KayLo!
Smarter than your average wabbit.
I got inspired by recent conversation. =X
A question that frequently comes up in this community is whether it's possible to win with Zelda. The answer often varies between yes, no, only if your opponent is ********, if the moon is in the right position that night, etc. etc..... all valid answers to some extent.
We all know Zelda is usually at a disadvantage in standard tournament play; therefore, more important than if she can win is the question of how. In a competitive environment swimming with MKs, Snakes, and other top tiers ranging from barely manageable to **** near impossible to beat, how can a low tier possibly stand a chance?
Before anybody else brings it up, no, I haven't used Zelda in tournament in a while. No, I'm not a top Zelda. No, I don't consider my word law, and no, I won't bring out my shotgun (<3 Dark.Pch) if people disagree with me. But these truths I'm about to bring up are pretty **** solid, and they didn't necessarily require skill with the character to know -- just intelligence and familiarity with Brawl's metagame.
I'd also like to add that all of these points can apply for nearly every character in the game. However, as Zelda is so relatively bad as a character, I think they are especially important for us to know -- much like it's relatively more important for a Link to learn good DI than an MK since his recovery is much more limited.
Enjoy.
And feel free to counterpoint.... you know I love a good debate.
A common thing I see around here is people saying, "Zelda can do this" and "Zelda can do that," and "Zelda doesn't do that badly against X character." What this does is create the illusion that Zelda, as a character, can go toe-to-toe with characters that quite frankly she has no business fighting competitively.
Instead, Zelda players should adopt the general habit of thinking, "I can do this with Zelda," "I can do that with Zelda," and "I can beat this MK player."
Strictly speaking in terms of character-to-character, Zelda is ***. Negative? Yes. True? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean you can't win. It just means that you, as a player, need to be on top of your game in every match in order to win -- more so than your opponent in most cases. YOU need to make less mistakes, YOU need to be punishing every mistake they make in the most effective way possible, and YOU need to always be 100% aware of exactly what you and the other guy are doing.
One of the best things Bobby taught me (back in the good ol' days) is that you cannot afford to go on autopilot. This goes for every character, naturally, but goes for Zelda (and other low tiers) especially.
Why is that? Because better characters usually have an "autopilot" they can somewhat rely on. No spam is uncounterable, but for example: G&W can camp with bairs; Pikachu can tjolt camp; Toon Link can throw his bull**** projectiles all day long. They can do these things with some level of safety for a short amount of time. Zelda doesn't have anything like this. Because she is generally so punishable, she doesn't have an autopilot she can fall back on. You must always be 100% aware of the match, what your opponent is doing, your positioning, and which moves you're about to perform.
Don't rely on Zelda's abilities, because she has virtually nothing guaranteed in a lot of MUs. Rely on being a good player, outsmarting your opponent, and using what little she does have in the most effective ways possible.
Besides Truth #3 (which we'll get to shortly), the best thing you can do for yourself as a Zelda player is to practice your spacing. More than anything else, know the range of every single one of Zelda's moves and know the range of your opponents' moves. Know which attacks you can outspace and which you simply have to suck up and shield/dodge. Know which moves have minimal shield stun/push (allowing you to punish OOS) and which will push you too far away or keep you in shield stun for too long. This will prevent failed attempts to punish OOS that could put you in a bad position.
This sounds ridiculous, but learn how high Zelda's SH goes in comparison to her FH. Learn the spacing of her aerials in relation to different stages' platforms. Get comfortable with her fall speed and aerial movement and how it compares to other characters' so that you can better space your aerials. Know where on the stage is the best place to be vs. each character.
Space, space, space. Zelda can outrange a surprising number of characters*, but if you're fsmashing and dtilting and jabbing at point-blank, you're not using her considerably good range and defensive prowess to your best advantage.
*Doesn't mean she can outspeed them, but we can't have everything, lol.
This goes without saying, but also drill yourself on LK and dair spacing until you can get sweetspots with your eyes closed. It'll prevent that frustration you feel when you know you should've gotten that kill but accidentally sourspotted.
Because Zelda suffers lag on a lot of her moves (not all, but many), it can be hard to get enough of a frame advantage to actually land her best moves. This comes into major play when you're trying to get the kill..... we've all said it or heard it before: she has a ton of great KO moves, but actually hitting with them can be a *****, especially on characters who can run circles around her.
