There are certainly plenty of questions that players have for Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, but none resonate quite as vividly among fans as what Nintendo plans to do with Ganondorf. Players familiar both with the first game, as well as the wider Zelda series, were taken by surprise when the redheaded Gerudo made an appearance in the E3 trailer last year.
It’s not that it’s a surprise to see Gandondorf make an appearance in a mainline Zelda game, but most players hadn’t expected to see him after defeating Calamity Ganon in Breath of the Wild. With the permanent way that the last game treated Ganon’s defeat, not only was seeing the non-beast form of the villain jarring, it also seemed to go against the established lore of the series.
Ganondorf Casts Off The Gerudo Form
To start, we have to go back through the history of Ganon and Ganondorf, two forms of a character who had only been intended to make a single appearance. It’s no secret that Nintendo hadn’t created the original Zelda with the idea that the series would span almost 40 years. In this same way, the connected timeline of the games was only established relatively recently with Skyward Sword.
With Skyward Sword, the timeline was established, and eventually with the Hyrule Historia the exact structure of that timeline was solidified. This also established the multiple Zelda timelines, one of which being the Fallen Hero Timeline, where Link fails in Ocarina of Time and Ganondorf casts off his Gerudo form in order to become the pig-beast Ganon. As a result of this transformation, any games in this timeline have always had Ganon, but no Ganondorf, with no other timelines ever containing the true beast form in contrast.
Ganon and Ganondorf Can’t Exist Together
This casting off of the Gerudo form has meant for the majority of the Zelda series, that Ganon and Ganondorf can’t exist at the same time, because they are both separate forms of the same being. Breath of the Wild has become pretty well known for being ambiguous in the timeline and stepping on the toes of established lore. However, having a mummified Ganondorf around at the same time while Calamity Ganon exists goes well beyond everything fans have come to know about the two and begins to point at Breath of the Wild's new timeline.
There are theories around out there about what is really going on with Calamity Ganon and the beef jerky Ganondorf. Considering the nature of the seal and the way that Ganondorf seems to move and possibly even break free from this seal in Breath of the Wild 2, Calamity Ganon may never have been the threat at all. Instead, what players fought in the original Breath of the Wild was instead a manifestation of the power that was slipping free of Ganondorf’s seal.
Mindless Calamity Ganon
This theory of Calamity Ganon’s origins as the malice that leaked from the seal on Ganondorf in the form of the corrupting calamity could explain the first game’s boss. For one, some players were disappointed by the fight against Ganon essentially boiling down to a surprisingly simple horse ride with little chance of dying for most players. It was a very cinematic sequence, but after a full game’s buildup of what Calamity Ganon was supposed to represent, the mindless beast that players fight is underwhelming, so Ganondorf in Breath of the Wild 2 could make up for this mild disappointment.
With the theory that Calamity Ganon was never the real Ganon to begin with, it would explain why the villain never shows the intelligence that even the beast form has shown in the past. What players fought in Breath of the Wild was certainly a threat, and needed to be stopped before he could destroy Hyrule. However, the enemy that players know as Calamity Ganon is more of a phantom than a true villain on his own, which explains how players can beat Ganon without taking a step.
Does This Diminish the Original Journey?
There is no world where someone could convince players that Breath of the Wild isn’t one of the best games in series, if not the top Zelda experience. That being said, whether the leaking seal theory is true or not, Ganondorf’s appearance does cheapen the story significance of some key aspects of that title, along with the stakes of many of the Blight Ganon boss fights. While it doesn’t suddenly make the previous game a bad game, or even give it a bad ending, it does negate some of the stakes when heading out on a second playthrough.
This doesn’t all necessarily have to be bad news for Breath of the Wild 2 or its predecessor, as this raises the stakes for the second game. The next Zelda already has to juggle its story with the incoming game, but it can use the diminished role of Calamity Ganon to its advantage. Unfortunately, it will be a fairly tricky balancing act to make sure that both games don’t suffer with the new revelations coming from the sequel.
Ganondorf Needs to Overshadow Calamity Ganon
That’s right, if Nintendo wants to make sure that Ganondorf’s appearance doesn’t diminish Calamity Ganon’s presence, the company will need to push the envelope further. It seems that this may already be the idea, especially when looking at the final shot of the original trailer with Hyrule Castle lifted into the air, likely causing significant changes to Breath of the Wild 2's map. In Breath of the Wild, Calamity Ganon’s power is enough to capture the castle, so Ganondorf is strong enough to lift it into the sky and pilot it as a flying fortress.
More importantly, the Divine Beasts that acted as the dungeons and McGuffins for Link to chase down in Breath of the Wild shouldn’t have an impact on Ganondorf. If the magical constructs were able to bring Calamity Ganon down to half health, then the best they should be able to do to Ganondorf is bring Hyrule Castle to the ground. The power gap needs to be made so great, that the chaos and destruction of Calamity Ganon becomes a warning of what a fraction of Ganondorf’s power is capable of.
To a degree, this could turn out as Breath of the Wild jumping the shark by scaling up Ganondorf’s power so greatly. However, looking at what will really please fans who may have been disappointed by Calamity Ganon, pushing these limits may be exactly what the series needs.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is currently in development for Switch.
