Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Toon Link (SSBU): Difference between revisions

From SmashWiki, the Super Smash Bros. wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
Tag: Reverted
Tag: Reverted
Line 182: Line 182:
|usname=Spin Attack
|usname=Spin Attack
|usdmg= 1% (uncharged hits 1-10), 3% (uncharged hit 11), 1.6% (charged hits 1-10), 4% (charged hit 11), 4% (aerial hit 1), 2% (aerial hits 2-4) 4% (aerial hit 5)
|usdmg= 1% (uncharged hits 1-10), 3% (uncharged hit 11), 1.6% (charged hits 1-10), 4% (charged hit 11), 4% (aerial hit 1), 2% (aerial hits 2-4) 4% (aerial hit 5)
|usdesc=[[zeldawiki:Spin Attack|Spins rapidly with the Master Sword outstretched]]. The grounded version is a series of outward slashes, whereas the aerial version is a series of inward slashes. The last hit of both versions has a horizontal launching angle. The grounded version can be charged to inflict even more damage, and due to it being faster and much stronger than in ''SSB4'', it is an exceptional [[out of shield]] option and one of Toon Link's best KO options. The aerial version can carry opponents to the upper blast line, and KO them there if they are sufficiently damaged. The grounded version hits once, comparatively like Link's Spin Attack. When coupled with its decent knockback, its fully charged clean hit KOs middleweights at around 91% while near the edge of Final Destination. It also moves Toon Link forward, which can allow him to use it for punishing when it is spaced properly.
|usdesc=[[zeldawiki:Spin Attack|Spins rapidly with the Master Sword outstretched]]. The grounded version is a series of outward slashes, whereas the aerial version is a series of inward slashes. The last hit of both versions has a horizontal launching angle. The grounded version can be charged to inflict even more damage, and due to it being faster and much stronger than in ''SSB4'', it is an exceptional [[out of shield]] option and one of Toon Link's best KO options. The aerial version can carry opponents to the upper blast line, and KO them there if they are sufficiently damaged. When coupled with its decent knockback, its fully charged clean hit KOs middleweights at around 91% while near the edge of Final Destination. It also moves Toon Link forward, which can allow him to use it for punishing when it is spaced properly.
|dspage=Bomb_(Link)
|dspage=Bomb_(Link)
|dsname=Bomb
|dsname=Bomb

Revision as of 06:07, February 4, 2024

This article is about Toon Link's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the character in other contexts, see Toon Link.
Toon Link
in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Toon Link SSBU.png
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Universe The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearances in Brawl
in SSB4

Availability Unlockable
Final Smash Triforce Slash
Tier B- (49)
Toon Link (SSBU)

Toon Link (トゥーンリンク, Toon Link) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially confirmed as playable alongside his predecessor Young Link and the rest of veterans on June 12th, 2018. As in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he is unlockable, instead of being available from the start. Toon Link is classified as Fighter #43.

As in Brawl and Super Smash Bros. 4, Sachi Matsumoto's portrayal of Toon Link from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was repurposed for Ultimate.

Toon Link is ranked 49th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him in the B- tier. This is a noticeable drop from his previous placement in SSB4, being ranked 23rd out of 54, and is his worst placement in the series. Toon Link's gameplan is relatively a middle-ground between Young Link's strong projectile-based and combo game and Link's strong KO power or usage of Bombs. Toon Link has a fairly strong zoning game thanks to his numerous projectiles in Bomb (Link) and Boomerang. The former allows him to set up combos or confirm into KOs at higher percents, while the latter is a good combo starter or a method for opponents to approach him in neutral. Toon Link's overall mobility is also quick and among the best of the three Links, allowing him to catch up and/or flee from his opponents more easily and safely while also benefiting his ability to approach himself. His 2-frame air dodge and floatiness also allow him to escape from combos too.

Toon Link shares comparative flaws to the other fellow Links. Because of his floatiness, it requires a while to land back on the ground, making him vulnerable to juggling. In addition, Toon Link's overall range falls short in comparison to most of the other swordfighters who can outrange and pressure better than he can. His recovery is also relatively exploitable as it travels in a predictable path, though it can be mixed up with Bomb Jump. Toon Link's aerial game also has unimpressive combo potential despite his floatiness, since his aerial attacks' high ending lag prevents them from partaking in lasting combos. Lastly, reflection-based moves are very detrimental for Toon Link; in addition to turning his projectiles against him, they also drastically hinder his Bomb-based combo game.

Overall, Toon Link is a character with a simple, effective, and consistent gameplan that works when he gets momentum or wins neutral interactions. Toon Link has received some strong results and representation mostly in Japan, through players, such as Lv.1 and Sigma, who have had strong placements at majors.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

  • Play VS. matches, with Toon Link being the 44th character to be unlocked.
  • Clear Classic Mode with Link or any character in his unlock tree, being the last character unlocked after Richter.
  • Have Toon Link join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Toon Link must then be defeated on Pirate Ship. In World of Light, he is fought on Wuhu Island.

Attributes

The majority of Toon Link's attributes noticeably differ from those of his alternate timeline counterparts. Toon Link is a short middleweight, yet his dashing, walking speeds and air acceleration are each above-average (with a relatively quick initial dash, as well as the ability to wall jump. However, his air speed is average and his falling, fast falling speeds and gravity are each below-average. Although they differ on the majority of their attributes, Toon Link and Link both have above-average walking speeds. Like Link, he also wields his respective version of the Master Sword and possesses a shield. The Master Sword grants Toon Link disjointed range, while the Hero's Shield blocks opposing projectiles if he is standing still or walking. Overall, Toon Link's attributes render him as a fairly quick, yet fairly floaty character.

As a zoning-orientated character, Toon Link possesses a number of projectiles. His Hero's Bow, Boomerang and Bomb enable him to not only force approaches, but also camp effectively. In addition to these strengths, Boomerang and Bomb boast combo potential, with the latter being his most varied and useful combo starter. Thanks to its explosion no longer damaging Toon Link upon contact with an opponent, Bomb now grants him a number of follow-ups at varying percentages. Using precision, it can be followed by his up smash or forward aerial even at high percentages, both of which are among his most viable KOing options.

Bomb's combo potential is further supplemented by jump-canceling and its status as an item, with the latter trait ensuring that its combo potential is never susceptible to rage or stale-move negation. Although it is not as versatile in comparison, Boomerang is nevertheless useful for Toon Link's combo game, as it can combo into his up tilt, grab and various other moves depending on its positioning.

Although Toon Link's combo game overall revolves around Bomb, he also possesses non-projectile combo starters. Up tilt is the most effective of these: it can combo into itself, up smash, and Spin Attack at low percentages; a short hopped neutral aerial, short hopped back aerial, and short hopped Spin Attack at low to medium percentages; and forward aerial and up aerial at medium to high percentages. Aside from up tilt, grab aerial can be used as a long-ranged set-up similarly to Bomb, regardless of the opponent's damage, while neutral attack can be jab canceled reliably.

As of SSB4, Toon Link's Hookshot possesses a respectable level of utility. Thanks to its long range, the Hookshot is an effective tether recovery and has lost its dubious distinction as the shortest-ranged tether grab since Brawl. By extension, Toon Link's throws can supplement his projectiles, as he can make usage of them to launch an opponent into the trajectory of a previously thrown Boomerang or Bomb, such as up throw into a descending Bomb. Aside from this, his up throw can also combo into a short hopped up aerial at low percentages. Toon Link's back throw, however, is one of the most useful to his Hookshot-oriented moves. In addition, Toon Link's back throw is not only one of his most viable KOing options, but also one the strongest throws of all kinds in the game.

