiece and after letting in sink in I loved the non linear storytelling, but it was really missing some detail on characters until the champions ballad. Ganon still got nothing however. I’d love to see the intellect back. I’d adore seeing him frustrated at being reduced to a mindless beast over and over, fighting to regain his intellect only to face the same endless cycle. It would be great if his motivation is to stop that loop for his own reasons rather than just hur hur destroy the world pig man.
I always thought that the Helmroc king was a magically enhanced Cucco, just based on its face and chicken-like comb. (Comb is what that weird fleshy thing on chicken heads is called.) So when the Helmroc King kidnaps link's sister, he's probably thinking, "This is revenge for when your ancestor smacked my grandma that one time!"
I love that because its Link’s ancestor and the chicken’s grandma, it implies that between the hundreds or thousands of years that went by between links incarnations, there were only 2 generations of cuccoos born
As hilarious as this is: Its confirmed that Ayrll being grabbed was a complete, and total, accident. The Helmaroc King was going for Tetra and thought Aryll was her, apparently it has really bad eyesight. Its still hilarious to think about
Honestly, I always thought it was a Hybrid that Ganon(dorf) uses magic on to corrupt. A Hybrid of what? Cucco and Crow. As the only other games we see the Roc/Eagle/Helmarok are ones that have some form of Crow enemy. And while yes, the birds in WW are definitely more vulture-like. I still feel it COULD be argued that they are actually Long-Necked Crows. Crows that evolved a long neck to adapt to finding food/prey on the Great Sea.
I think Ganon using a puppet version of himself was a sign of his newfound maturity. He knew that transforming himself could be risky, since it means to channel his full wrath and just go completely hog wild. So rather than gamble on losing himself to his anger and being bested by Link, he conjures the puppet both as a safer means of trying to subdue Link and get the Triforce of Courage, but also a test as he had grown to admire his new adversary, who greatly embodied the same kind of spirit as the Hero of Time, even this wasn't a proper reincarnation of his old foe. In a similar way, the Blights from Breath of the Wild may have been whatever fragment of Ganon's mind using puppet-like proxies to carry out his bidding. Which would fit with how the final battle in that game has Zelda mention that Ganon has given up at that moment trying to restore his body and is just throwing a "to heck with everything" tantrum.
In the Japanese version of Breath of the Wild, Zelda states that Ganon refused to give up on reincarnation. Tears of the Kingdom show that this translation is the correct one as Ganondorf was being prevented from properly reincarnating, however, despite this, tried to form a new body out of his Malice and Sheikah Tech (though was unable to complete it), proving that Ganon refused to give up on reincarnation.
@@alchemysaga3745 my head canon is that WW Link still isn’t a proper Link, but after seeing him Hylia went “this one will work” and started the cycle again with him
OoT was what drew me in, but Wind Waker was the game the won my heart as a 10 year old kid. The feeling of discovery and adventure is unmatched and the music is some of the best in the series, what a beautiful work of art.
Nice Zelda 2 Link's adventure is what drew me in even though I didn't know how to play it as a kid but A Link to the Past was what cemented me as a Zelda fan.
The Forbidden woods was actually the Kokiri forest. If you look throughout the dungeon, familiar stumps can be seen. And the one holding the boss key is Saria's house.
Oh holy sh*t, I'm buying the game again (since mine was stolen and I want the original gc version I grew up with) I never noticed that. On my next playthrough I'll have to check it out.
I kinda thought that when Ganondorf said that the wind was blowing, he meant the wind of his own desert homeland. A wind that brought nothing but death, meaning he knew his own death was upon him then.
I think the giant versions of normal enemies (Gohma, Hemaroc King, etc.) were manipulated with Ganondorf’s magic. I think with his power sealed, he could corrupt/manipulate existing creatures, but with his power fully intact, he could create new monsters from scratch. Hence the giant monsters based on existing creatures before Link pulls the sword and Phantom Ganons afterwards.
wait...Ganondorf has a a LAST NAME?! Anywho, Wind Waker's Gandondorf is my favorite. He has the most character in this game, I feel. I just...really like how sad his story is.
As someone who grew up with A Link to the Past and read the lore in the instruction often: Welcome to new-to-you knowledge! 😄 You're one of today's lucky 10,000! 🎉
Out of every incarnation of Ganondorf seen so far, Wind Waker's is my favorite. He's still evil, but he's more thoughtful and introspective. In some ways, he's almost sympathetic in his nostalgia. Then you zoom out a bit and realize that, despite seeing that his greed and malice led to all his efforts being meaningless in the end, he's really learned nothing. He's had ample opportunity to take over the Great Sea after being freed, but he just squats in his Fortress, constantly seeking a chance to take his old goal. All these years and he's done nothing but stew in his own obsessions and bring constant misery to those around him. All so he can call himself "ruler" of a long-dead land to satisfy his ego and avoid the fear of facing his own weaknesses. When all his efforts are dashed in front of his face, instead of saving himself or reflecting, he throws a tantrum and lashes out at Link and Zelda. He's lived all this time and failed to really grow. The Wind Waker is a coming-of-age story that emphasizes the importance of having the courage to face uncertainty for growth, Ganondorf represents the perfect ideological foil for all the themes of the narrative.
Honestly forgot how good this ganondorf is simply for the surprise arch of him trying to break the cycle and all he wanted was to save the garudo from their harsh life hence his OoT actions but the power corrupted him
Dude I REALLY loved how intense the mini-boss theme is and I believe this is the first Zelda game where each boss in the game has their own unique theme instead of sharing it with all of the other major bosses barring the final boss (usually Ganon). My only nitpick is that I wished they did the boss subtitles when the boss is introduced but other than that, solid game!
I think this Ganondorf is my favorite too. He was my first Ganondorf I ever beat as a kid, and he seems to be the Ganon with the least to lose. Hyrule is no more, the kingdom cannot be recovered, and his people no longer can be distinguished from other surface dwellers. He basically has nothing to lose, and everything to gain. If Ganon can take over this time, he can do whatever he wants with the world and no one will be able to stop him… except for Link and Zelda. Plus, honestly, this is the closest I feel Ganondorf has gotten to actually succeeding. Technically, (or at least from what I’ve heard) this Link was NOT the reincarnation of the hero as every other link has been. This link had to prove himself to the gods that he was worthy, and so he did. If Link hadn’t practically crawled his way out of hell to prove he was worthy, Ganon would likely have succeeded sooner rather than later. Tetra would have been none the wiser and likely died at his hands, and eventually Ganon would probably have gotten all three parts of the triforce. Also the final battle being on the roof of Ganons Tower as the sea fucking crashes down around you is SUCH a fucking sick final battle arena
All links are reincarnations of SS link. Demhise's last words are "An incarnation of my hatred will forever hunt those with the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero!" The spirit is what is reincarnated. So Tetra may not be a reincarnation, she may just be a descendant but this has hylias blood, but link is ALWAYS a reincarnation. And EVERY link has to prove their worth.
@@tanandalynch9441 Y'know what that really makes me want? A game where Link can't. Not like in OoT's Fallen Timeline, but like the story opens with Link and Zelda in the middle of stopping Ganon and it goes wrong. And you play from someone else's perspective -- personally, I'd love a playable Zelda.
