Young Link (SSBU)

Young Link (, Young Link) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially confirmed as playable alongside his former successor and the rest of the returning roster on June 12th, 2018. Although the changes made to were not enough to change Young Link's status as a clone, he is not classified as an Echo Fighter. As such, Young Link is classified as Fighter #22.
As in Super Smash Bros. Melee, 's portrayals of Young Link from and 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.
Young Link is ranked 39th out of 82 on the tier list at the top of the B+ tier. This is an overall improvement from his mid-tier placement in Melee, where he was ranked 17th out of 26. Young Link possesses great frame data and combo ability. The low knockback on his attacks allows him to rack up damage quickly and his disjointed range provides him safety from getting too close to his opponent. His projectiles also benefit his combo game, most notably his Fire Arrow, which has low startup lag and sends his opponents upwards. Young Link also possesses kill confirms at high percentages thanks to the first hit of his forward aerial.
Young Link is not without his shortcomings, however. Young Link has low range for a swordfighter, which forces him to get up close to deal effective damage, a flaw further worsened by him being a lightweight. His recovery is very punishable due to its predictable arcs. He also struggles to get KOs at high percents if he isn't able to get kill confirms, with his safest moves having very little KO power.
Overall, Young Link is often seen as the best of the three Links, and fares very well in the competitive environment thanks to strong results from players such as , , and .
==How to unlock==
Complete one of the following:
*Play VS. matches, with Young Link being the 8th character to be unlocked.
*Clear with or any character in his unlock tree, being the 6th character unlocked after .
*Have Young Link join the player's party in World of Light.
With the exception of the third method, Young Link must then be defeated on Great Bay. In World of Light, he is fought on the Ω form of Temple.
==Attributes==
Young Link is a lightweight character (weighing the same as and ), and is the lightest of the three Links, being 3 units lighter than . Compared to his alternate timeline counterparts, he tends to be in the middle in regard to mobility, including his running speed, air speed and acceleration, and jump height. He has the highest fall speed and initial dash of the Links, though his fast fall speed is slower than the original Link thanks to Link's unusual fast fall speed boost. In terms of the rest of the cast, Young Link has an average running speed, high initial dash speed, low air speed and acceleration, high falling speed, and slightly above-average jump height. Finally, his gravity is average and tied with Link's. Overall, Young Link has middling mobility, with most of his quick movement potential coming from his high initial dash and fall speed.
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 unusually weak or situational, every one of Young Link's moves is strong and flexible, with a mix of versatile ranged combat and robust boxing.
Young Link uses the , the starting weapon from and , granting him disjointed range and 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. Unlike many sword users, however, this is coupled with outstanding frame data. Although the Link archetype has been synonymous with laggy frame data up until Ultimate, Young Link has some of the best frame data in the game, with many of his moves being infamous for how quickly they come out and how little cooldown they have. As a result, many moves of his are extremely safe on shield, such as his 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 up tilt and especially down tilt are well designed to start combos, knocking the opponents up into the air with weak knockback to set up for his aerials, while his jab can transition into a rapid jab for respectable damage, create mixups through his surprisingly fast jab cancels, or be used to jab lock opponents and set up combos with down tilt or finish stocks with an up special or forward smash. However, his aerials are truly what gives him the outstanding combo and boxing game he has. Most of Young Link's aerials are capable of both starting combos as well as continuing them, making their usage very flexible and wide, as well as dealing significant damage.
His neutral aerial, perhaps his best aerial, is a simple sex kick. Its late hit in particular is extremely good for combos, being able to both start and continue them well 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. Meanwhile, the clean hit is very reliable at warding off opponents, prevents other combo-oriented characters from overwhelming Young Link with combos of their own, has enough power to kill at high percentages, and provides him with a fast, safe and reliable out of shield option. Overall, the sheer utility of this move has caused it to gain a reputation as one of the best aerials in the game.
