Editing Zelda (SSBU)

|tier = D+

|ranking = 75

Zelda is ranked 75th out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing her in the D+ tier. This is a slight improvement from her 52th/53rd out 54 placement in ''SSB4'' where she was tied with {{SSB4|Ganondorf}}, and is her best placement in the series.

Zelda is a tall, floaty [[weight|lightweight]] character with overall slow mobility. While she has a slightly above-average [[air speed]], the 20th highest [[traction]], and a decent [[initial dash]], her jumping force and [[air acceleration]] are below average, and she has the 22nd slowest [[walk|walking speed]], the 16th slowest [[falling speed]], the 10th lowest [[gravity]], and is tied with {{SSBU|Byleth}} for the 9th slowest [[run|running speed]] in the game. Zelda's attacks are based on magic, making most of them [[disjoint]]ed or otherwise long-range attacks. They also boast generally quick startup; all of her attacks activate before frame 10, except for [[forward tilt]], [[up aerial]], [[down aerial]], and [[forward smash]]. Despite her lightweight status, most of her attacks have [[KO]] potential and impressive damage output, giving her power comparable to heavyweights. Due to these factors, Zelda can be generalized as a zoner glass cannon.

Her [[neutral attack]] is a small burst of magical energy in front of her, boasting decent range and good damage output before transitioning into a [[rapid jab]] of many magical bursts with a finishing hit. Forward tilt is a strong arm swipe with good range and little ending vulnerability, with the additional ability to be angled. [[Up tilt]] is a vertical, long-lasting, circular arm sweep, useful as an anti-air and [[combo]] tool across most percentages of damage. [[Down tilt]] is a quick crouching kick that lasts surprisingly long and is good for many combo setups and 2-framing opponents. Her [[dash attack]] is a dual hand thrust with a burst of magic most powerful closest to her hands. It’s best used throughout combos to gain distance. Her [[forward smash|forward]] and [[up smash|up]] smashes are both powerful, multi-hitting bursts of magic energy; the former being a thrust of the hand forward and the latter being a wave of the hand back and forth above her. [[Down smash]] is a very fast 360° leg sweep that launches opponents at a [[semi spike]] angle with decent knockback.

Zelda has unique high-risk/high reward [[aerial]]s which boast immense kill power power. Zelda can auto-cancel both her [[neutral aerial|neutral]] and [[down aerial|down]] aerials in a short hop, and [[forward aerial|forward]] and [[back aerial]] auto-cancel from a fast fall. Though her neutral air lacks notable KO ability, it pairs a long active duration with generously-sized hitboxes and decent damage. This, combined with its aforementioned early autocancel window, makes her neutral air her most versatile aerial, used for extending combos (and sometimes starting them), setting up edgeguards, pressuring shields, anti-airing, and edge-guarding. Unfortunately, opponents will occasionally fall out of her neutral aerial, making it an inconsistent tool.  

Her forward and back aerials are known as Lightning Kicks. Both of these aerials possess a very small but powerful sweetspot at her foot, dealing 24% with high knockback. The sweetspot is only active for the first frame, with the late hit or "sourspot" dealing 4% with minimal knockback. Both kicks boast an extremely fast startup at frame 6, but have very punishable ending lag, making them high risk/high reward aerials. Their fast startup and powerful knockback means they excel as well spaced landing aerials, as well as deadly out of shield options. Their short active frame for the sweetspot and punishable ending lag/sourspot means they are very risky when used as rising aerials, as missing or hitting opponents with the sourspot will almost always mean Zelda will get punished. Up air is a large, disjointed explosion with excellent damage and knockback, however with significant startup. Down air, sometimes nicknamed the "Lightning Stomp", is a meteor smash with a powerful sweetspot on her foot, similar to her Lightning Kicks. However, unlike her Lightning kicks, this sweetspot is much larger, making it much easier to connect despite it short active window. Also unlike the lightning kicks, its sourspot has great utility, having large and lingering hitboxes that always spike opponents downwards. It is amongst the most powerful meteor smashes in the game, and one of Zelda's most useful aerials. Besides being one of the best meteor smashes in the game, it also has great utility in platform chases and is a great punish tool as hitting it on grounded opponents will allow Zelda to combo it to her other powerful aerials. Overall, her aerials are all unique high risk, high reward moves.

