Ganondorf (SSB4)

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Ganondorf in Super Smash Bros. 4
File:GanondorfSSB4Render.png
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Beast Ganon

Ganondorf was unofficially revealed as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 via leaked videos from footage used by ESRB to rate the game. Ganondorf was also accidentally shown in an official video, where he appeared outside the boundaries of the screen while Pikachu taunted, before the trailer was replaced with a nearly-identical video which does not include Ganondorf. He has also been shown in Twitch.tv streams before being unveiled. This means Ganondorf has been shown off three times prior to his official confirmation.

Visually, he retains his Twilight Princess design, but with his glowing chest wound from that game clearly visible and a more tattered cape. His hair is a slightly brighter color of orange.

How To Unlock

• Play 80 VS Matches.
• Clear Classic Mode as Link or Zelda on difficulty 5.0 or higher.

Changes from Brawl

Given that Ganondorf was a low tier character in Brawl, he has received multiple buffs in power, speed, and his recovery, but not without some flaws.

• Ganondorf is heavier than in Brawl.
• Ganondorf is overall a much faster character.
• Neutral attack has faster start-up and greater range.
• Forward tilt has faster start-up and decreased ending lag, and has been strengthened to where it can KO under 125%.
• Down tilt is faster and deals 1% more damage.
• Up tilt is stronger, almost as strong as its Melee iteration. It also deals 1% more damage.
• Up smash has decreased ending lag, deals 2% more damage and can KO under 100%
• Neutral aerial has faster start-up with the first hit dealing 1% more damage, and 2% more for the second.
• Back aerial is stronger, and deals 1% more damage.
• Flame Choke deals 3% more damage.
  • Aerial Flame Choke carries Ganondorf and his opponent airborne a bit before the slam.
  • Opponents can now tech the hit.
• Warlock Punch is stronger, deals more damage, and has slightly faster start-up.
• Up and down throws have lower knockback growth, allowing Ganondorf to follow up with other attacks more often. The former also has slightly less ending lag.
• Dash attack is weaker and deals 1% less damage.
• Down aerial is less damaging (19% instead of 22%) and much weaker, no longer being able to KO grounded opponents under 110%. It has also gained a sour spot that hits opponents horizontally, similar to Captain Falcon's down aerial.
  • It no longer auto cancels in a short hop, which harms his approach.
• Beast Ganon's power has been reduced.
• Dark Dive produces more spectacular visual effects, with a noticeably larger finishing explosion.
  • Dark Dive now has a altered animation with one hand as opposed to two.
  • It covers slightly more distance.
  • Its strength has weakened.
• Ganondorf's darkness attacks produce more saturated visual effects.
• Ganondorf now uses his sword for Custom special moves.

Moveset (Normals)

	Damage	Description
Neutral attack	8% hand 6% arm 4% body	Leans in with a palm strike. Ganondorf's fastest attack, with decent range and knockback.
Forward tilt	13% leg 12% body	Leans back while forcefully thrusting one leg forward. Fairly quick start-up, with great knockback at a semi-spike trajectory. A powerful edgeguarding move against characters with little horizontal recovery.
Up tilt	28% leg 20% foot 18% explosion	Ganondorf lifts his leg up then holds it in place until smashing it down in an explosion. Has vacuum properties. Incredibly powerful, being able to KO at low percentages when near the ledge.
Down tilt	13%	Kneels on one leg and thrusts the other leg forward. Good start-up, range and power with vertical knockback.
Dash attack	14% clean 10% late	Charges at the opponent and rams into them. Ganondorf gains a quick speed boost during the move. Has good knockback, being able to KO at very high percentages.
Forward smash	24%	Thrusts his elbow forward, dealing darkness damage on contact. Relatively slow start-up and high cool down, but its extreme knockback is capable of KO'ing under 100%. Hitting closer to Ganondorf deals slightly higher knockback, but the same damage. Can be angled up or down.
Up smash	24% high 21% low	Forcefully swings his leg up. Has some start-up but surprisingly little cool down because of its interruptibility. Extremely powerful when hit against aerial opponents, capable of KO'ing under 100%.
Down smash	6% front 15%/13% back	Kicks his leg in front and then behind him. The first kick has low knockback to naturally combo into the second kick, which has the most damage and knockback. Ganondorf's weakest smash attack, but can be used to punish a roll.
Neutral aerial	12/7% first 9/5% second	Two quick mid-air kicks. The first hit deals the most damage and knockback, making it impractical to combo into the second hit above extremely low percent. Some landing lag if not used in a full hop.
Forward aerial	17% fist 16% arm	An overhead punch in a downwards arc. Very powerful with decent start-up. Suffers from high landing lag even when used with a full hop.
Back aerial	17% first 16% arm	A back-handed punch. Relatively fast start-up with power that slightly surpasses even his forward aerial. Has little cool down with decent landing lag. While it auto cancels in a short hop, its high vertical hitbox makes it unable to hit most grounded opponents.
Up aerial	13/12% front 12/10% back 6% late	An overhead flip kick, covering a large arc above him. Fast start-up, good coverage with great power. Deals more damage and knockback when hit closer to Ganondorf. The last few frames of this attack is a weak semi-spike with extremely low horizontal knockback. Has little cool down with decent landing lag, and can auto cancel in a short hop.
Down aerial	19% meteor 17% shoulder	Stomps his legs downward, dealing electric damage. The move is an extremely powerful meteor smash if hit with the lower half of his body. There is a sour spot on his shoulder that hits horizontally with less damage, but is still extremely powerful (stronger than his forward and back aerial at higher percentages). Has little cool down, but high landing lag unless used with a full hop.
Grab	—	A short ranged grab. Pivot grab has better range but suffers from cool down.
Pummel	3%	Knees the opponent. A moderately slow pummel.
Forward throw	13%	Lifts his opponent up, then punches them. High damage for a throw with good knockback.
Back throw	10%	Lifts his opponent behind him and kicks them. Good knockback.
Up throw	7%	Holds opponent above him, them punches them up. High base knockback, but low scaling.
Down throw	7%	Throws his opponent violently on the ground. A weak throw with very low knockback scaling, making it useful for setting up into other moves.
Floor attack (front)	7%	Flips himself to kick in the front and back.
Floor attack (trip)	5%	Spins around to kick those who are near.
Edge attack	8%	Gets up with a horizontal back hand to the opponent.

