Ganondorf (Super Smash Flash 2)

Ganondorf is a veteran unlockable character in Super Smash Flash 2. He was revealed during the Super Smash Flash 2 Beta 1.3 announcement trailer. His sprites are custom-made, based on his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and . His moveset is mostly based on his appearance in, albeit moves like his smash attacks are instead taken from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, his light up tilt and neutral aerial are from , and his up throw is original to SSF2. His voice clips are taken directly from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which are recycled for Super Smash Bros. Brawl and for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

Ganondorf's attacks are relatively slow yet strong, meaning he can knock out anyone with a high amount of damage in almost one fell swoop. As a result, he tends to struggle against rushdown-type characters, who tend to have quick attacks and can easily overwhelm him.

Attributes
As with his Super Smash Bros. incarnation, Ganondorf is the epitome of the heavyweight archetype. In exchange for slow ground and air speed, high weight value, and a fast falling speed, he boasts immense power on many of his moves. As a result, he is one of the least mobile characters in the game, yet is still a formidable opponent should his attacks land.

Ganondorf's most defining trait is his raw power. Many of his attacks deal 10-25% and can KO well below 100%, giving him an extremely effective punish game. His forward tilt and down smash are both semi-spikes, while his forward and up smashes utilize a large sword to cover a wide area. Both of these attacks boast high power, with forward smash being able to KO below 40%. His neutral special, Warlock Punch, has the highest startup in his moveset, though it deals immense damage and knockback in return, dealing even more if it is reversed. His held up tilt can KO at 65%, making it one of, if not the strongest up tilt in the game, in addition to breaking full shields in one hit. His sweet spotted down aerial is a powerful meteor smash, KOing at exceptionally low percents, with similar power being seen with the aerial version of Wizard's Dropkick (if it hits clean). With these tools, Ganondorf can quickly rack up damage in just a few hits, killing them when he gets the opportunity.

His aerial game is also quite useful. Many of his aerial attacks are fast for their immense power, giving him some of the most potent edgeguarding abilities of the cast. His sweet spotted down aerial is the most powerful meteor smash in the game, KOing most fighters at 0%, in addition to being his most damaging aerial; the sour spotted version has high horizontal knockback. His up aerial, despite having the lowest damage output out of all his aerials, is the second fastest aerial in his kit, with the late hit having low horizontal knockback and high hitstun, making it a deadly gimping tool. His neutral aerial, tied with up aerial for the least damaging aerial in his kit, sends at an upward angle with low knockback, making it a useful combo starter. His back aerial is deceptively fast for its power, with the sweet spot at the explosion being exceptionally strong. Finally, his forward aerial boasts a good reach, due to the hitbox starting slightly behind him, in addition to possessing high KO power.

Despite this immense power, Ganondorf does have two useful combo starters. His neutral aerial is quick and deals low forward knockback, which lets it set up into moves such as Flame Choke or grounded Wizard's Dropkick. The aforementioned Flame Choke, when grounded, is his most reliable combo starter. When it lands, it grabs the opponent and slams them onto the floor in a prone state, allowing Ganondorf to follow up with his neutral attack, any of his tilt attacks, or any smash attack. The opponent can tech this blast, though that can effectively set up a tech-chase situation. Should the opponent roll out of it, Ganondorf can quickly address this due to the move's low end lag.

However, Ganondorf still packs glaring flaws, one of which is his horrible disadvantage state. Due to his tall stature and high gravity, he has a more challenging time avoiding attacks, particularly with combo-heavy characters, such as Sora or Sheik. This weakness is further shown through his generally slow mobility, which prevents him from escaping faster characters and gives him a hard time with projectiles (although his neutral aerial does serve as a reflector). His generally poor frame data only serves to exacerbate this; only a few of his attacks are active before frame 9 (neutral aerial, neutral attack, up aerial, and standing grab), with his most powerful attacks (Warlock Punch) being very slow to compensate, making said moves unsafe to throw out, even when spaced correctly. His grab game is not notable either; in addition to possessing a short-ranged grab, none of his throws realistically KO, and while down throw is a good combo starter, it loses its usefulness at higher percents. Ganondorf's recovery is also very weak; both Flame Choke and Gerudo Hawk cause helplessness, in addition to providing average distance, which, combined with his low jump height and air speed, make his recovery reasonably predictable, although he can use Gerudo Hawk again should he grab an opponent.

In all, Ganondorf is a high-risk, high-reward character; his immense damage and knockback capacities allow him to quickly rack up damage in few attacks, KOing his opponent once he gets an opening. However, his lack of defensive options and linear, predictable recovery means that any Ganondorf player must be careful, as a single mistake could cost him a stock just as quickly as he can remove the stocks of others. With these weaknesses vastly outweighing his strengths, he is often considered the worst character in the game.

Update History
Main article: Ganondorf (Super Smash Flash 2)/Changelog