Her [[special move]]s take inspiration from various Zelda titles. Her neutral special move, [[Nayru's Love]], is a [[reflection|reflector]] that doubles as a melee attack; Zelda also is intangible from frames 4-13 of the move. These traits make it useful against [[projectile]] users as well as evading/halting opponent’s combos. [[Din's Fire]], her side special move, sends out an explosive ball of fire that explodes on the release of the button or when reaching max charge, becoming more powerful and flying further the longer it is charged. It possesses a powerful sweetspot in the inner part of the explosion, with an otherwise large explosion hitbox. The ball of fire does not count as a projectile, but the explosion can be absorbed. In addition, for the first time in the series, Zelda can use it to cover her recovery, as it no longer leaves her helpless in midair. Her up special move, [[Farore's Wind]], is a great KO option, possessing very fast startup and elevator combos from the first hit on the ground to its very powerful second hit in the air. This, combined with it being a omnidirectional teleport recovery that travels a very respectable distance, renders it a very potent recovery move and perhaps one of the most versatile in the game. As a teleport recovery, it's difficult to edgeguard against by default due to its intangibility between exit and reentry. On top of this, it can have anti-ledgetrap and mindgame potential if one opts to use the aforementioned powerful second hitbox instead of snapping to ledge. And, much like {{SSBU|Palutena}}'s [[Warp]], she can completely avoid the move's ending lag by using a technique called [[edge cancel]]ling, which grants her access to otherwise-impossible approach and stage control options. Lastly, her down special, [[Phantom Slash]], is perhaps her most versatile tool. It's a unique projectile that she builds piece-by-piece until it is fully formed, though she can use it at any stage of its creation by pressing either the special or attack button, which affects several of its properties. The earliest stages have rather low damage, knockback, and range, but it becomes increasingly more potent as it becomes more complete, with the final stage having high damage output, impressive knockback, and stellar range. It takes a little over a second to reach the final stage, after which Zelda will be able to move and attack freely in an untethered sort of state. The Phantom will attack on its own after about another second if it is not triggered, granting Zelda a lot of flexibility when using it, such as retreating behind it for protection, attacking in tandem with it, launching the opponent towards it, performing shield breaking combos, making grab setups, and even covering her recovery (similar to Din's Fire).

Zelda has outstanding range and reward for her [[grab]], with her pivot grab being one of the most disjointed in the game. Her grab however, has extremely slow startup. Her [[throws]] have great reward. [[Forward throw]] is good to setup edge guarding, while [[back throw|back]] and [[up throw]] are excellent kill throws. [[Down throw]] is most useful as a combo starter, and can combo into neutral aerial, forward and back aerial, up aerial, as well as stall long enough for a set up Phantom to hit.

Despite her toolkit's versatility and potency, Zelda has noticeable flaws. Chief among them is arguably her poor mobility—especially on the ground—which hampers her ability to approach effectively against those who outspeed her. As a result of this, she flounders against quick, fast-falling opponents like {{SSBU|Wolf}} and {{SSBU|Zero Suit Samus}}. This mobility issue is exacerbated through numerous frame data issues, as many of her attacks, while quick to startup, have punishing amounts of end lag. Since she is light, tall, and floaty, she is also vulnerable to juggling and can be KO'd earlier than a good part of the roster. Her very poor disadvantage state makes her vulnerable to momentum changes as well. While rage improves her excellent KO potential even further, her mediocre endurance doesn't allow her to take advantage of it as much as heavier characters. This riskiness is especially apparent in her KO options; though they're incredibly potent, they struggle with unreliable or weak sourspots (in dash attack and Lighting Kicks), punishable ending lag (in up smash, up aerial, and forward smash to an extent) or a combination of the two (in Din's Fire and Farore's Wind). Along with this, some parts of her moveset struggle with landing reliably. Her neutral aerial's multihits, though improved through patches, still sometimes struggle to connect with each other, and her neutral attack and forward tilt's hitboxes are placed high and narrow, respectively, so they sometimes have trouble hitting short or crouching fighters.  

