LiteralGrill
Smokin' Hot~
Welcome readers! If you're seeing this post you probably found your way here after reading the article on our Smashboards front page all about Zelda! As I said there, these awesome folks simply gave me too much good information to fit into one article. So I have their full interviews available for those who want to read below!
Hopefully this gives you even more insight into Zelda! If the character has caught your eye or you just want to chat with some other Zelda mains consider checking out the Zelda Social Thread. Want to watch some competitive Zelda matches? The video thread is for you! The Zelda Forums here have tons of tools to help anyone interested in Zelda and I hope you enjoyed the interviews and plan to put them to full use.
What are your biggest achievements with Zelda? Why should folks consider you a 'Zelda Expert'
Well, I've been playing with Zelda since Brawl and I have a lot of knowledge about her. My biggest achievements back in the brawl days I would consider achievements are beating players like Z, RichBrown, Vato_Break etc. I was also considered to be the best brawl Zelda, after Riot. For Sm4sh, I'm the top consistent placing Zelda in the world that I'm aware of. I have won a tournament with Zelda and although it was a rookie tournament, I guess the fact that I used Zelda 100% makes a big accomplishment? I am also on the PR for Las Vegas, NV which is a difficult scene to be ranked in. Currently, I'm ranked 5th. That being said, I am also 100% user Zelda. I commit to her loyally and only use her for tournaments and casual play. I should be considered a Zelda expert for my OG Zelda knowledge and also knowledge that I possess now. Although I will say that I'm not super knowledgeable when it comes to frames and all that stuff. I'm mostly just MU knowledgeable.
What interested you in playing Zelda?
As weird as it sounds, Zelda is honestly the only character that feels right. To explain, I feel like everyone has that character, usually their main, that you don't think about what move to do next. It just flows out naturally. I feel like if I do use another character, I'm forcing myself to do certain combos that I've seen other players do rather than the combos naturally flowing out. Aside from that, I've always been attracted to female characters and it's also weird that I pick low tiers female characters in every other game that I play. Example would be Soul Calibur, I use to play as Talim.
What are Zelda's biggest weaknesses? What are Zelda's biggest strengths?
If you ask around the Zelda boards, people will tell you that I'm very optimistic about Zelda. Most of our Zelda mains really bash her and many believe that she has many problems with her gameplay. (ಠ ᴥಠ) I on the other hand, think she is a great character but just has 1 or 2 problems that really bring her down. Those problems being landing lag and ending lag. With such a light character like Zelda, the fact that any move she does leaves her open for more than 3 seconds really is a problem. It racks up damage which is a big problem for such a light character. At the same time though, that weakness is also a benefit in a way. Although those certain moves are laggy, they are very powerful and last long. Zelda has many kill options which is a great thing but it's brought down by that weakness. So her strength and weakness go hand in hand.
Is Zelda viable on a national level?
I think Zelda is VERY viable on a national level. She's not a character that you can pick up and naturally be good with her. You need to put a lot of time and effort into her in order to make her viable. Most people, in my opinion, think she's not viable because they're not willing to put in the effort and time that she needs and also because the people who DO use her, aren't optimistic about her. I'm going to Genesis 3 this January and I'm hoping to change some people's opinions on her.
What are her worst and best matchups among the 'top tier'?
I feel like he worst match ups in the top tiers are shiek and pikachu. Both are very speed based characters and zelda sadly lacks in speed so it's hard to keep up with them. For me, since everyone is different, the easier mu in the high tiers is Rosalina. I think my playstyle really counters how most Rosalina players play and/or the character itself.
Advice for anyone interested in Zelda?
Be ready to commit a lot of time and effort into this character. Don't expect to do well with her over night. It is a long process. Don't let the other Zelda mains bring you down for bashing on their own character. Mind your own business you do you and show them that she is a viable character. Same goes for everyone else that gives you crap for maining a perceived to be low tier. You're going to want to drop her and pick up someone else many times, but if you get over those thoughts, you will come out with great success.
