Ganondorf (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)

This article is about Ganondorf's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For other uses, see Ganondorf.

“	His new design matches his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time! Now he uses his sword for all of his smash attacks. He's a bit slimmer than he was before, but his Warlock Punch is devastating! For his Final Smash he transforms into Ganon, the Demon King and quickly charges forward.	”
—Description from the Super Smash Blog.

Ganondorf
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Also appears in	Melee Brawl SSBWU/3DS
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Ganon, the Demon King
Voice Actor
Voiced by	Takashi Nagasako

Ganondorf is a veteran fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, first playable in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He was confirmed during Nintendo's E3 2018 presentation. His fighter number is 23.

When unlocked, he is fought at Bridge of Eldin.

Attributes

Strengths

• Extreme damage and knockback.
• Extreme weight.
• Faster attacks and mobility compared to other heavy characters.

Weaknesses

• Sword attacks are relatively slow and predictable.
• Poor recovery options.

Changes from SSBWU/3DS

Ganondorf was heavily buffed in the transition to Ultimate, largely due to his horrible tier placements in previous games. The universal changes of reduced landing lag and faster jumpsquat allow him to approach more consistently with aerials. The majority of his normal moves and Specials have been buffed in terms of damage and knockback, offering greater utility. The most significant change however to Ganondorf was reworking his Smash attacks to incorporate sword swings, allowing more disjointed reach for his powerful KO options, remedying one of Ganondorf's significant problems in lack of reach.

However, to compensate for the reach of his Smash attacks, they also have increased endlag, making them easily punished if missed. The two biggest nerfs to Ganondorf however were his up aerial, as its inability to connect with opponents below him on the late hit removes its utility, and Flame Choke has less utility as a sacrificial KO move due to opponents being able to escape via mashing as well as Ganondorf being KO'd first. In addition, Ganondorf's flaws of poor recovery and slow mobility still remain problematic and make him susceptible to being easily juggled and edgeguarded.

Ganondorf's design in Ultimate is based off his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time similarly to Melee, specifically his official art from Ocarina of Time 3D. His darkness-based attacks received new particle effects, and his sword, which is utilized in his normal moveset for the first time, is the Space World 2000 tech demo sword. Ganondof's role is reprised by Takashi Nagasako, who previously voiced the character in Ocarina of Time and Melee through new voice lines.

Ground Attacks

• All of Ganondorf's Smash attacks have been changed to now have him utilize his sword.
• Up tilt comes out faster.

Aerial Attacks

• All of Ganondorf's aerials have less ending lag.
• Up air coves less horizontal distance.

Grabs and Throws

• Forward throw's animation has been changed.

Special Attacks

• The Warlock Punch neutral special has been given more Super Armor.
• The Wizard's Foot down special has less ending lag and travels faster.
• Wizard's Foot's sweetspot is now the tip of his foot as appose to Smash 4 where it was the sourspot.
• Dark Dive does more knockback.
• Flame Choke now is escapable and kills Ganondorf first when used offstage.
• His Final Smash is renamed to Ganon, the Demon King, where he transforms into his Ganon form seen in Ocarina of Time. The Final Smash functions identically to Beast Ganon, however instead of slamming into the ground and burying opponents Ganon slams downwards with his greatswords, paralyzing and meteor smashing opponents before charging.

Moveset

Ground Attacks

Normal

• Neutral Attack: Ganondorf strikes forth with one hand.
• Forward Tilt: Ganondorf performs a push kick.
• Up Tilt (Volcano Kick): Ganondorf raises one leg, and then after some time slams his leg down to the ground, causing an explosion; has windboxes that pull nearby opponents in range of the kick.
• Down Tilt (Leg Sweep): Ganondorf kicks low to the ground.
• Dash Attack: Ganondorf rams forth with his shoulder.

Smash Attacks

• Forward Smash: Ganondorf raises his sword and then brings it down until it impacts with the ground in front of him, similar to Ike's Forward Smash attack.
• Up Smash: Ganondorf swings his sword above him in an arc. This is similar to Ike's Up Smash attack.
• Down Smash: Ganondorf slam the hilt of the sword forwards across the ground, and then slams backwards with the blade of the sword. Despite the use of the sword, it acts mostly the same as his old Down Smash. It is also similar to Cloud's Down Smash attack.

