Editing Ganondorf (SSBB)

{{ArticleIcons|ssbb=y|featured=y}}

|name         = Ganondorf

|image       = [[File:Ganondorf SSBB.jpg|250px|Ganondorf]]  

|game         = SSBB

|ssbgame1     = SSBM

|ssbgame2     = SSB4

|tier         = F

|ranking     = 38

'''Ganondorf''' ({{ja|ガノンドロフ|Ganondorofu}}, ''Ganondorf'') returns from ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' as a playable character. His design is based upon his appearance in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]'' (although slightly shorter compared to {{SSBB|Link}}). He retains his ''Melee'' incarnation's hand-to-hand combat style (not using his sword outside of taunts), remaining the only character to be based on a character from another series, but is no longer a straight [[clone]] of {{SSBB|Captain Falcon}}.

Ganondorf holds the distinction of being the last character on the [[tier list]] in 38th place (a significant drop from his position on the ''Melee'' tier list, where he was 12th out of 26). Ganondorf has a few strengths, including good power throughout his moveset, high endurance, very strong [[edge guard]]ing ability, access to the most powerful [[meteor smash]] in the game and a great [[semi-spike]] in his [[up aerial]]. However, these strengths are nullified by a slew of crippling flaws. Ganondorf is the slowest character in ''Brawl'', as he possesses the slowest attacks, by far the worst overall mobility, and arguably the worst recovery in the game. His main recovery move, [[Dark Dive]], is painfully easy to edgeguard and gains low horizontal and vertical distance, while his other recovery move, Flame Choke, covers minimal horizontal distance. Flame Choke can also be exploited, as it is a [[Sacrificial KO]]. Ganondorf's KO and comboing ability were also exceedingly nerfed from ''Melee''; besides losing his excellent chain-throwing options as well being adversely affected by the overall changes to [[hitstun]], many of his moves were either drastically weakened to the point where they can no longer KO at realistic percentages (such as his [[Dark Dive]]) or have received significantly larger sourspots that can't KO reliably (such as his forward aerial). Also, the loss of the [[L-cancelling]] has crippled him far more than any other character in the game, as he is no longer able to safely use his laggy aerials for general usage. Most of Ganondorf's attacks either have poor [[reach]] for a character of his size or possess poorly placed [[hitbox]]es, putting him at a serious disadvantage against characters with disjointed hitboxes (like {{SSBB|Marth}}). In addition, he possesses a slow [[grab]] that has the worst grabbing reach in ''Brawl'', which combines with slow attacks to leave him with terrible [[out of shield]] options. His heavy weight, while giving him strong endurance potential, also makes him vulnerable to [[chain grabs]] and combos (with a few of them capable of [[zero-death]]ing him outright). He also suffers from an extreme vulnerability to shield stabbing, as like {{SSBB|Donkey Kong}}, his shield is unusually small for someone his size. Finally, his lack of a projectile further hampers his approach, with the end result being that he can be [[camping|outcamped]] at essentially any range. As a result, Ganondorf has the 2nd highest tier drop ({{SSBB|Jigglypuff}} has the highest), terrible tournament results, and the dubious distinctions of not only being the only character in the entire Smash series to have absolutely no advantageous or even matchups (including being hard countered by 22 characters, the most out of any character in any Smash game), but of being the only character to have ever been in his own tier at the bottom of the tier list. He also has the highest amount of near unwinnable matchups of any character in the game, with a total of five. Despite being last on the American tier list, Ganondorf is ranked 31st on the [[Japanese tier list]], where Jigglypuff places last.

*Clear [[Classic Mode]] on hard with {{SSBB|Zelda}} or {{SSBB|Link}}.

*Have Ganondorf join the player's party in the [[Subspace Emissary]] by collecting the Link and Zelda trophies in [[Subspace (Part II)]].

