We've all had the weekend to sit and stew over the final pre-launch trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (meaning, watching it another 100+ times) and it is fair to say that we are pretty jazzed for this game now.
We're excited to see the changes made to Breath of the Wild's Hyrule, Link's new abilities, just what the heck is going on with the story, but most of all, we're excited to see more of this new take on Ganondorf which, after being officially revealed last week, quickly got the internet a little, erm, hot under the collar.
With the release of Ganondorf's new character art, we decided to float the question of which take on the gorgeous Gerudo is the best. We posed this to you, our lovely readers, and over 6600 votes came in before the cutoff.
Now, the results are in. Below, we have laid out your ranking of the Ganondorfs from worst to best, giving a little information on each villainous version. This was a very close-fought competition, with several of these positions being decided by just a couple of votes.
So, as the man himself orders in the final pre-launch trailer, "Do not look away," as we run through every Ganondorf from worst to best, as ranked by you.
6. Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf
Landing in sixth place with 6% of the vote is Hyrule Warriors 'dorf. Looking at the overall vote numbers, it seems that a playable Ganondorf is not at the top of many people's lists when it comes to making a good villain, and we must say that we agree.
The Ganondorf that we see in this game (across its three versions, which we combined into this voting option due to the character's near-identical design) is a pretty standard affair for the series antagonist: Ganondorf is locked away, unable to escape, through some sly manipulation he manages to regain his power and goes after the Triforce, he turns all piggy when finally getting his hands on it, only to be swiftly defeated by Link and locked away once again.
Tale as old as time, right?
5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Ganondorf
Playable Ganondorf really isn't the popular option, huh?
It makes a lot of sense in this instance. Yes, the character's Ultimate design is a pretty cool combination of elements from what we saw in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess (which defined his Melee and Brawl / Wii U / 3DS appearances respectively), but despite having his fans (7% of them in this poll) he just doesn't have the moves to match.
Ganondorf has some of the worst recovery in the game, he is slow and only produces very small hitboxes with many of his attacks. We don't know many people that are brave enough to main the Gerudo in Ultimate (although some people swear by him) and that's with good reason.
4. Wind Waker Ganondorf
Now this has to be the biggest surprise in the ranking if you ask us. Wind Waker's Ganondorf landing in fourth might be down to how some still can't get behind the cel-shaded toon design, or it may simply speak to how strong the top three takes on the character are. Let's be generous and stick with the latter.
Winning 18% of the vote, this might just be the Ganondorf with the most understandable motive. Having been raised in the Gerudo Desert where the wind would lay waste to his people whenever it blew, this version of the villain simply feels jilted by the fact Hyrule had a calm breeze by comparison.
Ok, yes, he attempts to instil a blazing sun which would dry up all the water and place Hyrule under his control, but we said that we were going to be generous, all right?
3. Ocarina of Time Ganondorf
Ah, the one that started it all. Ocarina of Time's Ganondorf was always going to be up near the top of this list simply given how many fond memories most of us have of seeing that mean, green overthrowing machine for the first time.
This was the first appearance of Ganondorf in the series and it did such a fantastic job of showing the character as a scheming man first and a supervillain second. Of course, the cutscene of him riding out of Hyrule Castle with the kidnapped princess always springs to mind as one of the series' most iconic moments, but how about that sequence where he turns his head and looks straight through the window at the gossiping Link and Zelda? Now that's some scary stuff right there.
Both this and the following 'dorf won 19% of the poll, with a mere 10 individual votes separating them...
2. Twilight Princess Ganondorf
If it wasn't for Wind Waker's Ganon getting a swift Master Sword to the noggin, this might just be one of the gruesome final boss battles in all of Zelda.
There's a strong sense of mystery as to the true antagonist of Twilight Princess for most of its playtime, and seeing Zant being nothing more than one of Ganondorf's minions always puts a smile on our faces.
While the game's murky visual style might not have worked for everyone with respect to Link and Zelda's redesigns, the muted colour palette and increased realism do go a long way to making this one of the best Ganondorfs that we have seen so far. We particularly like how big this guy is. The final battle feels like a genuine test of strength as you go up against this huge foe who can deal out some massive hits.
1. Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf
Yes, Tears of the Kingdom's final pre-launch trailer was a beauty and we imagine that no small amount of that hype will have gone into this version of Ganondorf taking the number-one spot with a whopping 31% of the vote, even given how little we've seen of him so far. That being said, this character design really is something.
