Do You Think Ganondorf is Naive?

[Megamannt125]

Well for starters, he underestimated Link in OOT thinking he was just some kid, after being defeated by that Link, in Wind Waker he sees a kid in green clothes and decides to yet again underestimate him, then gets defeated. Then all the way on the other timeline, while Ganondorf in TP hasn't been defeated by Link yet, he underestimates him, and while in-game in the 2D games afterwards he doesn't really say much, it can be assumed he keeps underestimating kids in green clothes, instead of just defeating Link early in the game while he's weaker, he decides to just leave him alone, then gets defeated.

 

[Ⓡⓔⓖⓘⓝⓛⓔⓘⓕ]

Part of the story line, I think. You just have to go with the flow. ^^

 

[jamalthegiraffe]

I've noticed that. Also in a lot of his battles he gives you what you need to kill him. I OoT he keeps using that dumb spell that you have to hit back at him. I know that this is all part of the story line, but I find it a little unlikely that the man who was smart enough to take over the world was unable to notice that Link was hitting the spell back at him. He also does this as Agamhim. Agahim was invinseble! Except for his own moves. He should have used a different move and killed link, before he got the silver arrows.

 

[Shadsie]

I think that he is just playing the Goddess' game and he knows it. Hence the feeling of "world-weariness" I get from him in Wind Waker.

Also, when you are really deterimined to do something, nothing will stop you from going forward and trying, right? Even if it's obvious that you areen't winning... I think that Ganon/dorf is just THAT power-hungry. I think that he is under the thought that, though the cycles, he's going to win one of these times or another.

Also, the Link tends to be different each or almost each time (unless you go by reincarnation theory, and even if you do, it's obvious Link has no memories of previous lifetimes). Maybe Ganon/dorf is always comparing the "new kid" to the one who came before, and thinking the newbie is lacking something the previous Hero had, and thus understimates him. Case in point - he seems very nostalgic for the Hero of Time in Wind Waker. Heck, everyone in that world is. To them, the Hero of Time was magnficent - how can this goofy little kid from a small, far-flung island even compare? Yet, that goofy little kid did.

Also, we never know, and it's something that Nintendo probably will never make canon - but what if, somewhere along the lines, in between the game that we know... there were some "Broken Links?" Heroes that failed, enabling Ganon to actually rule for a while? Then, that's probalby more of a thing best left to fan fiction.

 

[Josh]

I agree with Shadsie for the most part.

Ganon seems to be the person, who will do anything and everything to get what he wants. This makes him completely and undoubtedly naive. He's so obsessed on trying to get the complete Triforce, that he overlooks every single time, what Link can really do and whether or not he can really win. He automatically thinks, that just because he's him and he has the Triforce of Power....and he took over and destroyed Hyrule in a few games, that now he can do whatever he wants and he'll win. But it never quite happens. And he never learns from this. Ever.

 

[dur.i.am]

I agree with Shadsie and Josh, He is definately Naive because he nothing stopping from going out after Link and easily slaughtering when he actually CAN'T do anything to Ganondorf, The only thing that does is that he is blind to everything other than power so he doesn't believe Link can do anything to him.

I also think that he is comparing the current Link to a hero of the past and he believes that the current Link lacks in the ability to kill him. He probably doesn't realise until he comes just before his own death. Even then he only seems amazed when Link has delivered the final blow in a few games. So I agree that he is Naive

 

[Zarom]

I agree with almost all people above me, Ganondorf is naive. :ganondorf: In each game, he always underestimates Link when he sees him.

In OOT (I think) When you defeat Ganondorf, he says: ''It was not the kid's power I misjudged, it was the power of the Triforce of Courage.'' ...or something like that. So, I think when Ganondorf sees the new Link again in another game, he may think that since Link doesn't have the ToC, he can't do nothing...

So, Ganondorf thinks Link has no power at all. He thinks Link's power is all about the ToC.

+ :mastersword: = :ganondorf: killed

 

[fiercedeity619]

i think that ganondorf underestimates link in WW is because he knows that the mastersword doesnt have any effect on him anymore and he didnt know that the king of red lions was helping link so he thought "dont bother he cant restore the mastersword anyway"

 

[angelkid]

I don't think Ganondorf is naive. Not at all. I think Ganondorf is arrogant. I think that everytime Link beats him, he somehow thinks that Link got lucky, and that next time he wont be so lucky and that he can finally win. Think about it, we all know how concieted Ganondorf is. He values the Triforce of Power over the other pieces and he certainly thinks that he is superior to either Link or Zelda, and it has to be said that he is right in Zelda's case. If Link wasn't around, she could never defeat him.

Also, I agree with Shadsie. I'd say it is very likely that there are some 'broken Links' one who failed. All this would do would be to add to Ganondorf's confidence, making his head swell even more. Which means it is no suprise that he underestimates Link and over-estimates himself.

 

[Master Kokiri 9]

well that theory is probably correct for the most part but in oot remember he used link to his advantage to get to the sacred realm. but yeah that theory is pretty decent.

 

[DeletedUser9]

I pretty much agree with Shadsie. Especially on the point of him comparing the current hero to the last.

