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

“	You might recognize Zelda's look from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds game. In battle she uses magical moves to reflect and teleport, and for her Final Smash, she seals her opponents away in the Triforce of Wisdom. If an opponent has 100% damage or more, they will be instantly KO'd!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Zelda (ゼルダ, Zelda) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. She was confirmed as a playable character on June 12, 2018. Zelda is classified as fighter #17.

Zelda is voiced in-game by Ayumi Fujimura, who previously voiced the character in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. She speaks a single line in the Adventure Mode: World of Light opening, voiced by the former in Japanese and dubbed in English by Brandy Kopp, who also voices Palutena.

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.

With the exception of the third method, Zelda must then be defeated on Temple.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

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

Many of Zelda's moves have either reduced lag, better KO potential, or other improvements. Her neutral attack, previously the slowest in the game, comes out significantly faster, and has been reworked to possess an infinite portion with better damage racking ability and knockback. Her already good grab game was improved to the point it is now among the most useful: her back and up throws are much stronger, while down throw deals more damage and, although its knockback and angle were altered, its combo ability remains mostly intact. Her Lightning Kicks have been improved as well, with the back kick having a larger sweetspot while the forward kick is now active as fast as the back kick, increasing their potency for followups when landing with them, and making them more devastating out of shield. This allows Zelda to secure KOs more easily, and down throw's with the Lightning Kicks in particular possessing more reliable KO setups.

Zelda's special moveset, considered one of the most lackluster in all previous games, has also seen various heavy improvements. Nayru's Love has faster startup and longer intangibility, and preserves Zelda's momentum, strengthening its already remarkable defensive ability and allowing for edgeguarding applications. Din's Fire no longer causes helplessness, giving it utility as an anti-edgeguarding option. Farore's Wind has faster startup, making it a more effective out of shield option, and more precise angles for reappearance, allowing her to land its second hit easier even if the enemy DIs the first hit, making "elevator" combos much more consistent. Most importantly, however, Phantom Slash has been heavily reworked to possess several more stages that can be unleashed faster, and the last stage allows Zelda to move around before it is unleashed, allowing for intricate trap setups and combos when edgeguarding and approaching, while the Phantom 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. With precise input, Zelda can also short hop behind the Phantom while charging it, allowing it to block incoming projectiles while charging.

Additionally, Zelda has received noteworthy buffs from the universal changes. Despite still having below-average mobility relative to the rest of the cast, the universal 3-frame jumpsquats and reduced landing lag improve her the most, as they greatly supplement her neutral game, previously one of her main weaknesses. This allows her to approach more reliably with her powerful Lightning Kicks, and improves her combo potential, giving her more consistent and durable followups from moves such as up tilt, neutral aerial, up throw, and down throw, which can dish out large amounts of damage. The changes to air dodging also marginally improve her edgeguarding game with Din's Fire and, in ocassions, give her a niche recovery option.

However, Zelda has received some nerfs as well. Due to the changes to her neutral attack, is it no longer a nearly unpunishable option against shields, and none of her other attacks has had their ending lag reduced enough to compensate. Forward tilt has increased startup and decreased KO potential, reducing its utility, and neutral aerial notoriously fails to connect its hits reliably, due to no longer using the autolink angle nor set knockback, although the first hit can still combo if SHFF'd. 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. Both forward throw and Farore's Wind are weaker, most significantly the former, now only being usable for setting up edgeguards in a similar vein to Ness' own forward throw.

Lastly, although Zelda does benefit from the changes to the game's engine, some of the changes impair her; the universal increase in mobility doesn't benefit her as much due to her slow grounded movement, since it still doesn't allow her to catch up with most of the cast. The weakening of rage slightly hinders her KO power, as it hasn't got any notable improvements otherwise. 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 impairs her out of shield game. In addition to these nerfs, Zelda also retains most of her weaknesses from previous, mainly her slow movement speed, light weight, a few poor hitbox placements, and extremely weak sourspots on her Lightning Kicks, which are otherwise her strongest KO moves; and despite the improvements she has received, her weaknesses can still be exploited by the rest of the cast.

