Young Link is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Super Smash Bros. series Young Link amiibo was released on April 12, 2019. Young Link is considered mid-to-low tier in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Young Link’s Figure Player is considered the least viable of the three “Links” in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Toon Link, while less represented, is overall stronger, while Link’s tournament results and representation are nearly unbeatable. In terms of strengths, Young Link is fast and has low landing lag on his aerial moves. His up air and smash attacks are solid KO options, while he has a variety of projectiles alongside a tether grab at his disposal.
Unfortunately, Young Link is crippled by a devastating AI flaw: when recovering, it will try its tether recovery, but will miss and fall too low to recover with its up special. It often self-destructs in this manner at extremely low percentages, and so Young Link’s FP must be trained to remain on-stage at all costs. It isn’t known why Young Link’s AI seems to think its tether recovery is longer than it actually is; one theory is that Young Link’s AI was built by copying Link’s Super Smash Bros. 4 AI (and in that game, Link’s tether recovery was longer than Young Link’s is in Ultimate). Young Link also has less range and power than Link, making him quite outclassed by his adult counterpart.
In a similar situation as the Ice Climbers, Young Link loses many of his tournament matches by self-destructing. When he is trained to remain on-stage, though, he fares much better. Young Link’s tournament results and representation have been below-average. Leaf’s Young Link amiibo was once considered the strongest, but Lady Cucco’s has since appeared to claim that title.
Raid Boss Training
If you would like to raise a Young Link amiibo specifically to fight human opponents, please note that his optimal Spirits and training methods will be slightly different. As with all Raid Bosses, Super Armor and Great Autoheal are the two best bonuses you could use on Young Link. You can only use either one of these two effects, though, because each takes up all three slots. Those two aside, Young Link’s best Spirit setup is Move Speed ↑, Weapon Attack ↑, and Air Attack ↑. Move Speed ↑ boosts his recovery and air mobility, while Weapon Attack ↑ increases the power of his main damaging moves. Air Attack ↑ gives Young Link’s already-powerful aerials an even bigger boost. Additional Midair Jump is another potential option that negates the AI’s tendency to self-destruct with its tether grab, but it takes up two slots; the AI also occasionally fails to properly utilize its additional jump. Either way, try to minimize the amount of time your Young Link amiibo spends off-stage.
Young Link’s main tools are his down, forward, and up tilts. His tether grab can be used too, and is made a bit more useful if the FP has Move Speed ↑ equipped. Young Link’s neutral, back, forward, and up aerials are all great, giving him a lot of additional pressure and follow-ups to his grab and down tilt. Neutral air in particular is an amazing move; it doubles as a landing option, a kill move, and a good aerial to finish a combo with. Young Link’s FP should also use both forward and up smash occasionally (the latter is a solid out-of-shield option), but not too often or he risks being punished. Even though Boomerang is a good move, it’s prone to being spammed by the AI, so it should be used sparingly (if at all). And be sure to avoid Fire Arrows! They’re easily spammed, too.
To summarize, Young Link should use all of his tilts, his grab, his aerials (except for down air), and his forward and up smash attacks. Boomerang is a more situational option, but one worth considering nonetheless. If you need some more information, be sure to refer to our Young Link training guide and our general amiibo training guide. Ideally, you’d use information from all three posts to train the ultimate Raid Boss Young Link.
If you would like to return to the amiibo Wiki, please follow this link.