Ganondorf is a [[Weight#SSBB_Weight_Ranking|heavy]], fast falling, very slow character (the slowest to be exact) with sub-par range and strong attacks. His attacks, though only in the sweetspot, deal above average knockback, although this can also serve as a problem since it prevents him from comboing at medium damage percentages or higher. His side special grants him [[launch resistance]] (only helpful in team battles or Free-for-alls) while he is holding the opponent, and it leaves opponents vulnerable for a bit of time if used on the ground, leaving them open for another quick attack being a true set up like down tilt (on most characters), his jab, or several characters getting hit by dash attack and side tilt for KOs, and even his up aerial on platforms. In the air, Ganondorf's side special can cause a [[Ganoncide]], although it is situational because even when it is impossible to escape from it or control the trajectory, landing it is very hard work. Ganondorf's moves are arguably the least affected by Smash DI because he has the lowest number of multi-hitting moves (his down smash and his neutral aerial are his '''only''' moves considered to be a multi-hitting move; however, his neutral aerial's second hit will almost never connect at higher percentages), effectively rendering escape and punishment of his attacks ineffective, although his attacks are a lot easier to shield or dodge. Ganondorf's dash attack provides him with a quick speed boost, and the move is a hard hitter as well and can also KO, but it is easily punished if shielded. Ganondorf's aerials are also very strong; all have high knockback, and his down aerial is an extremely strong, reliable spike (sometimes can KO even at 0%, depending from how far the opponent is from the lower blast line). Ganondorf`s advanced [[superjump glitch]] is very situational, but, if done right, he travels far higher in the air than any of his aerial options. This technique is called the [[Flight of Ganon]].  

However, Ganondorf's decent power and heavy weight are counter-balanced with many factors. Ganondorf is a tall target, with him being the tallest in the game (though most heavyweights have this problem). His horizontal standing [[grab]] range is the shortest in the game (though his pivot grab has good range, but slower start-up). Because of his poor grab range and slow moves, his out of shield options are some of the worst in the game (though his grab is the shortest in the game, it can sometimes still shield grab depending on the range of the opponent's attack and the shieldstun of it), forcing him to rely on powershielding, and because of how much he relies on his shield that hasn't the size of characters like Snake without being able to punish the opponent, it makes him easy to shield-stab with multi-hit moves. Ganondorf cannot even jump out of shield due to the significant jump lag (7 frames). Ganondorf has very bad [[air speed]], and a very small second jump (though it auto-sweetspots ledges, allowing him to [[plank]]). He lacks a projectile and he is easy to outcamp for those who have a projectile. Ganondorf's overall ground attack speed is among the slowest in the game along with {{SSBB|Ike}} (but 3 of Ganondorf's aerial attacks are only laggy if he lands while attacking; Ganondorf's fastest ground attack is his short-ranged grab which has 7 frames start-up).  

Although his weight and good [[momentum canceling]] allows him to live very long, his slow, predictable and easily gimped recovery does not travel far horizontally. In addition to that, his main recovery move, Dark Dive, can be hit out of from above by certain characters where he lacks hitboxes (e.g. {{SSBB|Falco}}, at around 90% damage, can spike Ganondorf out of his up special with his down aerial). It can poorly [[stage spike]] edgehoggers, but Dark Dive is easily [[tech]]ed. Because of these reasons, Ganondorf's up special is one of the worst in the game and is practical only when used offensively if the opponent is at a low percent or is one of the few who cannot punish it. Although his damage input and KO power allows to compensate his poor recovery somewhat, it still lacks sufficient utility, as opponents can act as soon as they are let go, while Ganondorf must wait for a while before attacking, giving enemies the chance to attack Ganon as soon as he lets go. He, like Captain Falcon and {{SSBB|Wolf}}, has a very fast falling speed and a heavy weight that can backfire by making him vulnerable to [[chain grab]]s. Ganondorf's mobility is also very poor with his poor air speed and ground speed; because of this, characters with a good projectile can easily break his approach and force him to jump and still get very little distance. To counteract this, Ganondorf mains often have to learn to [[perfect shield]] every projectile aimed at him. Also, certain characters can avoid much of his moveset by [[crouching]] (jab, f-tilt, non-down angled forward smash, down smash, auto-canceled short hop down aerial, [[Warlock Punch]], grounded [[Wizard's Foot]] and even standing grab and dash grab).

Ganondorf's high knockback attacks also gives him one of the worst comboing ability, due to the change of the hitstun mechanics and many of his combos last only for 2 or 3 hits. His only combos are the ''thunder hopping'' technique and his [[Flame Choke]] and those 2 moves are also deemed ineffective at comboing, with the former being easily avoidable by crouching and stoping working at 60% and the latter being very laggy.

==Changes from ''Melee'' to ''Brawl''==

Ganondorf has been overwhelmingly nerfed from ''Melee'' to ''Brawl''. His comboing and K.O.ing ability have been severely crippled, with the former going from one of the best comboing abilities to one of the worst (mainly because of the loss of his chain throws), and with the latter going from the second best K.O.ing power to only slightly above-average (because of his moves either being drastically weakened to the point where they cannot K.O. even at 200% or have received extremely large sourspots that can't K.O. reliably). Also, his already poor recovery has been harmed to be on-par with Link for the worst in the game. Finally his overall range have been reduced, and many of his moves have severe lag.

