Why does Ganondorf want to destroy Hyrule?

[@katieyuill2291]

If TotK Ganondorf is the same one from well over 10,000 years ago, I can see how he would have gone insane from all the years of failing and banishment.

[@javiervasquez625]

That's impossible as the Gerudo from 10.000 years ago would notice that the one male Gerudo that they serve as their king is a literal immortal megalomaniac who's been trying to conquer the many kingdoms of Hyrule on multiple occasions across the timeline. Either the Gerudo of 10.000 years ago are dumb (which i doubt) or TotK Ganondorf is a reincarnation like the one from Four Swords Adventures.

[@ilangaming1493]

​@javiervasquez625 it's not a reincarnation and he was able to stay alive as he was sealed so it was like he is dead until the seal was broken which was like he was revived but he doesn't actually die or get revived being sealed makes you not age every game and series that has some1 sealed and then the seal is broken even 1 million years later the same person that was sealed didn't age until the sealed was broken which means only after the seal is broken said person starts to age only from the time the seal was broken but not while being sealed

[@javiervasquez625]

@@ilangaming1493 That doesn't make any sense as the Gerudo of 10.000 years ago would both notice and do something about the evil megalomaniac trying to rule the world over and over again instead of following him as if they had no idea of his intentions and plans just like it happens in Ocarina of Time.
No historical records pointing at TotK Ganondorf been *immortal* = He's not the same Ganondorf from Ocarina of Time = he's a reincarnation

[@king_pathik]

Aren't Ganondorf, link and zelda all reincarnated @ilangaming1493

[@elisah.mp4]

@@king_pathikZelda is the only true reincarnation as she has the spirit of Hylia. Each Link embodies the courage of the ones before him, it’s less a reincarnation and more of a new young man being chosen and being molded into a hero. Up until TOTK, there has only even ever been one Ganondorf, with Wind Waker, Oot, and Twilight Princess Ganondorf all being the same man, TOTK Ganondorf is his first “reincarnation”

[@RawwkinGrimmie64]

To be fair, he does end up destroying Hyrule in Ocarina of Time. A solid amount of land is made desolate, Castle Town is now abandoned entirely, Goron City has only young Link (Hero of the Gorons), Zora's Domain is completely frozen over, and Kokiri Forest is filled with monsters. If you want to rule over beautiful lands, you should take care to tend to those lands.

[@aislynndraconisart8427]

This!

[@javiervasquez625]

Kakariko is still standing though plus Ganondorf was surprisingly generous with Luig-i mean Ingo by making him the new sole owner of Lon Lon Ranch which still stands in perfect condition after 7 years since he laid siege over Hyrule Castle. My guess is Ganondorf somehow managed to learn about the 7 Sages's ability to seal him away in the Sacred Realm convincing him of destroying their respective homes in an attempt to prevent their awakening.

[@Dev.brasileiro]

And then he comes back, and the goddesses have to flood Hyrule entirely

[@genericwhitemale9566]

​@@Dev.brasileiroThat's Zelda's fault to be fair. She sent their only way to beat Ganon back to the past to relive his childhood.

[@Snoopaloopi]

Link got pushed 7 years ahead from when he was a kid so when he used the Song of Time he ends up 7 years later when Ganondorf chased Zelda and Impa out of Hyrule on the main Cut scene after completing Deku Treee

[@superstarbros1.0superstarb38]

Bro freaking turned into a dragon to just kill link and still died 💀💀💀

[@Mindstormer]

Depending on the timeline

[@fathergascoigne1457]

Um no? That's what happened in totk​@@Mindstormer

[@Mindstormer]

@@fathergascoigne1457 yeah in that one, who’s to say there isn’t another fallen timeline, it’s happened before. Open your mind to the possibilities

[@evdestroy5304]

​@@MindstormerGod this timeline fucking sucks

[@iiimaskyiii7816]

@@Mindstormerthere is no timeline for totk or botw. They are their own separate stories. They aren’t placed and haven’t been on purpose. The Zelda encyclopedia came out 3 days before botw, they were developed side by side and they still left it vague after editing some games placements in the timeline in that very book. Wonder why? Because they don’t wanna tell you. Because their timeline sucks and they’re 100% going to reboot the series with this new open air style.

[@mistermisfortune13]

His goal "changes" to killing Link because he's getting in the way of his initial goal. He wants to kill this little green fucker who's stopping him so he can claim/conquer/get revenge/whatever his motivation may be.
Think of it in the sense that Link is the one thing standing between him and his ultimate goal. Link is Ganondorf's final boss of sorts. He needs to kill him to get what he wants

[@tomykong2915]

And on top of that he has actually shown some pretty deep respect for multiple iterations of link, but on top of that, multiple of ganondorf's incarnations are warriors at heart, and to an extent, even demise shared some elements of this, though it was less respect, as much as demise just being that cocky

[@shadowbunz4865]

Well ganondorf in totk has always been insane
I mean have you seen the way he laughed after killing Sonia?

[@Saiyansavage1205]

I swear to God before I played the game I thought that was an edit then when I played I died laughing at his face😂

[@CainDB]

I wouldn't call him insane, just sadistic

[@ClericOfPholtus]

Maybe he just really hates furries

[@ronaldmcreagann6343]

@@ClericOfPholtusis that why he became one in TotK?

