Young Link (SSBU)

Young Link in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearance	in Melee
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Triforce Slash

“	He’s back after 17 years! Young Link is faster than Link but he’s also lighter, making him easier to launch.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Young Link (こどもリンク, Young Link) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially confirmed as playable on June 12th, 2018. Young Link is classified as fighter #22.

As in Melee, Fujiko Takimoto's portrayals of Young Link from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and its sequel Majora's Mask were repurposed for Ultimate.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Young Link being the eighth character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Link or any character in his unlock tree, being the sixth character unlocked after Snake.
• Have Young Link join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Young Link must then be defeated on Great Bay.

Differences between Link in SSB4 and Young Link

Since Link has been heavily reworked to match his appearance in Breath of the Wild, Young Link effectively functions as a stand-in for Link’s older apearance. However, as Young Link is based off of Ocarina of Time rather than Twilight Princess, Young Link is not a perfect stand-in for Link in SSB4 and Brawl. Rather, he is closer to Link’s appearances in Smash 64 and Melee.

Of note is that despite Link's Breath of the Wild-inspired rework, Young Link's moveset is still cloned from him (with the exception of his dash attack and grab). However, many of Young Link's animations are more similar to Link in Smash 4 than in Ultimate.

Young Link is still faster and lighter than Link. He retains moves and characteristics from Melee that Link himself no longer possesses, such as a rapid jab, dash attack, and Hookshot. Their moves largely appear and function similarly but some of them have different attributes.

Aesthetics

• Young Link is based on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time rather than The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. This means that Young Link’s clothes are much brighter and less shabby.
• Young Link wields the Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield instead of the Master Sword and Hylian Shield.
• Young Link's on-screen appearance, taunts, idle poses, and two of his victory animations are different from Link's.

Attributes

• Young Link is shorter than Link. While this does make him harder to hit, it also results in him having less reach in his attacks.
• Young Link will sometimes hold his Deku Shield to the side during his walking and idle animations. This makes it less reliable for blocking projectiles.
• Young Link's Kokiri Sword has less of a disjointed range advantage on his attacks than Link, which gives him inferior range when combined with his shorter height.
• Young Link's air speed is faster than Link's (0.88 → 0.966).
• Young Link walks faster than Link (1.188 → 1.26).
• Young Link dashes faster than Link (1.3944 → 1.749).
• Young Link falls faster (1.6 → 1.8) than Link.
• Young Link's traction is significantly higher than Link's (0.064 → 0.105).
• Young Link has a greater jump height than Link.
• Young Link deals less knockback for most of his attacks. This overall weakens his KO potential in comparison to Link, but it also grants Young link access to new combos.
• Unlike Link, Young Link can wall jump.
• Young Link's Hookshot is shorter than Link's Clawshot, reducing its utility as a recovery tool.
• Young Link is significantly lighter than Link (104 → 88). While this drastically worsens his endurance for horizontal and vertical survival, his faster falling speed lessens his otherwise reduced weakness to combos.

Ground attacks

• Young Link's neutral attack can either end in a third hit or a neutral infinite with a finisher hit.
• Young Link's dash attack has him slash directly in front of himself while running forward, instead of performing the Jump Attack from Ocarina of Time.

Aerial attacks

• Down aerial does not have a meteor smash hitbox.

Throws/other attacks

• Edge attack has Young Link swipe his sword in front of himself, unlike Link who stabs forward.

Special moves

• Fire Arrows deal more hitstun than Link's arrows, increasing his combo ability and making the move safer on hit up close. It also has a slightly faster startup than Link's Hero's Bow.
  • Fire Arrow deals flame damage (hence the name).
  • Fire Arrows travel less distance.
• Instead of the Gale Boomerang, Young Link retains his standard Boomerang, which does not have a windbox.
  • Boomerang travels less distance compared to Link's Gale Boomerang.
  • Boomerang can damage opponents on the way back.
• Spin Attack lands multiple hits instead of one, allowing it to trap opponents within its hitboxes, and the late hitboxes inflict more damage.
  • Nonetheless, it is still weaker than Link's clean Spin Attack in damage. Also, it is not a viable KO move unlike Link's.
• Young Link's Bomb looks slightly different from Link's, as it is smaller; it has a smaller projectile hitbox but is slightly harder to track visually when thrown.
  • Young Link's bombs have four hitboxes as opposed to Link's two, increasing their hitstun and combo ability.
  • Young Link's bombs do more damage to opponents than Link's, given that all of their hitboxes connect.
  • The multi-hit property of the bombs means that their explosion can affect Young Link more often in close range.
  • Young Link's Bombs travel a shorter distance when thrown.
• For Triforce Slash, the final flourish and slash have altered animations, as Young Link rears his hand back and does an outward slash, instead of a stab.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Melee

