Link (SSBB)

This article is about Link's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Link.

Link
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Appears in	SSB SSBM SSBB
Availability	Starter
Tier	Low (36)

Link (リンク, Rinku) was confirmed for Super Smash Bros. Brawl at E3 2006. His graphics have been completely revamped from his Super Smash Bros. Melee form, since his new look is derived from the game, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. He currently ranks 36th on the tier list due to his slow attacks, abysmal recovery, and poor match ups.

His special moves have also been changed to fit the style of Twilight Princess.

Attributes

Link is a character that has power. He may be character of average speed, but he makes up for that with power. Link's tilts are fast and powerful, his down tilt is good for getting opponents into the air to combo them more. It can also spike at the tip of the sword. His up tilt is fast and good for juggling, and his forward tilt can easily kill at high percentages. Link's forward smash can become a two hit combo, it is also a great kill move. His down smash is an easy kill move at fairly high percentages, and is Links quickest smash. Links up smash doesn't kill easily, but it does decent damage. Links aerials are also great, his neutral aerial, combined with a short hop and fast falling is a great option for approach. Links back aerial is good for spacing when needed. Links forward air is fairly fast and is powerful. Link's up and down air are some of his best kill moves, having high duration and high knockback, but have high ending lag. Specials for Link are also good, on the ground, Link can charge his Up special, it is a good edgeguarding tool, but is predictable. His Neutral Special is a fast bow that can also be charged up. Links down special pulls out a bomb and throws it, which can be used for mindgames. His Boomerang, Links side special move has fairly good range and can gimp some opponents recovery. Links Hylian Shiild can act as a shield on its own, when Link doesn't move, many projectiles can't hit him.

The most crippling problem for Link is his abysmal recovery. His poor jumping, high fall speed, and poor distance on Spin Attack make his recovery arguably the worst in the game. This flaw truly hinders Link: an opponent only needs to get Link off the stage once to improve their chance of victory.

Moveset

Ground Attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack - Swipes his sword across his body, second swipe goes outwards and third attack is a stab forward.
• Dash attack - Swings sword from head to toe. Good combo starter.
• Strong Side - An overhead swipe
• Strong Up - Swings sword in an arc
• Strong Down - Swipes sword across ground

Smash

• Side Smash - Swings sword forward, if attack button is pressed again, he swings again but with more force.
• Up Smash - Swings sword in an arc three times.
• Down Smash - Swipes sword from front to back, very quick; like his down tilt but with more force and it aims behind him too.

Other

• Ledge attack - Pulls himself up into a frontflip and slices downward.
• 100% ledge attack - Slowly climbs up and thrusts his sword forward.
• Floor attack -
• Trip attack -

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral Aerial - Does a flying jump-kick.
• Forward Aerial - Swings his sword twice while spining 360 degrees.
• Back Aerial - Does a two kick combo.
• Up Aerial - Upward thrust move.
• Down Aerial - Downward thrust move.

Grabs & Throws

• Grab - Holds opponent with his right hand after grabbing them with the Claw Shot.
• Pummel - Hits opponent with the pommel of the Master Sword.
• Forward Throw - Lets go of foe then kicks them, football punt style.
• Back Throw - Throws foe back then back kicks.
• Down Throw - Throws foe down then elbow drops them.
• Up Throw - Throws foe a very short distance above him, then slashes.

Taunts

Up: Twirls his sword twice and spins the sword while sheathing it.(Similar to his Twilight Princess "Victory Pose", which he performs after defeating a boss or certain enemies).

Side: Takes out Navi that flies around him.

Down: Link's mysterious pose from SSB.

Role In Subspace Emissary

Link's role begins with him walking through a forest with his fairy companion. Upon reaching the Master Sword's resting place, Link pulls the sword from its pedestal, wielding it once more. In a clearing of the forest is a napping Yoshi, who Link and Navi at first pay no mind to. However, the Halberd soon flies over the clearing, dropping Shadow Bugs which soon form into Primids. At this point, Link and Yoshi form a team and battle through the enemies while in pursuit of the Halberd, only to lose their aforementioned target as it flies far off into the distance, though they quickly continue their pursuit.

