Who is "evil" in Zelda

[TwilightDeku]

I found an old post from 2010 which argued about wether Gannondorf was really pure evil. Now that SS has come out, it is time to bring up this topic again. Except this time, it could apply to all the villains in the zelda series. Buckle up your seat belts… or horse saddles… cause here we go!

First, what is evil? My dictionary defines evil for a entity as the intent to be "profoundly immoral and malevolent"

•Is Vaati pure evil?
Vaati is a common secondary villain in the Zelda series. He was a Minnish who was turned into a villain after witnessing all the wrong in humans. He saw them reaching for power, so he too, reached for it. So is Vaati evil? I think it is not black and white. It the Minish Cap, he was not evil in the beginning, only becoming corrupted after witnessing the wrong in humans. In Four Swords, he was in love with princess Zelda and kidnapped her to become his bride. If Vaati is capable of love, is he pure evil?

In my opinion, Vaati is not pure evil. He is just very corrupt and misguided.

•Is Majora pure evil?
Majora is the villain of Termina. Majora acts like a kid, and thinks everything is a game. I don't think that Majora had grasped the concept of death, fear, or pain. Majora was just chaos without any guidelines. I think if Majora had been able to realize what it was doing, it might have stopped.

In my opinion, Majora was not pure evil. It was just without boundaries and debatably the embodiment of chaos.

•Is Gannondorf pure evil?
Gannondorf is the main villain of the Zelda series. So is he evil? Gannondorf had, or was related to the Triforce of power. So he wanted it. The Triforce meant power, the possession of Hyrule meant power, and the defeat of all his enemies meant power. So is the quest for power by immoral techniques evil?

I think that Gannondorf is not pure evil either. But he is definitely close. If Gannondorf had a way to easily size Hyrule without using immoral behavior, I think he would have took it. If he did this. He would not be "pure" evil as he took the better path.

•Is Demise pure evil?
As the villain from Skyward Sword. He had no goal except to destroy everything in his path to get the Triforce. He apparently killed men, women, children, and infants just in order to get the Triforce. He most likely wanted the Triforce in order to cause more destruction.

I think Demise is the embodiment of evil in Zelda. He made the curse that created all the other villains. So he fills all the requirements. Making him "pure" evil.




So what do you think about my highly controversial argument? Did I miss something incredibly obvious? What about Bellum, Veran, Onox, or Malladus? Please feel free to hate on me for anything I just said !

TwilightDeku Theory #1

 

[mvsl54321]

Demise takes the "Pure Evil," category as you explained in your description of Demise. Gannondorf could also fall into that category, as all he wants to do is take over hyrule. Majora just wants to destroy everything, period. I don't think you could convince Majora to change his/her mind but maybe your right about Majora.

 

[Fig]

I agree with you placement on Demise, for he truely wanted to destroy and conquer everything in his path. Ganondorf may also fall into this category for he is very similar to Demise in almost every aspect. Yes, Vaati isn't evil, for it was the Minnish Cap that took control of him, much like how Majora's Mask took control of Skull Kid. Majora is more like a parasite, an enemy who takes control of a person's body to make it a host, and then leave the body after it has consumed the proper "materials" from the host. Overall, you placed the main antagonists in each proper category of evil in my opinion, except for Ganondorf, for I believe that Ganondorf could easily fit in with Demise in the "Pure Evil" category.

 

[jack546]

I think that vaati is evil despite being defeated he tried again. I think that Majora is just a young girl who is just seeking atention. But I do believe that Gannon is evil because like any video game villan he continues to try and kidnap zelda or steal the triforce.

 

[Locke]

So is Vaati evil? I think it is not black and white. It the Minish Cap, he was not evil in the beginning, only becoming corrupted after witnessing the wrong in humans. In Four Swords, he was in love with princess Zelda and kidnapped her to become his bride. If Vaati is capable of love, is he pure evil?

Who is more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him? (make appropriate replacements)
What kind of love drives one to kidnap the object of one's love against her will? Not the kind of love that is the antitheses of evil.

In my opinion, Vaati is not pure evil. He is just very corrupt and misguided.

(Strawman alert) Water is not wet; it is just a very viscous liquid.

Chaos makes an okay case against Majora being evil, provided that chaos is established not to be evil in itself. As for comparing it to a child.... I think children are evil. =P

If Gannondorf had a way to easily size Hyrule without using immoral behavior, I think he would have took it. If he did this. He would not be "pure" evil as he took the better path.

Even considering this "immoral behavior" as an option is evil. And we judge people based on what they've done, not what they might have done.



As for my views, I see Demise's hatred as a parallel to sin, except that it targets individuals (they may or may not have an equivalent that affects everyone). This hatred, being evil, by definition makes those who possess it evil.

