Link (SSB4)

Link in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Triforce Slash

Link (リンク, Link) was confirmed to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 on June 11th, 2013 during the E3 2013 Nintendo Direct. He was also among the first wave of amiibo figures that are compatible with SSB4.

As in Brawl, Akira Sasanuma reprises the voice of Link in all versions, but through voice clips recycled from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Changes from Brawl

While Link has, aside from Melee, been considered one of the more sub-par characters in the history of the Super Smash Bros. series, some of his attacks have been completely revamped and buffed significantly in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. While he has also gained some nerfs as well, the potency of his buffs has noticeably improved him regardless, such as some of his attacks having been weakened slightly, yet have had both their speed and knockback increased. Both his ground and aerial games have been improved, and his combo ability has strengthened as a whole. His grab game has also been considerably buffed, with some grabs having better angle placements or knockback altogether. He also is one of the more potent edge-guarders in the game, with a new meteor smash to boot, as well as more offensive options against opponents on the ledge. Additionally, significant buffs to Spin Attack and his Clawshot as a tether recovery grant him excellent survivability.

Link also benefits from the general physics changes brought to SSB4, such as the new edge-trump mechanic further helping his already great recovery. In particular, the transition has given Link a subtle but effective buff in that he is one of the few characters that benefit heavily from the rage mechanic, as most of his attacks with rage will KO early, even at the middle of the stage; this is especially evident with his up tilt, forward tilt, dash attack, smash attacks, and some of his aerials; additionally, thanks to his heavy weight, he can survive to higher percents to get the most out of the rage mechanic. Ultimately, Link has become significantly better than how he was in Brawl, but is still widely considered to be a mid-tier character by many professionals and is supported by his lack of tournament representation.

Patches brought Link a mix of buffs and nerfs. 1.0.4 and 1.0.6 nerfed Link overall by reducing his KO potential and ability to rack up damage. However, 1.0.8 brought Link significant buffs, such as a much more effective grab game and better KO options. As such, Link is considered to have been slightly buffed in the updates.

Aesthetics

• Link once again appears as his Twilight Princess incarnation. However, instead of retaining the subdued color scheme that was used in Twilight Princess and carried over to Brawl, his overall color scheme is, like a number of other characters, now noticeably brighter to appear in line with the more vibrant aesthetics used within SSB4.
• Link's Master Sword trail is now an afterimage-heavy blue blur with white accents, compared to Brawl where it was a full blue blur.

Attributes

• Link's walks slightly slower (1.2 → 1.188).
• Link's dashes slightly faster (1.328 → 1.3944).
• Link's air speed is faster (0.8084 → 0.88).
• Link's roll animations are now based on the abilities of the Link from Ocarina of Time.
• Link will now flinch when a projectile or bomb explosion hits his Hylian Shield, making his Hylian Shield more reliable when attempting to block multiple projectiles. It will normally block any projectile in front of him, no matter where it is placed or if he is crouching or not and idle poses will no longer render it useless. His shield can now block projectiles even when walking.

Ground attacks

• Neutral Attack deals 2% less damage.
• Forward tilt has less ending lag.
• Dash attack is far stronger, to the point that it can KO under 150%. Also, it can hit horizontally, vertically, diagonally or even backwards depending on which hitbox connects.
• Dash attack has considerably more start up.
• Up tilt's knockback has been significantly increased, now being able to K.O. at low percentages.
• Dash attack now resembles the Jump Attack used by the Link from Ocarina of Time, as it is now a jumping slash rather than a running stab.
• Forward smash is stronger, and the second hit can be comboed into from the first hit like Toon Link's.
• Forward smash's second hit has more ending lag.
• Both hits of forward smash deal less damage (from 15%/20% to 14%/13%), and the first hit can only KO if it hits close to or at the tip.
• The window of time that the A button can be pressed after the first hit of forward smash in able to activate the second hit has been significantly tightened, leading to less accidental activation of the second hit, but making it so that one cannot use the delay as much in order to hit with the second hit.
• Up smash's final hit deals 1% more damage and deals much more knockback.
• Down smash is now a powerful semi spike during the second hit and deals more knockback at the base on the first.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial's clean hit has been split into two parts: the front half does 11% damage, while the back half does 9% damage (previously, it did 10% damage overall).
• Neutral aerial's late hits have lower knockback overall and are capable of setting up combos, thanks to its very low ending lag.
• Forward aerial is much faster and has less ending lag and landing lag.
• Forward aerial does less damage (9/12 → 8%/10%).
• Back aerial comes out much faster.
• Back aerial does less damage (11 → 8%).
• Down aerial has an added meteor smash during the start of the attack, similar to Toon Link's in Brawl. Link's down aerial also experiences significantly less ending lag and landing lag, providing him now with a safer attack when bouncing off opponents, and allowing him to recover if falling off the stage.
• Outside the new meteor, down aerial is significantly weaker overall, dealing a maximum of 18% damage as opposed to 22%. The strong hit can KO in the 110-130% range instead of under 75% and is more difficult to land.
• Up aerial's hitbox is more disjointed, allowing for Link to get in better KOs, as well as being his primary KO move in general. It also has shorter landing lag than before, makes Link's hitbox shorter for a bit, has less ending lag and can even be capable of juggling, all of which improves the move overall.
• Grab aerial covers much more distance when used as a tether and comes out much faster as an attack.
• Grab aerial has more landing lag when performed with air dodge + A.
• Grab aerial does less damage (10 → 6%).

