How did Ganondorf escape from Hyrule prior to TWW, and why did it take so long?
Ganondorf was able to create a portal in his Tower, which led to the world above. This portal leads to the Forsaken Fortress, which is presumably why Ganondorf set up his base of operations there. You can open this portal yourself by solving a puzzle in Ganon’s Tower. When you do, the King of Red Lions says, “I see… So this is the portal through which Ganon was able to seep into the unsuspecting world above. Link, we shall make use of this path that Ganon created for himself.” Why did Ganon wait for centuries to escape, if all he had to do was create a portal? The answer is that he probably didn’t have a choice. Ganondorf’s body, and most of his power, was frozen in time when the gods flooded Hyrule. Being frozen in time has a way of keeping you from doing things the way you normally do. It can be thought that, even though Ganondorf’s body was frozen, his mind was not, or it figured out out to unfreeze itself. It can also be thought that one’s soul is in a way outside of time, so fre