There's also the fact that Zelda gets wtfoutcamped by nearly every other character with a projectile. Many of these characters are also faster than her, and combined with her horribad approach options, the situation can often look pretty bleak.
The answer? Perfect shielding. For those who don't know, perfect shielding happens when you shield an attack within 4 frames of its hitbox connecting. Perfect shielding eliminates shield stun/push and normal shield drop frames, meaning you can react faster than you can out of a normal shield. In short, it can very well give you the frame advantages Zelda desperately needs to land her most effective moves in certain scenarios.
A great example is Zelda vs. Marth. Marth's fair can be a pain to get around with Zelda: it's fast, disjointed, has a tipper hitbox, and Marth's aerial speed makes it hard to punish if he's retreating and spacing well. On many stages, he can effectively wall Zelda with fair, and unless you space the best ftilt of your life, you're going to take damage trying to get inside.
Perfect shield that ****. On a perfect shield, Marth is suddenly at a large enough frame disadvantage that you can usmash him, you can grab him, you can ftilt him..... hell, you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want to him (within reason) since he's stuck in cooldown.
Toon Link got you down with his projectile bull****? Perfect shield.
Pikachu spammin dat B button? Perfect shield.
Falco? Fox? Wolf? ZSS? Blasters got nothin on a perfect shield.
I'm sure this all sounds exaggerated and overconfident, but it's not that hard to learn how to perfect shield consistently. Will you be able to do it always? No. Will it magically give you the MU advantage? Of course not. But it will make several of Zelda's tougher MUs more manageable and create openings for you to a) do more damage and b) force your opponent into a bad position.
MrEh is going to disagree with this section, but I feel very strongly about the fact that although fundamental skills are most important, there is merit to situational BS. Part of being able to win with any character is knowing your character in and out, from the basics all the way down to the one-in-a-million tricks that you may never need. Unless your brain has some sort of limit on the amount of info it can hold, you can learn everything.
Mind you, if you don't have a lot of time to practice or you're just starting out with Zelda, of course you should go with the fundamentals first and not skip right to dtilt > dropthrough bair. Basics always come first. However, this game is ****ing weird. Glitchy stuff happens all the time, so if you're in the perfect position to use the new jab > turnaround > dropthrough > uair > Naryu's Super Jump > dair spike (> teleport > dtaunt) technique someone just discovered, use it -- just make sure you can do it right, or you'll look like an idiot.
Strange things have won matches, even in tournament.
This relates to the above point somewhat.
Let's say you're in the perfect position to do our imaginary jab > turnaround > dropthrough > uair > Naryu's Super Jump > dair spike technique, BUT on the other hand, you could also grab > uthrow.
- You're behind by a stock, but your opponent is approaching KO percentages, and you're at mid damage.
- The imaginary tech ends in a guaranteed kill, but it's very hard to pull off technically and requires that you read your opponent's DI between the Naryu's Super Jump and the dair. If you mess up or read incorrectly, you'll be in a horrible position and open to being juggled.
- The uthrow won't kill, but it's guaranteed to put your opponent in a bad position.
In a situation like this, there is no easy answer. Your first option is high risk/high reward; your second option has nearly no risk at all, but the reward isn't nearly as appealing, and on top of that, you may be desperate for a kill since you're behind. Zelda players must always be able to think fast in scenarios like these; because Zelda has so many strong but punishable moves, you must be able to decide QUICKLY whether going for it is worth it or not.
A very real example is tech chasing with LK off of a dtilt trip. Many Zeldas decide to risk guessing wrong and getting punished for a whiffed LK..... others play it safe and go for the guaranteed grab/dtilt/fsmash/whatever. There's no right or wrong way, but you must become a master of these types of decisions in order to maximize your effectiveness.
Let's be honest with ourselves: the chances of a Zelda winning a large tournament with pro players in attendance are abysmally low. You may make it far with superior player skill and MU ignorance on the part of your opponents, but highly skilled players will quickly adapt to Zelda's glaring weaknesses and use their characters' superior movesets to shut you down before you make it to the money. At the top of the current metagame, there are simply too many top tiers for Zelda to place well.
But there are positives, and there are ways to make Zelda work for you competitively.