Finally, her special moves have exploitable weaknesses; Nayru's Love has noticeable ending lag, making it punishable if overused. Most importantly, Phantom knight is a large commitment and Zelda is stuck either in startup if she chooses to charge the knight fully, and she is stuck in ending lag if she releases early. This means opponents can punish Zelda hard by reading when she decides to charge knight, and can either prevent her from setting up entirely or by jumping over the knight and punishing her while she is still stuck in startup.

Overall, Zelda has an excellent stage control, ledgetrapping, and can easily KO opponents thanks to a variety of strong attacks and KO setups. However, she has to be precise with how she spaces her attacks and sets up phantom knight due to startup and endlag. She must be creative in her approaches to overcome her mobility issues when she does not have a lead, and must mix up what she does to get out of a disadvantage due to her floaty nature and lack of safe landing options.

One of Zelda's biggest buffs is her greatly improved moveset: many of her moves have either reduced lag, better KO potential, or other improvements. [[Neutral attack]], previously the slowest in the game, comes out significantly faster, and has been reworked to possess an infinite portion with better damage racking ability and knockback; [[forward tilt]] has more range, less ending lag, and increased damage that improve the sweetspot's KO potential; [[forward smash]] now uses an improved autolink angle, allowing it to connect reliably at both close range and when spaced.

[[Neutral aerial]] has decreased landing lag, allowing it to start combos into multiple ground options, including down tilt into forward aerial. [[Up aerial]] has received a new weaker late hit that increases its duration, its hitbox is larger, has been moved upwards and its duration has been extended; while the placement makes it difficult to hit grounded opponents, this increases its already solid large vertical range and makes it more difficult to spot dodge. Her [[Lightning Kick]]s have been improved as well, having a larger sweetspot and the forward kick is now active as fast as the back kick, increasing their potency for followups when landing with them, and making them more devastating [[out of shield]]. Her already good grab game was improved to the point it is now among the most useful in the game: her [[back throw|back]] and [[up throw]]s are much stronger, while down throw deals more damage and, although its knockback and angle were altered, its combo ability remains mostly intact. Additionally she has the longest range for a non-tether grab of any character in the game.

Zelda's special moveset, considered among the most situational in previous games, has seen various improvements. [[Nayru's Love]] has faster startup and [[intangibility]], and preserves Zelda's momentum, strengthening its already strong defensive ability and improving its edgeguarding applications. [[Din's Fire]] no longer causes [[helplessness]], giving it utility as an anti-edgeguarding option, has increased duration of effect and the sweetspot is larger and easier to land, making it more difficult to spot dodge and more effective in neutral or advantage state. [[Farore's Wind]] has faster startup, making it a more effective out of shield option, and more precise angles for reappearance, allowing her to land its second hit easier even if the enemy DIs the first hit, making "elevator" combos much more consistent. Most importantly, however, [[Phantom Slash]] has been heavily reworked to possess several more stages that can be unleashed faster, deal more damage, and the last stage allows Zelda to move around before it is unleashed, allowing for intricate trap setups and combos when edgeguarding and approaching, while the Phantom no longer has any cooldown if destroyed. Since the Phantom is formed behind Zelda, it is now better used in her advantage state, though with sufficient spacing it is also a strong tool in the [[neutral game]]; though with precise input, Zelda can also short hop behind the Phantom while charging it, allowing it to block incoming projectiles while charging.

