The Secret Identity of Twilight Princess's Scariest Boss... (Zelda Theory)
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- What IS Death Sword? Could it be the lost sword of Ganondorf?
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Thanks for watching!
Couple things to clear up:
1:22 I meant Twilight Realm, not Sacred :p
And yeah, there are Phantom Riders during the final fight, I completely forgot about them! Doesn't disprove the theory though - Death Sword could be an older Phantom, forgotten and sealed in his sword.
My theory is that the sword was used as an execution sword originally in the Arbiters Ground. That's why its symbols match the symbols around arbiters ground. Eventually somehow the evil of the monsters it executed soaked into the sword, and it became death sword. Or possibly, some prisoner who enchanted it, so he could live on.
i also think its worth noting that red is also a color associated with Din, and therefore the tri-force of power
Aren't we also forgetting Phantom Zelda? Who has all the trademark battle tactics from any Ganon Phantom? There might be something there. Like, what is a Ganon Phantom? Is it something created from Ganon, or something corrupted by Ganon? Who could have been all the Phantoms? The Holy Knights from Four Swords Adventure maybe? So many questions!!
I don't discredit your theory though, I believe this sword and boss could just as well be a Ganon Phantom. An older one. One much more vile in nature...who knows what Ganondorf's relationship to the Arbeiter grounds were prior to him invading Hyrule. So much hidden lore, so much to speculate~
Have a goodday!
Ganon uses phantom ganon in the last horse fight. those phantoms are him
Zeltik Great video Zeltik! I like the theory. I tried finding something in the Hystoria that describes that being a weapon used by Ganondorf. No luck it would appear. It would be nice if Nintendo could weigh in their thoughts on this. It does bare a resemblance to Phantom Ganon's sword in Wind Waker, so even if it isn't confirming that Death Sword is Phantom Ganon, in the very least they could have used the sword in TP as inspiration for Death Sword. Unofficially making it Phantom Ganon.
I always thought that it was an executioners' blade and the phantom was the manifestation of ire from its victims. I like this theory more though.
That's a good theory! Pretty dark and it has no connection to the games villains. Being it's own entity gives off a creepier vibe.
I think, it is more likely, that the sword used to be that of the arbiter ground's chief executioner, with the spirit being the executioner himself or an amalgament of the spirits of the condemned.
Why?
1) ALL of the swords, that Ganondorf wielded so far are double edged (this one has a single edge and a broad blunt side, which would also plays into the case of an executioner's sword). On top of that is has no pointy end, so it can only be used for slicing and cutting... this is clearly not a sword for battle. But a heavy, single edged sword with a broad blunt side for additional weight is a proper "tool" for beheadings.
2) There really is no TriForce (there might be some triagular shape, but it is barely visible. A TriForce (even an inverted one) would be much more prominent.
3) The room seems to be purpose built to house the sword. Thus, it had to have been there before Ganondorf's "visit".
A connection to the Gerudo is not impossible, but not very likely as their weapons aesthetic is very different. ...also the name is clearly not Gerudo.
@@bikkiikun Not that I agree or disagree with you, but Ganondorf in Windwaker uses 2 single edged Chinese Dao style swords.
thats almost an as good theory as zeltiks theory Im not sure wich one i want to belive
@@Lardman678
That's confirmed to be another timeline.
Arbiter's grounds is my favorite dungeon in the game and the miniboss sure adds to the freaking GREAT atmosphere the dungeon has
While not my favorite (that's Snowpeak), it's definitely my 2nd favorite and one of the best dungeons in the franchise!
No one gets how creepy this game gets. Everyone says Majora’s Mask is the creepiest but this boss literally looks like Satan, not to mention the other terrors of the game.
@@Espartanica I agree. thats why i loved this game so much.
I remember playing it while all the rest of my family was asleep. I got scared and went to bed. I loved this dungeon but it was scary as hell to little 11 or something year old me
Aqua Davie I got up a few hours before school started to play. The final counter of time when I finished was over 500, either minutes or hours I never knew
If Death’s Sword can only be seen by a wolf, what other terrifying abominations are we oblivious to yet animals know all too well.
Imagine Breath of the Wild, but there are towns of thousands of cursed spirits killed during the calamity
@@cookieelement3467 imagine botw and one of the temples is twiligth princess twilight palace or the mirror thingy where u go in it where midna lived
Take a stroll through shadow temple and the bottom of the wel in ocarina of time as a wolf. Now imagine that
@@andreasul2608 Oh my sweet lord.
@@Mr-Moron I feel for TP Link
Red isn't associated with evil in the Zelda series, it's associated with Din, and the power of DIn, including the Triforce of Power.
Well, until BoTW with Yiga and Blood moon.
But that doesnt count.
