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

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

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

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.

Attributes

Zelda is a tall and floaty lightweight fighter with generally poor mobility. Although she has above-average traction, air speed, and a decent initial dash, she has the 16th slowest walking speed, is tied with Byleth for the 8th slowest dashing speed, has slow falling speed, has low gravity, and has low air acceleration. Zelda's attacks are based on magic, making most of them disjointed or otherwise large range attacks. They generally have quick startup; all of her attacks execute before frame 10 except for forward tilt, up aerial, down aerial, and forward smash. Even though Zelda is classified as floaty and lightweight, most of her attacks have KO potential and impressive damage output; this in turn makes her power comparable to heavyweights. Due to these factors, a general term to portray her fighting style is a zoning glass cannon.

Her neutral attack is a small burst of magical energy in front of her. It has decent range and good damage output before transitioning into a rapid jab of many magical bursts with a finishing hit. Forward tilt is a strong arm swipe with good range and little ending vulnerability. Forward tilt can also be angled up and down. Up tilt is a vertical, circular arm sweep with long duration and can be a useful anti-air and combo tool across most percentages of damage. Down tilt is a quick crouching kick that lasts surprisingly long and is good for many combo setups and 2-framing opponents. Her Dash attack is a dual hand thrust with a burst of magic most powerful closest to her hands. It’s best used throughout combos to gain distance.

Forward and up smash are multi-hitting bursts of magic energy with great power; the former being a thrust of the hand forward and the latter being a wave of the hand back and forth above her. Down smash is a very fast 360° leg sweep that launches opponents at a semi spike angle with decent knockback.

Zelda's more prominent strengths are in the air, as she has some of the strongest aerials in the game. Zelda can auto-cancel her neutral and down aerial in a short hop, and forward and back aerial auto-cancel from a fast fall. Though her neutral air lacks notable KO ability, it pairs a long active duration with generously-sized hitboxes. This, combined with its aforementioned early autocancel window, makes her neutral air her most versatile aerial, excelling at starting and/or extending combos, setting up edgeguards, and pressuring shields (if spaced well). Forward and back air are known as the Lightning Kicks. Both of these aerials possess a sweetspot located at the tip of her foot which is incredibly powerful, dealing an electrifying 24% with similarly shockingly high knockback. Surprisingly, unlike most moves with such high power, it also sports minimal startup, coming out at a blistering frame 6. Up air is a large, disjointed explosion of fire with excellent damage and knockback. It now also has a deceptively long active duration, thanks to a game update which added a new, weaker late hit to the move. Down air—sometimes nicknamed the "Lightning Stomp"—is a meteor smash which touts a powerful sweetspot on her foot, similar to her Lightning Kicks. Among the most powerful meteor smashes in the game, the sweetspot is naturally a strong edgeguarding tool, but, due to its early autocancel window and low ending lag, it also has utility in starting and extending combos. It's also among Zelda's most consistent aerials in that the very long-lasting sourspot always meteor smashes, so even if the sweetspot whiffs it can still take stocks.

