Sheik

For fighter info, see Sheik (SSBM), Sheik (SSBB), and Sheik (SSB4).

Sheik
Scrapped concept artwork of Sheik from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
Smash Bros. appearances	Melee Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Hyrule Warriors Legends (2016)
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo 64
Species	Hylian (disguised as Sheikah)
Gender	Female (disguised as male)
Place of origin	Hyrule
Voice actor	Jun Mizusawa
Article on Zelda Wiki	Sheik

Sheik (シーク, Sheik) is a character from The Legend of Zelda universe, specifically a disguise of Princess Zelda. Sheik aided Link in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64, giving him tips and teaching him warp songs.

Character description

File:Sheikartwork.jpg

Official artwork of Sheik from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time which directly inspired her design in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Sheik is a character in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and is the alter-ego of Princess Zelda. In the game, Zelda disguises herself as a Sheikah. With her voice muffled and face concealed, as well as wearing a form-fitting blue suit with the red Sheikah eye in the center, she is virtually unrecognizable.

Sheik plays the harp and teaches Link new songs to help him on his quest. When Link arrives at the Temple of Time near the end of the game, Sheik uses the Triforce of Wisdom and reverts to Zelda. It is claimed by the character's trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee that she uses her magical skills to change her skin tone, hair length, eye color, and clothing. In addition, when hurt, Sheik is voiced by a female voice actor in both Ocarina of Time and Melee.

Gender dispute

A popular topic in both the Legend of Zelda and Super Smash Bros. fan communities is the gender of Sheik. Many say that Sheik is a female as she is merely a disguise of Zelda, but others have suggested that her masculine qualities are due to an actual gender change Zelda undergoes while transforming into Sheik, explaining the gender alteration as an effect of magic.

The issue originates from Ocarina of Time; in the game, Link encounters Princess Ruto in the Water Temple. She asks Link to thank Sheik for saving her, referring to Sheik as "a young man named Sheik..." In addition, the manga adaptation for Ocarina of Time suggests that Zelda uses the Triforce of Wisdom to actually become male while disguised as Sheik; this adaptation, however, is officially considered to be non-canon. Zelda herself apologizes for "meeting Link in disguise", though what she means is very open to interpretation. Additionally, it has been argued that the Sheik "character" is male, much like some real-life cross dressers adopt opposite-gendered stage personas.

While Sheik's gender in Ocarina of Time is still occasionally argued, Sheik is officially considered a female in the Super Smash Bros. series; Sheik's Melee, Brawl, and SSB4 trophies describe her as female, Masahiro Sakurai referred to her as female in her update on the Smash Bros. DOJO!! website, and she is referred to as female within Brawl's manual; however, Zelda's trophy in Super Smash Bros. 4 referred to Sheik as "a young man". For the main series, before the Japanese release of Hyrule Warriors, Bill Trinen, Nintendo's senior product marketing manager and head translator for Ocarina of Time, stated in an interview on 5 August 2014 that since Sheik is Zelda in disguise and Zelda is female, Sheik is therefore also female.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

In Melee.

As a Playable Fighter

Sheik is one of the new characters introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Rather than being added as a full-fledged character, she is a transformation of Zelda. Zelda is the only character in Melee to possess such an ability. Her design is based off The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Sheik is considered to be a top-tier character and currently ranks 4th on the Melee tier list, due to her swiftness, agility, and surprisingly powerful smash attacks. While initially deemed broken by some smashers, the changing metagame of Melee caused her to fall to fourth on the tier list.

Trophies

In addition to the Zelda trophies, there are three Sheik trophies available in Melee. Her main trophy reads as follows:
Sheik
This is Zelda's alter ego. Using a variation of the name of the ancient Sheikah tribe, she appears before Link and teaches him melodies instrumental to his success. It's believed that she's not just a quick-change artist, but rather that she is able to instantaneously alter her clothing and her eye and skin color by using her magical skills.

• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, 11/98 (N64)

• 

  Sheik [Classic Mode] trophy

• 

  Sheik [Smash, Adventure Mode] trophy

• 

  Sheik [Smash, All-Star Mode] trophy

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Brawl.

As a playable fighter

When Princess Zelda was confirmed as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, players were introduced to a redesigned Zelda based off the model that was drafted for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. This Twilight Princess-influenced incarnation of Zelda led to many debates about whether or not Sheik would return. On one side of the argument, many claimed that because Sheik did not appear in Twilight Princess, Zelda should not be able to transform into Sheik. Many cited the fact that Link's special moves were reworked to feature more Twilight Princess-related qualities as evidence that the latest entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise would be the game focused on in Brawl.