@Ties de Jong true ig
That would be purple malice
Neeeerrrrd
@@Vipadra That's because they're both conected to Calamity Ganon, which are themself conected to Demise, and his malice and the triforce, and more specifically the triforce of power, just as Zelda is conected to the triforce of wisdom, and Link is conected to the triforce of courage. So red is not just conected to evil
Good thinking, but Phantom Ganon does appear in Twilight Princess. In fact, a lot of them appear.
At the final battle against Ganondorf, in the horse riding part, Ganondorf summons like, 6 phantom ganons on phantom horses, all of them having looks that are very resembling with the Ocarina of Time one.
from what i've noticed in zelda, they seem to have the 4th temple as the "death" type (shadow, arbiter's, stone tower, etc.), so seeing this miniboss and sword is fitting really. you made a lot of really good points in this
In traditional Chinese, the character for number 4 and the character for "death" are one and the same. The same held true in Japan. To this day, there are hotels and apartments in China that have no fourth floor!
@@d.dementedengineerc99isurf26 Well the do have a fourth floor. It just doesn't have the number 4 on it.
@@d.dementedengineerc99isurf26 don't spout nonsense idiot, bet you don't even know anything about Chinese
The traditional writing for death is '死' while the traditional writing for four is '肆', not so smart now huh
@@d.dementedengineerc99isurf26 Some western hotels do that with the Number 13.
@@nillynush4899 Certain hotels and apartments only have twelve floors. I've heard that before. Triscadecaphobia in action.
DOUBLE UPLOAD WEEKEND BAYBEEEE
(Here's the other if you missed it ruclips.net/video/RkBnOS6UddQ/видео.html)
Really hope they bring back ganondorf in the next Zelda. Hopefully they'll give him much more screen time and some sort of backstory that players can sympathize with
Ganondorf in a Open World would be amazing!
The Story of the next Zelda can be soooo good! DAMN
I do agree we need more Ganondorf, but I disagree that we should be able to sympathise with him. He's the king of evil. His back story should serve to make him more badass.
@@gungaloscrungalo8925 Well, Ganondorf is usually his own person, much like Link is. They're reincarnations, but the only thing they really have in common with their previous incarnations are power and courage. That's why some link's are lazy (skyward sword) and some ganondorf's are honorable (wind waker). It wouldn't be a stretch to have a sympathetic backstory for a new Ganondorf, that involved being excommunicated for being the only Gerudo male.
@AccidentalGenius 7 Yes same
@@gungaloscrungalo8925 But how badass would it be if they did make him like thanos? An evil madman still, but a man who has become evil due to his tragic past not just evil for the sake of it.
Twilight Princess Is perfect material for lots of epic or dark theories!
With the Arbiter's Ground being an execution site, I would have thought that the sealed sword was a means of preventing the ghosts of victims from haunting the area and that the Death Sword Phantom was an amalgamation of vengeful spirits. But with how similar that thing is to Demise's sword, I can see this being valid.
I LOVED how you could hear it's roar when you enter the temple. (I love the foreshadow)
Edit: Here are clips to the sounds ruclips.net/user/clipUgkxAuyVxPC5pU3sZ0iUQBUxeByaJk0yMgb3 and ruclips.net/user/clipUgkx7pgqRgn4dwivAxwxaeVyVfHeJdQBw3fO
Wait, you could?
I literally just replayed it and i aint even peep
That’s a roar? I thought it was a public toilet flushing /j
Hey guys I added clip links to both the entrance of the temple and death swords roar to clarify
I didn't think much of the sword but now I got my own theory. What if the sword was a simple executioner's blade that ended the lives of so many it became infused with the malice of it's victims and had to be sealed away within the Arbiter's Grounds?
EDIT: and of course as I go through the comments I see someone already came up with the same theory as me.
Ooft
X
Doesn't make the theory any less interesting, though.
If you Down Taunt then immediatly Down Smash with Ganondorf, he'll say "Hands off my-SWORD!"
No
OH! maybe he and falco should have a starring contest!
or maybe they should go on a do-wet together! then they can sing: if I say "hands off my prey, hands off my prey!" You say "hands off my sword, hands off my sword!". :in some kind of hip hop fashion or something like that....(lol)
TheDeepThinker 2000 its duet, not do-wet just to let you know
@@astolfo11 spell check provided me with some pretty shitty answers.... but after a bit of tinkering and playing around with the spelling and by using my extraordinary brilliant power of deduction I was able to get spell check to confirm for me what the REAL word that I was looking for was.................. Haha, I guess not. . . . (lmao)
@@astolfo11 Everything TheDeepThinker 2000 does is wet ;)
I think it's more likely that Death Sword was just a prisoner. Due to it being a phantom, there's a possibility that the sages didn't know how to kill it, so instead sealed it away.
The phantom has more design similarities with Stallord than it does with Gannon.