Ganondorf outright says "You are the Hero of Time reborn" to Link after he defeats puppet Ganon. I have no idea where the idea that WW Link isn't an incarnation of the hero came from, but it's disproven in its own game.
@@tanandalynch9441 all links are incarnation of the Hero where as Hero of Twilight is the blood descendent of the Hero of Time where Link from Wind Waker is not the incarnation of any Hero cause he had to prove to the old gods that he was worthy of carry the title of "Hero".
I remember seeing people complain about the bosses in Metroid Prime 2 just being larger versions of normal enemies. Which, I mean, that's true, but it's kinda funny to see that it's even more true here: Gohma is a big Magtail, Kalle Demos is a big Boko Baba, Helmaroc King is a big Kargorok, Jalhalla is a big Poe, Molgera is a big Lanmola, Puppet Ganon is a big Ganondorf.
Wind Waker Ganondorf has to be my favorite version of him, I feel like he was close to breaking free from Demise’s influence as he was completely willing to spare Link and Zelda. Demise’s Curse was meant to KILL Link and Zelda’s descendants but WW Ganondorf didn’t want to do that until AFTER the King wished on the Triforce!
When Ganondorf is finally taken down, now that I think about it. His expression is not one of despair or ire or anything negative... It's relief, that his suffering might finally be over, that it's time to rest and acceptance that his time was over long ago.
I want a Spirit Tracks bosses explained. That game is so under rated. I do think you should do a Phantom Hourglass one first but I really want a Spirit Tracks one.
Ganondorf mentioning the wind was blowing was a reference to the winds of the desert being a bringer of death. He wasn't remembering the winds of Hyrule, but the winds of the desert.
This went to a place I didn't expect. My cousin and I have been lore diving and theory crafting since Tears is right around the corner. Amazing video dude.
Wind Waker's Ganondorf is by far and away the best version of Ganon. So many of his other iterations are more or less just pure evil or a force of nature like in BotW, but here he is actually relatable to an extent and you almost pity him.
17:10 Great video, but Ganondorf actually *does* transform into Puppet Ganon himself. Don’t you remember the cutscene before the fight? You literally see him morph and hear his bones crack
I think I should mention that Ganondorf's power wasn't sealed by the Master sword as the Japanese version has him instead say that it sealed his demon tribe. So phantom Ganon was likely imprisoned in the same way the demons in Hyrule castle were imprisoned while Ganondorf himself didn't lose any of his power(other than a demon army), this is perhaps why he was able to curse the Great sea with an endless night. Ganondorf's speech atop his tower doesn't really show that he cared for his people, all he says is that his tribe lived in a desert, he didn't like the harsh climate of the desert and desired Hyrule for himself. "My country lay within a vast desert. When the sun rose into the sky, a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came, the wind carried the same thing... Death. But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. I coveted that wind, I suppose." "ワシの国は 砂漠の中にあった My nation was within a desert 日のあるうちは灼熱の風 月がのぼれば荒涼の風・・・ 風が死を運んできた・・・ During the day there was a scorching hot wind, when the moon rose it was a desolate wind... The wind carried death with it… ハイラルの大地に吹く風は、 死とは別のものを運んでくる The wind blowing in the land of Hyrule carried something else, which wasn't death. ワシは、この風が欲しかったのかもしれぬ I might have wished to gain that wind, even." It's about himself not his people. The Gerudo unlike their former king did seem to be pretty content with living in the desert despite the climate. Ganondorf has mostly been treating his people as tools even before he became a great demon king.
In a way, it makes sense that a weakened Ganondorf would use corrupted insects, they're plentiful, breed rapidly, are small enough and lack enough intelligence so as to be easily corrupted (thus reducing his power usage) and even further, they're not something anyone would take notice of until the infestation is already too difficult to control.
Wind Waker's Ganondorf wound up being my favorite after finally playing and beating it. I felt more sympathy for him, all he wanted was something better for his people. In a way, Hilda was the same. They just went about it in the wrong way
I've always seen Ganon as a tragic villain. He wants a better life for his people but he is the reincarnation of demise. No matter how hard he tries to do what he thinks is right he will always be drawn to evil
I always figured that the majority of enemies are just naturally occurring fauna and flora. I figured Ganandorf summons or transports them and changes their natural demeanor. I don't think the gods are above doing this either, and thats why trials throughout the series have regular enemies, because the gods summoned them as well. They're not part of the armies of evil, they just get used as pawns by everyone.
Pretty sure this is somewhat the case. Long ago, Nintendo had said on the record that the Moblins were Ganon's only true followers. This was before the Bokoblins were a thing; based on more recent games I'd say this is less likely the case now, but most of the enemies in the original Zelda weren't on Ganon's side. Most of the creatures in the overworld were implied to just be natural dangers. With the primary exceptions being Moblins and Armos. In the dungeons, enemies were either wild animals or guardians of the dungeons, which implied that Zelda might have created them. Zelda broke up the Triforce of Wisdom and hid it in the dungeons to keep it from Ganon. Though at least some of this is dulled by the presence of a lot of the creatures in Ganon's fortress. That said Zelda might have reverse corrupted Ganon's monsters in the first eight dungeons or Ganon may have copied or corrupted monsters Zelda summoned. So creatures are magically summoned (for good or ill), naturally occuring, or corrupted in some way; though some seem to be a different combinations of these depending on the game you look at. For example, Keese are normal bats in most games but interestingly the single eyeball Keese first appeared in the Dark World of LttP as a corrupted counterpart to the naturally occuring Light World Keese. Though, LttP seems to have two versions of a lot of enemies and some of them are already corrupt in the Light World. IE Castle Guards become Moblins. This implies that things can go through drastic changes depending on the level of corruption. If you take that, it seems that the Keese in BotW are either corrupted by malice (hence their similar appearance to Dark World Keese) or they are a malice-based lifeform summoned by the calamity in the first place. It is hard to say in the end whether Keese are natural or not in BotW, but they appear to be natural most of the time.
Dammit, the way you described Ganondorf’s perspective leading up to his death there at the end while the image of Hyrule overlapped with his dying words actually brought tears to my eyes man wtf
You know, with that connection between the Phantom Ganon's sword and Majora's Mask, I look at the 2 masked bosses the game has and it makes me wonder... after all, we never see what happens to Termina in the adult timeline. Maybe it was completely destroyed by the "moon", Ganondorf somehow found out about it and salvaged the remains of the masks used to curse the four giants. Maybe that's what made the bird grow into a giant and what allowed the Poe to fuse together into a single giant monster. Emphasis on giant in both cases.
LttP Next please. It is my absolute FAVORITE Zelda game ever. I go back to it about once a year. I'm 40, I have played LttP most of my life, and it's still my favorite game in the series. One of my "pick up and play any day" games.
WW Ganondorf will always be my favorite version of him. That last monologue he gives before facing off against Link made him seem so human, almost regretful of everything that he'd been through. I doubt Ganondorf will ever be happy in any of his lives, but maybe he realizes that and curses his destiny for denying him that simple pleasure.
My first Zelda, always a favorite to go back to despite the sad ending, don’t care about the different art style. Only issue would probably be the lack of more unique mini bosses. From loving the seafaring adventure to having Big Octos haunt my dreams. Always a favorite classic.
I have been a Zelda fan since the first game came out as a kid, and man I tell you what... You have got some wonderful knowledge about these games. I really enjoy these videos!
