Ganondorf (SSBU)

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 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 4th 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 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, some of which are potential kill confirms. 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, very 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 extremely high ending lag (most notably Volcano Kick, all his smashes, and all his special moves). As a result of his abysmal 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.

In contrast to Ganondorf's tall size, some of his attacks have poor reach and often have problematic hitbox placements, causing them to have noticeably large blindspots. His neutral attack, forward tilt, 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, short hitbox duration, small hitboxes sizes, and/or high hitbox placements. Neutral aerial's two hits often fail to link properly, especially against grounded opponents, likely resulting in Ganondorf getting punished if he whiffs the second hit, and the second hit itself is difficult to land due to its high hitbox placement. His foward smash, despite its impressive reach, completely lacks any active hitboxes during the downward swing, giving it a notoriously large dead zone above and in front of his head. Ganondorf's numerous blind spots allows many small characters such as Pichu to easily exploit and weave through his attacks, especially when crouching.

Outside of down throw, Ganondorf's grab game is also lackluster. His grab reach is notoriously short 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. Flame Choke likewise has deceptively short reach and an absurd blindspot as it completely lacks any grabboxes on the hand. 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 the helplessness-causing Flame Choke and Dark Dive having low speed, distance, and resilience, 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 considerable 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. Ganondorf relies heavily on a bait-and-punish playstyle and mindgames, but his slow frame data and poor reach means he cannot afford to make any careless mistakes, where his ineffective recovery allows his opponents to remove his stocks just as early.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Likely due to his status as a bottom-tier character in Brawl and Smash 4, Ganondorf has been buffed in his transition from the latter game to Ultimate, though he fails once again to make significant rise among the cast.

Ganondorf's primary strengths, his extreme damage output and power, have been further improved since the previous game. A vast amount of his moves deal even more damage, and some of his moves (whether they were already strong or among the weakest) are more powerful such as his dash attack, back aerial, Dark Dive and Wizard's Foot; notably, dash attack has become as potent as it was in Brawl, whereas Dark Dive and Wizard's Foot have had some of their lost KO power restored from Melee. Forward aerial, a move previously considered inferior to his back aerial, has improved range, making it a far safer KO move. His smash attacks are now sword swings that possess increased range and power, with their power also becoming more consistent. Up tilt, notorious for shattering full shields, is also much easier to land with its faster startup and stronger windboxes, and its sourspot has been strengthened to match its sweetspot. Ganondorf's notoriously weak grab game was also substantially buffed, with his grabs having a longer duration and greater range (although it still remains rather short), and his throws receiving improved utility such as higher power (forward throw, although it still remains rather weak), damage (up throw) or combo potential (down throw). Lastly, Ganondorf is heavier, further improving his endurance.

Ganondorf notably benefits from most of the universal gameplay changes. The increase in mobility (most notably to his running speed, although it still remains quite slow), his faster jumpsquat, and the reduced landing lag on his aerial attacks all improve his neutral game and approach. His faster jumpsquat and landing lag reduction also improve his combo ability, thus further strengthening his damage racking game. The increased shieldstun on attacks heavily benefits Ganondorf, as it makes his entire moveset much safer on shield due to its very high damage output (and the reduction on his aerial attacks' landing lag compensates for the lowered shieldstun in aerial attacks), thus making him far harder to punish out of shield unless his attacks are improperly spaced, and significantly improving his ability to shield pressure.

Despite these notable buffs, Ganondorf is not without nerfs, some of which counterbalance said buffs. His forward and up smashes, despite having disjointed range, 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 now render it incapable of starting combos while being a much less effective KO option, especially out of Flame Choke. His up tilt is weaker overall, and has gained an incredibly weak late 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 harder to land. His grabs also have more startup and ending lag, toning down some of the improvements to his grab game as a whole. Among his biggest nerfs were to his up aerial, which has more startup and its sourspot no longer hits underneath him, thus removing most of its gimping effectiveness and lock combos, and the Ganoncide technique, now being escapable and KOing him first, making it more risky and situational. Lastly, despite gaining massive improvements from the game's engine, Ganondorf is also hindered by some of the universal changes; the universal increase to mobility makes it slightly harder to catch up with some characters. Meanwhile, the changes to air dodging are a mixed bag for Ganondorf, as they improve his great edgeguarding ability, but make him easier to edgeguard in return, worsening his infamously poor recovery and ineffective defensive game. Finally, the weakening of rage slightly hinders Ganondorf's KO power, though due to Ganondorf's increased damage and power, this change is a minor issue.