Overall, Zelda's moveset has been considerably enhanced from previous installments, making her strengths much more defined, and allowing her to play defensive much more reliably. This makes her Ultimate iteration the strongest, although she still faces competition from several returning characters that have been likewise buffed to varying degrees. Her perception in the competitive metagame has been more positive than in previous games, and some of smashers such as ZeRo, Samsora, and VoiD consider her a mid-tier character. However, Zelda's overall tournament representation remains very low, and she hasn't many of achieved notable results, which combined with her polarizing traits and lack of notable improvements in game updates have resulted in Zelda still being considered a low-tier character at worst. Overall, while Zelda is unarguably much better than she was in previous games, her true viability remains debatable.

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.
• As a result of her design change, many of Zelda's basic animations have been altered, including her standing pose, idle poses, and walking animation. All of these animations depict her as more expressive and cheerful than her SSB4 incarnation, which rarely showed emotion.
• 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 from her fingertips.
  • Her side taunt has a faster and flashier animation. She also now makes kiai sound, whereas it was silent in previous games.
  • Her down taunt is a more casual and joyful wave. She also now giggles, whereas it was silent in previous games.
• Zelda hangs onto ledges with one hand.
• Zelda's dress now has independent physics.
• Many of Zelda's attacks produce brighter, flashier magical effects.
• All of Zelda's victory poses have been changed:
  • For the first, she conjures a small flame out of her finger and swirls it around playfully.
  • For the second, she summons the Phantom armor and proudly poses in front of it.
  • For the third, she emits magic out of two fingers and points at the screen.

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 much faster (1.6 → 1.958).
• Zelda walks slightly faster (0.87 → 0.914).
• Zelda's air speed is slightly faster (1.04 → 1.092).
• Zelda jumps higher.
• 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:
  • Neutral attack has gained a rapid jab alongside a finisher, which can be transitioned into from the first portion of the move on frame 9.
  • It has significantly less startup lag (frame 11, 13, 15 → 4, 7), no longer being the slowest neutral attack in the game.
  • The first portion's third hit has been removed, with its first two hits having a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.6×) and launching opponents closer to Zelda with their outermost hitboxes (140° → 180°), allowing it to jab lock and connect more reliably into the rapid jab.
  • The rapid jab's finisher deals more knockback than the previous third hit (40 base/95 scaling → 55/140), improving its KO potential.
  • Both the first portion and the rapid jab's finisher have more ending lag, most significantly the latter (FAF 24 → 25, 43). Combined with the removal of the first portion's third hit and its faster startup, this makes the move much less safe on shield, and eliminates its combo potential at low percents.
  • The first portion deals less damage, though this is compensated by the rapid jab (3% (hits 1-2), 5% (hit 3) → 2.5% (hits 1-2), 0.2% (rapid jab), 3% (finisher)).
  • The first portion no longer has set knockback (40/30 set/100 scaling → 25 base/35/30/20 scaling (hit 1), 40/25/40 base/25/20/25 scaling (hit 2)), and inflicts 2 additional frames of hitstun. At high percents, this causes it to connect less reliably into the rapid jab, but grants it jab cancel setups.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has slightly less ending lag (FAF 38 → 37).
  • It no longer has a blindspot 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 has more startup lag (frame 10 → 12).
  • It has more base knockback (50 → 72), but noticeably less knockback scaling (88 → 70), hindering its KO potential.
  • The sourspot now takes priority over the sweetspot, making the sweetspot harder to land.
• 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 now has 3 small unextended hitboxes instead of 1 medium-sized extended one. Overall it has less range.
  • It sends opponents at a lower angle (80° → 62°), and has less base knockback (20 → 15), but more knockback scaling (120 → 125). This allows it to combo more reliably into a dash attack, neutral aerial or forward aerial at mid percents in combination with its lower ending lag, but greatly hinders its combo potential into other moves at low and high percents.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack's hitboxes are larger (2.2u (sweetspot)/5u (sourspot)/4.8u (late hit) → 2.8u/5.2u/5u), and the sweetspot is now extended (Z offset: 12.8 → 12.6-13.2), improving the move's range and making it easier to land 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:
  • Forward smash's looping hits have been moved further 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 blindspot due to the new jostle mechanics.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash only has seven hits instead of eight, reducing its total damage (15.4% → 14.6%).
  • It has different angles (90°/366°/200°/200° → 90°/160°/100°/367°), allowing it to connect more reliably against aerial opponents, but no longer pulling opponents standing on either side of her into the looping hitboxes as easily.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (19 frames → 15 (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 is vulnerable to SDI again (0× → 0.8× (looping hits), 1× (last hit)), and the looping hits no longer use the autolink angle (366° → 70°/92°/270°) nor set knockback (75 set/100 scaling → 50/35/10 base/80/10/10 scaling). This causes it to connect much less reliably, despite the looping hits now using weight-independent knockback and having a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.6×).
    • However, this improves the first hit's combo potential on grounded opponents if used in a short hop fast fall.
  • The last hit has less base knockback (40 → 35), allowing it to combo for longer, while preserving its edgeguarding potential due to the changes to the Sakurai angle (40° (grounded)/45.2637° (aerial) → 38°).
  • The last hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 2×).
• 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.
  • The sweetspot is slightly larger (1.9u → 2.2u), and now extends further 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.
  • 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 sweetspot has more base knockback (28 → 30).
  • The sweetspot is slightly larger (1.9u → 2.2u), and now extends further 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.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 56 → 54), now matching the end of the animation.
  • Up aerial's hitbox is higher up (Y offset: 23 → 26.5), improving its range above Zelda, but introducing a blindspot and making it virtually impossible to hit grounded opponents onstage.
  • It has more base knockback (30 → 55), but less knockback scaling (84 → 70). This slightly improves its KO potential near the upper blast line, but reduces it near ground level.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial's clean hit has an additional hitbox, giving it more reach, despite the original hitbox being made smaller.
  • The late hit has smaller hitboxes (6u/6u → 5u/5u), noticeably worsening its gimping potential.

