Breath of the Wild What is calamity Ganon? (all data and theory)

[Mike Riendeau]

Either:

-Legends were corrupted over the 100 years, and Ganon was resurrected as usual, and had his soul sealed in HC, with legends being corrupted to say that CG was the state he was in the entire time.

-An incomplete resurrection like in OoX, only this time Ganon didn't even have a vessel, and as such only his spirit was released into the living world, although for the same reason why Vaati was able to be a threat in TMC even as just a spirit(the figurine for his second form said his body was shattered), Ganon was still a threat as a spirit; they're powerful demons.

So it's very possible we haven't been introduced to the true villain yet, the one who resurrected Ganon. All though this wouldn't make much sense. Who would revive Ganon WITHOUT a vessel? Is there no prior knowledge of Ganon? There has to be though, if it does truly fit on the downfall timeline...

 

[Aku]

Maybe this creature is an upper-level Phantom Ganon? That creature is almost mindless...

Or it could be truly Ganon's Spirit, and you find his rotting piggy corpse somewhere in the depths of the castle...

But that's if Ganon(dorf) is somehow still involved.

 

[Neil Almack]

Maybe I missed something and I haven't watched that many videos about the released gameplay, but it seems to me that the old man is just using the word calamity as it is intended to be used and not as part of Ganon's name. It's like him instead saying, "That... Is the pig Ganon," to which nobody would start calling him Pig Ganon. So why is everyone including Calamity as part of the name? Again, maybe I am missing something but it just seems to me that the old man was calling Ganon a calamity, i.e. a disaster.

 

[Neil Almack]

What if it changed Link to being the real bad guy in the game. Maybe Link was a criminal or an anti-hero who tried to escape his fate as the hero? Then because he was the last one in the knight bloodline they brainwashed him and put him to sleep for 100 years and implanted a voice chip in his head to guide him on where to go. What we have seen of Links attitude towards other people (only the old man) is that he is a greedy self-centered person, or just a loner who doesn't say anything (you get to choose) he doesn't really seem like a person who wants to even be a hero, he's just curious to uncover his past and that's what they're using to lure him into killing Ganon. I think this would be quite mind blowing. Maybe the guardians are programmed to take out link for a reason. What if for some weird reason, Link doesn't want to kill Calamity Ganon, but society is forcing him to? Maybe there is a reason he needs to let the world end. This would rip my heart to pieces.

That would be great. And maybe even the voice is referring to Link as "The Beast" though we all assume it is Ganon.

 

[Amy Lu Minati]

Maybe I missed something and I haven't watched that many videos about the released gameplay, but it seems to me that the old man is just using the word calamity as it is intended to be used and not as part of Ganon's name. It's like him instead saying, "That... Is the pig Ganon," to which nobody would start calling him Pig Ganon. So why is everyone including Calamity as part of the name? Again, maybe I am missing something but it just seems to me that the old man was calling Ganon a calamity, i.e. a disaster.

Maybe. Except that he added it to the name Ganon. It's pretty much giving it a title because it is a bringer of chaos. Saying the pig Ganon is saying there is a pig named ganon, so in your case... A calamity named Ganon? Is that what you mean? :/ I'm pretty sure he's inferring that its a different Ganon than before though.

 

[Tibari]

If Calamity was not a part of Calamity Ganon's name, the word shouldn't be orange like the word Ganon when the old man talked about it...

 

[Moblinking5000]

So it's very possible we haven't been introduced to the true villain yet, the one who resurrected Ganon. All though this wouldn't make much sense. Who would revive Ganon WITHOUT a vessel? Is there no prior knowledge of Ganon? There has to be though, if it does truly fit on the downfall timeline...

Maybe it's a different type of resurrection(thanks to OoX and AoL, we know that there's more than one way to revive him) and it's by someone who's crazy enough to just want Ganon to spread his darkness over Hyrule(there's a Cult of Ganon according to AoL, and Twinrova outright state that's why they're trying to bring him back in OoX)that maybe they outright skipped that step.

Of course, this is speculation, but I will say that something is off if Calamity Ganon isn't actually Ganon(dorf), especially when the shrine monks refer to him as just Ganon.

 

[Mike Riendeau]

Maybe it's a different type of resurrection(thanks to OoX and AoL, we know that there's more than one way to revive him) and it's by someone who's crazy enough to just want Ganon to spread his darkness over Hyrule(there's a Cult of Ganon according to AoL, and Twinrova outright state that's why they're trying to bring him back in OoX)that maybe they outright skipped that step.

Of course, this is speculation, but I will say that something is off if Calamity Ganon isn't actually Ganon(dorf), especially when the shrine monks refer to him as just Ganon.

Maybe the group is the Gerudo?