Overall, Ganondorf is considered to have improved over Smash 4, for as his strengths, such as his already great power, damage racking and shield pressure capabilities, have been further improved. However, his weaknesses remain highly exploitable, and his nerfs, while not as significant, counteract some of his buffs. Initially, Ganondorf was believed to be a mid-tier character and one of the best super heavyweights due to his significant improvements, as some players had achieved a few notable results with him such as Rickles and Smokk; most notably though, Nairo would counterpick Light with the character, beating him. However, Ganondorf's overall tournament representation remains very low, and he hasn't achieved any other notable results, which combined with his polarizing traits and lack of notable improvements in game updates have resulted in Ganondorf still being considered a low-tier character, with some opinions relegating him to a bottom-tier. Overall, while Ganondorf is unarguably much better than he was in Brawl and Smash 4, his true viability remains debatable.

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; this change has also affected his down taunt.
• Ganondorf's cape has better physics and rigging, allowing for more fluid animations.
• Initial dash, walking, running, spot dodge, roll, air dodge, hitstun, jump, and backwards jump animations have changed.
• All attacks that utilize darkness have more intense particle effects.
• Up and down taunts are executed faster.
• Side taunt now has him sport a sinister smile when he scoffs.
• Ganondorf has new victory animations, which appear to be updated versions of his previous ones:
  • The first has him flip his cape and turning to face the screen before pumping his fist, showing the back of it.
  • 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, then looking at the screen with a sinister smile.

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 moves him farther, 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).
  • The sourspot now takes priority over the sweetspot.
• 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 vocalizes 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). Combined with its higher damage, it now KOs around 120%, making it the second strongest dash attack in the game.
  • The late hit has improved combo potential due to Ganondorf's faster jumpsquat.
  • The late hit deals more shieldstun (1x → 1.3x), improving its safety on shield.
• Ganondorf has new smash attacks: they utilize his sword from the Space World 2000 tech demo. They also all have the slash effect, with forward smash losing the darkness effect, and up and down smash losing their normal effect.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash is now a downward sword slash in front of Ganondorf, similar to Ike's.
    • This new forward smash has disjointed hitboxes and significantly more range, allowing it to hit opponents above Ganondorf, further in front of him, and slightly below the edge of the stage. This gives the move more coverage and allows it to be used for onstage edgeguarding.
    • It now deals consistent and more knockback (35/30 base / 83/75 scaling → 61/75), KOing around 65% from the center of the stage.
    • It has noticeably more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 21-26 → 29-31) and more ending lag (FAF 60 → 70).
• Up smash:
  • Up smash is now an overhead sword swing from front to back, appearing visually similar to Link's previous up tilt from Smash 4.
    • This new up smash has disjointed hitboxes and significantly more range that hits all around Ganondorf, making it more effective as an anti-air, at covering platforms and catching rolls. It also hits slightly 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).
    • It 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.
    • It has a blind spot directly in front of Ganondorf. This can cause it to miss on certain situations.
• 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).
    • The first hit deals less damage (6% → 5%).
    • Both hits have slightly less horizontal range.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less 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 an altered animation: Ganondorf leans farther forward as he punches, similar to its animation in Melee. This increases its range.
  • The move autocancels 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.
  • The hitboxes are significantly smaller (5.5u/6.3u/4.8u → 4u/4.5u/3u), greatly reducing its vertical range.
  • It has a slightly altered animation: Ganondorf no longer crosses his legs during it.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial's hitbox is slightly larger (5.76u → 5.8u).
  • It has more startup lag and a shorter duration (frames 6-16 → 8-16). Not only is the move no longer Ganondorf's fastest attack, this causes the late hit to no longer hit below Ganondorf, significantly weakening its gimping potential and lock combos.
  • It has a slightly altered animation: 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.
  • It has a slightly altered animation: Ganondorf leans 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).
  • All grabs have more range (Z2 offset: 9.0u → 10.0u (standing), 10.8u → 11.8u (dash), -15.1u → -15.6u (pivot)).
  • 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 now grabs with his left hand.
  • Ganondorf has a different pose while holding the enemy.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals much less damage (3% → 1.6%).
  • It 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 faster and more reliable for racking up damage.
  • 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.
  • It has an altered animation: it is now an uppercut with his right hand instead of a gut punch with his left hand.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw has a slightly altered animation: his upper body is near parallel with the ground during the kicking portion.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw's first hit deals more damage (7% → 10%, total: 10% → 13%).
  • It has an altered animation: Ganondorf punches with his right hand. The animation itself also 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.
  • It has a slightly altered animation: Ganondorf slams 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).
  • All of its variants have 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)).
  • The outermost hitbox is slightly larger (4.3u → 4.8u).
  • 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 looping 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), restoring most of its lost KO power from Melee (for reference, it now KOs 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.
  • The grounded version'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:
  • The grounded version'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), restoring most of its lost KO power from Melee (for reference, the new sweetspot KOs 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.
  • The move'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% (sweetspot)/30% (sourspot) → 45%/35%).
  • The charge has altered knockback (20 base/70 scaling → 122/25), being stronger on smaller stages and weaker on larger ones.
  • The charge launches at a worse angle for KOing (30 → 42).
  • 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.