Additionally, Zelda noticeably benefits from some of the universal changes. Despite still having below-average mobility relative to the rest of the cast, the universal 3-frame [[jumpsquat]]s and reduced landing lag improve her noticeably, as they greatly supplement her neutral game, previously one of her main weaknesses. This allows her to approach more reliably and improves her combo potential, giving her more consistent and durable followups from moves such as [[up tilt]], neutral aerial, up throw, and down throw, which can dish out large amounts of damage. The changes to [[air dodging]] also generally benefit her, as they improve her edgeguarding game with moves like Din's Fire.

However, Zelda has received some mixed changes and a few nerfs as well. Despite the improved speed and combo potential of her neutral attack, it no longer has frame advantage against shields, and none of her other attacks has had their ending lag reduced enough to fully compensate. Down tilt has less ending lag, but has less range and its new angle worsens its combo potential in general, removing its ability to combo into up aerial, although it can now combo better into neutral aerial and dash attack and has a new KO setup into forward aerial. The changes to down aerial's hitboxes increase the clean hit's range and remove the blindspot located in Zelda's lower leg, but causes the late hit to have smaller hitboxes. Zelda's dash and pivot [[grab]]s, already below-average in speed, have received even more startup, although her pivot grab has very large range for a non-tether grab and both of them have less ending lag. Both [[forward throw]] and Farore's Wind are weaker, most significantly the former, now only being usable for setting up edgeguards in a similar vein to {{SSBU|Ness}}' own forward throw, though Farore's Wind is more consistent for self-combos due to faster startup and more precise DI options for reappearance that can hit opponents who DI the initial hit.

Although Zelda benefits from some the changes to the game's engine, other changes have impaired her as well; the universal increase in mobility doesn't benefit her as much due to her slow grounded movement, since it still doesn't allow her to catch up with most of the cast. The increased [[shieldstun]] both helps and hinders Zelda, as it allows her moves to be more safely spaced, but combined with the universal reductions to landing lag (despite aerials having less shieldstun), it also slightly worsens her respectable out of shield game.

Overall, Zelda's moveset has been considerably enhanced from previous installments, making her strengths much more defined and allowing her to play defensive much more reliably, while her nerfs aren't as meaningful as her buffs. Game updates also brought her meaningful improvements that have made her moveset more cohesive and consistent. This has allowed Zelda to fare better than in previous installments; though despite these changes and her strengths, Zelda still retains some of her weaknesses from previous games, mainly her slow mobility, light weight, and moveset inconsistencies. Coupled with the various buffs other veterans have received (to varying degrees) as well as the introduction of varied DLC characters mean Zelda still underperforms compared to the rest of the cast, despite this incarnation being her strongest one yet.

Zelda has been buffed overall via game updates, receiving significant changes in update 7.0.0 and 13.0.0. Notable buffs in version 7.0.0 include her neutral aerial connecting better and having less landing lag, her up aerial having more range, knockback and a longer duration, her forward tilt becoming stronger, and [[Phantom Slash]] dealing more damage at all charge levels. In 13.0.0, the first hit of her neutral attack was made slightly faster, somewhat improving its consistency as a combo starter, her up and down smash inflict more knockback, and her down aerial's sweetspot is significantly larger, making it an all around more reliable tool. Aside from these buffs, as of 10.1.0, her forward smash connects better and has more range.

