A Guide To The Powerful Princess Zelda (3.5 Updated!)

Color coded the sections.

added a new section, just a test section mostly.

01. Intro
02. Quick questions
03. Moveset
04. Playstyle and use tips
05. Situations and what to do
06. Notes.

01. - Intro​

Zelda is one of the most powerful characters in Project M after being heavily buffed from her previous iterations. Her play-style is extremely unique due to her strange hitboxes and a projectile that functions like no other projectile in any other Smash game that I'm aware of.
Here a just a few terms that I will use that you may not understand/know.

Spoiler

DI - Directional Influence, tilting the control stick/joy stick to influence the direction you go after being hit by a move.
SDI - Smash DI, quickly tilting the control stick/joy stick during freeze frames.
Freeze Frames - Freeze frames freeze the character during a period of an attack. It causes the player to be out longer than if the attack had not hit.
Crouch Cancel - In Melee, P:M, Smash 64,(and Brawl, but it’s not used as much or as noticeable) there is a technique called Crouch cancelling abbreviated as CC. It causes the player to have about 2/3rd knock back while crouching.(Except Brawl)
Out of Shield - Abbreviated usually as OoS, out of shield is exactly what it sounds like. You can use a move or a grab out of shield, one of the examples is holding the shield button and pressing “A” for a grab, or holding shield, jumping, and then performing an aerial attack.
Disjointed Hitbox - A hitbox with no hurtbox aka a hitbox that can’t be hit, for example Marth’s sword.
Meteor Smash - Generally hits opponents down, unlike a spike it can be meteor cancelled, a technique explained below.
Meteor Cancel - Negating the effect of the meteor smash aka downwards trajectory by jumping or performing an Up special.
Pivot Grab - Any character can do this grab, it happens while dashing, pivoting in the other direction, and then pressing the grab button at the same time.

02. - Quick questions​

Now onto a couple of important questions you may be asking while reading this guide.


Why should I main Zelda? - Zelda is a very powerful character in the hands of a good player. She has great combo game coupled with a very strong edge guard game. She also can outcamp a few characters and has a semi-decent approach.
Is Zelda the right character for me? - If you are not a patient player, Zelda might not be the right choice for you. Zelda mostly relies on punishes and quick reactions to movement. If you try and approach unsafely you could get up in the air, and that is not a place you want to be, especially against someone with a disjointed hitbox or that can juggle well.(ex. Marth, Roy, etc)
I hope I answered one of your questions in that short time. Now onto one of the most unique set of attacks in Smash.

03. - Moveset​

Neutral Attack - (Named "Short Flash") Damage - 3 hits of 2%. Zelda extends her arm and a zap of...magical electricity comes out in a circular form. It is a multi-hitting attack with the zaps flashing three times. It can be used for shield pressure if you space it properly, if you don't you could eat an easy grab combo or a powerful move Out of Shield from your opponent. If it does manage to hit you can combo it into a Up Smash, grab, or Dash attack.

Spoiler: Overall

A good move with combo ability, but is moderately slow.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Grab
Forward Tilt
Up Smash
Dash Attack
Forward air

Spoiler: GIF of attack

Second image at half speed.

6/10​

Forward Tilt - (Named "Mystic Swipe") Damage - 13-14%(sweetspot) 10% (sourspot). Zelda swipes out her arm and her magical powers increase her power and it shows when a magical trail of sparkles follow her hand. When you sweetspot this move it becomes one of the best combo setups Zelda has. If the opponent DIs away from you, you can even follow up with a sweetspotted kick, but the most common follow up is an Up smash. The sourspot of this move knocks opponents away with substantial knockback KO'ing lighter opponents around 120% percent, and heavier opponents around 160% for sourspot and 175% for sweetspot.

Spoiler: Overall

A good move with good combo potential at lower percents with decent KO'ing power at higher percent.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

SWEETSPOT:
Up Smash
Up Tilt
Back air
Dash attack
Forward smash
Grab
Neutral air
SOURSPOT:
Dash attack

Spoiler: GIF of attack

Second image at half speed.