15:05 Would be interesting to make a video studying the names in the Zelda franchise. For example, the "Dark" word in most of the bosses names is tranlated from japanese word "Demon", so as references in japanese texts through the games that refers to some demonic clan and even the malice, years before BotW.
15:51 For some reason, even it says right there "Dragmire", for a split second I thought it was "Quagmire". Ganondorf Quagmire. That would be a different kind of story.
I do still wish that the Wind Waker Ganondorf got his wish. Yeah yeah, don’t root for the bad guy, but given the state of the Great Sea’s islands, it would’ve been for the better.
Talking about Gohma. Bandit: nightmare inducing... Me: she's not that bad. Bandit: imagine how many there would be if Link hadn't wiped them out. Me: 😳 nightmare fuel it is.
Thank you so much for this video! A few months back I streamed this and it was my first time ever playing it. I don't think it's the best Zelda game but one thing that I think it had above and beyond the others is the music. The music is so damn good and made playing it enjoyable. If they did a remake there is much I would probably change but it was still really good to play.
Pro tip, if you get the blue cane in Zelda A Link to the Past and have a green potion for back up you can knock the Moth boss right out with out taking any damage
Woo! I love Wind Waker, first Zelda game, and I definitely like this Ganondorf, they gave him more reasons for wanting the Triforce and replaying it as an older kid, made me pity him.
"Yeah, there's probably a theory or twelve there..." I love it. I can't wait to hear your complete thoughts on the mountain smithies making Phantom Ganon's sword.
I really love your tone shift when talking about "The Boi Himself". He's also my favourite version of Ganondorf and you gave him the respect he deserves. About puppet Gannon. I guess you thought about that but didn't have anything to prove it either, but I feel like WW's Ganondorf knows he's been controlled by Demise and want to sever the bound between the chosen ones (which you talked about) and the Puppets are a way to show he isn't Demise's puppet and that he controls its power instead. Just look at that red string of fate bound to the puppet! You can't destroy it, but I'm sure it has a lot of symbolism. Bonus about Helmaroc. In french, its name is "Roi Cuirasse", and it's also shared with the big lizard "Helmaroc" called "Roi Cuirasse" in french. Guess many other languages did the same! Also, the "Master Sword" is called "Excalibur" in french, which could help your theories! ;o
You make some interesting observations here. One was your description of the darknut having the royal family crest. And also the naming key of the monsters. When a link to the past came out I was obsessed with it. I thought the royal family crest looked cool. But I thought the wings around the Triforce were just a random design of some kind of bird themed pedastal holding it. This game came out in 1991 I believe. It would be 20 years before the loftwing are actually presented in the games in Skyward Sword. And they are such an important part of the royal family and its lineage. And Hyrule in general. 20 years! The way they are able to stitch all this into the lore over all that time is incredible. Either they had these ideas and weren't really able to find a way to implement them at the time or they looked at the artwork they had randomly created and found ways to make it consistent with the expanding lore. Either way, it's mind blowing. Because I remember thinking there were no birds in ALTTP other than bats and that annoying boss. Also the first appearance of an underground worm boss was in ALTTP and was named "Lan-mol-a" in the desert. So the naming also has remained consistent.
Bandit, this is great! Also, give some more love to the Minish Cap. That game deserves some love and appearance and it has a lot of meta, trivia and lore that connects Skyward, Wind Waker, ALLTP (Since there's A LOT of references to it) and Even Ocarina at some point. That game got me into Zelda, it's charming and it is one of the best 2D Zelda's to date
In the ocarina of time manga, The Great Deku Tree mentions how the spider boss (hate that I forget her title) had simply been twisted, transformed, and mind controlled by Ganondorf (he phrased it as ‘she was not in control of her actions ether’) So then makes sense how she could easily be recreated, as no more special than a typical pawn.
Adding to the Shiekah/Tower of the Gods connection theory would be the boss itself, a test seemingly based on the Hero of Time’s fight with Bongo Bongo in the adult timeline that would’ve been remembered by descendants. Great video Bandit! Also, on puppet/phantom ganon connection: I always thought there was only one phantom ganon in the game, symbolized by his sword remaining when you finally kill him for good. The puppet ganon I interpreted to be ganondorf’s attempt to have the power of his ganon form without giving into his own fatalistic urges to transform himself with power. As you said, this Ganondorf in some ways regrets what has happened in the past and is trying to do something different. He never attempts to actually kill Zelda or link or the other girl’s kidnapped until his chances to wish for the old Hyrule is gone. So I figured the puppet was literal in this case with Ganondorf trying to distance himself through use of magic from succumbing to the evil of demise’s curse driving him to give in to power fully. Just my take 🙂
Maybe wizrobes are more like a secret society that practices dark magic that anyone can be part of. I think that's a simpler explanation than saying they must be the same race across all games
This is more of a Throwback "Theory", but this reminded me of one of my first theories about Wind Waker back when I was a kid - the fact that Link and Makar's Predecessor looked so similar had me CONVINCED they came from the same place originally :,) Really warms my heart and makes me laugh to look back at it now. Small first steps for a baby theorist 💖
20:22 they could still bring Ganon back in the adult timeline, imagine if treasure hunters from new hyrule managed to find what appeared to be the master sword in some statue (not realizing it was ganondorf), then people are challenged to pull the master sword from the statue (ala King Arthur). Eventually link after beating some trials beforehand is able to pull the sword out, only to release ganondorf from his stone tomb
I think wind waker ganondorf is by far the best ganondorf in the entire series. He is the only one who has shown any amount of growth from his first appearance to the next. As subtle as it is, and as minimal as they showed, he does have a story. Imagine being the king of an entire species of women, the pressure of royalty thrust on you from birth, it's your destiny to lead them to greatness yet you live in a nearly inhospitable environment. Your people thought of as thieves and bandits. And yet there is a kingdom that flourishes and prospers. Ganondorf started his conquest of Hyrule to get to the triforce with I would think pure intentions for his people, as horrible as his actions were. But like most people he is still human, for lack of a better term. He gained the triforce of power and power can corrupt. He became a corrupt tyrannical ruler, his original reason for taking the triforce completely gone. Replaced with a lust for power that drove him insane. But as you said he grew patience after being trapped away. He bided his time and laid down the seeds to eventually lead to his escape. The only thing driving him not a lust for power, but his original want to rule hyrule. But in this case it's more because of nostalgia. Ganondorf in wind waker portrays an old man who is only running on an old dream. And when that dream is ripped away from him one final time he finally snaps again. Reverting back to the evil demon king ganondorf we all know from ocarina of Time
17:15 there's an entire animation of Ganondorf transforming into Puppet Ganon, probably a half baked transformation to not put "all of his eggs into one basket"
One thing that stuck out to me was the symbolism with this fight with ganondorf and the other ganon fights. Most fights with him are when he’s a beast and the hero’s are only killing the beast ganon but this one, he isn’t a beast, he’s a broken man. Out of all of the hero’s only one had to kill a man and not a beast. The hero of twilight is in a similar boat, in hyrule castle he kills the beast ganon and in hyrule field kills the king of thieves ganondorf. But the hero of winds is the only one who had to kill just the man ganondorf while others had to kill the beast.
Just found this series, and I feel like I've been looking for something like this for a long time!! I can't wait for your possible dungeon series also!
