Young Link (SSBU): Difference between revisions

'''Young Link''' ({{ja|こどもリンク|Kodomo Rinku}}, ''Young Link'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. He was officially confirmed as playable alongside his former successor {{SSBU|Toon Link}} on June 12th, 2018. While Young Link remains a full [[clone]] of {{SSBU|Link}}, it is not classified as an Echo Fighter. As such, Young Link is classified as [[Fighter number|Fighter #22]].

As in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'', {{s|zeldawiki|Fujiko Takimoto}}'s portrayals of Young Link from ''{{s|zeldawiki|The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time}}'' and ''[[zeldawiki:The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask|Majora's Mask]]'' were repurposed for ''Ultimate'', with mostly returning voice clips from ''Melee'', and in addition to some new ones sourced from these games.

With the exception of the third method, Young Link must then be defeated on [[Great Bay]].

Young Link is a [[weight|lightweight]] character (same as {{SSBU|Greninja}} and {{SSBU|Isabelle}}) and is actually the lightest of the three Links, being three units lighter than {{SSBU|Toon Link}}. Compared to his descendants, he tends to be in the middle of their movement stats, with Toon Link usually being faster than him, but outclassing the mobility of regular {{SSBU|Link}}. In terms of the rest of the cast, Young Link’s [[dashing speed]] is average, his [[initial dash]] is above average, and his [[air speed]] and [[air acceleration|acceleration]] are both low. His [[falling speed]] is above average, actually being the highest of the Links, however his [[fast fall]]ing speed is slower than Link’s, albeit still above average. Finally, his gravity is average and tied with Link’s. Overall, Young Link’s mobility is very average.

Young Link’s moveset is regarded as one of the best and most reliable in the entire game. While even the best characters in the game usually have one or two moves in their moveset regarded as worthless, none of Young Link’s moves are competitively unviable and all serve a purpose to his kit. There are two reasons for this. The first being that, like his descendants, he wields a sword. However, in his case, he wields his starting weapon from ''{{iw|zeldawiki|The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time}}'' and ''{{iw|zeldawiki|The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask}}'': the {{iw|zeldawiki|Kokiri Sword}}. Being a sword, the Kokiri Sword grants Young Link disjointed range, giving him the ability to space out his opponents as well as making his sword attacks risky to trade with unless the opponent has disjointed range of their own. The second, and more important, is his outstanding frame data. While Link has been synonymous with poor frame data and a laggy moveset due to his past appearances up until ''Ultimate'', Young Link, on the other hand, has some of the best frame data in the entire game, with many of his moves being infamous for how quickly they come out coupled with how little cooldown they have. As a result, many moves of his are extremely safe on shield, such as down tilt, neutral air, forward air, back air, and even his boomerang. Additionally, the speed of his moveset makes it reliable for one of Young Link’s most notable aspects: his combo game.

While the Link archetype is one that has never been known for [[combos]], Young Link subverts this by providing one of the most complex and varied combo games out of the entire cast. His [[down tilt]] and [[up tilt]] are specifically designed to start combos, with both simply knocking the opponents up into the air with weak knockback to set up for his [[aerial]]s, while his [[jab]] can transition into a rapid jab for respectable damage or be used to jab lock opponents and set up for down tilt into an aerial combo. However, his aerials are truly what gives him the outstanding combo game he has. Most of them are capable of both starting combos as well as continuing them, making their usage very flexible and wide. His [[neutral air]], perhaps his best aerial, is a simple [[sex kick]]. It’s late hit in particular is extremely good for combos, being able to both start and continue combos even into high percentages and being able to be followed up with a majority of Young Link’s moveset. It can also lead to tech chase situations at high percents when the move causes opponents to go into tumble. The clean hit, on the other hand, is a very reliable “get off me” tool that prevents other combo heavy characters from overwhelming Young Link with combos of their own, as well as providing him with an out of shield option. Overall, the sheer utility of this move has caused it to gain the reputation as one of the best aerials in the game.

[[Forward air|Forward]] and [[back air]] are both designed similarly. Both attacks are combo attacks that consist of a first weak hit that is meant to lead into a second stronger attack that contains knockback. However, these are both meant to be used in different ways. Back air is much more geared towards combos as it comes out fast, has very little lag, and deals minimal knockback, making it easy to follow up with another back air or another move. Forward air is instead a combo finisher as it comes out slower and is slower overall than back air in exchange for having much more power and knockback, being one of Young Link’s best KO moves. Additionally, both of these moves can be land cancelled before their second hits come out, essentially allowing them another way to set up for combos. [[Up air]] is a thrust above Young Link that comes out very fast for how strong it is and lingers awhile, making it useful for covering the space above him. It can be used to juggle opponents, as it’s hard to challenge due to it’s disjoint. Additionally, when fresh, it is one of his most potent KO moves and can be comboed into quite flexibly. [[Down air]], while not being a combo tool, serves as a reliable landing option due to it’s lingering hitbox and disjointed range as well as a KO tool at high percents.

