The Next Zelda Game Needs More Bosses Like Tears of the Kingdom’s First-Stage Ganondorf

Highlights

• Tears of the Kingdom’s combat system is similar to its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, and doesn’t innovate much beyond the Fuse and Ultrahand systems.
• Ganondorf’s boss fight in Tears of the Kingdom is the highlight, with challenging combat and dramatic clashes with Link that mirror his own abilities.
• The Zelda series should include more boss fights against skilled swordsmen like Ganondorf to provide exhilarating encounters for players.

The Legend of Zelda is known for a lot of things, including its vibrant worlds, imaginative characters, and brain-teasing puzzles. All of that and more was on clear display in the most recent entry, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Set in an open world with considerable verticality, players were able to take Link all across The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom‘s Hyrule, discovering, building, and fighting all the while.

During many players’ adventures, Tears of the Kingdom’s combat system might start to fade into the background. It’s almost identical to what was in its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, and apart from creativity spurred by TotK‘s Fuse and Ultrahand arm powers, it works the same way. New overworld and dungeon bosses can create highlight fights, and certain foes like Lynels will always inspire tension, but even they can’t push Tears of the Kingdom‘s combat hard enough to outdo its other selling points. Fortunately, before reenacting the cinematic last phase of BotW‘s final battle, the Demon King himself sets a strong example for how future Zelda titles should test their players’ mettle.

Tears of the Kingdom’s Combat Succeeds When Link Is Evenly Matched

By the time players reach Ganondorf at the end of Tears of the Kingdom, the game’s bosses will have been a mixed bag. None of them are bad, but they run the gamut from epic spectacles like Colgera and the Gleeok dragons to underwhelming affairs like Yunobo and the Mucktoroc. Of TotK‘s six main quest bosses leading up to Ganondorf, only Queen Gibdo and the Hyrule Castle Phantom Ganon required significant normal combat alongside the powers or presence of the Sages.

Ganondorf’s Initial Phases Are Tears of the Kingdom’s Best Boss Fights

That changes significantly with Ganondorf’s initial Gerudo and Demon King forms, and does so to great effect. Like the final bouts with Ganondorf in The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, most of the King of Evil’s boss fight is spent clashing weapons with Link. Ganondorf can switch between the same three weapon types featured in BotW and TotK, will attempt to catch arrows if unoccupied, and eventually gains an elongated health bar likely comparable to the player’s endgame hearts as well as various long-range attacks. The perfect dramatic touch to tie the whole fight together is Ganondorf countering Link’s Flurry Rush with his own, encapsulating the feeling of legendary warriors clashing over the fate of Hyrule.

Other Zelda Games Could Learn From TotK’s Ganondorf Duel

Much ado has been made about Ganondorf’s Flurry Rush, and while many players justifiably cite it as their favorite part of the fight, that’s because it’s the culmination of the humanoid Ganondorf’s other virtues. Outside Lynels, there is no dangerous enemy in Tears of the Kingdom who can challenge the player’s core combat skills like Ganondorf does, and it’s thrilling to prove oneself the better fighter. That’s why Thunderblight Ganon in Breath of the Wild was both hated and loved. The Blight’s lightning-fast attacks and strong defenses meant players had to counter with their own, a rare experience among the game’s foes.

The Legend of Zelda Needs More Fights Against Other Swordsmen

Future Zelda titles should acknowledge the strengths that Demon King Ganondorf, and to a lesser extent Thunderblight Ganon and the Lynels, represent. The Legend of Zelda‘s core sword-and-shield combat is an integral part of the series, but many veteran fans know that the only entry that regularly built encounters around it was Skyward Sword. From Skyward Sword’s first Moblins to its final showdown with Demise, the game proved that having duels against straightforward but competent foes can be exhilarating. Whatever the next Legend of Zelda game is, it should emulate Tears of the Kingdom’s Ganondorf fight throughout its boss roster to spread that feeling further.