AN: Think about this as you read. It's a very good question. Just what is it about Smash Bros that makes what would normally be a tedious, drawn-out boss fight end (by default) in two minutes?
An unbearable tension hung over the Battleground. It was the chilling calm that manifests during a lull in battle; the dead stillness that endures while an enemy respawns. To Link it was nothing more than an unpleasant phenomenon that heralded the return of a foe, newly healed and ready for battle, while he was still drained from the previous round of fighting.
As unsettling as it was, the feeling meant nothing more than he was about to be punched in the face. Hard. His enemy for this match was Ganondorf after all.
That little fact was more unnerving to Link than any calm-before-the-storm feeling could ever be. The battle he was fighting had clearly been ordered by an especially sadistic group of players. It was a ninety-nine life stock match between Ganondorf, Zelda, and himself. Zelda had been defeated just minutes before and, to his eternal shame, Link had dealt just under half of the KO's. Ganondorf, the most formidable warrior Link had ever crossed blades with, was at eleven lives and no damage, having just fallen into the void of space and returned. Link was at thirty-four lives and three digits of damage.
The question plagued him as he watched Ganondorf blink back into life on the respawning platform. How was he winning so decisively?
Never in any battle, any of the innumerable times they fought, had he ever been able to thrash Ganondorf so soundly. It wasn't power; the hulking Gerudo had him beat in both size and strength. It wasn't skill; Ganondorf had years more experience on the battlefield than him. For a brief moment Link considered that he might be winning thanks to his undying courage and determination. Then he remembered his foe's "death before failure" mindset and ruled out that possibility as well.
There was no conceivable reason for him to be conquering the Battlefield so effortlessly. In fact, if history was any indicator, he should have been on his last legs, fighting with only his final dregs of strength, before he was able to push back and secure a heroic victory.
It was madness. Zelda, who possessed enough magical skill to destroy him three times over, his most stalwart of allies, had fallen by his hand. Ganondorf, the Dark King who conquered all of Hyrule several times, was quickly succumbing. Meanwhile he, the Hero of Time, remained relatively whole and well.
And he didn't know why!
So lost in thought was Link that he didn't notice the gauntleted fist hurtling towards his nose until after it connected and sent him careening off the edge of the screen. Seconds later he materialized again on the respawning platform and shook off the creepy phantom aches that always accompanied resurrection. Even after losing a life, Link was still in better shape than the opposition, and with all his damage healed he felt great! Great enough for revenge. Less than a minute later Ganondorf was again flying off-screen, this time towards the horizon to disappear in a burst of light.
As Link waited for his opponent to return and resume the battle he wondered why. 'Why, Ganondorf? After all I've had to do in the past to beat you, why are you so easy to defeat now? How come you could never lose so easily in our own game? It... It's just not fair!'