Was Ganondorf Really Defeated in the Wind Waker?

[Anemos]

I've always subscribed to this idea that Link ultimately defeated Ganon at the end of the Wind Waker.

I mean, what is there to argue? He got stabbed in the head by the Master Sword, sealed in a giant Ganondorf-shaped rock at the bottom of the ocean. He didn't have the Triforce of Power to save him, right?

I was watching the final scenes of the Wind Waker, and I suddenly noticed that Ganondorf may have survived.

The first hint was in the middle of the final battle.



1 minute and 20 seconds into the video, I saw something that utterly shocked me.

Look at Ganondorf's right hand:

Proof of life....JPG

HE DIDN'T LOSE THE TRIFORCE OF POWER!

So, is it possible that he was still powerful enough to survive? Could it be like the execution in Twilight Princess, where he survived by the invincibility given to him by the Golden Triangle?

But wait a second! He got stabbed in the head by the Master Sword!

Did he get stabbed in the head with the Master Sword, complete with it's evil-repelling powers?

Fast forward to being out at sea, found by Prince Komali, followed by the Pirate Ship. Something is really out of place.

Medli and Makar are not at there temples, praying for the Master Sword's power to continue!

So...the sword in Ganondorf's head must have lost its power.

In that case, it is just a fancy sword. It does not "sparkle" with the power to repel evil.

Is it possible Ganon is actually still alive?

We may never know.

[Pinecove]

Most likely a design flaw: aka they didn't feel like making another character model for Ganondorf.

[VanitasXII]

Point 1: I always assumed him to be dead. He was turned to stone, and afterwards Hyrule was completely flooded. Even if Ganondorf were alive after Link and Tetra left, he'd be drowned. I doubt even Link could live underwater, with the Zora tunic and all.

Point 2: Since Ganondorf was turned to stone, and Hyrule was flooded, wouldn't the stone wash away, erode, and ultimately become sand? Ganondorf may be a Gerudo and all, but he won't survive being washed away like that.

[Cincoplation]

If Ganaondorf was still alive i think a zelda game would be released about it.

[Zeruda]

Eh, I never believe that he's ever actually defeated, so I guess whether or not he died in TWW is irrelevant. If they want, Nintendo can always bring him back. He's revivable, remember?

Additionally:
"Bihldorff: There was no blood, and he turned to stone, and died. They took all that into account." -The Treehouse Interview, November 30, 2004

So, during the interview, they say he died. But... like I said, they can revive him somewhere down the line if they want to. So, even if he is dead, I guess it doesn't matter. Maybe that's why the ToP is still glowing. Or maybe it fades away during unseen parts. Or, it might fade away when he turns to stone- you only see his left side at that part. Or, like Pinecove suggested, it could be a design flaw.

[Cincoplation]

VanitasXII, i think Ganondorf would survive all that if the master sword didnt kill him. The triforce of power makes it almost impossible for him to die. That is why the only thing that can kill him is the master sword. If Ganondorf lived i feel sorry for the next person he sees after he gets outa the ocean.

[Zenox]

I don't believe he's gone, but from what we've seen in Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, I'm skeptical about whether or not we're going to see him again. The new Cel-Shaded mini-series in the series really has seemed to have gone into introducing new bosses that I think are really going to be single-game exclusives rather than new repeating bosses such as Vaati and Ganon.

The reason I don't think he's gone is that we've seen characters turned to stone or some other form of it and return. Han Solo in Star Wars was frozen in Carbonite and came back. Sure, he wasn't himself for a bit and was a bit on the whoosy side, but he did come back. I think Ganondorf was sealed into the Master Sword similar to how Vaati was sealed in the Four Sword in FS. In FSA, another Link drew the Four Sword to fight off Dark Link and Vaati was unleashed again. I believe something like this is possible, although I'm not too certain on if it will happen or not.

[Matt]

Warning: Link is a professional. Do not attempt to plunge swords into the heads of your enemies without first consulting an expert.


Couldn't resist!

Yeah, I just have to point out that he had the Master Sword shoved down his head once before in Ocarina of Time. He managed to survive that right away.

[Anemos]

Point 1: I always assumed him to be dead. He was turned to stone, and afterwards Hyrule was completely flooded. Even if Ganondorf were alive after Link and Tetra left, he'd be drowned. I doubt even Link could live underwater, with the Zora tunic and all.

