Ganondorf (SSBB): Difference between revisions

|image = [[File:Ganondorf SSBB.jpg|250px]]  

'''Ganondorf''' ({{ja|ガノンドロフ|Ganondorofu}}, ''Ganondorf'') returns from ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', where he is a playable character. The director of ''[[zeldawiki:The Legend of Zelda (Series)|The Legend of Zelda]]'', Eiji Aonuma, hinted that Ganondorf would return as a playable character when he stated that he sent his (Ganondorf), [[Link]], and [[Sheik]]'s ''[[zeldawiki:The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|Twilight Princess]]'' designs to [[Masahiro Sakurai]] [https://www.destructoid.com/eiji-aonuma-on-the-ds-phantom-hourglass-and-smash-bros-37441.phtml]. He was ultimately confirmed on March 18, 2008.

Ganondorf is now voiced by Hironori Miyata, his voice actor from ''Twilight Princess'', albeit via reused voice clips from the game, replacing Takashi Nagasako, from ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'' and ''Melee.''

Ganondorf is ranked dead last on the [[tier list]], in which he is ranked 38th out of 38 characters in ''Brawl'', his worst tier placement in the ''Smash'' series to date. This is a significant drop from his position on the ''Melee'' tier list, where he was 14th out of 26. Ganondorf's few strengths include high power throughout his moveset, respectable endurance, strong [[momentum cancelling]] capabilities, fearsome [[edgeguard]]ing abilities, access to the most powerful [[meteor smash]] in his [[down aerial]], and a great [[semi-spike]] in his [[up aerial]]. Ganondorf has also gained a new combo starter in [[Flame Choke]] and a superjump glitch in the [[Flight of Ganon]].

 

As a result, Ganondorf has had the third-highest tier drop from ''Melee'' to ''Brawl'' (behind {{SSBB|Captain Falcon}} and {{SSBB|Jigglypuff}} for the second-highest and highest, respectively), with terrible tournament results and no advantageous or even match-ups ({{SSB|Donkey Kong}} also had this problem in the Japanese Version of ''Smash 64''). He has the highest number of hard counters out of any character in the series at 17, in addition to 5 nearly unwinnable match-ups. He is also the only character in the whole series to have ever been placed in his own tier at the bottom of the tier list. This incarnation of Ganondorf is often considered the worst character in the history of ''Smash''. However, he is ranked 31st, rather than dead last, on the Japanese tier list.

Ganondorf is a [[Weight#SSBB_Weight_Ranking|heavy]], fast falling, very slow character (the slowest to be exact) with sub-par range and strong attacks. His attacks, though only in the sweetspot, deal above average knockback, although this can also serve as a problem since it prevents him from comboing at medium damage percentages or higher. His side special grants him [[armor]] (only helpful in team battles or Free-for-alls) while he is holding the opponent, and it leaves opponents vulnerable for a bit of time if used on the ground, leaving them open for another quick attack being a true set up like down tilt (on most characters), his jab, or several characters getting hit by dash attack and side tilt for KOs, and even his up aerial on platforms. In the air, Ganondorf's side special can cause a [[Ganoncide]], although it is situational because even when it is impossible to escape from it or control the trajectory, landing it is very hard work, and the results in a last-stock situation are unpredictable. Ganondorf's moves are arguably the least affected by Smash DI because he has the lowest number of multi-hitting moves (his down smash and his neutral aerial are his only moves considered to be a multi-hitting move; however, his neutral aerial's second hit will almost never connect at higher percentages), effectively rendering escape and punishment of his attacks ineffective, although his attacks are a lot easier to shield or dodge. Ganondorf's dash attack provides him with a quick speed boost, and the move is a hard hitter as well and can also KO, but it is easily punished if shielded. Ganondorf's aerials are also very strong; all have high knockback and strong edgeguarding potential; his up aerial is a very useful [[semi-spike]] that can gimp opponents due to its high hitstun and his down aerial is an extremely strong, reliable [[meteor smash]] that is the strongest in the game (sometimes can KO even at 0%, depending from how far the opponent is from the lower blast line). Ganondorf`s advanced [[superjump glitch]], the [[Flight of Ganon]], is very situational, but, if done right, he travels far higher in the air than any of his aerial options, allowing him to escape pressure, and allows him to set up an aerial reverse Warlock Punch, his strongest move.

Additionally, despite him having some useful combo starters at low percentages, Ganondorf is otherwise virtually unable to combo past low-mid percents. Ganondorf cannot pursue his opponents with most of his other moves both in the air and on the ground due to his low air speed, his abysmal overall mobility, the high knockback of most of his attacks, and the ability to act out of hitstun, which makes him nearly incapable of consistently and efficiently racking up damage above mid percents. As mentionned earlier, he does have some decent combo starters in his short hop auto-cancelled down aerial and his Flame Choke. However, both moves are flawed in the same way: they have long start-up lag and are as such extremely predictable and avoidable. Furthermore, his Flame Choke has high ending lag if missed and requires proper reads in order to effectively tech-chase and combo his opponent repeatedly, while his down aerial no longer set ups into any of his other moves above mid percentages.

