Spoiler Reintroducing Ganon/Ganondorf To The Zelda Timeline

[A Link In Time]

I thought we'd have some fun with this thread. As we all know, the franchise's primary antagonist is in nothing short of a rut right now. Whether it be slain by a green crusader or sealed away in a dark, distant alcove for centuries, Gani's had it rough.

To refresh your memory, here is Ganondorf's current final standing on the three timeline branches:

1. The Hero Is Defeated Timeline-Dead
2. Child Timeline-Sealed
3. Adult Timeline-Dead

Realistically speaking, this means Ganon may only return on one of the timeline branches. Videogame logic dictates, however, that we'll see the kickass demon return on all three in the near future. How should Nintendo go about this? That's where your creativity comes into play in this thread.

My possibilities:

• Minions try to revive Ganon (think AoL)
• Twinrova returns and revives Ganon
• Link somehow opens the Sacred Realm and revives Ganon himself (this would be interesting)
• Ganon is released from the Four Sword by another antagonist (possibly a returned Vaati)
• Link and Zelda's life energy is used to restore Ganon

That's all I've got. What are your ideas on how Nintendo will attempt to reincorporate the Gerudo and his pig-like demonic form in future installments? Discuss.

 

[Spirit]

Twinrova come back for more, make a new timeline where Ganondorf is in it aaaalll the time.

I don't know, i can't predict what nintendo are going to do, they can do anything they want and after so long without Gani, i don't think anyone would care if it were another 'resurrected by minions' story as all Zelda games seem to be.

I don't actually care if he comes back or not, Zelda isn't great atm and i dont think bringing Gani is going to help that fact. Its like bringing Batman back from the dead, we all know its gonna happen so where is the surprise?

 

[PhantomTriforce]

Gani better not be done. Anyways, I think another possible idea to bring him back is for there to be some major time screw-up where Link goes a certain amount of time into the past, and in that past, Ganondorf has not been killed yet. And the plot could develop from there. But I am certain that he will return in all three (even though I still believe there are only two) timelines to get some Triforce of Power.

 

[Cfrock]

The obvious is that on the Hero Defeated Timeline, Ganon's minions eventually get Link's blood (that was what they were after right?). Perhaps it's years later and Link is old and feeble and that's when they get him and revive Ganon.

It could just be reincarnation. A bit simple but hey, it's a possibility.

Two radical and highly unlikely scenarios are:

1) An incarnation of Link and Zelda wind up having a child. Since the parents possess the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage, the Goddesses decide to have some fun and give their child the Triforce of Power, the influence of which basically makes the child Ganon. Link's quest then becomes the most emotionally charged ever as he fights to defeat his own son.

2) Din, upset that the bearer of her piece of the Triforce keeps getting defeated, directly intervenes and just gives Ganon his life back and a bunch of new power just so her Triforce piece can come out on top. Link then faces his toughest challenge ever as his ultimate foe is one of the goddesses.

I would be very surprised if either of those ever happened but if they do, you're all witnesses to the fact that I came up with it before Nintendo (we'll split the royalty check if you back me up in court ;] )

 

[r2d93]

HMMMMnmnmnmn...

He could just simply be reincarnated into a random gerudo boy and becomes king and then eventually realizes his true evil destiny

oooor he could be revived by a pawn villain (which i wouldn't really like cuz we've seen too many of these). Maybe Link could do something in order to ressurect someone he loves and accidentally ends up resurrecting good old Ganny

or he could just simply break free of his seal with no explanation (Nintendo taking the lazy route)

 

[Seth]

He's been revived before and can be again no doubt. Another possibility is the creation of multiple Ganons. Before the timeline came out one of the competing theories was that, much like Link and Zelda, there could be more then one Ganon. That is something Nintendo could implement though it might come off a bit awkward.

Personally, I think they should retire the official timeline and start from scratch with a new one. That way we could bring Ganon back without any issues. It would also grant more literary freedom in Ganon's character in that it could be tweaked and made different from the 'old' timeline. Plus no worries about contradiction or the like (not that Nintendo cares about consistency).

 

[rock]

Okay, so my idea is a little tricky, but it's essentially the introduction of "another" timeline. I call it Timeline X for now (working title) as it basically takes each timeline that predates it and makes them a number of possibilities in the universe of possibilities. So, essentially, they are just a string of possibilities attached to one incarnation (although consisting of individual reincarnations) of the Hero of Time.

The concept goes as follows. Take one of the timelines, for instance post-TP, and follow its progression to where Link is grown, nearing death. It is known that as the Hero of Time, he will be reborn, as will Zelda, and of course, Demise's embodiment in Ganondorf. However, Link can be reincarnated in so many different ways. Maybe he's the fabled hero, or the Ordon villager, or any of the above (most likely the lazy kid who starts off sleeping)? But the idea is, how does the event prior to Link's incarnation happen? How does he die? I'm not going to get into the details as I'm still working them out into a trilogy of a story.

But what you have here is Link realizing his ability to come back, which means that he can die reassuringly. Let's just say, for the first run of Timeline X, Link dies while fighting, and defeating Ganondorf. It is said that Link is to be reincarnated somehow, but how does that happen? Maybe he's birthed into the world via magic, or maybe he grows up not knowing his true parents. But what's to be certain is that Timeline X takes each previous timeline, and each previous game and recreates them into the Cycles of Time. With the exception of direct sequels, each game sets off its own reincarnation of Link (clearly), all connecting to previous games, and all completely separate. There may be some discourse with Hylian events and continuity, but the beauty of Timeline X and the Cycles of Time is that no matter how different or how similar events in any related games may seem, it's all reincarnation- it's all another world, another possibility.

I've been pondering this as I've explored the depths of Link's reincarnation, and subsequently the other Triforce possessors. I've been analyzing how it can be that such a legend lives on in both cases of being a legend, and also completely unknown to the legend. And this, while evasive to congruent timeline canon, offers us the most simplistic, Zelda-packed, way to bring back the characters we love (Ganondorf) without always having to debate with videogame logic. The timeline and cycles provide a safe haven for creative thought and character integrity.