Proportionally, he might be more chest than man, but wow, get a look at that hair!
We don't really know what exactly the villain is plotting this time around, but we do know that Matt Mercer is lending his silky tones to the voice acting and there is certainly going to be a fair amount of transforming going on from that crusty corpse of the earlier trailer up to the buff bod that we see now.
Will TOTK Ganondorf still win the popular vote once the game has actually released? That might be something to revisit a couple of months from now. But as of this moment, the people have spoken. You've witnessed a king's revival!
Well, there it is, every version of Ganondorf as ranked by you. Where did your favourite take on the character land in this list? Let us know in the comments.
Comments 84
Hyrule warriors Ganondorf got shafted
Twilight Princess Ganondorf is scary.
Ganondorf in TOTK looks to cartoonish to be menacing, at least based on what we have seen so far.
In TOTK, I hope Ganondorf sings "Zeldas".
The recency bias is strong in this poll…
Wow, we already love the version of Ganondorf that we saw and heard for all of 10 seconds in the new trailer the most? Impressive. I would have voted for New Ganon, if his game was already out. But it isn’t, so I voted Twilight Ganondorf. Such an evil and epic villian
That’s quite hopeful and presumptuous to think Tears Ganondorf is already the best before the game is even out. Yes, his design is awesome, but let’s not judge based on appearances!
TOTK Ganondorf's final fight will be difficult.
There is already so much fanart of Rehydrated Ganon.
The new TOTK Ganondorf should not be included just yet.
Why is fat Ganondorf a thing?
Tears of The Kingdom Ganondorf wins just because he's able to wear a man-bun without looking like a complete tool. That alone takes considerable amounts of talent.
Ocarina of time ganondorf on a horse
@cwong15 Look, one way or the other we all end up old and ugly.
WW Ganondorf is so overrated, I'm not sure why many people in my circles like him.
Smash Ultimate's depiction of him is near perfect (it's probably more OoT-skewed than TP), but I'd take that with OoT and TP over WW any day. Even HW's is really unique and menacing. I'll judge ToTK's in full after the game's out...
I'm not sure where the writer is seeing Twilight Princess elements in SSBU Ganondorf. That's just straight up his adult era design from OoT but with the short hair of the child era.
WW Ganondorf is the one with a unique personality. The other ones look very generic. Make their hair dark and you'll get F-tier characters from Dragon Ball. Especially TOTK 'dorf.
I don't think totk ganondorf should even be ranked yet but I gotta admit that 'do not look away' line was pretty badass
WW ganondorf under OoT ganondorf tho... for shame
Demise is the best Ganondorf 😜
TOTK design wise, but WW is the only game to write him well.
Twilight Princess is still the GOAT design. Just regal and menacing enough to be the perfect Ganon. The new one looks cool, but he’s too roidraged for me, and shorter hair always looks better for this King of Evil.
Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf reminds me of Johnny Bravo; I can't take him seriously.
WW will always be number 1 for me
Small hitboxes aren't really an issue with Ultimate Ganon apart from his up-B (where it is a real issue). He's actually known for the opposite characteristic: huge, meaty hitboxes with too much knockback for follow-ups.
Hey I just voted totk ganon on a design level, I vote that we do this poll again once the game comes out!
TOTK Ganondorf is an easy win from me.
However I don’t think we would have reached this design without Wind Waker coming first.
Ganondorf to me always looked quite generic in other game iterations - with TP easily my least favourite as it felt like the design team were bored out of following the audience thirst for their true OOT Sequel after creatively thriving with Wind Waker.
Wind Waker. It's simple and stands out to me as the most memorable. I'm a huge fan of simple design in general. WW looks unique among his other incarnations.
We basically know nothing about Totk Ganondorf...
The hype is real XD
The Wind Waker one is the best, and the combat as well.
Wind Waker Ganondorf was number two for me, he's pretty awesome. But I'll admit I got swept up in the sexy charms of the latest iteration.
« Ganondorf to Ganondoof »
You had Ganondork sitting there ready to go and you didn’t use it? NL needs to bring back Kate.
@InkyLink672 Nooooh, that will stick for a while in the completely autonomous part of my brain...haha .
I think Hyrule Warriors has the coolest Ganondorf design.
