- Game Versions
- Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
Hello everyone! This is my guide for Toon Link for Super Smash Brothers Wii U and the 3DS. Toon Link is similar to Link, however he is much more nimble, with different moves and properties.
Myself? I am a veteran who has been playing since the N64 version of smash brothers. My main is "Random". This is why I understand every character in the game. I understand that most of my guides could be more in depth, so I will attempt to try as much as I can with this one. I will update it as frequently as I can.
Time Line:
0:17 Move set Overview
1:43 Bombs
3:11 Jump Cancel
4:16 Boomerang
6:18 Grabs & ZAir
8:40 Trumps & Follow ups
10:57 Hylian Shield
11:40 Matchup & Strategies
12:06 Application
Toon Link is a zoning and spacing oriented character. He can easily force approaches using his Bombs, Boomerang and arrows. His numerous projectiles, along with his ability to block the opponent's ones with his shield, give him a very strong camping game. That being said, he does not need to play that way. Sometimes your opponent can pressure you and you'll need to give pressure back.
Toon Link can also set up combos effectively using projectiles. Bombs, especially when jumped canceled, can be followed by a lot of moves at low percent, such as Neutral air and dash attack. Later, they can even set up his Up Smash or Forward air, which are good kill moves. Boomerang is a good combo tool too, it combos into Up tilt, grab and various other things, depending on the positioning.
Toon Link's grab game is interesting. Zair, if used in the falling portion of a short hop, combos into tilts at low percent, dash attack at mid percent and deadly Up smash at kill percent. His grounded grab has considerable ending lag, but very good range. He can use his throws to eject a grabbed opponent on a previously thrown Boomerang or Bomb, the Bomb to Up throw setup is a good example of this technique. Finally, Toon Link's Back throw is a great kill move and perhaps one of the game's strongest throws.
However, Toon Link also have some weaknesses. His combo ability heavily relies on projectiles and Zair. With the exception of Up tilt, his up close attacks can't, most of the time, reliably combo. As well, Toon Link's recovery is easily gimped and cover mediocre distance, even if his tether helps a lot. Sadly, most of his aerials have a lot of ending lag, so they don't chain very well into each others.
In conclusion, Toon Link has some strengths and weaknesses, but the firsts are more significant than the seconds, making him a potent character any player should be aware of.
Click here for percentages and differences from brawl Toon Link, as well as some other interesting info, and if you like reading more than watching.
These are Toon Links’ bombs. There is another
like it, but this one is his.
His bomb is his best friend. It is his life. You must master it as you master his life.
Toon Links bombs do 5-9%. The explosion of the bomb hurts your opponent more than a direct hit. When the bomb hits something while you are near it, you will get damage. However, if you hit your opponent, you will not receive any damage. The nature of the bombs makes Toon Link able to combo off of them effortlessly. The fact that you have 2 of them makes it so you can have one in your hand while another is on the field. This can mean many things:
1. You can recover on stage by throwing a bomb and pull out another if you don’t have a jump
2. You can throw a bomb in the air while edge guarding an opponent to limit their options
3. You can combo with 2 bombs and not just one
4. On stages with platforms you can leave the bomb on a platform and use it as a distraction while you have a bomb, or simply leave it there as a trap. You can also Zair(Grab in the air) and leave it on the edge of the stage. Furthermore, if you lightly land on stage and Z-drop at the last few frames, your bomb will stay on the floor, making it harder for your opponent to approach you.
5. You can throw them everywhere along with your other projectiles, essentially having 5 hit boxes flying around the stage. Your arrow, your boomerang, your 2 bombs, and you.
You can effectively throw bombs everywhere by using:
Jump Cancel
By now most of you know what jump cancel is. Jump canceling is essentially canceling the jump by inputting another move, but the jump animation causes you to slide slightly and you get more distance.
There are 2 main things you can jump cancel with Toon Link:
His Up smash.
His bomb throws.
His up smash- -is self-explanatory. Jump canceling his up smash will let you slide a slightly farther distance and catch your opponents with an up smash. This will also be important if you’re following it up with a boomerang hit or a bomb throw.
