Toon Link (SSBB)

This article is about Toon Link's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For Links in general, see Link, and for the Wind Waker Link in other contexts, see Toon Link.

Toon Link in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearance	in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Triforce Slash
Tier	C+ (13)

Toon Link (トゥーンリンク, Toon Link) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His appearance is derived from the Link that appears in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. However, Toon Link looks slightly more realistic in Brawl than in The Wind Waker. This can be seen by comparing his standard trophy and his Outset Link trophy, as his character model in Brawl is not cel-shaded like that of his model in The Wind Waker. Additionally, "Toon Link" is simply a reference name to give distinction between the Links that appear in Brawl and to not confuse him with his fellow childhood counterpart Young Link (again, a reference name). In actuality, he is simply named Link and comes from a different era and timeline branch than Twilight Princess Link does. As a semi-clone of Young Link, they share a number of similar moves.

Toon Link is currently ranked 13th on the tier list at the top of the mid-high tier (making him the highest ranked character of all The Legend of Zelda characters). Toon Link's biggest asset is his variety of versatile projectiles, which when combined with his great jumping ability and air mobility, gives him one of the strongest camping abilities and makes him one of the most difficult characters to approach. Toon Link additionally has a strong aerial game, with the aforementioned efficient jumping and aerial mobility, and access to fast, powerful aerial attacks, in addition to a damaging zair, which is useful for keeping opponents at a distance and setting up subsequent attacks. Toon Link also has two great combo starters in his up tilt and back aerial that can combo into themselves, a far reaching and relatively safe recovery, and strong approaching capabilities from his fast movement speed and projectiles. Toon Link however suffers from substandard KOing ability, possessing finishers that aren't that powerful with short reach, or in the case of his up smash, being too predictable while lacking strong enough traits to make up for it. Toon Link additionally possesses short reach throughout his moveset, and a very punishable grab that lacks the reach to make up for its high ending lag (in addition to possessing rather poor throws). Toon Link overall has strong matchups (with his only counter being Meta Knight), and has achieved above average tournament results (which have been especially strong in Meta Knight-banned tournaments).

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play 400 VS. matches.
• Complete Classic Mode with any character on any difficulty after finishing The Subspace Emissary, then defeat Toon Link.
• Find Toon Link in The Forest stage after completing the Subspace Emissary. It can be found by entering a secret door close to the beginning of the level. Note that this method will not show the challenger approaching screen, as that is replaced by a cutscene of Toon Link challenging the player.

The player must then defeat Toon Link on Pirate Ship.

Attributes

Toon Link falls under the archetype of a small but nimble character. True to his small frame, he is a floaty middleweight. Toon Link also has the ability to wall jump. His attacks generally have decent range and disjointed hitboxes (although poor compared to other swordsmen), and little lag. Toon Link has an above average aerial game and overall mobility, but he has problems KOing due to his few reliable KO moves. His best KO move is his up smash, but it is predictable. His down smash has semi-spike knockback at low damages, but it is not as powerful. The second hit of his forward smash has good knockback, but it can easily be evaded with DI, thus leaving him vulnerable. His tether grab has decent range, but it leaves him vulnerable if it misses. Projectiles, his bombs in particular, are also part of Toon Link's game, which are great for mindgames, and (like Boomerangs) can be used to combine with other attacks.

He has a decently powerful ranged game due to having 3 projectiles and a grab aerial, as well as a shield to automatically block most other projectiles while standing in a stationary position (although his idle poses negate this). His Stall-Then-Fall down aerial can negate horizontal knockback (although it can also cause some unwanted self destructs), which sets up the rest of his recovery, and can also make use of bomb and tether recoveries. On the downside, his recovery is predictable, fairly easy to edge guard due his floatiness, and gives only decent distance overall. Ultimately, Toon Link becomes what his player makes of him in combining and using his advantages to mitigate disadvantage.

Differences between Young Link and Toon Link

Toon Link replaces Young Link from Melee, with some noticeable changes in his fighting style. Toon Link has much better recovery due to a higher midair jump and his spin attack covering more distance.