However, Toon Link is burdened with some weaknesses. His grab game is overall very polarized: Hookshot grants him long-lasting grabs that can grab airborne opponents, and a grab aerial and tether recovery that are both extremely useful, yet his grabs have considerable start-up and ending lag (albeit much less so than in previous installments). By extension, Toon Link's back throw is one of his most viable KO options due to being one of the strongest back throws in the game, while his forward throw is decent for setting up edge-guards and creating space. Conversely, Toon Link's down throw lacks combo potential, which makes it drastically inferior to Link and Young Link's down throws. It can almost combo into back aerial. Although Toon Link's up throw is a situational KO option on platforms like Link and Young Link's up throws, his back throw utterly outclasses it in this role. As a result, Toon Link's up and down throws are primarily useful for setting up aerial pressure, such as by launching an opponent into the trajectory of a previously thrown Boomerang or Bomb.

Toon Link's floatiness makes him especially susceptible to strong vertical attacks, and renders his recovery quite predictable in spite of its improvements. Unlike other floaty characters, however, Toon Link cannot benefit from his floatiness to perform long aerial combos because of his aerials' considerable ending lag. Toon Link's disjointed range is also somewhat offset by his short size, while the quicker and more aggressive pace of Ultimate makes his defensive, projectile-based gameplan less effective than it was in previous installments.

Despite its potency, Toon Link's combo game is also heavily reliant on Bomb, up tilt and grab aerial, as the rest of his close-ranged attacks cannot reliably combo most of the time. His throws' aforementioned combo potentials with Boomerang and Bomb are also very situational, since he requires to have precise timing and positioning in order for said combos to be performed properly. To compound this, Toon Link's grabs still have considerable start-up and ending lag, although such a flaw is typical of tether grabs.

Overall, Toon Link is considered a very balanced and mobile fighter with a plethora of attack options via his projectiles, tether grab/recovery, and decent frame-data. The combination of low ending lag on his forward and back aerials with his floatiness allow Toon Link to dominate in the air with combos, while his moderately quick, yet fairly useful tilt attacks and reasonably strong smash attacks allow for relatively easy KOs. While his middling weight and slow falling speed make him easier to combo and KO, it is generally agreed that Toon Link's strengths outweigh his weaknesses by a fair margin.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Toon Link has received a notable mixture of buffs and nerfs in the transition from SSB4 to Ultimate. Many of his standard attacks have been improved, but the general pace of Ultimate, combined with the worsening of his camping tools, have annulled his improvements to an extent. As a result, Toon Link has been slightly nerfed overall.

Several of Toon Link's attacks involving the Master Sword have been notably buffed, alleviating one of his weaker points from SSB4. In particular, Toon Link now boasts a vastly buffed grounded game: neutral attack's first two hits can now lock, and the third hit now has the tech-chasing ability his adult counterpart has. Forward tilt has less ending lag, all hitboxes send opponents in front of him, and its hitboxes can now hit behind Toon Link. The changes to the sakurai angle allow down tilt to launch aerial opponents lower, improving its tech chasing potential. Dash attack is much quick, has more range and less ending lag, and the sweetspots out-prioritize the sourspot, turning it into a respectable combo starter at low percentages. Up smash is more consistent on landing the sweetspot, whereas down smash now has consistent KO potential on both sides of the move instead of pulling opponents into a second hit.

Toon Link's air game, while receiving less buffs, has also become more useful; neutral aerial has more range, forward aerial can once again autocancel if performed in a short hop, back aerial is faster and has regained some of its combo potential, and up aerial is notably much safer for usage due to its altered animation. Finally, Toon Link's Spin Attack has received various improvements, with the grounded version now being one of the best out of shield options in the game due to it being much faster and gaining KO potential, whereas the aerial version's power and safety have both improved and it will now typically send opponents in front of Toon Link.

However, Toon Link also received some noticeable nerfs. One of his biggest nerfs involved Toon Link's forward smash; the move no longer has a second hit, while its single hit instead is slightly slower, deals less aggregate damage, possesses no mixup or spacing potential, and has a debatably worse hitbox that fails to strike short opponents or ones hanging on an edge. His other major detriment was to his Bombs, which no longer beat weak projectiles and continue on, instead bouncing off of them; this drastically worsens their potential in trade and projectile-based situations. Toon Link's other nerfs to his camping ability include his item throws possessing more ending lag, which worsens his combo game via his Bombs; and his grab aerial now bouncing off of the first projectile or hurtbox it makes contact with, instead of piercing through. Aside from forward smash, a few of his sword-based moves also received some nerfs. Up tilt has slightly inferior combo potential at high percentages due to the changes to knockback, up smash has fewer active frames, and back aerial's already minimal KO potential has been almost totally removed in favor of restoring its combo potential.

Ultimate's adjusted mechanics are overall double-edged swords for Toon Link. The reduced landing lag makes it easier for him to combo, and safer to land if his aerials hit. The ability to perform an attack out of a run also allows Toon Link more access to his now respectable grounded game. On the other hand, the changes to shieldstun make his grounded moveset much safer, though it also means shielding opponents are now more likely to punish mispaced aerials as easily. The nerfs to shield grabbing alleviate the negative changes from shieldstun, but combined with the various reductions to the entire cast's landing lag, and the changes to shieldstun, this notably worsens his grab game, despite his grabs' much lower ending lag. Finally, the universal increase to mobility further contributes to Toon Link's grounded game (due to his faster walking and dashing speeds) and allows him to now combo out of his Hero's Bow when uncharged, but also allows more mobile opponents to close in on the distance to him and/or flee from him easier.

Overall, Toon Link has more utility in his sword-based attacks, but has to contend with worsened camping tools and the faster pace of Ultimate, which makes his defensive, projectile-based game less effective compared to previous titles. This noticeably changes his playstyle, shifting from primarily a zoner and counter-zoner, to a more movement and pressure-based playstyle that utilizes his sword attacks more. Combined with various buffs other veterans have received and the introduction of DLC character, Toon Link performs worse than his SSB4 iteration, and while he remains relatively viable, he is widely considered overshadowed by Young Link due to the former's faster air-to-ground mobility, superior damage output, and stronger projectile game.

Aesthetics

  • Change As with all veterans returning from Smash 4, Toon Link's model features a more subdued color scheme. His clothing now features simple woven and stitched detailing, similar to his design in Brawl, though his hair remains clay-like. Visually, it better resembles his model in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.
  • Change Some of the textures of Toon Link's face have been modified: his brow is more furrowed, the outline in his eyes aren’t fully connected similar to the official artworks from the The Wind Waker and his mouth is now represented by a black dash, making it look less organic. Overall, he appears more cartoonish as a result.
  • Change Toon Link's hair is now affected by gravity and wind. His hat also now has more physics-based movement than before.
  • Change Like many other returning characters, Toon Link is more expressive. He is now more consistently angry and serious to match the other Links. In general, he now has a wide variety of expressions in his animations.
  • Change Several of Toon Link's animations have been altered to further distinguish him from the other Links.
    • Change While jumping, he raises his shield more.
    • Change During his falling animation, he spreads his legs apart. His helpless animation is also different, now leaning more forward as he falls. However, he reuses his falling animations from Smash 4 when moving forward or backward while falling.
    • Change His double jump animation is now an upward flip similar to Roy and Ganondorf.
  • Change Toon Link's sword attacks now use a set of new, cartoonish slash sound effects when they land.
  • Change Toon Link's taunts have all been modified:
    • Change His up taunt now faces the screen regardless of the direction he is facing.
    • Change His side taunt has a more surprised expression and pose. The fairy also now disappears in a Wind Waker style puff of smoke.
    • Change His down taunt now has him visibly sweating. Like his up taunt, it now faces the screen regardless of the direction he's facing.
  • Change Toon Link's victory pose where he conducts with the Wind Waker has been modified to be more in line with his official art from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and its HD version.