His bomb throws -> (any direction) are a different story, this can help you throw in every direction and slide a great distance into safety. You can even jump cancel bomb throw while dashing and keep dashing to get away from your opponent.
This can also help you combo into other moves like forward air, up tilt, forward tilt, etc. It is very situation-based, but with the slide of the movement it'd be very difficult to punish you.
This is Toon Links other amazing tool. Depending on the angle and distance, the boomerang can do 5-8% of damage. It does 3% when coming back, and believe me, if you’re smart you’ll be hitting your opponent more when the Boomerang is coming back.
The boomerang is important because it can be used for combos, for small hits into grabs, for setups, for edge guards, and for pressuring your opponent into deal with it by at least shielding. These are the angles that Toon Link can throw his Boomerang in (Watch video).
You can also angle the boomerang between these angles.
The Boomerang can also go through the stage. This is important because an opponent might thing he’s safe if he rolls onto stage or you miss the boomerang, because it can go through anything and hit the opponent, allowing you to follow up with something such as a grab, this is why it is important to note where the boomerang is at all times.
If you miss the boomerang, it will take 1-2 seconds for the boomerang to re-appear. It is also important to note that if you are doing a move such as taking out a bomb, catching the boomerang will not interrupt you.
Grab & Zair:
If you use Toon Links grab in the air, he will shoot his grapple hook in front of himself. This move does 4% and does small knockback. It also auto cancels when you air dodge before the hook shot, which means you can follow-up with any move you want. Generally, I would use this move if there’s a boomerang coming back from the other side of my opponent, because I like to follow up a zair with a grab. The opponent cannot shield the grab, but if he’s on low percent or is a heavy character he can spot dodge. This is why the boomerang should always be out. If the opponent spot dodged in this situation, I would have been in very big trouble, but because the boomerang stopped his punish, I can run away or follow up with something else.
If you use an aerial attack before the Zair without air dodging, you will experience full landing lag.
If you have a bomb in your hand and you want to use zair, air dodge first. Normally, you always want to air dodge before you use a zair so that it can come out.
You can drop the bomb and zair if you don’t air dodge.
Zair with a bomb can also be used for some sick stage movement. If you are off stage and you want to travel all the way to the other side of the stage, with a bomb, you can use the momentum you get from a long zair after air dodging so you don’t throw the bomb, and tether and release yourself at the peak of your momentum. Then after expending your jump and your Up special, your bomb will enable you to use another up special, thus allowing you to travel completely under the stage. This works best on stages like battle field that are in the shape of a V.
You can also save your invincibility on the ledge by canceling the pull on Toon Link’s tether grab. This can trick your opponent into thinking you have no invincibility, allowing you a chance to punish them.
Tether recover is also 3 times faster than normal recovery.
Trump & follow-ups:
Trumping the edge is relatively easy because of his size and speed. Besides the traditional trump where you just dash to the edge, you can use the tether almost like Zero Suit Samus does.
We already know that specials can turn us around. You can use the boomerang to turn yourself around, and you can b-reverse the bow. You can also throw bombs in the other direction to face that way.
Normally, if you miss an attack off stage and your opponent is about to grab the edge, you can tether and immediately push up to trump the edge. You can cold steel and do a back air on some characters, but if you miss or the opponent air dodges, you can hit them on the edge with a few things:
Forward tilt – similar to Lucina and Marths’ forward smash, and link’s forward tilt, but weaker. It will knock the opponent off, but it may not kill them. It will also not touch your opponent unless you space it properly.
Down tilt – You can use this even without trumping, it’ll hit opponents like Captain Falcon, who’s hand hitbox can sometimes go over the stage, but this is also a weak option.
Down air – This is your best option. This will meteor smash your opponent. The initial hit of down air is a spike, so after a trump, this is the follow up you want to look for. You also will not be hit from attacks like marths Up special because toon link goes up before coming down in a down air, and the hitbox goes through the edge of the stage.