WW Ganondorf is almost a redemption arc. TBH if we had united and brought Hyrule back and he became a good king, that'd be an awesome timeline to explore. It could split again, one timeline being Ganondorf remaining good and a new evil rising with the powers of Demise, and another where he turns back to his old ways and brings ruin back to Hyrule.
Here's a interesting idea for the wizrobes: It's not a creature but more like a profession And because they (probably) use a bit of ganons power for their magic their body gets changed over the time That's why they're other birds (evolved from birbs) Or human like in the first few games and then later in botw more like monsters because ages have passed
I always felt that this Gannondorf was more.... reserved & a bit remorseful. That he wasn't purely evil & power hungry, but had learned from his failure in OoT
13:37 I like the theory about magic use however I would also say that in other timelines there have been River Zora which are aggressive. Perhaps the regular Zora turned into the Rito and the river Zora became wizrobes
Wind Waker's Ganondorf is easily my favourite one, because his shift in personality compared to pretty much every other version is just fascinating to me. But I interpret him a bit differently. I see him as a broken man, haunted by the threads of fate. He's grown tired of the constant fight between light and dark, but he doesn't have a purpose without it. So, in a last bet against fate itself, he challenged the light one last time, and he made sure that this time would truly be the last. When you meet him before the final showdown, he reminisces of his past ambitions, and his smile seems bitter. His people are dead, Hyrule lies at the bottom of the ocean, and he is at his limit. All he wanted was to guide the Gerudo to a prosperous future. And while he used cruel and manipulative ploys to get closer to the Triforce, he still lost. The king was more willing to drown his kingdom than to accept defeat. This man has lost everything, yet the conflict forbids him to find peace. He makes it clear: only one can have this wish. . But just when he finally earns his opportunity, he is robbed of this chance by King Daphnes, just like before. And once again, the wish isn't to end the fight, but to deny him everything. Finally, he snaps. Consumed by rage over this cruel irony, he lashes out. Only in death does he finally relent. And I'd like to think that the wind he feels is meant to be ambiguous. It could remind him of his home, or his goal. Both meant everything to him. And now, none remains.
No Gannondorf will ever be greater the the wind waker version. He’s utterly tragic and terrifying because he’s a real person and I really hope we get to see a spark of this in tears of the kingdom
[PAINSTAKINGLY HOLDS MY TONGUE ON A THEORY I'VE HAD BOTTLED UP FOR OVER A DECADE I DON'T THINK ANYONE ELSE HAS EVEN REMOTELY HINTED AT IN THE PAST TWENTY YEARS]
Yo I loved this video. I would love to see another video from this series but with Skyward Sword bosses, I think the aesthetics and lore of the game are so cool (yk like it's the first game chronologically, it has the story of the creation of the Master Sword, it has Demise, etc etc) that video would be sick!
Which version of Ganon/dorf is your favorite? I honestly can't choose - it's a tie between WW and OOT for me
@BanditGames Same here! TP version comes pretty close, though!
Even though OOT was the one I liked more I just can’t help but feel sympathy for WW Ganondorf. He is pretty chill until the end of the game when the king ruins his plan. Then he goes insane and tries to kill link but I feel bad for him.
Can you explain why you have a toon link emoji?
OoT or TP Ganondorf... which ya know is the same person so...?
Yuga/Ganon from A Link Between worlds. Makes him look like the clown he is 😤😤😤 (not sure if that counts though since it's not technically Ganon)
What I learned was that ganondarf matured. I never really thought about it when I played it before. But it makes him more relatable. We can all sympathize with him in a sense. Always having something he longed for near enough for him to experience it, but far out of his reach that he should not have it as his own. It kinda makes me mad at the king and his wish. Who knows, maybe this mature version of ganondarf, after receiving hyrule as his own kingdom, would’ve have been a good king. Something to think about.
(Edit) thanks for all the likes, and I get it. Ganon was still evil. Lol
When asked to leave with them, the King replied: “ah, but child… that land, will not be Hyrule.” Then chose to die with his country.
In the end, Ganondorf and the King were one and the same. Relics of the past
@@BanditGames yeah, that’s true. But I’m a relic of the past too. 😂😂😂
I think Ganondorf was deliberately characterized as someone who failed to truly mature. He's older, more self-aware, and speaks with wistful nostalgia, but he's just as driven by selfishness and greed as ever. Even seeing that Hyrule is dead and forgotten, he can't bring himself to move on because it would require him to accept that all his evil schemes really were pointless in the end. He's ready to destroy everything on the surface just so he can force the world back into his comfort zone rather than take the risk to grow. When that's finally stripped from him, he breaks down and lashes out at Link and Zelda. Killing them wouldn't benefit him in any way and nothing was stopping him from trying to save himself: he just wanted to throw a tantrum because it was now impossible for him to get his way.
He was made the best possible villain for a coming-of-age story like the Wind Waker: a man who brings misery and death to others because he failed to learn some of the most important lessons of growing up in accepting loss and learning to accept change.
To add to what you said, remember that Ganondorf states that the Gods betrayed the people of Hyrule. By which he means that in their hour of need, when the Hero of Time wasn't there to save them and the people prayed to the Gods for salvation, they responded by destroying the entire world with the great flood. Such senseless destruction with unimaginable casualties, to stop a single man.
The once great cultures and civilizations of Hyrule were now reduced to shadows of their former glory, consisting of small scattered populations living on small islands, with their rich history forgotten. Even as a kid, a part of me wanted Ganondorf to revive Hyrule back to what it was in Ocarina of Time.
Read the twilight princess manga. He has some pretty awesome dialog
I always took Ganondorf saying the 'wind is blowing' as the winds of his home, bringing nothing but death to him and his people. He came so close to his goal, only to have it snatched away and brought to his end once again by those uncaring winds. That was the moment that cemented my love for Ganondorf as a character, not just a villain- even if he had good intentions, in the end he is destined to fail time and again due to no fault of his own. He is cursed by Demise more so than Link and Zelda in my opinion.
Link and Zelda can fight and win over and over, but Ganon is doomed to fail endlessly
He wins sometimes, that's the entire reason Hyrule was washed away before Wind Waker. The same goes for Link, he loses sometimes (think of the fallen hero timeline, or BoTW Hyrule's) and dies. He won against the sages in Twilight Princesss and so on. It is just that we play as link during the Zelda games, meaning we rarely get to see Ganondorf taking Ws. They took heavy inspiration from the Ying/Yang power struggle, that's why Ganon always gets a piece of the triforce. The 3 main godesses might be more neutral than people think.
@@yoshineitor can you point me in the direction of a timeline where he stays winning though?
@@yoshineitor sure, ganon wins sometimes. But it never sticks. In other words, he won the battle but lost the war
this ganon is by far my favorite, he just feels so human and in the end he technically got what he wanted. to feel the wind of hyrule. he wanted the best for his people but by the time he has the triforce, they're gone. there was nothing left for him other than the wind he so desired. so in the end, i think he was honestly happy with his defeat. because the last thing he felt, was the thing he wanted all along. the winds of hyrule.
I hope we get some depth like this for Ganondorf in Tears of the Kingdom. It would serve as an excellent contrast to the seemingly mindless mass of malice that was Calamity Ganon.
I’d like there to be some scenes that refer directly to legends of ancient heroes in earlier games.
