Zelda (SSB4)

Zelda in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Light Arrow
Tier	H (55)

Zelda (ゼルダ, Zelda) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. She was announced on December 26th, 2013, the date on which The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds was released in Japan. Jun Mizusawa, who voiced Zelda in Melee, Brawl, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, reprises her role albeit via recycled voice clips from Brawl.

Zelda is currently ranked 55th out of 58 on the tier list, placing her in the H tier. This is a marginal improvement from her placement in Brawl, where she was ranked 37th out of 38. Zelda possesses some strengths, with Farore's Wind arguably being her most notable one: it has utility as both a long-distanced recovery move and her strongest finisher (especially from out of shield), with its power enabling her to KO middleweights and heavyweights as low as 50% and 70%, respectively. She has also gained a capable damage racking game, thanks to changes inherent during SSB4's launch and from subsequent game updates. Outside of these changes, Zelda retains a number of fairly powerful attacks, particularly her forward smash, up smash and Lightning Kicks.

However, Zelda's numerous flaws are severe enough to completely outweigh these strengths: her mobility, hitbox placements, survivability, and neutral game are all among the worst, while her projectiles are middling. A large number of her attacks are KO moves that require the landing of a sweetspot to be effective, resulting in her KOing ability being rather weak and netting her an abundance of ineffective moves. Din's Fire is slow, easily avoidable and leaves Zelda vulnerable due to its lag and rendering her helpless in midair, though it has use in doubles by supporting a teammate. Phantom Slash requires charging to cover any actual distance and can even be rendered temporarily inactive if the Phantom is destroyed, but it can become a useful edge-guarding option if timed properly and also possesses impressive power when fully charged. Finally and most notably, Zelda can no longer Transform into Sheik to alleviate her weaknesses, due to the latter having become an entirely separate character. This is compounded even further by the massive amount of buffs Sheik received.

As a result of her numerous, glaring weaknesses, Zelda has garnered poor results and representation in competitive play.

Attributes

Zelda's character archetype continues to be the same as in Melee and Brawl: she is a tall, floaty lightweight with slow walking, dashing and falling speeds, as well as low gravity. Although her air speed and air acceleration are both above average, her mobility is still rather sub-par overall. When coupled with a poor neutral game, these attributes result in Zelda having a poor approach.

Zelda defies most other character playstyles. While her approach is lacking, her out of shield and punishment games are quite strong. She is generally played defensively, but a moderately aggressive playstyle can offer a noticeable benefit. Her special moveset, while not having very useful options, is still decent regardless. In terms of projectiles, she has a notable one in Phantom Slash. As a chargeable attack, Phantom Slash sports both offensive and defensive capabilities and can even be used for edge-guarding against recovering opponents, as it can KO them surprisingly early if fully charged. It also blocks Zelda from many attacks and projectiles, until the Phantom breaks, resulting in the move being rendered inactive for 9 seconds. Phantom Slash can also be used rather effectively when coming down from the upper corners of the stage to apply pressure to an opponent standing at the edge. However, its ending lag, poor range at its lowest charges, and its susceptibility to reflectors may hinder its use if it is not used wisely.

Despite being a predictable projectile in Brawl, Din's Fire has been nerfed to the point of having little utility outside of having a chance of getting extra damage on the opponent when edge-guarding. Even then, it is very easy to jump or air dodge even when the player predicts the opponent's movements. Farore's Wind is a long-ranged teleport move with a hitbox and invincibility, giving her a reliable move for recovering. In addition to its long range and being unpredictable for the opponent to counter if used wisely, Farore's Wind is now one of Zelda's most viable KOing options: its powerful disappearing hitbox sends opponents directly upward, and if Zelda follows them straight up with its reappearing hitbox, it can KO characters from 50%-70%. Lastly, Nayru's Love is known for its reflecting purposes as well as its hitboxes that damage and push opponents far when used, making it an all-around useful move for offense and defense.

Zelda's grab game is also above average. Her grab range is fairly large for a non-tether grab and is disjointed, making it a relatively safe move to use, whereas her pummel has a good damage output despite being moderately slow. Her down throw is a fairly reliable combo starter especially on fast-fallers; while it can combo into several of her aerials sans down aerial, at KO percentages, it can be followed by an up aerial if it is not DI'd properly. Her back throw deals respectable damage and is very strong, able to KO at high percentages, while also being good for putting the opponent off-stage at low percents. Likewise, her forward throw is one of the most damaging throws in the game, and can set the opponent up for an edge-guard. Finally, her up throw deals respectable damage and can work as a combo throw, albeit only on fast-fallers.

