Link (SSB4)

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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, Rinku) was the second veteran confirmed to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 on June 11th, 2013 during the E3 2013 Nintendo Direct. He will be among the first wave of compatible amiibo figures for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Akira Sasanuma is providing the voice of Link, but through reused voice clips from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

He is joined by Princess Zelda, her alter-ego Sheik, and long-standing villain Ganondorf, as representation for his franchise. Another incarnation of Link from The Wind Waker, Toon Link, also returns from Brawl.

Changes from Brawl

While Link has traditionally been a weak character, he seems to have gone through many improvements that both make him a stronger fighter and better represent his abilities in The Legend of Zelda.

• Link's dash attack is now the Jump Attack from Ocarina of Time. It is capable of hitting both horizontally and vertically depending on placement of the hitbox, and is much stronger than his old dash attack.
• Link's grab has less startup and far less ending lag.
  • It regains its Super Smash Bros. trajectory, in which it shoots straight without falling to the ground.
• Clawshot's tether covers far more distance as with other tethers, heavily improving Link's recovery.
• His grab aerial comes out much faster.
  • However, it deals far less damage (from 10% to 6%).
• Neutral aerial deals 1% more damage during startup.
  • It now has a sourspot behind Link which deals 9% damage.
• 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 landing lag after impacting the ground.
  • However, the non meteor hits of down aerial are significantly weaker than Brawl.
• Up smash's final hit deals 1% more damage.
• Down smash is now a powerful semi spike during the second hit.
• Forward smash is stronger.
  • Both hits deal less damage (from 15%/20% to 14%/13%).
• Forward tilt has less ending lag.
• Gale Boomerang has increased knockback.
• Hero's Bow charges faster.
• Link's Bombs no longer self-harm him if thrown point-blank at an opponent.
  • However, they can only deal 5% when thrown directly at an opponent.
• Link appears to have greater speed in both the air and on the ground, alongside overall less lag in his attacks.
• Triforce Slash's damage has been lowered from 83% to 69%.
• Back aerial's damage has been lowered from 11% to 8%.
• Forward aerial's damage has been lowered from 9%/12% to 8%/10%.
• 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.
• Up aerial has changed from its Zelda II: The Adventures of Link animation to a very wide scissor kick. It appears to have a smaller hitbox.
• Link has a new edge attack based on the Crouch Stab from Ocarina of Time.
• Link's roll animations are now based on Link's abilities from Ocarina of Time.

The design of Link's clothing, weaponry, and hair are based on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. However, his facial structure and his bright color contrast draw inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The Hylian Sheild and Master Sword that Link wield have been given much sleeker appearances, which is reminiscent to Ocarina of Time 3D and Skyward Sword. It would appear that instead of being designed after a specific incarnation, Link is a general representation of the Hero that draws inspiration from multiple games in The Legend of Zelda. His facial expressiveness is somewhat more varied than past instalments as well.

Moveset

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack - 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. Does 2%, 3% and then 5%.
• Dash attack - Link performs a leaping downward slash (his "Jump Attack" from Ocarina of Time). 14% when tipped with horizontal knockback and 13% when hit close with vertical knockback.
• Forward tilt - An overhand sword swing with slow startup but high knockback. 13%.
• Up tilt - A half-moon slice above Link's head. Good for low percent juggles. 9%.
• Down tilt - A low sword swipe across the ground with vertical knockback. Meteor smashes opponents in contact with Link's body. 12%.

Smash

• Forward smash - Link lunges forward with a wide sword swing in front of him, dealing 14% when tipped with great knockback. The base of his sword deals 7% with extremely little knockback to naturally combo into an optional second hit: a sword swing that deals 13% with greater KO power (it is performed by pressing the attack button again right after the initial swing).
• Up smash - Three half-moon sword swings above Link's head. 4%, 3% and then 11%.
• Down smash - A low slash in front and then behind Link. First hit sends opponents at a verical trajectory while having slightly increased damage and knockback the closer you are to Link (14% sword, 16% arm and 17% body). Second hit is a powerful semi-spike with slightly increased damage and knockback on his blade (12% sword and 10% arm).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial - 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. 11% damage in front, 9% behind Link and 6% damage if late.
• Forward aerial - Swings his sword twice while spinning 360˚. While the second hit has more knockback, it's inconvenient to use as you'd have to intentionally avoid opponents with the first hit. 8% first hit and 10% second hit.
• Back aerial - A two kick combo behind Link. 3% then 5% damage with very little landing lag.
• Up aerial - Link thrusts his sword up for a long duration. 15% at startup, 13% if late. Moderate landing lag unless used alongside a full hop.
• Down aerial - Aims his sword directly below him for a long duration, based on his "Downthrust" from Zelda II: The Adventures of Link. It's possible for Link to "bounce" on opponents into a second hit. The move is a powerful meteor smash during startup . 15% meteor smash, 19% sweetspot, 15% late hit, 8% second hit.
• Grab aerial - Fires his Clawshot forward in the air with great range and no landing lag. Deals 2% and then 4%. Link can cancel his air dodge at any point via his tether, however it will not cancel the landing lag suffered from the dodge. Clawshot also serves as a tether recovery that auto-snaps the ledge, covering great horizontal distance.

