A sequel to Nintendo's immensely popular Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is currently in development, and fans could not be more excited to see where the series goes next. While some are desperately hoping to play as Zelda this time around, some fans are extremely excited to see a familiar face return: Ganondorf.
In the brief E3 2019 teaser trailer, Nintendo seemingly unveiled a new Ganondorf, who was notably absent from the first game. Ganondorf is the perfect villain for the upcoming sequel for a number of reasons.
A Somewhat Brief History of Ganondorf
To first understand the Ganon/Ganondorf storyline, a quick aside needs to be made to introduce Ganondoft's ancestor: Demise. Demise was the primary antagonist in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. This flame-haired tyrant sought to take the power of the Goddess and transform the world into whatever he wished. Obviously he was struck down by Link, but not before using his dying breath to place a curse on Link and Zelda, condemning them and their ancestors to fight an eternal battle, thus linking the three characters by fate, even all the way up to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Ganon has made an appearance in several installments in the Legend of Zelda series, but Ganondorf has only been seen a few times. For newcomers to the series, "Ganon" is the powerful beast that dwells inside the Gerudo Ganondorf. Easily put, Ganondorf is the Gerudo, Ganon is the beast. Ganondorf first made an appearance in the beloved time-traveling adventure of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, where he sought to bring destruction to the kingdom of Hyrule and rule over what was left. After obtaining the Triforce of Power from the Temple of Time, Ganondorf harnessed the power of his bloodline - of Demise - to transform into the beast Ganon. Ganon appears in his pig-like demon form several times throughout the series, further deepening the blood feud between Demise and the two heroes.
Ganondorf only made main appearances in two other mainline titles: The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. In the beloved Wind Waker, the world has flooded as a result of Ganondorf's return. Link's only struggle is with Ganondorf, as Ganon never makes as appearance. In Twilight Princess, Ganondorf orchestrates the takeover of the Twilight Realm using Zant, but ultimately Link discovers Ganondorf's plot. Link defeats both Ganondorf and then Ganon in his demonic form, but not before Ganondorf alludes to the continuing struggle of light and shadow - likely referring to the never-ending cycle of conflict between Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf.
Breath of the Wild 2: Return of the King
In the Breath of the Wild sequel trailer, Link and Zelda traverse a creepy cavern and discover the body of what can only be assumed is Ganondorf. Considering the body sports the iconic red hair, Gerudo iconography, and the blight effect from the first game, it's a pretty safe assumption. While there aren't too many shots of Ganondorf in the already short teaser trailer, there are enough clues that seem to hint that Ganondorf is coming back (With a vengeance) in Breath of the Wild 2 - and that's a great thing.
It seems that whatever sealing magic Zelda did at the end of Breath of the Wild did not hold, as there is still the blighted miasma pouring from the mummified body beneath the temple. Perhaps that means Zelda only sealed the Calamity Ganon and not Ganondorf, but usually the body of Ganondorf is used in the transformation so at the moment it's a bit unclear.
Calamity Ganon was the strongest Ganon the series has ever seen, even if some players can beat it very quickly. It would be no surprise if Ganon found a way to break the seal placed on him by Zelda. Perhaps that is the route that the sequel is taking: the seal locked away the demon Ganon, but the body of Ganondorf still remains and must be destroyed to prevent the return of Calamity Ganon again. It would certainly explain the slow trickling of miasma coming from the body, as well as why Zelda and Link were looking in this crypt in the first place.
Clearly, the two were searching for something, and with the amount of studying and research Zelda has been known to do it would be no surprise if she discovered something lying dormant beneath the castle. After all, Ganon made its home there for 100 years, so there's bound to be some traces of that still lying around.
Breaking the Cycle?
Ganondorf is the perfect villain to focus on for the next Legend of Zelda game. Breath of the Wild focused on fighting the demon Ganon, so it's time to return to the source of it all and learn more about the past king of the Gerudo. There's a fantastic opportunity to learn more about Ganondorf and the Gerudo, especially if some fan-favorite characters return in the sequel. Ganondorf's history has only been touched on a little bit, and this iteration of Ganondorf even less than most iterations.
There was virtually no reference to Ganondorf in Breath of the Wild, and it's unlikely that Ganondorf was simply just Ganon the whole time. Moreso, the Gerudo culture is vastly expanded on compared to previous installments, so it would be interesting to see how the Gerudo would take to Ganondorf under Riju's rule - especially considering Calamity Ganon killed Urbosa.
If Nintendo wanted to move away from Ganondorf in the future, the Breath of the Wild sequel would be the perfect opportunity to break the cycle of rebirth. It's clear that Ganon is getting stronger with every new iteration, and it would make sense for Zelda to research and find a way to either seal Ganon away for good, or to find a way to break the curse on the three of them. It would be most interesting if they could find a way to turn Ganondorf to the good side, and allow Ganondorf to fight against his own corruption.
There's plenty of fan art out there that people have done to envision what Ganondorf would look like if the current body was restored. This could make room for new villains to appear in the sequel and not just Ganondorf. Focusing on Ganondorf could be a great narrative avenue for Nintendo to take, and there is definitely a fanbase out there who really wants to learn more about the once-Gerudo King.
The Breath of the Wild sequel is unquestionably one of the most anticipated games coming to Switch, even though there is no release window in sight. By just releasing a small teaser trailer at E3 2019, Nintendo set the fanbase ablaze by teasing the return of the series' most iconic villain: Ganondorf. While some want to see more variety in the series' villains, Ganondorf is actually the perfect villain for the Breath of the Wild sequel, and it would be a great way to flesh out this mysterious and weirdly-beloved character.
A Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is currently in development.
