Toon Link (SSBB)

Toon Link in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Toon Link
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Triforce Slash
Tier	C (14)

Toon Link (トゥーンリンク, Tūn Rinku) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. "Toon Link" is simply a reference name to give distinction between the two Links that appear in Brawl and to not confuse him with Young Link (again, a reference name). In all actuality, he's simply named Link and comes from a different era, and possibly timeline, than "Twilight" Link does. His moveset appears similar to that of Young Link. His appearance is based on his look in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. However, Toon Link looks slightly more realistic in Brawl than in Wind Waker. This can be seen by comparing his standard trophy and his Outset Link trophy, as his character model in Brawl is not cel-shaded like that of Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks.

He is currently ranked 14 on the tier list (the highest ranked character of all the post-Subspace Emissary characters and the highest tier placement of all The Legend of Zelda characters), thanks to his good approaching ability, good projectiles and well-balanced attacks. However, below average matchups against the high tier characters and average matchups overall leave him in the C tier.

How to Unlock

• Complete Classic Mode with any character on any difficulty after finishing Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary, then defeat Toon Link.
• Toon Link can also be found in a door near the beginning of the Forest level of the Subspace Emissary after the story is completed. Then defeat Toon Link.
• Play 400 brawls in Brawl mode, then defeat Toon Link.

Gameplay differences between Young Link and Toon Link

Toon Link replaces Young Link from Melee, with some noticeable changes in his fighting style.

• Toon Link uses his sword for more attacks than Young Link does, due to his shorter legs.
• Toon Link's Hero's Bow shoots farther and charges faster, but his arrows are slower and do not set targets on fire like Young Link's do. However, two can be fired out of a short hop, providing for an effective fence of pain.
• Toon Link's Bombs do not perform combos like Young Link's and are weaker than Link's, but they have a bigger blast radius and a different smoke explosion, which was taken from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
• Toon Link's up smash is a single slash, rather than three, and it is a much better and stronger finisher.
• Toon Link's recovery is significantly longer, as he has less fall time and higher second and third jumps.
• Toon Link's neutral, back, and forward aerials are different (neutral aerial is two slashes, one forward and one backward, back aerial is a standard backward slash, and forward aerial is a standard forward slash. Young Link's neutral aerial was a Sex Kick, his forward aerial was two slashes forward, and his back aerial was two kicks backwards).
• Toon Link's down aerial goes straight down, is much faster, and is easier to control. However, it is more dangerous to use and can lead to a self-destruct if it is used offstage, does not connect with an opponent, and is not used properly as it is a Stall-Then-Fall that has a long falling distance and will not stop until it is used at very high altitudes, leaving Toon Link unable to recover.
• Toon Link's down aerial meteor smash is in the beginning of the plunge; Young Link could only meteor smash on any frame with his down aerial if the opponent was directly above him and touched the hilt of his sword; this move, unlike Toon Link's, does set opponents on fire if the meteor smash sweetspot connects.
• Toon Link is much lighter than Young Link.
• Toon Link's hookshot goes farther than Young Link's.
• Toon Link is floatier than Young Link.
• Toon Link's boomerang is bigger, slower and doesn't fly as far as Young Link's.

Attributes

Toon Link is a small, quick character. As such, he is floaty and on the lighter side. Toon Link also has the ability to wall jump. His attacks are generally high priority, decent range (although poor compared to other swordsmen), and medium to low lag disjointed hitbox moves. Toon Link's aerial game is powerful, but he may have problems regarding finishing his opponent off. His best kill move is his up smash, but his down smash is not as powerful. The second hit of his forward smash can easily be evaded with DI and thus leave him vulnerable. His tether grab has decent range, but it leaves him vulnerable if it misses. Projectiles, his bombs in particular, are also part of Toon Link's game, which are great for mindgames, and (like Boomerangs) can be used to combine with other attacks. He has a decently powerful and ranged game due to having 3 projectiles and a grab aerial, as well as a shield to automatically block most other projectiles while standing in a stationary position. His Stall-Then-Fall down aerial can negate horizontal knockback (although it can also cause some unwanted self destructs), which sets up the rest of his recovery, and can also make use of bomb and tether recoveries. On the downside, his recovery is predictable, fairly easy to edge guard due his floatiness, and gives only decent distance overall. Ultimately, Toon Link becomes what his player makes of him in combining and using his advantages to mitigate disadvantage.