Ganondorf's overall moveset has received an overhaul from ''Melee''. While he still shares some moves from {{SSBB|Captain Falcon}}, he has received different animations and moves that now makes him a semi-clone rather than a full clone.

Despite being a low-mid tier in Melee while also receiving some good buffs, Ganondorf was immensely [[nerf]]ed from ''Melee'', being one of the most nerfed characters in the transition alongside {{SSBB|Jigglypuff}} and one of the most severely nerfed characters in the entire series. His already slow mobility has been weakened, and some of his moves have less [[reach]] (despite his tall stature), leaving him very easily out-maneuvered and vulnerable from all sides. His comboing and KOing ability also have been severely crippled: his grabs can no longer [[chain throw]] nor set-up effectively as before; and his great power has been toned down to being only slightly above-average, due to his moves either being drastically weakened to the point where they cannot K.O. even at 200% or have received extremely large [[sourspot]]s that cannot KO reliably, most notably his forward aerial, the crux of his metagame in ''Melee''. Finally, his already poor recovery was significantly weakened to be among the worst, with his main recovery move ([[Dark Dive]]) being completely unsafe on hit.

*{{change|Ganondorf's design is now based off his appearance in ''The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess'' rather than ''{{s|zeldawiki|The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time}}'', and his sword is now the [[List of swords#Sword of the Six Sages|Sword of the Six Sages]]. The overall boost in graphics also give his outfit more detail.}}

*{{change|Ganondorf's sword waving victory pose has been replaced by a laugh with crossed arms.}}

*{{nerf|Ganondorf's traction is lower (0.07 → 0.068).}}  

**{{nerf|Neutral attack has more startup (frames 3-6 → 8-9) and ending lag (FAF 19 → 34), making it much slower, significantly weakening his close-range game and [[out of shield]] capabilities while completely removing its combo potential. It also has a shorter duration.}}

**{{nerf|Dash attack has more startup lg (frame 7 → 10) with its total duration compensated (FAF 38 → 41). It also has much less range and now has a sourspot with less knockback scaling.}}

*[[Forward tilt]]:  

**{{nerf|Forward tilt deals slightly less knockback (20 (base), 100 (scaling) → 30/88), hindering its KO potential. It also more startup (frame 9 → 10) and ending lag (FAF 29 → 39), can no longer be angled, and has less reach, making it more difficult to land and a less safe and less useful [[space]]r, as well as reducing its maximum damage output.}}

**{{change|Ganondorf has a new forward smash with battering [[item]]s like the [[Beam Sword]], which is similar to one of his attacks in ''Twilight Princess''.}}

**{{buff|Forward smash launches at a lower angle (80°/70°/60° → 45°/40°/35°) and all angles are now as strong as the non-angled version from ''Melee''. It also has a much larger hitboxes (3.6u → 5u).}}

**{{buff|Ganondorf has a new up smash: a single upwards kick. Compared to the previous up smash, it has significantly more reach.}}  

**{{nerf|Down smash transitions from the first kick to the second much slower (frame 29 → 36), making it more difficult to link. Along with this, the move has much more ending lag (FAF 46 → 63), making it much less safe to use. The second kick additionally hits at a lower angle (120° → 130°) with much less knockback scaling (110 → 75), now survivable past 150% under standard conditions and overall a much less reliable KO move. The first kick also deals 3% less damage (8% → 5%).}}

**{{nerf|Forward aerial has more landing (25 frames → 32).}}

**{{nerf|The arm hitbox deals less knockback (60 (base), 80 (scaling) → 48/83), hindering its KO potential.}}

**{{nerf|The hand hitbox deals less damage (17% → 15%) and has lower base knockback (60 → 30), greatly hindering its KO potential.}}

**{{nerf|Forward aerial has smaller hitboxes (3.1248u/3.906u/5.0778u → 3.4u/5u) and the hitbox on Ganondorf's upper arm has been removed.}}  

**{{nerf|Back aerial has more ending lag (FAF 29 → 36) and a longer animation (35 frames → 45).}}  

**{{buff|With the exception of standing grabs near grabbox, grabs have larger grabboxes (3.906u (standing)/3.906u/3.906u/3.906u (dash) → 4.8u (standing)/4.8u/4.8u/4u (dash)), giving them more range despite dash grab's furthest grabbox being poistioned closer to Ganondorf (z offset: {{rollover|9.2807|8.5932 x 1.08)|y}} → 9).}}

