Ganon(dorf) will not be in Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Does this make you sad?

We've battled Ganon so many times, we're becoming overly familiar with him. And familiarity breeds contempt, right? So imagine our delight when we heard that The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will NOT feature Ganondorf as the main enemy. Woot! Of course, if you're familiar with the Zelda timeline, you probably would have already guessed this, because Skyward Sword is essentially a prequel to Ocarina of Time - the game that explained Ganondorf's arrival. But we won't blame you if you didn't guess that - the Zelda timeline is a complex and bewildering series of events, always starring the same hero, the same princess, or at least their descendents. Or ancestors, depending.

Also, Ganon is not always Ganondorf, although they are supposedly the same being. Look, it's really very simple (why do you get the impression the following explanation is going to anything but simple?). Ganon's human form is usually referred to as Ganondorf, who made his first appearance in Ocarina of Time. But Ganon has appeared in beast form (a bit like a pig) on many other occasions, in Zelda games, cartoons and non-canonical entries in the series. So... he's the same thing, but appearing in different guises. A bit like Voldemort, only with a nose. Oh, and his full name is Ganondorf Dragmire, although he's been referred to as Ganon, Ganondorf, Gannon and Mandrag Ganon. *Deep breath*

Reports suggest that Ganon's arrival will be foreshadowed during Skyward Sword and that his story will be expanded slightly, but his physcial presence is now highly unlikely. Instead, Skyward Sword features Ghirahim as the main antagonist:

Above: Creepy, eh? This is the new bad guy. Quick, Link - get 'im while he's not looking!

Explaining the decision to go with new enemy Ghirahim, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma told Nintendo Power:

Ganon typically appears in a Zelda game when the story is centered around the Triforce. This time around, the Triforce sort of takes on a different meaning and plays a different role in the story. So because of that, Ganon will not appear.

Gannon is a very masculine, powerful, evil character that anyone can look at and realize is your archenemy in the game. This time around, I thought that if we featured a character similar in presentation to Ganon, it really wouldn’t make that much of a difference and that new character wouldn’t have much impact. I wanted to make to make a character that contrasted what people think about Ganon–someone who is a little bit mysterious and kind of makes people think, “well, I don’t really know what to make of this somewhat terrifying character.” That was sort of my goal in making a character like Ghirahim, and that’s basically why I did that.

So what do you think? Pleased to have someone else to fight? Or maybe you're sad that you won't get to stab Ganon through the head/chest yet again. And why is it we can only think of one thing we hear the name 'Ganondorf Dragmire'?

Above: Giggidy

25 July, 2011