- Zelda may not be winning any large tournaments, but she CAN win locals/regionals -- depending on your region. It is very possible to win smaller tournaments with Zelda. Even in areas with lots of pros, there's still a chance, although you will have to become better than them or become so familiar with their playstyles that you can read them flawlessly. It's not easy, but it's definitely more realistic than expecting a Zelda main to win, say, Pound 4.
- Play in low tier tournaments. Zelda does relatively well vs. her fellow low tiers. Low tier tournaments aren't as common as standard tournies, may not pay as much, and probably won't count for your state's rankings, but hey, it's still winning.
- Play doubles. Though definitely not the ideal partner, Zelda can work with several other characters (Snake <3) to make a passable team. She definitely has the potential to do better here than she does in singles.
- Play wifi tournies. The worse lag gets, the better Zelda gets. Admittedly this particular one might be biased since I absolutely hate online play, but in my experience, Zelda does significantly better online than she does offline. (Generally, lag makes her less punishable, and being extremely punishable is one of her main weaknesses.)
- Pick up a reliable secondary -- or go Zelda/Sheik. Nobody likes to be told that their character can't make it on their own, but realistically, Zelda needs a solid secondary or to be used together with Sheik if you truly want to win. MK and Snake make the best secondaries to cover all of her terrible MUs, but ultimately it's best to choose a character who does well against the MUs you can't handle.
Mind you, this section was more for people who want to play to win. Not everybody wants to play that way, though, even within the competitive scene, in which case.....
I'm sure none of us picked Zelda because we thought she was the best candidate to win tournaments. You picked her because you think she's fun, you picked her because you love LoZ, you picked her because you want to inspire others to not play the same old top/high tiers.... or you picked her because you just like sparkles ().
Personally, I play Zelda because I like beating people even more when I'm at a disadvantage. It's frustrating sometimes for sure, but when I pull off the perfect LK or get a random 0-death, it makes it all worth it. Always keep in mind the reason you play Zelda so that when you get your butt handed to you by someone you probably could've beaten with a better character, you can shrug it off and keep it movin.
<3
A question that frequently comes up in this community is whether it's possible to win with Zelda. The answer often varies between yes, no, only if your opponent is ********, if the moon is in the right position that night, etc. etc..... all valid answers to some extent.
We all know Zelda is usually at a disadvantage in standard tournament play; therefore, more important than if she can win is the question of how. In a competitive environment swimming with MKs, Snakes, and other top tiers ranging from barely manageable to **** near impossible to beat, how can a low tier possibly stand a chance?
Before anybody else brings it up, no, I haven't used Zelda in tournament in a while. No, I'm not a top Zelda. No, I don't consider my word law, and no, I won't bring out my shotgun (<3 Dark.Pch) if people disagree with me. But these truths I'm about to bring up are pretty **** solid, and they didn't necessarily require skill with the character to know -- just intelligence and familiarity with Brawl's metagame.
I'd also like to add that all of these points can apply for nearly every character in the game. However, as Zelda is so relatively bad as a character, I think they are especially important for us to know -- much like it's relatively more important for a Link to learn good DI than an MK since his recovery is much more limited.
Enjoy.
And feel free to counterpoint.... you know I love a good debate.Truth #1:
Believe in your ability as a player, not in Zelda as a character
Believe in your ability as a player, not in Zelda as a character
A common thing I see around here is people saying, "Zelda can do this" and "Zelda can do that," and "Zelda doesn't do that badly against X character." What this does is create the illusion that Zelda, as a character, can go toe-to-toe with characters that quite frankly she has no business fighting competitively.
Instead, Zelda players should adopt the general habit of thinking, "I can do this with Zelda," "I can do that with Zelda," and "I can beat this MK player."
Strictly speaking in terms of character-to-character, Zelda is ***. Negative? Yes. True? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean you can't win. It just means that you, as a player, need to be on top of your game in every match in order to win -- more so than your opponent in most cases. YOU need to make less mistakes, YOU need to be punishing every mistake they make in the most effective way possible, and YOU need to always be 100% aware of exactly what you and the other guy are doing.
One of the best things Bobby taught me (back in the good ol' days) is that you cannot afford to go on autopilot. This goes for every character, naturally, but goes for Zelda (and other low tiers) especially.
Why is that? Because better characters usually have an "autopilot" they can somewhat rely on. No spam is uncounterable, but for example: G&W can camp with bairs; Pikachu can tjolt camp; Toon Link can throw his bull**** projectiles all day long. They can do these things with some level of safety for a short amount of time. Zelda doesn't have anything like this. Because she is generally so punishable, she doesn't have an autopilot she can fall back on. You must always be 100% aware of the match, what your opponent is doing, your positioning, and which moves you're about to perform.