Young Link's forward and back aerials are both designed similarly. Both are combo attacks that consist of a first weak hit that stuns the enemy in place for a second launching hit. However, these are both meant to be used in different ways. His back aerial 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 aerial or another move. His forward aerial is instead a combo finisher as it comes out slower and recovers slower than his back air in exchange for having much more power and knockback, providing significant KO power. Notably, canceling either of these moves by landing after the first hit allows Young Link to combo in to almost any move in his kit depending on the situation.
The up aerial is a thrust above Young Link that comes out very fast for how strong it is and lingers a while, making it useful for covering the space above him. It can be used to juggle opponents, as its large disjoint makes it hard to challenge. Additionally, his up aerial is a powerful KO move and can be comboed into quite flexibly. His down aerial, while not being a combo tool except in relatively rare situations, serves as a reliable landing option or jump callout due to its lingering, disjointed hitbox and considerable power even on the late hit.
Young Link's special moves grant him many more options to work with. Like his normals they tend to be fast, flexible and safe. Fire Arrow fires a flaming arrow in front of Young Link. It is incredibly fast and quick-recovering, and even an uncharged arrow travels a respectable distance, making it a very persistent poking tool when zoning. The arrow itself also deals low upwards knockback with high hitstun, making them reliable combo starters, provided Young Link is close enough to his opponent or can catch the upward knockback with another projectile (including another arrow). Fire Arrow can also be charged, allowing it to fly further and do more damage than a noncharged arrow, which can be useful for catching landings, mixing up timings against certain reflectors, or pressuring far away targets. However, this charge cannot be stored, unlike moves such as Charge Shot.
Boomerang is slower than Fire Arrow, but comes with the perks of more damage, lasting much longer, being able to be thrown at different angles, 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 a lingering trap to grant Young Link stage control and for challenging people above or below you with its many angles. Interestingly, a point blank Boomerang is actually safe on shield against most of the cast, something uncharacteristic of a projectile.
, Young Link's third and final projectile, is perhaps his most complex and flexible. When used, Bomb functions as a held item, allowing Young Link to throw it forward, backward, up, and down, in addition to Z-dropping it, which may be used to pressure people below him or drop it and have it lie on the ground until it explodes. Bomb grants 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.
This diverse projectile kit allow Young Link to play as a zoner, much like regular Link does. However, while most zoners' weaknesses are their poor frame data and inability to get opponents off of them, Young Link 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. Speaking of combos, 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. Starting frame 9 and hitting on both sides, it provides a powerful out of shield option with great damage reward. In the air, it is instead a combo finisher or hard read, reliably KOing opponents at (or beyond) the ledge.
Young Link's grab game may be the best of the Links and provides him with additional options. Unlike Link, Young Link still retains use of the Hookshot for his grab, giving him a very long, disjointed grab range in exchange for his grab being laggier than unarmed grabs and thus requiring a more spacing-dependent grappling style, either grabbing at range or using turnaround grabs to create space. Additionally, the Hookshot itself can be used as a grab aerial attack. It has the longest range of any of his aerials, and can confirm in to a variety of followups, including his neutral air or up smash for KOs at higher percents. This grab aerial attack also provides him with a tether recovery, which is often much safer than his Spin Attack. His forward throw is one of the strongest forward throws in the game, KOing middleweights at the ledge of Final Destination around 130% depending on their directional influence. Some Young Link players will enjoy trying to forward-throw their oppponents very quickly before they've had a chance to DI. Young Link's grabs also have solid combo potential, as his up and down throws both provide combos at low to mid percents. His 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. His low air speed can also limit his ability to approach or escape, making him dependent on his projectiles for setting the terms of engagement. 
Additionally, Young Link's recovery, while much better than in Melee, can be exploitable. His Spin Attack, while having good reach, travels on a predictable arc and only hits to his sides, allowing him to be edgeguarded by characters who can hit his head, or be blocked by characters with counters such as Lucina. Young Link has a variety of options to deepen his recovery potential thanks to his tether recovery and many projectiles he can throw at the stage to cover himself, but in bad situations may be forced to use his up special in a way that's very vulnerable or predictable.
