Ganondorf (SSBU): Difference between revisions
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**{{buff|The charge deals more damage (40% → 45%).}} | **{{buff|The charge deals more damage (40% → 45%).}} | ||
**{{change|Opponents are immediately [[meteor smash]]ed upon being hit by the twin greatswords.}} | **{{change|Opponents are immediately [[meteor smash]]ed upon being hit by the twin greatswords.}} | ||
**{{nerf|The [[bury]]ing hitbox that | **{{nerf|The [[bury]]ing hitbox that occurred when transforming was removed.}} | ||
**{{nerf|The meteor smash hitbox has significantly less horizontal reach, stopping at his twin greatswords.}} | **{{nerf|The meteor smash hitbox has significantly less horizontal reach, stopping at his twin greatswords.}} | ||
**{{nerf|The charge has a sourspot at the start that does less damage (45% → 35%).}} | **{{nerf|The charge has a sourspot at the start that does less damage (45% → 35%).}} | ||
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Ganondorf received a small bag of mixed changes over the game's updates. 1.1.0 removed one of his edgeguard deterrents and best punishment options by making his [[Flame Choke]] [[Sacrificial KO]] kill Ganondorf first, which further worsens his already poor recovery. 3.0.0 adjusted his hurtbox so that he is more consistently hit by multihit attacks. | Ganondorf received a small bag of mixed changes over the game's updates. 1.1.0 removed one of his edgeguard deterrents and best punishment options by making his [[Flame Choke]] [[Sacrificial KO]] kill Ganondorf first, which further worsens his already poor recovery. 3.0.0 adjusted his hurtbox so that he is more consistently hit by multihit attacks. | ||
On the upside, 2.0.0 allowed | On the upside, 2.0.0 allowed forward aerial to autocancel out of a double jump, which was infamous in ''Brawl'' and ''SSB4'' for not cancelling even out of a full hop and would almost always force him to enter the landing animation. Ganondorf also benefits from the universal nerf on projectiles dealing less shield damage in 3.0.0, improving his approach against projectile camping. | ||
'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|1.1.0}}''' | '''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|1.1.0}}''' | ||
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*According to Sakurai from a Famitsu column, as of January 2019, Ganondorf was the most used fighter in [[Elite Smash]].<ref>https://nintendoeverything.com/sakurai-talks-smash-bros-ultimate-online-mode-victory-rates-character-usage-more/</ref> | *According to Sakurai from a Famitsu column, as of January 2019, Ganondorf was the most used fighter in [[Elite Smash]].<ref>https://nintendoeverything.com/sakurai-talks-smash-bros-ultimate-online-mode-victory-rates-character-usage-more/</ref> | ||
*Despite reverting back to his ''Ocarina of Time'' design in this game, Ganondorf is the only returning ''Zelda'' character from ''SSB4'' (excluding Toon Link) to have his ''Twilight Princess'' design directly referenced in this game, as a spirit. | *Despite reverting back to his ''Ocarina of Time'' design in this game, Ganondorf is the only returning ''Zelda'' character from ''SSB4'' (excluding Toon Link) to have his ''Twilight Princess'' design directly referenced in this game, as a spirit. | ||
*Ganondorf’s extreme power has become a popular meme within the community, most notably associated with his forward smash ( | *Ganondorf’s extreme power has become a popular meme within the community, most notably associated with his forward smash (nicknamed “Doriyah” after the cry he exclaims when executing the attack), as well as his general ability to take stocks before his opponents despite being at much higher percentages than they are. | ||
*In [[World of Light]], despite being able to transform into [[Ganon, the Demon King]], Ganondorf is awakened before having to fight his monstrous form. This is unlike fellow transforming king of evil {{SSBU|Bowser}}, who is fought in his [[Giga Bowser]] form and is awakened after the battle. | *In [[World of Light]], despite being able to transform into [[Ganon, the Demon King]], Ganondorf is awakened before having to fight his monstrous form. This is unlike fellow transforming king of evil {{SSBU|Bowser}}, who is fought in his [[Giga Bowser]] form and is awakened after the battle. | ||
*Ganondorf can be unlocked in {{SSBU|Yoshi}}'s unlock column, alongside {{SSBU|Lucario}}. This is a reference to ''Brawl'', as all three characters occupy the third row in ''Brawl'''s [[character selection screen]]. | *Ganondorf can be unlocked in {{SSBU|Yoshi}}'s unlock column, alongside {{SSBU|Lucario}}. This is a reference to ''Brawl'', as all three characters occupy the third row in ''Brawl'''s [[character selection screen]]. |
Revision as of 13:17, June 25, 2019
Ganondorf in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | |
---|---|
Universe | The Legend of Zelda |
Other playable appearances | in Melee in Brawl in SSB4 |
Availability | Unlockable |
Final Smash | Ganon, The Demon King |
“ | His new design matches his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time! Now he uses his sword for all his smash attacks. He's a bit slimmer then [sic] he was before, but his Warlock Punch is devastating! For his final smash he transforms into Ganon, The Demon King and quickly charges forward. | ” |
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site |
Ganondorf (ガノンドロフ, Ganondorf) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially confirmed on June 12th, 2018 alongside Ryu and the rest of the returning roster. Ganondorf is classified as fighter #23.
Takashi Nagasako reprises his role as Ganondorf after having previously voiced the character in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Smash Bros. Melee, providing new voice clips, replacing Hironori Miyata from Brawl and Smash 4.
How to unlock
Complete one of the following:
- Play VS. matches, with Ganondorf being the 40th character to be unlocked.
- Clear Classic Mode with Yoshi or any character in his unlock tree, being the fourth character unlocked after Ryu.
- Have Ganondorf join the player's party in World of Light.
With the exception of the third method, Ganondorf must then be defeated on the Bridge of Eldin.
Attributes
Ganondorf is the epitome of the archetype of super heavyweight: he is the fifth heaviest character in the game and possesses great power in exchange for slow mobility and poor frame data. Despite his high traction and above average falling speed, he has the seventh slowest walking speed, fourth slowest dashing speed, third slowest air speed, sixth slowest air acceleration, and fourth lowest jump and double jump heights. As a result, he is among the least mobile characters in the game, but his high endurance lets him survive very high percentages and benefit from rage.
