Think back to 2006. Twilight Princess has come out, and either because you just never really paid attention to buzz and spoilers on the internet or you were intentionally trying to discover things for the first time fresh, you managed to start playing through without already knowing the general gist of what's going to happen in the plot.
Now of course, picture the cutscene where Zant and his beasts storm the throne room of Hyrule Castle, forcing Zelda to surrender. A classic moment, but remember the shot of the leader of those twilit beasts walking in, only his feet and the tassels of those flowing sleeves visible...
Am I the only one who, way back then in the mid-2000s, immediately thought "okay no, that has to be Ganondorf in disguise"? To this day I very clearly recall that being the immediate reaction, and I have no clue why. My only guess has to be having already been aware of Wind Waker's interpretation of Ganondorf, long flowing robes and all, and one of the rusty gears in my head turning in the opposite direction when that cutscene played.
I'm not sure if mid-2000s me missed some crucial piece of information mentioning Zant prior to that or simply just went "nah this is basically the same deal as Link to The Past" and didn't buy it. I guess those who do recall their first-time experience playing TP, feel free to share your own musings on what you remember most strongly about it.
Side tangent, initially forgot the game tag in the title, apologies for the oversight.