Don't rely on Zelda's abilities, because she has virtually nothing guaranteed in a lot of MUs. Rely on being a good player, outsmarting your opponent, and using what little she does have in the most effective ways possible.
Truth #2:
Space Like A Mother****er
Space Like A Mother****er
Besides Truth #3 (which we'll get to shortly), the best thing you can do for yourself as a Zelda player is to practice your spacing. More than anything else, know the range of every single one of Zelda's moves and know the range of your opponents' moves. Know which attacks you can outspace and which you simply have to suck up and shield/dodge. Know which moves have minimal shield stun/push (allowing you to punish OOS) and which will push you too far away or keep you in shield stun for too long. This will prevent failed attempts to punish OOS that could put you in a bad position.
This sounds ridiculous, but learn how high Zelda's SH goes in comparison to her FH. Learn the spacing of her aerials in relation to different stages' platforms. Get comfortable with her fall speed and aerial movement and how it compares to other characters' so that you can better space your aerials. Know where on the stage is the best place to be vs. each character.
Space, space, space. Zelda can outrange a surprising number of characters*, but if you're fsmashing and dtilting and jabbing at point-blank, you're not using her considerably good range and defensive prowess to your best advantage.
*Doesn't mean she can outspeed them, but we can't have everything, lol.
This goes without saying, but also drill yourself on LK and dair spacing until you can get sweetspots with your eyes closed. It'll prevent that frustration you feel when you know you should've gotten that kill but accidentally sourspotted.
Truth #3:
Learn the Art of Perfect Shielding
Learn the Art of Perfect Shielding
Because Zelda suffers lag on a lot of her moves (not all, but many), it can be hard to get enough of a frame advantage to actually land her best moves. This comes into major play when you're trying to get the kill..... we've all said it or heard it before: she has a ton of great KO moves, but actually hitting with them can be a *****, especially on characters who can run circles around her.
There's also the fact that Zelda gets wtfoutcamped by nearly every other character with a projectile. Many of these characters are also faster than her, and combined with her horribad approach options, the situation can often look pretty bleak.
The answer? Perfect shielding. For those who don't know, perfect shielding happens when you shield an attack within 4 frames of its hitbox connecting. Perfect shielding eliminates shield stun/push and normal shield drop frames, meaning you can react faster than you can out of a normal shield. In short, it can very well give you the frame advantages Zelda desperately needs to land her most effective moves in certain scenarios.
A great example is Zelda vs. Marth. Marth's fair can be a pain to get around with Zelda: it's fast, disjointed, has a tipper hitbox, and Marth's aerial speed makes it hard to punish if he's retreating and spacing well. On many stages, he can effectively wall Zelda with fair, and unless you space the best ftilt of your life, you're going to take damage trying to get inside.
Perfect shield that ****. On a perfect shield, Marth is suddenly at a large enough frame disadvantage that you can usmash him, you can grab him, you can ftilt him..... hell, you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want to him (within reason) since he's stuck in cooldown.
Toon Link got you down with his projectile bull****? Perfect shield.
Pikachu spammin dat B button? Perfect shield.
Falco? Fox? Wolf? ZSS? Blasters got nothin on a perfect shield.
I'm sure this all sounds exaggerated and overconfident, but it's not that hard to learn how to perfect shield consistently. Will you be able to do it always? No. Will it magically give you the MU advantage? Of course not. But it will make several of Zelda's tougher MUs more manageable and create openings for you to a) do more damage and b) force your opponent into a bad position.
Truth #4:
Know ALL your options in every situation, even the gimpy ones
Know ALL your options in every situation, even the gimpy ones
MrEh is going to disagree with this section, but I feel very strongly about the fact that although fundamental skills are most important, there is merit to situational BS. Part of being able to win with any character is knowing your character in and out, from the basics all the way down to the one-in-a-million tricks that you may never need. Unless your brain has some sort of limit on the amount of info it can hold, you can learn everything.
