Toon Link (SSBU)

Toon Link (, Toon Link) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially confirmed as playable alongside his predecessor and the rest of veterans on June 12th, 2018. As in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he is unlockable, instead of being available from the start. Toon Link is classified as Fighter #43.

As in Brawl and Super Smash Bros. 4, 's portrayal of Toon Link from  was repurposed for Ultimate.

Toon Link is ranked 49th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him in the B- tier. This is a noticeable drop from his 23rd out of 54 placement in SSB4 and is his worst placement in the series.

How to unlock
Complete one of the following: With the exception of the third method, Toon Link must then be defeated on Pirate Ship. In World of Light, he is fought on Wuhu Island.
 * Play VS. matches, with Toon Link being the 44th character to be unlocked.
 * Clear with  or any character in his unlock tree, being the last character unlocked after.
 * Have Toon Link join the player's party in World of Light.

Attributes
Toon Link is a middleweight, yet boasts above-average dashing speed and air acceleration, as well as the ability to wall jump. However, his air speed is average and his falling and fast falling speeds are both slow, while his gravity is low. Although they differ on the majority of their attributes, Toon Link and both have above-average walking speeds. Like Link, he also wields his respective version of the and possesses a shield. The Master Sword grants Toon Link disjointed range, while the Hero's Shield blocks opposing projectiles if he is standing still or walking. Overall, Toon Link's attributes render him as a fairly quick, yet fairly floaty character.

As a zoning-orientated character, Toon Link possesses a number of projectiles. His Hero's Bow, Boomerang and enable him to not only force approaches, but also camp effectively. In addition to these strengths, Boomerang and Bomb boast combo potential, with the latter being his most varied and useful combo starter. Thanks to its explosion no longer damaging Toon Link upon contact with an opponent, Bomb now grants him a number of follow-ups at varying percentages. With precise usage, it can be followed by his up smash or forward aerial even at high percentages, both of which are among his most viable KOing options.

Bomb's combo potential is further supplemented by jump-canceling and its status as an item, with the latter trait ensuring that its combo potential is never susceptible to rage or stale-move negation. Although it is not as versatile in comparison, Boomerang is nevertheless useful for Toon Link's combo game, as it can combo into his up tilt, grab and various other moves depending on its positioning.

Although Toon Link's combo game largely revolves around Bomb, he also possesses non-projectile combo starters. Up tilt is the most effective of these: it can combo into itself, up smash, and Spin Attack at low percentages; a short hopped neutral aerial, short hopped back aerial, and short hopped Spin Attack at low to medium percentages; and forward aerial and up aerial at medium to high percentages. Aside from up tilt, grab aerial can be used as a long-ranged set-up similarly to Bomb, regardless of the opponent's damage, while neutral attack can be jab canceled reliably.

However, Toon Link has some weaknesses. His grab game is overall very polarized: Hookshot grants him long-lasting grabs that can grab airborne opponents, and a grab aerial and tether recovery that are both very useful, yet his grabs have considerable start-up and ending lag (albeit much less so than in previous installments). By extension, Toon Link's back throw is one of his most viable KO options due to being one of the strongest back throws in the game, while his forward throw is decent for setting up edge-guards and creating space. Conversely, Toon Link's down throw lacks combo potential, which makes it drastically inferior to Link and Young Link's versions. It can almost combo into back aerial. Although Toon Link's up throw is a situational KO option on platforms like Link and Young Link's versions, his back throw utterly outclasses it in this role. As a result, Toon Link's up and down throws are used primarily for setting up aerial pressure, such as by launching an opponent into the trajectory of a previously thrown Boomerang or Bomb.

Toon Link's floatiness makes him particularly susceptible to strong vertical attacks, and renders his recovery quite predictable in spite of its improvements. Unlike other floaty characters, however, Toon Link cannot use his floatiness to perform long aerial combos because of his aerials' considerable ending lag. Toon Link's disjointed range is also somewhat offset by his short size, while the faster pace of Ultimate makes his defensive, projectile-based gameplan less effective than it was in previous installments.

Overall, Toon Link is considered a very balanced and fast fighter with a plethora of attack options via his projectiles, tether grab/recovery, and decent frame data. The combination of low ending lag on his forward and back aerials with his slow fall speed allow Toon Link to dominate in the air with combos, while his moderately fast yet fairly useful tilt attacks and reasonably strong smash attacks allow for relatively easy KOs. While his middling weight and slow falling speed make him easier to combo and KO, it is generally agreed that Toon Link's strengths outweigh his weaknesses by a fair margin.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4
Toon Link has received a notable mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from SSB4 to Ultimate. Many of his standard attacks have been improved, but the general pace of Ultimate, combined with the worsening of his camping tools, have annulled his improvements to an extent. As a result, Toon Link has been slightly nerfed overall.

