Link (PM)

Link in Project M and Project+
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Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Base game appearance	Brawl
Moveset inspiration	Link (SSBM)
Alternate costume	Melee Link

Link is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. He was remade to be closer to his Melee version.

Link is ranked 30th out of 41 on the official tier list, near the bottom of the C tier. This is an improvement over his placement in Brawl, where he ranked 35th out of 38, but a slight drop from his Melee position of 18th out of 26. In the official Project + tier list, he places slightly higher, ranking 23rd out of 42, now residing near the top of B tier.

Attributes

Link is, in general, a well-ranged fighter. He is a heavyweight (tied with Captain Falcon in weight) possessing three projectiles and long disjointed hitboxes in his sword attacks, allowing him to zone opponents out, heckle them from far away, and start combos from a distance before moving in. Both his Bombs and Boomerang can be used to create openings, which allow Link to start a combo or get in a finishing hit. Link's is also packed with a stellar defensive game, as his Hylian Shield can block projectiles when standing still, crouching (which aids his crouch cancel), and even while walking. His Spin Attack is also one of the most potent out of shield options in the game. The latter attack is also highly effective for edge guarding onstage, as it will semi-spike any opponent who fails to sweet spot the edge, sending them away towards the blast lines. Link also has a good aerial game; his up and down aerials are very powerful and stay active for a long time, serving as combo finishers, and his Bombs can be used efficiently for glide tossing. His other three aerials have low lag and decent range, serving as both combo and approach tools. His tilts are generally fast, especially his forward tilt, which can be quite devastating on those not expecting it; it is also a potent edge-guarding tool. His up tilt can combo into itself and/or juggle opponents, and his down tilt is also good at edge-guarding and can lead into combos at moderate percentages.

Link's smash attacks are of an above average speed, as well as being of the most powerful. His forward and up smashes are both effective at KOing and pressuring shields, with both leading into combos at low percentages to rack up damage quickly. Finally, his down smash is useful to KO any opponent at higher percentages. His up and down smashes both have incredibly fast startup, whilst the latter has somewhat moderate end lag.

Link's throws are of decent usage, as he is capable of using them rather quickly. His up and down throws can be utilized as combo starters, whilst the prior has immense knockback that could send the opponent into a possible KO at medium-high percentages. His forward and back throws, while sub-par to most, still have decent range at moderate to high percentages. When counting his now-fast grab, his throws are more dangerous than ever.

While Link's recovery is difficult to edge guard, it does not give much distance. However, with Link's glide tossing ability, Link's recovery has become one of the best in the game, as he can throw Bombs upward and use Spin Attack on them to receive knockback, allowing him to consistently repeat the process. Link has also an alternate recovery option with his zair, the Hookshot, which can also be used after shifting towards the stage with an air dodge.

Link is not a character without weaknesses, however. Link's large size, heavy weight and somewhat moderately high gravity make him an easy victim for combos, allowing enemies to rack up damage on him with little effort. His aerials, though possessing high KO potential, have overall long ending lag, save his F-air, B-air and N-air, causing Link to become easily countered by opponents that excel at midair combat, such as Jigglypuff or Peach. Also, while his recovery is overall difficult to edgeguard, his Spin Attack's hitbox only extends above him, leaving Link vulnerable against edgeguarding attacks with good horizontal reach, such as Marth's down tilt or Charizard's back aerial. His bomb recovery also damages him in the process.

Changes from Melee to PM

As with most Melee veterans, Link was reverted back to his Melee iteration although he maintains some of the improvements he saw in Brawl and he has some additional new improvements to further aid him. Because of this, Link was heavily buffed in the transition from Melee, with many of his attacks being slightly faster, stronger and having improved range.

Aesthetics

• Link's taunts have been adjusted:
  • His Melee taunt has returned and assigned to his side taunt.
    • His Brawl side taunt is still accessible and assigned as a side Smash Taunt. In addition, the fairy now says "Hey, listen!" during said taunt, referencing Link's partner Navi, with said voice clip taken directly from Ocarina of Time.
  • Link now has a down Smash Taunt that involves taking out the Ocarina of Time and standing in place while using it. While idle in this pose, players can press the A button and D-pad to play songs on it, emulating the game's control scheme for playing the ocarina.
• Link's on-screen appearance has been reverted to his on-screen appearance from the original Super Smash Bros., which involves teleporting downward from a beam of light akin to the end-of-dungeon teleporters in Ocarina of Time.

