May I Have Some Feedback On My Ganondorf?

[The Stupendous Jimbo]

Hey guys, totally new to the community but I've been a HUGE fan of Smash since the Melee days. I did a few Melee tournaments, never got past the 3rd round, did a lot of Brawl tournaments, same thing (3rd round), I skipped Smash 4, but got Smash U. After much deliberation, I finally settled on maining as Ganondorf, and somehow he feels right for this installment.

Unfortunately, I live really far away from people and can't afford to go to actual tournaments due to job constraints, so the majority of my playing is online with strangers. I want to really step up my game with Ganondorf online, and I was hoping to get some criticism on how to improve. I'm sorry if I'm coming off strong, I'm not the best with communication.

When I play, I really like to think about what I do, which is why Ganondorf is perfect for me. Here are some replays I grabbed today. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you kindly!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azyQpBLZkhM - Me vs a Mega Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmuNNfrn7aQ - Me vs a Sheik

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grn8ud7tpws - Me vs a Wii Fit Trainer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grn8ud7tpws - Me vs a Lucina

I have the adapter for clearing up lag, and for the most part it hasn't been affecting my ability to play. Sometimes lag gets in the way, but I usually leave those matches. I'm getting to the point where the only reason I'm winning is sheer luck, so I was hoping maybe if I were to get an account here and post some videos, I could get some feedback. Again, any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you kindly!

 

[King9999]

Vs. Mega Man - Any time you land a dash attack, try following up with an aerial. Every time you hit the dash attack you followed up with nothing. It's a free hit! This goes for anyone, not just this specific matchup. The few u-tilts you did were done in neutral, which you should avoid. I think they were accidental though (happens to me sometimes). Your opponent threw out a lot of charged shots; I know that the buster got buffed (reduced end lag), but I think you still have an opportunity to punish. Use platforms more to get around the buster.

Vs. Sheik - There were 2 opportunities where you could have ended the match with a Ganoncide since you had a stock lead. When you do a ground flame choke and the opponent doesn't tech, see if you can follow up with a side tilt instead of d-tilt. I know that side tilt will whiff against some characters, but I don't think Sheik is one of those. If you choke them at the edge, you definitely want to try for a side tilt.

Vs. WFT - I don't have much feedback here as I haven't fought enough WFTs. I do know that you have to watch out for the ball when WFT is recovering, because WFT players will usually throw one to help their recovery. I also know that flame choke > side tilt doesn't work. Good job with the Ganoncide; always take advantage of players who stay at the edge and you have the stock lead.

The Lucina vid hasn't been posted, so can't comment on it.

Generally, when you get launched far, remember that you have a directional air dodge that will help you to recover. Ganon especially needs it since his recovery is poor. Also, attempt to go off stage more for KOs, especially against characters with good recovery. Ganon's aerials are great for taking stocks.

 

[The Stupendous Jimbo]

First of all, THANK YOU so much! I will note all of this down and use it to improve myself.

Second, sincere apologies for the Lucina video. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkvaOgVPgP0

I'm going to finish reading your reply and I'll write more.

 

[PimpLuigi]

Spend more time spamming the short hop/ neutral air. Pressure with that, seriously do it all the time. Don't start using the command grab until opponent gets defensive and blocks a lot.

 

[King9999]

vs. Lucina - A good Lucina can actually mess Ganon up, so you got lucky here. Ganon doesn't like swords, you would have to play more patient and wait for opportunities to punish. You have to be really careful against fighters with counters, since they will kill Ganon early. You might not want want to use his side smash for this reason.

This is a general tip, but try using Dark Dive on stage more. A lot of times you can just run up and use up B while the opponent shields. Dark Dive is a KO move, so you want to use it as much as possible on stage.

 

[Dimir]

-DON'T be the scrub who only analyses games where you win. You will get WAY more in the long run trying to figure out why you lost a game rather than boosting your ego by re-watching your victories. Your opponents in these video seem to be weak players.

-Mix up your ledge options more. vs Megaman you seem to just spam getup attack every time. I would recommend using roll from ledge as your main option, then mixup with regular getup or getup attack.

-First game your movement ranges from bad to nonexistent. It would do you a great benefit to practice implementing dashdance in a meaningful way. You can use any move after your initial dash. Here's a couple of tactics to utilize Dash Dance: when your Online opponent inevitably runs to the corner of the stage to camp you, dash towards them to try and bait out a roll. Then, dash back towards center stage and F-Smash or D-smash (dsmash easier to hit but F-smash payoff is nuts) I highly recommend changing your controls to have tilt attacks on c-stick. This allows you to use dash into d-tilt or f-tilt with ease

-VS Wii Fit Trainer you start using dash more, makes my previous paragraph slightly less relevant

-Practice falling through platforms with Aerials. F-air, N-air and U-air are all good for this. Just press down to drop, then input the aerial with the C-stick immediately after.

-There are times where you are whiffing f-tilts. In these situations, d-tilt and jab are often better spacing tools. Both jab and d-tilt have either identical or less lag than f-tilt, but both have more range. (yes, jab has more range than f-tilt :o)

-Lucina game is easily the most impressive out of the bunch. You're moving and grooving, baiting out whiffed moves. well done.

-Your edgeguarding is non-existent. At 0:40, you back throw Lucina off stage, and then literally just stand there while she Up-B's onto the stage right in front of you. You could have easily punished this with just about any move. If you weren't confident with your timing, even a down-b or dash attack would have been better than nothing. Your oppnents in these videos kinda suck at recovering so it's hard to point out other examples. But here's an edgeguarding tactic you can use vs a lot of characters: When an opponent tries to recover low, just run off stage and neutral air. You have time to jump and up-B back to the stage. In some cases U-air is better, so I recommend experimenting with both while you learn how to edgeguard.

-Finally, some more general Ganon strategy. Spam neutral-air more. This is your bread and butter. Use down-b more... But take this with a grain of salt. If you notice your down-b's are getting shielded a lot, you need to mixup your spacing/timing more. Try to land more f-smash. Hard reading rolls goes a long way, and A LOT of online players have predictable rolling habits