The Official Link Stage Discussion- Free discussion on any stage not covered

Remastering thanks to ArkiveZero. Thanks Arkive XD

I will update on Christmas.

http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=187735
List of legal stages and counterpicks.​

Index.
(use ctrl+F then #number to find stage information quicker)

Battlefield - #1
Final Destination - #2
Smashville - #3
Yoshi's Island - #4
Castle Siege - #5
Delfino Plaza - #6
Norfair - #7
Pokemon Stadium 1 - #8
Corneria - #9
Hanenbow - #10
Lylat Cruise - #11
Frigate Orpheon - #12
Luigi's Manison - #13
Brinstar - #14
Distant Planet - #15
Pirate Ship - #16
Pokemon Stadium 2 - #17
Green Greens - #18
Pictochat - #19
Yoshi's Island (Pipes) - #20
Green Hill Zone - #21
Onett

Battlefield (#1)​

ADVANTAGES

* Able to strike under the platforms with Utilt and Usmash.
* Can do fair and bair on the edge of the platform
* Dsmashís range is good when both Link and opponent are on it
* Also up tossed and down tossed bombs are good in this situation as well
* Can time high Dair and land safe
* Allow for combos at higher percent
* Edges are good for nair edge guard and gale guarding
* Wonít be able to be spawned killed so easily
* Link can escape Meta Knight
* Better on the lower section of the stage
* Good on most flat stages
* More advantages against fast characters


DISADVATAGES

* Platforms can screw up your projectile game, especially jump arrows
* Linkís roll is easily spotted
* Stage Spikes
* Linkís advantage against a non projectile user is weakened
* Because Link prefers the lower section, your opponent can approach you easier because of the relatively small ground platform


MISC

* Link can avoid bombs that explode on a platform above him by crouching

Final Destination (#2)​

ADVANTAGES
* Flat ground makes spamming more successful
* Somehow for me the bair and zair are more effective

DISADVANTAGES

* The ledges
* Flat ground makes chaingrabbing and better spammers more effective
* You won't recover
* Stage spikes

Smashville (#3)​

ADVANTAGES

* Most neutral stage out there
* The platform is great for bombs, thrown from the platform, dropped from above the platform, and dropped from a full jump to rest unexploded on top of the platform
* The Platform. Allows Link to retreat from enemies, camp harder, attack aerial enemies easier, and recover better. Platform landing is your best friend.
* The stage is small enough for all of link's projectiles to reach and control the entire stage.
* Good horizontal DI will help you live till +140%
* Fairs, Nairs and Zairs can attack enemies on top of the platform effectively


DISADVANTAGES

* You can get gimped
*Stage Spikes
* Link's Utilit and Usmash don't do much to attack enemies up on the platform
*The platform is almost always too high to assist his recovery in the heat of battle
*D3 can CG on top platform while it's moving

Yoshi's Island (#4)​

ADVANTAGES

* Platform in the center allows you to mix up your game a bit and put your opponent in awkward positions
* The edges make it tougher for your opponent to edge guard Link
* The rising platforms on either sides aid Linkís poor recovery
* Uneven terrain makes spamming a little easier because of the curves allowing the arrows to fly farther
* Edges are great for gale guarding
* Main platform makes it easier to escape spawn kills
* Main platform makes combos easier
* Stage spikes are easier to tech


DISADVANTAGES

* Edges make it hard for Link to ledge hop aerials
* TLís Dsmash spike

Castle Siege (#5)​

ADVANTAGES

1st Part:

*Platforms are good escaping combos
*Link can be saved from his horrible recovery via the stage changing.

2nd Part:

*Link can kill at low percents because of the sides.
*Statues can save Link from better projectiles.

3rd Part:

*Flat and long, similar to FD, so Link has an advantage against non projectile users
*When the stage is tipped, Link can tether easier depending on how it's tipped.
*Stage change can help Link's poor recovery


DISADVANTAGES

1st Part:

Can get caught underneath either side when recovering
*Easily gimped by characters like MK and Marth.

2nd Part:

*Easily gimped by anyone on either sides.
* 2nd Part: Statues mess with Link's projectile game
* 2nd Part: Aerials are hard to do with the platforms and lag can be very punishable

3rd Part:

Only really bad thing is the fact that if the platform tips, it can totally ruin your recovery.