Attributes

  • Buff Like all characters, Toon Link's jumpsquat animation takes three frames to complete (down from 5).
  • Nerf Toon Link is slightly lighter (93 → 91), now being the same weight as Palutena. This slightly hinders his endurance.
  • Buff Toon Link walks slightly faster (1.2265 → 1.288).
  • Buff Toon Link dashes faster (1.7325 → 1.906).
  • Buff Toon Link's air speed has been increased (0.94 → 1.05).
  • Change Toon Link's falling speed has been increased (1.28 → 1.38).
    • Buff His fast fall speed has also been increased (2.048 → 2.208), making him harder to juggle.
  • Change Due to his higher falling speed, Toon Link's air time is shorter (SH timing: 41 → 40), (FH timing: 63 → 56).
  • Change Toon Link's sidestep has increased startup on his invincibility (2-15 → 3-16), but less ending lag (25 → 20), now being tied for the third fastest.
  • Change Toon Link's back roll has slightly increased invincibility (4-14 → 4-15), but much more ending lag (27 frames → 34).
  • Nerf Toon Link's forward roll has slightly longer duration (FAF 27 → 29).
  • Buff Toon Link can now Z-drop items such as his Bombs without releasing the Hookshot. This vastly improves its versatility and utility as a tactic, mixup, combo and disadvantage tool. This also sees the return of the Invincibomb technique.
    • Change This change no longer allows Toon Link to Z-drop and use hookshot at the same time.
  • Nerf The mechanical change to Tethers removes Toon Link's ability to cancel his airdodge into his hookshot, removing an option from his kit and vastly nerfing his recovery mixup potential.
    • Change Toon Link is still able to Tether to ledge while holding a bomb, by simply pressing Grab without holding a direction.

Ground attacks

  • Neutral attack:
    • Buff Neutral attack's first hit has faster startup (frame 6 → 5).
      • Nerf Neutral attack's first hit does slightly less damage (3% → 2%).
    • Nerf Neutral attack's third hit has fewer active frames (frame 6-10 → 6-7), reducing consistency and utility.
    • Buff Neutral attack's third hit deals more base knockback but less knockback scaling (55 base/100 scaling → 70/75) and sends opponents at a lower angle (48° → 30°), granting it tech chase setups.
      • Change Toon Link strikes a pose at the end of his third neutral attack.
    • Buff As with nearly every other character, Toon Link's first and second neutral attack can now lock opponents.
    • Nerf Neutral attack's first hit (3.5u/4.2/3.8u → 1.8u/1.8u/1.8u/1.8u) and second (3.5u/4.2u/4u → 2.5u/3.2u/3.2u/3.2u) hits have had their three larger hitboxes replaced with four smaller ones, and the third hit has lost one of its hitboxes altogether (4.2u/4.2u/3u → 4.5u/3.5u).
  • Forward tilt:
    • Change Forward tilt has an altered animation. The hitboxes start further behind Toon Link, but don't hit as high.
    • Buff Forward tilt has less ending lag (FAF 34 → 30), improving its safety and utility.
    • Buff Forward tilt's frame 9 hit now has its farthest hitbox launch opponents in the direction he is facing (361° → 38°), improving its consistency and trap potential.
    • Change Forward tilt has more base knockback, but less knockback scaling (25 base/102 scaling → 45/83), improving its safety on hit at lower percents but hindering its KO potential.
  • Down tilt:
    • Buff Down tilt has a lower knockback angle, increasing its tech chase and setup potential.
    • Nerf Down tilt has an altered animation where Toon Link's sword doesn't stay pointed outwards for both frames of the active hitbox, reducing its effective duration.
  • Dash attack:
    • Buff Dash attack has less startup (frame 9 → 7) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 29), making it much more useful and safer in landing trap situations.
    • Buff Both sweetspot hitboxes now have priority over the sourspot.
    • Buff Dash attack's hitboxes are larger (3.5u/4u/3u → 4.2u/4u/3.5u).
  • Forward smash:
    • Change Toon Link has a new forward smash: a single upward swing. It resembles the final hit of Toon Link's sword animation when moving from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
    • Change Toon Link is now silent when performing the move.
    • Nerf Forward smash now has slightly more startup (15 frames → 16) and has decreased damage due to the removal of the second hit (21% → 14%).
      • Nerf Due to the removal of the second swing, Toon Link is also no longer able to use this move to space or mix up his opponent.
    • Buff Forward smash's new animation has Toon Link swipe upwards and lunge farther, improving its vertical range.
      • Nerf The new animation also makes hitting grounded opponents more inconsistent, and no longer able to hit opponents hanging at the ledge.
    • Change It has reduced knockback values compared to his old forward smash's second hit (25/32 base / 130 scaling → 25/20 / 110) to compensate for its increased damage (12% → 14%).
  • Up smash:
    • Change Up smash has a slightly altered animation. Toon Link slightly turns after leaping.
    • Buff Due to the altered animation, the sourspot hitbox is harder to land, improving its consistency and KO potential.
    • Nerf Up Smash has fewer active frames (frame 11-17 → 11-15).
  • Down smash:
    • Change Down smash has a tweaked animation.
    • Change Down smash's front hitbox no longer sends opponents behind Toon Link; instead, each swing has strong knockback on its own.
      • Nerf This means Toon Link can no longer use down smash to send opponents behind him. The overall damage output for hitting the front hitbox has also been reduced (14% (both hits) → 12%).
    • Buff Down smash has less ending lag (FAF 50 → 47). Also, each hit of down smash does more damage (6%/7% → 12% (front)/13% (back)) and can KO on either side of Toon Link.
    • Buff This also vastly improves the consistency of the move and prevents grounded opponents from escaping between hits. Aerial opponents also are now hit with the regular hitbox as opposed to the aerial-only hitbox, which had reduced damage and altered knockback.