[@TheLegendOfZz]

​@ronaldmcreagann6343 DRAGONS ARE FURRIES FR FR?😭😭 THIS PROVES MY STATEMENT WRONG

[@BuddyBoy-ne1nw]

Totk Dorf was fuckin brutal. After beating his phase 1, I was expecting "how can I be beaten by this boy!" Nope, he fucking laughs it off and says "how much his blood is rushing and misses the thrill of battle" to paraphrase. Then whips out that long ass health bar.

[@brolytriplethreat]

Of course after _that_ is when he ragequits and eats a rock

[@ianfinrir8724]

Ganondorf is a spoiled child throwing a tantrum when he doesn't get his way.

[@IronianKnight]

​@@ianfinrir8724That's every stereotypically manly man when they're stripped of their power and facing failure. In the right framing it can even seem noble. Your framing is also valid, though, and fits this particular demon king nicely.

[@ianfinrir8724]

@@IronianKnight I really wish I could draw so I could make a comic of Link calling out Ganondorf like that...and then proceeding to beat him down with a mushroom on a stick

[@Otome_chan311]

Power truly corrupts. He goes from wanting what would be best for his people, to just insane desperation and corruption. He's probably my favorite villain and he's so horribly misunderstood.

[@carljohansson3512]

He never sought to help the Gerudo. In his wind speech he only talks about himself and his own importance. He doesn't talk about caring about the Gerudo or doing anything for them. In Japanese he doesn't even mention their homes and is less poetic. He only cares about himself, Twinrova(names inscribed on his weapons) and people who are exactly like himself. The wind speech shows his envy, his ambition, his greed, his ego, his hypocrisy and his selfishness.
In OOT he brainwashed and enslaved the Gerudo and lied to them. The only good we hear about him from the Gerudo is that he is not incompetent(we also see his hatred for incompetence and laziness in Lon Lon ranch and in TOTK where he hates people who slack off or are peaceful and harmonious).
In TWW Ganon is tired and worn out and losing his purpose to the point that he is grasping at straws. He is stuck in the past much like in TOTK and tries to drag everyone down to the past and to have his ideal world of war, violence, greed, selfishness, ambition, power and darkness become a reality.

[@kingcyclops4079]

Since when has Ganon ever cared about the Gerudo. If he was just trying to help his people then he wouldn’t destroy castle town or leave his people to die in a raging sandstorm. Ganon would have conquered the kingdom and let his people invade castle town in a hostile takeover, not fill it full of zombies.

[@Otome_chan311]

@@kingcyclops4079 did you not read my comment? His whole arc is about how he becomes corrupted in the pursuit of power. That's why he's a villain and not just a regular character lol. Are you unfamiliar with villains having more to their story than just "i'm evil hurr durr"?

[@carnage0685]

@@Otome_chan311 what about the other guy in this comment chain though

[@BenjaMan64]

Power doesn't corrupt, it enables; it reveals who people really are.

[@ExGanonMain]

I think it’s because demise wanted the power of the Triforce and Ganondorf is a reincarnation of demise. I’m guessing that his same goals the conquer the land by getting the Triforce for his own wishes

[@nyeeeofthestarsz1804]

Ganondorf at this point has the Force and it would be expected that he knows that Zelda and Link are the ones having the Wisdom And Courage pieces of the Triforce

[@carljohansson3512]

Misconception.
Ganondorf is a manifestation/incarnation which follows different rules than reincarnation, he's not a direct reincarnation.
Demise's remaining thoughts decayed and got destroyed by a Triforce wish. That being said Ganondorf has characteristics has parts of the one of demise's characteristics.
The curse of demons in Japanese describes negative emotions, thoughts, desires and the cursed state one can aquire by becoming a demon/the cursed state of a demon. Demise simply says that the demons experience samsara too and that there will be more incarnations/manifestations because of it.

[@paperluigi0323]

Demise's Curse

[@carljohansson3512]

@@paperluigi0323 curse of the demons/demon tribe/demon race/demon class in Japanese, really just a description of the state of demons and what causes evil beings to experience samsara

[@brolytriplethreat]

​@carljohansson3512 the heck is samsara.
At any rate, I never liked Demise at all, so the Japanese curse being less specific is good. I want Ganondorf to be Ganondorf. No stripping of agency

[@Ufo3208_]

He's just your average misunderstood painter

[@drg617]

Ganondorf is a person who lived in places where power decides everything and therefore, in his opinion, the world should be like this. His worldview is close to rigid Imperialism or militarysm and who knows, maybe if he had built up an army he would have gone to war on lands outside Hyrule.
P.S. I know that this is the second comment with a similar beginning, it's just more careful, in my opinion.

[@TheLegendOfZz]

Imagine if the next Zelda game after echos of wisdom, it's a Hyrule that's under the rule of ganon? And he's still evil? Or like, the characters switch roles and personality? OR EVEN GENDER! OR- A TIMELINE WHERE GANON, LINK AND ZELDA'S KIDS ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS?