Point 2: Since Ganondorf was turned to stone, and Hyrule was flooded, wouldn't the stone wash away, erode, and ultimately become sand? Ganondorf may be a Gerudo and all, but he won't survive being washed away like that.

You have to understand that the Triforce of Power is the very embodiment of power. The one who holds it can be considered, in a way, invincible.

I mean, look at Twilight Princess. He had a sword thrust through his chest, and he survived.

The only weapons that could actually hurt him were light/silver arrows and the Master Sword.

What was left in Ganon's head, seeing as Medli and Makar were not still praying to the gods for further power to be given to the Master Sword, was not the Master Sword.

Remember what Ganon said?

You cannot defeat me with a blade that
does not sparkle with the power to repel
evil! What you hold is useless.

If it was not the fully powered Master Sword, it would be a normal blade.

Its power is gone, and its edges are dull!

I think it's genuinely possible Ganon survived.

[Pinecove]

Yeah, I just have to point out that he had the Master Sword shoved down his head once before in Ocarina of Time. He managed to survive that right away.

That was when he was empowered by his Makai (The Sacred Realm) and the Triforce of Power (which he did not have in TWW's ending - clearly).

@Anemos: Ganon says that BEFORE you go and restore the Master Sword to full power using the earth and wind sages. Have you played TWW?

[Vanessa28]

What was hit in Ganon's head was the revived Master Sword and nothing else. Who says Medli and Makar appeared before Ganon was defeated? You see them AFTER Ganon was defeated and NOT before. If no other sword could defeat Ganon do you really think he would have been hurt by Link stabbing him in the head? No he would have easily pulled the sword out like Ganon did when the Sage of water stabbed him in the chest in TP.

[Pinecove]

Who says Medli and Makar appeared before Ganon was defeated?

This is the only part of your sentence I don't get..... we do see Medli and Makar - in the wind and earth temples. Unless you mean directly before the fight?

[Anemos]

@Anemos: Ganon says that BEFORE you go and restore the Master Sword to full power using the earth and wind sages. Have you played TWW?

I've played multiple times. It's my favorite game so far.

What is your point. The last time in the Wind Waker that the sages stopped praying, the Master Sword lost all its power, right?

If they stopped then the sword could have been negated.

[PhantomTriforce]

I don't think he was killed, just sealed in stone. I hope they make another game in the Adult Timeline where Ganondorf is the final boss.

[Pinecove]

Okay Time to end this:

PGC: I don't want to get too far into territory you can't talk about, but do you think with the new Zelda with the new style and vastly better graphics on the GameCube, do you think there's going to be an issue of E or T?

Bihldorff: I don't think there's any question it'll get a T personally. We'll probably have to look at it and have a long discussion with the ESRB. But that is one of their bigger issues, that you can get away with, well, Wind Waker has beautiful graphics but it looks a lot like a cartoon, but the more realistic you get, the more you're going to get [in terms of ratings]. From what we've seen, I don't think there's any question that...

Trinen: We can't talk about what we've seen (laughs)

Bihldorff: I mean, recently we just recently met with the ESRB and talked about Ocarina of Time, and that had some dicey moments, whether or not it was going to get an E, you know, the original one where Ganondorf pukes out all that blood at the end, and then you end up ramming your sword down the pig's throat, you know, when he transforms, and it's not exactly non-violent, and if you imagine a scene like that with vastly improved realistic graphics, I think that'd probably be in the T range.

Trinen: We're really good about working with them too, like, the way submission works, you're basically supposed to send them a video tape of basically the most violent or reprehensible content in the game, and we let them know about the scene in the end where you finally defeat Ganondorf.

Bihldorff: Late, though. We had to tack that on...

Trinen: Did we? I thought we did that at the same time.

Bihldorff: We did an early submission on that, and then we saw that, and were like, "whoa...!"

Trinen: And we saw that and thought that was pretty intense there, and so we showed that to them, and they looked at that and took it into consideration based on the look of the game and how much of the game that represents in terms of the overall gameplay.

Bihldorff: There was no blood, and he turned to stone, and died. They took all that into account.

Trinen: You're not supposed to... you gave the whole thing away, Nate! (laughs)

PGC: Okay, do you guys have anything you want to say in closing?

Trinen: (whispers) Zelda rocks!

Emphasis on the bolded.
Source