Link (SSB4)

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Link in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Triforce Slash

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

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

Changes from Brawl

While Link has been considered one of the slower and weaker characters in the history of Smash Bros., the jump between Brawl to Smash 4 has given him immeasurable buffs, and while he has some nerfs, his buffs overall counter said nerfs. While some of his attacks have been weakened slightly, it's made up for by both speed and knockback increases within them. Both his ground and aerial game have been improved, and his combo ability strengthened as a whole. His grab game has also been considerably buffed, with some grabs having better angle placements or knockback altogether.

• Link's dash attack is now the Jump Attack from Ocarina of Time. It is capable of hitting both horizontally and vertically depending on placement of the hitbox, and is much stronger than his old dash attack.
  • However, it also has considerably more start-up lag than his previous dash attack.
• Link's grab has less startup and far less ending lag.
  • It regains its Super Smash Bros. trajectory, in which it shoots straight without falling to the ground.
• Clawshot's tether covers far more distance as with other tethers, heavily improving Link's recovery.
• His grab aerial comes out much faster.
  • However, it deals far less damage (from 10% to 6%).
• Neutral aerial deals 1% more damage during startup.
  • It now has a sourspot behind Link which deals 9% damage.
• Down aerial has an added meteor smash during the start of the attack, similar to Toon Link's in Brawl. Link's down aerial also experiences significantly less landing lag after impacting the ground.
  • He also has far less ending lag while in the air, providing him now with a safer attack when bouncing off opponents, and allowing him to recover if falling off the stage.
  • However, the non-meteor hits of down aerial are significantly weaker than Brawl.
• Up smash's final hit deals 1% more damage and deals much more knockback.
• Down smash is now a powerful semi spike during the second hit.
• Forward smash is stronger.
  • Both hits deal less damage (from 15%/20% to 14%/13%).
• Forward tilt has less ending lag.
• Gale Boomerang has increased knockback.
• Hero's Bow charges faster.
• Link's Bombs no longer self-harm him if thrown point-blank at an opponent.
  • He can also now hit them in the air once again, and due to their shorter fuse, makes his recovery much better.
  • With a new mechanic, he can cancel out any short hop attacks, such as the Hero's Bow, with the bomb, giving him better zoning options.
  • However, they can only deal 5% when thrown directly at an opponent.
• Link's recovery is much better, needing much less momentum than before, reaching much higher and farther than it did in Brawl.
• Link appears to have greater speed in both the air and on the ground, alongside overall less lag in his attacks.
• Link jumps much higher than he did previously.
• Triforce Slash's damage has been lowered from 83% to 69%.
• Back aerial's damage has been lowered from 11% to 8%.
  • Though it comes out much faster than before.
• Forward aerial's damage has been lowered from 9%/12% to 8%/10%.
  • However, it is much faster, has even less landing and ending lag than in Brawl.
• Spin Attack has a slightly altered animation in which Link spins his sword at subtly different heights. However, it has no obvious change in power or range compared to Brawl.
• Up aerial has changed from its Zelda II: The Adventures of Link animation to a very wide scissor kick.
  • However, it appears to have a smaller hitbox.
• Link has a new edge attack based on the Crouch Stab from Ocarina of Time.
• Link's roll animations are now based on Link's abilities from Ocarina of Time.

The design of Link's clothing, weaponry, and hair are once again based on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Moveset

	Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		2%, 3%, 5%	A diagonal sword slash followed by a horizontal slash, with a lunging stab finisher. Loosely based on Link's final blow to Ganon in Ocarina of Time. Is a natural combo with fast startup and little knockback.
Forward tilt		13%	An overhand sword swing with slow startup but high knockback.
Up tilt		9%	A half-moon slice above Link's head. Good for low percent juggles.
Down tilt		12%	A low sword swipe across the ground with vertical knockback. Meteor smashes opponents in contact with Link's body.
Dash attack		14% (sweetspot) 13% (sourspot)	Link performs a leaping downward slash (his "Jump Attack" from Ocarina of Time). Deals horizontal knockback when tipped and vertical knockback when hit close.
Forward smash		14% (first hit sweetspot), 7% (first hit sourspot); 13% (second hit)	Link lunges forward with a wide sword swing in front of him, dealing good damage and knockback when tipped. The base of his sword has extremely little knockback to naturally combo into an optional second hit: a sword swing with greater KO power (it is performed by pressing the attack button again right after the initial swing).
Up smash		4%, 3%, 11%	Three half-moon sword swings above Link's head.
Down smash		14% (first hit, sword), 16% (first hit, arm), 17% (first hit, body); 12% (second hit, sword), 10% (second hit, arm)	A low slash in front and then behind Link. First hit sends opponents at a vertical trajectory while having slightly increased damage and knockback the closer you are to Link. Second hit is a powerful semi-spike with slightly increased damage and knockback on his blade.
Neutral aerial		11% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot), 6% (late hitbox)	Link thrusts his leg out in front of him for an extended time. Is a sex kick with relatively fast startup and little landing lag. Deals more damage closer to his boot.
Forward aerial		8%, 10%	Swings his sword twice while spinning 360˚. While the second hit has more knockback, it's inconvenient to use as you'd have to intentionally avoid opponents with the first hit.
Back aerial		3%, 5%	A two kick combo behind Link with very little landing lag.
Up aerial		15% (normal), 13% (late hitbox)	Link thrusts his sword up for a long duration. Moderate landing lag unless used alongside a full hop.
Down aerial		15% (sourspot), 19% (sweetspot), 8% (second hit)	Aims his sword directly below him for a long duration, based on his "Downthrust" from Zelda II: The Adventures of Link. It's possible for Link to "bounce" on opponents into a second hit. The move is a powerful meteor smash during startup.
Grab aerial	Clawshot	2%, 4%	Fires his Clawshot forward in the air with great range and no landing lag. Link can cancel his air dodge at any point via his tether, however it will not cancel the landing lag suffered from the dodge. Clawshot also serves as a tether recovery that auto-snaps the ledge, covering great horizontal distance.
Grab	Clawshot	—	Link fires his Clawshot forwards. This tether snaps straight back once fully extended, like the Hookshot from Super Smash Bros.
Pummel		2%	Hits opponent with the hilt of the Master Sword. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw		3%, 4%	Link releases the opponent from his pummel and kicks them away.
Back throw		3%, 4%	Link takes his opponent behind him and kicks them away.
Up throw		8%	Link raises the opponent above him and slashes upward.
Down throw		3%, 4%	Link takes the opponent onto the ground and elbow drops them.
Floor attack (front)		?%	Does two slashes front and back.
Floor attack (back)		?%	Does two slashes front and back.
Floor attack (trip)		?%	Does two slashes front and back.
Edge attack (fast)		?%	Pulls himself up into a front flip and slices downward.
Edge attack (slow)		?%	Slowly climbs up and stabs in front of him.
Neutral special	Hero's Bow	4-12%	Link equips his bow, with the arrows serving as projectiles. Charging increases the speed, distance and damage dealt by an arrow.
Neutral special custom 1	Power Bow	4-20%	Unlike the regular Hero's Bow, this allows Link to cover more knockback at the expense of range and speed of the arrow. When fully charged, they deal very heavy knockback.
Neutral special custom 2	Quickfire Bow	4-8%	Unlike regular Arrows, these arrows go straight, deal set knockback, and can go through enemies and projectiles. They do, however, go a very short range. They have no Stale Move negation.
Side special	Gale Boomerang	7% (close), 5% (far)	A projectile which damages opponents as it flies away and drags opponents towards Link during its return. Can be angled up or down. A "smash throw" (similar to performing a smash attack) increases the distance the boomerang can travel.
Side special custom 1	Boomerang	7% (forwards), 3% (backwards)	Travels on the same route as the Gale Boomerang, however, unlike the Gale Boomerang, this one retains its properties from both Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, where there's no whirlwind effects whatsoever. It does have less knockback, but more angle. It deals 7% damage when it goes away from Link, no matter how far he is, but 3% damage coming back.
Side special custom 2	Ripping Boomerang	4% (startup), 2% (first 2 hits), 1% (per extra hit)	Travels across a much shorter range than the Gale Boomerang, but also deals multiple hits of low damage and adds stun to the opponents.
Up special	Spin Attack	4%, 2%, 2%, 2%, 4% (air); 12-20% (ground)	This move functions differently when grounded and airborne; an aerial Spin Attack is used as recovery which grants Link great vertical distance. Hits 5 times in the air. A grounded Spin Attack is akin to most Zelda games, and functions similarly to a smash attack with great knockback.
Up special custom 1	Shocking Spin	4%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 6% (air); 12-23% (ground)	A much more powerful version of the Spin Attack, where Link is able to deal much more knockback with an electric effect. The downside however, is the fact that Link's recovery is much shorter. The aerial version can semi-spike.
Up special custom 2	Whirling Leap	0%	A special type of Spin Attack that can only be used as a recovery move. It produces no hits and thus, no damage whatsoever, but actually travels much higher and much further than the normal recovery, even to the point of not relying on momentum and performing multiple left and right movements.
Down special	Bomb	5%	An item based projectile Link pulls out, with its design from Twilight Princess. An explosion deals damage when in direct contact with an opponent, though it's possible to get additional damage from an indirect hit from a blast. Link can hurt himself with this move, which can grant him an extra Spin Attack if used skillfully.
Down special custom 1	Giant Bomb	8-10%	A bomb that's grown to massive size, increasing its hitbox and properties, though it remains practically the same. However, they cannot blow up when thrown at the opponent, and need time or another explosion to blow up. They deal damage based on range.
Down special custom 2	Meteor Bomb	5%	Weaker versions of the bombs at lower percents with a noticeably short fuse. However, they have the unique property of causing a meteor to happen, which can damage Link as well. It's not good for recoveries whatsoever, though it provides a new tool for Link's arsenal.
Final Smash	Triforce Slash	?%	Link's final smash from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Link locks onto an opponent and proceeds to slash them repeatedly with his Master Sword. A luminous image of the Triforce appears around the opponent as Link slashes them. The final strike launches the opponent.

