Ganondorf (Super Smash Bros. Melee)


 * This article is about Ganondorf's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For other uses, see Ganondorf. Also, for information about the fighter of whom Ganondorf is a "clone" of, see Captain Falcon (SSBM).

Ganondorf (ガノンドロフ, Ganondorofu) is in his original human form as he appears in the more recent installments of the series. Ganondorf is also a playable character in both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, his design is based off his appearance from the SpaceWorld demo.

How to Unlock

 * Play 600 Vs. matches
 * Play and beat Event 29: Triforce Gathering

Attributes
Ganondorf is a character who hits for power and priority rather than speed. His Up smash is the strongest in the game if fully charged and if both hits connect. His up throw and down throw are excellent launchers. His standard special, Warlock Punch, can often result in a KO. His D-air is a meteor smash that is nearly impossible to recover at even at low damage and is also one of the strongest in the game. It can even Star KO if used on opponents that are on the ground. Most of his other attacks are also extremely powerful. However, Ganondorf's powerful attacks are counterbalanced by being slow. Although most of Ganondorf's aerial attacks have long periods of lag as well, L-canceling can help this problem. Ganondorf's mobility is also slow, and his wavedash doesn't help because it is short. On the upside, Ganondorf can moonwalk and his great platform dashing game enhances his mobility as well as attacking options. He also has one of the fastest rolls in the game due to being a clone of Captain Falcon. Ganondorf's down special, wizard's foot, makes a spike (which means it can't be meteor canceled) and is also one of the only down specials to allow the character another jump for recovery. Ganondorf has long horizontal recovery, but its extremely vulnerable to edge-hoggers because his up special, dark dive, can't attack people hanging on the edge. Ganondorf is a good edgeguarder. In particular, his U-air reverse spike is one of the best edgeguards. Ganondorf's range is high, but he lacks a projectile and projectile camps are effective against him. Ganondorf's neutral attack combo is extremely fast and does high damage for how quick it is. It can also be a great move to combo with. Ganondorf is a good candidate for combos and chain grabs due to being large, falling quickly, and being heavy (although his heavy weight also makes him harder to KO).

Normal

 * Neutral Attack- A quick jab that will do 7% damage.
 * Dash Attack- A shoulder tackle, does 14% damage.
 * Down Tilt- A quick breakdance kick. An impressive 12% damage when fresh.
 * Up tilt- Lifts his leg up and then brings his leg down violently. Very laggy, though very powerful, can even OHKO if hits by the edge. 27% damage.
 * Forward tilt- Quick kick in front, 13% damage.

Smash Attacks

 * Forward Smash- Thrusts his elbow forward with impressive vertical knockback. Almost no horizontal knockback at all. 22% uncharged, 30% fully.
 * Down Smash- Kicks leg in front and back of him. Can chain together, can be DI'd out of second hit. 8% then 13% uncharged, 11% then 17% fully charged.
 * Up Smash- Kicks his legs upwards. 22% then 17% uncharged, 30% then 22% fully charged.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial- Very fast one-two kick. 12% then 10%.
 * Forward Aerial- Brings hand down, impressive knockback and damage, doing 17%.
 * Back Aerial- Punches behind him, 16%. Fast, good for edgeguarding.
 * Down Aerial- Stomps with electrical power, impressive spiking power, doing 22% if fresh. Can Star-KO at higher damages if used on a ground enemy.
 * Up Aerial- Spinning kick, 13% damage.

Other Attacks

 * Ledge Attack- Gets up and thrusts knee, 10% damage.
 * 100% Ledge Attack- Slowly gets up and punches in front of him, does 8% damage.
 * Floor Attack- Does a round kick that can hit twice. 6% then 5%.

Differences between Captain Falcon
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Ganondorf is a "clone" of Captain Falcon, but with a slower running speed, a lower jumping height, and almost three times the strength of his counterpart. Ganondorf is considered a slow but tough and hard-hitting character. He is very heavy and has a long recovery, and his attacks have very high knockback. Ganon also has a completely different fair than Captain Falcon. On the flipside, he's a big, slow target and is easily combo'd and bogged down by fast attacks. It is notable that Ganondorf is the only "clone" that is of a different universe from the original character.