Well, I've been playing with Zelda since Brawl and I have a lot of knowledge about her. My biggest achievements back in the brawl days I would consider achievements are beating players like Z, RichBrown, Vato_Break etc. I was also considered to be the best brawl Zelda, after Riot. For Sm4sh, I'm the top consistent placing Zelda in the world that I'm aware of. I have won a tournament with Zelda and although it was a rookie tournament, I guess the fact that I used Zelda 100% makes a big accomplishment? I am also on the PR for Las Vegas, NV which is a difficult scene to be ranked in. Currently, I'm ranked 5th. That being said, I am also 100% user Zelda. I commit to her loyally and only use her for tournaments and casual play. I should be considered a Zelda expert for my OG Zelda knowledge and also knowledge that I possess now. Although I will say that I'm not super knowledgeable when it comes to frames and all that stuff. I'm mostly just MU knowledgeable.
What interested you in playing Zelda?
As weird as it sounds, Zelda is honestly the only character that feels right. To explain, I feel like everyone has that character, usually their main, that you don't think about what move to do next. It just flows out naturally. I feel like if I do use another character, I'm forcing myself to do certain combos that I've seen other players do rather than the combos naturally flowing out. Aside from that, I've always been attracted to female characters and it's also weird that I pick low tiers female characters in every other game that I play. Example would be Soul Calibur, I use to play as Talim.
What are Zelda's biggest weaknesses? What are Zelda's biggest strengths?
If you ask around the Zelda boards, people will tell you that I'm very optimistic about Zelda. Most of our Zelda mains really bash her and many believe that she has many problems with her gameplay. (ಠ ᴥಠ) I on the other hand, think she is a great character but just has 1 or 2 problems that really bring her down. Those problems being landing lag and ending lag. With such a light character like Zelda, the fact that any move she does leaves her open for more than 3 seconds really is a problem. It racks up damage which is a big problem for such a light character. At the same time though, that weakness is also a benefit in a way. Although those certain moves are laggy, they are very powerful and last long. Zelda has many kill options which is a great thing but it's brought down by that weakness. So her strength and weakness go hand in hand.
Is Zelda viable on a national level?
I think Zelda is VERY viable on a national level. She's not a character that you can pick up and naturally be good with her. You need to put a lot of time and effort into her in order to make her viable. Most people, in my opinion, think she's not viable because they're not willing to put in the effort and time that she needs and also because the people who DO use her, aren't optimistic about her. I'm going to Genesis 3 this January and I'm hoping to change some people's opinions on her.
What are her worst and best matchups among the 'top tier'?
I feel like he worst match ups in the top tiers are shiek and pikachu. Both are very speed based characters and zelda sadly lacks in speed so it's hard to keep up with them. For me, since everyone is different, the easier mu in the high tiers is Rosalina. I think my playstyle really counters how most Rosalina players play and/or the character itself.
Advice for anyone interested in Zelda?
Be ready to commit a lot of time and effort into this character. Don't expect to do well with her over night. It is a long process. Don't let the other Zelda mains bring you down for bashing on their own character. Mind your own business you do you and show them that she is a viable character. Same goes for everyone else that gives you crap for maining a perceived to be low tier. You're going to want to drop her and pick up someone else many times, but if you get over those thoughts, you will come out with great success.
What are your biggest achievements with Zelda? Why should folks consider you a 'Zelda Expert'
I don't know if "expert" would be the best word to describe me LOL. Being from the Irish scene, which in all honesty is a rather reclusive scene & is only really coming out of its shell in the last few months, so it would be difficult to say how good I am in comparison to both other players & other "Top" Zeldas like Ven for example.
I personally see myself more as someone who wants to see how far both me & the other Zeldas can push her meta as far as we can. Making spreadsheets & trying to think of ideas on how to tackle a problem. I definitely feel like Sm4sh players (myself included) are too quick to assign a MU ratio without trying to flesh out the MUs themselves nor have played said MUs to a top level, especially since MUs can & have changed in the past.