Other attacks

• Floor Attack (Front):
• Floor Attack (Back):
• Floor Attack (Trip):
• Ledge Attack:

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral aerial: Ganondorf kicks forwards twice.
• Forward aerial: Ganondorf raises his fist and then brings it down in front of himself.
• Back aerial: Ganondorf strikes behind himself with one arm.
• Up aerial: Ganondorf kicks overhead.
• Down aerial: Ganondorf powerfully stomps downwards with both legs.

Grabs and Throws

• Pummel: Ganondorf throws a knee into the opponent.
• Forward Throw: Ganondorf punches the opponent.
• Back Throw: Ganondorf tosses the opponent back and then kicks them away.
• Up Throw: Ganondorf hurls the opponent upwards.
• Down Throw: Ganondorf slams the opponent into the ground.

Special Moves

Ganondorf's Special Moves
	Melee	Brawl	3DS/Wii U	Ultimate
Standard Special	Warlock Punch
Side Special	Gerudo Dragon	Flame Choke
Up Special	Dark Dive
Down Special	Wizard's Foot
Final Smash	—	Beast Ganon

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Levitates slightly while curling up into a ball and spinning around, then laughs wickedly as he un-curls himself.
• Down Taunt: Pulls out his sword and looks at it briefly as a shimmer of light runs across it. Dark energy emanates from its tip when the shimmer reaches the end.
• Side Taunt: Ganondorf smacks his fist into his palm several times. Electricity crackles between his hands.

Victory Poses

• Flips his cape and makes a victory fist.
• While crossing his arms, he laughs, then looks down at the camera.
• Hovers in the air for a bit, pumps his fists and raises his hand forward.

In competitive play

To be added

Classic Mode: Encroaching Darkness

Ganondorf fights against the heroes of various series.

Ganondorf‘s congratulation screen.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Mario and Luigi	New Donk City Hall	Underground Moon Caverns
2	Fox and Falco	Lylat Cruise	Return to Corneria - Star Fox Zero
3	Shulk	Gaur Plain	Time to Fight! - Xenoblade Chronicles
4	Marth, Ike, and Roy	Coliseum	Lords-Showdown
5	Palutena and Pit	Skyworld	Destroyed Skyworld
6	Zelda and Link	Great Plateau Tower	Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand/Crazy Hand (7.0 or higher intensity)	Crazy Hand teams up with Master Hand on Intensity 7.0 or higher.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Ganondorf has Death Mountain accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Ganondorf in World of Light

Although Ganondorf does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the other fighters (except for Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Ganondorf was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. He is unlocked in the Sacred Realm in the Dark Realm on top of the land which makes up the Triforce of Power. This land can only be accessed after interacting with the Master Sword (just after the Cloud unlock). Unlocking Ganondorf will briefly reveal the Triforce of Power in the center of the map before disappearing to reveal Ganon's castle and his boss fight.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
23		Ganondorf	Attack	10,700	Bridge of Eldin (Omega Form)	Death Mountain

Spirits

Ganondorf‘s Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Ganondorf in World of Light allows the player to preview the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name of “???”. As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, Ganondorf makes appearances in various Primary Spirits, including a few as Ganon.

175. Ganondorf

191. Ganon

220. Ganondorf (Twilight Princess)

221. Beast Ganon

243. Calamity Ganon

Trivia

• Ganondorf was depicted with his sword since Super Smash Bros. Melee, yet only for taunts and victory poses. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the first game in the series to have Ganondorf use his sword in combat, although he did have a custom move in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U that allowed him to use his sword.

Palette Swaps

Gallery

Ganondorf and Ness with a Bomber item on Gaur Plain.

King Dedede with Pikachu, Kirby, and Ganondorf on Green Greens.

Bowser, Incineroar, Ridley, King K. Rool, Ganondorf, and Wolf on Midgar.

External links

23 Ganondorf – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate