Zelda (SSBU)

Zelda in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Triforce of Wisdom
Tier	D- (73)

Zelda (ゼルダ, Zelda) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. She was confirmed as a playable character along with Sheik and the rest of veterans on June 12, 2018. Unlike the game's predecessors, she is unlockable instead of being available from the start. Zelda is classified as Fighter #17.

In a similar vein to her fellow Zelda fighters Link and Ganondorf, Zelda is now voiced by Ayumi Fujimura, who reprises her role from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds in all regions, replacing Jun Mizusawa from Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Smash Bros. 4. Similar to Star Fox characters in Melee, the former provides a single line of spoken Japanese dialogue in World of Light's opening; this line is dubbed in English by Brandy Kopp, who also voices Palutena.

Zelda is ranked 73rd out of 82 on the current tier list, placing her in the D- tier. This is a slight improvement from her 52nd/53rd out of 54 placement in SSB4 where she was tied with Ganondorf, and is her best placement in the series. Zelda uses magic in her attacks, most of which have transcendent priority, giving her disjointed range in general. She has strong zoning tools to keep her opponents out, namely Phantom Slash, which is a very versatile move that can be useful in many other ways, such as applying pressure, negating projectiles, ledgetrapping, a way to combo into her finishers (or being a finisher itself), and forcing foes to approach her. She also has a good get-off-me option in Nayru's Love to interrupt strings as well as being a useful reflector. Despite being a lightweight, Zelda has an abundance of KO options, with power comparable to or exceeding that of heavyweights; her attacks come out surprisingly fast for how powerful they are, many of which are also effective out-of-shield options, most famously her Lightning Kick, which has devastating launching power when sweetspotted. She also has one of the best recoveries in the game in Farore's Wind, due to its unique property of being a teleport with a hitbox both on disappearance and reappearance as well as covering a great distance; it is also great as an out-of-shield and punish option that can KO at early percents. Her ledge trapping game is also great; she has several ways to put her opponent in unfavorable positions and intercept recoveries, like Din's Fire, which, even if it doesn't outright hit or KO, can force an air dodge and a low recovery to a ledge trap situation. In addition, Zelda has some good ground normals such as dash attack, an essential punish/burst option with fast startup and a large disjoint, or up tilt, which is fast, has a long hitbox duration, low lag and a multitude of follow-ups, including KO confirms. She also has an outstanding array of throws, being able to combo with down throw until high percents and having two strong kill throws in up throw and back throw.

Despite these strengths, Zelda has notable weaknesses. Her overall mobility is among the worst in the game, with a below-average walk speed and one of the slowest dashing speeds. She has a low falling speed and a very low gravity, making her jumps committal and her return to the ground slow; overall her attributes leave her with a poor approach and neutral game. Having a below average weight means she is already easy to KO, but her other attributes only compound this problem. Being tall makes her easier to hit, and being floaty means she struggles to land safely and is especially vulnerable to juggling. She has one of the worst disadvantage states in the game, with Farore's Wind being risky to use to escape juggles due to its high ending lag and landing lag. The range on several of her attacks is also poor, limiting their utility, and many of her attacks also have small sweetspots; they become especially difficult to land with her poor approach and mobility, making her struggle against characters who can run away from her and camp her out like Joker or Zero Suit Samus, or characters that can outrange her and have better disjoints, like Cloud and Shulk. She has no fast, low-committal projectiles, making her susceptible to being outcamped. Phantom Slash cannot be charge-canceled, requiring her to commit to either an early release or to wait until she is actionable again. In addition, if Zelda enters hitstun at any point before releasing the Phantom, it falls apart, limiting the use of one of her best tools in neutral. In general, all her special moves have high lag and can be punished hard when not used carefully. While Zelda has several finishers, most of them are inconsistent, having very precise sweetspots, sourspots that lack KO potential, high ending lag or a combination of all; some of those sourspots, most notably her Lightning Kicks, are also punishable on hit. She also has a limited number of moves and rather small windows to confirm into other moves, forcing her to often rack up damage and secure KOs through Phantom setups or stray hits. While she has good tools for shield pressure, she lacks moves that are safe on shield; for the moves that are, like forward tilt and forward smash, Zelda needs to space correctly, or land the late frames for moves like down tilt and up tilt, all of which are difficult given her poor mobility. Most notably, none of her aerials are reliably safe on shield.

Overall, Zelda plays a decent zoning game and a strong trapping game, with tools for ledgetrapping and making space, but her precise hitboxes, inconsistency and poor mobility gives her a weak neutral and disadvantage state, making her a glass cannon with a focus on precision. Zelda is rarely represented in tournaments, but there have been dedicated players, such as Yn from Japan, Naskino in France, and Ven in the United States, with respectable results.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Zelda being the 2nd character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Kirby or any character in his unlock tree, being the 4th character unlocked after Pac-Man.
• Have Zelda join the player's party in World of Light.

Zelda must then be defeated on Temple (the Ω form is used in World of Light).

Attributes

Zelda is a tall, floaty lightweight character with overall slow mobility. While she has an above-average air speed and initial dash, the 20th highest traction, her jumps and air acceleration are below average, and she has the 22nd slowest walking speed, the 16th slowest falling speed, the 10th lowest gravity, and is tied with Byleth for the 9th slowest running speed in the game. Zelda's attacks are based on magic, making most of them disjointed albeit short-ranged attacks. They also boast generally quick startup; all her normal attacks activate before frame 10, except for forward tilt, up aerial, down aerial, and forward smash. Despite her lightweight status, most of her attacks have impressive KO potential and damage output, giving her power comparable to that of heavyweights. Due to these factors, Zelda can be generalized as a zoner glass cannon.

Her neutral attack is a small burst of magical energy in front of her, having the fastest startup of any of her moves before transitioning into a rapid jab of many magical bursts with a finishing hit. The first hit of jab is particularly useful for a variety of situations, such as shield mixups, platform tech-chasing, and confirms at higher percentages (namely down smash, though inconsistent). Forward tilt is a slow, precise swipe with an extremely strong tipper hitbox (the sweetspot being the highest-damage forward tilt in the game, and the second strongest behind Incineroar's), used to space (especially on shield), ledge trap and secure early KOs with its high base knockback. Up tilt, an arm sweep with large, lingering hitboxes that hit all around her, is one of her most versatile moves, being used to anti-air, catch spot dodges and getups, tech-chase, and start and extend combos across most percentages. It also an important move for KO confirms; landing the back hit can confirm most notably into lightning kick and up air at mid and high percentages, respectively. Down tilt, another one of her most important moves, is a fast crouching kick. Its fast startup, low lag and surprisingly long-lasting hitbox (7 frames) allows it to be used as a fast, low-committal poke, a 2-framing option (especially with a set-up Phantom) or for catching ledge getups. The crouching animation allows her to pancake and evade moves in neutral and out of shield. It can be relatively safe on shield if spaced and/or hit with the later frames, but even if not, the quick animation makes it difficult to punish if the opponent is not ready. It can lead into her most important kill confirms at mid-percentages at or near the ledge, down tilt to lightning kick, so proper utilization of this move is essential. Her dash attack is a dual hand thrust with a burst of magic most powerful closest to her hands. It is her most important burst option, with excellent speed, a good disjoint, a long-lasting hitbox and only moderate ending lag. It is also a good tool to end certain combos, namely from down tilt and neutral aerial. Proper application of this move to catch landings and punish whiffed moves is essential, although overuse and misuse is easily punished as it is unsafe on shield.

Her forward smash is a strong finisher, though weaker than average for a forward smash, with one of the largest disjoints of any of her normals. Due to its multiple hits, it is a decent option for catching ledge getups, especially when charged. Also, due to its rather tame ending lag it can be hard to punish on shield, especially if spaced. Up smash is also a powerful, multi-hitting burst of magic energy. It has a good vertical disjoint, being able to beat out many moves from above. It also has a very long duration with very few gaps, making it particularly effective for catching getups as well as landings, spot dodges and pre-emptively intercepting reckless approaches. While its horizontal range is quite poor, it has a relatively fast startup (frame 9) that can punish poorly spaced moves on shield. It is one of her laggiest moves, however, which in combination with its unspectacular range makes it a highly committal option that should only be used sparingly. Down smash is a very fast 360° leg sweep that launches opponents at a semi spike angle with decent knockback. At frame 5, it is one of her fastest moves and is a quick punish option. As it hits on both sides, it can be used for catching rolls. It can set up edge guards on characters with poor recoveries due to its nasty launch angle. However, due to being a simple leg sweep and one of her few non-magic attacks, it has a rather short range with only average power.

Zelda has unique high-risk, high-reward aerials which boast immense kill power. The sole exception to this is her neutral aerial. It does not have a notable strong hit or sweetspot, instead being her least committal, most versatile aerial which ameliorates her subpar neutral and air-to-air game. It is her only aerial to auto-cancel in a short hop other than down aerial, and has a fast start-up with a long duration, hitting on both sides and dealing high damage. It is used as an anti-air and burst option, combo starter or extender, out-of-shield option, shield pressuring tool, and occasionally edge guarding. At lower percents, it can combo mainly into an up tilt when auto-canceled, or into a dash attack when fast-falled. At higher percents, it loses most of its follow-up potential, but gives Zelda enough space to set up a Phantom or a ledge-trap situation; additionally, for KOs it can edge guard or launch into a set up Phantom. A single hit of neutral air when fast-falled can pop grounded opponents up and lead into a variety of confirms at higher percents, but due to her mobility, this is not a very practical option. Despite being her most important aerial in neutral, it suffers from consistency issues. Due to lacking an autolink angle, opponents can occasionally fall out of the looping hits, particularly if she begins the move while moving upward too fast in a jump, or while drifting back. It is also hard to control which side the opponent ends up on due to to the looping hits' constantly inward-sending launch angles, making follow-ups difficult. The looping hits also have very low hitstun, failing to give the move any drag-down potential and leaving her very punishable if the opponent falls out.