Zelda's ground game is below average, though every move has its use. Her up and down tilts are reliable combo starters thanks to their low ending lag and knockback, while her forward tilt has KO power, but suffers from relatively high ending lag. Her forward and up smashes have great power, especially the latter, while the former has low ending lag and is useful for pressuring shields. However, forward smash lacks any confirmed set-ups at KOing percents, while up smash's only confirmed set-up is from a falling neutral aerial, which is only successful sometimes rather than consistently. Her down smash has the lowest KO power among her smash attacks, but it comes out very quickly, has low ending lag, and is a semi-spike, allowing her to launch opponents with poor recoveries too far from the stage to recover. Zelda's neutral attack is a decent combo starter with very low ending lag, though it suffers from the longest start-up lag of any neutral attack. Lastly, her dash attack has good KO power, though it is often difficult to sweetspot due to Zelda's poor mobility.

In comparison, Zelda's air game is decent thanks to her aerial attacks. While they require precision to be truly effective, her Lightning Kicks, up aerial and down aerial boast enough power to KO easily when sweetspotted. One of them functions differently from them, though: her neutral aerial is one of the most damaging neutral aerials in the game, while also boasting combo potential. Zelda's combo game is also much better than in previous installments: her combo starters range from a falling neutral aerial (which can chain into a grab or up tilt), up tilt (which can chain into itself or her aerials), down tilt (which can chain into a grab, any of her tilts or any of her aerials) and down throw (which can chain into either her neutral, up or back aerials). Both her down aerial on grounded opponents and her neutral attack can start combos or tech chases, while Nayru's Love can also start tech chases. She has many ways to punish mistakes out of shield, courtesy of her Lightning Kicks, neutral aerial, Nayru's Love and, most notably, Farore's Wind.

However, Zelda also possesses a number of glaring weaknesses. Like in previous games, she has the inconvenient combination of being tall, light and floaty, making her fairly easy to KO, especially vertically. Her mobility is also slow overall, having a poor dashing speed and falling speed, while her air speed is above average, her falling speed otherwise hinders the powerful aerial prowess on her moves. Her main ways of dealing with pressure projectiles are lacking: short-ranged pressure is problematic for her since Nayru's Love is rather laggy in terms of ending lag, while Phantom Slash is slightly situational and, like Din's Fire, does not help her camp very well.

She has many laggy attacks with a few poorly placed hitboxes, making it difficult for her to KO despite her power. Because of this, Zelda's only consistently reliable KOing options are her forward and up smashes, back throw, Lightning Kicks and Farore's Wind, with all of them aside from forward smash and back throw being easily punishable. Despite having a reliable recovery, Farore's Wind can also cause her to recover in the wrong direction if she recovers from the stage slopes, and she cannot move in her free fall animation until a long while afterwards due to Farore's Wind's high ending lag.

Zelda's custom moves are also among worst in the game, as they either fail to fix her significant problems or are only slightly better than the default versions. Nayru's Rejection reverses opponents, but has slightly increased starting lag and is overall weaker than Nayru's Love, with its only benefit being its increased intangibility. It also does not have the same benefits as Mario's Cape, as it does not leave the opponent in free fall. Farore's Windfall meteor smashes opponents, but only travels straight up while still halting her momentum and gaining no benefit from a double jump. Unless used near the edge or in the air, it has very little KO potential, only KOing opponents regularly until the 400% range and higher, removing her most notable KOing option in the process. However, Zelda does have a few worthwhile custom moves. Phantom Breaker can break shields very easily, although it deals less damage and travels a set distance. Din's Blaze moves slower, but has much stronger knockback and, if used carefully, it can be a deadly edge-guarding option. Aside from these, her remaining custom moves are only situational at best.

Overall, Zelda relies on a patient and defensive playstyle that consists of using her superb out of shield game to score KOs. Like in Melee and Brawl, Zelda has very poor tournament representation and little noteworthy results, with only a handful of her notable players being dedicated mains.

Changes from Brawl

Despite her status as the second worst character in Brawl, Zelda has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition to SSB4. Due to her major flaws not being properly alleviated, however, she is considered to be nerfed overall. Most of them were mostly to her power, with her up tilt having its knockback significantly reduced, her up and down smashes having less range, and Din's Fire being less maneuverable and harder to hit with. Her Lightning Kicks have higher ending and landing lag, worsening her approach. Most notably, she has also lost her ability to Transform into Sheik, which is further compounded by the latter having been significantly buffed in the transition from Brawl to SSB4.

However, Zelda also received some buffs. Farore's Wind is now a risky but very viable KOing option, especially from out of shield, due to the significant increases to its damage output and knockback. Her Lightning Kicks are much easier to land due to altered hitbox placements, improving their utility as a KOing option. Due to losing Transform, Zelda received a new down special in Phantom Slash. In addition to being a fairly strong projectile and capable edge-guarding option, the Phantom itself can block opponents' attacks and enable Zelda to attack from behind it, and also helps her cover almost all edge get-up options. Lastly, Zelda's combo game has been noticeably improved: her up tilt's increased speed and lowered knockback enables it to chain into itself much like her down tilt can, her neutral aerial is now even better for combos as well, and her down throw's altered angle results in it being better at setting up aerial follow-ups.