Moveset

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack - Toon Link slashes twice then thrusts his sword forward. Fairly quick (start-up of 6 frames). Three hits; the first hit does 2-3% and has very little, set knockback. The second hit does 2% and also has little knockback, though not set, and introduces upward knockback. The third hit does 5% and, though it has actual "knockback", has little kill potential. Total, 10% damage. Primarily used as a way to create space against close-up opponents.
• Dash attack - A horizontal slash. It knocks the enemy directly forward with little knockback. Conversely, it can also cause the enemy to trip. Does 10% normally, 8% if hit with the tip. Has considerable ending lag. Hits on frame 9.
• Forward tilt - Toon Link slashes from behind to in front of him. The beginning of the attack hits behind him. Decent horizontal knockback makes it tolerable for edge-guarding if the Blast line is nearby. Can cause tripping. Does 9%, no matter where it lands. Hitbox out on frame 10-12.
• Down tilt - Swipes his sword along the ground. Ideal for edge-guarding if an off-stage opponent is trying to grab a ledge. Can trip opponents. Does 9%, no matter where it lands. Hits on frame 9.
• Up tilt - Quick overhead swipe. Similar to his up smash, except faster and less powerful. Covers a fairly large arc. Knockback is almost entirely vertical, and it is usually possible to chain multiple up tilts in succession on a low-damaged enemy. Excellent for combining with aerial attacks. Does 9%, no matter where it lands. Hits on frame 8-12.

Smash

• Forward smash - A Natural combo. Toon Link, slightly crouching, slashes forward, and if the player hits the attack button, any direction on the C-Stick, or even Z, he follows up with another finishing slash. A good finisher. Two hits; the first hit does 10% uncharged, 14% fully charged and has little, upward, set knockback. The second hit does 13% uncharged, 18% fully charged and has powerful knockback, but lightweights can easily escape it. Total, 23% uncharged, 32% fully charged. Has a start-up of 15 frames although the second slash is faster then the first.
• Up smash - Single overhead strike. Slower, longer ranged, and more powerful than his uptilt. 15% damage uncharged, 21% fully charged. It has good Star KO potential, and its decent speed and range make it a good choice to execute during a dash. Hits on frame 11-15.
• Down smash - Sweeps his sword in front of and then behind him along the ground. First hit knocks in to second hit. Does 17% damage uncharged, 23% fully charged. With proper timing it can be used to counter players who roll-dodge a lot. It is possible, by use of slopes (or sometimes automatically at low %s), to hit opponents with only the first hit of his smash, which has, though set, lots of knockback, possibly setting up for very early kills. Also, using it on the furthest left and right sides of Hyrule Temple while facing away from the edge will result in an instant KO. At very low percentages, the last hit has horizontal knockback. Front hit on frame 9, second hit on frame 17.

Other

• Ledge attack - Gets on the stage and slashes from head to toe. 8%
• 100% ledge attack - Slowly gets up and stabs forward. 10%
• Floor attack - Slashes in front of him and then behind him. 6%
• Trip attack - Slashes in front of him and then behind him just like his floor attack. 5%

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial - Double swipe of the sword, first in front then behind, similar to Marth's neutral aerial. Inflicts 10% damage per swing. The first hit can bring the target into the second hit, provided the enemy is positioned properly. Minimal starting lag (hits on frame 6 to 13) makes this a useful move out of a short hop. Very low lag beginning and after.
• Forward aerial - Forward slash, high knockback. Inflicts 13% damage. Good for edge-guarding if you are fond of leaving the stage to intercept the recovering enemy. Can be short hopped, but is not as effective in that capacity as his neutral aerial or back aerial. Is auto-cancelled after a short hop and doing it right away. Hits on frame 14.
• Back aerial - Quick backward arc, raising from his feet to about his head. High damage, but low knockback, enabling multiple-hits strung together consecutively. Excellent for combining with other aerial attacks, and a tolerable edge-guarding move if one stages an aerial-interception defence directly from the ledge itself. Excellent to use out of a short hop using the Reverse Aerial Rush. One of the best Back aerials in the game as it has high priority, excellent edgeguard, can kill and can combo at low percentages. 10% damage. Has diagonal knockback that is better for Star KOs at later percentages. Hitbox out on frame 6.
• Up aerial - Sticks his sword above him, like Link's up aerial, though it has more knockback. Long duration, very high knockback. One of his best Star KO moves and problably one of the best up aerials in the game. The range and disjointed hitbox of this move make it a good choice for juggling. Similar to a sex kick, in that it will do more damage on the opening frames but is held out for a while. 14% on the first frames and 12% on the later frames. Incredibly high priority, even beating Marth's Dolphin Slash. Start-up of 11 frames.
• Down aerial - Sticks his sword straight down, as per usual Link´s down aerial. However, this has a twist. When the attack begins, it stalls momentarily in midair, then launches Toon Link downwards very quickly. The beginning of the downwards descent can meteor smash the opponent powerfully, but it's very risky because if he misses, he will self destruct. In addition, when Toon Link slams into the ground, any opponents near the impact point but not struck by the attack are pushed with a fair amount of force. 16% damage when spiked, 13% later on. Note that it sometimes is identical to Link's, depending on one's vertical trajectory during execution. Like Link's, this down aerial can pogo-hop off an enemy, allowing it to hit twice. This is easily followed up with one of his other aerials like his neutral or up aerials for a quick three-hit string of attacks. The pogo effect allows one to meteor smash an offstage opponent and pogo back to the stage. Can KO grounded opponents at high percentage. Start-up of 12 frames. This move is taken from the game Zelda II: The Adventure of Link on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
• Hookshot Grab Air - Fires his Hookshot straight in front of him, just like Link's tether recovery but with shorter range. The only part of the attack which hits is the tip of the Hookshot. Inflicts 4% damage. There is a very short knockback to this attack, which itself is commonly exploited to follow up with a ground grab attack, which can lead to aerial combos. Typically done in a short hop, and used at the peak of Toon Link's jump, or just as he begins to fall. This attack is unique in the sense it can be used instantly out of an air dodge (a typical combo is a short hop, air dodge, tether recovery), and is practically lagless when Toon Link hits the ground. Also, its much more easy to hit ground characters because of Toon Link´s height.

