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The Hero's Bow is Link's and Toon Link's Neutral Special Move, excluding Link's in Super Smash Bros., where it is the Boomerang instead. There are differences with each Link's Hero Bow, though they all involve firing an arrow which is useful for stopping foes or camping, and holding B will greatly increase the range of the arrow fired.

Hero's Bow[]

Hero's Bow (named Bow in Melee) is Link's and Toon Link's Standard Special Move attack in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. As pointed out by Sakurai, it is faster than its Melee counterpart. Even when the attack isn't charged up, the arrows fly farther than in Melee. Toon Link's arrows shoot at a very slight upwards angle and has a noticeable slower speed than Link's.

Link can still hold the arrow in place when it's fully charged. A fully charged arrow is strong enough to KO a person in Sudden Death. A fully charged arrow also has great range, useful for stopping approaches. Link can turn around in midair, if the backwards direction key is pressed right after the bow is taken out.

Link's Special Moves
Super Smash Bros. Melee Brawl 3DS/Wii U Ultimate
Standard Special Boomerang Bow Hero's Bow Bow and Arrows
Side Special Boomerang Gale Boomerang Boomerang
Up Special Spin Attack
Down Special Bomb Remote Bomb
Final Smash Triforce Slash Ancient Bow and Arrow

Toon Link's Special Moves
Brawl 3DS/Wii U Ultimate
Standard Special Hero's Bow
Side Special Boomerang
Up Special Spin Attack
Down Special Bomb
Final Smash Triforce Slash

Custom Variations[]

Power Bow[]

Power Bow is one of Link's Neutral Special Moves that can be used via customization. The arrows do not go as far, but if fully charged they will cause a lot of damage.

Strengths:

  • Lots of damage
  • Powerful kill move
  • Great range when fully charged

Weaknesses:

  • Charges up very slowly
  • Uncharged does not go very far

Link's Power Bow is a devastating attack, having massive damage and kill power when fully charged. The fully charged version also has great range and good speed to it. Unfortunately, firing it uncharged has atrocious range and speed; the move takes a while to charge up, but fully charging it will certainly pay off.

Quickfire Bow[]

Quickfire Bow is one of Link's Neutral Special Moves that can be used via customization. Link can fire arrows rapidly, and though they don't do much damage, they pass through the first opponent they hit to hit others.

Overview[]

Strengths:

  • Fast charging time
  • Fast projectile

Weaknesses:

  • Not much damage
  • Decreased range even when fully charged

The Quickfire Bow is a move that trades out damage for sheer speed. The move only deals about 5% damage, but fully charges up very quickly. The arrow also moves very fast through the air, but has a short range on it.

Link's Custom Special Moves
Custom 1 Custom 2
Standard Special Power Bow Quickfire Bow
Side Special Boomerang Ripping Boomerang
Up Special Shocking Spin Whirling Leap
Down Special Giant Bomb Meteor Bomb

Piercing Arrow[]

Piercingarrow

Piercing Arrow is one of Toon Link's Neutral Special Moves that can be used via customization. Toon Link fires high-speed arrows that do less damage.

Strengths:

  • Will go through opponents.
  • Fast speed.

Weaknesses:

  • Less damage.
  • Less range.

Piercing Arrow has a few uses but these could be nullified by opponents unless put in the hands of a player that knows how to use it. The arrow flies very fast through the air and will go through opponents that it hits; this results in less knockback, which can lead into some combos. The move deals less damage and has less range, so it probably won't hit if the opponent is smart enough to keep their distance.

Fire Arrow[]

Fire arrow

Fire Arrow is one of Toon Link's Neutral Special Moves that can be used via customization. Toon Link fires a flaming arrow at close range, which can set the ground where it lands on fire. It is similar to Young Link's Fire Bow.

Strengths:

  • Higher damage.
  • Can gimp recovering opponents.
  • Can lead into combos.
  • Creates an obstacle on stage.

Weaknesses:

  • Short range.

The Fire Arrow is a short range projectile but deals more damage to opponents. Due to the angle at which it falls, it can gimp opponents that are trying to recover low to the stage. The fire left by the arrow when it hits the ground can damage opponents as well but has low knockback that can lead into combos as well as creating an obstacle on the stage for a brief time that gives Toon Link a tool for stage control.

Toon Link's Custom Special Moves
Custom 1 Custom 2
Standard Special Fire Arrow Piercing Bow
Side Special Floating Boomerang High-Speed Boomerang
Up Special Hurricane Spin Rising Slash
Down Special Time Bomb Short-Fused Bomb

Fire Bow[]

Fire Bow is a variation of the Hero's Bow, and it is Young Link's Standard Special Move in Melee and Ultimate. With this version, Young Link shoots flaming arrows that do not travel as far as Link's and do slightly less damage. However, it has more hitstun than the other bows, and sets the foe on fire.

Young Link's Special Moves
Melee Ultimate
Standard Special Fire Bow Fire Arrow
Side Special Boomerang
Up Special Spin Attack
Down Special Bomb
Final Smash Triforce Slash

Origin[]

The Bow is one of Link's main weapons in The Legend of Zelda series. In Ocarina of Time, Link could use fire arrows, as well as ice and light arrows. In Melee, Link and Young Link's bow are based on its Ocarina of Time appearance; this is odd, as Young Link could not use the Bow in Ocarina of Time, but had his own version in Majora's Mask. In Brawl, Link's bow is derived from Twilight Princess, while Toon Link's is from The Wind Waker.

Glitch[]

Link can turn around in midair, if the backwards direction key is pressed right after the bow is taken out. However, if combined with the Quickdraw technique, a glitch may occur in which Link points his bow in one direction, but the arrow is fired in the other direction. This can be avoided if the bow is initiated in the air just before Link touches the ground, instead of the same instant Link touches the ground.

Trivia[]

  • Kirby's use of the Fire Bow (after copying Young Link) is similar to a Combo Ability (specifically, Burning/Needle) in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, where Kirby turns into a bow and can shoot flaming arrows. In Melee, he uses Young Link's Bow.

External Links[]

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