Toon Link (PM)

Toon Link in Project M and Project+
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Base game appearance	Brawl
Moveset inspiration	Toon Link (SSBB), Young Link (SSBM), Link (SSB)
Alternate costume	Outset Toon Link

Toon Link is one of the many playable characters in the Brawl mod Project M. His moveset is heavily altered from Brawl, mixing in elements from both Young Link's and Smash 64 Link's movesets.

Toon Link ranks 21st out of 41 on the official tier list, at the midst of the B tier. This is a considerable drop from his Brawl placement, where he ranked 13th out of 38.

Attributes

Toon Link's alternate costume, Outset Toon Link.

In Project M, Toon Link was substantially decloned and now fights with a mashup of moves taken from other Links, including the original Super Smash Bros. Link, Young Link from Melee, and some of his other incarnations from the Legend of Zelda series. Toon Link also received minor buffs to his existing Brawl moves, allowing him to have better KO options in addition to his characteristic camping capabilities and fast swordplay.

Approaching Toon Link remains a difficult task, and each of his tools have been tweaked to make them better suited for heckling opponents in different situations. His bombs hit multiple times, have excellent damage potential, and up to three can exist at once, making them great for covering an approach or disrupting an opponent's. His bow behaves like Young Link's, and trades some damage and distance capabilities for fiery arrows that stick into the floor and damage foes that contact them, which enhances his stage control. His boomerang, which also behaves like Young Link's, allows him to cover more angles and deals very high damage when hitting foes at point-blank range. These reworked projectiles allow Toon Link to have coverage options for foes at any range.

Most of Toon Link's sword moves have received damage and knockback buffs, and others were replaced with new ones. The third hit of his jab combo, inspired by an attack from the thrust combo from Wind Waker, now moves him forward and ends quickly, letting him begin the combo again and repeatedly push foes backward. His dash attack and new forward-smash also serve the purpose of helping Toon Link gain ground, and the latter covers a wide area while protecting Toon Link from incoming attacks or recoveries. Together with his projectiles, Toon Link's sword moves provide him with a fierce edgeguarding game.

However, Toon Link suffers from recovery problems that he did not have in Brawl. His aerial up-special, while a powerful finishing move that now hits just once, lacks the recovery capabilities it used to have. Toon Link now also weighs the same as Young Link did in Melee, a substantial drop in weight that hinders his survivability and makes Toon Link capable of being KOed in just a few hits. Although Project M has diversified his recovery options with new tether mechanics and the aerial glide toss in conjunction with bomb recovery, getting Toon Link back on stage is often time-consuming and easy for edgeguarding opponents to predict and exploit.

Thus, as in Brawl, Toon Link must rely on his projectiles to soften up opponents before using his fast movement and attacking speed to overwhelm them. While his camping power allows him to make mistakes when foes are at range, he must finish foes in close combat quickly and accurately, especially when he is edgeguarding, as his own predictable recovery and light weight make it easy for foes to reverse the match and KO him.

Changes from Brawl to PM

Aesthetics

• Toon Link's down taunt is now Young Link's taunt. If Toon Link is not interrupted during the drinking portion, it heals 3%.
• Up taunt's ending melody now has a weak pushing wind hitbox that can gimp recoveries for disrespectful KO's
• Sword attacks now display actual slashing sound effects, like Link's.
• On-screen appearance revamped: the bomb explosion now occurs in midair, and Toon Link falls screaming into the ground face-first, getting up afterwards.
• Old down taunt moved to his side taunt. Brawl side taunt removed.

Attributes

• Sword length slightly increased.
• Aerial Glide Tossing benefits Toon Link immensely, giving him faster, more versatile, and safer approaches, recovery, and combo game.
• Improved tether recovery properties make his zair more effective for recovery.
• Toon Link is lighter, with his weight matching that of Young Link's from Melee.

Ground Attacks

• Jab combo hits connect slightly better, and the third hit has been changed to an upwards slice which moves Toon Link slightly forward.
• Forward tilt is slightly faster, deals more damage, and KOs more reliably.
• Down tilt is now a faster, longer-ranged crouching stab reminiscent of the shield-stab from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, and can meteor smash if a character is hit with the tip of the sword.
• Down smash's first hit no longer links into the second hit, instead acting like a weaker version of Link's, however it has a semi-spike angle that can still KO at high percents.
• New forward smash resembles Link's from Smash 64. It has large reach and is stronger than his forward smash in Brawl.
• Dash attack is now a fast stab forward akin to Link's in Smash 64, but with better initial dashing speed. It has a semi-spike trajectory with drastically increased knockback and range, being better at KOing and approaching than his previous dash attack. Its latent hitbox also allows for better option coverage as an edgeguard tool.
• New forward smash has more startup lag.
• New down tilt deals slightly less damage than the old one.
• Down smash hits don't link with each other causing less total damage.

Aerial Attacks

• Forward aerial deals slightly more damage, and does slightly higher knockback.
• Up air comes out faster and has less landing lag, acting as a powerful juggle tool. Its hitboxes have been made larger, allowing it to hit horizontally.
• Down Air has more knockback and damage than both Young and Toon Link's Down Airs. Young Link's fiery hilt hitbox has also been added, but is a spike with a Light element as opposed to Young Link's flaming meteor.

Grabs and Throws

• Grab has faster start-up, and less ending lag.
• Up throw does more damage.

Special Moves

• Hero's Bow now acts like Fire Bow, Young Link's neutral special from Melee. After being shot, they stick in the ground for a few seconds, dealing weak flame damage with no knockback.
• Boomerang has Young Link's close-range sweetspot and can be angled better.
• Grounded Spin Attack has greater range and is better at damaging, possessing more hits that deal up to 25% if fully charged. Charging the move allows Toon Link to strafe on the ground while attacking, similar to Wind Waker's Hurricane Spin.
• Aerial Spin Attack is no longer a multi-hit, and is instead a single powerful strike that decreases in power with each spin (similar to a disjointed sex kick), serving as a powerful KO move as early as 80% on some fastfallers when sweetspotted.
• Bombs hit up to four times each, now dealing up to 13% damage. Toon Link can have up to 3 bombs out on the field at the same time; attempting to pull one more out when 3 are already on the field will make Toon Link go into bomb pulling animation without any other effect (calculation is done upon input, so if a bomb blows while Toon Link is pulling a new one, the move will still fail).
• Boomerang does slightly less damage from a distance.
• Arrows from Hero's Bow do slightly less damage and travel a much lesser distance, just barely covering over Final Destination's length at full charge.

Revisions

v2.1

• Up special hitbox on the tip of his sword has been reduced very slightly in size
• Down-smash stats properly ported from Melee
• Forward-Air and Back-Air had very, very minor hitbox adjustments

v2.5b

• Forward-Smash has a lower trajectory and knockback growth is increased
• Forward-Air damage and hit duration slightly increased
• Down-Air hit duration and endlag in the air reduced
• Grounded Up-B adjusted so opponents cannot shield in the middle of the move
• Grounded Up-B damages adjusted to be more rewarding
• Aerial Up-B initial hit damage, knockback growth, and duration slightly increased
• Forward-Smash is now SDIable
• Neutral-B takes slightly longer to draw the arrow
• Aerial Up-B hitboxes reduced in size slightly
• Aerial Up-B late hit damage reduced
• Jab 2 and Jab 3 have a new animation similar to his Wind Waker slash sequence
• Forward-Tilt animation adjusted
• Down-Tilt tip meteor angle slightly adjusted, knockback growth greatly increased, and now has an electric effect
• Forward-Smash has a much longer hit duration, hitting earlier and slightly later in the animation
• Grab hand collision is larger like a normal grab, ends when the hookshot extends, and the chain is unable to grab airborne targets to prevent a standing chaingrab
• Forward-Throw angle increased
• Back-Throw angle lowered and base knockback increased
• Down-Throw knockback growth increased
• Boomerang speed, damage, and knockback adjusted
• Toon Link can now pull up to 3 Bombs

v2.6b

• Back-Air has a more combo friendly angle and ends one frame sooner
• Forward-Throw reworked to offer potential reward when used
• Up-Throw reworked to offer potential reward when used
• Down-Tilt meteor uses the new "Light" hit element
• Side-B (boomerang) catch animation only occurs when Toon Link stands still
• Up-B damage, knockback, angle, and hitbox sizes all adjusted slightly: Shorter sweetspot, better middle hit, and a relevant "flub"

v3.0

• Fast Fall Velocity increased
• Forward-Tilt now does more damage closer to the tip
• Up-Tilt has slightly less endlag
• Forward-Air has less startup
• Up-Throw has less endlag
• Up Special's last hitbox does more damage, with less hitlag and weaker SFX
• All sword attacks are now correctly clankable
• Forward-Tilt has slightly less base knockback on inside hits
• Forward-Tilt's knockback growth slightly increased on all hits
• Up-Tilt's base knockback increased and knockback growth lowered
• Up-Tilt's angle now increases closer to the tip
• Down-Air's hitboxes moved in to better center them around Toon Link/his sword
• Up-Throw's speed is now properly weight dependent
• Up Special's second hitbox lasts one less frame

v3.5

• Forward throw causes more knockback.
• Down throw causes more knockback.
  • It also has less startup lag.
• Boomerang does more damage if it is sweetspotted.
• Hitboxes on forward tilt are smaller.
• Up-Smash reverted back to 2.0 up-smash (hits only once)
  • It now does less damage if it does not hit with the tip of the sword.
  • In addition, its knockback has been significantly decreased.
    • However, it has higher knockback growth.
• Forward aerial is worse, with more startup lag, less damage on arm and body hitboxes, and less knockback.
• Down aerial causes less knockback.
• Neutral aerial changed to Brawl-inspired neutral aerial.

v3.6β

• Toon Link has a new Smash Taunt, based off the dance performed by Tingle when chanting his "magic words", "Tingle! Tingle! Kooloo-limpah!"
  • If performed without interruption, he will put on the Hero's Charm from The Wind Waker.

v3.6

• Fixed a bug that caused Toon Link to perform his Smash Taunt while crouching before the charge frame of his forward smash.
  • Prior to the closing of Project M website, between the releases of v3.6β and v3.6 there was a bug fix posted on the site specifically for this glitch.

Moveset

Up to date as of version 3.6.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	Toon Link swings his sword downwards, spins around in a circle and swings his sword in front of him, then swings his sword upwards while jumping.
			3%
			5%
Forward tilt			10% (body), 11% (blade), 12% (tip)	Toon Link does an overhead sword swing downwards. The beginning of the attack can hit enemies behind him.
Up tilt			9%	Toon Link does a quick overhead swipe. It acts similarly to his up smash, except being slightly faster and less powerful. The knockback from this move is almost entirely vertical, and it is usually possible to combo into itself at low percentages.
Down tilt			9%	Toon Link kneels and stabs his sword outward. There is an electric hitbox on the tip of the sword that meteor smashes opponents. This attack is similar in appearance to Marth's down-tilt.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 8% (late)	Toon Link lunges forward, holding his sword in front of him. If a clean hit is scored, it will send enemies at a semi-spike trajectory, making it a powerful edgeguarding tool. This move also has a late hitbox, punishing opponents that recover high trying to avoid an edgeguard.
Forward smash			16%	Toon Link spins his sword once behind, then leaps forward while swinging his sword above his head, similar to a jump attack from the Zelda series. It is very powerful, has great range, and sends opponents at a good angle, but it has significant start-up. This move is very effective against opponents with hard-to-sweetspot recoveries like Ness's.
Up smash			15%	Toon Link swings his sword above his head. It is a slower, more powerful version of up tilt. It can be used as an effective juggling tool against some characters, but it doesn't KO until relatively late.
Down smash			Front: 13% (blade), 15% (body) Back:12%	Toon Link quickly sweeps the sword across the ground in front and then behind him. The first hit of this move has higher knockback than the second hit. This move is a good horizontal KO move due to its good speed, decent knockback, and nice knockback angle.
Neutral aerial			12% (front), 9% (back)	Toon Link quickly slashes on both sides, front then back, in midair. It is an excellent move to SHFFL, and is also a good shield pressure option.
Forward aerial			14% (blade), 11% (arm), 8% (body)	After a very brief delay, Toon Link swings his sword upwards. It serves as a good combo finisher due to its good knockback. The sword's tip deals more knockback than the other parts of the move.
Back aerial			10%	Toon Link quickly slashes backwards with his sword. This is a very good combo move, sending opponents above and behind Toon Link and can lead into another aerial attack.
Up aerial			15% (clean), 12% (late)	The Up Thrust, a leaping upward thrust used by the Link from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. It has very long lasting hitboxes which can makes it a strong combo extender.
Down aerial			14% (clean blade), 16% (clean body), 17% (late blade), 21% (late body), 8% (bounce hit)	Toon Link grips onto the handle of his blade and thrusts it downwards, based off the downwards thrust from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The hilt of the sword has a powerful hitbox that applies a strong magic effect onto the opponent while spiking them, while the other hitboxes have very powerful vertical knockback. If an opponent or shield is hit, the player will 'bounce' off with the sword and potentially hit multiple times, dealing lower damage and fixed, light knockback.
Grab aerial			4%	Toon Link uses his Hookshot while in the air. It is useful for spacing due to its long range, and can be useful as an alternate recovery option. This move can also be used while Toon Link is holding a bomb, allowing him to recover with a bomb in his hands.
Grab			—	Toon Link extends his Hookshot forward to grab foes from afar.
Pummel			3%	Toon Link hits his opponents with the hilt of his sword.
Forward throw			3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Toon Link shoves his opponent forwards using his shoulder. It is a good DI mixup; if the opponent doesn't DI correctly, allowing for an aerial or up special followup.
Back throw			3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Toon Link rolls backward and flings the opponent behind him. This throw does not cause tumbling until mid-percents.
Up throw			5% (hit 1), 2% (throw)	Toon Link tosses his opponent upward and hits them with his sword. This throw has high base knockback, making it an effective combo starter until very high percents.
Down throw			2% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Toon Link slams his opponent against the ground. It can be a very effective combo starter on all characters, leading into many different moves.
Floor attack (front)			6%	Toon Link does two quick swipes to either side of him.
Floor attack (back)			6%	Toon Link does another two quick swipes to either side of him.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Essentially the same as his other two floor attacks.
Edge attack (fast)			8%	Toon Link pulls himself up into a front flip and slices downward.
Edge attack (slow)			10%	Toon Link slowly climbs up and stabs in front of himself.
Neutral special		Hero's Bow	6-11%, 3% (grounded arrows)	Toon Link pulls out a bow and shoots a fiery arrow. Holding the special button will charge the attack, increasing the damage and distance of the arrow. The arrows stick into the stage, dealing small damage with no knockback to any opponents that walks over it. The arrow's low trajectory can be used to hinder opponent's recovery and apply pressure to an offstage opponent, potentially leading to an easy edgeguard.
Side special		Boomerang	19% (close), 7% (far), 3% (return)	Toon Link throws his trusty boomerang out in front of him. The boomerang can be angled sideways, diagonally upwards, or diagonally downwards. If the boomerang hits an opponent right at the start of the move, it will deal increased damage and knockback. Toon Link can only have one boomerang out at a time; if this special move is used while Toon Link already has a boomerang out, the animation will play but Toon Link will not throw a boomerang.
Up special		Spin Attack	0-1% (uncharged hits 1-11), 3% (uncharged hit 12) 17% (ari clean), 14% (air mid), 4% (air late)	Toon Link spins around while holding his sword out. When used on the ground, it is a very damaging multi-hit move, and in the air it is a powerful finisher which decreases in damage over time, similarly to a sex kick. The move can be charged on the ground, increasing damage and knockback as well as increasing the distance that Toon Link can move sideways during the move. This move is an amazing finisher when used in the air, netting KOs as early as 80% on some characters, and is an effective out-of-shield option on the ground.
Down special		Bomb	13% total	Toon Link pulls out a bomb. Toon Link can throw the bomb upwards, downwards, left, or right, and if he is in the air he can press the grab button to drop the bomb on the ground. If Toon Link drops a bomb while he is close to the ground, the bomb will land on the ground and not explode until the bomb's timer runs out, but other players can pick up the bombs. The blast radius of the bombs are more similar to Young Link's bombs rather than Toon Link's Brawl bombs, in that the blast radius is quite small and the bomb hits multiple times, dealing fewer damage the further the target is from the bomb. This move is a very good move for setting up combos due to its fixed knockback, possibly leading into many different moves.
Final Smash		Triforce Slash	5% (trapping), 4% (hits 1-15), 18% (hit 16)	Toon Link traps the opponent and strikes them with many quick slashes before ending with an impressive final blow.

