The Link Video Critique Thread

[BRLNK88]

Hey Problem2, do you still live in DFW?
We're having a major tourney in Austin November 12th, I think a good number of players from Dallas are coming, it'd be great to have a Link main there as well!

 

[Problem2]

Yeah. I'm already set to be there. Also going to the San Antonio tournament Oct 29th.

 

[Skler]

I feel like mentioning that, while I have been sort of lazy lately, that I do check the videos here pretty regularly. I haven't had time for a "I'll tell you everything you're doing wrong and make you feel bad but also improve your game" kick yet, but I really should by the end of next weekend. I'm fueling this post off of some sort of weird insomnia where I know I should sleep so I can do work tomorrow, but I can't.

Anyways, I hope ya'll (I was born in Texas, don't hate) are fine until I get ready to do some real Link business.

 

[BRLNK88]

Yeah. I'm already set to be there. Also going to the San Antonio tournament Oct 29th.

I'll prolly go to that tourney just because King Mosquito has the latest build of Project M, but I might also go to the UT/Kansas game.

btw Skler, the apostrophe is in the wrong place

 

[Smurfy EXE]

crushnasty

 

[BRLNK88]

Damn Smurfy, you lookin like Germ Jr. in the 3rd match, wish you came with Axe, Tai, Falcoty and Noctournez when they came to Austin back in April.
I played a Weegee main with Link a couple months ago, I found the MU pleasantly manageable.
A lot of Link's shenanigans work well on Luigi thanks to his lack of range and floatiness. Link's zoning abilities really cripple the effectiveness of Weegee's wavedash. I did however also find that his usmash completely outprioritizes Link's dair. And of course if your second jump gets read by a fair, you're basically screwed unless you can quickly bomb recover.

 

[UNO EMOJI]

.,...........................................

 

[Cherished Doll]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXVSfSWw64k&feature=youtube_gdata_player
My amazing boyfriend!!!

 

[BRLNK88]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXVSfSWw64k&feature=youtube_gdata_player
My amazing boyfriend!!!

Please clone yourself and move to Austin.


My ex-gf played Melee but we lived 7 hours apart so we never got to play before she turned all cold ***** and dumped me.

i got wrecked by choknater and nugz, and i can tell im really impatient when i fight against higher calibur players since i hardly camp and only approach (which is what they want me to do, obviously), but im certain you guys can point out way more bad habits i dont notice, so bombs away

btw skler, i read your critiques and i agree with everything you've said, but these videos definitely prove i haven't put them to heart yet, so i'll work on that for sure

I've found I've developed the same issues in recent history. Trying to go aggro against Marth simply doesn't work, you have to camp the crap out of him until you get an opening, unless you're just really good at making reads. I used to be a great camper but switching to Marth really weakened my camping game.

 

[Skler]

Rather unsurprisingly, a career isn't as easy as I thought. I need to learn better time management. Much better time management.

 

[MALVM MALVM]

Aniki played green Link, Skler plays blue Link, Germ and HDL play black link, and then everyone else plays Red Link.

And every Link seems to jump out of hitstun immediately.

 

[DuckPimp]

And every Link seems to jump out of hitstun immediately.

a lot of everyone do that.

 

[Skler]

Link doesn't have a good way to cancel momentum, and really doesn't need his double jump for anything recovery-related (having it actually screws up the bomb jump if you're in a situation you can use it).

As a bonus, old Skler video I didn't post because I choke so hard at the end it physically hurts. If you ignore everything except for 2:41-2:47 I look like the absolute best player in the universe. I actually did fairly well throughout the whole thing, I just clearly forgot how to not suck at recovering on battlefield (in addition to not following my own guide's advice about stage picks, just thought I was still good at battlefield recoveries).

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

Work is hard.

 

[BRLNK88]

Aniki played green Link, Skler plays blue Link, Germ and HDL play black link, and then everyone else plays Red Link.

And every Link seems to jump out of hitstun immediately.

wrong, I play lavender Link, blue ring FTW

 

[Problem2]

I have a new video. It's just a single match from a set. I went Falco the other game, and the only time I went Link again in tourney wasn't recorded.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwS9V2pLtcg&feature=related#t=3m44s

 

[BRLNK88]

I have a new video. It's just a single match from a set. I went Falco the other game, and the only time I went Link again in tourney wasn't recorded.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwS9V2pLtcg&feature=related#t=3m44s

lol, was that Hannah or Emily talking in the background?
Overall I think you needed to run away and camp more. I've played JOS tons of times, in general camping tends to be rather effective against him. He's a fairly aggro, tech skill oriented player (Falco main of course).
The only tourney match I went Link was against Broly. He ***** me in a Marth ditto, so I went Link and took him to Brinstar, actually did quite well despite losing.