Young Link has been significantly buffed in the transition from Melee to Ultimate. Young Link's speed has been improved from Melee not just in terms of his mobility but also his attacks. Many of his attacks have decreased ending lag and his aerials have heavily decreased landing lag (even compared to their L-canceled counterparts). Some of his moves have also been reworked to make them more reliable and effective such as his up smash and his forward and back aerials and the weakening of SDI heavily benefits his multi-hit attacks.

However, he has also seen a few nerfs. Some of Young Link's attacks deal less damage while others have shorter durations and a few of his attacks even have slightly increased startup and ending lag. His aerial mobility is also worse (especially when relative to the cast) and his down tilt and down aerial no longer have meteor smash hitboxes meaning that Young Link gains no benefits from the removal of meteor canceling. The changes to air dodging also hinder his mobility as wavedashing and wavelanding are significantly less effective.

Despite his nerfs, Young Link is a significantly better character than he was in Melee, with professional players such as T demonstrating Young Link’s strong potential in spite of currently having low tournament representation.

Aesthetics

• Due to the game's graphical improvements, Young Link's design gains additional detail, particularly in his hair. His colors are more subdued than they were in Melee.
• Young Link is relatively bigger than in Melee. This increases his range, but also increases his hurtbox.
• Young Link is much more expressive. Like Diddy Kong, his hat is also "looser" on his head and pops off during certain animations, such as his down aerial.
• Young Link now has an entrance animation, similar to Link's animation from the original Super Smash Bros.
• Young Link's taunt from Melee has been moved to his down taunt and it executes significantly faster. In addition, he has two new taunts: one where he triumphantly lifts his sword into the air while grinning, and another where Navi flies around him, akin to Link's side taunt in Brawl and Smash 4.
• Young Link has new voice clips for taking medium and heavy knockback, a second KO voice clip, and a different Star KO scream.
• The Kokiri Sword now has a bronze hilt. It leaves behind a white trail with blue accents, as opposed to a pure white trail in Melee.
  • Additionally, Link's yellow and blue Spin Attack sword trail from Smash 4 is recycled for Young Link, as Link now has a unique sword trail.
• All sword attacks now make a standard slash sound effect instead of a punch/kick sound effect like in Melee.
• Young Link now has three additional alternate costumes, bringing his total up to the standard eight. His black alternate costume has also been altered to better resemble Dark Link.
• Young Link now has a Boxing Ring alias, being “Master of the Ocarina.”
• Young Link's victory animation where he adjusts his belt is slightly different. He now holds the Kokiri Sword and after adjusting, flicks his nose with his thumb.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Young Link's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 4).
• Young Link walks faster (1.2 → 1.26).
• Young Link dashes much faster (1.6 → 1.749) although relative to the cast, his dashing speed is now only slightly above average. His initial dash is also faster (1.72 → 2.09).
• Young Link's air speed is slightly slower (1 → 0.966), one of the few exceptions to returning veterans. It has gone from the 6th highest air speed to only the 60th highest.
• Young Link's fall speed has been slightly reduced (2.13 → 1.8), but is now faster relative to the roster.
• Young Link's midair jump is significantly higher. This improves Young Link's ability to recover back to the stage.
• Young Link now has a fast fall speed more in line with the rest of the roster (2.2 → 2.88), in comparison to his almost unnoticeable fast fall in Melee. This greatly increases the versatility of his air game, and allows him to use various mix-ups that other characters possess.
• Young Link's Deku Shield now protects him from projectiles while walking, similar to the shields of all other Link incarnations.
• Young Link is slightly heavier (85 → 88), which improves his survivability but makes him more susceptible to combos.
• The removal of meteor canceling harms Young Link more than any other returning veteran as it significantly hinders his endurance against meteor smashes and he no longer has access to any meteor smashes of his own.
• The changes to air dodging hinder Young Link's mobility and he can no longer use his grab aerial out of an air dodge.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack's first and second hit can now jab lock at higher percents.
  • Neutral attack's final hit has slightly more horizontal range.
  • The first three hits of neutral attack have less ending lag (frame 24 → 20) (hit 1), frame 23 → 17 (hit 2), frame 51 → 36 (hit 3)).