Aerial attacks

  • Buff All aerials have less landing lag (12 frames → 7 (neutral), 18 → 11 (forward), 17 → 8 (back), 21 → 13 (up), 40 → 23 (down)).
  • Neutral aerial:
    • Buff Both of neutral aerial's hits have larger hitboxes (3u/3.6u/4u/2.5u → 4u/4.5u/4.5u/2.5u)
  • Forward aerial:
    • Buff Forward aerial auto-cancels significantly earlier (frame 51 → 39), matching its interruptibility. This also allows it to auto-cancel out of a short hop like in Brawl.
    • Change Forward aerial's large hitbox has been replaced with three smaller ones (7.5u → 5u/5u/4u) that are attached to his arm and sword.
      • Buff These new hitboxes follow the sword hitbox more closely, allowing forward aerial to hit opponents above Toon Link on frame 15.
  • Back aerial:
    • Buff Back aerial has less startup (frame 7 → 6).
    • Buff Back aerial has far less ending lag (FAF 46 → 36), allowing Toon Link to double jump out of a short hop with it once again.
    • Buff Back aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 38 → 34).
    • Nerf Back aerial deals less damage (11% → 8%) without full compensation for its base knockback (18 → 24), losing its already poor KO potential.
      • Buff Back aerial's lowered knockback and less ending lag has vastly improved its combo and setup potential.
  • Up aerial:
    • Buff Up aerial has an altered animation where Toon Link ducks more. This lowers his hurtbox and allows him to hit opponents beneath him more effectively, similar to Link's up aerial.
  • Down aerial:
    • Nerf Down aerial's hitboxes are slightly smaller (5.6u (clean)/5.3u (late) → 5.5u/5u) and higher up (Y offset: -3 → -1.1), reducing its range.
  • Grab aerial:
    • Buff Grab aerial has less ending lag (FAF 75 → 74).
    • Nerf Grab aerial can only hit one opponent or projectile. Once it collides with something, it bounces off and the hitbox is disabled.

Throws and other attacks

  • Buff All grabs have less ending lag (FAF 62 → 53 (standing), 72 → 61 (dash), 72 → 56 (pivot)).
  • Change Toon Link has an altered down throw animation where he jumps much higher in the air before tackling his opponent. This helps him avoid projectiles close to the ground (especially his own bombs), but opens him to projectiles in the air.
  • Nerf Up throw's collateral has a much shorter duration (26-30 → 27), hindering its range.
  • Nerf Back throw has less knockback growth (120 → 110), reducing its KO potential.
  • Change Toon Link now faces the opposite direction when using down throw.
  • Nerf All of Toon Link's item tosses have more ending lag, reducing the potency of his item throws and followups (20 → 24 (forward/back), 20 → 23 (up), 19 → 20 (down)).)

Special moves

  • Hero's Bow:
    • Nerf Arrows can no longer be held indefinitely upon reaching full charge, now automatically firing if held for more than three seconds.
  • Boomerang:
    • Change Boomerang appears to have a new model, featuring a more simplistic design.
    • Buff A Boomerang performed with a smash input has increased damage and slightly increased knockback compared to a Tilt input (8% (near)/5% (mid) → 9.6%/6%).
    • Change Boomerang now has a clanking animation where it bounces quickly before falling and disappearing.
      • Nerf Boomerang is unavailable during this clanking animation, reducing Boomerang's utility in trade situations.
    • Change Boomerang has less duration on the returning hitbox. This reduces the potential of the returning boomerang, but the Boomerang now reappears in Toon Link's hands more quickly.
    • Change Boomerang has different physics when bouncing against surfaces in certain situations, most notably on return, altering the utility of returning boomerang.
  • Spin Attack:
    • Change Spin Attack's sword trails are blue, now matching how they were in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. In addition, the grounded version's animation was altered a bit. Toon Link no longer holds the sword perfectly parallel to the ground while he spins.
    • Buff Grounded Spin Attack has less startup lag (frame 9 → 6) and its duration was compensated (FAF 81 → 78), increasing its utility and safety.
    • Buff Grounded Spin Attack's final hit has significantly increased knockback scaling (141 → 180) and launches at a lower angle (55° → 48°), granting it KO potential.
    • Buff Grounded Spin Attack always knocks opponents in the direction Toon Link is facing, giving Toon Link the ability to control where his opponent is sent.
    • Buff Aerial Spin Attack now has multiple hitboxes behind Toon Link, improving its safety and utility, and also increasing damage output on large targets caught in the attack.
    • Buff Aerial Spin Attack now allows Toon Link to retain much more horizontal drift after the final hitbox, improving its spacing and recovery potential.
    • Bug fix Aerial Spin Attack no longer takes away Toon Link's midair jump if he is interrupted before recovering, granting him more recovery mixups.
    • Change Toon Link strikes a slightly different pose during the final hit of Aerial Spin Attack, closely matching Link's new pose during his Aerial Spin Attack as well.
  • Bomb:
    • Buff Toon Link now pulls out the Bomb slightly quicker (FAF 40 → 37).
    • Change Bomb no longer does differing damage based on direct contact (4%) or the explosion (5%-8%). Both damage values have been homogenized, and the only factor to the bombs damage is the velocity before impact.
      • Change Bombs overall do less damage (4%-8% → 4.2%-6.5%). However, the lower damage betters bomb combo potential.
    • Change Bombs launch at a higher angle (70° → 75°), and have altered knockback (42 (base)/70 (scaling) → 40/80).
    • Nerf Bombs no longer beat weak projectiles, instead bouncing at the point of contact and falling to the ground. This massively reduces the potency of bombs in trade situations.
    • Change Bombs now always explode against fire-based attacks, regardless of how much damage the move does. While this removes their potential to absorb fire-based projectiles, it also allows Toon Link to force an opponent to blow up a bomb in his favor.
  • Triforce Slash:
    • Buff Triforce Slash has had its activation range massively increased, allowing Toon Link to chase down targets across Final Destination, like Link's iteration from Brawl and Smash 4.

Update history

Toon Link received a mixture of buffs, a single nerf and glitch fixes via game updates, but was buffed slightly overall. Starting with update 2.0.0, Toon Link's forward aerial can now auto-cancel out of a short hop, greatly buffing the move's utility and offense. He also can now grab the ledge earlier after using his back aerial. Update 3.0.0 nerfed Boomerang's shield damage as a part of a universal nerf to projectiles. Update 3.1.0 made neutral attack connect better, and Toon Link can now shield SDI if a projectiles hits his Hero's Shield thanks to update 4.0.0.

Update 7.0.0 brought the most noteworthy buffs to Toon Link's kit. His dash attack was given less ending lag, both hits of his down smash now deal more knockback, his back aerial now hits earlier and has a slightly longer hitbox duration. His down aerial is now drastically stronger than it was before due to it now dealing more damage and not having its knockback not fully compensated. And finally, his grab aerial's hitbox lasts 2 frames longer. Due to these changes, Toon Link's KO potential and spacing was greatly improved.

Update 10.1.0 made Aerial Spin Attack much more consistent by giving it much better hitboxes and a more favorable angle if Toon Link is moving forward.

