The Legend Of Zelda’s Gerudo Are Actually The Franchise’s Greatest Redemption Story

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The Gerudo are one of ’s most recognizable races, and arguably embody the spirit of redemption unlike any other. Members of the all-female warrior race are easily recognized by their height and red hair, and have appeared in many of the franchise’s most important titles. Of course, the Gerudo are also known for producing Ganondorf, their sole male, and thus following him as their king in the past, but this is no longer the case in the most recent games.

Excluding Ganondorf as a representative of the Gerudo, who himself has made solo appearances on occasion, the Gerudo race has appeared in six core games to date. They first debuted in, and have most recently appeared in, now firmly established as one of Hyrule’s most consistently important races. They are not the only one of ’s many races to owe this title their prominence either, as the Gorons also originate here, as did the non-hostile Sea Zora (in contrast to the more violent monsters found in prior titles).

In, the Gerudo are presented as a group of thieves loyal to Ganondorf, forming the core of his supporters. The main exception to this is Nabooru, Ganondorf’s second-in-command, whose dissent eventually leads to her being brainwashed. Over the course of the game, however, the Gerudo’s attitude visibly softens; first, Link gains their respect as he makes his way through their fortress, and during the ending some Gerudo can even be seen amongst those celebrating Ganondorf’s defeat at Lon Lon Ranch. This shows a more noble side to the Gerudo, something which has only become more prominent since.

Although it has not yet been used in any of the games, The Legend of Zelda’s iconic villain Ganondorf actually has a canonical last name.

Of course, in the Gerudo appear to have backslid into villainy by living their lives as pirates. However, the fact that Termina’s inhabitants can be wildly different from their Hyrulean counterparts (as demonstrated by the parallel world’s far more amiable versions of Koume and Kotake)