Young Link's KO potential can also be a mixed bag. His up smash gives him excellent kill potential out of shield, but is risky if it misses. While he has many safe moves that kill such as his neutral air, forward air, and forward tilt, they may kill quite late, often requiring the opponent to be past 150%. Young Link is very dependent on his melee hits in order to kill, challenging him to contend with his sometimes-awkward approach game and short reach. As usual, this can be mitigated with projectiles, which provide combos even at very high percents and give Young Link an opening with which to approach. Stale moves can also present challenges--moves like his nair and fair may have been heavily involved in combos and neutral, meaning they may be missing their full power when used for a KO. These factors, when combined with a large number of combos and setups to learn, cause Young Link to have a rather high learning curve, especially at top level play.
In summary, Young Link, despite featuring a very similar moveset to his alternate timeline counterparts, has a unique design and playstyle unlike anybody else in the game. He is regarded as having one of the best combo games and above average zoning tools, 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.
==Differences from ==
The parent Link has received a significant overhaul to his aesthetic design and playstyle wise that references his appearance in Breath of the Wild. As Young Link hails from Ocarina of Time, his moveset is much closer to his adult self's appearances in Melee and the original Super Smash Bros., effectively serving as the classic Link archetype for this game. He retains moves and characteristics from Melee that the Hero of the Wild lacks (most notably a flurry attack and Hookshot), yet he has also received a few changes that reference the Hero of Twilight as he appeared in Brawl and in Super Smash Bros. 4. While these changes further de-clone Young Link from Link, he remains a full clone instead of a semi-clone due to his large number of shared attacks (compared to Toon Link, who has roughly as many unique attacks as not). Of note is that with the exception of his neutral infinite, every move that Young Link does not share with Link is instead shared with Toon Link.
===Aesthetics===
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===Attributes===
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===Ground attacks===
*Neutral attack:
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*Forward tilt:
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*Up tilt:
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*Down tilt:
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*Dash attack:
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*Forward smash:
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*Up smash:
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*Down smash:
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===Aerial attacks===
*Neutral aerial:
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*Forward aerial:
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*Back aerial:
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*Up aerial:
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*Down aerial:
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===Throws and other attacks===
*Grabs:
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*Forward throw:
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*Back throw:
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*Up throw:
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*Down throw:
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*Edge attack:
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===Special moves===
*Fire Arrow:
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*Boomerang:
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*Spin Attack:
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*Bomb:
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*Triforce Slash:
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==Changes from Super Smash Bros. Melee==
Young Link has been significantly 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, both in terms of his mobility and frame data. Many of his attacks have decreased startup and ending lag (such as his neutral attack, forward and down tilts, and dash attack), and his aerials have heavily decreased landing lag (even compared to their L-canceled 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 and back aerials, 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 each other much more consistently. s 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 Ultimates engine have also generally benefitted Young Link. The universal increase in mobility, the ability to 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 does this improve his ability to land, but it improves 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 Bombs, 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 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). In terms of gameplay changes, the changes to air dodging hinder Young Link's mobility, as wavedashing and wavelanding are significantly less effective due to their increased landing lag. The removal of meteor canceling has hurt Young Link more than any other returning veteran, as his fast falling speed renders him highly vulnerable to them, while the loss of his own down tilt's and down aerial's meteor smash hitboxes result in him gaining no benefits from its removal.
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 rely on 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, some of Young Link's weaknesses from Melee still remain, most notably his below average range for a swordfighter (despite it improving in the transition) and his still limited KOing ability despite the higher knockback on some of his moves and his new hit confirms, meaning Young Link still has to take risks in order to KO the opponent. Regardless, he is a much better character than he was in Melee.
==Update history==
Young Link received a mix of buffs, nerfs and glitch fixes via 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, update 7.0.0 gave Young Link increased knockback on a few of his attacks, allowing for more KO options.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
==Moveset==
*While Young Link is standing still, walking or crouching, any incoming projectiles that hit his Deku Shield will simply push him back slightly instead of inflicting damage. It can block any amount of projectiles, regardless of their power.
*Young Link can wall jump.
