User blog:Plasmaster/Smash Study Hall: Ganondorf

Hey Smashers! Welcome back to the Super Smash Bros. character strategy guide blog series, Smash Study Hall! Plasmaster here.

Having covered the King of Dreamland I thought it fitting that next we go over the King of Darkness and Disrespect himself, Ganondorf!

Now, Ganondorf is a powerhouse; even some of his standard attacks deal a ton of damage. Ganondorf's raw power and commanding, fear-inducing appearance have almost become staples of the Smash series. Ganondorf is slow, yes, but it only takes two hits for the opponent to be really hurting and trying their best to steer clear of him.

Ganondorf's jab is a single attack that deals more damage when sweet-spotted, in which an electricity effect is given off. The jab is a good attack for keeping an opponent out and can combo into and out of dash attack at low percentages. His forward tilt has a high horizontal knockback that can make it good for getting an opponent off of the stage and for spacing. Down tilt combos out of Flame Choke and launches opponents into the air to combo into a forward aerial or neutral aerial, which makes it a good combo starter. Ganondorf's up tilt has the highest starting lag of all of the tilts in the entire game, but deals high damage, has high kill power, impressive range, and breaks shields in one hit. Up tilt should not be used during combos but instead it can be used at the edge of a stage to hit recovering opponents with it; if spaced properly, it can cover all options except edge roll; if the opponent does a regular edge-get-up or edge attack, their first instinct will usually be to put up their shield, though this is a big mistake since the Volcano Kick up tilt breaks shields with a single blow, setting up for an easy kill. Ganondorf's dash attack combos out of jab and into itself at lower percentages, and combos into forward aerial, neutral aerial, up aerial, and up smash at mid-high percentages.

Ganondorf's forward smash is a very deadly attack when fully charged and among the best of his kill moves; it can't combo into or out of much of anything, so instead use it to punish rolls and ledge options when the opponent is most vulnerable. His up smash combos out of dash attack at mid percentages; it can combo out of down aerial at low percentages and into all of his aerials except down aerial at mid-high percentages; it too is a good kill move. Ganondorf's down smash is an excellent punishing and edge-guarding tool because the first hit links right into the second one; it can cover all ledge options when spaced and timed correctly and its high launch power can often prevent opponents from recovering to the edge, even killing off of the left or right blast zones. Since it hits on both sides it can punish rolls as well; it can even punish regular get-ups or rolls behind Ganondorf after using Flame Choke on an opponent.

Ganondorf's aerials are a mix of fast attacks that are excellent for combos and more sluggish attacks that are great for securing kills. Ganondorf's neutral aerial is two fast kicks that link into each other; it is an excellent combo finisher and edge-guarding tool and the second kick can even kill at the edge at high percentages. Ganondorf's forward aerial combos out of down throw and dash attack and is a good combo finisher; it can also kill opponents off-stage or at the edge at high percentages. Ganondorf's up tilt launches opponents upwards when hit with the apex of the attack and at a more horizontal angle at the start and end of the attack; when it launches horizontally it can be good for getting an opponent off-stage, and launching vertically can continue combos or kill off of the ceiling at high percentages. Ganondorf's down aerial is the most powerful meteor smash in the game, making it very useful for securing kills off-stage; it can also punish ledge options and combo into up smash at low percentages. His back aerial is good for edge-guarding since it is fast and has high horizontal knockback; it can kill at the edge at high percentages.

Ganondorf's grab game is rather lackluster. His down throw combos into dash attack and up smash at low percentages and neutral aerial, up aerial, and forward aerial at mid-high percentages. Ganondorf's up throw can combo into up aerial at low-mid percentages. His back throw and forward throw can both kill near the edge at high percentages and are useful for getting an opponent off stage.

The Warlock Punch has high starting lag and leaves Ganondorf open if it misses; it is best to use this move when it is certain to connect; the move has heavy armor frames that can protect Ganondorf from being interrupted, though he is still open to grabs. The move can be reversed to increase the damage and kill power and this can also punish rolls. The Warlock Punch is an excellent kill move but it has no set-ups, relying solely on taking advantage of opponent position and vulnerability.

The Flame Choke is perhaps Ganondorf's best special move because of it set-up potential. As a command grab it can punish shields; since it forces opponents into a prone state on the ground they only have so many options, and Ganondorf can punish all of them. If the opponent does a regular get-up Ganondorf can use jab, forward tilt, down tilt, or grab. If the opponent uses a get-up attack, Ganondorf can shield and then punish with a grab, jump above them and punish with a down aerial or Wizard's Foot, or roll backwards and use Wizard's Foot. If the opponent rolls away from Ganondorf, he can use Wizard's Foot, dash attack, dash grab, or another Flame Choke. If the opponent rolls behind Ganondorf, it can be punished with a Flame Choke, forward tilt, dash attack, grab, forward smash, or down smash. Using it on the edge of the stage is good for a Sacrifical K.O. and an easy way to close out a stock; since it always kills the opponent first, Ganondorf will always win a match ended with a Ganoncide, as long as the opponent has less or equal stocks to Ganondorf.

Dark Dive is a poor recovery move that doesn't get much height, but it is difficult to edge-guard against because of its grab boxes. The move itself is useful for edge-guarding since it has a horizontal launch; this can be useful for stage-spiking or for launching opponents away from the edge. It is also useful as an out of shield option as nearby opponents can have their attacks punished with the grab.

Wizard's Foot can be a useful approach option on the ground but is poor in the air as opponents can easily dodge it and punish the landing lag. On the edge the move can be useful for meteor smashing opponents since the starting hitboxes do have a meteor smash effect. It can be a good follow-up for Flame Choke but as a stand-alone attack is not the best.

There you go! Ganondorf is a character that relies on putting the opponent into a bad situation, capitalizing on it, and hitting them hard whenever they leave themselves open. You do NOT mess around when fighting against Ganon; you leave yourself open once and it'll hurt really bad!

I hope you enjoyed this guide on Ganondorf! I also hope this helped you to improve your Ganon game!

If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments. While you're at it, let me know what character you'd like to see next!

Until next time, keep on smashing and leave it to Heropon!