However, Young Link is not completely reliant upon his superb combo game and his [[special move]]s grant him many more options to work with. [[Fire Arrow]] fires a flaming arrow in front of Young Link. The most notable aspect of this move, much like the rest of Young Link’s moveset, is how fast it is. It contains very little startup and ending lag and even an uncharged arrow travels a respectable distance, making it very useful for zoning. The arrow itself also deals low upwards knockback with high hitstun, essentially making them reliable combo starters, too, provided Young Link is close enough to his opponent. Fire Arrow can also be charged, allowing it to fly further and do more damage than a noncharged arrow. However, this charge cannot be held, unlike moves such as {{SSBU|Samus}}’ [[Charge Shot]]. [[Boomerang]] is slower than Fire Arrow, but comes with the perks of more damage, lasting much longer, and returning to Young Link after travelling a certain distance, meaning that the opponent must remain aware of the boomerang’s location even after it has passed them. Boomerang is best used as another projectile to force the opponent to worry about getting around and granting Young Link stage control. Interestingly, a point blank boomerang is actually safe on shield against most of the cast, something extremely uncharacteristic of a projectile. {{b|Bomb|Link}}s, Young Link’s third and final projectile, are perhaps his most flexible. Using the move will have Young Link pull out and light a bomb before holding it in his hand. Afterwards, the bomb functions as a held item, allowing Young Link to throw it forward, backward, up, and down in addition to being able to drop it and have it lie on the ground until it explodes. Bombs grant Young Link a numerous amount of trapping opportunities, such as being able to use dropped bombs to cover platforms or ledge getup options, as well as setting up for combos if the Bomb hits an opponent. Essentially, these three moves allow Young Link to play as a zoner, much like regular Link does. However, Young Link is unique in that, while most zoners’ weaknesses are their poor frame data and inability to get opponents off of them, he is more than capable of fighting up close and actually likes when his opponents get close to him, as it allows him to take advantage of his combo game. While on the topic of his combo game, his last special move, [[Spin Attack]], serves as a surprisingly effective combo starter on the ground, where it knocks opponents up into the air with weak knockback and has little endlag. In the air, it is instead a combo finisher, reliably KOing opponents at the ledge at high percents.

Young Link’s [[grab]] game provides him with some interesting options. Unlike Link, Young Link still retains use of the [[Hookshot]] for his grab, giving him a very long grab range in exchange for his grab being laggier than most. Additionally, the Hookshot itself can be used as a ZAir attack, where it has the longest range of any of his aerials, and can confirm into Up Smash for KOs at higher percents. This ZAir attack can also allow him to grab onto ledges provided he is close enough, providing him with another recovery option. His forward throw is one of the strongest throws in the game, KOing middleweights at the ledge of Final Destination around 130%. Up and down throws both have combo potential in the low-to-mid percent range. Back throw is the least useful of his throws but can set up for an edgeguard.

However, while he has some very potent strengths, Young Link has some notable weaknesses. His range, while disjointed, is significantly lacking when compared to other sword users. As a result, despite having a sword, Young Link is beaten out in range by nearly every other swordfighter in the game, causing his mid-range game to be rather poor as his attacks are too short ranged to hit but his projectiles leave him wide open to attack. Unlike other sword characters, he still needs to get up close and personal if he wants to use any attacks other than his projectiles, which leads into his second issue of his mobility. While Young Link’s mobility is average overall, this average mobility can tend to clash with his combo oriented moveset. This can lead to situations where Young Link is simply too slow to continue a combo he has started. While Fire Arrows can help alleviate this by being used to “hold” opponents in hitstun while Young Link gets over to continue the combo, it is not ideal or even possible in all situations. Additionally, Young Link’s recovery, while much better than in ''Melee'', is very exploitable. Due to Spin Attack only covering to the sides of him and not above, he is easily hit out of his recovery and edgeguarded by characters who can hit his head and now come into contact with the hitboxes as well as being vulnerable to characters with counters such as Lucina.

Though, none of these are Young Link’s biggest flaw which is his inconsistent KO ability. While some players may claim Young Link’s KO ability is flat out bad, this is not actually true. Many of his moves including all of his Smash Attacks, forward air, up air, and down air, all possess respectable knockback and can kill at average percentages at worst. What gives him difficulty KOing is his lack of an easy, reliable setup into these moves. The easy setups such as using bombs are not always reliable due to bombs having random knockback at times while the more difficult setups such as ZAir into Up Smash are reliable, but considerably more difficult to pull off due to the attacks themselves often being difficult to land because of Young Link’s small range, especially in the heat of a match. Stale moves also pose a huge threat to Young Link’s KO potential. While moves like forward and up air are very strong in combos, using them to wrack up damage will result in sacrificing them as reliable KO tools later on. As a result, Young Link players must be very vigilant of staling their moves and work to make sure they keep their kill moves as fresh as possible, more so than most other characters. This, when combined with a large number of combos and set ups that need to be memorized, causes Young Link to have a rather high learning curve, especially at top level play.