Throws and other attacks

• 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), now 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.
• 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.
• 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 from center stage.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has much higher knockback scaling (60 → 82), allowing it to KO middleweights at around 150%.
  • 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 looping hits deal more damage (1% → 1.5%), increasing its total damage output (6% → 8%).
  • It has less base knockback (85 → 75), but more knockback scaling (55 → 85), increasing its combo potential at lower percents in combination with Zelda's faster jumpsquat and jump speed, but reducing it at higher percents.
  • It sends opponents at a less vertical angle (100° → 104°), leaving it unable to combo into an up aerial at low-mid percents, but allowing it to combo better into a sweetspotted back aerial.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• Nayru's Love:
  • Nayru's Love has less startup lag (frame 13 → 11), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 60 → 58).
  • Its intangibility starts one frame earlier (frame 5 → 4).
  • It no longer halts vertical momentum, allowing Zelda to move in the air while using the move.
  • Its intangibility (frames 5-15 → 4-13) and reflective hitbox (frames 5-43 → 5-41) have a shorter duration.
• Din's Fire:
  • Din's Fire no longer leaves Zelda helpless in the air.
  • It travels a slightly longer distance.
  • Its hitboxes are slightly larger (2.1u/4.5u → 2.6u/4.8u).
  • The flame has a more stylized appearance.
• Farore's Wind:
  • Farore's Wind has less startup lag with a longer duration (frame 8 → 6-7 (hit 1), 41-42 → 35-36 (hit 2)), and its total duration reduced as well (FAF 81 → 76).
  • Its intangibility starts earlier and lasts longer (frames 21-39 → 11-35).
  • Zelda can drift in the air much sooner after reappearing.
  • Zelda has more precise angles of reappearance, allowing her to land its second hit on enemies who DI the initial hit.
  • The second hit has less base knockback (90/70 → 80/60), hindering its KO potential despite the aerial version's sweetspot having higher knockback scaling (90 → 94).
  • It shows small green orbs that move in the direction Zelda is moving while before reappearing.
  • A more intense green/yellow vortex is produced at the start and end of the move.
• 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 five charge levels, each resulting in a different attack:
    • 1st: Kick (frame 15)
    • 2nd: Punch (frame 20)
    • 3rd: Outward slash (frame 28)
    • 4th: Downward slash (frame 38)
    • 5th: Upward slash (frame 50, can be delayed up to frame 120)
  • The move reaches full charge much faster and with less ending lag (FAF 67), and the Phantom can be delayed in place even after the charge is finished, allowing Zelda to move around before it rushes forward. Zelda can set it as a trap and attack the opponent in tandem with the Phantom, or she can retreat behind it for protection. This improves Zelda's neutral and advantage state, and also discourages the opponent from reflecting the Phantom since she has enough time to respond with Nayru's Love.
  • All levels 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 (1st), 8-12 (2nd), 8-11 (3rd & 4th), 7-17 (5th)).
  • 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.
  • Phantom Slash deals less damage overall, especially when fully charged (≈6%-≈8% (1st level), ≈11%-≈15% (2nd), ≈24% total (3rd) → 4.7% (1st), 6.6% (2nd), 8.5%-9.4% (3rd), 11.3%-12.2% (4th), 14.1% (5th)), and 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.

