Ganondorf has been underrated, in my opinion. As a clone, he automatically gets biased against. However, he's a fair character in the right hands. Here's how to get good at the King of Evil.
Ganondorf isn't Marth, but he's not Bowser either. His Attacks are slow, but strong. When playing as Ganondorf, you have two styles: All-out attack, or rock-solid defense. For attack, use his f-air sparingly, his neutral special almost never. D-special when your opponent is open. Ganondorf's grab combos are excellent if you can chain them, particularly against the Space Animals. His aerials are especially good, including the infamous Thunderstomp spike and u-air. For defense, Ganon's weight works for him, as he can take damage and not be affected by it until above 60%. Ganon can wave dash, dash throw, and combo well.
Here are some pros and Cons
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
Most powerful (debatable) unchargable attack in the game (Warlock Punch)
One of the Farthest-Reaching forward smashes in the game
Best meteor smash (debated) in the Game (D-air)
Excellent Range
Powerful throws that can be chained well
Retains Falcon's U-Air- easily 2 Uairs in one jump.
Heaviest Humanoid character in the game-hard to ko.
Excellent edgeguarding game.
Great Jab.
Most Powerful (arguably) D-smash in the game.
Reversed U-Air cannot be teched
Excellent Mindgaming abilities-wavedashing, dash grabs, sshfld dairs, etc
Very high ledge jump- arguably highest in the game.
Waveland is longer than wavedash.
U-air spikes at the heel.
Bair- one of the best bairs in game
Dair's hitbox covers Ganon's entire body-you will spike your opponent if they are at your chest level.
Cons:
Slow
Lacks a projectile.
Vulnerable to Grab Combos
Fast Faller
Heavy
Easily punished recovery.
Laggy Attacks
3 of his worst matchups are against top tier characters: Fox, Falco, and Sheik
Slowest U-Tilt in any of the games- Volcano Kick with 81 frames
Slowest unchargable Neutral Special (warlock punch)
Laggy f-air
Doesn't do well on many stages where the opponent can run and use projectiles.
Combos
Wall of Pain: double F-air
Ken Combo: Fair then Dair/ F-air then Wizards Foot
Gerudo Dragon then Dark Dive- hard to pull off
Gerudo Dragon then u air/ nair/bair
D-throw to bair possibly at higher percentages
Stringing D-airs-always helpful to rack up damage
Ganondorf's main weakness is his lack of a projectile, which means he doesn't do well against Sheik, Fox, Falco, or Ice Climbers. He's also slow, but his only three counterpicks are Space Animals and Sheik.
Strategies versus these characters:
Sheik-unfortunately, sheik is probably the only matchup Ganon has no chance of winning- Ganon can wait for Sheik to mess up with her recovery, and use a smash or aerial. That's the only real way to get any damage on Sheik-that's the only way I have EVER won against a sheik.
Space Animals- Close distance, space well, capitalize on their telegraphed recoveries.
Ice Climbers-Watch out for the grab combos, try to get above them where they don't have many options and then dair or wizards foot.
Moves that Combo: Up Throw can combo into up or back air (even with DI), making this one of the only instances in the game where this happens. Usually, most characters have a limited range to their up airs, and the opponent can air dodge out of harm's way, but Ganondorf's wide-ranged aerial attacks allow him to hit the opponent.
Gerudo Dragon to b-air or u-air- same strategy as above
F-throw to f-air or n-air- most likely, the opponent will AIr-dodge to slow themselves down, so you can capitalize upon this to hit them with a quick aerial.
Gerudo Dragon to Dark Dive- This is tricky, as the gerudo dragon put the opponent in a hard-to-reach-area, a quick roll is useful to position yourself. However, your opponent may have already gone on the attack himself.
Fair to dair- A basic Ken Combo at low percents, this can lead to quick kills due to the meteor qualities of Ganondorf's dair.
F-throw to Wizard's Foot- Self-explanatory.
Basic styles: All-out Attack; A fast-paced(or as fast as ganon can get) attack -based play style. Using Grabs, uncharged smashes, and aerials with gerudo dragons, wizard's foots, and f-tilts mixed in. Risky as it leaves Ganon open, but racks up the damage. DONT GET OVERCONFIDENT!!!!
Rock-Solid Defense- Shielding, spacing, and capitalizing on the opponent's mistakes are the basic principles of this play style. Using Ganon's quick n-airs, long f-smashes, grabs, and edge guarding abilities to get ko's on mistimed recoveries, smashes, and specials. Doesn't leave many vulnerabilities, but doesn't have much room for creativity. DONT GET OVERLY CAUTIOUS!! You still have to win.
Tips for beginners: Like any character, Ganondorf needs to be able to capitalize on his opponent's vulnerabilities, especially in the air. DI'ing in the air leaves opponents vulnerable for a short time, as well as the reflectors of Fox and Falco, Marth and Roy's Counters, and other counter specials. Using u-airs, fairs, b-airs to capitalize on these vulnerabilities is an easy way to get KO's.
Overall, Ganon has to keep the opponent on defense, and not get overconfident. Ganon needs to be wily, like a fox. Remember these tips, and soon the Triforce shall be in your grasp.