However, these buffs only compensate for Zelda's damage racking game, as she still possesses a poor neutral game while both her attacking speed and mobility are still slow despite the buffs they received.

Aesthetics

• Zelda once again appears as her The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess incarnation, but her overall color scheme is now noticeably brighter due to SSB4's vibrant aesthetics. Additionally, the grieves on her boots are more enunciated, with the buckles no longer merging with her soles and the metal Triforce studs on said buckles having been removed. Lastly, Zelda is much more expressive.
• Most attacks have updated visuals and sound effects. Additionally, all magical attacks now have a magic effect, rather than an electric effect.
• Sidestep's and air dodge's animations have changed.

Attributes

• Zelda walks faster (0.8 → 0.87).
• Zelda dashes faster (1.224 → 1.3).
• Zelda's air speed is faster (0.987 → 1.04).
• Zelda falls faster (1.13 → 1.35).
• Zelda's gravity is higher (0.067 → 0.071), allowing her to reach her maximum falling speed faster.
• Rolls have decreased ending lag (IASA 32 → 31).
• Sidestep has increased ending lag (IASA 26 → 28).
• Air dodge has decreased ending lag (IASA 50 → 34).
• Rolls, sidestep and air dodge have decreased intangibility frames (frames 4-19 → 4-17 (rolls), frames 2-20 → 3-18 (sidestep), frames 4-29 → 3-28 (air dodge)).
• Zelda can no longer Transform into Sheik, with the latter becoming her own separate character.
• Due to the removal of Transform, Zelda can no longer access Sheik's mobility to greatly alleviate her own. She also cannot benefit from the plethora of buffs that Sheik received.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack deals 5% more damage (6% → 11%), has decreased ending lag (25 frames → 24) and its hits connect together better.
• Sweetspotted dash attack has altered knockback (70 (base)/70 (growth) → 85/70 (body), 50 (base)/70 (growth) → 80/50 (hand)), granting it KO potential beginning at medium percents.
• Dash attack's hitbox duration is shorter (frames 6-13 → 6-10).
• Forward tilt deals less damage (13%/12%/11% → 12%/10%) and its hitbox duration is shorter (frames 12-14 → 10).
• Forward tilt has decreased start-up (frame 12 → 10) and ending lag (40 frames → 38). It also has a larger z-position (3u → 3.5u), improving its range.
• Forward tilt no longer launches opponents backward. This improves its KO potential when sweetspotted, but removes its follow-up potential into back Lightning Kick.
• Up tilt deals 3.8% less damage (11% → 7.2%) and has altered knockback (65 (base)/105 (growth) → 45/110), removing its KO potential at reasonable percents.
• Up tilt has decreased start-up (frame 10 → 7) and ending lag (48 frames → 29), granting it combo potential.
• Down tilt deals less damage (8%/7% → 5.5%), but with its knockback growth compensated (80 → 120). It also no longer traps opponents due to losing its meteor smash hitbox.
• Forward and up smashes have have increased knockback (30 (base)/105 (growth) → 37/110 (forward), 20 (base)/210 (growth) → 24/214 (up)), improving their KO potentials. They also have decreased SDI multipliers, which makes their hits connect together better.
• Forward and up smashes have increased ending lag (40 frames → 50 (forward), 57 frames → 64 (up)).
• Up and down smashes have slightly decreased ranges.
• Down smash's knockback growth has been altered (95 → 86 (front), 85 → 96 (back)). This makes it function like several other down smashes, such as Mario's and Luigi's, in which the second hit is stronger than the first.
• Down smash has increased start-up lag (frame 4 → 5 (front), frame 12 → 13 (back)), resulting in it no longer being the fastest down smash. Its hitbox durations are shorter (frames 4-6 (front) → 5-6, frames 12-14 → 13-14 (back)) and it has lost the intangibility around Zelda's leg.
• Down smash has decreased ending lag (40 frames → 37).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial no longer deals consistent damage (13% → 15% (front)/11% (back).
• Neutral aerial's back hits now drag the opponent toward the front hits, allowing the move to deal more damage from that position.
• Neutral aerial's last hit has decreased knockback growth (130/120 → 130/110).
• Both Lightning Kicks have decreased base knockback (35 (forward)/40 (back) → 20/28). They also have increased start-up (frame 8 → 9 (forward), frame 5 → 6 (back)), ending (40 frames (front)/36 frames (back) → 53 (both)), and landing lag (22 frames (both) → 23 (forward)/25 (back)), although they are still among the fastest and the most powerful aerial attacks in the game.
• Both Lightning Kicks autocancel later (25 (forward)/26 (back) → 50>/52>) and they can no longer autocancel with a short hop.
• Both Lightning Kicks are easier to land due to altered hitbox placements and less freeze frames when sweetspotted (5 frames → 2), making them behave similarly to down aerial.
• Both Lightning Kicks' animations have slightly changed. Zelda now leans and faces away from the direction where she kicks and has her arms positioned differently, both of which make her hurtbox narrower.
• Up aerial deals 2% more damage (15% → 17%), has a larger hitbox (7u → 8u), and has decreased landing lag (22 frames → 19).
• Up aerial has decreased knockback growth (110 → 84), hindering its KO potential.
• Down aerial's sweetspot has a larger hitbox and can now hit grounded opponents.
• Sweetspotted down aerial has decreased knockback (50 (base)/90 (growth) → 30/65).

