DippnDots
Feral Youth
Brief In-Depth Look at Ganon's Metagame
Due to his lacking in mobility, Ganon is a character whose metagame revolves around two foci: Taking advantage of the moment and spacing himself into a position of advantage. While those principles may seem universal for all characters, one must remember that other characters have more options open up to them due to their mobility on the stage.
On a defining note, I wish to address the necessity for technical skill. It is widely believed by many people that tech skill is not as important as "mindgames". I thoroughly disagree, partly because there isn't really an actual definition for the word mindgames, but mainly because without technical skill, one may not harness all one's potential options. When people argue this subject in support of the "mindgames" side, they usually generalize tech skill into the category of "looking flashy" rather than "being able to manipulate one's character". Without control over one's character, there can be no "mindgames" in the first place. (This paragraph is not meant to start any argument in this thread about which is more important. I don't care what your opinion on the matter is so don't PM me or post in this thread about it. I simply wrote this to, as stated, "address the necessity for technical skill")
Ganon is a very slow character. Without proper techs kill, mainly L-canceling, and all the other lag canceling techniques, added to the most famous technique, wavedashing, and all its subcategories, Ganon is useless in tournament play. His mobility, or lack thereof, is pitiful, and without proper tech skill you can never hope to control the flow of a battle. It must be ingrained into your muscle memory to never miss an L-cancel or mess up any sort of wave-thing.
So, now that the importance of tech skill has been stated, the rest of this text will assume when making statements that the Ganon-example has perfect tech skill. After all, we're dwelling into theory here.
The first principle of Ganon's metagame was stated as: Taking advantage of the moment. While this may seem obvious, many people seem to either not do this or fail at it. So many times in videos have I seen Ganon players act too late on their opponents techs, and either end up getting shield-grabbed or just smacked. The reason behind this failure is because the players reflexes aren't sharp enough to cope with Ganon's lack of movement speed.
Another example is the lack of edgehogging shown in many videos. A lot of new players don't like to edgehog. They just have this lust for smacking their opponents into an explosion. Many people are doing a good job, hanging onto the edge, and then squander their opportunity by jumping off to hit their opponent with an aerial. This only allows your opponent to capitalize on the advantage you just threw away.
The last example I offer up is chain-grabbing. This is the most beneficial approach in the game. Chain-grabbing allows you to rack up percents on characters while taking no risk to yourself. How could you want anything else? Unfortunately, it seems many people disregard chain-grabbing as a cheap/gay tactic. First and foremost, in tournaments, cheap/gay are synonyms to efficient. Second, no one said you have to use chain-grabbing in friendlies. The ability to chain-grab is a great determiner in any given match-up. This is one reason why Sheik so heavily ***** many characters. To disregard this tactic based on a moral-standpoint is only self-damaging.
The only real way to improve this first principle of Ganon's play is to begin thinking during matches. Try to predict your opponents actions and eventually it will become a second habit. At first, you might notice a dampening in your performance, but in time, it will become a subconscious activity and you will excel well beyond your current skill.
This leaves the second principle of Ganon's metagame, spacing. Because Ganon cannot cover long distances fast enough, he has to constantly position himself to a point where he won't have to move too far to punish his opponent. One example of proper spacing is when edgeguarding. Your opponent is on the ledge, and you are on the stage. Where should you be on the stage though? You know your opponent can do the following: Ledgehop, stand up/stand up+attack, roll, jump into the fray(Area you jump into when hitting X or Y on the ledge), or he could stall on the ledge.
If you position yourself right next to the edge then you've already lost the battle. Depending on the character, they could continue stalling or jump up and smack you while they still have their invulnerability frames. On top of this, characters can easily elude you by positioning themselves far enough behind you(with rolling) that Ganon doesn't have the speed to smack them during their lag time. However, if you position yourself halfway between the edge and the spot at with they end up after a roll, you will be in range to punish both these spots. Really, with enough patience and experience, Ganon should be able to kill anyone he knocks off the stage.
Another example is when throwing someone from a grab. After a throw, you should follow that players DI. Doing so puts you closer to the spot at which they have three options. Tech X distance left, right, or stay where they are. If you are at that same spot, you have the same distance X to your left and right, effectively giving you an equal chance to punish them on any of the three options they chose.
These are but two examples of how important position is when playing Ganon. Now that the importance of spacing has been established, one must wonder, how does one get good at spacing?
There are a couple of prominent ways to do so. I can't remember who, but someone mentioned that the best way to get down spacing with any character was to play games without using your shield. This will force you to defend yourself with attacks, and by doing so you will learn all aspects of your attacks. Such as their punishable lag time, their full range, timing, and priority.