In summary, Young Link, despite appearing to be very similar to his descendants in terms of his moveset, has a completely unique design and playstyle unlike anybody else in the game. He possesses one of the best zoning and combo games in the cast, giving him the ability to play both hyper defensively and hyper aggressively and switch between the two playstyles on the fly to throw opponents off. However, he must remain very aware of how he uses his moves, as not to stale his finishers too soon, as well as be ready to react to any mistake an opponent makes at high percents in order to take a stock before an opponent’s percentage gets too high and it becomes difficult to KO them in a set-up. Despite rather low representation at top level, most likely due to his high learning curve and inconsistencies, Young Link is regarded as a high tier character, especially with the recent buffs to his KO power in 7.0.0, and the few top level players who have chosen to main him have proven his capability to preform well in tournaments.

{{incomplete}}

 

Since Link has been heavily reworked to match his appearance in ''Breath of the Wild'', Young Link effectively functions as a stand-in for Link’s older appearances. Furthermore, as Young Link is based off of ''Ocarina of Time'' rather than ''Twilight Princess'', he is closest to Link’s appearances in ''Smash 64'' and ''Melee''. He retains moves and characteristics from ''Melee'' that Link himself no longer possesses, such as a rapid jab, his dash attack, and Hookshot. However, these changes further [[clone|declone]] Young Link from Link, though not enough to change his full clone status.

*{{change|Young Link is based on ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'' rather than ''The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild''.}}

*{{change|Young Link wields the Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield instead of the Master Sword and Hylian Shield.}}

*{{change|Young Link's [[on-screen appearance]], [[Taunt|taunts]], [[Idle pose|idle poses]], and two of his victory animations are different from Link's.}}

*{{change|Young Link is shorter than Link. While this does make him harder to hit, it also results in him having less reach in his attacks.}}

*{{change|Young Link deals less knockback for most of his attacks. This overall weakens his KO potential in comparison to Link, but it also grants Young link access to new combos.}}

*{{buff|Young Link can [[Wall jump|wall jump]], aiding his recovery and ledge play options on stages with walls.}}

*{{buff|Young Link [[Walk|walks]] faster than Link (1.247 → 1.26).}}

*{{buff|Young Link [[Dash|runs]] faster than Link (1.534 → 1.749).}}

**{{buff|His initial dash speed is faster than Link (1.98 → 2.09).}}

*{{change|Young Link [[Falling speed|falls]] faster (1.6 → 1.8) than Link. However, his [[Fast fall|fast falling]] speed is slower (3.04 → 2.88).}}

**{{nerf|The difference between Young Link's falling speed and fast falling speed is much lower than Link's (increase: 90% → 60%), which makes it more predictable when landing and gives it fewer options in the air.}}

*{{buff|Young Link [[Jump|jumps]] higher than Link (27.8 → 33.66 (full hop), 13.38 → 16.26 (short hop), 29 → 33.66 (air jump)).}}

*{{nerf|Young Link is significantly [[Weight|lighter]] than Link (104 → 88). Combined with his high falling speed, this notoriously makes Young Link easier to combo and KO than Link.}}

**{{buff|Young Link's Neutral Attack can be followed by neutral infinite and a finisher, unlike Link's.}}

**{{buff|The first hit has much less startup lag (frame 8 → 4).}}

**{{nerf|The third hit have more ending lag (FAF 35 → 36).}}

**{{nerf|All hits deal less damage (3% → 2% (hit 1), 3% → 1.5% (hit 2), 4% → 3.5% (hit 3)), resulting in all three hits dealing less damage overall (10% → 7%).}}

**{{buff|Forward tilt has noticeably less startup lag (frame 15 → 10) and less ending lag (FAF 40 → 34), making it safer to use.}}

**{{nerf|It has a shorter duration (frames 15-19 → 10-12) and deals less damage (13% → 12%/11%).}}

**{{nerf|It deals noticeably less knockback.}}

**{{change|Young Link's up tilt uses Link's previous animation where it starts from the front rather than the back.}}

**{{nerf|It has more startup lag (frame 8 → 9) and deals less damage (11% → 8%).}}

**{{buff|Down tilt has less startup (frame 10 → 8) and ending lag (FAF 31 → 26), as well as less knockback (base 90/scaling 30 → 80/25), making it better for combos.}}

**{{change|Young Link has a different dash attack: instead of performing the Jump Attack from ''Ocarina of Time'', he performs a lunging downwards slash.}}

**{{nerf|It deals less damage (14%/13%/12% → 11%/10%).}}

**{{nerf|It deals much less knockback.}}

**{{nerf|Young Link's forward smash can not fire beams at 0%.}}

**{{buff|The first hit has less startup (frame 17 → 15) and ending lag (FAF 51 → 48).}}

**{{change|The first hit always deals lower damage (14%/7% → 6%) and knockback.}}

**{{nerf|The second hit deals less damage (13% → 12%/10%).}}

**{{nerf|The first and third hits deal less damage (4% → 3% (hit 1), 11%/10%/9% → 8%/7% (hit 3)) and the knockback in the final hit wasn't fully compensated (base 60/ scaling 96 → 75/108), hindering its KO potential.}}

