Young Link

For fighter info, see Young Link (SSBM) and Young Link (SSBU).

Young Link
Official artwork of Young Link from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
Smash Bros. appearances	Melee Brawl Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	WarioWare Gold (2018)
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo 64
Species	Hylian
Gender	Male
Place of origin	Hyrule
Voice actor	Fujiko Takimoto
Article on Zelda Wiki	Young Link

Young Link (こどもリンク, Child Link) is one of Link's multiple incarnations in The Legend of Zelda series. Although several prepubescent Links have appeared throughout The Legend of Zelda series, the one that appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the Hero of Time, the protagonist of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Character description

The first clear appearance of a prepubescent Link is in the beginning portion of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, in which the "Hero of Time" begins his quest as a young boy. Despite this, the trophy description for Young Link in Super Smash Bros. Melee also refers to the Link featured in the series' first installment and its direct sequel, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

Initially growing up in Kokiri Forest under assumption of being a Kokiri, Link was eventually summoned by the Great Deku Tree to receive his very own fairy, Navi. During this, the Tree also reveals that Link is destined to save Hyrule by preventing a desert man clad in black armor from acquiring the Triforce, an almighty relic that can grant any wish. Despite Link killing several monsters from pillaging the Great Deku Tree, the Tree nevertheless dies from the curse placed upon him by the man in black armor before telling Link to venture to Hyrule Castle. However, the Tree's newborn sprout reveals that Link is in fact a Hylian that was left in the Tree's care by his dying mother in order to survive the Hyrulean Civil War that was going on at the time.

Upon arriving at Hyrule Castle, a chance meeting with Princess Zelda results in her telling him of her prophetic dreams of Ganondorf, who is revealed as the aforementioned man clad in black armor, and a young boy clad in green who would emerge from a forest while accompanied by a fairy. Due to fitting this description, Link allies with Zelda and proceeds to collect the Spiritual Stones in order to assist her in preventing Ganondorf from accessing the Sacred Realm and acquiring the Triforce that lies within it.

Although Link is successful in acquiring all three stones, he is too late to reunite with Zelda, who escapes on horseback alongside Impa, her attendant. However, Zelda nevertheless manages to throw the Ocarina of Time into Hyrule Castle's moat, allowing Link to claim it and proceed with their plan of stopping Ganondorf. She then telepathically directs him to play the Song of Time in front of the Temple of Time's altar, which would open the Door of Time and allow Link to access the Master Sword that lies beyond it and use the sword to stop Ganondorf.

Upon drawing the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time, Link is accepted by the sword as its master. However, it nevertheless seals him away within the Sacred Realm, owing to him being too young to truly challenge Ganondorf as the Hero of Time. To further compound this, Ganondorf anticipated his and Zelda's plot, and managed to acquire the Triforce for himself upon Link's sealing within the Sacred Realm.

Seven years later, a 16-year-old Link is awakened within the Chamber of Sages by Rauru, one of the six Sages. Upon explaining what happened to Link and the Triforce after he drew the Master Sword, Rauru grants him a Medallion after instructing him to awaken the remaining Sages and collect their respective Medallions in order to gain their assistance in defeating Ganondorf. By using the Master Sword and Pedestal of Time's collective power to travel back and forth to his childhood and adult ages, Link proceeds to awaken the Sages, gain their support and acquire the Triforce of Courage to finally defeat Ganondorf and save Hyrule.

Immediately after stopping Ganondorf, Zelda sends Link back in time in order for him to relive his essentially lost childhood. A few months later, Link leaves Hyrule to search for Navi, who inexplicably left him after he placed the Master Sword back into the Pedestal of Time after stopping Ganondorf. During his search, he is ambushed by a Skull Kid wearing a mysterious mask. Upon giving chase after having Epona, his faithful steed, stolen by the Skull Kid, Link winds up in the mysterious parallel world known as Termina.

Soon after Link becomes an unintentional ally of Tatl, one of the Skull Kid's fairy friends, he meets the mysterious Happy Mask Salesman. The Salesman reveals the Skull Kid's mask to be Majora's Mask, an ancient artifact that possesses a tremendous amount of magical power. Link and Tatl soon encounter Skull Kid and Tael, Tatl's brother and the Skull Kid's other fairy friend. Tael reveals a clue on how to stop the Skull Kid, which leads Link on a quest to stop him from using the vast power of Majora's Mask to launch the Moon into Termina.