*Young Link possesses a tether attack, grab and recovery.
For a gallery of Young Link's hitboxes, see here.
===Stats===
===Announcer call===
Young Link English Announcer SSBU.wav|English/Japanese/Chinese
Young Link Korean Announcer SSBU.wav|Korean
===On-screen appearance===
*Descends from a column of light and unsheathes the Kokiri Sword. This is akin to his older self's on-screen appearance in Smash 64. Based on the end-of-dungeon teleports from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
YoungLinkOnScreenAppearanceSSBU.gif|Young Link's on-screen appearance
===Taunts===
*Up taunt: Holds the overhead triumphantly in the air.
*Side taunt: Places the on his back and holds out his hand, watching fly around him. The pose of his hand is the same one he makes in one of his artworks from , only using Navi instead of Tatl. Similar to 's side taunt from Brawl and Smash 4.
*Down taunt: Sheaths the Kokiri Sword and places the Deku Shield on his back and takes a drink of . Significantly shortened from Melee.
SSBUYoungLinkTaunt1.gif|Young Link's up taunt.
SSBUYoungLinkTaunt2.gif|Young Link's side taunt.
SSBUYoungLinkTaunt3.gif|Young Link's down taunt.
===Idle poses===
*Looks around himself. Based on one of his idle animations from Ocarina of Time.
*Kicks the toes of his boots on the ground, as if knocking off the dirt. Based on one of his idle animations from Ocarina of Time.
SSBUYoungLinkIdle1.gif|Young Link's first idle pose.
SSBUYoungLinkIdle2.gif|Young Link's second idle pose.
===Crowd cheer===
 	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian) 	Cheer (Dutch) 	Cheer (French)
Cheer 	 	 	 	 	
Description	Young Link! 	Lin - Ku! 	Link! Bam - biii - no!	Link Link! Jonge Link!	Link enfant!
 	Cheer (German) 	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
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Description	Jun - ger Link!	Liiiink niño! 	Yu - nyy Link! 	So - nyeon Lin - gkeu!
===Victory poses===
*Left: While holding the Kokiri Sword in a reverse grip, he adjusts his belt and flicks his nose. It is based on one of his idle animations in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
*Up: Thrusts the Kokiri Sword in front of himself, then brings it near his face before thrusting it upward while giving off a battle cry. It is nearly identical to one of Link's poses, albeit with a different camera angle and Young Link being left-handed.
*Right: Sheathes the Kokiri Sword, dusts his hands off, and then puts them on his hips while grinning.
YoungLinkVictoryPose1SSBU.gif
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==In competitive play==
===Most historically significant players===
See also: :Category:Young Link players (SSBU)
* - One of the best Young Link players Japan in the post-pandemic metagame. He first broke out onto the scene in the second half of 2023, with notable performances such as placing 13th at and defeating and at major events. After a period of low activity in early-2024, he came back with improved performances, such as placing 17th at defeating and 25th at defeating . He was ranked 84th on the LumiRank 2024.2, and as such was considered one of the best Young Link players in the world that year.
* - One of the best players in all of Oceania, winning or being the highest-placing Australian player at many Australian events, including winning and placing 2nd at . He is also the most successful Australian player at international events, with several noteworthy performances such as placing 7th at and 17th at both and , in addition to securing wins over players such as at WINNER! 19 and at both Gen 1.0 and .
* - One of the best Young Link players in North America who was the definitive best in 2021. He is best known for his many great superregional performances that include winning after defeating and twice, placing 4th at and 5th at , and defeating at . Though less successful at majors, he has still seen several great runs, including placing 13th at and 17th at .
* - First known for being one of the best players in the online metagame, he has since established himself as one of the best Young Link players in the post-pandemic metagame, especially in 2022 where he double-eliminated twice at back-to-back events and , in addition to his runs to 5th at and 9th at . 
* - The best Young Link player in Japan. In spite of his inconsistency in competitive play, he is the second Young Link player to place top 8 at a major, doing so by placing 7th at defeating , , and , and has also seen some other noteworthy peaks, including placing 13th at and 17th at .
