Super Smash Bros. Brawl/Ganondorf


 * Ganondorf needs to be unlocked.

Ganondorf returns from Super Smash Bros. Melee! Ganondorf is no longer a complete clone of Captain Falcon. His moves are more unique from Falcon, being slower and stronger. Ganondorf also gained a new SideB, Flame Choke that allows him a lot more followups. However, he has a few moves that is completely unusable due to being so slow, his aerial mobility is very lacking, he has problems dealing with projectiles, and his recovery is predictable, rendering him completely unviable in high level play. However, in a hands of a good player, Ganondorf is a force to fear.

Note: after successfully using Flame Choke on an opponent (side ) it's very easy and effective to follow up with a Leg Breaker (down tilt; hold down and press ) while the opponent is on the ground. It even works on fast characters like sonic and you can keep following him and repeating on whatever character you prefer.

Standard Attack
Urgency: Middle-High
 * Palm Strike||Damage: 7%
 * Palm Strike||Damage: 7%
 * Palm Strike||Damage: 7%

Ganondorf extends his arm and shocks his opponent. It is one of your fastest ground moves and a decently good move to knock opponents who are trying to pressure you away. It is still pretty sluggish for a normal A attack, and you are almost certainly going to get grabbed if your opponent shields it. Urgency: Middle
 * Spartan Kick||Damage: 13%
 * Spartan Kick||Damage: 13%
 * Spartan Kick||Damage: 13%

Ganondorf kicks forward. The move is a bit laggy, but it's range and knockback angle is great. Use it to counter approaches, punish your foes or to knock them offstage and into a bad position. Only use it defensively, because it is slow enough to be punished easily. Urgency: Never-Low
 * Volcano Kick||Damage: 27%
 * Volcano Kick||Damage: 27%
 * Volcano Kick||Damage: 27%

Holds his leg up for some time then crashes down. This move is very, very slow. In fact, it's so slow you probably won't ever land it against a decent opponent. However, it has a wierd vacumn effect when charging. If you do manage to land it, it has deceptively great range and humongous power, with the center killing at around 30%! Urgency: High
 * Leg Breaker||Damage: 12%
 * Leg Breaker||Damage: 12%
 * Leg Breaker||Damage: 12%

Ganondorf kicks lowly. One of Ganondorf's faster moves and it has great range. It has better priority than your other moves and can launch your opponent just slightly into the air, where they have few options which you can counter if you predict correctly. It is also a great followup after a Flame Choke. Urgency: Middle-High
 * Dark Boost||Damage: 16%
 * Dark Boost||Damage: 16%
 * Dark Boost||Damage: 16%

Ganondorf charges forward. This move is very powerful, fast and sends Ganondorf a good distance forwards. It is great for punishing attacks, anti-air, following up a Flame Choke or as a finisher. It does suffer quite a bit from stale move negation, so you have to decide whether to use it often in a match for its speed and priority, or to save it for a quick KO move.
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Smash Attacks
Urgency: Middle
 * Elbow Thrust||Damage: 22 uncharged
 * Elbow Thrust||Damage: 22 uncharged
 * Elbow Thrust||Damage: 22 uncharged

Ganondorf thrusts his elbow out. Although it is rather slow, it is quite powerful. It pushes shielding opponents back far enough that you won't get counteattacked most of the time if your opponent shields. Your opponents can still find ways to easily punish you, as the move is quite slow. Therefore, you should only use it to punish opponents in endlag or to counter reckless approaches. This move is one of your main finishers, KOing most characters at around 70%. A simple but useful technique is stutter-stepping, in which you tap the opposite direction of where you're aiming your smash attack and immediately use the C-stick or the second joystick to perform a forward smash. If done right you will move further forward when you attack, catching opponents just out of range. Urgency: Middle
 * Skyward Smash||Damage: 20-23 uncharged
 * Skyward Smash||Damage: 20-23 uncharged
 * Skyward Smash||Damage: 20-23 uncharged

