Posted by Justin AdaptiveTrigger Gordon * 2 minutes ago * Comments: 0

For every top tier in a fighting game, there must also be a bottom tier. The Super Smash Bros. series is certainly no exception. As an example, Meta Knight is recognized as being the best overall character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl while Ganondorf is seen as being the worst.

During a video uploaded by Brawlternative, it's outlined that the transition from Super Smash Bros. Melee to Super Smash Bros. Brawl really did The King of Evil no favors. Additionally, it seemed that the developers really wanted to emphasize Ganondorf's slower traits, which were essentially masked by Melee's speedy mechanics.

Due to having the second worst run speed in Brawl, Ganondorf was said to have awful defensive capabilities. Despite this shortcoming, his offensive capabilities were also extremely lackluster.

Not only did him having some of the slowest moves in the game, but his attacks were also generally quite unsafe on block. In the case of the character's up special, the Dark Dive, it was even unsafe on hit if the opponent was aware of how to take advantage of the move's low hit stun.

Given, this fighter was capable of dealing a lot of damage and killing early, but landing the necessary hits to do this was easier said than done. Generally speaking, characters with speedy and defensive characteristics tend to consistently be the best throughout the Super Smash Bros. series.

Funnily enough, it turns out that the antagonist's forward aerial was intended to function better than it actually does. Unfortunately, a programming error resulted in it having more recovery frames than intended in the final release.

This was problematic as this oversight was made during an era before Super Smash Bros. could be adjusted post-launch via patches. In other words, Ganondorf was doomed to his bottom tier status in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Based on the game's coding, it would seem that the developers intended for Ganondorf to be capable of autocancelling his forward aerial starting on frame 36. Ultimately though, this autocancel window is ignored until frame 55.

Of course, this combatant's intentional weaknesses would've likely still resulted in him being a bottom tier combatant, but this error really compounded his problems. He could've functioned a little better if he just had a little less risk attached to one of his strongest moves.

Regardless, Super Smash Bros. Brawl would effectively be the beginning of Ganondorf being a bottom tier in future iterations of the series. He even reclaimed his spot as being the worst overall character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate despite seeing a number of improvements since Brawl.