Ganondorf's most defining trait is his incredible power and damage output. Almost all of his moves inflict 10%-25% damage and are capable of KOing under 150% or even 100% with ease, even from the middle of Final Destination, giving him one of the strongest punishment games in the roster. His forward tilt and down smash are very powerful semi-spikes, while his forward smash and up smash have impressive disjointed hitbox as they utilize a large sword that covers around Ganondorf's body while being able to hit ledgehangers, with the former being the third strongest of its kind that KOs well below 65%. His Warlock Punch, in spite of being his slowest move, also KOs exceedingly early, especially when used in the air and reversed, which can one-hit KO middleweights. Thanks to his strength, Ganondorf has one of the strongest KO abilities in the game, as he can rack up damage and KO opponents in less than a few hits.
Ganondorf's shield-breaking capabilities are very potent. His forward and up smashes, Warlock Punch, and aerial Wizard's Foot can bring down shields to a sliver of health, while his Volcano Kick (up tilt) has vacuum properties, deceptively large reach, and does immense shield damage allowing it to shatter shields outright over a large distance. He can also play mindgames to make opponents with low shield health play more carefully as a single hit from one of his attacks can break their shield, allowing him to punish their mistakes. As such, mistiming or overusing shields against Ganondorf is incredibly deadly, as his aforementioned powerful moves allow him to capitalize shield breaks.
Despite his power, Ganondorf has excellent combo starters and does not suffer from a poor combo ability. His down throw can combo into every aerial except down aerial or dash attack up to middle percentages. His dash attack is versatile, with its early hit leading into neutral aerial, up aerial, or Dark Dive at early percentages while possessing high KO power, and its late hit granting followups into neutral attack, forward tilt, grab, all aerials except down aerial, and Dark Dive, with the latter two being potential kill confirms at high percentages. Neutral aerial's set knockback on the first kick as well as the late hit of the second kick can lead into neutral attack, grab, forward tilt, down tilt, or dash attack right after landing on the ground. Sweetspotted down aerial's high hitstun combos into neutral attack, grab, forward tilt, down tilt, every aerial, up smash, or down smash up to middle percentages. Perhaps Ganondorf's best combo starter is grounded Flame Choke: it is a command grab that meteor smashes opponents into the ground which leads into a myriad of followups such as neutral attack, forward tilt, down tilt and dash attack, or create a read situation and follow with aerials, smashes, Wizard's Foot, or another Flame Choke. While Flame Choke can be teched, its low ending lag allows Ganondorf to tech-chase with the move, with some followups hitting short-distanced techs such as forward tilt covering Bowser's inward tech, up smash or turnaround down smash on Snake's inward tech, down tilt on Inkling's tech away, or neutral attack on all of Piranha Plant's tech options. Some characters can even be trapped at the ledge, where they move no distance from tech away and are hit during their neutral and inward techs.
All of Ganondorf's aerials are very useful, as they are fast for their immense power (except his forward aerial and down aerial), and are guaranteed to knock opponents off the stage even at medium percents, giving him one of the best edgeguarding capabilities in the game. His sweetspotted down aerial is his highest damaging aerial and the strongest meteor smash in the game, and when sourspotted has the second strongest horizontal knockback out of all his aerials (after his sweetspotted back aerial). His up aerial is his lowest damaging aerial, but is his second fastest aerial, can autocancel from a short hop, and its late hitbox is a very potent gimp with its semi-spike angle and high hitstun. His neutral aerial has the lowest knockback out of all his aerials, but is his fastest aerial consisting of two hits that naturally combo into each other with damage rivaling his sweetspotted down aerial, while doubling as long-lasting sex kicks, and has the greatest horizontal reach out of all his aerials allowing it to wall out approaches. His forward aerial boasts good reach in an arc that also hits slightly behind him, while his back aerial is a deceptively fast KO move that can autocancel from a short hop. Aerial Flame Choke is a chokeslam that lacks guaranteed followups, but does more damage than when used on the ground and can still tech-chase. Aerial Wizard's Foot is Ganondorf's only aerial with vertical knockback, making it a good anti-air that punishes juggles. Finally, Dark Dive is a command grab that does multiple weak electric hits that make it difficult to interrupt, which leads into a very powerful throw that can reverse edgeguard situations, especially when facing away from the stage, while also not causing helplessness and letting him reuse the move; if the grab misses, the move performs an uppercut at the end to deter edgeguards.
In spite of his strengths, Ganondorf has glaring flaws. He is highly vulnerable to combos, juggling, and shield stabbing thanks to his heavy weight, large size, low air speed, and small shield size, and his slow mobility hinders his approach and ability to close distance or create space. His lack of projectile or reflector also leaves him susceptible to projectile camping and zoning.
Arguably Ganondorf's biggest weakness is his lack of defensive options, courtesy of the issues within his moveset. His frame data is very sluggish and among the worst in the game: he has very few moves that are active before frame 9 (these being neutral attack, neutral aerial, up aerial, and standing grab) and some not even coming out before 28 (such as forward smash, Warlock Punch, and Volcano Kick), along with many of his moves having over 60 frames ending lag (most notably Volcano Kick, all his smashes, and all his special moves). As a result of his poor frame data, many of his moves are unsafe on shield unless fully spaced, despite his aforementioned shield breaking capabilities. Combined with his poor mobility, Ganondorf struggles to compete with faster characters like Mewtwo, and forces his punishment game to heavily rely on proper spacing and mindgames.
While Ganondorf's tall size gives him better reach than most characters, some of his attacks have noticably large blind spots. In particular, neutral attack, forward tilt, neutral aerial, back aerial, Dark Dive, and Wizard's Foot, some of which are considered Ganondorf's fastest attacks and best out of shield options, all suffer from a combination of short reach, low duration, small hitboxes sizes, and/or high hitbox placements. Many small characters such as Pichu can easily avoid these attacks, especially when crouching, while also being able to exploit these blind spots.
Outside of down throw, Ganondorf's grab game is also lackluster. His grab reach is notoriously among the shortest despite his tall stature, and despite their high damage the rest of his throws have little follow-up while being unreliable KO options, with up throw being a prime example. The ability to tech Flame Choke also works against Ganondorf, as it forces hard reads, and incorrect reads can put Ganondorf in a vulnerable position.
The other major weakness is his poor recovery, which is considered to be one of the worst in the game. Ganondorf's slow air speed and low jump heights, as well as Flame Choke and Dark Dive having low speed, distance, resilence and leaves him helpless, makes his off-stage movement linear and predictable while leaving him very vulnerable to edgeguards and gimps. His recovery specials also work against Ganondorf; aerial Flame Choke can be escaped by button mashing and KOs Ganondorf first when used as a sacrificial KO, while Dark Dive's throw can be teched and punished due to its very high ending lag and also causes him to leap back a large distance and away from the stage. As such, it's possible to edgeguard Ganondorf by even intentionally getting hit by his aerial specials, leaving him in a position where his abysmal mobility prevents him from recovering.