Aesthetics

• Toon Link's taunt, idle poses, and victory poses are all different from Young Link's.

Attributes

• Toon Link's double jump gains more vertical height than Young Link's does.
• Toon Link sustains more knockback than Young Link despite being heavier, due to the change in the knockback formula.
• Toon Link is heavier than Young Link (85 → 92).
• Toon Link is floatier than Young Link.
• Toon Link's traction is lower then Young Link's in Melee (0.08 → 0.0547), especially when comparing with the returning veterans, making it harder to punish out of shield.
• Toon Link dashes slightly faster than Young Link in Melee. (1.6 → 1.65).

Ground attacks

• Toon Link's down tilt does not meteor smash. Instead, it has medium knockback.
• Toon Link's up smash is a single upward slash rather than three slashes, making it a stronger finisher.
• The first hit of Toon Link's down smash now launches opponents onto the second hit and has set knockback, making it less useful for launching opponents in front of Toon Link.

Aerial attacks

• Toon Link's neutral, forward, and back aerials are all different.
• Toon Link's up aerial is better and a stronger finisher than Young Link's.
• Toon Link's down aerial is a stall-then-fall that makes him fall straight down (making it more akin to the down thrust used in his Zelda game appearances), is much faster, and easier to control. It now meteor smashes opponents during the beginning of the plunge, rather than having a sweetspot at the hilt of Young Link's sword.
• Down aerial is now a more dangerous move to use offstage as it can lead to a self-destruct if he does not connect with an opponent.

Throws/other attacks

• Toon Link's forward and back throws are different.
• Toon Link's hookshot goes farther than Young Link's.

Special moves

• Toon Link's Hero's Bow charges faster and shoots farther.
• The arrows are slower and does not set targets on fire like Young Link's does.
• Two arrows can be fired using a certain technique providing for an effective fence of pain.
• Toon Link's boomerang is slower and doesn't fly as far as Young Link's.
• Spin Attack has more vertical distance and has better horizontal control.
• Toon Link's Bombs have less combo potential and are weaker compared to Young Link's Bombs.
• The hitboxes from the explosion are bigger.
• The bombs' design and explosion effects are based off of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Moveset

For a more detailed information regarding Toon Link's moveset and attack hitboxes, see this page.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Toon Link slashes twice then thrusts his sword forward. Primarily used as a way to create space against close-up opponents.
			2%
			5%
Forward tilt			9%	Toon Link raises his sword and swings it to the floor, similar to Link's, but with less KO power. Decent horizontal knockback makes it tolerable for edge-guarding if the blast line is nearby.
Up tilt			9%	Quickly does a swipe overhead. Can hit on the left or right side of Toon Link. Can combo into itself at low percents, and then an aerial at higher percents.
Down tilt			9%	Swipes his sword along the ground. Ideal for edge-guarding if an off-stage opponent is trying to grab a ledge. Can sometimes cause opponents to trip.
Dash attack			10% (blade), 8% (tip)	Slashes directly in front of him, dealing diagonal knockback. Deals slightly less damage at the tip.
Forward smash			10%	Toon Link pulls back and swings his sword in front of him. When the attack button is pressed again, he does another slash. The first slash leads into the second, with good horizontal knockback.
			13% (front), 11% (rear)
Up smash			15% (clean), 11% (late)	Toon Link performs a single overhead strike. Has a very similar appearance and range to his up tilt, but with much more knockback and damage.
Down smash			6% (hit 1 grounded), 7% (hit 1 aerial), 11% (hit 2)	Toon Link sweeps his sword in front of and then behind him along the ground. The first hit leads into the second hit on grounded opponents and cannot be SDI'd. The first hit deals more damage on aerial opponents, which knocks them upwards with decent knockback.
Neutral aerial			10% (hits 1-2)	Slashes on both sides, front then back, in mid-air. The first hit can bring the target into the second hit, provided the enemy is positioned properly. Good to use as a quick approach.
Forward aerial			13%	Swings his sword upward. Good for edge-guarding in terms of leaving the stage to intercept the recovering enemy.
Back aerial			10%	Slashes backwards with his sword. Can chain into itself at low percents and can KO foes at higher percents.
Up aerial			14% (clean), 12% (late)	Sticks his sword above him, like Link's up aerial, though it has more knockback. A great move for juggling at mid percents, and a good KO move at later percents.
Down aerial			16% (clean), 13% (late), 8% (after bounce), 5% (landing)	Sticks his sword straight down, similar Link's down aerial. However, Toon Link stalling momentarily in midair before launching straight downwards very quickly with no horizontal control. The beginning of the downwards descent can meteor smash the opponent powerfully, but it's very risky because if he misses, he will most likely self-destruct.
Grab aerial		Hookshot	4%	Fires his Hookshot straight in front of him, just like Link's tether recovery but with shorter range. The only part of the attack which hits is the tip of the Hookshot. This attack is unique in the sense it can be used instantly out of an air dodge (a typical combo is a short hop, air dodge, tether recovery), and is practically lagless when Toon Link hits the ground.
Grab			—
Pummel			2%	Hits opponent with the hilt of the Master Sword. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw			3% (hit), 4% (throw)	Drops opponent quickly and shoulder tackles them forward. Oddly, the first hit of his forward throw is considered a leg attack despite being clearly a shoulder tackle. This is possibly due to an error in his moveset coding.
Back throw			3% (hit), 4% (throw)	Rolls on his back with the foe and kicks the foe backward.
Up throw			5% (hit), 2% (throw)	Throws opponent upward and slashes them. Good combo tool.
Down throw			3% (hit), 4% (throw)	Brings the foe down and shoulder tackles them on the floor. Opponents gets launched behind Toon Link. Oddly, the first hit cannot hit Jigglypuff. It is believed that this is because Jigglypuff's low weight causes the animation to occur too quickly, the hitbox appearing and vanishing before it is checked for.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Does two slashes front and back.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Does another two slashes front and back.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Essentially the same as his other two floor attacks.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)			8%	Pulls himself up into a front flip and slices downward.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)			10%	Slowly climbs up and stabs in front of himself.
Neutral special		Hero's Bow	4-12%	Link equips his bow, with the arrows serving as projectiles. Charging increases the speed, distance and damage dealt by an arrow. Arrows are much floatier than Link's, making them very useful even with no charge, but are also notably slower.
Side special		Boomerang	8% (near), 5% (middle), 3% (return)	Tosses a boomerang that flies forward to hit opponents, and returns to the user while still being able to hit foes. Can be angled up or down. A "smash throw" (similar to performing a smash attack) increases the distance the boomerang can travel. Close up, it can be used to follow up with another attack, and on the way back, can disrupt foes (Ex. If Toon Link gets grabbed) and turn the tide of battle albeit with weak knockback.
Up special		Spin Attack	Uncharged 1% (hits 1-9), 3% (hit 10) Charged: 1.6% (hits 1-9), 4.8% (hit 10) Aerial: 4% (hit 1), 2% (hits 2-4), 4% (hit 5)	Toon Link sticks his blade out and spins around rapidly, hitting opponents multiple times before knocking them in different directions. Useful for catching rolls. The grounded version can be charged for more damage, while the aerial version gives him vertical and horizontal ascension.
Down special		Bomb	3% (explosion), 5% (throw), 6% (smash throw), 2-7% (dropped)	Toon Link pulls out a bomb. The bomb can be thrown upwards, downwards, left, or right, and if Toon Link is in the air, he can press the grab button to drop the bomb on the ground. If Toon Link drops a bomb while he is close to the ground, the bomb will land on the ground and will not explode until the fuse runs out, but other players can pick up the bomb and use it themselves. The blast radius of the bombs larger that Link’s bombs, but deals less damage. This move is a very good move for setting up combos and can grant him an extra Spin attack if used skillfully.
Final Smash		Triforce Slash	5% (trapping), 4% (hits 1-15), 18% (hit 16)	Toon Link locks onto an opponent and proceeds to slash them repeatedly with his Master Sword. A luminous image of the Triforce appears around the opponent as Toon Link slashes them. The final strike launches the opponent.

On-screen appearance

• Appears from an explosion that is similar to the ones used in The Wind Waker, and then quickly equips his sword and shield.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Conducts with his Wind Waker baton, at the end of which, a sound from when Toon Link plays a melody in The Wind Waker is heard.
• Side taunt: Puts his sword away and looks around the environment.
• Down taunt: Panics while slashing his sword around wildly, which tires him out.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Tap the tip of his boot on the ground.
• Looks around cautiously.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Toon-Link!	Lin-k!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Wii Remote selection sound

• Toon Link makes a noise from the Wind Waker and shouts similar to his up smash.

Toon Link's selection sound

Victory poses

This flourish is a cover of the music that played whenever Link obtained a Triforce Piece in The Legend of Zelda.

• He again chases a pig, but this time catches it and holds it above his head, all while struggling trying not to drop it.
• Chases a pig, trying to catch it, but ends up tripping and falling on his bottom and begins rubbing it gently with a small sigh as he falls.
• He waves the Wind Waker.

File:Toon Link VPs.png

In competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Toon Link has good matchups overall. He is countered by 1 character, Meta Knight, soft countered by 8, has 7 even matchups, soft counters 11, counters 8, and hard counters 1, Ganondorf. Toon Link's projectiles make him an effective zoner, and his disjointed hitbox also helps. His semi-powerful moves for his weight class make him a threat. He also is not hindered by the flaws of regular Link, meaning he is good in the air and has an amazing recovery. His projectiles help him greatly against matchups like the Ice Climbers, so much so it fact that he is one of four characters who soft counters them. The Ice Climbers have a hard time approaching and grabbing the slippery Toon Link, aiding him tremendously in that matchup. Everyone else higher tiered than him at least soft counters him (Except Diddy Kong and Lucario.) Meta Knight in particular has an easy time with Toon Link because of the amount of options he has that can overwhelm him.

Notable players

See also: Category:Toon Link professionals (SSBB)

•  Hyro
• Hyuga - Best Toon Link in Mexico.
•  Jash
•  Jerm
•  Kingtoon
•  MJG
•  Quest - Former Toon Link main before switching to Meta Knight. Still uses Toon Link in MK-banned tournaments

Role in The Subspace Emissary

Toon Link in SSE.

Toon Link is an optional character in the Subspace Emissary, similar to Jigglypuff and Wolf, who can only be unlocked after the mode has been completed . To find him, players must enter a new door in the Forest which appears after defeating Tabuu for the first time that takes them to the Pirate Ship, where Toon Link prepares for battle. Defeating Toon Link will add him to the player's team. He does not have an actual role in the overall plot.

Using stickers

Toon Link uses his sword for all of his attacks except his back throw, forward throw, and down throw. Because of this, he benefits greatly from [Slash] and [Weapon] Damage boosts. Toon Link has more ranged specials than direct, so a [Specials: Indirect] boost would also be beneficial to him.

Exclusive stickers

These stickers can only be used by Toon Link, or a select few including him:

• Boomerang: [Weapon] Attack +4
• Colin: [Specials: Direct] Attack +4
• Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule: [Electric] Attack +31
• Darknut: [Slash] Attack +13
• Epona & Link: [Arm, Leg] Attack +9
• Fierce Deity Link: [Slash] Attack +21
• Happy Mask Salesman: [Leg] Attack +9
• Hylian Shield (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess): [Slash] Resistance +10
• Lantern: [Flame] Resistance +7
• Legend of Outset: [Arm] Attack +26
• Linebeck: [Throwing] Attack +20
• Link (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past): [Electric] Resistance +31
• Link (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess): [Slash] Resistance +27
• Link (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker): [Flame] Attack +31
• Link with Goron Mask: [Slash] Attack +17
• Link's Grandma: [Arm, Leg] Attack +2
• Lon Lon Milk: Launch Power +18
• Midna & Wolf Link: [Leg] Attack +26
• Moblin: [Slash] Attack +15
• Octorok: [Leg] Attack +4
• Piece of Heart: Heart Container Effect +50
• Salvatore: [Electric] Attack +9
• Sheik: [Body, Spin] Attack +17
• Tingle (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker): [Flame] Resistance +24
• Young Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap): [Normal] Resistance +16
• Zant: [Weapon] Attack +7
• Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time): [Flame] Resistance +18