However, Zelda has also received minor nerfs to Phantom Slash; in update 3.0.0, its shield damage was reduced, hindering its potency in shield break setups, while in update 9.0.2, a bugfix removed a technique that allowed Zelda to spawn the Phantom in front of her, granting more protection during the charge.

|neutraldesc=Extends her palm to emit a burst of magical energy, then follows up with a series of several magical bursts before finishing with a slightly larger blast, which can KO near the edge at reasonable percentages. Unlike in the previous games, where it was the slowest at frame 11, it now comes out quickly, at frame 4. While it has decent disjoint range, it can miss shorter characters due to its high hitbox placement. The rapid jab is especially potent in calling out fast grounded approaches and some low non-disjointed aerial approaches. At low percentages, it is specifically good at setting up for [[Tech-chasing]].

|ftiltdesc=A magically-infused outward knifehand strike. It can be angled and has two sweet spots (one on her hand and the other being a blade of magic) that possess respectable power. Its sweet spot KOs middleweights at around 93% while near the edge of {{SSBU|Final Destination}}. It has three sour spots, which are located on Zelda's arm and take priority over the sweet spots, is also reliable for KOing in spite of being noticeably weaker. Its sour spots KO middleweights at around 109% while near the edge of Final Destination. Due to its somewhat low ending lag for its power (24 frames), it's safe on shield with good spacing, and thanks to its five hitboxes sharing almost identical knockback values, it has good range. However, it has noticeable startup lag at frame 12, as well as small and narrow hitboxes, and it can sometimes miss small or crouching characters.

|utiltdesc=Waves her arm in an overhead arcing motion while her hand is infused with magical energy. Due to it hitting on frame 7 and having very long active duration and almost no ending lag, it is one of Zelda's most reliable combo starters. It can combo into itself, neutral attack, up smash, [[Nayru's Love]], and [[Farore's Wind]] at low percentages; into neutral aerial from low to medium percentages as well as into Lightning Kick out of a reversed up tilt; and up aerial at medium percentages out of a reversed up tilt. It is also good as an anti-air attack thanks to its long active duration.

|dtiltdesc=A kneeling low-level roundhouse kick. Due to it hitting on frame 5, it is Zelda's fastest tilt attack. However, unlike in ''SSB4'', it has noticeably less combo potential, mostly serving as a fast safe poke. It can, however, combo into a dash attack or neutral aerial at mid percentages. With proper timing, it can also be a KO combo into forward aerial.

|dashdesc=A double palm thrust that emits a blast of magical energy from her hands, similarly to [[Peach]]'s dash attack. The sweet spot lasts for two frames and is located on Zelda's hands. Due to it hitting on frame 6, it is one of the fastest dash attacks in the game. To complement this, its sweet spot's base is strong enough to KO middleweights at around 99% while near the edge of Final Destination. However, it has a noticeable ending lag, while its other hitboxes lack KO potential.

|fsmashdesc=A palm thrust that emits a multiple-hitting blast of magical energy. Its last hit's respectable damage output and very high knockback growth make it strong enough to KO middleweights at around 65% while near the edge of Final Destination. Its multiple hits also make it useful for pressuring shields, especially when it is charged, which combined with its moderate ending lag, with 26 frames, it is safe on shield and very hard to punish with good spacing. Due to it hitting on frame 16, however, it has the highest start-up lag out of Zelda's smash attacks.

|usmashdesc=Waves her arm twice in an overhead fanning motion while her hand is infused with magical energy. It hits on frame 9, which is fairly fast for a smash attack. When coupled with its multiple hits and its last hit's extremely high knockback growth, it is useful for both KOing and pressuring shields. Its last hit KOs aerial middleweights at around 104% from anywhere on Final Destination. It also has some combo potential at low percents, and the looping hits of neutral aerial can connect into an up smash. However, it has minimal horizontal range, long duration and 30 frames of ending lag, thus making it punishable if not used properly.

|dsmashdesc=A spinning, low-level roundhouse kick. Due to it hitting on frame 5, it is tied with {{SSBU|Mario}}, {{SSBU|Dr. Mario}}, {{SSBU|Pit}}, {{SSBU|Dark Pit}}, {{SSBU|Ryu}}, and {{SSBU|Ken}}'s down smashes for the second-fastest smash attack of any kind in the game, being surpassed only by {{SSB4|Meta Knight}}'s [[buffer]]ed down smash. It is also a [[semi-spike]] that hits on both sides, which makes it very useful for punishing rolls or setting up an edge-guard. Although it is Zelda's weakest smash attack, it is still quite powerful and has a rather low ending lag. Its front hit KOs middleweights at around 117% while near the edge of Final Destination. In comparison, its back hit KOs them at around 122% while near the edge of Final Destination.

