Ganondorf (SSBU)

Ganondorf (, Ganondorf) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially revealed alongside and the rest of the returning roster on June 12th, 2018 during E3 2018. Like in games prior to , he is unlockable, instead of being available from the start. Ganondorf is classified as Fighter #23.
In a similar vein to , this is the first time in the Super Smash Bros. series to break the tradition of Ganondorf using re-purposed voice clips from past Zelda games. , Ganondorf's voice actor from and (and by extension, Super Smash Bros. Melee), reprises his role in all regions since previously voicing the character in 2002, providing brand new voice clips that mimic his portrayal from Ocarina of Time. He succeeds 's portrayal from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess used since 2006 in Brawl and in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Ganondorf is ranked dead last on the tier list, at 82nd out of 82, placing him in the E tier alongside . This is a slight drop from his already very low placement in Smash 4, where he was tied with at 52nd/53rd out of 54, and gives him the dubious distinction of being the only character ranked last for the NTSC and European tier lists of two different games, the other being Brawl. Despite this, it should be noted that his placement does not equate to the same level of unviability as in previous games, as he is overall more viable than in Brawl and Smash 4. 
As with tradition, Ganondorf possesses one of the hardest-hitting movesets in the game, with noteworthy improvements to his raw power over previous games; this makes him one of the most formidable fighters when it comes to KOing. In addition, many of his infamously weak moves have been buffed to be more effective; Dark Dive is now a capable out of shield and KO option, Grounded Wizard's Foot's sweetspot and sourspots have been reversed and make it effective for KOing, and up tilt is significantly faster. Finally, Ganondorf now has access to his sword from the SpaceWorld 2000 GameCube Tech Demo, which provides him with extremely powerful and wide-arced smash attacks that easily KO below 100%, with forward smash being one of the strongest in the game, and up smash being able to cover an entire platform above him and apply pressure at the ledge. Overall, Ganondorf still excels at what he does best: ending stocks in a few hits and instilling fear when in the advantage.
However, Ganondorf's core weaknesses continue to hold him back drastically compared to the rest of the roster. His terrible frame data, slow movement and average range give him severe difficulty in approaching and escaping disadvantage, which is especially problematic due to Ultimates emphasis on faster-paced combat and variety of strong zoners. His shield safety is lacking despite his high shield pressure, while his grab and throws are extremely weak for a heavyweight, having short range and unable to KO easily. Several of his moves also have small or poorly placed hitboxes which results in poor range (with hitbox adjustments making some of them worse than previously) or glaring blindspots (with some such as Dark Dive having worse hitboxes than Falcon Dive, its equivalent move from ). Some of his moves are nearly useless in a competitive setting due to their immense lag (such as up tilt and Warlock Punch) His recovery is among the worst in the game due to Dark Dive's low distance, and despite it not causing helplessness when it connects, opponents are able to slowly gimp Ganondorf simply by getting grabbed deliberately to push him backwards. Finally, changes to his kit remove some of his only situational moves that allow him to play mindgames: his new up smash is no longer able to bait reactions nor is safe on shield if spaced, up aerial's shorter duration makes gimping with the late hitbox more difficult, and aerial Flame Choke can now be escaped by button mashing while also KOing Ganondorf first if used as a sacrificial KO.
Overall, Ganondorf's issues collectively give him significant problems in the neutral game: the majority of the roster can outspeed him in almost every degree, his otherwise great endurance is hindered by having incredibly limited recovery options, while his strengthened power does not give him any proper approach or defensive options, resulting in him struggling to make use of his excellent raw power and KO ability. Because of these factors, while the community had high hopes for Ganondorf in the early metagame, his competitive reception plummeted as the metagame evolved and his weaknesses became much more exploitable, and he has sat at the very bottom of the first three official tier lists.
==How to unlock==
Complete one of the following:
*Play VS. matches, with Ganondorf being the 40th character to be unlocked.
*Clear with or any character in his unlock tree, being the 4th character unlocked after .
*Have Ganondorf join the player's party in World of Light.
Ganondorf must then be defeated on Bridge of Eldin (the Ω form is used in World of Light).
==Attributes==
Ganondorf is the epitome of the super heavyweight archetype: he is the fifth heaviest character in the game and possesses immense power in exchange for terrible mobility and frame data. Despite his high traction, above average falling speed, and moderately high gravity, he sports the seventh slowest walking speed, the fourth slowest dashing speed, the third slowest air speed, the sixth lowest air acceleration, and sixth lowest jump and double jump heights. As a result, he is among the least mobile characters in the game, but his high weight grants him respectable endurance, allowing him to survive at very high percentages and greatly benefit from rage.