Ganondorf kicks upwards. It has a sweetspot around the foot that deals additional damage and knockback. It is very good at dealing with airborne opponents but doesn't have much range horizontally. The endlag of this move is deceptively little, as you can cancel it with another attack while his foot is still in the air, potentially surprising foes not familiar with Ganondorf. This also makes it a great baiting or fake-out attack, letting an opponent run close to attempt a free attack before countering with your own. It is also great for following up a down aerial on a grounded opponent during certain percentages, which can rack up lots of damage. This move is also powerful enough to KO, especially if you hit with the sweetspot, but since it doesn't have much horizontal range and how smart opponents won't stay directly above you most of the time, it is more situational than your other finishers. Urgency: Low
 * Double Kicks||Damage: 5 + 14 uncharged
 * Double Kicks||Damage: 5 + 14 uncharged
 * Double Kicks||Damage: 5 + 14 uncharged

Ganondorf kicks twice. Although the first hit is supposed to knock enemies straight into the second, DIing can make the second move miss, leaving you vulnerable until the animation ends. It is also weaker than your other smash attacks, making it one of your lesse used moves. Its only use is for hitting opponents that roll behind you, as you don't have any ground move that can hit both sides.


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Pummels and Throws
Ganondorf has the shortest grab range in the game, but his throws aren't bad. You will miss a lot of shield grabs or even just normal grabs if you aren't careful, usually accompanied with getting hit by an attack. Go for pivot grabs instead if you can.

Urgency: Low
 * Ganon Knee||Damage: 2%
 * Ganon Knee||Damage: 2%
 * Ganon Knee||Damage: 2%

Ganondorf knees his opponent. It is moderately slow for a pummel, but horrendously weak for a pummel its speed. Urgency: Middle-High
 * Punch Away||Damage: 13%
 * Punch Away||Damage: 13%
 * Punch Away||Damage: 13%

Ganondorf punches his opponents forwards. It is a quick way to knock your foes off the stage for an edgeguard attempt. It is also your most damaging throw, but don't expect it to KO. Urgency: Middle
 * Rear Kick||Damage: 10%
 * Rear Kick||Damage: 10%
 * Rear Kick||Damage: 10%

Ganondorf kicks his opponents backwards. This is another way to get your foes off the stage, and it does possess enough knockback to KO at higher percentages. Urgency: Low
 * Spine Breaker||Damage: 7%
 * Spine Breaker||Damage: 7%
 * Spine Breaker||Damage: 7%

Ganondorf punches his opponents back sending them upwards. It doesn't do enough knockback to KO until unrealistically high percentages, and can't be followed up with attacks, unless you anticipate your opponent's DI or airdodge. Urgency: Middle-High
 * Ground Shove||Damage: 7%
 * Ground Shove||Damage: 7%
 * Ground Shove||Damage: 7%

Ganondorf throws opponents on to the ground. It is rather weak and easily lets the opponent escape, but it throws them in such an angle that they're just slightly above the ground, where you'll have an easier time predicting their option selects and punishing them.
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Air Attacks

 * Double Roundhouse||Ganondorf kicks two times. This move is pretty safe to use and racks up damage fast.
 * Skull Breaker||Ganondorf punches downwards. This move is very powerful, but you're very vulnerable if it misses.
 * Ganon Backhand||Ganondorf backhands his opponent. Not bad knockback but has trouble hitting smaller fighters.
 * Flip Kick||Tied for Ganondorf's best aerial. This move has great range, good for comboes and can knock foes too far from the stage.
 * Thunder Stomp||This is probably Ganondorf's best air attack. It's strong, it's ranged and it can potentially kill at 0%.
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 * Ganon Backhand||Ganondorf backhands his opponent. Not bad knockback but has trouble hitting smaller fighters.
 * Flip Kick||Tied for Ganondorf's best aerial. This move has great range, good for comboes and can knock foes too far from the stage.
 * Thunder Stomp||This is probably Ganondorf's best air attack. It's strong, it's ranged and it can potentially kill at 0%.
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 * Flip Kick||Tied for Ganondorf's best aerial. This move has great range, good for comboes and can knock foes too far from the stage.
 * Thunder Stomp||This is probably Ganondorf's best air attack. It's strong, it's ranged and it can potentially kill at 0%.
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 * Thunder Stomp||This is probably Ganondorf's best air attack. It's strong, it's ranged and it can potentially kill at 0%.
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Special Attacks