* - One of the greatest Young Link players of all-time and by far the best Young Link player in Europe. Though best known for eliminating at , where he ultimately placing 7th, he has also seen a variety of other strong performances throughout Europe, including regularly placing single-digits at or winning Dutch events and placing 5th at and 9th at both and .
* - One of the greatest Young Link players of all-time, mainly due to having the best peaks out of any other Young Link player. He especially was known for his performances during the ill-fated Spring 2020 PGRU season, where he became the first Young Link player to place top 8 a major by defeating , , and to finish 7th at ; this remains the only time a Young Link player placed top 8 at a supermajor as well. In addition, he is also the highest-placing Young Link player at a major after placing 3rd at defeating and .
===Tier placement and history===
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. found success with the character in the early months of Ultimate, using Young Link as one of his characters to win tournaments such as and . 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. 
However, 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. In addition, most players who used Young Link at a top-player level, including Tweek, used the character as a secondary, and these players eventually phased Young Link out of their character pool. Despite these shortcomings, Young Link's representation in the first year still remained strong at a regional level thanks to buffs received in update 7.0.0 that improved his KO power, as well as the efforts of players such as , , and , the latter of whom was beginning to pick up steam by the end of 2019, and ultimately saw a top 8 finish at the supermajor . These consistently strong results from Young Link players carried over to the post-online metagame, where many Young Link players continued to place well at majors. As a result, despite opinions on the character mellowing out, Young Link was initially still considered a high-tier character, which is reflected in his placement on the first tier list, where he was ranked 29th.
However, the period following the first tier list saw a great decline in Young Link's results due to the lower activity and consistency from most of his North American players. Although Supahsemmie continued to perform well during this period, even defeating at , his performances were still overall weaker than in previous years. Finally, was able to find some success in the early months of 2023, including placing 7th at ; however, his results remained incredibly inconsistent, and he was rarely able to get anywhere close to that placement. With Young Link's representation on a decline, it correlated with a decline in community opinions on the character as his weaknesses, especially his exploitable recovery and underwhelming range for a swordfighter, became more apparent. As a result, Young Link dropped to 38th on the second tier list, ranking in the B+ tier and marking one of the largest drops between the two tier lists.
==: Hyrule Smash!==
Young Link's opponents are all from the series. Additionally, to go with the theme of the route, all stages, items and assist trophies are from the The Legend of Zelda universe.
Round 	Opponent 	Stage 	Music 	Notes
1 	 	Hyrule Castle 	 	
2 	 	Temple 	 	If the player is using the Dark Young Link costume, the CPU player will be the default Young Link.
3 	 	Gerudo Valley (Ω form) 	 	Items do not appear.
4 	(x4) 	Pirate Ship 	 	The multicolored Toon Links are a reference to The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords sub-series.
5 	 	Bridge of Eldin (Ω form)	 	Items do not appear.
6 	 	Great Plateau Tower 	 	
Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage
Final 	Ganon 	Sacred Land 	 	
Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Young Link has accompany the credits.
==Role in World of Light==
Although Young Link does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans ) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.
Young Link was one of the many imprisoned fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. He is a necessary unlock found in the Sacred Land sub-area on the bottom right corner of the land which makes up the Triforce of Courage. The player must rely on the owl statues, which will guide the player to Saria's spirit battle. Unlocking her spirit clears out a tree stump that blocked access to his unlock battle. Once Young Link is unlocked, the Triforce of Courage appears in the center of the map. If is unlocked, the path leading to 's unlock battle and the Master Sword clears out.
===Fighter Battle===
No.	Image	Name 	Type	Power 	Stage 	Music
22 	 	Young Link	 	10,300	Temple (Ω form)	
==Spirits==
Young Link's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing as Young Link. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Young Link has been unlocked. 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. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.
Additionally, Young Link makes an appearance in a few primary spirits under other forms.