It would be interesting for him to lean more into a desperation to end the cycle
I think it would be interesting to have this Ganon interact with the Gerudo as they are now. Urbosa basically laid it out, she hates Ganondorf because he is a stain on the history of the Gerudo. A future in which Nabooru’s faction won out and Ganondorf’s influence is no longer there. It might be interesting if he still had those feelings but now for a race that wants nothing to do with him. Perhaps an older Riju could throw that goal back at him saying, “my people do not wish for Hylian winds, you do.”
I sincerely hope so too.
Breath of the wild was a masterpiece and after letting in sink in I loved the non linear storytelling, but it was really missing some detail on characters until the champions ballad.
Ganon still got nothing however.
I’d love to see the intellect back. I’d adore seeing him frustrated at being reduced to a mindless beast over and over, fighting to regain his intellect only to face the same endless cycle. It would be great if his motivation is to stop that loop for his own reasons rather than just hur hur destroy the world pig man.
Well you get another type of depths
I always thought that the Helmroc king was a magically enhanced Cucco, just based on its face and chicken-like comb. (Comb is what that weird fleshy thing on chicken heads is called.) So when the Helmroc King kidnaps link's sister, he's probably thinking, "This is revenge for when your ancestor smacked my grandma that one time!"
I love that because its Link’s ancestor and the chicken’s grandma, it implies that between the hundreds or thousands of years that went by between links incarnations, there were only 2 generations of cuccoos born
They are near immortal beings, who call down the wrath if the flock on any foolish enough to provoke them.
As hilarious as this is: Its confirmed that Ayrll being grabbed was a complete, and total, accident. The Helmaroc King was going for Tetra and thought Aryll was her, apparently it has really bad eyesight. Its still hilarious to think about
@@BrianWalker93 you are telling me ... that all of ganon's plans fell apart because his minion is nearsighted ...
Now I feel even worse for ganon
Honestly, I always thought it was a Hybrid that Ganon(dorf) uses magic on to corrupt.
A Hybrid of what? Cucco and Crow. As the only other games we see the Roc/Eagle/Helmarok are ones that have some form of Crow enemy.
And while yes, the birds in WW are definitely more vulture-like. I still feel it COULD be argued that they are actually Long-Necked Crows. Crows that evolved a long neck to adapt to finding food/prey on the Great Sea.
I think Ganon using a puppet version of himself was a sign of his newfound maturity. He knew that transforming himself could be risky, since it means to channel his full wrath and just go completely hog wild. So rather than gamble on losing himself to his anger and being bested by Link, he conjures the puppet both as a safer means of trying to subdue Link and get the Triforce of Courage, but also a test as he had grown to admire his new adversary, who greatly embodied the same kind of spirit as the Hero of Time, even this wasn't a proper reincarnation of his old foe. In a similar way, the Blights from Breath of the Wild may have been whatever fragment of Ganon's mind using puppet-like proxies to carry out his bidding. Which would fit with how the final battle in that game has Zelda mention that Ganon has given up at that moment trying to restore his body and is just throwing a "to heck with everything" tantrum.
In the Japanese version of Breath of the Wild, Zelda states that Ganon refused to give up on reincarnation. Tears of the Kingdom show that this translation is the correct one as Ganondorf was being prevented from properly reincarnating, however, despite this, tried to form a new body out of his Malice and Sheikah Tech (though was unable to complete it), proving that Ganon refused to give up on reincarnation.
If I remember correctly, they retconned the idea that WW Link wasn't a 'proper' reincarnation.
@@alchemysaga3745 my head canon is that WW Link still isn’t a proper Link, but after seeing him Hylia went “this one will work” and started the cycle again with him
OoT was what drew me in, but Wind Waker was the game the won my heart as a 10 year old kid. The feeling of discovery and adventure is unmatched and the music is some of the best in the series, what a beautiful work of art.
Nice Zelda 2 Link's adventure is what drew me in even though I didn't know how to play it as a kid but A Link to the Past was what cemented me as a Zelda fan.
The Forbidden woods was actually the Kokiri forest. If you look throughout the dungeon, familiar stumps can be seen. And the one holding the boss key is Saria's house.
Oh holy sh*t, I'm buying the game again (since mine was stolen and I want the original gc version I grew up with) I never noticed that. On my next playthrough I'll have to check it out.
@@caleviwin It's even hinted at before you enter the dungeon after you collect the Deku leaf.
@@caleviwin I have the collector set on gamecube, has the og Zelda, #2, oot, ww, and twilight princess. Def gonna start playing again
I kinda thought that when Ganondorf said that the wind was blowing, he meant the wind of his own desert homeland. A wind that brought nothing but death, meaning he knew his own death was upon him then.
I think the giant versions of normal enemies (Gohma, Hemaroc King, etc.) were manipulated with Ganondorf’s magic. I think with his power sealed, he could corrupt/manipulate existing creatures, but with his power fully intact, he could create new monsters from scratch. Hence the giant monsters based on existing creatures before Link pulls the sword and Phantom Ganons afterwards.
wait...Ganondorf has a a LAST NAME?!
Anywho, Wind Waker's Gandondorf is my favorite. He has the most character in this game, I feel. I just...really like how sad his story is.
As someone who grew up with A Link to the Past and read the lore in the instruction often: Welcome to new-to-you knowledge! 😄 You're one of today's lucky 10,000! 🎉
yes. dragmire
@@RRios0027And his Ganon form’s full name is Mandrag Ganon; translating to Ganon of The Enchanted Thieves.
Out of every incarnation of Ganondorf seen so far, Wind Waker's is my favorite. He's still evil, but he's more thoughtful and introspective. In some ways, he's almost sympathetic in his nostalgia. Then you zoom out a bit and realize that, despite seeing that his greed and malice led to all his efforts being meaningless in the end, he's really learned nothing. He's had ample opportunity to take over the Great Sea after being freed, but he just squats in his Fortress, constantly seeking a chance to take his old goal. All these years and he's done nothing but stew in his own obsessions and bring constant misery to those around him. All so he can call himself "ruler" of a long-dead land to satisfy his ego and avoid the fear of facing his own weaknesses. When all his efforts are dashed in front of his face, instead of saving himself or reflecting, he throws a tantrum and lashes out at Link and Zelda. He's lived all this time and failed to really grow.
The Wind Waker is a coming-of-age story that emphasizes the importance of having the courage to face uncertainty for growth, Ganondorf represents the perfect ideological foil for all the themes of the narrative.
Honestly forgot how good this ganondorf is simply for the surprise arch of him trying to break the cycle and all he wanted was to save the garudo from their harsh life hence his OoT actions but the power corrupted him
Dude I REALLY loved how intense the mini-boss theme is and I believe this is the first Zelda game where each boss in the game has their own unique theme instead of sharing it with all of the other major bosses barring the final boss (usually Ganon). My only nitpick is that I wished they did the boss subtitles when the boss is introduced but other than that, solid game!
Wind Waker is my favorite Zelda game! I've been waiting for this one!