Throws/other attacks

• Standing and dash grabs have increased ranges (10.5 → 11.5 (standing), 13.5 → 14.5 (dash)).
• Standing and pivot grabs have decreased start-up lag (frame 12 → 10 (standing), frame 14 → 11 (pivot)).
• Pivot grab has decreased range (-18.7 → -16.7).
• Up throw has altered knockback (80 (base)/50 (growth) → 50/60), improving its follow-up potential against heavyweights and fast-fallers.
• Down throw deals 4% less damage (10% → 6%).
• Down throw's angle has been altered (40° → 100°), improving its follow-up potential.

Special moves

• Nayru's Love deals 4% less damage (15% → 11%) due to consisting of four hits instead of six. Additionally, the removal of momentum canceling makes Nayru's Love Jump gain significantly less vertical height, hindering its recovery potential.
• Nayru's Love has increased intangibility frames (5-11 → 5-15) and its hits connect together better.
• Nayru's Love now launches the opponent on whatever side of Zelda they are at, rather than launching them in the direction Zelda is facing.
• Din's Fire deals less damage (8%-16% → 7%-14% (sweetspot)/3.5%-7% (sourspot)) due to now consisting of a sweetspot and a sourspot. Additionally, its travel distance, maneuverability and explosion's range have been decreased to the point that it must travel a set distance away from Zelda before it can be detonated. Lastly, directing the move into the stage will no longer make it explode faster, but it will stop moving and explode at the same time as if releasing the special button at the same spot and time. Altogether, these changes significantly hinder its utility.
• Din's Fire has altered knockback due to now consisting of a sweetspot and a sourspot (50 (base)/60 (growth) → 50/97 (sweetspot), 55/40 (sourspot)).
• Farore's Wind deals more damage (12% → 16%/13%/18%/14%) and has decreased start-up lag (frame 11 → 7). Additionally, its grounded first hit's angle has been altered (80° → 91°), allowing it to combo into its reappearance hit. Lastly, its reappearance hit has altered knockback (40 (base)/100 (growth) → 90/90), granting it KO potential.
• Farore's Wind travels farther, gains significantly more height when used with a jump, and it now snaps the edge when first used, rather than needing Zelda to reappear first. Altogether, these changes significantly improve its recovery potential.
• Farore's Wind's reappearance hit has received a sourspot that deals less knockback.
• Farore Wind's reappearance hit is now a slash effect, rather than a flame effect.
• Zelda has a new down special, Phantom Slash. Phantom Slash summons a Phantom that is propelled forward before slashing with its sword. Phantom Slash can be charged to deal more damage, knockback and to propel the Phantom farther, while the Phantom itself can block attacks.
• Phantom Slash's charge cannot be stored or held indefinitely. Additionally, the Phantom can be reflected or Pocketed due to it functioning as a projectile. Lastly, the Phantom can be destroyed, which temporarily prevents Zelda from reusing Phantom Slash.
• Light Arrow deals 2% less damage (42% → 40%) and has decreased knockback, hindering its KO potential.

Update history

Zelda has been heavily buffed via game updates, beginning with update 1.0.6. Her forward tilt became faster, making it a better punishing option, her neutral attack, up tilt, and down tilt had their damage outputs increased, while up tilt gained true combo potential. The hits of her forward and up smashes also connect together much better, while the latter smash attack had its knockback and range increased, and her down smash had its ending lag decreased. Her neutral, up, and down aerials had their ending lag decreased, and her neutral and up aerials' damage outputs were increased. Lastly, Phantom Slash also received improvements in the forms of decreased ending lag the removal of a blind spot. Zelda also benefited from the changes to the shield mechanics brought about in updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1, due to her multiple hit attacks and Lightning Kicks becoming safer on shield, making her harder to punish.

Update 1.1.5 brought about some of Zelda's more noteworthy buffs, such as increased damage outputs to her neutral attack, neutral aerial and up aerial, with the latter's hitbox size also increasing and thus becoming a more reliable KOing option. In addition, Zelda's grab had its range improved, while her forward tilt and down smash became less laggy. Although some of her attacks also saw a slight decrease in knockback growth via updates, they all now allow Zelda to rack up damage more reliably to set up a KOing option. Regardless, Zelda still remains at a disadvantage compared to most of the cast.

