Written by Pokemonmaster888
Last updated on January 24, 2021

My Super Smash Bros. Melee, Classic, Very Easy speedrun as Ganondorf strategies for each acceptable character/level in each Stage, with only Ganondorf and Mushroom Kingdom II unlocked

This document contains all of my strategies for every possible character/level I battle (and the three non-character battle Stages) in the Classic, Very Easy speedrun using Ganondorf. Anything that isn’t mentioned in here is not played and is rejected via restarting. These strategies are for the current top-tier times for this category, so if you want to do different strategies for a certain reason you can alter these somehow to get more consistency or to make your gameplay easier. If you know of better/faster strategies that aren’t typed here, tell me and I will edit this document. This guide can then turn into a community-researched resource that will be more accurate. If you do this, please test your strategies versus the ones here and do so thoroughly so you are sure of them before you contact me.

Completion times for each level aren’t listed in this guide because they vary depending upon the behavior of the character/level enough that I think it is better to exclude them. I will write completion times for levels only if it is important to clarify a strategy or differences between strategies. For reference, I say a “slow” completion time is longer than 2 seconds, but 2.25 seconds to 2 seconds for the completion time is still not that bad. You should beat each Stage except Stage 8 and Stage 11 under 2 seconds if you want to get a very fast category time.

Stage 1

Mario on Rainbow Cruise: Immediately dash rightward, double jump quickly and forward air attack. Do this close to each other in timing. Aim to stay as left of the center of the level as possible (you should be horizontally aligned with the right edge region of the vertical platforms when you damage Mario) when you use this strategy because this will cause you to attack Mario with the edge of your forward air attack, which is more effective at beating him compared to the inner area of Ganondorf’s forward air attack (Mario will sometimes stay in the level if you hit him with the inner area of said attack). Mario will also survive this attack if you jump too high when you attack or if you are not fast enough in using your attack.

Pikachu on Pokémon Stadium: Immediately neutral B attack. This will likely result in the fastest time if Pikachu moves into the area of your attack compared to other possibilities, but said situation does not happen too often because Pikachu moves in varying ways on this level in Stage 1. Another strategy that may be more consistent is to dash rightward when you can begin play, double jump and neutral B attack once you traveled rightward enough to land on Pikachu’s starting platform. Pikachu moves in this level so you might not get Pikachu to stay on his starting platform too often. You can compensate and do neutral B earlier and not jump as far if you see Pikachu moving leftward when the level starts. That can damage Pikachu if he goes onto the bottom area of Pokémon Stadium. Pikachu seems to stay on his initial platform more often than the behavior he exhibits for the first strategy to work. In either of the two above cases, the time you obtain isn’t that fast. The neutral B attack as soon as possible methodology is significantly faster (the time on the clock is in the range of 04:57.91 when you complete the Stage with this strategy).

Peach on Mushroom Kingdom II: Immediately down B attack. This is the most consistent and fastest strategy because you can defeat Peach faster than using a small jump or “dash and jump” with a forward air attack. It is also less risky as the other moves might miss Peach or at least defeat her slower if she walks leftward.

Yoshi on Yoshi’s Story: Immediately dash rightward, fast fall, dash rightward and jump with an immediate forward air attack.

Yoshi on Yoshi’s Island: Immediately dash rightward and small jump at the same time, and do a neutral B attack right after you jump.

DK on Kongo Jungle: Immediately dash leftward, small/standard jump and forward air attack immediately after you jump. You need to jump as soon as you dash to get the best time possible.

C. Falcon on Mute City: Immediately dash rightward, small jump and neutral B attack. Time these moves differently so you hit Captain Falcon if he stays still or walks towards you.

Fox on Corneria: Immediately dash leftward towards Fox and do a jump/small jump timed correctly with the neutral B attack to damage Fox. Fox sometimes stays still where he began the level, but he moves around more often. This level is slow and you don’t want it, but it can be used as a last necessity.

Ness on Onett: Immediately dash rightward, fast fall, dash rightward, and time a jump/small jump (do a small jump if Ness stays still) with an immediate forward air attack.