I think this Ganondorf is my favorite too. He was my first Ganondorf I ever beat as a kid, and he seems to be the Ganon with the least to lose. Hyrule is no more, the kingdom cannot be recovered, and his people no longer can be distinguished from other surface dwellers. He basically has nothing to lose, and everything to gain. If Ganon can take over this time, he can do whatever he wants with the world and no one will be able to stop him… except for Link and Zelda. Plus, honestly, this is the closest I feel Ganondorf has gotten to actually succeeding. Technically, (or at least from what I’ve heard) this Link was NOT the reincarnation of the hero as every other link has been. This link had to prove himself to the gods that he was worthy, and so he did. If Link hadn’t practically crawled his way out of hell to prove he was worthy, Ganon would likely have succeeded sooner rather than later. Tetra would have been none the wiser and likely died at his hands, and eventually Ganon would probably have gotten all three parts of the triforce.
Also the final battle being on the roof of Ganons Tower as the sea fucking crashes down around you is SUCH a fucking sick final battle arena
All links are reincarnations of SS link. Demhise's last words are "An incarnation of my hatred will forever hunt those with the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero!" The spirit is what is reincarnated. So Tetra may not be a reincarnation, she may just be a descendant but this has hylias blood, but link is ALWAYS a reincarnation. And EVERY link has to prove their worth.
@@tanandalynch9441 Y'know what that really makes me want? A game where Link can't. Not like in OoT's Fallen Timeline, but like the story opens with Link and Zelda in the middle of stopping Ganon and it goes wrong. And you play from someone else's perspective -- personally, I'd love a playable Zelda.
Ganondorf outright says "You are the Hero of Time reborn" to Link after he defeats puppet Ganon. I have no idea where the idea that WW Link isn't an incarnation of the hero came from, but it's disproven in its own game.
@@raixira that'd be neat or even an AU where Ganondorf is the hero
@@tanandalynch9441 all links are incarnation of the Hero where as Hero of Twilight is the blood descendent of the Hero of Time where Link from Wind Waker is not the incarnation of any Hero cause he had to prove to the old gods that he was worthy of carry the title of "Hero".
Helmaroc King wasn't corrupted, Ganondorf just has birdseed up his giant sleeves.
Lmao thanks for the laugh
I remember seeing people complain about the bosses in Metroid Prime 2 just being larger versions of normal enemies. Which, I mean, that's true, but it's kinda funny to see that it's even more true here: Gohma is a big Magtail, Kalle Demos is a big Boko Baba, Helmaroc King is a big Kargorok, Jalhalla is a big Poe, Molgera is a big Lanmola, Puppet Ganon is a big Ganondorf.
Wind Waker Ganondorf has to be my favorite version of him, I feel like he was close to breaking free from Demise’s influence as he was completely willing to spare Link and Zelda. Demise’s Curse was meant to KILL Link and Zelda’s descendants but WW Ganondorf didn’t want to do that until AFTER the King wished on the Triforce!
When Ganondorf is finally taken down, now that I think about it. His expression is not one of despair or ire or anything negative... It's relief, that his suffering might finally be over, that it's time to rest and acceptance that his time was over long ago.
I want a Spirit Tracks bosses explained. That game is so under rated. I do think you should do a Phantom Hourglass one first but I really want a Spirit Tracks one.
3:28 Legend says that Link is still trying to complete the dungeon with at least one month still attached to him
Technically there's only one Phantom Ganon in Wind Waker. He just keeps running away until you nuke him with a light arrow.
Was thinking this
The character development they gave Ganondorf in this game was unreal. They went all out and I loved it
Ganondorf mentioning the wind was blowing was a reference to the winds of the desert being a bringer of death. He wasn't remembering the winds of Hyrule, but the winds of the desert.
What if the winds he felt was just Link blowing into his ear?
This went to a place I didn't expect. My cousin and I have been lore diving and theory crafting since Tears is right around the corner. Amazing video dude.
10:30 - It was stated that TP & WW occur simultaneously in different timelines.
Wind Waker's Ganondorf is by far and away the best version of Ganon. So many of his other iterations are more or less just pure evil or a force of nature like in BotW, but here he is actually relatable to an extent and you almost pity him.
I just found this channel a few days ago and I am loving this series!!
Thank you! Also nice to meet you :)
Welcome! We know you'll enjoy your stay
: )
17:10 Great video, but Ganondorf actually *does* transform into Puppet Ganon himself. Don’t you remember the cutscene before the fight? You literally see him morph and hear his bones crack
Right? Found this one a bit odd
I think I should mention that Ganondorf's power wasn't sealed by the Master sword as the Japanese version has him instead say that it sealed his demon tribe. So phantom Ganon was likely imprisoned in the same way the demons in Hyrule castle were imprisoned while Ganondorf himself didn't lose any of his power(other than a demon army), this is perhaps why he was able to curse the Great sea with an endless night.
Ganondorf's speech atop his tower doesn't really show that he cared for his people, all he says is that his tribe lived in a desert, he didn't like the harsh climate of the desert and desired Hyrule for himself.
"My country lay within a vast desert. When the sun rose into the sky, a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came, the wind carried the same thing... Death. But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. I coveted that wind, I suppose."
"ワシの国は 砂漠の中にあった
My nation was within a desert
日のあるうちは灼熱の風 月がのぼれば荒涼の風・・・ 風が死を運んできた・・・
During the day there was a scorching hot wind, when the moon rose it was a desolate wind... The wind carried death with it…
ハイラルの大地に吹く風は、 死とは別のものを運んでくる
The wind blowing in the land of Hyrule carried something else, which wasn't death.
ワシは、この風が欲しかったのかもしれぬ
I might have wished to gain that wind, even."
It's about himself not his people.
The Gerudo unlike their former king did seem to be pretty content with living in the desert despite the climate. Ganondorf has mostly been treating his people as tools even before he became a great demon king.
In a way, it makes sense that a weakened Ganondorf would use corrupted insects, they're plentiful, breed rapidly, are small enough and lack enough intelligence so as to be easily corrupted (thus reducing his power usage) and even further, they're not something anyone would take notice of until the infestation is already too difficult to control.
Ganondorf of the Wind is probably the most relatable of the Ganondorf’s. The man only wanted to help his people
Wind Waker's Ganondorf wound up being my favorite after finally playing and beating it. I felt more sympathy for him, all he wanted was something better for his people. In a way, Hilda was the same. They just went about it in the wrong way
I've always seen Ganon as a tragic villain. He wants a better life for his people but he is the reincarnation of demise. No matter how hard he tries to do what he thinks is right he will always be drawn to evil
I always figured that the majority of enemies are just naturally occurring fauna and flora. I figured Ganandorf summons or transports them and changes their natural demeanor. I don't think the gods are above doing this either, and thats why trials throughout the series have regular enemies, because the gods summoned them as well. They're not part of the armies of evil, they just get used as pawns by everyone.
Pretty sure this is somewhat the case. Long ago, Nintendo had said on the record that the Moblins were Ganon's only true followers. This was before the Bokoblins were a thing; based on more recent games I'd say this is less likely the case now, but most of the enemies in the original Zelda weren't on Ganon's side. Most of the creatures in the overworld were implied to just be natural dangers. With the primary exceptions being Moblins and Armos. In the dungeons, enemies were either wild animals or guardians of the dungeons, which implied that Zelda might have created them. Zelda broke up the Triforce of Wisdom and hid it in the dungeons to keep it from Ganon. Though at least some of this is dulled by the presence of a lot of the creatures in Ganon's fortress. That said Zelda might have reverse corrupted Ganon's monsters in the first eight dungeons or Ganon may have copied or corrupted monsters Zelda summoned.
