Editing Zelda (SSB4)

|availability = [[Starter character|Starter]]

|tier = G

}}

Jun Mizusawa reprises her role as Zelda's voice actor, albeit via recycled voice clips from ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''.

Zelda also boasts an array of KOing options, most notably her forward smash, up smash, [[sweetspot]]ted [[Lightning Kick]]s, up aerial and sweetspotted down aerial. By extension, [[Farore's Wind]] is a very potent and powerful KO move, reliably KOing any character below 100% while near the upper blast line, which makes it especially potent from [[out of shield]] when it can be applied. She also has a solid grab game, with her back throw being a solid KO option near the ledge and her down throw being a potent combo throw, even at higher percents.

Lastly, she does not have a particularly effective out of shield game. While Farore's Wind is a very strong out of shield option, it is a frame 8 option and it has limited range. In addition to this, the first hit of the move can be [[Directional influence|DI]]ed, which Zelda has to predict and follow and if she misses the second hit, she is left wide open for a large punish. As for her other options, her up smash is frame 9 and has abysmal range, making it useless out of shield, her shield grab is frame 10 and while it does have decent range, its range is not incredible either, taking its startup lag into account. Her aerials are difficult or even impossible to land in some cases (especially against shorter characters) and while down tilt and down smash are solid, they are frame 12 options. When combined with her below average traction. this makes it very difficult or even impossible for her to punish moves which are either spaced well or even moves which are fairly negative on shield, which overall makes her struggle with shield pressure, although her down tilt and down smash are solid [[power shield]] punishes.

==Attributes==

Zelda's ground game is very middling in comparison to her air game, but each of her grounded attacks have some degree of utility. Her grab game, in particular, is widely agreed as the best aspect of her ground game. Zelda's grabs have fairly long ranges despite not being [[Grab#Tether grab|tether grabs]], and her pummel is among the most damaging in the game in spite of its moderately slow speed. Forward and back throws are useful for setting up edge-guards, yet each have a certain quirk: the former is among the damaging forward throws in the game, whereas the latter has KO potential while near the edge. Up and down throws possess combo potential, but vary noticeably in effectiveness. Up throw is decent for combos at low percentages, although it is especially useful against heavyweights and fast-fallers. However, it can also be followed up by up air, which can KO fast-fallers, especially with rage. Down throw has greater combo versatility in comparison, most notably in the form of its up aerial combo, which KOs lightweights as early as 92% and super heavyweights as early as 115%.<ref name="UAir">[https://smashboards.com/threads/zelda-finger-bangs-everyone.436530/ Zelda Zelda Finger Bangs Everyone.]</ref> Although DI can occasionally make the set up harder to perform, the effectiveness of its up aerial combo will remain largely intact so long as Zelda utilizes it with proper timing.<ref name="UAir"/>

However, Zelda possesses a number of glaring weaknesses. She has the inconvenient combination of being tall, light and floaty, which collectively make her susceptible to both combos and early KOs. Although Zelda's mobility has improved, it has only done so marginally at best, and thus remains overall sub-par. Despite her power, Zelda's KO potential is inconsistent: in addition to having very short durations, her strongest attacks are burdened with very weak sourspots (dash attack; down smash; Lightning Kicks; and down aerial), punishable amounts of lag (forward tilt; forward/up smashes; up aerial; and Phantom Slash), or both (Din's Fire and Farore's Wind). To further compound this, only up aerial has set-ups (up tilt, down tilt and down throw) that are largely consistent past medium percentages.<ref name="UAir"/>

Although Zelda's special moves can help her defensive presence when used wisely, they are nevertheless lacking in regard to pressure. Short-ranged pressure can be problematic because Nayru's Love is rather laggy, while Phantom Slash is situational because of its ending lag, limited durability, poor range at low charges, and its susceptibility to [[reflection]]-based attacks. As a result, Zelda is forced to rely on her down smash instead of either of these options much more often than not. Conversely, Din's Fire is very unsuitable for long-ranged pressure because it is still very easy to evade, and is now burdened with a very weak sourspot. Lastly, Farore's Wind can cause Zelda to recover or evade pressure in the wrong direction if she recovers from a stage's slopes. Its high ending lag also makes her unable to move during her free fall animation until more than a second has passed.

Overall, Zelda cannot rely on heavy stage or shield pressure, and thus must rely on either reading and baiting, or playing defensively. Both of these playstyle's purpose is to punish opponents with her effective [[out of shield]] game to start combos, utilize her down throw's up aerial combo for KOing, or set up an edge-guard before attempting to score a KO. However, her poor approach, mobility and neutral game hinder her ability to escape rushdowns and pressure, while her heavy reliance on sweetspots makes her akin to a glass cannon. Due to the precision and patience needed to use her effectively, Zelda's tournament representation has consistently been very sparse. Despite this, her playerbase have brought her some instances of success; most notably, {{Sm|ven}} has achieved a handful of decent placings at the national level, including three top 50 placings in both singles and [[doubles]] play.

As a result of the removal of [[hitstun canceling]], Zelda's combo game has also noticeably improved: neutral attack's various hitbox and knockback adjustments make it a better set-up option at low percentages, up tilt's lower damage output and increased speed make it a reliable combo option, neutral aerial's hitbox adjustments make it better at damage racking, sweetspotted down aerial can now be used as a set-up option on grounded opponents, and down throw's increased knockback and altered angle make it a useful KO set-up into up aerial and back aerial at high percentages.

Overall, Zelda's much better combo game supplements her stronger [[out of shield]] game. However, she is still burdened with a poor approach and neutral game, owing to the buffs to her mobility being marginal at best (especially since many other characters also had their mobility improved to varying degrees), while she also received significant nerfs to some of her key moves in the previous game. While she overall greatly benefits from the changes to ''Smash 4''{{'}}s mechanics, they were not enough to offset her weaknesses. As a result, she is still considered to be one of the worst characters in the game with her tournament results remaining poor for the most part.

*{{change|Zelda has received two new [[alternate costume]]s,}} one of them being based on her appearance in either ''A Link to the Past'' or ''A Link Between Worlds'' (which would eventually inspire her current design in the next game). Her red alternate costume now depicts her as wearing gloves like her default color (in ''Brawl'', her red costume did not have gloves for some reason, even though her other colors, including her default, still do). Her ''Ocarina of Time''-based alternate costume is now colored purple instead of pink.

*{{change|Zelda is significantly more expressive. She now scowls while using most attacks and when hanging from an edge; smiles during one of her [[victory pose]]s; winces in pain after [[tripping]]; appears alarmed while [[teeter]]ing; and winces depressingly while [[Floor recovery|laying prone/supine]].}}

*{{change|[[Sidestep]], [[air dodge]] and up [[taunt]]'s animations have changed.}}

*{{change|Zelda vocalizes less frequently while [[jump]]ing, a trait shared with many other characters except {{SSB4|Falco}}.}}

===Attributes===

*{{buff|Zelda [[walk]]s faster (0.8 → 0.87).}}

*{{buff|Zelda's [[air speed]] is faster (0.987 → 1.04).}}

*{{nerf|Zelda's [[air acceleration]] is significantly lower (0.1 → 0.065), noticeably hindering her aerial approach and retreat options.}}

**{{buff|As transformations took a long time to load in ''Brawl'', this meant Zelda got a much more reliable [[Phantom Slash|down special]] which also functions as an attack.}}

**{{nerf|However, she can no longer access Sheik's significantly better mobility and combo potential to alleviate her own weaknesses.}}

**{{nerf|However, the removal of [[glide toss]]ing hinders her approach with items.}}

===Ground attacks===

*[[Neutral attack]]:

**{{buff|Neutral attack now has a magic effect rather than an electric effect, which gives the move less hitlag, as well as allowing it to damage {{SSB4|Olimar}}'s yellow [[Pikmin]].}}

**{{buff|The first two hits have altered set knockback on Zelda's hand and magic burst (30 (hand)/7 (burst) → 40/30) and they now send opponents towards Zelda ([[Sakurai angle|361°]] → 140°). This makes the move connect more reliably.}}

**{{nerf|The first two hits' burst hitbox is smaller (4.5u → 4u).}}

*[[Forward tilt]]:

**{{buff|The outer hand hitbox has been moved slightly further forward (x offset: 3 → 3.5), slightly improving its range.}}

**{{nerf|Forward tilt has a shorter duration (frames 12-14 → 10-11).}}

**{{nerf|Forward tilt deals less damage (13% (hand)/12% (arm)/11% (body) → 12% (outer hand)/10% (inner hand/arm)), hindering its KO potential.}}

**{{nerf|Up tilt deals less damage (11% → 7.2%), and knockback (65 (base), 105 (scaling) → 45/110), significantly hindering its KO potential.}}

***{{buff|However, when combined with the move's greatly increased speed, altered launch angle and the changes to [[hitstun canceling]] and [[Directional Influence]], this significantly improves the move's combo potential.}}

*[[Down tilt]]:

**{{change|Down tilt now always launches opponents vertically (270° (leg/body/ground foot)/80° (aerial foot) → 80°), much like the previous aerial foot hitbox.}}