**{{buff|Down smash has less startup (frame 12 → 9 (hit 1), frame 24 → 21 (hit 2)) and ending lag (FAF 55 → 50).}}

**{{nerf|Both hits deal less damage (17%/16%/14% → 12%/11%/10% (hit 1), 13%/10% → 10%/9% (hit 2)).}}

**{{change|The clean hit deals consistent damage (11%/9% → 10%).}}

**{{buff|It has much less ending lag (FAF 52 → 41).}}

**{{nerf|Both hits deal less damage (8% → 6% (hit 1), 10% → 8%/7% (hit 2)).}}

**{{nerf|The late hit deals less damage (13% → 12%).}}

**{{buff|Down aerial has less startup lag with a longer active duration (frames 15-64 → 13-64).}}

***{{nerf|However, the clean hit has a shorter active duration (frames 16-19 → 13-15).}}

**{{nerf|It does not have a [[meteor smash]] hitbox.}}

**{{nerf|The bounce-off hit deals less damage (11% → 9%).}}

*[[Grab|Grabs]]:

**{{change|Young Link retains the [[Hookshot]] while Link no longer has a tether grab.}}

***{{buff|This gives Young Link an increased grab range, [[grab aerial]], and [[tether recovery]].}}

***{{nerf|Young Link's grab has more startup and endlag.}}

**{{buff|It deals signficantly more knockback, allowing it to KO under 140% at the edge.}}

**{{buff|It deals more knockback, allowing it to KO under 200% at the edge.}}

**{{nerf|Up throw deals less damage (5% → 2% (hit 1), 7% → 6% (total)).}}

**{{nerf|It has a signficantly shorter duration (frames 16-61 → 14-48).}}

**{{nerf|It has more ending lag (FAF 35 → 38).}}

**{{buff|It deals more knockback and launch upwards instead of away, increasing his combo ability and making the move safer on hit up close.}}

**{{change|It deals [[flame]] damage (hence the name).}}

**{{nerf|Its projectiles move slower, causing them to travel less distance.}}

**{{buff|Boomerang deals more damage (8% → 11% (clean), 6% → 7% (late)), which increases further if used as a smash special move (9.6% → 13.2% (clean), 7.2% → 8.4% (late)).}}

**{{nerf|The clean hit has a much shorter duration (frames 27-36 → 27-29).}}

**{{buff|Grounded Spin Attack lands multiple hits instead of one, allowing it to trap opponents within its hitboxes, and the late hitboxes inflict more damage.}}

**{{nerf|Grounded Spin Attack deals catastrophically less knockback. As a result, it is not a viable KO move unlike Link's.}}

**{{change|Young Link retains Link's original [[Bomb (Link)|bombs]] that detonate automatically instead of the [[Remote Bomb]].}}

**{{change|Young Link's Final Smash is [[Triforce Slash]], which was Link's final smash in his previous appearances.}}

Young Link has been heavily buffed in the transition from ''Melee'' to ''Ultimate''. His attributes, moveset and general gameplan have all been significantly improved in the transition, and he has gained a better combo game, whereas the changes to the general pace of ''Ultimate'' have contributed to his benefits.

Young Link's speed has been improved from ''Melee'', not just in terms of his mobility, but also his attacks, as many of them have decreased startup and ending lag (such as [[neutral attack]], [[forward tilt|forward]] and [[down tilt]]s, and [[dash attack]]), and his aerials have heavily decreased landing lag (even compared to their [[L-cancel]]ed counterparts in ''Melee''), improving his ability to land. Some of his moves have also been reworked to make them more reliable and effective, such as his [[up smash]] and his [[forward aerial|forward]] and [[back aerial]]s, and the weakening of [[SDI]] heavily benefits his multi-hit attacks. His grab game has also been improved thanks to the universal changes to tether grabs, as they now have less ending lag and a longer duration. His [[forward throw]] also has increased knockback, giving him a new KOing option.

His special moveset has also seen heavy improvements. [[Fire Arrow]] has less ending lag and increased knockback, [[Boomerang]] deals less knockback as a result of its lower damage, grounded [[Spin Attack]] has less ending lag after its final hit, and aerial Spin Attack's hits link into the other much more consistently. Bombs were also significantly buffed, as their multi-hits accumulate their damage faster, they travel farther when thrown, no longer deal damage to Young Link if they hit an enemy head-on, and can be "soft-tossed" or slowly Z-dropped without exploding. All of these changes combined together not only grant Young Link a deceptively improved zoning game, but have also further improved his combo ability from mid-distance.

The changes to ''Ultimate''{{'}}s engine have also generally benefitted Young Link. The universal increase in mobility, the ability to [[Run cancel|use any attack out of a run]] and the increased [[shieldstun]] have vastly improved Young Link's close quarters combat, as he can now close in on the distance with less issue and his attacks' above average damage output renders them harder to punish (most infamously his tilt attacks). The universal reduction to landing lag is an especially notable benefit, as not only this improves his ability to land, but has improved his aerials' safety on shield -despite the reduced shieldstun on aerial attacks-, but has also dramatically improved his combo game up-close outside of his [[down throw]] and {{b|Bomb|Link}}s, with him now having set-up options by virtue of his [[neutral aerial]]'s late hit and the first hits of his forward and back aerials. The removal of [[edgehogging]], the introduction of [[Edgeguarding#Ledge trumping|ledge trumping]] and the changes to invincibility when grabbing an [[edge]] have also notably improved Young Link's recovery, making him much less vulnerable to getting edgeguarded or getting hit if he doesn't grab the stage's edge.

