Super Smash Bros. 4

Zelda (SSB4)

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This article is about Zelda's appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4. For the character in other contexts, see Princess Zelda.
Zelda
in Super Smash Bros. 4
Princess Zelda
ZeldaSymbol.svg
Universe The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearances in Melee
in Brawl

Availability Starter
Final Smash Light Arrow
Zelda (SSB4)

Zelda (ゼルダ, Zelda) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. She was announced on December 26th, 2013, the date on which The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds was released in Japan.

Her voice actress is Jun Mizusawa, who voiced her in Melee, Brawl, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Her sound clips were reused from Brawl.

Attributes

An icon for denoting incomplete things.

Zelda defies most other character archetypes resulting in an unique playstyle. Her approaching game is not the best while her out of shield and punish game is quite strong. She is generally played defensive but playing her aggressive without committing too much can offer large benefit. She has an average amount of combo starters such as falling nair (into grab or up tilt), up tilt (into more up tilts and aerials), down tilt (into tilts, grab or aerials) and down throw (into nair and up air, depending on rage and percentage). Her Down Air on grounded Opponents and her jab can both start combos or tech chases, depending on the opponent's percents and teching skills, Nayru's Love can also start tech chases. Zelda has some powerful KOing options: her up smash, forward smash and all of her aerials except of her neutral aerial KO pretty early. In term of projectiles, she has a decent one in Phantom Slash. A chargeable attack, Phantom Slash sports both offensive and defensive capabilities and can even be used for edge-guarding against high recovering opponents, as it can KO them surprisinly early if fully charged. However, its ending lag, its poor reach at the lowest charges and its susceptibility to being reflected may hinder its use if it is not used wisely. As already mentioned, Zelda has many ways to punish mistakes out of shield: she can use her fast and strong Lightning Kicks, her neutral aerial and Nayru's Love. But her best out of shield option and unarguably her greatest strength is Farore's Wind. In addition to being long-ranged and virtually unpredictable for the opponent to counter if used wisely, Farore's Wind is now one of Zelda's most viable KOing options due to being heavily buffed. Its powerful disappearing hitbox sends opponents straight up, and if Zelda follows them straight up with its reappearing hitbox, it can KO characters as low as 65%.

Like Mewtwo, Zelda has the inconvenient combination of being light, tall, floaty, and rather slow, making her easy to KO. Her main way of dealing with projectiles, Nayru's Love, is rather laggy. Phantom Slash, her other defense against long-ranged pressure, is rather situational and, along with Din's Fire, do not help her camp very well. She has very laggy attacks with a few poorly placed hitboxes, making it a little difficult for her to KO despite her power.

Zelda has arguably some of the worst custom moves in the game as they fail to fix her significant problems. Nayru's Rejection reverses opponents, but has slighty increased starting lag and is overall weaker the Nayru's Love, with the saving grace being it's increased intangiblity. Farore's Windfall meteors opponents, but only travels straight up while still halting her momentum, gains no benefit from a double jump, and doesn't start KOing opponents regularly until the 400's or higher whereas Farore's Wind can KO as low as 65%, removing one of her best KO moves. Her other custom moves, at best, only have situational uses like Phantom Breaker.

While she has received a significant number of helpful buffs in game updates, some players still think that Zelda's flaws overpower her strengths. Notably, ESAM believe that Zelda is the worst character in the game. However, some other players such as Nairo (who initially picked up Zelda during the 3DS days of Smash 4 and still plays her on his stream and at occasional local tournaments) see her at least as a solid mid-tier character. Overall, because of her lack of tournament representation, it is difficult to say is Zelda is an effective character or not, but she definitely needs more results to be considered viable.

