Toon Link

> *This article is about Toon Link's appearance in Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo Switch. For other uses, see Link (Overall). For his semi-clones, see Link or Young Link. For the boss, see Dark Toon Link.*
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## Character Statistics

### Has a Tether

Yes

**Toon Link** (トゥーンリンク, *To~ūnrinku*) is a playable veteran starter character in Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo Switch, returning from the Legend of Zelda series. He was one of the Brawl veterans to be announced to return, along with Wolf, Lucario, and Ike, during the E3 Smash Direct.

Toon Link has been given a significant overhaul to differentiate himself from the other Links, having more special moves that harken back to the games where Toon Link first appeared in. He's one of the most updated characters in the game.

## Attributes

With the huge change from the previous installment, Toon Link now has a significant increase in defense based moves, and combined with his overall faster playstyle, it makes him a terror on the battlefield. He is the lightest, yet fastest, of all of the Links, being much more of a rush down character, but being more vulnerable to KO's.

Toon Link is different from Link, being smaller, lighter, and faster, albeit without the sheer power Link has in his sword techniques. He has some powerful Melee attacks like Link but has different Specials. His Hero's Bow is similar to Link's, but the arrows fired are slower-moving while causing more damage. His Boomerang is also slightly slower-moving than Link's, making it useful for setups but not as far-reaching as Link's. Instead of Spin Attack, Toon Link has Deku Leaf. Its function varies depending whether Toon Link is airborne or grounded. On the ground, Toon Link swings the leaf with strong force pushing away his opponent. In the air, Toon Link receives a vertical push and then flies slowy horizontally. Thanks to this move, Toon Link has one of the best horizontal recoveries in the game, but due to it being primarily horizontal, it is vulnerable to spikes and gimps such as Goku's U-air and F-air, Ryu's D-air and Captain Falcon's aerial Raptor Boost. Finally, Toon Link has Bombchus instead of Bombs. This projectile attack sends out a mouse-like bomb that crawls along the ground and walls for a set distance before exploding.

Toon Link's main strategy involves using his projectile weapons to make pressure from a distance: Boomerang, Hero's Bow and Bombchus (the last one being the hardest of Toon Link's Special moves to use due to its slow speed, lack of lead-ins, and high ending lag, despite good KO power). Toon Link may use these projectiles to run away, set up a close-range offense, or play a strictly mid-range game, depending on the player's preference.

Approaching Toon Link remains a difficult task, and each of his tools have been tweaked to make them better suited for heckling opponents in different situations. His bombs hit multiple times, have excellent damage potential, and up to three can exist at once, making them great for covering an approach or disrupting an opponent's. His bow behaves like Young Link's and trades some damage and distance capabilities for fiery arrows that stick into the floor and damage foes that contact them, which enhances his stage control. His boomerang, which also behaves like Young Link's, allows him to cover more angles and deals very high damage when hitting foes at point-blank range. These reworked projectiles allow Toon Link to have coverage options for foes at any range.

Most of Toon Link's sword moves have received damage and knockback buffs, and others were replaced with new ones. The third hit of his jab combo, inspired by an attack from the thrust combo from *Wind Waker*, now moves him forward and ends quickly, letting him begin the combo again and repeatedly push foes backward. His dash attack and new forward-smash also serve the purpose of helping Toon Link gain ground, and the latter covers a wide area while protecting Toon Link from incoming attacks or recoveries. Together with his projectiles, Toon Link's sword moves provide him with a fierce edge guarding game.

However, Toon Link suffers from recovery problems that he did not have in *Smash 4*. His aerial up-special, while a powerful finishing move that now hits just once, lacks the recovery capabilities it used to have. Toon Link now also weighs the lighter than he did in Smash 4, a substantial drop in weight that hinders his survivability and makes Toon Link capable of being KOed in just a few hits. Although *Project M*has diversified his recovery options with new tether mechanics and the aerial glide toss in conjunction with bomb recovery, getting Toon Link back on stage is often time-consuming and easy for edge guarding opponents to predict and exploit.

Thus, as in *Brawl*, Toon Link must rely on his projectiles to soften up opponents before using his fast movement and attacking speed to overwhelm them. While his camping power allows him to make mistakes when foes are at range, he must finish foes in close combat quickly and accurately, especially when he is edge guarding, as his own predictable recovery and light weight make it easy for foes to reverse the match and KO him.

 Moveset

### Ground Attacks

#### Normal

* **Neutral Attack**: Slashes twice, ending with a spinning uppercut slash. References his attack combo in Wind Waker.
* **Forward Tilt**: Performs a quick downwards slash.
* **Up Tilt**: Swipes his sword upwards.
* **Down Tilt**: Pokes forwards with his sword.
* **Dash Attack**: Thrusts his sword forwards.

#### Smash Attacks

* **Forward Smash**: Winds back, and jumps forwards, delivering a hard slash.
* **Up Smash**: Similar to his old Up Smash, but he quickly slashes twice.
* **Down Smash**: Performs the spin attack. This smash attack is different, in that it isn't charged beforehand, however, if the attack button is held, Toon Link will continue to spin, and he can be moved around with the control stick. If Toon Link spins for too long, he'll be dizzy after a while. When the button is released, he'll perform a final slash attack.

#### Other attacks

* **Floor Attack (Front)**: Performs a mini spin attack.
* **Floor Attack (Back)**: Kicks around him.
* **Floor Attack (Trip)**: Slashes along the ground.
* **Ledge Attack**: Gets up and slashes onto the ground.
* **Ledge Attack (100%)**: Same as ledge attack, but slower.

### Aerial Attacks

* **Neutral aerial** - Performs a quick spin attack.
* **Forward aerial** – Spins quickly, slashing once with his sword.
* **Back aerial** - Similar to his forward aerial, but he does it behind himself and it deals more damage.
* **Up aerial** – As all Links, he thrusts his sword into the air. Unlike the other links, this attack is constant with the duration of the attack.
* **Down aerial** - Sticks his sword down and dives onto the ground. Unlike the other Links, Toon Link doesn't bounce off opponents, and he will continue until he stops the attack or hits the ground.

### Grabs and Throws

* **Grab**: Grabs with the hookshot.
* **Pummel**: Hits the opponent with the hilt of his sword.
* **Forward Throw**: Performs a upwards slash.
* **Back Throw**: Rolls backwards and kicks the opponent away.
* **Up Throw**: Tosses the opponent upwards.
* **Down Throw**: Slams the opponent into the ground.

 **Final Smash** | Four Swords Attack

## Physical Appearance

Toon Link looks younger to Link and Young Link but is exactly the main character from the Legend of Zelda series. He has blond hair covered by a green hat, a green battle stimmer, a brown belt at his waist, white tights, and brown boots. The picture itself shows Link holding his sword and shield.