Alex Nesler, creator of the Melee blog Alex's Puff Stuff sums it up very nicely (albeit harshly):
"Melee is not binary. Puff does not beat Marth. Marth does not beat Puff. Sheik doesn’t beat Falcon. Fox doesn’t beat Peach. Why the **** are you, who has no high-level experience in any of these MUs, reducing something as hugely complex as a matchup to 1 and 0? Or 70 and 30, for that matter? Do you know, or are you just perpetuating nonsense? Even if a matchup is undeniably difficult, mindlessly repeating hearsay is harmful, actively encourages Brucing, and ******* access to actual, mechanical, and in all probability solvable issues."
Probably my favourite achievement with Zelda at least was winning Sm4sh Doubles with EOE at Breaking Boundaries (a tourney Skarfelt ran back in August). Came 3rd at that in Singles, P:M & 4th in Melee so it was a p good day for me in general LOL. Was probably one of the most stacked tourneys at the time (only really missing Arikado then) before Celtic Throwdown (AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY) & Eirtakon happened (though the less said about Eirtakon the better LOL).
What interested you in playing Zelda?
That would be a great question to ask my 17 year old self who once decided to play Zelda in Brawl one time in Jan 12 & somehow stumbled onto the competitive scene from then. Stayed for the sass at least ;P
What are Zelda's biggest weaknesses?
Lacking neutral game in a game that's very neutral heavy, poor aerial game, mediocre speed & frame data, lack of good landing options & having difficulty getting in when behind are among her biggest problems IMO.
What are Zelda's biggest strengths?
Her punish game is really good if you know how to space. Her combo game is actually rather decent & can definitely be pushed much harder. It's incredibly hard to edgeguard Zelda & she has one of the best edgeguarding tools in the game in the form of her Dair.
Is Zelda viable on a national level?
We would need to see after all the patches have been done & a few years down the road has done. Though if Sheik remains as dominant & as popular as she is now, it's gonna be a rough time. She can definitely win against any character in the game though including Sheik.
What are her worst and best matchups among the 'top tier'?
Worst:
Sheik - Needles give Zelda a rough time because they cover her landings so well & make it hard for Zelda to get in due to the knockback. She's also difficult to edgeguard & to punish due to her recovery & frame data respectfully but she is combo food if she slips (& slip ups are unavoidable, it's whenever or not we punish them is the important thing). Her throw shenanigans at kill % don't work too well against Zelda from my experience.
Rosa - though this could be a personal problem, she covers all our ledge options & can juggle us easily & effectively, but we kill Luma with like half our moveset.
Maybe Sonic but this needs more discussion/research
Best:
Ness - outfootsie him on the ground, avoid staying in the air at low % & be wary of PKT2 when edgeguarding.
Yoshi - most likely a player MU thing if anything LMAO. I can't remember how I play this MU DERP
Luigi - Get % lead, runaway like a little *****
Again, this could just be personal thing though
Advice for anyone interested in Zelda?
Develop a solid neutral/spacing (the neutral game & spacing go hand in hand very nicely & good spacing is a requirement to using Zelda).
Lucien does a fantastic explanation of spacing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfBuAo_Bfvw
JuiceBox_FGC did a vid on footsies here & you'll see how the two ideas of spacing & a neutral are very much related to one another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQQCan5oo90
Active problem solving is also a must, because there aren't much resources in terms of "top" level play with Zelda so you have to do the work yourself (I don't know how relevant Nairo's Zelda is since most of his footage with her are quite old from what I remember, Ven is good at conditioning people into getting hit by LKs though I need to get my hands dirty with his vids, Fairess has some interesting Phantom usage & is great with OoS Kicks, me who is a campy *** ************ LMAO, haven't watched Zylach but he does p well in his state).
And finally, don't be afraid to lose, but don't use the fact that Zelda being a bottom-tiered character as a way to john about you being outplayed. If you really want to improve & grow as a competitor you can't think like that.
I think that should cover it I guess. Thank you very much I guess lol =]
I don't know if "expert" would be the best word to describe me LOL. Being from the Irish scene, which in all honesty is a rather reclusive scene & is only really coming out of its shell in the last few months, so it would be difficult to say how good I am in comparison to both other players & other "Top" Zeldas like Ven for example.
