Link Social Thread

[Apollo Ali]

That's why I like the Brawl Gale Boomerang! I also use it to drag people into a spin attack or grab. Usually they aren't expecting to be dragged halfway across creation, so I have time to do whatever I want to them. Heh heh heh...

UGH. I hated the Gale Boomerang. It seems way more dangerous with an awake opponent than the current one. I love how a return boomerang can SERIOUSLY mess up someones approach. Gale Boomerang just frickin IMPROVES it. Horrible. I never understood why anyone liked that thing.

Yo guys, just a quick curiosity question, what are Link's worst Matchups would you say. From the little iv'e played I have found Falco to be the most difficult, and then Fox, Falco for obvious reasons. Ohh and also Sheik is pretty gay. Anyone care to share info.

As far as worst matchups go, I think Falco is a lot worse than Fox, cause a patient Falco can mess up projectiles all day with lasers. I also feel ZSS is a p bad matchup for Link.

 

[Problem2]

I fiend Sheik to be Link's hardest match-up. She has a bigger grab range then most characters of her run speed, so she is abnormally good at getting in a grabbing Link and can do lots of mean things once she grabs him. She's also at this weird weight and fall speed that makes extended combos not work so well. Her needles are particularly annoying because they don't clank, she can throw them past your projectiles and keep you stunned while she quickly closes in the gap. She gets really juicy combos on Link that always ends in a f-air that you can't really escape, sending you straight side ways. With a mix of grounded and aerial needles, she can proceed to harass your bomb-jump recovery, making coming back a chore. Also, Link being one of the slowest characters has no reasonable option to stop Sheik from doing the ledge stall infinite. I've had Sheik players harass me with that to the point that either I put myself in a terrible position (and often just lose the stock as a result) or accept that I'm being timed out. This causes losing the lead to not be an option vs a lame Sheik.

Falco is pretty hard too, but there are a lot of tricks that make the match-up pretty manageable. Don't try to directly fight against the lasers, but don't sit there and take them. The goal is to never be horizontally aligned with Falco unless you have some sort of an advantage. If you have a bomb in hand, you can bomb toss oos fast enough before Falco can laser again (depending on how far away he is). Also don't forget that your bombs, arrows, and boomerangs go at angles, so being slightly above him, like on a platform when he's on the other side of the stage is preferable.

Falco's advantage in the match-up is the dominance of the neutral game he initially gets with the laser and the incredible shield pressure, but if you play it real safe and stay mobile, you're going to force him to go for some soft-reads which will lead to some mistakes, and spacies get punished hard for mistakes.

Don't forget the magical percent. At around 80%, d-throw auto-combos into up-b against space animals. Link's n-air off stage kills Falco's up-b recovery for free. You can also do this to his forward-b, but it's a little harder. Make sure to practice that.

A really patient Falco can take advantage of a huge stage layout and try and camp you back too. Vs Falco, I try to avoid stages with high middle platforms like Dream Land or Battle Field. However, you do need at least one platform to get a breather from lasers, so I would be reluctant to go to Final Destination too. I prefer a stage such as Pokemon Stadium, Green Hill Zone, or Wario Ware to take Falcos.

Hmmm, I guess I'll update the match-up thread with my Falco advice. Wish I had meaningful advice for Sheik, but all I got now are issues Link has dealing with her. Maybe another day.

 

[Fenrir VII]

I feel like Fox, Falco, and Wolf give it to Link like crazy, but he can give it right back, and has the edge on recovery vs edgeguarding and gimping, so I don't think any of them are a particularly negative matchup, even though it sometimes feels like you're getting destroyed the whole matchup.

I can understand ZSS being hard, but her mains don't like playing against Link, so maybe it's just bad for both sides.

Sheik is tough, but jab jab fortressing goes a long way to preventing grabs.. I'm not incredibly familiar with this matchup in PM, but from Melee, keep your boomerang and bombs out to try to prevent grab combos... give high priority to quick attacks (rather than dash attack spam), and don't get too aggressive. Edge-guarding Sheik is essentially a matter of ledge-hog > standup > UpB (or ledge-jump Dair) to her upB landing lag, while accounting for mixups, of course). If the upB ledge thing is an issue, stand back and throw bombs, then call the Sheik out for stalling if it gets excessive. There's no need to force something in that scenario.


I kind of feel that, barring some CG I don't know about, Link doesn't have any really bad matchups in this game... Some negatives, sure... but nothing overwhelming.


(As a side-note... I love it when PM match commentators act like Link couldn't combo spacies in Melee....)

 

[Anaky]

Cheers for that guys. This is in reply as Andy, idk where that account come from lol.

Also il be around here alot. I played Brawl competetively for 3-4 years and didn't play Melee at all hardly, but iv'e picked this game up properly soooo, hopefully I can post some video's of me playing against Professor Pro, if you are aware of this guy, and also other UK players.

 

[Player -0]

Thoughts on footstool?