 

[Problem2]

lol, was that Hannah or Emily talking in the background?
Overall I think you needed to run away and camp more. I've played JOS tons of times, in general camping tends to be rather effective against him. He's a fairly aggro, tech skill oriented player (Falco main of course).
The only tourney match I went Link was against Broly. He ***** me in a Marth ditto, so I went Link and took him to Brinstar, actually did quite well despite losing.

That was Emily in the background.
I don't really understand your advice. I zoned and stayed away from him a lot. The only time I moved towards him really was after I landed a hit. Maybe I should have started camping even when I started on a fresh stock? (I was trying to be semi-aggro during my invincibility frames. I can see how that would be bad for spacing when it wears off)

I've never taken into consideration Marth's wavedash OoS to f-smash. No one's every done it to me, so it caught me off the guard the first time he did that. He also got me a few times with wavedash back f-smash as a ledge guard.

A couple of things I know I screwed up on. There were at least 2 incidents in the video where I think to myself "what do I punish with?" and I somehow pull out a bomb. And if you notice, my first 3 stocks could have lasted longer had I sweet spotted the ledge with hookshot, but I kept missing. I really think that adjustment alone would have been enough to allow me to take game 2.

 

[BRLNK88]

That was Emily in the background.
I don't really understand your advice. I zoned and stayed away from him a lot. The only time I moved towards him really was after I landed a hit. Maybe I should have started camping even when I started on a fresh stock? (I was trying to be semi-aggro during my invincibility frames. I can see how that would be bad for spacing when it wears off)

I've never taken into consideration Marth's wavedash OoS to f-smash. No one's every done it to me, so it caught me off the guard the first time he did that. He also got me a few times with wavedash back f-smash as a ledge guard.

A couple of things I know I screwed up on. There were at least 2 incidents in the video where I think to myself "what do I punish with?" and I somehow pull out a bomb. And if you notice, my first 3 stocks could have lasted longer had I sweet spotted the ledge with hookshot, but I kept missing. I really think that adjustment alone would have been enough to allow me to take game 2.

Definitely start camping on a fresh stock, those invincibility frames are a golden opportunity to pull out a bomb or chuck a rang (preferably the former).
Marth basically has an answer for all of Link's options EXCEPT the bombs. I'm a little biased because by nature I'm a campy player, though nowadays I can't really execute all the advice I'm giving you paha. It ultimately comes down to how well you can camp, or how well you can read, the life of a low tier.... >_>
Don't feel bad about the edgeguarding, Marth edgeguards Link like a little *****, you often just have to get lucky to make it safely back against an efficient Marth.

 

[Problem2]

I have a new video. It's just a single match from a set. I went Falco the other game, and the only time I went Link again in tourney wasn't recorded.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwS9V2pLtcg&feature=related#t=3m44s

Any other critiques?

Spoiler

skler?

 

[MALVM MALVM]

First of all, you can go ahead and leave off the rest of your name after the first three letters.
The tough thing about Marth is that one has to remember to DI down and away even when you're really close to the edge because that's just begging for a tipper f-smash. I think that that's what happened on the last stock.
There was a lot of awkward edge guards in there. I don't think the Marth knew how to edgeguard Link. If a Marth knows his stuff, he can block every single option Link has fairly easily. Edgeteching might have saved you a couple times, Marth would probably have gotten the edgeguard anyway.
Marth is better in the air because kicking swords usually hurts, so double jumping over Marth's head might be a little dangerous. I forget exactly when a good example of that happens, but it's during the air windmill transformation on the right side of the stage.
Also, how did you end up on PS? I thought PS wasn't good for Link.
As for your edguarding, I'm assuming the fsmash at or around 4:10 was supposed to be an f-tilt, but I don't know if that would've helped.
I think some of the bomb pulls needed to be better spaced. Marth is quick, but he can't make it through Link's projectiles too well, as you proved at 3:51-53. In general there was a lot of good spacing, but also a few bad reads where you pulled a bomb when Marth could punish.
Remember that I fail at this game, so just read my ramblings and then say "that apple doesn't have a brain to stand on" if you disagree, although I'm willing to bet you've seen most if not all of the things I've seen, but I'm not sure Skler's available at the moment. We need to get GERM and HDL to add their opinions in stead of the Link boards being Professor Skler and his pupils.
Skler! Don't leave us!