[@ernestorivera3936]

In TOK his motivation is that he is the real king and not a Zonai, he wants to rule all Hyrule and got the secret stone power to do it.

[@williamcoon3724]

In wind waker I can completely understand why he wants to kill Lincoln Zelda because he has nothing else to do his only way of fixing his home and getting the ocean off of Hyrule has been taking from him which broke him

[@carljohansson3512]

He didn't care about the Gerudo, only himself. He's not feeling conflicted. We see this both in OOT and in his wind speech in TWW(which doesn't mention the Gerudo's homes in Japanese and is less poetic but is still basically the same as it's about Ganon's selfishness, ego, envy, ambition and greed plus his hypocrisy and the fact that he is tired and worn out and losing his purpose to the point that he is grasping at straws)

[@brolytriplethreat]

​@@carljohansson3512man, Japanese Ganondorf sounds way less interesting.
"The wind...it is...blowing..." was an awesome final line.

[@carljohansson3512]

@@brolytriplethreat The Japanese is what the writers wrote but regardless of the language he never shows any care for the Gerudo or a desire to help them with the exception of the English adding "our homes" out of the blue(which can also just simply be interpreted as Ganon's and Twinrova's homes only since Twinrova is the only Gerudo Ganon has any real care for). He was only ever jealous of his neighbor's greener lands and selfishly wanted them for himself only and his last words is really just him laughing at the irony of feeling the wind blowing in his face while still regretting nothing and feeling no remorse for anything he's done.
He is unreliable as he crushed Hyrule's winds when he turned himself into a Great demon king and conquered and corrupted the lands with dark magic and demonic monsters so his justification for his own actions is a pretty terrible excuse and the Gerudo tribe itself doesn't really care much about settling in the lands of Hyrule but there is nothing stopping a Gerudo from settling down there with her husband, Ganon didn't move them into Hyrule when he conquered the lands. In OOT he and Twinrova steal and murder to get what they want(which is not something Nabooru represents as a thief) but also brainwash and enslave the Gerudo(like turning Nabooru into Ganon's second-in command) Pre-timeskip and most of the Gerudo's bad reputation is more a result of the actions of their leaders. Ganon is also presented as a dark reflection of Hyrule's kings as they are similar in some ways despite having opposing views and desires. The only good thing we hear from the Gerudo about Ganon is that he is not incompetent or lazy or someone who slacks off(in Lon Lorn ranch we see this side of him when he removes Talon). Ganon is from a privileged background, he got power and wealth only because of his status as a male Gerudo and he was not content with keeping his power as it was, in TOTK he thinks his way is the way of "a true king".
The French localization is usually a bit closer to the original source language, in the French wind speech Ganon says this:
Mon pays se trouvait au milieu du désert...
Le jour, un Vent incandescent I'embraisat. Et quand la lune se levait, le vent devenait glacial...
La Vent apportait avec lul la mort...
Jamais un Vent Aussi malfaisant n'a soufflé sur la Terre d'Hyrule...
Etais-je jaloux du Vent d'Hyrule?
Deepl translation:
My country was in the middle of the desert...
During the day, an incandescent wind embraced it. And when the moon rose, the wind turned icy cold...
The wind brought death with it...
Never has such an evil wind blown over the land of Hyrule...
Was I jealous of the Wind of Hyrule?

[@brolytriplethreat]

​@carljohansson3512 I always saw his final words as acceptance.
I see WW Dorf and TP Dorf as two sides of the same coin. And I don't just mean because they technically are the same Dorf. TP Dorf is stabbed, blessed, and sealed. Leaving him with a God complex and a _lot_ of anger, which he then sustained himself with(alongside that of the Twili).
WW Dorf was beaten, came back in rage, then locked away for centuries. But rather than stew in his hatred, it feels he took that time to reflect, because in the game proper he's rather...chill? Certainly not the unstoppable rage monster of destruction the opening portrayed before his watery prison.
TP Dorf dies cursing and vowing retribution no matter what it takes.
WW Dorf has his little !@#$ fit after the Triforce is used, but then dies comparatively calmly.
He tried to bring back Hyrule so he could rule it. That failed. He tried to lash out at the kids. They beat him fair and square. What else is there? No Hyrule to rule, no Triforce to claim. Even if he _had_ beaten Link and Zelda here, his victory would have been pyhrric at best and he still would have drowned with Hyrule.
I find it fitting that WW's sequels have their own separate antagonists. While evil will always exist, the endless cycle of hatred and destruction at Ganondorf's hands other timelines are doomed to was avoided.
And to me that's the whole theme of Wind Waker: breaking cycles and not living stuck in the past.

[@brolytriplethreat]

​@@carljohansson3512also wait what why are Aussie's involved? Am I missing something?

[@zulfarhanmerican6872]

Link: *shake hand with Ganondorf*
I was wrong, you are not evil...
You are bat-shit insaneee!!

[@Navernous]

Ngl TOTK Ganondorf gives Mad Thanos vibes

[@robertsanow2280]

You forgot about Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf

[@princesscoronagames]

I feel that Ganondorf’s motivations take a corruptive turn once he gets the Triforce of Power. He still wants Hyrule, yes, but now with the embodiment of power flowing through him, there’s a primal, uncontrollable urge to want more. That’s how we end up with Ganon in the Fallen Timeline. His piglike form is a manifestation of his lust for power, and how he stretched beyond normal means in an attempt to claim it.