Overall, Toon Link fares better than he did at the launch of Ultimate.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 1.2.0

  • Bug fix Fixed the Invisible Bomb glitch.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 2.0.0

  • Buff Forward aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 51 → 39), matching the move's interruptibility and allowing it to auto-cancel out of a short hop.
  • Buff Shortened the amount of time the player can't grab ledges after using his back aerial (68 frames → 60).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 3.0.0

  • Nerf Boomerang deals less shield damage (0 → -4/-2.5/-1.5 (clean/late/return)).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 3.1.0

  • Buff Neutral attack 1 connects into neutral attack 2 more reliably.
  • Bug fix Boomerang teleportation glitch fixed.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 4.0.0

  • Buff Toon Link can now shield SDI if a projectile hits his Hero's Shield.
  • Change Down aerial no longer has its downward movement disabled when used out from of hitstun.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 7.0.0

  • Buff Dash attack has less ending lag (FAF 31 → 29), improving its combo potential.
  • Buff Down smash has more knockback scaling (83 → 90 (hit 1), 79 → 85 (hit 2)).
  • Back aerial:
    • Buff Back aerial has less startup lag with a longer hitbox duration (frames 7-9 → 6-9).
    • Bug introduced The stronger "attack connect" HD rumble no longer triggers.
  • Buff Down aerial's late hit deals more damage (12% → 14%) with knockback scaling not fully compensated (100 → 98), drastically improving its KO potential.
  • Buff Grab aerial has a longer hitbox duration (frames 11-18 → 11-20).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 10.1.0

  • Buff Aerial Spin Attack has received various adjustments that allow the move to connect more reliably:
    • Buff The first front hit has a new ground-only hitbox that outprioritizes the old hitbox and is smaller (size: 6u → 4u) but has similar range (Y-offset: 7.5 → 5.5, Z-offset: 13.5—7.5 → 14.5—6.5) and more set knockback (83 → 107). This sends opponents higher, setting them up for the following hits.
    • Change The third and fourth hits no longer use an autolink angle (367° → 84°). This allows them to connect more reliably if Toon Link is moving forwards, but less reliably if he is moving backwards.
    • Buff All of its hitboxes no longer check for the opponent's position to determine where the opponent is sent, instead sending the opponent in front of Toon Link consistently. This especially improves the final hit's consistency drastically, as it can no longer send opponents behind Toon Link.

Moveset

  • While Toon Link is standing still, walking, or crouching, any incoming projectiles that hit his Hero's Shield will simply push him back slightly instead of inflicting damage. It can block any amount of projectiles, regardless of their power.
  • Toon Link can wall jump.
  • Toon Link possesses a tether attack and grab.

