After the initial reveal of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, fans were left to speculate for years about the game’s plot, world, and mechanics. There was one mystery, however, that dominated many of the online conversations surrounding the game: how hot would Ganondorf be when he was restored from his mummified form?

The answer, as it would turn out, was very hot, and the game’s developers have confirmed that it was no accident. In a recent interview with Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream, translated by Nintendo Everything, director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and series producer Eiji Aonuma gave some insight into Tears of the Kingdom’s depiction of the Zelda villain.

“The designer didn’t simply make him look violent; they managed to fulfill my wish of making him look overwhelmingly evil while also being handsome enough that both men and women would fall for him,” Fujibayashi said. “We put a lot of thought into choosing his clothes and accessories, keeping in mind that Ganondorf himself should have a strong sense of beauty and good taste. We thought he would probably be a character who paid a lot of attention to his appearance, demonstrating his dignity and intelligence as a king, and designing him with that in mind, we were meticulous with his face, body, all the way down to his fingertips, making him come off as robust and sexy at the same time.”

Fujibayashi also touched on the pressure that came with adapting such a high-profile villain for the game and the desire to satisfy fans of previous versions of the character. “To me, Ganondorf is untouchable, or something that is very hard to touch upon. He’s an important character in the long history of the Zelda series. I’ve even thought that Ganondorf is like another protagonist. That’s why I think a certain level of resolve and skill is needed to handle him, so maybe a part of me avoided him,” he said, but ultimately decided that he would be the best foil for this version of Princess Zelda.

Aonuma expressed surprise at Ganondorf’s first on-screen kill, but felt that it was the right decision to make him more outright evil this time around. Fujibayashi added that they were meticulous when designing his expressions when killing, though they debated whether or not it was safe to show at all.

On-screen murder aside, many Tears of the Kingdom fans will be relieved to hear that their Ganondorf thirst posts are developer-approved.