[@Linkhood]

I’ll be honest, at the beginning I was about to go and say that he doesn’t want to destroy hyrule but you said it yourself, also just a side note but in LttP we do get to see what would happen if he did conquer Hyrule as the dark world in that game is the original Hyrule

[@brolytriplethreat]

No the Dark World in LttP is the Sacred Realm corrupted into a Dark Mirror of Hyrule by his Triforce wish(Guess it pulled a monkey's paw)

[@rubenrodriguezalvarez12]

Destroying the world is the stupidiest thing a villian can do

[@brolytriplethreat]

Depends on the villain and how literal the "destroying" is. Unless you are a space Emperor like Frieza(or just insane), you probably don't want to blow up the literal planet, yes.

[@drdca8263]

Orthogonality thesis. An agent having alien and bad values doesn’t mean that the agent is stupid, just that they value the wrong things. If an agent values the end of the world over all else, and they have the means to have a chance of succeeding at that, that’s what rational pursuit of their values will lead them to pursue. It would be wrong, of course. But if they don’t care that it’s wrong, then, they don’t?

[@redditor7548]

Destroy the world to reset the world in your image

[@josmarrubenbodan3906]

"Destroy the world" usually equals to "destabilize/permanently dismantle current society with a worldwide crisis and snatch power when no one can oppose you" unless their purpose is explicit Omnicide

[@luisullrich5253]

Glossing over WW Ganondorf like that is an injustice

[@smilesfordays]

My whole experience with windwaker was that I never judged it for its graphics when it came out. I was just excited to play all the way through. Exploring every bit… but then the under sea portion happened… and that final fight. It became one of the best games ever made.
Ganondorf is a misunderstood man… even by himself I feel like.

[@DoctorDJJones]

In TP you forgot the fact he heard all of the gerudo being slaughtered beneath him in arbiters grounds while he awaited his own execution.

[@michaelwinter742]

Ganondorf is the physical manifestation of Link’s dark side - his doubt, fear, and weakness.

[@UncertifiedBombexpert]

Totk Ganondorf is an anarchist in the sense that he believes survival of the fittest is key for the thriving of a civilization

[@CorbiniteVids]

Tbf that trope is a poor representation of what anarchism is irl (though I suppose ancaps come close lol)

[@yozarian86]

His motivation is power. He wants ultimate power. If things get destroyed in the process, that’s of little concern to him.

[@LordSiravant]

Ganondorf is a reincarnation of Demise, and Demise wanted to destroy Hyrule and build a new world of demons from its ashes. As such, no matter how much Ganondorf covets the fertile lands, he is compelled to destroy them instead because of the curse of Demise.

[@carljohansson3512]

He is a manifestation/incarnation not a reincarnation. The curse of the demons is not sentient/having the ability to choose or make something happen nor is there an invisible Demise ghost doing anything. The curse of the demons as is clearer in the Japanese text and the context behind the enemy Poes in OOT, the cursed Bokoblins and the Arbiter's grounds undead is a descriptive curse(not a prescriptive curse Demise created in his final moments, Demise's final words share a resemblance with Ganondorf's in TP and follows trope seen in Dragon quest 11(Calasmos' final words)and Pokémon mystery dungeon(Dark matter's final words)) that describes negative emotions, thoughts and desires, and the cursed state of those who have that plus the curse describes how evil as a concept will always exist and return no matter what happens. Demise simply said that demons experience Saṃsāra too and that there will be future representatives/manifestations/incarnations/embodiments/personifications(the demon kings Ganondorf and Malladus both have the title incarnation of darkness, Malladus also shows that multiple manifestations can exist at the same time) of the three Buddhist poisons(greed, ignorance/delusion and hate) much like him due to the nature of the universe and Saṃsāra.
Impa states that Demise's remaining thoughts decay inside the Master sword and in the present era we know that a Triforce wish is going to destroy them if they still remain.

[@ardianhesa4340]

TOTK Ganondorf just want a good fight because Rauru is kind enough to hype him up

[@BrightLord1823]

In the twilight princess manga, ganondorf is the same one as ocarina of time but was banoshed to the twilight realm after link went back in time to tell child zelda about Ganon

[@truezephyr4431]

One thing about OOT Ganondorf that is important to note though, is he wasn't a conqueror all on his own. Twinrova raised him to be this way. He was corrupted by evil witches and told that the land was rightfully his, so he should take it.

[@Tulin_is_better]

His goal in wind waker was actually to help Mainley

[@yugureyt]

Ganondorf is the reincarnation of Demise who represents war, and revenge. Demise is the embodiment of malice, and hate the people felt towards the hylians who abandoned the people who weren't of blood when the world when to shit, and the hylians left towards skyloft to avoid the suffering

[@mickeylovesrainbows]

I think it's implied in totk that when he initially attacks hyrule its because he feels slighted that they did not want him to rule and thinks that rauru and Sonia are ruining the land by purifying it instead of using the evils that plague the land to become stronger. It's why there aren't very many shrines in the desert. He only let them do the bare minimum to satisfy before he could make his move

[@WizzyPuff]

Windwaker Ganondorf is the most sympathetic, in the timeline where he previously defeated Link and gained the power of the triforce, the Goddesses flooded the entire world to take him down, now his reincarnated form gets to live in the sunken world where not only is everything still in shambles from the effects of the flood, but Ganondorf's entire kingdom and people were wiped out by the Godesses, and the only way for him to fix everything is to form the triforce once again and use it to grant a wish

[@redditor7548]

Cool lore, interesting that there is timelines that Ganondorf wins

[@Courage_girl13]

"Why not?"

