Toon Link (SSBU)

Toon Link; in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
	;
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearances	in Brawl; in SSB4; ;
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Triforce Slash

This article is about Toon Link's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the character in other contexts, see Toon Link.

“	He's smaller and faster than Link. His bombs explode with a unique anime-style. For his Final Smash, he emits light from his left hand and any opponents hit by it are trapped in the Triforce, subject to a punishing gauntlet of attacks.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Toon Link (トゥーンリンク, Toon Link) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially confirmed as playable on June 12th, 2018. Toon Link is classified as fighter #43.

As in Brawl and Smash 4, Sachi Matsumoto's portrayal of Toon Link from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was repurposed for Ultimate.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

Play VS. matches, with Toon Link being the 44th character to be unlocked.
Clear Classic Mode with Link or any character in his unlock tree, being the eighth character unlocked after Richter.
Have Toon Link join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Toon Link must then be defeated on Pirate Ship.

Differences from Young Link

Because both Toon Link and Young Link are lighter and faster clones of the original Link, Toon Link is considered a counterpart to Young Link. However, Toon Link has a fair share of unique attacks and animations that set him apart from both Links.

Aesthetics

While Young Link is based on Link's appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Toon Link is based on Link's appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. As such, Toon Link's entire skeleton is a different shape.
Toon Link wields the Master Sword and Hero's Shield, whereas Young Link wields the Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield.
Toon Link's on-screen appearance, taunts, idle animation and victory poses are all different from Young Link's.
Toon Link has many different animations such as his jumping and spotdodge animations.

Attributes

Toon Link is slightly shorter than Young Link, which makes him harder to hit, but also gives him less reach while attacking.
Toon Link walks slightly faster than Young Link (1.26 → 1.288).
Toon Link dashes faster than Young Link (1.749 → 1.906).
Both of Toon Link jumps are higher than Young Link's (33.66 → 33.8)
Toon Link is heavier than Young Link (88 → 91); this lets him survive slightly longer before being KO'd, but increases his susceptibility to combos.
Toon Link falls much more slowly than Young Link (1.8 → 1.38), being tied for 55th fastest fall speed compared to Young Link being tied for 10th highest fall speed. While this hinders his vertical endurance, it also makes him less vulnerable to combos.
Toon Link's gravity is lower (0.096 → 0.081).
Toon Link's air speed is faster (0.966 → 1.05).
Toon Link's air acceleration is faster (0.06 → 0.09).
Toon Link's traction is lower than Young Link's (0.105 → 0.086).
Toon Link's Hero's Shield covers more of his body than Young Link's Deku Shield, increasing its overall reliability.

Ground attacks

Neutral attack:

Toon Link does not a have multi-hit neutral attack like Young Link.
The first hit of Toon Link's neutral attack is faster (frames 6-7 → 5-6).
Toon Link's jab does more damage than Young Link's basic jab (2.0%, 1.5%, 3.5% → 2.0%, 2.0%, 4.0%).

Forward tilt:

Toon Link's forward tilt can hit opponents behind him.
Toon Link's forward tilt has less startup lag and a longer duration (frames 10-12 → 9-13).
Toon Link's forward tilt deals less damage (12%/11% → 9%).

Up tilt:

Toon Link's up tilt has less start-up lag (frame 9 → 8) and ending lag (frame 32 → 26).
Toon Link's up tilt has fewer active frames (frames 9-14 → 8-12) and deals less damage (8% → 5%).

Down tilt:

Toon Link's down tilt knocks opponents horizontally, as opposed to the vertical knockback from Young Link's down tilt. This reduces the amount of followups from the move, but opens the ability to tech chase and edgeguard with the move.
Toon Link's down tilt deals less damage (7%/9%/10% → 7%).
Toon Link's down tilt has less end lag (frame 26 → 23), can trip and lock opponents, and has a bonus chance of tripping opponents (50%).

Dash attack:

Toon Link's dash attack has less start-up lag (frame 8 → 7) and end lag (frame 35 → 31). It also travels much further forward, making it a better burst option.
Toon Link's dash attack deals less knockback and damage (11%/10% → 8%), hindering its KO potential.

Forward smash:

Toon Link's forward smash is a single upward slash as opposed to Young Link's two-part slash.
Toon Link's forward smash deals less damage than the two hits of Young Link's forward smash (6% + 12%/10% → 14%) and is slightly slower (frames 15-16 → 16-17). The lack of a second inputted swing also removes its mixup potential, severely hindering the moves utility.
Toon Link's forward smash deals more knockback, increasing its ability to KO.