However, movement is the other key aspect of spacing. I know I've said over and over how Ganon has **** for long distance movement. But in reality, with a platform, he can move swift enough in close-range quarters. Even with wavelanding, going from one end of a stage takes a long time, where as in close range, Ganon can seemingly put out a burst of speed. So, we know that Ganon can move short distances relatively fast, this is perfect for spacing. One can quickly adapt to the movements of one's opponents and keep the desired space between both characters. This allows Ganon to be in control of the flow of the fight.
With sharp reflexes and proper spacing, you can effectively wait for an opening to capitalize on. Once your opponent slips up, you need to punish them with everything you have. The downfall of many Ganon players is that their combos are short and ultimately only accomplish racking up some percent on their opponent. Sure, this isn't bad, but against good players, your combos will need to become something more. Combos NEED, absolutely NEED to knock people off the edge. Ganon's edgeguarding game is the deciding factor in many match ups. You can gimp people who are at ridiculously low percents-- just like fox with his shine-- by a well placed Uair. This is why it's imperative that Ganon players master his edgegame. This is where you want to aim to kill people. Combo from a low percent, end it with a big knock back hit (fair, bair, uair, ftilt), then keep them off the stage.
On a side note, you should rarely jump off the stage to edgeguard someone, especially with the Dair. Majority of the time there are better options with less risk involved than using the Dair, most knowledgeable Ganon players will attest to that. It is rather easy to avoid and it puts Ganon in a horrific position if you miss.
Once Ganon has control of a match, it should be his match. His attacks hit like a bulldozer. It is important to remember that even when you're in control of a fight, you must exercise patience. Too many times have I seen someone who's on an offensive run lose that advantage because they're too eager to hit their opponent and attack too early, rather than space themselves into a position that can punish their opponent's next move.
A few small tips now to close up
-Learn to combo people through tech chasing
-Grab, it's your friend, and you can tech chase from it
-Practice perfect wavedashes/wavelands every day
-Don't use side-b
-Don't miss L-cancels, especially through shields
-Keep your eyes on your opponent, not your own character
-Crouch cancel into grabs, jabs, or tilts, as these can all be combo'd from
-Last but most important, ABUSE YOUR RANGE
Real quickly I need to address L-canceling through shields. It's absolutely essential to get this timing issue down. Many high-tier characters can turn a grab into a 20-50% combo with relative ease. If you don't learn anything else from this, learn to L-cancel through shields!
In closing, I hope that when people read this article they don't accept everything in it as fact. This is my opinion on how I see Ganon's metagame. Different and more well respected Ganon players might disagree with me on certain information presented, I hope that instead you think about what I've said and come to your own opinion.
Due to his lacking in mobility, Ganon is a character whose metagame revolves around two foci: Taking advantage of the moment and spacing himself into a position of advantage. While those principles may seem universal for all characters, one must remember that other characters have more options open up to them due to their mobility on the stage.
On a defining note, I wish to address the necessity for technical skill. It is widely believed by many people that tech skill is not as important as "mindgames". I thoroughly disagree, partly because there isn't really an actual definition for the word mindgames, but mainly because without technical skill, one may not harness all one's potential options. When people argue this subject in support of the "mindgames" side, they usually generalize tech skill into the category of "looking flashy" rather than "being able to manipulate one's character". Without control over one's character, there can be no "mindgames" in the first place. (This paragraph is not meant to start any argument in this thread about which is more important. I don't care what your opinion on the matter is so don't PM me or post in this thread about it. I simply wrote this to, as stated, "address the necessity for technical skill")
Ganon is a very slow character. Without proper techs kill, mainly L-canceling, and all the other lag canceling techniques, added to the most famous technique, wavedashing, and all its subcategories, Ganon is useless in tournament play. His mobility, or lack thereof, is pitiful, and without proper tech skill you can never hope to control the flow of a battle. It must be ingrained into your muscle memory to never miss an L-cancel or mess up any sort of wave-thing.
So, now that the importance of tech skill has been stated, the rest of this text will assume when making statements that the Ganon-example has perfect tech skill. After all, we're dwelling into theory here.
The first principle of Ganon's metagame was stated as: Taking advantage of the moment. While this may seem obvious, many people seem to either not do this or fail at it. So many times in videos have I seen Ganon players act too late on their opponents techs, and either end up getting shield-grabbed or just smacked. The reason behind this failure is because the players reflexes aren't sharp enough to cope with Ganon's lack of movement speed.
Another example is the lack of edgehogging shown in many videos. A lot of new players don't like to edgehog. They just have this lust for smacking their opponents into an explosion. Many people are doing a good job, hanging onto the edge, and then squander their opportunity by jumping off to hit their opponent with an aerial. This only allows your opponent to capitalize on the advantage you just threw away.
