(I played Brawl years ago, and have not played a Smash Bros. game since, so feedback is not only appreciated, but is also helpful. THIS IS NOT A GUIDE; I am simply sharing my view from what I have experienced.)
Few characters get as much flak for overall viability in competition as Ganondorf. Why is this? If we list the most obvious facts, it is because he lacks projectiles, travelling speed, and lasting hitboxes, and HAS a large figure, plenty of end/start lag on attacks, and poor recovery.
However, I want this mostly to be convincing of his usefulness, so I shall skip to the better part.
If we look at Ganondorf's moveset carefully, we see (POINT 1) that a good summary is 'power in many flavors.' What do I mean? Ganondorf may be limited in the number of 'tricks' he can perform (launch projectiles, reflect them, counter, store punches for later...) we find that Ganondorf has a very diverse arsenal of attacks for a brawler.
The diversity of his moveset in close combat is very useful for close-quarters mix-ups, which is very appropriate because (POINT 2) Ganondorf is challenged both on defense and offense-- defense for aforementioned reasons, and offense because he is generally unsafe against shielding opponents. Therefore, he cannot commit to offense or defense strictly, and he must wait for the opponent to lower their guard, say when they are on the attack.
(POINT 3) Because of Ganondorf's awful defensive qualities, he cannot camp safely, but he also cannot be rash, so there is a 'sweetspot' where the opponent leaves their guard to attack, and this is the moment Ganondorf needs. Thus the problem for Ganondorf in battle is eliciting such an action.
(POINT 4) Despite what most will say, I think it is not all bad that Ganondorf is well below average in the speed department. By forcing the player to wait after an attack as part of what I call 'fourth-wall assistance,' more time is spent by the player preparing for their next move, should they be willing. Also, the slower a character runs/walks, the less of an obligation it is for the player to commit to an attack when approaching from a moderate distance. Finally, unlike Captain Falcon, Ganondorf has, as a result of his lagging attacks and slow ground/air speed, reasonable 'rush control,' a term I made up to describe the property of a character that enables them to land hits reliably without attacking prematurely or overshooting an aerial
Combining points 1,2, 3, and 4, Ganondorf is a powerhouse trickster who thrives on mind games. The key, therefore, to excelling in Ganondorf's gameplay is to keep the opponent scrambling for the whole match, not giving them time to think, but also not rushing them. I would think of Ganondorf specialists as those who know how to give the opponent what I stylistically call 'faux? pressure.' The discipline stresses approaching the opponent with no intention of attack until they advance, at which point the player must in response offer an unpredictable intercept, afforded by his diverse moveset, which contains moves that overlap with each other in purpose sufficiently that no one move is the only solution to a problem, but are also separate of each other in purpose enough that Ganondorf has a tool to use for virtually any close to mid-range scenario.
DO NOT TRY TO BEAT THE OPPONENT'S CHARACTER, BUT THE OPPONENT.
Well enough. I know this is a very quirky evaluation, but I hope it is helpful. It certainly helped me. Tell me your thoughts!
Few characters get as much flak for overall viability in competition as Ganondorf. Why is this? If we list the most obvious facts, it is because he lacks projectiles, travelling speed, and lasting hitboxes, and HAS a large figure, plenty of end/start lag on attacks, and poor recovery.
However, I want this mostly to be convincing of his usefulness, so I shall skip to the better part.
If we look at Ganondorf's moveset carefully, we see (POINT 1) that a good summary is 'power in many flavors.' What do I mean? Ganondorf may be limited in the number of 'tricks' he can perform (launch projectiles, reflect them, counter, store punches for later...) we find that Ganondorf has a very diverse arsenal of attacks for a brawler.
The diversity of his moveset in close combat is very useful for close-quarters mix-ups, which is very appropriate because (POINT 2) Ganondorf is challenged both on defense and offense-- defense for aforementioned reasons, and offense because he is generally unsafe against shielding opponents. Therefore, he cannot commit to offense or defense strictly, and he must wait for the opponent to lower their guard, say when they are on the attack.
(POINT 3) Because of Ganondorf's awful defensive qualities, he cannot camp safely, but he also cannot be rash, so there is a 'sweetspot' where the opponent leaves their guard to attack, and this is the moment Ganondorf needs. Thus the problem for Ganondorf in battle is eliciting such an action.
(POINT 4) Despite what most will say, I think it is not all bad that Ganondorf is well below average in the speed department. By forcing the player to wait after an attack as part of what I call 'fourth-wall assistance,' more time is spent by the player preparing for their next move, should they be willing. Also, the slower a character runs/walks, the less of an obligation it is for the player to commit to an attack when approaching from a moderate distance. Finally, unlike Captain Falcon, Ganondorf has, as a result of his lagging attacks and slow ground/air speed, reasonable 'rush control,' a term I made up to describe the property of a character that enables them to land hits reliably without attacking prematurely or overshooting an aerial
Combining points 1,2, 3, and 4, Ganondorf is a powerhouse trickster who thrives on mind games. The key, therefore, to excelling in Ganondorf's gameplay is to keep the opponent scrambling for the whole match, not giving them time to think, but also not rushing them. I would think of Ganondorf specialists as those who know how to give the opponent what I stylistically call 'faux? pressure.' The discipline stresses approaching the opponent with no intention of attack until they advance, at which point the player must in response offer an unpredictable intercept, afforded by his diverse moveset, which contains moves that overlap with each other in purpose sufficiently that no one move is the only solution to a problem, but are also separate of each other in purpose enough that Ganondorf has a tool to use for virtually any close to mid-range scenario.
DO NOT TRY TO BEAT THE OPPONENT'S CHARACTER, BUT THE OPPONENT.
Well enough. I know this is a very quirky evaluation, but I hope it is helpful. It certainly helped me. Tell me your thoughts!
