Link (Super Smash Bros. Melee)


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

Announced at E3 2001, Link (リンク, Rinku) is a Starter character in all three Super Smash Bros. games. Link has changed from the first game, and his Bow is now his Standard Special Move.

Link is ranked 16th on the tier list, having so far his best performance in the series, due to the buff he received from the Super Smash Bros. to Melee. Despite his attacks being slightly weaker, they are faster. He is one the most reliable edgeguarders in the game because of his extremely powerful semi-spike and significantly better recovery (from worst to one of the best). However, he is large and is a somewhat of a fast-faller and as such, he is vulnerable to chaingrabs, which is a major problem in competitive play, resulting in Link being a low tier.

Attributes
Link has poor dash speed, but he makes up for this with great range for most attacks, a variety of projectiles and quite fast air speed. He also has powerful Smash Attacks and Aerial Attacks, but their high lag and moderate startup times counterbalance this unless the player L-cancels which can remedy this. Link's grab range is large due to being a tether grab, and can be used as a wall-grapple. However, it leaves Link vulnerable if it misses, and it's difficult to grab airborne opponents, which minimizes chaingrabing opportunities. Link's Up Special Move, Spin Attack, is a quick finisher and a good edgeguarding tool. Link is vulnerable to chain grabs and combos due to his fairly heavy weight, fast falling speed, and comparatively large size.

Link is a very reliable edgeguarder due to his powerful semi-spike. Those who are trying to recover must be careful when Link is on the ledge. It's better to attack and KO from the ground than from the air. If sent to the air by Link, the semi-spike can be deadly. Falco is a candidate for being killed in one semi-spike such as other fast fallers like Captain Falcon, Fox, Sheik, Roy and Marth.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack - Three quick sword attacks followed by a sudden flurry of even faster sword stabs. First hit does 4-5%, second 2-3%, then 2%, followed by 1% per strike.
 * Dash Attack - Brings sword down in front of him. Somewhat fast. At higher damages it'll knock a grounded foe into the air, often leading into an aerial follow up, though doesn't have much KO power. 10% damage.
 * Down Tilt - Swipes down in front of him. As with his Dash Attack, this often directly leads into an aerial combo, though the move itself is pretty predictable. This move can also strongly spike a ledge-grabbing foe when Link's sword makes contact with the hanging foe, which is the sweetspot. 10% damage.
 * Forward Tilt - Raises sword and brings it down in front of him. Has an upwards hitbox, which can substitute for other anti-air moves in a few cases, and has above-average knockback. 13% damage.
 * Up Tilt - A quick arced slash above him. Very useful for many reasons; it sets up for aerial combos, pretty fast, high knockback, overall good startup and ending lag. 7% damage.

Smashes

 * Forward Smash - Swings sword once in front for good knockback by itself, and if "A" is pressed again, does an even stronger one after. Extremely unlikely that the second hit will land at damages above 30% or so, due to the higher knockback of the first hit. The first hit is still strong, though, but not as much as the second one. Link players should practice timing the move so they purposely miss the first strike and end up hitting the foe with the stronger second strike. 14% then 16% uncharged, 19% then 18% fully.
 * Up Smash - Slashes in an arch very similar to his Up Tilt three consecutive times. All hits now have a noticeable arch above him with good range, instead of just the first hit being an arch and two smaller stabs upwards. Good for racking up damage and setting up for air combos due to below average knockback for an Up Smash. Up to three separate hits, uncharged, 4%, 1%, 7%. Fully, 5%, 2%, 12%.
 * Down Smash - Swings sword on both sides of him on the ground. First hit comes out fast, though second has some lag. This move has decent range, and since the hitbox is on the floor, it makes this move good for spacing, and has some KO power. It can be unreliable however. 13% front, 14% back uncharged, 21% front, 15% back fully charged.