You can also trump the edge another way, but it’s a lot harder than the traditional way. You can run off the stage with a bomb, and throw it the other way, and then jump and tether grab the ledge. This is fast and similar to ZSS’s tether grab trump, but it is a little odd and tricky to pull off, especially because you have to space yourself from the bombs explosion.
Toon Link’s physical shield can block many things by standing or by crouching. The hit will knock Toon Link back, and he cannot act out of it, but it will cause no pressure on shield. This can also be done by walking slowly. If you block a projectile while walking with your shield held up, you can punish faster than you would with your actual shield.
The problem lies within the speed of Toon Links walk, to achieve a walk with Toon Link’s shield still held up, you must walk with a lighter tilt than you normally would.
Locks and Foot stool set-ups
Toon Link can lock the opponent with Forward-tilt, Neutral-special(arrow lock), Neutral-air, Down-tilt and Down-air(low percent). He can foot stool the opponent after an up tilt, which cannot be teched for 20 frames. This means that an up tilt then foot stool to down air is an un-techable combo.
At 0%, you can up tilt, foot stool, down air, up tilt, foot stool, down air, then up air or up smash.
You can also z-drop a bomb and foot stool and opponent after that.
Will make a video showing these soon.
Up-air is Toon Links best aerial kill move by far. It cannot be air dodge easily, mainly because it is a lingering move that can kill relatively early.
Forward air is strong, but harder to hit. You’ll generally be using this as a follow up to a boomerang hit, bomb hit, off the edge, or reading an air dodge. The move has a slightly slow startup and a pretty large cool down. There is also quite a bit of landing lag if you land with this move.
Back-air will generally be used in a combo, and can follow up into itself. It can also be used as a stage spike move, but bear in mind of the tech.
Up-Smash is fast and will usually be used as a follow up or an air dodge to the ground read, and you'll be able to catch people if you jump cancel it.
Forward smash is a 2-hit move, and can kill early. It is a risky move however, having a lot of ending lag. Use this only when reading the opponents movements, or even catching them off stage while you’re on the ledge.
This does not imply that these are the only kill moves, but to mention the most obvious ones. In the entire guide it was mentioned how down-air is also a kill move, but of course it cannot be used off stage unless you're absolutely positive you will hit with it.
Strategy:
The main thing you want to do with Toon link is use his boomerang and bombs for safe pressure and setups. Toon Link does not have to commit to anything with his bombs, arrows, and his boomerang.
His boomerang can be aimed, so you can catch the opponent and be safe while it’s coming back to you.
His arrows are strong and direct, and can be used when your boomerang is out there, and it's a non-absorb-able projectile like the boomerang. His bomb is absorb-able however. Ness and Lucas will recover more damage if they absorb the blast rather than the direct impact.
You can also snipe with the arrows to get a pretty nice kill. His bombs can be used for so many reasons, and are the most important part of his game. They rack up percentage, as well as allow you to move flexibly and safely through the stage.
If going against a character like fox or falco that can reflect, you can use your projectiles to pressure them into using that move. Power shielding your own projectile is faster than the cool down of their down special. If you really wanna use projectiles, throw the bombs down from above.
This shows the landing lag for all characters.
This shows the hitbox frame data for all characters.
This is the landing lag for all aerial moves for Toon Link
Neutral air: 15
Forward air: 18
Back air: 22
Up air: 21
Down air: 40
Air dodge: 22
KuroganeHammer has provided an amazing Frame data and Compendium for Toon Link. Click here
I hope you all enjoyed this guide. Please discuss below, and also please help support my channels, I would really appreciate it!
My Twitch - DanishButrCookies
My YouTube - MrDanishButterCookie
Music Credits:
Outset Island - The Wind Waker HD
K i R - Beauty of the Sheikah Tribe (Sheik's theme Remix) Check out his channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbktqpS2zq72b8uwXWnMU4Q
Zelda - Twilight Princess - Faron Woods Remix
LoZ - Skyward Sword Main Theme Remix
Myself? I am a veteran who has been playing since the N64 version of smash brothers. My main is "Random". This is why I understand every character in the game. I understand that most of my guides could be more in depth, so I will attempt to try as much as I can with this one. I will update it as frequently as I can.
