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Ganondorf's Last Name is Officially Dragmire Again

My guess is that the Gerudo stopped giving birth to males altogether or that they kill them at birth.

In what universe, would Nintendo ever consider this...

How about the more logical explanation that BOTW takes places between the death of the most recent male Gerudo and the birth of a new Male Gerudo...

Edit: or that a male Gerudo is alive during BOTW, but is off somewhere doing his own thing
 

Javelin

Neo Member
Does anyone else in the Zelda Universe have a last name?

Ganondorf <anything> sounds less imposing to me than just "Ganondorf"

It's at least a thing among the Hylian and Gerudo royalty. Riju's full name is "Makeela Riju", as signed in her diary. And of course the Hyrule royal's family last name of "Hyrule".
 

Mega

Banned
Does anyone else in the Zelda Universe have a last name?

Ganondorf <anything> sounds less imposing to me than just "Ganondorf"

Linking to an old post that sums up how GANON trumps all.

Ocarina of Time's fight against Ganon is still probably the best. It's not really hard at all, but I don't think any other Zelda has matched that level of atmosphere in a final battle before or since.

Every boss in the game has their name displayed on the screen in their introduction alongside a caption describing them. And then, there at the end, Ganondorf slowly transforms, his head rises, and the game only says one thing: "Ganon."
PeRC5tI.jpg


Awwww shit.

I still get goosebumps. In terms of atmosphere and visual impact, I don't think Nintendo has topped this yet with any boss since. Before that it was the rise of giant Baby Bowser in Yoshi's Island. BOTW's bosses are all pretty terrible...
 
And here I am still annoyed that they added "-dorf" to Ganon's name

Same here. "Dorf", in 1987 (the same year I first played Zelda), was a character in a stupid comedy bit where this guy pretends to be short by putting shoes on his knees. There were commercials for it incessantly on the few TV stations we got.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEig1D4sJdI

So when they stuck the "dorf" on his name, even years later, that's what I thought of. It soured the name for me instantly.

But then, I just can't let go. I'm still a bit put off that it isn't "Gannon" with 2 Ns any more.
 

Pokemaniac

Member
Urbosa implies he wasn't actually Gerudo, or at least that the Gerudo people have disowned him and hope he wasn't actually Gerudo.

The way that was phrased was most likely more of an indication of how the people of Hyrule in Breath of the Wild viewed Ganon as more of a force of nature than a person. They are so far removed from his origin (>10000 years) that they are somewhat conflating Demise's curse with Ganon himself.
 

Link_enfant

Member
Do we have any info about Ganondorf's and Zelda's horses' names, as we saw them for the first time in OoT?
I'm wondering that because of
BotW of course, where I had to rename their counterparts.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
Do we have any info about Ganondorf and Zelda's horses, which we saw for the first time in OoT?
I'm wondering that because of
BotW of course, where I had to rename their counterparts.

Zelda's horse is called Storm according to the 1990 Valiant Comics Zelda adaption (a.k.a. totally non-canon, but the closest you'll get). Ganondorf's horse has never received a name in any related media I am aware of.
 

Ogodei

Member
you are correct

I would have to imagine that Original LoZ Ganon is also "different" insofar as Ganon definitely dies at the end of Link to the Past, as Link Between Worlds has him resurrected (but only his body, and not his mind), the Oracle games involve a botched resurrection attempt, which apparently succeeded by original Zelda.

So FSA, BotW, and Zelda 1 are the only times a distinct Ganon has appeared, every other time it was either a simulacrum (a la Oracle or LBW), or the same guy from Ocarina of Time (which, now i think about it, really means just OoT, LttP, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess).
 

Ms.Galaxy

Member
In what universe, would Nintendo ever consider this...

How about the more logical explanation that BOTW takes places between the death of the most recent male Gerudo and the birth of a new Male Gerudo...

Edit: or that a male Gerudo is alive during BOTW, but is off somewhere doing his own thing

Yeah, killing them is a bit too harsh. I personally believe that male Gerudos are likely shunned from the tribe and live with their fathers outside Gerudo Desert. I think after what Ganondorf did, they became very strict with their "no men allowed" tradition, something they weren't so strict about during Ocarina of Time, and I don't think they would make exceptions for their own kind.