Ganondorf also has trouble landing safely. Despite his aerials having relatively low landing lag, the aforementioned poor hitbox placements fail to properly defend him from directly underneath, while down aerial and Wizard's Foot have noticeable start-up. While Wizard's Foot is Ganondorf's fastest option to return to the ground and can anti-air intercepting opponents with its vertical knockback, its landing possesses a small and very brief quake along with large landing lag, making it highly punishable.
Overall, Ganondorf's raw power lets him rack up damage quickly and close stocks early, but he has little means to defend himself which forces him to play cautiously.
Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4
Due to his status as bottom-tier in Super Smash Bros. 4, Ganondorf was quite heavily buffed during the transition from Smash 4 to Ultimate and has benefited greatly from universal gameplay changes. His ability to approach has been significantly improved due to his faster running speed, faster jumpsquat, and reduced landing lag on his aerial attacks. His neutral attack, forward tilt, down tilt, dash attack, and back aerial deal even more damage, with dash attack becoming a potent KO move like it was in Brawl. His up tilt, notorious for shattering full shields, is much easier to land with its faster startup and stronger windboxes, and its sourspot has been strengthened to match its sweetspot. Finally, his smash attacks are now sword swings that possess increased range and power, and all of his special moves provide more utility due to reduced lag and/or increased damage and knockback.
However, Ganondorf received several significant nerfs. His forward and up smashes have increased ending lag making them less safe to use and removing the latter's ability to bait approaches, his down tilt's vertical angles on its close hitbox renders it incapable of starting combos while being a much less effective KO option especially out of Flame Choke, and his up tilt is weaker overall and gained an incredibly weak hitbox with no KO potential. Hitbox adjustments and/or reductions on his forward tilt, up tilt, back aerial, Dark Dive and Wizard's Foot make them much more harder to land, and his infamously poor-reaching grab has more startup and ending lag. His biggest nerfs were to his up aerial's sourspot, which has more startup and no longer hits underneath him thus removing most of its gimping effectiveness, and the Ganoncide technique, now being escapable and kills him first making it much more riskier and situational. All in all these nerfs further worsen Ganondorf's glaring flaws, including his infamously poor recovery and ineffective defensive game.
Overall, Ganondorf is considered to fare significantly better than in Smash 4, although his weaknesses remain highly exploitable. Some players have achieved a few notable results with Ganondorf, most notably Nairo beating Light with the character. However, Ganondorf's overall tournament representation is rather low, which, along with his very polarizing traits, have resulted in mixed competitive reception. Some professionals believe that Ganondorf is a higher mid-tier character and one of the best super heavyweights; on other hand, some believe that he is a still a low tier character, noting that Ganondorf retains a lot of critical flaws that made him a bottom tier character in the previous two games. His tournament representation after Nairo's result has also been very low, and Nairo himself hasn't achieved any notable results with Ganondorf since his victory over Light. While Ganondorf is unarguably better than what he was in Brawl and Smash 4, his viability is currently up for debate.
Aesthetics
- Ganondorf's design has been reverted back to his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which was the basis of his appearance in Melee; he bears a close resemblance to his official art from Ocarina of Time 3D. His sword has also been reverted back to the Space World 2000 tech demo sword.
- Ganondorf's cape has better physics and rigging, allowing for more fluid animations.
- Initial dash, walking, running, spot dodge, roll, air dodge, hitsun, jump, and backwards jump animations have changed.
- All attacks that utilize darkness have more intense particle effects.
- All taunts are faster.
- Ganondorf has new victory animations:
- The first has him flip his cape and turning to face the screen before pumping his fist.
- The second has him levitate in the air, land on the ground while punching his palm, then reel back before thrusting his hand towards the screen.
- The third has him flip his cape before crossing his arms and laughing wickedly.
Attributes
- Like all characters, Ganondorf's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 7).
- The inability to move past opponents on the ground prevents dash attack, Flame Choke, and Wizard's Foot from whiffing up close.
- Ganondorf dashes slightly faster (1.218 → 1.34), being nearly as fast as he was in Melee.
- Ganondorf's initial dash animation is both faster (1.3 → 1.87) and goes a longer distance, resulting in his foxtrot outpacing his dash.
- Ganondorf walks slightly faster (0.73 → 0.767), being slightly faster than he was in Melee.
- Ganondorf's traction is higher (0.068 → 0.125).
- Ganondorf's air speed is slightly higher (0.79 → 0.83), being nearly as fast as he was in Brawl.
- Ganondorf's gravity is slightly higher (0.107835 → 0.108).
- Ganondorf is considerably heavier (113 → 118), weighing more than Charizard. This improves his already excellent endurance, but makes him even more susceptible to combos.
- Forward roll has less ending lag (FAF 34 → 33).
- Forward roll grants less intangibility (frame 4-19 → 4-16).
- Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frame 4-19 → 5-17), and more ending lag (FAF 34 → 38).
- Spot dodge has faster startup (frame 4 → 3).
- However, its total duration remains the same, giving it one frame more ending lag.
- Air dodge grants more intangibility (frame 4-29 → 4-32).
- Air dodge has drastically more ending lag (FAF 35 → 47).
Ground attacks
- Neutral attack:
- Neutral attack deals more damage and no longer has sourspots (8%/10%/6% → 11%).
- It has slightly less ending lag (FAF 29 → 27).
- The move's knockback values are consistent across its hitboxes (38/30/40 base/ 90/90/105 scaling → 41/74). It deals more knockback than its previous two sourspots, but less than its previous sweetspot.
- Forward tilt:
- Forward tilt deals more damage (12%/13% → 13%/14%), with its knockback compensated (30 base/88 scaling → 31/82).
- It has slightly smaller hitboxes (5.5u/5.3u/5.1u → 5.5u/5u/4.8u).
- Up tilt:
- Up tilt has significantly less startup (frame 81 → 60) and ending lag (FAF 115 → 96). Because of this, the windboxes have a shorter duration (frames 6-70 → 6-53).
- Its windboxes have higher set knockback (1 → 22/22/10/10), allowing them to pull opponents in more effectively.
- The explosion has more vertical reach.
- Its sweetspot has decreased knockback scaling (80 → 68), no longer KOing opponents under 50% from the center of the stage.
- The explosion has much less horizontal reach.