Delfino Plaza (#6)​

ADVANTAGES

* The walls. The walls are great for link, they set up for easy jab locks, they work great if you capture your opponent up against the wall with zairs and jab cancels. The walls even help you live longer by DIing and teching horizontal kill moves.
* The water. Self explanatory, they cancel the lag from the dair and make link's bad recovery nonexistent. It also lets you trap your enemies in the water by spamming them
* Platforms. they stop better spammers from destroying you the entire match. they also allow for quick retreats. More mobility options helps link out a lot.
* uneven terrain. when the main platform lands, you have 5 different areas you can land on, 4/5 of these areas have uneven terrain that will let link snipe and spam at least 40%.


DISADVANTAGES

*The walls. D3 and Falco will **** you if you let them grab you, that is why you have to try your best to space them extremely well with the zair and your jabs. If you can do that then both of those matches shouldnt be so bad.
* The water. Characters that get out of the water faster will have an advantage over you.
* The main platform. this is the only time in the entire match that link's recovery falls into play. Some people say that this would make the stage anti-link, but if you use link's amazing stage control then this shouldn't be that bad. ( The only thing you have to do is control the center of the stage when the main platform isnt up. if you do this then you won't get gimped when the main platform raises.
*The Uneven Terrain. yes this makes your spam job much, much easier, but it also allows your opponent to hide and force you to take the aggressive approach, but don't do that. Control the air with your projectiles and this shouldn't be that bad of a disadvantage.


MISC

* Every pro for this map also comes with a con, whoever controls the map more will control the match from start to finish. this stage allows link to desolate opponents through projectile spam and jab tricks.

Norfair (#7)​

ADVANTAGES

* Platforms make a great setup for Link on some of the harder match ups
* Dair kills happen much easier with the low ceiling
* The lava forces players to certain positions on the map so your projectile game is even better
* Can be saved from edge guarding due to the higher platforms you can recover to
* The upper parts save him from falling to death


DISADVANTAGES

* Only safe place for Link is the higher platforms and being stuck up there usually isn't the best place for Link to be
* Stage isn't zair friendly
* The lava wave can kill you at low percents
* The "lava bunker" can be hard to reach for Link because Link isn't too fast
* Stage favors characters with faster aerials
* Projectiles are harder to properly use because of the platforms

Pokemon Stadium 1 (#8)​

ADVANTAGES


* Platforms are are good height that Link is good with
* The platforms are short enough to attack opponents with Utilt/Usmash/DAC through
* Short enough to jump through in one jump
* Tall enough that he can double jump into an auto canceled Dair
* Wide enough that he can perch on them and use arrows and boomerang


* Treehouse in middle has platforms which are too tall for Link to approve of greatly
* Auto canceled Uair might work if people stand on the platforms

* Platforms on right side are standard fare, which is probably a good thing for Link

* Right side is good for Link. Stay to the right!
*Wall presents a tourney legal chance to use the infinite jab lock

* Infinite jab lock
* Stay to the right

All in all:

* Each stage change gives link at least one new AT. they might be as useless as the earth's zair drop to edge guard on the left side of the stage, to more mindrape inducing techniques as the water's spout sliding.
* The ledges make everybody's recovery just as bad.
* More places to run away to
* Teching off of the windmill



DISADVANTAGES

* None

*None


* Windmill is bad for Link. It totally screws over his projectile game
*His sword isn't the best for attacking through the windmill
* Against Marth, you are at a disadvantage because of Marth's ability to attack through the windmill efficiently

* Left side is awkward to play on for Link
* Other character's wall infinite
* Left side is also very cramped, so play defensively


* Game hits stalemate when someone stands on the far left part of the stage because no one can approach anyone else safely
* Middle section is very cramped and awkward, like the Fire part
* Keep the fight to the right


All in all:

* The ledges
* Confined areas

Corneria (#9)​

ADVANTAGES

* Short boundaries on the top and sides make for easy KO's with Link's power moves
* Shenanigans with the ledge on the fin of the ship with your Zair
* You can play a high-ground/low-ground game
* Fair can kind of go through fin so you can hit you opponent if they are running to the engine thruster


DISADVANTAGES

* Can get shot by ship's laser when recovering on the front with Zair
* Wall Cg infinites.
* Rising ground on the top fin can cause severity to Link's projectile game
* Lag aerials like the Fair and Dair can be punished badly

Hanenbow (#10)​

ADVANTAGES

* Advantage shifts to Link when against non projectile users
* Can space easily
* All in all, an incredible stage for Link


DISADVANTAGES

* Poor recover will be punished by suicide
* Fake platform is easily forgettable about

Lylat Cruise (#11)​

ADVANTAGES

* Platforms allow you to auto cancel, which helps you hit higher opponents
* Stage tilts to let you spam more
* Ledges equally gimp everybody


DISADVANTAGES

* If the stage is tilting while you try to zair edge guard, the claw shot won't activate and you'll SD
* Stage tilting might eat your projectiles

Frigate Orpheon (#12)​

ADVANTAGES

1rst Part:

*None

2nd Part:

*Platforms on the side will aid link's recovery.