Her forward and back aerials are known as Lightning Kicks. Both these aerials have fast startup at frame 6 and possess a devastating sweetspot at her toe, dealing as much as 24%, as well as higher knockback than the vast majority of smash attacks in the game. The kicks' fast startup and powerful knockback means they work well as punishes on whiffed attacks and as deadly out of shield options for misspaced attacks. However, the sweetspot is tiny and only active for the first frame, making it quite difficult to land. Additionally, they have notable landing lag, rarely going unpunished on shield (though the pancaking during her landing animation can mitigate this), but most significantly cannot auto-cancel in a short hop and have very high ending lag in the air, making them high-risk, high-reward. Furthermore, the sourspots deal pitiful damage with minimal knockback, being punishable even on hit at most percents. The sweetspot's high precision combined with the punishable sourspots and ending lag means they are very risky, especially when used as rising aerials, as missing the move or even landing the sourspot will often mean Zelda will get punished. This leaves her kicks with poor utility in neutral, especially for aerial moves which tend to be safer spacing options. Up air is a large, disjointed explosion with a good duration and excellent power, but significant startup and ending lag and little horizontal range. Relative to its power, it has low landing lag, having some combo potential at lower percents when fast falled, and being safe on shield if used on opponents on platforms while falling. Due to its massive disjoint, it can shark through certain stages. Down air, sometimes nicknamed the "Lightning Stomp", is a meteor smash with a powerful sweetspot on her foot, similar to her Lightning Kicks. While not as fast and strong as her Lightning Kicks, this sweetspot is much larger, making it much easier to connect despite similarly only being active for one frame. Also, unlike the Lightning Kicks, the sourspots linger for longer and always spike opponents downwards, making them more useful. It is one of Zelda's most useful aerials, having the lowest ending lag, being able to auto-cancel in a short hop and tying with neutral aerial for the lowest landing lag. Besides being a powerful meteor smash, the clean hit has great utility in platform chases and is a great punish tool, as hitting it on grounded opponents will allow Zelda to combo into Lightning Kick and up air, even at high percents. Even the sourspots can gimp opponents or lead into a follow-up, especially with the later frames and/or at high percents. Overall, her aerials are almost all unique high risk, high reward moves.

Her special moves take inspiration from various Zelda titles. Her neutral special move, Nayru's Love, is a reflector that doubles as a melee attack; Zelda also is intangible from frames 4-13 of the move. These traits make it useful against projectile users as well as disrupting an opponent’s string. It also has a good duration and good horizontal range on both sides of her. Din's Fire, her side special move, sends out a slow ball of fire that explodes on the release of the button or when reaching max charge, becoming more powerful and moving faster the longer it is charged. It possesses a powerful sweetspot in the inner part of the explosion, with a weak but otherwise large sourspot. The explosion itself can be reflected or absorbed, but the ball of fire cannot be interacted with. In addition, for the first time in the series, Zelda can use it to cover her recovery, as it no longer leaves her helpless in midair. While powerful, its trajectory is very limited, making it easy to avoid in most cases, and quite punishable if used in neutral. Instead, it is mostly used for off-stage play; while it can only really gimp opponents with poor recoveries, it can otherwise at least force an air dodge/low recovery, leading into a ledge trap opportunity with Phantom. Her up special move, Farore's Wind, is a fantastic recovery tool, allowing her to make it back to stage in almost any off-stage situation. As a teleport recovery, it can be tricky to edgeguard Zelda due to its intangibility and impressive omnidirectional distance, but certain characters can threaten her at ledge if they have a deadly 2-framing option. On top of this, it can have anti-2-frame and mindgame potential if one opts to use the aforementioned powerful second hitbox instead of snapping to ledge, or teleport from above ledge to avoid the two-frame vulnerability completely. Much like Palutena's Warp, albeit significantly more difficult, she can completely avoid the move's ending lag by using a technique called edge cancelling, which grants her access to otherwise-impossible approach and stage control options. Due to its quick startup and high knockback, it functions as a deadly out of shield option, though DIing out of the second hit is possible if the opponent is ready or has already buffered another move. The first hit can also be used on its own out of shield to simply reset neutral and avoid the risk of missing the second hit. It can work as a burst option to punish laggy options or anti-zone from a distance, but due to its high ending lag, this option is usually very risky.

Lastly, her down special, Phantom Slash, is her most important tool. It's a unique projectile that she builds piece-by-piece until it is fully formed, which takes a little under a second; however, starting on frame 15, she can have it attack at any stage of its creation by pressing either the special or attack button. The Phantom has a hurtbox and HP; these as well as its attack properties vary depending on its charge. The earliest stages have low damage, knockback, range and HP, being limited to zoning or tanking weaker projectiles. However, it becomes increasingly more potent as it becomes more complete, with the later stages having an invincible shield (similar to Hero's and the Links'), and the final stage having high HP, damage output, impressive knockback and stellar range. After just over a second, Zelda will be able to move and attack freely. The Phantom will attack on its own after about another second if it is not manually released, granting Zelda much flexibility during this window. She can attack in tandem with it in ledge traps, to mitigate the vulnerability of laggy moves and perform shield-breaking combos. It is quite good at comboing into other moves or being a combo finisher itself, due to it and many of her other moves having high hitlag. Other usages include retreating behind it for protection, playing mind games on opponents stuck in shield, launching the opponent towards the Phantom early, conditioning shield to go for a grab, and even covering her recovery (similar to Din's Fire) and especially her ledge getups. Phantom Slash forms the basis of Zelda's kit and is designed to compensate for Zelda's lackluster neutral, allowing her to gain stage control, cover options, pressure, zone and trap because of how much space it covers, how much damage it deals, and how many different mixups Zelda can do with it. With precise input, Zelda can also short hop behind the Phantom while charging it to create a "displaced Phantom," allowing it to block incoming projectiles while charging and making it harder for the opponent to interrupt Zelda. While reflectable, Zelda can mix up her timing by delaying the Phantom, leaving the opponent having to predict when to activate their reflector.

Zelda has good range for her grab, with her pivot grab being one of the most disjointed in the game. Her grab however, has notably slow startup. Her throws have great reward. Forward throw is good to set up edge guarding and ledge traps, while back and up throw are excellent kill throws and among the strongest of their kind. Down throw is most useful as a combo starter, and can reliably combo into neutral aerial, forward aerial, back aerial (depending on DI) from low to mid percents. All her throws can lead into a set up Phantom with proper timing for combos or KO confirms, though forward and down throw are the most practical.

Despite her strengths, Zelda has big weaknesses. Chief among them is her poor mobility, which hamper her ability to approach and punish safely on the ground and in the air. This mobility issue is exacerbated through numerous frame data issues, as many of her attacks, while quick to start up, have punishing amounts of end lag and precise hitboxes, making her approach telegraphed. In particular, her floatiness makes her air-to-ground transition poor and exacerbates the downsides of her already awkward aerials. Since she is light, tall, and floaty, with no safe landing mixups or options to help her from ledge, she is extremely vulnerable to getting juggled and ledgetrapped, contributing to one of the worst disadvantages in the game. Other issues include poor range on her normals, limiting their utility, and extremely weak sourspots that can be punished even on hit. Her combo game is average to subpar; while up tilt is excellent, many of her moves have too much lag, mediocre launch angles and/or unfavorable knockback values for reliable follow-ups or wide combo windows. Her aerials especially have unusually limited follow-ups compared to other fighters due to their lag. Due to this, she partially relies on Phantom to start or finish combos for damage-racking. Some of her multi-hit moves also have consistency issues, namely neutral aerial and Nayru's Love.

Finally, her special moves have exploitable weaknesses; Nayru's Love and Farore's Wind have large amounts of ending lag, making them easy to punish when overused. Farore's Wind also requires following DI to KO off the top. Din's Fire is for the most part too slow and telegraphed to be effective for camping, edge guards or in neutral. Most importantly, Phantom Slash is a large commitment, as Zelda is stuck either in startup if she wants to set up the Phantom as a trap, or she is stuck in ending lag if she releases it manually. This means that, with correct timing and spacing around the Phantom's possible attack ranges, opponents can punish Zelda by pre-emptively reading when she decides to charge Phantom, limiting her best ability to control space, zone and trap. If there is space, the opponent can also retreat to disengage with the Phantom, with Zelda not being able to do much about it except gaining some stage control. Especially against mobile characters, this forces her to play a neutral with her risky, short ranged neutral tools and subpar mobility.

Among favorable matchups, Zelda excels against slower characters with poor ground and aerial approaches where Phantom Slash can effectively wall them out (Ice Climbers), large characters that become easy targets for her normally precise sweetspots (King K. Rool), especially those without safe options on shield, allowing easy punishes with her deadly out of shield options (King Dedede), and characters with poor recoveries for whom Din's Fire becomes a legitimate threat in conjunction with Phantom (Ganondorf). Zelda's weaknesses mean she struggles with quick opponents who can bait out her options and keep her in disadvantage (Fox, Greninja, Zero Suit Samus), can be camped by characters with projectiles that are fast and/or dwarf the Phantom's range (R.O.B., Young Link, Min Min), can be outzoned and overwhelmed by characters with large disjoints who can challenge Knight setups and out-neutral her (Cloud, Aegis), and struggle against characters with better boxing options than her (Shotos).

Overall, Zelda's strengths include fast and powerful out of shield options, decent combo trees, good stage control and ledgetrapping with Phantom setups, and impressive kill power spread broadly across her moveset. Her weaknesses in mobility, range, frame data, consistency and sweetspot issues mean that she must be precise with how she spaces her attacks and sets up Phantom, and she must make the most out of ledgetrap situations. She must be creative in her approaches to overcome her mobility issues when she does not have a lead, and must mix up what she does to get out of a disadvantage due to her floaty nature and lack of safe landing options.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Zelda had historically and consistently been regarded as one of the worst characters (and, at one point in Super Smash Bros. 4, the overall worst) in previous games, due to her combination of underwhelming frame data as a whole, a lackluster special moveset, bad hitbox placements, and an undesirable mix of attributes (slow, light, tall, and floaty). While SSB4 had brought updates to her offensive game, her weaknesses remained, causing her to remain unviable. Likely as a result of being a poorly regarded character in previous games, Zelda has been significantly buffed overall in the transition to Ultimate.

One of Zelda's biggest buffs is her improved moveset: many of her moves have either reduced lag, better KO potential, or other improvements. Most notably, her aerials have significantly reduced landing lag across the board, making them much more usable. The sweetspots of her lightning kicks are significantly easier to land, especially in the z-axis, and their improved auto-cancel window and interruptibility make them less risky to use; forward aerial's improved startup also makes it a much stronger out of shield option. Examples of significantly stronger moves include forward tilt, whose increased damage make the sweetspot safe on shield and improve its KO potential, and up aerial which is larger and stronger with a new late hit. Her already good grab game was improved to the point it is now among the most useful in the game: her back and up throws particularly are much stronger, giving her two new viable kill throws among the strongest of their kind.

Zelda's special moveset, considered among the most situational in previous games, has seen various improvements. Among smaller changes, Nayru's Love has faster startup and intangibility, and preserves Zelda's momentum, strengthening its already strong defensive ability and improving its edgeguarding applications. Din's Fire no longer causes helplessness, giving it utility as an anti-edgeguarding option, and has increased duration and a larger sweetspot, making it more useful, though still situational. Farore's Wind has faster startup and execution and reduced vulnerability, making it a more effective out of shield option and a more viable approach option; it has more precise angles for reappearance to follow opponent DI, making the "elevator" combo more likely to connect, while also being less unsafe if it doesn't.

