While we have your attention, Magus, can I ask what were the reasons behind the jab angle change? and the incomplete normalization of her grab? To explain for people who don't understand the changes yet
Jab: 3.02 used to have a set 55 degree KB angle, which popped people up for a followup in most situations
3.5 jab has a sakurai angle, meaning (unless I'm mistaken how it works) that on grounded opponents it sends them
straight backwards, and against aerial opponents it sends them outward at low percents and gradually higher to a max of around 50 degrees at high percents. This change really removed most of jab's usefulness for starting combos.
Grab: 3.02 used to be frame 9, which was 2 frames slower than most grabs, but as a trade off it had an extra active frame
that made the grab linger slightly longer, and was bigger than most non tether grabs.
3.5 jab was reduced in size and the extra active frame was removed, to compensate it was made 1 frame faster on
startup, so it's only 1 frame slower than most grabs now. I'm wondering why they didn't just make it frame 7 like all
the other 'normal' grabs?
Also,
Speaking of which, I don't think I've ever seen anyone else use it despite being there since demo 1.0, but u-air autocancels (goes into 4 frame empty landing) any time before the explosion comes out so if you land between when her hand sparks and the fireball you get a nice vertical extremely low landing lag combo aerial that's also safe on block though very short range and requires a particular timing.
I used to ask this as well, but after Ryoko explained to me that you'd pretty much have to be insane to regularly go for such an unsafe option, I reexamined its utility. If you hit with it, sure, it's very useful, but the problem lies in just how reverse disjointed the hitbox is (the hitbox is quite small and completely enveloped within zelda's hurtboxes). This means that to land it, you need to be completely on top of someone else, which, it should go without saying, is a horrible way to approach someone. There are a couple other moves with reverse disjointed moves, however, such as sonic's down B, squirtle's side B, and (if I'm not mistaken?) falco's side B. The reason why these moves can get away with having reverse disjoint is that they happen with such a burst of speed as to keep the opponent from easily fending them off on reaction. Obviously, Zelda isn't going to be surprising anyone with her super fast mobility, so this doesn't work for her.
Alright so scratch that idea; you won't be approaching with autocancel upair flubs(or sparkle hits as I like to call them) in
neutral, so then how about using it as a followup? You only do a sparkle hit when they are still in hitstun. Makes sense, except that Zelda is so slow that it requires considerable hitstun for her to combo opponents, which also means that opponents go flying away and out of her reach. One exception to this is Upsmash since gravity often enables opponents to still be in hitstun while they're descending back down to her, but if the point of doing a sparkle hit is to autocancel it on landing, then the opponent needs to be on or very near the ground and not up in the air.
The only real way to get a sparkle hit is with a read, possibly out of a tech chase situation. But Zelda's slow air speed
make this a hard read and there are simply better options for her to do in those situations anyways.
Frankly, I think sparkle hit is very cool, and extremely stylish, so I'm glad the autocancel wasn't removed and that you actually improved it by giving it more Knockback. I also think the function of the autocancel sparkle hit gives her something close to the way most characters' have a shffl aerial option to start combos; this without her having to rely solely on landcanceling nayru's love for an aerial to ground conversion. It's just that without decent disjoint, it just isn't worth the risk for a sluggish character to put themselves right on top of an enemy. If your idea was to improve it's utility, i'd suggest making the hitbox bigger, unless you're really committed to the sparkle hit being only for risky styles.
About the new Telecancel. I was really skeptical about hearing about it since I used teledashing a TON before, but I'm pleasantly surprised how much of its utility is the same as before with ground telecancels. (it actually seems like she exists a bit sooner than she did before? am I right about that?) My only concerns about telecancel is that A) teleporting to a platform is pretty hard, though maybe after the accidental 2 frame delay on reappearance is removed it will make it a little easier, and B) I really wish that exiting from the air was the same speed as from the ground. It just seems like it would be nice to have the timing be identical, especially since the whole Up B redesign was partially an attempt at greater consistency. If you must, I'd be ok with a compromise in between 22 and 33 frames, but I really think 22 frames is still easy enough to punish to keep Zelda from getting a free teleport out of danger with an opponent on her tail, and I suspect that's the real reasoning behind why her aerial teleport is slower to exit. They already added even more ending lag on her aerial teleport so it's not like it's an overly safe move anyways.
Finally, in regards to new dins, I get the trade off for giving up stage control options for a better mid range option. It's mostly because of the new dins that despite my initial misgivings, I still find 3.5 zelda a lot funner to play than 3.02, so thank you. I'm still not certain if Zelda didn't accidentally lose the ability to compete in high level play, but I'm definitely willing to give this new direction a chance and let 3.5 Zelda have the space she needs for everyone to realize what should stay and what needs fixing. This whole build is more or less an experiment so I don't expect everything to be perfect already; it took the previous concept many builds to refine into a nearly finished design.
I await your response most eagerly!