DISADVANTAGES

1rst Part:

*You can lose the entire match because of no edge on the right side of the stage.
*Left platform doesn't help you much

2nd Part:

*You can get caught under the stage

Luigi's Mansion (#13)​

ADVANTAGES

* Can use Uair to poke through the ceiling and roof
* Can use the flatness and diverse lay out of the stage to his advantage
* Characters like Snake, Falco, Dedede get their projectile game messed up


DISADVANTAGES

* Projectile game gets messed up because of the support beams.
* When the stage is destroyed, chain grabbers are at the advantage
* Dair is harder to use because of the enclosed spaces

Brinstar (#14)​

ADVANTAGES

* Zair and aerial game remain effective
* Hurts other characters' spam game
* Acid can sometimes help your recovery


DISADVANTAGES

* Uneven platforms and small main platform make it hard to use arrows
* The size of the stage make it hard to pull out bombs without being punished
* DAC acts oddly around the gooey junk holding the stage together (Link won't slide over it)
* He loses all of his projectiles
* High falling speed is bad on Brinstar
* You'll be bouncing off the acid more than riding it back to safety
* The acid helps other characters more than Link
* Link isn't the best with close quarters combat and the rising acid on stage forces it
* Because you can jump through the stage, it can lead to annoying gimps so sweet spot the ledge, because Link isn't going to get his feet above the ledge with his recovery
* Everyone's spam game is shut down because of the unevenness of the stage
* Goo messes up Usmash and the delay (lag) afterwards is actually punishable
* Don't choose Brinstar, and avoid it like death

Distant Planet (#15)​

ADVANTAGES
*Link can spam projectiles from atop the bulbin.
*Bomb Planting is performable on the platforms
*There are only two main platforms, each of which support DAC
*Zair is effective on shorter characters because there is wavering ground levels
*Link can jump from the ledge grass ledge and the ground ledge and change position easily


DISADVANTAGES

*It's hard to recover without the bulbin
*Walk-Off edge can gimp Link
*Waterfall can gimp Link when it's raining
*Opponents can pick up pellets and use them against Link's bombs

Pirate Ship (#16)​

ADVANTAGES
* Water negates his bad recovery so he can now survive better
* May not have a good spike like Ganon but his dair is good for above the water because the water negates the lag
* When the ship is falling and gravity is low, the Dair is good because, again lag is negated
* Can gain some height for a non-landing dair or other strategic purposes by using the platforms
* Can poke Uair out from below the platforms


DISADVANTAGES

* The bombs from the towers can kill at 40%
* Limited to most A attacks other than the dair
* Stage Hazards
* Link has a hard time dodging the bombs because he isn't very agile
* The auto landed Dair isnít very easy to pull of in the midst of combat because of how high you need to get up.

Pokemon Stadium 2 (#17)​

ADVANTAGES
* The windy(?) part, I think is pretty useful for Link's bombs, as well as dair spamming
* The icy part doubles the length of your DAC and bombslides, but other than that, this part is kind of risky since throwing a boomerang slides you forward, and well...it's just a part of the stage you should be wary
* Right side of the rocky part you can do a jab lock infinite
* Normal part is good for projectiles
* You can space well on the normal part
* Can combo with melee attacks on the normal part


DISADVANTAGES

* A non-SHed boomerang throw on the ice part is risky because of the forward momentum
* Offstage, you're dead (gee, didn't see THAT coming)
* Rocky part, the left side messes with your projectiles
* Highish ceiling making opponent hard to kill off the top of the screen

Green Greens (#18)​

ADVANTAGES

* Low ceiling can get easy kills (Utilt at 90% and Dair at 50%?!)
* Close sides make Ftilt and Fsmash deadly
* Link dominates the side platforms
* Camping stage
* Closer sides make side kills easier
* Link might recovery from the side
* Blocks make for a infinite jab lock[
* Can camp easily against slow characters
* Bomb planting is good on this stage