Update history

Zelda has been barely affected by updates. As part of update 3.0.0's universal nerfing of projectiles, each charge level of Phantom Slash deals less shield damage. Aside from this, update 4.0.0 simply provided animation touch-ups.

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

• Zelda's medium and fast walking animations have been adjusted to prevent her dress from clipping.

Moveset

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.5% (hits 1-2)	Extends her palm to emit a magic spark, follows up with a series of several magical bursts, and finishes with a final 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.
			0.2% (loop), 3% (end)
Forward tilt			12% (blade), 10% (arm)	A magically-infused, outward fanning knifehand strike, swinging a magically produced blade. It can be angled and its sweetspot, which is located on the magically produced blade, possesses respectable power. Its sweetspot KOs middleweights at around 93% while near the edge of Final Destination. Its sourspot, which is located at Zelda's arm, is also reliable for KOing in spite of it being noticeably weaker. Its sourspot KOs middleweights at around 109% while near the edge of Final Destination. It is safe on shield if spaced correctly. However, it has noticeable overall lag and a narrow hitbox.
Up tilt			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 minimal ending lag, it is a reliable combo starter. It can combo into itself, neutral attack, forward smash, Nayru's Love, and Farore's Wind at low percentages; into neutral aerial from low to medium percentages; and up aerial at medium percentages. It is also good as an anti-air attack thanks to its long active duration.
Down tilt			5.5%	A kneeling shin kick. Due to it hitting on frame 5, it is Zelda's fastest tilt attack. However, unlike in SSB4, it has noticeably combo potential, mostly serving as a fast safe poke. It can, however, combo into dash attack of forward aerial at mid percentages.
Dash attack			12% (clean sweetspot), 9% (clean sourspot), 6% (late)	A double palm thrust that emits a blast of magical energy from her hands, similarly to Peach's dash attack. Due to it hitting on frame 6, it is one of the fastest dash attacks in the game. To compliment this, its sweetspot's base is strong enough to KO middleweights at around 99% while near the edge of Final Destination. However, it has noticeable ending lag, while its other hitboxes lack KO potential.
Forward smash			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 very 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. With proper spacing, it is safe on shield. Due to it hitting on frame 16, however, it has the highest start-up lag out Zelda's smash attacks. It also has a moderate amount of ending lag, with 26 frames.
Up smash			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. However, it has minimal horizontal range, long duration and 30 frames of ending lag, thus making it punishable if not used properly.
Down smash			12% (front), 10% (back)	A spinning shin kick. Due to it hitting on frame 5, it is tied with Mario's, Dr. Mario's, Ryu's, 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 make it very useful for punishing rolls or setting up an edge-guard. Although it is Zelda's weakest smash attack, it is still quite powerful, and has rather low ending lag. Its front hit KOs middleweights at around 117% 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			2.5% (hits 1-4, front), 1.5% (hits 1-4, back), 5% (hit 5)	Spins with her arms outstretched and 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 can be used as a follow-up from down throw; as a combo starter when SHFF'd; or as an edge-guarding option. It can also autocancel in a short hop. However, at higher percents, opponents are liable to being launched out of the multi hit portion, reducing its consistency and reliability.
Forward aerial		Lightning Kick	20% (clean foot), 4% (clean leg, late)	A magically-infused flying kick. Its sweetspot is at the tip of her foot, and has both an outstanding damage output and high knockback growth. Its sweetspot KOs middleweights at around 59% while near the edge of Final Destination. Due to coming out on frame 6,it's extremely fast for its power. Compared to back air, it has slightly less knockback, but autocancels slightly earlier and has less landing lag. The sweetspot is easier to land if it hits the opponent at the beginning of the move. However, its sourspots lack KO potential and are very unsafe because of their extremely low damage outputs and average knockback growth. Its considerable ending lag also makes it punishable at low percentages, even if it is sweetspotted. Autocancels in a full hop.
Back aerial		Lightning Kick	20% (clean foot), 4% (clean leg, late)	A magically-infused flying kick. It functions almost identically to forward aerial, with the only differences being that its sweetspot has slightly more base knockback and knockback growth. Its sweetspot KOs 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			17%	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, and when coupled with its consistent hitbox, it is Zelda's most reliable aerial KOing option, KOing middleweights at around 100% from a full hop. It can also clip through the bottom of a stage's edge. 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 (40 frames), a short duration, and fairly short horizontal range. It autocancels in a full hop when the move ends.
Down aerial		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. 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. Safe on shield with proper spacing. However, 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 due to its deceptively long duration and its low ending lag, it's somewhat fast for a meteor smash. It can also autocancel in a short hop.
Grab			—	Restrains the opponent with magic. Zelda's grabs have long ranges, with her pivot grab being the longest non-tether pivot grab, but noticeable start-up lag.
Pummel			1.3%	A blast of magical energy. Moderate speed and damage.
Forward throw			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			12%	Magically spins the opponent and turns around with them in tow before throwing them away. In addition to being good for setting up edgeguards, it is among the strongest throws in the game, KOing middleweights at around 105% while near the edge of Final Destination.
Up throw			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 decent combo potential, the latter especially being apparent against heavyweights and fast-fallers. It can combo into neutral aerial at low percentages; up aerial at medium percentages; and Farore's Wind at high percentages. However, each of these combos are heavily dependent on the opponent's DI. It can KO middleweights at around 146% from anywhere on Final Destination, similarly to Incineroar's, but unlike its' up throw, it has combo potential. Overall one of the best up throws in the game.
Down throw			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 launches up and behind Zelda, which allows it to combo into neutral aerial, up aerial and, if timed precisely, back aerial. Its neutral aerial combos are easily avoidable with DI, especially past low percentages. In comparison, its up aerial and back aerial combo at mid percentages are more consistent, especially with proper timing. Its up aerial combo also boasts the ability to KO any character at high percentages. However, this combo will lose its effectiveness if Zelda has too much rage.
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 moderate start-up and considerable ending lag.
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. 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. 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 to 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 intangibility on frames 21-39. When combined with a jump, its travel distance is greatly increased. 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 make 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, 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	4.7% (level 1), 6.6% (level 2), 8.5%/9.4% (level 3) 11.3%/12.2% (level 4), 14.1% (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 charge. When fully charged, the phantom will delay its attack for around a second, giving Zelda time to add pressure, perform combinated combos or to retreat for protection. 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, due to its long length and large vacuum hitboxes.