- On frames 62-63, the move has a new sourspot at the height of the explosion. It launches opponents at a semi-spike angle (80° → 0°) but with much less damage (18% → 13%) and has decreased base knockback (60 → 0), being unable to KO even at realistic percentages.
- The move deals consistent damage (28%/20%/18% → 24%), dealing more than the original sourspot, but less than the original sweetspot.
- The sourspots increased damage allows it to shatter full shields like the sweetspot, and boosts its KO potential despite its lower angle (80° → 70°).
- Its sweetspot triggers Special Zoom.
- The move has a revamped animation; rather than simply holding his pose, he reels back and anticipates the kick. His foot produces a flame effect rather than wind, and he no longer holds his leg up with his hand.
- Ganondorf now vocalises during the move's startup.
- Down tilt:
- Down tilt deals more damage (13% → 14%), with its knockback scaling compensated (100 → 94).
- Its angles have been swapped (80°/70°/60° → 60°/70°/80°), with the foot hitbox dealing the most vertical knockback. This removes the close hitbox's ability to start combos at 0%, and weakens its KO ability especially out of Flame Choke.
- Dash attack:
- Dash attack deals more damage (14% → 15% (clean), 10% → 11% (late)).
- Its clean hit has higher knockback scaling (80 → 85), KOing around 120%.
- Dash attack has improved combo potential due to Ganondorf's faster jumpsquat.
- All of Ganondorf's new smash attacks utilize his sword from the Space World 2000 tech demo. They also all have the slash effect, with forward smash losing the darkness effect.
- Forward smash:
- Forward smash is a downward sword slash in front of Ganondorf, similar to Ike's.
- It has disjointed hitboxes and significantly more range, allowing it to hit opponents above Ganondorf. It also hits below the edge of the stage, allowing it to be used for onstage edgeguarding.
- It deals consistent and more knockback (35/30 base/ 83/75 scaling → 61/75), KOing around 65% from the center of the stage.
- Forward smash has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 21-26 → 29-31) and more ending lag (FAF 60 → 70).
- Up smash:
- Up smash is an overhead sword swing from front to back, similar to Ike's.
- It has disjointed hitboxes and significantly more range, hitting all around Ganondorf, making it more effective at covering platforms and catching landings, rolls, and directional air dodges. It also hits below the edge of the stage, allowing it to be used for onstage edgeguarding.
- It has less startup lag with a longer duration (frames 21-23 → 20-25).
- Up smash has significantly more ending lag (FAF 42 → 62), going from one of the fastest smash attacks interruptibility-wise to one of the slowest. This removes its ability to bait opponents into approaching.
- Down smash:
- Down smash is a forward hilt thrust that leads into a backwards stab, similar to Cloud's.
- Its hitboxes are disjointed and placed lower, reliably hitting crouching opponents.
- Ganondorf ducks while performing it, lowering his hurtbox.
- It has less ending lag (FAF 64 → 60).
- The hitbox on the first hit that previously sent opponents away from Ganondorf has been removed. In addition, its first hit launches at a more horizontal angle (160°/165°/147°/150° → 160°/175°/147°/150°) with decreased base knockback (90/110/90/110 → 90/95/90/95). This allows it to connect into the second hit more reliably.
- The second hit deals consistent damage (15%/13% → 15%) and sends opponents at a semi-spike angle (130° → 35°), improving its KO potential, especially near edges, despite its lower knockback (60 base/94 scaling → 61/81).
- Down smash's first hit deals less damage (6% → 5%).
- Both hits have slightly less horizontal range.
Aerial attacks
- All aerials have reduced landing lag (17 frames → 10 (neutral), 22 → 13 (forward), 19 → 11 (back, up), 26 → 16 (down)).
- The lowered landing lag improves neutral aerial's and down aerial's safety, while allowing them to function as effective combo starters.
- Neutral aerial:
- Neutral aerial has slightly less ending lag (FAF 42 → 41), and auto-cancels slightly earlier (frame 38 → 37).
- Both hits have a shorter duration (hit 1: frames 9-13 → 9-12, hit 2: 19-29 → 19-26).
- Forward aerial:
- Forward aerial has increased range due to Ganondorf leaning farther forward as he punches, similar to its animation in Melee.
- Forward aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 55 → 45), matching the move's interruptibility and auto-canceling in a double jump.
- Back aerial:
- Back aerial deals more damage (16%/17%/16% → 17%/18.5%/17%), with its knockback scaling not fully compensated (89 → 86), improving its KO potential.
- Back aerial has smaller hitboxes.
- Ganondorf no longer crosses his legs during back aerial.
- Up aerial:
- Up aerial has a slightly larger hitbox (5.76u → 5.8u).
- It has more startup lag and a shorter duration (frames 6-16 → 8-16).
- The late hit no longer hits below Ganondorf, significantly weakening its gimping potential and lock combos.
- It has a slightly altered animation where Ganondorf brings his kicking leg forward midway through the spin.
- Down aerial:
- Down aerial has less ending lag (FAF 47 → 45).
- It no longer has transcendent priority, allowing it to cancel out projectiles.
- Down aerial has Ganondorf lean back slightly as he stomps, similar to its animation in Melee.
Throws and other attacks
- Grabs:
- All grabs have a longer duration (2 frames → 3).
- Standing and pivot grab have slightly more startup lag (frame 7 → 8 (standing), 10 → 12 (pivot)).
- Standing and dash grab have more ending lag (FAF 36 → 39 (standing), 45 → 47 (dash)).
- Ganondorf grabs with his left hand.
- Ganondorf has a different pose while holding the enemy.
- Pummel:
- Pummel deals more hitlag (5 frames → 15), but has less startup (frame 4 → 2) and significantly less ending lag (FAF 24 → 8), shortening its duration. This makes it more reliable for racking up damage.
- It deals much less damage (3% → 1.6%).
- Pummel has a different animation, with Ganondorf arching forward as he delivers his knee strikes.
- Forward throw:
- Forward throw deals more knockback (60 base/65 scaling → 68/70), KOing around 150% near the edge.
- Its animation has been altered, now being an uppercut with his right hand instead of a gut punch with his left.
- Back throw:
- The kicking portion has a slightly different animation, with his upper body being near parallel with the ground.
- Up throw:
- The first hit of up throw deals more damage (7% → 10%, total: 10% → 13%).
- Ganondorf punches with his right hand, and the animation itself has more weight to it.
- Down throw:
- Down throw has improved combo potential due to Ganondorf's faster jumpsquat.