Her special moves take inspiration from various Zelda titles. Her neutral special move, Nayru's Love, is a reflector, yet it also functions as a melee attack. Zelda is intangible from frames 4-13 of the move. This means the move is good against projectile users as well as evading/halting opponent’s combos. Din's Fire, her side special move, sends out an explosive ball of fire that explodes on the release of the button. It possesses a powerful sweetspot in the inner part of the explosion, and otherwise has a large exploding hitbox. Din’s fire gets stronger as it moves farther. The ball of fire does not count as a projectile, but the explosion can be absorbed. And for the first time ever, Zelda can use it to cover her recovery, as it doesn't leave her helpless in the air. Her up special move Farore's Wind is a great KO option, possessing very fast startup and elevator combos from the first hit on the ground to its very powerful second hit in the air. This, combined with it being a omnidirectional teleport recovery that travels a very respectable distance, renders it a very potent recovery move and perhaps among the most versatile in the game. As a teleport recovery, it's difficult to edgeguard against by default due to its intangibility between exit and reentry. On top of this, it can have anti-ledgetrap and mindgame potential if one opts to use the aforementioned powerful second hitbox instead of snapping to ledge. And, similar to Palutena's up special Teleport, she can completely avoid the move's ending lag by using a technique called edge-cancelling which opens the door to otherwise-impossible approach and stage control options. Lastly, her down special, Phantom Slash, is perhaps her most versatile tool. It's a unique projectile that she builds piece-by-piece until it is fully formed. Interestingly, she can use it at any stage of its creation by pressing the Special button (or the attack button while it is actively being built) even when it's incomplete, which affects several of its properties. The earliest stages have rather low damage, knockback and range, but it becomes increasingly more potent as it becomes more complete, with the final stage having high damage output, impressive knockback and stellar range. It takes a little over a second to reach the final stage, after which Zelda will be able to move and attack freely (an untethered sort of state). The Phantom will attack on its own after about another second if it is not triggered. Because of this untethered state, Zelda has a lot of flexibility in what she can do with her Phantom, such as retreating behind it for protection, attacking in tandem with it, launching the opponent towards it, performing shield breaking combos, making grab setups, and even covering her recovery (similar to Din's Fire).

Zelda has an outstanding grab, as she makes up for her noticeable vulnerability with long range. Her grab attack however is mostly average in speed and damage. Her throws are very useful for her fighting and overall advantage state maneuvers. Forward throw is good to setup edge guarding, while back and up throw are very strong KO throws. Down throw is most useful as a combo starter.

Despite her toolkit's versatility and potency, Zelda's flaws are apparent. Chief among them is arguably her poor mobility—especially on the ground—which hampers her ability to approach effectively against those who outspeed her (a majority of the cast). As a result of this, she flounders against quick, fast-falling opponents like Wolf and Zero Suit Samus. Since she is light, tall, and floaty, she is also vulnerable to juggling and can be KO'd earlier than a good part of the roster. Her very poor disadvantage state makes her vulnerable to momentum changes as well. While rage improves her excellent KO potential even further, her mediocre endurance doesn't allow her to take advantage of it as much as heavy characters. Her poor-mobility problem is exacerbated by various frame data issues. While her attacks generally come out quickly, they usually also come with punishable amounts of endlag, especially when they are whiffed or misspaced. This, combined with her poor disadvantage, makes her even more prone to losing stocks early if she doesn't space appropriately. This riskiness is especially apparent in her KO options; though they're incredibly potent, they struggle with unreliable or weak sourspots (in dash attack and Lighting Kicks), punishable ending lag (in up smash, up aerial and forward smash to an extent) or a combination of the two (in Din's Fire and Farore's Wind). Along with this, some parts of her moveset struggle with landing reliably. Her neutral aerial's multihits, though improved through patches, still sometimes struggle to connect to each other, and her neutral attack and forward tilt's hitboxes are placed high and narrow, respectively, so they sometimes have trouble hitting short or crouching fighters. Finally, her special moves have a couple of minor downsides; Nayru's Love has noticeable ending lag, making it punishable if overused, and if Zelda gets hit before sending the Phantom with Phantom Slash, it will fall apart and she will have to reuse the move.

Overall, Zelda has an excellent advantage state and can easily KO opponents thanks to a variety of strong attacks and KO setups, but she has to be careful with how she spaces her attacks, how she approaches, and what she does to get out of a disadvantage.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

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

One of Zelda's biggest buffs is her greatly improved moveset: many of her 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 forward tilt has more range, less ending lag, and increased damage that improve the sweetspot's KO potential, though it does have 2 more frames of startup and smaller hitboxes with the sweetspots outprioritized by sourspots and the latter have less KO potential. Neutral aerial has decreased landing lag, allowing it to start combos into multiple ground options, including down tilt into forward aerial. Up aerial's hitbox is larger, has been moved upwards and its duration has been extended; while the placement makes it difficult to hit grounded opponents, this increases its already solid large vertical range and makes it more difficult to spot dodge, while also giving it a new late hit that deals 12% with less knockback. Her already good grab game was improved to the point it is now among the most useful in the game: her back and up throws are much stronger, while down throw deals more damage and, although its knockback and angle were altered, its combo ability remains mostly intact. Additionally she has the longest range for a non-tether grab of any character in the game. Her Lightning Kicks have been improved as well, having a larger sweetspot and 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 in particular possessing more reliable KO setups, as it can now combo into back aerial at mid percentages.

