Ganon's Tower

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Ganon's Tower (or Ganon's Castle) is a location found in The Legend of Zelda series. It first appears in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the SNES as the final dungeon of the entire game. In the game it is sealed shut with the only thing capable of breaking it being the descendants of the seven sages. The boss of the dungeon is the malevolent Agahnim, along with Ganon(dorf).

The tower later appears once again in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. It should also be noted that similar towers have been featured in other Zelda titles as well, though weren't named so.

Appearances[]

The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past[]

Ganon's Tower is located in the northern section of the Dark World, and is only accessible after rescuing the Maidens and Princess Zelda. The interior is a maze of rooms leading to eight different floors. The bosses of the first three dungeons are fought again here as well.^[1]

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time[]

Ganon's Castle only appears in the future era of Ocarina of Time, when Ganondorf seizes control of the kingdom. The only way to enter the castle is by awakening the Six Sages. After awakening the Sages and returning to the Temple of Time, Link meets up with Zelda, who disguised herself as a Sheikah to avoid Ganondorf and provides Link with the Light Arrow, after which, she is captured by Ganondorf and brought to his castle. The Sages use their power to create a bridge for Link to enter the castle.

To get into the castle's central tower, Link must first deactivate six barriers that power a force field surrounding the tower. To get to the reactors for each barrier, Link must brave certain puzzles and obstacles in the rooms that precede the reactors; these include collecting Silver Rupees, tripping switches, lighting torches, and defeating enemies. The barriers can be tackled in any order, but before taking on the Fire and Light Barriers, Link needs to get the Golden Gauntlets from the Shadow Barrier section so he can lift the big black rocks in these areas (the Light Barrier area is sealed with one of them).

Once all the Barriers are deactivated, the force field vanishes, allowing Link to enter the tower. As he ascends the tower, he has to fight past pairs of Ganondorf's toughest thugs in three separate rooms: first two Dinalfos, then a couple of Stalfos, and finally, an Iron Knuckle duo. Defeating all the baddies allows Link to continue on to the throne room and confront Ganondorf.

After losing to Link in battle, Ganondorf uses his remaining strength to bring the castle down on top of Link and Zelda in the hopes of crushing them in the remains. The two manage to escape, but Ganondorf survives thanks to the Triforce of Power, and transforms into his beast form, Ganon, for a rematch on the site of the castle.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker[]

Ganon's Tower is hidden underneath the Great Sea along with the rest of Hyrule, and is inaccessible until the end of the game. First, Link needs to restore power to the Master Sword and acquire the 8 pieces of the Triforce of Courage. Upon entering the tower, Link must first survive rematches against four of the bosses he fought, Gohma, Kalle Demos, Jalhalla and Molgera (each in black-and-white, and using only the weapons he originally had at the time), to reach the second floor.

On the second floor, Link must fight Phantom Ganon as he traverses a maze, eventually receiving the Light Arrow. He uses the arrow to defeat Phantom Ganon at the start of the maze, then uses his sword to destroy the wall and access the staircase to the third floor. In the west room, Link can open a portal to the Forsaken Fortress by hitting the crystal switches in a specific order; the number of flames on the torches in the corners of the east room indicate the order that the switches must be hit.

Taking the staircase, Link must contend with three Moblins and three Darknuts to unbar a door at the top of the stairs. In the next room, Link finds Zelda sleeping in a bed with Ganondorf watching over her. He mocks the people of Hyrule, declaring that their gods destroyed them, then turns himself into a monstrous puppet to battle Link. Upon defeating Puppet Ganon, he makes his way to the roof where Ganondorf unites the Triforce and attempts to make his wish to take over Hyrule, only for the King of Hyrule to touch it before him and wish for Hyrule to be washed away, Link and Zelda to have a future, and hope for the world.

Gallery[]

Ganondorf holding Zelda prisoner at the top of his tower in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

A map of Ganon's Castle in Ocarina of Time.

The escape route from Ganon's Castle after beating Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time.

Link and Zelda racing to escape from Ganon's Castle.

Layout of Ganon's Tower in A Link to the Past.

References[]

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