Mind you, if you don't have a lot of time to practice or you're just starting out with Zelda, of course you should go with the fundamentals first and not skip right to dtilt > dropthrough bair. Basics always come first. However, this game is ****ing weird. Glitchy stuff happens all the time, so if you're in the perfect position to use the new jab > turnaround > dropthrough > uair > Naryu's Super Jump > dair spike (> teleport > dtaunt) technique someone just discovered, use it -- just make sure you can do it right, or you'll look like an idiot.
Strange things have won matches, even in tournament.
Truth #5:
Think like an analyst: Become an expert in risk/reward assessment
Think like an analyst: Become an expert in risk/reward assessment
This relates to the above point somewhat.
Let's say you're in the perfect position to do our imaginary jab > turnaround > dropthrough > uair > Naryu's Super Jump > dair spike technique, BUT on the other hand, you could also grab > uthrow.
- You're behind by a stock, but your opponent is approaching KO percentages, and you're at mid damage.
- The imaginary tech ends in a guaranteed kill, but it's very hard to pull off technically and requires that you read your opponent's DI between the Naryu's Super Jump and the dair. If you mess up or read incorrectly, you'll be in a horrible position and open to being juggled.
- The uthrow won't kill, but it's guaranteed to put your opponent in a bad position.
In a situation like this, there is no easy answer. Your first option is high risk/high reward; your second option has nearly no risk at all, but the reward isn't nearly as appealing, and on top of that, you may be desperate for a kill since you're behind. Zelda players must always be able to think fast in scenarios like these; because Zelda has so many strong but punishable moves, you must be able to decide QUICKLY whether going for it is worth it or not.
A very real example is tech chasing with LK off of a dtilt trip. Many Zeldas decide to risk guessing wrong and getting punished for a whiffed LK..... others play it safe and go for the guaranteed grab/dtilt/fsmash/whatever. There's no right or wrong way, but you must become a master of these types of decisions in order to maximize your effectiveness.
Truth #6:
Be Realistic
Be Realistic
Let's be honest with ourselves: the chances of a Zelda winning a large tournament with pro players in attendance are abysmally low. You may make it far with superior player skill and MU ignorance on the part of your opponents, but highly skilled players will quickly adapt to Zelda's glaring weaknesses and use their characters' superior movesets to shut you down before you make it to the money. At the top of the current metagame, there are simply too many top tiers for Zelda to place well.
But there are positives, and there are ways to make Zelda work for you competitively.
- Zelda may not be winning any large tournaments, but she CAN win locals/regionals -- depending on your region. It is very possible to win smaller tournaments with Zelda. Even in areas with lots of pros, there's still a chance, although you will have to become better than them or become so familiar with their playstyles that you can read them flawlessly. It's not easy, but it's definitely more realistic than expecting a Zelda main to win, say, Pound 4.
- Play in low tier tournaments. Zelda does relatively well vs. her fellow low tiers. Low tier tournaments aren't as common as standard tournies, may not pay as much, and probably won't count for your state's rankings, but hey, it's still winning.
- Play doubles. Though definitely not the ideal partner, Zelda can work with several other characters (Snake <3) to make a passable team. She definitely has the potential to do better here than she does in singles.
- Play wifi tournies. The worse lag gets, the better Zelda gets. Admittedly this particular one might be biased since I absolutely hate online play, but in my experience, Zelda does significantly better online than she does offline. (Generally, lag makes her less punishable, and being extremely punishable is one of her main weaknesses.)
- Pick up a reliable secondary -- or go Zelda/Sheik. Nobody likes to be told that their character can't make it on their own, but realistically, Zelda needs a solid secondary or to be used together with Sheik if you truly want to win. MK and Snake make the best secondaries to cover all of her terrible MUs, but ultimately it's best to choose a character who does well against the MUs you can't handle.
Mind you, this section was more for people who want to play to win. Not everybody wants to play that way, though, even within the competitive scene, in which case.....
Truth #7:
Play to Have Fun
Play to Have Fun
I'm sure none of us picked Zelda because we thought she was the best candidate to win tournaments. You picked her because you think she's fun, you picked her because you love LoZ, you picked her because you want to inspire others to not play the same old top/high tiers.... or you picked her because you just like sparkles (
).Personally, I play Zelda because I like beating people even more when I'm at a disadvantage. It's frustrating sometimes for sure, but when I pull off the perfect LK or get a random 0-death, it makes it all worth it. Always keep in mind the reason you play Zelda so that when you get your butt handed to you by someone you probably could've beaten with a better character, you can shrug it off and keep it movin.
<3
