Tips for a novice Ganon?

[DarkStar64]

So, I've recently decided that I want to be as good at Melee as I am at SSB4 (I've been playing Melee since 2003 but not seriously in any way), I want to main Ganondorf because I main Ike in SSB4 and I figure it would be an easy transition because they both fit the heavy, slow, powerful character archetype. Basically what I'm asking is what should I be focusing on practicing the most with Ganon? What are his most useful moves? What AT's benefit Ganon the most?

 

[X WaNtEd X]

The best skill you can possess as a Ganon player is reading. Read this board and you'll learn all that stuff.

 

[-ACE-]

Snoop around these boards.

http://smashboards.com/threads/q-a-the-how-to-wreck-es-with-ganon-thread.110007/

Read that.

Playing Ganon well means knowing when and how to use defense and offense, both are equally as important, with the learning curve on developing a godly punish game being huge.

Your general strat should be punch them offstage and keep them there, you just have to get hits (good spacing/grabs/mindgames). Edgeguarding is extremely important.

Read the threads with a sticky.

 

[-ACE-]

Its good to know that Ganon is a zoning character. Generally, you always win via uair when someone is in front of/above you, and you lose when you're above someone (perfectly timing a dair is tempting and many of us do it, but drifting away from your opponent and using fair/bair is better). Know your aerials but never abandon your desire for a strong ground game.

 

[DarkStar64]

Its good to know that Ganon is a zoning character. Generally, you always win via uair when someone is in front of/above you, and you lose when you're above someone (perfectly timing a dair is tempting and many of us do it, but drifting away from your opponent and using fair/bair is better). Know your aerials but never abandon your desire for a strong ground game.

Yeah, so keep them at bay with fair and bair (jab?) and save the dair for hard reads, spikes offstage

 

[-ACE-]

Just doing aerials gives your opponent free approaches. Of course, not if you are far enough away from them when you do it. If you know where this "line of safety" is better than they do, you flirt with this line and he'll eventually try to punish you... and if you gave a good neutral game, you are now the one with the opening to punish.

In recent years the metagame has progressed in such a way that hinders Ganon's more gimmicky tricks. It only took the general public 15 years to find out how important neutral game is lol.

The less hard reads the better. Free hits are hard to come by. Counter approaches on reaction (hard reads are better when if you guess wrong you won't be punished hard) and figure out how to get grabs. Huge.

My advice here is vague but I stand by it. Keep yer head up and try HARD. gl

 

[The Young Izzy Iz]

Learn your easy-bake ****. Waveland is a must to navigate platforms and for general maneuverability. If you don't know what to do off a grab Dthrow -> Bair works wonders although I'm sure there's other more optimal strings (veteran players share please). Jab is a great tool because it comes out on frame 3 which is extremely fast and is a nice 'get off me' option if you're getting overwhelmed by reckless SHFFLs. Know that your options for recovering are extremely limited because you can't sweet-spot the edge.

 

[-ACE-]

Learning proper punishes out of grabs takes time but dthrow uair always works basically

 

[DarkStar64]

Learn your easy-bake ****. Waveland is a must to navigate platforms and for general maneuverability. If you don't know what to do off a grab Dthrow -> Bair works wonders although I'm sure there's other more optimal strings (veteran players share please). Jab is a great tool because it comes out on frame 3 which is extremely fast and is a nice 'get off me' option if you're getting overwhelmed by reckless SHFFLs. Know that your options for recovering are extremely limited because you can't sweet-spot the edge.

Yeah, I need to work on my wavelanding, I can do it but not consistently enough. I have trouble knowing when to go in for grabs or how to approach for a grab more specifically but I suppose that'll come with practice.

 

[Superspright]

Yeah, I need to work on my wavelanding, I can do it but not consistently enough. I have trouble knowing when to go in for grabs or how to approach for a grab more specifically but I suppose that'll come with practice.

Like ACE was saying it's mainly used as a mix-up. You won't score a grab out of a run/predictable waveland. You may score a grab off of a tech-read but that's the only time it's free. It has to be carefully composed so as to not leave yourself open, and also only when the opponent feels pressured by another more likely option.