Jotari
Smash Journeyman
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2015
- Messages
- 408
Other redesigns
https://smashboards.com/threads/redesinging-ganondorf-but-keeping-him-the-same.513191/
https://smashboards.com/threads/new-melee-moves-for-samus.515562/
https://smashboards.com/threads/redesigning-link-but-keeping-him-the-same.518191/
https://smashboards.com/threads/redeisgning-kirby-but-keeping-him-the-same.521634/
https://smashboards.com/threads/redesigning-zelda-but-keeping-her-the-same.521781/
https://smashboards.com/threads/redesigning-ike-but-keeping-him-the-same.522334/
I'm back for my third redesign of a charatcer. The goal is to make the character more representative of their own game, and if need be, better, without majorly changing how they currently function. This time I'm dealing with Link.
I'm not going to massively focus on balance with this guy. Sure things like a faster jab or a stronger down aerial would be desirable, but this will be about the moves themselves and how they function.
First up is his Jab. I didn't realize it until going to make this thread, but they actually changed this in Ultimate. Specifically the final hit of the 3 hit combo, before it ended with a stab, now it finishes with an upward strike. People say the original jab was based off of the sequence of attacks he uses to kill Ganon in Ocarina of Time. So, that's better for a fidelity viewpoint, but honestly I feel like the updated version probably works better as an attack? Just seems like the upthrust would put the enemy in a better position for follow ups. Though ultimately I think it probably doesn't make a huge difference considering I never even noticed the change.
His up tilt, side tilt and dash attack are fine (love that they changed his dash attack to the Jump Attack, great change there). I would like if his Side Tilt was renamed Rock Breaker, as that's a skill in The Minish Cap, however it has no visual basis to it, it would just be a nice name reference). The only I really want to talk about is his Down Tilt. It's not widely known, but all Smash attacks have names, and this one is called the grass cutter. Since Link crouches to cut grass. Cool! Only, it doesn't actually resemble Link's actual crouch stab from his own games.
I could only find footage of it from Zelda II, while I'm envisioning mostly the N64 games, but the idea is actually still the same. Link stabs forward with his sword instead of a wide arcing slash. This change would make the attack slightly quicker on execution.
Now, on to his Smashes, where I actually have the most to talk about. First off, did you know Link has a gimmick on his Forward Smash? If he's at 0% he will fire a sword beam from it. This is a cool reference to the Zelda series where Link can only shoot sword beams at full hearts in a lot of games. I'm taking that idea and expanding it ever so slightly, more on that after his Smash Attacks though.
First up is just a visual change to his forward Smash. I like this attack, but it's not based off of anything in the Zelda series. I'm going to change that by turning it into the Mortal Draw from Twilight Princess.
Basically, Link sheaths his sword while charging the attack, and then does a more elaborate turn around strike. Other than the animation, the attack is unchanged. Link still can perform a second follow up attack.
I've sort of alerted, sort of changed his Down Smash. His old down smash is fine, but it's kind of generic, being a basic hit forward and backwards that's the down smash of half the sword users in the roster. So I've changed it to his Spin Attack.
It works pretty much like the grounded version of the Spin Attack does in Smash already. Only there's a slight addition. Like I said, I've expanded his Sword Beam gimmick, or rather, I've expanded his 0% gimmick. If Link is at 0%, the range and power of his Spin Attack will be increased, it will also have a blue glow to it. This is based off of the Great Spin Attack in Twilight Princess (only the red glow is changed to blue to keep in line with the sword beam).
Next is his Up Smash, which I have changed completely. I've always felt his up smash looked a bit awkward, as if Link was struggling to hit something in the air by reaching for it three times. This attack has been replaced by his vertical spin attack from Skyward Sword.
The attack will hit all around Link giving it good coverage. It comes out faster, though it doesn't last as long as his old Up Smash. Even though it's not a feature of the Spin Attack in Skyward Sword, Link also gets extra range and power on it if he's at 0%.