I feel like that zair can lead to footstool sometimes, really dependent on DI though. Also if you can footstool Yoshi out of his jump....

 

[E2xD]

Why would I footstool a sweetspotted z-air when I could u-n-f-d-air them?

Also, I feel Falco gives Link a harder time than Sheik. I feel Sheik is so much easier to combo and defend against.

 

[Fenrir VII]

Why would I footstool a sweetspotted z-air when I could u-n-f-d-air them?

Also, I feel Falco gives Link a harder time than Sheik. I feel Sheik is so much easier to combo and defend against.

I personally like the Falco matchup, but that may just be me.

I don't think Sheik minus CG was terrible even in Melee, so I agree with you there.

 

[Player -0]

Why would I footstool a sweetspotted z-air when I could u-n-f-d-air them?

Also, I feel Falco gives Link a harder time than Sheik. I feel Sheik is so much easier to combo and defend against.

If they don't tech the footstool then 'I THINK' you can get a jab reset using light nair then charge a smash. Gonna try this vs. some CPU's really quick.

CPU's be legit yo.

 

[iThe_King]

Every one forgets that link has a Shield. And he can walk while using it. Meaning in the space animals and sheik MU he can just walk up to them, doge their next attack then attack. (or guard their next attack then up b Oos.)



I forgot to say that you can punish sheik's fully charged needles if after they hit you hylian sheild you crouch to dtilt /jump to nair or fair(dair sometimes)/ftilt/up b/etc.etc.etc.

 

[Apollo Ali]

I dunno about that. A good falco short hop laser will hit you in the head overtop your shield, which makes it pretty much useless in that matchup. Fox's lasers aren't a big deal anyway so I'm not sure why you'd sacrifice approach for it.

 

[iThe_King]

Well your are probably right just if you see that they're shooting a little low then swoop in for the kill!



Edit:Also n the fox match up i don't do that i jus murder him with bombs/arrows

 

[Hylian]

Guys, Oro is on to me..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O88W9qqfL_Y

We have to build the army further!

 

[Praxis]

Nair is pretty good guys

 

[Fenrir VII]

Nair is pretty good guys

I've been saying this forever. lol

Nice gif. : )

 

[Murdok]

What is your guys opinion on Links arrows? I always find myself using Rang and Bombs but I feel like I am lacking a arrow game. The only time I find myself using them is if they are recovering from afar, not even with intention of hitting but cutting off certain recoveries. Is this common place for Link mains or am I missing something ? Is there any arrow tricks or techniques that is viable in a match?

 

[HarryTheChin]

Hardly no one ever expects a quickdraw arrow. I like firing one at them every now and again. Sometimes I even get fancy enough to jab reset with a QA.

 

[Murdok]

Hardly no one ever expects a quickdraw arrow. I like firing one at them every now and again. Sometimes I even get fancy enough to jab reset with a QA.

Quickdraw is just shooting an arrow right before hitting the ground, right?

 

[HarryTheChin]

Quickdraw is just shooting an arrow right before hitting the ground, right?

That is correct. Brawl ATs FTW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekYlGNYPX0w&list=PLEFC300FEE6D90B0E

^ albeit Brawl but you can essentially do the same thing in PM.

 

[Fortress]

QD bow is great. One of my favorite things to do on Pokemon Stadium 2 is to jump up to one of the platforms, QD, fall, QD again.

 

[Murdok]

Thats pretty cool, so basically using it like Samus platform cancelled missles.

 

[Hylian]

I don't actually think you can do QD bow in PM >_>. I've tried it and while you can fire the bow right before landing it doesn't get rid of the animation like it did in brawl.

 

[Fortress]

I don't actually think you can do QD bow in PM >_>. I've tried it and while you can fire the bow right before landing it doesn't get rid of the animation like it did in brawl.

You can. The arrow fires from, well, Link's knee.

 

[Hylian]

Can you show me a video? I've never seen it and when I tried it didn't work.

 

[Fortress]

Can you show me a video? I've never seen it and when I tried it didn't work.

I can set up my capture card and do it in a few minutes.

 

[NickRiddle]

I use arrows to hit people after I launch them across the stage.

 

[Fortress]

And by 'a few minutes' I mean 'in an hour' after 'The Office series finale'.

 

[Murdok]

Another question, and I understand that this is match up based/personal preference. What maps do you generally strike/choose for Link?

 

[HarryTheChin]

Another question, and I understand that this is match up based/personal preference. What maps do you generally strike/choose for Link?

For me, it's usually the smaller stages (especially when going against hard hitters (Ganon, Marth, etc.)) but if you're going against a lighter character you can probably use smaller stages to your own advantage.

But typically, I always strike Yoshi's Story, FoD, and a stage that I personally dislike Yoshi's Island or WarioWare

 

[Fortress]

Another question, and I understand that this is match up based/personal preference. What maps do you generally strike/choose for Link?