Edit: Wups; I didn't see the blacked out box thingydoo.

 

[FerrishTheFish]

Hey, I've got a couple videos. Could you guys critique them for me?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtx0v8-gPDE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AG0Mqbcr8I
PS Please go a little easy on me since this was only my 3rd tournament, my 1st time using Link in tournament, and my 1st time being recorded in tournament, and I was choking up like none other.

PPS In the first link, the Link match starts around 3:30

 

[-tRiNiTy-]

Hey, I've got a couple videos. Could you guys critique them for me?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtx0v8-gPDE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AG0Mqbcr8I
PS Please go a little easy on me since this was only my 3rd tournament, my 1st time using Link in tournament, and my 1st time being recorded in tournament, and I was choking up like none other.

PPS In the first link, the Link match starts around 3:30

Those were some pretty tight battles! That was a rather good 3rd tournament I'd say
I really liked your NAir spacing, especially in your first match, keep it up. Your techskill looks really stable and consistent too. There were some things that I noticed watching you though, I'll list 'em below (it's mostly about the second match vs. Silly Kyle):

• I'm sure you already noticed this but still: careful with your Up-B, even if it's an infamous move. One wrong Up-B may cost you a damaging combo or even a stock.
• At low percents (like >40), you have to be careful with your Nair when close to the ground since she can crouchcancel it into a free DSmash at will if you missspace it, I would advise you to only use it for shield pressure or at high percents. You can, however, throw it out to intercept her in mid-air when you have a feeling that she won't be able to recover fast enough from the hitstun and get you with a random NAir. I prefer to use the FAir for keeping Peach away at lowish percents since it has really good range. But you don't have to use it every single time though, it's just a useful tool to keep in mind.
• Classic: Use more projectiles! Since Peach is practical spam food, why not abuse them? (Especially bombs vs. Peach! A nice little bomb in hand at the right moment can lead to wonders/DAirs/UAirs).
• On stages with platforms, you can use the platforms to gain space with some quick wavelands and pull out projectiles or just get away from her since her vertical "floaty-ish" movement speed is rather slow compared to other characters.
  
  Skler (Link) vs. Cort (Peach)
  
  A rather old video, but still good nonetheless. Watch carefully at how he manoevers arround the stage (at [1:00] the waveland f.ex.: little tricks like those can confuse your opponent and sometimes grant you a free bomb pull) and how he racks up damage by intercepting her in the air with the Nair/Fair ([1:56-2:00] or [2:18] are good examples, too bad that he gets hit after that though ^^"). There's a lot of good stuff to pick up from his videos (heck, even I did).
• Whenever you feel like Peach is going to DSmash you, try to roll away fast enough so that she won't get you. ... or shieldstab you.
  Something you can try to, if you really don't want to get hit by a DSmash, is to lightshield the DSmash and aim it slightly downwards so that the shield covers Link's whole lower body and avoid shieldstabs. This way you also won't get hit by all of the DSmash hits because of the increased pushback you get from the lightshield.
• A thing to keep in mind during recoveries: Don't always instantly use your second jump when you get thrown offstage, try to mix it up a bit. You can keep it until the very end, unless of course, she throws a turnip at you, in which case you can just throw out a NAir while coming down if you can since it will eat her turnip up (or try to catch it ^^), but this way you can manoever better in the air and react better to the edgeguard method your opponent is using.
• Also, use more hookshot during your recoveries, there were some deaths you could have avoided ([6:24] f.ex.) if you used your hookshot properly.

You're doing really good so far. Other than the things I told you above, there's nothing else to say except to keep playing Link and watching videos

 

[FerrishTheFish]

Yeah, I'm usually more confident/cautious when it comes to recovering and spamming projectiles. I'll work on lightshielding or otherwise escaping Peach's dsmash.

Do you have any general advice on how to finish better (vs. Peach or other characters)? I know that the upB is not spammable and not an insta-kill, but I don't know what else to do. I have a hard time landing dairs/strong uairs, and weak uairs don't kill until really high percents. I've had some success with ftilting people's recoveries, but that requires me to knock them off the stage first. For the most part, even when I'm off-camera I either finish when I land a lucky dair/upB or else when they get so much damage that a dsmash or an fsmash does the job.