***{{nerf|However, this also significantly hinders the move's ability to lead into itself (especially against floatier characters), as well as hindering its edgeguarding potential.}}

***{{nerf|This also means that the move is no longer capable of [[trip]]ping, significantly hindering its set up potential at lower percents.}}

**{{change|Down tilt has a lower extra trip chance (40% → 20%), although its altered launch angle makes it incapable of tripping regardless.}}

***{{buff|However, this also improves its followup potential below higher percents.}}

**{{nerf|Down tilt now uses one smaller extended hitbox (5u/4.5u/4u/4u → 3.6u) which is positioned closer to Zelda than the previous foot hitbox (y offset: 6.5 → x offset: 6) which overall has less rage than the previous hitboxes. The move has a smaller disjoint and it no longer covers Zelda's body.}}

**{{buff|The clean hit's sweetspot is now positioned directly in front of Zelda's hand rather than on her head, giving it slightly more range in front of her.}}

***{{nerf|However, this hitbox is also much smaller (4.8u → 2.2u) which along with its new position, gives it much less range behind and above Zelda, as well as generally making it harder to land.}}

***{{nerf|However, this hinders its overall KO potential, including from center stage despite its higher knockback.}}

**{{buff|The clean hit's sourspot now uses an extended hitbox which is positioned further away from Zelda (z offset: 12 → 13.8), which overall gives it more horizontal range, especially behind Zelda.}}

***{{nerf|However, this hitbox is also smaller (7u → 5u), giving it less vertical range.}}

**{{buff|The late hit now uses an extended hitbox which retains the size of the previous sourspot, giving it much more range relative to Zelda.}}

**{{change|The late hit no longer has a head hitbox.}}

**{{buff|Forward smash's loop hits' angles (30°/45°/60° → 25°/165°) and set knockback (30/40/50/80 → 40/50) have been altered. When combined with the weakening of [[SDI]], this makes forward smash connect more reliably despite the loop hits having a higher SDI multiplier (0.5x → 1x).}}

**{{buff|The final hit deals more knockback (30 (base), 105 (scaling) → 37/110), improving its KO potential.}}

**{{change|The hitboxes are positioned marginally higher (y offset: 9.07 → 9.1).}}

**{{nerf|Forward smash has more ending lag (FAF 40 → 50).}}

**{{buff|Up smash now has a magic effect instead of an electric effect. This gives the first four hits less hitlag, as well as allowing all hits to damage Olimar's yellow Pikmin.}}

**{{buff|The first four hits deal more damage (1% → 2%), making the move deal slightly more damage overall despite having less hits (15% → 15.4%).}}

**{{buff|The loop hit's upper hitbox now uses an auto-link angle (270° → [[Autolink angle|366°]]), allowing it to connect more reliably into the rest of the move, as well as preventing it from potentially tripping opponents, which could previously potentially make the rest of the move miss due to the trip's intangibilty.}}

**{{buff|The final hit deals more knockback (20 (base), 210 (scaling) → 24/214), improving its KO potential.}}

**{{nerf|The loop hits have smaller hitboxes (5u/5u/5.5u/5.5u → 3.5u/4.2u/3.5u/3.5u).}}

**{{nerf|The loop hits have a higher SDI multiplier (0.1x → 0.5x) and hits 5-7 also have a higher hitlag multiplier (0.5x → 1x), giving them more hitlag despite no longer having an electric effect.}}

**{{nerf|The final hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1x → 2x), giving it more hitlag despite no longer having an electric effect.}}

**{{buff|Down smash has less ending lag (FAF 40 → 38).}}

**{{buff|The back hit has more knockback scaling (85 → 96) improving its KO potential, especially the foot hitbox.}}

**{{nerf|Zelda's leg is no longer intangible while performing down smash.}}

**{{nerf|The front hit has less knockback scaling (95 → 86) hindering its KO potential.}}

===Aerial attacks===

*[[Neutral aerial]]:

**{{change|Neutral aerial's loop hits no longer deal consistent damage (2% → 2.5% (front)/1.5% (back)). This improves its damage racking ability if the opponent is in front of Zelda, but worsens it if hit behind her.}}

***{{buff|The front and back hit now have swapped priority (ID# 1/0 → 0/1), making the more damaging front hitbox easier to land.}}

**{{buff|The loop hits now have a consistent auto-link angle (150° (hands)/270° (head)/90° (body) → 366° (all)) and they have consistent set knockback (75 (hands)/50 (head)/120 (body) → 75) and knockback scaling (100 (hands)/90 (head/body) → 100), making them connect more reliably.}}

