Young Link (Super Smash Bros. Melee)


 * This article is about Young Link's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For other uses, see Young Link. For information about the character of whom Young Link is a clone, see Link (SSBM).

Young Link (こどもリンク, Kodomo Rinku) is a character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He is a direct clone of Link, with some minor differences. Young Link was replaced with Toon Link in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

He ranks 17th, just below his original, for his good combos, grapple, and projectile game. However, he is very light, sports abysmal power with few killing options, and has a predictable recovery.

How to Unlock

 * Beat Classic or Adventure mode with 10 characters (two of which must be Zelda series characters, i.e. Zelda, Link or Ganondorf)
 * Playing 500 VS. mode matches.

Attributes
Young Link is a faster, smaller, lighter, and less powerful version of Link. Also, Young Link's wavedash is far faster and longer than Link's. Young Link has multiple useful projectiles, leading to potent combos, spacing techniques, and edgeguarding tactics. His grab has long reach due to being a tether grab, but it suffers from high lag. Young Link's Neutral Aerial has good knockback and fast speed when SHFFL'd. However, he can still be comboed easily and chain grabbed by certain characters

For killing options, his Dash Attack can kill horizontally at high percentages, his Down Aerial spikes at the hilt of his sword, and his Down Smash is a powerful killing move used to finish opponents off at the end of combos. However, Young Link can still have trouble scoring KOs, as his finishers can be difficult to land cleanly.

As for recovery, his recovery is better than Link's, but is overall poor for a character of his weight class. His Hookshot can also be used as a form of recovery, but it's fairly short. His Deku Shield can act on its own and defend against projectiles when standing stationary, but this only happens occasionally, unlike Link. Young Link can also wall jump, and is the only character that is required to use this technique in a Target Test.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack - Same as Link's, three slashes, followed by a barrage of them if the attack is hit again after the last initial hit connecting. In respective order of damage: 2-3%, 2%, 4-5%, and 1% per consecutive hit.
 * Dash Attack - Slashes in front and slows down. Surprisingly powerful for a Dash Attack, and can lead into an edgeguard. 10% damage.
 * Down Tilt - Swipes sword whilst crouching. Can lead into various combos, though somewhat slow. Incredibly powerful spike if used against a foe on the ledge. 7% damage.
 * Forward Tilt - Brings sword down, in an axe-like fashion. There's a small noticeable startup delay. 9% damage.
 * Up Tilt - Swings in an arc above himself. Quick, leads into various air combos if the foe DI's correctly. Above average KO power beyond high damages, usually 120%+. Does 7% damage.

Smash Attacks

 * Forward Smash - Swings his sword in front once with low set knockback, and if "A" is pressed again, he will do a much more powerful cleave to follow. The first hit easily chains into the second, though it is DI-able. Very strong finisher, damage and knockback-wise. First hit does 9%, then 8% uncherged, 9%, then 13% fully chraged.
 * Down Smash - Swipes sword to both sides. 13% front, 11% back uncharged, 16% front, 14% back fully charged.
 * Up Smash - Does his Up Tilt three times in a row. All hits usually follow into each other with the final having the most knockback, though it is DI-able and is an unreliable finishing attack. 2%, 2%, 7% uncharged, 4%, 2%, 10% fully. Fully charged is usually the hardest to get all hits successfully connecting. The last hit has an odd property, as it usually knocks the foe to the left or right.

Other attacks

 * Ledge Attack - Gets up and flips, thrusts out sword. 8% damage.
 * 100% Ledge Attack - Climbs up slowly and sticks out his sword in a similar fashion to the third hit of his Neutral Attack. 8% damage.
 * Floor Attack - Quickly swipes to both sides and picks himself up. 6% each side.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial - An usual Sex Kick. 12% when it comes out, 6% weakest.
 * Forward Aerial - Two sword swings in front. Some ending and startup lag. 6-7% per slash.
 * Back Aerial - Two kicks to his behind. The last hit is hard to connect with. 7%, then 6% damage.
 * Up Aerial - Aims sword upwards. Not good for KO-ing, better at juggling. 12% damage.
 * Down Aerial - Very similar to Link's, thrusts his sword down with high damage, knockback, ending lag, and duration. If the opponent is hit by this attack when above or to the sides of Young Link, they are powerfully spikeed while lit on fire. 17% when the move comes out, and deals 14% damage afterward.

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - The average 2-3% damage per pummel, Young Link whacks the foe with the end of his sword's handle.
 * Forward Throw - Kicks foe forward. Can chaingrab against heavy foes, or can simply lead into a combo or follow-up attack. 6% damage.
 * Up Throw - Takes foe and swings his sword in an arch above, launching to foe above. Can lead into various combos, or simply his up aerial. 6% damage.
 * Down Throw - Very suddenly grounds the foe and tackles them. This launches the foe temporarily in the air right in front of Young Link, and can lead into many combos, though DI-able. 6% damage.
 * Back Throw - Takes foe and kicks them to his back. Oddly, there appears to be two different hitboxes for this throw, both dealing 3%, adding up to 6%.

General

 * Young Link can wall-grapple.
 * Deku Shield can defend against projectile attacks. If crouching, even a fully charged Charge Shot from Samus can be blocked.
 * Arrows catch opponent on fire and adds small "stun"
 * More control over his Boomerang than Link.
 * Expert use of the Reverse Angle Boomerang.
 * Spin Attack traps enemy and can hit multiple times.
 * Can perform the Boomerang Superjump.
 * Hitting an opponent with a Bomb makes for a good combo start/and finisher.

Basic Combos
Due to Young Link's massive variety of projectile weapons, he has many combos, both for creating damage and finishing off.