Phantom Slash is, however, her greatest buffed special and arguably her greatest buff from Smash 4 out of any of her moves. It has been heavily reworked to possess several more stages that can be unleashed faster and cover a wider variety of ranges, improving its zoning usage, and the last stage allows Zelda to move around before it is unleashed, allowing for intricate trap setups and combos when edgeguarding and approaching. The Phantom also no longer has any cooldown if destroyed. Since the Phantom is formed behind Zelda, it is now better used in her advantage state, though with sufficient spacing it is also a strong tool in the neutral game.

Additionally, Zelda noticeably benefits from some of the universal changes. Despite still having below-average mobility relative to the rest of the cast, her horizontal movement has been improved (both absolutely and relative to the cast) in her increased run speed, air speed, air acceleration and especially initial dash. The universal 3-frame jumpsquats and reduced landing lag improve her noticeably, as they greatly supplement her neutral game, previously one of her main weaknesses. This allows her to approach more reliably and slightly improves her combo potential from fast falled aerials—most notably down aerial, which, due to the removal of teching grounded spikes, gives Zelda a plethora of new combos and kill confirms from the move. The changes to air dodging also generally benefit her, as they improve her edgeguarding game with moves like Din's Fire, which also improves her ledge trapping game by forcing low recoveries and allowing time for a Phantom set up.

However, Zelda has received some mixed changes and a few nerfs as well, most notably to the combo game of her normals. Despite the faster start-up of her neutral attack, it is drastically smaller and is no longer safe on shield nor has consistent combo potential, removing one of her best neutral/spacing tools. Down tilt has less ending lag, but is much smaller and has a considerably worse launch angle, hindering its combo ability past middle percents, especially with proper DI. Neutral aerial especially has been nerfed greatly, with the autolink removal and lower knockback drastically harming the looping hits' consistency, completely removing their drag-down combos and making the launch behavior volatile which hinders follow-ups. Down throw's increase in knockback scaling, combined with its more horizontal launch angle removes its 50/50s at high percents.

Other nerfs include her forward tilt, which is more precise due to its slower startup and narrow hitboxes, and due to the sweetspot losing highest priority and being drastically harder to land, the move is arguably weaker on average despite the damage buffs. Down aerial's late hit is worse at gimping due to its smaller hitboxes. Zelda's dash and pivot grabs, already below-average in speed, have received even more startup, although her pivot grab has very large range for a non-tether grab and both of them have less ending lag. Farore's Wind is weaker, making the sweetspot especially worse at early KOs, cannot travel as far and is much harder to edge cancel with, hindering one of her movement options.

Although Zelda benefits from some of the changes to the game's engine, other changes have impaired her as well. In particular, the new knockback speed-up effect further limits her already nerfed combo moves, as knockback was sped up more than her mobility was increased. The increased shieldstun both helps and hinders Zelda, as it allows her moves to be more safely spaced, but combined with the universal reductions to landing lag (despite aerials having less shieldstun), it also slightly worsens her respectable out of shield game.

Overall, Zelda's moveset has been enhanced from previous installments, making her strengths more defined, especially around Phantom Slash as the new crux of her game plan. The changes overall allow Zelda to fare better than in previous installments, with this incarnation being her strongest one yet. However, she still underperforms compared to the rest of the cast. Nerfs to her combo tools, consistency and precision have tempered her buffs while further centralizing her playstyle around Phantom. Game updates have brought her quality-of-life improvements, mostly making several moves across the board even stronger, while failing to address Zelda's core weaknesses. She still suffers from her more problematic attributes, i.e. her very low fall speed and gravity that have been left completely untouched, which leaves her with committal jumps and a poor air-to-ground transition, and significantly low endurance due to her light weight, despite her already slow speed. Most significantly, many of her normals are worse compared to previous iterations, suffering from lack of utility due to impractically small hitboxes, poor follow-up potential, punishable sourspots and/or heavy ending lag.