[@augustday9483]

Wind Waker's incarnation of Ganondorf is my favorite. His motivations are more nuanced and he almost seems self-aware that he's stuck in a curse. On multiple occasions he has the chance to kill Link AND Zelda, but he only uses non-lethal attacks until the very final battle when his dreams are ruined and he gives up.

[@Peachiegame]

Ngl I feel like ganondorf is just like a chill uncle or some shit

[@justaway_of_the_samurai]

Ganondorf was also corrupted by the triforce of power and began to lose more and more of his mental capacity as time went on, especially in the moments when he got desperate while fighting Link and allowed the power to consume his body and turn him into Ganon.

[@zariaalhajmoustafa2573]

That's freaking smile get me all the time😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@redditor7548]

Bringing back the fighting spirit sounds like a good thing though.

[@Me-pl2ng]

One thing never changed : *His hatred*

[@ShadowWizard224]

Wind Waker version of Ganondorf was basically a lonely man with nothing left to lose.

[@ChillyReaper]

His priorities changing at the end of those games may be due to Demise's curse as his incarnations of him would have a "special hatred towards those with the spirit of the hero, and the blood of the Goddess".

[@4dojo]

I never thought that Ganondorf wanted to destroy Hyrule. He always just tries to conquer it.

[@JasonFord101]

My favorite thing about it is that in Wind Waker, he just messed with the wrong older brother.

[@ihaveaname699]

love ganon

[@TarotBelle]

I feel like reincarnaing as the Gerudo King is a calculated move by the curse. Being someone who would be powerful and would have a personal reason to resent the Royal Family.

[@endersquiddyyoutube7999]

Insane or not, that cutscene before the boss fight is badass

[@dee2273]

I mean if an ant kept biting you and interfering with your work, you’d want to kill it too after a while

[@Aidan_Natanine]

Tbh I realized that Gannon doesn’t really hate link,it’s more like he respects him but link is on his way

[@meiswolfsheep1413]

Ganondorf is the guy you feel bad for unlink the hylian side that started it since they are one group turn into two and the hylian royalty did horrendous stuff through the shika and had a underground tourcher chamber filled with dead pained souls

[@ArmorAdv413]

Totk ganandorf just wanted to start a fight club or something. Or he’s pulling a Light Yagami because he’s bored

[@justarandompurplefox3243]

Friendly reminder he was a king before he became the demon lord

[@Goremejy]

TOTK Ganondorf essentially wants survival of the fittest but far more extreme

[@trickster9393]

TotK Ganon just wants the Smoke.

[@sipinthatbub]

Ganondorf: I'm so bored! Where is that sparring boy again? I'll just go poke the royal family and he will show up

[@zachgamemaster3329]

I've always felt bad for Wind Waker Ganon in particular. All he wants is Hyrule back. He's tired of fighting and just wants to bring back the land that he used to know. The problem being that that world is not there anymore and if he brings it back, he will be bringing more problems that the surface is probably not able to deal with. We also don't know if he will go back to being his old evil self.

[@shawnwisdom154]

He's the only male born Gerudo with a prophecy attached.

[@frazierjames1908]

Totk ganondorf just wanted a worthy opponent as we can see when he tells ruaru he looks forward to meeting link

[@raine8587]

Wind Waker and Twilight Princess' Ganondorf are the same as Ocarina, but Ganondorf failed and was sealed. The following games were his attempt on revenge

[@JordySword]

I think his goals change throughout the course of the games, initially from a villain’s typical goal to something more malicious. Like in OoT for example at first it seems like he just wanted Hyrule, but after he’d conquered the kingdom he seeks the Triforce, likely to ensnare the land in darkness forever. And to kill Link and Zelda to solidify the process.
One could say Ganondorf is led by ambition at first, but once he gets a taste of his goal, he will stop at nothing to maintain dominion over everyone and everything.
Power truly corrupts indeed.

[@clementrenaud4260]

Not in Wind Waker, at the end he had the occasion to kill Link.

[@babysinclairfan]

Eiji Aonuma said that Ganondorf is based on Raoh from Fist of the North Star. That somehow clears a lot of the confusion up.
He's a conquerer motivated by what he believes is divine right. His ambition is the root of his evil but there's also something likable about his incredible drive. Both also trace their issues back to a rough childhood.
The key difference is that Ganondorf was truly evil. Raoh was just misguided and out of touch. Ganon was also a monster in a civilized world where his victims begged for mercy. Raoh was in an apocalypse that rewarded his bad behavior.