Ganondorf isn't Marth, but he's not Bowser either. His Attacks are slow, but strong. When playing as Ganondorf, you have two styles: All-out attack, or rock-solid defense. For attack, use his f-air sparingly, his neutral special almost never. D-special when your opponent is open. Ganondorf's grab combos are excellent if you can chain them, particularly against the Space Animals. His aerials are especially good, including the infamous Thunderstomp spike and u-air. For defense, Ganon's weight works for him, as he can take damage and not be affected by it until above 60%. Ganon can wave dash, dash throw, and combo well.
Here are some pros and Cons
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
Most powerful (debatable) unchargable attack in the game (Warlock Punch)
One of the Farthest-Reaching forward smashes in the game
Best meteor smash (debated) in the Game (D-air)
Excellent Range
Powerful throws that can be chained well
Retains Falcon's U-Air- easily 2 Uairs in one jump.
Heaviest Humanoid character in the game-hard to ko.
Excellent edgeguarding game.
Great Jab.
Most Powerful (arguably) D-smash in the game.
Reversed U-Air cannot be teched
Excellent Mindgaming abilities-wavedashing, dash grabs, sshfld dairs, etc
Very high ledge jump- arguably highest in the game.
Waveland is longer than wavedash.
U-air spikes at the heel.
Bair- one of the best bairs in game
Dair's hitbox covers Ganon's entire body-you will spike your opponent if they are at your chest level.
Cons:
Slow
Lacks a projectile.
Vulnerable to Grab Combos
Fast Faller
Heavy
Easily punished recovery.
Laggy Attacks
3 of his worst matchups are against top tier characters: Fox, Falco, and Sheik
Slowest U-Tilt in any of the games- Volcano Kick with 81 frames
Slowest unchargable Neutral Special (warlock punch)
Laggy f-air
Doesn't do well on many stages where the opponent can run and use projectiles.
Combos
Wall of Pain: double F-air
Ken Combo: Fair then Dair/ F-air then Wizards Foot
Gerudo Dragon then Dark Dive- hard to pull off
Gerudo Dragon then u air/ nair/bair
D-throw to bair possibly at higher percentages
Stringing D-airs-always helpful to rack up damage
Ganondorf's main weakness is his lack of a projectile, which means he doesn't do well against Sheik, Fox, Falco, or Ice Climbers. He's also slow, but his only three counterpicks are Space Animals and Sheik.
Strategies versus these characters:
Sheik-unfortunately, sheik is probably the only matchup Ganon has no chance of winning- Ganon can wait for Sheik to mess up with her recovery, and use a smash or aerial. That's the only real way to get any damage on Sheik-that's the only way I have EVER won against a sheik.
Space Animals- Close distance, space well, capitalize on their telegraphed recoveries.
Ice Climbers-Watch out for the grab combos, try to get above them where they don't have many options and then dair or wizards foot.
Moves that Combo: Up Throw can combo into up or back air (even with DI), making this one of the only instances in the game where this happens. Usually, most characters have a limited range to their up airs, and the opponent can air dodge out of harm's way, but Ganondorf's wide-ranged aerial attacks allow him to hit the opponent.
Gerudo Dragon to b-air or u-air- same strategy as above
F-throw to f-air or n-air- most likely, the opponent will AIr-dodge to slow themselves down, so you can capitalize upon this to hit them with a quick aerial.
Gerudo Dragon to Dark Dive- This is tricky, as the gerudo dragon put the opponent in a hard-to-reach-area, a quick roll is useful to position yourself. However, your opponent may have already gone on the attack himself.
Fair to dair- A basic Ken Combo at low percents, this can lead to quick kills due to the meteor qualities of Ganondorf's dair.
F-throw to Wizard's Foot- Self-explanatory.
Basic styles: All-out Attack; A fast-paced(or as fast as ganon can get) attack -based play style. Using Grabs, uncharged smashes, and aerials with gerudo dragons, wizard's foots, and f-tilts mixed in. Risky as it leaves Ganon open, but racks up the damage. DONT GET OVERCONFIDENT!!!!
Rock-Solid Defense- Shielding, spacing, and capitalizing on the opponent's mistakes are the basic principles of this play style. Using Ganon's quick n-airs, long f-smashes, grabs, and edge guarding abilities to get ko's on mistimed recoveries, smashes, and specials. Doesn't leave many vulnerabilities, but doesn't have much room for creativity. DONT GET OVERLY CAUTIOUS!! You still have to win.
Tips for beginners: Like any character, Ganondorf needs to be able to capitalize on his opponent's vulnerabilities, especially in the air. DI'ing in the air leaves opponents vulnerable for a short time, as well as the reflectors of Fox and Falco, Marth and Roy's Counters, and other counter specials. Using u-airs, fairs, b-airs to capitalize on these vulnerabilities is an easy way to get KO's.
Overall, Ganon has to keep the opponent on defense, and not get overconfident. Ganon needs to be wily, like a fox. Remember these tips, and soon the Triforce shall be in your grasp.