Ice Climbers on Icicle Mountain: A consistent (and also fast) strategy is to use the down B attack as soon as possible if you begin the battle close to Ice Climbers on the same platform. Do this if they start below you when you are on the wooden uphill platform, too. If the stage types there don’t show up, forward air attack the enemy depending upon where you are and where they are when the level starts. The level has various layouts for each time it begins, so you want to forward air attack them rightward when possible by getting to them somehow. Otherwise, do a down smash when they are near you. The down B attack is easier to use than the forward air attack but gives you less options as you can’t do anything else once you use it until the attack is done; if you do the forward air attack methodology you can change how you use it if the Ice Climbers move before you reach them. You can still get a really fast time when this happens whereas if you use the down B attack and they move out of its region you can’t do anything to make the attack damage them.

Kirby on Green Greens: Immediately walk to Kirby and use the down smash attack. Stop walking and do that attack immediately if Kirby moves towards you. If Kirby walks away from you, walk and do the attack once you are pretty close to Kirby. You need to have the edge of this attack hit Kirby to beat him.

Kirby on Fountain of Dreams: Immediately dash rightward, fast fall, dash rightward, small jump and immediately use the forward air attack. This strategy works if Kirby does not move leftward before you reach him.

Samus on Brinstar: Immediately dash rightward and small jump with the neutral B attack done as soon as possible (the neutral B attack and small jump done efficiently will give you strong momentum rightward while having the attack be executing during your jump down towards the floor vicinity). You will land on the bottom environment of the level and beat Samus with the attack if she jumps downward to the attack’s region. This is a fast strategy and Samus has variable behavior in Stage 1, so it is worth trying it even if Samus might not go to that part of Brinstar. You can also do a different strategy described as: immediately dash rightward when the battle starts, fast fall, dash rightward, small jump and immediately forward air attack. This will defeat Samus only if she stays in the position she begins the fight in or moves a little to the left from that position. This is slower by 0.10 seconds (that duration of time comes from the two fastest times I attained with the two different strategies when subtracted: 04:58.17 versus 04:58.07).

Link on Great Bay: Link can move or stay in the starting position in this level. If Link stays still in the position of level entry, immediately dash rightward, full double jump at the edge of the initial platform then forward air attack once you are in the air near Link. If Link moves towards the bottom dock, go there as soon as possible and use the down B attack when you are standing on the dock and Link is to the left of you. That situation will be pretty fast as you defeat Link with this attack. The down smash attack strategy I wrote for Link on Great Bay in Stage 4 and Stage 7 does not apply here because the down B attack is faster in Stage 1. This level can be slower than Fox on Corneria when you see the scenario where Link stays still. This battle can be beaten quickly if Link moves onto the dock, but because of the variance in Link’s behavior this level may result in slow times more often than fast times for you.

Stage 2

Mario & Peach on Mushroom Kingdom II: Immediately turn leftward, small jump leftward and forward air attack Mario. Jump backwards as soon as you can and waveland on the initial platform rightward. Dash rightward towards Peach, jump/small jump and forward air attack Peach. Peach moves in this level and may not stay in one place or on the same side of the level. You will have to adjust your gameplay properly if she moves or is attacked by your teammate. She sometimes falls towards your landing spot after you attack Mario, and you can either forward air attack immediately, a little bit above your landing spot to push her leftward or land and jump again to do this.

Pikachu & Kirby on Green Greens: Immediately turn leftward, jump leftward and forward air attack Kirby. Move rightward and forward air attack Pikachu. You may need to attack Pikachu multiple times with other attacks before using the forward air because he moves around a bit unpredictably.

Ness & Peach on Onett: Immediately dash rightward and jump onto the lower platform while doing a neutral B attack. Make sure to land far enough to the right on this platform or your attack won’t do anything, even if it touches the opponents. This can beat both Ness and Peach if they go into that attack area at the same or similar time. This does not happen often, and if it does not you will have to attack Peach appropriately. Ness usually travels into the attack and is defeated.