SSBU spirit Young Link.png|176. Young Link
SSBU spirit Deku Link.png|207. Deku Link
SSBU spirit Fierce Deity Link.png|208. Fierce Deity Link
==In Spirit Battles==
===As the main opponent===
Spirit	Spirit	Spirit 	Spirit 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Inspiration
No. 	Image 	Name 	Series 	Enemy Fighter(s) 	Type 	Power 	Stage 	Rules 	Conditions 	Music 	Character
178 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series 	• 	 	13,500 	Find Mii (hazards off) 	N/A 	•The enemy's melee weapons have increased power•The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly•The enemy has increased attack power 	 	Link (Red Ring equipped) 	
184 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series 	• 	 	3,700 	Fountain of Dreams 	•Sudden Damage 	•All fighters take serious damage•The enemy has increased defense•The enemy starts the battle with a Fairy Bottle 	 	 	
194 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series 	• 	 	3,700 	Distant Planet (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Screen Flip 	•The screen will suddenly flip after a little while 	 	 	
212 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series 	• 	 	4,300 	Umbra Clock Tower 	•Attack Power ↑•Move Speed ↑•Jump Power ↑ 	•Timed battle (1:30)•All fighters have increased jump power•All fighters have increased move speed after a little while 	 	 	
213 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series 	•Bunny 	 	4,600 	Skyloft 	N/A 	•Timed battle (1:30)•The enemy tends to avoid conflict 	 	 	
235 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series 	•Bunny 	 	4,000 	Skyloft 	N/A 	•Timed battle (2:00)•The enemy favors special moves•The enemy is easily distracted by items 	 	 	
364 	 	Kirby Series 	• ×2 	 	1,500 	 	•Item: Bob-omb 	•The enemy's down special has increased power•The enemy favors down specials in the air 	 	 	
876 	 	Mega Man Series 	• ×2 (80 HP)	 	3,700 	Wily Castle (Ω form) 	N/A 	•The enemy's side special has increased power•Stamina battle•The enemy favors side specials 	 	 	
879 	 	Mega Man Series 	• ×2 (80 HP)	 	3,500 	Wily Castle (Ω form) 	N/A 	•The enemy's explosion and fire attacks have increased power•Stamina battle•The enemy favors down specials 	 	 	
1,127 	 	Disk System 	• • • • 	 	9,100 	Temple (Battlefield form) 	N/A 	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle 	 	Link (The Legend of Zelda for the Famicom Disk System)	
1,130 	 	Famicom Mukashibanashi Series 	• • • • • 	 	3,500 	(hazards off) 	N/A 	•Defeat an army of fighters 	 	Donbe 	
1,145 	 	Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru 	• 	 	9,900 	Dream Land GB 	•Temporary Invincibility•Assist Trophy Enemies (Sablé Prince)	•The enemy will occasionally be invincible after a little while•The enemy can unleash powerful critical hits at random•Hostile assist trophies will appear	(Castle Lololo) 	 	
1,280 	 	Ever Oasis 	• 	 	3,700 	Gerudo Valley (hazards off) 	•Flowery•Item: Deku Nut 	•You constantly take minor damage•The enemy starts the battle with a Gust Bellows 	 	 	
1,282 	 	Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido	• 	 	2,400 	Onett 	•Item Tidal Wave•Hazard: Heavy Wind 	•Dangerously high winds are in effect after a little while•The enemy favors side specials•Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while 	 	 	
===As a minion===
Spirit	Spirit 	Spirit 	Spirit 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Inspiration
No. 	Image 	Name 	Series 	Enemy Fighter(s) 	Type 	Power 	Stage 	Rules 	Conditions 	Music 	Character
189 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series	• • 	 	3,700 	Hyrule Castle 	N/A 	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle 	 	Young Link (Ocarina of Time) 	
192 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series	• • 	 	9,900 	Garden of Hope 	•Hazard: Fog 	•The stage is covered in fog•The enemy will charge up a powerful Final Smash 	 	Young Link (Ocarina of Time) 	
211 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series	• • 	 	9,000 	Great Bay 	•Uncontrollable Speed•Slippery Stage	•Defeat the main fighter to win•All fighters move faster and can't stop quickly after a little while•The enemy loves to taunt	 	Link (Majora's Mask) 	
218 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series	• • 	 	1,700 	Great Bay 	N/A 	•The enemy favors neutral specials 	 	Link (Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons)	
233 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series	• • 	 	3,500 	Flat Zone X 	N/A 	•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd 	 	Link (A Link Between Worlds) 	
236 	 	The Legend of Zelda Series	• •Bunny 	 	9,100 	Temple 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Nightmare) 	•Hostile assist trophies will appear 	 	Ravio 	
1,319 	Professor Gerry, Plaise, & Lerna	Nintendo Labo Series 	• • •Tiny	 	2,500 	Paper Mario 	•Attack Power ↑•Defense ↑ 	•The enemy has increased defense after a little while•The enemy has increased attack power after a little while 	 	Plaise Allatyme 	
==Alternate costumes==
							
							
==Gallery==
Young Link amiibo.png|Young Link's amiibo.