  • Neutral attack infinite is now a flurry of slashes that transition much faster, and has a finisher in the form of an ascending slash.
  • Neutral attack now consists of two hits followed by either a stab if the attack button is held, or a neutral infinite if the button is mashed, akin to that of Captain Falcon.
  • Neutral attack deals less damage (3% → 2% (hit 1), 2% → 1.5% (hit 2), 5% → 3.5% (hit 3), 1% → 0.3% (loop hits)). the first three hits also have shorter durations (frames 6-8 (hits 1/2), frames 6-10 (hit 3) → frames 6-7 (all).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt covers more vertical range. It also has less startup lag (frame 11 → 10).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has increased vertical range.
  • Up tilt has a shorter duration (frames 9-15 → 9-14) and has more ending lag (frame 31 → 32).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has much quicker startup (frame 14 → 8) and ending lag (frame 41 → 26).
    • Due to these changes, down tilt is a safer and much more reliable combo starter.
  • Down tilt has a shorter duration (frames 14-16 → 8-9). It also has less vertical range.
  • Down tilt can no longer meteor smash aerial opponents.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has less ending lag (frame 55 → 35).
  • Dash attack has more startup lag and a shorter duration (frames 7-11 → 8-10). It also sends opponents at a higher angle, hindering its edgeguarding potential.
• Forward smash:
  • The first hit of forward smash has less ending lag (frame 50 → 48). The second hit also deals more damage (10% → 12%) and is properly affected by charging.
  • The second hit of forward smash will no longer miss when Young Link is extremely close to the opponent, improving its reliability.
  • The first hit deals less damage (10% → 6%) and no longer has set knockback, hindering its reliability at higher percents. The second hit has more startup lag (frame 10 → 11), has more ending lag (frame 41 → 50) and it deals less knockback. Both hits also have a shorter duration (3 frames (hit 1), 4 frames (hit 2) → 2 frames (both)).
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has more ending lag (frame 61 → 70). The final hit also has more startup lag (frame 40 → 41).
  • Up smash's hits chain together much more reliably due to the weakening of SDI and an increase in hitbox sizes.
  • The second hit of up smash deals more damage (2% → 3%), and the first two hits also have less startup lag and longer durations (frames 11-14/26-28 → 10-14/25-29).
  • The final hit of up smash has much higher knockback, allowing it to kill at realistic percents.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has less ending lag (frame 51 → 50) and the sourspots deal more damage (7% → 10% (front), 6% → 9% (back).
  • Down smash has a shorter duration (frames 9-12/21-23 → 9-10/21-22).
  • Down smash no longer has a hitbox on Young Link's foot on the second swipe, reducing its overall safety.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have significantly less landing lag (15 frames → 6 (neutral/forward/back), 30 frames → 14 (up), 50 frames → 17 (down)) having even less than when L-canceled in Melee.
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has less ending lag (frame 41 → 36).
  • Neutral aerial deals less damage (12% (clean), 8% (late) → 10%/5%) hindering its KO potential.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial is no longer a single degrading hit, and instead hits twice like Link's. It deals more damage when both hits connect (12% → 14%) and has slightly higher KO potential. It also has less ending lag (frame 56 → 41).
  • Forward aerial's first hit can lead into combos if Young Link lands before the second hit comes out, which gives him more options to rack up damage or secure a KO.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has less ending lag (frame 41 → 30). The first hit now has set knockback making it connect much more reliably with the second hit, and also allows for followups if Young Link lands before the second hit comes out. The second also hit deals more knockback.
  • The first hit deals less damage (5% → 7%) and both hits have shorter durations (frames 6-9/18-23 → 6-8/18-20).
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has less ending lag (frame 71 → 60).
  • Up aerial has a slightly shorter duration (frames 5-50 → 5-49).
  • The hitboxes of up aerial are much more narrow, making it harder to connect. Combined with the changes to collision between players in Ultimate, this makes landing an up aerial on a grounded opponent much more difficult than before.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has less ending lag (frame 91 → 80). The early hit also deals more damage (14% → 18%), improving its KO potential.
  • Down aerial no longer has a meteor smash hitbox on Young Link's head, removing the move's ability to meteor smash opponents from below. The late hit also deals less damage 17% → 15%) and down aerial has a slightly shorter duration (frames 13-65 → 13-64).