Creating damage

 * Boomerang + Fully charged Fire Bow + Repeat - When there is distance between Young Link and the opponent, this combo does some damage and confuses them to a point that they want to break something, but it doesn't work on Fox or Falco because they can reflect it.
 * Dash Attack - On heavier characters Young Link can keep running at them and slashing them once with a Dash Attack until they get to the edge.

Throw Combos
With his long grab range and unique throws, Young Link has various setups to combo foes.

Down Throw

 * Down Throw + Spin Attack - This doesn't work on lighter characters such as Kirby & Jigglypuff or when the opponent is at a high percentage. It can lead into another grab or ground move.
 * Down Throw + Up Tilt - A reliable combo against fast fallers, and can KO at very high percents.
 * Down Throw + Up Smash - Similar to his Up Tilt combo, though better for damage racking.
 * Down Throw + Up Tilt + Up Smash - At low percents, this is a devastating combo, with excellent damage, dealing usually around 23% damage.
 * Down Throw + Down Smash - This combo does not always work, though when used at the right angle near ledges, it sets up for edgeguards.
 * Down Throw + turn around + Down Tilt - A hard combo to pull off, Young Link must turn the opposite way when he finishes his Down Throw and use his Down Tilt, usually spiking the foe to the ground and set up other combos.
 * Down Throw + turn around + Forward Smash - Useful for reliable kills.

Up Throw

 * Up Throw + Up Tilt + Spin Attack - A basic low % combo where foes can be thrown directly above Link to set up an Up Tilt, and can be followed with his Spin Attack.
 * Up Throw + Up Tilt + Up Smash - Similar to one of his Down Throw combos, best used at mid-percents. Usually does 24%.
 * Up throw + Spin Attack - Best used against fast fallers, where the fast faller goes right into his Spin Attack.
 * Up Throw + Up Smash + any Aerial Attack - A good mid % combo.
 * Up Throw + jump + Spin Attack - A good higher % combo. This combo is DI-able and not all hits may connect, but is a good combo nonetheless.

Forward throw

 * Forward Throw + Forward Tilt - A very basic combo at low %s, though predictable.
 * Forward Throw + Forward Smash - Another basic but escapable combo, the chance of this combo working depends entirely on the foe's fast falling rate, weight, and Young Link's reaction time. Sometimes this combo doe not work at mid %.
 * Forward Throw + Dash Attack - Best used at higher % when foe gets forcefully landed on the floor, also decent for KO-ing.

Back Throw

 * Back Throw + Dash Attack - A basic combo similar to one of his Forward Throw combos.
 * Back Throw + Forward Tilt - A predictable combo.

Finishing Off
Young Link's attacks are not very strong. Instead, he depends more upon intricate combos and edgeguarding techniques. Young Link fares quite well off the stage and commands an arsenal of projectiles, each with unique trajectories and damage properties. These projectiles, when mixed with a good recovery, can stop the opponent from returning. Naturally, Young Link does best at finishing his opponents horizontally, since unlike his older counterpart, most of his moves send the opponent across instead of upwards. Young Link's best off-the-top finisher is definitely his Down Aerial, followed closely by his Up Aerial.

So with that said here are some of his better finishing off combos:
 * Bomb Throw + Down Aerial - Works well against floaty opponents at percents around 70% and up.
 * Up Throw + Up/Down Aerial - Choosing between both Aerial Attacks all depends on the opponent's current percentage. If very high (160%+) then go with the Up Aerial because it has a better chance of connecting. If they are at a lower percentage (between 100%-120%), use Down Aerial because it KO's at lower percentages.
 * If the opponent is recovering from beneath the stage Young Link's Down Tilt can be timed so it spikes the opponent. Works best on Fox, Falco, Ness, Luigi, Mario, and any other character with a predictable recovery.

Trophy Descriptions
In addition to the normal trophy about Young Link as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Young Link on any difficulty:


 * Young Link (Trophy #287)
 * Link's younger incarnation is often considered to be the true Link: he was a young boy in the very first Legend of Zelda game, and he has appeared as a youth in most of the subsequent games. Since his debut on the original NES in 1987, Link's appearance has changed over and over again, each time adding to the mystique of his incomparable story.
 * The Legend of Zelda


 * Young Link (Smash Red) (Trophy #288)
 * Young Link is lighter and faster than his older self, and his Kokiri sword packs less punch. Even though his Boomerang has a shorter range, he has greater control over it. He's a smaller target, and while his Hookshot has less reach than older Link's, you can still use it in midair as a last ditch attempt to grab a ledge.
 * B: Fire Bow
 * Smash B: Boomerang


 * Young Link (Smash Blue) (Trophy #289)
 * "With a youthful spring in his step, Young Link can perform amazing wall-jumps. Once he hits a wall, tap the Control stick in the opposite direction to send him leaping upward; you can practice to your heart's content in Target Test. His Spin Attack can strike multiple times even on the ground, and although it's hard to discern, so do his Bombs."
 * Up B: Spin Attack
 * Down B: Bomb

Trivia

 * Even though Young Link is wielding the Deku Shield, it will not burn up when contacting fire. (e.g. Bowser's flames)
 * Young Link has the longest taunt in the game, with Mario having the second longest.
 * Link and Young Link's Hookshot use the same model; as a consequence, it looks somewhat oversized when used by the latter character.
 * Toon Link may be an updated version of Young Link, representing his child incarnation from Wind Waker rather than Ocarina of Time. Some of their moves share the same characteristics, further suggesting this. (Down Aerial spikes, Spin Attack has greater distance than adult Link's, etc.)
 * Both characters are lighter and faster than the normal Link as well.
 * In Ocarina of Time, the game which his model is based on, he couldn't use the Hookshot or the Fire Arrows. He could only use them in Majora's Mask.
 * Unlike in his games, drinking Lon Lon Milk (his taunt) will not heal him.