Throws/other attacks

• Grab has less startup and far less ending lag.
• Link has a new edge attack based on the Crouch Stab used by the Link from Ocarina of Time.

Special moves

• Hero's Bow charges faster.
• Gale Boomerang has more knockback and now sends opponents at a vertical trajectory, making it much better for follow ups.
• Link's recovery with Spin Attack is much better overall, as it needs much less momentum than before and its vertical and horizontal reaches are much higher and farther, respectively, compared to Brawl.
• Spin Attack has a slightly altered animation in which Link spins his sword at subtly different heights. However, it has no obvious change in power or range compared to Brawl.
• If a Bomb explodes due to colliding with an opponent, the explosion does not hurt Link.
• Bomb fuses are shorter and Link can attack and explode his own bombs in the air after throwing them, improving his bomb-aided recovery.
• Bombs only deal 5% damage at point-blank range, but deal 8% damage when hitting the feet of the opponent.
• Bombs will absorb blasts from large projectiles such as a fully charged Charge Shot and Aura Sphere, aiding his defensive and camping options threefold.
• Triforce Slash's damage has been lowered from 83% to 60%.

Version exclusives

• In the Wii U version of the game, Bombs are bigger. This does not seem to affect gameplay.
• In the Wii U version of the game prior to 1.0.8, Clawshot, as a grab, will come out shorter and will drop, but end quicker.
• In the 3DS version, the Clawshot no longer falls to the ground as it retracts, like the Hookshot in SSB.

Update history

1.0.4

• The non-tip of the first hit of forward smash has significantly reduced base knockback (from 60 to 47). This causes it to more easily set up the second hit, which reduces its KO'ing ability even further.

1.0.5

• Quickfire Bow and Power Bow have been changed to match how they function in the Wii U version. The Quickfire Bow charges, comes out and ends faster, while the Power Bow is the opposite.

1.0.6

• Spin Attack comes out 3 frames sooner, ends 4 frames sooner, KOs 17% earlier, and damage (uncharged).: 12% → 14%
• The back half of Spin Attack KOs 19% later.
• First hit of jab lasts 27 frames instead of 19, and no longer has any IASA frames, removing his "Jab Cancel Death Combo."[1]
• Up throw has less KO potential.
• Dash attack damage (non-tip): 13% → 12%
• Dash attack's hitbox comes out sooner.
• Down tilt's knockback growth drastically reduced, and no longer Meteor Smashes characters hanging on he ledge, save Charizard.
• Hylian Shield now blocks Blaster shots.
• Down air's reach increased by 50%.

1.0.8

• Down tilt comes out faster, but does less knockback and damage: 12% → 11%.
• Up Smash links better now, with all three hits hitting when the attack connects. The first two hits, instead of stunning the opponent, now drag them toward Link.
• Link's grab range has been doubled in terms of Clawshot length and grab distance. It also grabs just before the Clawshot droops back down to the ground. Speed is up by a mere two frames on an idle grab. This makes the Clawshot's behavior identical to 3DS.
• Standing grab, dash grab and pivot grab all have less endlag.
• Link's Down throw trajectory is reduced : 110° → 83°, which allows for better follow ups and juggling.
• Down throw second hit deals slightly less damage: 4% → 3%, though this causes the knockback to be lower which allows for better follow ups and juggling.
• Spin Attack knockback growth (stages 1-3): 84/80/80 → 85/85/82
• Shocking Spin Attack stage 2 knockback growth: 80 → 82