He received many animation changes to separate him from [[Captain Falcon]], making Ganondorf now a [[semi-clone]] of him.

*{{change|Ganondorf's design is based on his appearance in ''The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess''.}}

*{{change|Ganondorf's dash animation is changed to a jog instead of a sprint, and his rolling dodges are now sidesteps instead of backflips.}}

*{{buff|Ganondorf now has access to the [[Flight of Ganon]] technique.}}

*{{nerf|Dashing speed is significantly slower (from 1.35 to 1.16), now being the second slowest in the game.}}

*{{nerf|Relative to the rest of the cast, Ganondorf falls faster, going from the 10th highest falling speed out of 26 characters in ''Melee'', to tied for 7th highest out of 39 characters in ''Brawl''. While this slightly improves Ganondorf's vertical endurance, it worsens his already poor recovery, and makes him especially vulnerable to chain throws and combos. Considering his lack of movement speed and mobility, and his very laggy aerials, this falling speed increase does him more harm than good.}}

*{{nerf|Ganondorf's rolls are slower and cover less distance.}}

===Ground Attacks===

*{{buff|Jab now has a sweetspot that deals 2% more damage and even more knockback, and has slightly more reach.}}

*{{nerf|Jab is significantly slower, going from a very fast 3 frames in start-up, to a very slow 9 frames. This also makes Ganondorf's fastest attack outside his grab much slower, significantly weakening his inclose game.}}

*{{change|Jab is now a palm strike with the full length of Ganondorf's arm rather than a short ranged punch.}}

*{{buff|Dash attack is drastically more powerful, now being a reliable KO move that can KO in the 100-125% range. Despite the significant power increase, it is still the second most powerful dash attack.}}

*{{buff|Forward tilt is stronger and now launches enemies at a [[semi-spike]] angle.}}

*{{nerf|Forward tilt has 1 frame slower start-up, less horizontal reach (despite Ganondorf being taller/bigger in ''Brawl''), more ending lag, and cannot be angled, making it more difficult to land, and a less safe and less useful [[space]]r.}}

*{{change|Forward tilt is now a front kick rather than a roundhouse kick.}}

*{{buff|The start-up of up tilt now produces a weak vacuum effect, and the explosion produced is significantly larger, giving the move drastically better reach and making it overall easier to land. The move also has 7 frames faster start-up.}}

*{{nerf|Up tilt now has several large, drastically weaker sourspot hitboxes throughout the attack, and the sweetspot is significantly weaker as well. The sweetspot though still KOs at an extremely early 50% however, while the sourspots can KO around the 75-100% range, making it still the most powerful tilt by far.}}

*{{change|Up tilt now has Ganondorf holding up his leg while its charging.}}

*{{buff|Down tilt is stronger and has slightly more reach.}}

*{{change|Down tilt is now a front kick rather than a sweeping kick.}}

*{{buff|Forward smash now produces normal horizontal knockback, and is more powerful as well.}}

*{{nerf|Ganondorf lunges about half the distance during his forward smash, significantly decreasing its reach (despite it having a bigger hitbox) unless it's pivoted.}}

*{{nerf|Ganondorf's new up smash, a single upwards kick, is weaker than the first kick in Ganondorf's ''Melee'' up smash. The move additionally has slightly slower start-up lag and a sourspot on the leg.}}

*{{nerf|Down smash is much worse. The transitioning to the second kick is carried out slower, making the first kick less reliable at carrying opponents into the second kick. Along with this, the move has much more ending lag, making it much less safe to use. The second kick additionally hits at a more diagonal angle with much less knockback scaling, making the move KO much later (opponents can now survive it to over 150% under standard conditions) and overall a much less reliable KO move. The first kick also deals 3% less damage.}}

===Aerial Attacks===

*{{nerf|The second kick of neutral aerial is drastically weaker, dealing 7% less damage while producing little knockback, completely removing its KOing capabilities. The first kick also deals 1% less damage.}}

*{{change|Neutral aerial is now a low kick then a high kick using both legs instead of two high kicks with one leg.}}