• Grab aerial:
  • Grab aerial has dramatically decreased landing lag (30 frames → 8), granting it combo potential. It also no longer leaves him helpless.
  • Grab aerial has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 9-18 → 11-18) and it has more ending lag (frame 61 → 74). It also deals less damage (5% → 4%) and is now affected by stale move negation.

Throws/other attacks

• Young Link's grabs have significantly less ending lag (frame 86 → 53 (standing), frame 96 → 61 (dash), making it safer to use. They also have longer durations (4 frames → 7).
  • However, his grabs have more startup lag (frame 10 → 12 (standing), frame 13 → 14 (dash)).
• Hookshot is no longer a wall grapple, and is instead a tether recovery.
  • This removes the ability to grapple to any wall, reducing its versatility.
  • Hookshot's range and safety has improved to compensate.
• Young Link's pummel executes much faster, making it more viable to use.
• Young Link jumps a bit higher when performing his up throw.
• Down throw has an altered angle; it now sends opponents slightly more horizontally than before.

Special Moves

• Fire Arrow:
  • Fire Bow has been renamed to Fire Arrow.
  • Fire Arrows are now ablaze when being charged and fired, as compared to Melee where the arrow does not light up at all.
  • Fire Arrows have been redesigned to more closely resemble the artwork found in the manual for Ocarina of Time.
  • Fire Arrow has slightly decreased ending lag (frame 39 → 38), and the arrows fly much further than before and deal more knockback, even when not fully charged. Young Link can also now B-reverse Fire Arrow.
    • Due to all of these changes, Fire Arrow is now a very potent projectile and combo tool, making it an essential part of Young Link's toolkit. This is a massive buff that greatly increases his combo potential, zoning game, and ability to pressure his opponent.
  • Fire Arrows stay active for a shorter period of time.
  • Fire Arrow deals less damage (8%-15% → 4%-12%).
• Boomerang:
  • Young Link has a new throwing animation for the Boomerang.
  • Boomerang can not be angled as sharply as in Melee; however, this makes the more useful angles of Boomerang easier to use.
  • Young Link's Boomerang is much bigger; it is also thrown vertically instead of horizontally when released, increasing its coverage immensely. Young Link can now B-reverse Boomerang.
  • Combined with the removal of wall grappling with Hookshot, returned Boomerang no longer causes Young Link to jump much higher than before.
  • Boomerang deals less damage when thrown at point-blank range (16% (normal) 19% (smash) → 11%/13.2%).
• Spin Attack:
  • Grounded Spin Attack deals two less hits (12 → 10) during its multi-hit portion of the attack. It still deals the same amount of damage due to changes to stale move negation.
  • Grounded Spin Attack's endlag has been reduced (frame 81 → 71). Combined with lower vertical knockback on the finisher, this allows the move to combo into his aerials. It also connects more reliably.
  • Grounded Spin Attack can now be charged, as with the other incarnations of Link.
  • Grounded Spin Attack has more startup lag (frame 8 → 9).
  • Aerial Spin Attack preserves much more momentum after being used, and Young Link can drift more in the air during its animation. In addition, the move's vertical recovery has increased.
  • Aerial Spin Attack's hits connect much more reliably into each other, improving its safety.
  • Aerial Spin Attack deals slightly less damage (13% → 12%).
• Bomb:
  • Like with Link's Bombs in Super Smash Bros. 4, the explosions from Young Link's Bombs do not damage him if they hit an opponent.
  • Young Link's Bombs travel further when thrown.
  • Compared to previous incarnations of Bombs, Young Link's Bombs deal noticeably less self-damage if they detonate just after being thrown.
  • Similarly to Link in Smash 4, Young Link can "soft-toss" his Bombs, which lets him lay Bombs on the floor with a throw without having the Bomb explode. This allows Young Link to set traps on the floor to hinder his opponent, and also allows for mindgame potential. Additionally, Young Link can Z-drop Bombs without them exploding much easier than in Melee.
  • The multi-hits of Young Link's Bombs accumulate much faster than in Melee, making the damage more consistent.
  • Bomb's damage output is lower, even with all hits connecting (14% → 8%).
• Triforce Slash:
  • Young Link now has a Final Smash, that being Triforce Slash. Visually, this variant resembles Link's version from Smash 4, but it has completely unique animations for attacks, including a shield bash, kicks, and a different finisher in an outward slash.