**{{change|Ganondorf releases opponents from down throw later (frame 20 → 23). This makes it easier to DI but reduces its ending lag, as its total duration was unchanged.}}  

**{{nerf|Down throw now sends opponents away from Ganondorf (100° → 65°) and it has higher knockback scaling (36 → 50). When combined with the aforementioned universal changes, this completely removes its chain grabbing potential, as well as and making it much less reliable at setting up followups, greatly hindering its effectiveness despite its decreasing ending lag.}}  

**{{buff|Ganondorf has a new side special: [[Flame Choke]]. Ganondorf charges towards his opponent, grabs them by their head and attacks them with a dark pulse that weakly meteor smashes enemies into the ground. This allows Ganondorf to potentially follow-up with an additional attack and [[tech-chase]].}}  

**{{change|Aerial Flame Choke causes Ganondorf and his opponent to plummet downwards until they hit the ground, allowing it to be used a [[suicide KO]] (although it usually KOs Ganondorf first), but does not meteor smash on landing.}}

**{{change|Ganondorf has less horizontal acceleration when using Dark Dive (0.85 → 0.5). This makes him travel less horizontal distance while rising but gives him more control.}}  

**{{nerf|The throw deals much less damage (15% → 7%), with no compensation on its knockback values. This greatly hinders its KO potential, no longer capable of KOing at realistic percents.}}  

**{{change|Ganondorf now stays airborne for one frame after the aerial ending animation if he is on stage (with Ganondorf being put into an animation transition frame) instead of falling and landing during it.}}  

**{{nerf|The grounded version deals less damage (15% → 12% (near)/10% (far)), launches opponents at a less favourable angle (361° → 45°) and it has lower knockback scaling (85 → 70), greatly hindering its KO potential.}}

**{{buff|After its first three active frames, the aerial version now launches opponents vertically (290° → 80°). When combined with its higher knockback scaling, this greatly improves its KO potential and safety against opponents on/above stage.}}  

**{{nerf|The aerial version no longer restores Ganondorf's midair jump, significantly hindering its recovery potential and safety.}}  

**{{change|Ganondorf now has a [[Final Smash]], Beast Ganon. Upon activation, Ganondorf turns into {{s|zeldawiki|Ganon}}, his monstrous alter-ego and stomps the ground, [[stun|stunning]] anyone who gets hit by it, and performs a a dash at lightning speed. The move is extremely powerful, dealing high damage and knockback, usually [[one-hit KO|one-hit KOing]] anyone who gets hit. The move is also surprisingly fast and Ganondorf has a guaranteed universal setup into it with Flame Choke.}}

|neutraldesc=A slow palm strike. Ganondorf's fastest attack on the ground (outside of his grab), with decent range and knockback, but is among the slowest jabs in the game as it comes out on frame 8. It is overall a useful move for Ganondorf but this is mainly due to Ganondorf lacking any faster options on the ground, outside of his short ranged grab, which is only a single frame faster.

|utiltname=Volcano Kick

|utiltdesc=Ganondorf lifts his leg before smashing it down in an explosion. Has [[vacuum]] properties dealing huge damage and knockback if it connects, and it does very high damage on shields. Considered the slowest start up tilt and the slowest move overall with a total of 81 frames of startup, but also the strongest if hit with the sweetspot. Can KO at low percentage if used very close to the edge and the opponent doesn't utilize DI and [[momentum cancelling]].

|dtiltdesc=Ganondorf kneels on one leg and thrusts the other leg forward. Great range and sets up for aerials, including a slight disjoint in the end but is not safe when shielded.  

|dsmashdesc=Kicks his leg in front and then behind him. The move has high startup lag (although it is Ganondorf's fastest smash attack), and there is quite a long gap between the first and second hit. It also has high ending lag, having the highest total duration out of all of Ganondorf's smash attacks. If the opponent is put into tumble from the first hit, they have enough time to air dodge to avoid the second hit and even potentially punish Ganondorf afterwards. Whether the first hit puts the opponent into tumble or not depends on the opponent's weight and which hitbox connects. Only 7 characters are never put into tumble with the move, with 11 characters being put into tumble by both the close hitbox are the far hitbox, allowing them to always avoid the move. The first hit's nearest hitbox puts no characters into tumble but it does not link into the second hit at all. The first hit does have a low SDI multiplier however, so if the opponent is not put into tumble, it is very difficult for them to SDI to avoid the second hit.

The second hit in addition to being slow is also not very powerful. On its own, its sweetspot does not KO {{SSBB|Mario}} on [[Final Destination]] until 153% although when paired with the first hit, it does KO around 20% earlier if the opponent does not SDI the second hit. It can KO under 100% at the ledge however, although most characters can potentially avoid the second hit if they get hit by the first hit. If Ganondorf lands the first hit from far ranges, he will get a sourspot on the second hit which deals less damage and even less knockback.