- It is no longer weight-dependent, improving its combo potential on heavyweights, while leaving it generally unchanged against lightweights due to Ganondorf's faster jumpsquat.
- Down throw has a slightly different animation, with Ganondorf slamming the enemy onto the ground more forcefully.
- Edge attack:
- Edge attack deals more damage (8% → 10%).
Special moves
- Warlock Punch:
- Non-reversed Warlock Punch has more knockback scaling (42 → 46).
- Warlock Punch has a longer duration (frames 70-71 → 70-73 (normal), 80-81 → 80-83 (reversed)).
- It has more super armor (frames 11-65 → 11-68 (normal), 21-67 → 21-75 (reversed)).
- It triggers Special Zoom upon hitting the opponent.
- It has slightly altered animation, with his other hand being closer to his body.
- Flame Choke:
- Both versions of Flame Choke have less ending lag upon grabbing an opponent (grounded: FAF 62 → 58, aerial: FAF 41 → 38), significantly improving its combo potential, with the grounded version allowing for more possible follow-ups on missed techs; in particular, a combo into down tilt or dash attack is guaranteed against all characters.
- The grounded version's super armor upon grabbing an opponent lasts slightly longer (frames 17-40 → 17-41).
- The grounded version no longer dashes over an edge, and ends earlier if used toward an edge, making it safer to use.
- The aerial version has less startup lag (frame 19 → 16), no longer whiffing up close.
- The aerial version can be escaped by button mashing, which scales with the opponent's damage percentage, significantly hindering Ganoncide's utility at low percentages.
- Additionally, the opponent is no longer KO'd first during a Ganoncide, removing the technique as a viable option when both players are on their last stock and its ability to deter edgeguards.
- Dark Dive:
- Dark Dive's multi-hits deal more damage (1.2% → 1.9%, total: 13.8% → 16.6%).
- The throw deals drastically more knockback (40 base/90 scaling → 50/108), KOing around 89% near the edge.
- The throw has less ending lag (FAF 60 → 50).
- Ganondorf leaps back much farther out of a throw. While this makes it very slightly harder to punish out of a stage tech, it significantly hinders Ganondorf's already poor recovery.
- Grounded Dark Dive's grabbox is now only active after Ganondorf has left the ground, causing it to whiff against smaller opponents.
- The throw causes a vibrant burst of purple magic rather than a fiery explosion. It also has the electric effect.
- Flame Choke and Dark Dive no longer experience RCO lag.
- Wizard's Foot:
- Grounded Wizard's Foot's foot hitbox deals more damage (12% → 16%), now being the move's sweetspot. The move also has altered knockback (60 base/70 scaling → 65/65), with the new sweetspot KOing around 93% near the edge.
- The grounded version travels faster and has significantly less ending lag (FAF 77 → 61).
- The grounded version's hitboxes are placed lower, making it harder to crouch or slide under, but easier to jump over.
- The aerial version's meteor smash can no longer be teched by grounded opponents.
- Both versions have smaller hitboxes, and a hitbox on the thigh was removed.
- The aerial version's late hit has a shorter duration (frames 19-38 → 19-29), however this change is negligible as the attack animation does not exceed 30 frames.
- Wizard's Foot's animation is closer to its appearance in Melee.
- The grounded version has a slightly different animation at the start-up, with Ganondorf bending his knee forward before kicking.
- The aerial version has a slightly different animation and pose upon landing, where Ganondorf's landing arm is more centered to his body and he no longer brings his free arm down.
- Final Smash:
- Ganondorf's Final Smash is called Ganon, the Demon King, and is based on his bipedal form from Ocarina of Time. It is functionally identical to Beast Ganon; however, instead of slamming the ground with his body, Ganon slashes with his twin greatswords before rushing forward. When Ganondorf activates his Final Smash, the Triforce of Power briefly flashes on the back of his hand.
- The charge deals more damage (40% → 45%).
- Opponents are immediately meteor smashed upon being hit by the twin greatswords.
- The burying hitbox that occurred when transforming was removed.
- The meteor smash hitbox has significantly less horizontal reach, stopping at his twin greatswords.
- The charge has a sourspot at the start that does less damage (45% → 35%).
Update history
Ganondorf received a small bag of mixed changes over the game's updates. 1.1.0 removed one of his edgeguard deterrents and best punishment options by making his Flame Choke Sacrificial KO kill Ganondorf first, which further worsens his already poor recovery. 3.0.0 adjusted his hurtbox so that he is more consistently hit by multihit attacks.
On the upside, 2.0.0 allowed forward aerial to autocancel out of a double jump, which was infamous in Brawl and SSB4 for not cancelling even out of a full hop and would almost always force him to enter the landing animation. Ganondorf also benefits from the universal nerf on projectiles dealing less shield damage in 3.0.0, improving his approach against projectile camping.
- Aerial Flame Choke now KOs Ganondorf first.
- Forward aerial autocancels earlier (frame 55 → 45), matching the move's interruptibility and now cancelling out of a double jump.
- Shortened the amount of time Ganondorf cannot grab the ledge after performing up aerial (63 frames → 58).
- Ganondorf's aerial hitstun animation has been changed so his legs do not shift as much, which causes certain multihit attacks (e.g. Dancing Blade, Peach's dash attack and more) to connect more reliably against him.
- The void glitch has been removed.
- Down smash's first hit launches at a more horizontal angle (160°/165°/147°/150° → 160°/175°/147°/150°) with decreased base knockback (90/110/90/110 → 90/95/90/95), allowing it to connect into the second hit more reliably.
Moveset
Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.
