Zelda franchise strategy guide/Locations/Ganon's Castle

Ganon's Castle is usually the last stage in The Legend of Zelda series of video games (although it does not always go by that exact name). There, Link, the protagonist of the series, meets with the toughest puzzles and enemies of the game. At the end of the stage, Link usually battles Ganon, the most powerful boss in the game.

The Legend of Zelda
Ganon's lair in The Legend of Zelda (officially known as Level 9, Death Mountain) is more of an underground dungeon than a castle, and is accessible through Spectacle Rock on Death Mountain.

A Link to the Past
Ganon's Tower is on top of Death Mountain in the Dark World, where Hera's Tower is in the Light World. Link's battle with Ganon begins here, against his minion Agahnim, but, after defeat, Ganon escapes from his body and goes to the Pyramid of Power, where Link fights and defeats him as the final boss.

Ocarina of Time
Ganon's Castle replaces Hyrule Castle in the future, after Ganondorf has taken hold of the kingdom. It floats over what appears to be a lake of lava. Link cannot access it without the aid of the six sages, who create a shining rainbow bridge to allow access. Inside, he must deal with tests (or "barriers") pertaining to each sage before entering the central tower itself. During his climb up the tower, Link deals with some of the strongest enemies in the game before reaching Ganondorf, whom he then battles and defeats. After the battle, Ganondorf uses the last of his strength to collapse the castle, prompting Link to escape with Zelda. The castle collapses, but Ganondorf survives and transforms into Ganon on the ruins, but is then defeated again by Link and Zelda.

The Wind Waker
Known in this game as Ganon's Tower, Ganon's lair is located in underwater Hyrule. It cannot be accessed until the Master Sword has finally been restored to its original power, thus allowing Link to remove the invisible barrier blocking the path. The path to Ganon's Tower begins at a bridge behind Hyrule Castle and winds through a canyon, ending at the castle entrance. Ganon's Tower in The Wind Waker shares some characteristics from the previous versions of Ganon's lairs, such as mini-dungeons based on previous dungeons in the game. There are four of these areas, and at the end of each, a black-and-white version of the dungeon's boss must be fought. After passing these areas, Link must enter a maze and survive multiple battles with Phantom Ganon, ending Phantom Ganon's life permanently with a Light Arrow. After this section is complete, Link then fights Puppet Ganon on the floor of the tower, who appears in several monstrous forms. After defeating Puppet Ganon, Link scales the tower and engages Ganondorf in a final showdown at the top of the tower, aided by Zelda. Ganondorf is finally pierced with the Master Sword in the head, turning to stone.

Twilight Princess
Instead of his own lair, Ganondorf resides in Hyrule Castle at the end of the game, which has suffered considerable structural damage in certain areas. Bulblins have set up a base camp in the eastern wing of the castle, and Link fights their leader in the western wing. The stairwells are decrepit and increasingly absent, and appear to have either eroded or fallen away completely, despite the fact that they must have been intact recently, when the Royal Family was in control. The graveyard of the castle is haunted with multiple Stalfos and other skeletal enemies, and the spirits of several dead soldiers are seen in a room, as well as outside. When Link is outside the castle on lower levels, it is always clouded over and raining, but when he is on the highest external level, the world appears to have gained high winds, black clouds and thunderstorms covering the horizon and sky. The statues at the very highest room have also been destroyed, as Link notes the head of a large statue while approaching the throne. Ganondorf has not been in possession of the castle for very long, but the influence is already very apparent. Notable is also the music of the castle; while it begins as the usual "Hyrule Castle" music, it becomes a mixture of both it and the "Ganon's Castle" music as the player progresses, and in the final stages is has become only Ganon's music.

Breath of the Wild
Calamity Ganon occupies Hyrule Castle in Breath of the Wild.