Other attacks

 * Ledge Attack - Climbs up and stabs in front of him. 8% damage.
 * 100% Ledge Attack - slowly gets up and quickly thrusts his sword. Only the sword has a hitbox; foes close to the end of ledge Link was on can avoid the attack completely. 8% damage.
 * Floor Attack - Quickly gets up and slashes on both sides. 6% damage.

Aerial attacks

 * Neutral Aerial - A generic Sex Kick. 11% max, 5% minimum.
 * Back Aerial - Two short-ranged kicks to his back. Second hit can sometimes be hard to land. This move, unlike most Back Aerials, isn't always considered Link's best viable choice for edgeguarding due to awkward hitboxes and duration. First hit 7%, next 6%.
 * Forward Aerial - Swings twice in front of him. The first hit is usually hard to follow into the second hit. This is somewhat like his Forward Smash, where the second hit has more power than the first, so the first hit is usually purposely missed in favor for the second. Has some ending lag, should be very carefully used due to Link's bad recovery. 12% when it comes out, 6% after.
 * Up Aerial - Stabs sword above him. Good for juggling or Star KO-ing at higher damages ~120%. Has some Sex Kick properties. 16% damage, ~14% in later hitboxes.
 * Down Aerial - His famous aerial from Zelda II where he takes his sword and keeps it aimed downward, falling fast while doing so. This move is a move of extremes: huge knockback, huge ending lag, huge priority, and huge hitbox. If the move's still in action when Link lands, he'll have to pull it out from the ground, with ending lag, and it is recommend to L-cancel it in such cases. It is one of his primary KO moves, dealing 22%.

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - Bashes foe in the head with his left fist. 2-3% damage.
 * Forward Throw - Kicks foe a short distance in front of him. Pretty weak knockback. One apparent kick, but two mysterious hitboxes. 4% first hitbox, 3% second.
 * Up Throw - Brings foe up and slashes above. Two mysterious hitboxes, 3% first, 2% second.
 * Down Throw - Brings foe down and tackles. Leaves foes wide open for a combo, such as a Forward Tilt, Up Tilt, or even a quick Smash Attack. Two hits, first does 2%, then 4%.
 * Back Throw - Brings foe behind and kicks in a similar fashion to his Forward Throw. 2% then 3% damage.

Taunt
Link puts his right hand on his hip and raises his left hand through his bangs.

Changes from N64 to Melee
Link has been significantly buffed from SSB to Melee. Below are the list of changes.
 * New Neutral B (Bow). Boomerang is now Link's Side B.
 * Different Spin Attack animation (both on air, and on ground).
 * Can use Hookshot for a wall-grapple.
 * Also, the Hookshot's chain will launch forward and just drop when it reaches its maximum length, instead of keeping horizontal.
 * Hookshot is shorter, and has lower priority, but less ending lag.
 * Spin Attack is a better recovery.
 * Recovery is overall significantly better, to the point of being "great", thanks to hookshot, air speed, wall grapple and bombs.
 * Forward Smash has two hits, instead of just one.
 * Faster air speed.
 * New Taunt.
 * New helpless state.
 * Back and Forward Grabs are weaker.
 * New Dash Attack.
 * Attacks are a bit weaker, but also a bit faster.
 * A weak throw of the bomb now causes explosion.
 * New Dashing animation.
 * Boomerang is weaker and doesn't travel as far.
 * Spin Attack can no longer deflect projectiles.
 * Down Aerial is completely changed. It no longer does 16% damage on the first and second hits, dealing a total of 32%, but instead, it does up to 19% on the first hit and 6% on the second hit, dealing a total of 25%. Also, it has more knockback.

PAL differences

 * Spin Attack can no longer semi-spike.
 * Link can no longer perform the Boomerang Superjump or the Chain Dance.

