Ganondorf in Super Smash Bros. - Where to from Here?

[Krazy4Krash]

It is rather strange to base a thread on one sole character in a series filled with dozens, but Ganondorf can be said to be one of the most interesting considering his stance in both the Super Smash Bros. and Legend of Zelda franchises, hence this thread.

Ganondorf's appearances are infrequent in Zelda games recently, but he manages to remain a huge staple despite. He is one of the more controversial characters in Super Smash Bros, as he is was a clone of Captain Falcon, the only in the series to draw inspiration from a character in another franchise. Ganondorf was a literal copy-paste in Melee, sporting very little unique attacks and putting a spin on only a few, unusual for a clone. He and Falco are the only clones returning from Melee to Brawl, proving his worth as a character. This reappearance luigified him substantially, what with Sakurai's newfound policy against the concept of clones and giving Brawl semi-clone characters at most.

From all of this, there are several issues at stake for the future. What do you want and/or expect from Ganondorf in the future of Super Smash Bros? :ganondorf: :ssb:

Ganondorf's lack of recent appearances makes potential designs that are up-to-date troublesome. What should he look like? Take the most recent in-game design from Twilight Princess, as seen in Brawl? Make a new model inspired from Skyward Sword, despite a lack of appearance there? Perhaps taken from the Ocarina of Time 3D remake or its trailer, or a new design from complete scratch?

The fact that he has a familiar moveset bothers some. Should it remain the same, be luigified further from Captain Falcon or should a completely new and original moveset be made?

And what is the most interesting and important question, should Ganondorf be in Super Smash Bros. 4 at all? Is it justified given the situation of The Legend of Zelda franchise?


I absolutely do not want Ganondorf to leave the Super Smash Bros. roster. Granted it would make more sense if he stars in Zelda Wii-U or 3DS, it's too early to say at this point in time. Still, even if he doesn't appear, I'd much prefer he stay. He is still a series staple without. In regards to his moveset, I'd like more luigification. Not a fan of moveset overhauls. As for Ganondorf's design, I don't know what to predict. The idea I've thought up and shared several times is the ability to change models like colour schemes, so the player can choose between several different models of Ganondorf. If this weren't to happen, a better looking Twilight Princess incarnation would be best suited, I reckon.

 

[Vaati101]

And what is the most interesting and important question, should Ganondorf be in Super Smash Bros. 4 at all?

Absolutely. Despite his recent hiatus in recent Zelda games, Ganondorf is still the main Antagonist of the Zelda series and he should still represent it in Super Smash Bros. Sheik has only ever appeared in one Zelda game, but He/She still managed to be in Super Smash Bros Brawl. This proves that they don't need to be in recent games to appear in the roster. It does bring a problem when it comes to designing the character though. unlike sheik who was originally supposed to be in Twilight Princess, Ganondorf was not intended to be in newer Zelda games at all, so there isn't any templates of Ganondorf they work off of. This time round they will have to either think of a design inspired by the newer Zelda games (Preferably Skyward Sword) or use the designs he appeared in the remakes of Ocarina of Time 3D or The Wind Waker HD.

 

[DarkestLink]

If they want to be lazy and copy/paste him, then I guess there's no stopping them...but why Captain Falcon? Wouldn't changing him to a Copy/Paste of Ike make more sense?

 

[The Wanderer]

If Zelda Wii U turns out not to involve Ganondorf or if Ganondorf is a bit of a hidden villain in that game, they may have to go with something else. Otherwise, Zelda Wii U and Smash Bros. 4 are being developed at roughly the same period and possibly the same pace, so it's possible Sakurai will be able to see Ganondorf's design for Zelda Wii U (if it exists) and incorporate that into SSB4. If not, I predict we'll see something vaguely original, pulling inspiration from OoT 3D but not being entirely similar. Basing him off The Wind Waker HD is a possibility, too. I'd be interested in seeing what that brings.

I believe Ganondorf should stay in SSB4; as Vaati101 said, he's the primary villain in Zelda and would do well to continue representing that. Besides, he is essentially his own character anyway. A lot of people claim Ike is a clone of Marth, but he's not. Ike has two moves which are similar to Marth's. The rest are completely original. These days, it's kind of the same thing with Ganondorf and Capt. Falcon. Ganondorf is now more his own character with a few moves bearing vague resemblance to Capt. Falcon's. I suppose he could stand to be Luigified a bit more (assuming I'm using that term correctly), but it doesn't warrant him being kicked out.

 

[Krazy4Krash]

If they want to be lazy and copy/paste him, then I guess there's no stopping them...but why Captain Falcon? Wouldn't changing him to a Copy/Paste of Ike make more sense?

Because Captain Falcon is who he's been based off for two games now? I mean, sure, most people want his moveset to change, either though luigification or a full blown new moveset, but to say "We're giving Ganondorf a brand new moveset for SSB4! Oh, but it's a clone of Ike this time. lol" would result in even worse backlash.

 

[Ventus]

Despite my hate for Skyward Sword, I'm actually not sure if they should keep Ganondorf or go with a more recent villain like Ghirahim. Although SS' villains for the long-run are insignificant, the game still reached critical acclaim and part of that reason was the villains themselves from what I see; the attitudes and animations they carried were much beefier than any past villain, as far as I can tell.

So I guess I'll just hop on the "Ganondorf returns" boat. Assuming the G-man does make a full appearance in SSB4--most likely the U version as a standard character--I'd love to see him in his full glory as a totally new character in that he has a new moveset. Yes, this would require players to relearn him (for anyone that actually DID main him; Ganondorf is the worst character in the game by professional measure), but this would be good since Sakurai has a "zero tolerance" policy for clones.

@DarkestLink
I disagree that basing Ganondorf on Ike's design would be fruitful; for one, who's to say Ike will return? FE13 has yet to release here in America, but I believe Chrom will be big and he plays VERY DISTINCTLY than Ike does. There's also Ephraim/Eirika, Roy, heck even Hector/Eliwood to consider. Surely they wouldn't use a character gone-by as a base model when the past character has no relation to the one they're copy/pasting!