Although he has mostly received buffs, Young Link is not without some nerfs. In exchange for his now excellent combo ability, some of Young Link's attacks deal less damage (most notably his projectiles), now requiring him to string more hits in order to rack up more damage. A few of his attacks also have slightly increased startup and ending lag, while others have shorter durations, bringing them more in line with the rest of the cast. His aerial mobility is also slightly worse (especially when relative to the cast). Additionally, his down tilt and down aerial no longer have [[meteor smash]] hitboxes, meaning that Young Link gains no benefits from the removal of [[Meteor smash#Meteor canceling|meteor canceling]]. In terms of gameplay changes, the changes to [[air dodging]] also hinder Young Link's mobility, as [[wavedashing]] and wavelanding are significantly less effective due to their increased landing lag. Some of Young Link's weaknesses from ''Melee'' also remain, most notably his below average range for a swordfighter (despite it improving in the transition) and his still limited KOing ability.

Overall, Young Link's gameplan has radically changed between both games, which has also resulted in a slight increase to his already high learning curve. Young Link now has reliable damage racking capabilities at all ranges, courtesy of an improved zoning game and a deceptively improved combo game that doesn't require use of his bombs, which now makes it easier for him to close in on the distance against other characters and harder for other characters to keep up with him, and he has less trouble at landing due to his aerials' lower landing lag. However, even with the higher knockback on some of his moves and his new hit confirms, his KOing ability remains below average, which combined with his short range means Young Link still has to take risks in order to KO the opponent. Regardless, Young Link is a significantly better character than he was in ''Melee'', with a larger playerbase in competitive play consisting of players such as {{Sm|colinies}}, {{Sm|SKITTLES!!}}, {{Sm|Supahsemmie}}, {{Sm|T}}, {{Sm|Toast}} and {{Sm|Tweek}}, who have demonstrated Young Link's strong potential when mastered. As a result, Young Link is commonly considered to be a high tier character, though due to other characters receiving similar improvements such as {{SSBU|Greninja}}, {{SSBU|Mario}}, {{SSBU|Pikachu}}, {{SSBU|Palutena}}, {{SSBU|Roy}}, {{SSBU|R.O.B.}}, and {{SSBU|Wolf}}, his true tier placement remains debatable.

Young Link received a mix of buffs and nerfs in game updates, but was buffed overall. The nerfs to the shield damage of various projectiles in update 3.0.0 affect Young Link more negatively than most other characters. However, the version 7.0.0 update gave Young Link increased knockback on many of his attacks, allowing for more KO options.

*While standing still, walking, or crouching, incoming [[projectile]]s that hit Young Link's [[Shield (Link)|Deku Shield]] will deal no damage and simply push him back. It can block any amount of projectiles regardless of power.

*Young Link possesses a [[tether]] attack and grab.

|neutralname= 

|neutraldesc=A downward slash, followed by an outward slash, followed by a thrust. If button mashed, Young Link instead performs a rapid flurry of slashes before concluding with an upward slash. The standard neutral attack is based on the final series of strikes that he does to [[Ganondorf|Ganon]] in ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time''.

|ftiltname= 

|ftiltdesc=A lunging downward slash. It resembles the [[zeldawiki:Targeting|Z-Targeting]] slash he uses in ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'' and ''The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask''. It comes out on frame 10 with low ending lag, yet it has good power for its speed, making it a reliable KO option. However, the tip of the sword is a sour spot.

|utiltname= 

|utiltdesc=An overhead arcing clash. A reliable combo starter that can combo into itself or in Young Link's aerials.

|dtiltname= 

|dtiltdesc=A kneeling inward slash. It has minimal knockback and launches the opponent vertically, allowing it to easily chain into all of his aerials at almost any percent, allowing for KO confirms into aerial Spin Attack and forward aerial. One of Young Link's best combo tools. it deals more damage closer to the base of the sword.

|dashname= 

|dashdesc=A lunging downward slash. It comes out quickly at frame 8 without a large amount of ending lag, and it has decent power, giving it some KO power at the ledge. Just like other attacks, the tip of the Kokiri Sword deals less damage.

|fsmashname= 

|fsmashdesc=A two-handed, lunging downward slash. If the attack button is pressed again, Young Link will perform a single-handed outward slash. The first hit deals almost no knockback but is a natural combo into the second hit, which deals powerful knockback. Is somewhat fast for a forward-smash, coming out on frame 15. Can be combo'd into from neutral aerial's late hit and aerial Hookshot.

|usmashname= 

|usmashdesc=A series of three overhead arcing slashes, the last of which launches opponents vertically. Unlike in ''Melee'', it is no longer capable of creating long juggles due to its increased lag and knockback, although this also makes it significantly more effective as a KO move. The first two slashes trap opponents, with the third hit launching them vertically. Decently powerful, but the move's long duration makes it easy to punish if whiffed. It was buffed in update 7.0., being noticeably stronger than before.