Samus & Fox on Brinstar: Immediately dash rightward and small jump off of the starting platform. Immediately turn leftward in the air and do the neutral B attack. You will land on the ground and attack both Fox and Samus if they stay in this region. You can also stay where you are as the fight begins and do an up-tilt attack. Those two strategies give very similar ending times, but the neutral B attack strategy is more consistent as Fox doesn’t have to move as far to go into your vicinity if you do this method. The up-tilt attack strategy often does not work because Fox doesn’t go far enough leftward in the time you need him to do so. If you hit both enemies with the up-tilt attack, both can survive if your teammate hits them with an attack as they fly rightward so I really recommend the neutral B attack strategy here instead. Regardless, Fox may move away from the left side of the level which will render these two strategies ineffective. This level can be beaten very fast, but the randomness behaviors you need for such completion times don’t occur frequently.

DK & Fox on Kongo Jungle: Immediately turn rightward and either do a neutral B attack or an up-tilt attack. Sometimes both Fox and Donkey Kong travel into the small area where you will attack and if that happens they are beaten quickly. They usually don’t travel into that area in tandem, though, so it may take a while for this strategy to work as you play. If it does not work, you’ll have to chase Fox and attack him as Donkey Kong usually goes into said area and is beaten with the neutral B or up-tilt attack.

Fox & C. Falcon on Mute City: The up-tilt attack beats these two opponents faster than the neutral B attack, so you want to move rightward somehow so that you hit them with one of those attacks. You can wait a tiny amount of time (or don’t wait) without moving rightward and do an up-tilt attack and Captain Falcon usually walks leftward to get hit by the attack if he does not get attacked by your teammate. You may need to wait a small amount of time because Captain Falcon sometimes doesn’t move leftward enough for the attack to beat him if you execute your attack as soon as you can. Fox usually is beaten as he is close enough to you when the level loads. You can wavedash rightward a little and do either of the two attacks to possibly lessen the chance of your teammate causing the end of your play, but this plan is still not too consistent due to the small area present and your teammate’s attacks.

Kirby & Ice Climbers on Icicle Mountain: Down smash attack (charge this attack) both enemies if they travel close to each other into the area of your attack, and depending upon what level structure you get inside Icicle Mountain, this can beat them very quickly (about 1 second or faster than that). This will only work well if both opponents start the level to the right of you. You will have to turn around and forward air attack or down B attack Kirby/Ice Climbers if they start to the left of you, and then go attack the other enemy (that usually is a slow time outcome).

Stage 3

Target Test: Start dashing rightward when the moving target is pretty close to Ganondorf, but before it touches Ganondorf. You have to fast fall before completely moving off of the starting platform. This strategy needs practice and a rhythm to do very fast; explaining it accurately is not as clear as the timing will change depending upon when you choose to dash rightward and where on the starting platform you begin fast falling. You could also wait until this target is going through Ganondorf to make the start of your move more successful, but this will usually give you a slower time unless you do the dash and fast fall optimally. The dash rightward fails at times even if you wait longer than you do from other attempts where you dashed rightward correctly.

Stage 4

Pikachu on Pokémon Stadium: Immediately down smash attack by charging it and timing it well as Pikachu jumps towards you. Do this as soon as possible to get the most charge/power available because Pikachu won’t be beaten on the left side of the level if the attack isn’t strong enough. The attack won’t defeat Pikachu even if it is close to being fully charged, so charge it as much as possible. Use the attack when Pikachu is as close to you (meaning far enough leftward) as possible to increase the probability of beating him.

Peach on Mushroom Kingdom II: Immediately up-tilt attack as Peach will likely walk towards you, but she may attack you before your attack is done executing. You can also small jump and forward air attack Peach to defeat her that way, but two of those attacks are likely needed to beat her.

Yoshi on Yoshi’s Story: Immediately up-tilt attack. Yoshi has a high chance of jumping leftward to your platform here.

DK on Kongo Jungle: Immediately up-tilt attack. Donkey Kong usually jumps rightward into your attack.

