Ganondorf (PM)

Ganondorf is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. He was buffed significantly in Project M after being mostly reverted to his Melee version. However, some Brawl attributes were maintained, and part of his moveset was changed to make him more well-rounded.
Ganondorf is currently ranked 37th out of 41 on the official tier list, placing him in the lower half of the D tier. This is a significant drop from his placement in Melee as 14th out of 26, but a moderate improvement over his place on the Brawl tier list, where he is ranked last at the bottom of the tier list.
==Attributes==
Despite Ganondorf mostly being based on his Melee iteration, he remains a semi-clone of , as he was in Brawl; most of Ganondorf's moves continue to use their respective animations from Brawl. Ganondorf is a slower, stronger, and heavier version of Falcon with more reach as a result of his larger build. Many of Ganondorf's positive attributes from the past two games were retained, making him more formidable than he was in Melee and Brawl.
Ganondorf is a powerful character like he was in Melee. Being one of the strongest characters, his attacks inflict dangerously high knockback, with some being able to KO at relatively low percentages. His combos, while often short, are capable of quickly racking up extremely high damage, and many of his aerials are excellent for both killing and edgeguarding. Ganondorf also has the most powerful meteor smash in his down aerial and one of the strongest spikes in his aerial Wizard's Foot.
Ganondorf is unique in that he is one of the only two characters who is capable of lengthening his recovery (the other being Captain Falcon with his Falcon Kick), by executing his aerial Wizard's Foot. For every attempt of the move, Ganondorf will restore his midair jump, thus bringing him closer to the stage and greatly increasing his horizontal recovery. It is worth noting, the Wizard's Foot must complete to restore his jump. His up special, Dark Dive, still possesses the arm swipe attack at its peak and the ability to grab an opponent on the ledge from Brawl, both of which may save him on occasion. However, Ganondorf normally has trouble with recovery, because of his low jump height, high gravity, and low air speed. Additionally, Dark Dive does not offer much vertical or horizontal distance while being very predictable and easy to edgeguard and edgehog. 
Back in Melee and Brawl, Ganondorf struggled against projectile users due to his tall size and no projectile of his own, as well as off-stage survivability due to a poor recovery, but these issues are somewhat addressed in Project M due to the advent of Dead Man's Volley & Drift. This new move gives Ganondorf a reflector that sends projectiles back at double their original speed, arming him with a moderately effective anti-projectile option. In addition to buffs such as slightly higher mid-air jumps and aerial Wizard's Foot restoring mid-air jumps, the new move also provides brief floating when used in the air, allowing Ganondorf to recover better to the stage while giving him more options for recovery mix-ups. Dead Man's Volley & Drift serves as a useful tool for Ganondorf, diminishing several of his major issues and allowing him to compete better. Despite this, he often still has trouble against characters who possess a strong projectile game. 
Ganondorf's flaws include his large and tall stature, which combined with his heavier weight and high gravity, makes him a bigger and more easily comboed target. He also possesses one of the slowest dashing speeds despite it being significantly faster than it was in Brawl, hindering his ability to catch up to his opponents on foot. Lastly, even with all of his specials being usable for recovering, his recovery is still somewhat predictable due to it being mostly linear.
Ganondorf's buffs from Brawl to Project M, such as his combo starter Flame Choke (although it was slightly nerfed), DACUS, improved tilts, improvements to Dark Dive, and being equipped with an extra recovery tool that doubles as a reflector, grant him better tournament success than in Melee or Brawl. However, he still struggles to keep up with the faster and more combo-heavy characters such as and .