Down smash is overall Ganondorf's least effective smash attack as while it is his fastest smash attack, it is still quite laggy, in addition to being weak and unreliable.  

:''See also: [[:Category:Ganondorf professionals (SSBB)]]

[[File:Ganondorf (Resized).png|thumb|right|250px|Ganondorf's introduction in the Subspace Emissary]]

 

After the Isle of the Ancients is engulfed in Subspace, Ganondorf appears on the [[Subspace Gunship]] as its co-commander, with Bowser, but they are forced to retreat into Subspace when the Gunship is destroyed by {{SSBB|Kirby}} and his [[Dragoon]]. Ganondorf then decides it is time to betray Master Hand, so he takes out the last remaining [[Dark Cannon]] and fires it at Bowser, his own co-captain and the most loyal of Master Hand's henchmen. Kicking the Bowser [[trophy]] out of the way, Ganondorf proceeds to present himself to Master Hand. However, as he prepares to betray Master Hand for complete control of the [[Subspace Army]], he sees that Master Hand was literally a puppet of [[Tabuu]], the supreme ruler of Subspace. Ganondorf tries to attack him, but is quickly defeated and turned into a trophy. As he falls, however, he bumps into the chains of light which puppeteer Master Hand, freeing him from Tabuu's control. Master Hand then attempts to attack Tabuu, but is also defeated with ease.

*[[The Subspace Bomb Factory (Part II)]]  

==In [[Event Matches]]==

===Solo Events===

*'''[[Event 34: All-Star Battle Melee]]''': Ganondorf is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are newcomers from ''[[Super Smash Bros Melee]]''.

*'''[[Event 40: The Final Battle]]''': The player selects any character and must defeat {{SSBB|Bowser}}, {{SSBB|King Dedede}}, and Ganondorf on [[Final Destination (SSBB)|Final Destination]].

===Co-op Events===

*'''[[Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle]]''': Both players select a character and take on the entire roster on [[Battlefield (SSBB)|Battlefield]].

 

Ganondorf's main and [[Final Smash]] trophies can be obtained by clearing {{SSBB|Classic Mode}} and [[All-Star]] mode respectively with Ganondorf.

 

 

{{Trophy games|console1=N64|game1=[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]|console2=Wii|game2=[[zeldawiki:The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]}}

 

:''Ganondorf's Final Smash. When he grabs a [[Smash Ball]], he transforms into a repulsive, evil beast. He'll vanish momentarily from the screen, then rampage from one side to the other in a straight, headlong rush. When he begins the move, any character before his eyes will flinch, so try to start the move near other characters.''

 

Ganondorf - Brawl Trophy.png|Classic Mode trophy

Beast Ganon - Brawl Trophy.png|[[Beast Ganon]] trophy

**He is the only character in ''Brawl'' when going through the Subspace Emissary that is neither unlocked by simply clearing a level, nor defeated in a secret room.

*The sound clip that plays on the [[Wii Remote]] speaker when Ganondorf is selected is a sound clip from ''Melee'' that was only present in the Sound Test.

*Ganondorf and {{SSBB|R.O.B.}} are the only unlockable characters in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' to be unlocked on a [[stage]] that is not from their respective universes. Ganondorf is unlocked on Final Destination, and R.O.B is unlocked on [[Mario Bros.]] Ganondorf is also the only unlockable character in ''Brawl'' to be fought on a {{uv|Super Smash Bros.}} universe stage ({{SSBB|Final Destination}}) when unlocking. In ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', {{SSBM|Ganondorf}} along with {{SSBM|Falco}} and {{SSBM|Mewtwo}}, were all fought on a Super Smash Bros. universe stage (making it three unlockable characters to be unlocked on a stage from the ''Super Smash Bros.'' universe instead of their respective universe), though Falco was fought on {{SSBM|Battlefield}} when unlocking. Ganondorf and Mewtwo were both fought on {{SSBM|Final Destination}} before getting unlocked.

*In a Japanese television show, Masahiro Sakurai played as Ganondorf in a versus match. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hayhkV1zGVA]

*Ganondorf's ''Brawl'' design has various changes from his appearance in ''Twilight Princess'': he, for some reason, does not seem to have the glowing chest wound, and his cape is hemmed instead of tattered like the one worn in that game as well. This is ultimately corrected in ''SSB4''.

*Ganondorf, the {{SSBB|Ice Climbers}}, {{SSBB|Meta Knight}}, {{SSBB|Mr. Game & Watch}}, and {{SSBB|Samus}} are only characters whose icon in the Subspace Emissary and the Sticker menu is not based on their renders.