Clai
Smash Lord
As with just about everything else about Ganon, Ganon's ledge game is a little... lacking. While he does have the advantage of using a ledge-hop side-B, he's for the most part incapable of doing what most characters can do- mainly throw out an aerial and either grab the ledge or land on the stage. While Ganon can use his f-air or Zigma's famous Flipman combo to return to the stage (more on this later), the timing is much too strict for people to do on a regular basis. So what other option does Ganon have?
Planking (Inbe4plankingisntmanly)
Ganon has a short-hop perfectly suitable for planking; however, the problem has always been being able to throw out an aerial and get back to the ledge without being forced to use your up-B and thus leave you wide open for an attack. The video I will be presenting changes all of that, though, and proves that Ganondorf is actually a perfectly capable planker.
Here's the procedure:
1) Drop off the ledge
2) Immediately double-jump up-air (remain close to the edge)
3) Use side-B
This may seem really simple, but what pressing side-B does, if Ganon is close enough to the edge, is that it latches Ganondorf to the ledge without any start-up. The significance of this is without using side-B, Ganon can't use an up-air and then grab the ledge without being forced to use up+B. Thanks to the low height of Ganon's Double Jump, he can throw out an up-air and then latch to the edge while leaving almost no room for the opponent to punish him.
Ganon can do this on any stage without problem, but there are a few stages that get extra quirks. These stages are the ones where Ganon can reverse side-B stall, meaning that Ganondorf can move toward the stage while being 'below' it and then use a side-B in the opposite direction to return to the stage (example, Ganon's on the left ledge -> he drops down and moves toward the right -> Ganon double-jumps and side-B's to the left -> Ganon grabs the ledge). Reverse side-B stalling is mainly used because Ganon is more protected from getting hit than regular side-B stalling. The stages where Ganon can do this are:
-Battlefield
-Smashville
-Lylat Cruise
-Pokemon Stadium 1
Sadly, Ganon cannot use up-air and then reverse side-B stall on Lylat and PS1. With Battlefield and Smashville, however, Ganon has a further range on his planking by throwing out an up-air closer to the center of the stage and then using reverse-B to return to the stage.
All in all, I think that, when used in combination with Ganon's other ledge options, this form of planking can make Ganon better at defensive play. Now to present the video (Pokemon Stadium 1 is the last stage in the video, and that has a load of tricks completely unrelated to ledge-planking. I've included them all in the video, so be sure to watch till the end):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLQigMhVoxA
A few things I've noticed while doing ledge business with Ganon:
-) I've only been able to pull off a Flipman once, and the timing is really, really tricky. It's all because Ganon has a really funky timing with his double jump. You can't just immediately double-jump and throw out an aerial- you have to wait until Ganon reaches a point in his jump and then use the aerial. If you're reading this Zigma, would you please explain better how to time the Flipman correctly, because it's a really good technique all Ganon mains should know how to do.
-) I did not get clips for Halberd and Delfino, but I've played on them, and it is AMAZING for planking! Thanks to the lack of a solid base for both stages (when they're traveling), you can throw out an up-air and hit an opponent a good length away from the ledge and then still use a reverse side-B to get back.
-) You can hit an opponent on the side platforms in Battlefield with an F-air from the ledge to the stage, but the opponent has to be really close to the end (doing that falling over animation) for Ganon's F-air to reach them.
-) Pokemon Stadium 1... Nah, you'll know what I mean by watching the video.
Planking (Inbe4plankingisntmanly)
Ganon has a short-hop perfectly suitable for planking; however, the problem has always been being able to throw out an aerial and get back to the ledge without being forced to use your up-B and thus leave you wide open for an attack. The video I will be presenting changes all of that, though, and proves that Ganondorf is actually a perfectly capable planker.
Here's the procedure:
1) Drop off the ledge
2) Immediately double-jump up-air (remain close to the edge)
3) Use side-B
This may seem really simple, but what pressing side-B does, if Ganon is close enough to the edge, is that it latches Ganondorf to the ledge without any start-up. The significance of this is without using side-B, Ganon can't use an up-air and then grab the ledge without being forced to use up+B. Thanks to the low height of Ganon's Double Jump, he can throw out an up-air and then latch to the edge while leaving almost no room for the opponent to punish him.
Ganon can do this on any stage without problem, but there are a few stages that get extra quirks. These stages are the ones where Ganon can reverse side-B stall, meaning that Ganondorf can move toward the stage while being 'below' it and then use a side-B in the opposite direction to return to the stage (example, Ganon's on the left ledge -> he drops down and moves toward the right -> Ganon double-jumps and side-B's to the left -> Ganon grabs the ledge). Reverse side-B stalling is mainly used because Ganon is more protected from getting hit than regular side-B stalling. The stages where Ganon can do this are:
-Battlefield
-Smashville
-Lylat Cruise
-Pokemon Stadium 1
Sadly, Ganon cannot use up-air and then reverse side-B stall on Lylat and PS1. With Battlefield and Smashville, however, Ganon has a further range on his planking by throwing out an up-air closer to the center of the stage and then using reverse-B to return to the stage.
All in all, I think that, when used in combination with Ganon's other ledge options, this form of planking can make Ganon better at defensive play. Now to present the video (Pokemon Stadium 1 is the last stage in the video, and that has a load of tricks completely unrelated to ledge-planking. I've included them all in the video, so be sure to watch till the end):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLQigMhVoxA
A few things I've noticed while doing ledge business with Ganon:
-) I've only been able to pull off a Flipman once, and the timing is really, really tricky. It's all because Ganon has a really funky timing with his double jump. You can't just immediately double-jump and throw out an aerial- you have to wait until Ganon reaches a point in his jump and then use the aerial. If you're reading this Zigma, would you please explain better how to time the Flipman correctly, because it's a really good technique all Ganon mains should know how to do.
-) I did not get clips for Halberd and Delfino, but I've played on them, and it is AMAZING for planking! Thanks to the lack of a solid base for both stages (when they're traveling), you can throw out an up-air and hit an opponent a good length away from the ledge and then still use a reverse side-B to get back.
-) You can hit an opponent on the side platforms in Battlefield with an F-air from the ledge to the stage, but the opponent has to be really close to the end (doing that falling over animation) for Ganon's F-air to reach them.
-) Pokemon Stadium 1... Nah, you'll know what I mean by watching the video.