|dsmashname= 

|dsmashdesc=A kneeling inward slash in front of himself, followed by a kneeling outward slash behind himself. Both hits are semi-spikes, making them good for edge guarding, and is stronger from the front than from the back.

|nairname= 

|nairdesc=A flying kick. It is a [[sex kick]] and one of the fastest aerials in the game at frame 4, making it a very good option to get opponents off of him. Additionally, it has extremely low landing lag, can autocancel in a short hop, and has a just as strong of an offense use, as the late hit can function both as a combo starter or can be used in the middle of a combo to lead into a variety of moves. It also has decent power, as it can KO at high percents when edgeguarding. Overall, it is commonly regarded as one of the best aerials in the game and is a vital part of Young Link's combo game.

|fairname= 

|fairdesc=Two alternating, spinning outward slashes. The first hit traps opponents into the second hit, which deals reasonably high knockback, making it useful for knocking opponents offstage or killing them outright at higher percents. Landing on the ground after the first hit but before the second will cancel the move, allowing for a follow-up into a different attack. It can autocancel in a full hop.

|bairname= 

|bairdesc=A hook kick followed by a mid-level roundhouse kick. It comes out on frame 6 and has the lowest ending lag of his aerials. Functions similarly to his forward aerial, including the ability to drag-down foes with the first hit, but trades range and power for a reduced startup. Despite this, it possesses a somewhat disjointed hitbox, and its first hit can reliably KO into any of his smash attacks.

|uairname= 

|uairdesc=The {{s|zeldawiki|Up Thrust}}. It has a long active duration, and its high damage and knockback allow it to KO at around 130% with the clean hit, but despite that, it has a very fast startup at frame 5. However, its long active duration makes it punishable if not used carefully, and it has a strict autocancel window, as it can only autocancel in a double jump.

|dairname= 

|dairdesc=The {{s|zeldawiki|Down Thrust}}. Unlike Link's similar move, it does not meteor smash even with the clean hit. Deals high knockback, making it one of Young Link's most reliable aerial KO moves, but is dangerous to use offstage due to its long duration and high ending lag. Landing the clean hit on an opponent or their shield will cause Young Link to bounce upwards.

|zairname=Midair Hookshot

|zairdesc=Shoots his {{s|zeldawiki|Hookshot}} forward. Can be used to [[Tether recovery|grab stage ledges]]. As of update 7.0., it now has above-average hitstun and faster start-up, making it an excellent combo starter at nearly any percent, even allowing for KO confirms into up-smash, forward-smash, or forward aerial.

|grabname=[[Hookshot]]

|grabdesc=Fires his Hookshot straight forward. Functions as a tether grab and can be used for tether recovery. Like other tether grabs, it has higher lag than normal grabs in exchange for much longer range.

|pummelname= 

|fthrowname= 

|fthrowdesc=A jumping front kick. It is easily Young Link's strongest throw, and one of the strongest forward throws in the game, starting to KO middleweights around 130% from the edge of [[Final Destination]], which makes it a reliable KO throw.

|bthrowname= 

|bthrowdesc=A back kick. Launches at a high angle, but has a low ending lag and relatively low knockback growth, potentially leading into edge guard setups. It is also capable of KOing around 180% from the edge of Final Destination.

|uthrowname= 

|uthrowdesc=Raises the opponent overhead and slashes them upward. It starts to KO around 190% on Final Destination. If the initial sword slash hits another opponent, they will be launched at a very low angle, allowing for edge guard setups. It has some combo potential at low-to-mid percents.

|dthrowname= 

|dthrowdesc=Pins the opponent to the ground and performs an [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling attacks#Elbow drop|elbow drop]]. It can be used as a combo starter, although not reliable as in ''Melee''.

|nsdesc=Uses the {{s|zeldawiki|Fairy Bow}} to fire a {{s|zeldawiki|Fire Arrow}}. It can be charged up for more power and range. The arrows send opponents at an upwards angle with low knockback and high hitstun, making it a good aerial combo starter. In addition, it has low startup and ending lag, making it an excellent combo/spacing tool all around.

|ssdesc=Throws his {{s|zeldawiki|Boomerang}} forward. It can be angled diagonally and deals damage when returning to Young Link. It can combo into an aerial at most percents.

|usdesc=[[zeldawiki:Spin Attack|A series of spinning, outward slashes]]. It has a very quick startup, making it a potent out-of-shield option. Just like the Spin Attack of the other two Link incarnations, it can be charged when grounded for more damage. Similarly to Toon Link's version of the move, it hits multiple times on the ground, with the final hit launching opponents. However, Young Link's version of the Spin Attack is different than the variants the other Links have: instead of dealing strong horizontal knockback, Young Link's Spin Attack deals weak vertical knockback, making it unviable as a KO tool but useful as a combo starter. The aerial version can carry opponents to the upper blast line, and KO them there at high enough percents.

|dsdesc=Pulls out a {{s|zeldawiki|Bomb}}. Just like in ''Melee'', the explosion from the bomb hits multiple times. The bomb explodes after hitting a surface or enemy, or after enough time passes. The bomb's weak knockback makes it useful as a combo starter. It can be used to extend Young Link's recovery, as the damage from the explosion will take him out of helplessness.

|fsdmg=60%

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

*Descends onto the stage while surrounded by rays of blue light that shine down from the sky, referencing the Ocarina of Time's powers. Upon landing, he equips the Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield. This is akin to [[Link (SSB)|his older self]]'s on-screen appearance in ''SSB''.