Throws and grabs

• Forward throw - Link releases the opponent from his pummel and kicks them away. 3% then 4% damage.
• Back throw - Link takes his opponent behind him and kicks them away. 3% then 4% damage.
• Down throw - Link takes the opponent onto the ground and elbow drops them. 3% then 4% damage.
• Up throw - Link raises the opponent above him and slashes upward. 8% total damage.

Special Moves

In Super Smash Bros. 4, special moves can be swapped out for different variants. Link retains all of his original special moves and his Final Smash.

Neutral Specials	Side Specials	Up Specials	Down Specials
Hero's Bow is equipped by Link, with the arrows serving as projectiles. Charging increases the speed, distance and damage dealt by an arrow. 4% uncharged, 12% fully charged.	Gale Boomerang, 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. 7% close up, 5% distant.	Spin Attack functions differently when grounded and airborne; an aerial Spin Attack is used as recovery which grants Link great vertical distance. Hits 5 times in the air (4%, 3 hits of 2% with a 4% finisher). A grounded Spin Attack is akin to most Zelda games, and functions similarly to a smash attack. Deals 12% uncharged, 20% charged with great knockback.	Bomb is an item based projectile Link pulls out, with its design from Twilight Princess. An explosion deals 5% damage when in direct contact with an opponent (however, increased damage is possible via an indirect hit from a blast). Can cause 5% self-harm to Link if left idle without throwing it, which if timed correctly, can grant him an extra Spin Attack recovery.
Power Bow, unlike the regular Hero's Bow, this allows Link to cover more knockback at the expense of damage and speed of the arrow. When fully charged, they deal 20% damage with heavy knockback.	Boomerang travels on the same route as the Gale Boomerang, however, unlike the Gale Boomerang, this one retains its properties from both Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, where there's no whirlwind effects whatsoever. It does have less knockback, but more angle. It deals 7% damage when it goes towards Link, no matter how far he is, but 3% damage coming back.	Super Spin Attack is much more powerful version of the Spin Attack, where Link is able to deal much more knockback with an electric effect. The downside however, is the fact that Link's recovery is much shorter. It deals 12% damage uncharged, and 23% when fully charged. The aerial version deals 4% damage on the first, followed by 3 hits of 1% damage, and finally, a finishing blow of 6% damage. The aerial version can also Semi-spike.	Big Bomb is a bomb that's grown to massive size, increasing its hitbox and properties, though it remains practically the same. However, they cannot blow up when thrown at the opponent, and need time or another explosion to blow up. They deal 8% to 10% damage, dependent on range.
Piercing Arrows, unlike regular Arrows, these arrows go straight, deal set knockback, and can go through enemy projectiles. They do, however, go a very short range. They deal 8% damage fully charged, and 4% damage when uncharged. They have no Stale Move negation.	Electric Boomerang travels across a much shorter range than the Gale Boomerang, but also deals multiple hits of low damage and adds stun to the opponents. It deals the first two hits deal 2% damage, followed up by fractions of 1%. However, up close, it will deal an extra hit of about 4% damage.	Whirlwind Spin is 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.	Meteor Bombs are weaker versions of the bombs at lower percents, however, they have the unique property of causing a meteor to happen, which can damage Link as well. It's not good for recoveries whatsoever, though it provides a new tool for Link's arsenal. They deal 5% damage and are able to meteor.

Final Smash

• Triforce Slash: Link's final smash from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Link locks onto an opponent and proceeds to slash them repeatedly with his Master Sword. A luminous image of the Triforce appears around the opponent as Link slashes them. The final strike launches the opponent.

Taunts

• Performs two swipes with his sword, twirls it, and then sheathes it. He will then quickly unsheathe it. It is based on Link's victory pose from Twilight Princess.
• 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..
• Link takes out his guide from Ocarina of Time, Navi, who proceeds to fly around as Link watches her.

On-Screen Appearance

Small whirlwinds appear on the battlefield, from which Link appears. Link then proceeds to equip his sword and 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, and Toon Link.

Palette Swaps

Trophy

Link's trophy has been seen in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. In addition to a trophy of Link's normal appearance, a trophy of Link in his Ocarina of Time 3D design, riding Epona, appears in the 3DS version.

• LinkTrophy3DS1.png

  Link trophy.

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  Link and Epona trophy.

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  Trophy of Link as he appears in Ocarina of Time 3D.

Gallery

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

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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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  A sword attack, possibly the forward tilt.

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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 now used as a meteor smash on Samus.

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  Link using his neutral attack 1 while Marth performs his dash attack. Note that Link is not dashing, nor is his sword outwards.

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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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  Link's clothes from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

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  Dark Link costume.