Link (SSBB)

This article is about Link's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Link.

Link
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Appears in	SSB SSBM SSBB
Availability	Starter

Link (リンク, Rinku) was confirmed for Super Smash Bros. Brawl at E3 2006. His graphics have been completely revamped from his Super Smash Bros. Melee form, since his new look is derived from the game, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

His special moves have been changed to fit the realistic style of Twilight Princess.

Link's On-Screen Appearance has changed since SSB; he now arrives in from a whirlwind, a reference to the original Legend of Zelda.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Broad-sweeping, long-reaching hitboxes on all his sword-based attacks, typical of Swordsman type characters
• Neutral Aerial deals decent damage
• Long Duration and high Knockback on Up and Down Aerials
• Ranged Grab
• Tether Recovery Option
• With Tether Recovery, can gain invincibility frames by pressing back, then Z-air (Clawshot) twice to immediately grab edge when already holding on to it.
• Fast falling speed
• Excellent at edgeguarding with many techniques
• Up Special Move is a good finisher and edgeguarding tool and is good for breaking combos.
• Can recover via bombs (Bomb recovery) and clawshot to keep him alive longer
• His Hylian Shield can still act on its own and defend against projectiles from the front sometimes will reflect the projectiles back at the other players.
• Can Boomerang Cancel aerials.
• Smashes are fairly quick, have good knockback, and can score multiple hits.
• All non-special moves provide good spacing, which leaves many opportunities for smashes
• Fairly Heavy
• Can Quickdraw
• Several attacks that hit on on all sides
• Gale Boomerang can be avoided when coming back, allowing it to disrupt opponent's recovery
• Great Up Smash, as the first two swipes trap the opponent, and sends them flying with third hit. Almost impossible to avoid the final slash if hit with the previous two, also because the attack hits on both sides with great vertical knockback.
• Opponents have hard time approaching, due to his long ranged sword attacks and projectiles.
• Neutral A combo is quick, has good range, racks up damage easily, puts good space between him and the opponent, and is a decent combo-breaker
• D-tilt is a good combo starter, and has decent range. Can is also an unbelievable meteor smash if used on an opponent hanging from a ledge; however, it can be really hard to pull off in competitive play due to precise distances between characters and the time opponents usually hang onto ledges.
• Surprisingly, decent combos such as "Spin Kick" (N-air followed by Up Special)
• Good Short Hop, coupled with fast falling allows for quick, powerful attacks (especially with Boomerang Cancel)
• Throws are all decent combo starters
• Gale boomerang has good wavebounce
• Can perform Linkdashing
• Arguably, the fastest finishers among heavyweights.
• F-air is quick, powerful, and leaves the opponent open to another attack.
• Up-Special is very good for clearing edge-hoggers due to its multiple hits
• Can Gale Guard
• Has quite possibly the best aerial defense against jugglers with Down attack; Also causes large knockback

Cons:

• Long landing lag on Down Aerial and Up Aerial
• Gale Boomerang does no damage while returning
• Poor air speed
• His own bombs can be used against him and detonate earlier (though this aids in bomb jumping)
• Small jumps lead to a rather weak aerial game
• Slow grab recovery if it misses opponent.
• Poor recovery
• Charged Spin Attack can be predictable, and leaves him wide open to a downward attack to his center.

Changes from Melee to Brawl

• Hero's Bow charges faster, and fires longer uncharged
• New Side Special: Gale Boomerang
• Spin Attack can be charged on the ground, but no longer semi-spikes
• Air speed is much slower (No longer in the Top 5)
• Attacks slightly faster and long-ranged, but a little weaker
• Link's rapid-normal move has been removed, leaving only a three-hit maneuver when rapidly tapping the attack button.
• Idle animation occasionally drops shield.
• Worse horizontal maneuvarebility after Spin Attack performed in air.

Role In Subspace Emissary

Link's role begins with him walking through a forest with his fairy companion. Upon reaching the Master Sword's resting place, Link pulls the sword from its pedestal, wielding it once more. In a clearing of the forest is a napping Yoshi, who Link and his fairy companion at first pay no mind to. However, the Halberd soon flies over the clearing, dropping Shadow Bugs which soon form into Primids. At this point, Link and Yoshi form a team and battle through the enemies while in pursuit of the Halberd, only to lose their aforementioned target as it flies far off into the distance, though they quickly continue their pursuit.