Changes from Brawl

Zelda has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. Her KOing ability was toned down, with her Lightning Kicks and up air being weaker and her up tilt having significantly reduced knockback. Her up and down smashes are also weaker and have less range, and she lost her ability to Transform into Sheik. Din's Fire is also much less maneuverable and harder to hit with. Despite these changes, Zelda still has usable offenses. Farore's Wind, while risky, is now a very viable KOing option. At middle percents, the grounded first hit can combo into the second hit (known as the "Elevator" or "Sky Elevator"). Zelda also received an effective albeit short-ranged projectile in Phantom Slash that can block opponents' attacks and is useful for edge-guarding. Her quicker up tilt slightly improves her combo game, her down throw is more useful for aerial follow-ups, and both her ground speed and air speed have been slightly improved. Her down tilt also retains its function as a quick move with decent range that can chain into itself at low percents and lead into other moves.

Aesthetics

  • Change Zelda once again appears as her Twilight Princess incarnation, but her overall color scheme is now noticeably brighter to appear in line with the more vibrant aesthetics used within SSB4. Her face is also more expressive.
  • Change Most of Zelda's magically augmented moves no longer have an electrical effect. They also have updated graphics and sound effects.
  • Change Zelda's down throw has additional fire graphics, and the re-appearance hit of Farore's Wind now has a slash effect instead of fire graphics.
  • Change Zelda has new air dodge and sidestep animations
  • Change Zelda's Lightning Kicks and her up taunt have new animations.

Attributes

  • Change Zelda can no longer Transform into Sheik, with the latter becoming her own separate character.
  • Buff Zelda dashes faster (1.224 → 1.3).
  • Buff Zelda walks faster (0.8 → 0.87).
  • Buff Zelda's air speed is faster (0.987 → 1.04).
  • Buff Zelda falls faster (1.13 → 1.35).

Ground attacks

  • Buff Jab now connects reliably and deals more damage.
  • Buff Dash attack's sweetspot has more base knockback (70/70 → 85/70 (body), 50/70 → 80/50).
  • Change Forward tilt no longer sends opponents backwards, making it more of a KOing option when sweetspotted, but can no longer be followed up by her back Lightning Kick.
  • Nerf Forward tilt has slightly less range and deals less damage (13%/12%/11% → 12%/10%), which makes it slightly less reliable despite being a better KOing option.
  • Buff Up tilt is faster. It can also chain into itself at very low percents and be followed up by an aerial at higher percents.
  • Nerf Up tilt deals less damage (11% → 7.2%). Combined with decreased base knockback (65 → 45), it is weaker overall and no longer KOs until around 150% despite its increased knockback scaling (105 → 110).
  • Nerf Down tilt deals less damage, though with its knockback scaling has been compensated (80 → 120).
  • Buff Forward smash has decreased SDI multipliers, so opponents can no longer escape the move. It is also stronger (30/105 → 37/110).
  • Nerf Up smash has less knockback scaling (20/210 → 24/190).
  • Nerf Up smash and down smash have less range.
  • Buff Down smash's second hit has more knockback scaling (85 → 96).
  • Nerf Down smash's first hit comes out 1 frame later, lasts 1 frame shorter, and has less knockback scaling (95 → 86). Zelda's leg also lost the intangibility during the attack.

Aerial attacks

  • Buff Neutral aerial has more knockback scaling (130/120 → 160) and more comboing potential.
  • Nerf Neutral aerial has a smaller hitbox and deals less damage, especially on the back hits.
  • Buff Due to a change in the Lightning Kicks (forward aerial and back aerial) hitbox placements, they are now easier to land.
  • Nerf Both Lightning Kicks have reduced base knockback. They also have significantly longer endlag and landing lag.
  • Nerf Up aerial has less knockback scaling (110 → 90).
  • Buff Down aerial's sweetspot has a bigger hitbox and can now land on grounded opponents.
  • Nerf Down aerial's sweetspot is weaker (50/90 → 40/65).

Throws/other attacks

  • Buff Down throw now sends opponents at a 100° angle, increasing its follow-up options.
  • Nerf Down throw deals 4% less damage (10% → 6%).
  • Buff Up throw has less base knockback, allowing for better follow-ups.

