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Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2 Fan Theory Suggests Ganondorf Will be Playable

A fan theory based on the new Breath of the Wild 2 trailer suggests that Ganondorf might be a playable character.

30 Comments

During the E3 2021 Nintendo Direct presentation, the company released a roughly 90-second trailer for the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but it was more than enough to inspire all kinds of fan theories. One theory in particular stands out though, from Barrett Courtney of Kinda Funny, who thinks that the more rugged-looking Link in the trailer is in fact Ganondorf.

Courtney theorized that part of the game would be playing the fall of Ganondorf, which begins the cycle of a hero battling a corrupted Ganon that happens in every game. He thinks that the hero from 10,000 years ago that has been teased is Ganondorf and that the character with the corrupted arm in the trailer--whose face is not shown--isn't Link but in fact Ganondorf.

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"This game will be learning about the fall of Ganondorf the man and then saving him from the evil that has been ruling over him for generations. And in doing so, we’ll break the cycle started by Demise," Courtney wrote.

He went on to say that he also has a theory on what the official title for the game might be, which Nintendo has kept secret because it might give away part of what the game is about. Courtney theorized it might be called "Demise of the Wild" which plays into the corruption caused by Demise and is a call back to Breath of the Wild, which seems very closely related to this game.

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Avatar image for deactivated-64c06b51403e7
deactivated-64c06b51403e7

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But who's gonna rescue Ganon?!

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nintendians

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i don't think ganondorf would be playable, since he is the main villain.

the only time ganondorf is playable, it's either smash bros. or hyrule warriors.

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tingtong

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Edited By tingtong

And why would I wanna do that? More fun to kill. In fact there should be more bosses of similar stature instead of just giant robots & such.

Also, I’d put my money on “Wild” not being in the title at all if its not BoTW 2…because, anything else would just sound corny as hell.

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Sepewrath

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Yeah...not gonna happen

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so_hai

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Of course it won't.

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amillionhp

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Ahhh hair-brained fan theories.. gotta love em. I had one myself a while back. I thought Zelda's and Link's role as heroes of wisdom and courage had actually switched. Still think its much better than this one.

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amillionhp

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Wasnt Gannondorf a male gerudo? Wouldnt he have to have the appropriate size, skin and hair color?

The only way i could think this idea'd be interesting is if it were a prequel of OoT and it would be a completely different style of game. I dont see Gannon being the type to scour through caves and ruins to find tools and artifacts that opens doors or bypass obstacles. More likely he'll order a swarm of Moblins to clear it out and bring back whatever's there that has any use. After he fatally strikes the one who tries to run with lightning bolt.

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Fud_Sang

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He's kinda taken the roll of the Calamity so I think not. Especially since usually this is a game of using weapons, equipment, and magic to reach the discernible conclusion. Given that Ganondorf is seen using only one those things throughout the ENTIRE SERIES, I deem this scenario unlikely. It's a terrible idea which is why they never bothered and hopefully never will.

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Smokin105

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I hope not. I have no desire to play as Ganondorf

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hellhammer

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The fans are fucking idiots. Who cares about their 'theories'?

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RogerioFM

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Now this is the kind of diversity I'm all for, Ganodorves lives matter.

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phili878

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What must one do to end up having an article posted on a main gaming site by pulling such nonsense right out of their arse?

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deactivated-6793e8ba0e8bf

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Do we need to make Ganondorf a sympathetic fallen villain though? He's evil and it's ok to say evil exists. Like Maleficent, she was meant to be the embodiment of evil, not some jilted misunderstood fairy or whatever they tried to make her. Haven't seen Cruella, but I'm guessing it follows a similar formula.
Not sure why there's a trend of making excuses for villains now. Hoping this theory doesn't pan out and it's just Demise trying to take over Link's body or something.

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Voldrik

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Wow. There is so much wrong with this as a theory. Ganondorf has dark skin and red hair, like all the Gerudo. There is no evil "ruling over him" to save him from and no "fall" that made him evil. He is the reincarnation of Demise, who IS evil. And I don't feel like "Demise of the Wild" would really fit with the Zelda naming conventions, but mayne that's just me.

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hornet65

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Edited By hornet65

The fall of Ganondorf? There has only ever been one Ganondorf, and we already know he never "fell".

Ganondorf is simply a reincarnation of the demon Demise, and so he's always been evil. He was the leader of the Gerudo, and while he swore fealty to the King of Hyrule, he sought out the spiritual stones in order the obtain the Triforce, and rule the world. (Ocarina of Time)

Depending on which timeline you follow after Ocarina of Time, various things happen to Ganondorf:

In the timeline Link is returned to at the end of Ocarina of Time, link NARCs on Ganondorf and he is sentenced to be exectuted. At his exectuion, things go bad and Ganondorf is instead sealed in the Twilight Realm. Ganondorf escapes, some stuff happens, and eventually he's killed by Link. (Twilight Princes)

In the adult timeline that Link leaves behind at the end of Ocarina of time, Ganondorf is sealed away in the Sacred Realm. He eventually manages to escape, and attacks Hyrule once again. With no hero to save the day, the gods flood Hyrule. Ganondorf manages to escape the flood, and then some stuff happens, and the new Link of this timeline kills Ganondorf by shoving the Master Sword into his head. (Wind Waker)

The third timeline is the one in which Ganondorf succeeds in defeating Link during the events of Ocarina of Time, but he's eventually sealed inside the Dark World. Some stuff goes down and he escapes, but eventually he's defeated by Link. (Link to the Past)

All three of these antagonists are the same incarnation of Demise, one that started as the King of the Gerudo, Ganondorf.