Link's next appearance plays out depending on which princess is saved earlier on in the story. If Peach was saved, Link and Yoshi do battle with a Shadowbug clone of Peach (who had recently been turned into a trophy by Bowser) after it attempted to turn an unsspecting Mario and Pit into trophies until Link prevented the attack by slicing the Trophy Gun in half. Upon defeating the clone of Peach, Link is attacked by Mario, who witnessed the defeat of Peach's copy as it reverts into Shadowbugs and drifts away, apparently mistaking it for the real Peach. Then Link and Yoshi fight him and Pit. If Zelda is saved earlier on, then it is she who is cloned, and Mario and Pit fight the clone of her, and must then fend off an attack by Link and Yoshi. After the defeat (and subsequent trophification) of Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi, King Dedede arrives in a cargo, and snatches the trophies of the fallen duo with an arm attached to it. Fortunately, Kirby (who had accompanied Peach/Zelda earlier) appears and frees the two trophies, and revives them as well. Upon revival, Pit/Link fires an arrow at the incoming cargo, slowing it down a little. The five characters then form an alliance and pursue Dedede.

During their pursuit, they find Dedede's cargo (now empty) parked outside of a cave, and decide to enter it. After getting out of the cave, they find Dedede's trashed hideout, and, upon finding a hole in the wall, they decide to enter it. After they get out of the hole, they find Bowser, who Mario tries to attack until Bowser raises Peach/Zelda's trophy as a shield, forcing him to miss. Pit then fires an arrow at Bowser, whom he barely dodges, before escaping in his Koopa Clown Car.

They then pursue the Ancient Minister in a desert, trying to stop him from detonating another Subspace Bomb. Mario and Link begin to approach the Minister while dodging the lasers he fires at them. Despite their best efforts, the Subspace Bomb still explodes while the heroes barely escape the blast.

Link later appears after the team makes its way to the desert, where they aid another group (consisting of Marth, Ike, the Ice Climbers, Lucas, and the Pokémon Trainer) in fighting off the Subspace Army. If Link and Zelda's trophy forms are retrieved after the initial attack by Tabuu, they will both be shown agreeing to revive Ganondorf (who was turned into a trophy earlier on when he tried to attack Tabuu on his own), at which point they show him where their common target is. Link helps the other heroes throughout the rest of the story.

Event Matches

• Event 10: All-Star Battle Regulars- Choose your character and take on the "original 8" fighters, two at a time.
• Event 18: Dark Link Duel- Link faces the shadowy Dark Link in a 200HP Stamina Match.[1]
• Event 33: Advent of the Evil King- KO Link, Zelda, and Pit on Hyrule Temple as Ganondorf.

Co-Op Event Matches

• Co-Op Event 7: Battle of the Dark Sides- Playing as Link and Samus, defeat your dark forms in a 200 HP Stamina match on bridge of Eldin.
• Co-Op Event 13: Blades of the Quick and Mighty- Take Turns KOing enemies as Marth and Ike on Hyrule Temple. Your three opponents are Link, Meta Knight, and Ganondorf.
• Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle- Select your character and take on the entire roster on Battlefield.

Strategies & Tips

• Use bombs, arrows and the boomerang frequently. They can annoy and interrupt the opponent very well.
• Using the tether recovery, you can gain invincibility frames at the edge of a stage by regrabbing the edge quickly with the Clawshot. This can only be done 3 times then you must touch stage ground, or else Link will fall.
• Link has a powerful ground game, with his wide array of projectiles and fast, yet powerful sword attacks.
• Be sure to keep some distance between Link and the opposition, as that'll cause some major problems
• He may not look like it but Link's comboing abilities are to be feared, especially with his Aerials
• Link is good at dealing with foes coming from high in the air, who are preparing to attack. In these instances His U-air, Up tilt and Up-Smash are all key, as well as his bombs.
• Don't worry about jugglers Link's D-air can take them out with ease.
• The grab is risky, so its best to use it when the opponent is charging a move or dealing with some other distraction.
• Link is an amazing edgeguarder, all his moves can be used to edgeguard. And they do a pretty good job of it too.
• Link's boomerang can pull enemies towards him if it misses when Link throws it. This can allow you to pull enemies off the stage and edgehog, or to charge up a smash attack.
• Link's boomerang can be used to edgeguard against opponents. Pressing diagonally up or down immediately after using it directs the boomerang, and allows you to push enemies further away from the stage.
• If aimed at the edge of a stage in midair, it WILL miss Link, and affect any opponent behind him while Link can recover and edgeguard at the same time.

