The Legend of Zeldaoften features stories that revolve around the royal politics of Hyrule, a land cursed to be the site of a war between good and evil. The franchise’s titular character, Zelda, is even princess of the land. In many of the games, the protagonist Link is a knight or servant of the royal court before his adventure begins.
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Suffice it to say, theZeldaseries is all about nobility. That’s not less true when it comes to the series' antagonists, who are often hungry for power or respect. These ten villains appear throughout the series, though what connects them is that each of their motivations are political in nature, stemming from their high Hylian status.
10King Bublin
It’s fair to say that anyone who calls themself a “king” denotes some kind of position of power. However, King Bublin lacks the grace and smoothness of some of theZeldafranchise’s other noble baddies. Still, the barbaric conqueror certainly does a good job of disrupting Link’s peaceful life with his army of Bublins.
Even Link’s encounters with King Bublin have a medieval feeling about them. Link meets King Bublin on several bridges in Hyrule, wherethe two engage in joust-like battles. Fortunately, Link always prevails over the false king, who falls off the bridges and into the depths below each time.
9Twinrova
The Gerudo tribe appears throughout theZeldaseriesas a tribe of warrior women. One of the most famous examples of Gerudos are the Twinrova sisters, a pair of witches inOcarina of Time. Not only are they loyal servants of Ganondorf, the Gerudo King, but they’re also his surrogate mothers, living through the use of magic.
Separately, their names are Koume and Kotake, although they can merge together as one being known as Twinrova. These witches are not noble in terms of their morality, but their status. They consider themselves the true leaders of the Gerudo tribe while Ganondorf’s sights are set on bigger things, like the throne of Hyrule.
8The Helmaroc King
This giant bird appears at the beginning ofThe Wind Wakerwhen it kidnaps Link’s little sister, Aryll. With the help of a pirate named Tetra, Link travels to the Forsaken Fortress on a rescue mission. It’s unclear what the Helmaroc King’s plans are for these pointy-eared girls, though the plan becomes clear within time.
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It’s later revealed that the Helmaroc King is yet another servant of Ganondorf. At the Gerudo King’s command, the Helmaroc King has kidnapped several little girls on a mission to find Princess Zelda. It’s not ever mentioned what the Helmaroc King is the king of exactly, but his vibrant feathers and royal mask make him seem significant.
7Ghirahim
When it comes toZeldavillains, some can tend to be quite eccentric. One of those is Ghirahim, one of the main antagonists of the Wii titleThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. On the surface world, Ghirahim appears to be some kind of noble lord or ruler, though like otherZeldavillains, he’s mainly in service of a greater evil.
Ghirahim the Demon Lord serves a being known as Demise. Knowledgeable fans recognize Demise as the first incarnation of Ganon, doomed to be reincarnated throughout history and be destroyed by Link and his descendants. For most of the game, however,Ghirahim’s petty confidence is Link’s primary adversary.
6Yuga
The early events ofThe Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worldsfinds Yuga shaking up the Hylian royal family. During this evil sorcerer’s attack on Hyrule Castle, he kidnaps descendants of the Seven Sages, trapping them in paintings. Again, this is all in service of unleashing the power of Ganon across the kingdom of Hyrule.
However, Yuga’s origins come from nobility outside Hyrule. Prior to the events of the game, Yuga was a servant of Princess Hilda, the ruler of an alternate dimension known as Lorule. His secret plan was to eventually betray Hilda, though he’s not able to fulfill that planthanks to the heroism of Hyrule’s Link and Lorule’s Ravio.
5Agahnim
Agahnim is one of the oldest villains in theZeldaseries, debuting inA Link to the Pastfor SNES. However, Agahnim is much more than just another pawn of Ganon sent to resurrect him. In reality, Agahnim is an alter ego for Ganon, who prior to the events of the game earned some notable favor with the Hylian royal family.
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Agahnim was able to prove himself to Hyrule through the use of his magic. Declared a hero, Agahnim was promoted to chief advisor of the King and the Seven Sages. This gave Agahnim the perfect leverage to enact his betrayal of Hyrule’s royal family, brainwashing their soldiers, dethroning the king, and imprisoning Princess Zelda.
4Vaati
If there’s one thing that Hylian nobles should have learned throughout theZeldafranchise, it’s to not trust sorcerers. Unfortunately, their failure to do so leaves them vulnerable toZeldaseries antagonists such as Vaati. Vaati first appears inFour Swordsas a mage who earns the ire of Link separated into four bodies.
However, the character’s backstory is developed in the handheld titleThe Minish Cap. Here,it’s revealed that Vaati was the apprentice of Ezlo, a Minish sage. Due to his desire for power, Vaati wins the Picori Blade in a Sword-Fighting Tournament, using it to turn Zelda to stone and unleash the evil inside the Bound Chest.
3Zant
Zant is one of the most enigmatic characters in theZeldaseries. Throughout his appearances inTwilight Princess, he conceals his face with a helmet. Seen in flashbacks where he usurps Midna as the King of Twilight and invades Hyrule Castle, Zant appears as a cunning, calm, and arrogant ruler with a desire for greater power.
However, once Zant removes his mask near the end of the game, his personality completely changes. What was once an intimidating, slow-moving false king becomes an eccentric, bizarre, and tantric ruler.He truly appears as one of theZeldaseries' maddest characters, which truly says a lot about Zant’s craziness.
2Puppet Zelda
Twilight Princessfeatures another boss of noble origins, though it’s not who you’d expect to be fighting. During Link’s final confrontation with Ganondorf, he is forced to fight Princess Zelda herself after she is possessed by the Demon King. This battle works similarly to Phantom Ganon fights from previousZeldagames.
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To defeat Zelda without killing her, Link must volley spheres of light that Zelda is able to summon. Eventually, he succeeds, and Ganon releases Zelda from his control. Thanks to Midna’s help, Zelda is able to take control of her body again, and actually assists Link with the use of her Light Arrows.
1Ganondorf
What makes Ganondorf such a compelling villain for theZeldafranchiseis his feeling of entitlement. To the Gerudo King, the position as ruler of Hyrule is his right, and he will stop at nothing to take it. During Ganondorf’s first appearance inOcarina of Time, a young Zelda tells Link that he is a favored servant of the Hylian Royal Family.
As expected, Ganondorf’s true motivations are greater and greater power. He seeks to destroy Zelda and Link, for they possess the other two-thirds of the Triforce. In future games, Ganondorf not only appears as the presumptive ruler of Hyrule, but also as a false king, an imprisoned criminal, and a resurrected beast.