Ganondorf's most defining trait is his incredible kill power and damage output. Most of his moves inflict over 10% damage and are capable of killing under 100% with ease, even from the middle of Final Destination, giving him one of the strongest punishment games in the roster. His forward tilt and down smash are very powerful semi-spikes, while his forward and up smashes are massive disjoints that utilize a large sword to cover Ganondorf. In particular, these two smash attacks can not only hit below the ledge, but the former is generally the third strongest of its kind in the game, having the potential to KO most opponents well below 65% (even at the center of Final Destination). His neutral special, Warlock Punch, has the most startup out of his entire moveset by far, but it also deals absurd knockback and damage (especially when B-reversed in the air), being capable of instantaneously killing middleweights and lighter (if it connects before touching the ground, though this is extremely difficult to pull off). Ganondorf’s sweetspotted down aerial and aerial Wizard's Foot are extremely powerful meteor smashes that can KO opponents offstage at exceptionally low percents. Thanks to his strength, Ganondorf has among the highest KO potential in the game, as he can rack up massive damage and KO opponents in very few hits.
Ganondorf's shield-breaking capabilities are also potent and fearsome. His aforementioned forward and up smashes, Warlock Punch, and aerial Wizard's Foot can bring shields down to a sliver of health, while his Volcano Kick (up tilt) has vacuum properties, deceptively large reach, and can shatter shields in a single hit. These options also allow Ganondorf to play mindgames to make opponents with low shield health play more carefully around him, as he can punish any mistake extremely hard. As such, mistiming or overusing shields against Ganondorf can be very deadly, as his aforementioned powerful moves allow him to capitalize shield breaks.
Despite his power, Ganondorf has excellent combo starters, some of which are potential kill confirms. His down throw can combo into every aerial except down aerial or dash attack up to mid-percentages. His dash attack is versatile; not only does it possess extreme KO power at high percentages, being the third strongest dash attack in Ultimate, but its early hit can potentially lead into neutral aerial, up aerial, or Dark Dive at early percentages. Even better, it has a late hit sourspot that grants followups into neutral attack, forward tilt, grab, all aerials except down aerial, and grounded Dark Dive, with the latter two options being potential kill confirms at high percentages. Neutral aerial's set knockback on the first kick as well as the late hit of the second kick can lead into neutral attack, grab, forward tilt, down tilt, or dash attack right after landing on the ground. Sweetspotted down aerial's high hitstun combos into neutral attack, grab, forward tilt, down tilt, every aerial, up smash, or down smash up to middle percentages. Ganondorf's best combo starter is probably his grounded Flame Choke, which is a command grab that meteor smashes opponents into the ground, leading into dozens of followups and reads. These follow ups include, but are not limited to: neutral attack, forward tilt, down tilt, dash attack, grounded or aerial Wizard’s Foot, any smash attacks or aerials, or even another Flame Choke. While Flame Choke can be teched, its low ending lag allows Ganondorf to tech-chase with the move, with some followups hitting short-distanced techs such as forward tilt covering 's inward tech, up smash or turnaround down smash on 's inward tech, down tilt on 's tech away, or neutral attack on all of 's tech options. Some characters can even be trapped at the ledge, where they move no distance from tech away and are hit during their neutral and inward techs.
All of Ganondorf's aerials are very useful, as most of them are fast despite their immense power, and are guaranteed to knock opponents off the stage even at medium percents, giving him a great edgeguarding game. His sweetspotted down aerial is his most damaging aerial and the second strongest meteor smash in the game, and when sourspotted has the second strongest horizontal knockback out of all his aerials (after his sweetspotted back aerial). His up aerial is his lowest damaging aerial, but is his second fastest aerial, can autocancel from a short hop, and its late hitbox is a very potent gimp with its semi-spike angle and high hitstun. His neutral aerial has the lowest knockback out of all his aerials, but is his fastest aerial consisting of two hits that naturally combo into each other with damage rivaling his sweetspotted down aerial, while doubling as long-lasting sex kicks, and has the greatest horizontal reach out of all his aerials allowing it to wall out approaches. His forward aerial boasts good reach in an arc that also hits slightly behind him, while his back aerial is a deceptively fast KO move that can autocancel from a short hop. Aerial Flame Choke is a chokeslam that lacks guaranteed followups, but does more damage than when used on the ground and can still tech-chase. Aerial Wizard's Foot is Ganondorf's only aerial option with vertical knockback, making it a good anti-air that punishes juggles. Finally, Dark Dive is a command grab that does multiple weak electric hits that make it difficult to interrupt, which leads into a very powerful throw that can reverse edgeguard situations, especially when facing away from the stage, while also not causing helplessness and letting him reuse the move; if the grab misses, the move performs an uppercut at the end to deter potential edgeguards.