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.5%	A diagonal sword slash followed by a horizontal slash, with a lunging stab finisher. Loosely based on Link's final blow to Ganon in Ocarina of Time. Is a natural combo with fast startup and little knockback.
			2.5%
			5%
Forward tilt			13%	An overhand sword swing with moderate startup but high knockback.
Up tilt			9%	A half-moon slice above Link's head. Has good juggling capabilities at low percentages, great combo potential at medium percentages and decent KO abilities at somewhat higher percentages.
Down tilt			12%	A low sword swipe across the ground with vertical knockback. Meteor smashes opponents in contact with the base of the sword to Link's arm. Has great combo potential and is sometimes safe on block due to its fast start and end.
Dash attack			14% (tip), 13% (non-tip)	Link performs a leaping downward slash (his "Jump Attack" from Ocarina of Time). Deals horizontal knockback when tipped and vertical knockback when hit close, and will KO at early damages.
Forward smash			14% (tip), 7% (non-tip)	Link lunges forward with a wide sword swing in front of him, dealing good damage and knockback when tipped. The base of his sword has extremely little knockback, designed to naturally combo into an optional second hit: a sword swing with greater KO power.
			13% (tip), 12% (non-tip)
Up smash			4% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2), 11%/10%/9% (hit 3)	Three half-moon sword swings above Link's head, which the first two slashes combo naturally into each other, and the third finishes off. Has great KO potential at higher percentages.
Down smash			17%/16%/14% (hit 1), 12%/11%/10% (hit 2)	A low slash in front and then behind Link. First hit sends opponents at a vertical trajectory while having slightly increased damage and knockback the closer one is to Link. Second hit is a powerful semi-spike with slightly increased damage and knockback on his blade.
Neutral aerial			11%/9% (clean), 6% (late)	Link thrusts his leg out in front of him for an extended time. Is a sex kick with relatively fast startup and little landing lag. Deals more damage closer to his boot, as well as more knockback during the first few frames of hit.
Forward aerial			8% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)	Swings his sword twice while spinning 360˚. While the second hit has more knockback, it is inconvenient to use, as it can only be landed if the first hit misses.
Back aerial			3% (hit 1), 5% (hit 2)	A two kick combo behind Link with very little landing lag and low damage.
Up aerial		Jump Thrust	15% (clean), 13% (late)	Link thrusts his sword up for a long duration. Moderate landing lag unless used alongside a full hop.
Down aerial		Downward Thrust	15% (early), 18% (clean), 15% (late)	Aims his sword directly below him for a long duration, based on his "Downthrust" from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. It's possible for Link to "bounce" on opponents into a second hit. The early hit is a powerful meteor smash. If the strong non-meteor hitbox lands, it results in considerable knockback being capable of KOing under 130%. However, it is difficult to land a strong non-meteor hitbox than the meteor hitbox, as it requires Link to hit with the rising hilt on startup, or immediately after the initial meteor hit, but before the weak hit.
Grab aerial			2.5% (hit 1), 4% (hit 2)	Fires his Clawshot forward in the air with great range and no landing lag. Link can cancel his air dodge at any point via his tether, however it will not cancel the landing lag suffered from the dodge. The Clawshot also serves as a tether recovery that auto-snaps the ledge, covering great horizontal distance.
Grab			—	Link fires his Clawshot forwards. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, the chain snaps straight back once fully extended, like the Hookshot from Super Smash Bros.; in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the chain drags on the ground as it does in Melee and Brawl.
Pummel			2.1%	Hits opponent with the hilt of the Master Sword. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw			3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Link releases the opponent from his pummel and kicks them away.
Back throw			3% (hit 1), 4% (hit 2)	Link takes his opponent behind him and kicks them away.
Up throw			5%/4% (hit 1), 2% (throw)	Link raises the opponent above him and slashes upward.
Down throw			3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Link takes the opponent onto the ground and elbow drops them.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Does two slashes front and back.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Does another two slashes front and back.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Essentially the same as his other two floor attacks.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Stabs forwards while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	Hero's Bow	4%-12%	Link equips his bow, with the arrows serving as projectiles. Charging increases the speed, distance and damage dealt by an arrow.
	Custom 1	Power Bow	4%-20%	At the cost of heavily increasing the charge time of the move, the arrows deal very heavy knockback when fully charged, enough to KO at medium high percents. Uncharged or half-charged arrows have extremely limited range and power, dropping near Link's feet with no charging.
	Custom 2	Quickfire Bow	4%-8%	Shoots magical arrows that charge quickly and travel in a straight line. Decently spammable, but with low range and damage.
Side special	Default	Gale Boomerang	7% (near), 5% (middle), 0% (far/return)	A projectile which damages opponents as it flies away and drags opponents towards Link during its return. Can be angled up or down. A "smash throw" (similar to performing a smash attack) increases the distance the boomerang can travel.
	Custom 1	Boomerang	9% (near), 7% (middle), 5% (far), 3% (return)	Behaves like the Boomerang from both SSB and Melee, which deals damage both when the boomerang is thrown and when it returns. It has less knockback, but can be aimed easier.
	Custom 2	Ripping Boomerang	4% (near), 2% (middle), 1.5% (far), 0.7% (return)	Travels across a much shorter range than the Gale Boomerang, but also deals multiple hits of low damage and adds stun to the opponents, great for setting up combos.
Up special	Default	Spin Attack	12%/9%/7%/5% (ground), 4% (air hit 1), 2% (air hits 2-8), 4% (air hit 9)	This move functions differently when grounded and airborne; an aerial Spin Attack is used as recovery which grants Link great vertical distance. Hits 8 times in the air. A grounded Spin Attack is akin to most Zelda games, and functions similarly to a smash attack with great knockback.
	Custom 1	Shocking Spin	14%/9%/7%/5% (ground), 4% (air hit 1), 1% (air hits 2-4), 6% (air hit 5)	A much more powerful electric version of the Spin Attack that has enough power to KO at 90%. The downside however is that Link's recovery is much shorter and has poor horizontal motion, almost like his Brawl Spin Attack. The aerial version can semi-spike, but cannot hit backwards.
	Custom 2	Whirling Leap	0%	A special type of Spin Attack that can only be used as a recovery move. It produces no hits and thus, no damage whatsoever, but actually travels much higher and much further than the normal recovery, even to the point of not relying on momentum and performing multiple left and right movements.
Down special	Default	Bomb	5% (upper body), 8% (feet), 9% (down smash aerial, feet)	An item based projectile Link pulls out, with its design from Twilight Princess. On contact with a surface, it detonates, dealing damage to opponents and can hurt Link as well (though the bombs do not cause damage to Link if the explosion hits an opponent). The explosion can grant him an extra Spin Attack if used skillfully. An odd function is that it will deal 8% damage when it hits the feet.
	Custom 1	Giant Bomb	8%-10%	A massive bomb with a huge explosion hitbox, which deal more damage and knockback. However, they cannot blow up when thrown at the opponent, and blow up based on time or an attack. They deal damage based on range.
	Custom 2	Meteor Bomb	5%	Weaker bombs with a noticeably short fuse. However, they meteor smash anyone hit by them with moderate knockback, which can affect Link as well if a bomb detonates in his hand. On the ground, it will halt opponents in their tracks, giving considerable stun. It is not practical for recoveries in any way as the bombs simply meteor smash Link, though it allows him to survive vertical KOs longer with luck.
Final Smash		Triforce Slash	1% (first hit), 3% (hits 2-15), 2% (hit 16), 15% (hit 17)	Link sends out a beam of light to stun enemies in front of him. If the beam comes in contact with an enemy, Link dashes forward and slashes them repeatedly while they are trapped in the Triforce, with the last hit being a powerful stab and launching the trapped enemies away.