|nairdesc=Twirls with her arms outstretched and her hands infused with magical energy. Due to it hitting on frame 6, it is tied with forward and back aerials for the lowest amount of start-up lag out of Zelda's aerials. It has a decent amount of utility: it has a great damage output, especially if the opponents are hit from the front, can be used as a follow-up from down throw; as a combo starter when [[SHFF]]'d, or as an edge-guarding option, and it can autocancel in a short hop. The last hit also has decent knockback for its type, as it can KO middleweights at around 150% at the edge of Final Destination without rage. Although the move was buffed in order to make the multi-hit more consistent, opponents can get launched out of the multi-hit portion at a multitude of percentages, reducing its consistency and reliability. This issue is made worse if Zelda is fast-falling in the multi-hit portion.

|fairdesc=A magically-infused flying kick. Its sweet spot is at the tip of her foot, has both an outstanding damage output and high knockback growth, KOing middleweights at around 59% while near the edge of Final Destination, similarly to Captain Falcon's Knee Smash, although faster and marginally stronger, making it the strongest forward aerial in the game. Due to coming out on frame 6, it's also extremely fast for its power. Compared to back air, it has slightly less knockback, but autocancels slightly earlier and have less landing lag. However, the sweet spot only lasts for one frame when the hitboxes become active, and the sour spots lack KO potential and are very unsafe because of their extremely low damage outputs and average knockback growth. Its considerable ending lag also makes it punishable at low percentages, even if it is sweet spotted, and due to the aforementioned very low damage and knockback, the sour spot can lock opponents and set-up in other moves, lacks utility otherwise. Autocancels in a full hop fast fall, just one frame after Zelda reaches the peak of her short hop, similarly to Kirby's forward aerial.

|bairdesc=A magically-infused flying kick. It functions almost identically to forward aerial, with the only difference being that its sweet spot has slightly more base knockback and knockback growth. Its sweet spot KOs middleweights at around 54% while near the edge of Final Destination. However, it has the highest amount of landing lag out of Zelda's aerials.

|uairdesc=Leans back and turns slightly to extend her arm in order to use her magic to create a fiery explosion from her index and middle fingers. It is the most damaging and second strongest up aerial in the game, only slightly weaker than Shulk's up aerial if the second hit is sweet spotted. When coupled with its consistent hitbox, it is Zelda's most reliable aerial KOing option, KOing middleweights at around 100% from a full hop. It can also clip through platforms or the bottom of a stage's edge and has a great vertical range thanks to its large hitbox. However, it is slow, hitting on frame 14, which makes it tied with down aerial for the highest amount of start-up lag out of Zelda's aerials. It also has high ending lag (40 frames), a short duration, and a fairly short horizontal range. It autocancels in a full hop.

|dairdesc=A magically-infused stomp, also known as the Lightning Stomp. All of its hitboxes are [[meteor smash]]es, with its sweet spot being the most powerful among them and they can also lock opponents. Its sour spot, though significantly weaker, lasts deceptively long, allowing it to potentially gimp fighters with poor recoveries. It also has low ending lag and the lowest landing lag out of Zelda's aerials, which enables its sweet spot to start combos on grounded opponents quite reliably, as it can lock. Safe on shield with proper spacing. It hits on frame 14, which ties it with up aerial for the highest amount of start-up lag out of Zelda's aerials but combined with its deceptively long duration and its low ending lag, it's somewhat fast for a meteor smash. It can also autocancel in a short hop.

|pummeldesc= A blast of magical energy. Moderate speed and damage.