In competitive play

Notable players

•  Aero-Formerly mained Toon Link before switching to Diddy Kong. Placed 7th at Smash FORE with him.
•  DVD-The best solo Toon Link in the world. Placed 2nd at Blacklisted 2, 9th at We Tech Those 2, and 4th at SuperNova 2.
•  Jolteon-Placed 5th at B.E.A.S.T 5, 4th at Smash or DI, and 25th at The Big House 4.
•  Lazarond - Has wins over KirkQ, Scythe, Metroid, DLA, and Kels
•  Lunchables-Tri-mained Toon Link with Marth and Roy before retiring.
•  steakhouse-Placed 7th at Heir II the Throne, 9th at NEW FISH, and 13th at Heir 3.
•  Zork - 5th at Immunity, has wins over players like JewChainz, and Chibo.

Alternate costume

Toon Link now has an alternate costume based on his Outset Island clothing from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. When using the alternate costume, Toon Link wears a patterned jumper, bracelets and brown pants instead of his normal Hero's Clothes, and no cap. He also uses the Hero's Sword given to him by Orca, the island's swordsman, instead of the Master Sword, along with a wooden shield based on Young Link's Deku Shield from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This costume has two recolors so that it can be used in Team Battles.

Toon Link's alternate costumes in PM

Trivia

• In v3.0, Toon Link's costume had an odd hole in his head, and crashed the game when a Metal Box was used.
• The default and recolors for the outset costume reference the three goddesses of the Triforce. The front bears their symbols from the Goddess Pearls he must collect in Wind Waker, while the back bears the emblems of the Spiritual Stones that Young Link must collect in Ocarina of Time.
  • Blue references Nayru, who represents Wisdom.
  • Green references Farore, who represent Courage.
  • Red references Din, who represents Power.

External links

• A combo video containing advanced Toon Link gameplay in the Wi-Fi version of Project: M 2.6b.