6.5/10​

Up tilt - (Named "Protective Sweep") Damage - 12% clean, and 11% late. Zelda sweeps her hand above her in an arc, similar to Marth's Up tilt. This attack has amazing knockback, KO'ing as early as 80% on lighter characters. This is an amazing anti-air that Zelda has in her arsenal(almost as good as her Up Smash). This move is actually surprisingly fast despite its looks, almost as fast as her Up Smash. Using it on shield is not very safe due to low shield stun, you can get easily punished with an Out of Shield move or a grab. You can use this move when your opponent is in the air for a very powerful and big anti-air.

Spoiler: Overall

A great move when your opponent is in the air, but due to longish cool down it is not a great move when your opponent is on the ground.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Forward/Back air.
Neutral air.

Spoiler: GIF of attack

Second image at half speed.

6/10​

Down tilt - (Named "Trip") Damage - 7%. Zelda crouches and sticks her leg out in an attempt to trip the other opponent. When used while the opponent is in the air and very close to Zelda's body, it can meteor smash, very good for edgegaurding characters with bad recoveries. If you manage to hit an opponent with it while they are grounded at lower percents it can easily combo into a Down Smash, a grab, or even another Down tilt. At higher percents this move knocks an opponent into the air with a short amount of hitstun. If that happens you can combo into a Up Tilt, grab, Up Smash, Forward Smash, Dash attack, or Forward Tilt. On shield this move is sort of safe, not too much cool down. Since of the low hitbox it can shield poke, but it's not too useful unless you use a technique called Teledashing, which I will explain about later.

Spoiler: Overall

Good move with decent knock back and low cool down.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Down tilt
Down smash
Up smash
Up Tilt
Forward smash
Forward tilt
Forward air
Grab
Neutral air

Spoiler: GIF of attack

Second image at half speed.

7/10​

Dash attack - (Named “Magical Push”) Damage - 13% clean, 7% late. Zelda lunges forward and crashes into the enemy with a magical push. Since Zelda is trying to crash the opponent, it has long cool down. Using this move on shield is not safe at all. Even trying to approach with it against long range characters isn’t a good idea. Although it has those drawbacks it’s still a great move for combos and edge guarding. You can combo the sweetspot into an Up Smash, Up tilt, or even a grab. The priority of this move allows you to edge guard characters with mediocre to bad recoveries. Using this move against a fast falling opponent that lost their jump can lead to massive percent, it even can combo into an Up air at higher percents.

Spoiler: Overall

An OK move, pretty good combo ability and ok edge guarding capability, but is hindered by long cool down and dangerous on shield.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

CLEAN HIT:
Up smash
Dash attack
Up tilt
Up air
Back/Forward air
Neutral air
Grab
LATE HIT:
Dash attack
Grab

Spoiler: GIF of attack

​

8/10
​

Up Smash - (Named “Power Sweep”) Damage - 1% (12 hits) 4% (13th hit), 16% if all hits connect uncharged, 1-2% (12 hits) 5% (13th hit) 21% fully charged if all hits connect. Zelda sweeps her arm three times above her in a circular motion, a ribbon of magic follows her hand and the opponent gets trapped in the attack.(Of course it is escapable with good SDI). This move is great for just about any situation, you can use it for combos, finishing combos, starting combos, KO’ing at mid-higher percents, and even jab resetting(although not the best option). This move is heavily buffed from Melee, it’s a very hard move to SDI out of in Project M. The amount of damage and knockback this attack does makes it one of her most powerful ground moves. Although it has great traits, it also has a couple of drawbacks. Using this move on shield is almost a guaranteed punish since it has low shield stun after the move is completed. This move doesn’t have horizontal coverage, especially against shorter opponents.

Spoiler: Overall

Great combo move, good KO’ing move,(KO’ing around 95-100%(uncharged)
75%(fully charged) on lighter opponents), and good damage.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Up smash
Up tilt
Up air
Neutral air
Back/Forward air
Grab
Forward tilt

Spoiler: GIF of attack

Second image at half speed.

8.5/10​

Forward Smash - (Named “Shining Palm”) Damage - 1% (first 2 hits) 2% (hit 3) 13% (final hit) 17% total uncharged, 1-2% (first 3 hits), 18% (final hit) 23% total fully charged. Zelda extends and thrusts her arms out and sparkles appear. The opponent is sucked in and trapped into this move at close distances. Move can be SDI’d out of. Being one of her best ground KO’ing moves,(Around 70-80% fully charged on mid weight characters) this move can be a real threat to a lot of the cast. Even though this move is strong, it’s also fast. You can use it to edge guard or you can use it for a spacing tool. On shield it is not safe, like most of Zelda’s ground moves. The biggest drawback is the lack of protection above and behind Zelda. Like most forward smashes, it does not cover the other side of the character, leaving an open attack spot if you are facing the wrong way.

Spoiler: Overall

a pretty decent move, although not very useful at all for combos.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Dash attack
Grab
Forward air

Spoiler: GIF of attack

Second image at half speed.

8/10​

Down Smash - (Named “Compass Spin”) Damage - 12-13% (front kick) 13% (back kick) uncharged, 16% (front kick) 17% (back kick) fully charged. Zelda kicks in a circular motion similar to a compass. A very quick move especially useful when crouch cancelled. This is Zelda’s fastest ground move in terms of when the hitbox comes out.(Fastest down smash in the game!) This move can kill relatively early (around 100-110% uncharged on lighter characters), but this move really shines in it’s ability to edge guard characters. Due to it’s range under her, the priority, and speed, Zelda can go close to the ledge and throw out a down smash at the right time for a good knock back edge guard. Again along with her other ground moves, not safe on shield. Although it’s not very safe on shield, it can shield poke. Very useful with Teledashing(which I will explain about later).

Spoiler: Overall

A good fast ground move, great edge guarder, and good KO move.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Grab
Dash attack

Spoiler: GIF of attack

Second image at half speed.

9/10​

Neutral Aerial - (Named “Magic Spin”) Damage - 2% (first 5 hits) 5% (6th hit) 15% if all hits connect. Zelda spins around in the air and releases bursts of magic from her hands. This move is a pretty decent move, covers a lot of Zelda, can start and end combos, and can be used as a good Out of Shield move. There really isn’t too many drawbacks to this move, and if I can recall correctly, the SDI multiplier of this move is 0(can’t be SDI’d out of).

Spoiler: Overall

Probably one of Zelda’s best moves period, great combo starter/ender, good out of shield move, and covers most of Zelda. Really the only draw back is a long ranged opponent maybe with a projectile or disjointed hitbox can outspace you.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Forward/Back air
Dash attack
Forward air
Grab

Spoiler: GIF of attack

Second image at half speed.

9.5/10​

Forward Aerial - (Named “LIGHTNING KICK”) Damage - 18% Melee hit, 22% Brawl hit, 16% late hit, 8% sourspot/body.
Zelda kicks forward……………………………AND A BURST OF EXTREMELY POWERFUL ELECTRICAL ENERGY FORMS AT HER FOOT. Pretty much Zelda’s best move hands down, she has 3 sweetspots of this move, a Melee sweetspot hit, a Brawl sweetspot, and the late hits of those(not really another sweetspot but whatever) Brawl sweetspot removed. This move can KO heavyweights as early as 80% near blastlines. This move is great out of shield, especially when sweetspotted. You can also use it to space out opponents due to it’s good range and pressure. You can also use this move to end combos with the sweetspots, it can easily KO under 100-110%! In addition to those great traits, it can also edge guard characters. If you go out to your opponent and hit them with a sweetspotted kick, you can almost guarantee a stock at mid-higher percents! However using it on shield is not safe. Due to the freeze frames, you usually can get punished for using this move on shields. Also if you do not space this move properly, or not use it at the right time, you can get punished.

Spoiler: Overall

A great spacer, one of the best combo finishers, a good edgeguarder, and a great out of shield move.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Not really anything.

Spoiler: GIF of attack

Second image at half speed

9.5/10​

Back Aerial - (Named “Lightning Kick B”) Damage - 17% (Melee hit), 21% (Brawl hit), 15% (late hit), 8% (body). Zelda kicks in the back of her and a burst of electrical energy forms at her foot. This move is pretty much her Forward Air except it’s slightly faster and does 1% less damage. I’m not too sure about the knock back differences, but this move is still good, and a little faster than forward air.