Also, what do you think of jab-spacing (ex: vs. Peach at 0:45, 3:38, 5:08; vs. Ganon at 4:48, 5:30, 6:03)? It seems to work for me, especially vs. Peach at 3:38 cuz it was like a free 30%, but I feel like I abuse it too much, and Skler doesn't do it at all in the match you linked me to. Is there some better option, or is Cort just spacing well enough to prevent it?

 

[-tRiNiTy-]

Yeah, I'm usually more confident/cautious when it comes to recovering and spamming projectiles. I'll work on lightshielding or otherwise escaping Peach's dsmash.

Do you have any general advice on how to finish better (vs. Peach or other characters)? I know that the upB is not spammable and not an insta-kill, but I don't know what else to do. I have a hard time landing dairs/strong uairs, and weak uairs don't kill until really high percents. I've had some success with ftilting people's recoveries, but that requires me to knock them off the stage first. For the most part, even when I'm off-camera I either finish when I land a lucky dair/upB or else when they get so much damage that a dsmash or an fsmash does the job.

Also, what do you think of jab-spacing (ex: vs. Peach at 0:45, 3:38, 5:08; vs. Ganon at 4:48, 5:30, 6:03)? It seems to work for me, especially vs. Peach at 3:38 cuz it was like a free 30%, but I feel like I abuse it too much, and Skler doesn't do it at all in the match you linked me to. Is there some better option, or is Cort just spacing well enough to prevent it?

Well, the general finisher vs. floaties is DThrow > UAir and usually kills at >100% I think, depends on the character. For Peach, I'd say >110-120%, unless it's a stage like DL or FoD which have pretty high ceilings. Bombs also lead to free UAirs or even DAir if you're close enough. Whenever you feel like killing her and you see her floating, just throw a bomb at her and if you're lucky, you can follow up with UAir/Dair and hopefully get a kill in.
In order to get a grab in, you will need to observe your opponent and react accordingly. If he shields a lot, try grabbing more or bait him into doing something stupid like a shieldgrab which grants you a free grab. if he's always in the air, then you should rather focus more on UAirs and projectiles. If he likes to stick close to the ground , you can even try to "surprise grab" him from afar, like f.ex. if you expect your opponent to approach with an aerial, just wavedash back and grab him while he's recovering (you'll have to time your grab so that you will grab the opponent at the exact moment where he'll make contact with the ground). Don't forget about shieldgrabs too, as that is probably the most effective way to punish a laggy move from your opponent. Those were just some examples, it really just depends on the situation...

In the match I linked, Skler wasn't really in a position throughout the whole match where he could use the jabs effectively imo... Cort didn't really shield that much that would prompt him to do so (idk I can't read his mind haha). You could say that it does kinda depend on the opponent and if he likes to shield or not. I don't really use jabs that much vs. Peach neither, except for shield pressure.
But yeah, jabs are generally very good pressuring and spacing tools and if you find yourself in situations where you can use them, don't hesitate to throw them in once in a while. There are even some matchups where they can be used to stop approaches, like Fox. Just be careful not to be too predictable with them, Falcon f.ex. can jump over the jabs if he's close enough to you and fast enough. Some players even intentionally drop their shield so that they can crouchcancel the jabs into a DSmash or smth. if they see them coming, so yeah watch out for those tricksies.
To tell you the truth, you were lucky that he didn't CC those jabs at the beginning of the second match lool (I would've totally done that at least! ), but they were still some well-spaced jabs. As long as the jabs are well-spaced, no worries I guess

 

[FerrishTheFish]

Whenever you feel like killing her and you see her floating, just throw a bomb at her and if you're lucky, you can follow up with UAir/Dair and hopefully get a kill in.

I guess I'll change my tag to "B-17" and go work on my bombing strategies: pulling, throwing, and following up. You've given me a lot of great tips!

In order to get a grab in, you will need to observe your opponent and react accordingly.

You actually answered my next question 8D

To tell you the truth, you were lucky that he didn't CC those jabs at the beginning of the second match lool (I would've totally done that at least! ), but they were still some well-spaced jabs. As long as the jabs are well-spaced, no worries I guess

O_O ... I will keep that in mind. I hadn't even thought about how CCing would be an easy punish (nobody's done it to me yet, they all just back off and try aerial approaches).