In spite of his strengths, Ganondorf has many glaring flaws. He is extremely vulnerable to combos and juggling thanks to his heavy weight, very large size, above average falling speed and gravity, and low air speed, and his slow mobility hinders his approach and ability to close distance or create space. His lack of a projectile or reflector also leaves him susceptible to projectile camping and zoning.
Arguably Ganondorf's biggest weakness is his lack of defensive options, courtesy of the issues within his moveset. To begin, his frame data is very sluggish and among the worst in the game: he has very few moves that are active before frame 9 (these being neutral attack, neutral aerial, up aerial, and standing grab) and some not even coming out before frame 28 (such as forward smash, Warlock Punch, and Volcano Kick), along with many of his moves having extremely high ending lag (most notably all of his smash attacks and all his special moves). As a result of his abysmal frame data, many of his moves are unsafe on shield unless fully spaced, despite his aforementioned shield breaking capabilities. Combined with his poor mobility, Ganondorf struggles to compete with faster characters like , slow projectile users like , and long-ranged characters like and . This forces Ganondorf's offense to heavily rely on proper spacing and mindgames.
In contrast to Ganondorf's tall size, some of his attacks have poor reach and often have problematic hitbox placements, causing them to have noticeably large blind spots. His neutral attack, forward tilt, back aerial, Dark Dive, and Wizard's Foot, some of which are considered Ganondorf's fastest attacks and best out of shield options, all suffer from a combination of short reach, short hitbox duration, small hitbox sizes, and/or high hitbox placements. Wizard's Foot and Flame Choke also have their hitboxes end earlier than their animations suggest, while forward aerial and back aerial's hitboxes do not properly match their trails. Neutral aerial's two hits often fail to link properly, especially against grounded opponents, likely resulting in Ganondorf getting punished if he whiffs the second hit, and the second hit itself is difficult to land due to its high hitbox placement. His forward smash, despite its impressive reach, completely lacks any active hitboxes during the downward swing, giving it a notoriously large dead zone above and in front of his head. His up smash has a blindspot directly in front of him, and its rear hitboxes end just above the ground. Ganondorf's numerous blind spots allows many small characters such as to easily exploit and weave through his attacks, especially when crouching.
Ganondorf's grab game is also lackluster. His grab reach is notoriously short despite his tall stature, and, outside of down throw, his throws have little to no followups. Surprisingly, none of them are consistently viable KO options either, despite dealing respectable amounts of damage; while his forward and back throws deal passable knockback, even they are rather weak and can't KO middleweights under 200% from center stage, while his up throw lacks KO potential altogether. His down throw, despite being a decent combo starter, loses much of its combo potential very quickly past low percentages. The ability to tech Flame Choke at any percentage works against Ganondorf, as it forces hard reads, and incorrect reads can put Ganondorf in a vulnerable position. Flame Choke also lacks a collateral hitbox, allowing doubles, , and to hit him out of the move.
The other major weakness is his terrible recovery. Ganondorf's slow air speed and low jump height, as well as the helplessness-causing Flame Choke and Dark Dive having low speed and resilience, makes his off-stage movement linear and predictable while leaving him very vulnerable to edgeguards and gimps. His recovery specials also work against Ganondorf; aerial Flame Choke can be escaped by button mashing and KOs Ganondorf first when used as a sacrificial KO, while Dark Dive's throw can be teched and punished in its endlag. As such, it's possible to edgeguard Ganondorf by even intentionally getting hit by his aerial specials, leaving him in a position where his abysmal mobility prevents him from recovering. All of this leaves Ganondorf with arguably one of the worst recoveries in the game.