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.

1.1.0

• Aerial Flame Choke now KOs Ganondorf first.

2.0.0

• Forward aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 55 → 45), matching the move's interruptibility and now auto-canceling with a double jump.
• Ganondorf can grab edges earlier after using up aerial (63 frames → 58).

3.0.0

• Ganondorf's aerial hitstun animation has been changed so his legs do not shift as much. This enables certain multi-hit attacks (ex. Dancing Blade, Peach's dash attack and more) to connect more reliably against Ganondorf.
• Fixed the Piranha Plant Void Glitch.

3.1.0

• Down smash's first hit has less base knockback (90/110/90/110 → 90/95/90/95) and one of its hitboxes' angles has been adjusted (160°/165°/147°/150° → 160°/175°/147°/150°). These changes make it connect more reliably into the second hit.

4.0.0

• Up tilt's windboxes no longer affect items or attackable stage elements. This removes Ganondorf's ability to ride on rolling crates at a high speed.

Moveset

For a gallery of Ganondorf's hitboxes, see here.

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 on frame 10 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% (leg/explosion), 13% (explosion apex)	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 at 60 frames, making it an extreme "high risk, high reward" move. The move has a late hitbox 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 on frame 10 and range, making it a decent out-of-shield. Also a reliable follow-up and tech-chase out of grounded Flame Choke. While it has powerful vertical knockback on the toe that can KO around 133%, it has more diagonal knockback on the thigh, making it Ganondorf's weakest and most inconsistent tilt attack overall.
Dash attack			15% (clean), 11% (late)	A shoulder tackle. Good start-up on frame 10 and 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 attack, coming out at frame 29 and has 39 frames of ending lag, making it highly punishable if not fully spaced. Deals more than half shield health uncharged and can nearly break them if fully charged. Due to an error in interpolating hitboxes, the move has a large blindspot above and in front of Ganondorf's head.
Up smash			24% (sword), 21% (arm)	An overhead 180° arcing sword slash from front to back. 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. However, it is Ganondorf's second slowest smash attack, coming out at frame 20 and has 37 frames of ending lag, making it punishable.
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, and 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, but its 60 frames of ending lag makes it just as punishable. 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 has a tendency to whiff against smaller characters. 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%. Notorious for its extremely high damage and quick startup.
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. It also has above average startup lag, coming out on frame 14.
Back aerial			18.5% (fist), 17% (arm)	A backfist. Despite it being even stronger than his forward aerial, it is rather fast, with moderate startup at frame 10, and low ending lag of 36 frames, alongside being able to autocancel from a short hop. All these factors make it rather useful to wall out approaches, and is safe on shield. Second strongest back aerial in the game, with the sweetspot KOing middleweights at 102% from center-stage and at 75% near the edge, and is very likely to take a stock at medium percents if used quickly after a ledge trump. However, it has short reach and small hitboxes, 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%, 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. Ganondorf's slowest aerial move at frame 16. 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 and low knockback growth makes it unsuitable for follow-ups while preventing it from KOing until 240%.
