Link (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate RP Reboot)

**Tier** | N/A (**-**)

 **Link** is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate RP Reboot.

## Attributies

Link is a heavyweight and the majority of his attributes are largely reflective of his weight class. His only attribute that is atypical of a heavyweight is his walking speed, which is above average. Link possesses two shields instead of just one. In Link's case, he wields the Hylian Shield, which blocks opposing projectiles if he is standing still or walking. Link also wields his respective version of the Master Sword, which grants him good range, a disjointed hitbox and above average strength, the latter of which is most evident in his forward tilt, smash attacks, dash attack and Spin Attack. However, his forward, up and down aerials also boast impressive power while possessing certain traits: his forward and down aerials can hit twice, his up aerial has a long-lasting hitbox, and his down aerial can meteor smash. Link also has a kill throw in his up throw along with his down throw being a setup to his powerful up aerial.

Link is also capable to tether grab with his Clawshot for a tether recovery. Clawshot still boasts impressive range, has no landing lag and comes out even faster than before. It also assists his combo game, due to his down throw's impressive combo potential. Lastly and most importantly, Clawshot is a pivotal part of Link's recovery, especially due to his sluggish mobility.

Link's special moves all have their uses. Hero's Bow is a strong option against characters who struggle at approaching and is good for providing long-ranged pressure. Gale Boomerang is a decent spacing option and has follow-up potential upon contact or via its wind-based drag effect. Gale Boomerang's drag effect also grants it gimping potential in the form of Gale Guarding. Spin Attack's overall recovery distance has noticeably improved since *Brawl*, while its already impressive power has been further increased, which in turn improves its KO potential or as a way to punish rolls. However, Link's Bomb is perhaps the most versatile weapon within his arsenal due to its utility. Throwing a Bomb at a foe can cause enough hitstun to help Link's approach and/or set up combos. Conversely, if the opponent shields it, the Bomb simply bounces off, allowing it to be used for spacing. Even holding a Bomb long enough for it to explode can be useful; while doing so damages Link, it gives him a small vertical boost and removes him from being helpless, aiding his recovery and/or allowing him to break out of combos. Bomb can also be super glide tossed, which noticeably supplements his mobility. Additionally, Link is one of the only characters that is capable of super glide tossing forward and being capable of generating an item to utilize it. When combined with the overall fastest item throw animations in the game, Link's Bomb allows him to pressure opponents at a deceptively fast speed.

However, Link does have some flaws. Even though his recovery has been noticeably improved after formerly being one of his most significant flaws in *SSB* and *Brawl*, it still limits how far he can go offstage safely. Link is also still susceptible to combos from faster characters, such as Goku. As a result, he must make good use of reads, spacing and camping to avoid giving the advantage to such characters. To this end, his neutral aerial is a sex kick that allows him to break out of many combos, and is therefore one of his most useful moves, however, it still isn't particularly fast despite being one of his fastest moves. As a tether, his grab is quite slow and punishable when whiffed. In addition, Link's KO potential is hindered by lag, particularly in regard to his forward tilt, dash attack, forward aerial and down aerial.

Overall, Link is a capable zoner and spacing-oriented character and a popular choice among beginners, who must also take note of some difficult techniques that are associated with him. However, unlike his fellow beginner-friendly characters Mario and Cloud, Link is a generally defensive character who relies on appropriate use of both camping and his combo game to be successful, which is often dependent on the matchup. Additionally, his playstyle can be difficult to utilize at higher levels of play, mainly due to the speedy and combo-oriented characters that are prevalent in the metagame.

## Moveset

### Normal Moves

* Neutral Attack: A diagonal slash, followed by a horizontal slash, followed by a thrust. It is a natural combo with fast start-up and little knockback, but can also be jab canceled. 2%, 2%, 5%
* Side Tilt: A downward slash. 13%
* Up Tilt: An overhead arcing slice. 9%
* Down Tilt: A crouching inward swipe. 11%
* Dash Attack: A leaping downward slash that has been used by every Link since Ocarina of Time. 14% (tip), 13% (non-tip)

### Smash Attacks

* Side Smash: A lunging downward slash. The Master Sword's base has extremely minimal knockback, which enables it to naturally combo into an optional second hit. 14% (tip), 7% (non-tip), 13% (tip), 12% (non-tip)
* Up Smash: Three overhead arcing slashes. 4% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2), 11%/10%/9% (hit 3)
* Down Smash: A crouching outward slash in front of himself and then behind himself. 17%/16%/14% (hit 1), 12%/11%/10% (hit 2)

### Aerial Attacks

* Neutral Aerial: A flying kick. 11%/9% (clean), 6% (late)
* Forward Aerial: Two alternating outward slashes while spinning 360˚. 11% (hit 1), 13% (hit 2)
* Back Aerial: A back kick followed by a mid-level roundhouse kick. 3% (hit 1), 5% (hit 2)
* Up Aerial: A leaping upward thrust used by the Link from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. 15% (clean), 13% (late)
* Down Aerial: A leaping downward thrust used by the Links in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. 15% (early), 18% (clean), 15% (late), 11% (bounce)

### Grab Attacks

* Grab: Fires his Clawshot forward.
* Pummel: Hits the opponent with the Master Sword's hilt. 2%
* Forward Throw: A front kick. 3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)
* Backward Throw: A back kick. 3% (hit 1), 4% (hit 2)
* Up Throw: Raises the opponent above himself and slashes them upward. 5%/4% (hit 1), 2% (throw)
* Down Throw: Pins the opponent to the ground and then performs an elbow drop. 3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)

### Special Attacks

 Final Smash | Triforce Slash | Emits a beam of light from the Triforce of Courage symbol on the back of his hand to stun an opponent in front of him. If the beam comes in contact with an opponent, Link dashes forward and slashes them repeatedly while they are trapped in a Triforce-shaped energy field, with the last hit being a powerful slash that launches the trapped opponent away. Can hit multiple opponents, but all non-trapped opponents are launched out the energy field after the penultimate hit. | 1% (hit 1), 3% (hits 2-15), 2% (hit 16), 15% (hit 17)

## Misc

### Taunts

* Up Taunt: Swings the Master Sword twice and twirls it behind him before sheathing it. This is similar to his victory pose in Twilight Princess, which he performs after learning a Hidden Skill or defeating a boss or particularly difficult enemies.
* Side Taunt: Link takes out a fairy from his pocket, which proceeds to fly around him as he watches it until it returns to his pocket. This taunt references how fairies have been guides for Link in the Zelda series. While it is mainly based off the fairy cursor seen in the Wii version of Twilight Princess, the fairy is likely a reference to Link's fairy companion Navi from Ocarina of Time.
* Down Taunt: Link assumes a Fujian White Crane-like stance while rearing the Master Sword behind his head. It originates from SSB and may be loosely based on the attacking pose used by the Link from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

### On-screen appearance

* Intro: Appears from within a whirlwind and equips the Master Sword and Hylian Shield.

### Idle

* Idle 1: Assumes a battle ready stance.
* Idle 2: Looks behind himself.

### Victory Poses

* Win Screen 1: Link thrusts the Master Sword forward, holds it up to his face, then thrusts it to the sky while letting out a kiai.
* Win Screen 2: Swings the Master Sword three times and then looks to the right.
* Win Screen 3: Swipes the Master Sword once, twirls it behind his head, then sheathes it.