 

[Djinn]

I think it would be a more interesting twist if they go back to the LoZ era mindless monster Ganon. That way he is more like Godzilla attacking than the same old scheming supervillain type we have had in the past. And it would add a bit to the whole sealing out in the middle of the countryside it after everything was wrecked story.

 

[TattooArtist]

Breath of the Wild. Master sword is broken. There's a Giant smoke pig swirling around the castle. What is going on in hyrule? According to a mystical voice and some old dude, weird stuff went down while Link was taking his 100 year beauty rest. There's a giant monster that wants to kill everyone.
The Voice says this about calamity ganon: “The Beast… When the beast regains its true power, this world will face its end."
“Now then… You must hurry… Before it’s too late.”
The voice calls it "The Beast." Keep this in mind later.

The old man says this about the creature:
“I assume you caught a full sight of that atrocity swarming around the castle. That… Is the calamity Ganon. It brought ruin and destruction upon the kingdom of Hyrule 100 years ago.”
“It appeared suddenly, leaving countless innocents in its wake.”
“Over the last century, the kingdom’s purest symbol; Hyrule Castle, has been able to contain that evil. But just barely.”
“There it festers, building its strength for the moment it will unleash it’s blight upon the land once again. It would appear that moment is fast approaching.”
So the old guy gave it a name. Calamity Ganon. But is this actually Ganon? I don't think so. I think its Demise's consciousness broken free of the master sword's seal. Sounds farfetched? Absolutely, but lets look at what we know about Demise (or the Imprisoned).
1. Demise absolutely LOVES to break out of seals! He does it a whole freaking ton of times in SS.
2. Demise's breakouts happen at random times (storywise, not gameplay wise). So Demise has a reputation for "appearing suddenly." His first appearance is out of a fissure from an earthquake which happens out of nowhere.
3. Demise builds up strength when he is sealed. He "festers" like Calamity Ganon does.
4. Demise appears in swirling black smoke, like Calamity Ganon. He also has magic that glows red, like his dark halo, it glows red in bursts.
5. At the end of SS Demise is "eradicated" while at the same time, "Demise's consciousness has been absorbed into the master sword."

The Calamity Ganon is obviously missing it's body. It's looks like a swirling mass of hatred. Why would it be missing its body though? Well, if it WAS Demise's consciousness, that would explain the whole thing.

The Master Sword in BOTW looks like somebody smacked it across a rock and then dragged it through a field of mud, waited a few months, and then did the whole thing again. The master sword looks like it is in no shape to be sealing anything away. Maybe it looks like this because Demise's consciousness somehow gained enough power to break out? Well, that sure makes more sense than water damage or weathering to me, since its a MAGIC SWORD! :/ also, Demise and this Calamity Ganon have quite a lot in common, and all the pieces we currently have shows them to be quite similar.
But what do you think? Is the Old Man being literal when he says it is Ganon, or is that just because Ganon is integrated into his culture so much that he believes any giant pig monster is Ganon?

I have a feeling that Calamitty Ganon is cross between Demise with features of the Ganon from Twilight Princess and Ghirihim, and that he summoned the guardians.

 

[Mike Riendeau]

I have a feeling that Calamitty Ganon is cross between Demise with features of the Ganon from Twilight Princess and Ghirihim, and that he summoned the guardians.

A cross? That's a new one.... but it doesn't make much sense.

 

[Mipha]

I have a feeling that Calamitty Ganon is cross between Demise with features of the Ganon from Twilight Princess and Ghirihim, and that he summoned the guardians.

Seems more like he just corrupted the guardians

 

[Mipha]

A cross? That's a new one.... but it doesn't make much sense.

How doesn't it make sense? If anything it makes perfect sense to use traits form some of the scariest villains to make the new scariest

 

[Aku]

Well, to add to the confusion, this is from Aonuma back in 2014: “This software is a Wii U Edition new legend of Zelda series. Faced with mysteries in the world of Zelda spread indefinitely without boundaries, a new link, a new nemesis.”

He has said this enemy was new, and I think a lot of people are forgetting this. I think he's intending to re-invent the main Zelda villain too, and it's possible it's someone other then Ganon(dorf) I.

 

[Moblinking5000]

Well, to add to the confusion, this is from Aonuma back in 2014: “This software is a Wii U Edition new legend of Zelda series. Faced with mysteries in the world of Zelda spread indefinitely without boundaries, a new link, a new nemesis.”

He has said this enemy was new, and I think a lot of people are forgetting this. I think he's intending to re-invent the main Zelda villain too, and it's possible it's someone other then Ganon(dorf) I.

This may have been a change in development since it was two years ago, like how TP was going to be on the AT but was changed to being on the CT before release, or there's a new villain in addition to Ganon.

Why would they call him Ganon if he's not Ganon?

And the monks in the shrines even refer to him as just Ganon, without Calamity in the title.