Special moves

  • Buff Nayru's Love has less endlag.
  • Change Nayru's Love's back hit no longer swirls a trapped target in front of Zelda.
  • Nerf Nayru's Love deals less damage.
  • Buff Din's Fire has stronger knockback when sweetspotted at the center of the explosion.
  • Nerf Din's Fire now has a sizable sourspot with weaker damage and knockback, and the explosion's range has been noticeably reduced. The maneuverability and travel distance of the fireball have also been lowered, making it far more unwieldy to control. It must also must travel a set distance away from Zelda before it can be detonated, leaving her open if it misses. Overall, Din's Fire takes more skill to use properly than in Brawl.
  • Buff Farore's Wind travels farther, has less start-up lag, deals more damage, and has significantly more knockback, capable of KOing heavy characters below 85% and light characters below 60%. Its grounded first hit additionally sends the opponent straight up allowing it to combo into the re-appearance hit, creating a strong but risky option out of shield.
  • Nerf The re-appearance hitbox of Farore's Wind now has a sourspot that deals less damage.
  • Buff Zelda has a new down special move, Phantom Slash, to replace Transform. Phantom Slash enables her to summon a Phantom that shoots forward like a projectile before slashing with its sword. The Phantom can block attacks, and the move can be charged to shoot the Phantom further, although the charge cannot be stored.
  • Nerf Phantom Slash can be reflected or Pocketed.
  • Nerf Light Arrow deals overall less damage and has weaker knockback.

Update history

Zelda began receiving notable buffs since the 1.0.6 update. Her forward and up smashes link together much better, and the latter has increased knockback and range. Phantom Slash has also received improvements in the forms of decreased endlag and a removed blind spot. Additionally, her jab, up tilt, and down tilt inflict more damage (the second of which was given true comboing potential), her neutral, up, and down aerials have less endlag (the former of which was made better for spacing), and while still drastically inferior to Farore's Wind, Farore's Squall and Farore's Windfall have been improved. Despite the significant amount of buffs Zelda has received, they have failed to address her more major issues. She is also one of the characters to not noticeably benefit from the changes to the shield mechanics brought about in updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS 1.0.4

  • Buff Up tilt damage: 6.5% → 7.2%
  • Nerf Pivot grab z-offset: -4.0 – -18.7 → -4.0 – -15.7 (less range)

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS 1.0.5

  • Change Pivot grab has a tweaked animation.
  • Change Some Zelda's attacks have improved visual effects.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.6

  • Buff Forward smash has significantly reduced SDI multipliers and pulls opponents in much better.
  • Buff Forward smash's looping hit angles have been lowered to make the move's hits link better.
  • Buff Phantom Slash has slightly less endlag.
  • Buff Phantom stays out for roughly a quarter of a second longer.
  • Nerf Destroyed Phantom respawn time: 6 seconds → 9 seconds
  • Change Back Lightning Kick has improved visual effects.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.8

  • Buff Up smash has much more knockback (KOing 20% earlier) and has significantly reduced SDI multipliers like her forward smash.
  • Buff Up smash's multi-hits' hitbox sizes increased: 3 → 3.5
  • Buff Neutral, up, and down aerials have reduced landing lag by approximately 3 frames.
  • Change Neutral aerial's front hits and back hits have had their damage outputs reversed: 1% → 2% (front), 2% → 1% (back).

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.0

  • Buff Jab's total damage increased: 6% → 8%.
  • Buff Jab's final hit has more base knockback: 24 → 35.
  • Buff Jab links better and sends opponents at a more favorable angle.
  • Nerf Jab's final hit knockback growth decreased (150 → 130).
  • Change Jab's heavy position, bone, angle, size, and weight based knockback adjustments on all hits.
  • Buff Up tilt endlag: 32 frames → 29 frames
  • Buff Up tilt's decreased endlag now allows for true combos.
  • Buff Down tilt's damage increased: 4.5% → 5.5%.
  • Buff Phantom Slash has a new 0% hitbox that leads into the sword's hitbox at low charges and pushes opponents away at high charges, essentially removing the move's blind spot.
  • Buff Phantom Slash has 5 less frames of endlag.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.1