*Ganon*
come on now
Lmao whenever people call him ganon instead of ganondorf I get triggered af
@@uncomfortablyclose8481 lol yeah what a lot of people dont seem to notice is that ganon and ganondorf are not entity. Ganondorf is more ofna vessel for ganons power with gano most likely being a spiritual rencarnat of demise tht is able o manifest itself in to a physical form commonly a massive boar like creature or humanoid with boar like features
Yeah, I usually don’t go as far as to explain it to people beacause then I just sound really petty and flustered. Plus “Ganon” rolls of the tongue way better than “Ganondorf”. Especially in smash bros where basically everything with 3 or more syllables has a nickname like “puff” or “plant” so I understand why it’s said
The spirit seems to be a sword spirit, similar to Fi and Ghirahim. I don't think it's Phantom Ganon at all. Possibly a sword created for Ganondorf with dark magic, housing the demon inside.
It almost looks like a non-cartoon version of WW Phantom Ganon's sword
7:27 to 9:45 he has a good point about the Phantom Ganon thing
Also, I really want to see Ganondorf and Phantom Ganon in just one more game, hopefully proving this
Not quite right on the Color red in Zelda. The Triforce of Power is also displayed as being connected to red.
The Triforce of Power represents Din. In OoT it showed the 3 Goddesses with them each having a different colored light. Plus Din's Fire is a red light within a crystal.
And Which Triforce piece does Ganondorf have? 🤔
@AccidentalGenius 7 And the number four ....
OMG Purple Link was Evil all along !
You don't know which triforce ganendorf has omg power
When regarding character design and their glowing auras....yea, red is always bad with that context. Would you like to point out something like "Well the hearts are red and they are good cus thats your health"? No....Just no...
(Also if you look at any game with an embodiment of Din, She is definitely has the least amount of care for the people of the land.)
@@jordanekl5383 Red is the color of blood.
@@linkthewarrior9006 he knows. He wasn't asking because he didn't know he was asking so you realize how the triforce of power connects, you absolute walnut.
One of my favourite little touches to this boss was how it triggers its invisibility. If you wait around while it's visible, it will disappear again. It does this by flipping the shawl it's wearing overtop of its head, hiding its face, and by extension its whole body. When you look at it as a wolf, you can see the fabric shroud draped over its head and across its horns, which flips back after it is attacked to reveals itself.
This could actually be true......for real this thing scared the living HELL outta me. I was afraid to fight it. But I like the fact that you brought up Phantom Ganon, as Death Sword COULD POSSIBLY BE TP's Phantom Ganon boss fight. This theory could actually be true and I hope it is because its EXTREMELY accurate
Well, Is he a doppleganger of Ganondorf ? I don't see similarities between the two, Phantom Ganon is a doppelganger of Ganondorf and looks like him in both OOT and TWW. 🤔
I doubt it.
Nonoctoro Maybe after the defeat of Demise, Ghirahim teleported to somewhere in Hyrule and reverted back to a lesser state (similar to how the Goddess Sword is a lesser form of the Master Sword). With his master dead and having no purpose, Ghirahim remained dormant for centuries. Maybe Ganondorf discovered the blade and used it to wage war on Hyrule. The spirit of Ghirahim, now monstrous and insane due to years of festering in his hatred for the hero and the goddess, advises and fights alongside Ganondorf. When Ganondorf was imprisoned, the sword was taken and sealed within the Arbiter’s Grounds. Many years later, a new hero would discover the blade. After thousands of years, Ghirahim would have one final chance to avenge his original master.
@@WideMouth I would rather see that for the Trident of Ganon.
セカイ ガ ホシイ カ チカラ ガ ホシイ カ
Do you desire the world? Do you desire power?
タイクツ ナ ヘイワ ダト ソノ タマシイ ガ カワク ナラバ
If you are bored with peace and your soul thirsts...
ハカイ ト セイフク ヲト ソノ タマシイ ガ サケブ ナラバ
If your soul cries out for destruction and conquest...
オマエ ニ サズケ ヨウ セカイ ヲ ホロボス ヤミ ノ チカラ
We grant you the dark power to destroy the world.
ヨクボウ ニ オボレ スベテ ヲ ホシガレ
Drown in desire and and desire everything.
アンコク カラ ウミオトサレシ マ ノ ジャキ トライデント
Born from darkness, the evil tool of demons, the trident.
オマエ ハ ヤミ ノ オウ
You are the King of Darkness.
Nonoctoro But the Trident isn’t a Sword. I don’t really see how it has any connection to Ghirahim. I always thought that Ganon’s trident in FSA is the same one he used in ALttP, but in different timelines.
@@WideMouth A weapon able to destroy the World, born from Darkness and made by the Demons, that was owned by a King of Darkness ?
Hmmm ... I don't really see anyone depsite Demise being the owner of that weapon.
Ghirahim is a shapeshifter, he could have made himself into a Trident.
