If we take "leave him alone" to mean that they didn't actively try to stop him from obtaining the Triforce, I guess that makes a certain amount of sense. Who held onto the Spiritual Stones, though, I w-nevermind, that's ridiculous. We agree that this is a different retelling, the method of accessing the Sacred Realm could be entirely different.
Well, some (such as myself) believe Link returned to a time after Ganondorf had already touched the Triforce, while others say he doesn't really have the Triforce of Power in TP - just the power granted to him by the goddesses (FYI, Ganondorf had some deleted dialouge about how the goddesses chose the wielders of power, and how fate will bring them together again even if he dies).
You may be right concerning him leading a gang of thieves, but I remember that being the backstory of the Twili, not Ganondorf's troops - the Twili being cast into the Twilight Realm because they sought out the power of the gods. But again, if we agree that it's a different retelling, then the Gerudo as a race aren't necessarily distinct from the Hylians. My only problem with this is that it contradicts the stated intent of Ganondorf in the Wind Waker, which was that he wanted to conquer Hyrule for the sake of bettering the lives of his people. The idea that he basically sacrificed his own people in order to obtain power contradicts that characterization of him.
I seriously need to replay the game just to brush up on that particular sequence.
Yes, I was confused about that, too. However, the Sages say: "His name is... Ganondorf. He was the leader of a band of thieves who invaded Hyrule in the hopes of establishing dominion over the Sacred Realm. He was known as a demon thief, an evil-magic wielder renowned for his ruthlessness..."
The "band of thieves" are obviously the Gerudo. The Twili are an entirely different people that preceeded Ganondorf and his ilk. What happened to the Gerudo in TP remains a mystery (though the Hylians apparently built a prison on top of their fortress...)
PS. Ganondorf was such an awesome villain in TWW... Too bad his TP incarnation is nothing like that.
As to him wanting the entire Triforce - ehhhh, not really. It's a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. The only game in which he was preoccupied with obtaining the whole thing after already winning was Ocarina of Time. He wanted it in Wind Waker, yes, but only to bring back Hyrule. I don't think he ever mentioned wanting to take the "power of the gods" that had been bestowed upon Link and Zelda in Twilight Princess.
True, but if TP follows OoT's events, then he should want the entire Triforce in that game too. His expressed intent in either game is to rule the world by any means possible, after all.
It is true that he never attempts to steal the Triforces from and Zelda, which is why some people beleive they are not actually Triforce pieces.
Wait, Ganondorf can be reincarnated? What, just as a Hylian, or a human, or are there still Gerudo, or what? I never played FSA.
Yes, he returned as a human Gerudo child in FSA. He apparently was raised as a normal person, but his evil grew with his age, and he eventually betrayed his people and sought out an ancient demonic artefact (the Trident of Power) that turned him into the Demon King.