Name | Damage | Description | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Neutral attack | 11% | A palm thrust that discharges electricity upon landing. Ganondorf's fastest ground attack, with good range, knockback and fairly low ending lag, with enough power to KO around 145% near the edge and 195% from center. A decent out of shield option. However it is among the slower jabs in the game, coming out at frame 7, and its high hitbox placement allows some smaller characters to crouch under it. | ||
Forward tilt | 14% (foot), 13% (leg) | A front kick. Good start-up with high semi-spike knockback, making it a powerful edgeguarding option against characters with minimal horizontal recoveries, while outright KOing around 140% from the center. However, its range is rather poor, with his neutral attack being able to outreach it, and can be crouched under by some smaller characters. Based on the kick used by himself and other large, sword-wielding enemies in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. | ||
Up tilt | Volcano Kick | 24% (clean, late sweetspot), 13% (late sourspot) | A delayed axe kick that produces an explosion. Has vacuum properties, a disjointed hitbox that can reach past ledges, and its clean hit is incredibly powerful, being infamous for instantly shattering full shields and its leg hitbox KOing as low as 45% when near the edge, making it one of Ganondorf's best edgeguarding options if used wisely. However, while it is the strongest up tilt in the game, it has immense starting lag, making it an extreme "high risk, high reward" move. The move has a late hibox on the height of the explosion that is extremely weak, not KOing until 195% from the center of Final Destination. | |
Down tilt | Leg Sweep | 14% | A crouching front kick. Good start-up and range, making it a decent out-of-shield. Also deals powerful, mostly vertical knockback on the toe, allowing it to KO around 133%. Also a reliable follow-up and tech-chase out of grounded Flame Choke. | |
Dash attack | 15% (clean), 11% (late) | A shoulder tackle. Ganondorf gains both a quick speed boost during the move's duration. The clean hit can combo into up aerial at early percentages, and is able to reliably KO around 120%. The late hit, while lacking any KO potential, has combo utility due to its long lasting hitbox and weak knockback that can combo into any of Ganondorf's aerials at varying percentages. Also a reliable follow-up and tech-chase out of grounded Flame Choke. | ||
Forward smash | 24% | A lunging, two-handed downward sword slash. Humorously nicknamed as Doriyah by the community, based on his exclamation during the attack. The third strongest forward smash in the game, behind King Dedede's and Max Aura Lucario's, KOing at 65% from the center. Great reach that covers overhead and slightly behind him, and hits slightly underneath the stage, allowing it to hit ledgehangs. However, it is Ganondorf's slowest smash, coming out at frame 29. Deals more than half shield health uncharged and can nearly break them if fully charged. While it has rather noticeable ending lag, its immense range and damage output allow it to be safe on shield if spaced. Due to an error in interpolating hitboxes, the move has a large blindspoint above and in front of Ganondorf's head. | ||
Up smash | 24% (sword), 21% (arm) | An overhead 180° arcing sword slash from front to back. Has some start-up, but has deceptively large vertical reach, reliably punishing airborne or rolling opponents, and hits slightly underneath the stage, allowing it to hit ledgehangs. Very powerful, with the sword hitbox KOing opponents around 85%. Deals more than half shield health uncharged and can nearly break them if fully charged. | ||
Down smash | 5% (hit 1), 15% (hit 2) | Kneels and thrusts the sword hilt forward, then performs a reverse gripped thrust behind himself in a similar manner to Cloud's down smash. The first hit launches opponents into the second, though it is possible to tech or DI after the first hit, causing the second to miss. The first hit can stage spike with ease due to its angle, while the second hit is a semi-spike, making it useful for launching opponents with weak horizontal recoveries off-stage. It hits on frame 15, making it Ganondorf's fastest smash attack. The second hit by itself KOs around 67% near the edge. | ||
Neutral aerial | 7% (hit 1 clean), 5.25% (hit 1 late), 12% (hit 2 clean), 9% (hit 2 late) | A back kick followed by a roundhouse kick. The first hit's overall weak power allows it to combo into the second kick, which has higher damage and KO power. Both kicks act as sex kicks, and the late hits can cause opponents to trip. Has the farthest horizontal reach out of all of Ganondorf's aerials, allowing it to wall out approaches, but the second kick's high vertical hitbox misses some smaller characters on the ground. The first kick has a hitbox on the toe that knocks opponents away and is useful for creating distance. Starts on frame 7, making it Ganondorf's fastest aerial attack and a decent out-of-shield move. The second kick by itself KOs around 133%. | ||
Forward aerial | 18% (fist), 17% (arm) | An overhand. Good reach and is very powerful, with the sweetspot KOing middleweights at 104% from center-stage. Also has decent start-up and a wide hitbox that starts slightly behind Ganondorf's head. Has the latest autocancel window out of all of Ganondorf's aerials, only cancelling when used from a double jump. | ||
Back aerial | 18.5% (fist), 17% (arm) | A backfist. Despite it being even stronger than his forward aerial, it is rather fast, with decent startup, and low ending lag, alongside being able to autocancel from a short hop. All these factors make it rather useful to wall out approaches. The sweetspot KOs middleweights at 102% from center-stage and at 75% near the edge, making it very likely to take a stock at medium percents if used quickly after a ledge trump. However, it has short reach, while its high vertical hitbox and low amount of active frames makes it difficult to land on most grounded opponents, particularly those that are crouching. | ||
Up aerial | 13%/12% (clean), 12%/10% (mid), 8%/6% (late) | A bicycle kick. Covers a large arc above him that has good coverage and great power, with the clean hit KOing middleweights around 94% near the edge. It also starts on frame 8, making it Ganondorf's second fastest aerial attack, and can autocancel from a short hop. Deals more damage and knockback when it hits closer to his body. The last few frames of this attack is a sourspot that semi-spikes with extremely low horizontal knockback and high hitstun, which is deadly for edgeguarding, especially at the end. However, the move does not hit below Ganondorf, and can only hit opponents standing on the ground with the earliest hitbox. | ||
Down aerial | 19% (legs), 17% (body) | A double foot stomp. It discharges electricity upon landing and is the most powerful meteor smash in the game if hit with the lower half of his body, with grounded opponents being KO'd under 115% while being unable to tech the move, and can KO any character starting at around 15% offstage. There is a sourspot on his shoulder that hits horizontally with less damage, but is still stronger than his forward and back aerial at higher percentages, though not as effective as when hitting with the meteor smash hitbox off-stage. It does not meteor smash until 10%, although Ganondorf can follow this with a jab. | ||
Grab | — | Reaches out with his left hand. Despite Ganondorf's tall stature, its reach is among the shortest. | ||
Pummel | 1.6% | A knee strike. | ||
Forward throw | 5% (hit 1), 8% (throw) | Lifts the opponent and hits them with an uppercut. One of the highest damaging forward throws in the game, and tied with up throw for Ganondorf's highest damaging throws. KOs around 150% near the edge. | ||