Attributes

• Link's dashing speed has increased slightly (1.3 → 1.4).
• Range of his sword attacks is reminiscent of Brawl's (if not larger), increasing it. As an added benefit, his attacks stick out more.
• Despite Link not having any decrease in height and/or size, his hurtbox is somewhat smaller.
• Link's walking animation has changed to resemble his Smash 64's animation. Link also has the added benefit of being able to shield projectiles while walking, aiding his defense.

Ground Attacks

• Most of Link's normal attacks have slight speed and power increases and are generally safer to use on shielding opponents.
• Link's forward tilt is now faster, like Young Link's version, making it more useful than before, now because of his extend range, it also gives Link even better edge-guarding capabilities.
• Link's up smash's later hits have less startup lag with a longer duration (frames 26-28 (hit 2), frame 41-43 (hit 3) → 23-27/36-41), and all three slashes can link better into other. He can also DACUS improving up smash's approach potential (although his DACUS covers less distance than in Brawl).
• Up smash has more ending lag (frame 52 → 58).

Aerial Attacks

• All aerials except down aerial auto-cancel earlier (frame 32 → 31 (neutral), frame 51 → 48 (neutral), frame 29 → 25 (back), frame 56 → 49 (up)). Much like in Brawl, Link can now auto-cancel neutral aerial in a short hop and he can auto-cancel forward and up aerials in a full hop.
• Neutral aerial has a shorter duration (frames 4-39 → 4-31).
• Forward aerial's first hit deals more damage (13% → 14%) and the second hit has less startup lag (frame 30 → 28), deals more damage (8% → 10%) and now launches opponents vertically granting it combo potential. It also has less ending lag (frame 56 → 51).
• The first hit of back aerial now has set knockback similar to it's Brawl incarnation making it connect better with the second hit. The second hit also has less startup lag (frame 18 → 16) and back aerial has less ending lag (frame 30 → 28).
• Up aerial has less ending lag (frame 60 → 57) and landing lag (30 frames → 28).
• Down aerial has less landing lag (50 frames → 40).
• Down aerial auto-cancels later (frame 65 → 79).
• Grab aerial is now based on its Brawl incarnation having two separate hits. It has less startup lag (frame 11 → 10), deals more damage overall (6% → 4% (hit 1), 9% (hit 2)) and the second hit launches opponents vertically granting it combo potential. It also has less landing lag (30 frames → 15).
• Grab aerial is now a tether hindering its use as a recovery option.

Grabs and Throws

• Standing grab has a longer duration (frames 11-17 → 11-19) and has less ending lag (frame 86 → 76), and dash grab also has a longer duration (frames 12-17 → 13-20) and gives Link more distance.
• Dash grab has more startup lag (frame 12 → 13).
• Up throw deals much more knockback.

Special Moves

• Hero's Bow charge speed has increased slightly, has more knockback, and its knockback angle changed to send opponents at a more horizontal angle. It also retains Brawl's trajectory and Quickdraw technique.
• Boomerang has more varied angles, making it a more reliable projectile, and using the move with the boomerang throw already, additionally produces a weak "slap" hitbox on Link's hand.
• Boomerang designed with a light-blue trail to resemble its Smash 64 incarnation.
• Spin Attack's color trail resembles the Smash 64 version, in both his grounded and aerial versions, and also uses the soundbyte from this game.
• Using the Spin Attack in the air grants more horizontal momentum. The grounded Spin Attack's range has increased slightly.
• Link can perform the aerial glide toss. This techique increases his options for movement and combos on stage, and gives him new recovery options.
• Link can now bomb jump consistently for recovery. By inputting a glide toss while airborne, Link can toss the bomb up the right distance to Spin Attack into it, allowing him to Spin Attack and repeat the process over again. Project M's improved tether recovery managements also give him a better alternate option in his zair.
• Can no longer perform Boomerang superjump nor Bomb dash.

Changes from PM to P+

v2.0

Aesthetics

• Link's Ocarina of Time costumes aesthetically replaces Clawshot and Hero's Bow with the Hookshot and Fairy Bow, respectively.