Ganondorf also has considerable trouble landing safely. Despite his aerials having relatively low landing lag, the aforementioned poor hitbox placements fail to properly defend him from directly underneath, while down aerial and Wizard's Foot have noticeable start-up. While Wizard's Foot is Ganondorf's fastest option to return to the ground and can anti-air intercepting opponents with its vertical knockback, its landing possesses a small and very brief quake along with large landing lag, making it highly punishable.
Overall, Ganondorf's raw power allows him to deal heavy damage quickly and close stocks early, but he has little means to defend himself which forces him to play cautiously, enforcing a bait-and-punish playstyle. His playstyle is a high risk, high reward character: a single mistake can lead to either player losing a stock, even at 0%. He cannot afford to make any careless mistakes himself, where his exploitable recovery allows his opponents to take his stocks just as early as he can take theirs.
==Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4==
Ganondorf was infamously a poorly regarded character in his previous two appearances following his debut appearance, owing to a myriad of factors such as slow mobility, vulnerability to general pressure (such as rushdowns, zoning and combos), and awful recovery. Most likely due to his low placement in SSB4, Ganondorf has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in Ultimate, but was buffed overall, albeit not enough to raise his tier standing.
Ganondorf's primary strengths, such as his already strong damage output and knockback power, have been further increased since the previous game. Most of his moves deal even more damage, and some of his moves (whether they were already strong or among the weakest in SSB4) are more powerful, like his dash attack, back aerial, Dark Dive, and Wizard's Foot; notably, dash attack has become as potent as it was in Brawl, whereas Dark Dive and Wizard's Foot have had most of their lost KO power restored from Melee. Forward aerial, a move previously considered inferior to his back aerial, has improved range, making it a far safer KO move.
Ganondorf's smash attacks are now sword swings that possess increased, consistent power as well as larger, disjointed range. Up tilt, notorious for shattering full shields, is easier to land with its faster startup and stronger windboxes, and its sourspot has been strengthened to match its sweetspot. His notoriously weak grab game was also buffed, with his grabs having a longer duration and greater range, and his throws receiving improved utility such as higher power (forward throw, although it still remains rather weak), damage (up throw) or combo potential (down throw). Ganondorf is also heavier, making his already great endurance better.
Ganondorf notably benefits from some of the universal gameplay changes. The increase in mobility (most notably to his running speed, although it still remains slow), his faster jumpsquat, and the reduced landing lag on his aerial attacks all improve his very poor neutral game and approach. His faster jumpsquat and landing lag reduction also improve his combo ability, thus further strengthening his damage racking game.
Despite these notable buffs, Ganondorf is not without nerfs, especially toward his hitbox placements and ineffective defensive game. His forward and up smashes, despite having disjointed range, have significantly increased ending lag; up smash has especially lost its ability to bait approaches. His down tilt's vertical angles on its close hitbox make it a much less effective KO option, especially out of Flame Choke. His up tilt is weaker, and has gained an incredibly weak late hitbox with no KO potential. Hitbox adjustments and/or reductions on his forward tilt, up tilt, back aerial, Dark Dive and Wizard's Foot make them harder to land and further worsens his blindspot issues. Among his biggest nerfs were to his up aerial, which has more startup and its sourspot no longer hits underneath him, thus removing most of its gimping effectiveness and lock combos, and Flame Choke, as the aerial version is now escapable at low percentages and a "Ganoncide" now KOs him first. Dark Dive's release also pushes back Ganondorf after he launches the opponent away, though this is counterbalanced by the release having less ending lag.
Despite gaining considerable improvements from the game's engine, Ganondorf is also hindered by some of the universal changes; the universal increase to mobility makes it slightly harder to catch up with some characters. The increased shield drop frames impairs his poor out of shield options, and the universally increased traction which reduces shield push makes his attacks, especially his aerials, less safe unless perfectly spaced. The increased tech window, as well as the restoration of buffering techs during hitlag, makes Flame Choke easier to escape from, and makes Dark Dive much easier for opponents to survive from being launched under the stage and retaliate. Although Ganondorf's heavier weight allows him to survive even longer, he is also easier to combo. The changes to air dodging are a mixed bag for Ganondorf, as they improve his great edgeguarding ability, but make him easier to edgeguard in return. Finally, the weakening of rage slightly hinders Ganondorf, though due to his increased damage and power, this change is fairly negligible.