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.

Taunts

• Scoffs with a hand on her hip, while generating magic and twirling it in an cross shape in front of her.
• Closes her eyes and summons Din's Fire between cupped hands.
• 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

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

As one of the characters playable in the E3 demo build, players were fairly divided early on Zelda as a competitive character. Much of the optimism surrounding the character could be attributed to noticeably improved frame data, particularly on her Jab and out-of-shield options, which were key points of grievance with the character's past iterations, as well as Phantom Slash's changes. However, just as players took notice of the character's improvements over SSB4, they also found that not only did some other flaws pop up, but her mobility and height issues were retained from previous games as well. The loss of key kill confirms from Smash 4 did much to offset some of the initial hype surrounding the character, leaving consensus on her potential standing in the metagame all over the place. The beginning of competitive Ultimate had players regard Zelda as a mid-tiered character.

However, as time went on and the game and its ensuing patches were released, counterplay measures to exploit Zelda's flaws were discovered and shared among opponents, all while patches did nothing to help her unlike other characters viewed as mid tier. It was at this point where Zelda greatly fell out of favor with the playerbase, and many who did play the character saw a sharp decline in their results, dropped Zelda entirely, or both, leaving only the most dedicated Zelda mains to continue playing her. She is currently seen as low tier by the community, with some even ranking her among the game's worst characters. This is heavily contested, however, as players such as Mystearica, Rizeasu, and ven continue to place well with her.