DISADVANTAGES

* Won't recovery upwards
* Stage's lay out doesn't compliment Link's projectile game
* Exploding blocks can be deadly
* Falling blocks can meteor spike
* Block walls can make for an infinite
* Looks like a bad stage vs Falco

Pictochat (#19)​

ADVANTAGES

* A lot of room to projectile spam
* Hard to star K.O Link here because of his weight and high ceiling
* Easy side K.Os
* Stage hazards can help an escape from an assault
* Can recovery from sides and below

DISADVANTAGES

* Stage hazards can kill you
* Wind can push you away from the stage while recovering
* High ceiling means very high percent kills off the top

Yoshi's Island (Pipes) (#20)​

ADVANTAGES

Hue said:

Just tried the old Yoshi's Island tonight and I love it. Lots of opportunities for jab locks, and really easy kills. UpB at the top of the large pipe kills at like 50-60%, and everything kills off the right side after about 75%. First time I played on it I got a "stage spike" with dsmash, off the right platform blocks down the middle pit

EVERYTHING sets up jab locks here off the blocks, Dtilt even does it at 0% if they don't tech. Even Link's Dash attack does at mid-to-high percents.

Another thing I like about it is that horizontal recovery doesn't really matter at all, and Link has good vertical recovery, especially as the only places you can fall off have walls to stage bomb on.

Click to expand...

Disadvantages
* Chain grabbers can get easy and cheap kills off you.
* Dair will go through the bottom platform if FFed fast enough or if they're already spinning
By the way, I update with information from people who post here after the day it was updated. If you want to add on to info from a different day, I'll add it in.
Please, contribute!!

BF is a great stage for link imo

the platforms allow for more combos at higher %
the edges are great for the nair edgeguard and gale guarding
with the platforms you shouldn't be spawn killed as easily
finally, the platforms allow link to escape from MK T_T

disadvantages? DK's stage spike....

All the advantages I can think of have been mentioned, a disadvantage that hasnt been mentioned is that link vs non projectile user is weakened.

link prefers the lower section and battlefield allows your opponent to approach you easier compared to some other stages due to a relatively small ground platform.

IMO, Link does good on any stage that is flat, as long as you can make something out of the situation. I usually play on FD or Battlefield with Link, and I seem to have more advantages, especially against speedy characters.

FD is great for link with his above enemie down bomb throw into any ariel

massimo009 said:

FD is great for link with his above enemie down bomb throw into any ariel

Click to expand...

....

He can do that on any stage. And that days discussion was Battle Field not FD. Please stay on topic


T-T

Pirate ship is a stage that I personally despise because of the bombs that kill people arbitrarily at 40% or so. But that's a discussion for a different thread.

That aside, it's a great stage to be Link. The water negates his terrible recovery, bringing Link's survivability on par with the rest of the cast. Link doesn't have a good spike to maximally abuse the water like, say, Ganon does, but Dairing toward someone who is off of the ship is alarmingly effective since the lag is more or less negated (try to avoid fastfalling to keep yourself from diving too deep).

When the ship is falling and gravity is low, that is another good time to use Dair, as you can do it without touching the ground.

When the bomb shooting cannons appear, stop doing any actions that take a long time to complete; for Link this means sticking to AA (avoid the third A), Utilt, Zair, Nair, Bair, and Fair. Throw in some arrow cancels as appropriate. You MUST be ready to dodge the bombs when they come. Link is generally not agile, and will have a harder time with this section of the stage than many other characters.

Thanks a bunch! Really useful. But seriously, keep to just the A attacks? I think the stage was good because of the fact it had those platforms for your Uair to just poke through. ;P

When Pirate Ship's stage isn't doing anything crazy, all the usual tricks, including but certainly not limited to B attacks and auto canceled Uairs, apply. The platforms, however, are not strategically placed in such a way that it is likely that people will spend much time on them - and even if they did, a full jumped Uair will jump too high and leave you vulnerable to a Dsmash before you actually attack, whereas a short hopped Uair leaves you with far too much landing lag (no auto cancelling).

Link can use the platforms it to gain some height for a nonlanding Dair or other strategic purposes, but in the midst of an aggressive fight, taking that long to climb may or may not be feasible.