Yeah, but Gandalf's Sword isn't as good as Zelda's Mister Sword.
xD
Or Lonks Smart Sword
ruclips.net/video/r0TGzOFwxhs/видео.html
I didn't know Zelda had herself a "Mister Sword" ;)
As opposed to Link's Mistress Sword?
@@moxiecillin1086 who the fuck is link?
I gotta say, your fan theories are some of my favorites. They're pretty well thought out, and since a lot of the time they're not really anything shattering to the story, so they're not really easily disproved and therefore easier to apply to head canon. A thought I had while watching this, the Death Sword fight really reminds me of Gomess from MM. Both are fought in temples of death, both are spirits that are tied to an enormous weapon of death in some way that really define the boss. Death Sword is bound in the middle of the room upon entering, and Gomess' scythe is all that remains after you kill him. So I feel at the very least, Death Sword was somewhat inspired by Gomess.
This actually makes a whole lot of sense and only serves to make this game even better.
Funny....Just before it got to the part where you theorized that the spirit in Death Sword was Phantom Ganon, I thought "Maybe it's Phantom Ganon......" However, my thought of how the sword could have come to be possessed by this spirit, assuming it's Ganondorf's former sword, is that maybe Ganondorf purposefully cursed the sword with the spirit himself shortly before, or even during his capture, so as to give the Sages a little trouble, forcing them to seal it away the way it was because they couldn't fight the spirit themselves......
I like that idea!
Dang this is a solid theory, props to you for you thinking of this!
More theories on Ganondorf would be really interesting, like maybe a theory about Ganondorf's upbringing in OOT. I've always wondered how he got to the point he did, and what led him on that path. I know he was Demise's reincarnation from the very start of his life, so it's very likely that he never had any good intentions, but there were probably influences that guided him in that negative direction as well, like Koume and Koutake. I don't know if there's enough evidence to make a video about his childhood to adulthood and whether he was always as evil as he was, but maybe there're details that we missed!
7:55 Phantom Ganon is in Twilight Princess! He’s a part of the horse battle in the final battle. The ghosts Ganondorf unleashes in the final fingt are Phantom Ganon
Hmm that's a interesting idea
But why turn into bugs ....
seems very appropriate for an ancient mummy-desert theme level
@@Aytierrez
Well that makes sense
_He will return_
Actually, in Link's Crossbow Training, a "sequel" to this game, the Darknut of the Temple of Time is back and can also turn into Dark Insects.
I would say that its a reference to Abbadon (You know, like in castlvainya)
I think it turns into bats... Because of the bats noise it makes
"malicious magenta" has me cackling, that's gonna be my supervillain alter ego now
No fair, I want that name too!
3:47 dont know the song but it's a bop.
Hey Zeltik could you please make a theory about the Spinner and why there are tracks for something that was hidden in Arbiter’s Ground all over Hyrule? It just doesn’t make much sense from a lore standpoint and I would like to hear your theory about the origin of the Spinner Tracks all over Hyrule!
alex kuhn since Link finds the spinner in the Arbiter’s Grounds, and a lot of the mechanisms in the Arbiter’s Grounds work in conjunction with the spinner, it’s probably a Gerudo invention.
There was also a conflict between the Gerudo and the Hylians between the events of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. The Gerudo could have used spinner tracks to travel across Hyrule by secret routes without being followed by Hylians. They could have also used these tracks to hide and access hidden loot and supplies.
Maybe they were used for travel by the oku(I forgot the name of the chicken people in twilight princes)
It's from the Oocca's Ancestors.
In ancient Hyrule, the Wind People and the Royal Familly were in good allies.
The Wind People built the Temple of Time with Rauru and also made the Dominion Rod, the Scepter of the Messenger of the Heavens.
On the Temple's Walls, there is a mural carving where the seven Ancient Sages are depicted, the one in the middle is holding that Rod, I think he is Rauru.
The Spinner is said to be an ancient vehicule.
I guess it was used by the Wind People before that they mutated into their actual Chicken-like form.
The Clawshots are also said to be from them and one of them is found in the Zora's Lakebed Temple.
There was surely a deep relationship between the people of the Sky and of the Surface during the Era of Prosperity.
The Zelda Lore is full of blank holes, and we, theorists, love that.
@@nonoctoro4933 I refuse to believe that those ugly alien chickens existed during OoT.
Tracks are just left over design features from things the oocca built(except the ones in the arbiters grounds) what purpose they served originally who knows but the spiner is probably less ancient and designed to be used as an exploit on the already existsing tracks.
your lore exposition is super entertaining my dude, cheers
Zant's final form is the scariest enemy.
Ninjaananas Even as a kid it made me laugh uncontrollably. It was terrifying up until as soon as you hear his voice.
Zant the raving chicken boy
I don't think a being driven to insanity is quite as scary as an actual demon, but for the sake of the humor he does fight like a maniac I'll give him that.
