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Videogames.com's TenSpot


Top Ten Video Game Villains
TenSpot

Villain: Ganon, aka Ganondorf
Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
System: N64
Released: November 1998


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Ganon, or Ganondorf, depending on which Zelda adventure you're playing, is truly a badass in the world of video-game badasses. Throughout the Ocarina of Time, he appeared time and time again with grandiose visions of world domination. The only thing that stood in his way was a young and old Link, "old" being a Link in his teens. Practically the Darth Vader of video games, Ganon is able to fly, throw big mean balls of energy, cast menacing looks, command vast legions of servile minions, and return time after time, even after defeat. If nothing else, he's a tenacious bastard, and Nintendo seems to think that gamers must love shutting him down again and again because he's been around to torment Link and Zelda for quite some time. Never before had he grown to the darkly monstrous proportions he grew to in Ocarina of Time. At the end of OoT, Ganon mutates and transforms into a gargantuan horned creature whose weakness is his behind. Chop, chop, chop his tail, and he goes down in no time. While it's unknown whether the big metalhead will make an appearance in the Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, what would a Zelda game be without him?

In the last two appearances of Ganon, both of which occurred in the Ocarina of Time, gamers encountered two forms: Phantom Ganon and Ganondorf (True Ganon). The first time you see him, Ganon comes flying out of 12-foot-tall oil paintings, riding a large smoldering hellion through the air. Defeating Phantom Ganon requires good timing and fast reflexes. Two Phantoms appear to ride out of the framed pictures, but only one will actually come out. To defeat this crafty Phantom Ganon, you must shoot him with an arrow four or five times. After he's been shot off his horse, he'll float in the air and start throwing supercharged balls around. Swatting them back at him, volleyball style, with Link's sword, is the best strategy, until he gets hit. This technique must be used carefully, because he'll swat the shots back and forth, like Andre Agassi. After he drops to the ground, this is the lone moment when he can be attacked with steel. Wash, rinse, repeat until he disintegrates in a poltergeist poof!

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In Link's final confrontation with the big jerk, using the same tactics used when fighting Phantom Ganon will result in victory. Except now Phantom Ganon is the archenemy formerly known as Ganon, now to be called Ganondorf. Basically, it is like John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors volleying back and forth. Swat, swat, swat! Smacking his shots back at him will feed him a pack of hot ones that he can't block. While Ganondorf is suspended in midair, stunned, Link feeds him a light arrow. Once stunned, Link locks on to Ganondorf and hooks him with his longshot. Link then pulls him "Doublemint" close, giving him a taste of his master sword. This is Link's best opportunity to feed him Ganondorf a steel sandwich until the redhead gets up again. You'll know when Link's whipped his butt good, when the game switches to a different perspective and Ganondorf freaks out! As he begins to revive himself, Link fires a longshot over to the stained glass and jumps back across the gap. As Ganondorf throws his tantrum, the tower begins to rock 'n' roll. Link follows the newly liberated Zelda out of the castle. Once outside, Link and Zelda witness the final transformation of Ganondorf into Ganon, using the power of the Tri-Force. At this point, Link looses the master sword. Surrounded by a wall of fire, Link locks on to his tail Ganon's tail and maneuvers around to his backside. He's able to do this by shooting him Ganon in the face with light arrows, which blind him temporarily. Link switches to his megaton hammer. After a few hammer hits, the wall of fire will dissipate, giving Link the perfect opportunity to go get his sword back. Dodging Ganon's wild lunges and whatnot as this wretched creature goes berserk trying to finish him off, Link becomes a case study in dexterity as Ganon goes wild. Ganon becomes much faster now, so Link must put a light arrow in his head, stunning him, giving him Link time to slap some chop-chop on his Ganon's tail. After a while, Link emerged victorious, and that final, grand adventure comes to a close.

No one's sure if we've truly seen the last of Ganon/dorf, as his last appearance was a time-traveling logistical nightmare, but it wouldn't be surprising if he came back in typical bad-guy fashion. As it is, Ganon is one of the toughest bosses around, because of his epic appearances and his tough-as-nails nature. No pushover in any sense, Ganon earns his place in the archives as one of the gaming world's greatest villains.
 

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