For a gallery of Toon Link's hitboxes, see here.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack Slash (なぎ払い) / Counter Slash (返し) / Stab (突き) 2% An outward slash, followed by an inward slash, followed by a forward thrust. The first two hits can lock, and the third hit's semi-spike angle makes it useful to set up tech-chases. It is based on the final series of strikes that the Hero of Time inflicts to Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
2%
4%
Forward tilt Bamboo Splitter (からたけわり) 9% A lunging downward slash. Moderate startup at frame 9, with low ending lag and decent knockback, making it quick for its power. The hilt and the middle of the swords are semi-spikes, while the tip launches at the sakurai angle. Its hitboxes at the beginning of the animation reach far enough back for Toon Link to hit opponents behind him. It has very high knockback growth, as well as a sweetspot located at the center of the Master Sword's blade that is a semi-spike. Although its sourspot has the same damage output and knockback values, it is much less suited for KOing because of it launching at the sakurai angle. This is further compounded by its sweetspot's position requiring very precise usage in order to be effective. Its lower damage output and extremely low base knockback result in it KOing much later than Link and Young Link's, yet its much lower start-up and ending lag make it more effective for spacing than theirs, regardless of whether it is sweetspotted or sourspotted. Its sweetspot KOs middleweights at 129% while near the edge of Final Destination. It resembles the Z-Targeting slash used by the Hero of Time.
Up tilt Half-Moon Slash (半月斬り) 5% An overhead arcing slash. Thanks to its frame 8 startup and very low ending lag, it is one of Toon Link's best combo starters: it can combo into Spin Attack from 0%-10%; into itself and up smash from 0% to low percentages; into a short hopped neutral aerial; short hopped back aerial and short hopped Spin Attack from low to medium percentages; and into forward aerial and up aerial from medium to high percentages. Due to Toon Link swinging the Master Sword on a 180° arc, it is also decent at punishing rolls.
Down tilt Grass Cutter (草薙ぎ) 7% A kneeling inward slash. Can cause opponents to trip at low percents with a 50% tripping chance and comes out on frame 9 with very minimal ending lag, making it very good for set-ups and tech-chases as well as being able to lock. At higher percents, it launches opponents away at a horizontal angle. It can also be used for edge-guarding, thanks to the Master Sword's blade being capable of reaching below edges.
Dash attack Running Hack (追い斬り) 8% (sweetspot), 6% (sourspot) A lunging outward slash. It has fast startup at frame 7 and minimal ending lag (19 frames), making it safe on shield despite its lack of shieldstun and useful for catching landings. However, it has a sourspot on Toon Link's arm that deals less damage.
Forward smash Smash Upper (スマッシュアッパー) 14% Winds up and then performs an upward-arcing slash. It moves Toon Link slightly forwards. The duration of this move's hitbox is deceptively shorter that the duration of the swing (frames 8 and 9). As such, the move's range is also deceptively short and will fail to damage opponents above Toon Link beginning at frame 10. It is one of the strongest forward smashes in Ultimate, as it KOs middleweights at around 84% while near the edge of Final Destination.
Up smash Sky Slash (天空斬り) 13% A hopping, overhead-arcing slash. It is capable of hitting behind Toon Link. Although the animation causes Toon Link to hop, it cannot reach opponents standing on a Battlefield platform above him. A standard anti-air and effective for covering both sides of Toon Link quickly should down smash not suffice. It has the lowest amount of ending lag out of his smash attacks. Although each of its hitboxes share the same knockback values, its late hitbox's lower damage output results in its KO potential being noticeably lower deals less damage than its early and clean hitboxes. Its early and clean hitboxes KO middleweights at around 114% from anywhere on Final Destination. In comparison, its late hitbox KOs them at 149% from anywhere on Final Destination.
Down smash Front and Back Sword Slice (前後足元斬り) 12% (front), 13% (back) A kneeling inward slash in front of himself, followed by a kneeling outward slash behind himself. Unlike in previous games, the first hit no longer leads into the second, although both hits have their knockbacks compensated, making the move effective near the sides of the stage. Both hits can KO middleweights at around 121% while near the edge of Final Destination.
Neutral aerial Two Part Slash (二段斬り) 8.5% (front), 7% (back) An inward slash followed by an outward slash behind himself. Has a chance to trip (30% trip chance) grounded opponents at low percents. Can also be useful for locking, or as a combo starter. It can auto-cancel at the peak of a short hop. Due to it hitting on frame 6, it has the lowest amount of start-up out of his aerials. When coupled with its ability to be auto-canceled with a short hop and its minimal landing lag, it is a viable approaching option when SHFF'd. However, its 27 frames of ending lag make it punishable when it is not auto-canceled. It is possible, albeit rare, to land both hits at lower percents, especially against opponents with wider hurtboxes, such as R.O.B. and Bowser.
Forward aerial Slash Up (斬り上げ) 13% A spinning outward slash. Has noticeable startup at frame 14, but it has low ending lag, can auto-cancel in a short hop and its respectable damage output and high knockback growth make it one of Toon Link's most viable KOing options. It KOs middleweights at around 99% while near the edge of Final Destination. In addition to its KO potential, it has combo potential: it can function as a set-up into Spin Attack at low percentages; into a grab aerial at slightly higher percentages; and as a follow-up from Bomb. It resembles his rolling Parry Attack.
Back aerial Backward Slash Up (後方斬り上げ) 8% Turns around and performs an upward-arcing slash behind himself. It is almost identical to forward aerial, but trades power for faster startup, being tied with neutral aerial for the fastest startup of his aerials, at frame 6. While it does not KO middleweights until around 177% at the edge of Final Destination, thus making it best useful while near the upper blast line when attempting to score a KO, its very low base knockback, high knockback growth, and ability to auto-cancel with a short hop make it a fairly good option for combos. It can combo into itself at low percents for a wall of pain, and into an aerial Spin Attack as a KO combo.
Up aerial Jump Thrust (上突き, Up Thrust) 14% (clean), 11% (late) The Jump Thrust. Possesses properties of a sex kick. Its clean hitbox's respectable damage output and high knockback growth make it one of Toon Link's most viable KOing options. It KOs middleweights at around 89% while near the upper blast line of Final Destination. Its late hitbox deals less damage, which makes it unsuited for KOing in spite of it possessing the same knockback values as its clean hitbox. When coupled with its much longer duration, however, it is nevertheless useful for juggling.
Down aerial Sword Plant (下突き急降下, Down Thrust Dive) 16% (clean), 14% (late) , 5% (landing) A stall-then-fall version of the Down Thrust. It boasts a powerful meteor smash at the beginning of the descent, and weak windboxes on landing, while also possessing a small hitbox that deals 5% when Toon Link takes out the Master Sword. It is extremely risky to use offstage, as it has a long duration and, unlike the down aerials of the other Links, Toon Link's will not bounce off of opponents he hits. As in SSB4, it now pierces an opponent, which makes it a useful edge-guarding option when performed on edges because of its clean hitbox being a meteor smash. Due to it hitting on frame 17, however, it has the highest amount of start-up lag out of Toon Link's aerials. When coupled with its 24 frames of landing lag, it is his most punishable aerial attack, although it has rather minimal lag for a comparable aerial attack of its kind (15 frames). Resembles his final strike to Ganondorf's head in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
Grab aerial Midair Hookshot (空中フックショット) 4% Fires his Hookshot forward. Can be used to grab edges and is a very useful spacing option. As well as being safe on shield, it set ups tech situations at high percentages, which can act as an effective kill confirm. It replaces Down Tilt as Toon Link's main jab reset setup above 80-100% depending on character weight.
Grab Hookshot (フックショット) Fires his Hookshot forward. It is a tether grab, and thus has more lag than traditional grabs in exchange for much longer range. Has noticeably less ending lag than Young Link's grabs.
Pummel Grab Hilt Strike (つかみ柄なぐり) 1% Bashes the opponent with the pommel of the Master Sword. A quick pummel with minimal damage.
Forward throw Tackle (タックル) 3% (hit), 4% (throw) A shoulder tackle. Deals collateral damage to bystanders. Its moderate knockback makes it a decent option for setting up edgeguards and creating space, as well as launching the opponent into the trajectory of a returning Boomerang or a descending Bomb. It can also combo into a dash attack at low percentages, but this combo is only effective if the opponent misses their tech and does not DI.
Back throw Circle Throw (巴投げ) 7% Performs the tomoe nage,[1] a judo throw. When coupled with its very high knockback growth, it is one of Toon Link's most viable KOing options, and one of the strongest throws of all kinds in the game, as it can KO middleweights at around 138% at the edge of Final Destination with good DI.
Up throw Throw Away Slash (投げ捨て斬り) 5% (hit), 2% (throw) Tosses the opponent up into the air and performs a spinning upward-arcing slash. It has very minimal KO potential, even on platforms, as it KOs middleweights at around 185% on Final Destination. Instead, it is best suited for setting up aerial pressure or launching an opponent into the trajectory of a previously thrown Boomerang or Bomb. However, it is useful for launching an opponent into a descending Bomb. It can also combo into a short hopped up aerial at low percentages, although this combo is fairly easily to avoid.
Down throw Elbow Strike (ヒジ打ち, ヒジ打ち) 3% (hit), 4% (throw) Pins the opponent to the ground and then performs an elbow drop. Due to its lack of combo potential, it is drastically inferior to his alternate timeline counterparts' down throws. As a result, its only utility is for setting up aerial pressure or launching an opponent into the trajectory of a previously thrown Boomerang or Bomb. Its only notable follow-up is back aerial, which is only usable if the opponent lands on a platform and fails to tech their landing.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge
Techs
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front)
  7% Slashes in front and behind himself while getting up.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back)
  7% Slashes in front and behind himself while getting up.
Floor attack (trip)
Floor getups (trip)
  5% Slashes in front and behind himself while getting up.
Edge attack
Edge getups
  9% Performs an outward-arcing slash while climbing up.
Neutral special Hero's Bow 4% (uncharged), 12% (fully charged) Wields his Hero's Bow to fire an arrow. It can be charged up for more power and range. The arrows move much slower than the arrows that Link or Young Link fire, making them easier to avoid. However, this also means that the arrows remain active for longer. It can also lock at low percents. Unlike Link's Hero's Bow, Toon Link's version fires arrows that are floaty, which in turn makes them more consistent for zoning.
Side special Boomerang 8% (close), 9.6% (smash throw), 5% (far), 3% (return) Throws his Boomerang forward. It flies forward and then returns to Toon Link. On their direction forward, it launches opponents vertically with low base knockback, and upon boomeranging, it launches them towards Link with the lack of base knockback, albeit very high knockback growth, allowing it to set up combos. It can be angled up or down, and inputting it like a smash attack increases its damage, as well as the distance it can travel. The Boomerang is typically tilted vertically during its flight, and typically tilted horizontally during its return. It can be thrown at a variety of diagonal angles with the control stick, and three primary directions with the directional pad. At close range, it can be used as a set-up into another attack. Like Gale Boomerang, if Toon Link fails to catch his Boomerang, he must wait very briefly before he can use it again. Unlike Gale Boomerang, it damages opponents it comes into contact with upon returning, instead of pushing them toward Toon Link.
Up special Spin Attack 1% (uncharged hits 1-10), 3% (uncharged hit 11), 1.6% (charged hits 1-10), 4% (charged hit 11), 4% (aerial hit 1), 2% (aerial hits 2-4) 4% (aerial hit 5) Spins rapidly with the Master Sword outstretched. The grounded version is a series of outward slashes, whereas the aerial version is a series of inward slashes. The last hit of both versions has a horizontal launching angle. The grounded version can be charged to inflict even more damage, and due to it being faster and much stronger than in SSB4, it is an exceptional out of shield option and one of Toon Link's best KO options. The aerial version can carry opponents to the upper blast line, and KO them there if they are sufficiently damaged. When coupled with its decent knockback, its fully charged clean hit KOs middleweights at around 91% while near the edge of Final Destination. It also moves Toon Link forward, which can allow him to use it for punishing when it is spaced properly.
Down special Bomb 5.4%-7% Pulls out a Bomb. Arguably Toon Link's best combo starter, it grants him a number of follow-ups at varying percentages. With precise usage, it can be followed up with up smash or forward aerial for a potential KO confirm, even at high percentages. Unlike Link's Bomb, Toon Link's version explodes 4.98 seconds (299 frames) after being pulled out and deals less damage itself. However, its explosion is much larger; deals more damage when smash thrown at the opponent's feet; and has less knockback growth. Like Link's Bomb, Toon Link's version can damage himself unless it hits an opponent first, which in turn can be used to remove him from helplessness.
Final Smash Triforce Slash 1% (trapping), 2.8% (hits 1-14), 2% (hit 15), 14% (final) Uses the Triforce of Courage to emit a thin beam of light from his left hand to stun an opponent in front of himself. If the beam comes in contact with an opponent, Toon Link dashes forward and performs a barrage of slashes while they are trapped in a Triforce-shaped energy field before concluding with an outward slash that shatters the energy field and launches them and any bystanders. It is among the most powerful Final Smashes in the game, as it will KO middleweights at around 18% while near the edge of Final Destination. It can hit multiple opponents, but all non-trapped opponents are launched out the energy field after the penultimate hit. In comparison to Link and Young Link's Triforce Slash, Toon Link's Triforce Slash has much shorter range.