Zant was dissapointingly easy.
Zant is at his creepiest when he corners you in Lanayru's spring and hold Midna captive. "I need you." Just ugh. And then they gave his personality the old switcheroo.
you may have noticed that death sword's sword explodes like the rest of the enemies in the world but the phantom doesn't maybe the sword is the enemy and the phantom is the weapon
One question: When did Ganondorf have time to run around waging war with a giant sword? As far as I could tell, the sequence of events in the Child timeline was as follows:
-Link and Zelda, with the help of Link's knowledge of future events, expose Ganondorf's plot.
-Ganondorf is arrested, tried, and imprisoned for conspiracy to commit treason or tax evasion or whatever they peg him for. (Probably not actually tax evasion.)
-The day of Ganondorf's scheduled execution arrives, which goes horribly wrong and ends with him sealed in the Twilight Realm.
You're forgetting the first part of the Sage's exposition which tells of Ganon being a thief King who declared war on Hyrule. He wasn't described as being a traitor or advisor to the king meaning it's not taking place in the Child timeline. Also, despite Link being slightly older in TP, he doesn't know Zelda yet. Lot of inconsistencies occurring for a singular timeline. Likely, this is further in the reincarnation cycle
@@burg3rdud33 Then explain why he's described as a thief king, a blind one at that, rather than the advisor to the king? Also, if he was exposed and waged war, that would be a time paradox to him being outright defeated by Link in the timeline. Also, why would it be a surprise to the Sages that Ganondorf has the Triforce of Power if it was the same Ganondorf of whom they should already know has it? OF COURSE he isn't the same Link as the Hero of Time, he's later in the reincarnation cycle, which means OP is incorrect because it's also a different Ganondorf. Had you read my post, I explained it.
@@ServantofBaal You're not correct.
Although Link in Twilight Princess is a reincarnation of the Hero of Time, Ganondorf in Twilight Princess is in fact the same Ganondorf from OoT. And, no, the Sages wouldn'r know he had the Triforce of Power because… he never obtain it, unlike in OoT.
Contrary to belief, Ocarina of Time, even when you play as Child Link, takes place entirely in the Adult Timeline. It's only after Zelda sends Link back to "[his] own time" is Link transported to the Child Timeline, where, ironically, the events of OoT never took place. Link, knowing the events of OoT, warns Zelda of the Child Timeline of all of the evils Ganandorf has committed and will commit in the Adult Timeline in order to obtain the Triforce (assuming with proof), which led to the end of the Hylian-Gerudo Alliance and started the Hylian-Gerudo War. The Hero of Time even participates in this war when he gets back from Termina.
So, Ganondorf in the Child Timeline never obtained the Triforce of Power. However, there was one problem: Link still possessed the Triforce of Courage. And because Link possessed the Triforce of Courage, the Triforce of Wisdom went to Zelda, and the Triforce of Power went to Ganondorf, who didn't even know he possessed it himself until his execution by the Sages.
@@enforcerridley158 Makes sense to me, but what about Ganon being blind and considered a 'king of thieves' if he was advisor to the king and showed no signs of blindness? Where does that fit in?
It could be phantom ganon from ocarina of time. Ganondorf said that he will "banish it to the gap between dimensions", maybe he meant the arbiter's grounds? It's clearly a gerudo place for the dead so maybe they consider it a place between life and death, between the dimensions of the living and dead? And the phantom "decayed" over time like zeltik mentioned. It has a similar skull-like head so seems likely. Also thinking about it maybe wind waker one is too, the flooding of the great sea could have released the phantom from its seal, giving it time to regain power and appear in a much more whole form as it does in wind waker, still bound to its master ganondorf, who knows, maybe the skull hammer is from its original skull head that it doesn't seem to have anymore, might not need it as it's had time to become a more pure form.
At 6:38 that's the best Zelda theme ever in my opinion and I'm sure this guy chose it because he gets just how good that music is
My personal theory about Deathsword's identity is that he's actually Ghirahim from SS. Over the centuries, Demise's sword decayed and had to be reforged by a dark blacksmith, possibly Gobera, a relative of the Hyrule counterparts of Zubora and Gabora from MM. Hence why it looks more like an over-sized cleaver rather than Demise's double-edged wavy monster in SS. Ghirahim's truest form is that of a sword similar to Fi, aka the Master Sword. And he was sealed away with ofuda and rope famous for sealing DEMONS/evil spirits in Japanese traditions. Demon Lord Ghirahim, who was actually a sword; wielded by Demise, who forever reincarnates in Ganondorf/Ganon/Malladus/Majora/Vaati... etc; It all fits.
Your theory that he's TP's version of Phantom Ganon is an interesting one as well, though! Well done, you obviously put a lot of effort and research into making this video.
Agreed. My mind immediately went to Ghirahim.
