All Legend Of Zelda Villains, Ranked By Strength

Summary

• Ganon in the original Legend of Zelda isn’t as tough as he seemed initially due to his defeat in defeat after defeat.
• Thunderbird in The Adventure of Link, while not the main villain, tests Link’s courage to prove himself worthy.
• Vaati in Four Swords Adventures may not be the strongest, but his magical abilities make for challenging battles.

We’ve seen plenty of really powerful Zelda villains throughout The Legend of Zelda in the almost 40 years of games and lore, but have you ever wondered which of the Big Bads was really the biggest and baddest? With so many games in the series and a timeline that tangles itself, it can be kind of tough to keep the several different versions of Ganon straight.

In our list, we’ve gone back through the fights we had against all The Legend of Zelda villains to rank all of its villains on their strength, difficulty, and overall implication for the lore.

Updated on January 15th, 2025 by Hilton Webster: Swiftly following Tears of the Kingdom was Zelda’s first (official) solo outing in Echoes of Wisdom. To celebrate that, we’ve added the latest antagonist to this list, as well as a general tidying of this article for your viewing pleasure.

While it should go without saying, this list contains spoilers for just about every Legend of Zelda game there is.

29

Lady Maud

Tri-Force Heroes

While we definitely have respect for the series’ original villains, going back to fight Lady Maud now is underwhelming. Of course, she can transform, but without ever turning into anything that made us feel truly threatened, she feels more like an old lady with a neat party trick.

The fight itself is fairly straightforward even outside her transformation powers, too, almost making her feel more like a filler villain than anything.

28

Thunderbird

The Adventure Of Link

While not the primary villain of the game in which it’s featured, Thunderbird sure did make for one hell of a penultimate boss in Zelda 2. Though the battle isn’t one of malice – it’s testing Link in order to deem him worthy of the Triforce of Courage – it still makes for a fearsome fight.

However, if you arrive well-prepared for the fight, this legacy proving challenge is kind of a cakewalk – Thunderbird is more intimidating than it is difficult.

27

Ganon

The Legend Of Zelda

Though he definitely terrified us at the time, in retrospect, the Ganon in the game that birthed the series wasn’t all that impressive. Given the game’s place in the famously tangled Zelda timeline, it’s possible this is the Ganon that goes on to become Calamity Ganon, but as he is in the original 1986 title, he’s not too tough.

If you follow the timeline, though, it makes sense that this Ganon is at the end of his rope following defeat after defeat. He’s dangerous, sure, but he’s not the strongest Ganon we get to see.

26

Shadow Link

The Adventure Of Link

In theory, this version of ourselves is terrifying, having taken out the same major enemies as us by the time we fight him, but the ambush he conducts on us right after the Thunderbird fight. Without time to heal or recover many lost resources, you’re not fighting fit when Shadow Link takes you on himself.

The concept of Shadow Link was awesome, and we’re glad it carried throughout the series, but in terms of overall series difficulty, Shadow Link from Zelda 2 is hardly the most memorable of them.

25

Agahnim

A Link To The Past

As an extension of Ganon himself, it’s natural for Agahnim to have inherited some of his powers, taking just enough to make Hyrule crumble under him. But once Link gets his hands on the Master Sword, that’s pretty much all she wrote for Agahnim.

Although, by this point in the game, we had strong enemies who could only be taken down with Silver Arrows, Agahnim feels notably weaker for falling to just the Master Sword, which we use to lob his own magic right back at him. We didn’t defeat Agahnim – Agahnim defeated himself trying to defeat us.

24

Malladus

Spirit Tracks

While he’s technically being fueled by Cole, the Kingdom’s chancellor, this incarnation of Ganon that we see take form in Malladus barely holds a candle to the other Ganon incarnations on our list. He does his best to take over Zelda’s body for total control, but he struggles to do even that for more than a little while.

Not to mention, by the time you fight Malladus in Spirit Tracks, you’ve been exposed to so many spirit Ganon incarnations in the series that Malladus feels pretty middle of the tracks.

23

Vaati

Four Swords Adventures

If you’re following the Timeline, Vaati starts off pretty strong, but by the time you fight him in Four Swords Adventures, he isn’t even the final big-bad of his game. On his own, this incarnation of Vaati did prove a challenge when you actually fight him, sure, but compared to the other Vaati incarnations we’ve fought, he’s not too bad.

Of course, we have to give an honorable mention to his bizarre magic, and the tornado that knocked us down more times than we’d really like to admit.

22

Ganon

A Link To The Past

Despite that he’s long been sealed away in the Sacred Realm, the iteration of Ganon in A Link to the Past manages to convert not only that Land of the Gods into a Dark World, he also created a proxy of himself to overtake Hyrule in the Light World, too – and that’s no small feat.

Even after using the Master Sword and Silver Arrows to take him down, it still comes down to a wish on the Triforce to restore Hyrule to its former glory.

21

Yuga

A Link Between Worlds

Yuga was Ganon’s Lorule analog, and despite being one and the same, he’s notably wittier than his Light World counterpart. Yuga uses his charm and smarts to trick Hilda into setting the events of the game in motion, and were it not for Ravio hooking Link up with a bracelet, the game may not have ended up in our favor.

