9 Best Heated Character Rivalries In Gaming History

4. Link Vs. Ganon

Back to all-out world-ending terror, as you can't have an archetypal tale of a young elvish child picking up a sword and shield to save the land, without an ancient force on the other side.

For Link and Ganon they've gone through a ton of iterations, with Ganon's motivations being fleshed out over decades' worth of games. The initially pig-like Ganon was actually a man called Ganondorf, who - born in the Gerudo dessert and wanting a better life for himself and his people - strives for absolute wealth and power.

Prequel Skyward Sword cemented his ability to endlessly reincarnate thanks to some ancient energy, and Breath of the Wild's take was to merge everything into one, having Link go up against a monstrous, snakelike Calamity Ganon, before defeating the wild boar Dark Beast Ganon with a Light Arrow to the head.

For Link's side of things he's but a humble Hylian doing what's right for everyone in the land, partnering with the also-reincarnating "blood of the Princess" in Zelda, and striving to do what's right no matter how many times Ganon comes back.