Thanks for all the help! I'll work on all this and post more vids hopefully after my next tournament.

 

[-tRiNiTy-]

No problem, you're welcome.

 

[UNO EMOJI]

.,..............,......................

 

[Zodiac]

first of all, you will find this useful, http://youtu.be/qwfRVRTgfC0
^ Link's nair destroy's a lot of doc's approaches at mid %'s, you mostly have to be going above him though, but beware the stationary doc, he can utilt your nair. But the biggest thing to take from the video is the fact that any time doc wants to approach with a pill (I.E. coming back onto the stage with a pill) You can just stick the nair out and it will not only beat out the pill but knock doc off the stage again.

Overall the biggest problem I saw was that you seemed to always have a plan, and always follow through despite the changing variables. for instance there were a few instances where you used spin attack to soon, it would have worked had doc not waited half a second or di'ed a certain way.

Also in the second match you were using nair a lot while he was at low%, nair is amazing but its not that amazing, at early percents its best to reserve the nair for stopping aerial assaults/blind charges since its priority is so good. And then there's your ledge hops, while rang is a good choice when they are far away I noticed when the doc was close you just popped back onto the ledge, learn to nair, dair and fair back onto the ledge.

for ledge hops...
Nair = Get them away quick so you can recover
Fair = get them with its surprising range (Learn to space it better and it becomes a pretty good tool)
Dair = They are kill%, and you want to kill them.

In the second match after you took a stock you got more aggressive, which is generally a bad idea especially at the percent you were at, and towards the end of the match you got a lot more aggressive in general and thus easier to read, especially when up close and personal is not link's forte'.

for edge hogging I saw a couple moonwalks, and while those do have their place, every time you did it it would have been faster to spinhog the ledge or just jump off with a boot (But that's dangerous against doc), and you would have taken a stock.

Thats all I got.

 

[Skler]

Oh me vs Cort, that was so much fun. My playstyle evolved a bit since then (and then promptly began devolving, I guess) so I make a few weird choices and didn't use some optimal strategies, but my principals are solid in it. Jab spacing is pretty good vs peach at a specific distance (far enough she can't CC dsmash or CC jab you) and other than that it's not very useful since she's faster. It's just another safe poke for Link.

I'm going to a tournament this Saturday, so hopefully I'll do well and get some stuff up and then feel awesome and give some critiques. I'm definitely going to update my guide come Christmas time though, so be excited for that!

 

[BRLNK88]

Isn't it just sad that ****ing Peach is faster than Link?
**** you Sakurai...

No one likes Peach, why not make the character that people actually like awesome?
Link should have Marth's frame data and Fox's killing power.

Oh yeah... <3 Project M

 

[Skler]

I cheated on Link so bad last tournament. I won...$15 though. That's enough for entry into singles and doubles.

 

[UNO EMOJI]

,...........,.............

 

[Bigglestheman]

I cheated on Link so bad last tournament. I won...$15 though. That's enough for entry into singles and doubles.

Who was it? Shady Sam? I hear that he is quite the shady fellow.

 

[Skler]

Ganon and Samus, though I did Fox once in order to ditto.

 

[BRLNK88]

Who was it? If it was or than you should be ashamed of yourself.

lawl, GERM secondaries Falco.

 

[Bigglestheman]

Ganon and Samus, though I did Fox once in order to ditto.

lawl, GERM secondaries Falco.

 

[Zodiac]

I also have a regular and a regular Spacies are a viable secondary for link mains imo.

 

[BRLNK88]

I picked up Marth as a secondary back when I mained Link because of Link's MU problems against top tiers.
Now I main Marth, but a bunch of Marth and Sheik mains have taken over Austin's Melee scene, so I'm trying to pick up Sheik to avoid annoying Marth dittos and dealing with Sheik.
I can't do spacies, they're just too technical for me. I shine with Falco and my fingers fumble trying to jump and dair, and I can't waveshine.

 

[FerrishTheFish]

I main Link and second Falcon. I have a pretty decent Falco in terms of technical ability, I just find him too overpowered and boring and never bothered learning how to space with him.

 

[Skler]

I play weird, quirky characters because my tech skill is terrible. Even my Fox is a hilarious mess when it comes to tech skill; I just spam bair.