So then what's Link's last name

Pffft. Link is a dirty peasant, he doesn't get a last name. You may refer him to Mr. Luigi though as he will always be under Mario's shadow.
 

Pyrrhus

Member
I'm going to say this was an overreach by a web designer or copywriter until I see something that comes directly from Nintendo of Japan.
 

SkyOdin

Member
So then what's Link's last name

You know, this is actually a really interesting question. Of course, there is no official answer, and it is likely to vary wildly due to how Link is a different person in each Zelda game. However, there is plenty of room to speculate!

Now, a very likely answer is that Link doesn't have a surname at all. The use of family names is not at all consistent across human history. In European countries, it is a fairly recent development that got its start in the 11th century and only slowly spread from the aristocracy down to the common people. However, the Zelda series is usually set in a Hyrule that is very loosely based on Late Medieval or Early Modern Europe, times where the use of surnames were catching on with common people.

In the case of OoT, there is absolutely no way that Link has a family name, since he is an orphan raised well away from human civilization. It is far more likely that if he grows up and gets married, he would simply take the family name his wife uses. Alternatively, he could take something related to the Deku forest or the Kokiri as a last name if he was knighted or such. If the Link from Twilight Princess is descended from OoT Link, then he might still be using such a family name. Of course, it is still possible that TP Link could not have a family name at all, being a commoner living in a region so remote most people in Hyrule aren't familiar with it.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Link from ALttP almost certainly has a family name, being a descendant of the Hylian Knights whose uncle is an active knight. The same is true of the Link from Breath of the Wild: his father was also a famous knight. In both cases, they may even be related to branch families of the Royal Family of Hyrule. It is pretty much impossible to guess what those family names would be, though.

Minish Cap offers the most interesting material to extrapolate a last name for Link though. In Minish Cap, Link is raised by his grandfather, a blacksmith that everyone just refers to as Smith. Now, Link regularly went to school in Hyrule Castle Town as a child in the backstory for Minish Cap. The chances that there was another kid or other person named Link in a large city was pretty good (since it is apparently a pretty common name, considering there are multiple Zelda games where you meet another person named Link). So, it is very likely that Minish Cap Link has a surname, or at least a byname. Now, if he just has a byname, it would be definitely be "Smith's grandson", considering how famous Smith is. Furthermore, such bynames evolved into a very large percentage of European surnames, for example Miller and Baker are fairly common English surnames. So, Link's full name in Minish Cap could very well be Link Smith or Link Smithson or some other variant. If Link takes up the same occupation as his grandfather when he grows up (a likely possibility, considering Link was an apprentice blacksmith in ALBW), then the odds of that being his last name increases.

On the other hand, Zelda has very low odds of actually having a last name. She is the daughter of the Hyrule Royal Family, so Princess of Hyrule does a perfectly good job of describing who she is. In the real world, neither the Emperor of Japan nor the Queen of England use last names. The current Emperor of Japan is just named Akihito. When addressed by people, they just call him the equivalent of Your Majesty the Emperor. When he dies, his name will be changed to Heisei Tenn&#333; (essentially, Emperor of the Heisei era). Elizabeth II's full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. Despite being part of the House of Windsor, Windsor isn't used as her last name. Again, Queen of England is a sufficient description that using a last name isn't necessary. It's usage is very uncommon.

So, it is vey likely that Zelda is just Zelda. Different Zeldas may have the equivalents to middle names to differentiate them, but those wouldn't be real family names. On the other hand, it is very likely that a Princess Zelda who ascends to the throne of Hyrule would take a different name as a reign name. The Hyrule at the end of the name of the kings of Hyrule might be limited in use to the current reigning monarch, since we never see it used anywhere else.
 

TannerDemoz

Member
You know, this is actually a really interesting question. Of course, there is no official answer, and it is likely to vary wildly due to how Link is a different person in each Zelda game. However, there is plenty of room to speculate!