1.0.4

• Up tilt's ending lag decreased: frame 35 → 33, improving its combo ability.
• Up tilt deals more damage: 6.5% → 7.2%.
• Pivot grab's Z-offset decreased: -4 – -18.7 → -4 – -15.7. This lowers its range.

1.0.5

• Pivot grab's animation slightly changed.
• Some attacks have improved visual effects.

1.0.6

• Forward smash's SDI multipliers decreased and its loop hits' angles altered. These changes make its hits connecting together better.
• Phantom Slash's ending lag decreased.
• The Phantom's on-stage duration increased by roughly a quarter of a second.
• The Phantom's respawn time increased: 6 seconds → 9.
• Back Lightning Kick has improved visual effects.

1.0.8

• Up smash has been improved. Its knockback increased, its multiple hits' hitbox sizes increased: 3u → 3.5u and its SDI multipliers decreased, improving its KO potential.
• Neutral aerial's front hits and back hits' damage outputs reversed: 1% (front)/2% (back) → 2%/1%.
• Neutral, up and down aerials' landing lag decreased: 22 (neutral, up)/21 (down) → 19/18.

1.1.0

• Neutral attack has been improved. It deals 2% more damage: 6% → 8%, its hits connect together better and its angle altered, improving its combo potential.
• Neutral attack's last hit's knockback altered: 24 (base)/150 (growth) → 35/130.
• Neutral attack's heavy position, bone, angle, size, and weight-based knockback adjusted on all hits.
• Up tilt's ending lag decreased: 32 → 29, improving its combo potential.
• Down tilt deals 1% more damage: 4.5% → 5.5%.
• Phantom Slash received a windbox that pushes opponents into the Phantom's sword at low charges and pushes them away at high charges. This essentially removes the move's blind spot.
• Phantom Slash's ending lag decreased by 5 frames.

1.1.1

• Neutral aerial's back hits now drag opponents toward its front hits, allowing the move to deal more damage from that position.
• Farore's Squall's hitbox duration increased by 1 frame.
• Farore's Squall's ending lag decreased by 6 frames.
• Nayru's Passion's windbox and explosion hitbox's start-up decreased by 2 and 5 frames, respectively.
• Nayru's Passion's windbox's position altered.

1.1.4

• Light Arrow's visual effects modified.