Several of Toon Link's attacks where he uses the Master Sword have been notably buffed, alleviating one of his weaker points from SSB4. Particularly, Toon Link now boasts a vastly buffed ground game: neutral attack's first two hits can now lock, and the third hit now has the tech-chasing ability his adult counterpart has. Forward tilt has less ending lag, all hitboxes send opponents in front of him, and its hitboxes can now hit behind Toon Link. The changes to the Sakurai angle allow down tilt to launch aerial opponents lower, improving its tech chasing potential. Dash attack is much faster, has more range and less endlag, and the sweetspots out-prioritize the sourspot, turning it into a respectable combo starter at low percentages. Up smash is more consistent on landing the sweetspot, whereas down smash now has consistent KO potential on both sides of the move instead of pulling opponents into a second hit.

Toon Link's air game, while seeing less buffs, has also become more useful; neutral aerial has more range, forward aerial can once again autocancel if performed in a short hop, back aerial is faster and has regained some of its combo potential, and up aerial is notably much safer to use due to its altered animation. Finally, Toon Link's Spin Attack has received various improvements, 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 KO potential, whereas the aerial version's power and safety have both improved and it will now always send opponents in front of Toon Link.

However, Toon Link also received some noticeable nerfs. One of his biggest nerfs was to his forward smash; the move no longer has a second hit, while its single hit instead is slightly slower, deals less aggregate damage, possesses no mixup or spacing potential, and has a debatably worse hitbox that fails to strike short opponents or ones hanging on an edge. His other major nerf was to his s, which no longer beat weak projectiles and continue on, instead bouncing off of them; this massively worsens their potential in trade and projectile situations. Other nerfs to his camping ability include his item throws having more ending lag, which worsens his combo game via his Bombs; and his grab aerial now bouncing off of the first projectile or hurtbox it makes contact with, instead of piercing through. Aside from forward smash, a few of his sword-based moves also received some nerfs. Up tilt has slightly inferior combo potential at high percentages due to the changes to knockback, up smash has fewer active frames, and back aerial's already minimal KO potential has been almost totally removed in favor of restoring its combo potential.

The universal changes to gameplay mechanics are overall mixed for Toon Link. The reduced landing lag makes it easier for him to combo, and safer to land if his aerials hit. The ability to use any attack out of a run also allows Toon Link more access to his now respectable grounded game. On the other hand, the changes to shieldstun make his grounded moveset much safer, though it also means shielding opponents are now more likely to punish mispaced aerials as easily. The nerfs to shield grabbing alleviate the negative changes from shieldstun, but combined with other characters also having reduced landing lag, and the changes to shieldstun, this notably worsens his grab game, despite his grabs' much lower ending lag. Finally, the universal increase to mobility further contributes to Toon Link's grounded game (due to his faster walking and dashing speeds) and allows him to now combo out of his Hero's Bow when uncharged, but also allows more mobile opponents to close in on the distance to him and/or stay away from him easier.

Overall, Toon Link has more utility in his sword-based attacks, but has to contend with worsened camping tools and the faster pace of Ultimate, which makes his defensive, projectile-based game less effective compared to previous titles. This noticeably changes his playstyle, shifting from primarily a zoner and counter-zoner, to a more movement and pressure-based playstyle that utilizes his sword attacks more. Combined with various buffs other veterans have received, Toon Link performs worse than his SSB4 iteration, and while he remains relatively viable, he's widely considered overshadowed by due to the former's faster air-to-ground mobility, superior damage output, and stronger projectile game.

Update history
Toon Link received a mix of buffs, a single nerf and glitch fixes via game updates, but was buffed slightly overall.

Starting with update 2.0.0, Toon Link's forward aerial can now auto-cancel out of a short hop, greatly buffing the move's utility and offense. His also can now grab the ledge earlier after using his back aerial. Update 3.0.0 nerfed Boomerang's shield damage as a part of a universal nerf to projectiles. Update 3.1.0 made neutral attack connect better, and Toon Link can now shield SDI if a projectiles hits his Hero's Shield thanks to update 4.0.0.

Update 7.0.0 brought the most noteworthy buffs to Toon Link's kit. His dash attack was given less ending lag, both hits of his down smash now deal more knockback, his back aerial now hits earlier and has a slightly longer hitbox duration. His down aerial is now drastically stronger than it was before due to it now dealing more damage and not having its knockback not fully compensated. And finally, his grab aerial's hitbox lasts 2 frames longer. Due to these changes, Toon Link's KO potential and spacing was greatly improved.

Update 10.1.0 made Aerial Spin Attack much more consistent by giving it much better hitboxes and a more favorable angle if Toon Link is moving forward.

Overall, Toon Link fares better than he did at the launch of Ultimate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moveset
For a gallery of Toon Link's hitboxes, see here.
 * While Toon Link is standing still, walking, or crouching, any incoming projectiles that hit his Hero's Shield will simply push him back slightly instead of inflicting damage. It can block any amount of projectiles, regardless of their power.
 * Toon Link can wall jump.
 * Toon Link possesses a tether attack and grab.

On-screen appearance

 * A cartoony explosion appears on-screen. As the smoke fades, Toon Link appears and equips the Master Sword and Hero's Shield.

Taunts

 * Up taunt: Sheaths the and places the  on his back and uses the  to conduct the "", with a tune at the end, which is the same one heard after completing a song in .
 * Side taunt: Sheaths the Master Sword and places the Hero's Shield on his back and watches a fly around.
 * Down taunt: Swings the Master Sword in front of himself while yelling in a panicked tone, ending with him being comically exhausted and catching his breath.