TOTK Ganondorf looks cool but I'm wondering why they felt the need to change his skin-color to green (or at all)?
@Garo
SSBU Ganondorf is just a slightly refined OoT Ganondorf. Doesn't look bad but I don't see a resemblance to Twilight Princess
Recency bias much? I like the new 'Dorf, but it almost seems unfair that he came out on top when we know so little about him. I do agree with the rest of the ranking though. Playable 'Dorfs come out near the bottom since they don't have much buildup. WW Ganondorf is very good, but the OoT and especially TP Ganondorf both have great setup in their respective games. Even though our friend in Twilight Princess doesn't show up until a good way into the game, the setup to him culminating in an epic final boss sequence (outside of Puppet Zelda is amazing.
I have this feeling the latest redesign of a recurring character always gets top place in these polls.
Talking about design only and not motivation, I can't quite decide between TP's and WW's. For motivation I'd pick OoT (and WW by proxy) because it's pretty much the only one who isn't "I'm back from the dead/interdimensional prison for vengeance!"
Ganondorf from the TV show. Is my favorite.
Best Zelda? Wind Waker, Tetra is awesome.
Best Link? Skyward Sword.
i voted for windwaker because hes fat
Twilight Princess is the best design and it's not close.
Wind Waker Ganon is the most compelling from a story perspective.
TOTK Ganondorf shouldn’t have been on the list since we have seen him for a total of 3 seconds so far.
@blindsquarel What about the official art?
Aside from some artwork and a few seconds in a trailer, a character from a game not even released gets top place! Funny.
@blindsquarel But TotK does qualify. This is just a ranking of design. If this were ranking in terms of personalty or character, then I would agree TotK wouldn't count.
However since this just a ranking of artwork then it counts.
@InkyLink672 @Vexx234
I must have read the title wrong. I thought it was about Ganondorfs as a whole.
@Tyranexx The build up for Ganon in Twilight Princess is really poor. He only shows up at the last second to steal the scene from Zant.
@blindsquarel
And there’s a non insignificant chance they pull a Zant with him right when you’re expecting a epic showdown with him.
Personally, I don't think I can get behind Ganondorf's look from Tears of the Kingdom as his best look. He looks more like an arena fighter than an evil warlord. In fact, he almost looks a bit like Blanka from Street Fighter: green skin, red hair, and no shirt (at least from the angle we see above).
To me, I think his look from Twilight Princess is the best. Not only is he large and imposing, he is also decked out in that black armor and wields the sword that nearly executed him, almost as a trophy of sorts. He looks EXACTLY like the evil warlord he is supposed to be. How anyone can think that version of him is second-best is beyond me.
so much said in this article is complete nonsense, why would I expect anything different from NintendoLife?
My rankings were completely different haha. I am a fan of hyrule warriors design, and I'm not a fan of windwakers design.
@NintendoArchive It was voted, so not sure how it's complete nonsense and the website is having fun with its audience.
@SalvorHardin
Huh, why would they do that. My only guess would be that Demise is pulling the strings, but it seemed clear in the trailer that Ganondorf is the main villain.
@somnambulance My thoughts exactly
I'm actually surprised, but it is the correct result nonetheless. BOTW/TOTK holds the best art style by far, of that I believe staunchly.
This is also a vote based purely on superficial design. We don't have to see how TOTK Ganondorf plays out, since this is strictly a comparison between art renders.
@Indielink I was more referring to the long fight sequence, though the vignettes contributed through Midna and the sages at Arbiter's grounds certainly helped too. OoT comes very close in my book since he makes more appearances - thus more exposition - but design-wise I prefer TP Ganondorf overall.
Recency bias lol
I love Ganondorf's Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess designs the most. Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf has left a strong first impression so he can definitely be up there as well soon.
I just hope Zelda takes one look at Ganondilf and finally ditches that non-communicative layabout Link. The guy is supposed to be saving her but he spends 100 years napping and when he wakes up what does he do? Runs around collecting tree poo. Hundreds of them!
Ocarina. His secondary form was amazing
@link12684 the results are on the voters, the words are on them
tbf, most gannondorf bosses where horrible i only liked the one in ocarina of time, this is because the story was more connected to it's caracter. came from the dessert, rise in rank, betrays his king, then lock up link because he is a threat, in de 7 years that follow you come back and see how the world is destroyed, and therefor you can do things that where not possible. that is connection.
he was realy an enemy during the game.
this is why it is one of the best game in the series.