YoungLinkOnScreenAppearanceSSBU.gif|Young Link's on-screen appearance

===[[Idle pose]]s===

*Looks around himself.

*Kicks the toes of his boots on the ground, as if knocking off the dirt.

SSBUYoungLinkIdle1.gif|Young Link's first idle pose

*'''Up taunt''': Holds the Kokiri Sword up in the air.

*'''Side taunt''': Places the Deku Shield on his back and watches [[Navi]] fly around him.

*'''Down taunt''': Sheaths the Kokiri Sword and places the Deku Shield on his back and takes a drink of Lon Lon Milk.

*'''Left:''' While holding his sword in a reverse grip, adjusts his belt and flicks his nose. Based on one of Young Link's idle animations in ''Ocarina of Time''.

*'''Up:''' Stabs forward with his sword, then holds it up, giving off a battle cry. This is identical to one of Link's poses other than the camera angle.

*'''Right:''' Sheathes his sword, dusts his hands off, and puts them on his hips while grinning.

==In competitive play==

Young Link was met with a considerable amount of hype when he returned to the series after 17 years, last appearing in ''Melee''. By the time ''Ultimate'' was released, there were high hopes for him due to his amazing combo game and damage racking potential from his projectiles. {{Sm|Tweek}} found success with the character in the early months of ''Ultimate'', winning tournaments such as {{Trn|Glitch 6}} and {{Trn|Frostbite 2019}}. Players believed that because of these strengths and strong results, Young Link was seen as a viable high-tier or top-tier character, and the best of the three Links. As time went on, players began discovering his weaknesses, which include inconsistent KO power and a linear, slow recovery, making him relatively easy to edgeguard. Tweek went on to drop the character in favor of {{SSBU|Pokémon Trainer}} and {{SSBU|Wario}}. As a result, Young Link was then seen as a high-tier or an upper-mid tier. In 2020, patch 7.0.0. was released, granting Young Link a multitude of buffs, which fixed his problem of KO'ing at higher percents and having a confirm off of his grab aerial, or z-air. This caused many to again consider him a competitive high-tier or top-tier and the best fighter from ''The Legend of Zelda''. Because of this, coming out of nowhere, {{Sm|Toast}} amazed the crowd with his breakout performance at {{Trn|Frostbite 2020}}, placing 7th, taking sets off of many top players, including {{Sm|Samsora}} and {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}}.

In the online scene, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Young Link has a more prominent representation and a much stronger pick in Wi-Fi tournaments. His safe aerials and already strong projectiles are buffed online due to increased lag and reaction time being taken into account. Currently, the character's Wi-Fi meta is being represented by players such as {{Sm|SKITTLES!!}} and {{Sm|colinies}}.

===Notable players===

====Active====

<!--If you are planning to add a player you consider to be notable, please provide tournament results in some shape or form in the edit summary (be it a link to a results thread or bracket of placing high in a tournament of other notable players or a video of them beating a notable player). Winning tournaments without notable players present is generally not enough to warrant a spot.-->

''Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the [[Fall 2019 PGRU]], which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in [[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]] from July 13th, 2019 to December 15th, 2019.''

*{{Sm|Alphicans|Canada}} - Has a strong Young Link secondary. Placed 5th at {{Trn|The Pinnacle 2018}} with solo Young Link, as well as 1st at {{Trn|Salt Flats 2019}} and 9th at {{Trn|SKL: Prairie Pummel}} as one of his characters. Has wins over {{Sm|Jw}}, {{Sm|Lemmon}}, and {{Sm|Slime}}.

*{{Sm|colinies|USA}} - One of the best Young Link players in the United States. Placed 1st at {{Trn|Steel City Showdown}}, 3rd at {{Trn|COST 2019}}, and 17th at {{Trn|Collision 2019}}. Ranked 2nd on the [[Ohio Smash Ultimate Power Rankings]].

*{{Sm|Felker|France}} - One of the best Young Link players in Europe. Placed 13th at {{Trn|Le Colossel de M3R}}, 17th at {{Trn|European SEL Clash}}, 25th at both {{Trn|Stunfest 2019}} and {{Trn|Syndicate 2019}}, and 49th at {{Trn|Ultimate Fighting Arena 2019}}. Has wins over {{Sm|Leon}}, {{Sm|Maeda}}, and {{Sm|WhYYZ}}.

*{{Sm|Jdizzle|Australia}} - The best Young Link player in Australia. Placed 1st at {{Trn|BigWinChampionship 2}}, 3rd at {{Trn|Phantom 2019}}, and 7th at {{Trn|Expand Gong 4}}.

*{{Sm|Kobe|USA}} - One of the best active Young Link players in the world. Placed 13th at both {{Trn|Smash Conference United}} and {{Trn|Come to Papa 3}}, 33rd at {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}, and 49th at {{Trn|CEO 2019}}.