Zelda's special moveset, considered among the most situational in previous games, has seen various improvements. Nayru's Love has faster startup and intangibility, and preserves Zelda's momentum, strengthening its already strong defensive ability and improving its edgeguarding applications. Din's Fire no longer causes helplessness, giving it utility as an anti-edgeguarding option, has increased duration of effect and the sweetspot is larger and easier to land, making it more difficult to spot dodge and more effective in neutral or advantage state. 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. It's damage and KO potential have also been improved post-release. With precise input, Zelda can also short hop behind the Phantom while charging it, allowing it to block incoming projectiles while charging.

Additionally, Zelda noticeably benefits from some of 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 generally benefit her, as they improve her edgeguarding game with moves like Din's Fire, and also give her an emergency recovery option.

However, Zelda has received some mixed changes and a few nerfs as well. Despite the improved speed and combo potential of her neutral attack, it is no longer a nearly unpunishable option against shields, and none of her other attacks has had their ending lag reduced enough to fully compensate. Down tilt has less ending lag, but has less range and its new angle worsens its combo potential in general, removing its ability to combo into up aerial, although it can now combo better into neutral aerial and dash attack and has a new KO setup into forward aerial. The changes to down aerial's hitboxes increase the clean hit's range and remove the blindspot located in Zelda's lower leg, but causes the late hit to have smaller hitboxes. Zelda's dash and pivot grabs, already below-average in speed, have received even more startup, although her pivot grab has very large range for a non-tether grab and both of them have less ending lag. 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, though Farore's Wind is more consistent for self-combos due to faster startup and more precise DI options for reappearance that can hit opponents who DI the initial hit.

Lastly, while Zelda does benefit from some the changes to the game's engine, other changes have impaired her as well; 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 increased shieldstun both helps and hinders Zelda, as it allows her moves to be more safely spaced, but combined with the universal reductions to landing lag (despite aerials having less shieldstun), it also slightly worsens her respectable out of shield game. Finally, of note is that Zelda keeps some of her weaknesses from previous games, mainly her slow movement speed, light weight, a few poor hitbox placements (such as extremely weak sourspots on her Lightning Kicks, which are otherwise her strongest KO moves). However, the nerfs she has received are not as meaningful as her buffs.

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. Her perception in the competitive metagame has been more positive than in previous games, albeit rather inconsistent: Initially, Zelda was seen as a mid-tier character thanks to decent results from smashers such as ven despite retaining some of her weaknesses from previous games. However, Zelda's overall tournament representation had at the time been below average, and her polarizing traits had led to her weaknesses to be exploited more easily as the metagame hads advanced, leading most players to believe that while Zelda fared much better in Ultimate, she had not improved significantly compared to other previously lower-ranked characters in SSB4, such as Palutena, Pac-Man, Falco and Wii Fit Trainer, with most players re-evaluating her as a lower mid-tier or low tier character once more (though not to the extent of SSB4). Fortunately, 7.0.0 has brought her meaningful improvements that have made her moveset more cohesive and consistent; thanks to her buffs, her representation, while still relatively average, has noticeably improved, leading to most smashers to believe that Zelda is a mid-tier character, with some such as Mew2King, Salem, and Goblin considering her a high-tier character due to her out of shield options, KO power, and ledge trapping. As such, while she still faces competition from several returning characters that have been likewise buffed to varying degrees, this incarnation of Zelda is universally agreed to be the strongest one yet, and she is generally considered to be a viable character for the first time in the series.

Aesthetics

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

Attributes

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

Ground attacks

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

Aerial attacks

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

Throws and other attacks

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

Special moves

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

Update history

Aside from Phantom Slash's shield damage output being decreased via update 3.0.0, Zelda has been buffed via game updates.

