Given that today is “Black Friday,” we’re sure that there are plenty of things gamers are looking for to get great deals on to have a “great end to their year.” But, to everything that is on sale, some things simply aren’t for sale. It hurts. But somehow, we endure. In the case of Nintendo fans, their eyes will be turning to Japan because, in Lion’s Square, they just unveiled a special statue of Ganondorf that is a feast for the eyes. If not obvious, this is the version we see in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, and they even put him right across from the Link statue that was unveiled earlier this year.
Based on the pose, it resembles the concept art for Ganondorf that we have above in our feature image. It’s not surprising they did that pose, as it’s a striking one and shows off the full figure of the Demon King. Or, as many people have started calling him, “Daddy Ganon” because of how buff he is.
Yes, this version of the Gerudo leader is much different from past versions, where he was more “realistic” in his muscle proportions and was simply designed to look evil. Here, he’s got muscle to burn, and he’s not afraid to let it show.
It was important for the sequel title to address the “Ganon issue,” as the first game had Calamity Ganon, which was a big threat but not one that players could easily connect with. Then, when we went into the final boss fight, there was no humanoid version to spar with, just the beastly versions, which weren’t really a challenge.
However, Tears of the Kingdom fixed that in many ways. Not only did they make this version of Ganondorf a deeper character, but he was menacing from the moment we met his skeletal form in the ruins below Hyrule Castle. He shattered the Master Sword and almost killed Link, which is why he had so few heart containers at the start of the game.
It also helped that he was voiced by Matthew Mercer, who gave a deep and powerful interpretation of the character and made him all the more satisfying to fight.
As series fans know, the game won’t be getting another entry within this saga, and Nintendo is already working on the next title. So it’ll be curious how they’ll handle the Demon King next time and whether they put that statue on sale in the future…