I personally see myself more as someone who wants to see how far both me & the other Zeldas can push her meta as far as we can. Making spreadsheets & trying to think of ideas on how to tackle a problem. I definitely feel like Sm4sh players (myself included) are too quick to assign a MU ratio without trying to flesh out the MUs themselves nor have played said MUs to a top level, especially since MUs can & have changed in the past.
Alex Nesler, creator of the Melee blog Alex's Puff Stuff sums it up very nicely (albeit harshly):
"Melee is not binary. Puff does not beat Marth. Marth does not beat Puff. Sheik doesn’t beat Falcon. Fox doesn’t beat Peach. Why the **** are you, who has no high-level experience in any of these MUs, reducing something as hugely complex as a matchup to 1 and 0? Or 70 and 30, for that matter? Do you know, or are you just perpetuating nonsense? Even if a matchup is undeniably difficult, mindlessly repeating hearsay is harmful, actively encourages Brucing, and ******* access to actual, mechanical, and in all probability solvable issues."
Probably my favourite achievement with Zelda at least was winning Sm4sh Doubles with EOE at Breaking Boundaries (a tourney Skarfelt ran back in August). Came 3rd at that in Singles, P:M & 4th in Melee so it was a p good day for me in general LOL. Was probably one of the most stacked tourneys at the time (only really missing Arikado then) before Celtic Throwdown (AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY) & Eirtakon happened (though the less said about Eirtakon the better LOL).
What interested you in playing Zelda?
That would be a great question to ask my 17 year old self who once decided to play Zelda in Brawl one time in Jan 12 & somehow stumbled onto the competitive scene from then. Stayed for the sass at least ;P
What are Zelda's biggest weaknesses?
Lacking neutral game in a game that's very neutral heavy, poor aerial game, mediocre speed & frame data, lack of good landing options & having difficulty getting in when behind are among her biggest problems IMO.
What are Zelda's biggest strengths?
Her punish game is really good if you know how to space. Her combo game is actually rather decent & can definitely be pushed much harder. It's incredibly hard to edgeguard Zelda & she has one of the best edgeguarding tools in the game in the form of her Dair.
Is Zelda viable on a national level?
We would need to see after all the patches have been done & a few years down the road has done. Though if Sheik remains as dominant & as popular as she is now, it's gonna be a rough time. She can definitely win against any character in the game though including Sheik.
What are her worst and best matchups among the 'top tier'?
Worst:
Sheik - Needles give Zelda a rough time because they cover her landings so well & make it hard for Zelda to get in due to the knockback. She's also difficult to edgeguard & to punish due to her recovery & frame data respectfully but she is combo food if she slips (& slip ups are unavoidable, it's whenever or not we punish them is the important thing). Her throw shenanigans at kill % don't work too well against Zelda from my experience.
Rosa - though this could be a personal problem, she covers all our ledge options & can juggle us easily & effectively, but we kill Luma with like half our moveset.
Maybe Sonic but this needs more discussion/research
Best:
Ness - outfootsie him on the ground, avoid staying in the air at low % & be wary of PKT2 when edgeguarding.
Yoshi - most likely a player MU thing if anything LMAO. I can't remember how I play this MU DERP
Luigi - Get % lead, runaway like a little *****
Again, this could just be personal thing though
Advice for anyone interested in Zelda?
Develop a solid neutral/spacing (the neutral game & spacing go hand in hand very nicely & good spacing is a requirement to using Zelda).
Lucien does a fantastic explanation of spacing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfBuAo_Bfvw
JuiceBox_FGC did a vid on footsies here & you'll see how the two ideas of spacing & a neutral are very much related to one another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQQCan5oo90
Active problem solving is also a must, because there aren't much resources in terms of "top" level play with Zelda so you have to do the work yourself (I don't know how relevant Nairo's Zelda is since most of his footage with her are quite old from what I remember, Ven is good at conditioning people into getting hit by LKs though I need to get my hands dirty with his vids, Fairess has some interesting Phantom usage & is great with OoS Kicks, me who is a campy *** ************ LMAO, haven't watched Zylach but he does p well in his state).