Now, a very likely answer is that Link doesn't have a surname at all. The use of family names is not at all consistent across human history. In European countries, it is a fairly recent development that got its start in the 11th century and only slowly spread from the aristocracy down to the common people. However, the Zelda series is usually set in a Hyrule that is very loosely based on Late Medieval or Early Modern Europe, times where the use of surnames were catching on with common people.

In the case of OoT, there is absolutely no way that Link has a family name, since he is an orphan raised well away from human civilization. It is far more likely that if he grows up and gets married, he would simply take the family name his wife uses. Alternatively, he could take something related to the Deku forest or the Kokiri as a last name if he was knighted or such. If the Link from Twilight Princess is descended from OoT Link, then he might still be using such a family name. Of course, it is still possible that TP Link could not have a family name at all, being a commoner living in a region so remote most people in Hyrule aren't familiar with it.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Link from ALttP almost certainly has a family name, being a descendant of the Hylian Knights whose uncle is an active knight. The same is true of the Link from Breath of the Wild: his father was also a famous knight. In both cases, they may even be related to branch families of the Royal Family of Hyrule. It is pretty much impossible to guess what those family names would be, though.

Minish Cap offers the most interesting material to extrapolate a last name for Link though. In Minish Cap, Link is raised by his grandfather, a blacksmith that everyone just refers to as Smith. Now, Link regularly went to school in Hyrule Castle Town as a child in the backstory for Minish Cap. The chances that there was another kid or other person named Link in a large city was pretty good (since it is apparently a pretty common name, considering there are multiple Zelda games where you meet another person named Link). So, it is very likely that Minish Cap Link has a surname, or at least a byname. Now, if he just has a byname, it would be definitely be "Smith's grandson", considering how famous Smith is. Furthermore, such bynames evolved into a very large percentage of European surnames, for example Miller and Baker are fairly common English surnames. So, Link's full name in Minish Cap could very well be Link Smith or Link Smithson or some other variant. If Link takes up the same occupation as his grandfather when he grows up (a likely possibility, considering Link was an apprentice blacksmith in ALBW), then the odds of that being his last name increases.

On the other hand, Zelda has very low odds of actually having a last name. She is the daughter of the Hyrule Royal Family, so Princess of Hyrule does a perfectly good job of describing who she is. In the real world, neither the Emperor of Japan nor the Queen of England use last names. The current Emperor of Japan is just named Akihito. When addressed by people, they just call him the equivalent of Your Majesty the Emperor. When he dies, his name will be changed to Heisei Tenn&#333; (essentially, Emperor of the Heisei era). Elizabeth II's full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. Despite being part of the House of Windsor, Windsor isn't used as her last name. Again, Queen of England is a sufficient description that using a last name isn't necessary. It's usage is very uncommon.

So, it is vey likely that Zelda is just Zelda. Different Zeldas may have the equivalents to middle names to differentiate them, but those wouldn't be real family names. On the other hand, it is very likely that a Princess Zelda who ascends to the throne of Hyrule would take a different name as a reign name. The Hyrule at the end of the name of the kings of Hyrule might be limited in use to the current reigning monarch, since we never see it used anywhere else.

TLDR: Link's last name is probably Link
 

Jamix012

Member
From my understanding:

Ocarina of time clearly states three things.
1. Gerudo come to Hyrule town to seek mates
2. Gerudo society is isolated off and will not accept any males with the exception of...
3. The one male Gerudo who is born every 100 years. In OoT it's Ganondorf.

BotW doesn't appear that ANYTHING has necessarily changed.
1. If there is no male Gerudo, it's likely because he either hasn't been born currently, or the 100 year thing stopped being a thing. There is no reason to believe they'd kill or expel a genuine Gerudo male.
2. Urbosa's lines suggest that the being who keeps coming back, Ganon, was once a Gerudo. This means to say he reincarnated as the Gerudo male, not that Gerudo males were ostracised as a result and he is retroactively not a Gerudo.
 

OmegaX

Member
From my understanding:

Ocarina of time clearly states three things.
1. Gerudo come to Hyrule town to seek mates
2. Gerudo society is isolated off and will not accept any males with the exception of...
3. The one male Gerudo who is born every 100 years. In OoT it's Ganondorf.