Grabs and throws

All Toon Link´s throws does 7% (with the exception of the down throw on Jigglypuff).

• Grab - Shoots out his Hookshot to grab the opponent. High ending lag if this move misses, but good range.
• Pummel - Beats opponent with the hilt of his sword. 2% damage. Very fast and almost no afterlag.
• Forward throw - Drops opponent quickly and shoulder tackles them forward. 7% damage.
• Back throw - Rolls onto his back, pulling his opponent with him, then kicks them backwards. Has a semi-spike. 7% damage.
• Down throw - Throws opponent on the ground and slams on top of them. 7% damage. If Link or Toon Link use their down throw on Jigglypuff it will only do 4% damage. This is because their down throw hits twice, and Jigglypuff is too light to get hit on the first strike (as the second strike does 4 damage and the first does 3).
• Up throw - Throws opponent upward and slashes them. Any bystanders near Toon Link will be semi-spiked. Does 7% damage. Strongest throw. Can be comboed with Spin Attack.

Special moves

Toon Link's special moves

Neutral special	Hero's Bow
Side special	Boomerang
Up special	Spin Attack
Down special	Bomb
Final Smash	Triforce Slash

In competitive play

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Role in the Subspace Emissary

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

Stickers

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

Special Movements

Taunts

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

On-Screen Appearance

Appears from a Wind Waker style explosion, and quickly sheaths and unsheathes his sword.

Idle Poses

• Looks on both sides of him.
• Stomps the tip of his boot on the ground.

Victory Pose

Victory Theme: Zelda Triforce Theme

• He waves the Wind Waker baton.
• He tries to catch a pig but ends up tripping and falling on his bottom and begins rubbing it gently with a small sigh as he falls.
• Similar to the previous pose except he catches the pig and holds it above his head, all while struggling trying not to drop it.

Credits Music

• Village of the Blue Maiden

Costume Gallery

File:Alt-toonlink.jpg

Toon Link's outfits and Palette Swaps

Trivia

• Despite being able to crawl voluntarily in Wind Waker, Toon Link is unable to crawl in Brawl.
• Toon Link holds the world record for Level 4 and Level 5 Target Smash (Level 4 completed in 9.05 seconds, and Level 5 completed in 6.65 seconds), Co-op Target Smash Level 1 with Falco (2.66 seconds), and Co-op Target Smash Level 5 with another Toon Link (4.11 seconds).
• Toon Link's hair is unaffected by gravity.
• The parting in his hair is reversed from his Wind Waker counterpart.
• Toon Link has the same idle poses as Young Link in SSBM.
• Toon Link, Bowser, Link, Luigi, and Yoshi are the only characters to wear their default costumes while on the green team during Team Battles.
• All of Toon Link's attacks use a weapon, with the exception of his forward, back and down throws.
• If Toon Link eats Superspicy Curry and doesn't move or attack before the effect wears off, he will not take his sword and shield back out until he finally moves or attacks.
• Currently, Toon Link is the only known character to have an unquestionable error in his hitbox coding - while the first hit of his forward throw is quite clearly a shoulder tackle, for sticker purposes it is considered a Leg attack. This is likely an error caused by copying moveset data from Link.

External links

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