Aesthetics

• Zelda's appearance is based on her design from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and A Link Between Worlds, with her overall design being a combination of the two. Her slightly smaller eyes, red necklace, more detailed epaulets, belt and bracers, and the white dress is from A Link to the Past, while her crown, bangs, and the pink dress are from A Link Between Worlds. The color scheme of her Twilight Princess design (which was her default in Brawl and Smash 4) is now the basis for an alternate costume.
  • Consequently, Zelda's hair and the jewel of her crown are once again blonde and red respectively, as opposed to brown and blue respectively, with the former being no longer tied at the bottom, similar to her predecessor in Melee; her eyes are larger; her epaulets are smaller; she wears a crimson, gem-like necklace; a sleeved, white dress with a cape and a sleeveless, pink dress with a yellow, Triforce embroidery, as opposed to a purple bodice and a white silk skirt; a more traditional, crimson belt with golden ornaments instead of a gold metallic belt with a tapestry; pants under her dress; bracers with being bare-handed instead of gloves; and high heels instead of boots.
  • As a result of her design change, many of Zelda's basic animations have been altered, including her standing pose, idle poses, and walking animations. All of these animations depict her as very cheerful and somewhat mischievous, making her far more expressive than her SSB4 incarnation, which rarely showed any emotion.
  • Zelda has an updated Palutena's Guidance conversation to coincide with the design change.
• Many of Zelda's alternate costumes have been altered:
  • The skirt of her red and blue costumes are now white, instead of maroon and navy respectively.
  • Her black costume now features a purple gradation at the edges of the sleeve and the skirt.
  • The skirt of her Ocarina of Time-inspired costume is now lavender and violet, instead of white and dark purple, better matching the coloration of the original.
• Zelda always faces the screen regardless of which direction she turns, causing all of her animations to be mirrored.
• All of Zelda's taunts have been altered:
  • Her up taunt is entirely new; she draws a cross pattern with magic akin to her grab from her fingertips, uttering a short grunt similar to Daisy's down taunt.
  • Her side taunt has a faster and flashier animation.
  • Her down taunt is a more casual and joyful wave.
• Zelda hangs onto ledges with one hand.
• Zelda's dress has independent physics.
• Many of Zelda's attacks produce brighter, flashier magical effects.
• All of Zelda's victory poses are completely new:
  • For the left-inputted pose, she conjures a small flame out of her finger and swirls it around playfully, akin to Lucas' right-inputted victory pose.
  • For the right-inputted pose, she summons the Phantom armor and proudly poses in front of it.
  • For the up-inputted pose, she emits magic out of two fingers and points at the screen.
• Zelda is significantly more vocal.
  • She vocalizes in all of her taunts and victory poses; she giggles during her down taunt and new up-inputted victory pose; makes a Kiai noise during her side taunt; makes a breath during her new right-inputted pose.
  • Zelda vocalizes upon waking up from sleep status when not suffering from any knockback, similar to a few other characters such as Palutena and Cloud. She shares this addition with Link, Ganondorf and Wolf.
  • Zelda's voice clips, in general, sounding significantly more dynamic and exaggerated than her predecessors, in a similar vein to Pit and Ike in their transition from Brawl. For instance, her attack and knockback voice clips are louder compared to their Brawl/Smash 4 counterparts, while stun and sleeping voice clips are quieter and longer.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Zelda's jumpsquat takes 3 frames to complete (down from 6).
• Zelda runs faster (1.3 → 1.43).
  • Her initial dash speed is also much faster (1.6 → 1.958). This improves her approach on the ground and gives her an above-average foxtrot.
• Zelda walks slightly faster (0.87 → 0.914).
• Zelda's air speed is slightly faster (1.04 → 1.092).
• Zelda's traction is much higher (0.054 → 0.116).
• Zelda's full hop has less air time (62 frames → 57). This allows her to land faster, but reduces her window to use aerials.
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 4-15).
• Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 5-16), and more ending lag (FAF 31 → 36).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 27).
• Spot dodge grants less intangibility (frames 3-18 → 3-17).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-28 → 3-30).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 34 → 57).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • It has significantly less startup lag (frame 11 → 4), now being her fastest move and no longer being the slowest neutral attack in the game.
  • The third hit has been removed. Combined with the move's faster startup, this makes the move much less safe on shield and eliminates its combo potential at low percents.
    • However, neutral attack has gained a rapid jab with a finisher, which can be transitioned into after the second hit. This partially compensates for the lost third hit by having similar damage output and higher KO potential.
  • The first two hits deal less damage (3% → 2.5%). With the removal of the third hit, it deals much less total damage (11% → 5%).
  • The first hit lasts for 2 frames, up from 1.
  • The first two hits have a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.6×), which, with the removal of the third hit, makes the move execute faster on hit and harder to react to.
  • They have more horizontal launch angles (361°/140°/140° → 361°/361°/180°), with only the outermost hitbox sending inward now.
    • The outermost hit uses a separate outward angle (361°) for non-fighter targets, preventing Zelda from launching incoming items and projectiles toward herself.
    • Due to the inner two hits both using the Sakurai angle, they can now jab lock and trip until high percents. The outermost hit can do so at any percent due to never lifting opponents off the ground.
  • It no longer has set knockback (40/30 set/100 scaling → 25 base/35/30/20 scaling (hit 1), 40/25 base/25/20/25 scaling (hit 2)). The second hit has gained a hitstun modifier of 2.
    • This makes the inner hits deal more knockback at high percents, giving them jab cancel setups.
    • Compared to the inner hits, the outermost hit has notably lower knockback, making it negative on hit until high percents and unable to jab cancel until unrealistically extreme percents. This makes the move riskier to use without transitioning into the rapid jab, and makes its jab cancel ability inconsistent.
    • The knockback scaling eventually makes the move fail to connect fully, though this only occurs at ridiculous percents.
  • It has smaller hitboxes (3.2u/3.2u/4u (hits 1-2), 3.6u/3.6u/6u (hit 3) → 2.4u/2.4u/3.2u (hit 1), 3u/3.2u/3.5u (hit 2)). They are positioned closer to Zelda (z-offset 5.5u/9.5u/13u (all hits) → 4u/7u/10u (hit 1), 5u/8u/11.5u (hit 2)), drastically reducing the move's horizontal range and spacing utility.
    • The hitboxes are positioned lower (y-offset 12.5u (all) → 12u/12u/11.8u (hit 1), 11.8u/11.8u/11.5u (hit 2)), worsening their range above Zelda while not improving their reach below due to their smaller sizes.
    • However, there is a new hitbox in front of Zelda's lower body, improving its ability to hit shorter opponents at point-blank range.
• Forward tilt:
  • It has more startup lag (frame 10 → 12).
  • It has a shorter total duration (FAF 38 → 37), effectively reducing the ending lag by 3 frames due to the increased startup.
  • Forward tilt no longer has a blind spot directly in front of Zelda. Instead, if she is close to another character, her lunge animation will push her backwards to allow the hitbox to connect.
  • It uses five small hitboxes (2.1u/2.2u/2.3u/2.4u/2.5u) instead of three medium-sized ones (3u/3.5u/4u). This makes it much narrower, reducing its vertical range.
    • However, the outer hitbox is positioned farther out (x-offset 3.5u → 6.2u), improving its disjoint.
  • It deals more damage (12% → 15% (sweetspot), 10% → 11.5% (sourspot), which with its lower ending lag makes it safer on shield.
    • The knockback was not fully compensated on the sweetspot (50 base/88 scaling → 72/69), significantly increasing its KO potential, especially near the horizontal blast zone.
    • The sourspot has more base knockback (50 → 72), but significantly less knockback scaling (88 → 68). With its higher damage, its KO potential is slightly higher overall, especially near the horizontal blast zone, but is slightly worse from across stage.
  • The three sourspot hitboxes take priority over the two sweetspot hitboxes, making the sweetspots much harder to land, especially with the aforementioned size reduction.
  • The inner sweetspot hitbox has the same sound effect as the sourspots, despite having identical strength to the outer sweetspot.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has a longer hitbox duration (frames 7-18 → 7-19), allowing it to hit opponents lying down.
  • The outermost hitbox is larger (5u → 5.5u), improving its range.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has less ending lag (FAF 25 → 22).
  • It has 3 small unextended hitboxes (2.6u/2.6u/2.6u) instead of 1 medium-sized extended one (3.6u). Instead of being attached to her leg, they are now static hitboxes positioned closer to each other. Overall this notably reduces its range.
  • It sends opponents at a much lower angle (80° → 62°), and has less base knockback (20 → 15), but more knockback scaling (120 → 125). This greatly worsens its combo potential at low and high percents, and no longer has a guaranteed set-up into up aerial.
    • However, this allows it to combo more reliably into a dash attack and forward aerial at mid percents in combination with its lower ending lag and Zelda's faster jumpsquat.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack's sweetspot is larger (2.2u → 2.8u) and is now extended (z-offset: 12.8 → 12.6-13.2). Its other hitboxes are also larger (5u (sourspot)/4.8u (late hit) → 5.2u/5u), but their horizontal ranges were compensated on the far side (z-offset 7.8-13.8 → 7.8-13.6). Overall this improves the move's range, especially for the sweetspot.
  • The late hit has a longer duration (frames 8-10 → 8-12).
  • Dash attack has less ending lag (FAF 40 → 36).
• Forward smash:
  • The looping hits have been moved farther out (Z offset: 8/16 → 9/17), as has its final hitboxes (Z offset: 9.5/16 → 10.5/17), increasing its horizontal range while not introducing a blind spot due to the new jostle mechanics.
  • The looping hits use an autolink angle (25°/165° → 366°) and have higher set knockback (40/50 → 60/60), improving their consistency.
  • The final hit is slightly larger (5.5u/6u → 5.7u/6u).
• Up smash:
  • The looping hits are larger (3.5u/3.5u/3.5u/4.2u → 3.5u/4u/4u/4.6u) and are positioned higher (y-offset 11u/17u/17u/18u → 12u/18u/18u/19u), improving its range.
    • However, this slightly decreases its lower reach. Combined with jostling, it is more difficult to punish lower opponents out of shield.
  • The looping hits use continuous hitboxes with a rehit rate, significantly reducing the gaps between its hits (frame 9/12/15/18/25/28/31 → 9-23/25-32 (rehit rate 4)).
    • However, this causes it to have only six looping hits, down from seven, reducing up smash's total damage (15.4% → 14.6%).
  • The side looping hits use different and higher launch angles for grounded and aerial opponents (200° → 100° (grounded)/160° (aerial)) and have different set knockback (40 → 60 (grounded)/20 (aerial)), allowing them to connect more reliably against aerial opponents, but no longer pulling in opponents standing on either side of her as easily.
  • The first four looping hits have lower knockback scaling (105 → 100), and the top looping hit has lower set knockback (40 → 20).
  • The final hit has more knockback scaling (214 → 222), improving its KO potential.
  • The side hitboxes for the final hit are smaller (7.5u/7.5u → 6.5u/6.5u).
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has higher knockback scaling (86 (front)/96 (back) → 89/100), improving its KO potential.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (19 frames → 12 (neutral), 23 → 15 (forward), 25 → 16 (back), 19 → 12 (up), 18 → 12 (down)).
• Lightning Kicks and down aerial have unique sound effects when used.
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has altered hitlag (1× (all) → 0.6× (looping hits)/2× (last hit)).
  • Neutral aerial is vulnerable to SDI again (0× → 0.8× (looping hits), 1× (last hit)).
  • The looping hits use weight-independent knockback.
  • The looping hits now use different hitboxes for aerial versus grounded opponents.
  • On aerial opponents, instead of 2 medium hitboxes, the looping hits now consist of 4 small extended hitboxes (4.7u/4.7u → 1.5u/1.5u/1.5u/1.5u). This gives them much less range in the z-axis, being significantly narrower than even a Lightning Kick sweetspot. Additionally, due to being extended, they no longer interpolate.
    • They no longer use the autolink angle (366° → 132°/230° (front), 152°/210° (back)), causing the move to connect less reliably. Due to the angles constantly sending in toward Zelda's opposite side and no longer matching her movement, the opponent's final launch position and direction are far less controllable, making follow-ups more difficult, especially from an auto-canceled short hop.
    • The aerial hitboxes have drastically lower knockback and thus hitstun (75 set/100 scaling → 30 base/10 scaling (bottom hits), 15 base/10 scaling (top hits)). This makes it much easier for the opponent to punish Zelda if they fall out of the looping hits, and completely removes neutral aerial’s drag-down combo potential at realistic percents despite the move’s lower landing lag.
  • On grounded opponents, the looping hits' angles send more outward from Zelda (80° → 70°), making it harder to connect subsequent hits.
    • They also no longer use set knockback (75 set/100 scaling → 50 base/80 scaling), now sending into tumble at higher percents. Combined with the new knockback speed-up effect, at higher percents it becomes harder or even impossible to fully connect the move against grounded opponents, due to the first hit sending them too far.
    • However, the angle and knockback changes improve a single hit's combo potential on grounded opponents if used in a fast fall, especially the higher their percent.
    • Due to the removal of set knockback, the front hit's higher damage now makes it stronger than the back hit.
    • The hitboxes are slightly larger (4.7u → 5u).
    • The hitboxes have altered positions (y-offset 11 (front)/12 (back) → 10/13, z-offset 7.6/-6 → 7.6/-5).
  • The hand hitboxes for the final hit are larger (4u → 5u) and have altered positions (y-offset 11 (front)/12 (back) → 9/13.5, z-offset 7.6/-6 → 8.5/-7), increasing their range.
  • The last hit has less base knockback (40 → 35), allowing it to combo for longer, but reducing its KO potential.
• Lightning Kick:
  • Zelda now uses a specific voice clip when performing either her forward or back aerial; it somewhat resembles Fox, Falco, Pit and Dark Pit's voice clips when they perform Fox Illusion, Falco Phantasm, Palutena Bow and Silver Bow respectively.
  • On top of the magic effect, the sweetspots now have additional unique lightning effects on hit. These are purely aesthetic and not to be confused with the electric effect.
  • The sweetspot hitboxes are now static instead of being attached to Zelda's toe. They are slightly larger (1.9u → 2.2u) and extend into the Z-axis (X offset: -1–1), making it easier to land and preventing it from missing due to opponents leaning into the Z-axis.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has less startup (frame 9 → 6), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 53 → 50).
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 50 → 43), although still not fast enough to auto-cancel in a short hop.
  • Its initial auto-cancel window is shorter (frames 1-3 → 1-2).
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has less ending lag (FAF 53 → 50).
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 52 → 45).
  • The sourspots have a longer duration (6-9 → 6-10).
  • The sweetspot has more base knockback (28 → 30).
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has a new late hit that deals 12%, doubling the move's hitbox duration (frames 14-16 → 14-16 (clean)/17-19 (late)).
  • The hitbox is larger (8u → 9u).
  • Its hitbox is higher up (Y offset: 23 → 26.5). Combined with its larger size, this noticeably improves its range above Zelda, but introduces a blindspot and makes it very hard (or even impossible) to hit grounded opponents onstage.
  • It has more base knockback (30 → 55), but less knockback scaling (84 → 73 (clean)/70 (late)). Overall, it KOs earlier, especially near the top blast zone.
  • It auto-cancels slightly earlier (frame 55 → 54), with its auto-cancel window no longer exceeding its animation length.
  • It has a new animation which is longer than the previous one (54 frames → 63). This increases the amount of time Zelda cannot grab the ledge after using the move although the move has interruptibility frames to compensate for its total duration.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial's clean hit is larger, and has an additional hitbox that covers Zelda's lower leg, giving it more range (4u → 4.2u/4u). They are also positioned farther up and down (X offset: 0 → 2/-1). This removes its blind spot and makes it easier to land.
  • The late hit has smaller hitboxes (6u/6u → 5u/5u), reducing its range and worsening its gimping potential.
  • The removal of teching for grounded meteor smashes improves down aerial's combo potential onstage, combined with its reduced landing lag.

