Sheik (SSBB)

This article is about Sheik's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Sheik. Also, for information about Sheik's alter-ego, see Princess Zelda.

Sheik
Sheik
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Appears in	SSBM SSBB
Availability	Starter

Sheik is a character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Sheik transforms from Zelda by using her down special move Transform, and can also transform back into Sheik. The design changes for her Brawl form are rather minimal compared to other characters, the notable changes is that she carries a knife on her back, and a braid similar to Zelda's new design.

The playability of Sheik had earlier been hinted by Eiji Aonuma, the director of Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, who stated that he sent Twilight Princess-style designs of Sheik and Ganondorf to Sakurai.

Sheik can be selected off of the Character Select screen by clicking on her image, like selecting a starting Pokémon with Pokémon Trainer. However, unlike Pokémon Trainer, there is no Random option between the two.

Changes from Melee to Brawl

• Needle Storm immediately begins charging if special move button is tapped, rather than firing a single needle. Special button must be tapped twice to fire a single needle.
• A fully-charged Needle Storm will stop and Sheik will flash, allowing her to move around and use it whenever she wants without rolling, rather then standing still until the needles are thrown.
• Chain can be used as a tether recovery
• Up Special has more damage and significantly increased knockback with less landing lag
• Forward Smash has increased knockback on the second hit
• Down Smash has lower knockback
• Up Smash has increased knockback on the sides. If Sheik is close enough, the tip and side hits can both strike the opponent, sending the enemy at a ~60 degree angle
• Forward Air has lower knockback and a smaller sweetspot
• Up Aerial is a better juggle move, but a worse Kill move (like the PAL version)
• Down Aerial sends Sheik downwards, and is a Stall-Then-Fall
• Forward tilt has less knockback, comboing better.
• Up tilt has increased knockback on the second hit.
• Can be chosen to start a match instead of Zelda at the character selection screen.
• Has a shorter, better short hop.
• In-battle transformation takes more time (loading times in Brawl are longer in general; the Wii system can be heard clicking during transformation), but renders Zelda/Sheik invincible for much of the time.
• In Melee Sheik's braid is not visible.
• Sheik's chain moves more freely than in Melee.
• Sheik looks more feminine.
• Lighter skin tone

Role In Subspace Emissary

After Peach and Zelda are rescued by Snake, Metaknight and Lucario, the two princess are ordered to stay where they are until the Halberd is under their control. Zelda transforms into Sheik and walks out with Peach, opening a window to the outside of the ship. Both princesses then make their way to the front deck of the ship. There, they witness Fox's Arwing attacking the Halberd, and his lasers meant for the Halberd's turret nearly injure Peach. In response, Sheik leaps into the air and uses Vanish onto the Arwing, striking the windshield and forcing Fox to jettison. They fall back to the Halberd, and begin to fight, but Peach offers them both tea, ending any erroneous hostilities.

As they drink their tea, several Mr. Game and Watches fall from the bridge and turn into shadow bugs that coalesce to form the monstrous Duon. The three prepare to fight, but are joined by Lucario, Snake, and Falco. They then proceed to defeat Duon, and it turns into the trophy of Mr. Game and Watch, who Peach revives. Then she and the other heroes journey into subspace for the final battle against Tabuu

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Very fast, tied with Zero Suit Samus for the fourth fastest running speed.
• Attacks string together nicely and have decent range. One of the best combo potential characters.
• All of her attacks (except Dair) come out very quickly, and most have a long duration and hit for the entirety of their duration.
• Little lag on any of her attacks.
• Forward tilt can repeatedly combo at low percentages and can set up most of Sheik's finishers. Repeatedly hitting the opponent with a forward Tilt is known as the Tilt Lock, and can be effective up to fairly high percentages against many characters. It can be set up by many of Sheik's moves.
• Quick and fairly long-ranged Jab. The first two hits can easily be canceled into many of Sheik's moves, including another set of Jabs.
• Down Aerial is one of the Stall-Then-Fall down aerials, allowing it to cancel vertical knockback.
• Needles are the fastest projectile in the game. It is a quick, chargeable projectile good for stopping attacks (even selective projectiles), hindering recovery, and racking up damage.
• Up-tilt and Down smash are fast, multi-hit attacks with high priority and long range, making them great defensive maneuvers.
• Fast sidestep and roll.
• Side Special is a Tether Recovery move.
• Flexible recovery options.
• Has a very low crouch that can avoid many projectiles.
• Can Transform into Zelda (also resets decay counter).
• Although slow, Sheik's Chain makes a potent weapon when dragged on the ground. This is performed by moving the Joystick between Down and Down-Forward Diagonal quickly. This can rack up large percents almost instantaneously, and is a great way to punish Shields or Sidesteps.
• Can chain throw fast fallers with f-throw (although her potent use of tilt locking is much more effective).
• Can perform a Dash-Attack-Cancelled-Up-Smash (Boost Smash).
• Can Crawl Dash.
• Can Needle Dash.