C. Falcon on Mute City: Do an up-tilt attack, but time it properly so that Captain Falcon side B attacks into your attack vicinity as your attack is executed. You will have to wait somewhat to do the attack on Stage 4, whereas the attack needs to be done faster (almost as soon as possible) on Stage 7 because Captain Falcon is faster in Stage 7 than in Stage 4. Captain Falcon usually does his side B attack when he is near the middle of the level’s platform which is why you need to factor that in when you use your up-tilt attack.

Fox on Venom: Immediately roll rightward and do an up-tilt attack. Fox will travel over the Great Fox’s rudder and land in your attack area. The attack will blast him leftward for a completion time of 04:57.79, using that value as a high end of times you might obtain. This is a level that is not that fast, although other levels in this guide for Stage 4 are a little slower. You don’t want to really encounter this level because it takes Fox away from Stage 2 or Stage 10. Another problem is Fox being blasted in the upwards direction from the up-tilt attack and not the leftwards direction. This will waste time as Fox passes the top blast line instead of the left blast line. The factor that makes either scenario happen is not fully in your control; Fox decides what happens from his landing position after moving leftward and double jumping into the attack range. That issue doesn’t happen that often, but it is too slow if it occurs. If you do get this level, though, you can still get an acceptable completion time which makes it a situation you should play.

Ness on Onett: Immediately dash rightward, jump onto the lower platform and do a neutral B attack while in the air. Ness usually travels towards you and is defeated by the attack.

Ice Climbers on Icicle Mountain: Immediately dash, jump rightward and forward air attack where the enemy will be in the numerous versions of Icicle Mountain. This level can easily be the best Stage 4 battle if Ice Climbers begin near the right side of the screen. If they are not there the battle will take longer, but aim for them to start on the right side of the level or on the same platform as you in the middle of the level.

Kirby on Green Greens: Immediately up-tilt attack. Kirby usually walks towards you into the attack range. You might need to wait to do the attack a very small amount of time depending upon how Kirby moves, but you usually want to do it as soon as possible.

Kirby on Fountain of Dreams: Up-tilt attack when Kirby is in the attack’s vicinity. You will have to wait some time for Kirby to move leftward enough before doing the attack, and Kirby moves in a way that can make your timing harder than if you were battling a different character. Time it correctly and don’t do the attack too early. You don’t want to do the attack late either because Kirby will go upwards to the top of the level’s blast line and waste time losing instead of being blasted rightward to the blast line on the right side of Fountain of Dreams. The correct timing window to start your up-tilt attack is small and will require focus and practice.

Samus on Brinstar: Up-tilt attack by timing it as Samus moves leftward towards you. You need to wait a little bit to make this attack work properly, or you won’t hit Samus.

Link on Great Bay: Immediately run rightward, fast fall or fall and waveland a little leftward. Down smash attack Link as soon as possible and the two hits from the attack will be enough to put Link past the blast line at the bottom of the stage via the bouncing recoil of the top platform’s floor (the ceiling in this area). You can also do the strategy I mentioned for this level when in Stage 1 (which is the down B attack leftward) which will defeat him. Both strategies can be done in completion times close to each other.

Stage 5

Giant Yoshi on Yoshi’s Story: Immediately dash rightward, fall off of the starting platform and immediately forward air attack Giant Yoshi. Do not fast fall. Only use the attack as soon as you are in the mid-air state.

Giant DK on Kongo Jungle: Immediately dash leftward, double jump and forward air attack Giant Donkey Kong. The double jump should be high enough to reach him and not higher than this. Be sure to have enough height to hit Giant Donkey Kong with your attack as he is on the top platform of the level.

Giant C. Falcon on Mute City: Immediately small jump rightward and forward air attack. Do not dash. You can also do a Down B attack without jumping instead as soon as possible, but be aware that this attack might miss Giant Captain Falcon because your teammates can attack him so that he goes into the air. You will go under him with your attack when this occurs. This attack is slower than the forward air attack.