*{{nerf|Forward aerial has more landing lag and drastically more ending lag. The move also now has a large sourspot on Ganondorf's arm that is significantly weaker. As such, despite the sweetspot being slightly stronger than it was in ''Melee'', this significantly hinders the move's usability, completely removing its capability as an effective aerial spacer, while making it a dangerously unsafe and difficult to land KO move. Also, the move has less reach, as in-game data shows that it was supposed to have a third hitbox, like it did in ''Melee''.}}

*{{buff|Down aerial autocancels earlier in a short hop, giving Ganondorf the [[Thunder hopping]] technique.}}

*{{nerf|Down aerial now has a sourspot that deals 5% less damage on Ganondorf's upper body, and has smaller hitboxes overall. It also deals less base knockback.}}

*{{change|Down aerial has Ganondorf's arms to his side instead of up next to his head.}}

*{{nerf|Back aerial deals weaker knockback, KOing about 15-25% later. Its hitbox duration was additionally reduced to half of its previous duration, and has less reach, making it more difficult to land. The move`s sourspot on Ganondorf's arm is also weaker (due to lower knockback scaling, from 100 to 85), but it is still not that much weaker than the sourspot.}}

*{{nerf|The loss of L-cancelling hurt Ganondorf far more than any other character, as he can no longer safely use his powerful but laggy aerials for general usage, which was a major part of Ganondorf's success in ''Melee''.}}

===Grabs and Throws===

*{{nerf|Grabbing reach was significantly reduced to being the shortest-reaching grab in the game, significantly hurting Ganondorf's out of shield capabilities and inclose game.}}

*{{buff|Forward and back throws were improved; forward throw deals 4% more damage for a high 13% total, while back throw deals 1% more with significantly improved knockback, getting opponents offstage more effectively and now being capable of KOing at very high damages.}}

*{{nerf|Up throw is near useless; while it deals 2% more damage, it deals significantly higher base knockback with more ending lag, completely removing its chain throwing capabilities and making it completely unreliable for setting up followups, while it still can't KO at realistic damages under standard conditions.}}

*{{change|Up throw has Ganondorf lifting his opponent overhead before punching them.}}

*{{nerf|Down throw now sends opponents a fair distance forward, removing its chain throwing capabilities and making it much less reliable at setting up followups.}}

===Special Moves===

*{{buff|Warlock Punch is significantly more powerful, now being capable of reliably KOing under 25%. It can additionally be reversed for more power. The move also has slightly faster start-up lag.}}

*{{change|Warlock Punch is now a back handed punch with his left hand instead of a straight punch with his right.}}

*{{buff|Ganondorf gained a new side special, [[Flame Choke]], which operates similarly to [[Gerudo Dragon]], but instead of uppercutting the opponent, it works as a special inescapable grab that weakly meteor smashes enemies into the ground which causes them to weakly bounce upward and thus setting potential follow-ups. The aerial version causes both Ganondorf and his opponent to plummet downwards until they hit the ground, allowing it to be used a [[suicide KO]]. Ganondorf and his opponent additionally have [[launch resistance]] as he holds them up in the air. This new move is significantly better, the grounded version setting up followups much better while being a more versatile move in general. It additionally can actually be used for recovery, unlike Gerudo Dragon, which (like Captain Falcon`s [[Raptor Boost]] in ''Melee'') did not [[edge sweetspot]].}}

*{{nerf|Flame Choke deals 8% less damage on the ground and 4% less in the air than Gerudo Dragon.}}

*{{buff|Dark Dive can now grab opponents hanging on the ledge. It additionally gains slightly better vertical distance, and now produces a non-grabbing hitbox in the move's ending uppercut animation to prevent edgehoggers, which deals less damage but has higher knockback than the throw.}}

*{{nerf|Dark Dive's throw is drastically weaker to where it cannot KO at realistic damages outside [[stage spiking]] (KOs at 300%), and deals 6% less damage. This extremely weak knockback also gives the move almost no [[hitstun]], now allowing opponents to hit Ganondorf as soon as they're released from Dark Dive, weakening Ganondorf's already poor recovery farther, and making the move completely unsafe to use in general. It also has more difficulty turning around (1 frame window), 1 frame slower start-up, and its furthest grabbox has slightly less reach (in data, from 14.4 to 13.65). This cripple has thus made Dark Dive infamously the worst move in Ganondorf's arsenal, and the worst special move in ''Brawl''.}}

*{{change|Dark Dive now has Ganondorf spinning sideways with a sweeping uppercut with his hand at the climax of the move, and no longer spins forward while falling.}}

*{{buff|Aerial Wizard's Foot is significantly more powerful, and the non-initial hitboxes of the move no longer [[spike]]s, allowing it to be an effective vertical KO move, as well as a better anti-juggle attack.}}