So all three of his Smashes make use of the 0% HP gimmick. His forward smash by having a sword beam, and his up and down smash by increasing their range and power. However, staying at 0% in Smash is very difficult, so this isn't going to see much use. That's why I've added another way to trigger this effect. Via a taunt. If Link uses a taunt that resembles him charging up for a Skyward Strike in Skyward Sword, then the next Smash Attack he uses will function as if he's at 0%. However, it will only work if the next attack he uses is a Smash Attack, otherwise it will fade. This makes it still largely impractical, as unless you're edge guarding, it's a bit time consuming to set up a taunt and then a Smash Attack, but it does give an alternate way to implement the boosted Smashes that make them a more recognizable feature of his moveset. As I think people frequently forget or never even notice the Sword Beam in Smash Ultimate.
On the subject of his aerials, I don't have any changes. Though I don't really like his neutral or back aerial. As kicking is not really something Link has ever done (except for his new forward throw). However, I can't really think of anything more fitting to replace them with that wouldn't be generic swings. Maybe I could have him hit with his shield for his back aerial like Palutena does, but that's also not really based on anything (you could call it the Shield Bash, but it wouldn't be what the Shield Bash actually looks like or how it functions, similarly for something like the Helm Splitter). So while I want to change these two moves, I don't have anything decent to replace them with. So I'll keep them as is.
Last of his normal moves are his grabs. First off, I want his Hook Shot back. It's an iconic part of him and it deserves to be there. On his actual throws, the one I most want to change his his down throw. As the wrestling move Link performs there just doesn't suit him at all (though Link has wrestled in canon, it was just more Sumo than WWE). My main idea for it would be the Fatal Blow, which generally just looks a lot like his D-Air, but I'm fine with some overlap there.
It would be the more elaborate looking Fatal Blow used on Demise however, only without the lightning. This throw would also have a special property wherein it deals an increased amount of damage to enemies already over 100%. It's still not a kill throw, as knockback does not increase, only damage (though dealing more damage will mean a natural increase in knockback). This simulates how it's used to finish off injured enemies in Zelda.
His forward throw is fine, but I would change his up throw to be his stance from Ocarina of Time when throwing the giant pillars using the GOlden Gauntlets.
This would be a pretty irregular throw in that it tosses enemies quite high, but deals set knockback. So it can be good for gimping kills and throwing enemies like Little Mac off the stage, but not necessarily for killing. It's also quite difficult to follow up.
I would, however, like to change his back throw. It's a simple back kick now, what I want to change it to is the Back Slice.
The properties of this attack would be pretty similar to his old back throw in terms of damage and distance. However, the main change is that this back throw actually turns Link around. Because he moves behind his foe and slashes them, Link ends the attack by looking towards his opponent's back. So, if you're quick enough, you could easily combo this throw into a Dash Attack.
Last are his specials. His Remote Bombs are much better than the Bombs he had before, so I hope they stay in Smash, even if Zelda moves away from them as an item. The Gale Boomerang is in a similar position, but it's a bit more of a divisive split on which one is more useful, and a split I have no meaningful opinion on. Ideally both would be implemented via custom specials.
As far his bow goes, I'd only like to be able to cancel it while charging by shielding or rolling.
Now, the big change to his specials is his up special. You might have thought it odd I gave him the Spin Attack for his Down Smash when it's already his Up Special, well, that's because I've removed it as his Up Special. The Spin Attack has never propelled Link through the are like he's a helicopter in any actual Zelda game. I've changed it to the Sail Cloth from Skyward Sword. Though it's also based on Revali's Gale from Breath of the Wild. Link propels himself upwards on a gust of air and floats downwards, most similar to Peach's Parasol. Link can fully act out of the attack and even use it again more than once in the air, though it provides no vertical lift after its first use. The initial frames using it contains a wind hitbox that pushes enemies away from Link.
I chose the Sailcloth over the Para Glider because I feel it would look more natural for him to whip out suddenly, and also because it has more plot significance in Skyward Sword than the Paraglider in Breath of the Wild. However, Link will use the Revali's Gale charging pose before using the move.