As Link's quest progresses, the clue turns out to be a reference to the Four Giants, Termina's guardian deities. Due to lashing out against Termina and its people long ago because of the Giants' decision to protect the land while laying dormant, the Skull Kid was expelled from Termina by the Giants. Ultimately, Link frees the Four Giants from being confined by the magic used by Skull Kid. With the Giants' help in halting the Moon's descent, Link then proceeds to destroy Majora's Mask after it abandons Skull Kid, who had used him as a puppet the entire time. Upon saving Termina, Link bids the Skull Kid, Tatl and Tael farewell before returning to Hyrule to resume his search for Navi.

Although Link is ultimately revered as the Hero of Time in a parallel timeline created upon Zelda sending him back in time, he becomes full of regret over his almost total lack of recognition as a hero within his own timeline. When coupled with his failure to teach his skills to any successors during his lifetime, Link's regret became so significant that it prevented him from passing on to the afterlife upon his death, and subsequently resulted in him lingering on as a sword-wielding, armor-clad spirit.

A number of centuries later, Link would finally ease his regrets and thus rest in peace after teaching his skills to his bloodline descendant, the Link of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Thanks to these skills assisting his own destined growth into the "Hero of Twilight", this Link succeeds the Hero of Time as the savior of Hyrule by stopping the Twilight-based invasion led by Zant and his ancestor's nemesis, Ganondorf.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Young Link's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Young Link appears as an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He is a clone of his older self, and differs in a number of ways: he is unsurprisingly smaller, weaker and lighter, yet boasts better mobility thanks to his much faster dashing speed, ability to wall jump, and longer wavedash. In addition, Young Link's combo game is superior to his older self's, courtesy of his lower damage output. Thanks to his strengths, Young Link is ranked 16th on the tier list, placing him in the E tier. In addition to rendering him as a mid-tier character, this places him two spots above his older self.

Trophies

There are three Young Link trophies available in Melee.
Young Link
Link's younger incarnation is often considered to be the true Link: he was a young boy in the very first Legend of Zelda game, and he has appeared as a youth in most of the subsequent games. Since his debut on the original NES in 1987, Link's appearance has changed over and over again, each time adding to the mystique of his incomparable story.

• The Legend of Zelda, 07/87 (NES)

• 

  Young Link [Classic Mode] trophy

• 

  Young Link [Smash, Adventure Mode] trophy

• 

  Young Link [Smash, All-Star Mode] trophy

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Young Link was one of the five playable characters in Melee who did not return in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. However, it appears that he was replaced by Toon Link, owing to both have an very similar character design (a younger, smaller, weaker, and faster version of Link), and Toon Link retaining most of the moveset differences Young Link had from Link, such as a forward smash where the first hit deals set knockback; a grounded Spin Attack that hits multiple times; and a down aerial that can meteor smash.

Instead, Young Link appears in the form of a sticker from Majora's Mask.

Name	Game	Effect	Characters
Link with Goron Mask	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	AttackSlash+017 Attack +17	Link Zelda Toon Link Ganondorf

Link with Goron Mask (Zelda: MM)

In Super Smash Bros. 4

While Young Link does not make an appearance whatsoever in Super Smash Bros. 4, he is referenced in the trophy "Adult Link (Ocarina of Time)". Young Link is also indirectly referenced via Link's eighth alternate costume, which is almost identical to Young Link's Fierce Deity transformation. Lastly, Toon Link has a custom move based on Young Link's neutral special move, Fire Bow.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Young Link in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Young Link has been confirmed to return as an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. This marks his first appearance of any kind in the series in 10 years, and his first playable appearance in 17 years, with the latter distinction being shared with fellow Melee newcomer Pichu. Unlike in Melee, Young Link will be a semi-clone of a new Link that will be making his series debut in Ultimate.

Trivia

• Young Link and Dr. Mario are the only clones who are the exact same character as the character they are cloned from. However, in Young Link's case, this only applies to his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
• Young Link is the only version of Link in the Super Smash Bros. series who does not wield the Master Sword.
• Young Link and Sheik are the only fighters whose console of origin is explicitly the Nintendo 64.
• Young Link and Solid Snake are the only cut characters unavailable as a trophy in either version of Super Smash Bros. 4.