- Move set Overview
- Bombs
- Jump cancel
- Boomerang
- Hook shot
- Tether grab & ZAir
- Trumps & Follow-ups
- Hylian Shield
- Kill Moves
- Match-up Strategies
- Frame Data
Time Line:
0:17 Move set Overview
1:43 Bombs
3:11 Jump Cancel
4:16 Boomerang
6:18 Grabs & ZAir
8:40 Trumps & Follow ups
10:57 Hylian Shield
11:40 Matchup & Strategies
12:06 Application
Toon Link is a zoning and spacing oriented character. He can easily force approaches using his Bombs, Boomerang and arrows. His numerous projectiles, along with his ability to block the opponent's ones with his shield, give him a very strong camping game. That being said, he does not need to play that way. Sometimes your opponent can pressure you and you'll need to give pressure back.
Toon Link can also set up combos effectively using projectiles. Bombs, especially when jumped canceled, can be followed by a lot of moves at low percent, such as Neutral air and dash attack. Later, they can even set up his Up Smash or Forward air, which are good kill moves. Boomerang is a good combo tool too, it combos into Up tilt, grab and various other things, depending on the positioning.
Toon Link's grab game is interesting. Zair, if used in the falling portion of a short hop, combos into tilts at low percent, dash attack at mid percent and deadly Up smash at kill percent. His grounded grab has considerable ending lag, but very good range. He can use his throws to eject a grabbed opponent on a previously thrown Boomerang or Bomb, the Bomb to Up throw setup is a good example of this technique. Finally, Toon Link's Back throw is a great kill move and perhaps one of the game's strongest throws.
However, Toon Link also have some weaknesses. His combo ability heavily relies on projectiles and Zair. With the exception of Up tilt, his up close attacks can't, most of the time, reliably combo. As well, Toon Link's recovery is easily gimped and cover mediocre distance, even if his tether helps a lot. Sadly, most of his aerials have a lot of ending lag, so they don't chain very well into each others.
In conclusion, Toon Link has some strengths and weaknesses, but the firsts are more significant than the seconds, making him a potent character any player should be aware of.
Click here for percentages and differences from brawl Toon Link, as well as some other interesting info, and if you like reading more than watching.
These are Toon Links’ bombs. There is another
like it, but this one is his.His bomb is his best friend. It is his life. You must master it as you master his life.
Toon Links bombs do 5-9%. The explosion of the bomb hurts your opponent more than a direct hit. When the bomb hits something while you are near it, you will get damage. However, if you hit your opponent, you will not receive any damage. The nature of the bombs makes Toon Link able to combo off of them effortlessly. The fact that you have 2 of them makes it so you can have one in your hand while another is on the field. This can mean many things:
1. You can recover on stage by throwing a bomb and pull out another if you don’t have a jump
2. You can throw a bomb in the air while edge guarding an opponent to limit their options
3. You can combo with 2 bombs and not just one
4. On stages with platforms you can leave the bomb on a platform and use it as a distraction while you have a bomb, or simply leave it there as a trap. You can also Zair(Grab in the air) and leave it on the edge of the stage. Furthermore, if you lightly land on stage and Z-drop at the last few frames, your bomb will stay on the floor, making it harder for your opponent to approach you.
5. You can throw them everywhere along with your other projectiles, essentially having 5 hit boxes flying around the stage. Your arrow, your boomerang, your 2 bombs, and you.
You can effectively throw bombs everywhere by using:
Jump Cancel
By now most of you know what jump cancel is. Jump canceling is essentially canceling the jump by inputting another move, but the jump animation causes you to slide slightly and you get more distance.
There are 2 main things you can jump cancel with Toon Link:
His Up smash.
His bomb throws.