Down throw			7%	A one-handed body slam. An extremely useful combo starter, capable of 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. Additionally, its back aerial combo becomes a KO setup at higher 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 for 70 frames 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 10 frames 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. Moderately slow startup of 16 frames, and surprisingly poor reach as the grabbox does not even cover Ganondorf's hand.
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 of 50 frames after a successful grab, enough for a opponent that is thrown onto the stage to tech and punish Ganondorf. Decent startup at frame 14 making it a decent out-of-shield, but has a high grabbox placement that frequently whiffs smaller opponents on the ground.
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 moderately slow startup of 16 frames, moderate ending lag of 61 frames, very high landing lag of 45 frames, very small hitboxes, and is extremely risky to use off-stage.
Final Smash		Ganon, The Demon King	10% (greatswords), 45%/35% (charge)	Uses the Triforce of Power to transform into Ganon, his boar-like demonic form. Immediately upon transforming, Ganon performs downward slashes with his swords and then 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.

• 

  Ganondorf's up taunt.

• 

  Ganondorf's side taunt.

• 

  Ganondorf's down taunt.

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.

• 

  Ganondorf's first idle pose

• 

  Ganondorf's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Turns to his left, flips his cape, and pumps his fist, showing the back of it.
• Up: Briefly levitates in the air before landing on the ground while punching his palm, then reels back and thrusts his hand towards the screen.
• Right: Flips his cape, crossing his arms, and laughs.

A flourished and abridged remix of the theme that plays when Link obtains a Triforce Piece in The Legend of Zelda and has since become the main theme of The Legend of Zelda series.

• 
• 
• 

In competitive play

Public opinions on Ganondorf has risen and fallen. At Ultimate's release, hopes were high, as some Ganondorf mains such as Vermanubis expressed optimism, with some comparisons even made to his Melee self. In addition, Nairo managed to defeat Light with Ganondorf, which also contributed to people believe that Ganondorf is potentially moderately viable, or at very least much better than what he was in previous two games.

However, Ganondorf's standing in the metagame has fallen since Ultimate's release, as issues regarding his gameplay, such as blindspots on his smash attacks, his poor recovery being retained, difficulty in approaching, as well as most of his matchups still being very poor despite his buffs (such as Pikachu and Greninja). While he has seen success in local tournaments, his representation in regionals and majors have been very poor due to his flaws still being prominent, making it very hard to get good results at tournaments of this scale. Ganondorf is also indirectly hurt from patches, as most other potential low-tier characters such as King K. Rool and Kirby have received significant buffs, while Ganondorf has received mostly minor changes. Because of this, his competitive reception has became worse as of recent, with most professionals universally believing him to be low-tier, with some of them considering him to be one of the worst characters in the game. Fatality, who has used Ganondorf as a secondary, even goes as far as believing Ganondorf to be potentially the worst character in the game after patch 6.0.0.

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Spring 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from February 1st, 2019 to July 7th, 2019.