Attributes

• Ground Friction: 0.09 → 0.08
• Jump Startup Time: 5 → 4
• Wall Jump Horizontal Velocity 1.3 → 1.0

Ground Attacks

Up Smash

• Second Hit Tip Angle 95 → 93
• Second Hit other hitbox angles 98 → 90
• SDI Multipliers on first two hits 1.0x → 0.5x
• End lag increased slightly 16 → 20

Aerial Attacks

• Back Air can now be interrupted as soon as frame 28 → 27

Grabs and Throws

Grab:

• All grabs have their active frames reverted to v3.5
• Dash/Pivot tether grab box changed from having 1 hit grab box to having 2 smaller grab boxes next to each other

Up Throw now always causes tumble

Down Throw:

• KBG 50 → 40: BKB 60 → 85, Angle 90 → 85
• Animation length increased slightly 50 → 51

Back Throw BKB 35 → 40

Special Moves Neutral Special (Arrow):

• Hitbox Size 1 → 1.75 (fixes issues involving Z-axis)
• Release point modified to better match visual.

Side Special (Boomerang):

• Startup 27 → 25
• Release point modified to better match visual.

Other

• <100% Ledge getup attack active frames 27-29 → 26-29
• Up Taunt - Sword Glow remains throughout instead of ending abruptly.
• Dash now rumbles on frame 1.
• Restricted to pulling two bombs at a time in order to prevent game breaking bugs.
• Dash-Attack-Cancelled-Up-Smash distance normalized between first and second frame.

v2.0 - v2.28

No changes.

Revisions

v2.1

• Link's up smash has fixed timers.
• Link's Hylian shield now works properly when standing, walking, and crouching.
• Link's pummel now connects properly against opponents grabbed on slopes.
• Link's forward roll no longer falls off edges.

v2.5b

• Link's down throw's knockback growth has been increased.
• Link's down throw hitbox reworked so that it now connects properly on any character.
• Link's Boomerang close range strong hit duration lasts slightly longer.
• Link's Spin Attack can properly grab edges at the peak and off of platforms.
• Link's up tilt animation has been adjusted to better match Melee's.
• Link's grab-box in his hand is larger like a normal grab's, but ends when the Clawshot extends, and the chain is unable to grab airborne targets to prevent a standing chaingrab.
• Link's Arrow hitbox size matched to Melee.
• Link's Boomerang knockback and angles adjusted more towards those of Smash 64 and Melee on the way out, rather than straight up, and uses a knockback strength similar to that of Smash 64 on the return hitbox.
• Link can pull up to 3 Bombs.

v2.6b

• Dash speed slightly increased.
• Down tilt is slightly faster, and knockback is slightly increased.
• Forward and back throws end sooner.
• Up throw's damage was increased, its launch point and knockback were adjusted to have more utility, its animation was improved, and is interruptible sooner.
• Aerial Clawshot has a flub hitbox that links into the sweetspot, similar to the Brawl version.
• Using Boomerang produces a very weak "slap" hitbox on Link's hand when done with the Boomerang already out.
• Dash attack's interruptibility occurs slightly slower.
• Down throw has more ending lag.
• Spin Attack's horizontal momentum very slightly lowered.
• Dash attack animation remade, now much more similar to Melee's.
• Hitboxes on up tilt, second hit of forward smash and last hit of up smash and were matched better matched to their respective animations.
• Neutral aerial's duration matched to the animation.
• Aerial Clawshot sweetspot now sends opponents up and slightly towards Link.
• Boomerang was adjusted to have a shorter distance but be thrown faster. The Boomerang also got a new model.
• Boomerang catch animation only occurs when Link is in his waiting animation.

v3.0

• All sword attacks are now correctly clankable.
• Up smash's last swing inner hit does 1% more damage (10% instead of 9%).
• Back aerial's IASA frames come two frames earlier.
• Link can now correctly angle his Boomerang downward on the ground.
• Up tilt's base knockback slightly lowered on all hitboxes.
• Up smash's IASA frames come slightly later.
• Down smash's first hit outer hitboxes dropped from 17% to 16% damage (sweetspot is now on elbow).
• Shrank hitbox size on Boomerang's "flub slap".
• Forward tilt does slightly more damage at the base of the sword, and slightly less on Link's shoulder.
• Up tilt's knockback growth changes slightly based on where one hits on the sword as per Melee/Brawl.
• Dash attack's hitbox is active one additional frame, but gets IASA frames slightly later. On the closest hitboxes, the damage increases while the angle becomes lower.
• Down smash's second hit has a 17% damage sweetspot added to the inside hitbox, but slightly dropped knockback growth on all others.
• Back aerial second kick's angle slightly lowered.
• Down aerial's hitboxes moved to better match Melee and cover Link's sword.

