Hi there, I'm sitecon a Singapore smash player, and I need the smashboards help to analyze this game and tell me where I went wrong... (Ps I have been watch this thread for quite awhile now and this is my first ever post on smashboards... Soo... Yay?)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qqmiX7Kv3H4
Edit: this tournament called CGF (Campus Game Fest) happened at 26-28 June.
First off, I know a lot of Rosa mains will probably disagree here- but IMO the matchup is actually at least slightly in Link's favor. Link has all the tools to take stage control from Rosa, he has a better zoning game, and because she's so light he can KO her really early- especially now thanks to his Buff that actually allows him to combo out of throws, and his buffed U-smash that sucks opponents in consistently. The biggest issue is for Glory Links, and that there aren't many
actual good Link players who use his kit properly, and so the general consensus is that he isn't much of a threat. However, I have a lot of practice against a great Link, one of my friends who I frequently play mains him, and I can say that out of all of his characters, his Link definitely gives me the most trouble and I frequently struggle to come out on top.
One of the KEY things you need to remember when fighting Link is patience. Good Link players will try to Zone you out using his excellent projectiles, and most attempts to use a dash attack, or even just to dash in for a grab will be stuffed out by a bomb or boomerang to the face. For that reason, learning to dash powershield while approaching is super important for this matchup. Once you get into Link's face, his zoning options aren't as much of a threat to you. Try to set him up by Grabbing and following with up with a U-throw to U-tilt, U-throw to U-smash if you wait for the airdodge, or if you notice the Link is very airdodge happy, U-throw into Jab works very well as Link will usually fall into it and take a few hits. Just don't hold the jab for too long because he can actually N-air out of it when he gets near the end of Rosalina's wand.
This is actually one matchup where I DON'T think that detethering Luma is a strategy you can rely on heavily, because a GOOD Link player will never challenge the Luma head on with anything unsafe. They will usually retreat to a safe spot out of Luma's range where they can assault it with Link's Projectiles until Luma either dies or Rosalina is forced to call it back to prevent it from dying. I've tried many times to use detether tricks, and unless you've already got Link in an optimal position, such as the air, or catching him off guard while he still pulling a projectile, it can be hard to capitalize. Most times he will just spam bombs and boomerang to get Luma out of his face- which Luma has no real way to beat.
Link's N-air also seems to have an insane amount of priority, it's fast, it auto-cancels and is a great combo starter- and good Links will use this to space their approaches. Surprisingly enough in my experience have had nearly every move I've tried against a Link's N-air, beaten outright. Link's falling N-air has canceled out my fully charged RosaLuma U-smash, even with Rosalina's head invincibility. I've also had his N-air cancel out my F-smash, F-air, B-air, U-tilt and even Jab. Both Rosalina's and Luma's. Not even trades, but cancels.
With that in mind, I've come to the conclusion that the best way to deal with a Link that approaches with N-airs is to shield and grab him if he improperly spaces it. If he's just out of your grab range, be careful because his jab comes out fast and he will most likely fall back on that to avoid a punish.
Watch out for his Z-air as well, because of Rosalina's tall hurtbox his Z-air is another great approach option for him, but it can be powershielded and punished if he misspaces.
BTW If you're going to use your shield often, try to make sure you have the powershield timing down. One thing that Links love to do is try and bait a free grab by getting you to be too comfortable in shield, and they'll run up and grab you while you're distracted by a bomb,etc. hitting your shield. Thankfully though, Link's grab can be easily spotdodged if you see it coming, and it has a lot of cooldown, so a missed Link grab is a free punish for you.
One thing you should try to remember too is to try and keep center stage as much as possible against Link. A lot of Link's moves are really good at getting rid of Luma, especially his Dash attack and Jab- and if you are anywhere near the edge, you are almost guaranteed to lose your Luma. Link can also U-tilt Juggle your Luma to death since it puts Luma in tumble, and if you're not careful trying to punish it you can get caught in it too. Something to watch out for.
Once you've got some momentum going on Link, don't be afraid to follow up- I find that I have a decent time juggling him if I'm smart about it, because a properly timed Rosa U-air can beat even Link's scary D-air. Just watch out for his N-air again otherwise, if you get too greedy, it comes out fast and can break your combos.
If he's trying to land on you with an attack, Rosa's U-smash is also really great as an anti-air because of the head invincibility. (Except for some reason it never beats his N-air...) Don't be afraid to abuse it. I've scored like 3-4 U-smashes in a row on Links who were stubborn and kept trying to D-air me over and over. Just make sure you time it properly. She can be hit out of it if the sword hitbox goes past her head.
Don't be afraid to go off the ledge to edgeguard him if the situation looks favorable. Link's recovery is pretty mediocre, and if you time your D-air well you can easily spike him, or at least knock him far enough away that he can't recover if you have Luma attached. Especially if he recovers low. Just be careful of his Up-B which can hit you if you don't space out your D-air properly. Otherwise, Down/Up angled F-smashes work well depending on if he tethers or tries to recover high, or sometimes even setting Luma up for the Rapid-spin edgeguard.
In my experience though, this is definitely a matchup where Rosalina can't be the aggressor, and must rely on patience and capitalizing on Link's mistakes to break through her defenses. I seem to have the most success from being patient and baiting Link into doing things that can be punished. Though I dunno, maybe I just haven't tried to get in Link's face enough. Dealing with the bombs are my biggest problem because Gravitational Pull doesn't help much in that area, and the Link I play against uses his bombs REALLY well.
Anyways, hopefully I've provided a little help for you on the Link matchup. It's honestly still one I'm working on getting better at myself.