3.0.0

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

4.0.0

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

7.0.0

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

9.0.2

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

10.1.0

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

Moveset

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

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.5% (hits 1-2)	Extends her palm to emit a burst of magical energy, then follows up with a series of several magical bursts before finishing with a slightly larger blast, which can KO near the edge at reasonable percentages. Unlike in the previous games, where it was the slowest at frame 11, it now comes out quickly, at frame 4. Decent range, although it can miss small characters due to its high hitbox placement.
			0.2% (loop), 3% (end)
Forward tilt			15% (hand, blade), 11.5% (arm)	A magically-infused outward knifehand strike. It can be angled and has two sweet spots (one on her hand and the other being a blade of magic) that possess respectable power. Its sweet spot KOs middleweights at around 93% while near the edge of Final Destination. It has three sour spots, which are located on Zelda's arm and take priority over the sweet spots, is also reliable for KOing in spite of being noticeably weaker. Its sour spots KO middleweights at around 109% while near the edge of Final Destination. Due to its somewhat low ending lag for its power (24 frames), it's safe on shield with good spacing, and thanks to its five hitboxes sharing almost identical knockback values, it has good range. However, it has noticeable startup lag at frame 12, as well as small and narrow hitboxes, and it can sometimes miss small or crouching characters.
Up tilt			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 very long active duration and almost no ending lag, it is one of Zelda's most reliable combo starters. It can combo into itself, neutral attack, forward smash, Nayru's Love, and Farore's Wind at low percentages; into neutral aerial from low to medium percentages as well as into s Lightning Kick out of a reversed up tilt; and up aerial at medium percentages out of a reversed up tilt. It is also good as an anti-air attack thanks to its long active duration.
Down tilt			5.5%	A kneeling low-level roundhouse kick. Due to it hitting on frame 5, it is Zelda's fastest tilt attack. However, unlike in SSB4, it has noticeably less combo potential, mostly serving as a fast safe poke. It can, however, combo into a dash attack or neutral aerial at mid percentages. With proper timing, it can also be a KO combo into forward aerial.
Dash attack			12% (clean sweet spot), 9% (clean sour spot), 6% (late)	A double palm thrust that emits a blast of magical energy from her hands, similarly to Peach's dash attack. The sweet spot lasts for two frames and is located on Zelda's hands. Due to it hitting on frame 6, it is one of the fastest dash attacks in the game. To complement this, its sweet spot's base is strong enough to KO middleweights at around 99% while near the edge of Final Destination. However, it has a 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, which combined with its moderate ending lag, with 26 frames, it is safe on shield and very hard to punish with good spacing. Due to it hitting on frame 16, however, it has the highest start-up lag out of Zelda's smash attacks.
Up smash			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. It also has some combo potential at low percents, and the looping hits of neutral aerial can connect into an up smash. 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, low-level roundhouse kick. Due to it hitting on frame 5, it is tied with Mario, Dr. Mario, Pit, Dark Pit, Ryu, and Ken's down smashes for the second-fastest smash attack of any kind in the game, being surpassed only by Meta Knight's buffered down smash. It is also a semi-spike that hits on both sides, which makes it very useful for punishing rolls or setting up an edge-guard. Although it is Zelda's weakest smash attack, it is still quite powerful and has a 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)	Twirls with her arms outstretched and her hands infused with magical energy. Due to it hitting on frame 6, it is tied with forward and back aerials for the lowest amount of start-up lag out of Zelda's aerials. It has a decent amount of utility: it has a great damage output, especially if the opponents are hit from the front, can be used as a follow-up from down throw; as a combo starter when SHFF'd, or as an edge-guarding option, and it can autocancel in a short hop. The last hit also has decent knockback for its type, as it can KO middleweights at around 150% at the edge of Final Destination without rage. However, at higher percents, opponents can get 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 sweet spot is at the tip of her foot, has both an outstanding damage output and high knockback growth, KOing middleweights at around 59% while near the edge of Final Destination, similarly to Captain Falcon's Knee Smash, although faster and marginally stronger, making it the strongest forward aerial in the game. Due to coming out on frame 6, it's also extremely fast for its power. Compared to back air, it has slightly less knockback, but autocancels slightly earlier and have less landing lag. However, the sweet spot only lasts for one frame when the hitboxes become active, and the sour spots 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 sweet spotted, and due to the aforementioned very low damage and knockback, the sour spot can lock opponents and set-up in other moves, lacks utility otherwise. Autocancels in a full hop fast fall, just one frame after Zelda reaches the peak of her short hop, similarly to Kirby's forward aerial.