And that's it for my Link redesign. It might seem like there are a lot of changes, but aside from his Up Special, they are mostly small tweaks to make things more in line with actual Zelda animations and ideas.
https://smashboards.com/threads/redesinging-ganondorf-but-keeping-him-the-same.513191/ https://smashboards.com/threads/new-melee-moves-for-samus.515562/ https://smashboards.com/threads/redesigning-link-but-keeping-him-the-same.518191/ https://smashboards.com/threads/redeisgning-kirby-but-keeping-him-the-same.521634/ https://smashboards.com/threads/redesigning-zelda-but-keeping-her-the-same.521781/ https://smashboards.com/threads/redesigning-ike-but-keeping-him-the-same.522334/I'm back for my third redesign of a charatcer. The goal is to make the character more representative of their own game, and if need be, better, without majorly changing how they currently function. This time I'm dealing with Link.
I'm not going to massively focus on balance with this guy. Sure things like a faster jab or a stronger down aerial would be desirable, but this will be about the moves themselves and how they function.
First up is his Jab. I didn't realize it until going to make this thread, but they actually changed this in Ultimate. Specifically the final hit of the 3 hit combo, before it ended with a stab, now it finishes with an upward strike. People say the original jab was based off of the sequence of attacks he uses to kill Ganon in Ocarina of Time. So, that's better for a fidelity viewpoint, but honestly I feel like the updated version probably works better as an attack? Just seems like the upthrust would put the enemy in a better position for follow ups. Though ultimately I think it probably doesn't make a huge difference considering I never even noticed the change.
His up tilt, side tilt and dash attack are fine (love that they changed his dash attack to the Jump Attack, great change there). I would like if his Side Tilt was renamed Rock Breaker, as that's a skill in The Minish Cap, however it has no visual basis to it, it would just be a nice name reference). The only I really want to talk about is his Down Tilt. It's not widely known, but all Smash attacks have names, and this one is called the grass cutter. Since Link crouches to cut grass. Cool! Only, it doesn't actually resemble Link's actual crouch stab from his own games.
I could only find footage of it from Zelda II, while I'm envisioning mostly the N64 games, but the idea is actually still the same. Link stabs forward with his sword instead of a wide arcing slash. This change would make the attack slightly quicker on execution.
Now, on to his Smashes, where I actually have the most to talk about. First off, did you know Link has a gimmick on his Forward Smash? If he's at 0% he will fire a sword beam from it. This is a cool reference to the Zelda series where Link can only shoot sword beams at full hearts in a lot of games. I'm taking that idea and expanding it ever so slightly, more on that after his Smash Attacks though.
First up is just a visual change to his forward Smash. I like this attack, but it's not based off of anything in the Zelda series. I'm going to change that by turning it into the Mortal Draw from Twilight Princess.
Basically, Link sheaths his sword while charging the attack, and then does a more elaborate turn around strike. Other than the animation, the attack is unchanged. Link still can perform a second follow up attack.
I've sort of alerted, sort of changed his Down Smash. His old down smash is fine, but it's kind of generic, being a basic hit forward and backwards that's the down smash of half the sword users in the roster. So I've changed it to his Spin Attack.
It works pretty much like the grounded version of the Spin Attack does in Smash already. Only there's a slight addition. Like I said, I've expanded his Sword Beam gimmick, or rather, I've expanded his 0% gimmick. If Link is at 0%, the range and power of his Spin Attack will be increased, it will also have a blue glow to it. This is based off of the Great Spin Attack in Twilight Princess (only the red glow is changed to blue to keep in line with the sword beam).
Next is his Up Smash, which I have changed completely. I've always felt his up smash looked a bit awkward, as if Link was struggling to hit something in the air by reaching for it three times. This attack has been replaced by his vertical spin attack from Skyward Sword.
The attack will hit all around Link giving it good coverage. It comes out faster, though it doesn't last as long as his old Up Smash. Even though it's not a feature of the Spin Attack in Skyward Sword, Link also gets extra range and power on it if he's at 0%.