Spoiler: Overall

See Forward air

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Not really anything

Spoiler: GIF of attack

Second image at half speed.

9.6/10 ​

Up Aerial - (Named “Condensed Blast”) Damage - 3% then 18% (center) or 12% (bottom). Zelda throws her hand up and an evil burst of magic appears and pushes the opponent into the huge explosion. This move kills very early around blastlines (around 70% for midweights). It can also juggle if used efficiently, but it’s more useful for ending combos. It doesn’t really have much use aside from catching opponents that are in the air, or making a good read on someone. Because of the long cool down of this move I wouldn’t recommend using it too often.

Spoiler: Overall

An OK move, good knock back, half decent for juggles, and a good combo ender.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Up air
Neutral air
Up smash

Spoiler: GIF of attack

Second image at half speed.

7/10​

Down aerial - (Named “Meteor Heel”) Damage - (Grounded opponent)18% and 8% sourspotted. (Opponent in the air) Damage - 20% and 9% for the sourspot. Zelda forces her leg beneath her and like the Lightning kicks a burst of magic appears around her foot. If this move is sweetspotted, the opponent is meteor smashed. A pretty good edge guarding tool, but it can be meteor cancelled making it not as useful. The unique factor of this move is the amount of shield damage it does. In about 3 sweetspotted hits it can break a shield. Not really too useful, but a cool trick to use, and due to its range it can be used on shield(would not recommend against a character with a good up smash).

Spoiler: Overall

A pretty decent move, good knock back, surprisingly good shield damage, and an OK edge guarder.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

SWEETSPOT:
Not anything really.
SOURSPOT:
Up smash
Neutral air
Up tilt

Spoiler: GIF of attack

Second image at half speed.

8/10​

Neutral special - (Named “Nayru’s Love”) Damage - 2% (5 hits) 4% (6th hit) 14% total. Zelda uses her magic from Naryu to summon a crystal and spins the shards around it. This move also doubles as an useful reflector. One strange trait of this move is that if you land this move after a certain amount of frames it can be cancelled. It’s very useful for combos and even retreating. There are also invincibility frames at the beginning of the move, very, very useful. Another one of the uses for this move is edge guarding, you can edge guard by using the invincibility at the beginning to edge guard characters. Although the attack itself isn’t very strong, it’s still a very useful combo starter. However it can be easily outspaced, randomly throwing out this move can lead to punishes if not spaced properly. Zelda no longer has the invincibility frames shown in the GIF.

Spoiler: Overall

a good move, great combos, good edgegaurds, but can be outspaced and punished.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

NOT CANCELLED:
Dash attack
Grab
CANCELLED:
Dash Attack
Grab
Forward tilt
Up tilt
Up smash
Forward Air
Neutral air
Up air

Spoiler: GIF of attack

GROUNDED:

AERIAL:

Second images in the sets at half speed

9/10​

Side Special - (Named “Din’s Fire”) Damage - 6% if hit after release or while suspended in the air. 11-20% on explosion. Zelda uses Din’s Fire and a fireball appears which she can control. As the fireball travels more distance it grows in size and knock back when detonated. Din’s fire is limited to only 1 on the field at a time. The fireball is also timed, after about 5-7 seconds the fireballs will detonate. The cool feature of this move is the fact that you can place it almost anywhere around the stage. The range on this move also allows you to hit enemies off stage or even across the stage. You can also use these to setup combos or grabs. When the fireball explodes, it can deal huge knock back if big enough, even KO’ing as early as 90% on some characters. While the fireball is out and someone runs into them, they have little knock back, but that’s perfect for follow-up combos. When the opponent runs into or shields the fireball it will come back to Zelda in a boomerang fashion. It is also possible to detonate and undetonated Din's Fire by pressing Side B again. When the Din's Fire comes back to you, it can be detonated yet again! You can even combo an undetonated into a sweetspotted Lightning Kick. Also when you use this move in the air, it doesn’t send you in to a helpless state. Although the fireball does not dissipate on shield, it comes back to Zelda in the boomerang fashion. Also when Zelda is casting Din’s Fire she is very vulnerable, not a good move up close.

