KingofPhantoms
The Spook Factor
"If you're worried about your sister...don't be. I promise I'll deliver her safely back to your little island. Normally, I'd expect a huge reward for something like this...but this time, it's my treat!"
Avast, mates! There's a new challenger coming ashore. A youthful pirate girl, dressed to plunder with an attitude to match, approaches. What's her name?

Who else but Miss Tetra?
Note: This thread contains major spoilers for several Legend of Zelda games.
-Who is Tetra, exactly?-
Making her debut appearance in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, 2001 for the Nintendo Gamecube, Tetra serves as one of the game's main characters. Link first meets her when a monstrous giant bird appears near his home island, dropping her into the forest when a pirate crew attacks it in an attempt to save her. Link soon learns that the bird monster has been kidnapping girls with long ears, Tetra being it's latest target. The bird soon returns, mistaking Link's younger sister, Aryll, for Tetra, kidnapping her instead. At Link's insistence, Tetra reluctantly takes him aboard her ship to rescue his sister, kicking off the game's plot. Throughout the game, the spunky young pirate leader continues to appear, both helping and hindering Link along the way.
Feisty, determined, sly, courageous, and a strong leader, Tetra inherited the ship and captaincy of a pirate crew from her mother, leading an imposing gang of pirate men considerably older than her. They follow her orders without issue, most even being intimidated by her, showing that aside from inheritance, all she really needs to be the captain is her attitude and leadership skills.
Later in the game, it is revealed that Tetra is, in fact, Princess Zelda herself, something even Tetra herself wasn't aware of, until another royal of the forgotten kingdom of Hyrule reveals her heritage to her. This revelation forces her into hiding from the dark threats that seek her and her Triforce of Wisdom out. Of course, she and Link manage to vanquish the dark threat most of us will already know as Ganondorf in the end, but her story doesn't end there.
Tetra reappears as a major character in Phantom Hourglass on the Nintendo DS, the direct sequel to Wind Waker. By this point, she's grown tired of her time as a princess, and only wishes to be known as the pirate she has always lived as. She's largely regained the personality she's well known for and shows great annoyance whenever someone refers to her as "Zelda". When the mysterious Ghost Ship appears, Tetra goes to investigate, but is turned to stone by it's mysterious ghostly forces, and Link's quest to find the Ghost Ship again to rescue her becomes the driving force for the majority of the game.
Her legacy is further explored in Spirit Tracks, another DS title, by which point a new Princess Zelda, her great great granddaughter, is now in reign of a new land named Hyrule, discovered by Tetra herself when her journey across the seas was coming to it's end. Not too surprisingly, her background with this new land is a fairly important plot point later on in the game's story.
Tetra reappears as a major character in Phantom Hourglass on the Nintendo DS, the direct sequel to Wind Waker. By this point, she's grown tired of her time as a princess, and only wishes to be known as the pirate she has always lived as. She's largely regained the personality she's well known for and shows great annoyance whenever someone refers to her as "Zelda". When the mysterious Ghost Ship appears, Tetra goes to investigate, but is turned to stone by it's mysterious ghostly forces, and Link's quest to find the Ghost Ship again to rescue her becomes the driving force for the majority of the game.
Her legacy is further explored in Spirit Tracks, another DS title, by which point a new Princess Zelda, her great great granddaughter, is now in reign of a new land named Hyrule, discovered by Tetra herself when her journey across the seas was coming to it's end. Not too surprisingly, her background with this new land is a fairly important plot point later on in the game's story.
-That's awesome! But why should she be in Smash?-