Moveset

Ground Attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack -Swipes his sword across his body, second swipe goes outwards and third attack is a stab forward.
• Dash attack - Swings sword from head to toe. Good combo starter.
• Strong Side - An overhead swipe
• Strong Up - Swings sword in an arc
• Strong Down - Swipes sword across ground

Smash

• Side Smash - Swings sword forward, if attack button is pressed again, he swings again but with more force.
• Up Smash - Swings sword in an arc three times.
• Down Smash - Swipes sword from front to back, very quick; like his down tilt but with more force and it aims behind him too.

Other

• Ledge attack -
• 100% ledge attack -
• Floor attack -
• Trip attack -

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral Aerial - Does a flying jump-kick.
• Forward Aerial - Swings his sword twice and spins 360 degrees.
• Back Aerial - Does a two kick combo.
• Up Aerial - Upward thrust move.
• Down Aerial - Downward thrust move.

Grabs & Throws

• Grab - Holds opponent with his right hand after grabbing them with the Claw Shot.
• Pummel - Hits opponent with the hilt of the Master Sword.
• Forward Throw - Lets go of foe then kicks them, football punt style.
• Back Throw - Throws foe back then kicks.
• Down Throw - Throws foe down then elbows them.
• Up Throw - Throws foe a very short distance above him, then slashes.

Snake's Codec Message

Snake: Otacon, who's the guy with the sword?

Otacon: That's Link. He's the hero of Hyrule.

O: That blade in his hand is called the Master Sword, also known as the "Blade of Evil's Bane."

O: He also has a whole arsenal of items at his disposal--bombs and arrows, a shield, a boomerang, and a Clawshot. He's a force to be reckoned with.

S: Gear is only useful when it's used at the right time and place. Just lugging a ton of it around doesn't do you any good.

O: ...I, uh... I wouldn't be talking if I were you, Snake.

S: What's that supposed to mean?

O: You tell me, Mr. Utility Belt.

S: ...

Special Movements

Taunts

Up: Twirls his sword twice and sheaths it. Seems to have invincibility properties (Similar to his Twilight Princess "Victory Pose", which he performs after defeating a boss or certain enemies).

Side: Takes out a fairy that flies around him.

Down: Poses, like from SSB.

On-Screen Appearance

Appears in a whirlwind.

Idle Stance

• Link will sometimes spin his sword stylishly if left alone, like in Twilight Princess.
• Link may also look around if he is standing for a long enough time.

Victory Pose

Victory Theme: Zelda Triforce Theme

• Gives two swipes of his sword, then sheathes it
• Horizontal swipe with his sword, then holds it up, giving off a battle cry.
• Three swipes with his sword, turns to his right (same as his character selection animation from SSB).

Wii Remote Choice

Makes the grunt he makes during Up Smash.

Credits Music

• Tal Tal Heights

Crowd Favorite Cheer

• Go Link! (the audience claps three times)

Trivia

• Link never puts his shield away unless shooting an arrow or has an item in his hand. He does lower it occasionally, though.
• Link's arrows have a very long reach; approximately twice as far than in Melee.
• Link kneels on one knee when using the Hero's Bow.
• Link and Toon Link are the only characters in Super Smash Bros Brawl who are laterality left-handed. In most of the Legend of Zelda games, Link is left-handed, although some games show Link to be right handed (like the Wii version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess to fit the control scheme).
• Link's spin attack has been known to deflect projectiles (in the air).

External Links

• Link's page at Smash Bros. Dojo!!.
• E for All Expo Report.