Super Smash Bros. Fighters – The Legend of Zelda Series – 01 Link 

Debut
In the Legend of Zelda series: The Legend of Zelda (1986)
In the Super Smash Bros. series: Super Smash Bros. 64 (1999)

Boxing Ring Title

Ocarina of Time Incarnation: Master of the Ocarina
Twilight Princess Incarnation: Hero of Hyrule
Breath of the Wild Incarnation: Champion of Hyrule

Theme Song: The Legend of Zelda Medley

Link is the main protagonist of the Legend of Zelda series, and the wielder of the.Triforce of Courage. There have been various incarnations of Link throughout the Zelda series, but so far only three Links – not counting Young Link and Toon Link – have entered Super Smash Bros. with the name and title of “Link”: “Ocarina of Time” Link in Super Smash Bros. 64 and Super Smash Bros. Melee, “Twilight Princess” Link in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS & Wii U, and the “Breath of the Wild” Link in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

In " The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time," a young Link lived peacefully in the Kokori Forest, but after disaster struck his home, Link would leave the Kokori Forest and journey to Hyrule Castle, where he would meet the young Princess Zelda. Learning that Zelda senses evil within the heart of a man named Ganondorf, Link would end up traveling across Hyrule to gather the 3 Gemstones to open the Temple of Time, obtain the Master Sword, and expose Ganondorf. When Link gained entrance to obtain the Master Sword, Link was considered too young to wield the it and was put to sleep, reawakening seven years later and ready to face his destiny.

In "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess," which takes 100 years after the events of Ocarina of Time in the Child Timeline, a new Link was born and raised as a simple farm boy. Initially intending to make a trip to Hyrule Castle to offer a gift for Princess Zelda’s coronation ceremony, the children of the village he lives in end up getting kidnapped, including his close friend Ilia! Link rushed off to save them, only to get dragged into the realm of Twilight where he gets turned into a wolf. There, he would meet a small imp named Midna, and although both of them initially get on each other’s nerves, they slowly come to respect one another as they work together to save both the world of Hyrule and the world of Twilight from the demented king, Zant.

In "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," 100 years before the events of the game, Link assisted Princess Zelda and her Four Champions in a war against the Demon King, Ganon. Link, however, was gravely wounded in battle. To save his life, he was placed in a hidden chamber so he could recover. 100 years later, Link reawakens with no memories of what happened, and sets off to discover his past and eventually reunite with Zelda to finally defeat Ganon once and for all!

While mostly a blank state so players can easily place themselves in the game, some Links have some notable personality traits that make them stand out amongst each other. Despite that, they all share one thing in common with each other: courage. Each and every Link is willing to risk his life to protect his friends and family. It's what keeps them going, no matter how daunting a task may be.

In Super Smash Bros., Link uses the Master Sword and Hylian Shield, as well as various tools he has found during his adventures, to fight against his opponents. Show your courage and face your challenges head on with Link!

Link is one of the twelve members of the “Perfect Attendance Crew”. Link is also one of the four faces of the game, Mario, Pikachu, and Kirby being the others.

Special Moves 

Neutral Special: Bow and Arrows 

Link fires an arrow from his bow. The distance and speed it travels depends on how much you charge it up.

If you missed your target, the arrow will stay put on the ground for a bit. You can have Link go over and pick the arrow up, and throw it at his opponent!

… Or, after picking the arrow up, you can use the move again to fire TWO arrows at once! Neat, huh? 

Inspired by the Bow and Arrow weapon that debuted in “The Legend of Zelda.” Link could use the move to attack foes from afar, though each shot caused Link to lose one Rupee. Starting in "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past," Arrows would be given their own inventory slot.

The Bow takes its appearance from “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," specifically the Traveler’s Bow. The ability to fire more then one arrow at once was also introduced in “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” though only certain bows had the ability to do so, and the Traveler's Bow was not one of them. 

Side Special: Boomerang 

Link tosses a Boomerang at his opponent. The distance it flies depends on whether or not you input the move like a Smash Attack. Link can also aim it upwards or downwards. If it hits someone, it comes flying back to Link. While it’s returning to Link, it’ll pass through any opponent and deal damage.

Link can actually avoid regrabbing the boomerang if he is too high up or too low from where he threw it. In those cases, he won’t be able to use the move again until the boomerang “disappears.”

Inspired by the the Boomerang weapon that debuted in “The Legend of Zelda.” In that game, Link could use it to defeat weak enemies, stun stronger ones and grab items from afar. The design here is based on “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” 

Up Special: Spin Attack 

Link begins spinning around super-fast with his sword extended to his side. When used in the air, Link will slowly rise upward while dragging his opponent(s) with him before delivering a final slash that sends them away.

On the ground, Link spins in place, flinging anyone nearby away from him. Link can also charge the ground version to do more damage and knockback. 

Inspired by the Spin Attack that debuted in “The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.” The ability to rise in the air with it is original to Super Smash Bros., though in "Hyrule Warriors," one of Link's attacks involves him spinning around into the air.

Down Special: Remote Bomb 

Link pulls out a Remote Bomb. He can then throw it at his opponent or away from him.

After throwing the bomb, you can detonate it at any time by using the move again… as long as no one is holding the bomb, that is. Link can also get hurt by the explosion, so be careful!

The bomb will detonate by itself after 30 seconds pass, or if it gets hit by a fire move.

While Link always had Bombs as his one of his weapons throughout the “The Legend of Zelda” series, this version is based on the Remote Bomb that debuted in “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” where it behaves the same way as it does in Super Smash Bros. Additionally, Link had the option of using square-shaped bombs as well. 

Final Smash: Ancient Bow and Arrow

Link pulls out his Ancient Bow and Arrow and takes aim, firing one straight ahead of him! If the Ancient Arrow hits its target, it will explode, causing massive damage to the opponent and anyone nearby.

While Link always had Bows and Arrows as one of his weapons throughout the “The Legend of Zelda” series, this version is inspired by its appearance in “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” The Ancient Bow and Ancient Arrows are the best Bow and Arrows in the game respectively, and Link can find either of them by exploring, or by going to the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab to make them. The Ancient Bow is capable of flinging arrows super quick, while the Ancient Arrows can cause massive damage to the Guardian enemies, as well as defeat regular enemies in one hit.

Additional Notes 

Link, while either standing or ducking, can use his shield to block projectiles. That is, as long as he isn’t holding something else, like one of his bombs.

If Link is at 0% damage, he can fire a Sword Beam when doing his Forward-Smash Attack! The size, distance, and damage it deals depends on how long you charge it. It is not very strong, but it helps deal extra damage and can hit foes from afar! Once Link takes damage, he’ll either have to recover his health back to 0% by eating healing items – if available – or get KOed to use the Sword Beam again. 

Inspired by the Sword Beam attack which debuted in “The Legend of Zelda.” In nearly all of its appearances, Link can only use the Sword Beam attack if he’s at full health. 

Link also has his classic “green hat and tunic” as an alternate costume. This one is inspired by its appearance in “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” where it’s part of the “Hero of the Wilds" set. Link will obtain all three parts of this outfit upon clearing all 120 Shrines in the game.

Dark Link is also an alternate costume for Link. Dark Link is a mysterious doppelganger of Link who made his debut in “Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.” Throughout the series, his origins are unknown, though it’s often speculated that Ganondorf is responsible for his existence. His appearance here is somewhat based on the “Dark Clothes" set Link can get in “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” though in that game, the outfit is a recolor of “Hero of Time" set rather than the “Hero of the Wilds" set.