*{{nerf|Grounded Wizard's Foot is significantly weaker, dealing 3% less damage, and it is no longer a reliable KO move under 150%. It also now has sourspots on the later portion of the move.}}

*{{nerf|Aerial Wizard's Foot no longer restores Ganondorf's midair jump, drastically hindering Ganondorf's recovery. The initial hitbox can now be [[meteor cancel]]led, making it a [[meteor smash]] instead of a spike, but still retains its diagonal angle. Additionally, since it no longer meteor smashes outside the initial hitbox, the move is less useful when offstage.}}

*{{change|Grounded Wizard's Foot has Ganondorf's foot pointed outwards instead of upward.}}

=====Normal=====

*[[Neutral attack]] - Quick palm strike. Moderate knockback, deals more damage if the tip of the attack connects. Very slow for a jab, but it is Ganondorf's quickest ground attack. Hits on frame 8-9, and ends on frame 25 which makes it one of the slowest jabs in the game. This attack is good to use out of a [[perfect shield]]. Does 7%, 9% if tipped and 5% if hit from very close.

*[[Dash attack]] - Shoulder tackle. Ganondorf gains a quick speed boost during the move. Has fairly long duration. Like {{SSBB|King Dedede}}'s, this can KO at high percentages. The 2nd strongest dash attack. Some characters can be dash attacked after a grounded [[Flame Choke]]. However, it is very unsafe on shields because it has fairly little shield stun and the opponent goes back with Ganondorf. Does 15%. Hits on frame 10-19.

*[[Up tilt]] - Ganondorf lifts his leg for a very long time before smashing it down in an explosion. Has [[vacuum]] properties, and has huge damage and knockback if it connects, and it does very high damage on shields. Does less damage and with only vertical knockback if it connects from afar. The explosion has incredibly long range, which is disjointed and about as long as the vacuum. His slowest start up attack (81 frames of start-up lag, almost 1.5 seconds), yet not one of his longer end lag attacks. Can KO at low percentage if used very close to the edge and the opponent doesn't utilise DI and [[momentum cancelling]]. 27%, 19% if hit from afar. It is the strongest up tilt in the game, and one of the strongest attacks in the game.

*[[Forward tilt]] - Ganondorf leans back a little and thrusts one leg straight forward. Surprisingly the same range as his jab, but slightly slower start up (10-12 frames). Still fairly quick. Good low angle horizontal knockback with a semi-spike trajectory, which is good for KOing characters with poor horizontal recovery. Often referred to as the "Sparta" Kick due to this attack resembling a kick from a famous scene in the movie ''300''. Ganondorf makes a similar kick in the final battle of Twilight Princess. Inflicts 12%-13%.

*[[Down tilt]] - Ganondorf kneels on one leg and sweeps the other leg forward. Great range and sets up for aerials, including a slight disjoint in the end but is not safe when shielded (although more safe than most of his moves). Lowest knockback out of all of his tilts, although still powerful in general. Does 12% damage. It also stuns weak enemies in [[Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary]] before destroying them. Could be chained against opponents at low percentages but has a risk of being shield grabbed. Hits on frame 10-12.

*[[Forward smash]] - Elbow thrust, with a [[darkness]] on contact. Moderately slow startup (but fast for being such a powerful move) with high ending lag. Has very high knockback, KOing reliably at 70%. Although farther hitboxes do exactly the same damage, they have slightly less knockback. Can be angled up or down. This is somewhat unique to other Side Smashes that can be angled as the damage does not increase when angled upward and does not decrease when angled downward. Stutter Stepping increases its range a bit. This attack also has a disjointed hitbox. Ganondorf used a similar elbow strike attack in ''Twilight Princess'', but it lacked dark magic. Inflicts 24%-33% damage. Hits from frame 22 to 27.

*[[Up smash]] - Ganondorf does a high kick, lifting his leg to about thirty degrees from vertical quickly. Has lots of [[IASA]] frames. Very effective to charge it as it's safe on shields, but unfortunately it has poor horizontal range. Has a slight disjoint in the farthest horizontal range. Does 19%-26% damage if hit with leg, 22%-30% damage if hit with foot. Hits on frame 22-24.