His up smash-
-is self-explanatory. Jump canceling his up smash will let you slide a slightly farther distance and catch your opponents with an up smash. This will also be important if you’re following it up with a boomerang hit or a bomb throw.His bomb throws
-> (any direction) are a different story, this can help you throw in every direction and slide a great distance into safety. You can even jump cancel bomb throw while dashing and keep dashing to get away from your opponent. This can also help you combo into other moves like forward air, up tilt, forward tilt, etc. It is very situation-based, but with the slide of the movement it'd be very difficult to punish you.
This is Toon Links other amazing tool. Depending on the angle and distance, the boomerang can do 5-8% of damage. It does 3% when coming back, and believe me, if you’re smart you’ll be hitting your opponent more when the Boomerang is coming back.
The boomerang is important because it can be used for combos, for small hits into grabs, for setups, for edge guards, and for pressuring your opponent into deal with it by at least shielding. These are the angles that Toon Link can throw his Boomerang in (Watch video).
You can also angle the boomerang between these angles.
The Boomerang can also go through the stage. This is important because an opponent might thing he’s safe if he rolls onto stage or you miss the boomerang, because it can go through anything and hit the opponent, allowing you to follow up with something such as a grab, this is why it is important to note where the boomerang is at all times.
If you miss the boomerang, it will take 1-2 seconds for the boomerang to re-appear. It is also important to note that if you are doing a move such as taking out a bomb, catching the boomerang will not interrupt you.
Grab & Zair:
If you use Toon Links grab in the air, he will shoot his grapple hook in front of himself. This move does 4% and does small knockback. It also auto cancels when you air dodge before the hook shot, which means you can follow-up with any move you want. Generally, I would use this move if there’s a boomerang coming back from the other side of my opponent, because I like to follow up a zair with a grab. The opponent cannot shield the grab, but if he’s on low percent or is a heavy character he can spot dodge. This is why the boomerang should always be out. If the opponent spot dodged in this situation, I would have been in very big trouble, but because the boomerang stopped his punish, I can run away or follow up with something else.
If you use an aerial attack before the Zair without air dodging, you will experience full landing lag.
If you have a bomb in your hand and you want to use zair, air dodge first. Normally, you always want to air dodge before you use a zair so that it can come out.
You can drop the bomb and zair if you don’t air dodge.
Zair with a bomb can also be used for some sick stage movement. If you are off stage and you want to travel all the way to the other side of the stage, with a bomb, you can use the momentum you get from a long zair after air dodging so you don’t throw the bomb, and tether and release yourself at the peak of your momentum. Then after expending your jump and your Up special, your bomb will enable you to use another up special, thus allowing you to travel completely under the stage. This works best on stages like battle field that are in the shape of a V.
You can also save your invincibility on the ledge by canceling the pull on Toon Link’s tether grab. This can trick your opponent into thinking you have no invincibility, allowing you a chance to punish them.
Tether recover is also 3 times faster than normal recovery.
Trump & follow-ups:
Trumping the edge is relatively easy because of his size and speed. Besides the traditional trump where you just dash to the edge, you can use the tether almost like Zero Suit Samus
does.We already know that specials can turn us around. You can use the boomerang to turn yourself around, and you can b-reverse the bow. You can also throw bombs in the other direction to face that way.
Normally, if you miss an attack off stage and your opponent is about to grab the edge, you can tether and immediately push up to trump the edge. You can cold steel and do a back air on some characters, but if you miss or the opponent air dodges, you can hit them on the edge with a few things:
Forward tilt – similar to Lucina
and Marths’ forward smash, and link’s forward tilt, but weaker. It will knock the opponent off, but it may not kill them. It will also not touch your opponent unless you space it properly.Down tilt – You can use this even without trumping, it’ll hit opponents like Captain Falcon
, who’s hand hitbox can sometimes go over the stage, but this is also a weak option.Down air – This is your best option. This will meteor smash your opponent. The initial hit of down air is a spike, so after a trump, this is the follow up you want to look for. You also will not be hit from attacks like marths Up special because toon link goes up before coming down in a down air, and the hitbox goes through the edge of the stage.