Back aerial		Lightning Kick	20% (clean foot), 4% (clean leg, late)	A magically-infused flying kick. It functions almost identically to forward aerial, with the only difference being that its sweet spot has slightly more base knockback and knockback growth. Its sweet spot 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% (clean hit), 12% (late hit)	Leans back and turns slightly to extend her arm in order to use her magic to create a fiery explosion from her index and middle fingers. It is the most damaging and second strongest up aerial in the game, only slightly weaker than Shulk's up aerial if the second hit is sweet spotted. 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 platforms or the bottom of a stage's edge and has a great vertical range thanks to its large hitbox. 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 a fairly short horizontal range. It autocancels in a full hop.
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 sweet spot being the most powerful among them and they can also lock opponents. Its sour spot, 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 sweet spot to start combos on grounded opponents quite reliably, as it can lock. Safe on shield with proper spacing. It hits on frame 14, which ties it with up aerial for the highest amount of start-up lag out of Zelda's aerials but combined with its deceptively long duration and its low ending lag, it's somewhat fast for a meteor smash. It can also autocancel in a short hop.
Grab			—	Restrains the opponent with magic. Zelda's grabs have long-range and are somewhat disjointed, with her pivot grab being one of the longest non-tether pivot grabs, but also have a noticeable start-up and ending lag.
Pummel			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 edge guards, it is among the strongest throws in the game, KOing middleweights at around 105% while near the edge of Final Destination.
Up throw			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, but it only applies to heavyweights and fast-fallers, as it can combo into neutral aerial at low percentages against such characters; In addition to its combo potential, it can KO middleweights at around 146% from anywhere on Final Destination, and is tied with Incineroar and Lucas's up throws for the fifth strongest up throw in the game. Overall, these attributes make it one of the best up throws in the game.
Down throw			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 correct 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 a moderate start-up for its hitboxes (frame 11) and considerable ending lag, making it punishable if used recklessly, so it must be used carefully and not overused to avoid punishment.
Side special		Din's Fire	7%-14% (sweet spot), 3.5%-7% (sour spot)	Launches a magical fireball. It can be aimed up or down, and releasing the button causes it to explode. It has a large hitbox, and despite being a projectile, it cannot be reflected but only absorbed. The longer the button is held down, the farther the fireball will travel, and it will automatically detonate when it reaches its maximum distance. Its sweet spot, which is located in the inner part of the explosion, is quite powerful, especially when fully charged. It is very useful for edge guarding. Fully charged sweet spotted Din's Fire KOs middleweights at around 87% while near the edge of Final Destination. However, it is very predictable, and its sour spot is very weak regardless of its charge.
Up special		Farore's Wind	6% (hit 1), 10% (grounded hit 2 near), 7% (grounded hit 2 far), 12% (aerial hit 2 near), 8% (aerial hit 2 far)	Warps in a given direction. It travels a long distance and can be angled in eight directions similarly to Fox's Fire Fox, but is much faster compared to it. It deals damage upon contact while disappearing and while reappearing, and grants 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 sweet spot near Zelda that has a decent damage output, high base knockback, and high knockback growth, all of which makes it very reliable at KOing, especially near the upper blast line. Its sweet spotted 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 sour spot 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	5.9% (level 1), 8.2% (level 2), 10.5%/11.8% (level 3) 14.1%/15.4% (level 4), 17.7% (level 5)	Conjures a Phantom piece by piece and propels it forward with another button press. Serves as a projectile with varying attacks reaching various levels of damage and distance depending on the charge. When fully charged, the phantom will delay its attack for around a second, giving Zelda time to add pressure, perform combined combos or to retreat behind it for protection, and if the opponent tries to reflect it, she can react by using Nayru's Love. When fully charged, the phantom can KO middleweights at around 84% from the edge of Final Destination. Very versatile and one of Zelda's best options in the neutral game and advantage state.
Final Smash		Triforce of Wisdom	7% (initial vacuum), 3% (subsequent vacuum), 60% (main)	Uses the Triforce of Wisdom to generate a triangular portal that sucks in opponents using massive periodic shockwaves. Upon catching an opponent, they will either be launched with poor knockback. However, if they reach 100% or higher during it, they are instantly KO'd. Very difficult to avoid on smaller stages (such as Dream Land or Mushroom Kingdom II), due to its long duration and large vacuum hitboxes.