Update History

1.2.0

• Invisible bomb glitch fixed.

Moveset

• While standing still, walking, or crouching, incoming projectiles that hit Young Link's Deku Shield will deal no damage and simply push him back. It can block any amount of projectiles regardless of power.
• Young Link can wall jump.
• Young Link possesses a tether attack and grab.

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	Two forward swings, followed by either a single launching stab, or a loop of quick slices, ending with a forward thrust.
			1.5%
			3.5%
			0.3% (loop), 2.5% (final hit)
Forward tilt			12% (body), 11% (tip)	Young Link raises the Kokiri Sword over his head and slashes forward.
Up tilt			8%	An upwards slice with the Kokiri Sword.
Down tilt			10% (body), 7% (tip)	A crouching slash.
Dash attack			11% (body), 10% (tip)	A dash swing.
Forward smash			6% (first), 12% (second)	Winds up and swings the Kokiri Sword forward. Pressing the button again allows for a second and more powerful slash.
Up smash			3% (first), 3% (second), 8% (third)	Three upward-arcing slashes.
Down smash			13% (front), 12% (back)	A slash forward, leading into a slash behind.
Neutral aerial			10% (clean), 5% (late)	A standard sex kick.
Forward aerial			6% (first), 8% (second)	Quickly slices twice in the air.
Back aerial			5% (first), 7% (second)	Performs a double backwards kick.
Up aerial			15% (clean), 12% (late)	An upwards thrust.
Down aerial			15%	Performs the Down Thrust.
Grab		Hookshot	—	Fires his Hookshot straight forward. It functions as a Tether Grab, and can be used for tether recovery.
Pummel			1%	Quickly hits the opponent with the pommel of the Kokiri Sword.
Forward throw			6%	A forward kick.
Back throw			6% (throw), 3% (collateral)	Swings his opponent to the opposite direction and kicks them away.
Up throw			6%	Tosses the opponent up into the air and performs a spinning upwards slash.
Down throw			6% (throw) 3% (collateral)	Pins the opponent to the ground and performs an elbow drop.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Slashes in front and behind himself while getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Slashes in front and behind himself while getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Slashes in front and behind himself while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Climbs up the ledge and performs a slash.
Neutral special		Fire Arrow	4% (uncharged), 12% (fully charged)	Fires a flaming arrow from his bow. It can be charged up for more power and range. The arrows send opponents at an upwards angle, making it a good tool for aerial combos. In addition to this, it has low ending lag when used grounded or in the air, making it an excellent combo and spacing tool all around.
Side special		Boomerang	11% (near), 13.2 (smash attack), 7% (far), 9% (return),	Throws his Boomerang forward. It can be aimed diagonally and deals damage when returning to Young Link.
Up special		Spin Attack	1% (uncharged hits 1-10), 3% (uncharge hit 11), 1.6% (charged hits 1-10), 4.8% (charged hit 11), 3% (aerial hit 1), 2% (aerial hits 2-4) 3% (aerial hit 5)	Spins with his sword outwards, slashing opponents nearby. Just like the Spin Attack of the other two Link incarnations, it can be charged when grounded for more damage.
Down special		Bomb	2.4% (hit 1-4)	Pulls out a Bomb. Just like in Melee, the explosion from the bomb hits multiple times.
Final Smash		Triforce Slash	60%	Traps opponents inside a large Triforce, allowing Young Link to slash at them repeatedly.

