Although the game does not explore this in detail,The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomstrongly hints at the ultimate demise of a majorZeldavillain. Of course, Zelda’s actions do result in the defeat of many Bosses throughout the game, but the game’s events and lore point to another such pivotal event occurring in the background. Furthermore, the nature of this villain’s death actually diverges strongly from what would normally be expected of aZeldagame. This makes it a unique event for the franchise, the full implications of which are never directly acknowledged.
Thebosses ofEchoes of Wisdom, as with anyZeldagame, are one of the most memorable parts of the title. The novelty of Zelda being the one to defeat them alone makes these battles stand out amongst the many others in the franchise, as do the new mechanics used to accomplish this. But whileEchoes of Wisdom’s main villainis an intriguing addition to the lore in its own right, the game’s unusual treatment of one of its other prominent foes also deserves to be examined.
Echoes Of Wisdom Implies Ganon Has Been Permanently Killed
Null Is Directly Responsible For Ganon’s Latest Demise
Unusually for anyZeldagame,Echoes of Wisdom’s final bossis not its version of Ganon, with that honor going to the all-consuming Null. Instead,this game’s Ganon is revealed to actually be an Echocreated by Null. Given how other such Echoes are shown to be created by the original characters falling into rifts, it is apparent thatthe original Ganon likewise fell prey to Null. Moreover, given the actual events of the game, it is likely that the original Ganon has actually been permanently killed as a result of this.
Whenever the Tris fix a Rift, any inhabitants of Hyrule trapped within are returned to the world alongside the restoration of their surroundings. Such repairs must happen quickly, as the longer one is trapped inside a rift, the more they are consumed by it. Clear examples of this include Link, who lost his ability to speak, as well as several other NPCs who were also left badly affected by their own Rift experiences (such as a Gerudo Town inhabitant left completely sapped of all energy and joy). Notably, however,the original Ganon is never seen restored to the world.
Not only has Ganon been permanently killed, but he has been literally reduced to nothing.
Tri makes it clear that somebody will“fade away”if left trapped in a Rift for too long, suggesting that they are fully consumed by the Still World and become part of Null’s ultimate nothingness. The fact that Ganon does not reappear, despite the fact that every Rift in Hyrule can be repaired, implies that this is precisely what has happened to the Demon King. Not only has Ganon been permanently killed, but he has been literally reduced to nothing. This death is so absolute,it is unlikely that he will ever be able to reviveagain.
Null Has Accomplished What Link Never Could
The Rifts Have Presumably Erased Ganon From Existence
In consuming Ganon with one of its rifts, Null has arguably done what Link has never managed to do in any of his incarnations and put a permanent end to the Demon King. His propensity for repeated reincarnations and revivals means thatGanondorf can easily seem immortalinThe Legend of Zelda, butEchoes of Wisdomstrongly implies that Null has entirely erased Ganondorf from existence. Naturally, such a fate seems impossible to recover from, which in turn suggests that Ganon will never be able to plague Hyrule again.
The permanency of this defeat is matched only by how off-hand it is treated in-game. The people of Hyrule clearly have no idea who Ganon is, implying that he was either taken by a Rift shortly after his emergence, before he had a chance to gain notoriety, or else long ago in some long-forgotten era of the kingdom’s history. For one of the most iconic video game villains of all time,this is a surprisingly anti-climactic ending to Ganon’s story. However, with that being said, the sheer ease with which Null eclipses Ganon does emphasize the latter’s own power.
Zelda: Why The Prime Energy Splits Apart In Echoes Of Wisdom
The Prime Energy splits apart soon after being found in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, for a reason that draws directly on core Zelda lore.
Seeing Ganon reduced to just another boss monster in itself is so incredibly unexpected it can distract people from the wider implications. Ironically, in its own efforts to destroy the world,Null may have arguably surpassed Link in protecting Hyrule’s future. Across the manyversions of Ganon inThe Legend of Zelda, none has ever faced such total destruction. It seems inconceivable that Ganon could ever recover from his fate in this latest title, while Link has ultimately only ever managed a temporary victory, no matter how long-lasting the peace he creates may be.
Ganon Can Still Return In Future Games
The Zelda Franchise Would Never Permanently Retire Its Iconic Villain
Of course, this is not to say that Ganon will never appear again in anotherZeldagame. Although he may have been utterly consumed inEchoes of Wisdom’s timeline, there is nothing preventing other versions of the Demon King from arising in others. Moreover, considering how vaguetheLegend of Zeldatimelinecan be, it is reasonable to assume that even Null destroying Ganon will have little lasting impact on the franchise and its use of the iconic villain in any future installments.
Null’s thorough destruction of Ganon may have even finally brokenSkyward Sword’s Curse of Demise, although it is worth noting the curse may still be able to create a new version of Ganon or another villain in the future to compensate.
It would be unthinkable for Ganon to be utterly erased from the entireZeldafranchiselike this, even if this is his fate inEchoes of Wisdom. Although he may not necessarily bethe villain of the nextZeldagame, his eventual return as either Ganon or Ganondorf is inevitable. But regardless of this, Ganon meeting his doom in such an unexpected way, without any involvement from Link or Zelda no less, is still a striking aspect ofEchoes of Wisdom’s background lore.
Even if Ganon is assuredly not truly gone forever, his apparent total demise inThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis still incredible. Null’s own prominence in the game’s narrative makes it easy to overlook what its copying of Ganon must mean for the King of Evil, and what the implications for Hyrule are in turn. Shockingly, neither Link nor Zelda were involved in Ganon’s most absolute defeat to date; in fact, it is not even witnessed on-screen, with Ganon’s fate instead being a mere footnote in the tale of Null’s attempt to destroy Hyrule.