BotW doesn't appear that ANYTHING has necessarily changed.
1. If there is no male Gerudo, it's likely because he either hasn't been born currently, or the 100 year thing stopped being a thing. There is no reason to believe they'd kill or expel a genuine Gerudo male.
2. Urbosa's lines suggest that the being who keeps coming back, Ganon, was once a Gerudo. This means to say he reincarnated as the Gerudo male, not that Gerudo males were ostracised as a result and he is retroactively not a Gerudo.

This is how I see it too. There is one more thing, though: IIRC in OoT, it was said that the one male Gerudo that is born every 100 years has to become king of the Gerudo. BotW on the other hand, shows that they have their own Royal family, although in this case it's only queens and princesses. Male Hylians that marry into the Royal family are still not allowed inside the city so they are not considered to be kings.
It's unexplained if the old rule that made Ganondorf the King of the Gerudo would still be in effect if a new male Gerudo is born.
 
D

Deleted member 465307

Unconfirmed Member
In what universe, would Nintendo ever consider this...

How about the more logical explanation that BOTW takes places between the death of the most recent male Gerudo and the birth of a new Male Gerudo...

Edit: or that a male Gerudo is alive during BOTW, but is off somewhere doing his own thing

Fair points. I don't think Nintendo would be opposed to internally conceptualizing something dark like that (even BotW has some dark moments in the story/side stories that are oddly brutal), but I can't see them making a detail as dark as that explicit at any point. Anyway, thinking about it more, killing their children would be very odd for the Gerudo, especially since I didn't and don't believe that they dislike men or male Gerudo for any reason and believe that they see Ganondorf as an outlier and only the product of Ganon's evil force. I'm honestly not sure why I thought that them killing their children made sense to me a few hours ago when my understanding of the Gerudo hasn't shifted. Thanks for waking me up to my own poor logic.

From my understanding:

Ocarina of time clearly states three things.
1. Gerudo come to Hyrule town to seek mates
2. Gerudo society is isolated off and will not accept any males with the exception of...
3. The one male Gerudo who is born every 100 years. In OoT it's Ganondorf.

BotW doesn't appear that ANYTHING has necessarily changed.
1. If there is no male Gerudo, it's likely because he either hasn't been born currently, or the 100 year thing stopped being a thing. There is no reason to believe they'd kill or expel a genuine Gerudo male.
2. Urbosa's lines suggest that the being who keeps coming back, Ganon, was once a Gerudo. This means to say he reincarnated as the Gerudo male, not that Gerudo males were ostracised as a result and he is retroactively not a Gerudo.

This is what seems most likely to me and what I understood from Breath of the Wild.
 

PMS341

Member
In what universe, would Nintendo ever consider this...

How about the more logical explanation that BOTW takes places between the death of the most recent male Gerudo and the birth of a new Male Gerudo...

Edit: or that a male Gerudo is alive during BOTW, but is off somewhere doing his own thing

But GERUDO AREA SPOILERS
Who do you think gives you the Gerudo female disguise? ;)
 
This also confirms Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule is Tetra's father...

King of Hyrule
The head of the Royal Family of Hyrule and father of Princess Zelda.
King of Hyrule as seen in: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
 
D

Deleted member 465307

Unconfirmed Member
But GERUDO AREA SPOILERS
Who do you think gives you the Gerudo female disguise? ;)

That person is identified as a Hylian, so I don't think they're Gerudo.
 

MisterHero

Super Member
BTW, Captain Falcon's full name is Captain Douglas Jay Falcon
Now I wanna see a Ganondorf Quagmire cross over.
Quagmire tries to kill Ganondorf to be the only procreating male for 100 years

succeeds but runs once he realizes he'd be responsible for several generations of children
 

Mega

Banned
That person is identified as a Hylian girl, so I don't think they're Gerudo.

Gerudo area spoiler
Not quite, the person who gives you the clothing is a brown-skinned Hylian man pretending to be a Gerudo woman. The Gerudo all see through his Gerudo disguise and recognize him as a Hylian, but they cannot tell he's a man and therefore didn't kick him out of town when he was in there.
 
But gerudo males aren't full blood gerudos since there are no male gerudos for the women to mate with. Or am I over thinking this?
 
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