Hyrule Warriors gave us some fantastic incarnations of familiar characters from The Legend of Zelda’s many adventures. There was Link, with metal shoulder pads bolstering the chainmail he adopted from Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, along with that fashionable blue scarf bearing the Hylian royal family emblem. Princess Zelda donned more armor than most versions of Link, and proved herself just as capable as any character at mowing through armies of enemies. Impa got a fierce, yet elegant redesign, and whether wielding a naginata or giant sword, she moved like lightning across the battlefield.
But of the many characters who came together in the unlikely crossover, none were done greater justice than the franchise’s longtime villain, Ganondorf. In fact, the Ganondorf seen in Hyrule Warriors may just be the best that the King of Evil has ever been.
Take another look at the central figure in the header image if you need to. You know what you see there? A man who will conquer your kingdom and revel in every last second of it. Even when Hyrule Warriors’ story existed solely as an excuse to bring so many franchise icons and settings into one package, the spinoff effectively captured Ganondorf’s persona as a fearsome, indomitable warlord through his appearance and gameplay.
His design in Hyrule Warriors feels like all of the best attributes from previous incarnations were gathered into one form. He is an absolute mountain of a man, encased in elaborate armor like what he wore in Twilight Princess, right down to an ornate headpiece. A keen eye will also reveal that the Mirror of Twilight is superimposed on his chestplate. He sports a closely cropped beard as seen in Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, while his long hair is reminiscent of the Ganondorf from seven years into the future in Ocarina of Time.
Fabulous isn’t a word that’s normally associated with Ganondorf, but in the case of his cascading crimson locks, it’s perfectly appropriate. Ganondorf’s flow is fabulous.
While any playable character in Hyrule Warriors is capable of clearing out crowds of enemies at a time, nobody accomplishes it with the same explosiveness that Ganondorf does. There is a sense of brute strength conveyed through his prodigious motions that makes it seem like he would believably send a dozen or more foes flying with a single swing even if he wasn’t in a Warriors-style game. His dual swords evoke the twin blades he brandished during the climactic battle in Wind Waker, and his trident serves as a nod perhaps to Ocarina of Time’s Phantom Ganon, as well as the Ganon fought in such games like A Link to the Past and the Oracle titles. The most powerful versions of both weapons reference Demise, the devilish entity who was the ancient precursor to Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda universe.
If you thought that successfully landing a Warlock Punch in Super Smash Bros. was the most satisfying attack you could pull off in a video game with Ganondorf, Hyrule Warriors brought plenty of opportunities for some jaw-dropping carnage. Ganondorf’s Special Attack where he can disintegrate some hundred or more foes with a sheer road of lightning that’s wide enough for a semi to drive down is magnificently devastating, and a thrill to watch unfold no matter how many times you’ve executed it. One of his Focus Spirit Attacks where he strikes using a shadowy manifestation of Ganon is less flashy, but just as catastrophic. It also feels like a very early and unintended tease to Calamity Ganon from Breath of the Wild, being a roiling mass of ruinous energy that takes a boar-like shape.
Speaking of that boar-like titan, Hyrule Warriors did just as much justice to Ganon as it did to Ganondorf. His monstrous identity most closely resembles the feral design from Twilight Princess, with jet black fur, an enormous mane of fiery red hair, and gigantic tusks. More anthropomorphic features like his wrist guards, use of a weapon during certain Special Attacks (in this case, his trident), and occasionally assuming a bipedal stance take from the Ganons that fans contended with during Ocarina of Time or A Link to the Past.
Unique to Hyrule Warriors’ Ganon is his positively beastly way of walking. Rather than run on all fours like a normal quadruped creature, or stomp around on his hind legs, Ganon slams his huge fists into the ground and propels himself forward like some demonic silverback gorilla. The whole display would get a giant thumbs up from King Kong.
Hyrule Warriors also gifted us with the rare opportunity to play as Ganon. The Ganon’s Fury challenge mode is packed with all of the spectacle that you could ask for playing as the supersized villain who looks like he’s ready to go to war in the next Godzilla film. His size tests the limits of Hyrule Warriors’ camera functionality and the stages’ boundaries. Armies of enemies that the rest of the game’s roster would have to slog through can be cleared away in seconds, while bosses like Gohma, King Dodongo, and The Imprisoned suddenly become no more of a threat than an average Lizalfos or Stalfos.
If all of that somehow wasn’t enough, Ganondorf in Hyrule Warriors showed us the real way to open a treasure chest. You don’t kneel down and gently lift the lid with both hands — you take your boot to that thing and kick it wide open!