Overall, Ganondorf has gained some drastic increases in power that renders his punish and advantage states much deadlier, but at the cost of notable nerfs that further affect his disadvantage, exacerbating his glaring weaknesses and making him even more polarized. Although initially considered to have improved substantially from SSB4, the lack of changes from game updates, as well as various changes made to his fellow veterans both on release and through updates, have caused Ganondorf to fall behind. Said updates have also introduced a bevy of more powerful DLC characters, all of which Ganondorf struggles against in one way or another. Because of this, despite performing better as a standalone character in Ultimate, Ganondorf has not significantly improved from his appearance in SSB4, instead performing worse relative to the rest of the cast.
==Update history==
Ganondorf received a mix of buffs and nerfs via in game updates, but has been slightly buffed overall. A majority of these buffs were dedicated to fixing inconsistencies that plagued him ever since previous games.
Update 1.1.0 changed the properties of aerial Flame Choke to always kill Ganondorf first when reaching the blast zone, significantly reducing the effectiveness of Ganoncide. Update 2.0.0 allowed forward aerial to autocancel out of a double jump, which was infamous in Brawl and SSB4 for not cancelling even out of a full hop due to an incorrectly coded timer, and would almost always force him to enter the landing animation. After being absent from patch notes for little over a year, Ganondorf was granted a small but important buff in 11.0.0, which significantly decreased the ending lag of Dark Dive, slightly improving his recovery while making it harder to Tech Check Ganondorf, a technique that has existed since Melee.
Due to his key weaknesses not being addressed from updates and other characters having received more substantial buffs, Ganondorf is considered to fare worse compared to the game’s release, despite receiving more buffs than nerfs throughout his update history.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
==Moveset==
For a gallery of Ganondorf's hitboxes, see here.
===Stats===
===Announcer call===
Ganondorf English Announcer SSB4-SSBU.wav|English/Japanese/Chinese
Ganondorf French Announcer SSBU.wav|French
Ganondorf Russian Announcer SSBU.wav|Russian
===On-screen appearance===
*Emerges from a portal of dark magic. Based on how emerges from similar dark portals in his boss fight in Ocarina of Time.
GanondorfOnScreenAppearanceSSBU.gif|Ganondorf's on-screen appearance
===Taunts===
*Up taunt: Floats in the air and then curls into a ball while spinning before opening up from his curled position and striking a pose while laughing. Resembles his transformation into Ganon before the final battle in Ocarina of Time.
*Side taunt: Punches his right hand into his open palm in a threatening pose and scoffs, with electricity emitting from his hands afterward. When the electricity is emitted, his cape will flow as if being blown by the wind.
*Down taunt: Unsheathes his sword, grunts, looks at it while sporting a mocking smirk as the blade's tip pulses with dark magic, then sheathes it.
SSBUGanondorfTaunt1.gif|Ganondorf's up taunt.
SSBUGanondorfTaunt2.gif|Ganondorf's side taunt.
SSBUGanondorfTaunt3.gif|Ganondorf's down taunt.
===Idle poses===
*Brings his hands together, then swings his right arm over his head.
*Crosses his arms and looks in the opposite direction while sporting a mocking smirk.
SSBUGanondorfIdle1.gif|Ganondorf's first idle pose.
SSBUGanondorfIdle2.gif|Ganondorf's second idle pose.
===Crowd cheer===
 	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian) 	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer 	 	 	 	 	
Description	Ganon - dooorf!	Ganondorf! 	Ga - non - dorf!	Ganondorf! 	Ga - non - dorf!
 	Cheer (German) 	Cheer (Spanish) 	Cheer (Russian) 	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer 	 	 	 	
Description	Ga - non - dorf!	Ga - non - dorf!	Ga - non - dorf!	Ga - nondorf! *claps 5 times*
===Victory poses===
*Left: Turns to his left, flips his cape, and pumps his fist, showing the back of it. Resembles the way Ganondorf beckons Link into his battle in Ocarina of Time.
*Up: Briefly levitates in the air before landing on the ground while punching his palm, then reels back and thrusts his hand towards the screen.
*Right: Flips his cape before crossing his arms while laughing; reminiscent to the cutscene that plays after Link pulls the Master Sword in Ocarina of Time, and ending with a sinister grin.
GanondorfVictoryPose1SSBU.gif
GanondorfVictoryPose2SSBU.gif
GanondorfVictoryPose3SSBU.gif
==In competitive play==
===Most historically significant players===
See also: :Category:Ganondorf players (SSBU)
* - A pioneer in Ganondorf's metagame known for creating the "Gungnir Combo". He seldomly competes offline, with his only notable appearances being 2nd at defeating and 33rd at . However, he is well-known in Japan's online metagame, regularly performing well on Smashmate and ranking as high as 5th on the 14th Smashmate SP ranking. 