Spoiler: Overall

A great move and great spacing tool! You can even use it for great edge guarding games.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

UNDETONATED HITBOX:
Pretty much every move since of the low knock back and Zelda is free to do any move.
DETONATION HITBOX:
Up air
Neutral Air
Even though this move can combo into other moves, it may not be best to because the move has good knock back.

Sorry, I could not find or make a GIF of this move.

9.9/10(No move is perfect)​

Down special - (Named “Transform”) Damage - N/A Zelda uses her magic to transform into Sheik. Not too useful if you only main Zelda, or so you might think. When you transform into Sheik, all undetonated Din’s fires are detonated when Sheik is loaded. It’s pretty useful when edge guarding, but not the best of Zelda’s options.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

N/A

Sorry, I could not find or make a GIF of this move.
N/A You can’t really rate a transforming move.

Up special - (Named “Farore’s Wind”) 4% for both hits. Zelda uses Farore’s powers to disappear and reappear in any direction that isn’t through a wall or ground/stage. When Zelda teleports ribbons follow and slash any opponents near her, and when she reappears a small explosion occurs. Strangely enough, when you input Special(B) it cancels the move(only the grounded form), this form of cancelling is called Teledashing. This makes the move one of her best movements options, although the blast when she appears is gone. Using this move for mind games is one of her most useful options. She can Teledash and follow up a combo or surprise the opponent since this move is very fast. Even offstage this move is great, if timed right you can ledgestall very efficiently. Using Zelda’s ledgestall is very easy and efficient, simply let go of the ledge, jump, and then use Farore’s wind to grab the ledge again. Another cool technique is a hard one to pull off with the timing but it’s very worth it. You can run off the ledge and use the move right when you run off and it grabs the ledge automatically. It’s very useful when you’re trying to edge guard a character. The only drawback is your opponent reading your teleport and your direction. You aren’t invincible for some of this move, which makes you vulnerable to attacks.

Spoiler: Overall

A great movement tool, but is vulnerable at some points.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Up special
Up smash
Dash attack
Forward tilt
Neutral air

Spoiler: GIF of attack

GROUNDED:

AERIAL:

Second images in sets at half speed.

9/10​

Grab - (Named “Magical Hold”) Damage - N/A. Zelda waves her arms around in front of her in a circular motion. A great ranged grab, not too much cool down. Since most of her throws combo, using grab is a useful tool.

Spoiler: GIF of grabs

STANDING GRAB:

RUNNING GRAB:

PIVOT GRAB:

Second images in sets at half speed.

8.5/10​

Forward Throw - (Named “Levitation”) Damage - 12%. Zelda twirls the opponent and throws them with magic. A pretty OK throw with OK follow ups. If the opponent doesn’t DI away, you can actually get a sweetspotted Lightning Kick. For KO’ing this move doesn’t really do the job, it can’t KO until around Sudden Death percents(300%ish). There is also a possibility to combo it into an Up Smash if timed correctly.

Spoiler: Overall

A decent grab, good combos, but not much if at all KO’ing ability.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Forward air
Neutral air
Grab
Dash attack

Sorry, I couldn’t find or make a GIF of this move.

8/10​

Back Throw - (Named “Reverse Levitation”) Damage - 10%. Zelda twirls the opponent behind her like her Forward Air. Much more powerful in terms of knock back than the Forward Air. The throw can KO as early as 110% in lighter weights.

Spoiler: Overall

There isn’t much possibilities in terms of follow-ups, but it’s mostly used for KOs anyway.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Not really anything this can combo into

Sorry I couldn’t find or make a GIF of this move

8/10​

Up Throw (Named “Levitation Launch”) Damage - 8%. Zelda uses her magic to twirl the opponent above her then throws him/her. Very good for combos and chain grabbing fast fallers. You can usually get about 4-5 grabs on Fox or Falco before they can escape the grab chain, and then you can usually follow up with an Up smash, Forward/Back air, or Dash attack. Not a very good grab in terms of knock back, but it’s used for combos as that’s its strongpoint. Using this move efficiently against fast fallers is usually the key to Zelda’s success in those match-ups(and match-ups period).