Thanks for all the info all the people who posted here! It will end up in the in the info under neath the stages name in the first post by me. That post is going to get long as heck. There are over 30 stages and look at all that data I compiled for the first few days! Wow. So thanks again!

EDIT: Wow, my 200th post is a thank you on my own thread. That's lame :\

Yoshis Island is pretty good stage to me. The platform platform in the center of the stage allows you to mix up your game a bit and put your opponent in some awkward positions. Im not very fond of the edges because it makes it's impossible to ledge hop aerials off of them but it also makes it a little tougher for your opponent to edgeguard you. The rising platforms on both sides of the stage can also be of aid to links lacking recovery.

Can you tell me anything about Castle Siege? Being three stages in one is hard for me to pick out what you can do and how well Link does there.

Yoshi's Island eh?

Advantages

- uneven terrain makes spamming a little easier imo, the curves make it so arrows fly farther
- edges are great for gale guarding
- ghost platforms help link's recovery
- main platform makes it easier to escape from spawn kills
- main platform makes combos easier
- stage spikes are easier to tech

Disadvantages

- TL's dsmash spike T_T (seriously i'd rather take on 2 MKs at the same time instead of a edge camping TL)

ill think of more disadvantages later lol

Thanks! Gale guarding is amazing. I love it.

- TL's dsmash spike

Click to expand...

Do you mean, Dair spike?

No, he means dsmash.
The slopes allow for the first hit of the dsmash to hit you without the second one hit and interrupt it's trajectory. The first hit can be REALLY strong and it's trajectory is really low so if Link gets hit by it, he won't be able to recover. **** you Sakurai.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=rbFnHBI-kts
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lXCtYbM97C8

btw, what's with all the banned stages discussion lol

Not sure really. I've been playing at all these stages I normally wouldn't. I think today will be FD.

Bridge of Eldin is a banned stage for many reasons. Chaingrabbers' ability to take a grab to a kill from ANYWHERE is one obvious reason. Meanwhile the stage allows long range horizontal projectile spammers (Falco comes to mind, and certainly Toon Link) to outspam Link easily just like on FD, only with even more flexibility.

The hole in the middle is bad news for Link but not terrible; actually crossing the gap is far too risky, letting other characters who can do so more easily decide whether or not they want to fight at that time or instead just spam.

Aside from Link's recovery being less of an issue than usual, there really isn't anything good for Link at the Bridge, whereas various other characters gain huge advantages. If BoE is for some bizarre reason not banned at some tourney, avoid it anyway unless you know you're going against a character who hates it even more than Link does.

So, in general, BoE is not a good stage for Link.

blu link said:

So, in general, BoE is not a good stage for Link.

Click to expand...

it matters if the person you are playing is a douche lol

FD

Advantages

- Flat ground makes spamming more successful
- somehow for me the bair and zair **** a lot more on flat stages, might just be me though

Disadvantages

- the fcking ledges lol
- flat ground makes chaingrabbing and better spammers own you that much harder
- you won't recover
- stage spikes (DK, ZSS, luigi etc)

FD is a bad bad bad choice for link

Thanks Arkive. So, most stages are bad for Link? Well, most neutral stages anyway.

well to my experience these are the good and bad stages for link

Good stages

BF
Delfino plaza
Yoshi's Island
Rainbow Cruise
Green Greens
smashville

Bad Stages

FD
Halberd
lylat
corneria
anything else

but seriously i ***** so many people on RC its not even funny. If any of you don't know that stage by heart, learn it now

Thanks for the list. ^^ I'll add it it after all the updates.

I'll add my opinion on delfino. i find this stage to be completely fickle, so it can either help you, or **** you lol.

Advantages

- The walls. This may come to a complete surprise to most of you, and you've probably already have thought "what the f*ck is he talking about?!?" The walls are great for link, they set up for easy jab locks, they work great if you capture your opponent up against the wall with zairs and jab canceled jabs. The walls even help you live longer by DIing and teching horizontal kill moves.
- The water. Self explanatory, they cancel the lag from the dair and make link's bad recovery inexistent. It also lets you trap your enemies in the water by spamming the crap out of them lol (use with caution because the guy next you you might want to punch you :D.)
- Platforms. they stop better spammers from totally ****** you the entire match. they also allow for quick retreats. More mobility options helps link out a crazy amount.
- uneven terrain. when the main platform lands, you have 5 different areas you can land on, 4/5 of these areas have uneven terrain that will let link snipe and spam at least 40%.