Back throw | 5% (hit 1), 5% (throw) | Throws the opponent behind himself and hits them with a side kick. Decent knockback and can set up an edgeguard. Ganondorf's strongest throw, KOing around 145% near the ledge. | ||
Up throw | 10% (hit 1), 3% (throw) | Lifts the opponent overhead and hits them with an upward palm strike. Tied with forward throw for Ganondorf's highest damaging throws. High base knockback, but low knockback growth prevents it from KOing until 240%. It is not reliable for follow-ups, but it can be used for DI mix-ups, mindgames and start juggles against characters who have a hard time dealing with juggles. | ||
Down throw | 7% | A one-handed body slam. Very low knockback growth makes it useful for setting up into dash attack, neutral aerial, forward aerial, reverse aerial rush back aerial, up aerial, or Wizard's Foot at 0% to medium percentages. | ||
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge |
— | — | ||
Techs | — | — | ||
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front) |
7% | A legsweep performed from a flare, an acrobatic technique used in breakdancing and gymnastics. | ||
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back) |
7% | A somersault kick. | ||
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip) |
5% | Spins around to kick those who are near. | ||
Edge attack Edge getups |
10% | Performs a backfist while climbing up. Has a very long range and can even occasionally stage spike enemies near or at the edge behind him. | ||
Neutral special | Warlock Punch | 30% (ground), 37% (ground reverse), 38% (aerial), 40% (air reverse) | Winds up his left arm while charging dark magic and then performs a powerful, dark magic-infused backfist. Ganondorf can rotate 180° by turning in the opposite direction during the charging period to deal more knockback and damage, at the cost of slightly more startup. It also receives a significant damage and knockback bonus if used in the air or rotated 180°, with these bonuses being stackable. As a result, an aerial reverse Warlock Punch is powerful enough to one-hit KO any character at the ledge with enough rage and break any shield not at full size, while the grounded version can OHKO certain lightweight characters near the ledge. When reversed, it can KO middleweights at a mere 16% with no rage. The grounded version has armor until just before the punch, though the aerial version does not even if he lands. | |
Side special | Flame Choke | 12% (ground throw), 15% (air throw), 4% (release) | Lunges forward with his hand extended out and infused with dark magic. Upon contact, he grabs the opponent's face and blasts them with a pulse of dark magic that drops them onto the ground. On the ground, the move has super armor as Ganondorf holds his opponent in the air, and its low ending lag allows follow-ups into neutral attack, forward tilt, down tilt, or dash attack, but the opponent can tech and enforce tech-chases. In the air, Ganondorf grabs onto and descends in order to chokeslam them to the ground, or to the lower blast line in a suicide KO if used off-stage, however opponents can escape by button mashing if their percentage is lower than Ganondorf's, and Ganondorf himself will always lose if he and his opponents are on their last stocks. Due to functioning as a grab, it bypasses shields and counterattacks, while it can also can be used for a short-ranged horizontal recovery option due to it grabbing edges. | |
Up special | Dark Dive | 1.9% (hits 1-4), 9% (throw), 7% (uppercut), 6% (release) | Leaps upward and, upon coming into contact with an opponent, latches onto them and discharges electricity before launching off of them with a dark explosion. The throw is very powerful, KOing around 89% near the edge, making it somewhat risky to edgeguard should he land it while facing away from the stage. Should Ganondorf successfully lands a grab, he is not rendered helpless and can use it again. If the grab misses an opponent, Ganondorf will perform a dark magic-infused uppercut that deals weak knockback. Covers a very small amount of horizontal distance, but a decent amount of vertical making it a sub-par recovery. The move also has very high endlag, enough for a opponent that is thrown onto the stage to tech and punish Ganondorf. | |
Down special | Wizard's Foot | 14% (ground leg), 16% (ground foot), 15%/14% (air, clean/late), 8% (landing) | A dark magic-infused flying kick. On the ground it has good damage that beats most weak projectiles and high knockback that KOs around 93% near the edge. In the air, Ganondorf flies diagonally downward and performs a powerful meteor smash during its start-up, while its late hit launches opponents vertically instead. A small shockwave is formed around Ganondorf when he lands on the ground, which deals a small amount of knockback. Deals relatively high shield damage in the air, bringing shields to a sliver of their health if all of its hitboxes connect. Slows down significantly on impact with anything, has moderate ending lag, very high landing lag, and is extremely risky to use off-stage. | |
Final Smash | Ganon, The Demon King | 10% (greatswords), 45%/35% (charge) | Ganondorf transforms into his mighty Demon King form, slashes his opponent downwards with his swords and charges straight ahead. |
On-screen appearance
- Emerges from a liquid-like vortex of darkness.
Taunts
- Up taunt: Floats in the air and then curls into a ball while spinning before opening up from his curled position and striking a pose while laughing.
- Side taunt: Punches his right hand into his open palm in a threatening pose and scoffs, with electricity emitting from his hands afterward. When the electricity is emitted, his cape will flow as if being blown by wind.
- Down taunt: Unsheathes his sword, grunts, looks at it while sporting a mocking smirk as the blade's tip pulses with dark magic, then sheathes it.
Idle poses
- Brings his hands together, then swings his right arm over his head.
- Crosses his arms and looks in the opposite direction while sporting a mocking smirk.
Victory poses
- Facing away, Ganondorf turns to face the screen while flipping his cape, and pumps his fist.
- Briefly levitates in the air before landing on the ground while punching his palm, then reels back and thrusts his hand towards the screen.
- Flips his cape, crosses his arms, and laughs.
In competitive play
Notable players
- Nairo - Plays Ganondorf as a secondary. Notably placed 2nd at Collision 2019 with a win over Light.
- Rickles - Placed 4th at Ursa Minor 3 and 65th at Frostbite 2019. Currently ranked 8th on the Chicago Power Rankings.
- Smokk - The best Ganondorf player in Canada. Placed 5th at LAN ETS 2019 and 17th at Get On My Level 2019 while using Ganondorf. Ranked 2nd on the Montreal Ultimate Power Rankings.
- Vermanubis - Placed 9th at Don't Park on the Grass 2018 and 17th at Battle Arena Melbourne 11.
Classic Mode: Encroaching Darkness
Ganondorf fights against the heroes of various series.
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 | |
Bonus Stage | ||||
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
Although Ganondorf does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the 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 the 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 battle.
Fighter Battle
No. | Image | Name | Type | Power | Stage | Music |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
23 | Ganondorf | Attack | 10,700 | Bridge of Eldin (Ω 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 Ganodorf in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". 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.