Notable players

•  Mystearica - One of the best Zelda players in the United States. Placed 5th at 2GG: Run it Back, 25th at Pound 2019 and 33rd at Smash 'N' Splash 5 and has defeated players such as Tea and Goblin.
•  Riot - The best Zelda in New England. Placed 5th at Push the Limit 4. Ranked 2nd on the New Hampshire Ultimate Power Rankings with wins on DM, LingLing and Pelca.
•  Rizeasu - The best Zelda player in Japan. Placed 5th at Sumabato SP 6 using mostly Zelda.
•  ven - The best Zelda in the world. Placed 9th at LVL Up Expo 2019, 17th at 2GG: Prime Saga, and 33rd at Super Smash Con 2019. Ranked 2nd on the Las Vegas Power Rankings with wins on ESAM and FOW.

Classic Mode: Wisdom Prevails

Zelda's congratulations screen.

All of Zelda's battles are on The Legend of Zelda-themed stages, and all her opponents are antagonists. The final battle is against Ganondorf, who transforms into Ganon upon defeat.

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
3	Mii Swordfighter (x5)	Temple	Temple Theme	Mii Swordfighters are dressed in 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 (x4)	Hyrule Castle	Great Temple / Temple
Bonus Stage
Final	Ganondorf , then Ganon	Sacred Realm	Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form (Ganondorf) Death Mountain (Ganon)	Ganondorf transforms into Ganon upon defeat.

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!", and was present 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 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 Spirit of Uxie, Mesprit & Azelf. 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 500 coins. 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. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, different incarnations of Zelda make an appearance in various 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)

• Botwzelda.png

  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	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	File:Greatfairy.png	Great Fairy	The Legend of Zelda series	•Giant Zelda		9,500	Fountain of Dreams	•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	File:Din Spirit.png	Din	The Legend of Zelda series	•Zelda (x2)		4,000	Bridge of Eldin (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Lava Floor	•The floor is lava •The enemy favors side specials	Ballad of the Goddess (Original)
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	File:Hilda.png	Hilda	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	File:Botwzelda.png	Zelda (Breath of the Wild)	The Legend of Zelda series	•Zelda •Link •Inkling •Donkey Kong •Falco •Zero Suit Samus		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	File:Hinawa.png	Hinawa	Earthbound series	•Zelda •Lucas (×2) ()		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	File:Charlotte Aulin.png	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	•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	•Zelda		4,700	Luigi's Mansion	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Yuri Kozukata)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	Main Theme - Luigi's Mansion (Brawl)

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
1,328	File:Hero's Comrades Spirit.png	Hero's Comrades	DRAGON QUEST series	•Ike •King Dedede •Zero Suit Samus •Sheik •Robin •Zelda •Link		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

As an ally

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
243	File:Calamity ganon.png	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 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 incarnation 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 Zelda franchise as a whole, rather than having every character come from the same game.
• Zelda's current default design was previously an alternate costume in terms of coloration of her model, while her previous default design based on Twilight Princess has now become an alternate costume in that same regard.
  • Coincidentally, Zelda was revealed in Smash 4 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 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 referencing their team-up from Brawl's Adventure Mode, 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.
  • She 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.
  • 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 is one of four female fighters not to face Master Hand (and Crazy Hand if the difficulty is 7.0 or higher) as the final boss in Classic Mode, the other three being Rosalina, Bayonetta and Inkling.
• Zelda is the only female fighter to face a boss from her own universe in Classic Mode, being Ganon.
• Although Zelda's Classic Mode contains villains, despite Meta Knight, Wario, King Dedede, and Dark Pit more often being considered anti-heroes, Wolf, Bowser Jr., and Ridley do not appear as her opponents.
  • Coincidentally, Zelda’s route is an inverse of her nemesis Ganondorf’s, as she fights villains for opponents rather than heroes.
• Zelda, Peach, Falco, Olimar, Duck Hunt, and Dark Pit are the only fighters to appear as allies in spirit battles.
• For some reason, despite her Twilight Princess design now being retired and replaced with her A Link Between Worlds design in this game, Zelda's Mii Fighter wig is still based on the former's hair, although now colored blonde.
• Ultimate marks the first time Zelda's Kirby hat no longer resembles Young Zelda's wimple from Ocarina of Time, despite her 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.