• Can Wall cling.
• Can Crawl.
• Can Wall Jump.

Cons:

• Her killing power is one of the worst in the game, Therefore Sheik has a hard time KOing opponents and has to rely heavily on edge-guarding, using Zelda, or being able to combo opponents to high percentages for kills. Also, her best killer, Up-smash Tipper is incredibly hard to land.
• Transformation is rather slow. Even though it leaves her temporarily invulnerable, there are significant frames of vulnerability at the end where Sheik/Zelda can be attacked and be unable to defend herself.
• Down Aerial has high landing lag, and can SD if not careful.
• Poor priority and attack range on a good number of moves.
• Fairly light and is KO'd easily.
• Bad Air speed

Moveset

Ground Attacks

Normal

• Neutral Attack -hits twice with her right hand and repeatedly jabs with her arm Straight and with her fingers sticking out.
• Dash Attack - throws her arms forward and forcefully separates her hands.
• Side tilt - kicks her leg in an arc (can be done multiple times).
• Up tilt -Sheik raises her right leg above her and slams it down.
• Down tilt -Sheik does a quick spin kicking the ground with her leg.

Smash

• Side Smash - Sheik kicks infront of her twice trapping the enemy in the first kick at low percentages and knocks them back with the second kick.
• Up Smash - Sheik raises her arms above her head holding them together and forcefully separates them to the left and right sides of her body.
• Down Smash -Sheik spins her body on the ground sticking her legs out(looks like she is break dancing).

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral Air -Sheik kicks forward with her leg.
• Forward Air -Sheik claws infront of her with her left hand.
• Back Air - Sheik kicks backward with her right leg.
• Up Air - Sheik turns upsidedown and kicks upward spinning.
• Down Air - Sheik kicks down throwing herself down with it.

Grabs & Throws

• Pummel - Sheik punches the enemy with her left hand.
• Forward Throw -Sheik elbows the enemy with her left arm.
• Back Throw - Sheik throws the enemy behind her and kicks backwards.
• Up Throw - Sheik flips upsidedown and kicks the enemy with both of her feet.
• Down Throw -Sheik throws the enemy down to the ground and elbows the enemy sending the enemy upward.