v3.5

• Sweetspoted neutral aerial does less damage if hitbox connects on the hip or back leg. (9% hip, 8% back leg)
• First hit of forward aerial does 14% damage.
• Sweetspot for boomerang now does 11% damage and does 3% damage when returning.
• Link now has a second smash taunt, by tapping Down Taunt link will pull out his ocarina and players can play it by using the attack and directional function and quit using the B button
• Link now has Melee sword swing sounds

v3.6

• Forward tilt base knockback increased. Deals 1% less.
• Forward smash damage increased by 1%.
• Neutral air sweetspot deals 1% more.
• Back air hitboxes are two frames faster, new knockback method.
• Link's friction reduced by .01, giving him a better wavedash.
• Link's run speed has been increased to 1.4, from 1.35.
• Up throw has increased base knockback.
• Up throw endlag increased.
• Boomerang now releases on frame 27 from 23, IASA frames increased to 43, from 36.
• Upsmash SDI multipliers normalized to 1.0.
• In an attempt to fix pausing when grabbing foes at maximum range, Link now has an overall shorter grab range.
• Several animations smoothed out/improved.

Moveset

Up to date as of version 3.6.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			5%	Link performs a diagonal sword slash followed by a horizontal slash, with a lunging stab finisher. The second hit can cancel out and lead into other attacks, giving Link more options for combos or finishers. The infinite links together much better than Melee, but has some Ending lag.
			3%
			6%
			1-2% (loop)
Forward tilt			14% (blade), 13% (tip & arm), 12% (body)	Link performs an overhead sword swipe. This attack can edge-guard against opponents. It also has strong KO potential.
Up tilt			9%	Link swings his sword in an arc above himself. The move comes out quick and has low ending lag, mostly being used to juggle opponents at low percentages. It also has good KO potential at high percentages.
Down tilt			11%	Link swipes his sword across the ground. This attack can lead into combos and has low startup and ending lag. It can also meteor smash opponents who come in contact with Link's body and the base of his sword, making it a viable edgeguarding tool.
Dash attack			12% (blade), 10% (tip), 13% (arm), 14% (body)	Link dashes and attacks the opponent. Low start and moderate end lag, is much faster, and sends opponents at a more vertical angle, making the attack good for combos and dash dancing. It has earlier IASA frames, making it even more dangerous if done correctly, and can be safer to use on shielding opponents.
Forward smash		Sword Slice	15% (tip), 16% (body)	Link swings his sword downwards for good knockback, and if the A button is pressed again, he will do a much more powerful horizontal slash to follow. The second hit deals more vertical knockback than the first hit, but it's impossible for the second hit will land at damages above 30% due to the knockback growth of the first hit.
			18% (tip), 20% (body)
Up smash			4% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2), 9% (hit 3 body), 10% (hit 3 blade)	Link swings sword in an upwards arc three times. The attack has somewhat low start-up and moderate ending lag. The move can also be dash cancelled, making it a great DACUS move.
Down smash			Front: 13%/16%/17% Back: 11%/16%/17%	Link swipes his sword from front to back, having very quick start-up but moderately long ending lag. At low percentages, it can KO as low as 50-90% damage depending on the character.
Neutral aerial			12%/10%/9% (clean), 7% (late)	Link thrusts his leg out for an extended time. Has sex kick properties.
Forward aerial			14% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)	Swings his sword twice while spinning 360 degrees. The first hit is usually hard to follow into the second hit at higher percentages. Each hit has decent knockback.
Back aerial			7% (both hits)	Two short-ranged back kicks behind himself. Low start-up with moderate ending lag and low landing lag. The first hit is a weaker attack which links to the second, more powerful hit. Has considerable knockback.
Up aerial			16% (clean), 12% (late)	An upward sword thrust, which is based off of the attack in Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link. Moderate start-up, with high ending and landing lag. Its initial hitbox is quite powerful, and can KO at lower percentages.
Down aerial			20% (clean blade), 22% (clean tip), 19% (late), 8% (after bounce)	A downward sword thrust, which is based off of the attack in Zelda 2, but acts like it does in Twilight Princess. Has somewhat high start-up, with high ending lag and very high landing lag. It is quite powerful, capable of KOs as low as 60-75%, depending on weight.
Grab aerial			4% (hit 1), 9% (hit 2)	Fires his Clawshot forward, scoring two hits. Second hit has a weak vertical knockback. Has low landing lag. Can be used after an air dodge or as a tether recovery. Very useful for spacing and stopping approaches against taller characters. It is also useful for setting up combos or chain into itself at low percentage and a KO move at high percentage against fast fallers. Link's zair can also be used while a bomb is held to cancel an airdodge, which also allows him to Tether recover with a Bomb.
Grab			—	Link fires his Clawshot forward to grab foes from afar.
Pummel			3%	Link pummels the opponent with the hilt of the Master Sword.
Forward throw			3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Link kicks high to send the opponent flying. Very low knockback at lower percentages.
Back throw			3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Link kicks moderately high backwards to send opponents away. Low knockback at lower percentages.
Up throw			4% (hit 1), 8% (throw)	Link throws the opponent upwards and then slashes them upwards.
Down throw			2% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Link slams the opponent down and slams his elbow down on them. Combos well into up tilt and up smash.
Floor attack (front)			6%	Does two slashes front and back.
Floor attack (back)			6%	Does another two slashes front and back.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Essentially the same as his other two floor attacks.
Edge attack (fast)			8%	Pulls himself up into a front flip and slices downward.
Edge attack (slow)			10%	Slowly climbs up and stabs in front of himself.
Neutral special		Hero's Bow	5-15%	Link fires an arrow at an opponent. The longer it is charged, the farther it will fly and the stronger it will be. At full charge, the arrow will fly straight.
Side special		Boomerang	11% (close), 6% (far), 3% (return), 4% (slap)	Link throws his trademark Boomerang, covered with a celestial light. Has decent power with some knockback, but is best used when Link is close to the opponent. The boomerang has a wide trajectory, but doesn't go far. When used again while the Boomerang is out, it produces a very weak slapping hitbox.
Up special		Spin Attack	Ground: 15% (clean), 5% (late) Air: 4% (hit 1), 2% (hits 2-4), 6% (hit 5)	Link spins in place with a shout, slashing with his sword. Has low start lag, with high end lag. It has a powerful initial/close hitbox which is great for sending opponents flying, acting as one of the best out of shield options. It can also semi-spike at the tip of Link's sword, alongside better length, making it an even better edgeguarding move. In air, it uses multiple attacks and finishes with a powerful ending blow. As a recovery, it has high vertical and horizontal momentum, needing little momentum for Link to recover. He can link the recovery move with his bombs, making for a consistent, amazing recovery.
Down special		Bomb	6-12% (explosion)	Link pulls out a bomb. He can throw it at the opponent, but they may have a chance to grab it. Has decent power, but little knockback. The explosion can hurt Link, inflicting damage to him, which when combined with Spin Attack can be exploited for a great recovery.
Final Smash		Triforce Slash	5% (trapping), 4% (hits 1-15), 18% (hit 16)	A Triforce protrudes out of Link's hand and traps the opponent. He then consistently attacks the opponent leading up to a powerful finisher. Has great power and knockback, and can KO at almost any percentage.