Link's next appearance plays out depending on which princess is saved earlier on in the story. If Peach was saved, Link and Yoshi do battle with a Shadowbug clone of Peach (who had recently been turned into a trophy by Bowser) after it attempted to turn an unsuspecting Mario and Pit into trophies until Link prevented the attack by slicing the Dark Cannon in half. Upon defeating the clone of Peach, Link is attacked by Mario, who witnessed the defeat of Peach's copy as it reverts into Shadowbugs and drifts away, apparently mistaking it for the real Peach. Then Link and Yoshi fight him and Pit. If Zelda is saved earlier on, then it is she who is cloned, and Mario and Pit fight the clone of her, and must then fend off an attack by Link and Yoshi. After the defeat (and subsequent trophification) of Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi, King Dedede arrives in a cargo, and snatches the trophies of the fallen duo with an arm attached to it. Fortunately, Kirby (who had accompanied Peach/Zelda earlier) appears and frees the two trophies, and revives them as well. Upon revival, Pit/Link fires an arrow at the incoming cargo, slowing it down a little. The five characters then form an alliance and pursue Dedede.

During their pursuit, they find Dedede's cargo (now empty) parked outside of a cave, and decide to enter it. After getting out of the cave, they find Dedede's trashed hideout, and, upon finding a hole in the wall, they decide to enter it. After they get out of the hole, they find Bowser, who Mario tries to attack until Bowser raises Peach/Zelda's trophy as a shield, forcing him to miss. Pit then fires an arrow at Bowser, whom he barely dodges, before escaping in his Koopa Clown Car.

They then pursue the Ancient Minister in a desert, trying to stop him from detonating another Subspace Bomb. Mario and Link begin to approach the Minister while dodging the lasers he fires at them. Despite their best efforts, the Subspace Bomb still explodes while the heroes barely escape the blast.

Link later appears after the team makes its way to the desert, where they aid another group (consisting of Marth, Ike, the Ice Climbers, Lucas, and the Pokémon Trainer) in fighting off the Subspace Army. If Link and Zelda's trophy forms are retrieved after the initial attack by Tabuu, they will both be shown agreeing to revive Ganondorf (who was turned into a trophy earlier on when he tried to attack Tabuu on his own), at which point they show him where their common target is. Link helps the other heroes throughout the rest of the story.

Trivia

• Link's up taunt he swings his sword twice, twirls it twice and sheathes, is different from his victory taunt from the Legend of Zelda the Twilight Princess, where he swings his sword twice stepping forward with the leg on the same side that he holds the sword with, and twirls the sword three times, stepping backwards and then sheathing his Master Sword.
• Link never puts his shield away unless shooting an arrow, doing his side smash, or has an item in his hand. He does lower it occasionally, though.
• Link's arrows have a very long reach; approximately twice as far than in Melee.
• Link kneels on one knee when using the Hero's Bow.
• Link and Toon Link are the only characters in Super Smash Bros Brawl who are literally left-handed. In most of the Legend of Zelda games, Link is left-handed, although the only game that show Link to be right handed is the Wii version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (it was used to fit with the control scheme)
• Although Link is left-handed, he still uses battering items such as the Beam Sword and Lip's Stick with his right hand. The same thing applies to Young Link and Toon Link from Melee and Brawl respectively. This is obviously because he must always keep the Master Sword in his dominant hand, much like the other swordsmen with their respective weapons.
• Link's spin attack has been known to deflect projectiles (in the air).
• One of Link's taunts involves Navi the fairy appearing and flying around him. Navi was never in Twilight Princess, although a fairy was used as the pointer when you point the Wii Remote at the screen.
• Link has never been above the Low tier in every Smash Bros. game.
• Link's down aerial is implemented as the first hidden move in Twilight Princess. It can be used when Link has downed an enemy and the action indicator flashes "Finish," prompting Link to lunge at the target with the downward stab.

External Links

• Link's page at Smash Bros. Dojo!!.
• E for All Expo Report.
• Linkaggedon: A Link combo video that shows Link's potential