Zelda Breath of the Wild’s final antagonist was a bit of a letdown for some of us. While Calamity Ganon is a devastating force of nature, many of us wanted to see the Prince of Darkness finally make another appearance. We have been wondering if we will finally see Ganondorf in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.
Despite being such a prominent antagonist, Ganondorf’s last appearance in a Zelda game was all the way back in 2006 in Twilight Princess. Therefore, it’s exciting to finally see Ganondorf in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.
If you’re interested in more Zelda Tears of the Kingdom content, be sure to check out our guides on the new boss Gleeok, the return of Demise, and all the new confirmed enemies.
Who is Ganondorf?
Ganondorf is actually an incarnation of the original Demon King Demise. Upon his defeat, Demise swore that an incarnation would continue to pursue his goals. This malice takes the form of Ganondorf and Ganon. Ganondorf possesses the Triforce of Power, granting him unimaginable strength.
While Ganon and Ganondorf can be considered the same entity, they’re remarkably different in terms of appearance and intelligence. Ganondorf holds vast political power as the King of the Gerudo. Furthermore, he is a mighty sorcerer and a skilled swordsman who can face the Hero Link in close-quarters combat. His goal is to claim the Triforce and use it for world domination. He has a large muscular frame similar to Demise, red hair, and green skin.
Ganon, on the other hand, also referred to as Calamity Ganon, is a larger and more destructive beast-like creature that resembles a flaming boar.
Is Ganondorf in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom?
It is confirmed that we will be seeing Ganondorf make a return in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. The third and final trailer for the game showed a close up of the Demon King Ganondorf as he summons the Blood Moon to unleash a horde of monsters upon Hyrule. Previously, we had only seen a corpse, but now we know that this corpse belonged to Ganondorf and was revived somehow during the events of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.
Nintendo has confirmed this officially via their Twitter as well.
What is Ganondorf’s role in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom?
It’s pretty safe to assume that Ganondorf will be playing his standard antagonistic role in Tears of the Kingdom. He will likely be a final boss that Link has to face on his journey. We see Ganondorf attack Link and the Master Sword with Malice, which likely results in Link’s arm being damaged. However, we speculate that Ganondorf is able to break the seal on the Master Sword and harness the powers of the original Demise.
There is a theory that Zelda Tears of the Kingdom might be about breaking the cycle of reincarnation. Instead of Link and Zelda facing Calamity Ganon, it is the Goddess Hylia and Ganondorf fighting Demise.
This theory is given even more credibility considering we saw Hylia appear in the trailer, and the Hero shown in the tapestry has green skin and red hair, similar to Ganondorf in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. We also saw Princess Zelda wear similar clothing and ornaments as Hylia in the trailer.
Regardless of how it plays out, it’s confirmed that we will be seeing Princess Zelda and Ganondorf face off as incarnations of Hylia and Demise, respectively.
That’s all we know about Ganondorf in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom so far. If you’re interested in more Zelda content, be sure to check our guides on the new weapons and fusion system.