So creatures are magically summoned (for good or ill), naturally occuring, or corrupted in some way; though some seem to be a different combinations of these depending on the game you look at.
For example, Keese are normal bats in most games but interestingly the single eyeball Keese first appeared in the Dark World of LttP as a corrupted counterpart to the naturally occuring Light World Keese. Though, LttP seems to have two versions of a lot of enemies and some of them are already corrupt in the Light World. IE Castle Guards become Moblins. This implies that things can go through drastic changes depending on the level of corruption. If you take that, it seems that the Keese in BotW are either corrupted by malice (hence their similar appearance to Dark World Keese) or they are a malice-based lifeform summoned by the calamity in the first place. It is hard to say in the end whether Keese are natural or not in BotW, but they appear to be natural most of the time.
Dammit, the way you described Ganondorf’s perspective leading up to his death there at the end while the image of Hyrule overlapped with his dying words actually brought tears to my eyes man wtf
You know, with that connection between the Phantom Ganon's sword and Majora's Mask, I look at the 2 masked bosses the game has and it makes me wonder... after all, we never see what happens to Termina in the adult timeline. Maybe it was completely destroyed by the "moon", Ganondorf somehow found out about it and salvaged the remains of the masks used to curse the four giants. Maybe that's what made the bird grow into a giant and what allowed the Poe to fuse together into a single giant monster. Emphasis on giant in both cases.
LttP Next please. It is my absolute FAVORITE Zelda game ever. I go back to it about once a year. I'm 40, I have played LttP most of my life, and it's still my favorite game in the series. One of my "pick up and play any day" games.
WW Ganondorf will always be my favorite version of him. That last monologue he gives before facing off against Link made him seem so human, almost regretful of everything that he'd been through. I doubt Ganondorf will ever be happy in any of his lives, but maybe he realizes that and curses his destiny for denying him that simple pleasure.
My first Zelda, always a favorite to go back to despite the sad ending, don’t care about the different art style. Only issue would probably be the lack of more unique mini bosses. From loving the seafaring adventure to having Big Octos haunt my dreams. Always a favorite classic.
Ganondorf felt the winds of Hyrule at his last, but it was also a bitter reminder of the desert. After all, in the end, the wind still carried death.
I now headcanon that Ganondorf raised Helmrock King himself.
Would love to see you cover Skyward Sword’s bosses next.
would only be fitting
I have been a Zelda fan since the first game came out as a kid, and man I tell you what... You have got some wonderful knowledge about these games. I really enjoy these videos!
15:05 Would be interesting to make a video studying the names in the Zelda franchise. For example, the "Dark" word in most of the bosses names is tranlated from japanese word "Demon", so as references in japanese texts through the games that refers to some demonic clan and even the malice, years before BotW.
i love how this is the last time we see ganondorf in this timeline, though demise's evil lives on. seemingly directionless
To be honest Wind Wakers is one of my favourite Ganondorfs
Just the debth in his dialogue/monologue alone....incredible
15:51
For some reason, even it says right there "Dragmire", for a split second I thought it was "Quagmire". Ganondorf Quagmire. That would be a different kind of story.
I do still wish that the Wind Waker Ganondorf got his wish. Yeah yeah, don’t root for the bad guy, but given the state of the Great Sea’s islands, it would’ve been for the better.
Talking about Gohma.
Bandit: nightmare inducing...
Me: she's not that bad.
Bandit: imagine how many there would be if Link hadn't wiped them out.
Me: 😳 nightmare fuel it is.
Well, I’m happy you finally did windwaker bosses
Thank you so much for this video! A few months back I streamed this and it was my first time ever playing it. I don't think it's the best Zelda game but one thing that I think it had above and beyond the others is the music. The music is so damn good and made playing it enjoyable. If they did a remake there is much I would probably change but it was still really good to play.
This made me appreciate WW Ganondorf even more than I already did. Good work sir!
Pro tip, if you get the blue cane in Zelda A Link to the Past and have a green potion for back up you can knock the Moth boss right out with out taking any damage
Woo! I love Wind Waker, first Zelda game, and I definitely like this Ganondorf, they gave him more reasons for wanting the Triforce and replaying it as an older kid, made me pity him.
"Yeah, there's probably a theory or twelve there..." I love it. I can't wait to hear your complete thoughts on the mountain smithies making Phantom Ganon's sword.
"the wind... It is blowing" makes me cry every time
I really love your tone shift when talking about "The Boi Himself". He's also my favourite version of Ganondorf and you gave him the respect he deserves. About puppet Gannon. I guess you thought about that but didn't have anything to prove it either, but I feel like WW's Ganondorf knows he's been controlled by Demise and want to sever the bound between the chosen ones (which you talked about) and the Puppets are a way to show he isn't Demise's puppet and that he controls its power instead. Just look at that red string of fate bound to the puppet! You can't destroy it, but I'm sure it has a lot of symbolism.
Bonus about Helmaroc. In french, its name is "Roi Cuirasse", and it's also shared with the big lizard "Helmaroc" called "Roi Cuirasse" in french. Guess many other languages did the same! Also, the "Master Sword" is called "Excalibur" in french, which could help your theories! ;o
You make some interesting observations here. One was your description of the darknut having the royal family crest. And also the naming key of the monsters.
When a link to the past came out I was obsessed with it. I thought the royal family crest looked cool. But I thought the wings around the Triforce were just a random design of some kind of bird themed pedastal holding it. This game came out in 1991 I believe. It would be 20 years before the loftwing are actually presented in the games in Skyward Sword. And they are such an important part of the royal family and its lineage. And Hyrule in general. 20 years! The way they are able to stitch all this into the lore over all that time is incredible. Either they had these ideas and weren't really able to find a way to implement them at the time or they looked at the artwork they had randomly created and found ways to make it consistent with the expanding lore. Either way, it's mind blowing. Because I remember thinking there were no birds in ALTTP other than bats and that annoying boss.
Also the first appearance of an underground worm boss was in ALTTP and was named "Lan-mol-a" in the desert. So the naming also has remained consistent.
Bandit, this is great! Also, give some more love to the Minish Cap. That game deserves some love and appearance and it has a lot of meta, trivia and lore that connects Skyward, Wind Waker, ALLTP (Since there's A LOT of references to it) and Even Ocarina at some point. That game got me into Zelda, it's charming and it is one of the best 2D Zelda's to date
In the ocarina of time manga, The Great Deku Tree mentions how the spider boss (hate that I forget her title) had simply been twisted, transformed, and mind controlled by Ganondorf (he phrased it as ‘she was not in control of her actions ether’)
So then makes sense how she could easily be recreated, as no more special than a typical pawn.
Adding to the Shiekah/Tower of the Gods connection theory would be the boss itself, a test seemingly based on the Hero of Time’s fight with Bongo Bongo in the adult timeline that would’ve been remembered by descendants. Great video Bandit!
Also, on puppet/phantom ganon connection: I always thought there was only one phantom ganon in the game, symbolized by his sword remaining when you finally kill him for good. The puppet ganon I interpreted to be ganondorf’s attempt to have the power of his ganon form without giving into his own fatalistic urges to transform himself with power. As you said, this Ganondorf in some ways regrets what has happened in the past and is trying to do something different. He never attempts to actually kill Zelda or link or the other girl’s kidnapped until his chances to wish for the old Hyrule is gone. So I figured the puppet was literal in this case with Ganondorf trying to distance himself through use of magic from succumbing to the evil of demise’s curse driving him to give in to power fully. Just my take 🙂
Maybe wizrobes are more like a secret society that practices dark magic that anyone can be part of. I think that's a simpler explanation than saying they must be the same race across all games
I always think of Kalle Demos as demon lettuce, like Kale.