Disadvantages

- Yea you guessed it, the walls. D3 and Falco will **** you if you let them grab you, that is why you have to try your best to space them extremely well with the zair and your jabs. If you can do that then both of those matches shouldnt be so bad.
- The water. Diddy, ganon, samus, wolf, and CF will **** you hardcore if you chase them into the water, they get out of the water way too fast and their dairs will keep you drowning until you die from it.
- the main platform. this is the only time in the entire match that link's recovery falls into play. Some people say that this would make the stage anti-link, but if you use link's amazing stage control then this should'nt be that bad. (it's not so bad for me because LC is my favorite map lol.) The only thing you have to do is control the center of the stage when the main platform isnt up. if you do this then you won't get gimped when the main platform raises.
- finally, the uneven terrain lol. yes this makes your spam job much, much easier, but it also allows your opponent to hide and force you to take the aggressive approach, but don't do that. Control the air with your projectiles and this shouldnt be that bad of a disadvantage.

every pro for this map also comes with a con, whoever controls the map more will control the match from start to finish. At first this list will make you say "wtf" and "stfu that doesnt make any sense," but if you think about it, this stage allows link to desolate opponents through projectile spam and jab tricks.

But it's just my opinion, i've also never been wall infinited before lol.

Curses Arkive, I wanted to put something on Delfino but you covered it all, lol.

Yeah, learn the nook'n'crannies of these types of stages, they are great for Link if used properly... And for god sake's don't let the platform rise without you! (I lost a match vs Forte's MK at Delfino that I would've won if I didn't get queered by the stage... >.> <.<)

Blubba_Pinecone said:

Curses Arkive, I wanted to put something on Delfino but you covered it all, lol.

Yeah, learn the nook'n'crannies of these types of stages, they are great for Link if used properly... And for god sake's don't let the platform rise without you! (I lost a match vs Forte's MK at Delfino that I would've won if I didn't get queered by the stage... >.> <.<)

Click to expand...

Man that sucks to lose from the stage >.>

The platform on Smashville can help Link's recovery. (That's all I can think of at the moment...)

Smashville is possibly the most neutral stage out there - certainly more neutral than Final Destination.

The platform doesn't do much for Link because of its height - Link's Utilt and Usmash don't do much to attack enemies up there, Link can't jump onto it without double jumping, it's almost always too high up to actually assist recovery in the heat of battle. Yet it is not tall enough to be an optimal target for auto canceled Uairs. Fair, Nair, and even Zair can attack the platform effectively, fortunately.

It is, however, great for bombs - bombs can be thrown from the platform, dropped from above the platform, dropped from a full jump to rest unexploded on top of the platform (my favorite option), and many other nifty tricks.

This post so far has been placing far too much importance on the moving platform, however - for the most part, this stage just a Final Destination that doesn't auto-gimp people as often.

ok, my secret is........

Norfair, serisously. The platforms make a great camping setup for Link on some of his harder matchups and Dair kills happen much easier with the low ceiling. Plus, set the music to only Golden Sun and you'll always win lol, that music's so epic. Also, with the lava, players are forced to certain positions on the map so your projectile game is even better (unless your opponent is skilled enough to stay in the lava powershielding every damage frame >_>). Lol, I did that once, but it's hella hard and not worth the effort.

Another great one is electroplankton. Maybe even better than Norfair, I just like norfair for the music. lots of platforms, low ceiling, great against Snake.

RC is good, but be careful cuz you'll get ***** by some characters there like DDD and Marth due to wall infinates.

This is what I do in tournament, and it seems to work for me so meh, see what you guys think.

powershielding the damage frames is tricky but its something cool to do if you want to show off.

Norfair is the sex I agree 100%.
I wish that we could use the golden sun music wherever we please though. It would fit Final Destination like a glove.

Why RC though? Link's recovery is rather poor so its rather intimidating to face opponents who are aerial by nature.

Rainbow Cruise is so good for Link because he can control the stage better than anyone else. His projectiles aren't the best, or most spammiest, but they are probably the most versatile in the game. Link can fight back against other projectile users who would normally outspam him (like Falco and Dedede).
He might have some trouble maneuvering around the stage because of his short jumps and ****ty up+b, but you should be able to control the stage and make it extremely hard for them to approach. Just always have a bomb in hand, jab out of shield, etc.
Z-air works good on the ship and at the top of the stage where the screen is scrolling to the right, but it's harder to use on the other parts of the stage.