|fthrowdesc=Magically spins the opponent in front of herself and then throws them away. It is useful for setting up edge-guards thanks to its high base knockback and good damage output but lacks KO potential because of its low knockback growth, often not KOing until 200% without rage. However, it puts the opponent in a dangerous position.

|uthrowdesc=Magically spins the opponent overhead and then throws them upward. It is one of the most damaging up throws in the game and has both excellent KO potential and decent combo potential, but it only applies to heavyweights and fast-fallers, as it can combo into neutral aerial at low percentages against such characters; In addition to its combo potential, it can KO middleweights at around 146% from anywhere on Final Destination, and is tied with Incineroar and Lucas's up throws for the fifth strongest up throw in the game. Overall, these attributes make it one of the best up throws in the game.

|dthrowdesc=Magically shoves the opponent underneath herself and then blasts them with fiery, magical energy from her hands. It functions as Zelda's only true combo throw, launching up and behind Zelda, allowing it to combo into neutral aerial, up aerial, back aerial, forward aerial, as well as neutral special and up special. Its angle is heavily affected by DI, but DI can be reacted to for a guaranteed follow-up. Its up aerial and back aerial combo at mid percentages are fairly consistent, especially with proper timing. Its up aerial combo also boasts the ability to KO characters at high percentages. However, this combo will lose its effectiveness if Zelda has too much [[rage]].

|nsdmg=2% (hits 1-3), 5% (hit 4, close), 4% (hit 4, tip) 1.25× (reflected projectiles)

|nsdesc=[[zeldawiki:Nayru's Love|Creates a crystalline barrier around herself]]. The barrier deals damage and [[Reflection|reflects]] projectiles with 25% more power and speed than they originally had. It also grants [[intangibility]] on frames 4-13, making it good as a defensive option against combos. However, it has a moderate start-up for its hitboxes (frame 11) and considerable ending lag, making it punishable if used recklessly, so it must be used carefully and not overused to avoid punishment.

|ssdmg=7%-14% (sweet spot), 3.5%-7% (sour spot)

|ssdesc=[[zeldawiki:Din's Fire|Launches a magical fireball]]. It can be aimed up or down, and releasing the button causes it to explode. It has a large hitbox, and despite being a projectile, it cannot be reflected but only absorbed. The longer the button is held down, the farther the fireball will travel, and it will automatically detonate when it reaches its maximum distance. Its sweet spot, which is located in the inner part of the explosion, is quite powerful, especially when fully charged. It is very useful for edge guarding. Fully charged sweet spotted Din's Fire KOs middleweights at around 87% while near the edge of Final Destination. However, it is very predictable, and its sour spot is very weak regardless of its charge.

|usdmg=6% (hit 1), 10% (grounded hit 2 near), 7% (grounded hit 2 far), 12% (aerial hit 2 near), 8% (aerial hit 2 far)

|usdesc=[[zeldawiki:Farore's Wind|Warps in a given direction]]. It travels a long distance and can be angled in eight directions similarly to Fox's Fire Fox, but is much faster compared to it. It deals damage upon contact while disappearing and while reappearing, and grants intangibility on frames 21-39. When combined with a jump, its travel distance is greatly increased. Its grounded disappearance has very high base knockback, very low knockback growth and launches at 91°, all of which enable it to combo easily into its reappearance when it is aimed upward. In comparison, its reappearance has a sweet spot near Zelda that has a decent damage output, high base knockback, and high knockback growth, all of which makes it very reliable at KOing, especially near the upper blast line. Its sweet spotted reappearance KOs middleweights at around 68% while near the upper blast line of Final Destination and in conjunction with the initial grounded hit, while the grounded reappearance can KO middleweights at around 71% from the edge of Final Destination. However, its reappearance has a sour spot that, although safe, lacks KO potential because of its lower damage output and average base knockback, and due to it incurring [[helpless]]ness, it is highly punishable if whiffed. It can be edge-canceled, a trait it shares with Sheik's Vanish, Mewtwo's Teleport and Palutena's Warp.

