Ganondorf, sometimes known by his boar form, Ganon, is the biggest bad of The Legend of Zelda franchise and is undoubtedly one of the most well-known and infamous villains in all of video games. With that said, even within a relatively kid-friendly franchise like Zelda, being one of the most powerful Nintendo bad guys entails some truly despicable actions. Here are some of Ganondorf's most evil deeds throughout his appearances in the series.

Kidnapping Young Girls

In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the newly-revived Ganondorf is trying to find the next incarnation of Princess Zelda by kidnapping young girls with pointed ears from across the Great Sea to obtain the Triforce of Wisdom. This single-minded goal not only ruins the lives of his victims, but it also makes this particular version of Ganondorf a far more personal foe for Wind Waker's Link, for Ganondorf has also kidnapped Link's sister, Aryll.

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Ganondorf's kidnappings don't really seem to go beyond his goal of attaining the Triforce of Wisdom. However, after he finally discovers which girl is the next Princess Zelda, Ganondorf descends to new levels of creepy: within the final act of Wind Waker, Ganondorf is seen caressing a sleeping Zelda in an unsavory manner, stating that he can see into her dreams. This really isn't helped by the fact that Zelda is sleeping in a bed that was clearly prepared by Ganondorf himself.

Hyrule's Oppressor

Even before attaining the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf was already a ruthless, power-hungry murderer. Before Link grasps upon the Master Sword in Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf is responsible for killing the Great Deku Tree, cursing the Zora's patron deity into eating their princess and starving the Gorons to near death.

Seven years into the future, Ganondorf has only become even more despotic -- he commits near-genocide of the Zora race by freezing Lake Hylia over, feeds the adorable Gorons to a violent fire-breathing dragon and practically enslaves his own people, the Gerudo. It only makes his eventual defeat in the ruins of Hyrule Castle much more satisfying.

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Champion Slayer

Thunderblight Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Calamity Ganon from Breath of the Wild is undoubtedly the most outwardly powerful and terrifying incarnation of the King of Evil thus far. Reduced to an almost mindless force of destruction and malice, it appears what little humanity Ganondorf had left has been lost to time, and this Ganon is content with completely destroying Hyrule rather than subjugating it.

Perhaps the most damaging action that Calamity Ganon committed was the slaughtering of Hyrule's chosen Champions. With his Blight Ganon doppelgängers, Calamity Ganon murdered each of the Champions and took control of the Divine Beasts that they piloted, leading to great personal loss for Link and Zelda and paving the way for Hyrule's near-destruction.

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Destroyed Hyrule TWICE

The Hyrule of Breath of the Wild has been rendered a near-wasteland, riddled with possessed Sheikah Guardians and malicious monsters plaguing the land. The few remaining settlements are far away from where monsters dwell, and Hyrule is otherwise ruled by chaos and anarchy. Calamity Ganon does not appear interested in anything short of Hyrule's total destruction, as not even the surviving races of Hyrule are directly subjugated.

Unfortunately, an apocalyptic Hyrule with monsters roaming dominantly across the land is not a brand new idea for the series. A similar idea of a barren Hyrule dates all the way back to the original Legend of Zelda for the NES. This Hyrule had it worse than the one in BOTW, as the only living human inhabitants dwell in caves, and both Link and Zelda are at their weakest level. Meanwhile, Ganon is still incredibly powerful and clearly as insane as his Calamity counterpart.

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Game Over screen for The Legend Of Zelda

No matter how much terror Ganondorf inflicts upon Hyrule, very rarely does it last too long before the Hero of Hyrule himself swoops in to slay the beast and end the suffering. But on those rare occasions Hyrule continues to suffer, it is because the King of Evil lives up to his title wholeheartedly, ensuring his goals by doing the impossible: killing Link.

It might seem strange to think that Ganondorf has ever killed the protagonist at all. That would be like canonizing the possibility of Mario losing his last extra life on a fight against Bowser. Yet, as evidenced by the official Hyrule Historia, an entire timeline's worth of games from A Link to the Past to the original Zelda wouldn't have occurred without Link's untimely death. The vast majority of Ganon's worst crimes against the world only ever occurred whenever Link's not on the scene. With Link dead, Hyrule's doom is ensured -- all the player can do from then on is to rescue what's left.

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