==Changes from Melee to PM==
Given the nerfs Ganondorf received in Brawl that made him plummet to the very bottom of the tier list, he is significantly buffed in Project M. Most of his favorable traits from Melee return, along with Brawls tilt attacks and Flame Choke, restoring his recovery, speed, combo and K.O.ing ability. Some of his more powerful moves have been given less ending lag or greater reach and many late weak hitboxes and sourspots were removed. His situational moves have been replaced with weaker but much more practical moves: his new up tilt comes out much faster, and his new neutral special Dead Man's Volley & Drift is a reflector that doubles as a floating maneuver. To compensate for the loss of Warlock Punch, Ganondorf's down taunt now serves as an attack that functions similarly to it. Finally, several of Ganondorf's animations have been overhauled, which combined with the addition of Dead Man's Volley makes him a slightly more accurate representation of his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
===Aesthetics===
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===Attributes===
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===Ground attacks===
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===Aerial attacks===
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===Grabs, throws, and other===
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===Special moves===
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==Changes from PM to P+==
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==Revisions==
===v2.1===
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===v2.5b===
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===v2.6b===
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===v3.0===
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===v3.02===
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===v3.5===
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===v3.6===
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==Moveset==
Up to date as of version 3.6.
 	 	Name 	Damage 	Description
Neutral attack 	Neutral attack 	 	7% (hand), 8% (body) 	Ganondorf performs a quick palm strike that electrifies enemies on contact.
Forward tilt 	↗ 	 	12-14% 	Ganondorf quickly kicks the opponent with a large force. This move can be angled. Semi-spikes at the leg, sends at the Sakurai Angle at the foot.
Forward tilt 	→ 	 	11-13% 	Ganondorf quickly kicks the opponent with a large force. This move can be angled. Semi-spikes at the leg, sends at the Sakurai Angle at the foot.
Forward tilt 	↘ 	 	10-12% 	Ganondorf quickly kicks the opponent with a large force. This move can be angled. Semi-spikes at the leg, sends at the Sakurai Angle at the foot.
Up tilt 	Up tilt 	 	8% (hit 1), 22% (hit 2 foot), 20% (hit 2 body) 	Ganondorf does a very quick stomp on the opponent. Has two hits that combo into each other at low percentages. Weaker than the original up tilt, but much quicker. Ganondorf's left arm and leg are intangible the moment he plants his foot on the ground.
Down tilt 	Down tilt 	 	12% 	Ganondorf kneels on one leg and thrusts the other leg forward.
Dash attack 	Dash attack 	 	15% (clean), 10% (mid), 8% (late) 	Ganondorf charges at the opponent, and forcefully rams into them.
Forward smash 	↗ 	 	 	Ganondorf winds up a large amount of darkness and releases it all in one deadly back-handed punch. Resembles the Warlock Punch.
Forward smash 	→ 	 	 	Ganondorf winds up a large amount of darkness and releases it all in one deadly back-handed punch. Resembles the Warlock Punch.
Forward smash 	↘ 	 	 	Ganondorf winds up a large amount of darkness and releases it all in one deadly back-handed punch. Resembles the Warlock Punch.
Up smash 	Up smash 	 	(hit 1), (hit 2) 	Ganondorf does a double kick upwards. Deadly knockback, and also the most damaging up smash in the game.
Down smash 	Down smash 	 	(hit 1), (hit 2 foot), (hit 2 leg) 	Ganondorf kicks his leg in front and then behind him. The first kick combos into the second kick.
Neutral aerial 	Neutral aerial 	 	10% (hit 1), 12% (hit 2) 	Ganondorf performs two quick mid-air kicks.
Forward aerial 	Forward aerial 	 	17% 	Ganondorf performs an overhead punch in a downwards arc with deadly force and knockback. Great finisher.
Back aerial 	Back aerial 	 	16% 	Ganondorf does a back-handed punch. Faster than his forward air, but with weaker knockback.
Up aerial 	Up aerial 	 	12%/13% (clean), 10%/12% (mid), 6%/8% (late) 	Ganondorf does an overhead flip kick, covering a large arc above him. Deals more damage on Ganondorf's foot.
Down aerial 	Down aerial 	 	22% 	Brings both his feet down in an electric stomp. The most powerful meteor smash in the game, though unlike Captain Falcon's down aerial, it lacks the nipple spike hitbox. Unlike its previous appearances, this attack no longer has transcendent priority, and can now cancel projectiles.
