Mario may be Nintendo's crown jewel, but The Legend of Zelda is just as highly acclaimed; Ocarina of Time is the highest rated game on Metacritic, for crying out loud! This is one franchise that has most definitely earned its spot in Super Smash Bros, so how would it be represented? If you have read the previous articles in the series, you would know that I represent the franchises with characters representing the pillars or eras of that IP. If you haven't read them, you do not have to if you want to understand this article, but I will leave links below.
The first part of the series that I would represent would be the top-down 2D games, represented by a character referred to as "Classic Link". Though his main appearance would be that of the Link from the original NES game, he would pull from all of his games in the style. Of course, he would use his sword for his basic attacks, though his specials would focus on items unique to that section of the series. His neutral special would utilize the fire rod, launching a fiery projectile in front of him. His down special would use the hammer, slamming it down in front of him. His side special would utilize the boomerang, a staple of the series. His recovery would allow him to simply jump high using Roc's feather, or perhaps using Roc's cape. His alternate costumes would utilize different versions of the character; a monochrome version would represent Link's Awakening, the Link from A Link to the Past would have a couple of slots, and Toon Link would make a return with some costumes representing the Game Boy Advance games, most notably Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures, as the four Links from that game could easily fill any leftover slots.
Next would be the version of Link that has been represented in all of the Super Smash Bros games up until this point, the 3D ones, though with an exception we will get to later. As such, this Link would be referred to as just that: Link, and he would be almost unchanged from the current version of Link. However, his default costume would go back to being based off of the Ocarina of Time version of the character. Other costumes would include the other outfits from that game, the Fierce Deity from Majora's Mask, and a couple of outfits each from Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword.
The final character I would include to represent the series would only draw from one game, but this game will undoubtedly influence later games: Breath of the Wild. This revolution for the series may be recent, but is significant enough for a whole character. He would use various weapons for his basic attacks, including swords, axes, spears, and clubs. His neutral special would have him use the magnesis rune, having him lift, move, and through a metal object. Meanwhile, his down special would be the stasis rune, a counter attack that while it is tougher to pull off than other counters, it allows for massive launching power. His side special would be an attack from a bow, which can be freely aimed. His recovery would be Revali's Gale, launching him upwards with his glider. Finally, his costumes would obviously be a selection of outfits from his game.
To wrap up, while the idea three Links would likely be met with skepticism of them being clones, the series is large enough so that you could have completely different movesets. While a reboot could be a long way away, it is likely inevitable, so why not get ahead of the speculation curve? If you liked my ideas, feel free to share this article, or if you're new here, follow me for the future parts of the series.
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