  • Buff Neutral aerial's back hits now drag opponents towards the front hits, allowing the move to deal more damage from this position.
  • Buff Farore's Squall's hitbox duration increased by 1 frame.
  • Buff Farore's Squall's ending lag reduced by 6 frames.
  • Buff Nayru's Passion's explosion hitbox start-up decreased by 5 frames.
  • Buff Nayru's Passion's windbox startup by 2 frames.
  • Change Nayru's Passion's windbox has a slight position alternation.

Moveset

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack   2.5% (hits 1-2) 3% (hit 3) Zelda sticks her hand out in front of herself and shoots small magical sparks, pushing foes slightly back. A decent combo starter at low percents.
Forward tilt   12% (hand), 10% (arm) Zelda slashes her arm horizontally in front of her with a boost of magic power. Deals decent knockback, and can be angled.
Up tilt   7.2% Zelda waves her arm above her head in an arc with a boost of magic power. Fast, and can be comboed into itself at low percents, and into an aerial at mid percents. The back hit has much more combo potential than the front hit.
Down tilt   5.5% Zelda crouches and kicks her foot in front of her, hitting opponents low. Hits opponents slightly into the air, with the possibility of following up.
Dash attack   12% (clean base), 9% (clean tip), 6% (late) Zelda shoves her arms in front of her and pushes foes in front of her away with a boost of magic power. Sweetspot is located at the beginning of the move.
Forward smash   1% (hits 1-4), 13% (hit 5) Zelda charges magic energy in her right hand and flashes it in front of her, hitting opponents multiple times before knocking them away. Pressures shields and deals decent knockback.
Up smash   2% (hits 1-4), 0.8% (hits 5-7), 5% (hit 8) Zelda charges magic energy in her left hand and waves it above her head twice, hitting opponents multiple times before knocking them away. Deals high knockback, KOing at ~80%.
Down smash   12% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2) Zelda quickly kicks on both sides of herself, knocking opponents away. Hits very quickly and at a low angle.
Neutral aerial   2% (hits 1-4 front), 1% (hits 1-4 back), 3% (hit 5) Zelda waves her arms around her, hitting opponents multiple times around her before knocking them away. Useful for catching opponents off guard or in combos.
Forward aerial Lightning Kick 20% (clean foot), 4% (clean leg, late) Zelda quickly kicks in front of her, dealing great damage and knockback if the opponent is hit at the beginning of the move and just the tip of her boot strikes the opponent. Otherwise, the opponent is hit with low damage and knockback. Sweetspot KOs at ~70-80%. Has enough ending lag for opponent to punish a missed sweetspot even if the attack connects.
Back aerial Lightning Kick 20% (clean foot), 4% (clean leg, late) Zelda quickly kicks behind herself, dealing great damage and knockback if the opponent is hit at the beginning of the move and just the tip of her boot strikes the opponent. Otherwise, the opponent is hit with low damage and knockback. Sweetspot KOs at ~60-80%. Is slightly faster than her forward air. Has enough ending lag that the opponent can punish a missed sweetspot even if they are hit.
Up aerial   15% Zelda brings her arm above her head and releases a fiery explosion above her head, dealing great knockback. Slow, and requires percise timing to strike, but can KO well. Can clip through the bottom of stage ledges and have the hitbox go slightly above the ledge or narrow areas of the stage.
Down aerial   16% (clean), 5% (late leg), 4% (late foot) Zelda stomps her foot below herself, meteoring opponents caught below her waist. The initial hitbox deals a powerful meteor, whereas later hitboxes hit opponents with less force, albeit still a meteor making it a a very usefull edgeguard and gimp option.
Grab   Zelda restrains her opponent in front of her with magical energy.
Pummel   3% Zelda waves her arms quickly in front of her victim, dealing small magic damage.
Forward throw   12% Zelda spins her opponent in front of her and throws her opponent away. Deals a good amount of damage.
Back throw   11% Zelda spins her opponent, circles them around herself and throws them behind her. Deals good damage and can kill near the edge at 110%.
Up throw   11% Zelda forces her opponent above her and throws them upward. On fast-fallers, can be followed up with a Nair or Uair if timed well enough.
Down throw   1% (hits 1-4), 2% (throw) Zelda forces her opponent under her and shoots fire from her hands at them, before knocking them above her. Can be followed up with a Nair, Bair or Uair if timed well enough. At high percent, Zelda can followed up with a uair or bair for a KO.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge
Techs
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front)
  7% Zelda kicks in front and then behind her. As with all getup attacks, deals great shield damage, but can be punished.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back)
  7% Zelda kicks in front and then behind her. As with all getup attacks, deals great shield damage, but can be punished.
Floor attack (trip)
Floor getups (trip)
  5% Zelda kicks behind and then in front of herself. As with all getup attacks, deals great shield damage, but can be punished.
Edge attack
Edge getups
  7% Zelda brings herself onto the edge and kicks her opponent away.
Neutral special Default Nayru's Love 2% (loop front), 1% (loop back), 5% (last front), 4% (last back) Creates a crystal that slashes enemies and reflects projectiles. Has eight frames of intangibility near the beginning of the move.
Custom 1 Nayru's Rejection 1% (loop), 5% (last) Weaker overall but reverses opponents and pushes them away. Has slight starting lag, but increased intangibility.
Custom 2 Nayru's Passion 15% Sucks in opponents and explodes; does not reflect. Has noticeable starting lag before explosion.
Side special Default Din's Fire 3-7% (Sourspot), 7-14% (Sweetspot) Zelda shoots a controllable fireball when the special button is held. Releasing the button causes it to explode. The longer the button is held down, the farther the blast will travel, automatically detonating when it reaches its maximum distance.
Custom 1 Din's Flare 7% (Sourspot), 14% (Sweetspot) Faster and deals the same damage regardless of how long it is held, but can barely be adjusted vertically. Has more range.
Custom 2 Din's Blaze 3.8-9 (sourspot), 7.6-18 (sweetspot) Much more vertical movement and explosion size, but slower to detonate. Has a much slower travel speed.
Up special Default Farore's Wind 6% (hit 1), 10% (ground hit 2 near), 7% (ground hit 2 far), 12% (ground hit 2 near), 8% (ground hit 2 far) Teleports in a given direction, dealing damage at both ends. When combined with a jump, can increase range greatly. Possess very high knockback, being able to KO as low as 30% near the top blast zone (depending on weight and DI), making it one of Zelda's best KO options.
Custom 1 Farore's Squall 0% Has slightly more range (Much more range when combined with a jump), but takes longer to teleport, deals no damage, and simply pushing opponents away with a large windbox. If Zelda reappears at the opponents position, they will be knocked into the air with set knockback, but no damage.
Custom 2 Farore's Windfall 4% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2) Can only teleport straight up, but meteors opponents on reappearance. No benefits when combined with a jump. After, you have some horizontal control over Zelda. This move loses a lot of it's KO power as it doesn't start KOing until the 400's or higher.
Down special Default Phantom Slash 6% (uncharged), 14% (mid-charged), 24-26% (full charged), 11% (first hit, full charge), 13-15% (second hit, full charge) A chargeable attack that propels a Phantom forwards that slashes enemies and blocks attacks. Charging longer increases distance covered and the attack is altered slightly. At max charge, becomes a two-hit attack. However, since the phantom is considered a projectile, it can be reflected. The phantom is also considered a physical entity and can slow down players that try to move through it (except for the Zelda that used it), block some non-penetrating hits (Phantom has set health on all charges and customs), and won't put Zelda in free fall if she is in the air.
Custom 1 Phantom Breaker 5% (uncharged), 12% (mid-charge) 20% (fully charged), 9% (fully charged hit 1), 11% (fully charged hit 2) Travels a set distance and deals more shield damage, but less damage %. The set distance is approx. the distance of Phantom Slash at its 2nd charge, meaning a minimally charged Phantom travels farther and maximum charged Phantom travels less distance when compared to Phantom Slash.
Custom 2 Phantom Strike 8% (uncharged), 20% (mid-charged), 28-30% (fully charged) 14% (fully charged hit 1), 14-16% (fully charged hit 2) Travels a shorter distance and deals more damage. This move charges to full in 1/2 the time.
Final Smash Light Arrow 1% (hit 1), 39% (throw 1st opponent) 29% (throw 2nd opponent) 21% (throw 3rd opponent) Fires an arrow of light sideways that deals significant damage. Knocks opponents at a 45 degree angle. Deals less damage for each consecutive enemy hit.