Throws and other attacks

• Zelda's animation when holding a Super Scope or Gust Bellows has been altered, as she now holds the item in a manner similar to a rifle.
• Grabs:
  • Standing grab has more ending lag (FAF 38 → 40).
  • Dash and pivot grabs have more startup lag (frame 11 → 13 (dash), 14 (pivot)).
    • However, dash grab's total duration was not fully compensated (FAF 47 → 48), giving it one frame less ending lag.
  • Dash grab has less range (Z2 offset: 14.5u → 13.3u).
  • Pivot grab has significantly increased range (Z2 offset: -16.7u → -19.2u), becoming one of the farthest-reaching non-tether pivot grabs in the game.
  • Pivot grab has less ending lag (FAF 45 → 43).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals more hitlag (5 frames → 14), but has significantly less startup (frame 7 → 2) and ending lag (FAF 25 → 8), shortening its duration.
  • It deals much less damage (3% → 1.3%).
  • Zelda grabs and pummels opponents with one hand instead of two.
• Forward, back, and up throws have altered animations, and Zelda's hands emit brighter trails of magic. The speed of these throws no longer depends on the opponent's weight, making them slower for lighter opponents and faster for heavier opponents.
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw deals less damage (12% → 10%) and knockback (70 base/50 scaling → 100/30). This significantly hinders its KO potential despite launching at a lower angle (45° → 42°), to the point it can no longer KO under 215% even near the edge.
    • However, the changes to up throw more than compensate due to KOing earlier from any point on stage.
    • The low knockback scaling now gives Zelda a consistent throw to combo into a delayed Phantom.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw deals more damage (11% → 12%) and has less base knockback (80 → 40), but more knockback scaling (60 → 90), greatly improving its KO potential, especially from center stage.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has much higher knockback scaling (60 → 82), allowing it to KO middleweights at around 150%, while in SSB4, it was unable to KO until around 200%.
  • It has increased combo potential due to Zelda's faster jumpsquat and jump speed.
  • It sends opponents at a marginally less vertical angle (88° → 87°).
• Down throw:
  • Down throw's four looping hits deal more damage (1% → 1.5%), increasing its total damage (6% → 8%).
  • The looping hits use the fire effect instead of magic.
  • It has less base knockback (85 → 75), but more knockback scaling (55 → 85), marginally increasing its combo potential at lower percents in combination with Zelda's faster jumpsquat and jump speed while reducing it at higher percents.
  • It has marginally more ending lag (FAF 70 → 71) and sends opponents at a less vertical angle (100° → 104°), leaving it unable to combo into an up aerial at low-mid percents and further hindering its follow-up potential at high percents.
    • Due to the more outward angle, neutral aerial is a less reliable follow-up on DI away, forcing the user to use a lightning kick instead, which is much more precise.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• Nayru's Love:
  • It no longer halts vertical momentum, allowing Zelda to move in the air while using the move.
  • Its intangibility starts one frame earlier (frame 5 → 4).
  • Its reflective hitbox has a shorter duration (frames 5-43 → 5-41). The intangibility also ends two frames earlier, reducing its duration by one frame (frames 5-15 → 4-13).
  • The hitboxes have less startup lag (frame 13 → 11), with their total duration reduced as well (FAF 60 → 58).
  • The inner looping hit is larger (6u → 8.5u) and positioned lower (y-offset 8 → 7). This allows it to hit below stage.
    • However, the inner looping hit does not stretch as far (z-offset -4 to 4 → -0.5 to 0.5), slightly reducing the looping hits' horizontal range against aerial opponents.
    • The final hit now has less vertical range than the looping hits, increasing the chance of the move not connecting fully.
• Din's Fire:
  • Din's Fire no longer leaves Zelda helpless in the air.
  • Zelda has a lower gravity upon using the move (0.019 → 0.012).
  • It has improved maneuverability (angle addition per frame 1.375° → 1.645°, maximum angle 74.5° → 78°).
  • It travels a slightly longer distance.
  • The explosion's duration is longer (2 frames → 6 frames).
  • Its hitboxes are larger, especially the sweetspot (2.1u → 3.5u (sweetspot), 4.5u → 4.8u (sourspot)).
  • The flame has a more stylized appearance.
• Farore's Wind:
  • Farore's Wind's first hit has less startup lag (frame 8 → 6), improving its out of shield utility. It also has a longer duration (1 frame → 2).
  • Zelda's speed is reduced on the move's startup, making her easier to hit and reducing the added distance from a jump.
  • Zelda disappears faster (frame 21 → 17), and consequently begins her teleport sooner.
  • Zelda has more precise angles of teleport direction, allowing her to land its second hit on enemies who DI the initial hit.
  • Its teleport duration is shorter (20 frames → 18), slightly decreasing its maximum distance.
    • However, in conjunction with the faster startup, this makes the second hit come out faster (frame 41-42 → 35-36) and the move interruptible sooner (FAF 81 → 76).
    • The intangibility duration is marginally shorter (frames 21-39 → 17-34) but is no longer shorter than the teleport duration. Furthermore, there is no longer a single frame of vulnerability before the reappearance hitbox comes out.
  • It shows small green orbs that follow Zelda's path during her teleport.
  • A more intense green/yellow vortex is produced at the start and end of the move.
  • The second hit has less base knockback (90 (sweetspots)/70 (sourspots) → 80/60), with only the aerial version's sweetspot having its knockback scaling compensated, though not fully (90 → 94). This hinders its KO potential, especially near the side blast zones for the grounded hits and the top blast zone for the aerial hits.
  • Due to her higher traction, Zelda does not slide as far on the ground on reappearance, making edge canceling significantly harder.
  • Zelda can drift and fast fall in the air much sooner after reappearing, reducing her vulnerability.
• Phantom Slash:
  • Phantom Slash has been heavily reworked. The Phantom armor assembles itself behind Zelda rather than appearing fully formed out of a portal in front of her. It is a single-press chargeable move; pressing the special move button again will cause the incomplete armor to attack at its current charge level. The move has seven charge levels, with five different types of attacks:
    • 1st: Kick (frame 15)
    • 2nd: Punch (frame 20)
    • 3rd: Outward slash (frame 28)
    • 4th: Overhead slash (frame 38)
    • 5th: Upward slash (frame 50, can be delayed up to frame 120)
  • Most notably, the new overhead slash makes it harder for opponents to jump over the Phantom to punish Zelda during the move's charge.
    • Combined with the Phantom's much faster charge, the move has significantly improved zoning utility.
  • If she doesn't release the Phantom, Zelda can now move freely starting on frame 67 while the Phantom remains in place. This creates a significant overlap between frames 67 and 120 where Zelda can simultaneously move freely and manually release the fully charged Phantom at any moment.
    • Zelda can use the Phantom's automatic release on frame 120 as a trap and attack the opponent in tandem with the trap, retreat behind the Phantom for protection, or use the large window of manual release versus waiting as a mind game. This improves Zelda's neutral game and advantage state, and also discourages the opponent from reflecting the Phantom since she has enough time to respond with Nayru's Love.
  • All attacks have a longer hitbox duration, and all after the first also have less startup (frame 11 (1st), 13-14 (2nd), 18-19, 24-27 (3rd) → frames 11-12 (kick), 8-12 (punch), 8-11 (outward/overhead slash), 7-17 (upward slash)).
  • Releasing the Phantom has less ending lag (FAF 47 → 40).
  • There is no longer a cooldown if the Phantom is destroyed. Once the armor disappears, the move can be used again immediately, improving the Phantom's bodyblocking utility.
  • The Phantom's windboxes are stronger, especially for the highest charges. This improves the move's consistency and gimping potential.
  • Phantom Slash deals less damage overall, especially when fully charged (≈6%-≈8% (1st level), ≈11%-≈15% (2nd), ≈24% total (3rd) → 5.9% (kick), 8.2% (punch), 10.5%/11.8% (outward slash), 14.1%/15.4% (overhead slash), 17.7% (upward slash)), as the fully charged hit only hits once. It has also received negative shield damage (0 → -1, -1.5, -2, -2.5, -3).
  • The Phantom charges behind Zelda instead of in front, leaving her more vulnerable since it has to travel a short distance before it can hit in front of her.
  • The last level has more base knockback (32 → 60), but less knockback scaling (100 → 75), and launches at a lower angle (50° → 46°). This make it better for KOing at the ledge, but worse from afar.
• Final Smash:
  • Zelda has a new Final Smash called Triforce of Wisdom. She magically opens a glowing, triangular portal that sucks in the opponent and immobilizes them while dealing damage. If the opponent is at or above 100% damage before the portal closes, they are "sealed away" and instantly KO'd; otherwise, they receive set knockback. Other opponents above 100% damage can be launched significantly if they are within a certain radius of the portal when it closes.
  • Compared to Light Arrow, Triforce of Wisdom has a significantly longer duration and more range covering the entire stage, making it almost impossible to avoid. It also deals more total damage (40% → 67%).
  • Triforce of Wisdom can only trap one opponent, making it less effective in battles with more than two players.
  • Triforce of Wisdom does not produce the Home-Run Bat sound effect, unlike Light Arrow.

Update history

Zelda has been buffed overall via game updates, receiving significant changes in update 7.0.0 and 13.0.0. Notable buffs in version 7.0.0 include her neutral aerial connecting better and having less landing lag, her up aerial having more range, knockback and a longer duration, her forward tilt becoming stronger, and Phantom Slash dealing more damage at all charge levels. In 13.0.0, the first hit of her neutral attack was made slightly faster, somewhat improving its consistency as a combo starter, her up and down smash inflict more knockback, and her down aerial's sweetspot is significantly larger, making it an all around more reliable tool. Aside from these buffs, as of 10.1.0, her forward smash connects better and has more range. However, Zelda has also received minor nerfs to Phantom Slash; in update 3.0.0, its shield damage was reduced, hindering its potency in shield break setups, while in update 9.0.2, a bugfix removed a technique that allowed Zelda to spawn the Phantom in front of her, granting more protection during the charge.

3.0.0

• Phantom Slash deals less shield damage (0 (all) → -1 (1st charge)/-1.5 (2nd charge)/-2 (3rd charge)/-2.5 (4th charge)/-3 (5th charge)).

4.0.0

• Medium and fast walking animations have been adjusted to prevent her dress from clipping.

7.0.0

• Overall shield size has been increased.
• Forward tilt deals more damage (10%/12% → 11.5%/15%), with knockback scaling not fully compensated (70/70 → 68/69). This significantly improves its KO potential to the point it is even stronger than in Smash 4, with the sweetspot KOing at around 120% from the center of Final Destination.
• Neutral aerial's looping hits launch aerial opponents at more horizontal angles (92°/270°/92°/270° → 132°/230°/152°/210°), causing them to connect more reliably if Zelda is drifting away, but less reliably when Zelda is rising or falling.
  • Due to now sending toward Zelda's opposite side, the final hit's launch direction is much more volatile. This makes follow-ups more difficult, especially from an auto-canceled short hop.
• Neutral aerial has less landing lag (15 frames → 12), matching its Brawl counterpart. This improves its combo potential, making KO setups into Lightning Kicks more reliable.
• Up aerial has a bigger hitbox (8u → 9u), increasing its range.
• Up aerial's clean hit has more knockback scaling (70 → 73).
• Up aerial has a new late hit that increases its duration (frames 14-16 → 14-19), and deals less damage (17% → 12%) with knockback not compensated.
• Din's Fire's sweetspot is larger (2.6u → 3.5u), and the explosion's hitbox is active for longer (4 frames → 6).
• Phantom Slash deals more damage on all charges (4.7% → 5.9% (level 1), 6.6% → 8.2% (level 2), 8.5%/9.4% → 10.5%/11.8% (level 3), 11.3%/12.2% → 14.1%/15.4% (level 4), 14.1% → 17.7% (level 5)), with knockback scaling partly compensated on the highest two charges (60 → 57 (level 4), 75 → 68 (level 5)).

9.0.2

• Fixed an issue where Zelda's momentum after using Phantom in the air was different from what was intended.
  • This means she can no longer exploit this bug to improve the move's safety.