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• Event 35: The Visitor to Flat Zone: As Mr. Game & Watch, the player must defeat Peach, Toon Link, and Jigglypuff on Flat Zone 2. All three opponents have the "Game & Watch" effect on their models.
• Event 37: The Pirate Airship: As Toon Link, the player must KO both Yoshis on Pirate Ship while the ship is in the air.
• Event 39: All-Star Battle x2: Toon Link is one of the eight opponents fought in this event along with King Dedede, Ike, Lucario, R.O.B., Snake, Sonic, and Wolf.

Co-op Events

• Co-Op Event 15: Four Swords Brawl: Both players control Toon Link and face off against two other Toon Links. Both players must work together to collect 500 coins before the opposing team does.
• Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle: Two players select a character and take on the entire roster on Battlefield.

Trophies

Toon Link's main and Final Smash trophies can be obtained by clearing Classic Mode and All-Star mode respectively with Toon Link.

Trophy descriptions

Toon Link

Link as he appeared in The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, with big eyes and an expressive face. He lived peacefully on Outset Island until a bird captured his little sister, and he came to her rescue. In The Wind Waker, he had to crawl, press up to walls, and the like. His green clothes were worn on his 12th birthday and are the lucky outfit of the hero of legend.

: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Triforce Slash (Toon Link)

Toon Link's Final Smash. Hit an enemy with the light emanating from the Triforce mark on his hand to initiate the move. The enemy will be trapped within the Triforce and be unable to move—Toon Link will then rush in close and carve up his foe at lightning speed. The final blow will break the Triforce prison and send the opponent off the screen.

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• 

  Classic Mode trophy

• 

  Triforce Slash trophy

Alternate costumes

Trivia

• Toon Link's grab aerial can be used to save him from a KO at extremely high damages, ranging up to even higher than 300%, if an attack hits him low enough that his tether is within grabbing distance of the ledge as he passes by it. This requires very fast reaction to pull off, and is not often seen in competitive play due to there being few semi-spikes with KO power (which are the only type of moves that can hit Toon Link low enough to being within grabbing distance of the ledge).
• Despite being able to crawl voluntarily when unequipped in The Wind Waker, Toon Link is unable to crawl in Brawl; Mario and Pit are the only other characters who act this way.
• Toon Link holds the world record for Level 4 and Level 5 Target Smash (Level 4 completed in 9.05 seconds, and Level 5 completed in 6.65 seconds), Co-op Target Smash Level 1 with Falco (2.66 seconds), and Co-op Target Smash Level 5 with another Toon Link (4.11 seconds).
• The parting in his hair is reversed from how it looks in The Wind Waker.
• Along with his hair, his hat also disobeys gravity, with the hat usually staying in a limp position while falling, as opposed to the tip being above the rest of his body.
• Toon Link has the same idle poses as Young Link in Melee.
• If Toon Link eats Superspicy Curry and doesn't move or attack after the effect wears off, he will not take his sword and shield back out until he finally moves or attacks.
• Toon Link is one of the few known characters to have an obvious error in his moveset coding: while the first hit of his forward throw is quite clearly a shoulder tackle, for sticker purposes it is considered a leg attack. This is likely an error caused by copying moveset data from Link.
• Toon Link is the character with the most semi-spikes in Brawl.
• Masahiro Sakurai stated that Toon Link, Jigglypuff, and Wolf, were almost cut from Brawl due to time constraints and their late consideration for inclusion in the game, hence why they are excluded from and cannot be unlocked while playing through the main Subspace Emissary story.

External links

• DOJO!! Page
• Toon Link Character Guide on SmashBoards
• All Of Toon Link's Advanced Techniques on SmashBoards
• Toon Link's hitbox size of each of his moves