Taunts

  • Up Taunt: Holds one arm straight up, her hand glowing with magic. Her pose is more elegant than in Brawl.
  • Side Taunt: Turns toward the screen, puts her hands together in front of her torso and creates a small flame between them.
  • Down Taunt: Waves to the side while leaning forward slightly.

Idle Poses

  • Loosely holds one arm and then looks in multiple directions.
  • Brushes the back of her hair.
  • With one hand on her elbow, she puts one hand on her neck, puts it back down and then taps her arm with one finger.

On-Screen Appearance

Zelda teleports onto the stage with magic glowing between her hands and sparkles rising up from the floor around her.

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 Link, Sheik, Ganondorf, and Toon Link.

Victory Poses

  • Clasps her hands together, which glow with magic, and prays with her eyes closed, then turns her head and looks up towards the sky.
  • Turns her head to the left and loosely holds one arm with the other, making an elegant stance.
  • Conjures a pulsing magical flame between her hands in front of her torso similar to her side taunt.

In Competitive Play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character Custom sets available
Zelda (SSB4) Zelda 1213 1313 1212 1312 1223
1323 3212 3312 2213 2312

Notable players

In Event Matches

Solo Events

Co-op Events

Trophies

Zelda
Ntsc This is the namesake of the Legend of Zelda games. Her appearance may change, but she always plays an important role. In Smash Bros., she's quick on the draw when it comes to magic, though a bit slow when moving. She has a new move that summons a Phantom to her aid.
Pal This is the Zelda they're talking about in the titles of all the Legend of Zelda games. Though her appearance can change from game to game, her importance in the story usually doesn't. In this game, she's a bit slow, but her impressive magic skills make up for it. Power up her brand new special, Phantom Slash, by holding down the button.
NES: The Legend of Zelda (08/1987)
Wii: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (11/2006)
Zelda (Alt.)
Ntsc Zelda's forward air attack, Lightning Kick, is a valiant kick with a magically charged tip. Striking with just the glowing spot will deal heavy damage and launch your opponent. Din's Fire, her explosive side special, can be guided up and down and has a greater blast if the button is held.
Pal Zelda's forward air attack, Lightning Kick, is a single-footed, electrically charged strike. Hit your opponent with just the glowing spot to deal heavy damage and launch them. Her Din's Fire side special can be guided up and down, and makes a bigger blast the longer you hold the button. It'll explode as soon as you let go.
NES: The Legend of Zelda (08/1987)
Wii: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (11/2006)
Light Arrow (Zelda)
In many of the Legend of Zelda games, the sacred Light Arrows are required to defeat the final boss. In this game, Zelda fires one straight across the screen for her Final Smash. If it passes through multiple foes, the ones hit first will take the most damage. The Light Arrow has a lot of launching power, making it great for getting KOs!

Alternate costumes

Zelda Palette (SSB4).png
Zelda (SSB4) Zelda (SSB4) Zelda (SSB4) Zelda (SSB4) Zelda (SSB4) Zelda (SSB4) Zelda (SSB4) Zelda (SSB4)

Gallery