1.1.5

• Jab deals more damage: 8% → 11%. Its knockback was compensated however (35 (base)/130 (growth) → 40/95).
• Forward tilt startup and ending lag decreased: frame 12 (startup)/39 (ending lag) → 10/37. The Z position was also slightly increased to give it more reach: 3u → 3.5u.
• Down smash has less ending lag: 40 frames → 37.
• Neutral air deals more damage: 11% (front)/7% (back) → 15/11%. The knockback was compensated: 160/160/140/140 → 130/130/110/100.
• Up air deals 2% more damage: (15% → 17%), and has a larger hitbox: 7u → 8u. Its knockback was compensated, however (90 → 84).
• Nayru's Love has more intangibility frames: 5-12 → 5-15. This now makes it overlap with the first hitbox's first active frames, making it harder to have another attack cancel it.
• All grabs have more reach: 10.5 (standing)/13.5 (dash)/-15.7 (pivot) → 11.5/14.5/-16.7.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3% (hits 1-2), 5% (hit 3)	Extends her arm and emits a small blast of magical energy from her hand. It launches opponents slightly backward, making it a decent combo starter at low percents. It hits on frame 11, making it the slowest neutral attack in the game, although it has minimal ending lag. The hitbox follows Zelda's palm, meaning it can miss if the opponent is either small and/or crouching.
Forward tilt			12% (hand), 10% (arm)	A magically-infused, outward fanning knifehand strike. Can be angled and is moderately powerful for a tilt.
Up tilt			7.2%	Waves her arm in an overhead arcing motion while her hand is infused with magical energy. Due to its speed, it can combo into itself at low percents and into an aerial at medium percents. Its back hit has much more combo potential than its front hit.
Down tilt			5.5%	A shin kick. Due to its speed and how it slightly launches opponents into the air, it is a reliable combo starter. Aside from itself, it can also combo into up tilt and then be followed up with a forward tilt or a forward smash. It also has unexpectedly long duration and very low ending lag.
Dash attack			12% (clean base), 9% (clean tip), 6% (late)	A double palm thrust that emits a blast of magical energy from her hands, similarly to Peach's dash attack. Its sweetspot is located at its beginning. Can KO at medium to high percents near the edge.
Forward smash			1% (hits 1-4), 13% (hit 5)	A palm thrust that emits a blast of magical energy. Hits multiple times and deals decently high knockback, enabling it to KO around 108% and pressure shields.
Up smash			2% (hits 1-4), 0.8% (hits 5-7), 5% (hit 8)	Waves her arm in an overhead fanning motion while her hand is infused with magical energy. Hits multiple times and deals high knockback, but has short range. Can KO around 100% when uncharged.
Down smash			12% (front), 10% (back)	A spinning shin kick. Hits on both sides and is a semi-spike, which can be used as a set-up for a down aerial when launching the opponent off-stage.
Neutral aerial			2.5% (hits 1-4 front), 1.5% (hits 1-4 back), 5% (hit 5)	Spins with her arms outstretched and infused with magical energy. Hits multiple times around her before launching opponents. Has a fair amount of utility, as it can be used as a follow-up from her down throw, as a short hopped approach option to initiate combos, or as an edge-guarding option.
Forward aerial		Lightning Kick	20% (clean foot), 4% (clean leg, late)	A magically-infused flying kick. Its sweetspot lies at the tip of her foot and deals considerable damage and knockback. The sweetspot is easier to connect if it hits the opponent at the beginning of the move. Otherwise, it deals low damage knockback. Despite its positives, its ending lag is considerable enough for Zelda to get punished at low percents, even if the sweetspot connects. Can KO around 70%-90% near the edge if sweetspotted.
Back aerial		Lightning Kick	20% (clean foot), 4% (clean leg, late)	A magically-infused flying kick. Functions almost identically to her forward aerial, with the only differences being that it comes out 3 frames faster and its sweetspot is slightly stronger, KOing around 65%-85% if sweetspotted.
Up aerial			17%	Leans back and turns slightly before extending her arm above her head to emits a magical explosion from her index and middle fingers. Slow and requires precise timing to connect, but it has impressive knockback and can KO around 118% on a grounded opponent. It can also clip through the bottom of stage edges and have its hitbox go slightly above the edge or narrow areas of the stage.
Down aerial			16% (clean), 5% (late leg), 4% (late foot)	A magically-infused stomp. It meteor smashes opponents caught below Zelda's waist; the initial hitbox deals a powerful meteor smash, whereas later hitboxes hit opponents with a weaker meteor smash. A very useful edge-guarding option, especially as a follow-up from a down smash, due to the latter's semi-spiking property.
Grab			—	Restrains the opponent with magical energy. Zelda has a fairly large grab range.
Pummel			3%	A blast of magical energy. Moderately slow, but one of the most damaging pummels in the game.
Forward throw			12%	Magically spins the opponent in front of herself and then throws them away. One of the most damaging forward throws in the game. Useful for putting the opponent off-stage.
Back throw			11%	Magically spins the opponent and turns around with them in tow before throwing them away. It can KO Bowser at 176% near the edge without rage and with optimal directional influence from the opponent.
Up throw			11%	Magically spins the opponent overhead and then throws them upward. One of the most damaging up throws in the game. On fast-fallers, it can be followed up with a neutral aerial or up aerial if timed precisely.
Down throw			1% (hits 1-4), 2% (throw)	Magically shoves the opponent underneath herself and then blasts them with fiery, magical energy from her hands. It launches the opponent overhead, which allows it to be followed up with a neutral aerial and, if timed precisely, an up aerial or a back aerial. At high percents, Zelda can also follow it up with an up aerial or back aerial to score a relatively secure KO.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Kicks in front of herself and then behind herself.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Same as her front floor attack, but with a different animation.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Kicks around herself.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Performs a kick while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	Nayru's Love	2% (hits 1-3), 5% (hit 4), 1.25x (reflected projectiles)	Creates a crystal barrier that deals damage and reflects projectiles with 25% more power and speed than they originally had. Has 11 frames of intangibility from frames 5-15.
	Custom 1	Nayru's Rejection	1% (loop), 5% (last), 1.2x (reflected projectiles)	Weaker overall in both damage output and reflection multiplier, but reverses opponents and pushes them away. Has more start-up lag in exchange for increased intangibility and has the same speed growth as Nayru's Love.
	Custom 2	Nayru's Passion	15%	Vacuums in opponents and explodes. The explosion has high knockback, but at the cost of its reflection property.
Side special	Default	Din's Fire	7%-14% (sweetspot), 3.5%-7% (sourspot)	Launches a magical fireball when the special button is held. It can be aimed up or down and releasing the button causes it to explode. The longer the button is held down, the farther the blast will travel, automatically detonating when it reaches its maximum distance. It will renders Zelda helpless if used in midair.
	Custom 1	Din's Flare	14% (sweetspot), 7% (sourspot)	The fireball moves faster and has increased range and deals the same damage regardless of how long it is held. However, it can barely be adjusted vertically.
	Custom 2	Din's Blaze	7.6%-18% (sweetspot), 3.8%-9% (sourspot)	The fireball has much more vertical movement and an increased explosion size, but it is slower to detonate and travels much slower.
Up special	Default	Farore's Wind	6% (hit 1), 10% (ground hit 2 near), 7% (ground hit 2 far), 12% (ground hit 2 near), 8% (ground hit 2 far)	Teleports in a given direction, which deals damage upon contact while disappearing and while reappearing. When combined with a jump, its range is greatly increased. The first hit launches opponents directly overhead, which can possibly lead into the second hit if it is aimed up. The second hit deals very high knockback, to the point of KOing as low as 50% near the upper blast line depending on weight and DI, making it one of Zelda's most reliable KOing options and a powerful out of shield option. Has high ending lag in the air if missed, and Zelda cannot move around for more than a second.
	Custom 1	Farore's Squall	—	A defensive teleport rather than an offensive one. Instead of dealing damage, it pushes opponents away with a large windbox at the beginning. This wind comes out extremely quickly, making it useful for escaping pressure from an opponent. It also travels slightly farther, even more so if extended with a jump, and its slower speed allowing for better maneuverability. The first hit has set knockback, but deals no damage. It also takes much longer to start up, and telegraphs where Zelda is going due to it emitting magical particles.
	Custom 2	Farore's Windfall	4% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	The teleport can only go straight upward, but it meteor smashes opponents when Zelda reappears. Unlike the other versions, it gains no benefits when combined with a jump, though there is some horizontal control over Zelda. It also has considerably less KOing power, as it does not start KOing until the 400% range.
Down special	Default	Phantom Slash	6% (uncharged), 14% (charged), 24% (fully charged), 11% (fully charged hit 1), 13% (fully charged hit 2)	Conjures a Phantom and propels it forward, slashing opponents and blocking attacks. A chargeable projectile, charging longer increases the distance covered and the slashing attack is altered. When fully charged, it becomes a two-hit attack. However, since the Phantom is considered a projectile, it can be reflected and Pocketed. The Phantom is also considered a physical entity and provides a few benefits as a result: it can slow down opponents that try to move through it (except for the Zelda that conjured it) and block some non-penetrating hits due to the Phantom having set health on all charges (which also applies to its custom variations). Unlike Din's Fire, it will not render Zelda helpless if used in midair.
	Custom 1	Phantom Breaker	5% (uncharged), 12% (charged) 20% (fully charged), 9% (fully charged hit 1), 11% (fully charged hit 2)	Propels a Phantom at a set distance, which is approximately the distance of a Phantom Slash at its second charge. This results in a minimally charged Phantom traveling farther, and a fully charged Phantom traveling less distance when compared to Phantom Slash. It deals less regular damage, but as its name implies, it deals more shield damage.
	Custom 2	Phantom Strike	8% (uncharged), 20% (charged), 28%-30% (fully charged) 14% (fully charged hit 1), 14%-16% (fully charged hit 2)	Materializes a Phantom directly in front of herself instead of propelling it forward at varying ranges, but deals more damage and reaches its full charge in half the time.
Final Smash		Light Arrow	1% (hit 1), 39% (first opponent), 29% (second opponent), 21% (third opponent)	Wields her bow and then fires a single Light Arrow that deals significant damage and knockback and launches opponents at 45°. However, the damage and knockback decrease for each consecutive opponent hit.