*[[Down smash]] - Ganondorf sweeps his leg forward, then back. The knockback from the first kick usually makes the second kick connect as well. First hit comes out fairly fast (at least in comparison to Ganondorf's other moves, being 16 frames) but second hit is somewhat laggy (hits on frame 36). Nearly useless move in general because the 1st hit can be Smash [[DI]]ed out of the 2nd hit and it's weak compared to his other moves. Does 19%-26%. One of its few uses is to punish a roll.

=====Other=====

*[[Ledge attack]] - Backhands the edgeguarding opponent. If the opponent is a distance away, the attack knocks them away. If the opponent is standing close to Ganondorf, the attack will throw the opponent off the ledge. 10%.

*100% Ledge Attack - Ducks slightly and delivers a kick across the ground. Comes out fast, and Ganon keeps low. 10%.

*Trip attack - Does a rising, spinning kick. Reach of the attack extends across the entire height of his legs, and the attack is incredibly fast. 6%.

*[[Floor attack]] - Flips upward, kicking with his feet, similar to his up-aerial.

====[[Aerial attack]]s====

*[[Neutral aerial]] - Double kick. The first hit will hit hard but weak compared to his other aerials and the second hit deals a weaker attack that lacks KO potential. However, the first kick can still KO at high percentage. First hit deals 11% while the second does 7%. Total 18%. First kick hits on frame 7-13, second kick on 20-32 frames.

*[[Forward aerial]] - Swings his hand forward in an overhead arc downward. High knockback. Slower, longer range, high land lag and slightly weaker than Captain Falcon's [[Knee Smash]], and has somewhat of a sweetspot, which is the fist (doing 17% damage) with huge base knockback but fairly little knockback growth compared to its base Knockback, whereas if it connects with his arm, it does 15% with less knockback. Sweetspot is fairly safe on shields due its high amount of shieldstun, while the sourspot is unsafe on shields. Hits on frame 14-19.

*[[Back aerial]] - Backhand. One of Ganondorf's fastest aerials, good knockback. One of his few moves that are fairly safe on shield even when it's not auto canceled, but unfortunately its high vertical hitbox reduces its usefulness as it can't hit grounded opponents with a buffered short hop back aerial. Can be ground canceled. Does 16%. Hitbox out on frame 10 until 12.

*[[Up aerial]] - Overhead flip kick. The hitbox travels in a large arc, hitting opponents above and behind as well. Fast and great for edge guarding. Difficult to hit smaller characters on the ground. Very strong at the start and semi-spike at the end. Hit in last few frames is great at gimping recoveries that either lacks horizontally, vertically, or both. Ganondorf's fastest attack and grants him a good aerial game because of its range and speed. Inflicts 13%. Hits on frame 6-16.

*[[Down aerial]] - A [[Stomp]] attack. Ganondorf kicks his legs downward, with an electric effect if the attack connects. Will always spike if it hits, even if not sweetspotted, which makes it one of the easier to spike with. Inflicts 23% damage. If connected with body instead of his leg, the attack will do 17%. This [[meteor smash]] has by far the highest knockback growth in the game but still average base knockback spike, making it along {{SSBB|Ness}}'s down aerial (which instead has very high base knockback but fairly low knockback growth), often KOing even at 0% (although, with DI, and if their recovery is well-timed, some characters can survive this up to around 80%, however, it is very difficult to Meteor Cancel at such high percentages). This spike is so powerful that grounded opponents will be launched upward, getting [[Star KO]]ed at high enough damages (most characters lower than 100%). Can chain 2 autocanceled down aerials at 0%, or 1 down aerial to chain into an up smash or short hop up aerial. Ganondorf can also chain three autocanceled down aerials at 0% on large, heavy characters like Bowser, dealing roughly 60%. Can be auto-canceled after [[short hop]]s making it a great approach move, and is also a solid edgeguarding move. Despite its somewhat slow start-up (16 frames), it can be difficult for characters off-stage to avoid it due to its deceptive horizontal range. However, its KO power stales extremely quickly and many characters can avoid it by simply crouching.

===[[Grab]]s & [[Throw]]s===

*Range - High vertical range but one of the shortest horizontal grab ranges (the shortest in the game) except the pivot grab which has good range.

*[[Forward throw]] - Punches his opponent forward. High damage for a throw and good power. Does 13% worth damage.

*[[Up throw]] - Throws opponent upward and jabs his/her back. A poor throw that isn't strong enough to KO under 200%, but has too high of base knockback to be effective at setting up more attacks at low percentages. Does 7%.