Moveset (Specials)

	Name	Damage	Description
Neutral special	Warlock Punch	30% ground 37% reverse 38% aerial 40% reverse aerial	Winds up a large amount of darkness and releases it all in a a powerful forward backfist. A player can pull off a 180° punch by turning in the opposite direction during the charging period, however this increases the moves wind up duration. A reverse aerial Warlock Punch is powerful enough to OHKO characters near the ledge.
Neutral special custom 1	Warlock Blade	22% tip 18% blade	Ganondorf pulls out his sword and thrusts it forwards. Deals less damage overall than Warlock Punch, but has greater range and a powerful sweetspot at the tip of the sword.
Neutral special custom 2	Warlock Thrust	?%	A faster punch that deals explosive damage, though the opponent must be very close to get the full extent of the damage.
Side special	Flame Choke	12% ground 15% aerial	Boosts forward with his hand extended out. Upon contact he grabs onto the opponent and attacks them with darkness before slamming them into the ground (though an opponent can tech the hit to avoid guaranteed follow-ups). In the air, Ganondorf grabs onto and descents alongside the opponent before slamming them into the ground, or to the lower blast line in a suicide KO if used off-stage. This works as a grab move, and as such works through shields and counters. Also can be used for short horizontal recovery, as it grabs onto the ledge.
Side special custom 1	Gerudo Dragon	?%	Boosts forward with his hand extended out. Upon contact, he launches them into the air with an uppercut.
Side special custom 2	Flame Chain	?%	Boosts forward with his hand extended out. Upon contact, he strikes them with a series of attacks.
Up special	Dark Dive	7% uppercut	Ganondorf latches onto an opponent and unleashes electricity onto them before launching them with an explosion. Covers a very small amount of horizontal distance, but a decent amount of vertical making it a subpar recovery. If he successfully lands this move against an opponent, he doesn't fall helpless and can use it again. Ganondorf will perform an uppercut with weak knockback and darkness properties if this move misses an opponent.
Up special custom 1	Dark Fists	?%	Ganondorf launches himself into the air with a rising fist, followed by another uppercut at the height of his jump. He cannot grab opponents with this move, but he can chain the two uppercuts into each other.
Up special custom 2	Dark Vault	?%	Ganondorf travels much higher, but can only grab opponents at the very beginning or end of the move.
Down special	Wizard's Foot	12% clean 10% late 15% meteor 14% aerial 8% shockwave	Surrounded by darkness, Ganondorf launches himself while extending his leg out, dealing decent damage and knockback (but lots of cool down). In the air, Ganondorf launches diagonally downwards while extending his leg out below him. A powerful meteor smash during start-up, with a late hit sending opponents vertically instead (though it is still very powerful). A small shockwave is formed around Ganondorf when he lands on the ground, which has small amount of knockback. Has a lot of landing lag, and is extremely risky to use off stage.
Down special custom 1	Wizard's Dropkick	?%	Ganondorf jumps into the air before performing the kick.
Down special custom 2	Wizard's Assault	?%	Ganondorf shoots forwards with a faster kick that goes through opponents and travels straight down when used in the air.
Final Smash	Beast Ganon	?%	Ganondorf becomes his beast form and rams into the opponent. Opponents can become stuck in the ground, or paralyzed in midair. Usually a one-hit KO.

Taunts

• Up: Floats in the air, curls into a ball, spins, opens up from his curled position and poses, all while laughing maniacally. (Same as in Melee)
• Side: Punches his hands together, and dark energy appears.
• Down: Takes his sword out, dark energy pulses from the tip, looks at it, then puts it away.

On-Screen Appearance

Emerges from a portal of dark magic.

Victory Fanfare

A flourished remix directly from Brawl. It is a remix of the tune that will play when Link obtained a Triforce Piece in The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is shared with Link, Zelda, Sheik, and Toon Link.

Palette Swaps

Trophies

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophy descriptions

Ganondorf

NA: The King of Evil that awaits Link at the end of most of his adventures. Ganondorf possesses the Triforce of Power. In Smash Bros., he makes up for his low speed with devastating power. The strength of his blows can knock back most opponents. Get close with a dash attack, and pummel your foes!

PAL: The King of Evil is Link's arch-nemesis in most games in the Legend of Zelda series. With the Triforce of Power at his disposal, he's a fearsome opponent. In this game, his mighty attacks have so much impact, they easily make up for his slow speed, and his launching ability is extra impressive! Rush in when the enemy's open and strike hard.

Ganondorf (All-Star)

Being the powerhouse that he is, the King of Evil is a great choice for free-for-alls. His Warlock Punch delivers a thunderous, dark-energy-fueled blow from his left hand. Unfortunately, left-handed dark-energy-fueled blows take some time to charge. You can turn to face someone as they cowardly try to hit you from behind.

• GanondorfTrophy3DS1.png

  Classic

• GanondorfTrophy3DS2.png

  All-Star