Ganon

Ganon
{{{content1}}} {{{content2}}} Official artwork of Ganon from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Debut	The Legend of Zelda (1986)
Smash Bros. appearances	Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (2020)
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom Disk System)
Species	Demon
Gender	Male
Place of origin	Hyrule
Article on Zelda Wiki	Ganon

Ganon (ガノン) is the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda series. His first appearance was as the beast in the original The Legend of Zelda game, although it was misspelled as Gannon in-game. The villain made his first humanoid appearance as Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Since then, the name "Ganondorf" has been used to refer to his Gerudo form while "Ganon" (alternatively Beast Ganon or Dark Beast Ganon) is used for his monster form.

Origin

Ganon was originally introduced in the original The Legend of Zelda game. Here, he was established as a power-hungry monster who had kidnapped Princess Zelda for her piece of the Triforce, but was destroyed by Link at the end of the game. Since then, collecting the Triforce and conquering Hyrule has usually been Ganon's main goal in the series. He is physically present or otherwise referenced in nearly every Zelda game, with four exceptions: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.

Ganon's appearance has changed over the course of the series. In his first appearance in The Legend of Zelda, he appears as a bestial, porcine demon with turquoise skin (though it will change to red at one point, which is the cue to hit him with the Silver Arrow), while in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, he has blue skin and turns silver when weak to the aforementioned Silver Arrows. Ocarina of Time, which first showed Ganon's human appearance as Ganondorf, depicts his bestial Ganon form with similar articles of clothing as Ganondorf, dark green fur, a red mane, and large curved horns. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, in a departure from previous games, features a quadrupedal Ganon for the first time.

While Ganon does not physically appear in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, his spiritual ancestor, Demise, appears as the main antagonist and final boss. Upon being defeated, Demise warns that he will be reincarnated for eternity along with the blood of the goddess (Zelda), and the spirit of the hero (Link), and all three will be forced to battle for the fate of the world. One of these incarnations would be Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. Another incarnation would be Ganon from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, who is related to the previously mentioned Ganon in name only.

In Super Smash Bros.

Although he does not appear in-game, Ganon is mentioned in Link's profile.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. 4

Ganon as a Final Smash in Smash 4.

Ganon made his debut in the Super Smash Bros. series as Beast Ganon, the Final Smash of Ganondorf in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Ganondorf in Super Smash Bros. 4. Ganon is modeled after Dark Beast Ganon from Twilight Princess to match Ganondorf's design from the same game.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

As a Final Smash

Ganon as a Final Smash in Ultimate.

In Ultimate, Ganondorf's Final Smash attack functions largely the same, but Ganon's appearance is based on his Ocarina of Time version and has been renamed Ganon, The Demon King.

As a boss

Ganon's render in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Ganon's location in World of Light

Ganon battling Young Link on his stage.

Ganon appears as a boss in both Classic Mode and in World of Light; in the latter, he is fought in the center of the Sacred Land sub-map. He is fought in an arena resembling the ruins of Ganon's Castle in Ocarina of Time, with Ganondorf standing amid the ruins before transforming into the Demon King. Like Ocarina of Time, he can only be damaged by attacking his tail: if the tail is hit hard enough, Ganon will be stunned and allow the player to deal further damage, with his head becoming another weakness. Along with standard sword slashes and a charge attack similar to the Final Smash, Ganon uses several new attacks:

Move	Description
Sword Slash	A large upward swing of both swords. After the attack, Ganon briefly faces away, allowing the player to attack him from the front.
Spin Attack	Spins around several times with swords extended. Briefly pauses at the end to regain balance, allowing the player to counterattack.
Lightning Strike	Shoots a disc of lightning from the swords, a reference to both Link being able to shoots projectiles from his sword at full health and to a similar attack Demise from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword uses. At lower health, he will fire two discs.
Homing Fire Ball	Breathes a ball of fire that follows the player, similar to a move Calamity Ganon performs in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Malice Beam	Unleashes a beam of malice from the mouth, similar to an attack used by Dark Beast Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Stomp	leaps in the air and perform a ground pound attack.
Charge	After a brief telegraph, will rush forward off screen, similar to Ganondorf's Final Smash. Will then jump back on screen.

When defeated, Ganon will wildly flail his swords and roar, similar to his defeat animation in Ocarina of Time, before exploding.

The Fighters that are assigned to fight Ganon in Classic Mode are Link, Young Link, Toon Link, Zelda and Sephiroth. Usually, Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form plays during the battle, but Death Mountain plays in Zelda's Classic Mode.

Spirits

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Base	Max	Base	Max	Base	Max	Ability	Series
191		Ganon		★★★	2	3113	9365	1762	5301	1175	3534	Weight ↑	The Legend of Zelda Series
221		Beast Ganon		★★★★	3	4349	10876	2593	6484	1589	3974	Impact Run	The Legend of Zelda Series
243		Calamity Ganon		★★★★	1	4932	12330	2466	6165	2466	6165	No Effect	The Legend of Zelda Series

Trivia

• Zelda is the only character who faces Ganondorf on the same stage before his transformation as Ganon.
• Sheik and Ganondorf are the only Zelda characters who do not face Ganon as their final boss.
• Sephiroth is the only non-Zelda fighter to fight Ganon as a boss in Classic Mode.
• Ganon's boss fight in Ultimate takes place on a unique stage comprised of reused models from various stages in the game, specifically Coliseum (as the ground) and Reset Bomb Forest (as the burning castle in the background).