===Special Moves===

{{Special Moves|char=Ganondorf|game=SSBB}}

*'''Up:''' Floats in the air, curls into a ball, spins, opens up from his curled position and poses, all while laughing maniacally. (Same as in ''Melee'')

*'''Down:''' Takes his sword out, dark energy pulses from the tip, looks at it, then puts it away. It is possible to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk6vc6FIo6Y hack] such that Ganondorf is permanently holding an invisible [[Beam Sword]], using his sword as the visible weapon.

===[[Cheer]]===

[[File:Ganondorf Cheer NTSC Brawl.ogg|thumb|Ganondorf's NTSC and PAL cheer]]

Gan-on-dorf! (deep male voices)

===[[Wii Remote]] choice===

A sound clip of Ganondorf shouting from ''Melee'' is heard.

===Matchups===

===Notable players===

:''See also: [[:Category:Ganondorf professionals (SSBB)]]

Ganondorf initially was not seen as the worst character, being ranked above {{SSBB|Link}} and Captain Falcon on the first tier list, and was still ranked above Captain Falcon on the second tier list. From the third tier list on however, Ganondorf has been consistently ranked the worst character, and, on the fifth tier list, was considered to be so much worse than everyone else he was ranked in his own tier at the absolute bottom. Despite his reputation as the worst character, he has a dedicated playerbase that has achieved better tournament success than most other bottom/low tier characters (however minor it is). A player named {{Sm|Fonz}} even once won [http://www.smashboards.com/threads/go-kakuto-geemu-results.305979/#post-12926734 a legitimate tournament] using Ganondorf (except for one match), an accomplishment players of most other low/bottom tier characters have not been able to achieve. As such, with Ganondorf's better tournament success compared to most other low/bottom characters, there has been some dispute on if Ganondorf is actually the worst character in ''Brawl'', with Zelda and Jigglypuff frequently being cited as even worse. Interestingly, the [[Japanese tier list|Japanese]] do not consider Ganondorf the worst character, and actually have him listed above five other characters on their tier list. Despite this, the BBR still considered Ganondorf the worst character in their most recent tier list.

==In [[Event Matches]]==

*'''[[Event 31: The Ultimate Bodyguard]]''': As {{SSBB|Marth}}, the player must defend {{SSBB|Zelda}} against 2 Ganondorfs each with 2 stock each. The event results in a failure if either Marth or Zelda is KO'd. During the third background change, Zelda will transform into {{SSBB|Sheik}} and help.

*'''[[Event 33: Advent of the Evil King]]''': As, Ganondorf, the player must defeat {{SSBB|Link}}, Zelda and {{SSBB|Pit}}. The player has 2 stocks while the opponents have 1.

*'''[[Event 34: All-Star Battle Melee]]''': Ganondorf is one of the eight opponents fought in this event. All opponents debut in Melee and returned as veterans.

*'''[[Event 40: The Final Battle]]''': Ganondorf is one of the opponent fought along with {{SSBB|King Dedede}} and {{SSBB|Bowser}}. The character, chosen by the player, as 2 stocks while the opponents have 1.

*'''[[Co-Op Event 13: Blades of the Quick and Mighty]]''': A team of Marth and {{SSBB|Ike}} must defeat {{SSBB|Link}}, {{SSBB|Meta Knight}}, and Ganondorf in a 1 stock battle. Strangely, Ganondorf only uses his sword in a taunt since the name refers to swordsman.

*'''[[Co-Op Event 14: The Dark Guardians]]''': A team of Ganondorf and {{SSBB|Wolf}} must defeat Giant {{SSBB|Charizard}} and Giant {{SSBB|Donkey Kong}} in a 1 stock battle. The players are tiny in this event.

*'''[[Co-Op Event 20: The Final Battle for Two]]''': Ganondorf is one of the six opponents the two players must fight in order to finish this event. All opponents are playable antagonists in this event.

*'''[[Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle]]''': Two players select a character and must defeat the entire ''Brawl'' roster.

[[File:Ganondorf (Resized).png|thumb|right|250px|Ganondorf's introduction in the Subspace Emissary]]

 

Ganondorf plays the role of the second main antagonist (under [[Tabuu]]) alongside Bowser in the Subspace Emissary.

Ganondorf first appears in a control room on the [[Isle of the Ancients]], where {{SSBB|Zero Suit Samus}} was in to find her Power Suit, giving {{SSBB|Bowser}} the coordinates to find {{SSBB|King Dedede}}, who had stolen {{SSBB|Wario}}'s trophies.