10.1.0

• Forward smash has received various adjustments that allow the move to connect more reliably:
  • The first four hits send at an autolink angle (25°/165 → 366° (both)) and have more set knockback (40/50 → 60 (both)).
    • This tends to pull opponents toward the center of the near hitbox. In the majority of cases, this marginally reduces the move's KO potential compared to before.
  • The last hit's hitbox at Zelda's arm is slightly larger (5.5u → 5.7u).
  • All hits have received a -100% trip chance, preventing them from tripping opponents and missing subsequent hits due to the trip's intangibility.

11.0.0

• Changed the length of vulnerability when crumpling to be consistent with other fighters.

13.0.0

• The first hit of neutral attack has less ending lag (FAF 25 → 24).
• Neutral infinite's loop hits deal more damage (0.2% → 0.4%).
• Up smash has higher knockback scaling (214 → 222).
• Down smash has higher knockback scaling (86 (front)/96 (back) → 89/100).
• Down aerial's clean hit has a larger hitbox (3.2u/3u → 4.2u/4u).

Moveset

For a gallery of Zelda's hitboxes, see here.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Short Flash (ショートフラッシュ) / Rapid Flash (ラピッドフラッシュ) / Flash Finish (フラッシュフィニッシュ)	2.5% (hits 1-2)	Extends her palm to emit a burst of magical energy, then optionally follows up with a series of several magical bursts before finishing with a slightly larger blast, which can KO near the edge at reasonable percentages. Unlike in the previous games, where it was the slowest at frame 11, it now comes out quickly at frame 4 with a new rapid jab, but no longer has a third hit. While it has decent disjoint range, it can miss shorter characters due to its high hitbox placement. The rapid jab is especially potent in calling out fast grounded approaches and some low non-disjointed aerial approaches. At low percentages, it is specifically good at setting up for Tech-chasing.
			0.4% (loop), 3% (end)
Forward tilt		Magical Cutter (マジカルカッター)	15% (hand, blade), 11.5% (arm)	A magically-infused outward knifehand strike. It can be angled and has two sweet spots (one on her hand and the other being a blade of magic) that possess respectable power. Its sweet spot KOs middleweights at around 93% while near the edge of Final Destination. It has three sour spots, which are located on Zelda's arm and take priority over the sweet spots, is also reliable for KOing in spite of being noticeably weaker. Its sour spots KO middleweights at around 109% while near the edge of Final Destination. Due to its somewhat low ending lag for its power (24 frames), it's safe on shield with good spacing, and thanks to its five hitboxes sharing almost identical knockback values, it has good range. However, it has noticeable startup lag at frame 12, as well as small and narrow hitboxes, and it can sometimes miss small or crouching characters.
Up tilt		Barricader (バリケーダー)	7.2%	Waves her arm in an overhead arcing motion while her hand is infused with magical energy. Due to it hitting on frame 7 and having a very long active duration and almost no ending lag, it is one of Zelda's most reliable combo starters. It can combo into itself, neutral attack, up smash, Nayru's Love, and Farore's Wind at low percentages; into neutral aerial from low to medium percentages as well as into Lightning Kick out of a reversed up tilt; and up aerial at medium percentages out of a reversed up tilt. It is also good as an anti-air attack thanks to its disjoint and long duration.
Down tilt		Low Kick (ローキック)	5.5%	A kneeling low-level roundhouse kick. Due to it hitting on frame 5, it is Zelda's fastest tilt attack. However, unlike in SSB4, it has noticeably less combo potential, mostly serving as a fast safe poke. It can, however, combo into a dash attack or neutral aerial at mid percentages. With proper timing, it can also be a KO combo into forward aerial.
Dash attack		Quick Palm Shot (クイックパームショット)	12% (clean sweet spot), 9% (clean sour spot), 6% (late)	A double palm thrust that emits a blast of magical energy from her hands, similarly to Peach's dash attack. The sweetspot lasts for two frames and is located on Zelda's hands. Due to it hitting on frame 6, it is one of the fastest dash attacks in the game. To complement this, its sweetspot's base knockback is strong enough to KO middleweights at around 99% while near the edge of Final Destination. However, it is small, with its other hitboxes lacking KO potential, and is unsafe especially on shield.
Forward smash		Shining Palm Shot (シャイニングパームショット)	1% (hits 1-4), 13% (hit 5)	A palm thrust that emits a multiple-hitting blast of magical energy. Its last hit's respectable damage output and high knockback growth make it strong enough to KO middleweights at around 65% while near the edge of Final Destination. Its multiple hits also make it useful for pressuring shields, especially when it is charged, which combined with its moderate ending lag, with 26 frames, it is safe on shield and very hard to punish with good spacing. Due to it hitting on frame 16, however, it has the highest start-up lag out of Zelda's smash attacks.
Up smash		Power Steer (パワースティア)	2% (hits 1-4), 0.8% (hits 5-6), 5% (hit 7)	Waves her arm twice in an overhead fanning motion while her hand is infused with magical energy. It hits on frame 9, which is fairly fast for a smash attack. When coupled with its multiple hits and its last hit's extremely high knockback growth, it is useful for both KOing and pressuring shields. Its last hit KOs aerial middleweights at around 104% from anywhere on Final Destination. While it has a long duration and good vertical range, it has minimal horizontal range and 30 frames of ending lag, thus making it punishable if not used properly.
Down smash		Spinning Low Kick (スピニングローキック)	12% (front), 10% (back)	A spinning, low-level roundhouse kick. Due to it hitting on frame 5, it is tied with Mario, Dr. Mario, Pit, Dark Pit, Ryu, and Ken's down smashes for the second-fastest smash attack of any kind in the game, being surpassed only by Meta Knight's buffered down smash. It is also a semi-spike that hits on both sides, which makes it very useful for punishing rolls or setting up an edge-guard. Although it is Zelda's weakest smash attack, it is still decently powerful and has rather low ending lag. The front hit deals higher damage and KOs at around 117% on middleweights while near the edge of Final Destination. In comparison, its back hit KOs them at around 122% while near the edge of Final Destination.
Neutral aerial		Zelda Spin (ゼルダスピン)	2.5% (hits 1-4, front), 1.5% (hits 1-4, back), 5% (hit 5)	Twirls with her arms outstretched and her hands infused with magical energy. Due to it hitting on frame 6, it is tied with forward and back aerials for the lowest amount of start-up lag out of Zelda's aerials. It has a decent amount of utility: it has a great damage output, especially if the opponents are hit from the front, can be used as a follow-up from down throw; as a combo starter when SHFF'd, or as an edge-guarding option, and it can autocancel in a short hop. The last hit also has decent knockback for its type, as it can KO middleweights at around 150% at the edge of Final Destination without rage. The moved was changed resulting in the multi-hits being weaker and less consistent, with opponents being able to get launched out of the multi-hit portion at a multitude of percentages, reducing its consistency and reliability. This issue is made worse if Zelda is fast-falling in the multi-hit portion.
Forward aerial		Lightning Kick (Front) (稲妻キック（前）)	20% (clean foot), 4% (clean leg, late)	A magically-infused flying kick. Its sweet spot is at the tip of her foot, has both an outstanding damage output and high knockback growth, KOing middleweights at around 59% while near the edge of Final Destination, similarly to Captain Falcon's Knee Smash, though slightly weaker, being the second strongest forward aerial in the game. Due to coming out on frame 6, it's also extremely fast for its power. Compared to back air, it has slightly less knockback, but autocancels slightly earlier and have less landing lag. However, the sweetspot only lasts for one frame when the hitboxes become active, and the sourspots lack KO potential and are very unsafe because of their extremely low damage outputs and base knockback. Its considerable ending lag also makes it punishable at low percentages, even if it is sweetspotted, and due to the aforementioned very low damage and knockback, the sourspot can lock opponents and set-up in other moves at high percents but lacks utility otherwise. Autocancels in a full hop fast fall, just one frame after Zelda reaches the peak of her short hop, similarly to Kirby's forward aerial.
Back aerial		Lightning Kick (Back) (稲妻キック（後）)	20% (clean foot), 4% (clean leg, late)	A magically-infused flying kick. It functions almost identically to forward aerial, with the only difference being that its sweetspot has slightly more base knockback and knockback growth. It is the strongest back aerial in the game, with the sweetspot KOing middleweights at around 54% while near the edge of Final Destination. However, it has the highest amount of landing lag out of Zelda's aerials.
Up aerial		Condense Blast (コンデンスブラスト)	17% (clean hit), 12% (late hit)	Leans back and turns slightly to extend her arm in order to use her magic to create a fiery explosion from her index and middle fingers. It is the most damaging and second strongest up aerial in the game, only slightly weaker than Shulk's up aerial if the second hit is sweetspotted, making it Zelda's most reliable aerial KOing option, as it KOs middleweights at around 100% from a full hop. It can also clip through platforms or the bottom of a stage's edge and has a great vertical range thanks to its large hitbox. It also has a late hit that deals less damage but improves its ability to juggle. However, it is slow, hitting on frame 14, which makes it tied with down aerial for the highest amount of start-up lag out of Zelda's aerials. It also has high ending lag (35 frames) and a fairly short horizontal range. It autocancels in a full hop.
Down aerial		Meteor Heel (マイルドメテオヒール, Mild Meteor Heel)	16% (clean), 5% (late, leg), 4% (late, foot)	A magically-infused stomp, also known as the Lightning Stomp. All of its hitboxes are meteor smashes, with its sweetspot being the most powerful among them and they can also lock opponents. Its sourspot, though significantly weaker, lasts deceptively long, allowing it to potentially gimp fighters with poor recoveries. It also has low ending lag and the lowest landing lag out of Zelda's aerials, which enables its sweetspot to start combos on grounded opponents quite reliably. Can be safe on shield with proper spacing. It hits on frame 14, which ties it with up aerial for the highest amount of start-up lag out of Zelda's aerials, but combined with its deceptively long duration and its low ending lag, it's somewhat fast for a meteor smash. Like neutral aerial, it can also autocancel in a short hop.
Grab		Holding (ホールディング)	—	Restrains the opponent with magic. Zelda's grabs have long-range and are somewhat disjointed, with her pivot grab being one of the longest non-tether pivot grabs, but also have a noticeable start-up and ending lag.
Pummel		Holding Attack (ホールディングアタック)	1.3%	A blast of magical energy. Moderate speed and damage.
Forward throw		Force Move (フォースムーブ)	10%	Magically spins the opponent in front of herself and then throws them away. It is useful for setting up edge-guards thanks to its high base knockback and good damage output but lacks KO potential because of its low knockback growth, often not KOing until 200% without rage. However, it puts the opponent in a dangerous position.
Back throw		Force Back Move (フォースバックムーブ)	12%	Magically spins the opponent and turns around with them in tow before throwing them away. In addition to being good for setting up edge guards, it is among the strongest throws in the game, KOing middleweights at around 105% while near the edge of Final Destination.
Up throw		Force Top Move (フォーストップムーブ)	11%	Magically spins the opponent overhead and then throws them upward. It is one of the most damaging up throws in the game and has both excellent KO potential and limited combo potential, but it only applies to heavyweights and fast-fallers, as it can combo into neutral aerial at low percentages against such characters; In addition to its combo potential, it can KO middleweights at around 146% from anywhere on Final Destination, and is tied with Incineroar and Lucas's up throws for the fifth strongest up throw in the game. Overall, these attributes make it one of the best up throws in the game.
Down throw		Plasma Beat (プラズマビート)	1.5% (hits 1-4), 2% (throw)	Magically shoves the opponent underneath herself and then blasts them with fiery, magical energy from her hands. It functions as Zelda's only reliable combo throw, launching up and behind Zelda. Its angle is heavily affected by DI, but DI can be reacted to for a guaranteed follow-up from low to mid percents. With DI in, it can combo into neutral aerial, back aerial, up aerial, neutral special and up special. With DI out, it can combo into a turnaround forward aerial fairly consistently with proper timing from low to mid percents. Its combo potential will be more limited the more rage Zelda has.
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%	Kicks in front of herself and then behind herself.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Kicks around herself.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Performs a kick while climbing up.
Neutral special		Nayru's Love	2% (hits 1-3), 5% (hit 4, close), 4% (hit 4, tip) 1.25× (reflected projectiles)	Creates a crystalline barrier around herself. The barrier deals damage and reflects projectiles with 25% more power and speed than they originally had. It also grants intangibility on frames 4-13, making it good as a defensive option against combos. However, it has a moderate start-up for its hitboxes (frame 11) and considerable ending lag, making it punishable if used recklessly, so it must be used carefully and not overused to avoid punishment.
Side special		Din's Fire	7%-14% (sweetspot), 3.5%-7% (sourspot)	Launches a magical fireball. It can be aimed up or down, and releasing the button causes it to explode. It has a large hitbox, and only the explosion can be reflected or absorbed. The longer the button is held down, the farther the fireball will travel, and it will automatically detonate when it reaches its maximum distance. Its sweetspot, which is located in the inner part of the explosion, is quite powerful, especially when fully charged. It is very useful for edge guarding. Fully charged sweetspotted Din's Fire KOs middleweights at around 87% while near the edge of Final Destination. However, it is very predictable, and its sourspot is very weak regardless of its charge.
Up special		Farore's Wind	6% (hit 1), 10% (grounded hit 2 near), 7% (grounded hit 2 far), 12% (aerial hit 2 near), 8% (aerial hit 2 far)	Warps in a given direction. It travels a long distance and can be angled in eight directions similarly to Fox's Fire Fox, but is much faster compared to it. It deals damage upon contact while disappearing and while reappearing, and grants full intangibility during its travel. Its grounded disappearance has very high base knockback, very low knockback growth and launches at 91°, all of which enable it to combo easily into its reappearance when it is aimed upward. In comparison, its reappearance has a sweetspot near Zelda that has a decent damage output, high base knockback, and high knockback growth, all of which makes it very reliable at KOing, especially near the upper blast line. Its sweetspotted reappearance KOs middleweights at around 68% while near the upper blast line of Final Destination and in conjunction with the initial grounded hit, while the grounded reappearance can KO middleweights at around 71% from the edge of Final Destination. However, its reappearance has a sourspot that, although safe on hit, lacks KO potential because of its lower damage output and average base knockback, and due to it incurring helplessness, it is highly punishable if whiffed. It can be edge-canceled, a trait it shares with Sheik's Vanish, Mewtwo's Teleport and Palutena's Warp.
Down special		Phantom Slash	5.9% (level 1), 8.2% (level 2), 10.5%/11.8% (level 3) 14.1%/15.4% (level 4), 17.7% (level 5)	Conjures a Phantom piece by piece and propels it forward with another button press. Serves as a projectile with varying attacks reaching various levels of damage and distance depending on the charge. When fully charged, the Phantom will delay its attack for around a second, giving Zelda time to add pressure, perform combined combos or to retreat behind it for protection, and if the opponent tries to reflect it, she can react by using Nayru's Love. When fully charged, the Phantom can KO middleweights at around 84% from the edge of Final Destination. Very versatile and one of Zelda's best options in the neutral game and advantage state.
Final Smash		Triforce of Wisdom	7% (initial vacuum), 3% (subsequent vacuum), 60% (main)	Uses the Triforce of Wisdom to generate a triangular portal that sucks in opponents using massive periodic shockwaves. Upon catching an opponent, they will either be launched with poor knockback. However, if they reach 100% or higher during it, they are instantly KO'd. Very difficult to avoid on smaller stages (such as Dream Land or Mushroom Kingdom II), due to its long duration and large vacuum hitboxes.