P.S. I'm loving this boss lore series.
This is more of a Throwback "Theory", but this reminded me of one of my first theories about Wind Waker back when I was a kid - the fact that Link and Makar's Predecessor looked so similar had me CONVINCED they came from the same place originally :,)
Really warms my heart and makes me laugh to look back at it now. Small first steps for a baby theorist 💖
Wow!! That was cool! Maybe you could do a Lore of Skyward Sword Bosses video.
20:22 they could still bring Ganon back in the adult timeline, imagine if treasure hunters from new hyrule managed to find what appeared to be the master sword in some statue (not realizing it was ganondorf), then people are challenged to pull the master sword from the statue (ala King Arthur).
Eventually link after beating some trials beforehand is able to pull the sword out, only to release ganondorf from his stone tomb
I think wind waker ganondorf is by far the best ganondorf in the entire series. He is the only one who has shown any amount of growth from his first appearance to the next. As subtle as it is, and as minimal as they showed, he does have a story. Imagine being the king of an entire species of women, the pressure of royalty thrust on you from birth, it's your destiny to lead them to greatness yet you live in a nearly inhospitable environment. Your people thought of as thieves and bandits. And yet there is a kingdom that flourishes and prospers. Ganondorf started his conquest of Hyrule to get to the triforce with I would think pure intentions for his people, as horrible as his actions were. But like most people he is still human, for lack of a better term. He gained the triforce of power and power can corrupt. He became a corrupt tyrannical ruler, his original reason for taking the triforce completely gone. Replaced with a lust for power that drove him insane. But as you said he grew patience after being trapped away. He bided his time and laid down the seeds to eventually lead to his escape. The only thing driving him not a lust for power, but his original want to rule hyrule. But in this case it's more because of nostalgia. Ganondorf in wind waker portrays an old man who is only running on an old dream. And when that dream is ripped away from him one final time he finally snaps again. Reverting back to the evil demon king ganondorf we all know from ocarina of Time
17:15 there's an entire animation of Ganondorf transforming into Puppet Ganon, probably a half baked transformation to not put "all of his eggs into one basket"
OMG I AM SO HAPPY! :D I have been waiting for this specific video for such a long time! This is beyond a doubt one of my all time favorite games!! :D
This was awsome dude! Wind Waker is my favorite game so I really enjoyed the content about it.
One thing that stuck out to me was the symbolism with this fight with ganondorf and the other ganon fights. Most fights with him are when he’s a beast and the hero’s are only killing the beast ganon but this one, he isn’t a beast, he’s a broken man. Out of all of the hero’s only one had to kill a man and not a beast. The hero of twilight is in a similar boat, in hyrule castle he kills the beast ganon and in hyrule field kills the king of thieves ganondorf. But the hero of winds is the only one who had to kill just the man ganondorf while others had to kill the beast.
Hi Bandit! I love your videos so much! Thanks for all your hard work 💖
That last part with Ganondorf gives me chills every time
Just found this series, and I feel like I've been looking for something like this for a long time!! I can't wait for your possible dungeon series also!
Crazy how I forgto everything about this game but remember everything about OOT and MM
He’s still my favorite Ganondorf. In battle and design
I played and watched this game so many times but still never noticed how most bosses are just bigger versions of regular enemies.
I liked and subbed at the end of the video and beedle immidetley gave me the good old "thannkk youu". Happy with that choice.
12:50 - Okay! I did not expect that joke, it came out of nowhere and it made me laughing out loud.
WW Ganondorf is almost a redemption arc. TBH if we had united and brought Hyrule back and he became a good king, that'd be an awesome timeline to explore. It could split again, one timeline being Ganondorf remaining good and a new evil rising with the powers of Demise, and another where he turns back to his old ways and brings ruin back to Hyrule.
My first introduction to the legend of Zelda was the windwaker it’ll always be my favorite of the series
You don't know how much I wish Wind Waker was released again on the Switch...I absolutely love it
Here's a interesting idea for the wizrobes:
It's not a creature but more like a profession
And because they (probably) use a bit of ganons power for their magic their body gets changed over the time
That's why they're other birds (evolved from birbs)
Or human like in the first few games and then later in botw more like monsters because ages have passed
I love legend of Zelda. Great work! You got yourself a new subscriber
I always felt that this Gannondorf was more.... reserved & a bit remorseful. That he wasn't purely evil & power hungry, but had learned from his failure in OoT
Neat! been looking for this one!
I started with windwaker as my first zelda game so the whole fight meant alot to me.
What I learned is you managed to make the end more emotional than it already was.
WW is still the Zelda i considered the best one out there despite so many years passed.
13:37 I like the theory about magic use however I would also say that in other timelines there have been River Zora which are aggressive. Perhaps the regular Zora turned into the Rito and the river Zora became wizrobes
Wind Waker's Ganondorf is easily my favourite one, because his shift in personality compared to pretty much every other version is just fascinating to me.
But I interpret him a bit differently. I see him as a broken man, haunted by the threads of fate. He's grown tired of the constant fight between light and dark, but he doesn't have a purpose without it. So, in a last bet against fate itself, he challenged the light one last time, and he made sure that this time would truly be the last.
When you meet him before the final showdown, he reminisces of his past ambitions, and his smile seems bitter. His people are dead, Hyrule lies at the bottom of the ocean, and he is at his limit. All he wanted was to guide the Gerudo to a prosperous future. And while he used cruel and manipulative ploys to get closer to the Triforce, he still lost. The king was more willing to drown his kingdom than to accept defeat. This man has lost everything, yet the conflict forbids him to find peace. He makes it clear: only one can have this wish. .
But just when he finally earns his opportunity, he is robbed of this chance by King Daphnes, just like before. And once again, the wish isn't to end the fight, but to deny him everything. Finally, he snaps. Consumed by rage over this cruel irony, he lashes out. Only in death does he finally relent. And I'd like to think that the wind he feels is meant to be ambiguous. It could remind him of his home, or his goal. Both meant everything to him. And now, none remains.
Kalle Demos can be one shot killed by sprinkling water that flows around the Great Deku Tree. You just need to use a glass jar to save and use it.
No Gannondorf will ever be greater the the wind waker version. He’s utterly tragic and terrifying because he’s a real person and I really hope we get to see a spark of this in tears of the kingdom
Yo, my guy, you should do the Phantom Hourglass bosses next
It'd be neat :3
[PAINSTAKINGLY HOLDS MY TONGUE ON A THEORY I'VE HAD BOTTLED UP FOR OVER A DECADE I DON'T THINK ANYONE ELSE HAS EVEN REMOTELY HINTED AT IN THE PAST TWENTY YEARS]
Yo I loved this video. I would love to see another video from this series but with Skyward Sword bosses, I think the aesthetics and lore of the game are so cool (yk like it's the first game chronologically, it has the story of the creation of the Master Sword, it has Demise, etc etc) that video would be sick!
Skyward Sword. I’m patiently waiting!
If ganondorf stops eating meat, does he transform into veganon?
Stop it