Idle poses

 * Looks around cautiously.
 * Taps his foot on the ground.

Crowd cheer
 

Victory poses

 * Left: Conducts using the Wind Waker before striking a pose similar to his official artwork from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
 * Up: Chases a pig. Upon catching a, he holds it above his head. Whilst balancing on one foot, he occasionally starts to lose balance before steadying himself.
 * Right: Tries to catch a pig, but ends up tripping and falling on his bottom. He then proceeds to rub his bottom for the rest of the victory pose while smiling sheepishly.

Most historically significant players
See also: Category:Toon Link players (SSBU)


 * - Although his activity is relegated to Mexico, he has consistently been one of the best Toon Link players in North America, regularly placing top 8 at events and has also placed 17th at the supermajor.
 * - One of the best Toon Link players in North America who has higher peaks. He most notably placed 13th at the superregional upsetting  as well as 17th at the major.
 * - One of the best Toon Link players in the world, especially since 2023. His 3rd-place finish at the major is currently the best Toon Link placement at a major.
 * - The third-best Toon Link player in Japan. Although not as consistent, he has seen some strong results such as 25th at the supermajors, , and.
 * - One of the best Toon Link players in North America who is more consistent at majors, most notably 17th at the major and 33rd at the supermajor.
 * - The best Toon Link player of all-time, and the only Toon Link player ranked top 50 on a global ranking, ranking 44th on the UltRank 2022.

Tier placement and history
Toon Link saw middling success in the early metagame, most notably in Mexico -- thanks to players such as and  -- and Japan -- thanks to players such as, , and. However, Toon Link's representation was not as strong outside of those two regions, mainly due to perceptions that Toon Link was noticeably inferior to Link and Young Link. This perception stemmed from the buffs and changes Link and Young Link received, which made many to consider both characters at least high-tier. Coversely, Toon Link received a mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition, and was seen as a weaker version of Young Link due to having a weaker projectile game and damage output. In addition, most of Toon Link's best players generally only participated at regional-level events, while Ri-ma relegated Toon Link to a secondary in favor of, leaving Sigma as the only notable Toon Link player consistently performing well at majors. As such, many players considered Toon Link to be a mid-tier.

Dedicated mains would continue to push Toon Link, which led his overall representation to remain relatively stable for most of the game's lifespan, usually hovering between the high-30s to low-40s. Although some Toon Link players ultimately fell out of the limelight, newer players would appear and replace them, including and, who began placing well at American events in the post-online metagame, and , who dropped Link for Toon Link during the pandemic. In addition, Lv.1's results began improving, most notably in mid-2023, while Sigma's results remained strong, which ultimately led to him being ranked 44th on the UltRank 2022, the first Toon Link player to be ranked in the top 50 globally. This has led many to believe Toon Link was stronger than previously perceived. As it currently stands, Toon Link is ranked 49th on the tier list as an upper mid-tier and is no longer considered the worst Link, as he is ranked 4 spots above Link.

: The Teamwork of Courage
Toon Link fights alongside two CPU Toon Link teammates in all of his battles, likely referencing The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. Toon Link fights characters from different universes in each stage. If playing Classic Mode in Co-op, one CPU Toon Link will still appear.

Note: In the fourth round, is absent.

Note 2: Items do not appear in the sixth round.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Toon Link has  accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light
Although Toon Link does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (except ) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Toon Link is unlocked in the Forest Hill sub-area of The Light Realm. To awaken him, the player must activate a nearby switch which extends the bridge and defeat the spirit of Zelda (Breath of the Wild) that's in front of him.

Spirits
Toon Link's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Toon Link has been unlocked. Unlocking Toon Link in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, this incarnation of Link and others under the same artstyle appear in a few primary and support spirits.

Trivia

 * Toon Link's pose in his official render is based on an artwork of him performing a Spin Attack in The Wind Waker, which was also used in promotional art for European limited edition bundles of the game. This artwork was also edited and reused for The Minish Cap.
 * Toon Link is the only character who travels to 3D Land in.
 * Toon Link and are the only characters who have a CPU ally in every round of their Classic Mode.
 * While holding a small item, Toon Link reuses his facial expressions from Smash 4 in his idle animation.
 * Despite Toon Link's no longer bouncing off opponents, his character files still have data for the 8% damage hitbox used after a bounce, which is labeled as "AttackAirLw2Attack". This was also the case in Smash 4.
 * In his Ultimate trailer, his sword attacks use punching sounds when they hit: this is different from the actual game, where they use unique comical slashing sounds.
 * Toon Link is one of only five characters to predominantly use his left hand to wield his weapon, sharing this trait with, , , and.
 * Toon Link is one of five characters whose unlocking battle in World of Light is not on either Final Destination or a Ω form. The other four are, , , and.
 * When using his up taunt and in one of his victory screens, Toon Link appears to conduct the Wind’s Requiem with the Wind Waker, which is the first song Link learns in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.