So yeah, there really is no fall of Ganondorf to depict.

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korokun

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I might be a fool but I think this is Zelda 2 reimagined

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DancingCactus

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Hey, so, I'm a fan. And here's my theory.

Link is a Nintendo character. Diddy Kong is a Nintendo character who can fly. So maybe Diddy Kong will be Link's animal companion to aid him as he flies around the skies of Hyrule.

Now to wait for you guys to write up your article about my fan theory, because apparently that's a thing now.

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clockworkengine

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@dancingcactus: Only the worthy theories lol. Provoke some thought

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clockworkengine

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Edited By clockworkengine

Aside from the word Link and certain prepositions, Nintendo has never used the same words to link direct sequels in the Zelda series together. There is zero precedent to suggest Nintendo will name this game anything "...of the Wild".

It's trendy of late to assume Link won't be the star of upcoming mainline Zelda titles. Leading up to the release of Breath of the Wild, the internet was RIFE with speculation that the main character wasn't link just because he was wearing blue clothes, even though he's had blue clothes several times previously. And many people even believed the main character would be female! When will people learn their lesson? Anyway, look at the hair. Ganon's hair is red! Always has been, always will be. Unless there's a reboot. I'd say it's more likely to be the King of Red Lions than Ganon. But relax, it will be Link.

Come back after more is revealed. If I'm wrong I'll eat my words publicly.

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bluestorm83

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@clockworkengine: Yeah, that other look is clearly A Link of some sort. I'd totally believe that it's an Earlier Link, perhaps our Link can transform into some sort of Wild form, maybe there's just a barber and you can get different haircuts now.

And while I'd LOVE a Playable Gannondorf, I don't think that the main Zelda universe is one where this can happen. I'd toyed around with the idea of a Zelda spinoff set after "A Link Between Worlds," which would introduce two other mutations of the Hyrule/Lorule theme, where Lorule, with its upside-down triforce would act like a hub between THREE universes, laid out like the Triforce itself: Lorule in the center, Hyrule above, and then to the lower right and lower left two other universes: one in which the "Link" character is actually the kingdom's often imperiled prince, saved time and again by that world's "Zelda" character, here the inheritor of the hero's legacy, and in the OTHER universe we get the darkest version of Hyrule: a world where in the past war among the gods, their "Demise" was the GOOD guy, and he lost, so in the "present" we have a fantasy "mad max" style world where the Gerudo tribe, or their equivalent, are the last holdouts of good and peace in the wasteland, and their semi-immortal king, the reincarnation of the "good Demise" is our hero trying to defeat both of this world's evil Zelda and Link equivalents.

I've already gone on a tangent, so may as well continue: My idea was to allow the player to play as Ravio, the Female Hero, and the Gerudo Hero, at first being confined to each one in one of the three worlds, each with different loadouts and abilities, but as each hero makes progress in their own world, they unlock the ability to be able to swap into other worlds, Trine style in real time. In this way the game would hybridize the Link Between Worlds style of "Go to any place you want, no linearity!" and also the traditional Zelda "But seriously, you need these items from these dungeons to be able to go into THOSE places." Maybe keep it to 2 dungeons for each world at first, then when a hero beats those two they can go to the other worlds, allowing those heroes there to reach another dungeon that requires the other hero's abilities, and then once all 6 of the starter dungeons, and all 3 of the added hero dungeons are done, then there would be the one Final Dungeon wherein the player can swap between all 3 heroes at once, culminating in the final endboss... who would be a teamup between the villains of all three of these alternate hyrules, and then (naturally) Ganon himself, having had the most practice at this. Maybe Ganon somehow possessing Actual Link from Hyrule too, for fun.

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clockworkengine

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@bluestorm83: While I don't relish the idea of multiple protagonists in a mainline Zelda title, I do love your thematic ideas, specifically how you play with themes of the Triforce. Not bad.

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Boodger

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That would be really stupid.

Just keep it to Link playable only. That is the winning formula for large scale exploration Zelda games.

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deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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@P00DGE: It's actually an interesting idea, but it's still wishful thinking. Cool if they do it, but chances are this person is just seeing what they want to see and not actually devising a feasible theory.

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deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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Seriously? A fan theory? As news?

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illegal_peanut

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@Barighm: I thought a theory was supposed to be an "educated guess". Not based on, "What would be the tighest thing Nintendo could do in a Zelda game IMO.".

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shadow6323

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@Barighm: gaming journalism at its finest.

Might as well be browsing reddit for all the little kid fan theories

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Avatar image for deactivated-64efdf49333c4
deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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@shadow6323: Frankly, reddit is more informative. I routinely see dev interviews, news about some new mod that fixes this or that or greatly improves a flawed game, interesting leaks that may or may not be true but are fun to read regardless, minor news about DLC or similar secondary things rarely covered...

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