Later, in the same control room, he receives orders from [[Master Hand]] to destroy the Isle of the Ancients. Appearing in their island base as a hologram, he consequently orders the [[R.O.B. Squad]] to activate all of the [[Subspace Bomb]]s on the Isle. When the [[Ancient Minister]] objects, Ganondorf presses an override button that forces the R.O.B.s to ignore the Minister and continue. When he continues to intervene, Ganondorf goes further and forces the R.O.B.s to attack the Ancient Minister, setting him aflame; while sending a flock of [[Auroros]] to distract an approaching group of heroes. Suddenly, the burning Ancient Minister fires beams from his eyes, destroying the Auroros and shedding the remnants of his robes to show that he himself is a {{SSBB|R.O.B.}}, and proceeds to help the others fight the advancing Subspace troops.

After the Isle of the Ancients is engulfed in Subspace, Ganondorf appears on the [[Subspace Gunship]] as its co-commander, with Bowser, but they are forced to retreat into Subspace when the Gunship is destroyed by {{SSBB|Kirby}} and his [[Dragoon]]. Ganondorf then decides it is time to betray Master Hand, so he takes out the last remaining [[Dark Cannon]] and fires it at Bowser, his own co-captain and the most loyal of Master Hand's henchmen. Kicking the Bowser [[trophy]] out of the way, Ganondorf proceeds to present himself to Master Hand. However, as he prepares to betray Master Hand for complete control of the [[Subspace Army]], he sees that Master Hand was literally a puppet of [[Tabuu]], the supreme ruler of Subspace. Ganondorf tries to attack him, but is defeated and turned into a trophy. As he falls, however, he bumps into the chains of light which puppeteer Master Hand, freeing him from Tabuu's control. Master Hand then attempts to attack Tabuu, but is defeated with ease.

Later, after the main group of heroes had been defeated by Tabuu and rescued by {{SSBB|Luigi}}, {{SSBB|Ness}} and King Dedede, Kirby finds Ganondorf's trophy - leading the resurrected Bowser to appear and brutally attack the trophy as an act of revenge before tossing it aside. If both Link and Zelda were rescued, a [[List of cutscenes in the Subspace Emissary|cutscene]] will show Ganondorf being revived by them (with a headache from his trophification and Bowser's retaliation) and after the Hyrulian heroes walk away he clenches his fist in anger and helps the heroes travel through [[The Great Maze]] in order to defeat Tabuu.

Ganondorf appears frequently during Subspace Emissary.

*[[The Subspace Bomb Factory (Part II)]]  

[[File:Ganondorf Palette (SSBB).png|frame|center|Ganondorf's alternate costumes in ''Brawl'']]

==Trophy description==

[[File:Ganondorf - Brawl Trophy.png|100px|thumb|Ganondorf's trophy in ''Brawl'']]

{{Trophy games|console1=N64|game1=[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]|console2=Wii|game2=[[zeldawiki:The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]}}

*Ganondorf is the only playable villain who is never fought in the Subspace Emissary, excluding his dark clone in [[The Great Maze]].

*Though Ganondorf can be the first character unlocked by playing Classic Mode as Link/Zelda on hard, he is one of the last characters to be unlocked by playing the Subspace Emissary, due to being one of the main antagonists of the story (all antagonists of the SSE are always a few of the last characters to join the player's party)

*Ganondorf is the only character to have three moves with grab hitboxes (Dark Dive, Flame Choke, and his standard grab).

*The sound clip that plays on the [[Wii Remote]] speaker when Ganondorf is selected is a sound clip from ''Melee''; unusually, it's never used in the latter game, save for the Sound Test.

*Ganondorf and {{SSBB|R.O.B.}} are the only characters in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' to be unlocked on a [[stage]] that is not from their respective universe. In Ganondorf's case, he is unlocked on Final Destination. In fact, he is the only unlockable character who is unlocked on a stage from the Super Smash Bros universe in [[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]] (Final Destination). R.O.B on the other hand is unlocked on the stage [[Mario Bros.]]. And even though it is not from the R.O.B universe, that stage is considered his [[home stage]] just because no characters from the Mario universe are seen there on {{SSBB|Classic Mode}} and [[All Star Mode]].  

*Ganondorf, {{SSBB|Mario}}, and Bowser are the only veterans in ''Brawl'' to receive one completely different special move. In Ganondorf's case, his side special was changed.

*[http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=200364 Ganondorf Character Guide at SWF]

[[Category:The Legend of Zelda universe]]

[[Category:Subspace Army]]

[[Category:Ganondorf (SSBB)]]