Ganondorf (SSBM)/Forward aerial

Overview

Hitbox duration of Ganondorf's forward aerial.

Ganondorf's forward aerial, often nicknamed the Skull Crusher or The Punch, involves him punching in a downwards motion in front of himself. The move has many positive traits which make it a widely used move in Ganondorf's metagame, namely its power, good range, and lack of a sourspot. The fact that it hits above Ganondorf means it can easily cover various tech options from opponents on platforms above him, as well as being a very good kill move, being able to kill space animals at below 80% if used near the edge of most competitive stages. Also, if the move is spaced properly, it's very hard to punish out of shield (due to its high shieldstun and shield pushback by virtue of its damage output) if used while falling. Compared to the Knee Smash, The Punch is weaker and laggier, which is made up for by its significantly longer range.

However, every move has its drawbacks, and The Punch is outclassed by back aerial in many areas, being slower, laggier, having less knockback and, most importantly, not being able to autocancel in a short hop, which makes it only work as a falling aerial, giving oponents more time to react and potentially whiff punish the attack.

Overall, The Punch is considered a staple of Ganondorf's moveset for its variety of good traits, however, it should not be overused, as it might not always be the most rewarding option for every situation and Ganondorf can be punished hard if the attack fails to connect.

Hitboxes

NTSC

ID	Part	Damage	SD	Angle	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			Clang	Rebound	Effect	G	A	Sound
0	0	17%	0		60	80	0	3.1248	66	-0.7812	0.0	0.0						Burn
1	0	17%	0		60	80	0	3.906	66	1.953	0.0	0.0						Burn
2	0	17%	0		60	80	0	5.0778	67	4.6872	0.0	0.0						Burn

PAL

ID	Part	Damage	SD	Angle	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			Clang	Rebound	Effect	G	A	Sound
0	0	17%	0		40	80	0	2.7342	66	-0.7812	0.0	0.0						Burn
1	0	17%	0		40	80	0	3.5154	66	1.953	0.0	0.0						Burn
2	0	17%	0		40	80	0	4.2966	67	4.6872	0.0	0.0						Burn

Summary:

• Base knockback (60 → 40)
• Hitbox sizes (3.125u/3.91u/5.08u → 2.734u/3.52u/4.3u)

Timing

Attack

Initial autocancel	1-6
Hitboxes	14-19
Ending autocancel	34-
Interruptible	35
Animation length	44

Landing lag

Animation length	25
L-cancelled animation length	12

Normal

L-cancelled

Legend (1 square = 1 frame)

Lag time

Hitbox

Autocancel

Interruptible

Ganondorf's moveset

Neutral attack · Forward tilt · Up tilt · Down tilt · Dash attack · Forward smash · Up smash · Down smash
Neutral aerial · Forward aerial · Back aerial · Up aerial · Down aerial
Grab · Pummel · Forward throw · Back throw · Up throw · Down throw
Floor attack (front) · Floor attack (back) · Edge attack (fast) · Edge attack (slow)
Neutral special · Side special · Up special · Down special