**{{nerf|Neutral aerial has more ending lag (FAF 50 → 51) and a longer animation (49 frames → 57).}}

**{{nerf|Neutral aerial has more landing lag (12 frames → 19).}}

***{{nerf|However, these animations are also longer (49 frames → 62), increasing the amount of time Zelda cannot grab ledges after performing a Lightning Kick.}}

**{{buff|The sweetspots have a slightly larger hitbox (1.7u → 1.9u), making them slightly easier to land.}}

**{{buff|The changes to shields significantly improve Lightning Kicks' safety and effectiveness on shield, especially the sweetspots, which are no longer burdened against shielding opponents by their extreme hitlag.}}

**{{buff|The introduction of [[frame canceling]] benefits Lightning Kicks due to their sweetspots' extremely high hitlag, which can give them much less landing lag when they connect if timed and spaced properly.}}

*[[Forward aerial]]:

**{{nerf|Forward aerial has more startup lag (frame 8 → 9).}}

**{{nerf|Forward aerial has slightly more landing lag (22 frames → 23).}}

**{{nerf|Forward aerial auto-cancels much later (frame 25 → 50) no longer doing so in a short hop.}}

*[[Back aerial]]:

**{{nerf|Back aerial has more startup lag (frame 5 → 6).}}

**{{nerf|Back aerial has more landing lag (22 frames → 25).}}

**{{nerf|Back aerial auto-cancels much later (frame 26 → 52) no longer doing so in a short hop.}}

**{{nerf|The sweetspot has lower base knockback (40 → 28), hindering its KO potential.}}

*[[Up aerial]]:

**{{buff|Up aerial has less landing lag (22 frames → 19).}}

**{{nerf|Up aerial has lower knockback scaling (110 → 84), noticeably hindering its KO potential despite its increased damage.}}

*[[Down aerial]]:

**{{buff|Down aerial now has an initial auto-cancel window during its first three frames.}}

**{{buff|Down aerial has less landing lag (21 frames → 18).}}

===Throws/other attacks===

**{{buff|Standing and pivot grabs have less start-up lag (frame 12 (standing)/14 (pivot) → 10/11).}}

**{{buff|All of Zelda's grabs extend further out (z offset: 10 (standing)/9 (dash)/-13 (pivot) → z stretch: 13.5u/14.5u/-16.7), giving them more range.}}

**{{nerf|All grabs have smaller grabboxes (4.8u → 3.8u (standing/pivot)/3u (dash)).}}

**{{nerf|Dash and Pivot grab do not extend as far inside of Zelda (z offset: -3 (dash)/-1 (pivot) → 4/-4), removing their ability to grab opponents behind Zelda.}}

*[[Forward throw]]:

*[[Back throw]]:

**{{change|Zelda releases opponents from back throw earlier (frame 29 → 27). This makes it harder to DI but gives it more ending lag as its total duration was unchanged.}}

***{{buff|However when combined with the changes to hitstun canceling and DI, these changes improve its combo potential.}}

*[[Down throw]]:

**{{nerf|The loop hits deal less damage (2% → 1%), reducing the throw's total damage output (10% → 6%).}}

**{{buff|Down throw launches opponents at a higher angle (120° → 100°). When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling and DI, these changes significantly improve its combo potential despite its higher knockback.}}

===Special moves===

*[[Nayru's Love]]:

*[[Din's Fire]]:

**{{nerf|Din's Fire deals less damage (8%-16% → 7%-14% (sweetspot)/3.5%-7% (sourspot)). Additionally, its travel distance, maneuverability and explosion's range have decreased to the point that it must travel a set distance away from Zelda before it can be detonated. Lastly, maneuvering it into the stage now makes it stop moving and explode at the same time, instead of explode. Altogether, these changes significantly hinder its utility.}}

**{{change|Due to consisting of a sweetspot and a sourspot instead of a consistent hitbox, Din's Fire has altered knockback (50 (base)/60 (growth) → 50/97 (sweetspot), 55/40 (sourspot)). This improves its KO potential when fully charged and sweetspotted, but significantly hinders its safety when sourspotted.}}

*[[Farore's Wind]]:

**{{buff|Farore's Wind's grounded first hit's knockback (40 (base)/100 (growth) → 118/30) and angle have been altered (80° → 91°), granting it combo potential into its aerial second hit. Its aerial first hit also has increased base knockback (40 → 60).}}

**{{change|Farore Wind's second hit now has a [[slash]] effect instead of a flame effect.}}

*[[Phantom Slash]]:

