Super Smash Bros. Brawl/Ganondorf

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

Wii Remote + Nunchuk	Wii Remote (sideways)	Wii Classic Controller	GameCube Controller	Standard Attack	Info
				Palm Strike	Damage: 7% Urgency: Middle-High 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.
+	+	+	+	Spartan Kick	Damage: 13% Urgency: Middle 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.
+	+	+	+	Volcano Kick	Damage: 27% Urgency: Never-Low 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%!
+	+	+	+	Leg Breaker	Damage: 12% Urgency: High 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.
while dashing	while dashing	while dashing	while dashing	Dark Boost	Damage: 16% Urgency: Middle-High 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.

Smash Attacks

Wii Remote + Nunchuk	Wii Remote (sideways)	Wii Classic Controller	GameCube Controller	Smash Attack	Info
Smash +	++	(Smash +) or	(Smash +) or	Elbow Thrust	Damage: 22 uncharged Urgency: Middle 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.
Smash +	++	(Smash +) or	(Smash +) or	Skyward Smash	Damage: 20-23 uncharged Urgency: Middle 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.
Smash +	++	(Smash +) or	(Smash +) or	Double Kicks	Damage: 5 + 14 uncharged Urgency: Low 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.

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.

Wii Remote + Nunchuk	Wii Remote (sideways)	Wii Classic Controller	GameCube Controller	Pummel/Throw	Info
after grab	after grab	after grab	after grab	Ganon Knee	Damage: 2% Urgency: Low Ganondorf knees his opponent. It is moderately slow for a pummel, but horrendously weak for a pummel its speed.
after grab	after grab	after grab	after grab	Punch Away	Damage: 13% Urgency: Middle-High 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.
after grab	after grab	after grab	after grab	Rear Kick	Damage: 10% Urgency: Middle 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.
after grab	after grab	after grab	after grab	Spine Breaker	Damage: 7% Urgency: Low 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.
after grab	after grab	after grab	after grab	Ground Shove	Damage: 7% Urgency: Middle-High 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.

Air Attacks

Wii Remote + Nunchuk	Wii Remote (sideways)	Wii Classic Controller	GameCube Controller	Attack	Info
				Double Roundhouse	Damage: 11% Urgency: Middle Ganondorf kicks two times. This move is your second fastest aerial and has pretty good reach, making it a good alternative to your UAir. It is your only multi-hit move other than DSmash, which isn't nearly as useful, so it's a great move to punish an airdodge or sidestep. It is also your safest aerial to interrupt a juggle, as well as a decent aerial to edgeguard with due to its knockback angle. Another useful feature is that the entire animation will end if you perform it during a full jump, letting you follow up with a double jump and an airdodge or another aerial.
+	+	+	+	Skull Breaker	Damage: 16% Urgency: Low-Middle Ganondorf punches downwards. This move is your second strongest aerial, but its slow speed means you're definitely getting punished if you miss. However, the move has a sweetspot at the tip of Ganondorf's fist, and landing with that sweetspot gives you significantly more killing power and shield pushback. This makes it much safer if you sweetspot it on a shielded opponent, and gives you a KO move with surprising range. If you decide to use thus move at all, try to always land a sweetspotted hit, as the sourspotted attack is too weak to warrant its flaws.
+	+	+	+	Ganon Backhand	Damage: 16% Urgency: Middle Ganondorf backhands his opponent. This move has a bunch of advantages and drawbacks that doesn't make it particularly favorable or unfavorable, so its usage is really up to the player. It has good horizontal range, moderate KO potential and relatively low lag, but the position of its hitboxes makes it awkward to land the move. You can short hop and fast fall (SHFF) while using the move to autocancel it, landing laglessly, but doing this will cause it to miss a lot of shorter characters, due to how tall Ganondorf is. It is still a decent move against larger characters on the ground, while having enough priority to stop most aerial approaches.
+	+	+	+	Flip Kick	Damage: 12% Urgency: High Tied for Ganondorf's best aerial. This move has a great number of uses due to its speed and reach. It has good range that hits everywhere but below Ganondorf, is his fastest aerial and has moderate KO potential when not stale. You can use it to stop aerial approaches and juggle certain characters, even hitting grounded characters sometimes as well. Additionally, the move has a weaker hitbox just before the animation ends that knocks characters in a downward angle, making it good for edgeguarding as well. This move should be the aerial you use the most, as its multiple functions make it too good to save for the KO.
+	+	+	+	Thunder Stomp	Damage: 23% Urgency: High This is probably Ganondorf's best air attack. It is among the strongest meteor smashes in the game, able to KO almost all characters at very low percentages offstage. It also has surprising horizontal reach and huge knockback scaling, letting it KO most grounded characters below 100%. You can also SHFF autocancel it, letting you land laglessly and pull off multiple DAirs in a combo during low percentages, which can easily rack up almost 50% damage with two hits. The horizontal range of the move makes it good for stopping approaches, which is wonderful against aggressive opponents. Unfortunately, the move isn't without its weaknesses. Its landing lag is too long if not autocanceled, and it can be countered by other aerial attacks and fast UTilts.

Special Attacks

Wii Remote + Nunchuk	Wii Remote (sideways)	Wii Classic Controller	GameCube Controller	Special Attack	Info
				Warlock Punch	Damage: 33% Urgency: Ganondorf's Warlock Punch, it takes longer to execute although much stronger
+	+	+	+	Flame Choke	Damage: 9% Urgency: 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	Damage: 12% Urgency: 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	Damage: 12% Urgency: On the ground he kicks horizontally while moving, in the air he kicks downward at an angle

Taunts

Wii Remote + Nunchuk	Wii Remote (sideways)	Wii Classic Controller	GameCube Controller	Taunt
				He spins in midair and strikes a pose and chuckles.
+	( or )+	or	or	He punches his other hand twice and chuckles.
	+			He pulls out his sword, looks at it in amazment, and puts it away, taunting players.

Final Smash

Beast Ganondorf

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.

Matchups

Bowser

Ganondorf is good agaist bowser since bowser is slow and large enough to easily hit with Ganondorf's moves. Bowser's b-down is easily countered with Dark Dive (b-up).

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.