I've been gimped by Delfino too =[
Tripping right when the stage starts going up
oh lawd

I never really played on Norfair for Link, but that's probably because I've always went against weird characters on it <_< what characters are good to counterpick this stage against?
The only safe place for Link to be on that stage are the higher platforms.. The upper parts save him from falling to death and getting edgeguarded, and it's good for his spam. It gives him room to breathe and helps with his vertical KOs, but that also makes his positioning very obvious =/ He's also stuck above platforms and isn't that normally a bad place for him to be? This stage also doesn't seem too z-air friendly.

Deva said:

ok, my secret is........

Norfair, serisously. The platforms make a great camping setup for Link on some of his harder matchups and Dair kills happen much easier with the low ceiling. Plus, set the music to only Golden Sun and you'll always win lol, that music's so epic. Also, with the lava, players are forced to certain positions on the map so your projectile game is even better (unless your opponent is skilled enough to stay in the lava powershielding every damage frame >_>). Lol, I did that once, but it's hella hard and not worth the effort.

Another great one is electroplankton. Maybe even better than Norfair, I just like norfair for the music. lots of platforms, low ceiling, great against Snake.

Click to expand...

....aren't both of those stages banned?


Smashville

Advantages

- The Platform. Allows Link to retreat from enemies, camp harder, attack aerial enemies easier, and recover better. Platform landing is your best friend.
- The stage is small enough for all of link's projectiles to reach and control the entire stage.
- good horizontal DI will help you live till +140%

Disadvantages

- you can get gimped
- Falco, DK, ZSS/Samus

Thanks everyone for contributing! I'm on the third page of the thread so it must be doing good . Thanks again guys!

Thanks for the Norfiair info. It' appreciated.

Poke Stad 1... Hmm

I would say it's an overall ok stage for Link, not the best but not horrible.

Pros:
You have two platforms to work with in standard form.
Stage changes can save you.
Stage changes can give you good/great positioning.
Can punish your opponent if they don't understand the stages edge-rolling stopper.


Cons:
Stage changes can murder you.
Stage changes can ruin your positioning.
The ledge physics are a bit funky, so make sure you know them. Personally, I like the edges here but they seem to gimp a lot of people.


Chars to watchout for: Falco and DDD seem to be the worst to try to fight here. If you arn't carefull you might just end up getting wall infinited.

Thanks for the info!

Pokemon Stadium - Great stage.

Neutral Mode:
Platforms are exactly the height Link prefers. Short enough to attack with Utilt/Usmash/DAC, short enough to jump to in a single bound. Tall enough that he can double jump and auto cancel a Dair. Wide enough that he can perch on them and use arrows and the boomerang.

Woods:
Treehouse in middle has platforms which are too tall for Link to approve of greatly; autocanceled Uair might work if people actually decide to stand on them. Treat like FD.

Water:
The windmill steals the show here. Link has a sword which can go through it, which is nice, but it blocks boomerang and arrow attacks. Also, some characters have even more attack-through-moving-walls capabilities than Link does (Marth comes to mind).
The platforms on the right side are standard fare, which is probably a good thing for Link.

Fire:
Right side of the stage is perfect for Link, left side is kind of akward. So stay on the right!
The wall presents a rare tournament-legal opportunity to jab lock against a wall.
If you are stuck on the left side, play defensively. You are cramped, but that also means your opponent can only approach you from a few angles.

Earth:
Usually, when someone stands on the far left edge of this portion, the game hits a stalemate because nobody can approach the person below safely. With bombs, Dair, and a clawshot in case things go awry, Link can usually get away with attacking people there.
The middle of this section is a congested mess that doesn't help Link very much. Same strategies as with the left portion of the fire level apply.
If your opponent hasn't voluntarily gone to the left side, I suggest staying in the fairly clear far right portion.

wtf happened to my ps1 post?

anyway....

advantages

- each stage change gives link at least one new AT. they might be as useless as the earth's zair drop to edge guard on the left side of the stage to more mindrape inducing techniques as the water's spout sliding.
- the ledges make everybody's recovery just as bad.
- more places to run away to
- teching off of the windmill

disadvantages

- the ledges
- confined areas will get you *****

The edges are really lame on Pokemon Stadium 1
tether recoveries help you from getting killed by the edge since they're autmatic and stuff,
so just try using it more. it's a lot safer than using your up+b