**{{buff|Zelda has a new down special, Phantom Slash. Phantom Slash is a [[charge]]able attack that summons a {{s|zeldawiki|Phantom}} and propels it forward in order to attack with its sword and/or block incoming attacks.<ref name="Direct"/> Unlike [[Transform]], it deals damage at any level of charge and has very high knockback when fully charged, making it capable of zoning and KOing. Despite this, Phantom Slash cannot be [[charge-cancel]]ed or held indefinitely.}}

**{{buff|Phantom Slash is far less punishable than Transform and gives Zelda an additional zoning, edgeguarding, and KOing option.}}

*[[Light Arrow]]:

**{{nerf|Light Arrow's initial deals 2% less damage (3% → 1%), making Light Arrow slightly weaker overall and removing its [[one-hit KO]] potential.}}

|neutralname=&nbsp;

|neutral1dmg=3% (hits 1-2), 5% (hit 3)

|ftiltname=&nbsp;

|ftiltdmg=12% (hand), 10% (arm)

|nairdmg=2.5% (hits 1-4 front), 1.5% (hits 1-4 back), 5% (hit 5)

|nairdesc=Spins with her arms outstretched and infused with magical energy. Due to it hitting on frame 6, it is tied with back aerial for the lowest amount of start-up lag out of Zelda's aerials. It has a decent amount of utility: it can be used as a follow-up from down throw; as a combo starter when [[SHFF]]'d; or as an edge-guarding option and autocancels in a short hop.

|fairdmg=20% (clean foot), 4% (clean leg, late)

|fairdesc=A magically-infused flying kick. Its sweetspot is at the tip of her foot, and has both an outstanding damage output and high knockback growth. Its sweetspot KOs middleweights at 74%/66% (''3DS''/''Wii U'') while near the edge of Final Destination. Its sweetspot is easier to land if it hits the opponent at the beginning of the move. However, its sourspots lack KO potential and are very unsafe because of their extremely low damage outputs and average knockback growth. Its considerable ending lag also makes it punishable at low percentages, even if it is sweetspotted.

|bairdmg=20% (clean foot), 4% (clean leg, late)

|bairdesc=A magically-infused flying kick. It functions almost identically to forward aerial, with the only differences being that it hits on frame 6 (which ties it with neutral aerial for the lowest amount of start-up lag out of Zelda's aerials) and its sweetspot has slightly more base knockback and knockback growth. Its sweetspot KOs middleweights at 71%/62% (''3DS''/''Wii U'') while near the edge of Final Destination. However, it has the highest amount of landing lag out of Zelda's aerials.

|uairname=&nbsp;

|uairdmg=17%

|dairname=&nbsp;

|dairdmg=16% (clean), 5% (late leg), 4% (late foot)

|grabname=&nbsp;

|grabdesc=Restrains the opponent with magic. Zelda's grabs have long ranges, but noticeable start-up lag.

|nsc1name=Nayru's Rejection

|nsc1dmg=1% (loop), 5% (last), 1.2× (reflected projectiles)

|nsc2name=Nayru's Passion

|nsc2dmg=15%

|usc1name=Farore's Squall

|usc1dmg=—

|usc2name=Farore's Windfall

|usc2dmg=4% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)

|dsdefname=Phantom Slash

|dsdefdmg=6% (uncharged), 14% (charged), 11% (fully charged hit 1), 13% (fully charged hit 2)

|fsdesc=Wields [[zeldawiki:Zelda's Bow|her bow]] and fires a {{s|zeldawiki|Light Arrow}} forward. Although it no longer has [[one-hit KO]] potential like in ''Brawl'', it is still one of the strongest Final Smashes in the game, especially when hitting its first opponent. It KOs middleweights at 2% while near the edge of Final Destination in the ''3DS'' version.

}}

===[[On-screen appearance]]===

==In [[competitive play]]==

===[[Official Custom Moveset Project]]===

{{OfficialCustomMoves

|set10=2312

}}

''Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the [[PGR 100]], which recognizes the official top 100 players in [[Super Smash Bros. 4]] of all time.''

==In [[Event Matches]]==

*Originally, Zelda was still going to turn into Sheik in this game and vice versa, but the two characters were split apart instead due to the limitations of the Nintendo 3DS. A similar issue was also the case for Samus and Zero Suit Samus when their Final Smash was concerned, and Pokémon Trainer, who was dropped in favor of his Charizard operating on its own.

*Coincidentally enough, a figurine of Zelda by First Four Figures based on her design from ''Twilight Princess'' (which inspired her design in ''Brawl'' and ''SSB4'') for some reason is colored more like her appearance in this game than in her source game proper (for example, the tapestry on her dress is colored differently, being indigo instead of gray like in the actual game), surprisingly enough, even in her possessed form during the final battle in that game (which also got her own figurine as well).

==References==