[@chrisgonzales5403]

Failed to mention that he's the literal incarnation of an ancient demon that tried to overrule the Goddess. Pretty much the #1 reason for EVERYTHING he does

[@SwaggMasta0]

Failed to mention that almost every single iteration of ganondorf was created before skyward sword making that addition a retcon and irrelevant to their original motivation.

[@JacobD42811]

Cuz he lost a toy train when he was a small child

[@CakeAddict]

Has there ever been a Ganondorf that just wants to kill Link? I don't really remember any of them being like that really, only cursing him at the end of the game when he gets beaten.

[@madmaniac3602]

In ToTK he's also genuinely bitter that a man who held the power of a *god* seemingly pursues a life devoid of godhood. He has a couple times where he mentions the power Rauru wields from the secret stone and even makes a comment knocking at the true potential of the stones when he gets his hands on one. I'm sure eventually as the Calamity he just came to feel bitter at everything Rauru sacrificed godhood to build, like Lex Luthor being genuinely pissed when Superman retires from being Superman to raise a family.

[@Frogchamp10]

And then there’s just Ganon/ Calamity Ganon…

[@Facebooker413]

Wind Waker Ganondorf is a bit more than he still covets Hyrule for its bounty. He also seeks to break the chain of fate that binds the three of them, and it seems he has a personal vendetta against the gods. Hell he even originally had no plans to kill Link or Zelda at the beginning of the confrontation, and it's not till he loses because King Daphnes wishes with the Triforce before Ganondorf could. It's not till after he's basically lost that he wants to kill Link or Zelda

[@deannadempsey9269]

In Oot Ganandorf wanted the triforce, that's it. When he accessed the Temple, it broke into 3 pieces. He had Power, Zelda had Wisdom, and Link Courage. It took 7yrs for him to find them. Then Link and Zelda defeated him. It was never about Hyrule beautiful fields

[@moggingyou]

i think they are all just cursed into repeatedly doing the same thing even if it doesn’t have any real reason

[@crispiecord]

My favorite Zelda fact is that Ganondorf is only in 4 of 18 mainline games.
Ganon is in loads, but Ganondorf is only in 4, mentioned in 5 if you count Four Swords Adventure

[@SwaggMasta0]

It's definitely wild. It's hard to be more iconic than ganondorf though!

[@glitchy_gamer6417]

Ganondorf: I WANT TO CONQUER HYRULE 👺
Link: YOU HAVE YOUR OWN LAND!!! 😮‍💨
Ganondorf: ITS A F*CKING DESERT!!! 👹

[@ricorichardson5945]

There are a few ganondorfs.
First one is totk who gets sealed.
Then theres ganondorf form oot, who is also toon ganondorf and twilight ganondorf.
During all of that, totk ganondorf was sealed. Also, we know ganon was BORN in oot, so he is def a diff ganondorf.

[@anangrycucco]

He wants to destroy hyrule because he is the reincarnation of the demon king. The incantation of malice

[@DennisNyal]

We also have to realize that each game is hundreds of years apart. The time of skyward sword is a forgotten past in botw and totk. Ganon is ancient

[@gregorygan2077]

Double misunderstood. Ganondorf needs to be understood from a spiritual stance. He's an "echo", if you will, from Denise's hatred for hylia. He mandatorily replicates the sane hatred for the goddesses demise had. And why? Cause demise was , and is in his heart, the king and kami ruler of this universe before the golden goddesses arrived. He feels invade and usurped by the irritating light they forced on him. And Ganondorf emanates this primal hatred, even if he's not fully aware of it

[@blitzi.m.p5927]

I love tears of the kingdom ganondorf

[@austindavis4708]

I think totk ganon is just SUPER evil and that’s his whole deal. Like pure evil Disney villain type shit, and you know what. I love it. Morally complex villains are fine but they get boring if that’s all there is.

[@hiddendesire3076]

In all fairness, asides from the whole killing of sages and destroying an island, had WW Ganon not done so, i’d have let him. The islands were eroding away and soon the Great Sea’s populations would’ve been gone. Yes, there is the mountain peak that became New Hyrule, but even that would eventually disappear.

[@mrdrybonestv]

My interpretation for TOTK was Ganondorf’s motivation was jealousy of Rauru. He had a vast Kingdom full of lush green fields, a beautiful wife and was beloved by his people. Ganon had none of that even though he was born a king whereas Rauru simply declared himself one.

[@Devanreater]

Gannondorf 2024

[@neodintchly]

So TOTK Ganondorf is like Senator Armstrong?

[@koru24]

in essence yes, although more simplified.

[@bloopertanooki415]

I feel bad for Ganondorf. Gerudos choose their king as the only male born in a long, long time, so if not for Demise's influence, he might have been such a honorable and wise man.

[@carljohansson3512]

There is no invisible Demise ghost doing anything, Ganondorf is simply a manifestation/incarnation of the same concepts, desires and traits that Demise represented, he is the selfish, sociopathic manipulative asshole he is because of his environment, Twinrova, his divine right to rule and Ganondorf desires dark magic and the demon king title because that represents his desires and traits the most. He doesn't have a tragic, sympathetic or noble backstory. The curse of the demons in Japanese is only about how negative thoughts, emotions and desires can turn one into a demon and grant one a cursed state and eternally experience Saṃsāra because of it which also means that other people who experience samsara will never escape the demons(who by their own nature are cursed because of themselves).