Taunts

• Swings his sword twice and twirls the sword before sheathing it. Similar to his Twilight Princess victory pose, which he performs after defeating a boss, learning a hidden sword technique, or sheathing his sword upon the defeat of harder-to-defeat enemies.
• Link pulls in his right knee and draws his sword back behind his head in a threatening battle pose. It originates from Super Smash Bros. and may be loosely based on the attacking pose used by the Link from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
• Link takes out a fairy that appears similar to Navi from Ocarina of Time. The fairy then proceeds to fly around as Link watches it until it returns to his pocket.

On-Screen Appearance

Small whirlwinds appear on the battlefield, from which Link appears. Link then proceeds to equip the Master Sword and Hylian Shield.

Victory Fanfare

A flourished remix directly from Brawl. It is a remix of the tune that will play when Link obtained a Triforce Piece in The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is shared with Zelda, Sheik, Ganondorf, and Toon Link.

Victory Poses

• LinkPose1WiiU.png
• LinkPose2WiiU.png
• LinkPose3WiiU.png

• Link stabs his sword fowards, holds it up to his face, then thrusts it to the sky while yelling "EH-AH!".
• Three swipes with his sword and looks to the right. (His "character chosen" animation in Super Smash Bros., but ends with him facing a different direction.)
• Swipes his sword once, spins it behind his head, then sheaths it. This is based on his special sheathing animation in Twilight Princess which occurs if he puts away his sword immediately after defeating an enemy. Link does a similar thing during his up taunt.