On-screen appearance

• Floats down from the sky and then equips the Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Holds the Kokiri Sword up in the air.
• Side taunt: Places the Deku Shield on his back and watches a fairy fly around.
• Down taunt: Sheaths the Kokiri Sword and places the Deku Shield on his back and takes a drink of Lon Lon Milk.

Victory poses

• Adjusts his belt and flicks his nose.
• Horizontal swipe with his sword, then holds it up, giving off a battle cry. This is identical to one of Link's poses other than the camera angle.
• Sheathes his sword, dusts his hands off, and puts them on his hips while grinning.

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

Notable players

•  T - The best Young Link player in Japan and one of the best ones in the world. Placed 3rd at Midwest Mayhem Ultimate and 25th at Umebura SP 2.
•  Tweek - The best Young Link player in the world. Placed 1st at Glitch 6.

Classic Mode: Hyrule Smash

Young Link's opponents are all from the Zelda series. Additionally, to go with the theme of the route, all items and assist trophies are from the The Legend of Zelda universe.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music
1	Zelda	Hyrule Castle	Hyrule Main Theme
2	Dark Young Link	Temple	Song of Storms
3	Sheik	Gerudo Valley (Ω form)	Gerudo Valley
4	4 Toon Links	Pirate Ship	The Great Sea / Menu Select
5	Ganondorf	Bridge of Eldin	Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
6	Link	Great Plateau Tower	Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Bonus Stage
Final	Ganon	?	Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form

Role in World of Light

Although Young Link does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Young Link was one of the many imprisoned fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. He is unlocked in the Sacred Realm sub-area on the bottom right corner of the land which makes up the Triforce of Courage. The player must rely on the owl statues which will guide the player to Saria's spirit battle. Unlocking her spirit clears out a tree stump that blocked access to his unlock battle. Once Young Link is unlocked, the Triforce of Courage appears in the center of the map. If Zelda is unlocked, the path leading to Cloud's unlock battle and the Master Sword clears out.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
22		Young Link	Grab	10,300	Temple (Ω form)	Saria's Song

Spirits

Young Link's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Young Link 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, this incarnation of Link makes an appearance in a few Primary and Support Spirits under other forms.

• 

  176. Young Link

• Deku Link.png

  207. Deku Link

• FierceDeityLinkSpirit.png

  208. Fierce Deity Link

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit			Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
178		Link (The Legend of Zelda)	•Young Link	Neutral	13,500	Find Mii	N/A	•The enemy's melee weapons have increased power •The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly •The enemy has increased attack power	Overworld Theme - The Legend of Zelda
184	File:Fairy Bottle Spirit.png	Fairy Bottle	•Young Link	Grab	3,700	Fountain of Dreams	•Sudden Damage	•All fighters take serious damage •The enemy has increased defense	Saria's Theme
194		Kaepora Gaebora	•Young Link	Grab	3,700	Distant Planet (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Screen Flip	•The screen will suddenly flip after a little while	Ocarina of Time Medley
212	File:Happymasksalesman.png	Happy Mask Salesman	•Young Link	Shield	4,300	Umbra Clock Tower	•Attack Power ↑ •Move Speed ↑ •Jump Power ↑	•Timed battle •All fighters have increased jump power •All fighters have increased move speed after a little while	Song of Storms
213		Kafei	•Bunny Young Link	Grab	4,600	Skyloft	N/A	•Timed battle •The enemy tends to avoid conflict	Termina Field (Remix)
235		Ravio	•Bunny Young Link	Shield	4,000	Skyloft	N/A	•Timed battle •The enemy favors special moves •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Hyrule Main Theme
364		Poppy Bros. Jr.	•Young Link (×2)	Grab	1,500	Yoshi's Island	•Item: Bob-omb	•The enemy's down special has increased power •The enemy favors down specials in the air	Green Greens (for 3DS / Wii U)
876	File:Cutman.png	Cut Man	•Young Link (x2)	Grab	3,700	Wily Castle (Ω form)	N/A	•The enemy's side special has increased power •Stamina battle •The enemy favors side specials	Cut Man Stage
879	File:BombMan.PNG	Bomb Man	•Young Link (×2)	Grab	3,500	Wily Castle (Ω form)	N/A	•The enemy's explosion and fire attacks have increased power •Stamina battle •The enemy favors down specials	Bomb Man Stage
1,127	File:Diskun.png	Diskun	•Young Link •Pit •Simon •Samus	Attack	9,100	Temple (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Famicom Medley
1,130	File:Donbe hikari.png	Donbe & Hikari	•Young Link •Villager •Falco •Diddy Kong •Duck Hunt	Neutral	3,500	Duck Hunt (hazards off)	N/A	•Defeat an army of fighters	Shin Onigashima Medley
1,145		Prince Richard	•Young Link	Neutral	9,900	Dream Land GB	•Temporary Invincibility •Assist Trophy Enemies (Sablé Prince)	•The enemy will occasionally be invincible after a little while •The enemy can unleash powerful critical hits at random •Hostile assist trophies will appear	Castle Lololo
1,280		Tethu	•Young Link	Attack	3,700	Gerudo Valley (hazards off)	•Flowery •Item: Deku Nut	•You constantly take minor damage •The enemy starts the battle with a Gust Bellows	Struggle Against Chaos
1,282		Musashi	•Young Link	Grab	2,400	Onett	•Item Tidal Wave •Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect after a little while •The enemy favors side specials •Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while	Gourmet Race (Brawl)