So all three of his Smashes make use of the 0% HP gimmick. His forward smash by having a sword beam, and his up and down smash by increasing their range and power. However, staying at 0% in Smash is very difficult, so this isn't going to see much use. That's why I've added another way to trigger this effect. Via a taunt. If Link uses a taunt that resembles him charging up for a Skyward Strike in Skyward Sword, then the next Smash Attack he uses will function as if he's at 0%. However, it will only work if the next attack he uses is a Smash Attack, otherwise it will fade. This makes it still largely impractical, as unless you're edge guarding, it's a bit time consuming to set up a taunt and then a Smash Attack, but it does give an alternate way to implement the boosted Smashes that make them a more recognizable feature of his moveset. As I think people frequently forget or never even notice the Sword Beam in Smash Ultimate.
On the subject of his aerials, I don't have any changes. Though I don't really like his neutral or back aerial. As kicking is not really something Link has ever done (except for his new forward throw). However, I can't really think of anything more fitting to replace them with that wouldn't be generic swings. Maybe I could have him hit with his shield for his back aerial like Palutena does, but that's also not really based on anything (you could call it the Shield Bash, but it wouldn't be what the Shield Bash actually looks like or how it functions, similarly for something like the Helm Splitter). So while I want to change these two moves, I don't have anything decent to replace them with. So I'll keep them as is.
Last of his normal moves are his grabs. First off, I want his Hook Shot back. It's an iconic part of him and it deserves to be there. On his actual throws, the one I most want to change his his down throw. As the wrestling move Link performs there just doesn't suit him at all (though Link has wrestled in canon, it was just more Sumo than WWE). My main idea for it would be the Fatal Blow, which generally just looks a lot like his D-Air, but I'm fine with some overlap there.
It would be the more elaborate looking Fatal Blow used on Demise however, only without the lightning. This throw would also have a special property wherein it deals an increased amount of damage to enemies already over 100%. It's still not a kill throw, as knockback does not increase, only damage (though dealing more damage will mean a natural increase in knockback). This simulates how it's used to finish off injured enemies in Zelda.
His forward throw is fine, but I would change his up throw to be his stance from Ocarina of Time when throwing the giant pillars using the GOlden Gauntlets.
This would be a pretty irregular throw in that it tosses enemies quite high, but deals set knockback. So it can be good for gimping kills and throwing enemies like Little Mac off the stage, but not necessarily for killing. It's also quite difficult to follow up.
I would, however, like to change his back throw. It's a simple back kick now, what I want to change it to is the Back Slice.
The properties of this attack would be pretty similar to his old back throw in terms of damage and distance. However, the main change is that this back throw actually turns Link around. Because he moves behind his foe and slashes them, Link ends the attack by looking towards his opponent's back. So, if you're quick enough, you could easily combo this throw into a Dash Attack.
Last are his specials. His Remote Bombs are much better than the Bombs he had before, so I hope they stay in Smash, even if Zelda moves away from them as an item. The Gale Boomerang is in a similar position, but it's a bit more of a divisive split on which one is more useful, and a split I have no meaningful opinion on. Ideally both would be implemented via custom specials.
As far his bow goes, I'd only like to be able to cancel it while charging by shielding or rolling.
Now, the big change to his specials is his up special. You might have thought it odd I gave him the Spin Attack for his Down Smash when it's already his Up Special, well, that's because I've removed it as his Up Special. The Spin Attack has never propelled Link through the are like he's a helicopter in any actual Zelda game. I've changed it to the Sail Cloth from Skyward Sword. Though it's also based on Revali's Gale from Breath of the Wild. Link propels himself upwards on a gust of air and floats downwards, most similar to Peach's Parasol. Link can fully act out of the attack and even use it again more than once in the air, though it provides no vertical lift after its first use. The initial frames using it contains a wind hitbox that pushes enemies away from Link.
I chose the Sailcloth over the Para Glider because I feel it would look more natural for him to whip out suddenly, and also because it has more plot significance in Skyward Sword than the Paraglider in Breath of the Wild. However, Link will use the Revali's Gale charging pose before using the move.
And that's it for my Link redesign. It might seem like there are a lot of changes, but aside from his Up Special, they are mostly small tweaks to make things more in line with actual Zelda animations and ideas.
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