I mean, I am going to go with the Nintendo 64 classic from Ocarina of Time. When I think of Ganondorf, that character model is the first one I think of, followed by WindWaker Ganon.
twilight princess has the best design for all characters
I never saw the original poll so I'll put my two cents in here.
My favorite Zelda Aesthetic is Wind Waker, so that version of Ganondorf is my personal favorite. I think Wind Waker has the most of that "Nintendo Charm" to me on a visual level. I also think the battle with Ganondorf in Wind Waker was one of the most memorable moments in the Zelda franchise for me.
I'd probably worst to best rank them...
5. Ocarina of Time
4. Twilight Princess
3. Tears of the Kingdom
2. Wind Waker
1. Hyrule Warriors
As for the character himself Wind Waker is the only time he's ever been even slightly interesting.
@NinTempo Agree 100%. I don't think any other design carries the same...'heft' as Hyrule Warriors. THAT is the possessor of the Triforce of POWER.
Smash bros, hes like the ultimate badass right there, besides, its like a combination of OoT and TP
The definitive list:
a) TotK Ganondorf
2) Wind Waker Ganondorf
D) Okay so the old animated series only had Ganon, not Ganondorf, but the hypothetical Ganondorf from it has to count for something.
#) Culex.
I'm really out of step with the community on Ganondorf. Here's how I'd rank them:
5) Tears of the Kingdom: he looks pretty cool but I found him extremely forgettable, except when he was all dried up at the beginning.
4) Twilight Princess: kind of cool and fitting design but a pretty dull character.
3) Ocarina: I actually don't like his design much. He looks like a sniveling side villain that plays second fiddle to the Big Bad. But I do like his role in the story.
2) Hyrule Warriors: this guy is just plain fun. He's over the top and looks and feels great. I like this larger than life take on the character.
1) Wind Waker: takes the top place in both design and characterization if you ask me. I like the deeper side to Ganondorf and his warlock look really stands out.
All that said, I prefer pig/beast Ganon honestly.
totk ganondorf all the way for me especially his demon king form whichis bad#%$ and imagine in the next zelda game they merge demon king form with four sword ganon beast form and we get a more scarier ganon with horns while wielding his trident plus new abilities that can wipe players in one hit like lighting up the entire battle field with a huge lightning storm along with making the ground shake by hitting his fist toward the ground cause huge fire whirls swirling around the area.
My favorite Ganondorf will always be his incarnation in Wind Waker. Totk is 2nd definitely. Not sure about the other spots.
I wonder what Ganondorf would had look like in A Link to the Past Between Worlds, in that game he only had his demon form. Wonder what his native form would look like. Same for the Oracle of Ages and Seasons.
I admit I have a Wind Waker bias when it comes to 3D Zelda games. I think his WW design is best, in my opinion.
I still don't like LoZTP Ganondorf...
Wind Waker Ganon is still my fave
This reeks of recency bias.
What about A Link to the Past? He appeared in our minds, was that not good enough?
I'd put Tears Ganondorf over Ocarina and Twilight Ganondorf but I don't know if he passes Wind. Maybe because Matthew Mercer's voice gave him an edge. As a boss fight, thats where things kind of flip around. I haven't played some of these games in a while so my memory and recency might contaminate things in regards to Ganondorfs mechanical design while also thinking about visual and story design.
A side note, why is Ocarina Ganondorf and Smash Ultimate Ganondorf separately ranked? Ultimates design is Ocarina's version straight. What about that is from Twilight Princess?
@somnambulance Or a lot of people like bara daddy Ganondorf. Don't just assume. TotK Ganondorf has a lot of character.
I like WW Ganon the most, but don't deny that every Ganon's got style.
Lots of love for WW Ganondorf, me included. Easily the most interesting version.
Definitely no recency bias in this poll.
@Maulbert Lol. My response for this was before the game even came out. I didn’t even recall what I said!
That said, yeah, I still agree that recency bias was strong. TotK Ganondorf is a great Ganondorf, but not the best one.
The Tears of the Kingdom One is definitely very good, but the Hyrule Warriors one is definitely not the worst, cmon.
I would have put WW Gannondorf in the top 2.
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