If Demise is reincarnated as Ganondorf, then one could argue that Ghirahim is reincarnated as Phantom Ganon.
Also remember that giraham in twighlight turned out to be a sword in living form hence the fact that death sword could be a living form of ganondorf’s sword
I love how everyone comes up with these (theories). While the game creators just put in these things not actualy caring a thing about a backstory.
I never even considered he might be phantom Ganon for this game! Well done as always Zeltik 👏🏼
u mean banish him to the twilight realm? Not the sacred realm
The spirit of death sword looks Twili of origin. It's robe looks similar to zants, its physical appearance also looks more Twili than anything from Hyrule.
Given what the arbiters grounds is, and the name it could just be an executioners sword that got cursed.
An interesting little tidbit the way Death Sword slams the sword down, and the general design of the blade is similar to the Ram-Dao a Tibetan Sacrificial dagger designed to operate like a guillotine. It was generally used for animal sacrifices though some historians believe it was also used for human ones as well.
Maybe its Ghirahim, after each battle it gets stronger along with Ganondorf, similar how Fi is to Link
Honestly, I would absolutely love a game featuring the return of Fi and Ghirahim
@3:36 you mention that the sword may have been used by Ganondorf in the war that resulted in his execution.
It was my understanding that after Link defeated Ganon in OOT, Zelda sent Link back to his childhood where he told young Zelda the crimes Ganondorf would soon commit against the Kingdom of Hyrule. The king then arrested Ganondorf and sentenced him to death (for crimes he hadn't committed yet, which is weird in its own right) and that's why he was sent to the Arbitors' Grounds for execution by the Sages. The Sages don't take on the form that they did in OOT since those Sages weren't woken at that time (Ruto, Darunia etc.) and that's why they were the Sages of old. When the Sage of Water is killed by Ganondorf, the other Sages panic and send him to the Twilight Realm.
So this war you mention, did I miss something? Did Ganondorf escape Hyrule Castle after young Link/Zelda told the king of Ganondorf's plans, with war breaking out between the Kingdom of Hyrule and the Gerudo?
0:34. Gonna pump the brakes right there, son. Gerudo are massacred?
*W R O N G*
Okay, maybe I'm coming off too strong. Gonna pull it back and state that while true that the Gerudo are not seen in "Twilight Princess", this makes it sound as if they were killed off. They weren't. The Gerudo relocated to the Desert of Doubt, and enjoyed a much more positive relationship with the Hylians. This happens as of "The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures", which canonically takes place AFTER "Twilight Princess".
I like the phantom Ganon theory because if I recall, usually you fight Phantom Ganon towards the half way point of the Zelda Game that has Phanton Ganon in it. Ocarina of Time, He's the Forest Temple boss, which is pretty much at the half way point of OoT. Wind Waker, you fight Phantom Ganon the 2nd time you visit the Forsaken Fortress before you beat the Helmaroc King and before you start the Earth and Wind Temples. Arbiter's Ground is the half way point for Twilight Princess, where you just gathered all the Fused Shadow parts and before you go searching for the mirror shards.
Every time we get a new theory video on this channel, I automatically consider it canon. It all always makes too much sense XD
Hahaha thank you!!
Zeltik Don’t worry brother. I got you 👌
I was very hesitant to this theory at first but when you said Phanyom ganon i completely changed my mind
Could Phantom Ganon be connected to Ghirahim somehow? Whenever you mentioned the spirit of the sword or something I thought of Ghirahim.
Forest Temple and Arbiter’s Grounds also both share the 4 Poe’s unlock the next part of the dungeon and the fact that they are the first temple you face after receiving the master sword. Therefore, this could be another great tie in.
Nice! TP was the first Zelda game I finished, so it's always nice to see it addressed. There's a fair few things in that game lacking explanation, but it's interesting to see this idea! I think it makes sense.
Death Sword is my favorite mini-boss across the games, as well as Stallord being my favorite boss. Needless, I loved the theory and accepted it into my headcanon.
An interesting fact is that with Tears of the Kingdom featuring a new Phantom Ganon, it confirms that every Zelda game that includes gerudo Ganondorf has its Phantom Ganon, so this theory is still really relevant !
Another point in this theory's favor, Arbiter's Grounds is clearly, from a level design perspective, based off of the Forest Temple from OoT. Both are the fourth dungeons visited in the game and, more importantly, house four big poes that must be hunted down and defeated before accessing a later part of the dungeon. As Phantom Ganon was the boss of the Forest Temple, this is another thread connecting the two, though not from a lore-based approach.
I'm replaying TP, and I just finished Arbiter's Grounds. I noticed something important: the Mirror of Twilight is sealed beneath the sand, and the only way to unearth it is with the Spinner. That means that whoever wants to find the Mirror MUST enter the room where the Spinner is... which means they'd have to fight Death Sword.