Grab 	Grab 	 	— 	
Pummel 	Pummel 	 	3% 	Knees the opponent. A moderately fast pummel.
Forward throw 	Forward throw 	 	5% (hit 1), 8% (throw) 	Ganondorf punches the opponent forwards.
Back throw 	Back throw 	 	5% (hit 1), 4% (throw) 	Ganondorf throws the opponent backward and kicks them.
Up throw 	Up throw 	 	4% (hit 1), 3% (throw) 	Ganondorf throws the opponent upward, then punches them upwards into the air.
Down throw 	Down throw 	 	7% 	Ganondorf forcibly throws the opponent on the ground.
Floor attack (front)	Floor attack (front)	 	6% 	Ganondorf gets up and flips while kicking.
Floor attack (back) 	Floor attack (back) 	 	6% 	Ganondorf stands on both hands and does a spinning double kick.
Floor attack (trip) 	Floor attack (trip) 	 	5% 	Ganondorf spins around to kick those who are near.
Edge attack (fast) 	Edge attack (fast) 	 	10% 	Ganondorf quickly gets up and performs a low kick.
Edge attack (slow) 	Edge attack (slow) 	 	10% 	Ganondorf slowly gets up and performs a horizontal backhanded punch.
Down taunt (attack) 	Down taunt (attack) 	 	24% (sword swing), 31%/33%/35%/37% (sword slam) 	If the player holds down the down taunt button, Ganondorf will swing the sword downward after looking at it briefly as it glows purple. Extremely strong knockback equivalent to the old Warlock Punch if opponent is directly in front of him, but it also possesses a very large, weaker sourspot during the swing, though it has low priority meaning that opponents in front of him are hit with the sword slam. Deals more damage towards the tip of the sword at the end of the move. Has light armor right before and during the sword swing.
Neutral special 	Neutral special 	Dead Man's Volley & Drift / Dark Descent	5% (cape flip) 	On the ground, Ganondorf will swing his cape, reflecting projectiles at twice their original speed while weakly damaging nearby opponents with minimal, set knockback. Using it once in midair will make him float, and using it again will make him perform the volley. An aerial or jump can be acted out of the float. Can only be used in the air once; grabbing a ledge without landing on a platform will not restore its usability. This is based on a move Ganondorf used in his boss battle in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Side special 	Side special 	Flame Choke 	Ground: 12% (hit), 1% (release)Air: 1% (hits 1-6), 7% (release)	On the ground, Ganondorf slides forward stretching his hand. Once the attack connects with an enemy, he puts them up, chokes and releases them onto the ground. In the air, Ganondorf grabs the opponent and slams them into the ground, weakly bouncing them upwards, and as a recovery move it can sweetspot ledges. If Ganondorf does the aerial version and lands on and facing the ledge, the grabbed opponent will be meteored just under the stage, but is not powerful enough to KO. If there is no ground, there will be a self-destruct for both players. Can be used for edgehogging. The move can fall off edges if used too close to them, but Ganondorf can then grab them and come back to the stage. This can be still be dangerous, though, as he will fall helpless and SD if the edge is ungrabbable.
Up special 	Up special 	Dark Dive 	2% (hits 1-4), 10% (release), 7% (uppercut) 	Ganondorf grabs onto the opponent and unleashes electricity onto them, then launches them with an explosion. If he grabs an opponent with the move, he doesn't fall helpless and can use it again. The grab attack inflicts 4 electric hits of 2% damage that can damage nearby foes, then the explosion deals 10% with a flame effect. Ganondorf can receive damage when grabbing an opponent, but cannot be knocked out of the move. If he misses, he will then perform an uppercut that launches enemies upwards and can punish edge-hoggers, while possessing a large edge sweet spot.
