Flight of Ganon

The Flight of Ganon (also known as Ganon Super Jump or FoG) is an advanced technique in Brawl that only Ganondorf can perform. It allows him to make a very high jump, significantly outleaping his short regular jumps (though it leaves him with no second jump left). The technique is used by using a jump and the Wizard's Foot simultaneously one frame before landing on the ground. The combination of the jump force, slight pullback of an aerial Wizard's Foot, and landing timing results in Ganondorf undergoing a strong upwards force without actually using the move.

Execution

While it is incredibly difficult to accomplish in any situation due to the two-button timing required and the general difficulty in predicting where one frame from the ground is at one's current falling speed, there are two methods that use buffering to make it easier.

Method 1

A Flight of Ganon performed with Method 1.

Method 1 of Flight of Ganon is the most well-known and easiest to perform. However, its ease of execution is commensurate with its borderline uselessness. To perform Method 1, the player stands on the very edge of the stage facing inwards, executes a Wizard's Foot, and during the "rolling" animation at the end of the Wizard's Foot, buffers a jump and down special simultaneously.

Normally, Wizard's Foot's ending animation on stage is Ganondorf kneeling to the ground as part of his cooldown. However, by standing on the very edge of the stage, the game acknowledges this as an offstage Wizard's Foot, which, unlike the onstage animation, results in a "rolling" or "flipping" animation. Onstage, this sets Ganondorf 1 frame from the ground, making the jump count reset executable with reasonable accuracy, allowing for Flight of Ganon to be performed.

Method 2

Method 2 of Flight of Ganon is extremely difficult to perform, however, it is far less circumstantial than method 1. Flight of Ganon Method 2 is performed by doing a short hop and at the apex of the short hop, follow up immediately with a buffered airdodge double jump, and as soon as the airdodge frames end, inputting jump and down special. Buffering the inputs after the short hop and airdodge is used to time the one-frame window. The window for properly executing the double jump at the top of the shorthop is a frame or two wider than a bare landing would be, but the technique is still difficult due to having to line the double jump up with an airdodge.

Note that the important part of Method 2 is the height when the double jump is used. The initial shorthop is not strictly necessary; it is only to visualize the height at which the double jump should be used. Ganondorf can jump or fall from any height and successfully perform the technique as long as the double jump is used at the correct height.

Application

While it may seem useful for the low-altitude Ganondorf to possess a high-leaping ability, the Flight of Ganon is a bit of a gimmick technique mainly due to the one frame timing window and significant setup required for either method. It does have its uses, however: it allows Ganondorf to chase characters who are recovering high (most notably, Snake), or who have been sent high by an attack but not quite KO'd. Opponents who think they can use their floatiness to meander around while preparing a landing strategy, e.g., Samus bomb-stalling in the air, can be caught completely off guard by the rare superjump followed by a forward air or up air, but only if they do not recognize the setup procedure.

External links

• Video showing the ways to perform the Flight of Ganon
• Video showing its ways to perform it on every stage