And finally, don't be afraid to lose, but don't use the fact that Zelda being a bottom-tiered character as a way to john about you being outplayed. If you really want to improve & grow as a competitor you can't think like that.
I think that should cover it I guess. Thank you very much I guess lol =]
What are your biggest achievements with Zelda? Why should folks consider you a 'Zelda Expert'
Ranked #7 in the state of Wisconsin for smash 4 using Zelda almost exclusively. Placed top ten in Madison and Milwaukee tournaments since the game came out including one first place finish at The Construct 27 in Milwaukee.
What interested you in playing Zelda?
I play a defensive game while also relying on good kill potential. I was originally an Ike main back in brawl but switched to Zelda late in the game's life when I realized that I wanted a better recovery and a projectile of some sort. I love mage archetypes and Zelda is one of the few in smash that fits that archetype.
What are Zelda's biggest weaknesses?
Poor frame data: Her fastest move is dtilt at frame 5. Poor movement: She is bottom ten in the game for run speed and Farore's Wind has too much lag on it to be a useful movement option unless it's ledge cancelled. Poor approach game: All of her aerials have a lot of landing lag and are all unsafe on shield, her dash attack is unsafe on shield, and her grab comes out on frame 10. Poor projectiles/keep-away game: Din's Fire has to be channeled in order to move any meaningful distance so she can't use it to take advantage of the opponent's reaction to it like most projectiles and it's too slow to actually be a threat to the opponent. The same goes for phantom slash though it is her best spacing option right now. The last thing that comes to mind is the fact that proper DI by her opponent can ruin a lot of her combos and kill options. Properly DI'ing dthrow makes it very difficult for Zelda to follow up on it and that's her main combo throw. Properly DI'ing Farore's Wind ribbon when she goes for her elevator combo can get the opponent out of the lethal reappear hitbox.
What are Zelda's biggest strengths?
Her biggest strength is her kill potential. With rage, she can kill some characters with an elevator combo at 30%. Personally, I've killed an Ike with Farore's Wind when he was at 36%. Her dair offstage is one of the most lethal meteor smashes in the game and even the sourspot can kill certain characters meaning she can get kills when the opponent is at 0% depending on the character. Her usmash has some of the highest KBG in the game and will kill almost any character that is 90% or higher depending on rage and stage choice. With rage, I've killed light characters with usmash at 60%. Her lightning kicks are some of the strongest aerials in the game and a ledge trump to bair can kill someone at 30% and is guaranteed on a few characters though the Zelda player has to be basically frame perfect in order to make it guaranteed. Zelda also has one of the best recoveries in the game as Farore's Wind covers a very long distance and she's intangible for the majority of the move. It also carries her momentum so using it right after a second jump means she can recover from just about anywhere meaning, in order to kill her, you need to send her to the blast zone, otherwise, she's coming back. Her combo game is actually fairly good in this iteration of smash. She can get upwards of 30% on an opponent from a dthrow>nair>lightning kick from 0%. One of her standard combos, dtilt>jab>dash attack is a guaranteed 23% at mid percents provided the Zelda player sweetspots the dash attack. Dtilt can also combo into a lightning kick or usmash at low-mid percents.
Is Zelda viable on a national level?
I don't think Zelda is viable at a national level unless the player is ridiculously skilled and completely invested in the character. One of the reasons for this is because her matchups with the high tiers, who are the most popular choices at the national level, are her worst matchups for the most part so she has to deal with uphill struggles almost every single game at a national tournament.
What are her worst and best matchups among the 'top tier'?
Her worst matchup in the top tier is probably Sheik. Sheik has a fast projectile to pressure Zelda at range and Sheik never has to commit against Zelda's shield which is where Zelda is able to get most of her punishes, when an opponent overcommits against her shield. Sheik can also juggle Zelda as Zelda doesn't have the frame data to get out of Sheik's fair strings. As for her best matchup among the high tiers, I would have to go with Luigi. It's not a positive matchup in the slightest for her but Luigi's fairly low movement speed and friction allows Zelda to keep him out a little easier than the rest of the high tiers. She doesn't have to worry about getting projectile camped quite so hard as against Sheik, for example, and Luigi doesn't have a reflector to nullify her only spacing option, phantom, like Mario and Fox. That said, though, Luigi juggles her forever and can be difficult to punish because of his superior frame data. With his recent nerf, however, he doesn't kill her as easily as he once did which helps Zelda as she is aided significantly by rage.