For one thing, it's fairly safe to say that she's one of the Zelda series' more popular characters. She's very much well beloved by the Wind Waker fanbase. Her addition as a playable character to Hyrule Warriors is also evidence of her popularity. The cel-shaded Zelda games themselves have become more prominent over the years, likely helped by Toon Link's own addition to Smash. While they used to be rather divisive, and still are to some extent, it seems the cel-shaded Zelda games and their characters, the Wind Waker especially, have become fan favorites. Character-wise, Tetra is more than likely a fan favorite herself. While support for the character as a Smash fighter hasn't been among the most vocal, she has plenty of fans out there, so support certainly isn't too powerful of an issue.
Additionally, there is very strong evidence that a "Toon Zelda" and a counterpart of her were initially planned to be playable characters in Brawl: https://www.ssbwiki.com/Unused_content_(SSBB)
One of the names of unused character data in Brawl is "toon_zelda" and another is named "toon_sheik". While the latter could be literal (Sheik in Brawl uses a Twilight Princess-esque design, despite the character not actually appearing in Twilight Princess, so they may have actually been working on a cel-shaded Sheik) as the data was left in the game's files but never finished, it could also possibly be a place holder name for Tetra. Does it seem unfeasible that the Zelda of Wind Waker could transform from herself to Tetra or vice-versa as she could in her debut? I don't think it's fair to say no, given that the Zelda of Ocarina of Time could transform from Sheik to herself, and later vice-versa when she made her Smash debut in Melee.
If nothing else, this is an absolute indication that some variation of Toon Zelda, actually, two, in fact, were on Sakurai's mind at some point, and that he considered adding them strongly enough that they nearly even made it into the game, at least enough to have leftover character data. With the cel-shaded "toon" Zelda games getting tons of representation of their own in the Smash series lately, and Toon Link likely not going anywhere anytime soon (Sakurai has gone on record saying he believes that it's important to have a "young Link" on the roster, the past several Smash games have given much representation to the Wind Waker and it's sequels, as previously stated, and also worth noting is that Ultimate is proof that even both "young Links" who have been in Smash so far can co-exist in at least one of the same entries) who's to say Sakurai hasn't considered her again before? While she might not be nearly as popular, it's clear that Sakurai has repeatedly reconsidered adding characters that he previously dismissed, and in some cases has added them successfully (
Given Tetra's significance (she had the spotlight before her true identity as Princess Zelda was revealed, after all) it's not unreasonable to assume that, if Toon Zelda was ever considered for the roster again, that Tetra could be considered for the roster as well. Either way, the character would be her own entity now, as Sheik and Zelda have been split apart to truly make the pair into their own, separate characters on the roster, with balance improvement having an influence on this decision as well. Pokemon Trainer may have regained the transformation mechanic in Ultimate, but they're the only characters to have done so. Neither Zelda and Sheik nor Samus and Zero Suit Samus have been relegated to transformation gimmicks again. Tetra's got a chance, and if there's any possibility of Toon Zelda joining the fray along with her or vice-versa, they too, would be separate characters.
With her pirate equipment, Tetra could easily be a unique fighter in her own right. Hyrule Warriors showcased her using her cutlass in battle for the first time, along with a flintlock pistol with water attributes. While Smash is unlikely to directly take cues from a spin-off, it does serve as an example as to the kind of weapons Tetra can use, Additionally, she may be able to use similar weapons that Toon Link has access to, such as bombs. Wind Waker also showed her to be very agile and athletic. Tetra would most likely a fast, lightweight fighter, befitting of her age and build. While she could have any given number of playstyles depending on her moves, her weight and speed would factor into however she plays.
.......That or she could end up as a clone/semi-clone. Given her proportions and and weapon differences from her other counterparts already on the roster, making her into an Echo simply isn't doable. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Like Toon and Young Link before her, being a clone would still allow for her to work and play differently from her counterparts, differentiating her from Zelda and Sheik and ultimately allowing her to stand out on her own.
-Plundering Pirate Movesets-
By