On-screen appearance

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

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  Zelda's on-screen appearance

Taunts

• Scoffs with a hand on her hip, while generating magic and twirling it 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 regarding 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 found that some of her key issues, such as her mobility and poor endurance, were retained from previous games as well. In spite of this, players such as ven used to her to a fair degree of success in the early metagame. This left consensus on Zelda as a mid-tiered character. However, as time went on and the metagame progressed, her flaws were only further exploited, and her success was not as high in comparison to the early metagame. This led to a more negative perspective early on, with the general consensus of professionals considering her as a low-tier character.

After the early metagame, opinions on Zelda began to improve, as players such as ven, Naskino, Marf, and ZeroTwoNone continued to place well with her. ven, in particular, has won sets against ESAM and Megafox and has had close sets with MkLeo and Glutonny. Furthermore, she has received noticeable improvements towards her consistencies in 7.0.0, which is one of her major weaknesses. As such, many players now have a more positive opinion on Zelda, and she is widely considered as at least a mid-tier character, with some such as Mew2King, Salem, and Goblin considering her a high-tier character due to her out of shield options, KO power, and ledge trapping. ESAM, who once viewed her as a low-tier now believes that she has the potential to be an upper mid or even high-tier character, although some players claim that Zelda is still too polarizing as a character and believe she’s still a mid-tier. Overall, it is widely agreed that Zelda is much better than all of her previous incarnations.

Notable players

Active

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Fall 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from July 13th, 2019 to December 15th, 2019.

•  Bonren - Placed 9th at Smashpoint and 97th at Frostbite 2020 with wins over CaptainZack and Salem.
•  Kisuke - Placed 25th at EGS Cup 2 and 65th at Umebura SP 7. Has wins over HIKARU, Eim, and Arika.
•  Marf - The best Zelda in Canada. Placed 3rd at Animethon 26, 4th at Salt Flats 2020, 7th at SKL: Prairie Pummel, and 13th at VORTEX. Ranked 3rd on the Alberta Power Rankings.
•  Meru - Uses Zelda as a secondary to Peach. Placed 2nd at BURST 4 and The Ultimate Performance 3 with Zelda as one of his characters.
•  Mystearica - One of the best Zelda players in the United States. Mains Palutena. Placed 5th at 2GG: Run it Back, 25th at Pound 2019, and 33rd at Smash 'N' Splash 5 and DreamHack Atlanta 2019. She has defeated Tea, Goblin, Tyroy, Darkshad, and Ned. Ranked 1st in the Indiana Power Rankings.
•  Naskino - The best Zelda player in France and one of the best in the world. Placed 7th at Smash4Glory - Ultimate Edition, 9th at Ultimate WANTED 2 and European SEL Clash, and 33rd at Ultimate Fighting Arena 2019.
•  Rizeasu - While better known for his large character roster, he is also considered the best Zelda player in Japan. Placed 5th at Sumabato SP 6, 13th at Sumabato SP 3, and 33rd at Sumabato SP 8.
•  Samsora (#2) - Uses Zelda as a secondary to Peach. Placed 1st at CEO Dreamland 2020 using both Peach and Zelda. Has wins over LingLing and MuteAce.
•  ven - The best Zelda player in the world. Placed 9th at LVL Up Expo 2019, 17th at 2GG: Prime Saga, 25th at 2GG: SwitchFest 2019, as well as 33rd at 2GG: Kongo Saga, Frostbite 2020, and Super Smash Con 2019. Ranked 4th on the Las Vegas Power Rankings. He has defeated ESAM, Jw, Prodigy, Gackt, Elegant, SweetT, Karna, and Megafox.
•  Yn - Placed 7th at Sumabato SP 15, 9th at HST SP 6 and 17th at Maesuma TOP 1 and Karisuma SP 7. Has taken sets off Ako, Tea, Mossan, tatsutsuyo, Nishiya, and Keroguchi.