[@johandymartinez733]

They missed a big opportunity with totk Ganondorf, they could have made him separate from demise domain and together with link and zelda bring demise down.

[@carljohansson3512]

Demise was already completely destroyed for good in Skyward sword as Impa says his remaining thoughts are decaying inside the Master sword and the Triforce is going to destroy them in the present.
You also misunderstand the curse Demise talked about. It's a descriptive curse, not a prescriptive curse as is clearer in Japanese. It describes negative thoughts, emotions and desires which anyone can emanate much like the opposite(positive thoughts, emotions and desires) and it is also the cursed state of demons(which anyone with negative thoughts, emotions and desires can become). Demise was saying that the demons experience samsara(the Buddhist cycle of birth, death and rebirth which is perpetuated by one's own ignorance/delusion, hate, greed and one's karma whether good or bad) too. Ganondorf is not a direct reincarnation of Demise but an incarnation/manifestation which follows different rules than reincarnation, Malladus is also an incarnation/manifestation of the same thing and existed at the same time as Ganondorf during TWW. There is no invisible Demise ghost doing anything and the curse of the demons isn't sentient or something that can choose. We can see some enemies experience their cursed state(the curse of the demons) like for example the poe enemies in OOT, the cursed Bokoblins in Skyward sword and the undead in Arbiter's grounds who all have a cursed state because of their hate and deep seated grudge.
Ganondorf himself was since childhood an evil greedy selfish warmongering and power obssessed sociopathic asshole who only cared about Twinrova, himself most importantly and people who are exactly like the type of person he is.

[@tomykong2915]

Demise did not die in skyward sword, he was sealed in the master sword, and fi was slowly whittling away at him, that's the lore reason why we never see fi again, she's busy futily trying to kill demise, a being that can never fully die, heck, there's some solid basis to say malice is a fragment of demise himself, because botw isn't the first time we saw malice, and all monsters are derived from demise
There's a reason why some of us lost our minds upon seeing a ruined master sword, we hoped this lingering thread would be used, making the connections between totk and skyward sword a lot more explicit than the mere similarities that we ended up with. The master sword has always been a temporary solution, it loses power over time, and needs to be restored, and as a result, as a seal, it's not a very good solution, so what we could have gotten was the transformation of the sword that seals the darkness into the sword that purges the darkness, or even the sword that banishes the darkness, destroy demise for good, or seal him in a more reliable vessal

[@carljohansson3512]

@@tomykong2915 It is your headcanon that Demise's remaining thoughts are still somehow existing inside the Master sword. Demise is merely a representative of evil as a concept and the energy known as jaki but he is not the source of other villains' jaki(evil energy/malicious energy/miasma), he was simply the original source of evil in Hyrule's world who introduced evil as a concept to it's world, he is only the source that existed during Skyward sword's eras. The whole plot in Skyward sword was about the eradication of Demise(as Fi says when his body is destroyed and his thoughts are sealed inside the Master sword to decay(Impa's death in the present era implies he is gone because she made it her duty to prevent Demise from ever returning again, her peaceful death means her duty is fullfilled) and The Triforce wish waiting to destroy him in the present era) and the ending is just Demise explaining the reality of the situation just like Ganondorf in TP's ending, that Saṃsāra means he won't be the only source of evil and that evil won't disappear with his defeat. Other demon kings are manifestations of the same thing Demise is a manifestation of. We are told in many games that some monsters/demons are creations of Ganondorf. Jaki and onn'en(grudge, in the English localization it was translated to malice) can emanate from anyone with negative emotions, thoughts and desires and people can also emanate the opposite of Jaki aka "force" which is related to positivity.
In Majora's mask the Jaki that is poisoning Termina originates from Majora and the ancient tribe that used it in cursing rituals, in FSA the Jaki that is spreading darkness originates from Ganondorf, his trident and some originates from Vaati, in ALTTP the Jaki that is luring people and making people fall ill originates from Ganondorf, in OOT, TWW and TP it also originates from Ganondorf, in BOTW the onn'en originates from Calamity Ganon who is a manifestation and offshoot/split soul/other self/part of oneself/alter-ego/copy/clone originating from the real Ganon and is related to his Shoki(miasma), his secret stone and the blood moon he created from his dark magical power.
Demise is not big bad 3000 who is behind everything, he is not an invisible ghost that still exists. In TWW he should have been destroyed since he didn't break out of the Master sword, hell if he broke out of the Master sword in TOTK he would have been a lot weaker than Ganondorf, he would have been a shadow of his former self. There is not a single good reason to bring him back because Ganondorf is pretty much him but better and more evil, metaphorically Demise is all evil(as in representing all negative desires thoughts and emotions, not literally being it). "I will rise again" is a mistranslation by the localization team, what was actually being said in Japanese was that history would repeat itself/Demise explaining the curse of the demons a second time. Incarnation/manifestation is what happened with Demise and that follows different rules than reincarnation which is why he Ganondorf and Malladus exists despite the state of complete oblivion Demise’s remaining thoughts were in. Unlike Demise Ganondorf has not been sealed to decay inside the Master sword and he has also claimed the title of Great demon king/Great king of evil(Daimaō) which Demise(a Maō) never got. All the evidence points against any possibility of Demise returning unless we get a reboot with a new continuity.

