Zelda fans freak out over beardless edit of hench Ganondorf

With the release of Tears of the Kingdom just over a month away, plenty of Legend of Zelda fans are already counting down the days until they can take to the picturesque plains of Hyrule again.

One of the easiest ways for long-time fans to quench their thirst for adventure over the past week or so, aside from watching the game’s third trailer on a loop or tuning into a Twitch streamer’s Breath of the Wild challenge run, has been to spend hours ogling the official art of TotK’s Ganondorf that Nintendo has been releasing.

However, while these pictures of the powerful Gerudo warlock have been inspiring a lot of appreciation for his ripped physique, it seems as though one edit that’s a bit less flattering has been making waves on Reddit.

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The edit in question forms the subject of a couple of recent threads on r/zelda, the first of which featured a side-by-side comparison of the original Ganondorf side profile with an edited, beardless version that doesn’t boast quite as impressive a jawline, leading some to declare it chinless.

“This is what guys with beards don't want you to know.”, quipped user Witch_King_ in response to the unflattering portrait, while lybluerises suggested the upcoming game might end when: “Link just cuts (Ganondorf’s) beard and he dies of shame, ending the cycle of hatred once and for all.”

On the other hand, user thegrailarbor argued that the warlock’s chin-based woes might have some history to them, saying: “This isn’t new. If this is the same Ganondorf (from Ocarina of time), he had a weak chin then, too.”, with brownkidBravado adding: “That was his downfall. That’s why he grew a beard after the fact, regardless of what timeline it was.”

Meanwhile, user Tiberius_XVI requested: “I just want someone to do one with a stronger jawline so I can unsee this.”, a wish which BadWolf2386 has since granted via another post, in which they attempted to rectify some apparent “liberties” other original edit takes with Ganon’s chops.

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Reactions to their efforts were mixed, with user ChurchOfDimple proclaiming: “It feels like a great weight has been lifted. Thank you.”, while RayBlast7267 admitted: “I think this edit looks great, but now all I can think is, ‘Man! This guy has one thick neck!’”

Regardless of whether you’re never going to be satisfied that Ganodorf’s clean-shaven visage successfully captures the same sex appeal as its bearded counterpart, make sure to follow us for a bunch of helpful guides to Tears of the Kingdom and its various features, including weapon crafting and raft building.