SSBU Young Link Number.png|Young Link's fighter card.
Young Link unlock notice SSBU.jpg|Young Link's unlock notice.
The Legend of Zelda artwork.png|Artwork of all The Legend of Zelda characters, as posted on the official Legend of Zelda Twitter account.
SSBUWebsiteYoungLink1.jpg|Young Link on Great Bay.
SSBUWebsiteYoungLink2.jpg|Tossing his at on Castle Siege.
SSBUWebsiteYoungLink3.jpg|Idling with 's Fairy on Skyworld.
SSBUWebsiteYoungLink4.jpg|Drinking Lon Lon Milk with on Temple.
SSBUWebsiteYoungLink5.jpg|Performing his down aerial in his Dark Link-based costume on the Umbra Clock Tower.
SSBUWebsiteYoungLink6.jpg|Tossing his Boomerang on Onett.
SSBUWebsiteSimon5.jpg|Young Link drinking his Lon Lon Milk with on Figure-8 Circuit.
SSBUWebsiteBomberman3.jpg|Carrying his Bomb with Bomberman on Temple.
SSBUWebsiteTechnique3.jpg|Idling with on Tomodachi Life.
SSBUZeldaJPTwitter1.jpg|With all playable veterans on the Great Plateau Tower.
===Fighter Showcase Video===
==Trivia==
*Young Link's official artwork is based upon the pose he strikes after using his grounded Spin Attack.
*Young Link and share the longest gap between playable appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series, with seventeen years between Melee and Ultimate. This was noted by both of their Super Smash Bros. blog's "Today's Fighter" descriptions.
*Due to Young Link's hair having more physics-based movement, in certain animations such as taking damage, it's possible to see that his sideburns are not fully modeled under his hair.
**Additionally, the cuffs of his boots are not fully modeled when looking at them from below.
*An animation error is present in Young Link's up tilt; the Kokiri Sword rotates in his hand as he returns to his idle stance.
**There's another animation error regarding his Hookshot in which the chain disconnects from the Hookshot during his pulling up animation after grabbing a ledge.
**Additionally, certain animations such as one of his idle animations will cause his arm to clip through his shield.
*When Young Link activates his side taunt where Navi flies around his head, if the game is slowed down to 1/4 speed, she can be seen flying into her initial position from offscreen. This suggests that Navi's model is kept somewhere offscreen and changes location on activation of the taunt; however, when the taunt ends, she returns back into his hat like normal and does not appear to fly back offscreen.
*Young Link, , Lucina, , , and are the only characters who use their crouching animation from their previous Smash Bros. game when holding a small item.
**Out of all of them, Young Link is the only one who doesn't revert to their previous idle pose when holding a small throwable item.
*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 stage.
*Young Link's Star KO voice clip begins with a short pause, as it did in Melee. He is one of two to have this oddity, the other being .
*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 Junger Link). He shares this trait with .
*When KO'd by reaching 0 HP during his final stock in Stamina Mode, Young Link's KO scream is a noticeably higher pitched version of one of his KO screams. He shares this trait with Inkling.
==References==
 
Category:Spirits
es:Link niño (SSBU)