Up smash:

Toon Link's up smash is a single upward slash rather than three slashes.
Toon Link's up smash has much less endlag (frame 70 → 43) and is capable of KO'ing opponents earlier than Young Link's.
Toon Link's up smash is slightly slower than Young Link's up smash (frame 10 → 11) and deals less damage than the three hits combined (14% total → 13%/10%).

Down smash:

Toon Link's down smash is essentially the inverse of Young Link's down smash; while Young Link's down smash has a stronger first hit, Toon Link's down smash has a stronger second hit.
The second hit of Toon Link's down smash has less startup lag (frame 21 → 17), and the move has less ending lag overall (frame 50 → 47). Toon Link's down smash also lacks the sourspots that Young Link's possesses, making the move more consistent.

Aerial attacks

Neutral aerial:

Toon Link has a different neutral aerial, which consists of two quick sword swipes on either side of him.
Toon Link's neutral aerial has disjointed hitboxes, making it safer to use. It is also capable of dealing more damage if both hits connect (10% → 8.5% + 7%).
Toon Link's neutral aerial has more startup lag and a shorter duration (frames 4-27 → 6-7 (front), 13-14 (back)), along with a greater amount of ending lag (frame 36 → 42). It also has less KO potential than Young Link's neutral aerial.

Forward aerial:

Toon Link's forward aerial consists of only one hit instead of two.
Toon Link's forward aerial has more KO power than Young Link's. The damage is also more consistent due to it only hitting once.
Toon Link's forward aerial has the ability to autocancel out of a short hop, unlike Young Link. It also has less ending lag (47 → 39), allowing Toon Link to double jump or input another attack before landing.
Forward aerial has more landing lag (frame 6 → 11) and deals less damage overall (6% + 8% → 13%). It also lacks the ability to drag down opponents into a follow-up like Young Link, giving it less versatility.

Back aerial:

Toon Link has a different back aerial where he swings his sword behind him in an upward arc. It only hits once, and has a more vertical knockback angle.
Toon Link's back aerial has a disjointed hitbox, making it safer to use. It also deals more consistent damage due to its single-hit nature.
Back aerial has more landing lag (6 → 8) and ending lag (30 → 36), is slightly slower in start-up (frame 6 → 7), and its maximum damage output is lower (12% → 8%).
Toon Link's back aerial lacks much of the combo potential that the first hit of Young Link's back aerial possesses due to it not having set knockback. The lack of a second hitbox also makes the move easier to punish.

Up aerial:

Toon Link's up aerial is a much stronger KO move than Young Link's. It also has a much bigger hitbox.
Due to the way Toon Link positions his body, he has a much easier time hitting grounded opponents with an up aerial than Young Link.
Toon Link's up aerial has more startup lag and a shorter duration (frames 5-49 → 11-40). The clean hit also deals less damage (15% → 14%) as well as the late hit (12% → 11%).

Down aerial:

Due to the stall-then-fall nature of the attack, Toon Link's down aerial is significantly more risky off stage, but allows him to reach the ground or his opponents much faster. Additionally, it lacks the ability to bounce off of opponents and shields like the other two Links.
Toon Link's down aerial has more start-up lag (frame 13 → 17) and landing lag (frame 17 → 23), making it a riskier move to use.
Unlike Young Link's down aerial, Toon Link's down aerial has the ability to meteor smash opponents. This allows him to net early kills and follow up on grounded opponents hit by a down aerial. Toon Link can also situationally lock opponents with this ability.
Toon Link's down aerial possesses windboxes, which can push away opponents on landing.

Grab aerial:

Toon Link's grab aerial produces a different sound when successfully hitting an opponent.

Throws/other attacks

Due to the hook of Toon Link's hookshot being smaller, Toon Link's grab has slightly less range than Young Link's.
All of Toon Link's throws deal more damage (6% → 7%).
Toon Link's forward and back throws have different animations.
The collateral hitbox on Toon Link's up throw is much stronger than Young Link's.
Toon Link's back throw is a much more potent KO move than Young Link's back throw.
Toon Link's down throw lacks the combo potential that Young Link's down throw possesses.

Special moves

Hero's Bow:

An arrow fired from the Hero's Bow lasts much longer than Young Link's Fire Arrow. When combined with the slow travel time of the arrows, this allows Toon Link to keep the projectile in play longer than Young Link can to limit an opponent's options.
Toon Link's Hero's Bow fires and charges more slowly, has more ending lag, takes longer to travel, and deals less knockback than Young Link's Fire Arrows. It also lacks the combo potential that the Fire Arrows possess.
The lower knockback on Toon Link's arrows allow them to lock opponents, increasing their setup potential.
The arrows fired from Hero's Bow send at a different angle than Fire Arrows. They also lack a flame effect.