Spoiler: Overall

A very good chain grab opportunity, good damage, but not good for KOs.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Grab
Up smash
Forward/Back Air
Neutral Air
Up tilt
Forward tilt

Sorry, I could not find or make a GIF of this attack.

8.5/10​

Down Throw (Named “Plasma Beat”) Damage - 14%(5 hits). Zelda throws the opponent on the ground, floats above them, and shocks them with bursts of magic. The enemy always ends up behind her so it can be used for follow ups(Back air, Dash attack, etc). Although when the opponent DIs away from Zelda, not many follow ups can be combo’d from the down throw(the only real ones being dash attack and maybe a grab). On certain characters(bigger, heavier, and at low percents) this move can be a chain grab, it is a very deadly chain grab due to the massive amount this throw does.

Spoiler: Overall

A great throw, good combos, amazing damage, and good for positioning.

Spoiler: Moves this can combo into

Grab
Up smash
Neutral Air
Dash attack
Forward tilt
Back air
Forward smash

Spoiler: GIF of this attack

Second image at half speed

8.7/10
04. - Playstyle and use tips​

Whew! Now that you are familiar with Zelda’s moveset let’s explore more of her play style and I’ll give you some tips with her very unique play style. First off, Zelda is not an aggressive character. She mostly relies on taking her time to wait for an opponent to make a wrong move. While she isn’t very good a approaching, she has a great long range game. Using her Din’s Fire to keep an opponent out with a very hard to break through wall. Even if the opponent tries to break through the wall, you usually should wait and maybe throw out a Lightning Kick, but if the opponent messes up you have a plethora of opportunities for you to combo and or finish their stock. Sitting in shield isn’t a very good option for Zelda, while it can be used safely due to her Lightning Kicks, it is not the safest option. As a Zelda player you mostly want to just sit back and wait for the opponent to mess up for your time to strike. Although you can play on the offense, her moveset does allow both offense and defense to be played. You can use her Lightning Kicks for pressure and Teledashing for good movement and mind games. You can even surprise opponents by using a Down air on their shield. Using her quick and powerful combos, you can rack up damage very quickly. Coupled with her great combos is an almost even better edge guarding game. Her Lightning Kicks and down smash are one of the best edge guarders in the game. Probably the most unique thing about Zelda is her ability to rack up very fast damage despite her moveset. Most of her moves deal around 12% which is not bad, but when most of those moves can combo it is deadly.

05. - Situations and what to do.​

Now this section might be a little confusing, but please bear with me.
If my opponent is approaching me, what do I do? - The best thing to do when your opponent is approaching, is to either throw out a well spaced Forward Air or Back air. If you aren't feeling confident enough to throw out a move, try using Farore's Wind and reappearing while trying to hit the opponent with your explosion when you reappear.
My opponent is camping me, what should I do? - If your opponent is trying to camp you, whether it be with a projectile or not, camping them back is the best option. Try using your Din's Fire to hit them, or just Nayru's Love the projectiles back. Since Zelda has really bad approaching capabilities, laying low and camping them back is the best option.
I'm in the air, what do I do? - If you are in the air, this is a bad situation. Zelda doesn't really have much priority below her. The best option might be to Farore's Wind onto the stage, although it's very risky. If the opponent tries to follow up a combo etc, try outspacing and throw out a Forward air or Back air of your own! There is also a very unsafe option in using Din's Fire and placing it near your opponent, it's unsafe because they can just shield and rek you afterwards.
I'm offstage, what do I do? - Being offstage for all characters is not a good place to be, but with Zelda it actually isn't too bad. Since Zelda has an above average recovery, getting back onstage might not be too difficult. You can even read them trying to follow up onstage and go for the ledge. The drawback with Zelda is basically your only option is to Farore's Wind, using anything else is pretty dangerous.

06. - Notes​

NOTE: I mostly used Smashwiki for my damage percents and names.
NOTE: The information I put might not be 100% accurate or all of the information possibility. I just wrote what I know in an informative way.
NOTE: I used the GIFs from the user @Sartron (Thank you so much).
NOTE: I made this guide for Project M version 3.5
NOTE: There may be some mistakes in this guide, please let me know if there are any and I will gladly edit them.