Ganondorf/Super Smash Bros. series
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This article needs to be expanded to include the following information:
|
 Ganondorf |
 |
| Game appearances |
|---|
| Super Smash Bros. Melee (unlockable) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (unlockable) Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (unlockable) Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (unlockable) |
| Special moves |
| Standard: Warlock Punch Side: Gerudo Dragon (Melee); Flame Choke (Brawl onward) Up: Dark Dive Down: Wizard's Foot Final Smash: Beast Ganon (Brawl, for 3DS / Wii U); Ganon, The Demon King (Ultimate) |
| Battle entrance |
| Ganondorf emerges from a dark portal. |
Ganondorf is a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series. He made his debut in the series in Super Smash Bros. Melee and has consistently appeared in every game since. Initially he appeared to be based on his model in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (which inspired the model used in the SpaceWorld 2000 GameCube tech demo that was used as the basis for his design for Melee), but starting from Super Smash Bros. Brawl he is mainly inspired by the Twilight Princess incarnation of the character. In every game in the series he has secret character that must be unlocked. In Super Smash Bros. Melee he can be unlocked by completing Event 29 or by playing 600 VS. mode matches. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl he can be unlocked by having him join the player in Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary, playing 200 VS. Mode matches or by completing classic mode on the Hard difficulty or higher with Link or Zelda. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U he can be unlocked by once again clearing Classic Mode with Link or Zelda on a difficulty of 5.5, or by playing 80 vs matches. He will also appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, although with a design based on that of Ocarina of Time.
Fighting style
Ganondorf's main fighting style is not based on any of his fighting styles in The Legend of Zelda series, but it is instead based on Captain Falcon from the F-Zero series. This is because Ganondorf was a late edition to Super Smash Bros. Melee that was only implemented because the model he had in the SpaceWorld 2000 GameCube tech demo conveniently had a similar body shape to that of Captain Falcon.[citation needed] Ganondorf retained this mimicked fighting styles in later games though minor aspects of it were tweaked to closer resemble attacks he has used in his own games.
The basis of Ganondorf's fighting style is using magic enhanced unarmed strikes to defeat his foes. Ganondorf's attacks are very powerful and can easily defeat lighter enemies. Unlike Captain Falcon however he is quite slow meaning his fighting style is more focused on avoiding damage and punishing mistakes instead of rushing in and beating enemies down which somewhat matches initial approach to dealing with Link in Ocarina of Time before he manages to capture Zelda.
Attacks
Ground attacks
| Attack type | Attack name | Damage | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral Attack | 4-10% | Ganondorf knocks his enemy away using the palm of his hand. Initially this move was a punch but it was changed to an electrical palm strike in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The way he thrusts his hand forward resembles a thrusting strike he uses with his sword in his boss battle in Twilight Princess while the way he holds his hand is similar to the magic casting animation he used when first meeting Link in Ocarina of Time. | |
| Forward Tilt | 12-13% | Ganondorf knocks his foes away with a pressing kick. Originally this was a turning kick coming across Ganondorf's body but it was changed to act like the attack he uses in Twilight Princess. | |
| Up Tilt | 18-28% | Ganondorf raises his leg high above his head and after a moments charging, slams it down on the ground, creating an explosion. Starting from Super Smash Bros. Brawl a vacuum effect was added to drag enemies into the attack. | |
| Down Tilt | 13% | Ganondorf performs kick with one of his legs. Originally he performed a kick with both legs, spinning his body around but like his side tilt it was changed to resemble his attack from Twilight Princess. | |
| Dash Attack | 10-14% | Ganondorf tackles his enemies with his shoulder. | |
| Grab | NA | Ganondorf simply grabs his foes with his hand and pummels them using his knee. |
Smash Attacks
| Attack type | Attack name | Damage | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward Smash | 24% | Ganondorf thrusts his elbow forward dealing high damage with a darkness effect. | |
| Up Smash | 21-24% | Ganondorf kicks upwards with one leg. Originally he performed two kicks but it was changed to one to make him seem less similar to Captain Falcon. | |
| Down Smash | 6%,13-15% | Ganondorf kicks one leg forward and then kicks it back dealing damage to enemies behind him. |
Air Attacks
| Attack type | Attack name | Damage | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral Air | 8-12%,7-10% | Ganondorf kicks his leg out twice. | |
| Forward Air | 17-18% | Ganondorf knocks foes away with a side hook. It should be noted this attack was always different from Captain Falcon's Forward Aerial even in Super Smash Bros. Melee. The way Ganondorf prepares the attack seems to be based off a piece of artwork from Ocarina of Time where he is fighting Link, while the landing animation of the attack seems to be based off a moment in Ocarina of Time manga where Ganondorf fails to capture Princess Zelda thanks to the efforts of Impa. | |
| Back Air | 16-17% | Ganondorf attacks quickly attacks behind him with back hand punch. | |
| Up Air | 6-13% | Ganondorf spins around in a 360% angle kicking foes with his legs. | |
| Down Air | 17-19% | Ganondorf kicks downwards with both his legs dealing lightning damage to any enemies it connects with and sending them plummeting downwards. |
Special Attacks
