Link

*For fighter info, see Link (SSB), Link (SSBM), Link (SSBB), Link (SSBWU/3DS), and Link (SSBU). For other variations of Link, see Toon Link and Young Link.*

**Link** (リンク, *Rinku*?) is the protagonist of *The Legend of Zelda* series by Nintendo. Link is the wielder of the Master Sword and the holder of the Triforce of Courage. He appears as a playable fighter in all four *Super Smash Bros.* games.

## Character description

 File:Link OoT.png
 File:Link (Super Smash Bros. Evolution).jpg
Link's first appearance was as the "Hero of Hyrule" in *The Legend of Zelda (1987).*, Link was designed with a green tunic and a green hat which (like Mario's design) was due to limitations in the NES hardware. This appearance has since been traditional for all incarnations of Link.

One thing that has varied with Link with every incarnation is his age. In some games such as *The Wind Waker* and the first part of *The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time*, Link is a young boy around the age of 9-10 whereas in *The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess* and the second part of *Ocarina of Time*, Link is depicted as a young adult around 16-17.

Because the Zelda series has always kept Link a silent protagonist, nobody has much insight into Link's personality. However, it has been shown that Link is a brave and polite young man and is very "humble".

Because of the different incarnations of Link, the origins of each body can vary, but almost always, he is a young boy (or man) who starts out as a normal person until learning of his destiny to save Hyrule from the evil Ganon (or Ganondorf) and as his journey presses him, he becomes a hero. In *Ocarina of Time*, he is a young Hylian, whose mother, before dying, entrusted him into the care of the Great Deku Tree. In *The Wind Waker*, he is a young boy living on Outset Island, given the legendary Hero of Time's clothes. In *Twilight Princess*, he is an ordinary young man working at Ordon Ranch until several of the villagers' children are kidnapped by monsters which starts his adventure.

Link made his first fighting appearance (and first official appearance) in a Nintendo game outside the Zelda series in *Super Smash Bros.*, and has traditionally appeared in all installments of the series since.

### Master Sword

The **Master Sword** (マスターソード *Masutā Sōdo*?) is Link's sword. It is a longsword created by the goddess Hylia with the intent of defeating evil (hence its title Blade of Evil's Bane). The Master Sword is usually embedded within a pedestal within the Temple of Time, and can only be freed by the Hero of Time. In certain *Legend of Zelda* titles, it is the only weapon capable of defeating Ganondorf, and as such it is a certain story point for Link to claim and wield the Master Sword.

In *Ocarina of Time*, Link frees the Master Sword from its resting place in the Temple of Time to open a gateway to the Sacred Realm, the place where the Triforce resides. However, Link does not wield it until he awakens from his seven-year slumber, as the Master Sword cannot be wielded if the user is too young, as Link was at the time of finding the sword. After defeating Ganon, Link returns the Master Sword back to the Temple of Time, presumably leaving it for the next Hero of Time to find.

In *Twilight Princess*, the Master Sword continues to reside in the Temple of Time, but at the time of the game, the temple is in ruins and is surrounded by a forest, making it difficult to find. Later in the game, Link seeks the Master Sword to break the curse the Twil Zant placed on him and to restore his Hylian form, which he does so successfully. Link uses the Master Sword in the final battle against Ganondorf, and returns it to the Temple of Time afterwards, mirroring the ending of *Ocarina of Time*.

Link uses the Master Sword in all of his standard ground attacks, his pummel, and all aerials except his neutral and back aerial.

## In *Super Smash Bros.*

### As a playable character

*Main article: Link (SSB)*
File:LinkSSB.png
Link's first appearance in a fighting game is in the original *Super Smash Bros.* as one of the starting eight playable characters.

He is a slow character, but as the wielder of the Master Sword, Link's melee attacks have considerable range, which often compensates for the lack of speed, allowing him to hit opponents from farther away to continue combos. His right/left B-move is a fast Boomerang which will return to Link, a property that is useful in both comboing and combo breaking. His B-Up move is a Spin Attack, which is powerful but doesn't give him much distance for recovery. In fact, Link's abysmal recovery is often considered to be the main reason for the bottom tier placing of what would otherwise be a powerful fighter with moderate combo potential and versatile projectiles. His B-Down move allows him to pull out a Bomb. Link can throw the bomb so that it explodes after making contact, or he can throw it lightly so that it will not explode.

Link's in-game character description says:

**Link**
 File:Link SSB.png
*Link is the valiant boy hero of "The Legend of Zelda" series in which he fights against the evil Ganon to recover the Triforce. Though his tools may change with each adventure, his strength and righteousness remain constant. With his trusty sword and a variety of weapons, he takes adventure head on!*
Works:
* *The Legend of Zelda* (NES),
* *The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past* (SNES),
* *The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time* (N64)

## In *Super Smash Bros. Melee*

### As a playable character

*Main article: Link (SSBM)*
File:Linkmeleeclear.png
Link returns in *Melee* as a starting playable character.