On-screen appearance

• Teleports onto the stage with magic glowing between her hands and magical sparkles rising up from the floor around her.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Holds one arm straight up while assuming an elegant pose and having her hand infused with magic.
• Side taunt: Turns toward the screen, puts her hands together in front of her torso and conjures Din's Fire between them.
• Down taunt: Wave to the side while leaning forward slightly and smiling.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Brushes the back of her hair.
• Loosely holds one arm and then looks in multiple directions.
• With one hand on her elbow, she puts one hand on her neck, puts it back down and then taps her arm with one finger.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Zel-da!	Zel-da!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

An orchestral remix of Get Triforce Fanfare, the theme that plays when Link obtains a Triforce Piece in The Legend of Zelda and has since become the main theme of The Legend of Zelda series.

• Clasps her hands together, which glow with magic, as if praying. She then turns her head and looks up toward the sky.
• Turns her head to the left and loosely holds one arm with the other to pose in an elegant stance that is identical to her Melee artwork. At the end of the animation, she will either look into the distance or look at the camera.
• Puts her hands together in front of her torso, conjures Din's Fire between them and stares at it. Appears almost identical to her side taunt.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Zelda	1213	1313	1212	1312	1223
	1323	3212	3312	2213	2312

Notable players

Active

•  Enny
•  Fairess
•  maXy
•  Purple Guy
•  ven
•  Zolda
•  Dante

Inactive

•  Nairo

Tier placement and history

Due to Zelda's key flaws not being properly addressed in the transition from Brawl, as well as the fact that Sheik was made into a completely separate character and buffed significantly in the transition from Brawl, Zelda was ranked 56th, placing her at the bottom of the entire tier list. Since then, game updates granted Zelda some helpful buffs, such as decreased lag on some moves, higher damage outputs and increased grab ranges. As a result, she is currently ranked 55th, which is a marginal improvement over her initial placement in SSB4 and her placement in Brawl. However, Zelda's initial and subsequent buffs are generally considered to be outweighed by the prominence of her inherent weaknesses, resulting in her having poor representation and results in tournaments.