|dsdesc=Conjures a {{s|zeldawiki|Phantom}} piece by piece and propels it forward with another button press. Serves as a projectile with varying attacks reaching various levels of damage and distance depending on the charge. When fully charged, the phantom will delay its attack for around a second, giving Zelda time to add pressure, perform combined combos or to retreat behind it for protection, and if the opponent tries to reflect it, she can react by using Nayru's Love. When fully charged, the phantom can KO middleweights at around 84% from the edge of Final Destination. Very versatile and one of Zelda's best options in the neutral game and advantage state.

|fsdesc=Uses the [[zeldawiki:Triforce|Triforce of Wisdom]] to generate a triangular portal that sucks in opponents using massive periodic shockwaves. Upon catching an opponent, they will either be launched with poor knockback. However, if they reach 100% or higher during it, they are instantly KO'd. Very difficult to avoid on smaller stages (such as {{SSB|Dream Land}} or [[Mushroom Kingdom II]]), due to its long duration and large vacuum hitboxes.

*{{Sm|Mystearica|USA}} - One of the best Zelda players in the world in 2019, most notably placing 3rd at {{Trn|Midwest Arena 2}} defeating {{Sm|Ned}} and {{Sm|Goblin}} and 5th at {{Trn|2GG: Run it Back}} defeating {{Sm|Tea}}, alongside some strong major/supermajor results such as 25th at {{Trn|Pound 2019}} and 33rd at {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 5}}. She dropped Zelda for {{SSBU|Palutena}} in 2020.

*{{Sm|Naskino|France}} - The best Zelda player in Europe is a top 50 player on the continent in the post-online metagame, ranking 37th on the [[European Ultimate Power Rankings]] for the first half of 2023. He has consistently placed highly at several events, most notably 13th at {{Trn|King Of Fields 95 3}} and 17th at {{Trn|Temple: Hermès Edition}}.

*{{Sm|Yn|Japan}} - The best Zelda player in the world since 2023. He has the best peaks for a Zelda player, including placing 9th at the supermajor {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 11}} defeating {{Sm|Tea}} and the major {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 14.5 "in Hyogo"}}.

Players were initially divided on Zelda's competitive viability. Many players pointed out that her key issues, most notably her low mobility and poor endurance, were retained from previous games. On the other hand, other players were more optimistic towards the character due to improved frame data over her ''Smash 4'' iteration, particularly on her jab and out-of-shield options, as well as [[Phantom Slash]]'s higher utility. However, players found that some of her key issues, such as her low mobility and poor endurance, were retained from previous games as well. This optimism, coupled with strong early performances from players such as {{Sm|Mystearica}}, {{Sm|Naskino}}, and {{Sm|ven}}, led many to believe the character was a solid mid-tier, with some arguing that she could be a potential high-tier.

This optimism did not last for long, as Zelda's polarizing nature became more noticeable as time went on: despite buffs in patches 7.0.0 and 10.1.0 that improved her consistency, Zelda's poor mobility, disadvantage, and highly risky neutral remained critical weaknesses. As a result, Zelda players began struggling in the developing metagame, and they either dropped the character (such as Mystearica) or saw worse results and consistency than before (such as ven). Although Naskino continued to do well in Europe and {{Sm|Yn}} began making waves in Japan in early-2023, opinions on Zelda declined, and as a result she sits at 75th out of 82 on the current tier list. Although it is her best placement in the series and she is far better than all her previous incarnations, she remains a low-tier character.

|3||{{CharHead|Mii Swordfighter|SSBU|hsize=20px}} (×5)||[[Temple]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Temple Theme}}''||Horde Battle.<br>The Mii Swordfighters are dressed in the Yiga Clan Mask and Yiga Clan Outfit.