*{{Sm|Kyros|USA}} - Placed 7th at {{Trn|2GG: All In}} and 65th at {{Trn|Frostbite 2020}}. Has wins over {{Sm|ChocoTaco}}, {{Sm|Aikota}}, {{Sm|Runes}}, {{Sm|ChillyChilli}}, {{Sm|BONK!}}, and {{Sm|Cyro}}.

*{{Sm|Mr.R|Netherlands}} (#44) - Uses Young Link as a secondary. Placed 2nd at {{Trn|DreamHack Winter 2019}} and 9th at {{Trn|2GG: SwitchFest 2019}} using mainly Young Link. Notably reverse 3-0'd {{Sm|Leffen}} with the character.

*{{Sm|SKITTLES!!|USA}} - The best Young Link player in Nebraska. Placed 1st at [https://smash.gg/tournament/pg-keys-to-evo-smash-ultimate-final-showdown/events PG Keys to EVO: Smash Ultimate Final Showdown], 9th at {{Trn|Paradigm Shift 2019}}, and 25th at {{Trn|Low Tier City 7}}. Ranked 1st on the [[Nebraska Power Rankings#Ultimate|Nebraska Ultimate Power Rankings]] and 24th on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank]].

*{{Sm|SS|USA}} - The best Young Link player in Arizona. Placed 2nd at {{Trn|Ascension II}}, 3rd at {{Trn|Ascension}}, and 9th at both {{Trn|Ascension III}} and {{Trn|Ascension IV}}.

*{{Sm|Zan|USA}} - One of the best Young Link players in the United States. Placed 17th at both {{Trn|Heart of Battle}} and {{Trn|Ultimate Nimbus}} as well as 25th at both {{Trn|SoCal Chronicles}} and {{Trn|2GG: Prime Saga}}. Has defeated {{Sm|Glutonny}} and {{Sm|Pandarian}}.

*{{Sm|T|Japan}} (#15) - Considered one of the best Young Link players in Japan. Placed 3rd at {{Trn|Midwest Mayhem Ultimate}} with solo Young Link, and 17th at {{Trn|2GG: Prime Saga}}, and 25th at {{Trn|Umebura SP 2}} in conjunction with {{SSBU|Link}}. Although he hasn't officially dropped the character, he now only uses Link in brackets, and very rarely uses Young Link or any of his other characters anymore.

*{{Sm|TripleAAA|Netherlands}} - Placed 9th at {{Trn|GGWP: Ultimate}} and 33rd at {{Trn|Elysium: Yggdrasil}} before switching to {{SSBU|Palutena}}. Has defeated {{Sm|Beek}} and {{Sm|Akaraien}} with Young Link.

*{{Sm|Tweek|USA}} (#3) - Formerly the best Young Link player in the world. Placed 1st at {{Trn|Glitch 6}} and {{Trn|Frostbite 2019}} and 7th at {{Trn|2GG: Prime Saga}}. Has wins over {{Sm|Nairo}}, {{Sm|WaDi}}, and {{Sm|Jakal}}.

|2||{{Head|Young Link|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}} Young Link||[[Temple]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Song of Storms}}''||If the player is using the Dark Young Link costume, the CPU player will be the {{Head|Young Link|g=SSBU|s=20px}} default Young Link.

|3||{{CharHead|Sheik|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Gerudo Valley]] ([[Ω form]])||''{{SSBUMusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Gerudo Valley}}''||

|5||{{CharHead|Ganondorf|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Bridge of Eldin]] ([[Ω form]]) ||''{{SSBUMusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess}}''||

|Final||[[Ganon, The Demon King|Ganon]]||[[Sacred Land]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form}}''||

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Young Link has ''{{SSBUMusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Termina Field (Remix)}}'' accompany the credits.

{{-}}

Young Link's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing [[Classic Mode]]. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Young 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. Each fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in ''Ultimate''.

Additionally, this incarnation of Link makes an appearance in a few primary and support spirits under other forms.

==In Spirit battles==

|•Tiny {{SSBU|Zelda}} {{Head|Zelda|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Purple}}<br>•{{SSBU|Young Link}} {{Head|Young Link|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Red}}

===Character Showcase Video===

*Young Link and {{SSBU|Pichu}} share the longest gap between playable appearances in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, with seventeen years between ''Melee'' and ''Ultimate''.

**This has been noted by both of their ''Super Smash Bros.'' blog's "Today's Fighter" descriptions.

**Similarly, Link's ''Twilight Princess'' and "Fierce Deity" costumes (being recolored from his Tunic of the Wild alternate costume, which exposes his knees), were colored in a way so that his trousers were indeed lengthened and not simply just recolored.  

*When performing a [[wall jump]], Young Link does not directly touch the wall before the jump, which is best seen when wall jumping on the [[Training_(stage)|training stage]].

*Young Link's [[Star KO]] voice clip, unusually, begins with a short pause.

*In German, the name tag and voice clip from the announcer on the victory screen is slightly different from the one used on the character select screen, instead featuring a noticeable translation of "the" ('''der''' Jonger Link). He shares this trait with {{SSBU|Dark Pit}}.