As a minion

Spirit			Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
189		Young Zelda	•Zelda •Young Link	Shield	3,700	Hyrule Castle	N/A	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Ocarina of Time Medley
192		Saria	•Isabelle •Young Link	Shield	9,900	Garden of Hope	•Hazard: Fog	•The stage is covered in fog •The enemy will charge up a powerful Final Smash	Saria's Theme
211		Tingle	•Villager (×3) () •Young Link	Grab	9,000	Great Bay	•Uncontrollable Speed •Slippery Stage	•Defeat the main fighter to win •All fighters move faster and can't stop quickly after a while •The enemy loves to taunt	Termina Field (Remix)
218	File:Dimitri Spirit.png	Dimitri	•Yoshi •Young Link	Shield	1,700	Great Bay	N/A	•The enemy favors neutral specials	Tal Tal Heights
233		Wall-Merged Link	•Mr. Game & Watch •Young Link	Neutral	3,500	Flat Zone X	N/A	•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Lorule Main Theme
236	File:Hilda.png	Hilda	•Zelda •Young Link	Shield	9,100	Temple	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Nightmare)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	Lorule Main Theme

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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  Young Link's amiibo.

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  Young Link's fighter card.

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  Young Link on Great Bay.

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  Tossing his Bomb at Wario on Castle Siege.

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  Idling with Toon Link's Fairy on Skyworld.

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  Drinking Lon Lon Milk with Inkling on Temple.

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  Performing his down aerial in his Dark Link-based costume on the Umbra Clock Tower.

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  Tossing his Boomerang on Onett.

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  Young Link drinking his Lon Lon Milk with Simon on Figure-8 Circuit.

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  Carrying his Bomb with Bomberman on Temple.

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  Idling with Mario on Tomodachi Life.

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

Trivia

• Young Link's official artwork is based off of the pose he strikes after using his grounded Spin Attack.
• Young Link and Pichu share the longest gap between playable appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series, with seventeen years between Melee and Ultimate.
• Young Link's light blue costume gives him a pair of beige trousers. Although it looks like his legs were just recoloured, the fabric and seams can be seen by zooming in on his legs during gameplay.
  • This has been noted by both of their Super Smash Bros. blog's "Today's Fighter" descriptions.
• The belt around Young Link's sheath appears to have back-face culling, as it is shown to not be visible when seen from the other side. This is mostly noticeable whenever he is shown performing his down taunt, where he is drinking Lon-Lon milk at the end of his character showcase video. This was fixed in the initial release of the game.
  • Additionally, his legs would clip through his tunic in his showcase video, which was also fixed in the initial release of the game.
• Due to Young Link's hair having more physics-based movement, in certain animations such as taking damage, it's possible to see that his sideburns get cut off rather than being connected to his cap.
• There is currently an animation error with Young Link's up tilt; during the ending lag, the sword does a full rotation in his hand.