You can also trump the edge another way, but it’s a lot harder than the traditional way. You can run off the stage with a bomb, and throw it the other way, and then jump and tether grab the ledge. This is fast and similar to ZSS’s tether grab trump, but it is a little odd and tricky to pull off, especially because you have to space yourself from the bombs explosion.
Toon Link’s physical shield can block many things by standing or by crouching. The hit will knock Toon Link back, and he cannot act out of it, but it will cause no pressure on shield. This can also be done by walking slowly. If you block a projectile while walking with your shield held up, you can punish faster than you would with your actual shield.
The problem lies within the speed of Toon Links walk, to achieve a walk with Toon Link’s shield still held up, you must walk with a lighter tilt than you normally would.
Locks and Foot stool set-ups
Toon Link can lock the opponent with Forward-tilt, Neutral-special(arrow lock), Neutral-air, Down-tilt and Down-air(low percent). He can foot stool the opponent after an up tilt, which cannot be teched for 20 frames. This means that an up tilt then foot stool to down air is an un-techable combo.
At 0%, you can up tilt, foot stool, down air, up tilt, foot stool, down air, then up air or up smash.
You can also z-drop a bomb and foot stool and opponent after that.
Will make a video showing these soon.
Up-air is Toon Links best aerial kill move by far. It cannot be air dodge easily, mainly because it is a lingering move that can kill relatively early.
Forward air is strong, but harder to hit. You’ll generally be using this as a follow up to a boomerang hit, bomb hit, off the edge, or reading an air dodge. The move has a slightly slow startup and a pretty large cool down. There is also quite a bit of landing lag if you land with this move.
Back-air will generally be used in a combo, and can follow up into itself. It can also be used as a stage spike move, but bear in mind of the tech.
Up-Smash is fast and will usually be used as a follow up or an air dodge to the ground read, and you'll be able to catch people if you jump cancel it.
Forward smash is a 2-hit move, and can kill early. It is a risky move however, having a lot of ending lag. Use this only when reading the opponents movements, or even catching them off stage while you’re on the ledge.
This does not imply that these are the only kill moves, but to mention the most obvious ones. In the entire guide it was mentioned how down-air is also a kill move, but of course it cannot be used off stage unless you're absolutely positive you will hit with it.
Strategy:
The main thing you want to do with Toon link is use his boomerang and bombs for safe pressure and setups. Toon Link does not have to commit to anything with his bombs, arrows, and his boomerang.
His boomerang can be aimed, so you can catch the opponent and be safe while it’s coming back to you.
His arrows are strong and direct, and can be used when your boomerang is out there, and it's a non-absorb-able projectile like the boomerang. His bomb is absorb-able however. Ness
and Lucas will recover more damage if they absorb the blast rather than the direct impact.You can also snipe with the arrows to get a pretty nice kill. His bombs can be used for so many reasons, and are the most important part of his game. They rack up percentage, as well as allow you to move flexibly and safely through the stage.
If going against a character like fox
or falco that can reflect, you can use your projectiles to pressure them into using that move. Power shielding your own projectile is faster than the cool down of their down special. If you really wanna use projectiles, throw the bombs down from above.
This shows the landing lag for all characters.
This shows the hitbox frame data for all characters.
This is the landing lag for all aerial moves for Toon Link
Neutral air: 15
Forward air: 18
Back air: 22
Up air: 21
Down air: 40
Air dodge: 22
KuroganeHammer has provided an amazing Frame data and Compendium for Toon Link. Click here
I hope you all enjoyed this guide. Please discuss below, and also please help support my channels, I would really appreciate it!
My Twitch - DanishButrCookies
My YouTube - MrDanishButterCookie
Music Credits:
Outset Island - The Wind Waker HD
K i R - Beauty of the Sheikah Tribe (Sheik's theme Remix) Check out his channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbktqpS2zq72b8uwXWnMU4Q
Zelda - Twilight Princess - Faron Woods Remix
LoZ - Skyward Sword Main Theme Remix