Active

•  Litany - The best Ganondorf player in Ontario. Currently ranked 3rd on the York Region Power Rankings, with wins on players such as 3xA, V115, Jw, Z, and Smokk. Placed 13th at The Amuka Smash Cup and 65th at Get On My Level 2019.
•  Rickles - One of the best Ganondorf players in the world. Placed 4th at Ursa Minor 3, 65th at Frostbite 2019, and 97th at EVO 2019. Currently ranked 9th on the Chicago Power Rankings.
•  Smokk - The best Ganondorf player in Canada and one of the best ones in the world. 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 Fall Brawl, as well as 17th at Battle Arena Melbourne 11.

Inactive

•  Fatality (#48) - Placed 17th at Frostbite 2019 using Ganondorf as one of his characters.
•  Nairo (#8) - Played Ganondorf as a secondary. Notably placed 2nd at Collision 2019 with a win over Light.

Classic Mode: Encroaching Darkness

Ganondorf's congratulations screen.

Ganondorf fights against the heroes and protagonists 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

Finding Ganondorf in World of Light

Although Ganondorf does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the 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.

• 

  175. Ganondorf

• 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							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
220	File:Ganondorf Spirit.png	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	File:Calamity ganon.png	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	File:Darkmind.png	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	File:Andross spirit.png	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	File:Black Shadow.png	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	File:Jagen.png	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	File:Ashnard.png	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	File:Garon Spirit.png	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	File:Hades Spirit.png	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	Reaper (normal Ganondorf) Reapette (tiny Ganondorf)
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
1,349	File:Bullet Walker.png	Bullet Walker (Brigadier General)	DAEMON X MACHINA	•Ganondorf •R.O.B. (x3)		9,300	Bridge of Eldin (Battlefield form)	•Move Speed ↑ •Attack Power ↑ •Item: Exploding Types	•Stamina battle •The enemy has increased attack power •The enemy has increased move speed after a little while	Battle in the Base	Brigadier General

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

• Ganondorf SSBU Banner.png
• 

  Artwork of all The Legend of Zelda characters, as posted on the official Legend of Zelda Twitter account.

• 

  Ganondorf's fighter card.

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  Ganondorf idling on Coliseum.

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  Striking Marth on Arena Ferox.

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  Idling on Bridge of Eldin.

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  Running from Ness and a Bomber on Gaur Plain.

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  Idling with Zelda on Hyrule Castle.

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  Performing Demon King Ganon on Arena Ferox.

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  Idling with Link and Zelda on Great Plateau Tower.

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  Struck by Bayonetta on Mario Galaxy.

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  Taunting with Captain Falcon on Temple.

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  Being put to sleep by Jigglypuff on Town and City.

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  Being frozen by Lucas's PK Freeze on Summit.

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  Trapped by Toon Link's Triforce Slash.

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  Taunting with all Zelda veterans on Great Plateau Tower.

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  Idling towards the Moon on Bridge of Eldin.

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 is 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.
• Considering Wario, King K. Rool, and Incineroar's Classic Mode routes each consist of super-heavyweight fighters for opponents (with at least 1 exception out of all 6 rounds for all 3 characters each), Ganondorf is the only super heavyweight fighter to be fought in all 3 routes.
  • Out of these, Wario is the only fighter who doesn't qualify as a super heavyweight fighter like King K. Rool, Incineroar, and Ganondorf do.
  • Ganondorf is also fought in all Zelda character routes, with the exception of Sheik.
• Ganondorf is one of three characters whose Classic Mode route centers around protagonists and heroes for opponents. The other two who share this attribute are Dark Samus and Mewtwo. All three characters of which face heroes/protagonists from their own series.
  • Out of these, Ganondorf is the only character who doesn't face characters hailing from either Pokemon or Street Fighter.
  • Conversly, Ganondorf is the only character who faces characters hailing from Star Fox and Xenoblade.
    • This makes Ganondorf’s route an inverse of his nemesis Zelda’s, as she fights villains for opponents rather than heroes.
• 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.
  • This also happens to Ike during his descent when using Aether.
• Ganondorf's up smash is fully incapable of hitting Snake and Wii Fit Trainer when they are crouching, due to the fact that the hitboxes go away before the sword fully hits the ground. [1]