Tips and Strategies

• Sheik is a very fast character in all aspects. She moves quickly both on the ground and in the air, jumps quickly, has very little landing lag on any attack (save the Down Aerial), and attacks quickly. Take advantage of this to harass your opponent relentlessly.
• Sheik's Forward Tilt is a quick move with fairly long range, though low damage. Its knockback is probably its most interesting aspect, however. If it hits with the tip of the foot, especially at low percentages, it will knock the opponent towards Sheik, allowing for just about any move to be used immediately afterwards. This includes using another Forward Tilt. At low percentages, multiple forward tilts can be repeatedly comboed together to increase damage. Doing so is known as a "Tilt Lock". Attempting to DI away from Sheik will trap most characters in the tilt lock. The tilt lock can only be escaped by DI'ing towards Sheik. However, a very skilled Sheik player can maintain the lock by alternating Forward Tilts between the two directions.
• Sheik's Up Smash has two distinct hits. The moment her hands part above her head, there is a very powerful hit that can kill at around 90% (the "tipper"). There is also a second hit as the hands move to the sides that has less powerful knockback. Both hits do 15%, and if Sheik is overlapping with a character on the ground as the move is released (most easily done by performing a Running Up Smash), both hits can connect, which deals very good damage, though unfortunately only has the knockback of the Side Hit. The Tipper is very difficult to get except against airborne opponents, but is by far Sheik's most powerful Kill Move.
• If Sheik cannot pull off a sweet-spotted Up-Smash, her second best Kill Move is Vanish (Up-special), which can KO at around 130%, but is difficult to pull of due to its start-up lag. Sheik's tilts cannot KO until 190% (Up Tilt) or over 200% (Forward and Down Tilts), and her other smashes (Down Smash's First hit, Forward Smash's Second hit, Up Smash's Side hit) take about 150% to KO. This leaves just Sheik's aerial attacks. Unfortunately, the power on these is also lacking. Neutral Aerial, Up Aerial, and Down Aerial cannot kill from the center of Final Destination until around 150%, and for the Forward Aerial it is closer to 180%. However, these moves are capable of scoring kills at lower percentages than that, if properly used to Edge Guard. When an opponent is sent flying horizontally, Sheik should ALWAYS pursue. If Sheik can score several hits on an opponent who is off the stage, it is very likely that she can KO. The Forward Aerial is the easiest to chase with, due to its incredible speed and decent range, but after that hit (which will likely not KO), it is best to try to hit with a Neutral Aerial. An off-stage Neutral Aerial hitting on its initial extension can KO easily at 120%.
• Sheik has a quick grab that has a fairly long range. Unfortunately, her throws are rather weak, dealing only 6% for the Downthrow, 5% for the Upthrow, and 7% for the Forward and Back Throws. Additionally, the knockback on these throws will never KO during a reasonable match (even at Sudden Death percentages). However, Sheik's most damaging throws (Forward and Back) have interesting Knockback. They send the opponent diagonally, with the main component of the knockback being vertical (upwards). If the opponent attempts to DI towards Sheik, the knockback will be entirely vertical, allowing Sheik to follow up with a Neutral, Forward, or Up Aerial very easily.
• Due to the low-damaging nature of Sheik's throws, it is always recommended to Pummel the opponent several times before throwing them to rack up damage.
• Sheik has a powerful Jab Fake. At a moderate range, the second Jab can be canceled into a F-tilt, D-tilt, F-Smash, Short-hopped Forward Aerial, Dashing Shield-Grab, or a Dash Attack. At close range, the second Jab can be canceled into a Grab, any of Sheik's Tilts, Smashes, Short-hopped Aerials, or another set of Jabs. Probably the safest option is Jab->Jab->(Cancel)-> Grab.
• Sheik actually has a fairly comprehensive defensive/"safe" game. Her Downsmash and Uptilt are amazing defensive moves, both having a long duration, multiple hits, high priority, and large hitboxes. This makes them great for repelling attacks and punishing the attackers. Sheik can actually approach defensively, by running at the opponent, pivoting, and short-hopping a Back Aerial. The Back Aerial is a very long-ranged Sex Kick, and it has no landing lag. Your opponent will likely shield the attack, but if spaced properly they will be too far away to grab you. If they try to run at you and attack, a Downsmash will hit them. If they try to jump and come from above, an Uptilt will hit them. And either of these moves can be performed immediately due to their fast speed and the Back Aerial's lack of landing lag. Once your opponent has been hit once, Sheik now has an opening to pursue.
• If an enemy is off the stage, Sheik should most definitely pursue. Even though the Forward Aerial has been reduced in power, it is still a potent edge-guarding technique due to its extreme speed and Semi-Spike knockback, which actually becomes considerable at percentages over 100%. Additionally, don't forget to actually use Vanish. It can be very deadly at higher percentages, and if an opponent is edgeguarding, it turns the tables if you actually connect the move.
• Although the Chain is slow, it has actually been found to have some uses. When it is extended, if it is directed between down and diagonally down-forward, it drags along the ground. If an opponent is caught in this chain-drag, they are hit repeatedly very quickly, racking up 20-40% almost instantaneously and sending them into the electric tipper, which should launch them far enough away to end the move safely. This is most useful to catch someone out of a spot-dodge or while they are Shielding, as it will very quickly Shield-poke. Probably the best way to set this up is to approach several times with a running grab. When your opponent starts to expect this and side-step, this is when you throw the Chain out instead. It can also be used in the air, at a height close to the ground, and it will stay out, so a similar strategy could be used to trick your opponent into thinking you will approach with an aerial so they shield.
• Glide Vanishing is not the most useful technique, but it certainly is the flashiest. It is performed by running to the edge and using the up-B right on the edge. Sheik should glide a fair distance out past the ledge, and the Vanish will perform at that point. This can be a potent edge-guard and ledge-hog technique.

Special Movements

Taunts

Up: Does a one handed handstand.

Side: Brings her chain out in a strangle pose.

Down: Does her standard Sheikah pose and makes a disappointed/arrogant huff. (Same as Melee)

On-Screen Appearance

Appears from a burst of magical sparks.

Idle Stance

• Balances on one foot.
• Quickly poses.
• Holds arm up, then throws it to her side.

Victory Pose

Victory Theme: Zelda Triforce Theme

• Two kicks, then a ninja stance
• In a crouch, she slashes the air with her needles, then stands up
• Keeps her mouth concealed

Wii Remote Choice

Magical sounds can be heard, and Zelda says "Hiya!". Same as Zelda's because they share a character choice square.

Credits Music

• Ocarina of Time Medley

Trivia

• Sheik has the shortest on-screen appearance duration out of all the characters in Brawl.
• Sheik's Brawl design isn't based on her appearance from Ocarina of Time like it was in Melee. It's actually based on conceptual designs that were created for Twilight Princess, despite the fact that she never appeared in that game.
• If Sheik is attacked while charging her Needle Storm attack, her needles fall out of her hand and scatter all over the floor.

External Links

• Sheik's page at Smash Bros Dojo!!.