Combos

 * A good combo to use in one on one battles is to use the Boomerang, to momentarily disable the character of any attacks (they will pop into the air), use this momentarily, cease fire to use a Spin Attack and send them flying away. Must be done quickly or else chances are they will attack.
 * Another great combo is to grab the opponent, throw them up/down, depending on character and damage the opponent has, if its a fast faller then use Up Throw, if they have high damage use the Down Throw anyway, then instantly use the Spin Attack. On high damage this is lethal. Follow the Spin Attack with a Boomerang and charge in for the kill. A Forward Aerial or another Spin Attack usually does the trick.
 * Up Throw, Up Aerial, then Spin Attack. If the enemy still lives, Up Smash.
 * Pull a bomb, Spin Attack, throw the bomb into the air, grapple the opponent and throw them upwards. If done quickly enough the opponent will be hurled into the bomb and fly away, doing no harm. However if too much time is wasted, the bomb will bounce off the opponent and land on Link.
 * Down Tilt, jump, Forward Aerial or Neutral Aerial.
 * Down Throw, Jump, then Down Aerial. If done correctly, Down Aerial will strike the enemy as soon as they get up. Great for racking up the enemy's %.
 * Down Throw, turn around, Down Tilt, then Spin Attack. May not work if the enemy is at a high %.
 * For more tricks and combos, go to this tutorial.

In Single-player
Link can be fought in the Underground Maze where if the player comes across the Master Sword, they will be taken to a battle with a different colored Link until they come across the Triforce. It is possible to complete the stage without fighting Link at all.

Link is featured in the following Event Matches:
 * Event 3: Bomb-fest: This match pits the player against the team of Link and Samus with one stock each on the Princess Peach's Castle stage. Link and Samus only use their Bomb special moves, but all the bomb (or likewise) items will appear on the stage.
 * Event 18: Link's Adventure:Link must face Dark Link on the Hyrule Temple stage. Both have 2 stock each. (Dark Link is just a completly blacked out form of Link, not the black character costume.)
 * Event 20: All-Star Match 2: Link is the second opponent fought in this series of staged battles. Players battle him on the Great Bay stage, with 2 stock while Link has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the players must defeat him and the other four characters with the overall time and life they have: Samus, Zelda, Captain Falcon, and Fox.
 * Event 29: Triforce Gathering: Link teams up with Zelda to face Ganondorf on the Hyrule Temple stage.
 * Event 34: Seven Years: As Young Link, Link is an opponent with 3 stock each on the Great Bay stage.
 * Event 41: En Garde!: As Marth, Link is faced in a 2 stock match on the Hyrule Temple stage.

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


 * Link (Trophy #7)
 * Even in his youth, Link was already becoming the warrior who would carry the destiny of Hyrule (and many other lands) on his shoulders. His epic struggles against the forces of darkness are written in legend, and he is bound to the Princess Zelda and the archfiend Ganondorf by the awesome power of the Triforce.
 * The Legend of Zelda, 07/87


 * Link (Smash Red) (Trophy #8)
 * Burdened with a shield, a heavy sword, and plenty of equipment, Link is not a very mobile character. Nevertheless, he's skilled with the blade, and his varied supply of missile weapons makes him a powerful fighter. To master Link, you must control the pace by balancing your long-range attacks with head-to-head swordplay.
 * B: Bow
 * Smash B: Boomerang


 * Link (Smash Blue) (Trophy #9)
 * Link's Bow, Boomerang, and Bombs all take time to wield, so you may want to try drawing them in midair to prevent your foes from attacking you while you're vulnerable. The Spin Attack can score consecutive midair hits, and the final slash is very powerful. Link's Bombs are his trump card, but he can't pull one out if he's carrying another item.
 * Up & B: Spin Attack
 * Down & B: Bomb

Trivia

 * Link and his clone, Young Link, both use the same model for the Hookshot. This makes Young Link's look rather large compared to Link's.
 * While in trophy #7, Link's shield is wooden, in trophy #8, it is solid metal.
 * Link has an interesting hitbox with the Home-Run Bat. When the opponent is in the air and slightly behind him, and he Smash Attacks with the bat in the opposite direction, the bat will actually deal a greater knockback than a front hit.