He may have underestimated Link the first time in OoT, but you have to admit one thing. He was right. He kicked Link's ***. Link had to sleep in the Temple of Time for seven years before he could beat Ganondorf.

As for WW, well, how would he expect him to be another hero? As far as he probably knew, there was the one and that's it. Also, I wouldn't necessarily say he underestimated Link. He had him thrown into the ocean to die. Link was going to die, had the King of Red Lions not saved him. Link himself wasn't even a chosen hero. He had to prove himself to be given the power of the Master Sword. Although afterwards the Gods did choose him and gave him the power of the Triforce, but still, he had to make it there on his own.

Then there was TP. Yeah, he underestimated Link, but he was in a position of complete power. Sure there was OoT, but if you go under the concept that TP is in the Child Timeline, then him becoming the king of Hyrule and being defeated... well, it never happened. Hell, now that I think of it that way, he was never defeated by Link at all. He was stopped by the Sages. Either way, this game's approach to Ganondorf was a little different, in that he was portrayed almost godlike. Zant revered him, he had the power of the Goddesses, could not be killed, and was in possession of immense power (seemingly more than in other games.)

As for other games, well, keep in mind most of them came before this one. The creators possibly had no idea at the time that Link had faced Ganon before.

 

[MrMosley]

Agreed with Axle, but I'll put my two cents in there.

Ganon"dorf", as in the man, like Axel said, was never defeated by Link on the CT until TP. So, in that game, he basically had no real fear of Link or belief that Link could defeat him. In WW, which plays off the AT where Ganondorf was defeated by the Hero of Time, Link is much younger. He's basically just a random kid who doesn't even have the blood of the hero in him (or the blood of the Knights of Hyrule), so of course Ganondorf wasn't worried about him. And that pretty much sums up what we have seen of the man, Ganondorf, so far.

Now as for his beast/pig form, Ganon, like Axle said as well, the creators weren't thinking about past things while making those games or what could have happened before. But there is still a few times that Ganon has been beaten by a similar Link. When we look at ALttP, apparently, that was a point in which Ganon was at his most powerful. He had complete control of the Sacred Realm (which was the Dark World), built his base of operations around where the Triforce was being held, etc. So with all this power, I doubt he was worried about Link or anyone for that matter trying to disrupt his plans. Same kinda goes for FSA. Ganon had found the Trident of Power, so I guess he figures that it would be enough to defeat anyone in his way. LoZ, well, is LoZ. Its very basic, so what can you say?

So in the end, we see that Ganondorf never had to fear Link becase A.) A hero hadn't technically beaten him yet (CT), and B.) Link was just a random kid in WW. With Ganon (pig), we see a pattern of him gaining more/different powers that he believed would make him invisible. Its not so much like Bowser, where each time he does the same thing (kidnap Princess Peach and sets in his castle), although he did have varying forms of combating Mario. Bowser never really had any extra power in himself, while Ganon has always searched for additional power before taking on each task he sets out for. LoZ was much more like the Mario/Bowser scenario, so you can't say a lot there.

 

[El Bagu]

I would have to say that he is (naive). But does that make him unique? Does anybody with his power(s) ever fear a "lonesome" child? I don´t think so.

But I might be wrong, in fact I almost always am!!

 

[basement24]

In relation to OoT specifically, Link might just appear to Ganondorf as a child playing dressup with his undersized sword and inaffective looking wooden shield. Thinking that this child will get the power of the Ocarina to thrust him into the future, or even thinking that this child would hold a grudge until he's old enough to do something about it is really the last thing on Ganondorf's mind at this point.

I don't think it makes him naive though. I think it's more standard villain fare than anything. Traditional villains tend to feel that they don't have to be bothered with underdeveloped individuals who are trying to stop them when they pose absolutely no threat. Of course these individuals always rise up and become the reason to the villain's downfall as metioned. It's just typical hero's journey type storytelling.

It might stem from the idea of the classic villain who would do bad things, but not truly evil things. They lust for power and to rule, but to kill a defenseless child, even one that might grow up to be a threat, is a pretty low crime for classical villains.

 

[Shadsie]

In relation to OoT specifically, Link might just appear to Ganondorf as a child playing dressup with his undersized sword and inaffective looking wooden shield. Thinking that this child will get the power of the Ocarina to thrust him into the future, or even thinking that this child would hold a grudge until he's old enough to do something about it is really the last thing on Ganondorf's mind at this point.

I don't think it makes him naive though. I think it's more standard villain fare than anything. Traditional villains tend to feel that they don't have to be bothered with underdeveloped individuals who are trying to stop them when they pose absolutely no threat. Of course these individuals always rise up and become the reason to the villain's downfall as metioned. It's just typical hero's journey type storytelling.

It might stem from the idea of the classic villain who would do bad things, but not truly evil things. They lust for power and to rule, but to kill a defenseless child, even one that might grow up to be a threat, is a pretty low crime for classical villains.

In other words, this Trope: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvenEvilHasStandards

I went there to look this up for you and got sucked in for the last couple of hours. Tread with caution, my friend.