Anything large and flat. Pokemon Stadium, Stadium 2, Final D's, Smashville, and Distant Planet fit the bill for me personally. Anything where Link has the freedom to move around and stay far away from his opponent at the same time, and where his opponent is left out in the open with nowhere to get away from projectiles is generally good.

I tend to ban triangle stages all of the time. Battlefield, Yoshi's, Warioware, Norfare, and anything with a lot of platforms and not much space has to go. Link can just get pressured too easily, and his opponent has too much freedom of movement.

 

[Fenrir VII]

Another question, and I understand that this is match up based/personal preference. What maps do you generally strike/choose for Link?

Whoa, this is extremely char-dependent for me, as you said.

I personally love Lylat, BF, PS2, and Warioware.

I nearly always ban yoshi's island (Brawl)... not because it's a "bad" stage for Link.. I just don't like it. I also really like Skyloft and Skyworld for some reason, even though they don't give the platform shenanigans that my stages above do.

I personally think Lylat is about the best CP for Link... Usmash on those platforms is great, and Nair pokes to knock chars under the stage are great. The tilting also doesn't really have an effect on Link's projectiles... sometimes it even helps them.

 

[Hylian]

My favorite stage is battlefield and I almost always go there regardless of the match-up. I always strike FoD and then a stage I think is good for my opponent.

 

[ITALIAN N1NJA]

I understand striking stages where Link is at a disadvantage, but hear me out. If you prefer a stage like Smashville or Final Destination, wouldn't that be bad the moment Fox or Falco waveshined you? Or if your opponent began to chain grab you mercilessly? I prefer these stages as well, but I thought the triangle stages like Battlefield would be good for Link because his Up-Smash reaches through the left and right platforms when he's below, it gives Link extra jumps to lead into other combos, it gives Link platforms to lay bombs on the platforms as obstacles, and it gives Link more options against chain grabbing(If you DI up and tech off of the platform if it is above you, you can quickly tech and avoid the next attack and counter your opponents attempt).

Smashville is one of my favorite stages personally but I'm just trying to bring forward a different perspective about stage picks.

 

[Fortress]

It is, yes, but I'm more comfortable with my own playstyle on something flat and open than I am where I'm stuck in a tight space being pressured. Battlefield is fine, but I try and avoid it. The good reach thanks to u-smash isn't enough for me to want to risk playing against somebody's Marth, and the tight space isn't something I want to deal with.

 

[ITALIAN N1NJA]

It is, yes, but I'm more comfortable with my own playstyle on something flat and open than I am where I'm stuck in a tight space being pressured. Battlefield is fine, but I try and avoid it. The good reach thanks to u-smash isn't enough for me to want to risk playing against somebody's Marth, and the tight space isn't something I want to deal with.

I agree with you there. It's more of a preference and it also can depend on the match-up. I am not a fan of tight spaces either. Too many platforms are bad for arrows but great for bombs and angled boomerangs. For example, I can't stand the WarioWare stage. It's a small stage with stacked platforms on both sides and it feels claustrophobic(at least for me personally) to play Link on that stage.

My thought is this though. If it's Falco your against, I would think somewhere like Lylat Cruise or anywhere with the triangle platforms would benefit Link. I say this because Lylat Cruise especially is angled and always moving so it throws off Falco's laser game immensely. This is great because without the laser stun, he can't get near you. If he can't get near you he can't pillar at all. Not to mention the platforms on Lylat are awesome for Link's Up-Smash and perfect for blocking Falco's Dair or lasers when he short hops too much. Triangle platforms would cripple a decent Falco player because his short hop laser wouldn't work if he lands on the platform above him as a result of a short hop that goes too high.

 

[Fortress]

It all depends on the matchup. One of our guys plays Marth, so I tend to avoid triangle stages where I can. We don't really have anybody who plays Falco a lot, just one guy who uses him every now and again, and I can deal with it pretty easily with Sheik.

 

[ITALIAN N1NJA]

It all depends on the matchup. One of our guys plays Marth, so I tend to avoid triangle stages where I can. We don't really have anybody who plays Falco a lot, just one guy who uses him every now and again, and I can deal with it pretty easily with Sheik.

I've learned my lesson with triangle stages and the Marth match-up. Never again.

 

[Hylian]

I money matched Dart and did fine against him on triangle stages >_>.

 

[Fortress]

Doesn't mean it's universal. Nobody's a 'golden standard', after all. People perform differently in all matchups, stage, character, and player-wise.

 

[ITALIAN N1NJA]

I money matched Dart and did fine against him on triangle stages >_>.

Depends on both your skill and the other players' skill. As well as both your mental game. I just need to practice the triangle stages more with the Marth match up. It feels like with the platforms I have a tougher time getting projectiles off on Marth when he's being aggressive and rushing me. The platforms either become your asset or your worst nightmare depending on the player. Honestly I was just Johning lol. Tink is good. But he's beatable once your learn his pattern.

 

[Fortress]

I don't think it's a John when Marth's f-smash can connect a hit on either of the lower platforms from center stage. Marth's a dork.