link can't give shielders a lot of pressure. in a close fight, grabs are missed frequently. link's is too punishable that it can't be used in conventional means. this allows characters with strong shields to just shield all the time uncontested. Which completely ruins his close game. So then you are really just stuck at mid to long range. I truly believe that link should be dancing in and out of long range. but seriously, arrows bombs and boomerangs are easy to block with your shield. it's smarter to shield them. especially the bomb and the boomerang.
i think link can't matchup against ganondorf well. which doesn't seem like the case at first, but if you play for a while think about it:
strong shield
3 fast approaches
fights at midrange
strong so he can punish missed grabs
ganondorf can shield all day and link can't break it.
if he keeps himself just outside link's clawshot range he can disect you
dash attack through arrows, comes to quick to react with boomerang
gets you before you can pull out a bomb
can wizard kick you if you shorthop bombpull
he can just SHIELD everything
link's shield dies fast against ganondorf.
link is too slow out of his shield, you have to dodge all the time.
if you get into a rhythm while fighting ganondorf and dodge his neutral and forward/down tilts on a regular basis, he WILL punish you with his Fsmash. it is delayed and if he times it right you can't dodge a second time. taking it in the shield with hold you in shield and nearly break it. there is no way to predict at that distance if he is just going to outright Fsmash you or just punch.
if link had a faster out of shield attack
a less punishable grab
and a slightly stronger shield
you could use either method of blocking or dodging more often, which would switch things up enough to make link VIABLE. but he can't, so your opponent can rely on you dodging ALWAYS, and never worry about grabs so there is no pressure for him shielding right in front of you.
as link, if you ever get an obvious opportunity to grab, you really should just be forward smashing. grabs can't combo in this game and his does like nothing for damage. doesn't give you as much space from your opponent as a forward smash.
his recovery is terrible. his upB is terrible...
he may SEEM better at first, but he is worse.
galeforce has yet to show anything of great use.
shielding, rolling and dodging will avoid it's pull.
also just walking out of it.
usually my opponents just ride it in to **** me.
why would link, a ranged character who wants space, pull people into him???
when riding links galeforce timing your dodge is REALLY OBVIOUS. so pulling them into your attack is so rare. and if you EVER want to just use it like a regular boomerang, you have to be pretty close and risk the possibility of them riding it in to you.
best bet.
bombs bombs bombs bombs.
bomb drop/catch
sex kick
apply pressure by dropping bombs on shields to hold enemies in place
if they dodge drop the sex kick
or
pull out dair and bounce or shield
catch the bomb go through them with nair
drop neutral air when they drop sheild
all possibilities. it seems pretty safe so far, but only if you mix it up and jump through them so they can't just shieldgrab you. the bomb also scares them from tyring to grab but...doesn't always work out
my friend and i have played together for a while and are really comfortable.