Stats

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump Height	Double jump Height
Value	85	1.958 – Initial dash 1.43 – Run	0.914	0.116	0.006	1.092	0.01 – Base 0.055 – Additional	0.071	1.35 – Base 2.16 – Fast-fall	3	31.55 - Base 15.24 - Short hop	31.55

Announcer call

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• English/Japanese/Chinese

On-screen appearance

• Appears facing the screen, generating magical sparkles from between cupped hands. Zelda then flourishes her hands while smiling before assuming her idle pose.

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  Zelda's on-screen appearance

Taunts

• Up taunt: Places her hand on her hip, while generating magic and twirling it in front of her.
• Side taunt: Closes her eyes and summons Din's Fire between cupped hands.
• Down Taunt: Giggles and waves with a smile.

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  Zelda's up taunt.

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  Zelda's side taunt.

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  Zelda's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Brushes her hair while looking back.
• Smiles and performs a pondering gesture with a finger tapping her cheek.

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  Zelda's first idle pose.

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  Zelda's second idle pose.

Crowd cheer

	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer
Description	Zel - da!	Zel - da!	Zeeeeel - da!	Zel - da!	Zel - da!

	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
Description	Zel - da!	Zeeeeel - da!	Zel - da! Zel - da!	Zelda!

Victory poses

• Left: Creates magic with her fingertips and waves it around.
• Up: Creates fire from her fingertip and waves it around while giggling.
• Right: Summons a Phantom behind her with a snap of her finger and poses with it.

A flourished and abridged remix of 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.

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In competitive play

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Zelda players (SSBU)

•  Mystearica - One of the best Zelda players in the world in 2019, most notably placing 3rd at Midwest Arena 2 defeating Ned and Goblin and 5th at 2GG: Run it Back defeating Tea, alongside some strong major/supermajor results such as 25th at Pound 2019 and 33rd at Smash 'N' Splash 5. She dropped Zelda for Palutena in 2020.
•  Naskino - The best Zelda player in Europe is a top 50 player on the continent in the post-online metagame, ranking 37th on the European Ultimate Power Rankings for the first half of 2023. He has consistently placed highly at several events, most notably 13th at King Of Fields 95 3 and 17th at Temple: Hermès Edition. As of 2024, however, he has retired.
•  ven - The best Zelda player from 2019 to 2022. His best results were in the early metagame thanks to strong performances such as 17th at 2GG: Prime Saga defeating ESAM and 33rd at 2GG: Kongo Saga defeating Elegant; he was also the first Zelda player ranked on a global ranking, ranking 83rd on the OrionRank Ultimate: Six Months In. Although less consistent since, he has still seen some strong results, including 9th at LVL UP EXPO 2023, tied as the best Zelda placement at a major.
•  Yn - The best Zelda player in the world since 2023. He has the best peaks for a Zelda player, including placing 9th at the supermajor Maesuma TOP 11 defeating Tea and the major Maesuma TOP 14.5 "in Hyogo".

Tier placement and history

Players were initially divided on Zelda's competitive viability. Many players pointed out that her key issues, most notably her low mobility and poor endurance, were retained from previous games. On the other hand, other players were more optimistic towards the character due to improved frame data over her Smash 4 iteration, particularly on her out-of-shield options, as well as Phantom Slash's higher utility. However, players found that some of her key issues, such as her low mobility and poor endurance, were retained from previous games as well. This optimism, coupled with strong early performances from players such as Mystearica, Naskino, and ven, led many to believe the character was a solid mid-tier, with some arguing that she could be a potential high-tier.

This optimism did not last for long, as Zelda's polarizing nature became more noticeable as time went on: despite receiving buffs in updates 7.0.0 and 13.0.0 that improved her consistency, Zelda's poor mobility, disadvantage, and highly risky neutral remained critical weaknesses. As a result, Zelda players began struggling in the developing metagame, and they either dropped the character (such as Mystearica) or saw worse results and consistency than before (such as ven). Although Naskino continued to do well in Europe and Yn began making waves in Japan in early-2023, opinions on Zelda continued to decline, and as a result she sits at 75th out of 82 on the first tier list, rising two spots in the second and current one. Although it is her best placement in the series and she is far better than all her previous incarnations, she is currently placed in low-tier.

Classic Mode: Wisdom Prevails

Zelda's congratulations screen.

Zelda's opponents are antagonists and she fights each of them on stages that hail from The Legend of Zelda series.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Wario	Great Plateau Tower	Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2	Bowser	Skyloft	Ballad of the Goddess (Original)
3	Mii Swordfighter (×5)	Temple	Temple Theme	Horde Battle. The Mii Swordfighters are dressed in the Yiga Clan Mask and Yiga Clan Outfit.
4	Giant King K. Rool	Bridge of Eldin	Dark World (for 3DS / Wii U)	A possible reference to King Bulblin.
5	Dark Samus	Gerudo Valley	Hidden Mountain & Forest
6	Link (×4)	Hyrule Castle	Great Temple / Temple
Bonus Stage
Final	Ganondorf, then Ganon	Sacred Land	Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form (Ganondorf) Death Mountain (Ganon)	A Maxim Tomato spawns on the stage after Ganondorf is KO'd.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Zelda has Hidden Mountain & Forest accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Zelda in World of Light

Zelda was among the fighters that were summoned to fight the army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, Zelda tried to rally the other fighters to fight the army of Master Hands by saying, "Stow your fear; it's now or never!" ("ここまで来たらやるしかないでしょう!", Now that we've made it this far, there's no turning back!), and was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. She and Mewtwo attempted to reflect the beams using Nayru's Love and Confusion, respectively, but this attempt failed, and both of them were vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment along with the rest of the fighters (excluding Kirby).

Zelda was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. She is unlocked in The Dark Realm at Sacred Land, on the bottom left corner of the land which makes up the Triforce of Wisdom. The player must defeat the spirit of Impa (which is revealed by solving a clock-based puzzle) to clear a boulder that's blocking the path to her unlock battle and then the Zael and Uxie, Mesprit, & Azelf spirits. Unlocking her reveals the Triforce of Wisdom in the center of the map. If Young Link is unlocked, the boulders leading to Cloud's unlock battle and the Master Sword clear out.

