Smash Advent Calendar - Day 3 - Link

Day 3 puts series veteran Link in the spotlight, donning a modern looking outfit that blends Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword together. Next to Mario, Link is the most obvious inclusion in each new installment into the franchise and is exceptionally popular to play as every time. Something about the sword-brandishing teenage star of arguably the most popular Nintendo franchise makes players, particularly casual players, gravitate towards him.

Link has always been a low tier character, to the dismay of Zelda fans. In all iterations his speed is fairly average and his damage dealing is okay but there's an element of sluggishness to his blows. Link hardly has a quick attack to his name; in Melee, one of his most important assets was his ground Up+B attack, a spin attack that came out incredibly fast and packed tremendous smash factor, even if the recovery was a little lengthy. However, even this move couldn't help the character overall, especially when nerfed in Brawl, and so was danced all over by so many other characters.

It is possible to imagine Link in a winning position. His skillset has the potential to leave opponents constantly guessing as to what is coming next, with varied projectiles and multi-hit smash attacks all up this Hylian's sleeve -it's just the execution of these moves that lets him down. His arrows should either be faster or deal more damage for a start, as these moves are easily predictable and leave Link far too open. His bombs are always a useful tool, but again can be seen coming a little too easily - some suggestions I've seen over on "Smashboards" would be having multiple ways to use the bombs: throwing, as per the norm in Smash Bros.; dropping on the spot, which would allow strategic placing around stages, and; rolling, which would mean the opponents have to guess where an attack is coming from and dodge accordingly.

And guys? A bit more imagination on his Final Smash?

All in all, I think Link carries the capacity to be a great fighter. Even in his present form, he's a tonne of fun to play, he just needs some more mobility and speed to then make him viable in competition - it's either that or buff his damage to high heaven (though I feel that wouldn't suit this type of character). Buff his stage recovery, reduce his attack recovery, buff his attack speed and well, then we might see more Link mains.

What are the opinions on Link out there? Does anyone play him despite his disadvantage? Do you feel he needs to be shaken up a little bit? Comment below or join the discussion over on the facebook page here. See you for another character tomorrow!