Advice for anyone interested in Zelda?
My main advice for playing Zelda is to be patient. Zelda's approach options are mediocre while her out-of-shield options are some of the best in the game. Play defensively, learn your opponent's patterns, strengths, and weaknesses. Exploit their weaknesses every opportunity you get because, at a high skill level, you won't get that many opportunities. To master her, you need to understand Farore's Wind ledge cancelling, auto-cancelling her nair and dair, as well as have a very strong fundamental game with emphasis on proper defense, spacing, and punishes. If you want to play aggressively, this is not the character for you. However, if you like to play very defensively, she's a very fun pick.
I would also like to add to some of those points. In point 4) Her Out of Shield game is one of the best have options like Farore's Wind OoS for early kills, Nayru's Love OoS to cover both sides of herself and to give herself several frames of intangibility which start at frame 5 and end at frame 11. She can still usmash OoS though it isn't as amazing as it was in brawl. Also, on point 3) She is one of the lighter characters in the game so she'll die earlier than a lot of the cast. Furthermore, because of her poor frame data, she can be juggled really easily. Her only real way out of a juggling situation is to use Nayru's Love's frame 5 intangibility to protect her but Nayru's Love also has a lot of frames of endlag so it's not very reliable in that sense.
And that's all I have in regards to your questions. If you have any more, let me know and I'd be happy to answer them.
Also, in point 4 regarding her combos: her landing nair true combos into a lot of other attacks including dtilt, dsmash, usmash on certain characters, and her elevator combo. The first hit of nair will also pop the opponent up for a lightning kick follow up, usmash follow up, or another nair making it a potent kill setup as well as combo starter.
Ranked #7 in the state of Wisconsin for smash 4 using Zelda almost exclusively. Placed top ten in Madison and Milwaukee tournaments since the game came out including one first place finish at The Construct 27 in Milwaukee.
What interested you in playing Zelda?
I play a defensive game while also relying on good kill potential. I was originally an Ike main back in brawl but switched to Zelda late in the game's life when I realized that I wanted a better recovery and a projectile of some sort. I love mage archetypes and Zelda is one of the few in smash that fits that archetype.
What are Zelda's biggest weaknesses?
Poor frame data: Her fastest move is dtilt at frame 5. Poor movement: She is bottom ten in the game for run speed and Farore's Wind has too much lag on it to be a useful movement option unless it's ledge cancelled. Poor approach game: All of her aerials have a lot of landing lag and are all unsafe on shield, her dash attack is unsafe on shield, and her grab comes out on frame 10. Poor projectiles/keep-away game: Din's Fire has to be channeled in order to move any meaningful distance so she can't use it to take advantage of the opponent's reaction to it like most projectiles and it's too slow to actually be a threat to the opponent. The same goes for phantom slash though it is her best spacing option right now. The last thing that comes to mind is the fact that proper DI by her opponent can ruin a lot of her combos and kill options. Properly DI'ing dthrow makes it very difficult for Zelda to follow up on it and that's her main combo throw. Properly DI'ing Farore's Wind ribbon when she goes for her elevator combo can get the opponent out of the lethal reappear hitbox.
What are Zelda's biggest strengths?