So! I actually had some ideas for Miss Tetra's moveset! I wasn't sure whether I wanted her to basically be a Wind Waker-ified Link or be a hybrid between Link and Zelda brandishing the princess's magic with Link's swordplay...until I had a better idea. I think any proper Tetra moveset should be centered around her claim to fame - her sailing expertise!
“But... There're dolphins, Tetra!”
“Big deal! There're plenty of dolphins in the ocean!”
Borrowing from the ship mechanics from both Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, her movesets should incorporate the familiar tropes to those games: wind, salvage arms, cannons, etc. Basically, she blasts people off the Smash gangplank like she blasts enemy ships off the high seas, using wind to navigate around her foes and evade their attacks, peppering them with cannon-fire, and drawing them in close with a few well placed grappling lines. She'd be a small, lightweight, very maneuverable fighter - similar to the best pirate ships, and probably borrowing from Toon Link's base animation data for a foundation. Her A attacks would primarily revolve around swordplay, probably similar enough to Toon Link's that much of his A attacks can also translate over in an accomodating fashion for ease of development: small reach, but quick, harrying, and strong enough to keep enemies off their feet. As for her special moves, she would have a slightly more Villager feel, employing a variety of techniques for stage control:
B Neutral, Pistol Shot: Tetra harasses opponents at medium to close-range with a peppering shot from her trusty flintlock. A little more powerful than Villager's slingshot, but a slower rate of fire, used to flinch foes up close before Tetra moves in for bladeplay, so quick frame recovery after the shot allowing for easy followup attacks. “Of course, if you'd rather fight me... I can show you my skill with a sword... again!”
B Forward, Cannon Blast: Similar to Villager's tree attack or Wario pulling out his motorcycle, Tetra summons a cannon to blast targets away with successive B forward inputs. With the first B forward, Tetra drops down a cannon, knocking back anyone immediately in front of her. With the second input, the cannon creates a powerful, lightning-fast shot that can reach across the stage, but has to be reloaded again with another B forward before it can fire again. The cannon sticks around as an interactive object, with Tetra or other fighters able to pick it up and throw it elsewhere. Like Wario's motorcycle, it can also be busted up with attacks. However, if an opponent is sent flying into it, they'll be knocked into the cannon and blasted out again, like the cannon item in custom stages. “We're pirates! “You know... PIRATES! The terror of the seas!”
B Up, Deku Leaf: A powerful gale lifts Tetra up off the ground, quickly evading a charging enemy. Functions similarly in effect to Sonic's Up B, but blowing back nearby attackers instead, and boosting Tetra high up into the air, where she floats gracefully back to the ground with the Deku Leaf, a la Peach's parasol. Has limited magic, so if used too much, it will shrivel up into a stalk to recharge, leaving Tetra with limited recovery options. “As for our destination... The wind will guide us!”
B Down, Explosive Barrel: Tetra sets down an explosive barrel, which explodes on a short timer or when it takes damage. Excellent for trapping and stage control, like a pirate would laying traps for chasing vessels. A smaller barrel that explodes on impact can also be dropped below for less damage, while in mid-air. “There you go... Acting before you think, as usual...”
Grab, Grappling Hook: Tetra grapples foes from a distance and draws them in close for attack. Can also be used for tether recovery! “Wow, that's a decrepit old shield... Are you sure you can still use that thing? Are you going to get splinters and cry?”
Final Smash, 3...2...1!: Tetra traps any unlucky combatant within her reach in a barrel and launches them out of a giant cannon, blasting them off the stage, like she did to poor Link in Wind Waker when she cannon-balled him into Forsaken Fortress. “We pirates do this all the time. Don't worry about it! It'll be a piece of cake.”
Taunt 1: Tetra crosses her arms and winks at the camera in her classic pose.
Taunt 2: Tetra pulls out her pirate charm and looks at it as it glows and hovers slightly above her hands.
Taunt 3: Tetra takes a quick Pictobox photo capture in front of her, forever preserving the good memories of watching her enemies launch helplessly into the void. Snap-snap!
“I told you not to call me Zelda! Tetra worked just fine before, you know.”
Please feel free to share your movesets for Tetra! They'll be added to the OP as soon as possible.
Tetra's Pirate Crew (Supporter List)

@Xeno VII









S SEGAGameBoy












R RetrogamerMax






















Signature Icons
Icon by
lanky_gunner

Show your support for the captain. The journey is far from over!

The wind shall guide us!
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