Trophies

Zelda

This is the namesake of the Legend of Zelda games. Her appearance may change, but she always plays an important role. In Smash Bros., she's quick on the draw when it comes to magic, though a bit slow when moving. She has a new move that summons a Phantom to her aid.

This is the Zelda they're talking about in the titles of all the Legend of Zelda games. Though her appearance can change from game to game, her importance in the story usually doesn't. In this game, she's a bit slow, but her impressive magic skills make up for it. Power up her brand new special, Phantom Slash, by holding down the button.

: The Legend of Zelda (08/1987)

: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (11/2006)

Zelda (Alt.)

Zelda's forward air attack, Lightning Kick, is a valiant kick with a magically charged tip. Striking with just the glowing spot will deal heavy damage and launch your opponent. Din's Fire, her explosive side special, can be guided up and down and has a greater blast if the button is held.

Zelda's forward air attack, Lightning Kick, is a single-footed, electrically charged strike. Hit your opponent with just the glowing spot to deal heavy damage and launch them. Her Din's Fire side special can be guided up and down, and makes a bigger blast the longer you hold the button. It'll explode as soon as you let go.

: The Legend of Zelda (08/1987)

: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (11/2006)

Light Arrow (Zelda)

In many of the Legend of Zelda games, the sacred Light Arrows are required to defeat the final boss. In this game, Zelda fires one straight across the screen for her Final Smash. If it passes through multiple foes, the ones hit first will take the most damage. The Light Arrow has a lot of launching power, making it great for getting KOs!

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  Classic (3DS)

• ZeldaAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

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  Classic (Wii U)

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  Alt. (Wii U)

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  Light Arrow

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Melee: Zelda is one of the opponents fought in this event. All of the opponents debuted in Melee.
• Identity Crisis: As Sheik, the player must defeat Samus. After defeating her, the player must defeat Zero Suit Samus. Zelda can appear if Sheik is KO'd.
• Princess Punch-Up!: Zelda and Link must defeat Peach and Mario.
• The Demon King and the Goddess: As Ganondorf, the player must initially defeat Link and Zelda. After the two are defeated or some time has passed, a giant Palutena appears and the player must defeat her as well.
• Unwavering Chivalry: As Meta Knight, the player must defeat Marth without defeating Peach or Zelda. Defeating either of the princesses results in a failure.

Co-op Events

• Peach in Peril: Zelda is one of the opponents Bowser and Bowser Jr. must defeat without KOing Peach.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players choose a character and must defeat everyone on the roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Zelda in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

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  Zelda's amiibo.

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  The Pic of the Day revealing Zelda.

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  A head shot of Zelda in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Zelda and Link in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Using Phantom Slash, her new down special, against Fox.

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  Zelda alongside Link as he uses his side taunt.

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  Zelda on Skyloft.

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  Zelda alongside Donkey Kong.

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  Zelda teetering as Rosalina & Luma look on.

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  Charging Phantom Slash.

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  Zelda looking at a prone Link.

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  Zelda looking at Link and Peach from a distance.

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  Using her forward tilt.

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  Using her down taunt alongside Mario and Mega Man.

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  Zelda facing Toon Link.

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  Using Farore's Wind alongside Samus, who is in her Morph Ball form.

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  Using her side taunt.

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  Using her neutral aerial.

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  Zelda hanging on the edge of Battlefield while Link and Peach are in the distance.

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  Using her neutral aerial against Samus.

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  Using her down taunt as Toon Link is launched.

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  Using her neutral aerial against Rosalina.

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  Using her neutral attack.

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  Posing while Samus and Donkey Kong are in the background.

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  Using hr forward tilt against Link.

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  Fighting Marth on Boxing Ring.

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  One of Zelda's idle poses.

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  Zelda alongside Olimar and a Yellow Pikmin.

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  Using her forward smash against Mega Man's forward smash.

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  Zelda alongside Peach and Rosalina on Mario Galaxy.

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  Zelda jumping away from Mario.

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  Zelda's idle stance.

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  Zelda's pose when using Din's Fire.

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  Zelda being prone alongside a Purple Pikmin.

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  Another one of Zelda's idle poses.

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  Zelda in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Another Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS screenshot.

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  Posing in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Using her neutral attack on Samus.

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  Using her forward smash.

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  Taunting alongside King Dedede and Peach.

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  "Curiouser and curiouser ..."

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  "Ah--soft and squishy." [1]

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  Fighting Rosalina on Reset Bomb Forest as Viridi appears in the background.

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  Using Din's Fire against Toon Link.

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  Using Phantom Slash against Yoshi's forward tilt.

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  Back-to-back with Sheik.

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  Zelda being attacked by a Polar Bear in Smash Run.

Trivia

• Zelda's dress behaves differently in both versions of SSB4. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, her dress flows less freely via having set forms in accordance to the attacks she performs. Conversely, her dress flows more freely in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, which results in her legs clipping through her dress in different ways.