Flame Choke

Flame Choke
User	Ganondorf
Universe	The Legend of Zelda

When used in the air, Flame Choke slams the opponent into the ground

Flame Choke (炎獄握, Flame Prison Grip) is Ganondorf's side special move in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. 4, replacing Gerudo Dragon from Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Overview

When used, Ganondorf charges at his opponent, similarly to Gerudo Dragon, but instead of uppercutting them he grabs them by the head and attacks them with a dark pulse, before slamming them into the ground. In mid-grab and while holding his opponent in his grip, Ganondorf has super armor, allowing him to, for example, snag a passing Wario off his Wario Bike while also preventing it from being interrupted; however the armor for mid-grab is removed in Smash 4. As a grab move, Flame Choke bypass shields and counters. Grounded Flame Choke also functions as a weak meteor smash, causing the opponent to weakly bounce upward and allow follow-ups such as Ganondorf's neutral attack, forward tilt, and down tilt; however in Smash 4 grounded Flame Choke is techable which can potentially negate follow-ups, though Ganondorf can act immediately out of Flame Choke and perform tech-chases.

When the move is used mid-air, both Ganondorf and the grabbed foe will plummet directly towards to the ground, which can cause a Suicide KO known as "Ganoncide". If Ganondorf performs this move in the air while going through a soft platform (half body above platform and half below) then he will grab the opponent and plummet below the platform (however, he has no knockback resistance in the air); however in Smash 4, aerial Flame Choke lifts him and his opponent upward a bit before descending, making the two land on the platform. Also, when Ganondorf does the move in the air, he can slightly alter its path, slamming the foe more to the left, or more to the right. This makes it difficult to chase him off the edge, because as a last resort, he takes the opponent down with him; in Brawl, Ganoncide causes a Sudden Death or a loss, which can be negated if Ganondorf is a stock/point up, but in Smash 4, Ganonciding with one remaining stock on both characters will give Ganondorf the win. Unlike the grounded version, the opponent is immediately floored instead of bouncing and has some ending lag, making it difficult to followup, though the aerial deals more damage and in Smash 4 it cannot be teched.

Using this on the ground with the opponent near the edge of the stage can meteor smash the opponent straight down off of the edge. However, this is not very useful as it has set knockback and is too weak to prevent most characters from recovering with their up special move, and will also grab the ledge if possible.

If Ganondorf rolls correctly as his opponent tries to recover after being grabbed, or uses mindgames to predict where his opponent will end up, he can re-grab his opponent, allowing the possibility of an infinite chain grab: this makes Flame Choke one of Ganondorf's few ways of racking up damage on his opponent. In particular, at low percentages Ganondorf can follow with a down tilt and knock the opponent in the air, and then jump and catch them in another Flame Choke.

Unlike Captain Falcon's Raptor Boost, this move does not cause Ganondorf to trip and fall if he misses on the ground. It does, however, still put him into a helpless state if he uses it in the air. Similarly, if Ganondorf is too close to an edge when he uses the move on the ground, he will instantly go into a helpless state and fall. However, unlike Captain Falcon, Ganondorf has a chance to move towards the ledge and grab it (if it can be grabbed) before he falls to his death.

In Brawl's and Smash 4's Home-Run Contest the move will fail if used on the Sandbag: Ganondorf will pass through the sandbag just like any other grab-related special on any other item.

Customization

Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the possible variations:

1. Flame Wave: Grabbed enemies will be launched into the air with high knockback. Aerial version is stronger, but will still cause Ganondorf and his opponent to plummet downward and thus can still be used for Ganoncide. However, it is slower and has significantly shorter range and higher ending lag.
2. Flame Chain: No longer grabs enemies, but hits multiple times while dashing. Aerial version deals less hits. Has longer range, a bit of traction on the ground, and can pass through shields. Will also stop at ledges instead of going off and leaving Ganondorf helpless - but this rarely matters as the player can simply hold in the opposite direction to grab the ledge and avoid an SD. However, if the player is using speed-boosting equipment they may go too far past the ledge to grab it, in which case this custom could be useful instead.

• FlameWaveWiiU.png

  Flame Wave in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

• FlameChainWiiU.png

  Flame Chain in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Origin

Ganondorf performs a similar rushing move in Twilight Princess that kills one of the sages who impaled him, though lacking the dark flames. In the GameCube version of Twilight Princess, Ganondorf uses his right hand, which is inscribed with the Triforce of Power, whereas in Brawl, he uses his left hand. Ganondorf's slight ambidextrous capabilities in Brawl are likely due to the mirrored Wii version of Twilight Princess.

Gallery

• 

  The initial pose Ganondorf does before he rushes forwards in Brawl.

• 

  Link falls out of the choke at the move's conclusion in Brawl.

• 

  The move used as a meteor smash in Brawl.

• 

  Ganondorf uses Flame Choke on Marth in Brawl.

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  Ganondorf rushes forward in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Ganondorf uses Flame Choke on Kirby in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Ganondorf uses Flame Choke on Link in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Bugs

• In SSB4, using Flame Choke to KO an opponent that has yet to be damaged via suicide maneuver will register as a self-destruct for the victim, and not as a KO for Ganondorf.

Trivia

• Many Ganondorf players tend to refer to the move in shorthand as the "Gerudo", as if the move were still named "Gerudo Dragon".
• Unlike some other side special grabs such as Force Palm, the player can't escape from Flame Choke even if the victim is giant. The whole screen shakes when Flame Choke is used on the victim.
• Depending which stage it's used on, the aerial variation may have different effects. On Norfair, Ganondorf can bounce in the lava but the trapped opponent doesn't bounce on it on the first hit. On certain portions of Port Town Aero Dive, it's possible to have Ganondorf survive while the other character is dragged off the screen. On other stages, both characters or neither may be KOd.
• If Ganondorf uses Flame Choke in an attempt to grab a ledge on the touring platform of Halberd he will ignore the ledge, go through the platform, and be left helpless, resulting in a very likely SD.

Ganondorf's special moves

Neutral special	Warlock Punch
Side special	Gerudo Dragon	Flame Choke
Up special	Dark Dive
Down special	Wizard's Foot
Final Smash	—	Beast Ganon		Ganon, The Demon King