Giant Link on Great Bay: Immediately dash rightward and small jump. Quickly forward air attack after jumping. You need to have your attack touch Giant Link on the right side/edge of his body. The inner area of your attack will cause the damage there and this will send Giant Link leftward, which defeats him. The size of the part of Giant Link where you need to attack is significantly small. The introduction graphic for the battle blocks what you need to see to do this properly, so you need to practice and know how to do it through experience and testing.

Stage 6

Snag the Trophies: Immediately down B attack, dash rightward and fast fall off of the level. I don't think doing any attack in the air while you fast fall completes this level faster.

Stage 7

Pikachu on Pokémon Stadium: Immediately up-tilt attack. This attack may not work fast enough (or it won’t beat Pikachu) or you will have to use the attack a bit later to time it effectively for your specific situation. You might not be able to win the fight quickly enough with this level in Stage 7, so you should avoid encountering it if it causes yourself trouble. It is lengthy for the width and height size compared to other levels in the game (when I say levels in this sentence I mean Pokémon Stadium itself and the other playing locations).

Peach on Mushroom Kingdom II: Immediately up-tilt attack. Peach has a decent chance of avoiding your attack in some way, so you can’t use this strategy as a reliable one. Other strategies will take more than one attack to beat Peach so this is your only strategy when trying to get a completion time faster than 2 seconds.

Yoshi on Yoshi’s Story: Immediately up-tilt attack. Yoshi will jump leftward into your attack.

DK on Kongo Jungle: Immediately up-tilt attack. Donkey Kong will jump rightward into your attack.

C. Falcon on Mute City: Same concept as Stage 4. Do an up-tilt attack, but time it properly so that Captain Falcon side B attacks into your attack vicinity as your attack is executed. You will have to wait a tiny bit of time to have the attack damage Captain Falcon, but not as much as in Stage 4. Captain Falcon usually does his side B attack when he is near the middle of the level’s platform which is why you need to factor that in when you use your up-tilt attack.

Ice Climbers on Icicle Mountain: There are many kinds of this level structure, as you know, but one fast setup is when you begin the level close to Ice Climbers where you are both on platforms positioned diagonally downward to the right (the center of the level/screen). Immediately neutral B attack in this scenario and Ice Climbers have a decent chance of jumping into your attack and subsequently reaching the righthand blast line. The strategy also works on the variant of the level where you both start on a horizontal platform centered in the screen layout, as Ice Climbers will barely be beaten with the neutral B attack. Other variants of this level may need you to do more than one attack to defeat them, but if you are close to the left edge of the level as you start the battle you could use a down smash attack as Ice Climbers will travel towards you. The up-tilt attack is also a good move if you start the fight at a larger distance from Ice Climbers.

Kirby on Green Greens: Immediately up-tilt attack. Kirby will walk towards you into the attack. You may not hit Kirby with the attack because sometimes Kirby reaches you faster versus other instances of this level in Stage 7. Kirby will attack you before your attack is performed if this happens or if you are a tiny bit slow in starting the up-tilt attack.

Kirby on Fountain of Dreams: Up-tilt attack when Kirby is in the attack’s vicinity. You will have to wait a little bit for Kirby to move leftward enough before doing the attack, and Kirby moves in a way that can make your timing harder than if you were battling a different character. Time it correctly and don’t do the attack too early, or late; You don’t want to do the attack late because Kirby can go upwards to the top of the level’s blast line and waste time losing instead of being blasted rightward to the blast line on the right side of Fountain of Dreams. The correct timing window to start your up-tilt attack is small and will require focus and practice.

Samus on Brinstar: Up-tilt attack by timing it as Samus moves leftward towards you. You need to wait a tiny bit to make this attack work properly, or you won’t hit Samus. You should wait less time to use the attack than in this level for Stage 4 because Samus moves towards you faster.

Link on Great Bay: Immediately run rightward, fast fall or fall and waveland a little leftward. Down smash attack Link as soon as possible and the two hits from the attack will be enough to put Link past the blast line at the bottom of the level via the bouncing recoil of the top platform’s floor (the ceiling in this area).