| Attack type | Attack name | Damage | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral Special 1 | Warlock Punch | 30-42% | Ganondorf charges up dark energy before performing a punch that is very powerful but hard to hit with. Originally it was a straight punch but in Super Smash Bros. Brawl it was changed to an elaborate backhand bunch, possibly inspired by the backhand strikes Ganondorf performed in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. His yell when charging the punch was similar to the yell he uttered when using the dark waves of energy to disable Navi's targeting ability prior to the boss fight against him in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, albeit with a slightly higher pitch. |
| Neutral Special 2 | Warlock Blade | 18-26% | Ganondorf uses his sword from Twilight Princess to deal heavy damage to his foes. If the attack strikes at the very tip of Ganondorf's sword then it will deal a lot more damage. |
| Neutral Special 3 | Warlock Thrust | 9-19% | Ganondorf performs a quicker version of the Warlock Punch that deals less damage. |
| Forward Special 1 | Flame Choke | 12-15%, 4% | Ganondorf rushes forward and grabs his foe's face. He then holds them in place a blasts them with dark magic, knocking them to the ground. The charging animation of the attack is taken from the rush Ganondorf uses to kill one of the Ancient Sages in Twilight Princess. In the air Ganondorf will slam his opponents into the ground first, this animation closely resembles the ground punch he performs in Ocarina of Time. Additionally the fact that Ganondorf grabs his opponents might have been inspired by the choke hold he puts Tetra in during The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Originally Ganondorf's side special was an uppercut attack known as Gerudo Dragon but it was changed to Flame Choke in order to differentiate him more from Captain Falcon. |
| Forward Special 2 | Flame Wave | 10%, 4-8% | Instead of knocking foes to the ground after blasting them with magic, Ganondorf will instead send them flying away from him, possibly KOing them. |
| Forward Special 3 | Flame Chain | 1%,5% | Ganondorf dashes forward, covering himself in dark magic and damaging any foes he comes into contact with. |
| Up Special 1 | Dark Dive | 1%,7%,6%,7% | Ganondorf raises into the air and attempts to grab his foe. If he succeeds he will electrocute them before propelling himself away with an explosion. Failing to grab enemies will put Ganondorf into a helpless state while a successful grab will allow him to use the move again. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl an uppercut was added to the end of the move to give it more utility and to differentiate it more from Captain Falcon's Falcon Dive. Additionally the animation used for it was changed to resemble the twisting jump Ganondorf performs in his boss battle in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess to get into the air. The animation was again further modified in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U / 3DS so that Ganondorf appeared to be holding his foes in place using magic instead of physically grabbing them. |
| Up Special 2 | Dark Fists | 6%, 11% | Ganondorf covers himself in dark energy and leaps into the air, dealing damage when he first jumps and at the apex of his ascent. |
| Up Special 3 | Dark Vault | 1%,6% | Ganondorf performs a weaker version of Dark Dive that travels further but doesn't grab enemies as easily. |
| Down Special 1 | Wizard's Foot | 10-15%, 8% | Ganondorf surrounds himself in darkness and launches forward with his leg extended. If used in the air it will travel at a diagonal angle. |
| Down Special 2 | Wizard's Dropkick | 7-11%, 6% | Ganondorf will leap into the air slightly before performing a diagonal kick. |
| Down Special 3 | Wizard's Assault | 9-14% | Ganondorf will perform a slower, more powerful, version of Wizard's Foot that will go straight downwards if used in the air. |
| Final Smash | Ganon | 5-10%, 10%, 30%-40% | Ganondorf will transform into Ganon from Twilight Princess (or in the case of Ultimate, his incarnation from Ocarina of Time). He will stomp the ground burying foes similar to Ganon's pound in multiple boss fights, before rushing at his enemies dealing major damage. He will then transform back into Ganondorf and return to the spot where he initially used the attack. |
Other references to The Legend of Zelda series
When a match starts Ganondorf warps onto the field using a portal similar to those seen in the Phantom Ganon boss fight in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. His side smash when holding a weapon such as the beam sword, greatly resembles one of his sword swipes in Twilight Princess. In one of his victory animations in Super Smash Bros. Melee he was seen swinging the sword he used in the Space World Demo. Starting from Super Smash Bros. Brawl the Sword of the Six Sages he used in Twilight Princess appears in one of his taunts and appears in an alternate version of his Warlock Punch in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. Another one of his taunts also resemble the animation he uses in Ocarina of Time when recovering from one Link's Light Arrows. One of his victory scenes has him uttering a yell that was similar to the yell he made when transforming into Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. One of his taunts in Brawl, where he takes out his sword and observes it, resembles similar instances in Twilight Princess, specifically his removing the sword from his chest after killing the Sage of Water, and later his taking it out when challenging Link to a sword duel in the climax of the game while voicing his intention to use the sword to blot out the light forever. In addition, his brown palette swap in Brawl and his yellow palette swap in 3DS and Wii U has a slight resemblance to his Ocarina of Time incarnation, while his blue palette swap in the latter two games as well as Ultimate was based on his Ganon form as it appeared in A Link to the Past, A Link Between Worlds, and to a certain extent Four Swords Adventures and the Oracle games. His maroon and black costumes in Ultimate were derived from his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, respectively.