- Ganon.png
191. Ganon
- Ganondorf Spirit.png
220. Ganondorf (Twilight Princess)
- Beast Ganon.png
221. Beast Ganon
- Calamity ganon.png
243. Calamity Ganon
In Spirit Battles
As the main opponent
Spirit | Battle parameters | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Image | Name | Series | Enemy Fighter(s) | Type | Power | Stage | Rules | Conditions | Music |
220 | Ganondorf (Twilight Princess) | The Legend of Zelda series | •Ganondorf | 9,400 | Hyrule Castle (hazards off) | •Attack Power ↑ | •Stamina battle •The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage |
Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form | ||
243 | Calamity Ganon | The Legend of Zelda series | •Giant Ganondorf •Ally: Zelda |
13,900 | Great Plateau Tower (Ω form) | •Sudden Damage | •You lose if your CPU ally is KO'd •You'll occasionally take sudden damage after a little while •The enemy is giant |
Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form | ||
350 | Dark Mind | Kirby series | •Reflect Ganondorf | 9,700 | Kalos Pokémon League (Battlefield form) | •Curry-Filled | •The enemy reflects projectiles •The enemy's explosion and fire attacks have increased power •The enemy breathes fire after a little while |
02 Battle | ||
401 | Andross (Star Fox 64 3D) | Star Fox series | •Ganondorf | 9,900 | Venom | •Assist Trophy Enemies (Andross) •Hazard: Low Gravity |
•Gravity is reduced •Hostile assist trophies will appear |
Sector Ω | ||
604 | Black Shadow | F-Zero series | •Ganondorf •Captain Falcon |
13,500 | Port Town Aero Dive (Battlefield form) | •Sudden Damage | •You'll occasionally take sudden damage after a little while | Devil's Call in Your Heart | ||
621 | Jagen | Fire Emblem series | •Ganondorf | 3,600 | Castle Siege (Throne Room) | N/A | •The enemy starts with damage but is more powerful •The enemy starts with damage but has increased defense •The enemy doesn't like to jump |
Advance | ||
663 | Ashnard | Fire Emblem series | •Ganondorf •Charizard |
3,600 | Reset Bomb Forest (hazards off) | •Defense ↑ | •Stamina battle •The enemy has increased defense |
Against the Dark Knight | ||
673 | Walhart | Fire Emblem series | •Ganondorf | 9,900 | Coliseum | •Jump Power ↓ | •The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch •Stamina battle •All fighters have reduced jump power |
Id (Purpose) (Remix) | ||
686 | Garon | Fire Emblem series | •Ganondorf | 9,600 | Final Destination | •Jump Power ↓ •Hazard: Poison Floor |
•The floor is poisonous •You have reduced jump power •Stamina battle |
Lost in Thoughts All Alone (Remix) | ||
717 | Hades | Kid Icarus series | •Giant Ganondorf | 9,700 | Final Destination | •Attack Power ↑ •Item: X Bomb |
•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power •The enemy's smash attacks have increased power •The enemy has increased attack power after a little while |
Hades's Infernal Theme | ||
720 | Reaper & Reapette | Kid Icarus series | •Ganondorf •Tiny Ganondorf (×8) |
8,900 | Spear Pillar (Ω form) | N/A | •Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd |
Underworld | ||
910 | Sigma | Mega Man X series | •Ganondorf | 9,500 | Midgar (Battlefield form) | N/A | •The enemy's melee weapons have increased power •Stamina battle |
X vs ZERO | ||
989 | M. Bison | Street Fighter series | •Reflect Ganondorf | 13,600 | Great Plateau Tower (Ω form) | •Attack Power ↓ •Attack Power ↑ •Jump Power ↓ |
•The enemy reflects projectiles •The enemy's special moves have increased power •Stamina battle |
M. Bison Stage Type A |
As a minion
Spirit | Battle parameters | Inspiration | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Image | Name | Series | Enemy Fighter(s) | Type | Power | Stage | Rules | Conditions | Music | Character |
632 | Nyna | Fire Emblem series | •Palutena •Ganondorf |
4,200 | Temple | N/A | •Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy tends to avoid conflict •The enemy heals over time |
Shadow Dragon Medley | Hardin |
Alternate costumes
Gallery
Striking Marth on Arena Ferox.
Idling on Bridge of Eldin.
Running from Ness and a Bomber on Gaur Plain.
Idling with Zelda on Hyrule Castle.
Performing Demon King Ganon on Arena Ferox.
Struck by Bayonetta on Mario Galaxy.
Taunting with Captain Falcon on Temple.
Being put to sleep by Jigglypuff on Town and City.
Trapped by Toon Link's Triforce Slash.
Taunting with all Zelda veterans on Great Plateau Tower.
Idling towards the Moon on Bridge of Eldin.
- Ganondorf(SSBU)WarlockPunch.png
Striking Sheik (the latter barely visible except for her lower legs) with his Warlock Punch.
Character Showcase video
Trivia
- Ultimate marks the first time in the Smash series that Ganondorf utilizes a sword in his base moveset.
- However, a custom special in SSB4 allowed him to use a sword.
- Ganondorf's entry on the official Super Smash Blog has a grammatical error, using the word "then" instead of the correct "than." Also, the words "Final Smash" are lowercase instead of uppercase like in other fighter entries.
- Despite now being based on his Ocarina of Time appearance again, Ganondorf's unlock battle takes place on Bridge of Eldin, which is from Twilight Princess.
- The opposite occurs in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, as it featured Ganondorf in his Twilight Princess appearance, and Ganondorf was unlocked on Gerudo Valley, a stage from Ocarina of Time.
- Ultimate is the first game to utilize new voice clips for Ganondorf as opposed to reusing them from the Zelda series.
- Ironically, despite now being based on his Ocarina of Time appearance again, neither game whose bases served as the redesigns for Link and Zelda in this game featured Ganondorf with a humanoid form. This is especially most noticeable during their brief cameos in King K. Rool's and Banjo & Kazooie's reveal trailers.
- According to Sakurai from a Famitsu column, as of January 2019, Ganondorf was the most used fighter in Elite Smash.[1]
- Despite reverting back to his Ocarina of Time design in this game, Ganondorf is the only returning Zelda character from SSB4 (excluding Toon Link) to have his Twilight Princess design directly referenced in this game, as a spirit.
- Ganondorf’s extreme power has become a popular meme within the community, most notably associated with his forward smash (nicknamed “Doriyah” after the cry he exclaims when executing the attack), as well as his general ability to take stocks before his opponents despite being at much higher percentages than they are.
- In World of Light, despite being able to transform into Ganon, the Demon King, Ganondorf is awakened before having to fight his monstrous form. This is unlike fellow transforming king of evil Bowser, who is fought in his Giga Bowser form and is awakened after the battle.
- Ganondorf can be unlocked in Yoshi's unlock column, alongside Lucario. This is a reference to Brawl, as all three characters occupy the third row in Brawl's character selection screen.
- There's a visual glitch on Ganondorf's cape whenever he descends from a ladder where it will suddenly snap back down if the descending animation lasts for more than 40 frames.