Zelda is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Super Smash Bros. series Zelda amiibo was released on December 14, 2014. Zelda is considered mid-to-high tier in Super Smash Bros. 4 and high-tier in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Super Smash Bros. 4
Zelda is a B+ rank character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Her strengths include a powerful set of smash attacks; her down smash is a quick “get-off-me” move and both her forward and up smashes hit opponents multiple times. Zelda’s special moves are just as useful; she has a reflector that can also defend from incoming attacks in a pinch, an effective gimping tool in Din’s Fire, and an up special that serves as a safe and efficient recovery move. Zelda is able to rack up a large amount of damage in a short amount of time, as her multi-hit smash attacks can cause AI opponents to drop their guard and get hit even after a perfect shield.
However, Zelda is held back by several flaws, the most notable of which being her weight (or in this case, lack thereof). She requires serious investment into her defense stat to be able to stand a chance against powerful characters such as Bowser and Ganondorf. Zelda’s smash attacks, while strong, lack range and sometimes just barely miss their target. Furthermore, her AI may get into the habit of spamming its up smash, down smash, forward air, or back air. It may also use Farore’s Wind to randomly teleport across the stage (or directly upward into the air), which leaves Zelda vulnerable for no good reason.
Overall, Zelda has accrued above-average tournament results and representation. Top trainers like Arklaine and FarmingSim have found moderate success with the character, but her results dropped off towards the end of the metagame’s lifespan. If you want to train a Zelda amiibo in Super Smash Bros. 4, check out our training guide.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Zelda has been significantly buffed for her appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and now ranks among the strongest fighters in the game. Zelda’s biggest strengths are her off-stage game and multi-hit attacks. Her aerials are incredibly powerful, allowing her to gimp opponents with a forward, back, or down air off-stage; she can also juggle enemies with repeated up airs. Her jab, forward smash, and up smash all strike multiple times, which makes them extremely effective damage-racking moves. Ultimate’s AI drops its guard after shielding the first hit of a multi-hit move, which means Zelda can consistently damage defensive opponents.
However, Zelda does retain most of her flaws from Smash 4. She’s still rather light, and having a relatively large hitbox means she is likely going to be KOed easily. A few of her strongest finishers also suffer from slight lag issues, which leaves Zelda vulnerable if she misses. Furthermore, Zelda’s AI is reckless with its special moves and often uses them incorrectly; as a result, an optimal Zelda amiibo does not use her special moves very often (if at all).
Overall, Zelda has accrued fantastic tournament results and representation, and is considered much better than her Smash 4 incarnation. Zelda’s representation has picked up in recent times, which has significantly improved her placement on our tier list. If you would like to read our Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Zelda training guide, you can do so right here. Do note that this guide targets the amiibo-versus-amiibo format. Information on Raid Boss training is included below.
Raid Boss Training
A Zelda Raid Boss has a slightly different optimal build. As with most fighters, her best Spirit effects are either Super Armor or Great Autoheal. Each of these takes up all three bonus slots, though, so you’ll have to choose between which one you’d prefer. If you would rather use a different setup, you can use Move Speed ↑, Magic Attack ↑, and Toss & Meteor.
For training, your strongest neutral tools are going to be forward tilt, grab, neutral air, forward air, and back air. In the case of the former two, try to land the sweetspot wherever possible; if you have trouble, the AI will learn to sweetspot the moves on its own. Up air should be used as your go-to juggling tool, while down air should be used off-stage to gimp enemies trying to recover. Forward smash and up smash serve as solid grounded kill moves that should also be prioritized during training.
Try to avoid specials wherever you can. Zelda’s AI isn’t very good with its special move usage, so it’s best to just avoid them entirely. For more information on amiibo training, you can refer to our Zelda training guide, general training guide, and Raid Boss training guides. We have a lot of training guides here, and you can use them all in tandem with each other!
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