 * Warlock Punch||Ganondorf's Warlock Punch, it takes longer to execute although much stronger
 * Flame Choke||He lunges at an opponent, grabs them by the neck, and slams them to the ground. If performed in the air, Ganondorf grabs the opponent and sends them down. He can grab opponents down with him as a last ditch effort. What's better is if there is lava such as on the Metroid stages, Ganondorf will drag his opponent down to the lava, but he will get hurt while the opponent keep plunging below the lava!
 * Dark Dive||He leaps in the air, slightly forward, and if an opponent is in front of him, he grabs and electrocutes them and sends them flying. An opponent can be punched if he or she is the right distance.
 * Wizard's Foot||On the ground he kicks horizontally while moving, in the air he kicks downward at an angle
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 * Flame Choke||He lunges at an opponent, grabs them by the neck, and slams them to the ground. If performed in the air, Ganondorf grabs the opponent and sends them down. He can grab opponents down with him as a last ditch effort. What's better is if there is lava such as on the Metroid stages, Ganondorf will drag his opponent down to the lava, but he will get hurt while the opponent keep plunging below the lava!
 * Dark Dive||He leaps in the air, slightly forward, and if an opponent is in front of him, he grabs and electrocutes them and sends them flying. An opponent can be punched if he or she is the right distance.
 * Wizard's Foot||On the ground he kicks horizontally while moving, in the air he kicks downward at an angle
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 * Wizard's Foot||On the ground he kicks horizontally while moving, in the air he kicks downward at an angle
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 * Wizard's Foot||On the ground he kicks horizontally while moving, in the air he kicks downward at an angle
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Taunts

 * He spins in midair and strikes a pose and chuckles.
 * He punches his other hand twice and chuckles.
 * He pulls out his sword, looks at it in amazment, and puts it away, taunting players.
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 * He punches his other hand twice and chuckles.
 * He pulls out his sword, looks at it in amazment, and puts it away, taunting players.
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 * He pulls out his sword, looks at it in amazment, and puts it away, taunting players.
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Double Wiimote Style (DWM)
Now users can harness the dark powers of 2 Ganandorfs. New techniques like the one I call Warlock Choke and Wizard Pass can be very punishing. To do the Warlock Choke the player must have the 2 Ganondorfs side by side facing in the same direction. Have the Ganondorf in front do Warlock punch. Just a split second after, the Ganondorf in the back does flame choke. If done correctly, the victim should be suspended by the 2nd Ganondorf and sustain a Warlock punch without or along with being KOed. The Wizard pass may be a bit tricky as the player has to hit the opponent just at the right time so the impact sends the flying nearly horizontal. The other Ganondorf is to catch the opponent in a charged (to any extent) down smash that should KO them. It is difficult but not the only strong pair of combo moves in DWM.

Final Smash
Beast Ganon: Ganondorf transforms into the boar-like demon Ganon and strikes with a two-hit combo; first with a stunning pound on the ground, which paralyzes opponents if they're in range, then an immensely powerful dash, launching enemies along with him and landing safely on ground. Enemies not launched may be paralyzed or buried, depending on their proximity to the attack and whether or not they were able to dodge it.

Ice Climbers
Ganondorf has an extremely hard time against Ice Climbers. He's simply too slow to be able to deal damage without getting grabbed by them and chaingrabbed to death. Their desyncs also mess you up terribly. For one, the Blizzard wall pretty much shuts you down.