And Yuga is so much above a regular Ganon iteration that he summons one himself to take over as he fights you. We handled him, sure, but barely.

20

Ganondorf

Four Swords Adventures

If nothing else, this iteration of Ganon proves that he’s capable of putting his soul into another being to become a new Ganon, but we’re still docking points for this not being the original Ganondorf. We’re also pretty upset to have seen this be a one-off thing.

Ganondorf II was powerful enough to get Vaati under him, a villain who should technically be stronger than he in this form, and it takes four Links to defeat him. He’s not the strongest, but we’d be excited to see the idea brought back in future titles!

19

Veran

Oracle Of Ages

Though she seemed to be the weaker of the two Oracle villains, Veran was still able to influence time, and that shouldn’t be understated – you spend a good amount of time changing your plans around just to try to get the lead on her.

But compared to other villains in the series, she, like a few others this low on our list, feel more dangerous to the world of the game itself than to us as the player. She’s a threat, but one we’re prepared for by the time we fight her.

18

Bellum

Phantom Hourglass

While Bellum isn’t exactly the most memorable of Zelda villains, he deserves a mention purely because of his invincibility, dangerously after an unsustainable amount of Life Force. You need to specifically quest for the ingredients needed for the Phantom Sword, because this is the only weapon capable of actually defeating him.

In his only appearance in the series, he’s ambiguous at first, but Bellum is relentless in his efforts to stay alive to fight you once you know he’s around.

17

Ganondorf

Ocarina Of Time

It takes a hell of a lot of dedication to stage a successful coup on a kingdom like Hyrule, but the King of the Gerudos managed to do just that, even before getting the rest of his powers. Once he does, he almost wipes numerous long-standing races from Hyrule amid the destruction and chaos over which he reigns.

This Ganondorf is where things begin to pick up, with a pretty epic final battle that leads to the destruction of the castle. Even before he enters his much more menacing final form, he is a force to be reckoned with.

16

Vaati

Four Swords

Vaati has had a few appearances across the Zelda series, and while he’s not at full strength yet, Four Swords Vaati has it more together, and doesn’t feel nearly as pitiful. Even if this isn’t the strongest we ever see Vaati, his magic is nothing to underestimate.

The Anniversary Edition remake of the game made Vaati even more fearsome, too, thrusting us into references to the Timeline that hadn’t even happened yet at that point in the game. A magician, if ever there were one.

15

Ghirahim

Skyward Sword

A villain that tragically only appears in one game, Ghirahim leaves one hell of an impression in his limited series run. He’s horrifying enough even without the power and magic – with a rather unsettling overabundance of tongue in his expressions.

Not only are the Ghirahim battles interesting, with him the one to fight you throughout the game, they’re a great way to see how much you’re improving, too. By the time you finally take him down for good, the victory feels decisively well-earned after that long.

14

General Onox

Oracle Of Seasons

While not always the most interesting of the Oracle games’ villains, there’s no denying the strength of General Onox. It’s a show of brute force to the highest degree, with his place as final boss in Oracle of Seasons showcasing his immense strength, to players’ dismay.

You don’t often get villains in the Zelda games that don’t rely on magic of some kind to deal with Link, but General Onox was a problem in his heavy hitting and intense ability to withstand your heaviest damage.

13

Ganon

The Oracle Games

The Ganon you face in both Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons is downright ferocious. And what’s more terrifying is, you’ve got to handle him in both Oracle games.

This iteration of Ganon is only so overpowered and full of mindless rage because Twinrova, his mothers, were made to sacrifice themselves to bring about his birth, so he sure has one hell of a legacy to uphold by fighting you.

12

Zant

Twilight Princess

Zant had an incredible presence in Twilight Princess, enough that is almost seemed as though he would be the sole antagonist for a while. The Prince of Twilight was imbued with both his own Twilight powers and Ganondorf’s powers, and the combination is quite literally maddening.

What’s more, you’ll need to harken back to every single boss battle you’ve had throughout Twilight Princess in order to finally defeat Zant when you catch up to him. He’s a tough opponent with a delightfully challenging battle in store.

11

Vaati

The Minish Cap

Like Ganon, Vaati continues to reincarnate himself time after time, but he spends more time off between realms than he does actively fighting Link. That said, when he does come to take you on in The Minish Cap, it’s anything but a cakewalk to handle him here.

Just when you think you’re finished with him, Vaati comes back even stronger than before, so strong that you don’t even actually defeat Vaati in the end, leaving the job to the next Spirit of the Hero.

10

Ganondorf

The Wind Waker

The Ganondorf we see in The Wind Waker is one that has already witnessed his own demise. He has bided him time in the Dark Realm. He is cold and calculating. And the most terrifying part about them is that they know how to win.

It is only with an exceptional degree of effort, including Zelda’s help to keep him at bay, to finally put an end to him. This felt like the closest Ganondorf had ever come to actually winning over us in the end.