Stats

Stats Weight Dash speed Walk speed Traction Air friction Air speed Air acceleration Gravity Falling speed Jumpsquat Jump Height Double jump Height
Value 91 1.914 – Initial dash
1.906 – Run
1.288 0.086 0.01 1.05 0.01 – Base
0.08 – Additional
0.081 1.38 – Base
2.208Fast-fall
3 33.8 - Base
16.32 - Short hop
33.8

Announcer call

Sound.png This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files.
The editor who added this tag suggests: Needs announcer calls from other languages.
If you have a good audio file for this article, upload it here.

On-screen appearance

  • A cartoonish explosion appears on-screen. As the smoke fades, Toon Link makes an appearance and equips the Master Sword and Hero's Shield.

Taunts

  • Up taunt: Sheaths the Master Sword and places the Hero's Shield on his back and uses the Wind Waker to conduct the "Wind God's Aria", with a tune at the end, which is the same one heard after completing a song in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
  • Side taunt: Sheaths the Master Sword and places the Hero's Shield on his back and watches a fairy fly around.
  • Down taunt: Swings the Master Sword in front of himself while yelling in a panicked tone, ending with him being comically exhausted and catching his breath.

Idle poses

  • Looks around cautiously.
  • Taps his foot on the ground.

Crowd cheer

Cheer (English) Cheer (Japanese/Chinese) Cheer (Italian) Cheer (Dutch) Cheer (French)
Cheer NTSC

PAL
NTSC

PAL
Description Link Link Link! Lin - k! Forza Link! *claps 3 times* Link! Link! *claps 3 times* Allez Link! *clap 3 times*
Cheer (German) Cheer (Spanish) Cheer (Russian) Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
NTSC

PAL
Description Link Link Link! *claps 3 times* Link! Link! *claps 3 times* Lin - ku! *claps 3 times*

Victory poses

  • Left: Conducts using the Wind Waker before striking a pose similar to his official artwork from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
  • Up: Persuades a pig. Upon catching a pig, he holds it above his head. Whilst balancing on one foot, he occasionally starts to lose balance before steadying himself.
  • Right: Tries to catch a pig, but ends up tripping and falling on his bottom. He then proceeds to rub his bottom for the rest of the victory pose while smiling sheepishly.
A flourished and abridged remix of the theme that plays when Link obtains a Triforce Piece in The Legend of Zelda and has since become the primary theme of The Legend of Zelda series.

In competitive play

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Toon Link players (SSBU)

  • Mexico Ang - Although his activity is relegated to Mexico, he has consistently been one of the best Toon Link players in North America, regularly placing top 8 at BIT MASTER MTY events and has also placed 17th at the supermajor Smash Factor 9.
  • USA JoJoDaHoBo - One of the best Toon Link players in North America who has higher peaks. He most notably placed 13th at the superregional Crown 2 upsetting Zomba as well as 17th at the major MAJOR UPSET.
  • Japan Lv.1 - One of the best Toon Link players in the world, especially since 2023. His 3rd-place finish at the major Maesuma TOP 15 "FINAL" is currently the best Toon Link placement at a major.
  • Japan Manzoku - The third-best Toon Link player in Japan. Although not as consistent, he has seen some strong results such as 25th at the supermajors Kagaribi 5, Umebura SP 9, and DELTA 4.
  • USA Marvelous_Marco - One of the best Toon Link players in North America who is more consistent at majors, most notably 17th at the major Rise 'N Grind 2023 and 33rd at the supermajor Battle of BC 5.
  • Japan Sigma - The best Toon Link player of all-time, and the only Toon Link player ranked top 50 on a global ranking, ranking 44th on the UltRank 2022.

Tier placement and history

Toon Link received middling success in the early metagame, most notably in Mexico -- thanks to players such as Ang and Hyuga -- and Japan -- thanks to players such as Lv.1, Ri-ma, and Sigma. However, Toon Link's representation was not as strong outside of those two regions, mainly due to perceptions that Toon Link was noticeably inferior to Link and Young Link. This perception stemmed from the buffs and changes Link and Young Link received, which made several to consider both characters at least high-tier. Coversely, Toon Link received a mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition, and was regarded as a weaker version of Young Link due to having a possessing projectile-oriented game and damage output. In addition, most of Toon Link's best players generally only participated at regional-level events, while Ri-ma relegated Toon Link to a secondary in favor of Joker, leaving Sigma as the only notable Toon Link player consistently performing well at majors. As such, several players considered Toon Link to be a mid-tier.

Dedicated mains would continue to push Toon Link, which led his overall representation to remain relatively stable for most of the game's lifespan, typically hovering between the high-30s to low-40s. Although some Toon Link players ultimately fell out of the limelight, newer players would appear and replace them, including Marvelous_Marco and JoJoDaHoBo, who began placing well at American events in the post-online metagame, and Manzoku, who dropped Link for Toon Link during the pandemic. In addition, Lv.1's results began improving, most notably in mid-2023, while Sigma's results remained strong, which ultimately led to him being ranked 44th on the UltRank 2022, the first Toon Link player to be ranked in the top 50 globally. This has led most of the community to believe Toon Link was stronger than previously perceived, now considering him as an upper mid-tier or high-tier at least. As it currently stands, Toon Link is ranked 49th on the tier list as an upper mid-tier and is no longer considered the worst Link, as he is ranked 4 spots above Link.

Classic Mode: The Teamwork of Courage

Toon Link's congratulations screen.

Toon Link fights alongside two CPU Toon Link teammates in all of his battles, likely referencing The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. Toon Link fights characters from different universes in each stage. If playing Classic Mode in Co-op, one CPU Toon Link will still appear.

Round Opponent Stage Music Notes
1 Mario (SSBU) Mario, Luigi (SSBU) Luigi, Peach (SSBU) Peach, and Yoshi (SSBU) Yoshi 3D Land Ground Theme / Underwater Theme - Super Mario 3D Land Toon Link (SSBU)Toon Link (SSBU) Toon Link (x2) are CPU allies. If either of these costumes are being used by the player, the Toon Link (SSBU) default Toon Link takes their place.
2 Villager (SSBU) Villager and Isabelle (SSBU) Isabelle Tortimer Island Kapp'n's Song
3 R.O.B. (SSBU)R.O.B. (SSBU)R.O.B. (SSBU) R.O.B. (x3) 75m (Battlefield form) Stack-Up/Gyromite
4 Squirtle (SSBU) Squirtle, Ivysaur (SSBU) Ivysaur, and Charizard (SSBU) Charizard Pokémon Stadium Battle! (Trainer) - Pokémon Sun / Pokémon Moon
5 Inkling (SSBU)Inkling (SSBU)Inkling (SSBU)Inkling (SSBU) Inkling (x4) Moray Towers Now or Never!
6 Giant Ganondorf (SSBU) Ganondorf Great Plateau Tower (Battlefield form) Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Bonus Stage
Final Ganon Sacred Land Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form Toon Link (SSBU)Toon Link (SSBU) Toon Link (x2) are CPU allies. If either of these costumes are being used by the player, the Toon Link (SSBU) default Toon Link takes their place.