[@carnage0685]

@@carljohansson3512 got damn you didn't need to go that hard on them. they didn't even bother making a response LOL. i think they just fucking gave up

[@carljohansson3512]

@@carnage0685 I am bit annoyed at how common these misconceptions are(as well as the Fandom's obssession with Demise) and a lot of them are based on misunderstandings of Japanese cultural, Shinto and Buddhist concepts or mistranslations. Sometimes there's an interview people missed like the one where the developers said that part of the inspiration behind Calamity Ganon was Taira no Masakado's vengeful spirit which is why Ganondorf is an evil Ronin in TOTK and it's also part of the reason why the grudge(malice in the English localization) was more connected to Ganondorf.

[@solracstormhunter3023]

In TotK his motivations make somewhat sense. He believes that power is everything, that survival should be a privilege of the strongest and that life is all about struggle. That mentality comes most-likely from the harsh enviroments in where his people live. So when the Zonai came and brought prosperity to Hyrule, without "true" struggle, that was an insult to his very way of living - Hyrule, the land which already had plentyful green fields and was thriving with live, suddenly became _more_ prosperous, without actually fighting for it. That _disgusted_ Ganondorf beyond anything else.
On top of that, as the strongest man and only Gerudo male (which are special for only being born every 100 years), thriving from the harshest enviroment, _HE_ should be ruler of the world, not some "divine descendant, who didn't earn anything, yet is blessed with power". At least in his eyes.

[@Mrfruitchew]

Different motivations but its all just wrath

[@fartjokez3258]

Tp is ALL about revenge

[@zero00044]

Ocarina of time, windwaker and twilight princess Ganondorf are actually all the same person. Despite the different animation styles, and story differences in what happened to him each time, they are all the same person. Just sealed away each time.

[@atheist2025]

It’s interesting how easy it is to make the Hyrule kingdom the real evil ones

[@carljohansson3512]

Uh no. Ganondorf is a selfish delusional sociopathic hypocrite who desires power, war, battle, violence, a world of greed, survival of the fittest, might makes right(aka chaos).
Hyrule has done some crimes yes but the kingdom never oppressed the Gerudo(Ganondorf also doesn't care about their lives and doesn't represent their desires at all(unless it's Twinrova or anyone who is as horrible as Ganondorf)) and we haven't seen the kingdom trying to force anyone to join it.

[@atheist2025]

@@carljohansson3512 I’m more so talking about in fan fiction… sorry I’ve only played Botw and Totk.

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

I was about to say "Wait, he wants to destroy Hyrule?". His words in Wind Waker say otherwise. There's a difference between conquering and destroying.
Tears Ganon did not have a very good reason for doing things.

[@RisingBeast00]

We know he wants to conquer Hyrule. Duh!

[@nilzor]

What is the motivation for any ruler or politician? Power and money

[@blueotter5954]

Long ago, when Tears of the Kingdom was just announced. I used to think that Ganondorf will join Link and Zelda to end the curse place upon them since Skyward Swords.
If this is the game that doesn't fit the sacred timeline, why not end the legend here? In a time and space outside of Twilight and beyond, anything could be possible right?

[@itsdoomedjack9774]

I have a topic you should discuss. Gerudo's only produce female babies (excluding Ganon, who was the omen of the apocalypse essentially) In Breath of the Wild, it explains that Gerudo's kidnap men and... well, have sex with them. Would this indicate that the Gerudo race are slowly causing themselves to go extinct, or do they have such strong genes to where, no matter who they have sex with, they'll always produce a pure Gerudo female?

[@Otome_chan311]

Gerudo always produce a Gerudo female when they mate. Except one male every 100 years or so which is then declared their king. They kidnap hylian men to do the mating as you mention. No issues with the bloodline. Though amusingly we see diluting in the hylian bloodline. As hylians mate with humans and hylian population decreases as time goes on and they lose their magical abilities.

[@carljohansson3512]

According to an old OOT interview the Gerudo birth pure Gerudo no matter who the parents are, also kidnapping doesn't always happen.

[@LordFoxxyFoxington]

Because Demise compels him to. Now, why does Demise want to conquer/destroy Hyrule? :D

[@keronimo5713]

Skyward sword could put light in these questions

[@user-vm2md2me7d]

Its demise's curse anyone who has the soul of the hero and the blood of the goddess hylia

[@Zwiebellauchsuppentyp]

Am I the only one who thinks that the Ganondorf (from wind waker) who just wants the sea removed is actually the best Ganondorf? I mean...
He just wants Hyrule to be as it was before the great flood. Me too!

[@ChaosBud]

I need a Zelda game where Ganon conquers Hyrule then makes everything better and the people don't want hm to be usurped when Link arrives

[@dorkworksrandomvideos6776]

Like I said in another video, he won't be a king without people (who he keeps killing). All he would have would be him, himself, and some creepo monsters.

[@michaelb1354]

Is it bad that Gannon is relatable