On the other side, many felt that the Zelda in the Super Smash Bros. series was not supposed to be any specific Zelda from the Legend of Zelda series; rather, she was an amalgam of all Zeldas, past and present. Since this Zelda has already exhibited the ability to transform into Sheik, there should be nothing preventing her from retaining this trait in Brawl.

The debate was settled with the revelation of Sheik's inclusion in Famitsu's review of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Shortly thereafter, the official Super Smash Bros. Brawl website confirmed Sheik with its January 16th update. Sheik's special moves have not been changed, though she now uses a slightly different, Twilight Princess-inspired design. Of note is the fact that design was sent to Sakurai by Eiji Aonuma, director of Twilight Princess; it was initially created for Twilight Princess, but plans to bring Sheik back were later scrapped, rendering the model obsolete until the development of Brawl.

Sheik's play style is still incredibly similar to her debut in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but seeing as she lost a lot of her KO'ing power, Sheik is not quite as deadly as before. However, Sheik's still an agile character with great combo ability and a force to be reckoned with. Still, her large nerf made her drop to 25th on the current Brawl tier list, in D tier.

Trophies

Sheik trophy in Brawl.

Sheik has a trophy that is awarded each time Classic mode is completed with Sheik on any difficulty. See Light Arrow for the trophy description of Sheik's Final Smash:

Sheik
The persona Zelda adopted to escape from Ganondorf. She completely hid all traces of her Zelda identity and appeared to Link as the last member of the Sheikah tribe. She taught Link essential ocarina melodies and then vanished in an instant. She didn't appear very often--rather, she would show up to support Link in crucial situations.

: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Sticker

Name	Game	Effect	Characters
Sheik	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	AttackBodySpin+017 Attack +17	Link Zelda Toon Link Ganondorf

Sheik (Zelda: Ocarina of Time)

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Sheik as she appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.

As a playable fighter

Sheik returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Unlike her previous apperances, however, she is her own separate character from Zelda. She gained two new special moves to replace some of her old moves, Burst Grenade as her side special to replace Chain, and Bouncing Fish as her new down special, overall giving her more reliable special moves.

Sheik has been buffed significantly from Brawl to SSB4, giving many of her traits from Melee back that she lost in Brawl. As such, she ranks 3rd on the tier list. What she lacks in power is more than made up by her unrivaled combo game, as many of her attacks naturally link into each other with ease. She is also blessed with an excellent neutral game, being able to pressure opponents with Needle Storm from afar, or get in close using her quickness and unpredictability. Sheik has unarguably the best frame data in the game, making her an exceedingly difficult character to punish. She also possesses potent KO options with up smash, Vanish and her new Bouncing Fish. Originally viewed as the best character in the game, game updates have since brought heavy nerfs to some of Sheik's most viable options, especially with 1.1.5, such as reducing forward throw and down throw's combo potential at higher percentages, and her Needle Storm gaining less distance. As such, while Sheik is still viewed as a highly viable character and still enjoys great tournament representation and results, her sizable nerfs have caused her to lose some representation, most notably from top professional player ZeRo.

Trophies

Trophy descriptions

Sheik

In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Sheik claimed to be a surviving Sheikah. However, this was just a cunning disguise for Princess Zelda so that she could escape Ganondorf. In Smash Bros., she's the complete opposite of Zelda, striking with fast attacks that can keep an opponent off balance.

Sheik is introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as the "survivor of the Sheikah", although it turns out to be Zelda, who took on the disguise to hide from Ganondorf. Sheik's ninja-like speed is a real contrast with Zelda's, and it allows for sneaky, fast-paced attacks that overwhelm opponents before they can even react.

Sheik (Alt.)

Sheik's Burst Grenade side special throws a small grenade that draws in nearby fighters before exploding. Once the button has been released, it'll hop or explode after a time. The down special Bouncing Fish is an attack where Sheik strikes with both heels, falling similarly to the way a fish might flop around.

Sheik's Burst Grenade side special throws a small grenade that draws in nearby fighters, then explodes. Hold the button longer to thrown it further. The down special Bouncing Fish is a fish-like flop forwards that has Sheik attack with both heels on the way down. If the move connects, Sheik will bounce back up into the air.

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• SheikAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

Trivia

• Sheik and Ganondorf both made their playable debuts in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and both made their playable debuts outside of Smash Bros. in Hyrule Warriors.
• Sheik is the only character in the Smash Bros. series to have placed at the very top of the tier list in two different games; she was ranked 1st on the first Smash 4 tier list, and was ranked 1st on the first seven iterations of Melee's tier list.
  • She has since lost her 1st place ranking in both games, also making her the only character in the Smash Bros. series to have placed at the very top of the tier list and then later lose that position.