Wall of Pain
Use Ganondorf's Forward aerial twice as a Wall of Pain. This is considered a good Ken Combo. In addition, Forward aerial to Wizard Foot is considered a good Ken Combo as well.

Spiking abilities
Ganondorf has a series of spikes at his disposal which help make him an even fiercer opponent to face. Most spikes are often aerial A moves, but in the case of Ganondorf, he has both aerial A and B attacks that can send an opponent to an early KO.

Spike/Meteors and Description
Also referred to as the stomp. Both feet are thrust under Ganondorf, and on contact, the opponent receives an electrical shock animation. If the opponent is on the ground, they are shot upward very fast, which can be DI'ed left or right. If in the air, the attack sends the opponent straight down very fast. The attack can be used multiple times over to combo opponents with low percentage, but requires the ability to shffl, and tech chase. This is a meteor, and although it is difficult, the opponent can meteor cancel and recover.
 * D-air
 * Frame Data:
 * Total time: 44 frames
 * Hits on frames 16-20
 * IASA frame 38
 * Landing before frame 3 or after frame 36 of this attack causes the move to auto cancel
 * Lag when landing: 35 frames
 * Lag when landing (l-canceled): 17 frames

Surprisingly Ganondorf's up A attack can be used to spike an opponent very effectively. The attack has very high priority, so if done correctly, it greatly contributes to Ganondorf players. Ganondorf does a backflip that resembles a flash kick in actual martial arts. One foot is extended during the flip, that creates a hitbox about 200 degrees in rotation around Ganondorf. Ganondorf must be facing away from the opponent, and hit the opponent with the top of his extended foot. There is little knockback, but considerable stun for the amount of damage the attack actually does. As an added bonus, this move is extremely hard to walltech. Something about the physics just makes it next to impossible to tech.
 * reverse U-air

Also used to regain the double jump while recovering, Ganondorf's down B will spike an opponent if connected in air. Ganondorf extends one foot and travels diagonally down accompanied by a cloud of purple energy. The opponent receives an animation of cloudy purple energy when damaged by this attack. The attack itself puts Ganondorf in an inconvenient position to recover, so it is much inferior to dair and uair. Ganondorf can still double jump and triple jump, so it is slightly better than spiking with forward B. This is a spike, not a meteor, so the opponent cannot 'cancel' the attack.
 * aerial down B

In Single-player
Ganondorf does not specifically appear in the game's single-player Adventure mode. He is featured in only three Event Matches:


 * Event 29: Triforce Gathering: As Link and teamed with Zelda, the player faces Ganondorf on the Great Temple stage. Beat this, then fight Ganondorf again to unlock him.
 * Event 49: All-Star Match Deluxe: Ganondorf is the final opponent you must fight in this series of staged battles. Your character battles him on the Final Destination stage, and your character has 2 stock while Ganondorf has 1. With a timer of four minutes, you must defeat him and the other five characters one-by-one with the overall time and life you have: Dr. Mario, Falco, Pichu, Young Link, and Roy.
 * Event 51: The Showdown: The final Event Match pits your character against a team of Giga Bowser, Mewtwo, and Ganondorf on the Final Destination stage (friendly fire turned off), with all four characters having 3 stock each and unlimited time. Seemingly overwhelming odds indeed.

Trophy Descriptions
In addition to the normal trophy about Ganondorf as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Ganondorf on any difficulty:


 * Ganondorf (Smash Red)
 * Since he's slow and can't jump very high, Ganondorf relies mainly on his immense physical strength to overwhelm his enemies. His great weight also makes him a difficult foe to send offscreen. Ganondorf's Warlock Punch is slow but absurdly powerful, and when he strikes with his Gerudo Dragon, enemies rise skyward enveloped in dark flames.


 * B: Warlock Punch
 * Smash B: Gerudo Dragon


 * Ganondorf (Smash Blue)
 * Ganondorf's slow speed works against him in single combat, but in melees, his crazy power lets him earn his keep with innumerable KOs. Ganondorf can't strike quickly, but each blow he lands adds up. Ganondorf is at his quickest when he uses the Wizard's Foot, and his Dark Dive blasts foes in a burst of dark energy.


 * Up & B: Dark Dive
 * Down & B: Wizard's Foot