Her biggest strength is her kill potential. With rage, she can kill some characters with an elevator combo at 30%. Personally, I've killed an Ike with Farore's Wind when he was at 36%. Her dair offstage is one of the most lethal meteor smashes in the game and even the sourspot can kill certain characters meaning she can get kills when the opponent is at 0% depending on the character. Her usmash has some of the highest KBG in the game and will kill almost any character that is 90% or higher depending on rage and stage choice. With rage, I've killed light characters with usmash at 60%. Her lightning kicks are some of the strongest aerials in the game and a ledge trump to bair can kill someone at 30% and is guaranteed on a few characters though the Zelda player has to be basically frame perfect in order to make it guaranteed. Zelda also has one of the best recoveries in the game as Farore's Wind covers a very long distance and she's intangible for the majority of the move. It also carries her momentum so using it right after a second jump means she can recover from just about anywhere meaning, in order to kill her, you need to send her to the blast zone, otherwise, she's coming back. Her combo game is actually fairly good in this iteration of smash. She can get upwards of 30% on an opponent from a dthrow>nair>lightning kick from 0%. One of her standard combos, dtilt>jab>dash attack is a guaranteed 23% at mid percents provided the Zelda player sweetspots the dash attack. Dtilt can also combo into a lightning kick or usmash at low-mid percents.
Is Zelda viable on a national level?
I don't think Zelda is viable at a national level unless the player is ridiculously skilled and completely invested in the character. One of the reasons for this is because her matchups with the high tiers, who are the most popular choices at the national level, are her worst matchups for the most part so she has to deal with uphill struggles almost every single game at a national tournament.
What are her worst and best matchups among the 'top tier'?
Her worst matchup in the top tier is probably Sheik. Sheik has a fast projectile to pressure Zelda at range and Sheik never has to commit against Zelda's shield which is where Zelda is able to get most of her punishes, when an opponent overcommits against her shield. Sheik can also juggle Zelda as Zelda doesn't have the frame data to get out of Sheik's fair strings. As for her best matchup among the high tiers, I would have to go with Luigi. It's not a positive matchup in the slightest for her but Luigi's fairly low movement speed and friction allows Zelda to keep him out a little easier than the rest of the high tiers. She doesn't have to worry about getting projectile camped quite so hard as against Sheik, for example, and Luigi doesn't have a reflector to nullify her only spacing option, phantom, like Mario and Fox. That said, though, Luigi juggles her forever and can be difficult to punish because of his superior frame data. With his recent nerf, however, he doesn't kill her as easily as he once did which helps Zelda as she is aided significantly by rage.
Advice for anyone interested in Zelda?
My main advice for playing Zelda is to be patient. Zelda's approach options are mediocre while her out-of-shield options are some of the best in the game. Play defensively, learn your opponent's patterns, strengths, and weaknesses. Exploit their weaknesses every opportunity you get because, at a high skill level, you won't get that many opportunities. To master her, you need to understand Farore's Wind ledge cancelling, auto-cancelling her nair and dair, as well as have a very strong fundamental game with emphasis on proper defense, spacing, and punishes. If you want to play aggressively, this is not the character for you. However, if you like to play very defensively, she's a very fun pick.
I would also like to add to some of those points. In point 4) Her Out of Shield game is one of the best have options like Farore's Wind OoS for early kills, Nayru's Love OoS to cover both sides of herself and to give herself several frames of intangibility which start at frame 5 and end at frame 11. She can still usmash OoS though it isn't as amazing as it was in brawl. Also, on point 3) She is one of the lighter characters in the game so she'll die earlier than a lot of the cast. Furthermore, because of her poor frame data, she can be juggled really easily. Her only real way out of a juggling situation is to use Nayru's Love's frame 5 intangibility to protect her but Nayru's Love also has a lot of frames of endlag so it's not very reliable in that sense.
And that's all I have in regards to your questions. If you have any more, let me know and I'd be happy to answer them.
Also, in point 4 regarding her combos: her landing nair true combos into a lot of other attacks including dtilt, dsmash, usmash on certain characters, and her elevator combo. The first hit of nair will also pop the opponent up for a lightning kick follow up, usmash follow up, or another nair making it a potent kill setup as well as combo starter.
Hopefully this gives you even more insight into Zelda! If the character has caught your eye or you just want to chat with some other Zelda mains consider checking out the Zelda Social Thread. Want to watch some competitive Zelda matches? The video thread is for you! The Zelda Forums here have tons of tools to help anyone interested in Zelda and I hope you enjoyed the interviews and plan to put them to full use.
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