Taunts

• Performs two swipes with his sword, twirls it, and then sheathes it. He will then quickly unsheathe it. It is based on Link's victory pose from Twilight Princess.
• Link pulls in his right knee and draws his sword back behind his head in a threatening battle pose. It originates from Super Smash Bros..
• Link takes out his guide from Ocarina of Time, Navi, who proceeds to fly around as Link watches her.

On-Screen Appearance

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

Victory Fanfare

A flourished remix directly from Brawl. It is a remix of the tune that will play when Link obtained a Triforce Piece in The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is shared with Zelda, Sheik, Ganondorf, and Toon Link.

Alternate costumes

Trophies

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophy descriptions

Link's regular trophy can be obtained by completing Classic Mode and his alternative trophy can be obtained by completing All-Star mode.

Link

Green clothes? Pointy hat? Yep, it's Link, all right! In this game, his sword and shield make for effective attacking and blocking, and his bow, bombs, and boomerang will spice up any battle. He's even brought his Clawshot for grabbing enemies and edges. Jeez, just how much stuff can Link carry?

Link (Alt.)

If Link was on a desert island and could only pick one item, it'd be his powerful sword. This weapon is key to his down-air attack, a move with great launching potential and the ability to strike twice. He can also strike twice with his side smash—the second blow deals more damage and launches harder.

• LinkTrophy3DS1.png

  Classic

• LinkTrophy3DS2.png

  Alt.

Gallery

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

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  Link's appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Link's appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Link's up special in the Wii U version.

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  Link and Pit preparing their arrows.

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  Link's forward tilt with Kirby watching.

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  Link's Spin Attack colliding with Toon Link's against Donkey Kong.

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  Toon Link throws a Bomb at Link.

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  Toon Link and Link use their Spin Attack on the ground.

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  Link's down aerial now used as a meteor smash on Samus.

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

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  Link using his Clawshot.

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  His side taunt.

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  Link and Peach on Battlefield.

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  His appearance in the 3DS version, posing with Toon Link.

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  Link stealing a ledge from Mario.

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  Link's and Pit's arrows colliding in the air.

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  Forward aerial.

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  Link using the Gale Boomerang.

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  Link and Samus simultaneously grabbing a ledge with their tether recoveries.

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

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  Dark Link costume.

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  Link as he appears on the 3DS cover.