So what if Death Sword is actually a demon bound in the Spinner room by the sages to guard the Spinner? As a means of extra security, to ensure no one brings out the Mirror and potentially brings Ganondorf back to Hyrule?
I just thought it was an executioner's sword. When Arbiter's Ground was disconnected from being an execution ground, it was locked away because of the evil that it had absorbed by killing prisoners.
Or, it was a demonic sword that was locked away because it was not possibile to kill the spirit that possessed it/the demon that wielded it was tied to the sword before or after its first defeat, that lead to its inprisonment.
Your is a nice idea tho'!
This theory is viable considering Ganon didn't favor the Sword of Six Sages, but I'm going to assume Ganondorf wasn't being picky here, He just made do with what he already had, This is true because we see that Ganondorf has a sheathe for the Sword of Six Sages. It's not like Ganondorf could have gotten his old sword back, considering Link already finished Death Sword off in the Arbiter's Grounds, as Zeltik said in this video.
Well I guess Ichigo Kurosaki got very very unlucky.
I like the idea that Death Sword is what happens when someone who isn't cursed with the spirit of Demise tries to wield Ghirahim. Which in its own way is sort of Ganondorf's sword? Or atleast a weapon seeking to find its ancient master.
hi, just discovered you're channel from this video, never thought about the death sword fight to be a phantom ganondorf fight. it's defiantly over looked in the zelda franchise
Love how you put subscribe in gerudo at 6:21
This was extremely well thought out and very convincing. After watching this I have to agree with this theory. Videos of this caliber are why I’ve subbed. Keep up the excellent work!
Ganondorf is like a shadow.
Always chasing the light he will never have because his shade would extinguish its source.
It amazes me to see just how much into Zelda you are.
The quality of these videos is really amazing. Keep it up!
I love that intro song in the beginning of all your videos
The scariest boss in twilight princess is actually Morpheel ;)
I'm actually terrified of deep water, that boss is nightmare fuel
This is a mini boss
TP was kind of a remake of OoT, and the Forest Temple and Arbiter's Grounds were the first dungeon of the 2nd set in each game so maybe they share a Phantom Ganon boss.
I literally stopped playing Twilight Princess for like 6 years because I got to Arbiter's Grounds, having the walkthrough book as a guide, and I took one look at Death Sword and noped the heck outta there. Earlier this month, thanks to me asking my loving boyfriend for encouragement and him providing me with more than enough to spare, I conquered Death Sword and Twilit Stallord in one day, the darknut and Blizzeta in the next day, and I am now taking a break from the Temple of Time. I absolutely hate/am afraid of spiders with a burning passion (which is why I haven't eaten a banana in literally over 5 years), but the Armagohma fight is literally so easy that I could do it in my sleep.
Being that another puzzle in the Arbiter's Grounds is reclaiming stolen torch fire from the poe sisters, I think the connection has some strong evidence behind it.
1:20 first mistake, they banished him to the Twilight Realm. Not the sacred realm.
9:48 It honestly looks like that was his original design, and that he would wield that sword in the final duel against Link, but instead they decided to give him the Sage’s sword and make Death Sword a miniboss in the Arbiter’s Grounds in later iterations.
Theories make Zelda games much better tbh like this for instance or all of the ones explaining majors mask
I feel like it could also be parallelism with Ghirahim basically being a living sword for Demise, of whom Ganondorf is a reincarnation of.
Very compelling analysis, to further what you were saying, perhaps this sword was the sword of demise, Girahim, and the phantoms could be his humanoid projection twisted through time. Perhaps after battles with link his blade was damaged and shattered and the names on the blades were not the ones who forged the blade, but the ones who reforged the damaged blade and perhaps this would change not only the appearently of the blade of Girahim himself. Also as the blade would be forged once more there would be, in theory, material loss perhaps this is why Girahim would gain this phantom form, twisted in comparison to his original appearance. When you pointed out the inferted triforce on the hilt this point seemed more compelling as that was essentially trademark of Girihim's sword form. The one phantom that seems a bit out of place however is the ocarina of time phantom Gannon as he does not wield a sword but a spear though perhaps this phantom Gannon was but a fragment of the blade, leftover slag from the reforming of the Girahim blade, formed into a spearhead and perhaps forged by Ganondorf himself as it takes his appearence.
I'm wondering if there's a further connection between Ghirahim and Phantom Ganon, perhaps as a remnant of the power of Demise, manifesting itself.
it would make sense that the magic of the blade is linked not just to Ganondorf, but to Demise, which is why the sword would be so powerful, and why they often have the projectiles.
Demise had the Skyward Strike, which was also performed in a similar method by Ghirahim, with the spikes he'd throw. WW Phantom Ganon had the balls of energy, as did OoT, and the TP Death Sword/Phantom Ganon/Ghirahim had the spheres of dark magic, as was mentioned.