While his play style is similar, his moves have been slightly tweaked. His B-Up move is now a much more reliable recovery jump. His new B-move is the Bow, which allows Link to fire an arrow. The arrow's range depends on how long the player holds down the B button. His Boomerang has been moved to his B-forward attack. Link is ranked 18th out of 26 characters, a significant improvement from his previous 11th out of 12 placement. This is because of his significantly buffed recovery and other numerous buffs, however he is easy to combo and juggle, especially by Fox and Falco.

### Trophies

By tradition, Link as a playable character is featured on his personal 3 trophies. His normal trophy is acquired by beating the Classic mode with Link on any difficulty, and his Smash Red and Smash Blue trophies are acquired the same way by beating the Adventure and All-Star modes, respectively.

File:LinkTrophy1 copy.jpg
**Link**
*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.*
* The Legend of Zelda [07/87]

**Link** [Smash]
*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]
*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

## In *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*

### As a playable character

*Main article: Link (SSBB)*
File:Link Clear SSBB.png
Link returns as a starting character in *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*, with him being one of the first veterans introduced to return at E3 2006. Aesthetically, he sports his older appearance from *The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess*. Much of his moveset remains the same, and his arsenal has been updated to reflect his new appearance.

Like all of the game's returning characters, he received a Final Smash named Triforce Slash, where he traps the opponent in a Triforce construct before repeatedly slashing at them, making it effective in trapping opponents.

### Trophies

Link has a trophy that is awarded each time the Classic mode is completed with Link on any difficulty. See Triforce Slash for the trophy description of Link's Final Smash:

 File:RSBE01-171.png
**Link**
*A young man who emerged to rescue Hyrule from peril. He's the bearer of the Triforce of Courage who fights to keep Ganondorf from conquering the world. His green outfit is a constant throughout the series. He's a skilled swordsman, horseman, and archer. He's also proficient with bombs and boomerangs.*
* (NES) *Legend of Zelda*
* (Wii) *Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess*

 File:Wolf Link Trophy.jpg
**Wolf Link**
*Link's alternate form in the Twilight Realm. In this form, he cannot use weapons such as swords or shields, but he can attack with a ferocious wolf bite. He also has a number of unique skills inherent to his beast form, such as a keen sense of smell, the ability to dig, and a loud wolf howl.*
* (Wii) *The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess*

## In *Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U*

### As a playable character

File:Link SSB4.png
*Main article: Link (SSBWU/3DS)*
Link returns as a playable character in *Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U*, revealed during the E3 Nintendo Direct on June 11, 2013. His design is once again based off his appearance on *Twilight Princess*, although his color scheme has been altered to being more brighter to match the vibrant aesthetics used in the game. Gameplay-wise, Link has once again received a few buffs in his moveset along with a new dash attack based off the the Jump Attack technique from some *Legend of Zelda* games.

### Trophies

**Link**
*Green tunic? Pointy hat? Yep, it's Link, all right! In this game, his sword and shield make for effective attacking and blocking, and his bow, bombs, and boomerang will spice up any battle. He's even brought his Clawshot for grabbing enemies and edges. Jeez, just how much stuff can Link carry?*
* (NES) *The Legend of Zelda* (08/1987)
* (SNES) *The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past* (04/1992)

**Link (Alt.)**
*Green tunic? Pointy hat? Yep, it's Link, all right! In this game, his sword and shield make for effective attacking and blocking, and his bow, bombs, and boomerang will spice up any battle. He's even brought his Clawshot for grabbing enemies and edges. Jeez, just how much stuff can Link carry?*
* (NES) *The Legend of Zelda* (08/1987)
* (SNES) *The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past* (04/1992)

**Wolf Link**
*Hey, who let a wolf in here? This is the spot for a trophy of Link! The wolf does look cool, though... Oh, oops! That wolf is Link, from Twilight Princess, after he steps into Twilight. It's actually a pretty handy transformation. Maybe the Master Sword can help him transform at will...*
* (Wii) *The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess* (11/2006)

## Trivia

* Link has the lowest average tier position out of every one of the original twelve characters (his average tier position is 21).
	+ Link is also the lowest tiered character in *Brawl* to appear in all five of the *Super Smash Bros.* installments.
* In the reveal trailer for Wii Fit Trainer for *Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U*, Link humorously has trouble standing like a tree, even though in *Ocarina of Time*, he was raised by a tree.  File:Tumblr mo8vrsOAQq1r72ht7o3 500.gif
* Link has had the same exact weight as Captain Falcon in all four *Super Smash Bros.* games.
* Much of Link's *Super Smash Bros.* moveset was used for his appearance as a playable fighter in Soulcalibur II. Many attacks even shared the same name as the names provided for Link's standard moveset on the *Super Smash Bros.* website.

## External Links

* Zeldapedia's article on Link
* Link in Smash History (TrailerDrake)