The last example I offer up is chain-grabbing. This is the most beneficial approach in the game. Chain-grabbing allows you to rack up percents on characters while taking no risk to yourself. How could you want anything else? Unfortunately, it seems many people disregard chain-grabbing as a cheap/gay tactic. First and foremost, in tournaments, cheap/gay are synonyms to efficient. Second, no one said you have to use chain-grabbing in friendlies. The ability to chain-grab is a great determiner in any given match-up. This is one reason why Sheik so heavily ***** many characters. To disregard this tactic based on a moral-standpoint is only self-damaging.
The only real way to improve this first principle of Ganon's play is to begin thinking during matches. Try to predict your opponents actions and eventually it will become a second habit. At first, you might notice a dampening in your performance, but in time, it will become a subconscious activity and you will excel well beyond your current skill.
This leaves the second principle of Ganon's metagame, spacing. Because Ganon cannot cover long distances fast enough, he has to constantly position himself to a point where he won't have to move too far to punish his opponent. One example of proper spacing is when edgeguarding. Your opponent is on the ledge, and you are on the stage. Where should you be on the stage though? You know your opponent can do the following: Ledgehop, stand up/stand up+attack, roll, jump into the fray(Area you jump into when hitting X or Y on the ledge), or he could stall on the ledge.
If you position yourself right next to the edge then you've already lost the battle. Depending on the character, they could continue stalling or jump up and smack you while they still have their invulnerability frames. On top of this, characters can easily elude you by positioning themselves far enough behind you(with rolling) that Ganon doesn't have the speed to smack them during their lag time. However, if you position yourself halfway between the edge and the spot at with they end up after a roll, you will be in range to punish both these spots. Really, with enough patience and experience, Ganon should be able to kill anyone he knocks off the stage.
Another example is when throwing someone from a grab. After a throw, you should follow that players DI. Doing so puts you closer to the spot at which they have three options. Tech X distance left, right, or stay where they are. If you are at that same spot, you have the same distance X to your left and right, effectively giving you an equal chance to punish them on any of the three options they chose.
These are but two examples of how important position is when playing Ganon. Now that the importance of spacing has been established, one must wonder, how does one get good at spacing?
There are a couple of prominent ways to do so. I can't remember who, but someone mentioned that the best way to get down spacing with any character was to play games without using your shield. This will force you to defend yourself with attacks, and by doing so you will learn all aspects of your attacks. Such as their punishable lag time, their full range, timing, and priority.
However, movement is the other key aspect of spacing. I know I've said over and over how Ganon has **** for long distance movement. But in reality, with a platform, he can move swift enough in close-range quarters. Even with wavelanding, going from one end of a stage takes a long time, where as in close range, Ganon can seemingly put out a burst of speed. So, we know that Ganon can move short distances relatively fast, this is perfect for spacing. One can quickly adapt to the movements of one's opponents and keep the desired space between both characters. This allows Ganon to be in control of the flow of the fight.
With sharp reflexes and proper spacing, you can effectively wait for an opening to capitalize on. Once your opponent slips up, you need to punish them with everything you have. The downfall of many Ganon players is that their combos are short and ultimately only accomplish racking up some percent on their opponent. Sure, this isn't bad, but against good players, your combos will need to become something more. Combos NEED, absolutely NEED to knock people off the edge. Ganon's edgeguarding game is the deciding factor in many match ups. You can gimp people who are at ridiculously low percents-- just like fox with his shine-- by a well placed Uair. This is why it's imperative that Ganon players master his edgegame. This is where you want to aim to kill people. Combo from a low percent, end it with a big knock back hit (fair, bair, uair, ftilt), then keep them off the stage.
On a side note, you should rarely jump off the stage to edgeguard someone, especially with the Dair. Majority of the time there are better options with less risk involved than using the Dair, most knowledgeable Ganon players will attest to that. It is rather easy to avoid and it puts Ganon in a horrific position if you miss.
Once Ganon has control of a match, it should be his match. His attacks hit like a bulldozer. It is important to remember that even when you're in control of a fight, you must exercise patience. Too many times have I seen someone who's on an offensive run lose that advantage because they're too eager to hit their opponent and attack too early, rather than space themselves into a position that can punish their opponent's next move.
A few small tips now to close up
-Learn to combo people through tech chasing
-Grab, it's your friend, and you can tech chase from it
-Practice perfect wavedashes/wavelands every day
-Don't use side-b
-Don't miss L-cancels, especially through shields
-Keep your eyes on your opponent, not your own character
-Crouch cancel into grabs, jabs, or tilts, as these can all be combo'd from
-Last but most important, ABUSE YOUR RANGE
Real quickly I need to address L-canceling through shields. It's absolutely essential to get this timing issue down. Many high-tier characters can turn a grab into a 20-50% combo with relative ease. If you don't learn anything else from this, learn to L-cancel through shields!
In closing, I hope that when people read this article they don't accept everything in it as fact. This is my opinion on how I see Ganon's metagame. Different and more well respected Ganon players might disagree with me on certain information presented, I hope that instead you think about what I've said and come to your own opinion.