* - One of the two best Ganondorf players in the post-pandemic metagame. He is best known for being the only Ganondorf player who was able to place higher than 33rd at a major, doing so by placing 25th at . He also notably upset at to place 33rd. These two results remain the best solo-Ganondorf major performances of all-time.
* - The best Ganondorf player in Canada. Placed 13th at , 65th at , and 97th at both and with wins over players such as , , and . Currently ranked 2nd on the York Region Power Rankings.
* - One of the two best Ganondorf players in the post-pandemic metagame who is best known for his regional performances. His 7th-place finishes at and remain the only top 8 placement from a solo-Ganondorf main at a C-tier or above outside of sandbagging. In addition, he has placed 9th at and 17th at both and , defeating and at the latter two events.
* - The best Ganondorf player in the world in the early metagame. He was the first successful Ganondorf player at PGR-ranked events. He is best known for placing 65th at , where he defeated and , as well as a variety of Midwest regional and superregional events, including 9th at and 17th at . He has not been as active since then, although he notably placed 33rd at .
===Tier placement and history===
Public opinion on Ganondorf during Ultimates early months was high due to improvements to his flaws from previous games, with some players comparing him to his Melee self. This positive opinion was supported by 's surprise yet successful usage of the character against at , which led many players to believe that Ganondorf was viable, or at least better than what he was in the previous two games. 
However, this positive perception did not last long as more players realized Ganondorf still has severe difficulty in approaching, recovering, and escaping disadvantage. This especially was problematic in Ultimate, as the general fast pace of the game's engine meant that many characters can easily outpace and overwhelm Ganondorf. In addition, Ganondorf lacked any fast, long-ranged options, leaving him incredibly vulnerable to camping. All of his weaknesses were compounded with how Ganondorf mostly received minor changes in patches while other low-tier characters received significant buffs. Finally, Ganondorf's playerbase remains one of the smallest, if not the smallest, in the game, and even in spite of efforts such as in the early metagame and and post-pandemic, Ganondorf results remain incredibly scarce after Nairo's Collision 2019 run, especially at a major level. Although he is significantly better than his Brawl and Smash 4 iterations, many players consider Ganondorf to be the absolute worst character in the game, especially as many other low-tier characters such as and had more success than Ganondorf. As such, Ganondorf has been ranked dead last on the first three tier lists, and was the only character ranked in the E- tier on the second tier list.
==: Encroaching Darkness==
Ganondorf fights against the heroes and protagonists of various series.
Round 	Opponent 	Stage 	Music 	Notes
1 	and 	New Donk City Hall 	 	
2 	and 	Lylat Cruise 	 	
3 	 	Gaur Plain 	 	
4 	, , and 	Coliseum 	 	
5 	and 	Skyworld 	 	
6 	and 	Great Plateau Tower	 	
Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage
Final 	 	 	(Less than 7.0 intensity) (7.0 or higher intensity)	teams up with Master Hand on Intensity 7.0 or higher.
Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Ganondorf has accompany the credits.
==Role in World of Light==
Although Ganondorf does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (except for ) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.
Ganondorf was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. He is unlocked in the Sacred Land in The Dark Realm on the top of the land which makes up the Triforce of Power. This land can only be accessed after interacting with the Master Sword (just after the unlock). Unlocking Ganondorf will briefly reveal the Triforce of Power in the center of the map before disappearing to reveal Ganon's castle and his boss battle.
===Fighter Battle===
No.	Image	Name 	Type	Power 	Stage 	Music
23 	 	Ganondorf	 	10,700	Bridge of Eldin (Ω form)	
==Spirits==
Ganondorf's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing as Ganondorf. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Ganondorf has been unlocked. Unlocking Ganondorf in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.
Additionally, Ganondorf makes appearances in various primary spirits, including a few as Ganon.