 

[TwilightDeku]

Who is more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him? (make appropriate replacements)
What kind of love drives one to kidnap the object of one's love against her will? Not the kind of love that is the antitheses of evil.

(Strawman alert) Water is not wet; it is just a very viscous liquid.

Chaos makes an okay case against Majora being evil, provided that chaos is established not to be evil in itself. As for comparing it to a child.... I think children are evil. =P

Even considering this "immoral behavior" as an option is evil. And we judge people based on what they've done, not what they might have done.



As for my views, I see Demise's hatred as a parallel to sin, except that it targets individuals (they may or may not have an equivalent that affects everyone). This hatred, being evil, by definition makes those who possess it evil.

Wow... I never thought of it that way before. Very good points.

 

[felipe970421]

You guys are ignoring Ganondorf from Wind Waker, he is not pure evil, in my opinion, child timeline Ganon(dorf) is purely evil, while adult timeline Ganon(dorf) isn't, it gets hard to tell for sure if OoT ganon(dorf) shares the views of WW ganon because their personalities seem really different

 

[Locke]

You guys are ignoring Ganondorf from Wind Waker, he is not pure evil, in my opinion, child timeline Ganon(dorf) is purely evil, while adult timeline Ganon(dorf) isn't, it gets hard to tell for sure if OoT ganon(dorf) shares the views of WW ganon because their personalities seem really different

It's the same Ganon. Also, as I said in the previous thread, this will turn into a debate of whether the ends justify the means. I say no. Almost everything about WW-Ganon's motive was selfish and evil.

 

[DarkMachi]

Demise: "pure" evil... (neutral evil), ~so basically just evil, do evil to do evil really.
Gannondorf: I would say that he is somewhat more like a "lawful evil", ~so a corrupt ruler, to chaotic neutral (more in WW )~ someone that does things for their own benefit, it coud be "good" or it could be "bad"
Majora: Chaotic Evil, ~ so an evil that does random... unpredictable evil...

I just did D&D... :O ~why did I take that class...

 

[MonkeyFightSquad]

Demise is truly evil. Majora is also evil and so is Gannondorf. I guess every one is evil

 

[CWP]

anyone who puts their own personal goals above those of an entire kingdom would either be evil, possessed, or a vigilante.
demise is hands down, the purest of evil. so evil that his hate is said to be reincarnated.
ganon is always destroying hyrule for either the triforce or ultimate control. he wants to be ruler. demise just killed everyone, but ganon is now capable of manipulation. evil.
vaati turned all the guards and royal family to stone. there wasn't much chaos in hyrule town, so he wasn't destroying the world, but he then planned on killing zelda in a ceremony for his own personal gain. if vaati is capable of love maybe it doesn't make him PURE evil, but his love wasn't very loving. and kidnapping your love isn't really a good step. in fact that is pretty evil.
now i haven't finished majora's mask (im working on it) but i would certainly say the skull kid isn't pure evil at all. just possessed. but as to weather or not the spirit possessing him is evil... i suppose that depends on intent. demise, vaati, and ganon all showed intent on doing things which brought about distruction. mindless distruction isnt evil. it certainly isnt good, but if you all say that majora is a bit childish playing a destruction game i would say not evil. many religions have a god of destruction. destruction brings change. however i havent played enough to know really who majora is. and dont worry about spoilers, im not too attached to the plot.

 

[Cfrock]

Demise is pure evil and since Ganondorf is his hatred reincarnated, I'd say that's evidence enough to class Ganondorf as pure evil. Even if we don't, Ganondorf seeks dominion over Hyrule and in Ocarina of Time, even after he has control of the kingdom, he still freezes Zora's Domain, feeds the Gorons to Volvagia and releases monsters into the Kokiri Forest. If that's not evil I don't know what is. Twilight Princess Ganondorf seems more evil still, as does Wind Waker Ganondorf.

To me, I think Vaati always had evil in his heart but never had a way to really do anything with it until he got Ezlo's magic cap.

As for Majora, I think Majora is arguably the most evil villain in Zelda. Majora just lives for chaos and destruction. It tries to hurt as many people as possible and does so in very specific ways, and it uses its power to try to destroy the entire world. Majora just exists to harm people and the world and even the tribe that made the mask sealed it away to save themselves from its evil.

 

[SuperMetroid]

They're all 'pure' evil. Demise is obvious; the Demon King who wants the power of the Gods. As Cfrock pointed out, Ganondorf is Demise's hatred reincarnated. And if Demise was anything other than hatred, I'd be surprised. Majora corrupted and manipulated the Skull Kid to do unspeakable acts. Vaati became devoid of anything but evil as "he became enchanted by the wickedness in the hearts of men" (The Minish Cap).

 

[anuraag]

Demise is completely pure evil, majora just is a destructive fiend, ganon just wanted power

 

[DrNedaj]

All of them are evil.