Inactive

•  AceAttorney - Placed 33rd at Let's Make Big Moves with wins over Jw, MattyG, and Dunston. Has since been permanently banned from competitive play following confirmed sexual harassment allegations.
•  Aikota - Tri-mained Zelda with Mii Gunner and Ness, and was considered one of the best Zelda players in the United States before dropping all three characters in favor of Lucas. Placed 25th at Super Smash Con 2019 and 33rd at MomoCon 2019. He has taken sets off players such as Fatality, Mr E, ScAtt, Sonido, and Maister. Ranked 7th in the Georgia Power Rankings.
•  Riot - The best Zelda player in New England prior to his inactivity. Placed 5th at Push the Limit 4. Ranked 2nd on the New Hampshire Ultimate Power Rankings with wins on DM, LingLing, and Pelca.
•  ZeroTwoNone - The best Zelda player in the Tri-state. Placed 13th at Tri-state Showdown: Fall 2019. He has defeated Zomba, Stocktaker69, The Great Gonzales, and Sinji. Has since been permanently banned from competitive play following confirmed sexual harassment allegations.

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 Land	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!" ("ここまで来たらやるしかないでしょう!"), and was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. She and Mewtwo attempted to reflect the beams using Nayru's Love and Confusion, respectively, but this attempt failed, and both of them were vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment along with the rest of the fighters (excluding Kirby).

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

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

Fighter Battle

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

Spirits

Zelda's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 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 appear as primary and support spirits.

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  173. Zelda

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  189. Young Zelda

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  190. Zelda (Ocarina of Time)

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  238. Zelda (Breath of the Wild)

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  247. Zelda (The Wind Waker)

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  259. Zelda (Spirit Tracks)

In Spirit Battles

As the main opponent

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

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
1,107		Fighting Alloy Team	Super Smash Bros. Series	•Captain Falcon Team ×4 •Zelda Team ×4 •Mario Team ×4 •Kirby Team ×4		3,300	Final Destination (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Cruel Smash	Blue Alloy
1,246		Orville	Takt of Magic	•Robin •Pit •Zelda		3,400	PictoChat 2	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win	Struggle Against Chaos	Charlotte (Takt of Magic)
1,328		Hero's Comrades	DRAGON QUEST Series	•Ike (120 HP) •Tiny King Dedede (120 HP) •Zero Suit Samus (100 HP) •Sheik (130 HP) •Tiny Robin (90 HP) •Zelda (110 HP) •Link (100 HP)		13,300	Yggdrasil's Altar	N/A	•The enemy has increased melee-weapon damage and move speed •The enemy's smash attacks have increased power •Stamina battle	The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination	Serena
1,411	File:SSBU spirit Duran & Angela.jpg	Duran & Angela	Mana Series	•Roy •Zelda •Tiny Bunny Kirby ×2		9,200	Gaur Plain (Ω form)	•Item: Ramblin' Evil Mushroom	•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Filled with Hope	Angela

As an ally

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

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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

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  Zelda's fighter card.

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  Zelda's unlock notice.

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  Zelda idling on Temple.

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

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  Zelda using her forward tilt on King Dedede on Coliseum.

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  Kneeling next to a sleeping Pichu on Tortimer Island.

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  Using Farore's Wind on Luigi's Mansion.

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  Idling in her dark costume on Spirit Train.

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  Zelda taunting next to Ganondorf on Hyrule Castle.

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  Zelda giving Rosalina a high-five on Prism Tower.

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  Firing a Super Scope at Yoshi on Mario Galaxy.

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

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

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  Using Phantom Slash on Mario Galaxy.

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

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  With Link and Ganondorf on the Great Plateau Tower.

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  Zelda with Cloud in Tortimer Island

Trivia

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