Stage 8

Multi-Mario on Rainbow Cruise: Immediately dash rightward and either up smash attack the Mario in the middle of the level or jump and use the up air attack. This level is slightly small so you will need to focus while attacking the Marios that arrive from the top-right and top sides of the screen. You can stay on the platform between the top platform and the ship’s floor and up smash attack the Marios as they go down to the ship, but this might cause some of them to not lose as they are sent upward. The main attack you should use is the up air attack as you jump twice when utilizing the ship’s top platform, but try to hit each Mario so that they go as straight upward as possible once damaged. The opponents may stay on the platforms at the top of the screen after being attacked or before they go down to the main part of the level, so this level can be an issue without room to make the fight faster. It can be a fast level for Stage 8 but it can also be too slow. You need a balanced rhythm to get the fastest time when attacking the Marios. The goal is to beat each Mario as fast as possible and to try to beat as many at once with one attack as possible since the ten Marios appear in groups.

Multi-Ness on Onett: Immediately dash rightward and double jump up to the top platform while also doing an up air attack to defeat the group of Nesses there. Use a back air attack to beat the Ness that is on the right side of the level if he travels towards you and then double jump to the top of the screen and use up air attacks to defeat each group of Nesses that arrive on the level from that area. You can also use a neutral A ground attack to beat the right side Ness, but the attack is a little slower. Use more back air attacks (or neutral A ground attacks) to defeat the subsequent Nesses that come from the right side of Onett. You need to have a good rhythm when doing this strategy to beat each group of Nesses correctly and to know what to do if some of them do not move towards you. The goal is to beat each Ness as fast as possible and to try to beat as many at once with one attack as possible since the ten Nesses appear in groups.

Multi-Kirby on Fountain of Dreams: Immediately dash rightward and full jump to the top platform. Do a neutral air attack while going rightward and if you jump late enough off of your initial platform you can beat three Kirbys with this attack (if all Kirbys are in that area). Double jump when on the top platform and use the up air attack to defeat each set of Kirbys that appear from that area (use the attack as close to the top of the screen as possible), and use the back air attack when falling to defeat the other Kirbys that arrive in the level from the right side, if they travel toward that platform. You can do a ground neutral A attack to beat said Kirbys instead, but it is a little slower. You might have to go attack them in a different way as those Kirbys don’t travel towards you in some fights; it is behavior that is randomized. The goal is to beat each Kirby as fast as possible and to try to beat as many at once with one attack as possible since the ten Kirbys appear as groupings. You need a balanced rhythm to get the fastest time. This seems to be the fastest level you can encounter for possible completion times out of these three.

Stage 9

Race to the Finish: Immediately dash rightward as soon as possible and fast fall towards the first goal. Air dodge diagonally to the left, downward, to finish the stage. You want to go into the goal that way and not waveland into the goal.

Stage 10

Metal battle on Battlefield: The strategy here is the same for any character you face. Up-tilt attack as soon as possible. You want lighter characters as your opponent for Stage 10 as opposed to heavier characters when speaking of solely weight. I found that the heavier characters usually pass the blast line later than lighter characters by a small value of time. Kirby and Zelda are defeated faster than Bowser and Link as some examples with a time result difference of ~0.05 seconds. The fastest characters you want to get for this Stage are those that fall the fastest, such as Fox. You want to battle him here or somebody similar for that statistic like Captain Falcon. This is the idea you focus on here: do not focus on weight.

Stage 11

Master Hand on Final Destination: The most damaging attacks you need to use to beat Master Hand are the up smash and down air attacks. Dash rightward as soon as the in-game timer starts decreasing and do up smash attacks when you reach the middle of Master Hand’s body. The up smash attacks are the main attack you have to use and you must use them as often as you can. When you do up smash attacks here you should not charge them unless you have to wait for Master Hand to get back on the level, or near you, when he does attacks. This battle has various kinds of randomness behavior so you will have to see what Master Hand does and adjust your gameplay appropriately. Sometimes you will get bad scenarios or attacks from him and not be able to get a fast time, while in other scenarios you can beat him quickly and without waiting or having to dodge his attacks. Use the two attacks stated above wisely and you will beat him easily as you practice and learn how to work with Master Hand’s attacks/movements.