Boomerang:

The strong hit of Toon Link's Boomerang lasts much longer than Young Link's Boomerang.
The returning hit of Toon Link's Boomerang has set knockback, granting it more combo potential than Young Link's version. The returning hit also has more knockback compared to Young Link's nominal knockback, and also deals more damage (2% → 3%).
Toon Link's Boomerang does much less damage at close range (13.2%/11% → 9.6%/8%) and at a distance (8.4%/7% → 6%/5%) than Young Link's Boomerang. The knockback angle of Toon Link's close-range Boomerang also makes it slightly worse for combos.
Toon Link's Boomerang travels slightly farther and returns more slowly than Young Link's Boomerang.

Spin Attack:

Grounded Spin Attack has significantly more KO potential. It also has a faster start-up (frame 9 → 6).
Toon Link's grounded Spin Attack has more ending lag (frame 71 → 78) than Young Link's version, making it a more risky move. Additionally, it lacks the combo potential and KO setups that Young Link's Spin Attack possesses.
Toon Link's grounded Spin Attack sends at a more horizontal angle.
Toon Link's grounded Spin Attack has slightly more horizontal range.
When all frontal hits connect, Toon Link's aerial Spin Attack deals more damage (12% → 14%) than Young Link's.
Toon Link's aerial Spin Attack has less aerial drift and recovery height than Young Link's Spin Attack, making it a worse recovery option overall.
The sword trails of Young Link and Toon Link's Spin Attacks have different visuals.

Bomb:

Toon Link's Bomb pull animation has less endlag than Young Link (frame 40 → 37).
Toon Link's Bombs have a much bigger blast radius than Bombs from Young Link, making them easier to hit. Their damage is also more consistent due to being a single hit.
Toon Link's Bombs deal much less damage (minumum damage: 9.8 → 4.2) than Young Link's. They are also much harder to lay on the ground without having them explode, limiting their ability to trap opponents.
Toon Link's Bombs have a much longer fuse time than Young Link's Bombs (219 frames → 299 frames.)
The explosion from Toon Link's Bombs produce cartoon-like smoke and explosion graphics, as opposed to the more realistic look of Young Link's Bomb explosions. Toon Link's Bombs are also based on their appearance in The Wind Waker, as opposed to Ocarina of Time.

Triforce Slash:

Triforce Slash deals less damage.
Triforce Slash is much brighter and opaque compared to Young Link’s.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Toon Link has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Smash 4 to Ultimate. As with other characters, his mobility has been improved thanks to faster walking and dashing speeds. The buffs given to many of his grounded options, such as Jab, Dash attack, Forward tilt, Down tilt, Down smash and Grounded Spin Attack, has vastly improved his grounded game from Smash 4, especially due to the addition of using tilts out of a run. Toon Link's aerial game has also improved, with the reduced landing lag on his aerials making it easier for him to combo and land; his up aerial is notably much safer to use, and his back aerial has regained some of its old combo potential. Toon Link's Down smash sees better usage with the changes to its hitboxes, making the move far more consistent and practical for offensive usage. Finally, Toon Link's Spin Attack has been improved, with the grounded version now being one of the best Out of Shield options in the game due to it being much faster and gaining kill potential, while the aerial version's power and safety has improved.

However, Toon Link also received some significant nerfs. One of his biggest nerfs was to his Forward smash, which is slower, has lower damage potential, possesses no mixup or spacing potential with a second hit, and has a debatably worse hitbox that fails to strike short opponents or ones hanging to the ledge. His other major nerf was to his Bombs, which no longer beat weak projectiles; instead bouncing off of them. This massively worsens their potential in trade and projectile situations. His up smash has fewer active frames (although it has better consistency), his back aerial is no longer a KOing move (although it has some form of combo potential), and his up tilt has inferior combo potential due to the changes to its knockback.

These changes have significantly changed the way Toon Link must be played in competitive play, shifting from primarily a zoner and counter-zoner style, to a more movement and pressure based playstyle that utilizes his sword attacks more. It is unknown how this new playstyle will succeed in the long run, however, many dedicated Toon Link professionals such as Sigma Hyuga, Ri-ma, Tsuna and Xcal have seen very strong results in-region with the character thus far.