Zelda is later seen among several other fighters, making their last stand against Galeem and Dharkon. She is also seen in the bad ending where Galeem emerges victorious against Dharkon, witnessing Galeem engulf the world in light.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
17		Zelda	Shield	10,100	Temple (Ω form)	Ocarina of Time Medley

Spirits

Zelda's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Zelda has been unlocked. Unlocking Zelda in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Her fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with her artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, different incarnations of Zelda appear as primary and support spirits.

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  173. Zelda

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  189. Young Zelda

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  190. Zelda (Ocarina of Time)

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  238. Zelda (Breath of the Wild)

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  247. Zelda (The Wind Waker)

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  259. Zelda (Spirit Tracks)

In Spirit Battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
187		Marin	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Zelda •Link		4,600	Tortimer Island (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Slumber Floor	•The floor is sleep-inducing •Timed battle (1:30)	Tal Tal Heights
189		Young Zelda	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Zelda •Young Link		3,700	Hyrule Castle	N/A	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Ocarina of Time Medley
195		Malon	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Zelda		3,600	Smashville	•Item Tidal Wave •Item: Cucco	•The enemy becomes more powerful after eating •Certain items will appear in large numbers	Ocarina of Time Medley
201		Great Fairy	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Giant Zelda		9,500	Fountain of Dreams (Battlefield form)	•Health Recovery	•The enemy's special moves have increased power •The enemy is healed significantly when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly	Ocarina of Time Medley
215		Din	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Zelda ×2		4,000	Bridge of Eldin (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Lava Floor	•The floor is lava •The enemy favors side specials	Ballad of the Goddess (Remix)
216		Nayru	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Zelda ×2		3,500	Bridge of Eldin	•Temporary Invincibility	•The enemy will occasionally be invincible after a little while •The enemy favors neutral specials	Ballad of the Goddess (Original)
236		Hilda (The Legend of Zelda)	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Zelda •Bunny Young Link		9,100	Temple	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Nightmare)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	Lorule Main Theme
238		Zelda (Breath of the Wild)	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Zelda (50 HP) •Link (60 HP) •Inkling (30 HP) •Donkey Kong (60 HP) •Falco (50 HP) •Zero Suit Samus (50 HP)		9,200	Great Plateau Tower	N/A	•Stamina battle •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •Defeat an army of fighters	Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
258		Phantom	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Clear Zelda		3,800	Spirit Train (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy's down special has increased power •The enemy favors down specials •The enemy is invisible	Full Steam Ahead
582		Hinawa	EarthBound Series	•Zelda •Lucas		13,100	Yoshi's Island	•Easy to Launch	•All fighters are easy to launch	Mother 3 Love Theme
659		Mist	Fire Emblem Series	•Zelda •Ike		3,500	Reset Bomb Forest (hazards off)	•Health Recovery •Defense ↑	•The enemy has increased defense when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy is healed when the enemy's at high damage	Victory Is Near
1,053		Maria Renard	Castlevania Series	•Zelda •Falco •Charizard •Incineroar		3,700	Reset Bomb Forest (hazards off)	N/A	•The enemy starts the battle with a Cucco	Slash
1,065		Charlotte Aulin	Castlevania Series	•Zelda •Richter		3,700	Bridge of Eldin (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy's special moves have increased power •The enemy favors side specials •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Hail from the Past
1,174		Jenna	Golden Sun Series	•Zelda		3,500	Temple (Battlefield form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Isaac)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy favors side specials	Battle Scene / Final Boss - Golden Sun
1,236		Shop Assistant	Style Savvy Series Nintendo presents: Style Boutique Series	•Zelda		3,600	Tomodachi Life	•Item: Transforming Types	•The enemy is easily distracted by items	Style Savvy: Trendsetters
1,241		Yuri Kozukata	Fatal Frame Series Project Zero Series	•Zelda		9,200	Luigi's Mansion	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Yuri Kozukata)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	Main Theme - Luigi's Mansion (Brawl)
1,365		Nakoruru	SAMURAI SHODOWN Series	•Zelda (140 HP) •Tiny Falco (40 HP)		3,800	Yoshi's Island (winter)	•Attack Power ↑ •Item: Swords	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Stamina battle •The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage	Banquet of Nature - SAMURAI SHODOWN
1,442		Aerith	FINAL FANTASY Series	•Zelda •Cloud		7,500	Fountain of Dreams	•Health Recovery	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy is healed after a little while	Aerith's Theme
				•Mii Swordfighter (Moveset 1312, Aerith's outfit, Normal Voice Type 6) •Cloud
1,489		Kokorowa	Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin	•Zelda •R.O.B. ×2 (INT)/×2 (JP/CH/KR)		3,700	Suzaku Castle	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy favors down specials	Boss 1 - Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
1,107		Fighting Alloy Team	Super Smash Bros. Series	•Captain Falcon Team ×4 •Zelda Team ×4 •Mario Team ×4 •Kirby Team ×4		3,300	Final Destination (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Cruel Smash	Blue Alloy
1,246		Orville	Takt of Magic	•Robin •Pit •Zelda		3,400	PictoChat 2	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win	Struggle Against Chaos	Charlotte (Takt of Magic)
1,328		Hero's Comrades	DRAGON QUEST Series	•Ike (120 HP) •Tiny King Dedede (120 HP) •Zero Suit Samus (100 HP) •Sheik (130 HP) •Tiny Robin (90 HP) •Zelda (110 HP) •Link (100 HP)		13,300	Yggdrasil's Altar	N/A	•The enemy has increased melee-weapon damage and move speed •The enemy's smash attacks have increased power •Stamina battle	The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination	Serena
1,411		Duran & Angela	Mana Series	•Roy •Zelda •Tiny Bunny Kirby ×2		9,200	Gaur Plain (Ω form)	•Item: Ramblin' Evil Mushroom	•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Filled with Hope	Angela
1,456		Seth & Gloria	Bravely Default Series	•Mii Swordfighter (Moveset: 3223, Chrom Wig, Dunban Outfit) •Zelda		9,400	Delfino Plaza (Large Island)	•Health Recovery •Defense ↑ •Item: Swords	•The enemy has increased defense after a little while •The enemy is healed when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy's melee blows will heal them when they hit	Jergingha - Planet Destruction Form	Gloria
1,461		Lora	Xenoblade Chronicles Series	•Lucina •Zelda •Cloud		3,800	Jungle Japes (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win	Battle!!/Torna	Haze
1,514		Rauru	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Mewtwo (100 HP) •Zelda (70 HP) •Giant R.O.B. (70 HP) •Robin (60 HP) •Inkling (60 HP) •Charizard (60 HP) •Pit (60 HP)		13,000	Temple (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy favors neutral specials •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form	Zelda (Tears of the Kingdom)

As an ally

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
243		Calamity Ganon	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Giant Ganondorf •Ally: Zelda		13,900	Great Plateau Tower (Ω form)	•Sudden Damage	•You lose if your CPU ally is KO'd •You'll occasionally take sudden damage after a little while •The enemy is giant	Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form	Zelda (Breath of the Wild)

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Artwork of all The Legend of Zelda characters, as posted on the official Legend of Zelda Twitter account.

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  Zelda's fighter card.

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  Zelda's unlock notice.

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  Zelda idling on Temple.

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  Using her neutral aerial in her red costume on Tortimer Island.

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  Zelda using her forward tilt on King Dedede on Coliseum.

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  Kneeling next to a sleeping Pichu on Tortimer Island.

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  Using Farore's Wind on Luigi's Mansion.

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  Idling in her dark costume on Spirit Train.

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  Zelda taunting next to Ganondorf on Hyrule Castle.

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  Zelda giving Rosalina a high-five on Prism Tower.

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  Firing a Super Scope at Yoshi on Mario Galaxy.

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  Taunting near Donkey Kong on Kapp'n's bus on Temple.

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  Zelda, Ridley, Jigglypuff, and the Ice Climbers on Summit.

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  Using Phantom Slash on Mario Galaxy.

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  With all playable The Legend of Zelda veterans on the Great Plateau Tower.

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  With Link and Ganondorf on the Great Plateau Tower.

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  Zelda with Cloud in Tortimer Island

Trivia

• Masahiro Sakurai chose to base Zelda's design in Ultimate off of her A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds incarnations instead of her more recent Breath of the Wild incarnation because that version of Zelda, according to him, "is more into research than fighting." He also mentioned in a subsequent Nintendo Treehouse Live event that he chose this design to better represent The Legend of Zelda franchise as a whole instead of having all of its fighters come from the same game.
• Zelda's current default design was previously an alternate costume in terms of coloration of her model, whereas her previous default design based on Twilight Princess has now become an alternate costume in that same regard.
  • Coincidentally, Zelda was revealed in SSB4 at the same time A Link Between Worlds was released, which inspired her current design.
  • Ironically, despite her Twilight Princess incarnation being retired after this game, even though Ganondorf's design from that game is still directly referenced via a spirit, as well as Link's Wolf form from that game, Zelda is the only returning Zelda character from SSB4 that doesn't have her Twilight Princess design directly referenced in Ultimate at all.
• Zelda can be unlocked by Kirby via his Classic Mode route, which may reference their team-up from Brawl's Adventure Mode, The Subspace Emissary.
• Zelda is currently the only playable The Legend of Zelda character in Ultimate whose design originates from either a handheld game or a non-3D game.
  • She is also the only Zelda character whose design comes from the "Fallen Hero" timeline.
• The World of Light opening marks Zelda's first spoken line of dialogue in the Smash series. This is also the first time in the series that any Zelda character is voiced in English.
  • Zelda is one of the few characters to have her cutscene dialogue dubbed in English, but otherwise keep her Japanese voice actress's battle grunts, after Fox and Falco in Melee. She is also the only character to speak English in a cutscene while still having a Japanese KO line (with her yelling "いやぁっ!" (Nooo!)).
  • Zelda speaks English in all Western language versions of Ultimate, unlike Breath of the Wild, which was dubbed into multiple languages.
  • She is the second Zelda character to speak in Smash, the first being Sheik in Melee.
• Zelda is the only The Legend of Zelda character whose animations are mirrored.
• Zelda's Classic Mode route is vaguely similar to Diddy Kong's, as both characters fight villains and/or final bosses of various series for opponents.
• Zelda, Peach, Falco, Olimar, Duck Hunt, and Dark Pit are the only fighters to appear as allies in Spirit Battles.
• Ultimate marks the first time Zelda's Kirby hat no longer resembles Young Zelda's wimple from Ocarina of Time, despite her appearance in Melee being based on her adult design from the same game, and her Brawl and SSB4 designs both being based on her appearance in Twilight Princess, which also makes it the first time said Kirby hat is based directly on how she appears in-game.
• Gravity on Zelda's hair is temporarily disabled whenever she performs her hair-brushing idle pose.