SSBU spirit Ganondorf.png|175. Ganondorf
SSBU spirit Ganon.png|191. Ganon
SSBU spirit Ganondorf (Twilight Princess).png|220. Ganondorf (Twilight Princess)
SSBU spirit Beast Ganon.png|221. Beast Ganon
SSBU spirit Calamity Ganon.png|243. Calamity Ganon
==In Spirit Battles==
===As the main opponent===
Spirit	Spirit	Spirit 	Spirit 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Inspiration
No. 	Image 	Name 	Series 	Enemy Fighter(s) 	Type 	Power 	Stage 	Rules 	Conditions 	Music 	Character
220 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series	• (160 HP) 	 	9,400 	Hyrule Castle (hazards off) 	•Attack Power ↑ 	•Stamina battle•The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage 	 	 	
243 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Giant •Ally: 	 	13,900 	Great Plateau Tower (Ω form) 	•Sudden Damage 	•You lose if your CPU ally is KO'd•You'll occasionally take sudden damage after a little while•The enemy is giant 	 	 	
350 	 	Kirby Series 	•Reflect 	 	9,700 	Kalos Pokémon League (Battlefield form)	•Curry-Filled 	•The enemy reflects projectiles•The enemy's explosion and fire attacks have increased power•The enemy breathes fire after a little while 	 	 	
401 	 	Star Fox Series 	• 	 	9,900 	Venom 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Andross)•Hazard: Low Gravity	•Gravity is reduced•Hostile assist trophies will appear 	 	 	
604 	 	F-Zero Series 	• • 	 	13,500 	Port Town Aero Dive (Battlefield form) 	•Sudden Damage 	•You'll occasionally take sudden damage after a little while 	 	 	
621 	 	Fire Emblem Series 	• 	 	3,600 	Castle Siege (Throne Room) 	N/A 	•The enemy starts with damage but is more powerful•The enemy starts with damage but has increased defense•The enemy doesn't like to jump 	 	 	
663 	 	Fire Emblem Series 	• (80 HP)• (80 HP) 	 	3,600 	Reset Bomb Forest (hazards off) 	•Defense ↑ 	•Stamina battle•The enemy has increased defense 	 	 	
673 	 	Fire Emblem Series 	• (160 HP) 	 	9,900 	Coliseum (hazards off) 	•Jump Power ↓ 	•The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch•Stamina battle•All fighters have reduced jump power 	 	 	
686 	 	Fire Emblem Series 	• (160 HP) 	 	9,600 	 	•Jump Power ↓•Hazard: Poison Floor 	•The floor is poisonous•You have reduced jump power•Stamina battle 	 	 	
717 	 	Kid Icarus Series 	•Giant 	 	9,700 	 	•Attack Power ↑•Item: X Bomb 	•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power•The enemy's smash attacks have increased power•The enemy has increased attack power after a little while	 	 	
720 	 	Kid Icarus Series 	• •Tiny ×8 	 	8,900 	Spear Pillar (Ω form) 	N/A 	•Defeat the main fighter to win•The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd 	 	Reaper (normal Ganondorf)Reapette (tiny Ganondorf)	
910 	 	Mega Man X Series 	• (160 HP) 	 	9,500 	Midgar (hazards off) 	N/A 	•The enemy's melee weapons have increased power•Stamina battle 	 	 	
989 	 	Street Fighter Series 	•Reflect (180 HP) 	 	13,600 	Great Plateau Tower (Ω form) 	•Attack Power ↓•Attack Power ↑•Jump Power ↓ 	•The enemy reflects projectiles•The enemy's special moves have increased power•Stamina battle 	 	 	
1,349 	 	DAEMON X MACHINA 	•Tiny (50 HP)•Giant (60 HP) (50 HP) (50 HP)	 	9,300 	Bridge of Eldin (Battlefield form) 	•Move Speed ↑•Attack Power ↑•Item: Exploding Types 	•Stamina battle•The enemy has increased attack power•The enemy has increased move speed after a little while 	 	Brigadier General 	
===As a minion===
Spirit	Spirit	Spirit 	Spirit 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Inspiration
No. 	Image 	Name 	Series 	Enemy Fighter(s) 	Type 	Power 	Stage 	Rules 	Conditions 	Music 	Character
632 	 	Fire Emblem Series 	• • 	 	4,200 	Temple 	N/A 	•Defeat the main fighter to win•The enemy tends to avoid conflict•The enemy heals over time 	 	 	
1,375 	 	Resident Evil Series	• •Giant 	 	2,200 	Luigi's Mansion (hazards off)	•Item: Ray Gun 	•Defeat the main fighter to win•The enemy's shooting items have increased power•Reinforcements will appear during the battle	 	Nemesis 	
1,384 	 	Fire Emblem Series 	• (100 HP)• (80 HP)	 	5,000 	Distant Planet (Ω form) 	N/A 	•Stamina battle•The enemy has increased attack power 	 	 	
==Alternate costumes==
							
							
==Gallery==
The Legend of Zelda artwork.png|Artwork of all The Legend of Zelda fighters, as posted on the official Legend of Zelda Twitter account.
