Zelda is one of the most iconic character additions to the Super Smash Bros roster. The Princess has become an icon in gaming. The goal of this guide is help players pick up Zelda or learn more about her. It will provide you with plenty of information if you are a beginner, seasoned veteran, or expert. Now before you go on reading this, there is something you must understand if you plan on playing this character competitively. If you want to play a character that is easy to understand and has a lot of reward, it’s advised to start looking for a different main. Zelda is one of the most precision based characters, so do be effective with her requires loads of practice. On top of that, she has many weaknesses, especially landing, forcing an approach, and her below-average neutral. She’s very high risk, high reward. Luckily, Zelda comes with a plethora of kill set-ups and kill moves. You will find your opponent usually not surviving over 100%. Not only this, but do not walk into this character with the mindset of racking up damage and getting a easy kill. This character’s true potential lies in both offensive and defensive capabilities, and you will only hurt your options by only trying one strategy. But, when you are able to make all the gears click and pull off amazing set ups and combos, you will find all of your work and effort worth it. Then all of a sudden, Zelda becomes so so satisfying.
Cons
Has trouble landing
Light and floaty
Multi-hits can get easily beat out
Needs a lot of precision
Projectiles are situational
Slow run speed
Very punishable moves
High landing lag on all aerials
Slow grabs
Gameplay
Zelda is one of the most versatile fighters out there, there are no two Zeldas that are alike. She features a plethora of projectiles, great spacing tools, many combos, and great punish options. With all of this, she can switch between a good offensive and defensive game easily.
Character
Zelda is one of the most sassy characters you’ll find in the roster. When you see them doing various things, you will find a lot of personality was put into them. For example, when you perform their down taunt, you will see the Zelda waving to you “good-bye” as you’re flying to your death. You will find her victory screens to add lots of personality into her as well
Pros
Many reliable killing options
Many out-of-shield options
High damage output
Extremely versatile Up Special
Good disjoints (Smashes, Up Air, Down Air)
Amazing recovery
Good spacing tools (Phantom Slash, Forward Smash, Jab, Down Tilt)
Combos off of Down Throw and Up Throw
Back Throw can kill at reasonable percents
Great edgeguard game
The ability to change the pace of the match with a kill under 60%
Many combos and kill set-ups
One of the fastest Down Smashes in the game
Has Nayru’s Love as an amazing tool
Terms
I. Rage
Rage is a mechanic that was introduced in Smash 4. As the character receives more damage, the more knockback they will send out. This means you will send opponents farther than you normally would when you’re at 100% versus at 0%. Rage starts at 35% and has reached it's maximum at 150%. You can also tell when rage has started to take effect when your character starts flashing red and emitting steam. Zelda can take advantage of this mechanic very well.
II. DI (Directional Influence)
In every smash game, there is a mechanic known as DI. This allows you to change the trajectory in which your character will be sent flying. Proper use of this technique will allow you to survive certain blows that would otherwise end in a stock loss. The goal is to send your character to the top corner blast zones so you will be able to live as long as possible. If you are being sent horizontally, you will want to hold towards to the stage due to the new vectoring mechanic introduced in smash 4. This ensures you will not fly as far and potentially save your stock. If you wish to learn more, go to this video.
III. Jab Lock
If your opponent falls to the ground from a tumble, they will go into an animation of them hitting the ground and shaking. Some moves can put them into what is known as a Jab Lock. A Jab Lock makes them forced into standard get up allowing you to extend combos and/or get the kill. Here's a video description.
IV. SHFF (Short Hop Fast Fall)
A short hop is the shortest vertical height you move out of a jump. You can do this by just tapping the jump button. Fast falling is when you hit down on the control stick to force your character to fall to the ground faster. SHFF is just a combination of these techs put together. Most of the time however, the fast fall will be accompanied by an aerial. With Zelda, the Down Air can be made safe using this with good spacing. Also SHFF Neutral Air is a great kill set-up..
V. AC (Autocancel)
Auto cancelling is a property of an aerial that allows the landing lag of the move to be cancelled during certain frames of an aerial. The only 2 moves we have that will AC out of a short hop are Neutral Air and Down Air. You can not auto cancel these moves with a SHFF.
VI. Turnaround Special
A tech that allows you to change the direction you are facing in the air by flicking the control stick in the opposite direction of where you’re facing and then hitting neutral special.This video explains all of this concept in more detail.
VII. B-Reversing
A tech that allows you to reverse your momentum by doing a special and flicking the control stick in the opposite direction immediately. The video above explains all of this concept in more detail.
VIII. Wavebouncing
This tech combines a B-reverse with a recoil special. What this allows you to do is create unique movement options with your character where the will back away from the direction they are facing while throwing out a special. First you input the be reverse, and then you do the input for the recoil special. This means your character will turn around quickly, then they will reverse their momentum with the recoil special. It’s all done extremely fast so you probably won’t see your character doing all of that. This video above explains all of this concept in more detail.
IX. AT (Advanced Techniques)
An AT is a special technique that is complex and gives the character more depth in their gameplay. It can be either character specific or apply to many. Zelda has Teleport Canceling, Love Jumping, Jump Cancelled Moves, Din's Canceling, and etc. Many of which are explained in this video.
X. RAR (Reverse Aerial Rush)
When you are running towards an opponent, you can turn around and jump so you are moving forward with your back facing towards your opponent. This allows you to approach with bair and allows for movement mixups with b-reversing. You have to make sure you are in your full running animation, otherwise this technique can not be executed. The way you execute this tech is by running, then very quickly flicking the stick in the opposite direction and jumping. If done correctly, you should be moving forward with your back.