In competitive play

Notable tech

Labbing Discord Tech Post

Notable players

•  Blue - Best Link in the world, ranked 48th on PMRank 2016 and placed top 8 at both Undertow and Shipwrecked in 2021.
•  El Shroomo - Ranked 3rd in SoCal.
•  Magi - Relatively inactive but very strong link player.
•  Titanium - Ranked 5th on the Southern Ontario Power Rankings for Project M. Placed 13th at EVO 2017.

Alternate costumes

Project M

Beginning with 3.0, Link received an alternate costume based on his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which was the basis for his default costume in Smash 64 and Melee.

It received recolors that were present in Melee. Additionally, the Master Sword and Hylian shield were also changed to resemble how they appeared in Ocarina of Time.

Link's alternate costumes in PM

Project+

In Project+, Link receives more recolors:

• Purple:
• Pink:
• Dark Green: Inspired by his design in The Legend of Zelda for the NES. Like in the original game, his hair color is brown.

In Project+ version 2.3, his classic costume was significantly revamped, better accurately representing his appearance in Ocarina of Time. The recolors were also revamped and have new references to other Zelda games:

• Red (OOT): Based on the Red Mail from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
• Blue (OOT): Based on the Blue Mail from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
• Black (OOT):
• Purple (OOT): Based on Ravio from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.
• White (OOT): A returning costume. Based on Link's sprite when wearing the Blue Ring in The Legend of Zelda.
• Grey (OOT): Based on his appearance when wearing the Fierce Deity mask in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Like the original, the costume includes his chest armor, black leggings, red and blue facial markings, silver hair, and no irises. His Hylian Shield and Master Sword are replaced with the Hero's Shield and Gilded Sword from the same game.

Link's alternate costumes in P+

Z-Secret Costume: NES Link

R-Secret Costume: Hyrule Warriors Link