Down special 	Down special 	Wizard's Foot 	17% (both versions), 8% (landing) 	Ganondorf launches with a dark kick forward, or diagonally downwards when used in midair. The grounded version acts as a strong horizontal finisher, while the aerial version spikes opponents, yielding early KOs against recovering ones if they fail at dodging the attack. The midair version also restores Ganondorf's double jump, extending his recovery, and has a landing hitbox that bounces foes upwards. The grounded version can fall off edges and bump into walls; in the latter case, Ganondorf will flip backwards and suffer a great amount of lag.
Final Smash 	Final Smash 	Beast Ganon 	10% (grounding), 10% (stomp), 45% (charge) 	Ganondorf becomes his beast form and rams into the opponent. Opponents can become stuck in the ground, or paralyzed in midair. Usually a one-hit KO.
==In competitive play==
===Most historically significant players===
 
* - Falcon/Ganon dual main ranked #16 on PMRank 2023.
* - Best active solo Ganondorf in the world. Ranked #44 on PMRank 2023.
* - The current best player in Spain, who ranked 2nd on the most recent European Project M Power Rankings.
* - While is his main, he had a strong Ganondorf secondary that he frequently used on route to being one of the best PM players in the mid-2010s. Some of his most notable results using Ganondorf as a secondary include winning , , and . He was ranked 5th on PMRank 2016 with his secondary Ganondorf.
* - Best active Ganondorf in the West Coast. Ranked #47 on PMRank 2023.
* - Placed 9th at , 25th at both and , and 49th at . Ranked 6th on the SoCal Power Rankings with wins over and .
==Alternate costumes==
===Project M===
Beginning in version 3.5, Ganondorf received an alternate costume based on his appearance in Melee, itself from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and the Nintendo Gamecube tech demo. This costume also includes an aesthetic change; when playing as Melee Ganondorf, he brandishes the sword he is depicted with (but never uses) in Melee as well as the Gamecube tech demo, rather than the Sword of Sages (from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess). Ganondorf has the Triforce symbol in his right hand after getting a Final Smash with his Ocarina of Time costume.
The Melee costumes come with recolors for team battles, as well as an original purple recolor; it consequently replaces his Ocarina of Time color scheme to make room.
							
							
							
===Project+===
In Project+, Ganondorf received even more alternate costumes that further represent Zelda lore. Ganondorf's brown costume from Brawl has been replaced with a new royal gold color to be more distinct from his Ocarina of Time alternate costume. Additionally the Ocarina of Time costume has additional details and model improvements, better matching the source material. He receives a variant with a tan cape to match his appearance in both Melee and the Spaceworld 2000 demo. Finally, Ganondorf has a costume based on Pig Ganon from the Fallen Hero timeline, a potential storyline in the franchise where Link fails to defeat Ganon in Ocarina of Time and the latter reigns indefinitely in his monstrous form. Pig Ganon's taunts use a trident instead of a sword, as seen in A Link to the Past. This costume includes recolors which are loosely inspired by other incarnations of Ganon, such as the ones seen in Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time and Four Swords Adventures, and Yuga-Ganon in A Link Between Worlds.
Secret costumes:
 
Z-Secret Costume: Phantom Ganon: Based on , a ghostly doppelgänger of Ganondorf fought by Link in the in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Extra details include the ragged clothes and tattered cape that are shown when Ganondorf himself takes damage in Ocarina of Time, as well as a darker color scheme seemingly similar to Ganondorf's appearance when he emerges from the remains of Ganon's Castle before transforming into Ganon, the Demon King, in the same game.
 
R-Secret Costume: Warrior Ganondorf: Based on Ganondorf's appearance in Hyrule Warriors.
==Trivia==
*Oddly, prior to Version 3.6, whenever the player selected Ganondorf with the red or blue Ocarina of Time costumes, the stock icons would be reversed. A similar issue also happened with 's Dark and Concept Art costumes.
*The purple Ocarina of Time costume will occasionally show a blue underside of its cape during certain animations.
==External links==
*Ganondorf's page at the Project M website
*Labbing Discord Tech Post
Category:Ganondorf
Category:Characters (PM)