One of the beautiful things about video games is that if a character has been around long enough, you can see their evolution through gaming technology and witness their “true form” soon enough. An excellent example is Mario. He was once nothing more than pixels with some colors on them, but 35+ years later, he’s now a fully rendered character with a billion-dollar movie. But regarding The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, people have been focusing not on Link or Zelda’s appearances but the look of Ganondorf, who has become a “buff daddy” in the minds of the internet.
You likely recall when Ganondorf was officially revealed for the game that, Nintendo posted the art we put as our feature image. When he was shown in this shirtless form, the fanbase went nuts, making lots of jokes about how “Daddy Ganondorf” was hot in their minds. Granted, Ganon/Ganondorf has taken many forms over the years, including his still-canon pig form. However, one must wonder why they made the attempted ruler of the world like this.
In an interview with The Verge, Tears of the Kingdom Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi talked about this and noted that it was a certain team member who may be a bit too attached to Ganondorf that made this happen:
““With Ganon, this design really started with Twilight Princess. There’s a staffer [Satoru Takizawa] who’s been in charge of Ganon’s design since Twilight Princess, and Ganon holds a really special place in this staffer’s heart.”
Jokes aside, the director noted that for him, the importance of Ganondorf wasn’t just that he was an antagonist. It was that he is a character that directly stands against what Link and Zelda are trying to do. As a result, he needed to have a look that showcased his importance:
“So my only request I made was that because he’s such an important character at the same level as the protagonist, was to really make him a very cool, very awesome demon king.”
Fujibayashi noted that when he told Takizawa this, he saw a “sparkle in his eyes,” and we can all see the result.
If nothing else, this version of Ganondorf is distinct compared to his past versions, and that might be the best thing here, given that he wasn’t featured in the previous title.
Whether this “hot daddy” version is what stays with us going forward can’t be known yet. But the chances are looking good as long as that staffer is there.