SSBU Ganondorf Number.png|Ganondorf's fighter card.
Ganondorf unlock notice SSBU.jpg|Ganondorf's unlock notice.
SSBUWebsiteGanondorf1.jpg|Ganondorf idling on Coliseum.
SSBUWebsiteGanondorf2.jpg|Striking on Arena Ferox.
SSBUWebsiteGanondorf3.jpg|Idling on Bridge of Eldin.
SSBUWebsiteGanondorf4.jpg|Running from and a Bomber on Gaur Plain.
SSBUWebsiteGanondorf5.jpg|Idling with on Hyrule Castle.
SSBUWebsiteGanondorf6.jpg|Performing Ganon, The Demon King on Arena Ferox.
SSBU LegendofZeldaReps.jpg|Idling with Link and Zelda on Great Plateau Tower.
SSBUWebsiteBayonetta3.jpg|Struck by on Mario Galaxy.
SSBUWebsiteCaptainFalcon4.jpg|Taunting with on Temple.
SSBUWebsiteJigglypuff3.jpg|Being put to sleep by on Town and City.
SSBUWebsiteLucas3.jpg|Being frozen by 's PK Freeze on Summit.
SSBUWebsiteToonLink6.jpg|Trapped by 's Triforce Slash.
SSBUZeldaJPTwitter1.jpg|Taunting with all veterans on Great Plateau Tower.
SSBUWebsiteMoon3.png|Idling towards the Moon on Bridge of Eldin.
GanondorfWarlockPunchSSBU.png|Using Warlock Punch on .
KazuyaTW.jpg| fighting Ganondorf on Mishima Dojo.
===Fighter Showcase Video===
==Trivia==
*Ultimate marks the first time in the Smash series that Ganondorf utilizes a sword in his base moveset.
**Prior to Ultimate, his custom special for Warlock Punch, Warlock Blade, allowed him to use a sword.
*Ganondorf's entry on the official Super Smash Blog has a grammatical error, using the word "then" instead of the correct "than." Also, the words "Final Smash" are lowercase instead of uppercase like in other fighter entries.
*Despite now being based on his Ocarina of Time appearance again, Ganondorf's unlock battle takes place on Bridge of Eldin, which is from Twilight Princess.
**The opposite occurs in , as it featured Ganondorf in his Twilight Princess appearance, and Ganondorf is unlocked on Gerudo Valley, a stage from Ocarina of Time.
*As mentioned above, Ultimate is the first game where Ganondorf has voice clips specifically for Smash as opposed to re-purposing them from the Zelda series. This also applies to .
*Until the release of Tears of the Kingdom, neither Zelda game whose bases served as the redesigns for Link and in Ultimate featured Ganondorf with a humanoid form. This is especially most noticeable during in 's and 's reveal trailers.
*According to Sakurai from a Famitsu column, as of January 2019, Ganondorf was the most used fighter in Elite Smash.https://nintendoeverything.com/sakurai-talks-smash-bros-ultimate-online-mode-victory-rates-character-usage-more/
*Despite reverting back to his Ocarina of Time design in this game, Ganondorf is the only returning Zelda character from SSB4 (excluding ) to have his Twilight Princess design directly referenced in this game, as a spirit.
*Ganondorf’s extreme power has become a popular meme within the community, most notably associated with his forward smash (humorously nicknamed as "Doriyah" by the community, based on his exclamation during the attack), as well as his general ability to take stocks before his opponents despite being at much higher percentages than they are.
*In World of Light, despite being able to transform into Ganon, the Demon King, Ganondorf is awakened before having to fight his monstrous form. This is unlike , who is fought in his Giga Bowser form and is awakened after the battle.
*There's a visual glitch on Ganondorf's cape whenever he descends from a ladder where it will suddenly snap back down if the descending animation lasts for more than 40 frames.
**This also happens to during his descent when using Aether.
*If Ganondorf continually uses his up taunt on the floor of Mute City SNES, he cannot be damaged by it. However, to do this, players first need to land on the floor safely by using a form of long-lasting invincibility or intangibility, such as respawning intangibility.
==References==
 
Category:Spirits
es:Ganondorf (SSBU)