Note: In the fourth round, Pokémon Trainer is absent.

Note 2: Items do not appear in the sixth round.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Toon Link has Hyrule Main Theme accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Toon Link in World of Light

Although Toon Link is absent in the opening cutscene of World of Light, he was vaporized and later placed under Galeem's imprisonment when the latter unleashes his beams of light to annihilate the world and the universe, alongside the rest of the fighters (excluding Kirby).

Toon Link is unlocked in the Forest Hill sub-area of The Light Realm. To awaken him, the player must activate a nearby switch which extends the bridge and defeat the spirit of Zelda (Breath of the Wild) that is located in front of him.

Later, the fighters prepare their final stand against Galeem and Dharkon, including Toon Link among them.

Fighter Battle

No. Image Name Type Power Stage Music
43
Toon Link SSBU.png
Toon Link
Attack
Attack
7,500 Wuhu Island (volcano) Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

Spirits

Toon Link's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Toon Link has been unlocked. Unlocking Toon Link in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, this incarnation of Link and others under the same artstyle appear in a few primary and support spirits.

In Spirit Battles

As the main opponent

Spirit Battle parameters Inspiration
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music Character
246
SSBU spirit Tetra.png
Tetra The Legend of Zelda Series Toon Link Toon Link (SSBU)
Shield
9,800 Pirate Ship •Item: Bullet Bill
•Hazard: Heavy Wind
•Dangerously high winds are in effect
•The enemy is easily distracted by items
The Great Sea / Menu Select
256
SSBU spirit Ezlo.png
Ezlo The Legend of Zelda Series Toon Link Toon Link (SSBU)
Attack
3,700 Distant Planet •Hazard: Left Is Right, Right Is Left
•Giant
•The enemy is giant
•Left and right controls will suddenly reverse after a little while
Village of the Blue Maiden Link (The Minish Cap)
260
SSBU spirit Alfonzo & Engineer Link.png
Alfonzo and Engineer Link The Legend of Zelda Series Toon Link Toon Link (SSBU)
Captain Falcon Captain Falcon (SSBU)
Attack
3,600 Spirit Train •Attack Power ↑ •The enemy's dash attacks have increased power
•The enemy has increased attack power after a little while
•The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you
Full Steam Ahead Engineer Link
262
SSBU spirit Totem Link.png
Totem Link The Legend of Zelda Series Toon Link Toon Link (SSBU)Toon Link (SSBU)Toon Link (SSBU)
Grab
3,500 Hyrule Castle •Item: The Legend of Zelda •The enemy favors smash attacks Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
1,293
from the game's files
Bomberman Bomberman Series Toon Link Toon Link (SSBU)
Grab
9,700 Wrecking Crew (Battlefield form) •Assist Trophy Enemies (Bomberman)
•Item: Exploding Types
•The enemy's explosion and fire attacks have increased power
•Hostile assist trophies will appear
Bomb Man Stage
1,322
SSBU spirit Link (Link's Awakening).png
Link (Link's Awakening) The Legend of Zelda Series Toon Link Toon Link (SSBU)
Neutral
9,400 Tortimer Island
(Two palm trees, two regular trees)
•Assist Trophy Enemies (Chain Chomp) •Hostile assist trophies will appear Tal Tal Heights
1,427
SSBU spirit King Olly.png
King Olly Paper Mario Series Toon Link Toon Link (SSBU)
•Giant Metal Pac-Man Pac-Man (SSBU)
Attack
9,700 Princess Peach's Castle (Ω form) N/A •Defeat the main fighter to win
•The enemy favors air attacks
•The enemy is metal
Attack and Run!

As a minion

Spirit Battle parameters Inspiration
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music Character
250
SSBU spirit Aryll.png
Aryll The Legend of Zelda Series Villager Villager (SSBU)
Toon Link Toon Link (SSBU)
Shield
9,000 Wuhu Island (Swaying Bridge) N/A •The enemy has increased attack power The Great Sea / Menu Select Link (The Wind Waker)
253
SSBU spirit Beedle.png
Beedle The Legend of Zelda Series Shulk Shulk (SSBU)
Toon Link Toon Link (SSBU)
Neutral
2,600 Gaur Plain (Battlefield form) •Item: Beetle •Items will be pulled toward the enemy Dragon Roost Island Link (The Wind Waker)
257
SSBU spirit Linebeck.png
Linebeck The Legend of Zelda Series Luigi Luigi (SSBU)
Toon Link Toon Link (SSBU)
Neutral
9,000 Wuhu Island (The boat) •Buoyancy Reduced •No one knows how to swim The Great Sea / Menu Select Link (Phantom Hourglass)
263
SSBU spirit Madame Couture.png
Madame Couture The Legend of Zelda Series Rosalina & Luma Rosalina (SSBU)
Toon Link Toon Link (SSBU)Toon Link (SSBU)Toon Link (SSBU)
Grab
3,300 Skyloft N/A •Defeat the main fighter to win
•Reinforcements will appear during the battle
Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes Links (Tri Force Heroes)
1,519
SSBU spirit Power Pro-Kun, Aoi Hayakawa, & Mamoru Ikari.png
Power Pro-Kun, Aoi Hayakawa, & Mamoru Ikari eBASEBALL: POWER PROS Ness Ness (SSBU)
Toon Link Toon Link (SSBU)
Villager Villager (SSBU)
Grab
9,600 Pokémon Stadium 2 (hazards off) •Item: Beastball •The enemy starts the battle with a Home-Run Bat Baseball (Training) Mamoru Ikari

Alternate costumes

Alternate costume (SSBU)
Toon Link (SSBU) Toon Link (SSBU) Toon Link (SSBU) Toon Link (SSBU) Toon Link (SSBU) Toon Link (SSBU) Toon Link (SSBU) Toon Link (SSBU)

Gallery

Fighter Showcase Video

Trivia

  • Toon Link's pose in his official render is based on an artwork of him performing a Spin Attack in The Wind Waker, which was also used in promotional art for European limited edition bundles of the game. This artwork was also edited and reused for The Minish Cap.
  • Toon Link is the only character who travels to 3D Land in Classic Mode.
  • Toon Link and Diddy Kong are the only characters who have a CPU ally in every round of their Classic Mode.
  • While holding a small item, Toon Link reuses his facial expressions from Smash 4 in his idle animation.
  • Despite Toon Link's down aerial no longer bouncing off opponents, his character files still have data for the 8% damage hitbox used after a bounce, which is labeled as "AttackAirLw2Attack". This was also the case in Smash 4.
  • In his Ultimate trailer, his sword-wielding attacks emit punching sounds when they hit: this is different from the actual game, where they emit unique comical slashing sounds.
  • Toon Link is one of only five characters to predominantly use his left hand to wield his weapon, sharing this trait with Young Link, Sephiroth, Ice Climbers, and Rosalina & Luma.
  • Toon Link is one of five characters whose unlocking battle in World of Light is not on either Final Destination or a Ω form. The other four are Peach, Daisy, King K. Rool, and Mii Gunner.
  • When using his up taunt and in one of his victory screens, Toon Link appears to conduct the Wind’s Requiem with the Wind Waker, which is the first song Link learns in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Notes

1.^ translates to "Circle Throw"