The Execution Site "Arbiter's Grounds" is basically the Gerudo Desert, Desert Colossus and the Spirit Temple, so who knows what Ganondorf did on those ground. He probably sealed some spirit in the Death Blade that became the phantom we see in Twilight Princess. Who knows. It's a mystery.
I think you nailed it with this theory, Zeltik!!!
@Zeltik Great video and I would like to throw an idea I had from watching your video. If Death Sword was Ganondorf's sword, which your video confirmed to me, then maybe Ganondorf created it as not just a Phantom Ganon but as a copy of Ghirahim from Skyward Sword.
Your theories are pretty darn cool. I really want to finish the other Zelda games that I haven’t played yet!!
I'm partial to this theory as the evil trident was physically detroyed in Four Swords Adventures, and has only showed up with phantom Ganon, or some other magical transformation. This is no doubt a powerful evil, and most importantly, physically real weapon. A great tool to a living warrior.
It could be Phantom Ganon, but Phantom Ganon usually shows resemblance to Ganondorf (OOT looks just like him but with a skull and WW/FS also looks like him including his body structure and face.)
Also when it isn't moving you can see that it's head hangs to one side presumably how the Creature "died" or how it was attempted to be executed but never killed it. A minor note that indicates it is a unique creature is on the Zelda gamepedia, Arbiter's Grounds page, which briefly states Death Sword is "a vengeful spirit that haunts the sword it once wielded in life"
One thing is for Certain, I want to see this enemy again... as a main boss.
Also what to you make of the Arbiter's Grounds other inhabitants? the Stalfos/Stalchildren, Re-Dead/Gibdo knights, Staltroops and Big Poes? they are all armed in some way and some wear armor, meaning they couldn't have been prisoners, and if they are guards why are they cursed to forever roam the prison....and where are the prisoners, surely they should be the ones cursed to roam as lifeless corpses in their prison for eternity as further punishment for their crimes. Most importantly, the Stallord, what could be the largest seen beast in almost all of the games, even though it's missing its lower half, trapped in a massive pit, with what look like spears stuck in its skull and an army of Staltroops surrounding it. If Staltroops were once the prison guards, why would they try to protect the beast? Also why and how did it get sent to the prison said to be for only the most ruthless criminals in Hyrule in the first place?
Coming back to this years later I take this as headcanon that this is Phantom Ganon. If in the future there is a Twilight Princess remake given if the OOT remake rumor is true, then Nintendo should keep the same scene similar but instead of being defeated you fight the phantom later on, even in the overworld like in TOTK. And a final fight inside Hyrule Castle would be PEAK.
I thought at first that it would build a case for Ghirahim, but this is also nice
i discovered that in twilight princess if you wear the iron boots and you roll you can damage enemies and it is super useful for those birds enemies that you can one shot using this attack
i like how Death Sword is basically a sword spirit before sword spirits became a thing
unless im forgetting another sword spirit besides Girahim and Fi
When you said " what could possess a sword that may have belonged to ganondorf " I got an ad about potatoes so there you have it.
I never noticed how cool deathswords design is
love your content.fun link i theorized: all of those Phantom Ganon's you mention have at some point a hand raised in similair poses at some point
The symbols on the sword look like one of the different symbols that appeared on BOTW 2 teaser
I like this theory. I personally always assumed Death sword was related to Gomess from Majora's Mask: They both wield overly large weapons, and dissolve into smaller beings upon defeat, though Gomess is keese, not bugs.
It's fairly obvious that the Arbiters Grounds was designed after the Forest Temple in OoT as so many ideas are reused.
Nice theory but in my opinion i think the death blade was the executioner or sword of the exocutiner for arbiters ground. The room is a masive circle with a elevated platform for veiwers to watch the execution.
Ganon puppet Zelda is more similar to Puppet Gannon due to the existence of dead man’s volley in the battle
The color magenta, purple, etc, is very very often linked to malice, which I believe is the actual curse demise placed on Hyrule, and is thus intrinsically tied to Ganondorf. The eyes of death sword and phantom ganon being the same color I think is linked to this, too.
As for the runes on the blade, it might be possible that they were placed there by the sages themselves as additional means of sealing it's true power, judging from the fact that the same runes are etched all around that sealing room and only appear related to this area. so maybe the demon of the sword is weakened by this rather than natural decay.
At the beginning of the video i thought you were gonna go into detail about how the sword is the reincarnation of giriham(not sure how you spell his name). Because it was placed in a room kinda like a ritual and it would kinda be like demise and his sword. Also the reason why death sword appears as a phantom is maybe because he has been trapped in there for so long that he began to seperate from the blade and seek out his master. Just like giriham would have done. All ideas just tossin around in my head :o
The death sword was actually an execution blade, the arbiters grounds was originally a prison and that blade was for the many awful prisoners put to death in that ancient prison. Apparently it took a lot of evil lives, which accumulated a lot of evil in the blade.