In Competitive Play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Link	1211	1213	2211	2213	1311
	1313	2311	2313	1231	3211

Notable players

•  Izaw
•  JustTheTip

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• A Fated Battle: Link must fight Ganondorf in a 2 stock battle. If the battle lasts through the third portion, two Dark Links will appear.
• All-Star Battle: Regulars: Link is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are starter characters from the original Super Smash Bros. game.
• Princess Punch-Up!: Link serves as an ally in a 1 stock battle against Peach and Mario.
• The Demon King and the Goddess: Ganondorf must initially defeat a team of Link and Zelda. After the two are defeated or some time has passed, Giant Palutena appears and the player must defeat her as well.
• The Ultimate Swordsman: Link is one of the fighters Ike must defeat. All opponents wield swords.

Co-op Events

• A Fairy Nice Trip: Link and Pac-Man must survive against 4 Kirbys until the stage reaches Fairy-Land.
• Final Battle Team-Up: Link (in his dark alternate costume) is one of the opponents that two players fight in this event. All opponents are antagonists in their respective universes.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players choose a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Trophies

Link

Green clothes? Pointy hat? Yep, it's Link, all right! In this game, his sword and shield make for effective attacking and blocking, and his bow, bombs, and boomerang will spice up any battle. He's even brought his Clawshot for grabbing enemies and edges. Jeez, just how much stuff can Link carry?

Green clothes? Pointy hat? Yep, it's Link, all right! In this game, his sword and shield make for effective attacking and blocking, and his bow, bombs, and boomerang will spice up any battle. He's even brought his Clawshot for grabbing enemies and edges. The hero of Hyrule is really kitted out for a brawl!

: The Legend of Zelda (08/1987)

: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (04/1992)

Link (Alt.)

If Link was on a desert island and could only pick one item, it'd be his powerful sword. This weapon is key to his down-air attack, a move with great launching potential and the ability to strike twice. He can also strike twice with his side smash—the second blow deals more damage and launches harder.

Of all of his weapons, Link's sword may be the most lethal. His down air attack has incredible launching power. What's more, he'll bounce up afterwards, allowing for a follow-up strike. His side smash can also be followed up with a more powerful second blow that sends foes flying - just press the button again straight away.

: The Legend of Zelda (08/1987)

: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (04/1992)

Triforce Slash (Link)

Link makes use of the Triforce of Courage to trap foes, and then he launches a 16-blow combo. The final mighty blow has the power to launch opponents off the stage. When Link prepares the attack, the ray of light he emits must strike a rival, or the attack will fail. Shielding will do nothing to stop this powerful attack.

Link traps a foe in mid-air with the power of the Triforce of Courage, then he delivers a 16-strike sword combo. The final strike has formidable launching power. If the ray of light at the start of the attack doesn't hit, the whole thing ends there. Helpfully, though, the ray of light's range and speed are incredible, and shields won't block it.

• LinkTrophy3DS1.png

  Classic (3DS)

• LinkTrophy3DS2.png

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Triforce Slash

Gallery

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  Link in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

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  Link's amiibo.

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  Link's appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Link's appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Link's up special in the Wii U version.

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  Link and Pit preparing their arrows.

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  Link's forward tilt with Kirby watching.

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  Link's Spin Attack colliding with Toon Link's against Donkey Kong.

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  Toon Link throws a Bomb at Link.

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  Toon Link and Link use their Spin Attack on the ground.

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  Link's down aerial showing its new meteor smash effect on Samus.

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  Link using his neutral attack 1 while Marth performs his forward tilt.

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  Link using his Clawshot.

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  His side taunt.

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  Link and Peach on Battlefield.

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  His appearance in the 3DS version, posing with Toon Link.

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  Link stealing a ledge from Mario.

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  Link's and Pit's arrows colliding in the air.

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  Forward aerial.

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  Link using the Gale Boomerang.

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  Link and Samus simultaneously grabbing a ledge with their tether recoveries.

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  The clothes inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

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  The Dark Link costume.

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  Link as he appears on the 3DS cover.

Trivia

• Link is the only Legend of Zelda character (besides Toon Link) to lack an alternate costume based on his Ocarina of Time incarnation; however, he has a costume based on Fierce Deity Link, who is one of the Hero of Time's transformations in Majora's Mask.
• Link's Alt. trophy in the Wii U version resembles his All-Star trophy in Melee except with a different costume.
• Link is the only character in SSB4 to have a fast-fall increase higher than 60%, with 90%.
• On Link's first victory animation, if the player looks at Link's eyebrows, they can see that Link's eyebrows are lighter, only to go back to their original darker shade once the victory animation ends.